FiveFingers Friday: Training begins!

Yes, I bought a pair of those creepy feet gloves, the Vibram FiveFingers - Bikila LS model to be exact.  You may or may not have seen them, and although they’ve been around for years they’ve only recently become mainstream popular.  Well, every Friday (at least I’ll attempt every Friday) I will update you on my FiveFinger training progress in a fun feature called, you guessed it, FiveFinger Friday!  

So, I had looked into these shoes for a while before buying them and the last push really came from running at Disney, there were quite a number of people using them.  Not only that, but when you’re wearing your medal home on the plane it sparks quite a few conversations, yes that was partially intentional.  While waiting to pick up our bags plane-side after the flight from DC to Pitt, I was talking with two runners who swear by FiveFingers.  The one guy said he had nothing but knee pain and plantar fasciitis when he would run, until he switched to these funky shoes.  That was really all I needed to hear- I have sometimes severe knee pain, the result of many years of dancing.   So, I picked up my pair at REI during their 20% off member's sale, yay!

I couldn't get home fast enough, I just had to try them out.  The moment I got in the door I put them on and started up the treadmill.  I didn't run very long, I was just curious to see how they felt. These shoes force you to change your running form, stride and all, which makes your body work different muscles.  Instead of heel striking you land more forward on your foot, which limits the impact to your knees, definitely a plus for me!  When you push off you end up rolling through the ball of your foot and using your toes more.  It’s a change that you’ll notice when you’re running, but it feels more natural and fluid.  

I’ve been told by several people to use these shoes as a training aid and not a full replacement for my regular running shoes, so I plan to heed that advice.  You also need to work into them slowly.  Vibram recommends not running 2 days back to back when you're starting out and to run only 10% of your normal mileage, if that.  I decided that on Wednesday I'd wear them for a portion of my run and then switch shoes.  I ran for about 10 minutes in the Bikilas, I didn't want to push it and risk any injury.  I was over-thinking my form for a few minutes, granted on a treadmill your form is skewed anyway, so I took a few deep breaths and just ran as my body intended. My form self-corrected and everything felt great, despite the minimal footbed, the Bikila LS has great support for my high arches.

I plan to put some more mileage on them this weekend hopefully outside if the weather continues to cooperate (we went from torrential rain mid 40's, the low 30's and snow, to mid 50's this week, Mother Nature has a serious problem with her sense of humor!).  Check back next week to see how it goes!

~Megan

Music Makes the Time Fly By

I've always been curious about the people who don't listen to music when they run, lift, or otherwise exercise.  Maybe they just listen to everything going on around them and think?  I guess I can't do that because I prefer to run in the city and there's too much traffic noise that I'd rather ignore.  My boyfriend was that way for a while, so I got him an iPod. He couldn't figure out how he did it either after having it for a while. 

I like to consider myself a fair weather runner; I don't run outside if its really cold, rainy, and especially if its snowing.  Particularly because these things inhibit me bringing my iPod with me (original Nano, compliments of my alma mater). 


I've always loved music, however, I don't consider myself a music snob- I like pop and top 40's as well as other music.  I just enjoy listening to it, which is probably why I was in band from 4th grade (ok, well that was orchestra) through graduation of high school.  In fact, I'm listening to some while writing this.  I'd rather have music on in the background than the television.  

So you can imagine my excitement when Fitness Magazine sent me an email about a half marathon playlist they created in conjunction with Motion Traxx.  I'm constantly updating my workout playlist with suggestions from websites and new music that I hear.  I personally enjoy anything that has a fast enough tempo for running that keeps me motivated and the half marathon mix has quickly launched its way to my number 1 go to track.  Its upbeat and has a voice over narrator to keep you motivated and on track.  To run a 2:15 half marathon you just need to play through this mix twice and you'll be right on pace.  I've only run with it a few times, but I know when I start to slow down a little and walk its a quick turn around to me running again! Which is exactly what I need, especially since I don't run with anyone else.  (My roommate is about 10 inches shorter than me, we cannot run together or we would.)


So what does everyone else run to?  I always love hearing what others use to keep them motivated.  

~Cassi

The Importance of Breakfast: But I don't wanna!

Alright, give me your best excuse- why don't you eat breakfast?

Ok, well I've probably heard them all:

• "I don't like the food options"
• "It's too early to eat"
• "I don't have enough time"
• "I'm not hungry"
• "I'm trying to lose weight so I'm cutting the calories out at breakfast"

The fact of the matter is that breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day.  Why?  Well it wakes your body up from it's state of hibernation overnight and starts your metabolism.  It's actually one of the fundamentals rules of losing weight!  Not eating breakfast is like trying to run your car with a nearly empty (or sometimes completely empty) gas tank.  You'll not only be hungry sooner in the day, but you'll also have a harder time focusing throughout the morning.  You just don't function as optimally as you would if you had a "good" breakfast.

I can always tell when I haven't had a "good" breakfast.  I'm usually up by 6:30AM and have breakfast around 7 before I head to work.  Now, if I had an appropriate breakfast (now this doesn't always mean a typical breakfast food) I'm not usually hungry again until 10:45-11ish.  If I didn't have a great breakfast, I'm usually scrambling for something closer to 9:30.

So, what's a "good" breakfast?  I personally try to focus on protein and fiber for breakfast, because they stay with you the longest and I try to minimize the sugar (sad to say because my favorite cereal is lightly sweetened shredded wheat, but they don't keep my full very long).   Some of my typical breakfasts include:

• Oatmeal with some sort of fruit (homemade applesauce, blueberries or bananas)
• English muffin with peanut butter or with a hard boiled egg (Time saving tip: if you hard boil half a dozen on the weekend, you'll be prepped for several breakfasts!)
• Muffin omelet-  these are super simple to make, basically whip up eggs with your favorite omelet fillings (cheese, meat, veggies), pour into a muffin tin and bake. I freeze them and then pull out an individual serving, just toss in the micro for a minute and enjoy!
• Sandwich or wrap with lean meat - I'll opt for turkey or Canadian bacon and veggies (like I said, breakfast doesn't always have to be "breakfast foods")
• Protein smoothie - I use milk, frozen fruit and some protein powder (I have, on occasion, tossed in peanut butter and cocoa powder- it's like dessert!)

I also add in a cup of milk and a piece of fruit (grapefruit, bananas, or berries) to round out my meal.

Typically, I don't run first thing in the morning, usually that only happens on race days.  Sure, in those situations I have some of the same excuses; I'm not hungry, it's too early (more or less it's my nerves causing the biggest issue!) but it's important to fuel your workouts.  So, if you're an early morning workout type, be sure to have something small first - toast with some peanut butter, a banana, even a small protein bar.  Then after your workout be sure to eat some more to round out your breakfast.

So for this week, make yourself a commitment to working breakfast into your schedule.  Set a goal for the number of days you're going to eat breakfast this week, challenge yourself but make it reasonable.  If you never eat breakfast, trying to eat breakfast everyday this week may be too challenging, aim for 3-4 days.  Identify foods that you like and help yourself by prepping as much as you can in advance (then you can't have an excuse of having no time!)  It does take a some effort, but you can do it!

~Megan

Disney Racing is the Best Kind of Racing

Ok, so that might not be the most accurate statement considering it was my first race. But come on, its Disney, everything is magical there!

About a month ago Megan and I took a trip down to Walt Disney World and we had a blast. After all we did leave the northeast (I'm in DC and Megan is in Pittsburgh) and head south, so that's always an improvement.

Saturday came and we headed over to the ESPN World Wide of Sports to the Fit for a Princess Expo-which was awesome.

We checked in, got our bibs (Mine was personalized with Princess Cassandra and I picked Jasmine as my princess, Princess Megan chose Belle) and D-tags (which I am still confused on why they are called that) and started shopping. We each picked up a running belt that we used to hold our phones, chap stick, and some other small stuff, I bought inserts (post coming soon), and we both bought an assortment of RunDisney clothing. After spending a good hour or more there we headed back to our hotel room, got our running outfits together for the "morning" (we had to be at the start line by 5 am) and headed out for dinner aka time for carb loading! After a pasta and veggie filled dinner at Uno's, we headed back to our hotel and hit the sack-which is really hard at 9:30 pm when you are amped up for a race the next day!

Sunday morning rolls around and we're up nice and early, 3 am early! We ate a quick, yet nutritious breakfast (bananas, peanut butter, and high protein cereal) and left for the race. My wonderful mother drove us over to the resort next door where the shuttle buses are and headed to Epcot for the start line! The anticipation is building!!! I cannot wait to get to the start line and get going!! Of course we stopped to take a photo or two in front of the Epcot Ball:

Ok so we finally get over to our corral, and everyone is excited, there are women EVERYWHERE, and the occasional men dressed as a prince or frog.  Megan, Val (one of Megan's friends from Pittsburgh), and I each ran with a cute party tiara, that was as far as our costumes went.

Let me just tell you, before a race begins it can be very emotional! I never would have guessed that! My wonderful little brother (17 and 6'3'') texted me good luck and I just started crying! Who does that??  But it was great to get some encouragement from my family! 

Each of the corrals starts their section of the race with Fairy Godmother counting down and then fireworks! We were in Corral D, which is essentially everyone who didn't submit a proof of time. As we slowly move up toward the start line each of us has a moment like mine. Finally, it's our corral's turn!  Now remember this is my first race, so my first inclination is to just start running! But then I remember what all of my runner friends have told me, and that is definitely not the thing to do! So we jogged, and jogged, ran and walked, and of course there was some sprinting at times-but really that was to get to the princes! 

After we were finished our 13.1 mile journey I can honestly say that I had a blast! I would definitely do it again, and I'm so excited to have started this blog with Megan!!

We will be updating regularly and posting about our running progress, different products and recipes we've tried. I'm currently looking into running the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon, which I've been told is so much fun, but I'm not sure much can top running through Magic Kingdom and meeting a bunch of Princes. We'll see...


~Cassi

Ready. Aim. Run!!!

Alright, so it's another blog about running. Well, not exactly. Let me explain...

On my flight down to Orlando in February to run the 2011 Disney Princess Half-Marathon, I sat next to a very lovely woman, probably in her early 60's. We got to chatting and she asked where I was headed, after I told her I got the same response I tend to get from a lot of people, "Umm, you mean you run... on purpose?" I had to laugh because it wasn't too many years ago that I probably said the same thing to someone telling me about their love of running. But now I do run on purpose and I love it!

When we originally started planning the Princess Half-Marathon there were a ton of people interested, but slowly as the months passed by, girls were dropping out left and right. Why? Sure, running Disney isn't cheap (but as a plus it's a vacay also!) but I think it was more than the cost, I think a lot of the girls were scared. Scared of not being able to finish, of not being fast enough, of feeling like they'll look silly. But, the truth is, none of that matters.

Okay, so obviously you can't run 13.1 miles overnight, you have to start slow. The key is... you have to start.

One of the best shirts that Cassi and I saw on race day said this:

You can't ever cross the finish line if you haven't crossed the start line first.

Everyone can run, that's the beauty of it.  All you need is a decent pair of shoes and a good bra (if you're female).  Sure, you're not going to beat a Kenyan your first time at a marathon (okay, let's be real, you're probably never going to beat a Kenyan) but that doesn't matter. There's a rush that comes with running, they call it a "runner's high," and once you start running it truly becomes an addiction!

This blog is the result of a lot of conversations that Cassi and I have had since running in Disney. Our goal is to empower you to lace up your shoes and get out there, just get started. Run with a purpose, whatever that is for you. Maybe you want to run for your health and sanity, maybe you want to run for a cause. Find your purpose and just run!

Cassi and I are not world-class runners or experts by any means, we're just two princesses (hey, we ran Disney, we're officially princesses now!) who have found a love of running and want to inspire you the same way other runners have for us.

So, what can you expect to find in this blog? We plan to post on:

• Running and Training
• Getting started
• Running your first race
• Running for a cause
• Training for longer races/runs
• Our own training/ progress (complete with successes and struggles)
• Recipes
• Healthy options (i.e. homemade energy bars, protein shakes)
• Fueling your running
• Reviews
• Races (i.e. Pittsburgh Marathon, Disney Princess Half-marathon)
• Training Aids (i.e. Biofreeze, energy bars, shoes)
• Book

If there's something you have a question about, feel free to leave us a comment or send us an email. We may not have all of the answers, but we'll certainly help you to find them.

So, what are you waiting for? Got a pair of running shoes and some free time? Well, get out there, get started and run with purpose!

~Megan