Becoming Lean, Mean, Endurace Event Machines in 2008

[amykab]

Good Morning Everyone!

2 miles yesterday. My Co-Irkers made me feel like this yesterday and I was all worked up so I decided do a couple miles. Hydration is going well, although I think in the heat, it is almost impossible to drink enough.

I woke up this morning to find that my PF was acting up. It hasn't bothered me since right before I got PG. It didn't bother me at all while I was PG and really hasn't at all until now. I know all the excercises to do so I'll start those up again.

We've got a birthday party tomorrow for my friend's DD and then I think we'll be going to Sea World or Busch Gardens. (DH's choice for fathers day) Free Beer Can I just say that I love that Sea World/Busch Gardens allow you to pay for annual passes on a monthly basis. And once you complete a year of payments you can cancel at anytime. I wish Disney would offer this option. As FL residents we do get a good deal on seasonal passes, but the pay by month option to me at least would be attractive.

I am off today, so DD and I will be off to the mall to put in some miles!! She is still sleeping! DD and I will have a girls weekend next weekend since DH will be leaving on Saturday for his Monday interview.

Dave Thanks for the thoughts on selling the house! I'll keep that in mond for whenever we do end up selling. I think we've only had 2 houses move in our neighborhood in the last year, so it is really kind of scary!

Happy Friday everyone!

 

[postesf]

Lisa...Love your idea. Too bad we all don't live closer!

Just wanted to wish everyone a great weekend! If you plan to be outside...Don't forget your sunscreen!

I have a confession. My eating this week has been out of control! It's like I just can't stop myself. It's so frustration because you know you shouldn't eat it, but you don't have the self-control not too. It can really make you feel like a failure. Hopefully my cookbooks will come in the mail next week and that will help. Normally, if I have a snack or two I shouldn't, I don't beat myself up about it, I just accept it and go on, but I can feel the weight in my clothes now and that is just unacceptable. The good thing is my workouts are back on track! That is one step in the right direction. I have my workout plan and it is reasonable. My focus now, just has to be my eating. I tend to be such and all or nothing person. It's like if on Monday I don't eat properly or miss my workout, I feel like I might as well bag the whole week. I'm trying really hard to change that line of thinking.

So...I am officially hopping on the wagon. Choo Choo, oh, no wait, that's a train...What kind of sound does a wagon make?

Someone at work saved me a piece of cake today...I called and said thanks, but no, I am declining. No cake for me. I have to get this under control and I am determined to do so and stop playing around.

I also found out today that my Vitamin D is very low. My doc's office called and he going to have me take a supplement for 8 weeks then come back in for more blood work. She said that If your Vitamin D is low you body cannot absorb the calcium it needs. My cholesterol was also 241. I had to ask. Apparently it is not high enough to concern my doctor, but I know that's a bit high.

Looks like the smoke has cleared so hopefully the 5K will go well tomorrow. I'm hoping for a sub 43. My last 5K was 42:58 so I'm hoping for 42:30. I am praying for low humidity!

Ok...enough blabbing from me! Everyone...have a great weekend!

Stacie

 

[amykab]

Stacielots of for a PR in the 5K tomorrow and for low humidity!

I was contemplating doing a local 5K tomorrow morning, but it is just so stinkin' humid and hot here, even at 8 am. I'll may wait and train for a couple of more weeks and do a fourth of july 5K when we're on vacation in NC. My next goal for a 5K is sub 40 minutes.

Have a good weekend everyone!

 

[postesf]

Stacielots of for a PR in the 5K tomorrow and for low humidity!

I was contemplating doing a local 5K tomorrow morning, but it is just so stinkin' humid and hot here, even at 8 am. I'll may wait and train for a couple of more weeks and do a fourth of july 5K when we're on vacation in NC. My next goal for a 5K is sub 40 minutes.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Do know of any 5Ks on the July 4 weekend in NC?

 

[deekaypee]

Wendy: I'm the drill-sergeant type of motivator when it comes to myself, but I'm with you on focusing on small successes and building from there. If I look too far in the future I get freaked out, so I try to focus on doing what I have to do today, in the next week, in the month. That's one of the many reasons I appreciate having all of you to encourage me to look long-term! It's great news to hear that DS is already tearing up the road--he must have been so antsy to get out there.

Lisa: Wow, the 17th of June. That's forever to be in school, even if they like school. If I were your kids I'd be saying frak, or a reasonable substitution. You're really close with your ISSA certification (and your ACE, it sounds like). What's your post-certification plans, since you'll be a nutritionist as well? on your ride--you earned those sore quads, but not the sunburn! And it sounds like your hill sprints are really helping you mark your progress, and breaking 30 in your 5K on the 22nd is a terrific goal. In terms of scheduling, wow. You're packed in, as usual. I admire how you keep all those balls (soft and otherwise) in the air.

Dave: Visualize success. That sounds great. Expose yourself....not so much. Expose yourself for success? That has a certain ring to it. I might give it a try. Can't hurt, except for the pain of self-consciousness. (Unfortunately, my mind did go in gutter--but I blame you for bringing it up! ) WTG with your 8.3 walk--isn't that a great surprise, to learn you gained some "extra" distance in your walk.

Amykab: Too bad about misplacing running legs. I think your idea of trying something new might work for you--especially just focusing on the C25K without adding extra miles or doing what you need to do for your PF. I truly empathize with the idea of moving, packing/unpacking. It's such a pain. But it sounds as if the potential move might be good for DH and your family. And if you still get to do ToT, that would rock! Co-Irkers!
Have a great time at this weekend's birthday party and your upcoming girls' weekend. P.S. I didn't know Sea World/Busch Gardens had a monthly payment plan for APs. That's really cool and a big draw for locals, I imagine.

Stacie: Great job getting out there for C25K. It sounds like breathing that air, let alone the lingering heat, was a real challenge. Sorry to hear about your hand. I find most of my accidents happen when I AM thinking, or at least thinking I'm being so clever. So I don't even have the "I wasn't paying attention" excuse. If you were to become an instructor, I could see you doing aquacise courses, as you always seem so up for them. And you could help rehab runners, as you're getting experience in that area.

As for being an all or nothing person, I understand. That's why I have to focus on daily goals--and sometimes on hourly ones. Sort of keeping track of the pennies figuring the pounds will follow, you know. And admitting that you're having difficulty is a good first step. You should also remember you turned down that piece of cake--called in to do it. That's a great sign! Finally, good luck on your 5K tomorrow. I'll keep my fingers crossed for low humidity.

Beth: I know how difficult it can be when the scale doesn't move even though we're moving and eating right. Going through a bit of that myself. So I'm extra proud of you for keeping on the wagon (and keeping those tips coming.) Posting about it keeps your short- and long-term goals in focus, I believe.

As for me: Not much to report....a little stretching, a little core, a little XT. No running. I'm not eating horribly, but I'm not eating great. I'm just kind of going through the motions and have been generally unmotivated for a couple of days now. I'm experiencing a general malaise, I think. Somebody needs to get all drill sergeant on my butt.

So, what do you do to motivate yourself when you're doing things "right" or "right enough" but you're not finding the joy in it?

 

[postesf]

Do know of any 5Ks on the July 4 weekend in NC?

I just found a 5miler in Raleigh on July 4.

http://www.ncraces.com/index.php?pr=Great_Raleigh_Road_Race

 

[amykab]

Do know of any 5Ks on the July 4 weekend in NC?

Check out Active.com. There were several listed on that site. My IL's live in Western NC near Asheville, so I am going to do one in Brevard. I think there was one in Raleigh, Weaverville, Lenoir and maybe a couple other places. All the ones I found were on July 4th itself. I guess most people have the day off. Where I live in FL, there is one that they run on July 3rd, at night (11pm), over one of the causeways to the Gulf of Mexico. I hope to run that one next year!

 

[Big Vic]

Good evening Leaner Meaners!

Hoping everyone's Friday has gone well.

Arrive home from Orlando a few hours ago. Spent three days at the Florida Mall Hotel. Attended some domestic security meetings. What fun!

Only ran one day this week, and only one day of BW exercises. I guess I better get off of my backside and get some exercise in.

I'll catch up with y'all later.

 

[amykab]

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I have a question for all of you marathon weekend veterans.

I was talking with someone today who ran the full this year at WDW and they made it sound like how they do corrals/placement is really horrible, disorganized, taking 30 minutes to get to the start etc. It sounded to me like they would probably never do a race at disney again because of this.

Is it really that bad? I am not in it for a super stellar time ( at least at this point in my endurance event career) so I don't think it would bother me at all if it took a long time to get to the start ( and since I'll definitely be seeding myself towards the back, I expect it to take a long time). I've only run 3 races so far and none of them were big, so I have absolutely no idea of what to expect. How many people run the half marathon?

On a side note, I did register for a july 4th 5K while we are on vacation in NC. i am hoping for sub 40 minutes, between 36-38 would be outstanding. there will be hills though...

That is about all from my world this Saturday. Enjoy the rest of your weekends! And Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!

 

[princessrunner]

Good morning all Lean Mean personnel!! I am feeling very drill sergant today...look out everyone!!

Stacie: Drop that doughnut and give me 20...lol...I hear you on the lack of self control sometimes. There are days when I can talk myself out of things and days where I eat one bad thing and it just snowballs downhill. I am doing well with my goal for June with not impulse eating. It is one of the things I MUST get under control. I have started grabbing either a Promax bar or a Clif bar in the checkout line at the grocery store and a water. I very rarely eat the bar and end up putting it in my post-run stash.

Amykab: Yes it is a 30 minute walk to the start but, no, it is not disorganized in the least IMHO. I found it to be VERY organized which was a change from ToT. Now that one was disorganized. I hope the walk does not deter you from the marathon. I found it to be an awesome experience for my very first half and one that I will definitely do again. I am planning on Goofy 2010 and, unless I squeeze it in somewhere else, the Mickey will be my first full marathon.

Vic: Orlando, security meetings, no exercise....who are you and what did you do with the real Vic??? It should be Orlando, Disney, character meetings, and lots of beer laps.

Debra: How are the bruises? Oh and...get off your sorry keister and move, move, move...there do you feel better? I know I do. How goes the sleeping. That sure can be the root of all evil in my life. Lack of REM really messes with my....well....everything.

Beth: I know the scale not moving is kind of discouraging but take the positive in that it did not go up and forget the negative. Focusing on the positive keeps you better motivated. You seem pretty adept at that as well as keeping the rest of us motivated with the wagon tips. Yes, I have applied my sunscreen this weekend!!

All other people striving for Lean Meaness... you inspire me and keep me toward my goal. I hope we are doing the same for you!!

From the Great North Woods, hey it's softball tourney time again. So far, we are in the winners bracket and if they win the 10:30 game this morning, we go right to the final game at 2:30. If they lose, we have a 12:30 game in between and either move on...or not. I took yesterday as a rest day. I have upped my amount of exercise time by quite a bit with the biking and it just felt right to take a day of rest. Today is 5-10 miles according to the RW plan. Since it is showery today, I will wing the run and get in at least 5, maybe more. If they lose, I may have to wait until later this evening to run but I will still get my miles in!! I had been eating well until yesterday. We sit in a group of parents and we all bring things to eat. I had fresh strawberries and a fruit dip. Another parent brought cream cheese and shrimp dip and potato chips. Need I say more... what was I thinking? So I am back up a pound after all my hard work last week and I am in the same boat as Beth with the nonmoving scale. Hey, at least I am in good company right!! Today, I WILL run and I WILL control my eating. I am bringing all my lunch fixins and have my fruit and water with me. Pretzels if all else fails!!

Have a good one Lean Meaners!!!

 

[getnthinr]

Lisa, you are too funny. Everyone here is welcome to whip out there drill sargeant persona whenever they like. I was only referring to my limiting my own drill sargeant self-talk -- but then as round and unfit as I am, maybe I should be a lot harder on myself.

Debra, Lisa's got your drill sargeant!

Stacie, I'm sorry you are wrestling with some eating issues. I know how frustrating that can be -- it's almost like a switch in my head that makes good choices easy for me sometimes and nearly impossible others. I need to find a way to hard-wire that switch on the good side! Again, sorry we didn't really get to talk at the RftC.

Amykab, I wonder which part of the start they didn't like. I don't think anyone likes getting on a bus at 3:30AM for a 6AM race, and the distance from your corral to the start (that is, the time it takes to reach the starting line) can vary quite a bit depending on where you end up. I have had years when it took me 20 minutes to reach the start line, but not recently. Two factors have changed: I've been registered for the Goofy and I've registered much, much earlier in the year. (I used to wait until closer to January to make certain I was actually going to be able to afford it. Now I typically fill out my Goofy application and leave it in the hotel mail on marathon weekend.) Someone explained to me once that the corrals fill in sort of a waterfall "overflow" method -- that is, faster folks are put in corrals up front as long as there is room in those corrals, but as soon as the faster corrals reach capacity, fast folks are placed in corrals that are further and further off their expected pace, so in theory someone who is quite fast (but not elite) could end up behind me just because they registered later. I have also been told that Disney has a larger percentage of folks whose expected paces are slower than most marathons -- that means the crowded start is slower just by virtue of the crowd overall being slower. I don't know how true that is, but it seemed logical to me at the time. Like Lisa, I would not say they were unorganized. The first ToT 13K got a bad rap, I think, because of the traffic tie-ups that resulted in a delayed start, which in turn meant less time for everyone at the post-race party -- but I would not call that "disorganization." I think they just hadn't realized how forcing all the racers to drive in (because there was no race transportation) was going to affect the traffic patterns when coupled with all the park goers trying to exit--at the same time. It was a hard lesson learned. I wouldn't expect it to happen again. Overall, the complaint I hear most frequently about marathon weekend from first-timers is "I thought we'd spend more time in the parks." I have always maintained Disney was a race you either loved or hated -- You love the parks, or you hate winding through them. You love the characters you do see, or you are disappointed that you didn't see more. You love the huge crowds, or you find you prefer the quieter, quainter races. There are lots of great races, and I'm all for trying as many of them as I can, though I really enjoy Disney because... well, I really enjoy most everything Disney! As with everything else, YMMV (your mileage may vary). Hey, and enjoy your NC vacation! Hope the race is fun for you!

Beth, hope you see a good loss on Monday! All good deeds are eventually rewarded!

Cindy, congrats on your streak! If I lose one pound a week from now till the Disneyland Half, I'll be below 200 pounds for the first time in decades -- literally DECADES! I've been old and fat way too long!

Dave, glad Erica's got a slinky little number to keep her motivated. I always love to hear "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" on my iPod when I'm walking. I think that's what I want to grow up to be.

Vic, Jeanne, Marie, and everyone else --

Gotta get to walking. I have to carry DS to a birthday party today, so I won't have a lot of not-da-Momma time today.

 

[Creativebeth]

Good morning Meaners......again LTO, and I appoligize for missing yesterday. I have been so busy.......you know how it goes.

Eating was way off yesterday..... but, I am back at it this morning. Wendy, I will skip the scale in the morning, but will let you know what happens by the end of the week. I don't want to be so obsessed with the d___ scale anymore!!!!!! (sigh, but I am)

I did get five SLOW miles in yesterday. I didn't want to push it, it was really hot and humid. I didn't have it to push it anyway. I changed up my 'scenery' and took a different route, which helped the boredom factor. It's too easy to run the same thing all the time.....but I get SO bored.

Lisa: I know about the food thing.....baseball is the same thing, except it's the darn snack bar. I hate the snack bar......fries, nachos, pretzels.....sigh I hope things go well with DD and softball.

WWDave: What's up? Hope your dear princess is doing well.

Big Vic: LTO? I know! Hope things are better.

Amy: I haven't done any Disney races.....so no advice! Sorry.

Maria: How's it going? Sugar-free?

Connie, Stacie, Tracey, Wendy, and Jeanne......... Miss you!

Wagon Tip of the Day: How about a recipe I found in Nancy Clark's Food Guide for Marathoners......I haven't tried them, but I might this week.

Honey Crisp Energy Bars:

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
5 oz. marshmallows
2 cups uncooked oatmeal
2 cups toasted rice cereal
1/2 tsp salt

Optional: 1 cup chopped almonds or other nuts, 1 cup dried fruit

In a large sauce pan, combine the oil, honey, and marshmallows and heat over med heat. Stir constantly until marshmallows are melted.

Mix in the oats and toasted rice cereal and other optional ingredients, as desired. Mix well.

Pour into a greased 8X8 pan. Using greased hands or spatula, spread the mixture evenly into the pan.

When the mixture has cooled, cut into 8 bars or squares.

per serving:
Calories: 210
Carbs: 35g
Proteins: 2
Fat: 7g

Enjoy!

Beth

 

[Creativebeth]

Wow......I am the last one to post yesterday???? Hello......anyone there??????

Beth

 

[princessrunner]

Hey Beth, I am here, I am just running a little behind this morning. I got loaded with stat reports this morning which is not supposed to happen but always does... I seem to be a magnet.

The energy bars that you posted are very similar to my energy bars that I make, just no sweet stuff besides dried fruit and honey. The recipe is posted if you are interested. I am going to get to the other recipes someday, after I update my way far behind spreadsheet again... Priorities you know, pip pip.

I guess as for my drill sergeant tactics, I am better at dishing (or is that DISing) than I am at receiving. I slacked off totally this weekend and here's why....DD13 had the tourney as we all know and they did win on Friday night, won again on Saturday (total mercy game and really boring to watch). I begged off exercising on Saturday, why, now I am beginning to wonder that myself. Sunday, I worked after a lack of night sleep due to many different factors (i.e. dogs barking, cows mooing, etcetera) and then we left for the 10:30 game as the skies opened up and began to pour. Well, games scheduled are games played so yes, they played in the rain. Wet feet, wet body, bundled into layers of clothing as it was 55 and rainy yuck. They won. Okay, now the entire scheduling of things is tossed away because one field is not usable due to the rain. Left DD with her coach because she wanted to watch the 12U team which has most of her friends on it. We came home and I toyed with running (heck I'm already wet) but the thought of 7 miles with no iPod was very discouraging so I decided I would take a hot shower and snuggle with DS6 under a blanket. Snuggle of doom.... Out like a light due to the aforementioned lack of sleep and being a popsicle and woke up just in time to roust everyone and pack into the car, missing the first half inning of the champ game. They lost. Now we have to play again because this team lost to us once so deciding game, crunch time. It is raining, again, and darkness is falling. They pulled it out and won. We got home at 7:45, into the shower, into bed and happy father's day...

So, that is my real life in the making. How was everyone elses weekend?? Better than that I hope for you sakes!!!!

 

[postesf]

Hey y'all! Did everyone have a great weekend???

Deb...How ya doing? Any more mishaps whilst decorating the house? I sure hope not!

Vic...In Orlando and it doesn't sound like much fun.

Lisa...Where are you? By this time normally you've been up and posted for hours! How was softball???

Amykab...Yay for registering for the 5K!

Wendy...It was nice to meet you...eventhough it was quickly!

Beth...Yay for 5 miles! That's great!

AmyBeth...How ya doing girl???

Panda, Connie, Tracey, Jeanne...

For me...I got my 5K in this weekend. I was not expecting those hills! My calves and quads are knots today! I ate descent this weekend. We had a cookout to go to on Saturday afternoon. I made cupcakes on Friday night for it. Yes...I had a few...had to test them you know! But whatever was left at the cookout...I sent them home with other folks. I didn't want to bring them back in the house. I thought I did well with that. We went to Kung Fu Panda. I thought it was cute and it had a good message. Matt liked it too, but wanted to see more Kung Fu!

I'm eating my oatmeal for breakfast and will plan to either have a PB&J this time on HoneyWheat instead of Butterbead...I'm making gradual changes...or a Lean Pocket for lunch. I think we will have boiled shrimp for dinner. Love me some shrimp! I will aquabox tonight and C25K tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great day!!!
Stacie

 

[postesf]

There's Lisa!

WOW...Busy, cold and rainy weekend. Glad your DD won! Working on Sunday...Yuk! Snuggle of doom! That's funny! I love naps! I took me about a 4hr nap after my 5K Saturday! I think your snuggle nap was well-deserved. Sounds like you needed it!

Oh...I forgot to mention I got my 3 Gluten Free cookbooks. Hopefully over the next few weeks I will take a look, mark some recipes and start shopping for the necessary stuff.

Stacie

 

[JustSmile]

Hey guys~we returned from the beach yesterday. We had a fabulous time! It's tempting to move ourselves down south to be closer to the ocean--we are all "water freaks". I am trying to catch up with everyone, but it's going to take me a few days--I'm only up to page 96. So here goes....

Connie...how was the 10k? Yay for lost pounds and inches.

Dave...what a cute little town you live in. Sounds like your princess is doing well and feeling better.

Stacie...I'm so that you're feeling better. We all get the blues. WTG on raising money for RFTC!!! While we were in South Carolina, we had to try Bojangles (because of you)....thank goodness we don't have them in the midwest---it was Yummy! We could easily become addicted

AmyKab...4 teeth Yay for getting in those jeans....what a great feeling.

Debra....You did awesome with the bike move! See, I knew it would be a fabulous WO...and in the heat of the day.

Lisa...Sorry about your cold (maybe it's gone now). And....sorry about the mom problems. I just spent a week with my mom on vacay! We are very close, but I think in all mother/daughter relationships, there is frustration involved (I'm sure it's because we're so much alike). It sounds like she's trying to get out there with volunteering at the hospital. Good luck with helping her and I'm sending ixiedust: for patience. I think we're starting to change over to where we're becoming more of the parent to our parent (does that make sense?)

Maria...how is it going staying within points? I threw all caution to the wind on vacay and am now trying to get back on track. belatedly!

Beth...keep the wagon tips coming. WTG with DS and home run derby. That's awesome.

Vic....I hear ya on the "Africa hot"...it's one of our favorite sayings.

Wendy...I laughed when I read your post on getting on the computer while DD ate something. I have a laptop downstairs that's on the fritz so I'm using the one in the "bachelor pad" (my kidlets have their own family room on the upper level and our main computer is up there....so with the family room and the 4 boys bedrooms upstairs---it becomes a bachelor pad or more like a frat house considering the bathrooms (but, we won't go there)) Anyway, trying to get on this computer is close to imposssible, but they know that I need to chat with my running friends.

I'll catch up more tomorrow. We loved Myrtle Beach. Our family had not been there since we were kids. My mom and daddy took my family and my brother's family---there were 12 of us in a condo for the week. We had a great time being together. The kiddos loved playing in the waves and my littlest guy thought the tide pools were fabulous. We stopped in Asheville to go to the Biltimore estate. It was lovely and so much more of the house was opened. If you've never been....I highly recommend it! We could have spent all day there, but the kids were itching to get to the beach. Well, my little Timmy is saying, "Turn it off" so I guess my times up. Have a great day....oh, and running on the beach is EVERYTHING it's cracked up to be!!!

 

[postesf]

Welcome back Tracey! I'd love to hear more about your MB Trip...Any outlets? shopping? restarants??? Glad to hear all is well!

Stacie

 

[amykab]

Hey everyone! Just thought I'd check in quick ( I actually have REAL work to do today!)

Weekend was good, we went to busch gardens yesterday. Since we have AP's we can park in preferred parking for 50% off, but we parked in the regular lot to get some extra steps in. It wasn't crowded at all and DH was able to walk on Sheikra. We are both total roller coaster junkies! I don't like riding by myself, so I didn't go. as we were walking out of the park, The skies got really dark with alot of lightning so we totally sprinted to the car. Me in my crocs and having just had 2 beers, I was lucky I didn't fall down! It made me really appreciate being in better physical shape though. 6 months ago I wouldn't have been able to do that!

Wendy, Lisa thanks for all of your thoughts on the marathon. I have a feeling, that they registered later and ended up behind some slower people and weren't able to maintain the pace they wanted. was the weather kind of icky and damp this year too? On the other side of it, there is a lady here at work who has done several fulls and halfs at Disney and totally loves it! She's more of a going with the flow kind of person though and not getting the time she had hoped for wouldn't deter her from doing more races at Disney.

Anyhow, I totally love disney and there isn't anything that will stop me from doing races there (short of a broken leg)! I haven't even done a 1/2 yet and have decided that I'll definitely be doing at least the full in 2010, and possibly the Goofy. It will be my last huge fitness goal before having another baby.

Tracey Sounds like MB was fun! I can't wait for our outer banks trip in the fall!

Co-irkers are already driving me insane! It is a good thing they will all be on travel next week and the following week I'll be on vacay

So, C25K MWF this week, starting over from W1. A 3 miler at some point to get ready for my 5K, and hopefully some pilates when I get the DVD's.

had to share this pic of DD from the park this weekend. I am using it for her first birthday invites!

Happy Monday to everyone!

 

[getnthinr]

What a doll! We are Busch Gardens members as well -- with the pass that gets us in both in VA and in FL (though obviously we get to use the VA park much more often). Looks like it was a fun time!