Race for the Taste Report

Hi all,

Success!

We are back from Disney once again and had a great time as usual. We spent Friday in the Magic Kingdom and then went to the Halloween party that night. A very long day. Here's a glimpse at what we did.

Saturday we hit the Studios in the morning and did all the big ones. Toy Story, Tower of Terror and Rock and Roller Coaster. We then went over to the Wide World of Sports Complex to pick up my race packet. Then it was off to the Food and Wine Festival for the rest of the day finishing up with Illuminations. Then back to the All Star for bed and what I called the "running of the children" . I tried to go to bed early but, the kids just kept running by the door, ugh!

Sunday morning came early-4:30 and we got ready to catch the bus to the start. I met Gordon from the Running to Disney podcast and it was great to meet him. I also met my fellow Team All Ears member Brad. Before we knew it, the start of the race was upon us.

The race was fun. It was very hot and humid though. Also very crowded in spots so I had to slow down my pace. It was good practice for Goofy because the end of the marathon and the half marathon follow this same course. It was fun to run around an empty World Showcase.

After the finish I met up with fellow Team All Ears member Tracy and Brad again. It was great to meet everyone. We got our free samples and then headed out to get some much needed showers.

The afternoon was spent in Epcot for more Food and Wine. The winner for us was the Tenderloin from South Africa. Yummy! I also loved the Frozen Mojito. We then headed over the Magic Kingdom to catch Wishes and then back to the resort so we could get to bed early for our early flight home.

It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back in January. My training is going really well. Knock on wood!!! I did a 15 miler on Sunday after a 7 miler on Saturday and my pace was really good. I felt great.

That's all for now.

Adding to the Adventure Book!!!

Training going well.

It's been a crazy couple of weeks in the Aulen household. Dave and I did the Fox Lake 5k on Saturday 9/12. Dave did great and finished under his required pace for the Disney 5k. He is doing great in the training and I am very proud of him! I finished in a good time as well and felt pretty good. Once again I started out way too fast. 5k's are just not my race I think. Everyone starts out sprinting and I get caught up in that.

This weekend I did a 6 mile run on Saturday and then an 11 mile run on Sunday. I felt great for both. I hope the training continues like this, but I know it won't be so smooth all the time.

We are getting ready for Disney in just 2 weeks and 2 days! I think we will be utterly spent by the end of the three days. We are planning on spending the entire day at the Magic Kingdom on Friday including the Not So Scary Party. Saturday going to the Studios, pick up my race packet and head over to Epcot to sample all of the yummy food and wine! Sunday up very early for the race and then back to Epcot for more food and wine. I am tired just thinking about it!

That's all for now,

Adding to the Adventure Book!!!

Race for the Taste Here I Come!

I'm in week 3 of Goofy training and things are going well. I'm feeling good so far, but there is a long way to go. We had an exciting week last week as we decided to book a last minute trip to Disney World so I can run the last Race for the Taste 10k. I haven't done it before and heck I want that cool medal. Not to mention that we can now go to the Food and Wine festival. Dave is very happy about that! We may go to the Not so Scary Halloween Party as well. It is going to be a very short trip. 3 days in the parks. Pure exhaustion I'm sure!!!

Dave made an awesome music video of the highlights of our May trip. Take a look:

Pretty Cool, huh?

For now,

Adding to the Adventure Book!

Let the training begin!

Week 1 of Goofy training has begun! This is the first week of the training and I feel more prepared for a training cycle than I ever have before. I put in a lot of miles since May and the strength training I have been doing since December is definitely helping. I also have been working my core. My friend Liz is a personal trainer and she has been kicking my butt (core). I had a great 10 mile run on Sunday, one of those nice and easy runs. It felt great. I did a 5k on the 9th and did it in 34:59. It was very hot and humid that day so I'm happy with that time. I hope the next 20 weeks of training fly by, but I know I'll have plenty of rough patches. Let's hope they are few and far between!

For now,

Adding to the Adventure Book!

Some more Videos and Photos from the RNR Half

Here are some more videos from the Half.

The start:

Video Between Miles 4 and 5:

Dave's review of the PF Changs VIP Area:

That's it for now. Thanks to Dave for taking some great pictures and video. I appreciate you following me around the city, even if you did stop for Starbucks and almost missed me. Love you!

Adding to the Adventure Book!

Rock and Roll Chicago Half Marathon Race Report

I survived the Rock and Roll Chicago Half Marathon on August 2nd and I'll leave it until the end to let you know if I PR'd or not. We got down to Chicago Saturday morning and headed right to the Expo. Just as we got there they were announcing that Ryan Hall would be speaking in 5 minutes. I said to Dave, "Ryan Hall, way cool, we have to go" Dave said "Who is Ryan Hall?" We hightailed it over there and grabbed a seat. John "The Penguin" Bingham was there introducing him. Celebrity sightings everywhere! Ryan gave a great 30 minute talk about preparing for the race, pre race jitters, going out too fast, nutrition, etc. It's funny he was talking about 4:28 miles!! I can only imagine. After that we did a bit of shopping and then headed to the hotel to check in. Had an early dinner of my traditional spaghetti and meatballs and then off to bed early.

Up early and walked over to the starting area. Here is what I was thinking at this point:

Then Dave left me and went to start getting in position to get some pictures. I went and found my corral and began the long wait. It was a wave start so I had a 30 minute wait until it was my time to go. We were off and I of course start off too fast. My Garmin was messed up from the buildings so I couldn't tell what my pace was. I hit the first mile at about 11:00. Then the second one about 12:00, a bit better. Dave saw me here, but almost missed me. Here is the funniest portion of the race, caught on tape:

I felt good through out the whole race. It was crowded once we left downtown and hit the lakefront trails. I was concentrating on keeping track of my mile splits in my head. I was trying to keep under 12:30 miles. So what was Dave doing while I was running. Well we know he hit up a Starbucks, but what else:

Right about mile 12 was when I started to feel it. I dug in and kept pushing and before I knew it I was at the finish line. I crossed the line at 2:42:57. A 4 minute PR! Woo Hoo! I was tired and hot, but was immediately handed an ice cold wet towel. Best thing ever. I got my cool medal. Some water and a popsicle-what a great idea. I found Dave and he taped this. I was still winded:

It was a great race. I'll post some more videos and pictures in the next post.

So for now,

Adding to the Adventure Book

Ryan Hall

Speaking at Chicago RnR Half Marathon expo