Facing My Fears 2018 Ziplining Edition

Way back in January I decided to do something that scared me each month. For January I basically made the list...



February I went Line Dancing Alone
March I took an Arial Yoga Class
April I decided to go ziplining. I can't even explain 100% why I was afraid of it. I am not afraid of heights, or falling off the line. I think it's the lack of control that I am not a fan of.

So I signed up at a place called Camp Canaan Zipline Canopy Tour in Rock Hill, SC. I signed up for the Bootleg Tour, which was 5 zips.

But first I had to survive the one car bridge....





Ok, so far so good. I arrived 30 minutes early as instructed and found out I was the only one signed up! Private tour!



First we all climbed the tower. All... being me and my 3 tour guides. Well, first we actually practiced on a line about 6 feet off the ground. Then we climbed the tower.



The tower was roughly 70 feet tall. Your first zip is from the top of the tower to the Eagle's Nest. For real, it looked like the mast from a pirate ship. And it swayed. A lot. I might have freaked out a little. Maybe a lot.

Those guys were so patient. They talked to me about how safe it was, and how fun it would be, and how this was the worst one, it got lower and easier from there.

Okay.

I can do this. I have to do this. I put it all over Facebook and Instagram and my blog. I suddenly felt very calm and just went.

It.was.amazing.

Once I left the platform, I was fine. Being on the Eagle's Nest was a little freaky, especially when the two other guys came over, because it swayed. A lot. Have I mentioned that yet? Once I was there, I had no choice but to keep going. There was no other way down.



It really was the hardest zip, they were right. The next zip took us across the Catawba River, and you couldn't see the other platform from the Eagle's Nest, but you could see it from about halfway, so it wasn't stressful at all. The Camp was so beautiful, I just soaked it all in.



The next few zips took us back to the other side of the river and to the final platform before a ground landing. This was not elegant for me. I pretty much sucked, but it was still awesome.





It was perfection. Oh, and they took pics and the pics were free! What? So awesome! I can't wait to go back and do the full course. It has 9 zips, plus some challenge elements. It involves a little walking, I believe, and you cross the Catawba River 6 times. Crossing the river was my favorite part!

Have you ever gone ziplining?

Next month is Karate lessons. I am hoping I don't suck, and that I don't get yelled at. Seriously. This is what I'm expecting!

Dark Side Challenge Weekend

Ok, y'all, if you follow me on social media, you have probably seen a lot of my pics already, but it's time to talk about the race weekend. I was feeling pretty emotional afterwards, so I thought it best to take a few days to just chill before I reported back!

You register for Disney races so far in advance that it's impossible to know how you will feel on race weekend. I never imagined that I would have spent most of the previous four months injured and off of my feet! I only started running 2 weeks before the race weekend and my longest run had been a 10k.

I tried to go into the weekend optimistic, but also realistic. Yes, there were 2 bonus medals on the line, but ultimately I need to start training for MCM next month and that's more important.



So I arrived on Wednesday night, and hit the expo at opening on Thursday morning. Everything was quick and easy with the new setup, and there was no frustration whatsoever. I got everything I wanted, plus a little more, with money leftover!





This included the virtual half marathon medal, which came with a BB8 keychain and a magnet. I hit the Magic Kingsom for a little while and came back when I knew Darlena had finished at the expo. She flew in that afternoon, and this would be our first time meeting after being blogger and Facebook friends for years! Darlena blogs at Run Find Your Happy Pace. If you don't follow her, you should. She's amazing! We had some dinner and came back to the hotel early since I was running the 5k.



My plan for the 5k was to walk the whole thing. That was the plan. Yup. I planned it all out. However. I joined a RunBet and I needed 2 more runs at below 18 minutes per mile and I wasn't sure how the half would go. So. New plan was to walk most of it. I set my watch for a 1:15 run and 1 minute walk, thinking i would run one interval and walk 2. Meh. I followed the intervals and kept it at roughly a 16 minute mile. Oh well.



No pain. No trip to medical. Just a beautiful romp through EPCOT.

On to the 10k. Darlena and I ran with a group, the Sub 30 Ties.



There was a lot of fun involved, a lot of pew!pew! And a lot of photos. We were on the big screen at the starting line party and at the actual starting line. So fun! The group mostly stayed together, but I didn't want to push too hard so I lagged a little. I was never too far behind, though!



There may have been some shenanigans in EPCOT and Animal Kingdom afterwards....





On to the half. I'm not gonna lie, I woke up and my feet were already tired. I posted on Facebook that I wasn't feeling it, but I would go as far as I could. I did get to meet some Skirt Sports Ambassadors on line for the potties, we were all in the same general area, which was funny.



I used the same intervals and just concentrated on sticking to a 16 minute mile. I had a decent headstart ahead of the Balloon Ladies, about 18 minutes, but I didn't want to waste it. Every mile I hit, I did the math to make sure I was still ahead.



I may have become mildly obsessive. In any case, I started setting mini goals. If I wasn't gonna finish, I was determined to hit some goals. The first was to get to Animal Kingdom.



Next was to get out of it. I got swept in the parking lot during the marathon in 2017, and I wanted to surpass that.



Next goal was to get to Hollywood Studios. I was starting to struggle a lot and I knew that if I could get there, I was almost safe. My friend Kristin caught up with me right around now and she stayed with me until the end. So blessed. She really pulled me through!
Anyway.



We separated a bit here so she could get some character photos and met back up at mile 11.





Holy heck. Leaving Hollywood Studios and not a balloon lady in sight! On to the boardwalk. By now I was only walking, I had stopped running somewhere around mile 8 or 9. I wasn't in any actual pain, just really tired and sore.



My PbRC O'Hana was on the boardwalk at mile 11.5 which was so needed! Shortly after, we entered EPCOT. I almost cried. It's just about impossible to get swept now and so so many were still behind me!



At mile 12.5 the inevitable happened.



Balloon Ladies. They were spurring people on, but let's be honest, no one was getting swept a half mile from the finish, not if they were upright and moving along. Many panicked and ran, but I just kept plugging along and tried not to cry.





And then this happened.



I.made.it.

I have no words. I finished all 3 races with no actual pain. I cried. Quite a bit. And then I collected my bling.





I'm still in shock, almost a week later. We are showing up in our Tie Fighter costumes all over social media, which is fun. I'm already planning my return....

Recovering From Injury with CTM Band Therapy

I received a CTM Band as part of being a BibRave Pro (ambassador). Check out BibRave.com to read and write rave reviews!



As most of you already know, I've been plagued with foot injury since December! I have had posterior tibial tendonopathy, first in one foot and then, just a few short weeks after I started running again, the other. Basically, every time I ran a pain would shoot up my ankle, because the tendon runs from the inside of my ankle and across the top of my foot. Holy pain, Batman!

Just as I was about to start running again, I was given the opportunity to try out this amazing band. The CTM Band uses compression, tension, and movement to help you with warm up and recovery.

Each band has 4... well... golf ball halves.... on them. When I got mine, I was a little surprised. Each attachment looks like half of a golf ball. They can be removed if necessary to properly reach the spot you're trying to work on. You don't want the attachments pressing on any bones, so this is an important step.



Once you've aligned the attachments, you use the band to keep them in place. You want the band nice and tight, and you want it to be wrapped above and below the attachments as well. It acts as a tourniquet (yes, really!) and temporarily limits blood flow. It will trigger a flush of blood to the area which assists in recovery!

Super important point. Notice in the pic above, I have the alarm set for 2 minutes. Don't leave it on any longer than that!



Get creative with your movement, move around like you would to strengthen that muscle. For me it was heel raises, one of my strengthening exercises from my PT. I switch feet after that and do 2 minutes on the other foot. I also did ankle rotations.



It seems like such a little thing, but I've used the Band every time I've had a little pain after a run, and after using the band, I've felt amazing! One of the other runners in my club saw my Instagram post and he bought one immediately. He says that it's been really helpful with his knee issues!

The CTM Band was created by a Boston Marathoner and Sports Chiropractor who wanted to improve the way we warm up and cool down, to help our muscles and our joints!

You can use your CTM Band to relieve muscle spasms, release knots, break up scar tissue, and increase range of motion as well.

It's so easy to take with you, I packed it for the Dark Side Challenge in Disney.



And I've carried it to races locally as well...



It's been a total game changer for me! Don't take my word for it, though! Head over to the CTM Band website and use my code for 20% off! It's CTMBIBRAVE

The Band comes in a few different colors, including Boston Marathon colors, and it comes with a lifetime guarantee! You can't beat that.

Have you tried a CTM Band? Tell me how much you loved it, and where you've most used it!

Disney Dark Side Challenge Weekend

I am seriously exhausted y'all, so for now on just going to leave you with some pics...