2015 Totally AV Fair Wave Race

Today I ran the 6th Annual Totally AV Fair Wave Race. This was held before the Antelope Valley Fair parade in Lancaster, CA. 

This is a 5k that benefits the West Antelope Valley Educational Foundation (W.A.V.E.), a non-profit corporation organized for the sole purpose of supplementing the educational curriculum of the Westside Union School District, grades K-8, by creating and implementing additional programs in the arts, sciences and athletics, thereby enhancing the development and cultural enrichment of all students and strengthening their potential for success in the future.”

We registered online and picked up our bib, shirt and goodie bag the evening before at Vince's Pizza. I'm glad we did because they were already running out of size small shirts. 

We received a ticket to the AV Fair along with coupons for local businesses in the swag bag. 

The race started at 7:30am and we arrived around 7:15am. 

They were still taking sign-ups that morning. 

The way they started this race was really different. It had a "wave" start based on age and gender. 

I was in the last group of women to start which meant I started 12 minutes after the first person. 

We ran west down Lancaster Blvd and turned around at 10th St W and came back up the same way. There was a little bit of the course on Sierra Hwy then it was back down and up the Blvd again to the finish.  We were given little cups of water around mile 2. 

After we crossed the finish line they checked our bib number against the raffle board but we didn't win any prizes. 

Jamba Juice was giving out free smoothies. 

The race provided water, bagels, bananas and oranges. 

I ended up placing 103 out of 119 but my finish time of 36:35 is pretty good in my opinion. 11:48 pace. 

I enjoyed this small home-town race and look forward to running it next year. 

2014 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Kid's Races

I've been running the Disneyland Half Marathon for the past several years and this year I signed my niece up to run the 100 yard dash!  We got down to Anaheim Friday evening with just enough time to pick up her bib from the Expo. The kids races are held on Saturday morning. 

The kids races include a t-shirt. It was really cute. 

Violet got a stuffed runDisney Mickey. 

After picking up our bib we had dinner at White Water Snacks in the Grand California Hotel. The nachos there are so good!

The Kid's races stated at 9am but we had to be lined up about an hour early. 

Violet was a little tired as we waited and didn't want to smile for my pictures. 

Once it was time we walked toward the starting line. 

They let small groups go at a time. Even though we had practiced running Violet was just walking along. I think it was all a little overwhelming. As we neared the finish line we saw Stitch!

That got a smile out of her!

Violet ran right up to Stich for a hug. 

After crossing the finish line she got her medal. 

We then changed her into her race shirt and hit the Expo. 

There were a couple of free photo opportunities at the Expo. 

Free light up key chains from DVC. 

A well deserved treat. 

Violet loved showing off her medal to the Princess's. 

I highly recommend the Disney kids races. The price isn't bad and it so worth it!  Have your kids ever participated in the kids races?  Let me know in the comments below. 

DIY Rapunzel Hair

With the Disneyland Half Marathon approaching quickly I still hadn't settled on a costume. I love dressing up for Disney races but I have a feeling it's going to be hot this year. I finally decided to wear my Rapunzel shirt that I got during the Raw Threads mystery sale with a Sparkle Skirt (of course!) and add a few accessories. 

I ordered this cute stuffed Pascal online. 

Now all I needed was the hair. I looked at a few different styles on eBay and Etsy but finally decided to make my own. I purchased what I needed at JoAnn. I didn't even use one whole skein of yarn. The flowers were 80% off. Total I spent around $8. 

To start I cut a piece of yarn about 11 feet long. I figured too long was better than too short. You loose a lot of length once it's braided. I then used that first piece to cut the rest of the pieces. They didn't all come out the exact same length but that's ok.  I had a little helper as I was trying to cut the yarn. 

I ended up with 60 pieces.  If you look close you can see Kitty eyeballing my yarn!

I folded the pieces in half and then began braiding the yarn about 12 inches from the middle. I used a medicine ball to hold the yarn in place. 

I kept braiding until it was long enough to go around my head. 

I then put both ends on top of each other and matched up the sections of yarn. 

I laid a piece of ribbon on two of the sections and continued braiding the rest of the yarn and secured the end with a rubber band. 

I secured a bow at the top where I connected the two sections. 

I ended up just using the smaller flowers since the large ones covered the whole braid. 

Kitty wanted to help again. 

I stuck the plastic end through the braid and secured it with hot glue. 

I always wear a visor when I run to keep the sweat and my hair out of my face. The loop of the braid will fit right over it. 

I still need to take the braid on a test run but hopefully it won't be too much of a pain to run with. 

How do you think it came out?  Let me know in the comments and tell me what costume you're working on.