Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend in Review

Hold on tight...This is gonna be a long one...  I am still dealing with my "Disney high".


Friday:  
The alarm went off at 4:15 a.m.  The hubs and I got ready and were on our way to RDU by 5:30 a.m.  Jason loves to catch the early morning flight because it allows us to maximize our Florida time.  Boy that guy loves him some Florida!  While at RDU waiting for our flight, we met a family from Wilson (mother, twin daughters, grandmother and grandfather).  The mother was going to do her first half marathon at Disney!  We talked for a bit about her nervousness, etc.

We arrived in Orlando a little after 9 a.m.  We quickly gathered our things and headed to catch the bus to our resort.  We decided to try a different resort for the half marathon weekend - we chose Port Orleans French Quarter.  After checking in, we went over to Epcot.  We had a nice lunch at Les Chefs de France.  We ate at this restaurant in 2007 and I loved it.  I have been wanting to go back and made sure it made the reservation list for this trip.  


After lunch, we went to the Fit for a Princess Expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports.  The layout was a little frustrating - you had to go to a tent to gather certain items, then to the Jostens Center for other items.  I guess that is what happens when you have 20,000 participants in the half marathon!  I picked up my race bib and was able to move up from Corral G to Corral C.  This was a definite relief for me - I knew I would be fine in G, but I didn't want to have to "fight" to get around crowds to get ahead, etc.  Jason and I wandered around for a while and I secured a few items I had been eyeing...

From left to right:  Race tech shirt, Champion tech jacket, "Storybook" Program,
"I Did It" t-shirt with race route on the back

I saw this shirt and regret not buying it - perfect for me!
(Thanks for taking a picture of it Kerry!)

After the expo, we headed back to our resort to drop off my purchases and to get ready to head to Epcot for dinner.  We had dinner at J's favorite - Nine Dragons.  By the time we were done with dinner, we were both exhausted!  We were back in the room before 9 p.m. and I was probably asleep within 1 minute of my head hitting the pillow.

Saturday:

On Saturday morning, we took our time getting ready, but still got a pretty early start.  We headed over to the Magic Kingdom - and it was nuts!  There were so many people!  We spent some time on the train, wandering around, people watching, and just soaking it all in.  The weather was beautiful!  After spending our day in the Magic Kingdom, we headed over to the Polynesian for dinner at Kona Cafe (J's other favorite).  Unfortunately, this probably wasn't the best choice for "carb loading", but I don't tend to eat a bunch of carbs the night before a half.  I enjoyed the Kona Coffee Rubbed Pork Chop, served with mashed sweet potatoes and broccolini.  It was so delicious!  

After dinner, we headed back to Port Orleans to get ready for an early Sunday morning wake up call!  I knew that I needed to get all my things laid out the night before.  I put everything out on the bed and on the table.  I knew that I would be able to sleep better knowing everything was out and in its place! 

We also took time to lay out all of Jason's clothes too.  He decided from the very beginning that he was going to get up and go to Epcot with me, even though he would be sitting and waiting for about 3 hours.  See??!!  Don't I have a great husband!  

Sunday:

The alarm blared at 2:45 a.m.  I hit the snooze and laid in the bed stretching for about 10 minutes.  When I finally got up, I went through my normal pre-race routine - peanut butter on a bagel, a glass or two of water, applying a little make up, brushing teeth, putting Body Glide on every nook and cranny of my body, and getting dressed.  If I ever meet the person that invented Body Glide, I will probably kiss their face!  

Terrible lighting and I look very chubby, but this
was my version of Belle.

Before we left, J took a picture of the cute costume my mother-in-law worked so hard on (thanks Emily!).  My outfit included a Bella yellow sparkle skirt, yellow running tank (thanks Mary), and some other accessories to make me look more like Belle.

We got out to the shuttle to Epcot at 3:40 a.m. and there was a terribly long line!  Because we needed an accessible shuttle for J, the nice gentleman from Mears called a shuttle for us.  We ended up going to Epcot by ourselves and not on a big bus.  That was a definite help for my pre-race jitters!  

Once at Epcot, I helped the hubs get over to the "Race Retreat".  He was going to be hanging out in the tent while I was gone.  

I started following the crowd of race participants to get to the starting corrals. The entire time I was walking, I was so worried that I would never be able to connect with Annette, a fellow NCRC Beginner Women's Program runner.  Luckily, about 15 or 20 minutes before the race started, I got a text from her. Somehow she was able to get into Corral D.  I was already in C and I wasn't going to try to press luck and get her moved up. So, I started walking toward D and found her!  I breathed a huge sigh of relief!  We ran together for the first several miles.  I ended up losing her as we left the Transportation and Ticket Center area (somewhere between miles 4 and 5).  This left me running "alone" for the rest of the race, but I did my best to keep it from slowing me down!  The Princess Half Marathon route went from Epcot, through the Magic Kingdom and back to Epcot.  We passed the WDW Speedway, ran through the Transportation and Ticket Center, past the Magnolia and Palm golf courses, etc.  To put it simply, it was just lovely!

After the race, I enjoyed a very nice glass of champagne to celebrate.  Jason and I boarded the shuttle to head back to the resort for a while.  When we arrived at the resort, I went right to the little restaurant and picked up a chocolate milk - one of my favorites after a long run! While the hubs watched some TV, I took a little catnap.  I was so tired that I climbed right in bed without changing out of my running clothes!  After relaxing a while, we got ready to head to Downtown Disney with Margaret and Gavin.

Margaret and Gavin met us at the resort and we took a little boat "cruise" to Downtown Disney.  We were able to get into T-Rex restaurant with virtually no wait.  Unfortunately, I was so hungry that I couldn't figure out what I wanted to eat.  I ended up ordering a cheeseburger.  It was pretty tasty, but it didn't fully hit the spot/fill the hole in my incredibly hungry belly.  After lunch, we all wandered around for a while.  Around 5 p.m., it was time for Margaret and Gavin to head home.  We were sad to see them go, but we'll hopefully see them again in May!

Sunday evening, we had dinner reservations at the California Grill.  This is one of our favorite restaurants on the Disney property.  Unfortunately, we were way too exhausted to really enjoy this meal.  It was good, but I wish I had not been so tired!  After dinner, we made our way back to the resort and went right to bed.  We decided we were going to set the alarm for 9 a.m., but would just get up when our bodies woke us up.  

A couple pictures from the day...  Sorry for the blurriness - kinda hard to take a picture with the phone so early in the morning!

Regan (Belle) and Annette (Cinderella)
before the race.

Porta-potty line!  Crazy!!!

"Belle" in the Magic Kingdom

Jason and Regan after the race!  Look at that bling!

Getting ready to head to lunch with Margaret
and Gavin at Downtown Disney

Monday:

We slept until about 8 a.m. on Monday morning.  We knew that we needed to get all our things packed up, so we took our time getting ready.  Once we had put our luggage in storage, we headed to the Magic Kingdom.  It was so crowded (again!).  We walked around for a while, rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, then decided we were done.  We decided to go over to the Grand Floridian to see if we could have lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe.  The restaurant was pretty empty and we were seated immediately.  Lunch was so delicious!  I think this will be a restaurant we visit again.  

After lunch we went back to Downtown Disney.  We wanted to go to World of Disney to purchase a few things before heading home.  After making our way back to our resort, we spent sometime enjoying the beautiful weather by the pool.  After relaxing for a bit, we headed to Port Orleans Riverside for an early dinner at Boatwright's Dining Hall.

After dinner, we got on the Magical Express to head back to the Orlando International Airport.  We stayed the night in the Hyatt Regency in the airport.

Tuesday:

This morning, we were up bright and early once again.  We took the 8:35 a.m. flight back to North Carolina and were home by 11 a.m.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.  I wish that we had been able to stay a little longer after the race, but it was a great four days nonetheless.  I will definitely do another Disney race in the future, but likely won't do this one every single year.  

  

   

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

"...Leavin' on a jet plane...Don't know when I'll be back again..."  In less than 48 hours, I will be at the happiest place on Earth.  I am going to enjoy every moment of the trip, including the 13.1 mile run on Sunday morning (even though it is at an ungodly hour!).  


runDisney posted pictures on their Facebook of some of the merchandise that will be available at the Fit for a Princess Expo.  Jason and I plan to go to the Expo early Saturday morning.  I am hoping that the two items I want are still available in my size when we get there!  My plan is to go straight to the official merchandise area because I have heard sizes sell out quickly.  


Here are the items that I am most interested in:

I am usually cold and can always use a good jacket.

Why not this cute jacket?

 

I like both of these shirts, but I am not sure which one I like more.

What do you think?

Friend Makin' Monday - Travel

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers.  The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts.  Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: Travel

1. Where did your most recent trip take you?  As far as traveling anywhere other than to visit my parents at the beach... Some girlfriends and I traveled to Nags Head/Kitty Hawk to run the OBX Half Marathon.
2. Is there a place that you’d like to visit that you haven’t yet?  If so, where?  There's always a list of places I would love to go - Greece, the Netherlands, Belize, etc.  I don't really have a reason why I want to go to these places other than to go.
3. Do you travel lightly, or do you cram as much into your luggage as possible?  I am pretty methodical with my packing...  I pack what I need and a few extra "just in case" items.
4. Do your eating and exercise habits change when you travel? If so, how?  I try very hard to keep my same eating habits and schedule when I am traveling.  I tend to have issues with extremely low blood sugar if I don't eat on my normal schedule.  I try to exercise when I am away from home, but it definitely isn't my #1 priority.
5. Tell us about a place you’ve been that you’d like to go back to. The Bahamas...  We went on a cruise last year and weren't able to get off the boat because of an issue with my husband's wheelchair.  Atlantis looked beautiful and I want go back!
6. Do you prefer to travel at a certain time of year?  Nah, we will go anytime...
7. If you had to choose, would you go to the beach or the mountains? I would definitely choose the beach!  I love the beach.  I am growing to love the mountains though.
8. Have you ever needed a passport to travel?  Yes, for our cruise last May.  I think it is a good idea to have one even if you might not need it.
9. Do you collect anything in your travels?  We tend to pick up Christmas ornaments.  It is great to remember different adventures when putting up the tree each year.
10. Where do you plan to go next?  We leave for Walt Disney World on Friday morning!  I am running the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday!

Now it’s your turn! Don’t forget to share a link in the comments!  Happy Monday!

Single digit countdown...

Isn't the medal beautiful??!!??

The Disney Princess Half Marathon will be over by this time next Sunday...  I will have my beautiful medal around my neck and the biggest sh*t-eatin' grin on my face!


I had the most awesome dream  about the race last night.  While I am always excited to run a race, especially a half, there is something about this race that has me beyond excited!  I dreamed about donning my beautiful Belle outfit (thanks to my creative mother-in-law), completing the race, and getting a PR to boot!  If I remember correctly, the time in my dream was 2:32:48 (11:40/mile).  Totally random number, but a PR none the less.  While I would love to PR at Disney with that time, I am doubtful it will happen.  That time is about 7 minutes faster than my current half PR and it is a lofty time reduction.  The goal of this race is to have fun and finish!  I am so very  ecstatic to have this coming to fruition!


Every time I think about running the Disney Princess Half, I am filled with so many emotions...  I mean, I have said it hundreds of times, but this is the race that started it all.  This is the race that I set as my goal when I started running in the summer of 2010.  There have been many times since then that I wasn't sure it would ever happen...  But, it is happening!  I have worked hard...  I have struggled through crappy runs, I have run in the rain, I have run in the miserable heat, I have run in the bone-chillin' cold...  All in preparation for this race.


Jason and I will be leaving Raleigh very early Friday morning.  We'll spend the day Friday in Epcot, followed by dinner at Nine Dragons (the hubs' favorite!).  On Saturday morning we'll head over to the Expo and then we are hoping to meet up with my best friend and her son.  As always, we are looking forward to seeing Margaret and Gavin - fun times always!  On Saturday evening, we are having an early dinner at Kona Cafe so that we can get to bed early!  Sunday will be a ridiculously early morning.  I have to be in my corral by 5 a.m.!  After the race, we'll probably head back to the hotel and maybe take a nap - who knows!  Then we'll celebrate with dinner that evening at the California Grill!  On Monday, we'll probably go to the Magic Kingdom, then that evening we'll stay at the Hyatt Regency at the airport.  We'll be back home on Tuesday.  Whirlwind trip, but it will be awesome!

What do I have in mind after this one?  No one can guess.  I am sure that there will be many more half marathons.  Who knows??...  Maybe a Disney Marathon is in the cards...  

New Recipes 12 and 13 - Tex-Mex Rice and Bean Casserole and Shrimp Fried Quinoa

(from WeightWatchers.com)

On Monday evening, the hubs and I tried a new recipe.  The recipe was called Tex-Mex Rice and Bean Casserole and I found it on the Weight Watchers website.  I selected this recipe because it was vegetarian - we try to eat a vegetarian meal at least once a week.  Like most recipes I have found on Weight Watchers, this one was delicious!


A few modifications from our kitchen:  slightly less sour cream (think I used about 1/2 to 2/3 cup); a little more diced chilis and a little more chili powder.  The changes were not significant and can be modified for your family preferences.  


We are having the leftovers tonight.  I am very excited to warm this up, add some broccoli on the side and have an easy-peasy dinner!

Last night, we made Shrimp Fried Quinoa.  I love looking at all the recipes on Brittany's blog.  I love fried rice, but never thought to change it up with quinoa, until I saw it on her blog!  I didn't make any changes to the recipe and it was yummy yummy!  I had the leftovers for lunch today and they were even more delish!

Friend Makin' Monday: Before Photos

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers.  The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: Before Photos

1. Are you on a weight-loss journey?  Have you lost weight in the past? Are you trying to lose it now?  Yep.  My heaviest weight was about 340 pounds, give or take, in 1999.  I lost a ton of weight, but crept up to around 220 pounds after I got married.  My goal now is to stay in the healthy range for my height.
2. Do you like being in pictures, or do you shy away from the camera?  I used to loathe being in pictures.  Now, I don't mind it too much.
3. Does looking at old photos of yourself motivate you?  Sometimes it motivates me to look at old pictures; sometimes it just makes me incredibly sad.  I wish I could go back and make the "old me" smile...
4. Weight-loss bloggers, do you post progress pictures on your blog? I wouldn't consider myself a "weight-loss blogger" but I do post pictures of myself often.  This isn't necessarily about showing progress, but you can see the difference in many pictures.
5. Will you share a before photo with us (even if you don’t have an after yet?)  Yep!  Here's a few...

Meredith College Fire & Water Dinner (April 1999) - I am on the back row, far left 

With my younger cousin in November 1999

College Mission Trip (March 2000) - I am second from the left (about 350 +/- pounds)

Disney Princess Half Update!

Oh my goodness!  Earlier this week, I got an email from runDisney with some final race information.  I knew that the race was close, but this email just made it even more real!


In exactly 14 days, I will be in the middle of running the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  (If you would like to follow me, visit here.  My bib number is 13625.)  Early on, I decided that I was going to do this race for FUN.  There was going to be no concern with my time, etc.  That's still the case - I am going to soak in every moment of having the opportunity to run a half marathon through Disney World.  


Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, has been my favorite Disney Princess for as long as I can remember.  I am not sure what draws me to love Belle - maybe it is because she is the smart, simple, pragmatic princess... She's just my kinda girl.  When I first decided I was going to do this race, I knew that if I was going to dress up, I was going to be Belle.  The past several months, I have hemmed and hawed about dressing up.  I worried about being comfortable; I worried about looking silly; I worried about it all.  Then, I realized - who cares!!  This race is at Disney World!  My mother-in-law also started getting excited about helping with the Belle transformation.  So... Several weeks ago, I ordered a cute, "Bella Yellow" sparkle skirt.  I will be wearing it over my black running capris (I know it kinda diminishes the "Belle", but you have to prevent chub-rub when you are a bigger girl).  I borrowed a yellow running tank from my running buddy, Mary, that is a near perfect match with the skirt.  This afternoon, my mother-in-law and I will be finishing the tulle accents to put on the skirt and the running tank.  To top it off, the hubs bought me a Belle tiara.  I can't wait to see the entire costume put together!  YAY! 


Jason and I will be traveling to Florida on Friday morning.  We normally stay at the Polynesian Resort, but we are trying Port Orleans - French Quarter this time.  Since this trip is shorter, we thought it would be the perfect time to try something new.  When we arrive on Friday morning, we'll probably head right to Epcot for the day.  On Saturday, we need to go to the Expo to pick up packets and do a little shoppin', then we'll probably spend the remainder of the day at the Magic Kingdom.  That evening we'll be heading to bed very early!  From everything I have heard, Disney is pretty strict about their arrival times for getting into corrals, etc.  Looks like the hubs and I will be leaving our hotel by 4:30 a.m. to get to Epcot in time for me to get in my corral.  After I start the race, J will be able to go into a nice tent for the race because we bought him the platinum ChEAR Squad package.  Yes, it is a little cheezy, but provides him a comfy place to wait 2 1/2 to 3 hours or so.  After the race, the plan is to head back to our room to get put together for a day of relaxin', visiting with Margaret, and soaking in the joy of completing the Disney Princess Half!  


I cannot believe that the race that got me started running in July 2010 is finally here!  This is going to be so amazingly awesome, exciting, and something I can't wait to experience!      

My new office

I work for a membership organization.  To explain in the most simple terms - “We are a membership association of more than 540 great hometowns. For more than 100 years, we have promoted—and continue to promote – good government by offering non-partisan advocacy, insurance and other services, as directed by our membership."


In December 2010, we moved out of our late-1970s building and into another building, in preparation for renovations.  The building was awesome when it was built in the 70s, but it hadn't had any type of real overhaul since then - and you could tell!  The walls were this weird burlap stuff, the HVAC system sucked, and it just needed some major help!


The past 14 months have been very interesting, to say the least.  Some coworkers have been double-bunking, some have been working from home, and some have been living out of boxes.  


But, the time has come to move back into our new building!  I am so very excited!  Several weeks ago, I took some pictures of my new office before it was finished.  Unfortunately, I took them with my phone and can't figure out how to get the pictures turned "right side up".  


This week, I spent my entire week boxing up my temporary office, my bosses' office, and a storage area that we had been using for the last year.  Here's the result... This is basically box hell.  The sad thing is that this isn't even 1/3 of the stuff that I have to figure out how to store in our renovated building!

On Monday, we'll be moving...  I am hoping to get to work a little early and move some of my personal items.  I am definitely going to leave the heavy lifting of all the files to the movers.  The rest of the week will be spent unpacking.  While I have hated the process of packing my old office, moving into a temporary space, packing up the temporary space, and moving back into the old but new space, I am very excited!  Look for more pictures next week!

Friend Makin' Monday - Habits

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules.  If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers.  The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: Habits

1. Are you proactive, or do you procrastinate?  I am proactive 95% of the time.  If I really don't want to do something, I tend to procrastinate for a little bit.
2. Do you eat breakfast everyday? If so, what’s a typical meal like?  Yep!  Right now, I make little muffin frittatas on Sunday to have ready for the week.  I usually add some turkey sausage or deli meat to my breakfast mix for a little extra protein.
3. How much time do you spend watching TV on an average day? The TV always seems to be on in our house, but is more noise than anything else.  If I actually sit down to watch a show, I quickly fall asleep.
4. Do you talk on the phone, or do you prefer e-mail and/or text messages?  It really all depends.  I am on the phone a lot for work, so I don't love talking on the phone to most people.  I tend to do a lot of emailing because I like to be able to go back and re-read messages, etc.
5. Do you exercise in the morning, afternoon or evening?  A little of all, depending on the season.  In the summer, I try to get in a morning run several days a week.  In the winter, I run at lunch and tend to go to the gym or yoga at night.
6. Do you take time for yourself regularly? If so, how do you spend that time?  I would say that I do ok with "me time".  Sometimes, I think me time can be exercising and sometimes I enjoy going to get a pedicure, or window shopping, etc.
7. How often do you make your bed? Everyday
8. Do you plan meals? If so, how far in advance?  I plan our evening meals for the week on the Thursday/Friday before.  I also have a general idea of what I am going to take for lunch most days before grocery shopping for the week.  I plan my meals for work days during my lunch on the preceding day - makes packing a lot easier!
9. Do you wake up at the same time everyday?  I wake up at 5:40 a.m. on weekdays.  On the weekend, I set the clock if I have a run, but normally don't sleep much past 7 a.m.
10. How often do you brush your teeth?  As soon as I wake up in the morning and before bed.  If I get a funky taste in my mouth during the day, I have an extra toothbrush in my desk.

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to link up in the comments!  Happy Monday!

First week of GOTR!

First things first, my co-coaches and I have our work cut out for us!  Our 15 girls are very spunky and excited to say the very least.  It is awesome to see them go about life with such spunk, but sometimes it makes it hard to talk to them.


Tuesday afternoon was the start of the spring season of Girls on the Run (GOTR)!  The second session was on Thursday.  Each session begins with a "Getting on Board" and warm up.  This part allows us to get the girls ready for the day.  The workouts are great.  They are activities that cause the girls to move, but they don't even realize they are working out/running.  After the workout, we do a nice cool down and discuss our final thoughts on the day's activities.  


The first two sessions were awesome!  The girls have done well with participating in the talking-type activities.  I love that the Girls on the Run curriculum is designed so that the girls don't really even know they are working out/running!  It seems to make it a lot easier.


Several of our girls have done GOTR before.  They were very excited to teach us a closing cheer that they learned from a previous coach.  (What is it with girls and cheers?  Love it!) Here's my sad attempt at remembering it:


Girls on the Run is so much fun
Girls on the Run is tight like a bun
Word
The rain is drizzilin', our feet our sizzilin'
But we aren't fizzilin'
So, peace out
(That's all I can remember.  I may have gotten something wrong though, but that's the jist of it.  So cute!)


If you have volunteered with GOTR, what were some of your cheers, etc.?

New Recipes 10 and 11 - Dijon Pork Cutlets and Quinoa with Spinach

On Thursday evening, the hubs and I had the opportunity to try two new recipes.  We had Dijon Pork Cutlets and Quinoa with Spinach.  Both recipes are from Weight Watchers, so I can't put links in.  I am sure you could find something similar with the ingredients that I used and will list below. 

The Dijon Pork Cutlets were really simple.  There were only 6 ingredients - pork cutlets, dijon mustard, sugar (I used Splenda), apple cider vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes, and water.


The Quinoa with Spinach was also simple.  This recipe contained - a little oil, onion, garlic, quinoa, chicken broth, pepper, crushed red pepper, salt, and spinach.


There isn't too much to tell about either recipe.  They were both very easy to prepare, but tasted like a million bucks!  The hubs especially enjoyed the Quinoa with Spinach - that boy could eat spinach every meal and be as happy as a lark!


The hubs review - "It was a very flavorful meal.  Both items were delicious and could be served to guests."  I love how I ask him to tell me after the fact what he thinks.  This is what I get.  I should start recording his initial assessments when we eat.  His descriptions of foods are so graphic and detailed.  Oh well...

Sweaty workout

When I work out, I sweat.  No matter what I do, or how cold it is – whether it’s running, walking, or even thinking about working out.  The odd thing is that even though I am able to sweat at the drop of a hat, I am always cold.  Anyway, I digress.  

A few weeks ago, a running buddy mentioned wanting to find a good yoga studio.  I have seen Facebook posts and tweets about Arrichion, off Glenwood Avenue.  When I saw they were running a $20 for 20 consecutive days of yoga, I couldn't pass up the deal!  Even better... If you purchase online, you get it for $18.  I was sold.

I was scared as hell ridiculously nervous  about trying something new.  I have taken yoga before, but it was Gentle Yoga at the Y.  Hot yoga is a totally different animal.  

Last Wednesday, I went for the first time.  I have since been to two other classes and I am quickly falling in love with hot yoga.  But, just to add a little fun to this, my initial thoughts were:

I look at the door to enter the yoga room and I start to sweat.  Totally nervous for no reason.

I walk into the dark room and see my buddy in shavasana.  Immediately feel some relief and get settled beside her.

Uh... I knew it was hot, but this is really hot.

OMG...  Downward dog, chair...

Holy crap, it’s hot.

I am glad they suggested bringing a towel to cover the mat, but they neglected to say that it should cover the entire mat.  Nothing like slipping on a wet yoga mat.

Sweat.In.My.Eyeball.  This crap burns!  What the heck!?

I think I am going to pass out... child pose.  No, I am not going to pass out, I am just a big baby.  

I don't think I have ever sweat so much in my life.

Yoga teacher turns off the heat and opens the door - immediate relief.  I could kiss her face.

Ok... Time to get my bearings and get off the floor without slipping.

Yes!  Feels so good!  Get me a gallon of water please.

Needless to say, I thought I was going to die during practice, but I loved it.  I feel so great when I am done, especially after I drink a ton of water.  I am really hoping that it is going to help with my running and flexibility.  Even if it doesn't, it is an enjoyable workout that I will continue well into the future.