Mind what you have learned. Save you it can. - Rebel Challenge TR Jan 2016 - Completed!

Table of Contents

Pre-Trip: Planning
Introductions
Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend Sign Ups
Hotel Selection
Star Wars Half Marathon Proof of Time
Training Planning
Airfare!
Initial Plan
Star Wars Dooney!
Star Wars Run Outfits
ADRs
Run Updates
Updated Plans

Pre-Trip: Training
September Training Plan
October Training Update
November Training Update
December Training Update
Training Until Leaving For Disneyland


Trip Report

January 12th
Indulgent Travels

January 13th
Early Rising
Seasons of the Force
Embracing My Inner Child
Luxury Above New Orleans Square

January 14th
Goodbye Money
Winning!
Let's Explore!
Disappointment

January 15th
Star Wars - 5K
Off To Neverland!
Stuffing Ourselves

January 16th
Star Wars 10K - 1st 5K
Star Wars 10K - 2nd 5K
Fly By Visits
Pour It On

January 17th
Star Wars Half Marathon - 1st 10K
Star Wars Half Marathon - Finish
Star Wars Half Marathon - Aftermath
Chef's Counter

January 18th
Finishing Up Disneyland
Over Indulgence
Showdown

January 19th
Going Home

What's Next​

Introductions

I may just be a glutton for punishment.

Last year when I crossed the finish line for the Star Wars Half Marathon, I was so disenchanted with running that I honestly had zero idea how I was going to be able to complete the Glass Slipper Challenge 5 weeks later at Walt Disney World and put my body through this experience again. I had finished slower than I wanted and my body ached in places that I never had pain in before. It also didn’t help that I had close to a mental breakdown between miles 5 and 12 where a lot of bad thoughts were brought up that ranged from any and everything. I knew I was being irrational but that really didn’t help.



I went through with the Glass Slipper Challenge a few weeks later with a coworker. I took it slower than I did for the Rebel Challenge as I knew I had enough wiggle room as I wasn’t in the last corral for either the 10K or the Half. I also got myself K-Taped at the Expo in the area that was in pain after the Rebel Challenge. The half went a lot better mentally for me this time around even if my pace was well, horrible (18:00 min/mil)



When I got home after the Glass Slipper, I took an 8 week break from running. I still went to the gym, but I upped my membership to allow for classes so I started doing yoga, strength training classes, and some different types of cardio. This allowed for the parts of my body that were so beat up from the past year of running to finally heal and focus on my core strength (which still needs work but it’s getting better) I had planned on taking a longer break from running but after a particularly bad day at work, I actually had a desire to go home and run some to get some stress out. This was the first time in a long time I actually had a desire to run. I was slow but I went 1.79 miles and then followed it up with yoga. During that yoga class, all I could think of was red meat and shrimp so I headed to Publix afterwards to pick up dinner and cook it for when my husband got home. During this dinner, we started talking about next year’s vacations. My husband was dead set we were going to return to Disneyland for him to run the Rebel Challenge again. He wants to maintain legacy. It may have been half the bottle of wine I drank, but I agreed to run not just the Rebel Challenge again, but in addition the 5K. We also agreed that we need to get the Coast to Coast again since WDW isn’t that far away from where we live (3 hours), we decided to do the Princess Glass Slipper Challenge. I don’t like running at night so that took Wine & Dine out for me. My husband doesn’t care about it being a woman focus race either.

I’m not worried about upping my mileage until September. I’m probably going to keep my runs until then in the 30 minute range and just focus on form and finding the intervals that work the best for me.



My husband could probably run this challenge tomorrow if he had to. He’s really started enjoying running more especially after finishing the Rebel Challenge last year. He’s completed 2 10K since and has done really well in both. He is signed up for Wine & Dine this November. He isn’t following any real training plan and instead is doing one 5 to 7 mile run and one 10 to 13 mile run a week at a minimum, sometimes with another 5 to 7 mile run or two thrown in.



His long term goals include a marathon sometime in 2016 and possibly an ultra after that.​

Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend Sign Ups

June 2nd at 12EST was the sign up day for the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend Races for DVC Owners and AP Holders, which we both are. My husband and I had agreed that we would be completing the Rebel Challenge once again along with also signing up for the 5K. The order I was going to complete this sign up was getting my husband signed up for the Rebel Challenge, then myself, then him for the 5K then finally myself for the 5K. If I ended up missing one of the race sign ups for myself, I knew I could either get a chance through a Travel Agent or on general sign ups on June 16th.

Getting signed up was much more important for my husband than me as I still am nervous at trying to complete this again.
I woke up at 2:45AM on June 2nd completely unable to go back asleep as I tossed and turned for almost an hour. I think my body thought it was an actually race day instead of just a sign up day. The good thing about waking up so early was that I was able to get a 2.4 mile run in before work and get my day started right!

Fast forward to 11:45EST. I had my calender blocked out at work to show that I was busy and those that work with me the most knew that it was race sign up day. I’m at my desk logged into both our DVC account and Annual Pass Account to wait for the link to go live. The links showed up at exactly 11:55AM but the events were not active until exactly 12PM. My first concern was getting my husband for the Rebel Challenge. I went back to get myself for the Rebel Challenge and it continued to say “On Hold” so I got my husband signed up for the 5K then myself for the 5K. The Rebel Challenge never changed from the “On Hold” status for me. I didn’t like this! I had a choice of trying again on June 16th or calling a travel agent. As I still needed to book hotel anyway, I decided to call Get Travel as I had used them with success for Princess Glass Slipper Challenge last year. In order to get my registration through them, I had to agree to at least 3 night stay along with purchasing at least a 1 day/1 park ticket.

Now I didn’t have to worry about the stress on June 16th!​

Hotel Selection

During our first trip to Disneyland last year, we decided to stay at Paradise Pier as it was the cheapest of the onsite hotel. We had no complaints about our room as it was a nice size and clean. The walk to the parks wasn’t bad at all and it was a great place to be to get to the starting lines for the races as it was right outside the front door!







For this year, we wanted to stay someplace different. That left us to pick between the Grand Californian or the Disneyland Hotel. We really liked the advantage of the short walk to the corrals on the race mornings along with the shorter walk to the parks, so we decided on the Grand Californian! We’ll be there for 7 Nights from January 12th to the 19th in a Standard Room. We have requested a King Room but we know that may not happen. I'm really excited for this choice!

Photos shamelessly stolen from the Disneyland Website:

Star Wars Half Marathon Proof of Times

As I've been more busy planning my Food & Wine Festival Trips, I've been neglectful to this Pre-Trip. I've been keeping up my personal training logs over at that other Pre-Trip as well, since training to the plan doesn't officially start until the middle of September.

Proof of Time submissions opened up recently:
http://www.trackshackresults.com/disneysports/proof/sw/proof.php

I submitted my husband's time from his Run for the Music 10K that occurred in March of this past year. He's super speedy and so far has a great estimated completion time:



My proof of time isn't that pretty. I didn't do that well during any of my past long distance races so I picked the best pace - last year's Star Wars 10K which had me at a 15:51 pace.

The Star Wars Half Marathon I finished in 3:35:12 (16:24 pace)



Seeing as my Half Marathon pace was actually better than my anticipated finish time, I'm guessing I should update that from the 10K.

I'm also debating if I want to do another 10K in September to try to see if my pace is any better for the 10K as overall my training seems to be between anywhere between a 13 min pace and a 15 min pace now. The closest 10K before the cut off date is in the Tampa/Clearwater area (2 hours away) either September 19th, 20th or 26th.​

Training Planning

First Item - The hotel & ticket package for this trip is 100% paid off! I completed that back in August. I need to book our airfare soon though - probably will do that once we get home from our Food & Wine WDW Trip.

Training for Rebel Challenge officially started this past week. I actually pulled out my calendar and figured out when the runs fit best in my schedule. I have a yoga class I love on Tuesdays so until November when the double run weekends start up, I'm moving my Tuesday Runs to Mondays. I just hope the two vacations we have planned don't mess up the plan too much.

So far my running is starting off better than it did during last year's training cycle. I haven't done any true long runs since Princess last year so it will interesting to see how I am come the October long runs.​

September Running Update

Blue is Cardio. Red is Strength.



This was the month I had to start getting serious about running again. According to the official training plan, the Rebel Challenge training began on September 15th. On Tuesdays, I have a yoga class at 4:30PM that is really my favorite class of the week as it is the one that forces me to challenge myself the most. The official training has you complete 30 to 45 minute runs every Tuesday & Thursday and increasing mileage on the weekends & double runs starting in November to get used to back to back runs. I moved my Tuesday runs to Monday for September and most likely most of October.

As I started getting sick on Monday the 28th, I began fluid loading. I didn't take my measurements at the end of this month as my weight was fluctuating up to like 10 pounds or more a day Monday, Tuesday, and today.

We leave on our Food & Wine Trip tomorrow! I can't wait!

September Miles Ran: 20.67 miles
Total 2015 Miles Ran: 205.03 miles​

Airfare!

I kept delaying purchasing our airfare for shear laziness. I finally went for it today!

We went with the Tier 2 Airfare that included 1 checked bag each + Group 1 boarding as it was only $100 extra per person. Last year we crammed all our clothes into 1 suitcase and played a did we go per 50 pounds game. At least this year, we won't have to worry about that! With Group 1 boarding, we also won't have to worry about our carry on luggage not getting a spot in the overhead bin.



​

Initial Plan

With our airfare set, the knowledge we have 5 Day Park Hoppers (so one non-park day is a must), and knowing we have to keep our bodies moving after all these races - here is our initial plans for Disneyland. With Park Hoppers, we very well may be switching it up with the parks during the day.

January 12th, 2016
4:00PM - Leave Work
4:30 PM - Drop Dogs Off (If Husband Doesn't Earlier)
5:00PM - Arrive @ Fort Myers Airport
6:50PM - Depart Fort Myers
10:42PM - Arrive at John Wayne International
11:30PM - Arrive at Grand Californian Hotel
...Check In, Unpack, Bed

January 13th, 2016
7:00AM - Wake Up
8:00AM - Disneyland Opens?
11:30AM - Lunch @ Cafe Orleans
6:00PM - Dinner @ *Insert Possible Surprise Here*
Paint The Night Parade

January 14th, 2016
7:00AM - Wake Up
7:30AM - Head to Expo to wait for Merchandise Line (yup we're crazy)
10:00AM - Expo, Packet Pick Up
12:00PM - Head to California Adventure
6:00PM - Dinner @ Carthay Circle

January 15th, 2016
4:00AM - Wake Up
...quick breakfast
5:30AM - Star Wars 5K Starts
6:30AM - Finish 5K & Head Back to Grand Californian
...clean up
8:00AM - Disneyland Opens?
12:00PM - Lunch @ Bengal Barbecue
5:00PM - Steakhouse 55

January 16th, 2016
4:00AM - Wake Up
...quick breakfast
...Head to Corrals
5:30PM - Star Wars 10K Starts
7:30AM - 10K Over & back to Grand Californian
...Clean Up
9:00AM - Head to California Adventures
12:00PM - Lunch @ Cocino Cucamonga Mexican Grill
2:00PM - Relax @ Hotel
5:30PM - Dinner @ Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria
7:00PM - Bed!

January 17th, 2016
4:00AM - Wake Up
...quick breakfast
...Head to Corrals
5:30AM - Star Wars Half Marathon Starts
10:00AM - Half Marathon Over & Back to Grand Californian

Debating Two Options:
Option 1
11:00AM - Uber to La Brea Tar Pits (yes, we know this will be pricy)
La Brea Tar Pits
Page Museum
4:00PM - Uber from Tar Pits to Grand Californian

Option 2
11:00AM - LA Tour with Tour Company that Picks Up From Hotel

7:00PM - Napa Rose Chef's Counter (Hopefully)

January 18th, 2016
8:00AM - California Adventures Opens
11:00AM - Lunch @ Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta
6:00PM - Dinner @ Tortilla Jo's
World of Color?

January 19th, 2016
4:30AM - Wake Up
5:00AM - Taxi To Airport
7:30AM - Leave John Wayne International
5:44PM - Arrive Fort Myers Airport​

October Training Update

Here is October's Update!



Overall, I'm happy with it. With all the travel and work, I think I did really well as I was out of town 13 days of 31 days in October. Work was really draining this month as well.

October 2015 Miles Ran: 37.29 miles
Total 2015 Miles Ran: 242.32 miles​

I could be wrong, but when we went in mid-january in 2012, i thought the parks didnt open until 10:00 am? so you might have to adjust your schedule if the parks do open at 10:00 instead of 8:00 .​