InkNBurn tank and handheld

After seeing posts on twitter about the athletic apparel company InkNBurn I decided it was time to stop drooling over their gear and finally invest some money into them. I ordered the Rock and Roll tank top http://www.inknburn.com/women/tank-top/women-s-rock-hard-tank-top.html and the Sakura handheld http://www.inknburn.com/gear/water-bottle-holder/sakura-handheld.html.

The tank top is very comfortable. I thought the sizes run a little small but I didn't measure myself before buying. I usually wear an extra large in my running tops so that they are a little baggy. I got the extra large in the tank and it was a little snug (not in a bad way). It isn't super tight but I would have liked it to not hug my middle section so much. With that being said, while wearing it on my run I did not notice that it was hugging me a bit. It was extremely comfortable! I was a little worried that it would ride up but it didn't. I hardly noticed that I was wearing it. Which I would say is a very good thing since some of my other running shirts I am continually pulling down or fighting with. Their shirts are also amazingly visually appealing! It never hurts to have running gear that is comfee and looks good. I will be ordering another one eventually, at this time I do not have the funds for another one. Their gear is a little pricy but ill talk more about that later.

And now for the Handheld!

By far my favorite piece of running gear that I own!!!!
I was extremely hesitant when ordering the handheld. It is 40$ which seemed like a lot of money, but now that that I have it it was well worth every penny. I was using a Ifitness handheld and my hand always seemed hot and my hand would be soaked from the condensation. The InB handheld doesn't have that problem my sports bottle is completely covered. My drink stays cooler a little longer, and no condensation on my hand. My hand does still sweat but not as bad as it use to. There is a little pocket on the handle that is perfect for a key.

There is also a front pocket that can hold my IPhone 4s (without a case) it would also be perfect for GU or any fuel that you use during your run. I was a little worried about the front pocket at first because it is a flexable material but I have been using it for a few months and have found no problems. It seems to be very durable, even with keys pocking the bottom of it. It also keeps my phone dry. I was running around Ft. Wilderness in Walt Disney World and got poured on and my phone stayed dry. There's a thumb hole which I don't use for my thumb. I cut a face cloth in half and use the thumb hole to hold it. This makes it so that I can wipe sweat without having to carry a towel in my hand the whole time.

The handheld doesn't come with a bottle but you can buy theirs. I didn't I use a bottle I found at the store. The handheld fits slimmer bottles (I am sure it would stretch to fit thicker ones but the 21oz bottle I have fits perfectly). My Nuunhydration bottle fits perfectly in it. I would recommend this handheld bottle to anyone. I love it! I am really glad I bough it.

 

I really want to try their camisole's and really really want to try their running skirts! I am very picky when it comes to running skirts! but I will have to save up those two products are a little more pricey then others. But their products are made in the USA and are high quality! They are also a great company! The post office lost my package and they did everything they could to keep me updated on what was happening to find it. The post office did eventually find it (was shipped to another address with the same numbers as mine).  

Do you have a favorite item from InkNBurn?

 

I was not asked to write this blog post by InkNBurn. I was not given the items. I bought both of the items myself and wanted to share what I thought.

 

My Running Playlist

I am totally a runner that needs music during a long run. I enjoy the escape the music gives. I fear that if I weren't listening to music I might listen to that evil voice in my head that says your going how many miles today. So here is a list of my favorite songs to listen to on my run.

Power Songs!

 



This list are songs that get my feet moving a little faster when they play. They are in order of my favorites.

1. My Song Knows What You Did In The Dark(Light um up)- Fall Out Boy (if you haven't listened to this on a run I would say do it, I could probably PR by putting it on repeat. OoO I need to try that!)
2. Dig A Little Deeper- The Princess And The Frog Soundtrack (you listen to mama odie and dig a little deeper it will give you the metal boost you might need)
3. Titanium- David Guetta
4. Fire Burning- Sean Kingston
5. Run Away Baby- Bruno Mars

For A Happy Run

 

A few weeks ago I downloaded the soundtrack to Walt Disney Worlds Fantasmic to my Ipod nano. I have never been so happy during a run. I even started to tear up (what not like you have never teared up during the fireworks or fantasmic). If your having a bad run try turning on a Disney soundtrack (if you enjoy Disney) it might make you smile more during your run. Come on how could you not smile listening to Journey Into Imagination! oh ya you know your singing---- Imagination a dream can be a dream come true with just that spark     from me to you :).

 

My Playlist

 

Here's the other songs on my playlist. Some make me smile. Some make me laugh. Some just distract me. Some are encouraging. These are in no particular order (some are slower, I usually listen to them in the beginning of my run to save energy for the end).

 

Go The Distance- Hercules Soundtrack (warning this make me tear up too! Don't judge!!!)

Closing Remarks- Leading The Heroes

Keep Your Head Up- Andy Grammer

Stronger- Kelly Clarkson

She Wants To Move- N.E.R.D

Starlight- Muse

Real Gone- Cars Soundtrack

Life Is A Highway- Cars Sountrack

Make Damn Sure- Taking Back Sunday

Time Is Running Out- Muse

Attack- 30 Seconds to Mars

Rock That Body- Black Eyed Peas

Hall Of Fame- The Script

Catch My Breath- Kelly Clarkson

Something I Want- Tangled Soundtrack

Don't Stop Believin- Journey

Ever Ever After- Jordon Pruitt

What It Is To Burn- Finch

Sweetness- Jimmy Eat World

Bye Bye Bye- NSYNC 

Get Low- Flo Rider

Eye Of The Tiger- Survivor

Don't Stop The Music- Rihanna

Blow- Kesha

Locked Out Of Heaven- Bruno Mars   

At The Speed Of A Yellow Bullet- Head Automatica

Right Round- Flo Rider

Fergalicious- Fergie

The Red- Chevelle

Misery Business- Paramore

Walk This Way- Aerosmith

The Boys Of Summer- The Ataris

Fat Bottom Girls- Queen

 

I hope you've found a least one new song to add to your playlist. I love finding new running songs. Do you have a favorite song to run to that I didn't put on my list?

 



Pre-run Habits

 

So before each run I have certain habits that I do. Some could call them weird but others may say oh crap maybe I should do that too. I always lay out my running clothes the night before. This makes it so I don't have to wonder what I am wearing for my run in the A.M. Even if you don't do it for long run days always do this for race days! then you won't forget things. Oh I also always put my NUUNhydration in the fridge the night before so that it dissolves all the way and its ready to go in the morning. I always run with my NUUN now it helps me stay hydrated in the hot South Florida heat. If you have never tried NUUN I recommend you go try it. I don't run without it now! its the greatest thing I have found! ok back to my habits. 


Before my long runs (weekend runs longer then 4 miles) I always take a shower. WHY DO YOU SHOWER BEFORE SWEATING???? yes I have gotten this question, mostly from family members. Well I will tell you why! There are a couple of reasons why I shower before a run. The first reason is to shave! I hate hair, especially hair on my legs it's itchy and annoying! So before my long runs I get up drink a cup of coffee (ill explain more on the coffee later) and then go take a shower. The second reason is if your like me I am the runner that has to be up for over an hour before I run. It sucks I am not a get up and go runner (my sister is and I sometimes hate her for it, ok not really). Some runners are, some aren't. My body and mind need time to wake up before a long run. So showering wakes me up! its how I wake up daily so why not wake me on a long run day. Now back to the coffee. I drink it before I take a shower so that my digestive system has time to process *Wink Wink*. After coffee, shower, and applying my Kttape, ok another product love I love my Kttape! it helped me get through my first half marathon and all of my longer training runs. I have bad knees, so I always wear it on my knee. I also at the beginning of running had bad ankles and my foot use to rub strange at the ball. Kttape helped with all of my issues! its amazing! If you have problem areas try it on them.


 Now I am almost ready to run, I eat my cliff bar, drink water and usually after that if I haven't already I am then able to "use the bathroom". Yup this process seems to work for me. These are the habits that I have developed over my year of running. I cant believe I have been running for almost a year! it went by SO fast!


Any habits that you find yourself doing before each run? Are you weird like me and shower before you run?

Women For Women 5k/10k

On Saturday May 18th, 2013 I ran in the Women for Women 5k/10k. When deciding if I was going to do this run I battled with my inner scaredy cat, I also ask for encouragement from my Team RunDisney friends! This 5k/10k goes over the Lake Worth bridge in Lake Worth, Florida. I have a minor fear of bridges. The bridge is ok its the see through grate that peers down to the intercostal below that scares the crap out of me. Hey when I was a kid my sister tripped on those evil see through death traps, so of course I have a little fear of them! So with a little help from my friends (I love you Team RunDisney)! I decided it was time to face my fear! I signed up for the 5k with my sister (yes she wasn't happy about crossing the evil tripping death trap either) and my mom.

We got to the 5k early on Saturday morning it was starting right on the beach so we hung out, got pictures and enjoyed the view. Big Shout out to http://www.team-sparkle.com/ we wore our sparkle skirts because it was a women's based event so why not look our best! or in my moms words "if I cant run fast at least we can look good doing it" (this was a joke she told a runner that screamed love your skirts while running past us).

Sunrise was beautiful!

 This is my Why are you taking pictures of our BUTTS face! (I like having fun taking pictures!) You know you love our Sparkle!!

 

After taking pictures of the beautiful sunrise and some crazy faced pictures it was time to get in the crowd of 1000 and get ready to run. It was kind of a funny feeling being with 1000 women compared to 24,000 at the Princess Half! So we took off. We decided to not start our 1/1 ration until we hit the bridge we kept up with the crowd to make it over the bridge.

 This amazing shot was taken by my dad of all of us going over the bridge.

It was the most amazing sight seeing that many people running over a bridge together. Then we were at the top of bridge where the evil grate was. I waited a second until it was clear of people and took off running as fast as I could. Telling myself don't look down don't look down! Then we were over and I felt better! I made it over! so we continued on went through the local neighborhood in Lake Worth. It was great! people were out in chairs cheering us on. Some had their car radios on. There was only  one creepy guy but that was expected. Along the course they had people dressed up, there were a group of guys in coconut bras (this is something they have every year).  I stayed with my mom until about mile 2 and then asked her if I could "run my own race" she said of course and I paid less attention to if we were sticking together and more on just running how I felt. Then it was time to make the second trip over the bridge on the return home. As I was going over the part that is not my favorite I saw someone looking down the middle to look at the water this of course gave me heart palpitations (fear of heights) and then to make matters less fun the kid that was running next to me stumbled over the grated part! Talk about having a freak out! I was concentrating on not looking down and then she stumbled and I was like holy crap I don't think I can stop to help her. But luckily she did not fall!!!! so I made it back over the bridge and am SO very happy!! I faced the fear, and made it. I made it to the finish at 43:16 on their clock but my chip time was 42:16 I PRed from my last 5k by 17 seconds a mile. Which felt great thanks to that double bridge and heat. I had a lot against me but pushed past it. Oh ya and firefighters give you your medal when your done! that's them got mine from the tall one.

Here are some finish photos.....

Would I run the Women for Women again? yes, The race was a lot of fun! There are only a few things that make me not want to do the 10k next year. Number 1 the HEAT yup its May in FL and it is really hot out! Number 2 They start at 7 so by then the sun is up there is no lets get half of it done before the sun heats up. Number 3 they have the 5k and 10k begin together. This happened at my first 10k I did. I don't like this! I think the people doing the 10k should be able to start before the 5k people. There are always less doing the 10k so being stuck behind 5k people sucks for them. Also for the slower people like me the crowds wouldn't be totally over standing around and cheering by time the 10k people got done (my parents and sister were the only ones cheering me on at my 10k, and of course the kid of the guy behind me who was yelling at his dad that he was almost there). Also the food and drinks wouldn't be gone for those who just did more miles. Just how I felt from my first 10k experience. All in all I had fun and would do it again. And we clocked it over the bridge its a half a mile over one way, so a mile over and back.

Manners and Considerations at Disney Parks

I love going to Walt Disney World. I am a premium passholder and generally make a trip every couple of months. As someone who goes to Disney a lot I can tell you the only thing that can take away from my magical experience at Disney parks is the inconsiderate people around you. Here is a list of some manners and considerations to remember to insure that the other park guests around you have the most magical time. I know we are at Disney and we don't think about those around us, but maybe we should!

 

                                              Consideration #1 and this is a biggy!

 

When discussing where to go next, or when having a family argument (yes that happens at Disney more then we would like to admit) MOVE OVER TO THE SIDE. There is nothing more annoying than a large group of people standing in the middle of a walkway. Is my family guilty of this? yes, but luckily they have me there to say "hey guys lets move over so that we aren't in the way". Please move to the side so that others can continue walking without to having to zig-zag around your family. There is an exception to this rule! Family photos on Main Street!!

 

Consideration #2

When you are within close contact with other park guests use "inside voices". When in, lets say a monorail or in a bus that is crowded with people, try to whisper. People in the transportation with you do not want to hear your whole conversation. They are on vacation and trying to relax. I was on the monorail and a woman that was sitting behind me was so loud I almost put in ear plugs. Its hard not to get loud when your excited but do as I use to tell my pre-school students use "inside voices". If you're alone in the monorail have fun! I know I usually do! Use this rule on rides too. My niece didn't and was yelling in this poor girls ear in front of us! Luckily for my niece she was very little, and very cute so the girl did not mind as much.

 

Consideration # 3





STROLLERS!!!! I have a niece, we have a stroller! You will never understand what a pain in the tail it is to have a stroller at Disney until you actually experience it! BUT I spent many many years on the other end of the stroller wars. I am a Floridian, I wear sandals at Disney so when people do not pay attention when pushing a stroller the backs of my legs pay the price. Give the stroller over to a family member that you know will pay attention when pushing. We have guilty people within my family that have almost run over poor guests. That is usually when those of us who are hyperaware take over the driving privileges. If you don't have kids pay attention to those around you with strollers. It is a lot harder for those with them to maneuver through the crowd so be kind to others.

(only allow the baby to push when others aren't around!!)

 

Consideration # 4

Something that everyone should know before approaching a park entrance is to open up all compartments of your bags (including bags inside the bags) when standing in line at the bag check. How many times have you been waiting to get your bag checked and the person in front of you takes forever to open every zipper on their bag when yours is ready to go. I know there should be a first timers guild to being a good tourist at theme parks! oh wait is there? maybe I should write it!! well anyways open your bags and move away from the table to close your bags, we are all in a hurry to get fastpasses to Toy Story Mania or Soarin or Expedition Everest. (O ya and you can walk down both sides of the table for the security to check you bag, you don't have to stay on one side)

 (photo found on Google images, see that lady looks like she's opening her bag! good job lady!)

 

Last Considerations 

If you smoke please go to the smoking area's. Non smokers don't want to smell it and its really bad for us and kids to be breathing that in. When taking photos of family members don't stand too far away. People will always walk in front of your photos which sucks for you and them. Photobombs are fun but I don't want to be looking like a crazy person in your pictures! I wonder how many photos I am in from all my years at Disney, everyone go check your family photos for me! BEWARE when taking self portraits others might think you are taking a picture of things across from you and stop for you to take a picture. This happened to me and my mom this past weekend when taking a picture on the bridge at Animal Kingdom. I felt so bad for the people, but it was really really funny.

 (photo that we were taking when the poor people stopped)

 

So in conclusion remember its your vacation have fun but please be aware that there are people around you trying to enjoy their magical vacation as well. When you're not using good theme park manners it could make their experience a little less magical. I have also had others enhance my magical vacation experience. I love talking to new people or helping someone out that seems lost or needs a picture taken. Of course cast members are the best at making a vacation even more magical!

 

 

Is there anything I forgot? Is there anything that bugs you when your at Disney that could be easily taken care of with a "what not to do at Disney parks book"?





My Princess Half Marathon!

The morning began with my alarm going off at 1:50 A.M! luckily I went to be at 8:00 P.M. and was able to sleep six hours (a lot of runners are unable to sleep the night before the big race). Then it was time to put on my tiara, team-sparkle skirt, and make sure I had all my race gear. We made it to the buses around 3:10 A.M. said bye to mom and dad (they were driving over to Epcot) got some photos and boarded the bus.The bus waited around for more runners then we were off. It was an enjoyable experience being on the bus talking to the other runners. We learned a lot about others, and learned that the girl next to me ran in the same 10k that we had ran just a few weeks earlier. Then it was time to get off the bus. There was a bit of a walk to make it to the family reunion area. It was very crowded due to the 25,000 runners. Roughly 24,000 of them being women and 1,000 being men (the princess half is a women’s based half marathon). We then made our way to the point of no return AKA the walk to the corals! They had port-o-johns lined up for a mile. Before heading to the corral we made the last pit stop. Then it was time to walk out to the corral, it was about a 20 minute walk. The walk was enjoyable it didn’t feel like it took too long and everyone was talking along the way.  At one point A-E split from F-H so I had to say goodbye to my sister and her friends. I made it to my corral and then it was time to wait! It was about a 30 minute wait before the first corral took off. Then it was about another 30 before it was my time. My nerves were building and I was starting to get very scared. Until the DJ started playing “Don’t stop believing” from Journey. They would stop it at certain points and all of the women would sing-a-long. It made me feel great and then the scared feeling turned into excitement. After ABC and D went it was my turn! Time for E!!

THREE, TWO, ONE GOOOOO Fireworks! And I was off. I was on my way and ready to see that first mile marker! Each marker has a scene from a Disney Princess movie. They were very beautiful.  The miles seemed to fly by even though I was doing a 14ish minute mile pace. I stuck to my 1/1 ratio except when there was a hill I would walk up the hills in order to try and save some of my energy for the second half. Soon we were on the long stretch to get to the welcome to the magic kingdom sign. Between mile 2 and 3 we all saw the female finisher Rachel Booth pass us on the other side of the road! We were all cheering for her. She was so inspiring, I think most of the women picked up the pace just a little seeing her! Then I saw that sign!

I was getting closer and still felt ok.
After going through the ticket and transportation center where I got to see the villians! I wanted a picture but was not confident enough to stop in the really long line.  So i took my own picture!

It was time to circle around to go under the aqua bridge where there was a DJ a sign that showed my personal training motivational song.

I was so happy to see this sign!

We made our way through to the curve by space mountain then it was on into the magic kingdom! It was pretty crowded by I luckily got to see my mom and dad and they snapped a shot that showed that at almost 5 miles I was starting to get tired.

After saying by and running off it was time to go through the castle! I was hoping to run through it but there was so many people that was not going to happen so I walked through and who do I spy! RunDisney TV. The last celebrity (Yup that’s right he is RunDisney royalty which makes him a celeb) photo that I was hoping to get. I got my picture with Dennis. This gave me a boost of energy and made my run through the castle that much more special! 

Then back to running. I was on the downhill now the 10k split came, which meant I was half way there. My pace was slowing and I was starting to feel tired. It was a bit of a battle the last half. Sadly for my first half it was warm outside. I find that I move a little faster when it is in the 50’s but it was in the lower 70’s and humid. Luckily for all of us runner the sun did not come out. I did something I am not proud of and abandoned my ratio timing. I should have done an easier ratio but at the time did not think of it. There were so many people just walking so at that point I followed the crowd, and walked till I hit mile 12. At the point of deciding to just walk I mentally was telling myself that I just wanted to finish. Even though I walked I tried my best to keep my walking pace faster than just a normal slow walk. Then through Epcot I picked up my interval timing again. I started to get teary eyed because I knew I was almost there, my feet were also feeling pretty tired. Then I heard that noise that let me know I was almost there! The choir! I was so glad to hear them I slowed down to take a little video of that moment. Then I rounded the corner and saw the most beautiful sign of the whole race!

After I finished I got my medal, finisher photo, and my box of goodies. I met up with my parents and ate my banana and drank my PowerAde.

I DID IT!! I finished! (final time 3:34 not In the time frame I wanted but I did finish)

 

I find that most of the half was a blur. I can compare it to what people say child birth is like hard during, you hurt, your tired, but in the end you are so happy and it was worth all of the pain! I got that mental and it was worth it, and I want to do it again.  There were a few things that I learned that will help me with my next half marathon. First and foremost train more than just 10 miles! I only did 10 miles when training. I was supposed to do 14 miles as the longest run. I will definitely train more than just 10 miles next time. I want my body to remember the 13 miles and I want to mentally be able to tell myself you have done this before you can do it again. I will also never abandon my ratios ever again! I might do a different ratio besides the 1/1 when I get tired but I will never stop the running part completely. At the time it seemed like a good idea but now looking back I could have went to Galloway’s 16 minute per mile ration and would have finished within the 16 minute per mile time frame that RunDisney gives. I am very proud that I finished. I did something that some people thought that I could not do. I finished and that’s more than those people can say. But from now on I want to improve on my timing and do better. I am addicted to Running Disney after two races. WHY? Because at Disney it doesn’t matter your size or your speed it matters that you can finish, and have fun doing it. You don’t have to be the fastest you just have to have the drive, heart, determination, and half craziness to finish the race. Disney does things like no other. Where else could you get the most amazing pictures during a half marathon. I am so excited to run the Tower 10 miler in October (I am going a little backwards doing the half then the 10 miler). In July I will be signing up for the ½ marathon during marathon weekend! I have also hopefully convinced my mom to do her first half! she has a year to train for the 2014 Princess Half! When registration opens up I'll be having her sign up so then there is no back out for her! I am excited to improve and RunDisney again!

Beginning My RunDisney Journey!

Why I decided to RunDisney

I will start my story off saying that I am not the fittest person there is. One day by some miracle I hear about this amazing thing called RunDisney. I have been a big Disney World fan my whole life. I go more than six times a year. I have seen almost everything there is to see at Disney. So when I heard that you could run through Disney it seemed like a great new experience. I heard of a running program that an Olympic medalist created called the walk/run/walk program. His name is @JeffGalloway, and he has become my running guru. His program has a 95% success rate. So in July of 2012 I decided it was time to put his program to the test. I decided that I would do the Princess Half Marathon on February 24^th, my sister also signed up for the half with me. That would give me plenty of extra training time. The training was working I saw improvements in my walk/running very shortly after I began training. After deciding it was too long to wait to runDisney until February my mom, sister, and myself decided to sign up for a 5k (3.1 miles) in November. My mom also began doing the Galloway walk/run method and she saw great improvements as well. We made it through the 5k training very quickly. We worked on our running from July until the 5k in November. While training for the 5k my Princess Half training began. Then it was time for ………

Mickeys Jingle jungle 5K

The beginning of our 5k weekend started with the Expo. This is a place where the weekend begins, they have guest speakers (including Jeff Galloway sadly I did not get to see him because we did not have enough time) running shoe testing, and all kinds of running goodies. The big event for the Expo was the “Wine and Dine Half Marathon” happening Saturday night. The energy in the Expo was amazing it made me want to abandon my training and do the half marathon right then and there. But they were sold out so my legs and feet were saved the pain.

I also got to see this at the Expo The medal I will get for finishing the Princess Half it was so pretty.

Saturday morning we got up at 4 a.m. to make it to Disney Animal Kingdom where our 5k was taking place. It was an amazing experience so many people were dressed up they had music pumping and a DJ was getting everyone ready to run. Fireworks told us that it was time to run! We ran the whole first mile without using the walk/run method (we picked it back up later on) The first mile was so exciting we ended up running past a bunch of people. My mom, sister, and myself ran the 5k in 45 minutes stopping for only one picture even though there were Disney characters throughout the course. This race showed me how exciting it could be to run with so many people at Disney. This RunDisney event was just a small taste of what I expect to experience during the princess half in February.