My journey to the 2013 Tinkerbell Half Marathon

I originally began this blog to post about my experience, thoughts, and ramblings about acting, theatre, comedy, and improv. And I've limited my posts to be about those subjects because I wanted anyone who found my blog to see my potential as an actress/improviser/comedienne. But what makes actors unique and different from fellow actors are their life experiences. And as I've just accomplished one of the biggest achievements in my life I feel the urge to share it with the world.

In October 2011, my friend posted a status on Facebook about an inaugural 5k run at Disneyland, The Neverland 5k, that would take place in January 2012. She wanted to do it and was looking for someone to join her. I immediately jumped at running the 5k for two reasons, (1) because I needed the motivation to jump start my exercise routine and with a goal in mind I knew I would work hard to not fail in front of my friend and (2) I would get to spend a day or two at my second home, Disneyland. My journey to running that 5k was a tough one. In the beginning I was extremely motivated. Then as the weeks progressed my motivation dwindled and I skipped runs and at times didn't give all my effort. But as the 5k approached I regained my motivation to train because I wanted to make those around me believe that I was a runner.

So one year ago I ran the inaugural Neverland 5k as my first 5k and was proud of myself for taking my first steps towards becoming a runner. I jogged the entire course at my snail's pace but it was still an extraordinary achievement for me. I hadn't truly exercised for years and running for 38+ minutes was unbelievable. It wasn't a timed event but I used my stopwatch to keep time and I was pleased with the time that I got. As I passed the finish line I couldn't help but have a huge grin on my face. I was proud. The next day as I saw all the Tinkerbell Half marathon finishers roaming around Disneyland with their medals I knew that I wanted to do that. I wanted to be able to wear a medal with pride and have people look at me and think "Wow that girl did something that I can't do." I wanted to run a half marathon and have that pride and feeling of accomplishment that only a select few can have.

Yet, a few weeks after the 5k I had stopped running consistently. Here and there I would go on a jog but my focus wasn't in improving my time or trying to run longer, it had shifted into just going out there and attempting a jog. I had forgotten about the goal I had given myself to run 13.1 miles. Then as fate would have it, I got an email from RunDisney reminding me that the registration for the 2013 Tinkerbell Half would go on sale. I berated myself for not committing to my goal and I once again promised myself that one day I would run a half marathon. When the registration for the TinkHalf came about I logged into my computer and did something crazy - I signed up for it. I knew that I would have to work hard to be able to finish the 13.1 miles as I wasn't able to go beyond 3 miles without dying. Throughout my running journey I had really good days and many not-so-great days. I couldn't convince anyone that I knew to run with me so I was completely alone on my journey. And that was hard because I didn't have someone to help push me or hear me complain or to hear my excitement about achieving a small running goal. But I tried my best even when my best meant taking extra rest days to mentally get myself back into the right mindset.

Then something magical happened. I had "met" someone on twitter named Christine who had run the previous TinkHalf. She invited me into an online community of other runners that would be running the TinkHalf. It completely changed my journey for the better. Everyday I could go to the group page and see all the posts ranging from people posting about their wins for the day, their running challenges, their advice for training and/or race day, their questions, their recommendations for running/training accessories, and so forth. I could finally relate to people sharing in the same journey. My journey absolutely shifted for the better because now I knew that I wasn't alone with my struggles and fears of not finishing but most importantly their accomplishments were motivation for me to do my best to make them proud.

The day before the race I attended the Expo to pick up my bib, shirt, and other items. This time walking into the expo I did not feel like an impostor. I felt like I truly belonged there. What made the experience even better was that my mom had gone with me to support me. After eating pasta for dinner and setting up my race outfit I tried to go to sleep early. I kept walking up every so often due to the nerves and excitement.

At around 4:00am on race morning I headed to Corral E. I was right at the front and had the privilege of talking with some remarkable people. There were two sisters there passing around glow-in-the-dark bracelets. There was a lady from Maryland that came by herself cross country to run the race. Two girls that were running in the memory of a deceased loved one. And there were plenty of people who were running a half marathon for the first time. It was exciting! Then there were fireworks at 5:00am and the race started. It took 25 minutes before my Corral got to the start line. It was an unbelievable feeling to be right at the front so when they yelled "start" I was one of the first in my corral to pass the start line. The first half of the race we ran through California Adventure and Disneyland. I didn't stop to take pictures because my phone doesn't have flash and as I was by myself I didn't want to inconvenience other people. But I was entranced by all the sights and sounds throughout both parks. The characters, lights, music, parade floats, pirates, entertainment and familiar sights of the parks took my mind off of running. Then we headed to the streets of Anaheim. Close to Mile 10 we were going to pass by my hotel and I called my mom to tell her I would be running past her. She went outside in her pjs to cheer me on (totally embarrassing, haha!). Throughout my entire journey she supported me and gave me encouraging words. She was my biggest fan. I wanted to cry when I saw her standing there cheering me on because I knew I was making her proud. Then as I passed the Mile 11 marker my left calf cramped up extremely bad. I had to stop and stretch it out. I walked for some time. Eventually I tried jogging again but it would start hurting. At this point I was devastated that I had to slow down because of my leg. I ended up walking the remainder of the race and still finished 30 minutes faster than I thought I would.

My official time was 3:05:09.

When the RunDisney volunteer put my medal around my neck I teared up. Not only had I just accomplished an incredible achievement but I had done it much better than I had imagined I would. Looking down at the medal I thought about my journey: the self doubt, the loneliness, the frustrations, the mental games, the stress, the fears, the tears, the achievements, the gratefulness for the online community of runners, the pride, and the end destination. I may not be the fastest. I may not be the best. I may not have the most experience. But I am a runner; I am a winner.

I was, and am, a FINISHER.

ROAR performs at Sidestage Improv

On Saturday January 5th Roar Theatre had the opportunity to perform at Sidestage Improv.

Official flyer for the event.

We were extremely excited to be a part of this event. Not only would we get to perform improv but we would get to perform with lots of other talented people. AND we would be venturing out of our comfort zone to perform long form improv instead of our usual short form.

The night before the show we decided to hold a rehearsal to practice long form since it is something that we had not even attempted to try for over a year. As the director of the group I was going to frantically search the internet for advice and helpful hints on how to do long form but in no way was I qualified to "teach" my fellow troupe members how to be successful at it. Luckily for us Mike from Sidestage Improv stepped up to the plate and went to our rehearsal to give us a mini-masterclass on performing long form. We had a lot of fun that night. There were things that we did extremely well and I was beyond proud of my group. Sure there were things that we needed to work on but we wanted to focus on having fun on stage rather than being the most perfect group. So with that rehearsal out of the way we were excited, and partially nervous, to perform at Sidestage.

Cory and I were having lots of fun playing with the mirrors in the green room!

On the night of the show I admit that I got nervous. I've been performing with my fellow Roarriors for so long that I don't tend to get nervous before our shows since I have faith in us. But this time being in a different venue, performing in front of a different audience, having other good groups performing alongside us, trying out a new format-- all this had me nervous. Still I was even more excited to go out there and have the time of my life.

When doors opened we were pleasantly surprised to see the amount of people coming in to see the show! For our own Roar shows we tend to have smaller numbers so to see that over 100 people were there to see the show, and that many people were turned away at the door because there was no more room to put people, was beyond exciting. It was like we were performing on Broadway. We warmed up and were ready for the show.

The first group to go up was The Stage Monkeys. They were absolutely incredible, as usual. I love their scene work and how they tell stories. It always amazes me how in sync they are as a group. It seems that one person is always thinking ahead and ready to make the next move to make the scene flow better.

We were up next. I remember asking the audience for a suggestion and the first word I heard was "flamingo" so we went with that but from there it is a blur. We were performing a montage so it was great to see how the original flamingo suggestion evolved. I was having a lot of fun. And the next thing I know our time was up. Overall I felt that we had some pretty good stuff happening on stage.

An official photo taken by Sidestage Improv

Now that it was time to relax we were able to watch two more groups perform. Terduckin was next. This group consisted of two people. This was the first time I was able to see a two-person team and they pulled it off! I was completely amazed at how effortless they made it look. An advantage of having many people on a team/group is that you have enough people to edit and begin new scenes. But with a two person group you have to rely on knowing each other well enough to move the scene forward and to be able to effortlessly create a new scene. They did that and so much more. I can't wait to see them perform more.

MagFive was the last group to perform. If we were at a rock concert they would be the headliners. They were that good. Every single thing they did was beyond right. They had a little bit of everything. I was watching them in wonderment taking mental notes on how I can contribute and improve scenes that I am in. My sides were hurting from laughing so much. When I grow up I want to be that good.

Overall our experience with Sidestage was wonderful! We got to meet many fabulous performers, have fun at a sold out show, got to see 3 other fabulous groups perform, learned some things, and above all we were welcomed into a community of improvisers.