AJollyHoliday with the Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2016~ PTR

[AJollyHoliday]

Great cross training...love the new purchase!



Nicely done on the Disney GC...I really need to go to Target this weekend and exchange them. Now with all the hoop-la of the bathrooms...I am thinking of getting Sams GC to exchange for Disney GC. I was not a fan of Target anyway and it is out of my way. I can get pretty much the same savings at Sams...

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this issue Tammie, but I am glad you can use Sams club. I am following along to your WISH journal, keep up the good work!

If you generally like hats and tumblers, I would go for it! My husband was sad I didn't order him the Dark Side Weekend Jacket (oops)


I'll be posting more this weekend for my report on Dark Side! Overall it was a good weekend, even if my husband and I had slower runs than what we had planned on having. The weekend ended with him getting the flu (and now I'm getting it from him, thanks hun!) and my left hip hating me!

We have never gotten race stuff before, this will only be my second Disney race and DH's first race. I am thinking maybe jacket or the hat and tumbler, but goodness knows we have a bunch of stuff. I'll reassess as we get a little closer to the race. I can't wait to read your update, but I am sorry you had hip issues and that you both are battling the flu. It is hard to remember, but every race is different and we can't always have the fastest race. As my yoga instructor always reminds us, every time you come to the mat you have a different body and I try to remember that when I run. Every time I run, my body is different, I can be stressed, happy, sad, exhausted or full of energy. Just recognizing that helps to take pressure off. Just keep moving!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

We have never gotten race stuff before, this will only be my second Disney race and DH's first race. I am thinking maybe jacket or the hat and tumbler, but goodness knows we have a bunch of stuff. I'll reassess as we get a little closer to the race. I can't wait to read your update, but I am sorry you had hip issues and that you both are battling the flu. It is hard to remember, but every race is different and we can't always have the fastest race. As my yoga instructor always reminds us, every time you come to the mat you have a different body and I try to remember that when I run. Every time I run, my body is different, I can be stressed, happy, sad, exhausted or full of energy. Just recognizing that helps to take pressure off. Just keep moving!

If you live somewhere where you could wear the jacket a decent amount, go for it! I'm ashamed to admit my husband owns like 10 jackets despite living where it rarely gets under 65 degrees...

If you think you want it - its better to order sooner than later as they do close off the pre-orders a couple months ahead of time.

We get that every race is different. We totally will do the race again next year as well as we want to keep legacy on both coasts. We're both on an exercise break for a full week, especially with the sickness - I'll go to yoga Monday night and my husband will do the bike. We probably won't run again until May - although we do have a 10K at the end of May.

 

[momabaarjo]

Question about Perk...

Is there a daily earning limit? I was running it yesterday and a black box popped up and said you reached your max allowance. I clicked through it and kept running...and it kept crediting.

 

[AJollyHoliday]

If you live somewhere where you could wear the jacket a decent amount, go for it! I'm ashamed to admit my husband owns like 10 jackets despite living where it rarely gets under 65 degrees...

If you think you want it - its better to order sooner than later as they do close off the pre-orders a couple months ahead of time.

We get that every race is different. We totally will do the race again next year as well as we want to keep legacy on both coasts. We're both on an exercise break for a full week, especially with the sickness - I'll go to yoga Monday night and my husband will do the bike. We probably won't run again until May - although we do have a 10K at the end of May.

We do live somewhere where jackets are required about 9 mths of the year (yay for upstate NY ). That being said, DH just picked out a jacket this weekend at Lululemon so I think he will pass on the race jacket. I think I will hold out on the hat and tervis. DH has a big head (just in size not ego ) so hats are tricky for him. I can get a Tervis at the expo if I really want one. I hope you are feeling better!

Question about Perk...

Is there a daily earning limit? I was running it yesterday and a black box popped up and said you reached your max allowance. I clicked through it and kept running...and it kept crediting.

I've never reached a daily limit. Typically a window pops up asking if I am still watching, but never a max allowance. I cashed out on Wednesday last week and I am almost to another $10 GC. Perk is working so much better for us in terms of getting money fast. At least it seems that way . That being said, having 3 SB accounts in our house is nice too.

 

[TeeterTots]

Hello! Just checking in to say hi. I ran a grueling 8 miles on the treadmill Sunday. My knees bothered me awful, so I think I need to work on quad strength. Regardless, my pace was 10:48, so that's not terrible.

On a happier note, I think I'm finally about ready to cash in shopkick and perk tv for $10 each! Yay.

I hope all is well!

 

[AJollyHoliday]

Hello! Just checking in to say hi. I ran a grueling 8 miles on the treadmill Sunday. My knees bothered me awful, so I think I need to work on quad strength. Regardless, my pace was 10:48, so that's not terrible.

On a happier note, I think I'm finally about ready to cash in shopkick and perk tv for $10 each! Yay.

I hope all is well!

I was just getting ready to do a post about my half marathon this weekend. That is awesome that you did 8 miles on the treadmill. That is getting up there in terms of what I can tolerate due to boredom. That is a great pace as well! Leg strength definitely helps with the knees as well as stretching out the quads. If they are too tight they will pull on the patella tendon (which is connected to the quads) and cause pain.

Awesome work on the $$. I am just about ready to get my next $100 GC. It seems to be rolling in lately, I am loving it!

 

[AJollyHoliday]

Comeback Half Marathon
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Last year, I was training for what would be my 4th marathon which would have been the Providence RI Marathon. Well, life had different plans and instead of running the race as planned, I was in the hospital that exact weekend "donating" almost my entire colon thanks to cancer. Despite the change in plans, I was counting my blessings because the surgery was saving my life and in a way, saved my sisters' lives. They all had to be screened for colon cancer and one of my sisters had 3 precancerous polyps at the young age of 31. So thanks to our dad having colon cancer, we were all screened and some of us fared better than others. I was suppose to run the race with a few of my running friends and true to our friendship, they all deferred with me so we can run it together when I was all better. That brings us to this past weekend.

We drove out to RI Saturday morning, which is just under 3 hours for us. We had a blast in the car just chatting away and it reminded me how much I love my girl running weekends. We checked into our hotel which we realized was right across from the start. I hadn't booked the hotel so was just going along with the plans. I looked out our window at a long line of port-a-potties and realized, wow the start was right there! We went across the street to the expo, which I must say was the most pitiful expo I have ever been to. Thankfully, it was in the mall (weird) and we stopped in Athleta. I am thankful it wasn't a Lululemon because I would have done more damage. Thankfully, I walked away with just a new pair of socks (Feetures) which I ended up running in and loving. We then killed some time before dinner exploring the city a little. We had reservations at a lovely little Italian restaurant. I had some wine and a wonderful eggplant and pasta dish. I was also hydrating like mad. This was my first big race without a colon and (biology lesson here) your colon's main job is water absorption so I have to be very aware of hydration. After our meal, we went back the hotel and all laid out our outfits, checked the weather, and settled in.

After a restless night's sleep, we all awoke, made coffee, and began our pre-race rituals. It was so nice to just remain the comfort of our hotel room until about 20 mins before the start. No waiting in the cool morning weather or standing in line for a bathroom, instead we had our own toilet complete with a scented candle, because we are all ladies . My BRF was running with me and was going to pace me. I wanted under 2 hours and had printed a 1:57 pace bracelet to give me a cushion. Well she had other plans for me . We lined up near the 2:00 pace group and off we went. The weather was perfect, comfortably cool, cloudy, with no rain in the morning. The course was a mix of urban and suburban areas and had some good hills throughout the course. We were just past the 10 mile marker when the first marathoner was coming by. I was shocked because I usually finish before the marathoners, then I realized they started about 30 mins before us. Besides, my BRF was pacing me faster than I was shooting, she is sneaky like that , so we were doing fine. We were looking at coming in a couple mins faster than my planned finish time. Really, the miles flew by with us just chatting away and I reflected on where I was a year ago. We were approaching the finish and I was just so thrilled to be nearly done. My friend grabbed my hand and helped pull me to the finish (figuratively and little bit literally ). Here we are coming in to the finish line. Yes, she is wearing a shirt that says "I run with crazy".

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I am not sure why my race pictures always look like I am walking because I was in a good "sprint" at this point. I also thought that I need to not be critical of my race photos because I am doing something that is great for myself and that in and of itself makes for an awesome picture. Anyway, we finished in 1:54:54!! My PR is 1:53:19 so I just couldn't believe that I was able to run so fast after just finishing chemo 5 months before! We joked that my colon was probably weighing me down all these years. I really have to give credit to my CrossFit training and my spinning (LOVE MY PELOTON) in helping my running get back to where it was.

I liked the medals. I am a big nautical theme fan, my dad has had a sailboat for most of my life.

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It was an awesome race and I am so happy to have finished! Afterwards, we stumbled the short distance back to our hotel and showered, stretched, re-hydrated, drank more coffee, and searched for a place to eat. There was a Lux Burger at street level in our hotel. Being a vegetarian, I wasn't sure how that would be, but a quick look at the online menu and I was excited! We each did a build-a-burger and I got their veggie burger with goat cheese and a side of sweet potato fries with garlic aoili. This was the best veggie burger I have ever had and goat cheese was just the "icing on the cake." After lunch, we jumped in the car to head home. When I got home, DH and DD had a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me. I love them!

Overall, it felt like I had finally returned to my previous life. I know I have done some races since stopping chemo, but my goal was to get back to half marathons and I did it! Now to complete the rest of the halves I have planned this year starting with next weekend's Mystic Half Marathon!

 

[TeeterTots]

Congratulations! What an amazing accomplishment for you. It's crazy what life throws our way, but coming back strong must be so rewarding! You look like you had a blast! Who doesn't love a girl weekend?!! Hooray for you!

 

[AJollyHoliday]

Wine and Dine Planning​

We have earned another $100 GC using a combination of swagbucks and PerkTV. Right now, our total is:

$300 in Disney GC
$14.25 paid
$385.75 in savings

I can't believe we are up to $300 already and it is only the beginning of May. I hope to have another $100 by the end of May. At this rate, we will crush our $900 GC goal for November. I may use some GCs when we go to Vero Beach this summer, but we generally don't need them for much there so I may save them.

In other news, it is meal planning time. The 180 day window opens tomorrow, eek!!! Here is our initial plan:

Thursday- Hollywood day
Arrive
Go to expo
Dinner Brown Derby

Friday- MK day Breakfast Grand Floridian Cafe
Dinner Be Our Guest (Tony's as a plan B in case booked)

Saturday- MK in morning, pool, then Epcot for dinner
Breakfast Kona Cafe
Dinner Via Napoli

Sunday- Epcot
Breakfast 1900 Park Fare
Dinner Chef de France Celebrate our races

I'm a bit worried about the Via Napoli and BOG reservation. Our back up for BOG should be easy to get, but if I don't get my pizza, I just don't know what to do!

I am also anxious because currently we are at AKL-Kidani which is fine, but if we were at BCV or BWV it would make some of the dining easier to deal with. I am so crossing my fingers that something opens up at BWV. Maybe people don't want 2 bedroom villas that weekend, maybe....

 

[LadyD]

Following your PTR! I have always been interested in participating in a runDisney race, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Every time I start training for a race (eyeing a 10k to start with), I get sidelined with an injury. For the longest time, it was a herniated disc in my back that would start to flare up after about a month of training. That finally seems to be a thing of the past, but now I'm trying to get rid of some bursitis in my hip. Your PTR inspires me to keep working at it though!

We're going to be at WDW over wine and dine. I think seeing all the runners with the pretty medals is going to end up sealing the deal for me and pushing me to complete a race.

Hope your ADRs went well and you got everything you were looking for. As a fellow vegetarian, I love seeing where other people like to eat and what they think of the food.

You have some really great tips for earning GCs! Thanks!!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Congrats on finishing your first post chemo half so strong! You rocked it!

Good luck in getting the ADRs you want

I've only booked 1 so far - Il Mulino on Friday night - on Tuesday I need to book Beaches & Cream and outside of that I haven't made much decisions on where to eat until the F&W special events are listed

 

[TeeterTots]

Hoping you got all your ADRs! I had no luck for CRT or BOG on Halloween. We just ate at both last month so that's fine. I booked Ohana for Halloween. We've never been but are staying at the poly so I hope the kids like it.

Since we have a split stay for our F&W trip, I was just able to book for the second half of our trip at AKL. I did get via Napoli Saturday (yay) night but I'm not sure what to book for post run meal and a special dinner Sunday night.

Totally off topic, running skirts! Are there skirts with pockets that fit iPhone 6? My Nike pants fit my 5 perfect but I just got a new phone. As for outfits, I'm thinking Sebastian and chef Louis running tank. I found a cute little mermaid bow with a dingle hopper on it! Lol.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and mothers of fur babies!

 

[AJollyHoliday]

Following your PTR! I have always been interested in participating in a runDisney race, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Every time I start training for a race (eyeing a 10k to start with), I get sidelined with an injury. For the longest time, it was a herniated disc in my back that would start to flare up after about a month of training. That finally seems to be a thing of the past, but now I'm trying to get rid of some bursitis in my hip. Your PTR inspires me to keep working at it though!

We're going to be at WDW over wine and dine. I think seeing all the runners with the pretty medals is going to end up sealing the deal for me and pushing me to complete a race.

Hope your ADRs went well and you got everything you were looking for. As a fellow vegetarian, I love seeing where other people like to eat and what they think of the food.

You have some really great tips for earning GCs! Thanks!!

I say pull the trigger (and I am not a gun person ). I have done a lot of races over the years and I have found runDisney races to be some of the most well organized and fun races. Granted I only have run the GSC, but they were awesome and what is better than running in the Happiest Place on Earth! I am sorry about your back, but I am glad that it is in the past. Darn bursitis! That can be painful and while it is tempting to work through the pain, sometimes giving things the time to heal properly ensures that you can run without pain and interruptions. I know that is easier said than done, but I have taken breaks and done other exercise that didn't hurt and let my body heal.

Yea for a fellow veg head! I will let you know all about our food. We generally stay away from any lunch/dinner buffet because there is just so little in terms of options for us and then it costs so much. We are definitely breakfast people.

Congrats on finishing your first post chemo half so strong! You rocked it!

Good luck in getting the ADRs you want

I've only booked 1 so far - Il Mulino on Friday night - on Tuesday I need to book Beaches & Cream and outside of that I haven't made much decisions on where to eat until the F&W special events are listed

Thank you! I have another half this weekend which I know will be slower, but I am so happy to have felt so strong. I know I will do another marathon in the future, but for awhile I am going to focus on speed and get my half time down. My goal is to hit 1:50. Il Mulino sounds awesome. I am really hoping that our wait list comes through so we can be closer to Epcot, but if not, AKL is beautiful. DH and I were talking again this weekend about more VGF points. It will happen!

Hoping you got all your ADRs! I had no luck for CRT or BOG on Halloween. We just ate at both last month so that's fine. I booked Ohana for Halloween. We've never been but are staying at the poly so I hope the kids like it.

Since we have a split stay for our F&W trip, I was just able to book for the second half of our trip at AKL. I did get via Napoli Saturday (yay) night but I'm not sure what to book for post run meal and a special dinner Sunday night.

Totally off topic, running skirts! Are there skirts with pockets that fit iPhone 6? My Nike pants fit my 5 perfect but I just got a new phone. As for outfits, I'm thinking Sebastian and chef Louis running tank. I found a cute little mermaid bow with a dingle hopper on it! Lol.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and mothers of fur babies!

I don't generally carry my phone so I don't have much to offer in terms of skirt pockets. Lululemon is my go to for running clothes. I am tall and slender (not bragging, just how I have been my whole life) and believe it or not, it was always hard to find stuff that fit. Then Lulu came into my life (and my wallet) and I have never looked back. DH is also obsessed with Lulu. I did have a nice pouch that I bought at Marshall's that held my old phone, but I have the 6+ so it is too big to fit into it anymore. I have to look for a new one because some races I like having my phone.

Love your outfit ideas!

 

[AJollyHoliday]

Wine and Dine Planning​

ADR always makes me anxious. I love planning and I am fine with making decisions for my family, but we are doing W&D with friends so I can't just make decisions on my own. Saturday was our day to make ADR. I went for a 6 mile run at 5:30 AM, got home at 7:30 AM and had CrossFit at 8 AM. I wanted to make the important reservations before CF. Then my BF took over making some reservations. In the end, I think our plan will be great. Here is what we have:

Thursday- Hollywood day
Arrive
Go to expo
Dinner Brown Derby (Cobb Salad for me!)

Friday- MK day
Breakfast at Kona Cafe
Dinner Portobella Italian in Disney Springs
BOG was all booked which I wasn't surprised about, but Tony's was also booked which shocked me! I think our party size is the problem, there are 7 of us. In the end, I think the Italian in DS will be good and I haven't been there in a long time.

Saturday- 10k in the morning relax at resort until dinner (or linner since is a very early dinner)
Breakfast Boma
Dinner Via Napoli

Sunday- 1/2 marathon in the morning
Breakfast 1900 Park Fare
Dinner Chef de France Celebrate our races

We mostly got what we wanted. If our waitlist comes through, we will cancel Boma on Saturday and just do QS at the resort or eat in our room. The big surprise was we couldn't get into Grand Floridian Cafe, once again, I think it was our party size because when I checked for 4 people they had tables. I know we can split up and do 4, 3, but this will be fine. Via Napoli is a 3:45 PM dinner reservation. That is pretty early, but if we don't eat lunch we will be plenty hungry and if we are hungry again at 5:30 or so we can grab something at a booth. It is the night before the 1/2 so I know it is a busy restaurant to eat at. I can't wait for this trip! They say that those who vacation live longer and that even planning a trip can give you little boosts. That is why I love Disney, planning gives me little shots of happiness!

 

[AJollyHoliday]

Mother's Day
​

Yesterday was such a great Mother's day! It started out with the most awesome activity (well coffee was first and that is pretty awesome), it was going for a run with my daughter. My daughter is signed up for the virtual Disney Shorts races. My daughter is a "worrier" which is just another way of saying she is anxious. I was too at her age and the things she tells me that stress her out use to bother me as well. When I started running in college, I saw some of that stress just melt away. I have never looked back, exercise has been my savior in terms of my ability to deal with what life throws my way. My daughter does kung fu and that really helps, how could it not? You get to punch and kick and she uses a staff and sword! Well she broke her arm so she hasn't been able to do kung fu for 2 months and her stress level sky rocketed! That's when we started talking about the connection between physical activity and her anxiety/stress. When i told her about the Disney races, she was so excited. We signed her up for all 3 (the challenge) and she is so excited to earn all her bling and get to do it with me. I told her that if it goes well, then we can do a 5K in Disney! Sunday was our first run. We decided to just run in our neighborhood which is hilly. I set intervals at 3 min run/1 min walk. She did awesome the first mile, then slowed a little on the second, but we didn't care! We had a blast! She wanted to hold my hand during the walk breaks and she talked to me about things which is just so great. It is hard to run together during the week, but we are planning to keep working at it on the weekends. Here are a couple of pictures from our run:

DD and I before we headed out (please excuse the messy playroom in the background, she has a lot of stuff given that she was the only grandchild on both sides for 8 years).

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DD and I out on the run. DH was driving to get eggs to make Death star waffles for breakfast and decided to follow us and cheer us on .

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After we ran and ate our lovely Death Star waffles (it is a waffle iron I got DH for Valentine's Day), we watched Mary Poppins (my favorite movie), went to dinner with my MIL, then we watched Return of the Jedi. I love that DD loves Star Wars just as much as DH and I do!

I hope all the other mom's out there had a lovely mother's day and remember, if you have a pet, you are a mom to them too .

 

[TeeterTots]

I will definitely check out Lululemon. I need a sports bra (tmi, sorry, but if you have a recommendation...awesome!)

What a special Mother's Day! My DD likes to play on the elliptical while I'm on the treadmill, but one day she'll be my running partner. The virtual races are such a cute idea!

By the way, I totally started running and set the Half as my goal to eliminate anxiety in my life! What a great way to rid yourself of the negative energy!

 

[AJollyHoliday]

I will definitely check out Lululemon. I need a sports bra (tmi, sorry, but if you have a recommendation...awesome!)

What a special Mother's Day! My DD likes to play on the elliptical while I'm on the treadmill, but one day she'll be my running partner. The virtual races are such a cute idea!

By the way, I totally started running and set the Half as my goal to eliminate anxiety in my life! What a great way to rid yourself of the negative energy!

In the bra area, this is one area where I "cheap out" on my running gear. I will drop $50 for a t-shirt, but $16 is too much for a bra, ha! Anyway, bras aren't a big issue for me because, well, that is an area where I don't need much support. I really like the C9 brand from Target. Recently, they added a pad which is really nice for those cold mornings . I ran a marathon in the rain and with temps in the 40s, it was freezing! I had a hard time finding a picture where I wasn't too perky , hahaha. If you find another brand you like let me know.

 

[AJollyHoliday]

Sooooo, this morning I booked our hotel for Princess weekend 2017!!! I know this is a W&D PTR, but it is already the 11 mth mark for Princess. My BF was planning to do the 10k with me that weekend, but she is iffy at the moment. I didn't want to wait to book a room so I just booked a studio for my family and I at AKL-Kidani (no studios at VGF). It is winter break for some of us northerners so I didn't want to get locked out of a room. My plan/goal, is to try and move us at the 7mth mark to either the Polynesian (my daughter really wants to stay there) or BCV or BWV. Being either on the monorail or walking distance to Epcot will be nice.

This weekend DH and I have the Mystic, CT half marathon. On the drive down we plan on talking about more vacation points. The prices are looking good, we just have to decide if we can swing it. We almost have the first set of points paid off, but we know we need cars in the coming years. I would much rather drive an older car if it means I can have more DVC points .

 

[TeeterTots]

In the bra area, this is one area where I "cheap out" on my running gear. I will drop $50 for a t-shirt, but $16 is too much for a bra, ha! Anyway, bras aren't a big issue for me because, well, that is an area where I don't need much support. I really like the C9 brand from Target. Recently, they added a pad which is really nice for those cold mornings . I ran a marathon in the rain and with temps in the 40s, it was freezing! I had a hard time finding a picture where I wasn't too perky , hahaha. If you find another brand you like let me know.

Lol! I hear you! I couldn't believe the price of those "Tata tamers!" Lol

I've been checking out princess half weekend too! I asked my BFF to go for our birthday trip (we went marathon weekend this year) but she can't Idk, I really want to try a challenge. We need points too! We bought a loaded resale contract so we've been set, but now that we're booking trips when DS is 3 (technically a "person" and we bring my mom) we need a 1 BR for our home resort until we change at 7 months to poly! We love poly and have no trouble booking at 7 mo.

 

[momabaarjo]

Okay...I have found the Perk version of TTG/LTG!

1. Download PERKwallet on your device
2. When you open at the bottom of the screen is a BLUE toolbar/ad that says "Instantly Bank more Perk Points? Tap Here to Earn"...tap on it
3. This opens to a Watch Videos Screen...tap the arrow and a 15-20 second ad appears...after the ad runs you instantly get 2 perk points. Keep tapping Watch Videos for 2 points...the points rack up fast especially if you are running 2-3 devices. This was something I did mindlessly last night watching tv and while on the treadmill this morning...I earned 500 points both last night and this morning doing this in no time at all.

The ads are supposed to run out, but they have not so far for me. A couple of times an ad did not credit and I thought I might of hit my max points...but I tapped a few more times and the points started up again.

Yes this takes you watching and tapping...but it was so easy!