I signed up for the Get LOST in Running Virtual Race Series. Based on the TV series LOST, there are six stations, each one connected to one of the famous numbers. 4 8 15 16 32 42. Every race is a little longer. There is a medal associated with each station, and a final medal for completing the series. I will have lots of bling to display at the end! This is also a good way to keep up motivation while I train!

This past weekend Maestro and I completed Station 1 of the series - the Hydra 4k. We went to Prince William Park and ran on a trail, which probably wasn't the smartest idea. There were a lot of hills! But I guess it is good training for my endurance and should probably do each run here. Especially since I have a 10-mile trail run in August ... Maestro did a great job keeping up and had a good time.

I'm really trying to eat clean. Here are some things that I have made in the past few days.

We also decided to start juicing more frequently. I'm stocked up on greens from the CSA, and we went and got some fruit over the weekend. 

A lot of the blogs I read have product reviews. I read them, and the product sounds great and I want to buy one because I think they will be helpful ... yet there is no money for it!

So, if you ever want to buy me a present ...

Fitbit Flex
This slim, stylish device is with you all the time. During the day, it tracks steps, distance, and calories burned. At night, it tracks your sleep cycle and wakes you silently in the morning. Just check out the lights to see how you stack up against your personal goal. It’s the motivation you need to get out and be more active.

Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS Watch
Every mile matters. And now there’s a stylishly simple way to capture each one. Forerunner 10 is a GPS running watch that tracks your distance, speed/pace, and calories. It also identifies your personal records and provides motivation along the way.

The Stick Travel Stick
Easy-to-use device designed to massage muscle tissue. Encourages increased circulation to muscle fibers before exercise, disperses lactic acid after workout, and diffuses muscle stiffness and knots.

SKINS Women's Ry400 Recovery Long Tights (size SH)
A quick recovery is an important part of any fitness routine. Not only does it make you feel better, but you can work out more often and get better results. The Skins Ry400 women's recovery long tights speeds up recovery with its dynamic compression design. To improve recovery time, simply pull on the Ry400 garments after activity. They're scientifically proven to make the body recover better, reducing tenderness and delaying onset muscle soreness by delivering more oxygen to your resting muscles. Forget massages, long baths, and ice packs. With the Ry400, you'll feel great within hours.

SKINS Women's A400 Shorts
(size SH)
Keep your legs fresh in the SKINS A400 Women's Compression Shorts. Common over-use injuries in the ITB and TFL muscle groups can be avoided and supported with Memory MX fabric in those areas. This fabric provides constant compression to increase blood flow to active muscles and ultimately reduce the risk of muscle damage. Perfect for sporting events, training and post-exercise. 

Running Funky
(size small)
Uniquely colorful active wear.
I would be happy with anything from here, or a gift card. The patterns are so fun :)

Jo-ann Fabrics
I can always use a Joann gift card! Races = costumes = fabric! I am running to have fun, so I might as well dress the part!

Sunday, May 19
Rest Day

Monday, May 20
28 minutes treadmill running with a total of 2.5 miles. (1st mile = 10 minutes)
60 minutes yoga class

Tuesday, May 21
50 minutes - pilates mat class
47 minutes of treadmill speed walking, total of 3.1 miles
15 minutes of stationary bike
25 minutes of weights

Wednesday, May 22
Rest Day
45 minutes of vigorous cleaning

Thursday, May 23
9 minute walk around the block - .5 miles
7th Grade Concert - moving chairs and stands

Friday, May 24
31:36 minutes walking 1.78 miles

Saturday, May 25
31:42 Get LOST in Running, Station 1 - Hydra 4k
19:27 minutes walking .87 miles

After we finished our race and got our medals (and I took a trip to medical to get some ice!), we went back into Animal Kingdom for the After Party. It was about midnight! Animal Kingdom is so neat after dark! The Tree of Life is lit up, as well as Everest. Unfortunately, my phone camera does not do well in the dark. 

The lines were really short, so we rode Expedition Everest twice. It is such a better ride in the dark. You don't see the drop coming at all, and the rush is more intense. We also went once Kali River Rapids and got wet, not soaked, which was refreshing. It was so not crowded, the other people in our tube got to stay on the ride for a second time.

We then went on Primeval Swirl (or something like that). I don't need to go on that one again. Too much spinning. There was a short wait before we started because someone had gotten sick. I can see why.

Then we got some pictures printed out at the New Balance Booth and visited some characters: Baloo and King Louie, Pluto and Goofy, and others.

It was a fun night and a great experience to be in Animal Kingdom after dark!

May 4. Heidi and I got to Animal Kingdom around 7:30 p.m. hoping to be able to exchange our shirts for a smaller size, but we had no luck. No smaller sizes were available.

We relaxed in the car for a while, put on our bibs, and then went to get some pictures taken. It was pretty crowded, but the energy level was high. There were two snow machines pumping out snow on everyone and the DJ was blasting music and talking to the crowd.

The race officially started at 10 p.m. but we were in corral C so we started at 10:12. The first mile was in the parking lot, but it was still exciting. They had speakers out with music and animal sounds. It was also amusing to see the other runners. One guy was dressed as Tarzan and had a stuffed monkey making tons of sounds. In this mile was the first obstacle - jumping over hay bales. Pretty easy.

The next mile was inside the park. We ran towards the Tree of Life which was lit up, and then through Asia, backstage for a bit, and then past Kali River Rapids and Everest. We then went backstage and ran past the back of Everest, coming to the second obstacle - tires. There was a short line for this but we got through it pretty fast. 

The third mile was all backstage and not much excitement other than waiting for the finish line to come. My knee was hurting pretty bad by this point, but I kept running. We came to the last obstacle - crawling under a net. I passed by this one because of my knee and crossed the finish line.

We were handed a clue card and were back off to the front of the park to get our next clue. For the clues, each was a direction of the compass. We were running all around the park getting more clues until we finally had to use all the clues to figure out a puzzle giving us the final answer needed to cross the finish line. We had about 3/4 of a mile to run to the finish line, so we hobbled there and got our medals! 

Final 5k split: 37:11

Total Time: 1:27:17

The week after my Everest race I was pretty exhausted and had a busy week so I didn't have that much energy to work out. I had orchestra rehearsal on Wednesday and Friday, with a concert on Saturday. 

Wednesday, May 8
2 hours of viola playing

Friday, May 10
2.5 hours of viola playing

Saturday, May 11
49 minutes run/walk (2:1) with a total of about 3.3 miles
2.5 hours of viola playing

Sunday, May 12
40 minutes of mowing the lawn (ended up walking about .5 miles doing this)

Monday, May 13
35 minutes run/walk (120:30sec) with a total of 3.1 miles
60 minutes yoga class

Tuesday, May 14
6.5 minutes on the elliptical for .5 miles
18 minutes speed run/brisk walk 90:40secs, total 1.5 miles
20 minutes weight training

Wednesday, May 15
Rest Day

Thursday, May 16
25 minutes of Insanity Day 1 Fitness Test

Friday, May 17
Rest Day

Saturday, May 18
Walked all over Kings Dominion amusement park

After the Expedition Everest Challenge Family Edition, we all went to Sanaa at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. I love this restaurant! They had just changed the menu, and I wanted to check it out. I ordered a lot of food to give me fuel for the race that evening.

For appetizer I ordered the Papadum Service with Red Chile Sambul, Coconut Chutney, and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. For my second (!) appetizer I ordered Chana Spinach something. Chef Trish discovered I could also eat the Chana Tikka, so she brought that out for me to have as well (my third appetizer!). They were both pretty tasty, but I think I liked the spinach version a little better. 

For my meal I ordered the Vegetarian Combo with Chana Masala and Lentils. It was pretty hit and miss. The chana masala had potatoes in it, which threw me off a bit but wasn't a big deal. It did have a bunch of baby onion bulbs things in it, which was totally weird. I picked them all out, but they took up a lot of the bowl. The lentils were a bit al dente for me. Overall, I was not totally impressed with my entree. I liked the previous menu options better. Oh well.

For dessert I got mango sorbet with fresh berries. It was very refreshing. By the end of the meal I was stuffed and satisfied. 

While we were waiting for our reservation we saw a couple of tortoises hanging out and eating lunch right outside the window!

Saturday morning everyone packed up and headed out to Disney's Wide World of Sports for the Expedition Everest Challenge Family Edition. Only Madre and Ellie were going to compete in the race, but I tagged along to help with the scavenger hunt clues. It was raining on and off that morning, so it was a lot of taking the ponchos on and off.

We got a map and had to run around the ESPN complex to get and solve clues. Some of the challenges involved running around bases to find letters, which had to be arranged in a certain order to find the answer. Most of the clues involved word challenges. After we got all of our clues we headed to the finish line by running around the track. Even though I wasn't officially registered for this event, I got a medallion when we finished.

This was a fun event, despite the rain. It took us a little while to figure out how the clues were going to go, but we finally got a hang of it and had a good time. We finished in a little under an hour