RTTC #215 Springtime Surprise Recap

In this episode of Running to the Castle Dr. Ali recaps her Springtime Surprise weekend experience from start to finish, sharing everything from travel chaos and expo surprises to race strategies and emotional finish line moments. 

She walks through how she approached each race in the challenge: choosing to walk the 5K, experiment with pacing and character stops during the 10K, and ultimately support a client through the 10-miler to ensure they finished ahead of the balloon ladies. 

Along the way, she reflects on meeting listeners and clients in person, the powerful impact of their stories, and what it means to help runners accomplish distances they never thought possible. 

She also dives into lessons learned like managing energy across race weekend, not trying anything new on race day, and giving yourself permission to rest and recover properly afterward.

The episode wraps with her plans for the next training cycle, including focusing on a 10K proof of time and incorporating strength work in a way that supports, not overwhelms, her running.

Learn more about Stronger. Faster. Finisher. !

Ready to cross the finish line stronger, faster, and prouder at your next runDisney race? 

Get personalized support, smarter training, and strategies designed specifically for slow, back-of-the-pack or injury-prone runners who want to build a bigger buffer ahead of the balloon ladies, have time for character photos and energy to enjoy the Disney Parks. Learn more about the Stronger. Faster. Finisher. Program today and be the first to know when doors open!

Free Resources

• Follow me on Instagram @rundisneydpt
• Join the Facebook Community to get training support
• Check out FREE training plans for injury-prone runDisney runners on my website. 
• Book a Free 30 minute Call with me if you're wondering how you should train and if working together makes sense.
  
  Hi, I'm Dr. Ali
  I've been running for 15+ years and been in the rehab space since 2012 when I earned my Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree. I get injury prone runDisney runners across the finish line without feeling broken.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, how's it going? Today I am talking about a springtime surprise weekend recap. This is Running to the Castle, a podcast for injury-prone Run Disney runners on a journey to running magical miles. Join me, Dr. Alley, as I share the secrets I've gathered as a runner, doctor of physical therapy, and coach. You'll learn the exact ways I get my clients to the castle strong without feeling broken or held together with KT tape as they cross the finish line. Well, at the time of recording this, Springtime Surprise weekend 2026 just happened. And oh my God, what a fun weekend. It was absolutely incredible. I got there early last week. I arrived on Monday because of just so much I was supposed to go to Alaska, and then we were gonna go straight from Alaska to Orlando. And timing-wise, I had a full workday on Tuesday that I just flat out didn't want to reschedule. One of them had been had been rescheduled three or four times between me and the other group. I was invited to join the Rise and Run podcast. That was so cool. I appreciate greatly being invited for that because it's like, oh my God, it's the Rise and Run podcast, right? And so just based on scheduling on my side, scheduling on their side, we we've had to reschedule it. And I really appreciate their flexibility. I know they appreciated my flexibility, but I was like, I'm not rescheduling this again. Like this is happening. So I brought my podcast microphone and like traveled with it and everything. And I really didn't want to, but I wanted to make sure that the sound quality was good. And I, because it's a podcast, right? Like I don't listen to podcast episodes if the sound quality isn't great. And so I wanted to make sure that it was good. And I mean, if you listen to my early podcast episodes here on Running to the Castle, sound quality audio, not great. I have gotten better. I thought I had a great microphone, whatever. So I apologize for early episodes. And there are a handful of episodes that just accidentally have bad, like bad audio. I mean, some of them aren't great. I do the best I can. Um, but I there have been instances where the microphone that my computer chooses is the automatic microphone, which is just, I have a Mac, so it's just like the Mac microphone and not my specific podcasting microphone, and I don't catch it all the time. I try really hard to remember. But if the sound quality is ever absolutely garbage, please let me know because I don't want this to be garbage audio. I want it to be as good as I can get it, being uh an okay tech person. I'm sure Royal could figure out how to make it even better for me, but nobody has complained yet. That's also to say. I I don't really think anybody would just flat out without me inviting them to say it. I don't think anybody would absolutely be like, hey, uh Allie, that doesn't sound the best. But please, I invite you. If it doesn't sound the best, tell me. I am open to it. Um, I'm a one-woman show here, and I can only be so good at so many things, right? And I will prioritize the training plans and the what stretches are you doing and what recovery are you doing and how's race day going? I will prioritize those things over the other ones. But anyway, brought all that stuff to make sure that I could do the Rise and Run podcast. And that was so much fun. I recorded it on Tuesday, and man, they are fast with getting it out because it aired the two days later on Thursday. That it was just so cool. I really appreciate the whole Rise and Run podcast gang inviting me on and having just a great conversation. I really appreciate it. So was there on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I did a park day, Thursday, I did expo. Now, I had plans that at the expo, I was going to go and get there at 10, and then I'd probably be back to the resort by 2:30. Nope. Got back to the resort at five just because that's how engulfed you get at the expo, right? So if you're listening to this and you haven't been to a Run Disney expo before and you're wondering, should I plan like an hour or two? You can if it's not the first day in the morning. So typically I go when it's not first thing, first day. I usually am traveling on expo day. And that's what I was going to do before all of my travel plans changed. And so um I normally, so I was going to travel and then I was gonna go Thursday afternoon. And Thursday afternoon, excuse me, first day expo afternoon is it is busy, but not as busy as expo first day morning, because like I posted a reel of me walking through the lime for bib pickup. And it was, I mean, the whole thing took 10 minutes. Not the reel, I sped it up, but the whole thing took 10 minutes. And then I went back into the big bib pickup area because I wanted to go get a photo with Jeannie and Aboo. So I went back after I went and got my Brooks running shoes and I got my shirts for the race and everything like that. I went back and I just walked right in and I didn't have to weave in and out. I could just go in and go down uh really not many lines there. Expo merch and Brooks shoes were long. I think at so I went over and got my Brooks running shoes at 130. And it's so funny because I saw the Winnie the Pooh and I was like, well, those are Brooks Ghost 17, which is what I run in. I was like, those are so cute. I should get those. And then I was looking and I was like, oh my God, the genie ones are so cute. I don't run in those shoes, but I could buy them and just have them be kind of walking shoes or everyday shoes, or I'll figure it out, right? So I'm I'm heading over there and I text Royal and I was just saying things like, I don't know if I should get both, like I should really just get the one pair that I know works for me. And he was like, Well, but why not? I mean, these are my first pair of Run Disney running shoes. So indulge a little bit. Okay. So he he affirmed that I should get them. And I got in line and I went into the self-service area because I know pretty much what size shoe I am. So went over and I was like, you know what? I'm I'm here. I'm just gonna try on the kind of shoe that the genie and a boo ones are, which I think are glycerin 23. Oh my God. These are the most comfortable running shoes I have ever put on my feet. So I was like, well, guess that answers that question. Guess I'm getting these. And I was so tempted to wear them for race day, uh, the 10 miler. I was so tempted, but nothing new on race day. Nothing new on race day. So I didn't. I fought that urge. I had the discipline to not wear them, but man, they were so comfortable. I did wear them on Saturday because I had the meetup, which I will talk about in a little bit. But I was like, okay, well, I'm only up and about for two, maybe three hours. I know I'm gonna be sitting down because I need to rest my legs. So this is the perfect opportunity if I'm going to wear them this weekend, to wear them here because I'm not doing a ton of walking and uh it's I'm not gonna be wearing them for hours and hours and hours. So that was perfect. And they felt like I was walking on clouds. So I actually may try running in them as my next training cycle begins and just see how they feel because they were so comfortable just wearing them like that. And I I kid you not, I have never felt like that putting on a pair of running shoes. Because I've always like, yes, you can go to a running store and get your gait assessed. And I've done things like that. And it was it wasn't through a running store. It was, um, I mean, quite frankly, it was the clinics that I worked at because we used to do gait assessments and foot assessments and recommendations. And so I've done that. And then also running shoe stores like BrooksRunning.com has a questionnaire, which I actually think is pretty accurate. I haven't worn Hokas and I haven't worn, oh, what's another shoe store that I know does it? Gosh, I'm not thinking I can't think of it off the top of my head, but you can just look at these running shoe websites and see, oh, do they do this? The Brooks Running one is pretty accurate. And I have gotten the recommendation for the glycerin 23 before, or glycerin, not necessarily 23, but I um I used to wear Brooks launch, and I wore, I think six, seven, eight, nine, and I think I capped out at nine. I don't remember what happened with 10, if I wore them or not, but 11, they changed their heel drop. And my Achilles did not like it. They changed it by two millimeters. They went um two millimeters less. I think the old ones were like a 10 millimeter drop, and the launch 11s are an eight millimeter drop. And you wouldn't think that that was a big deal. Your Achilles will tell you whether that's a big deal or not. And so I was like, okay, I'm I'm not, I'm not doing this. This is not comfortable. I strengthen my Achilles, I stretch my Achilles. Like, if you if you have been around for any length of time, stretching is my favorite part of the workout. So I am not shy on stretching. So it's not like my Achilles is too tight, it's not like it's not strong enough and everything like that. It just the way I run that two millimeter drop change was too much for me. So then I checked out other ones. And so Ghost 17 or Ghost and the 17 version seemed like a comparable match. So I tried them out and they they are very lovely. They're nice to my feet, they work very well. But man, those glycerins are so comfortable. So I am, I have some time to figure out if I could run in those. Maybe they're just going to be a comfy shoe that I go on snifaris with Levi, and we'll just go from there. But I I was like, I gotta get these. So got in line, waited in line, got them, and then I went through the merch and got more merch than I usually get. I'm usually not a huge fan of the t-shirts and the tanks. I'm not a huge tank person. If you saw me race weekend, you would recognize that because I was covered from head to toe on 10-miler for sun protection. Uh, the other days I did go less cover up, but mainly because the sun was not going to be up for at all in the race or the majority of the race. And I did heed warning that it was going to be crazy hot so that I should deal with the heat and not wear such long clothing. I don't know, I still wore my leggings. It was not even a thought in my brain to not wear those leggings when I was bounding his genie. I did wear a tank top instead of a t-shirt. But I don't think I was, I would have been much hotter or much sweatier than I was had I not been wearing the tank top. I did sweat, like, don't get me wrong. Um, I mainly had a wet spot because I dumped coke down my top in the corral. Clumsy alley. I'm sitting there drinking my pre-race full sugar coke for the caffeine and carbs. And then all of a sudden, I just felt some droplets drip between my boobs. And I was like, what just happened? And I looked down and I had dropped, I'd spilled Coke down my shirt. So in case you were wondering if I keep it together all the time, nope. That is not a thing that I do, but I was perfectly comfortable in my running leggings. Tank top was great, it was fine. Um, I I went, I bounded as Winnie the Pooh with a red top and a yellow skirt for the 5k. Friends, I was so uncomfortable. Not because the outfit was uncomfortable. I never have that much skin showing. And I am so fair skinned, and it has just been so ingrained in me. Like, don't get a sunburn. I hate the feeling of a sunburn. It tires you out, like it exhausts you, and it's just flat out uncomfortable. And of course, like, you know, my my family members have had skin cancer, and my mother-in-law had always has like Moe's procedures and removal of moles and things like that. And so it's just like it's a little anxiety-inducing. And I just had to keep telling myself, like, Allie, the sun's not up. The sun is not going to be up. You you are fine, your skin is fine, it's not gonna be exposed to the sun. And but man, I was just like, this is uncomfortable for me. So if I looked uncomfortable, I was. But the outfit was itself, like the clothing was very comfortable. Anyway, it looked super cute in the photo. So I'm very glad I did it, but I probably won't do that again. Though yellow running leggings on me is not a good look. So that also wasn't an option. We'll see for next time. Going back to the expo merch, I thought there was a lot of great merch. By the time I got in there, most of the 10K stuff was done. And I like Winnie the Pooh in Tager 2. However, I am not as big of a fan as other people. And so when it comes to that, I'm like, I don't need it. So I'm not gonna get it. So it didn't matter to me that it was mostly sold out, but even if it was there, I probably would not have gotten it just to leave it for other people. I am a joy fan. So I got all of the joy merch that I wanted. I got a running tank with joy and sadness on it. I got a t-shirt with joy and sadness. It said like the power of a smile in every mile, something like that. I thought it was super cute. Great Kelly, Kelly Green shirt. The tank was blue, so those were wonderful. And then I also got the challenge tank, the pink or red. I don't what color it was that? I think it was like a pinky red, but I don't know. Uh, I got that one. I thought it was very cute. And then I got five pins, the uh race day pins. I didn't get the metal pin, but you know, just like the race one. Thought those were super cute. I love pins, so got those. They're super easy to bring back. They don't take up a ton of room. So that was perfect. I did want one of the white sweatshirts, um, the sweatshirt material, not like the techie sweatshirt material, if you know what I'm talking about, like the cotton sweatshirt material, the white zip-up springtime surprise weekend one. They didn't have my size. And I tried on a medium because normally I'm a small, but I tried on the medium, and I think me and three of my besties could have fit in there together. So I was like, hmm, maybe not this. Because sometimes I'll go a size up and be like, well, it can just be like a comfy sweatshirt and be fine. But no, it was gonna be me, Royal, and Levi hovering in that sweatshirt, and that is just not what I wanted. So I had plans that maybe I was gonna go back and check it out, or maybe send a message to somebody who I knew was going on Friday or Saturday. And then I just said, you know what? If it's meant to be, somebody will be selling it on Instagram or Facebook or something, and extra small or small will be there. So whatever. Didn't get it. That's okay. So I went to go leave, get on the bus, and the guy sitting, the driver, is just chatting with a family member. I I assume a girlfriend, a wife, or whatever, just based on how the conversation sounded, I wasn't listening and just sitting there for like 20 minutes. And we had a lot of people on the bus. So I don't know if they were supposed to wait until an exact right time. I don't know what happened. But then we get back to the resort and he just stops the bus in the middle of what seemed like in the middle of the road. It was not at a bus stop, and it wasn't anywhere near where the bus stop that I got on was. And he go, and he like turned around and he's like, All right, time to get out. And everybody was like, uh, no, no. And thank goodness this woman was on the bus and she had been at this resort before. And so she just told him where to go. And and he just like kept looking back and be like, here? Am I stopping here? So remember when you are going to the Run Disney events, the drivers also don't know what they're doing. Like, you don't know if you're on the right bus. You don't know if you're going to the right place. They don't either. So you're gonna find out together. Hopefully, somebody else on the bus has done it before. Give them some grace, give yourself some grace because these drivers are flown in from all over from from what I understand, all over the country, the US, to do the job because they have the license to drive these buses and they just need so many of them. And they are given training that day, maybe the day before, but they really aren't sure. I texted Royal and I was like, I might be heading back to the expo because I was not convinced that he was going to be stopping at the right stops. And I wasn't going to just get out because I didn't know where I was on the resort either. So I was like, I might just be going back to the expo. And if that was the case, I was gonna get off the bus and call a minivan. Like, this is just what we're doing. I'm getting a minivan to get back from uh ESPN. This is this is what's gonna happen. But it worked out, thank goodness for that kind runner on the bus who had the patience to tell him the pace, patience, and the knowledge to tell him where to go. So that was really good. Um, and then 5K morning, amazing, amazing, amazing. I had so much fun. I got my photos with that pain and panic. Does anybody else get this? Where like the race mornings just start blending together, and you're like, which characters did I get this morning? And I have to look back at the photos, like, thank goodness I'm wearing very wildly different outfits to be like, oh, yep, that was 5K morning, that was 10K morning, that was 10 miler morning. Because now that I'm saying this out loud, I think I got pain and panic that day. But mm-mm, no, I think that was 10K day. But I stood in, I got Piglet and Rabbit on and Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket on 5K morning. And I stood in line and it was so fun meeting all of you who came up to me. I am so glad that you were brave and came up and said hi to me because those interactions made my day. It was incredible. It was absolutely incredible. Hearing all of your stories of what you can do now, now that you are training differently, now that you had the courage to go for that next distance race, hearing you say that I gave you the courage to do that hard thing, that was incredible. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing that information with me and sharing your stories. You know, I there was, I mean, there there were so many stories. And I I'm still getting DMs saying how well Race Weekend went for you because of my training plans, because of this podcast, because of just having the courage to do the thing. One runner, Emma, came up to me and told me that I have encouraged her daughter, Harmony, to now start running. Like, that's incredible. I can't wait to see you at your next race weekend. I hope you do get into princess. That would be so cool. And, you know, the the gang on Rise and Run asked me what makes me so passionate. And I did say, and it is a hundred percent true, that seeing people be able to do the thing they want to do, especially when somebody else has already. Told them that they shouldn't or can't do it. Seeing somebody be able to do that thing that they want to do is what keeps me going. And that was just solidified a thousandfold this weekend when I heard all of your stories and seeing your finish line photos and hearing that you crossed the finish line for your first 10 miler because of some small role I played in it. And it's absolutely incredible. I got DMs after race weekend saying things like, hey, I think you're at the airport, but I wouldn't dare come up and say hi. Please, please come up and say hi. Absolutely. The only instance I would say please don't come up and say hi is if I'm actively eating with my family. I think that is the only one. Just wait until I'm not actively eating and we're good. If I'm just sitting there with a drink, which is probably water, coke, or sprite, come up and say hi. If I'm if I'm just hanging around, you see me sitting, playing on my phone, probably making a reel, uh, or you know, just listening to music or walking around aimlessly because I don't know where I'm going. That happened a lot over race weekend. Please come up and say hi. I I would love to meet you. I would absolutely love to hear your story of what you're working toward, where you've come, where you're now. Absolutely. This is what makes me passionate to keep doing this. And I I want to support you any way that I can. So even if that's just uh saying hi, if that's supportive enough for you, I would love to do that. So it was so fun. I am a big picture person. So you asked for a photo, absolutely. That's so cool to me. Um, but please, please have the courage to come up and say hi. Don't be afraid. I don't bite. I I would love to meet you and say hi to you. So please, if you see me at a race weekend or you just see me around Disney, if I make it there for a non-race weekend, come say hi. That was that was absolutely incredible. Speaking of incredible, and I will be posting about this later this week. I had three runners this weekend in my stronger faster finisher group complete their longest distance ever. That was absolutely incredible. For to see them cross the finish line at a distance they had never done before was amazing. One of the runners had strictly been doing 5K and 10K distances. This was the first 10 mile race, but she was nervous about it. She'd never done it before. Totally get the nerves. She crossed the finish line. I had two runners who had never crossed the finish line beyond a 10K distance when they had tried for a 10 mile or they had tried for a half marathon distance and they did it this time. But they did it. When I heard that, because we have a a Voxer group, that's our that's the platform I use with my coaching clients. When they mentioned that they were going to do it, I started crying. But I I it was like yes, because I see all of that hard work that goes in week after week after week. And you know, sometimes race weekend just doesn't go as planned, right? Like you can do everything and you know, put all of the ducks in a row and you do all of the speed workouts and you do all of the long runs. And they they had been doing that. And sometimes the heat gets you, the illness gets you, things happen, right? And this was the time that everything fell into place, and they finally saw all of their hard work prevail, come, come that finish line came to fruition. And our mantra for the weekend was I am strong, I am fast, I am a finisher. And they are. So congratulations to you three who I know you are listening, and I can't wait to continue celebrating this and more as we keep moving forward with your future races. Cause I know many of you are already signed up for some of you all of Run Disney season next next year. Um, but even just a couple or other non-Run Disney races. Can't wait to see and hear about all of the distances that you get to do now that you have hit that 10 mile mark. That was incredible. A few other things that happened this weekend. Um, I got to meet in real life a few of my clients who I had never met before, in real life, Instagram friends that I had never met before. And and I shouldn't say in real life because Instagram is real life too, right? But in person, I should say in person. And I love the online aspect. I love the virtual coaching. I love that it's accessible to more people. But man, just being in person is a different vibe. So I got dinner with um a couple of clients on some days that we were able to make it work, which was great. Did that um Wednesday and Thursday night. Met, like I mentioned, many runners at pre-race activities at the expo. And I had a meetup on Saturday where Instagram friends came and stronger, faster finisher clients came, some one-on-one clients came. So I got to meet some runners who I had been DMing with on Instagram in person for the first time. And we've been chatting for months or years. And it was an incredible turnout. I think in total, maybe about 20 runners came. And we we I did forget to do a photo early. And I apologize about that. I will be better about getting a group photo before other people need to disperse because of course we have we have other things to do. People are going to the parks, people are going to early dinners because they're going to bed early. And I need to remember that that when it seems like everybody has shown, shown up, that we should, we should do that photo. So I am so thankful for everyone that came to the meetup. It is so much fun to be able to chat in person and and just interact that way because through a screen is great. In person when we can is even better. Absolutely incredible. That is a well, no, it's not a good wrap-up on springtime surprise. Uh, I had some questions about how I handled springtime surprise race weekend. So I'd like to let you know. So I decided for the 5K to walk it. That's my go-to, especially with um a challenge race weekend. And I did the 5K, 10K, and 10 miler. So I did the challenge. So I did the challenge. And so 5K, I walk it because I want to save my legs for the rest of the race weekend. I want to enjoy my time. And because there's no official sweep or pace that you need to maintain, you really, you know, there's an unofficial. They do need to get the parks open. You do need to keep moving forward. So as long as you're doing that, they kind of just let you do your thing. But so I walked and I got a couple of character photos that I wanted. I saw Mary Poppins and Bert, so I hopped in line there. I saw Mickey and Minnie, so I hopped in line there. It was a lot of fun. And so did that. And then 5K day, I went to the park. And I had even questioned going to the park. I had bought a two-day park hopper. And I just didn't anticipate how much the time difference was going to hit me this time with just how I traveled and the being on my feet for so long at Expo Day and pre-race activities. So Friday was 5K day. So I did go to the park because the park tickets I bought were use it or lose it. So I was like, well, even if I just go for an hour or two, it'll be worth it because I'm just gonna lose it otherwise anyway. So I went over and I went to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, did a couple of rides, but the way I do parks anyway is I do ride, sit-down event, ride, sit-down event. So I went to the frozen sing along on a recommendation from one of my clients. I've never gone to it before. It was so much fun. I did that in Hollywood Studios. I went and rode Slinky Dog because I love that ride. And, you know, just did a few other odds and ends. I met Olaf, got a photo with Olaf, have to get a photo with Olaf, got a photo with Joy, have to get a photo with Joy and Edna Mode. So it was overall a very good time. And then went back for an early dinner, early bed, 10K morning. I ran the 10K, and I have told many of you and probably mentioned on the podcast that I'm going to go for a 10K race to be used as a proof of time for half marathons in the future. And so I was like, okay, well, let's see what running at Run Disney is like. Because in previous races, I have run, but I've also taken in all of the magic. So it's not, it's different for me. I run run non run non-run Disney races. So rock and roll half marathon, I like run run it. And for for Run Disney, I I run it, but kind of take my time. And, you know, there are tight spots. And so I just, I just try and keep the magic alive and not get annoyed or anything like that. So I wanted to see, well, let's see what running Run Disney is like. But I also had a lot of fun recording videos of the different character stops. And that was a huge hit for the 5K. And I got a lot of feedback on Instagram saying, are you doing that again for the 10K? So I was like, well, I'm winging it. So I guess yes, I am. If you want it and you ask me, and I know that this is something that you want, if I can oblige, I absolutely will. So I ran from character to fair character, and I just I took videos of them and then I kept going. And I even did a character PR. I got four characters on the 10K. And not because I couldn't get other ones, I didn't really care to. They were characters I've either don't really care about, or I've gotten photos with it in the past, or maybe the line just was a bit too long. And so when I was in line for the different characters, I recorded how long I timed it, how long I was waiting in line, because that's another popular question, right? Like, how long do these character lines actually take? And we can guess, but I was like, you know what? I have the Apple Watch. I can do intervals. So I set it up with open goals. So I did multiple open goals, maybe like 10 or 12. And for the time I was running was one open goal. And then as soon as I got in the character line, it was another open goal. So then I could see how fast am I actually running and how long am I waiting in the character lines and it doesn't get muddled together. Now, during the running portion, I did walk occasionally and I did, you know, take my time, bathroom break, whatever. Actually, no, no bathroom break on 10K. But, you know, I wasn't going my moderate or my hard pace all the time. I was walking some of it, going easy, going moderate, just doing what felt right. And um, then 10K went back, stretched, legs up, took a nap, took a shower, went to the meetup. And then 10 miler day, I was, I actually paced one of my clients. So one of the clients that I mentioned earlier who did cross the finish line, we had discussed, I'm going to pace and keep you at at least a 16 minute per mile average pace to make sure that you cross the finish line ahead of the balloon ladies. And she did. We did. We started an e-corral. Now I had gotten D based on, I didn't have a proof of time, haven't done that yet, but based on my anticipated finish times for everything, I was placed in Corral D. She was placed in E. So I did move to be in the corral with her. And one of my other stronger, faster finisher clients joined us. Um, to she has done a 10-mile at least distance before, but wanted to join us. And that was so much fun. We got to hang out. I did have Taylor Swift in my ear, and I was like, I'm on a mission today. I am keeping this pace. Now, of course, going a little bit faster some of the time, a little bit slower some of the time. And then I was a ding-dong and I lost them at one point because Allie's bladder is incredibly tiny and I had to pee twice on the course. I it also didn't help that I had had my coke at just a different interval time frame than the day before. And well, I went to the bathroom and came back, caught up with them, ran to catch up with them, saw them, and then I there was a character stop that I wanted to record because remember, I got a lot of feedback saying that that was welcomed and encouraged. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna do it. So I went to go find the character stop. And then I lost sight of them. And I was like, oh my God. And you know, you can't check instantly where they are that you have to pass over like the 5K marker, the 10K marker, things like that for the for the timing map. So I was like, oh shoot. So I'm like trying to find them in the crowd. So if you saw me sprinting at one point on the 10 miler, I was looking for them. That's what I was doing. I lost some somewhere between mile five and mile six. And so I'm like, oh my God, I can't believe they got so far ahead of me. I didn't think I was that long in the bathroom, didn't think I was that long at the character stop, but I must have been. So I went running and I went looking for them. And I'm running along the left and I'm running along the right because I know they'd be on the right based on how we had been before. So if you saw me then, I was actively searching for them. And apparently, so I did find them because one of them did cross over the 10K marker. So they must have split up just temporarily. And so I pulled up like the tracker and I looked for them, and one of them had passed the 10K marker. And I was like, oh, okay. I was at mile seven by this point. Like I had run from like five and a half to seven looking for them and not finding them, realizing there's no way based on their pace and how fast I was running. I was like, I it's so unlikely that they would be further ahead of me. So I stopped on the side of the road around mile seven and a quarter or something like that. Looked at the tracker, saw that they had just one of them had just passed the 10K marker. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna wait. I'm just gonna stand here and wait. And I did. And then they came, they caught back up with me. And so turns out I had run right by them, not even realizing. And they were like, oh, look at how fast Allie's going. Look at that. And I'm like, friends, I was looking for you. I was actively searching for you. Apparently they had called out to me. And even though I only had one AirPod in with the music that's going, with me being on a mission, I did not hear them. And I ran right past them and then had to wait so that they could catch back up. So if you saw that whole interaction, I hope it gives you a giggle now that you know the story behind it. Because the goal was I was going to walk the entire 10-miler. And then I had to pee, and that did not happen. I lost them. And I apologized profusely. If you're listening to this, you two, I am so sorry that I temporarily lost you. But you guys held your own and rocked those miles. And then we got to finish all together and it was emotional. I was a little um confused towards the end of the 10-miler. I don't know, maybe I was just so excited about the thought that this client, these clients were finishing and the other clients that I had mentioned earlier were finishing. But we saw one of my clients' husbands at the bus loop. And I had, I messaged her and I was like, hey, just saw your husband at TTC. And then I was like, wait a minute, where? No, that's not where am I? And I was like, God, I don't know why that just came out of my mouth. But it was, I'm just gonna chalk it up to the excitement because I wasn't underfueled and I was not dehydrated for sure. My tiny bladder made that known. But yeah, that was that was a hoot. That was funny. And then um, yeah, it was so much fun. Got some photos afterward, got a photo with Jeannie and Aladdin, right? That's who it was. Yes. It all becomes a blur, doesn't it? Like when you're doing some of this stuff. Like I said, you have to look at the photos sometimes. And then after that, hung out a little bit, saw some clients, got some photos with some clients, and then it was it was back to the hotel, shower, stretch, legs up for a little bit more recovery. And then I was on a plane. Then I had to come back home. So that that was a whirlwind of a weekend. I don't recommend traveling on the day of the 10 miler or the last longest race, especially if you've done all of them. But sometimes it can't be avoided. I was just super tired. I actually, you won't probably won't hear it in the editing um with this podcast episode, but I keep yawning. I'm still so tired. My aura ring is has been telling me like I'm in sleep debt. I'm actually shocked it hasn't told me to wind down for bed yet. But it was it, it was so much fun this weekend. And now it's rest and recovery for the next two weeks. And then I am starting my training for my proof of time. I got my new strength equipment all set up. They they came and set it up while I was gone. My sister was here watching Levi. So she agreed to just oversee that. There was nothing really that she needed to do, just make sure that she was an adult present while they put that thing together. And it was one guy, he did it in like six hours on Friday. And so my new workout equipment is here. So, including my proof of time training, I am also going to be working on some strength exercises. And for any of you who are new here, I'm not wild about strength training. As a training tool to do the bare minimum to cross the finish line, most runners don't need strength training. Um, you absolutely can. It will definitely facilitate. It will help you be faster. It helped will help you be more efficient. But sometimes just doing the bare minimum is enough. And that's what I had to do for the 10 miler, which is okay. We go in different seasons of life. Life gets lifey, stuff happens. But now things have just turned around in my life where my schedule can shift and I can prioritize these different things. I won't be adding on crazy miles. That's why I'm doing a 10K because I'm already trained up past that. I don't need to worry about training up for a half marathon for a proof of time. I can train up for a 10K in these next five, I think it's five months, because it's in the end of September. Don't quote me on that time frame. I need to look at a calendar and I'm not doing that right now. But it's totally doable. And I'm going to prioritize strength and speed workouts here. This is my accountability. I'm saying it out loud. I'm manifesting it. I am prioritizing strength and I am prioritizing speed work, saying these things in the present tense, manifesting the heck out of them because it's going to happen. And that, so that's the plan. But rest and recovery this week. So if you've just done springtime surprise, whether you did the 5K, the 10K, or the 10 miler, if it's a new distance for you or a long distance for you, you do need 14 days, 10 to 14 days of rest and recovery. That means no crazy amount of miles. You are walking, keeping things loose and limber. You are stretching, you are eating protein, you're hydrating, you're getting a massage, a professional massage, you are taking hot epps and salt baths. That's what I did today. Today is Monday at the time of recording this, and I went and got a 90-minute whole body massage with more work on my low back and my legs because those are the ones that are sore for me after race day. But she still did work on my arms a little bit, and then straight into a hot some hot Epsom salt bath when I got home from that, because I do get sore from a massage itself, but especially after a race day massage. So, or a race weekend massage. So straight into the hot Epson salt bath. And then it's walking my miles and stretching over the next couple of uh weeks. Nope. Days, next couple of days, 10 days. Next Thursday will be my first easy run. And that will be 45 minutes. And then over the weekend, it could be 45 minutes again. I will pace test the following week to coordinate with this the beginning of this new training cycle. So then I can have a comparison. And I have pace tested recently, but this is just a good way to start a new training cycle. So then you can have a comparison. And I will actually, um, my primary care physician has, I forget what they're called, but you go and stand on it and you hold the different handles and it tells you your percentage of muscle and body fat and everything. And so I'm actually gonna go do that. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I can all I can just like walk in and go use that machine, not have to have an appointment or anything, but to do that for a pre-training with all this strength training and all this stuff to have some measurements. So it'll be interesting to track. Um, if you want to know that information about my body fat, my muscle um content and things like that, let me know. I don't know if that's an interesting thing, but I think I will be sharing my proof of time training journey, my strength training journey, because I have been told that that is of interest to see what I am doing there. Because if you are new here, I don't program, like I don't recommend somebody do something unless I have tried it myself. Now, of course, the other way around, if somebody asks me, like, hey, can you add this type of workout or something to my program, I will consider it. We'll have a conversation around it, whether I think it will actually be good for you and what your goal is or not. But just because I don't like a particular exercise doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It just means it's not going to be my go-to. But if somebody asks me for it and I think it's safe and could be effective, absolutely. There's there's no reason to not do it. It might just not be my preference. Like burpees, heck no. I hate burpees and I will not program it for you. Uh, you would have to specifically ask me for that one. No, I don't like it. The only thing I like about that whole exercise is the fact that the guy who came up with doing burpees, his first name is Royal. That's the only thing I like about it. And if you are new here, my husband's name is Royal, and we never find anybody whose name is Royal. So it's very interesting and kind of cool when I see little fun facts like that. But that's what I have going. If you have questions, please send me a DM, run Disney DPT over on Instagram. And if you used one of my training plans for this last springtime surprise, let me know how it went. I would love to hear how this training cycle went for you in general and if it was different from previous times.