Princess-in-Training: Week 1...Complete!

Hello?
(silence)
Is anyone there?
(silence)

That's the response anyone has been getting, if they've been checking this out the past oh....4 months!?  Yes. I am a slacker....but slacker no more! I have something boring exciting to share, and to write about (I hope!)..... I have offically signed up to run the......

 !!!!!!!  If you know me well enough, you should know that I'm absolutely stoked to be able to do anything-Disney-related, so this is PERFECT for me.  Its a 13.1 mile race around Epcot and Magic Kingdom on February 26th (Happy Bday Brit!) in Orlando at 5:45 am! Sounds awesome, right?  Well it should be. Here are my reasons for doing it, which you need to remind me of when I don't want to run:

1. I get to run around Disney World wearing a crown and a tutu and it will be perfectly normal!
2.  I get to run while the characters cheer me on (and take pictures too!)!
3. I get to put a magnet on my car that says 13.1!
4. I get in shape (goal: the bum region) and hopefully can loose some pounds!
5. I paid $160.75 for this race....that's a lot of money!
6. I get a free t-shirt and medal.
7. Everyone calls you a Princess....which happens anyways so this isn't news to me ;)
8. I get to run with my friend O and maybe my cousin.  Yay running partners to push you to the finish!
9. Mi amor is training with me!
10. Stress relief from studying for the Praxis

See?! I could come up with more, but 10 is a solid number and all things I need to remember when I want to fall over and die during my long runs.  Plus, I need motivation from those around me to keep truckin (psst...that means you guys!)

I'm following Jeff Galloway's 21-week training program that focuses on a run-walk-run method of following a pace of running a certain number of minutes followed by a break of walking.  His idea is that if you do this, you're training different muscles when you walk or run and allowing them to rest will help you finish at a better time than just running the whole time.  Now, lets make things clear....my goal is just to CROSS the finish line, not focus on a time, so his method does exactly what I'm looking for.  His training program is located here....and its TOTALLY free. I <3 free...duh.

So, I started the training program this week and its been going really great! I forget how good a run feels on a cool day.  Right now 80 degrees is cool in Florida, and I'm fine doing that when its later in the day. I found a good mix of music (Girl Talk...that guy is a genius) which pumps me up.  I'm actually in the process of finding an app that I can put on my iPhone to work on my intervals (run 3, walk 1 min) so I don't have to keep looking at my sweaty watch.  Anyone have any ideas?

I'm constantly looking for motivation and other people's experience with this race and I would be happy to follow other blogs that are training along with Jeff Galloway's program.  Pass them along!

My goal is not to put all the numbers of my training, but to give inspiration and let you know how things are going.  School is a LOT of work right now but I'm just going to truck along and post things on here as I hear them, but hopefully I won't forget.  I'm seeing this mostly as a place to give my feelings about training for something like this and share with anyone who wants to listen :)

Happy Running, Princesses!
 - J