Finding My Motivation with runDisney

My motivation for staying in shape has been lacking so far this summer. I was hoping that the longer days and relaxed schedule would result in finding more time to work out, but it hasn’t happened so far. Being sick the first part of June didn’t help, but after I’d recovered I still didn’t feel like going for a run or doing any strength training.

Stepping on the scale at the end of June was quite a shock. I’d gained five pounds since May. How had I gained five pounds since May? While I haven’t been writing down everything I’ve been eating, I had a pretty good idea of it, and it definitely wasn’t enough to cause that much weight gain.

“You’re 38 years old now, your metabolism is slowing down,” I was told by more than one person.

What?

No way I’m going to let getting older tear me down. I put a lot of work into losing a lot of weight – 80lbs from my highest weight, 60lbs lost since having kids – and I hit my first goal weight two years ago. I’m not going to see it drift completely out of reach with five pounds gained each year. I was already five pounds over my initial goal weight earlier this year, so an additional five pounds puts this officially into HELL NO territory.

But working out for me is always a challenge. Inertia is strong in me. There has to be a reward in sight or it’s too easy to let it fall to the bottom of my to-do list and never get done. What I need is solid motivation.

So yesterday, I signed up for some solid motivation and registered for the Disney Enchanted 10K.

Earlier this year at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I participated in the runDisney fun run. It was only two miles, but I got a taste of what a runDisney event is like. And OH it was awesome!

 running dressed as Anna at Disneyland for the DSMMC fun run

After I got back from Disneyland, I continued thinking about all of the runDisney events and how I’d love to sign up for one of them. Aaron had to listen to me talk about them so much that he started to get excited about the idea of running a race through the Disney parks. Suddenly he was the one saying, “Why don’t we do it?” Which then forced me to stop talking about the idea in the abstract and make a decision. And I decided it’s time to go for it.

The Disney Enchanted 10K is part of the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend in February. Aaron signed up for the half marathon, and even the kids asked to try the kid races. While I’m up for a challenge, a half marathon is a little too optimistic for me at the moment. I’ve done a 5K several times, but I’ve never attempted a 10K. It’s twice as far as I’ve ever forced myself to run, which means it’ll be tough to step out of the zone I’ve become comfortable in and push myself to train further.

I think (hope?) I’m up for the challenge. I’m nervous I won’t be able to do it, but at the same time I’m unwilling to let getting older take control of me. I’d love to be in the best shape of my life when I reach 40 in two years, and this is a good first step toward that goal.

This might just be the biggest motivation to get fit ever for me. There’s a solid end date on this, with a well-defined bar for success. I don’t have to run for the entire 10K – walking parts of it is okay – but I have to keep up an average pace of 16 minutes per mile. If I fall behind, I’ll be out.

Spending all of the time and money to go to Walt Disney World for this race, and then not get the medal at the end, would be devastating. So I have to take this training seriously to make sure there won’t be any chance for that. I want to cross that finish line and add 10K to the list of accomplishments I never thought I could do. The location of the race, my love of Disney, and the costumed characters that will be cheering me on are all additional motivation to make sure this will be a success.

And I can make a running costume for it, too! Now I just need to decide what my costume will be!