Nemesis Challenge: No Pain, No Gain. A ½ Marathon 2013 NEW Updates 2/20 NEW

[RodBelding]

The England meet up was terrific. Having 3 Team Tim members, including the Captain, to combat Randall's shenanigans was much needed.


And I stand by my advice on the beer.

 

[livsmom04]

My husband and I saw Illuminations back in August without our daughter and we weren't wowed by it. We love Wishes instead! Subbing to this TR. My hubby and I are going to start running and we want to do the 1/2 marathon one day at DW.

 

[Poolrat]

The 1/2 was really a fun race.

Sure you say that now. I sure was not saying it around mile 8.

There are a few people here who ran the full... I'm sure they will tell you that the heat was no fun.

Watching them in DHS -NO FUN.

Hey Pat! How you feeling?

All better - letting the hot tub jets pound the lactic acid out of my legs really did the trick. Wish I had thought of it on Sunday instead of Monday but I might not have been able to stand it Sunday.

I know. It's like they know when you are bringing them.

And the TSA line goes extra slow when you are running late AND you get the gate at the END of the terminal....

Maybe I will have to shoot to be there on Thursday if there is a next time.

The wall was in the Josten's center once you walked down the left staircase.


What day did you arrive? Wed?

Arrived Thursday about 2pm. Funniest thing was I got a text around 1:30 from OKW that my room was ready.

Some people are reporting they never get a text and I usually get one but never before I even get on property.


There was a crowd by the wall and I glanced but did not realized ALL the runners names were on there. I just wanted to get out of that crowded area.

The rest of Expo was busy but not wall to wall. As soon as check in was done that was the next stop.

My husband and I saw Illuminations back in August without our daughter and we weren't wowed by it. We love Wishes instead! Subbing to this TR. My hubby and I are going to start running and we want to do the 1/2 marathon one day at DW.

Welcome from a fellow NCer. If I can do it anyone can!!!!

 

[jenseib]

I thought Illuminations was "our" thing ...and there you go off watching it with your wife ...probably in our special spot too!

I don't get emotional over any of the fireworks shows at Disney, I like the show, but yeah, it doesn't give me the chills that some other things do.

your afternoon sounded fun. Poor Melody had to put up with all those men! I have to agree with you, stopping drinking early was probably wise the day before a race.

 

[that's nice]

Normally I might jump all over this, but based on what I've heard about 50 SoG it isn't a bad thing for you and Mel to be "on the same page" if you know what I mean...........

I guess you're right.

Oh, I can see Kathy jumping all over THIS one!!!

I guess she is still under the weather. I haven't seen her around in a few days.

Hey wait! I thought you left the kiddos with your Mom??? Who is this Christian you are letting your little Princess run around the country with???

LOL... except that Ana is short for Anastasia.

Now who in their right mind would ride IASW without kids along??? Well, unless it is Mark while everyone else is off riding ToT...........

LOL... I usually try to meet DISers in Fantasyland right after riding IASW... makes for good conversation.

Yes, but wouldn't you say that about the "All Stars," Pop, CSR, or any other Disney resort???

True.. I would say that if I was staying in my car down by the river.... as long as that river was in central Florida.

I knew I was going to get it by writing about my reading... keep 'em coming.

Oh well. It's not like $200 would buy much in Disney World anyway.

True. But I could buy a few Dole Whips with $200.

What kind of representatives of Team Tim are they if they're sitting there letting Randall run his mouth????

They represented Team Tim well.

50 Shades of Tim????

If you call Randall doing a jig on my back 50 SOT, then I guess it is.

Ok, that makes up for the lack of action earlier.

So it was every 10 minutes instead then???

Nah, we shut him up after that.

I guess he had to settle for the belly dancer since he couldn't get Jasmine!

Poor Crash...

I know... poor kid.

I don't think I could ever go to Via Napoli and not order pizza.

Once again, I was trying to be responsible and order chicken and pasta. Not that eating pizza would of hindered my performance.

I'm kind of on the fence about it. I always enjoy seeing it, but I don't think near as highly of it as Wishes and Fantasmic. The storyline to it is interesting and the massive explosions at the end that shake you to your core are pretty awesome, but the globe thing that you can't see very well all the way in middle of the lake anyway kind of loses me.

It would be cool if you could sit on the globe as is mysteriously floats around the lagoon... as long as you could get off of it before it opens up at the end.

Wow... who needs rest before running 13 miles??

Obviously not I.

Woohoo! I've been so pumped to read some Marathon weekend TRs!

Thanks for joining... hope you had a nice time in WDW.

I thought the travelers umbrellas looked familiar and then I realized I've read some of your other TRs, and we fly out of the same airport!

We usually fly out of Bradley or White Plains... but recently Bradley has had the better prices.

Glad you were still able to run, despite injury. Definitely would have been a bummer to work so hard and not make it to race day. Can't wait to hear about race morning!

Hopefully I'll get to that soon.

 

[that's nice]

Tim! I just realized I forgot to tell you that I finally can say I've been to CT! Back at the end of October aka Hurricane Sandy time, I was in xoktenox's wedding on Long Island. We were stranded for a week. La Guardia was still under water, so we drove to CT, spent the night, and flew out of Bradley airport the next morning.

WOW!!!! I hope her wedding went off without a hitch.

Glad you were able to get out of here.... I hope you were able to enjoy CT for a bit. Did you get any New Haven pizza?

Luvin the update. Even when you don't take Ana she still makes an appearance I love it

Well, I had to get her into this TR at some point.

The England meet up was terrific. Having 3 Team Tim members, including the Captain, to combat Randall's shenanigans was much needed.

It was a great meet... I'm not sure how you put up with those penguins for the rest of the night.

And I stand by my advice on the beer.

I could of listened to you, but I doubt I would of been out of the room at 3am.

 

[that's nice]

My husband and I saw Illuminations back in August without our daughter and we weren't wowed by it. We love Wishes instead! Subbing to this TR. My hubby and I are going to start running and we want to do the 1/2 marathon one day at DW.

Wishes is my absolute favorite show in WDW. Some of these people know that I can shed a tear watching Wishes... and I'm not ashamed to say it!

You have plenty of time to start training now to run next year.

Sure you say that now. I sure was not saying it around mile 8.

Yea... it was around there somewhere.

Watching them in DHS -NO FUN.

We were watching them in Epcot. I wasn't jealous in the least.

All better - letting the hot tub jets pound the lactic acid out of my legs really did the trick. Wish I had thought of it on Sunday instead of Monday but I might not have been able to stand it Sunday.

I hit the hot tub for a short while... Looking back, I should of hit an ice bath.

And teh TSA line goes extra slow when you are running late AND you get the gate at the END of the terminal....

Sounds about right.

Arrived Thursday about 2pm. Funniest thing was I got a text around 1:30 from OKW that my room was ready.

I never got a text. That is why we had to stop at the hospitality house Friday night.

Some people are reporting they never get a text and I usually get one but never before I even get on property.

They must really, really like you.

I thought Illuminations was "our" thing ...and there you go off watching it with your wife ...probably in our special spot too!

If I was drinking something I would of spit it out when I read this. You had me laughing....

I don't get emotional over any of the fireworks shows at Disney, I like the show, but yeah, it doesn't give me the chills that some other things do.

You know Wishes is my show.... and Illuminations is.. a place to meet DISers?

your afternoon sounded fun. Poor Melody had to put up with all those men! I have to agree with you, stopping drinking early was probably wise the day before a race.

A lot of guys with a lot of inside jokes... yea, she was probably wanting a drink.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

 

[eandesmom]

We sat down and had a drink with Randall and his wife, Carl, Paul, and Scott... oh, I can't forget the penguins.

We had some good conversation about running, Barry (were your ears ringing?), and Disney in general.

One of Randall's penguins was acting up so Carl quickly put him in his place.

I think we sat and talked for close to an hour. Then it was time to get Randall back for beating me up in November... In case you missed it- first he put me in a head lock..

Nov. 2012

Then he tossed me to the ground and stomped on me.

Nov. 2012

So it was time for payback. First we tossed Randall to the ground, draped a Team Barry shirt over him, then went Team Tim style on him! (No penguins were hurt during this stomping)

You guys are having WAY too much fun here. What a great meet and fun afternoon. Fun to see a guys trip. The penguins are cracking me up. I don't run but that whole o-dark thirty wake up/start thing would stress me out beyond belief. I have a hard time with a regular work out before 10 am

Nice willpower on the stopping on the cold ones and strolling. That would not have been fun at 3:30am! Sucks to be responsible sometimes, especially on a beautiful day with friends.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

When we arrived at the Swan (or was it the Dolphin?) we got off and decided to take a walk on the Boardwalk to the back entrance to Epcot. Unfortunately, we didn't pass GO, nor did we collect our $200.

Disney giving you money? That'll be the day!

We sat down and had a drink with Randall and his wife, Carl, Paul, and Scott... oh, I can't forget the penguins.

Now this group looks like trouble!

So it was time for payback. First we tossed Randall to the ground, draped a Team Barry shirt over him, then went Team Tim style on him! (No penguins were hurt during this stomping)

At least the Team Barry shirt wasn't illegal.

As much as I wanted to continue, putting back a few more cold ones, I had to keep telling myself that wasn't a good idea. I had to run in the morning. Paul assured me it was ok, he was the 'real' runner of the group. He was running the full on Sunday.

Ever see Band of Brothers? This reminds me of the part where the drill sergeant feeds everyone a nice big spaghetti dinner and then forces them to go on a 10-mile run.

We were seated pretty quickly and ended up at two tables next to each other. Melody & I sat with CJ & Crash, Barry, Barry's friend and his son. We had a nice dinner discussing running, food, Disney, and ummm vasectomies. I hope we didn't scar Crash for life with this conversation.

Why not discuss 50 Shades of Grey with her, too?

After eating pizza here in Nov, I had high expectations for my meal and I was a little disappointed. Melody was too.

And you make fun of me for sticking with known quantities. That'll learn ya. Does Via Napoli have a burger?

I HAD to find out if Bambi hated me for challenging her husband but she seemed cool with it. How could she be mad? I mean I just forced them to take another Disney trip!

Makes sense to me!

I don't know how you feel, but Illuminations doesn't do that much for me. I think now that Melody has seen it too, she feels the same way.

I agree it's too much time spent on the murky spinning globe. But the pyrotechnics make up for a lot.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

We we walking out of the Expo and trying to figure out how to get to Epcot. I heard there wasn't a direct bus, so we hopped on the Boardwalk bus. Little did we know it stopped at the Swan/Dolphin, Yacht & Beach clubs, then the Boardwalk.

I learned that lesson the hard. The busses in and around that area of the park can be challenging if you’re pushed for time.

When we arrived at the Swan (or was it the Dolphin?) we got off and decided to take a walk on the Boardwalk to the back entrance to Epcot.

Probably a better choice

Unfortunately, we didn't pass GO, nor did we collect our $200.

They don’t take that kind of money in trade for Dole Whips anyway.
No real loss there.

We headed over to Rose & Crown to meet up with some of the aforementioned DISDads.

Dang fine place for a meet.

We sat down and had a drink with Randall and his wife, Carl, Paul, and
Scott... oh, I can't forget the penguins.

You can try…
But I don’t think it’s possible any more to forget about the penguins.

Then it was time to get Randall back for beating me up in November...
So it was time for payback.

(No penguins were hurt during this stomping)

Well…
So long as the penguins were spared.

:

We walked around the WS and stopped for another drink.. in Morocco.

Ummm…
Y’all are racing tomorrow aren’t ya’?

I had to keep telling myself that wasn't a good idea. I had to run in the morning.

That’s what I thought.

Paul assured me it was ok, he was the 'real' runner of the group. He was running the full on Sunday.

That’s two days of recovery for him.
Not so sure he’s got Team Tim’s best interests in mind here.
What team did you say he was on?

I resisted the temptation as I watched Randall ask the belly dancer to hold his penguins and pose for a picture. The guy was out of control.. LOL

Out of control?

That implies that Randall was even in control.
I got’s me doubts ‘bout that one.

Melody & I said by to the guys, and continued walking around the WS. It felt really weird being there without Juliana.

Enjoy it…
I haven’t been down there with out the boy since long before we was born. Being as he’d headed off to college this fall, it may just be time again to take my bride back down there for some couple’s time.

Melody and I just wandered around with no agenda.

Sounds good to me.
Looking forward to such a day

It felt kinda good but odd. We usually head to the park with some kind of plan. It was almost 6:15 and we had an ADR at Via Napoli with a few other guys... Barry and his family, and CJ and his daughter Andriana AKA Crash, Bambi's parents (Barry's wife) as well as another family friend of Barry's.

Headin’ into enemy territory ehhh?

We had a nice dinner discussing running, food…

Nice…

…Disney…

Always good…

…and ummm vasectomies.

Goo… Whoa, what?

I hope we didn't scar Crash for life with this conversation.

Ya’ scarred me just by mentioning it.
Glad I missed the dinner conversation.

After eating pizza here in Nov, I had high expectations for my meal and I was a little disappointed.

Have heard similar reviews.
The consensus seems to be: do go here, but stick to the pizza.

We unpacked a bit, and I looked at the clock. 10:55. UGH I was meeting Barry outside the room at 3:10am to get to the 1/2. After getting situated and showering, I think it was about 11:30 before I finally laid down. I really hope I could sleep... and not sleep through my alarm.

I’ve got a feeling you’ll pull that one off.
You may be worse for wear, but you’ll pull it off.


Great pictures from around the WS.
Looking forward to hearing about the 1/2 from an inside perspective.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

 

[FreezinRafiki]

When we arrived at the Swan (or was it the Dolphin?) we got off and decided to take a walk on the Boardwalk to the back entrance to Epcot.

They're pretty easy to tell apart. The Swan has huge statues of Swans on the roof. The Dolphin has huge statues of fish that look nothing like dolphins.

We headed over to Rose & Crown to meet up with some of the aforementioned DISDads. As I got closer to R&C, I can hear the girly voice of Randall yelling, 'Team Barry Rules!'

Ahhhhh...sweet music to my ears.

We had some good conversation about running, Barry (were your ears ringing?), and Disney in general.

People are usually talking about me. I'm pretty used to it by now.

So it was time for payback. First we tossed Randall to the ground, draped a Team Barry shirt over him, then went Team Tim style on him! (No penguins were hurt during this stomping)

Careful Tim, Randall's running next year's half. He might get his own revenge..

We didn't hurt him too bad... but we this did stop him from yelling Team Barry every 5 minutes.

YOU MAY TAKE OUR LIVES, BUT YOU'LL NEVER TAKE....OUR FREEDOM!!

We walked around the WS and stopped for another drink.. in Morocco.

I'm sure your pregnant wife was having a good time watching you drink around the world...

Melody & I sat with CJ & Crash, Barry, Barry's friend and his son. We had a nice dinner discussing running, food, Disney, and ummm vasectomies. I hope we didn't scar Crash for life with this conversation.

What does she care, she never has to worry about one.

After eating pizza here in Nov, I had high expectations for my meal and I was a little disappointed. Melody was too. We aren't food snobs, but living in CT where there is a higher concentration of Italians than Italy itself, we thought the sauce was lacking and the quality just wasn't there. Barry, didn't seem to have a problem eating his pasta and CJ did like his salad. There was a consensus on our side of the table anyway, that we should of just ordered pizza.

Agree. Pizza is definitely the way to got there. Being the night before the race I assumed the pasta would be a better idea. The veal meatballs were good, but $21 for about $3 worth of spaghetti isn't going to work in my book again.

I don't know how you feel, but Illuminations doesn't do that much for me.

It does get a bit dull in the middle, but the pyrotechnics at the end make up for it. The music rocks, too. (except for the dull spot in the middle.)

 

[afwdwfan]

It does get a bit dull in the middle, but the pyrotechnics at the end make up for it. The music rocks, too. (except for the dull spot in the middle.)

So I guess we're in agreement... They can scrap all the stuff except for the part at the beginning about stories around the fire, and then just go straight to the big explosions!

Unless of course they just want to make that middle part a little bit longer so that you have time to get another beer.

 

[Ariel484]

Looking forward to the race report! Thanks for sharing!


...and I am TOTALLY with you on Illuminations (kind of scared to admit that "out loud!"). I'm a Fantasmic!/Wishes gal myself.

 

[Goofy + 3]

Sure you say that now. I sure was not saying it around mile 8.

Yea... it was around there somewhere.

Pretty sure I saw Tim around mile 8 or 9. Neither one of us were having a lot of fun at that point.

Ever see Band of Brothers? This reminds me of the part where the drill sergeant feeds everyone a nice big spaghetti dinner and then forces them to go on a 10-mile run.

"This isn't spaghetti, it's noodles with ketchup."

 

[DisneyDadC]

We headed over to Rose & Crown to meet up with some of the aforementioned DISDads. As I got closer to R&C, I can hear the girly voice of Randall yelling, 'Team Barry Rules!' I quickly considered just to continue walking past Rose & Crown, but there were a few other guys with him... including some of the Team Tim members.

We sat down and had a drink with Randall and his wife, Carl, Paul, and Scott... oh, I can't forget the penguins.

Glad you stopped in to see us.


We had some good conversation about running, Barry (were your ears ringing?), and Disney in general.

One of Randall's penguins was acting up so Carl quickly put him in his place.

Again no penguins were hurt . simply putting them on a leash..

I think we sat and talked for close to an hour. Then it was time to get Randall back for beating me up in November...
So it was time for payback. First we tossed Randall to the ground, draped a Team Barry shirt over him, then went Team Tim style on him! (No penguins were hurt during this stomping)

Hey you mess with one member of team Tim you mess with all members!!!


We walked around the WS and stopped for another drink.. in Morocco.

Yum :thumbsup2

As much as I wanted to continue, putting back a few more cold ones, I had to keep telling myself that wasn't a good idea. I had to run in the morning. Paul assured me it was ok, he was the 'real' runner of the group. He was running the full on Sunday. I resisted the temptation as I watched Randall ask the belly dancer to hold his penguins and pose for a picture. The guy was out of control.. LOL

Next time listen to Paul he has a good touring plan!!!




Melody and I just wandered around with no agenda. It felt kinda good but odd. We usually head to the park with some kind of plan. It was almost 6:15 and we had an ADR at Via Napoli with a few other guys... Barry and his family, and CJ and his daughter Andriana AKA Crash, Bambi's parents (Barry's wife) as well as another family friend of Barry's.

We were seated pretty quickly and ended up at two tables next to each other. Melody & I sat with CJ & Crash, Barry, Barry's friend and his son. We had a nice dinner discussing running, food, Disney, and ummm vasectomies. I hope we didn't scar Crash for life with this conversation. It took a few minutes to order but once we did the food came in a matter of minutes. Melody had the eggplant parmigiana, I had chicken parmigiana with a side of pasta, Barry had pasta & meatballs, Crash had Lasagna Verde (i think) and CJ had mozzarella & tomato salad and soup(?).

After eating pizza here in Nov, I had high expectations for my meal and I was a little disappointed. Melody was too. We aren't food snobs, but living in CT where there is a higher concentration of Italians than Italy itself, we thought the sauce was lacking and the quality just wasn't there. Barry, didn't seem to have a problem eating his pasta and CJ did like his salad. There was a consensus on our side of the table anyway, that we should of just ordered pizza. I didn't get any pictures of our meal but after we did stick around and talk outside for 10-15 minutes. I HAD to find out if Bambi hated me for challenging her husband but she seemed cool with it. How could she be mad? I mean I just forced them to take another Disney trip!

Before departing for the evening, A quick picture of Barry, CJ, & I.



It was around 8:20 when we left dinner and it was back to strolling the WS for Melody & I.


You could have come with us to dinner at LeCellier. ut no you had to eat with team Barry


We didn't wait too long for a bus but when it got there it was pretty packed. Once we were back to OKW, instead of getting off at the first stop, we rode the bus till we got to the Hospitality House. That was a bad move. We should of got off at stop #1 and walked but we didn't know the internal bus system yet. We had to stop at the Hospitality House because we were never given our room number at check-in, we only knew what building we were in. After finding out, we asked Bell services to give us a ride to our room. A really nice guy, I think his name was Bill, drove us to the room, telling us all about the resort. He also came to the room to make sure our key worked and our luggage was there.

We unpacked a bit, and I looked at the clock. 10:55. UGH I was meeting Barry outside the room at 3:10am to get to the 1/2. After getting situated and showering, I think it was about 11:30 before I finally laid down. I really hope I could sleep... and not sleep through my alarm.

Hope the room was to your liking.

Up next... RACE DAY!!!

 

[RodBelding]

Hopefully the penguins got thrown under with you...

 

[declansdad]

Hopefully the penguins got thrown under with you...

Hey easy on the penguins!!

 

[that's nice]

Hey, one got loose! Where is Randall when you need him.

You guys are having WAY too much fun here. What a great meet and fun afternoon. Fun to see a guys trip. The penguins are cracking me up. I don't run but that whole o-dark thirty wake up/start thing would stress me out beyond belief. I have a hard time with a regular work out before 10 am

It was fun meeting all these DISers. I'm sure people were staring at us thinking we were out of our minds.

Nice willpower on the stopping on the cold ones and strolling. That would not have been fun at 3:30am! Sucks to be responsible sometimes, especially on a beautiful day with friends.

It was hard.. just got to Florida in 80 degree weather, first day of vaca without the kids, peer pressure, ya know?

Disney giving you money? That'll be the day!

Money no. But they did give me an AP magnet.

Now this group looks like trouble!

YUP!

At least the Team Barry shirt wasn't illegal.

Of course it wasn't... after 3 reprints.

Ever see Band of Brothers? This reminds me of the part where the drill sergeant feeds everyone a nice big spaghetti dinner and then forces them to go on a 10-mile run.

That is one I haven't seen... but I can guess the outcome.

Why not discuss 50 Shades of Grey with her, too?

Now that would of been really weird!

And you make fun of me for sticking with known quantities. That'll learn ya. Does Via Napoli have a burger?

Pizza. Only eat the pizza!

I agree it's too much time spent on the murky spinning globe. But the pyrotechnics make up for a lot.

I'd really like the show if they blew up the globe at the end. Now that would be A.W.E.S.O.M.E.!