2014 Princess Goals - One week to go!

Well, it’s almost here… today marks ONE WEEK until runDisney’s Princess Half-Marathon Weekend, in which I plan to go for the Princess Triple Crown!  What, you may ask, is a Princess Triple Crown?   The P3C is an unofficial term for running ALL the weekend’s races: the Cinderella Royal Family 5K on Friday, the Princess Enchanted 10K on Saturday, and the Princess Half-Marathon on Sunday.  #ALLTHERACES, people!

I ran a mini-P3C last week, just to get a sense of what three races over three days might do to me – I mostly walked 2.5 miles day one, ran/walked 5 miles day two, and put in 10 run/walk miles day three.  And it went really well!  I was shocked to find that my legs felt fine by day three; I really expected them to feel like dead weight, but no.  But I was feeling pretty run down and tired from battling the pollen flying around here in FL in quantities that could rival the snow coming down to our north… I wasn’t into that 10-mile run at all.  My mental state was utter garbage and I thought every mile, “I could totally bail at 7 or 8 miles and be fine…”  And I would have.  Bailed.  Save for the fact that I once again misjudged how far I was from home.

Capt. Picard could get the Enterprise home faster with a broken warp core.

So anyway – yeah, I completed a test run, I felt fine afterward, I recovered well, and in ONE WEEK I’ll do it again… only longer!

I’m pretty jazzed.  As perhaps you can tell.  I’m also tapering.  Which means I’m antsy… and anxious… and easily distracted.  So, to get my thoughts in order and relieve a little stress, I’ve decided to list some goals for Princess Weekend.

1. Stay healthy, inside and out.  It’s cold and flu season and I have the great misfortune of being unable to get the flu vaccine and having a moderately compromised immune system.  So I’ll be washing my hands often, turning/stepping away from anyone coughing up a lung, eating properly, and making sure I get adequate rest, even if that means a 6pm bedtime all three nights.

I’ll also be taking care of my overworked body.  Ice.  Stretching.  Foam rolling.  Rest.  And I need to…

2. Stick to the PLAN.  In order to finish all three races, and finish them feeling good, I. Must. Stick. To. The. Plan.  The Plan being: mostly walk the 5K, walk at least half of the 10K, start slow and listen to my body in the half-marathon, speeding up or slowing down as needed.  This is critical because if I stick to The Plan, I’ll…

3. Have FUN and FINISH!  I have NO time goal for these races.  None at all.  Though I do hope to get a new PR in Fun!  I want to notice my surroundings, take in the energy and entertainment, enjoy every moment.  I plan to stop for plenty of pics in the 5K, grab some more pics in the 10K, and at least stop for a castle pic in the half.  If I do that, stick to The Plan, and stay healthy, finishing should be the easiest part of the whole challenge!

I just know it’s going to be a super-fantastic weekend, full of good times, with good friends, yummy food, Magical entertainment and, yes, even some running – 22.4 miles of it.  My very best wishes go out to all of the other Princesses partaking of the weekend’s events: we’re all going to have a BLAST!  See you at the Finish!