Week 15 of 2015 was a pretty good week. It wasn’t great. However, it was a good week none the less. Let’s look back at what made it so good…

Tuesday morning I was not up in time to get a run before work. However, I was able to get in for the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge as part of the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon! It took me a few minutes to get in for registration this time around. So, I started to worry. However, as it would turn out, I really had nothing to panic about. It took almost an entire day for the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge to sell out….and….

As of this writing, the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon has not sold out! It’s been a while since a runDisney half marathon at the Disneyland Resort was not sold out one week after registration opened. So, if you still want in for the Avengers Half, head over to runDisney.com to sign up.

Not only did I get into the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge on Tuesday, but there was an Environmental Fair at the Walt Disney Studio Lot! There were lots of fun things going on during our lunch break. I got to meet Dug from Up….

I also got to meet one of the bears from the Country Bear Jamboree…

…and they had some free ice cream! Fun times!

Since I missed out on running Tuesday, I made up for it on Wednesday. It was a cold day for this Southern Californian. When I started the run, the temps were in the mid 40’s. The cool thing about this run is that I figured out how to dress for it. For the first time, I wasn’t shivering at the start! Every mile of this run was slow. All the way, I just kept thinking that “a slow run is better than no run.” Honestly, at the end of the run, I was relieved that it didn’t go slower!

On Thursday, I was rewarded for the slow run by finally breaking the 32 minute mark on a 3 mile run! 31 minutes, 54 seconds! Unlike the day before, everything about this run felt fast! I ran the first mile around 10-15 seconds faster than the day before and just kept going. Mile 2 was finished in under 22 minutes! That was a first. Needless to say, I was feeling it. So, the question I wondered about is if I could finally break 32 minutes. So, I switched my run/walk intervals up like usual and pushed hard to see how fast I could be. Then, I heard it…3 miles. I looked at the clock and saw 31 in the minutes part of my time! Finally! This is the fastest I have ever finished 3 miles!

How did I follow-up my record-setting 3 mile run? By setting a new record over 6 miles on Saturday! I finished 6 miles in 1 hour, 7 minutes, 20 seconds! It was on a day where I started off feeling a little tired. I was also a little bummed that I wasn’t running in the Angels Baseball Foundation 5K. However, the money just wasn’t there for the entry. Also, the Hollywood Half Marathon was being run and I wasn’t there for that. So, I started the 6 mile  loop around my apartment not completely there. What I love about this loop is that the first 2 miles are almost entirely flat or downhill. So, it gave me the time I needed to get my head in the game. The first two miles took a little more than 21 minutes. So, I was a little faster than on my previous run! Without switching anything up on my run/walk intervals, I was still under an 11 minute per mile pace at the end of the 3rd mile. The more I do this route, the more I realize that the 4th mile is the hardest. Once again, I was over the 11 minute per mile pace by the end of the 4th mile. By then, I could feel myself slowing down. I knew I had 1 more hard mile left. Then, it would get easier. So, I powered through that 5th mile and was really happy with where my time stood. I had a shot at finishing the 6 miles in under 1 hour, 6 minutes. It was the last half mile that kept me from eclipsing that 11 minute per mile average over 6 miles. Even though I ended up with my fastest 6 miles to date, I was a little bummed that I didn’t finish quicker. Crazy how that works. This is why keeping a log of your training runs is a good thing. I was able to look over my results and realize that this was the fastest 6 miles to date!

Sunday, I never truly woke up. So, what could have been a great week fell just short. I missed my gym workout due to just plain tiredness. Still, it’s cool that I made it through all three runs for a second consecutive week. Next week, I’ll make it back to the gym.

This past week, the final race instructions were sent out for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend. I know that many of you are excited about this weekend as you are running it. So, this coming Saturday, I will take my long run over the Tinker Bell Half Marathon course…or at least the parts I can run over it. One week from tomorrow (Tuesday), I’ll begin a preview of the Tinker Bell Half Marathon course (just like I’ve done with the Disneyland Half Marathon, Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon, and Star Wars Half Marathon). Tink is the one course runDisney races at the Disneyland Resort that I haven’t covered. So, it is time for me finish my coverage of the Disneyland Resort runDisney half marathon courses. If you are running TInk for the first time, I’ll let you see what you’re in for before you head out to Disneyland on Mother’s Day Weekend.

I hope you all have a fantastic week!