Thankful List: 2016

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is traditionally a time when families and friends gather around a table to eat, be together, and express gratitude for all the blessings they've experienced throughout the year. For me, this year is no different; every Thanksgiving, I like to write a post about what I'm thankful for (here's 2014 and 2015). So, here's the list of all the things I'm grateful for this year- even though there's no way I can capture it all in one post- these are some of the blessings I've known in the past year.

I am thankful for...

Cold beer after a long day or a long run.

Friends we've known forever and friends we've just met.

Traveling to lands familiar and strange.

Wooded trails that go on for miles and miles. 

Thirteen happy years with our family dog Brittany, who crossed the rainbow bridge in October.

Family that supports and loves us unconditionally.

This sweet fur baby Koda that fills our days with joy.

And this moment, when Matthew made me the luckiest and happiest woman on earth.

And of course, you, dear reader. Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, thank you for being my friend. This blog has brought so many wonderful people into my life- thank you for being you. ❤


Wishing you and yours the happiest Thanksgiving ever!

2015: A Year in Pictures

Y'all. We are only HOURS away from 2016! Can you believe it??

2015 was a hell of a year.

A comeback from injury... then having two additional injuries... then marathon redemption in Pittsburgh.

Reaching goal and lifetime with Weight Watchers... then gaining a little back that I can't quite seem to get rid of.

Getting engaged... then losing my job... then starting a new full-time and part-time job.

Finishing marathon number two... then my first DNF (did not finish) in Akron.


2015 brought lots of life changes for me- some incredibly awesome, some incredibly crappy. But- that's life, right? There's an old saying that I find myself focusing on when the crappy stuff seems to be taking over: "If it weren't for the valleys, you wouldn't appreciate the peaks."

Instead of a content-heavy review, here's are some defining pictures from my 2015: the valleys, the peaks, and everything in between.

January:
Finishing the Walt Disney World Marathon with my dad, cheering for Matthew and all the rest of our running Ohana, and spending time with our run Disney family was such a wonderful experience.

February:
After dealing with excruciating pain in my left big toe, and being misdiagnosed with Gout, we finally figured out that arthritis was the culprit. Daily vitamins, activity, and yoga have helped me deal with this annoying injury.  

March:
The Shamrock Half Marathon was special for many reasons including being able to run it with my younger brother Adam- it was his very first half marathon!

April:
In the last few weeks of Pittsburgh Marathon training, my left ankle started to bother me- so badly that eventually I put myself into the boot for a few weeks. My doctors never did figure out what it was but [knock on wood!] it hasn't really bothered me since the marathon.

May:
Team McShupp became officially official- Matthew asked me to marry him on the Disney Magic. I can't wait to marry him in 2016 :-)

June:
At the race that started my running career (the Bel Air Town Run), I got a new 5k PR- 31:28. Just 90 seconds stand between me and a sub-30 minute 5k. #2016goals

July:
Mid-summer was full of wedding planning and signing contracts... not so much running.

August:
I finished my Weight Watchers training by the end of the summer and began working regularly as a receptionist at a local meeting.

September: 
Due to unexplained foot pain, I did not finish the Akron Half Marathon aka, the Blue Line. Total bummer.

October:
Matthew and I ran the Rock and Roll Philly Half Marathon with our friend Cecilia and he paced us to her fastest half marathon ever!

November:
We conquered the #stripatnight and finished the Rock and Roll Vegas Half- despite 50 mile an hour winds and cold rain.

December:
Being surprised with a Christmas Disney Cruise? Probably my best December memory. All thanks to the greatest, sweetest, most thoughtful future husband in the world.

With 2015 almost completely in the rear-view mirror, I am looking forward to all the peaks and valleys 2016 will bring.


What was your most favorite "peak" from 2015?

Five Things Friday: 12/4/2015

Hi friends!

I feel like such a bad blogger- so much is going on in my life and I want to share it with you but finding the time to write is impossible!

BUT- I did make a promise that I would post once a week until Christmas and I'm sticking to it. There are still tons of recaps I need to write (The Great Race, Philly RnR, Vegas RnR) and I'm looking forward to some time off over the holidays to write about all of them.

Today I thought I'd do something different: Five Things Friday! Lots of my favorite bloggers do a weekly post like this (Steff, We Run Disney, Kathryn, Chelsea, Lauren) and I always love catching up with their lives in short form!

While I can't say this will be a regular thing here at Sparkly Runner, it might make an appearance from time to time :-)


1. I fly to Dallas tonight! I may or may not have shared this but I recently was invited to become a Leader with Weight Watchers. Currently, I am a Receptionist and I really love it. WW is sending me to Dallas for Leader Training for a few days and I am so excited to learn more about my new role with the company.

Random Dallas skyline picture from Google Images.

2. There's only 11 weeks until Princess Half Marathon. Holy crap. Jen and I only have 11 weeks to get our poop in a group for this half marathon! Luckily, I've been able to get in MOST of the weekly conditioning runs and ALL the long runs so far. I'm following Jeff Galloway's training plan for this half because I trust his methods and I know it's doable even with my hectic schedule.

Jen and me at her first half, Divas DC in 2014.

3. I'm THISCLOSE to rounding out 400 miles run this year. Despite all my injuries, false starts, and general life craziness, I've run 391 miles in 2015- including three half marathons, one full marathon, three 10ks, 10 5ks, one 2 miler, one 12 miler, one 8k, and one marathon relay. 

I get by with a little help from my friends! Finishing the Great Race in style (Jeff, pregnant Natalie, me, and new friend Jim)

4. This is my last Christmas as a single lady. WHAT?!?!? Matthew and I get married in 169 days. Wedding planning is in full force at our house but we recently scratched off the last "big" thing- the cake! Cake tasting was probably my favorite part of visiting all the vendors :-)

Fingers crossed for more dipping in our collective future.

5. I bought this dress for $3.80. That has nothing to do with my fitness or weight loss; it's just a great deal (clearance at Kohl's). :-) And I really like the dress and needed an excuse to share a picture of it. I love shopping end-of-season clearance racks. 

Maxis are my absolute favorite. 

Have an awesome weekend, friends!

Giving Thanks

Happy day-before-Thanksgiving!

While I try to be grateful every day of the year, tomorrow is the official day that we celebrate all we have to be thankful for in our lives. I feel like this holiday couldn't come at a better time in my life.

These last six months have been full of changes; changes that are positive but still have caused some stress. Matthew and I are planning a wedding, I started a new full-time job and a new part-time job, I've been training for several half marathons with intermittent injuries and I've been trying to maintain and/or lose weight. To be honest, it's been a bit of a struggle. My old routine was great and allowed me to lose 50 pounds. Eventually, I'll find the right rhythm and I'll feel more in control of my life.  Eventually :-)

There's a saying I have in my office that I reflect on when feeling especially overwhelmed: "If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back." So true, right?

My problems aren't even really problems. Yeah, I might get stressed out and frustrated and overwhelmed sometimes, but I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams. In honor of tomorrow's holiday, I've gathered up a short list of some of the reasons I have to be thankful this year, listed in no particular order:

I am so grateful that I have a job that allows me to make an impact on students' lives while working alongside some really amazing and wonderful people. 

Healthy, non-fractured feet, that allow me to run for miles and miles.

Family, and friends who are more like family, that I can always depend on.

Weight Watchers: a program (and job!) that helps me
make better choices and helps me reach my goals.

Meeting blog readers in person is such a cool experience! This blog has helped me meet
so many inspirational people: (clockwise from left) Elana, Liz, Cecilia.

This sweet boy brings so much joy into my life. I am thankful for our pup, Koda.

These people need no introduction. Our running ohana make me grateful every day.

This man, whom I get to call my husband, in just a few months. Words will never express
my gratitude for his love, commitment, and dedication to me and our family. He's simply the greatest man I know.

I have a lot of reasons to be thankful. What about you? What are you thankful for this year?

2015 WDW Marathon Weekend Recap: Part I

Hello friends! As a way to move past the post-runDisney depression (it's a real thing, trust me), let's recap the expo and our first (surprise) day at the parks!

We landed in Walt Disney World, aka the most magical place on the planet, mid-morning on Thursday, January 8th. Our plan was to check into our hotel, Art of Animation, and then head over to the expo. However, when we checked in we found out that all of the system- including our magic bands, park tickets, meal plan, etc.- was down. So we couldn't check into our room and would have to leave our luggage with the front desk. Bummer. But like all things at Disney, this situation became incredibly magical as they gave us COMPLIMENTARY park hoppers! A $140 ticket for free! Because of the "inconvenience" of the system being down, we totally lucked out. And the best part- right after we checked our luggage at the front desk, the system was back up! Yay!

We grabbed a quick lunch at Art of Animation and headed to the expo. Our luck streak continued as we got to meet both Bart Yasso and Jeff Galloway(!!). We took lots of pictures, visited all the booths, and easily picked up our packets and t-shirts. One benefit to arriving a day later is that the expo wasn't nearly as crowded as opening day (Wednesday). All the Dopeys and 5kers already picked up their stuff so it was fairly easy to get in and get out.

After the expo, we stopped back at the hotel to get into our room and get ready to head to the parks. Because there would be four adults in the room, we decided to get a family suite at Art of Animation instead of a traditional room. The suites have a small kitchenette, a bedroom, two bathrooms, a murphy bed/table, and a living room complete with pull-out sofa. It could easily sleep six adults. There was plenty of room for all of us and we loved having a separate bedroom for my dad and Margie. That way, when we got up at 2:30 am on the morning of the half, we wouldn't disturb them.

Our cool murphy bed/table with our fun motivational poster that Matthew made :-)

After settling into the room a bit, we decided to use our complimentary park tickets and head to Animal Kingdom. Since it was late in the day, we made it to two shows: Finding Nemo, the Musical and Festival of the Lion King. Both were simply amazing as usual.

Then we headed to Epcot for a walk around World Showcase. We stopped in Future World for a sampling of sodas at Club Cool and then headed to France for a flight of wine :-) It was still Christmas at Disney so all the decorations were still up in the parks and resorts- complete with Christmas music playing everywhere we went. While it was beautiful, it was a little weird to be celebrating almost two weeks after the holiday.

We headed back to the resort early because we had a 2:30 am wake-up call the next day for the 10k. I feel like I also need to mention the weather- it was cold. I mean, super cold. If it reached 45 degrees that first day, that would have been a lot. The cold front that was sweeping the nation was also making central Florida pretty damn chilly. We were slightly worried for the next morning because none of us had brought cold weather clothes. In fact, in a tips post I wrote a few weeks ago I specifically told people to NOT pack winter clothes. My bad, folks. In my 10+ trips to WDW, I've never witnessed this type of cold.

Anyway, we made it back to the resort, laid out our running gear, and were in bed by 9 pm. Our first set of magical miles started early the next morning!

Last Minute WDW Marathon Weekend Tips!

The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend officially kicks off tomorrow when the Health & Fitness Expo opens at ESPN's Wide World of Sports! The weekend continues with the 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, half marathon on Saturday, and full marathon on Sunday. If you've been training for one (or several) of these events, your race week is finally here!

It occurred to me the other day that this will be my fourth trip to WDW for Marathon Weekend- if you count 2012 when I flew down just for the day to cheer on Matthew (it was a surprise!) as he ran the marathon :-) In 2013, I ran the 5k and half and in 2014 we ran Dopey; all four races. This year, I'll be doing the 10k and then cheering on Matthew (half and full) and Dad (full). By now, I feel like I've got the Disney race routine down. I know there are many of you that will be running this weekend or will be running Disney in the future so I wanted to post a few last minute tips that might be helpful to you as you head on over to the most magical place on earth!

What to bring:

• Pack each race outfit in a separate gallon-sized ziploc bag: shorts/shirt/bra/socks/headband, etc. That way you know it's all in one place.
• Wear your running shoes on the plane! If your luggage gets lost, you may not get it in time for the race. I also recommend packing your running clothes (and anything else you can't replace at the expo) in your carry-on bag so it's always with you.
• Pack a variety of different sized plastic bags including garbage bags. Trash bags make a great poncho if it rains or you can use them to sit on while waiting in the corrals. 
• Bring small amounts of over-the-counter medication: tylenol, gas relief, pepto bismal, unisom/tylenol PM, sudafed, etc. You never know what you'll need and it's reassuring to have common medications with you.
• Earplugs/eye-mask: my family makes fun of me, but I'm always able to sleep even with noisy hotel neighbors or too-bright rooms. 

Four races; four ziplocs. Dopey packing in 2014.

What not to bring:

• Winter clothes! Yes, occasionally it gets cold in Florida in January. But typically, the temperatures are warm enough for shorts, t-shirts, and a light jacket. 
• Lots of shirts: Remember, you get a shirt for each race you do. And if you do Goofy or Dopey, you get an additional shirt. Keep in mind that you'll have to leave room in your suitcase for those extra shirts. 

Six shirts for Dopey last year... and some other expo purchases :-)

Tips for race morning:

• Get a good night's sleep. I know how exciting the night before a race can be, but just try to get some sleep. You'll feel better on race morning if you get a few hours of rest.
• Set out all your race clothes, bib, safety pins, Magic Bands, etc. the night before so the morning is easy and not stressful. Last year, we got all the way out to the buses and I realized I left my half marathon bib in the hotel! Super stressful when it didn't need to be!
• Charge your phone, ipod, timer, camera, pager, whatever the night before. Nothing is worse than having a dead ipod on race morning!
• If you're staying on Disney property, get on the buses early. If you're driving, get to the parking lot early. With tens of thousands of people running, it gets crazy on race morning!
• Bring food and water with you to the race start, especially if you are in a later corral. Last year, we probably waited about an hour and half in the corral before it was our turn to start. I was super glad I'd brought my breakfast along!
• Go to the bathroom before you get into the corral- there are no port-a-potties available in the corrals. But, if you must go after you're in the corral, there are some trees on the right-hand side of the road that will provide some accommodations :-)

20,000 of your closest friends!

Tips for spectators:

• Study the course map and where Disney transportation can take you. Epcot is the hub- use the monorail to get to the Ticket and Transportation Center and Magic Kingdom. Use buses at Epcot (in the parking lot, NOT near the park entrance) to get to Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Champion Stadium.
• Sign up for runner tracker here. 
• Wear something/carry something recognizable. It will help your runner find you in a crowd.
• Google "Disney race spectator" to find helpful blogs and more tips.

My offical marathon spectator shirt, January 2012.

Random Tips:

• Read race recaps from other bloggers to get pumped for the weekend- just google "Disney marathon weekend race recaps." You can see all mine here. 
• Check out this post on how to get great character photos on-course.
• This Virtual runDisney Blog Hop has some fantastic posts on all aspects of the weekend.

Matthew and his parents, WDW 5k, January 2012

And finally, the last and most important tip:

TRUST YOUR TRAINING!

You've got this, I promise. You may have doubts in your abilities. You may be riddled with nerves and anxiety. You might be thinking, "What the heck have I gotten myself into?" But you've put the work in. You've trained. You are more ready now than you'll ever be- and I know you'll be amazing this weekend. Here's a last minute pep talk, from me to you.

Repeat after me:

I might be scared, but I will be victorious!

I am stronger than this challenge, this challenge is making me stronger.

All it takes is all I got!

There will come a day I cannot do this; today is not that day!

Just keep moving forward. 

Good luck and see ya real soon! We arrive in Orlando on Thursday- make sure to follow on instagram, twitter, and facebook to see all the Disney magic as it unfolds!

Are you running this weekend? If so, which race? Comment below so I can cheer for you! 

AM: 1/5/15

Welcome to the first Monday of 2015! I hope your new year is already fabulous!

Today marks the end of our two week holiday vacation, however, we leave in just three days for Walt Disney World- more on that trip later this week :-) Matthew and I had a great time visiting with family and friends; we are so blessed with wonderful people to spend the holidays with. I hope your holiday season was everything you hoped it would be and more.

Training:
Monday- Rest day
Tuesday- Runner's World Foam Roller Yoga
Wednesday- Rest day
Thursday- 3.1 mile race, 37:17, 12:02 pace, 1:1 intervals
Friday- Rest day
Saturday-  6.53 mile run, 1:21:05, 12:25 pace, 1:1 intervals
Sunday- Rest day

We got to run with my dad and brother this week and rounded out the last of Dad and Matthew's long runs together on Saturday. Also, it's worth noting that we played about a hundred rounds of some dance battle game on my sister's xbox on New Year's Eve, just like we did last year. I love that my family's NYE tradition has become something physically active- and super fun! And if you're wondering, yes, I dominated all the cheesy 90's dance moves.

I also had some weird heel pain in my left foot (not the stress fracture foot) from Tuesday- Saturday so the workouts were pretty light. It feels fine today and I'm hoping it was just a little plantar fasciitis flare up. Hopefully it stays away- my goal is an injury-free 2015!

At the Resolution Run on New Year's Day- first race of 2015 completed!

Nutrition:
Ok, so you know the drill by now.  Being home for the holidays and out of my comfort zone means lots of family meals and foods I don't normally eat. But, I followed one simple rule, something that I set out to abide by at the beginning of the holiday season- "Eat until you're satisfied, not gut-busting full." One of the hardest habits for me to break has been not gorging myself during holiday/family meals. I used to eat until it hurt- literally. So this year, it was huge for me just to be able to push back from the table before it got uncomfortable. And I did and feel so much better about the food choices I made- no guilt or remorse or beating myself up. I felt in control this week, and that's a great feeling.

Weight-loss:
144.6 as of 12/30/15 weigh-in
+.2 from last week
-45.8 since January 2013
-57.4 from HW

After a big loss last week (1.2), I had a feeling some of that would catch back up to me. The past eight weeks have been a bit of a plateau/roller coaster so this gain wasn't too surprising. Frustrating, yes. But not unexpected. As I get closer to goal (135), it's going to be harder for me to lose weight. I have to remember that it took me years to gain the weight and that over those years, my body became very comfortable in the 170's/180's. It takes work to lose weight and it takes just as much- if not more- to keep it off. This time, I'm determined to get there, no matter how long it takes.

And that's how my first week of 2015 went. How was yours? Did you do anything fun for New Year's Eve? Share in the comments below!

2014: A Running Retrospective

How can we possibly be this close to 2015 already?! While there are some things about 2014 that I'm absolutely ready to close the book on (goodbye, stress fracture!) there were so many amazing running memories made with so many awesome people that I'm not quite ready to move on from just yet. After seeing Lauren's Running Retrospective post, I knew this would be the perfect way to wrap up my life-changing year of 2014.

Best Race Experience
This one is a tie between the Walt Disney World Marathon and the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. The WDW Marathon was my first 26.2 and I couldn't have asked for a better day. Even though he was sick, Matthew and I crossed the finish line smiling- and after having ran 22.4 miles in the three days before as part of the Dopey Challenge! And this race is where we first met Nathan, Steff, Jeff, Lauren, Dani, Justin, and a whole bunch of other cool people.

Being a marathoner is the absolute coolest.

The city of Pittsburgh- and the awesome friends we have there- totally stole my heart. The half marathon course was challenging but super fun. It was like all of Pittsburgh was having a party and there happened to be a race running through the middle of it. The crowds and spectators were incredibly encouraging. We also met Lauren H., Gloria, Chelsea, and some other amazing Pittsburgh peeps and got to spend lots of time with friends. It was such an inspiring and uplifting weekend.

Nothing but love. 

Runners-up:

• Shamrock Half Marathon
• Run, Swim, Run OBX
• Brigance Brigade 5.7k 

Best Run
I was lucky enough to PR lots of distances this year including a sub 2:30 half at Shamrock which I'm still super proud of and can't believe happened.

But none of those were my best run. My best run was the first one post-stress fracture. After almost four long, painful months of not running, when I was finally able to run, it was the most glorious feeling. If runner's high exists, I felt it on December 6, 2014.

It was cold, wet, and rainy but also glorious!

Best New Piece of Gear
Gymboss Interval Timer. If you run/walk, you NEED this timer. Affordable, easy to use, and works off its own battery so it won't drain your phone.

Best Piece of Running Advice
Listen to your body.

There's no reason to push yourself every run. Sometimes you've just got to back off when your body is telling you to.

Most Inspirational Runner
While all the runners I know inspire the heck out of me, this year's most inspirational runner title goes to my dad. We first started talking about him doing the 2015 WDW Marathon around Christmas last year- that was also when he started getting back into running thanks to the run/walk method.

Finishing the Sole of the City 10k together in April.

When he finally decided to do the marathon, he downloaded the training schedule to his calendar and started chipping away at it. Over the last few months, he's run in the pouring rain, freezing snow, and crazy humid heat- but he's stuck to the schedule. He's done all his long runs and in less than 10 days, he'll toe the line of his first marathon at age 58.

At the Mission 10 Miler earlier this year. Snow, hail, and freezing rain in March. Good times. 

To say I'm proud would be one hell of an understatement. This is a man who took a ten year hiatus from running and is now in marathon shape in just one year! He's my running hero and I cannot wait to watch him run in Disney. While I'm still sad that I can't run this one with him, it gives me great joy to think about him becoming a marathoner. His persistence and dedication to his training inspire me and I know I'll rely on that inspiration when I start training for distance running again.

In summary, my dad kicks ass and I'm just so damn proud of him.

After a particularly hot August training run.

Runners-up:

• Matthew
• Coach Jeff
• My speedy friends: Chelsea, Steff, Lauren, Dani, Nathan

Sum Up the Year in a Few Words
Not what I expected, but filled with friendship and love.

Seriously, this year was full of some of the most supportive and loving people I've ever known. I never would have made it through my injury if it weren't for my running ohana.


So there you have it, 2014 in a nutshell. Injuries, new distances, awesome friends- overall, pretty neat! Bring on 2015 :-)



QOTD: What's your favorite running memory from 2014?