So, my crazy week is not behind me. Last week was a week of ZERO workouts. The crazy call times took some time to get back to normal. As if the rehearsals on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday for the It’s A Small World Sing a Long on Good Morning America weren’t enough, there was some family drama that took my focus this weekend. I’m hopeful that things can get back to normal starting today. So rather than looking back at last week, like I’d normally do on a Monday (because there is really nothing to really talk about), I’m going to write about what’s coming up.

Frist off, my next race is coming up on May 4th. On that day, I’ll be running in the 10th Annual Orange County Half Marathon. This race is the second race in the Beach Cities Challenge that I’m working towards. Of all the races I’ve signed up for, it’s probably the one I’ve been the least excited about. However, that big, beautiful Beach Cities Challenge medal I’ll be taking home in October after finishing the Long Beach Half Marathon will make it worth it. Part of the lack of excitement is where the course runs through. Top that off with the negative vibes I’ve heard from other runners and it feels like the Beach Cities Challenge was started in an effort to bring more people to the OC Marathon and Half Marathon. I’m sure it will be fun in its own way and I will love being out among fellow runners. However, there is nothing inherent about this race that makes me super excited about it. I’ve got three weeks of training left for this race. After that, my race calendar empties until the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge at Disneyland on Labor Day Weekend.

After the OC Half Marathon, I’m planning on checking out the local running group…the Pasadena Pacers. It seems like you can’t run in a local race without seeing several Pacers out on the course. I’ve heard good things about this group. So, with so much empty space on my race calendar, it seems like after the OC Half Marathon will be a fantastic time for me to check them out. As I trained for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon, I learned how hard it is to train for such a distance by yourself. 20 mile runs by yourself is not all that fun. In 2015, I want to run in the Los Angeles Marathon. So, the sooner I figure out if being apart of a running group like the Pasadena Pacers is for me, the sooner I’ll be able to plan for my next full marathon.

Starting today, I’ll be going on a 30 Day Ab Challenge is found here on Active.com. If I ever want to get to that 2 hour, 30 minute half marathon, I need to shed inches off the waist line and strengthen the core. So, I thought I’d take up a 30 day challenge and evaluate the results at the end. It’s time to kick my training back into gear. Ever since the Hollywood Half Marathon, I’ve been itching to get myself back into gear. The two half marathons of slower times has to stop. I don’t know if three weeks of hard work will stop the trend. However, I do intend to take some time to seriously evaluate what I’m doing.

I need to remember this. I may have finished a marathon with some missed workouts. However, I’ll never get better unless I’m consistently repeating those small efforts. The road back begins here….

Tomorrow night, I’ll be running again. The goal is small at 3 miles. However, I want to just focus on that distance for tomorrow and see how it goes.

By the way, the Dumbo Double Dare Training Programs have arrived! You can find them here at the runDisney web site. I know that last year, I was super excited when the program came out. You can download the

• Dumbo Double Dare program here.
• Disneyland Half Marathon Beginner Training Program here.
• Disneyland Half Marathon Advanced Training Program to Finish in the Upright Position (no time goal) here.
• Disneyland Half Marathon Advanced Training Program for Time Improvement here.
• Disneyland 10K Training Program here.

I believe that the 10K Training Program is new. I don’t remember runDisney offering such a program last year. So, if you’re just doing the 10K race, be sure to download that plan. Plus, check out the logo…

Could this mean that the Disneyland 10K will be a Lilo and Stitch theme? Hmmmm…That would be so cool! The 10K program starts May 6th and the Half Marathon/Dumbo Double Dare programs start the week before. Once the OC Half Marathon is finished, these races will be my focus until they happen.

Time to bounce back and get my head in the game. Are any of you running the Disneyland Half Marathon races (Dumbo Double Dare, Disneyland Half Marathon, Disneyland 10K, or Disneyland 5K)?