Good Golly Gawrsh! It's a 2015 10-year anniversary Goofy PTR

[Ariel484]

Yay, race report!

First of all - FABULOUS outfit for the race! Love that skirt. Sounds like you had good weather for race day! Having said that, woohoo for waiting for the start indoors and for a private bathroom! What a luxury...seriously.

Fantastic job with the race! I'm sorry you and Chris battled the IT Band pain, that SUCKS. Isn't that just such a sickening feeling, when you can feel it start to come on? Smart to adjust your intervals and not panic.

Look at you with that shiny new PR! And here a few months ago you thought you wouldn't be able to run it! So inspired by how you came back from that hamstring injury!! You are awesome!

YAY for a new puppy!! He is such a little cutie! Good luck coming up with a name, we had a tough time with our little monster pup.

 

[ZellyB]

Yay, race report!

First of all - FABULOUS outfit for the race! Love that skirt. Sounds like you had good weather for race day! Having said that, woohoo for waiting for the start indoors and for a private bathroom! What a luxury...seriously.

Thanks. I was worried about not being able to wear my skirt as the weather forecast earlier in the week had things looking pretty chilly. I haven't tried running with tights under a sparkle skirt. I worry with tights and the shorts underneath it would be too constricting.

Fantastic job with the race! I'm sorry you and Chris battled the IT Band pain, that SUCKS. Isn't that just such a sickening feeling, when you can feel it start to come on? Smart to adjust your intervals and not panic.

Look at you with that shiny new PR! And here a few months ago you thought you wouldn't be able to run it! So inspired by how you came back from that hamstring injury!! You are awesome!

I'm so pleased with the race really. For awhile there I was really letting myself get down during the race when it was obvious that a 5:30 wasn't in the cards, but really, the time was inconsequential and it was still a great new PR for me. I am very happy that I managed to pull off the run especially given the IT issues. Any marathon finish is a good finish, right?

But, what the heck? I'm so tired of fighting my stupid IT band. My knee is REALLY bad today. I'm having a very hard time walking since anytime I bend my right knee the pain is pretty intense. I know the recipe to fix it, so I just have to get back to being committed to the rehab process, but it's such a bummer. Especially since otherwise I'm not too bad. My legs are tired and sore of course, but very manageable for having run a marathon yesterday.

YAY for a new puppy!! He is such a little cutie! Good luck coming up with a name, we had a tough time with our little monster pup.

We love him so much, it's silly. Chris really didn't want a new puppy, but he finally conceded and now he spends more time holding and loving on the little guy than anyone else.

It think we are circling the name Teddy. It's cliche I know, but it seems to fit him.

 

[Ariel484]

Thanks. I was worried about not being able to wear my skirt as the weather forecast earlier in the week had things looking pretty chilly. I haven't tried running with tights under a sparkle skirt. I worry with tights and the shorts underneath it would be too constricting.

I know what you mean. I think it worked out for me wearing leggings under my skirt on Saturday because I've had this skirt for sooooo long now...I have to think the legs on the skirt are stretched out just a bit. In general though it was very comfortable!

I'm so pleased with the race really. For awhile there I was really letting myself get down during the race when it was obvious that a 5:30 wasn't in the cards, but really, the time was inconsequential and it was still a great new PR for me. I am very happy that I managed to pull off the run especially given the IT issues. Any marathon finish is a good finish, right?

You should be! You had an injury that sidelined you for awhile, and continued IT Band issues, yet you still finished a marathon AND set a PR. That's pretty awesome!!!

But, what the heck? I'm so tired of fighting my stupid IT band. My knee is REALLY bad today. I'm having a very hard time walking since anytime I bend my right knee the pain is pretty intense. I know the recipe to fix it, so I just have to get back to being committed to the rehab process, but it's such a bummer. Especially since otherwise I'm not too bad. My legs are tired and sore of course, but very manageable for having run a marathon yesterday.

Ugh, that stinks. I hope it's feeling better by now! IT Band stuff is soooo frustrating.

We love him so much, it's silly. Chris really didn't want a new puppy, but he finally conceded and now he spends more time holding and loving on the little guy than anyone else.

You should see us around our dog. It's ridiculous...we are constantly "fussing" with him. I'm glad the little guy won Chris over!

It think we are circling the name Teddy. It's cliche I know, but it seems to fit him.

Teddy is great! He does look like a snuggly little teddy bear! Yay!

 

[annmarieda]

TSM madness - yep. I got caught in that. It was disappointing but knowing that I have the opportunity to ride it next week in DCA or in January made me not sweat it too much

7DMT - I think you should be fine with your plan. I could not get a fp+ for my dd bday and so we were there right at rd and were able to get on with little wait. Just try to go through the back way... my daughters took that route and were able to get on and off long before dh and I got on. (so between cheshire cat and tea cups NOT through the castle. ) The girls were able to get on peter pan and LM while we waited for the ride...but even so we only had like 20 minutes It isn't a thrill ride but they have auto ride video that is kinda cool. I am not sure if you get it though if you don't have memory maker... but the ride knows you are on once your mb enters and catches video (and pics) of you on the ride. I hear they are going to do that with ToT too... but so far just the 7DMT.

Race outfit - I love it! Those shirts go amazingly well with your rainforest skirt!

Marathon - Holy moly I just can't imagine doing that distance. That is a great time! I just can't imagine being on course for that long. It make me tired just thinking about running that long!! Congrats on the PR!!

Race bling - I love both the shirt and medal! AWESOME!!!

New family addition - OMG! How cute is that pup!!!

 

[ZellyB]

TSM madness - yep. I got caught in that. It was disappointing but knowing that I have the opportunity to ride it next week in DCA or in January made me not sweat it too much

Yeah, I wouldn't have been that upset either just because we've had plenty of other opportunities to ride it. I would feel bad for people who have never been and missed out on the opportunity.

7DMT - I think you should be fine with your plan. I could not get a fp+ for my dd bday and so we were there right at rd and were able to get on with little wait. Just try to go through the back way... my daughters took that route and were able to get on and off long before dh and I got on. (so between cheshire cat and tea cups NOT through the castle. ) The girls were able to get on peter pan and LM while we waited for the ride...but even so we only had like 20 minutes It isn't a thrill ride but they have auto ride video that is kinda cool. I am not sure if you get it though if you don't have memory maker... but the ride knows you are on once your mb enters and catches video (and pics) of you on the ride. I hear they are going to do that with ToT too... but so far just the 7DMT.

I haven't heard about the video thing. I'm debating right now on whether to buy the memory maker. I think I'm going to though. I've never done it before, but it would be nice to have I think.

Race outfit - I love it! Those shirts go amazingly well with your rainforest skirt!

Thank you! I was so happy when I found that long-sleeve tech shirt in that color. It was from Wal-Mart no less, so also cheap.

Marathon - Holy moly I just can't imagine doing that distance. That is a great time! I just can't imagine being on course for that long. It make me tired just thinking about running that long!! Congrats on the PR!!

Thank you. I feel that way when I read your pace and time. I wish I could do that kind of a pace. But, I'm more the grind-it-out type.

Race bling - I love both the shirt and medal! AWESOME!!!

I really do love the medals they do for their races.

New family addition - OMG! How cute is that pup!!!

He's a sweetheart. We are really enjoying him.

 

[ZellyB]

I'm a bit overdue for a training update, so thought I'd better put some info out here before I forget it.

As I mentioned, my IT band was in pretty rough shape following the race. The next day at work, I could barely walk. It was bad and I was definitely worried I had really screwed myself up for Goofy. Fortunately, though, it has steadily improved over the last couple of weeks and feels almost back to normal now. I've also got some pain and stiffness in the other leg's quad. But it's pretty minor and I think just a bit of a muscle strain. It's also been steadily improving, so I feel like I'm going to be fine in finishing out the Goofy training we have planned.

After the run, given the amount of pain my IT band was causing I decided to skip my mid-week runs in favor of rest and healing. Then on Saturday I went for an easy 3 mile run. I only ran a little over the first mile and the knee was acting up, so I decided to just walk out the remainder of the 3 miles. Still, felt good to get back at it some. Of course, shortly after that, the dreaded polar vortex hit and it got stinking cold!!!! Chris was also out of town on a conference again, so I skipped my normal Tuesday run and on Thursday opted to do 3 miles on the treadmill. That run was okay with some minor pains in my knee and quad, but manageable.

On the schedule we were set to do 8 this past Saturday. We have a 4 mile loop that we run on our Tuesday/Thursday runs, so we decided to just do that loop twice. That way if I was having trouble, I could stop at 4 pretty easily. Luckily, I managed the 8 with pretty minimal trouble. My knee locked up once and that scared me a bit, but then it relaxed again. We went nice and slow as well, so that helped too.

Weirdest thing since that run, my knee feels almost back to normal now. Almost no pain at all. Don't know if the run helped stretch things out or loosen it or what, but I'm just going to count my blessings and be happy. We ended up not running this morning since it was like 6 degrees this morning. ACK! We will probably try to run tomorrow and Thursday instead. Schedule calls for 12 on Saturday, so hoping all goes well for that one too.

Sorry for lots of blah blah and lack of pics. I'll do better next time.

 

[ZellyB]

Training update week of 11/16/2014

OK, seriously, the cold the early part of this week was ridiculous! It's barely the middle of November and feels like late January. Blech!!!

With the cold and nasty weather, we didn't run on Tuesday but substituted Wednesday instead. Nothing too exciting here. 4 mile run doing our 3/1 interval. Knee and quad were a little noticeable, but nothing bad.

Thursday I had an early meeting at work, so we just did 3 miles. 3/1 again and nothing too notable about it. Boring.

Saturday we were scheduled for a 12 miler. I did not do a good job in prepping for this run. I didn't drink enough and we took the kids to a movie on Friday night and I ate a bunch of junk and drank soda. Not my smartest move. We saw Big Hero 6 though which was very cute.

There had been forecast for rain all week for Saturday, but luckily it held off for us during the run. I was really sluggish and just didn't feel great for the first 5 miles or so. It got better after that until about mile 10 or so when I was just tired and over it. But, we finished out okay and I was glad to have it done. Averaged around a 12 minute/mile pace which is a little slow, but okay.

I decided to play around with our training schedule just a bit more. I'm getting paranoid about an injury at this point and since we did just run a marathon a couple of weeks ago, I'm not going to do quite as long on our next few long runs. So, the remaining long run schedule is with varied intervals...

11/29 8 (3/1)
12/6 (Sat) 8.5 (1:1)
12/7 (Sun) 17 (3:1)
12/13 8 (3/1)
12/20 (Sat) 10 (1:1)
12/21 (Sun) 20 (3:1)
12/27 8 (3/1)
1/3 8 (3/1)
1/8 Leave for Goofy!!!

Right now we are thinking that we will run the half at a 1/1 interval and then do the full at our regular 3/1. Hoping the 1/1 will keep us pretty fresh and make the 3/1 manageable for the full. But, hey, as long as we finish both races ahead of the sweepers I don't care about time.

In non-running news, we had 23 people at my house yesterday for Chris' family Thanksgiving. ACK!! But, it actually all went pretty well. 17 lb turkey that turned out delicious.

 

[Ariel484]

I thought I commented on your update from last week but clearly I did not!! Sorry about that.

I'm so sorry that you struggled with your IT band after the race. That pain is just sooooo awful. Glad it has gone away!! You were smart to rest it. I think that's the benefit of having done some races, at this point - you know that a few days of rest isn't going to totally derail your training.

So weird that your knee felt better after that 8-miler! What a magical run that was!

Training update week of 11/16/2014

OK, seriously, the cold the early part of this week was ridiculous! It's barely the middle of November and feels like late January. Blech!!!

I agree. What the heck is going on?!

Saturday we were scheduled for a 12 miler. I did not do a good job in prepping for this run. I didn't drink enough and we took the kids to a movie on Friday night and I ate a bunch of junk and drank soda. Not my smartest move. We saw Big Hero 6 though which was very cute.

I did that around Halloween - didn't drink any water the day before my long run, just lots of Coke and ate junk. Isn't it crazy how much of a difference that makes?

I need to see Big Hero 6.

There had been forecast for rain all week for Saturday, but luckily it held off for us during the run. I was really sluggish and just didn't feel great for the first 5 miles or so. It got better after that until about mile 10 or so when I was just tired and over it. But, we finished out okay and I was glad to have it done. Averaged around a 12 minute/mile pace which is a little slow, but okay.

Hey, that is WELL under Disney's required pace! (That's what I keep telling myself when I'm not happy with my long run pace...) That's awesome when you weren't feeling your best. YAY for you!!

I decided to play around with our training schedule just a bit more. I'm getting paranoid about an injury at this point and since we did just run a marathon a couple of weeks ago, I'm not going to do quite as long on our next few long runs.

That seems smart to me. Like...you're already in marathon shape so you just need to maintain it at this point. I think that makes sense.

So, the remaining long run schedule is with varied intervals...

11/29 8 (3/1)
12/6 (Sat) 8.5 (1:1)
12/7 (Sun) 17 (3:1)
12/13 8 (3/1)
12/20 (Sat) 10 (1:1)
12/21 (Sun) 20 (3:1)
12/27 8 (3/1)
1/3 8 (3/1)
1/8 Leave for Goofy!!!

Looks good!! Really interesting that you are varying the intervals. That definitely seems like a good way to mix things up!

Right now we are thinking that we will run the half at a 1/1 interval and then do the full at our regular 3/1. Hoping the 1/1 will keep us pretty fresh and make the 3/1 manageable for the full. But, hey, as long as we finish both races ahead of the sweepers I don't care about time.

That is SUCH a good idea! That way you know you will feel good after the half. I may have to try that!

In non-running news, we had 23 people at my house yesterday for Chris' family Thanksgiving. ACK!! But, it actually all went pretty well. 17 lb turkey that turned out delicious.

OMG!! Wow, way to go with that! That turkey looks deeeelicious! What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

 

[ZellyB]

I thought I commented on your update from last week but clearly I did not!! Sorry about that.

No worries there!

So weird that your knee felt better after that 8-miler! What a magical run that was!

I know!! Weird right? Oh well, I'm happy about it regardless.

I did that around Halloween - didn't drink any water the day before my long run, just lots of Coke and ate junk. Isn't it crazy how much of a difference that makes?

It's a big difference. And, I know better than to do that. When will I learn?

Looks good!! Really interesting that you are varying the intervals. That definitely seems like a good way to mix things up!

That is SUCH a good idea! That way you know you will feel good after the half. I may have to try that!

Well, we figured now was the time to play with intervals and see if that would work for us. It seems to be pretty good.

OMG!! Wow, way to go with that! That turkey looks deeeelicious! What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

We ate over at my mother's on Thanksgiving. Delicious!! And I only had to help clean up after, so that's awesome. Spent the rest of the weekend getting out our Christmas decorations and getting some good training runs. I hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

[ZellyB]

Well, another good week is behind us for training. But, once again I've had to adjust my training schedule. The holidays and various activities and events are making it tricky to work out the remaining long training runs.

After our 12-miler on Saturday, we felt pretty good, so that was encouraging. My knee/IT band is continuing to work okay for me. I am wearing a band above my knee that seems to help. Who knows if it really does anything or just a placebo effect, but I'm going to keep using it anyway.

Tuesday I had a mess I had to deal with at work, so we just did a 3 mile run instead of our normal 4. And Thursday was our annual Turkey Trot. This was the 20 year anniversary and my 5th (I think) time running it. It was chilly, but overall pretty good. This year one of my sisters and one of Chris' sisters ran it with us for the first time.



We mostly took it easy. There were around 8,000 people there. My sister is hoping to start doing some running (she recently lost 40 pounds) and she is going with us on the Disney trip to help with my girls, so just pretty motivated. For about 1 mile of it I had her doing an interval of run 0:30 and walk 1:00. She did well!

At Thanksgiving dinner we discussed which weekend my family would go to stay at my parents' lake house. We do this every year and just relax and go to Silver Dollar City Theme Park to see the Christmas lights. Well, the best week was really next weekend which is when Chris and I were scheduled to do an 8 miler and then 17 miler for our back to back. Well, we just decided to go ahead and do it this weekend. To further encourage us, the weather here has warmed up dramatically, so we thought it was good to take advantage. We spent all day Friday putting up Christmas decorations and then got up early Saturday for the 8 mile run.

We ran with two other friends and took it nice and easy with a 1/1 ratio. It went well I think and we just relaxed and enjoyed it. That meant that today (Sunday) was a 17 miler. I was mentally pretty worried about this one, but we headed out around 6:30 to give it our best shot.

We went back to our normal 3/1 intervals and we had beautiful temps of 60 degrees. Only downside was some really strong winds, but overall can't ask for much better at the end of November. I was pretty sluggish the whole time and we went pretty slow, but we managed to finish it! We kept up the 3/1 intervals through 14 and then changed to a 2/1 to the end. But a solid back-to-back in the books! Makes me feel much more ready for January. One more back-to-back of 10 and 20 miles to finish up the long run training.

A few last shots. My sister is having a Christmas party with a Grinch theme, so she made a cutout to use for her party. We took advantage for some Christmas pictures.






Ho! Ho! Ho!

 

[Ariel484]

We ate over at my mother's on Thanksgiving. Delicious!! And I only had to help clean up after, so that's awesome. Spent the rest of the weekend getting out our Christmas decorations and getting some good training runs. I hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sounds like a great weekend! I did have a nice Thanksgiving, thank you!

After our 12-miler on Saturday, we felt pretty good, so that was encouraging. My knee/IT band is continuing to work okay for me. I am wearing a band above my knee that seems to help. Who knows if it really does anything or just a placebo effect, but I'm going to keep using it anyway.

That is good news!! I'd keep using the band, too!

Tuesday I had a mess I had to deal with at work, so we just did a 3 mile run instead of our normal 4.

I hate when work gets in the way of training!!

(Seriously, though.)

Turkey Trot sounds like fun!! Yay for the sisters joining you, and I LOVE your turkey hats!! Too cute!

WAY TO GO on that back-to-back!! Sounds like a really solid weekend overall, for sure! That had to be a huge confidence booster for you guys. How did the knee/IT Band hold up through that?

Can you believe we're reaching the end of training?? So crazy!

Love those Grinch cut-outs! How fun!! They look great!

 

[ZellyB]

ACK! I'm behind again.

So, after our back to back, I was pretty sore and tired, but not bad all around. The knee felt good as well. I still fight some stiffness and soreness, but it's holding up well especially after logging that many miles.

The week following the back to back, we ran just 3 miles on Tuesday and Thursday each. That Tuesday run was NOT fun. My legs were very unhappy with me. By Thursday it was better, but still really sluggish. Our original intent was to run 8 miles on Saturday, but we went down to my parents lake house and to our local theme park Silver Dollar City for their Christmas season. We do this every year. I love this tradition.

Selfie when we arrived.



They drape lights on anything not moving. It's really beautiful





The big Christmas Tree before lighting



And after



Lights everywhere





We had a lovely time.



So, no 8 mile run, but that's okay. We did a lot of walking anyway.

I actually think it was good that I took that day off because this week I've felt much better running. We did 4 miles Tuesday and 3 today and I felt much stronger and better during those runs.

We were scheduled to do 8 this Saturday and then our final back to back of 10/20 miles next weekend. But, in looking at the forecast, this weekend is supposed to be in the upper 50s both days and next weekend looks a bit dicey. So, we are going to go ahead and do the back to back this weekend and just have a slightly longer taper. We just don't think we can pass up weather like this in December for two such long runs.

In race news, the waivers, bib numbers and corrals came out!!! It's getting close, people!!!

So, Chris and I landed in Corral K with our 2:25 half POT that we entered. I'm happy with that. It's one corral up from where we were for last year's marathon, and in the middle of the pack which is probably about right for us. I'm getting so excited now. So close!!!!!!

 

[Ariel484]

Love those Christmas lights and decorations! So, so pretty!

Congrats to you guys for moving up corrals!! I had to be nosey and go look back at your 2014 report...hooray for moving on up!

So...how did the back-to-back go this weekend?! Did you get that great weather?? Inquiring minds want to know!!

 

[ZellyB]

When last I left off, we were getting ready to run our 10/20 back to back. I was honestly pretty nervous about it and just so ready to get it over and done with.

We got really lucky and had fantastic weather on both days. Overcast, but upper 40s and low 50s during the runs. You can't get any better than that for January. I remember last year we had to do our 20 miler on a treadmill because of the ice and snow on the roads, so this was heavenly.

We stuck with our plan to do 1:1 intervals for the 10-miler. The run went well and Chris and I had a really good time together talking and enjoying the run. Sunday morning I was really dreading the 20 miles. I wasn't sore at all from the 10 the previous day which was good, but I just mentally was not looking forward to the run.

We ran the first 10 miles at a 3:1 interval and I was really starting to flag a bit, so we dropped to a 2:1 for the next 5 and then did a 1:1 for the final 5. That actually worked well and I never felt just completely exhausted. We've been talking a lot about really taking it easy for Goofy. Time is inconsequential for us and I'm not worried about getting swept, so I think we will still plan to do 1:1 for the Half and then 2:1 for the full. We figure we will be good through 20 miles at the 2:1 and then if we are getting too tired we can finish out at a 1:1. Both of our last Disney marathons we ended up walking a lot after the 20 mile mark, but mentally I always feel like I can keep going with a 1:1. We'll see how it goes. One thing is certain, I'm always messing with my intervals.

We had a great Christmas around here. Very low key and lots of discussions with my sister about the trip. Did I mention that I snagged a Be Our Guest dinner reservation? It was the one thing I hadn't been able to get for the trip since Sophie didn't say anything about wanting to go there until well after the 180 day mark. A thread on here mentioned that they had opened up a bunch of reservations for the week we will be there and I was able to grab one. So, I cancelled Kona Cafe and we'll be dining with the Beast instead. I haven't told the girls, so I'm excited to surprise them with it on our MK day.

Another trip surprise the girls got was their Christmas present from my mom, Oma as we call her. I wanted to get Hogwarts robes for the girls, but the prices of them at Universal are really high. My mom is a really good seamstress, so I found a pattern and she made them robes. I got the girls to join the Pottermore site and they got sorted into houses. Sophie is a Ravenclaw and Paige is a Slyterin. I worried that Paige would be upset with that, but she actually seemed excited about it. They have wands from a previous trip to Universal. My mom also knitted them scarves in their house colors as well. The robes are pretty huge on them, but I think that's fine. They were super excited.



And now finally, our race outfits. I had been looking at an outfit early on from an Etsy store called Iglow running, but I just wasn't convinced I wanted that and Chris was really wanting to do custom t-shirts like we did last year. So, awhile back I contacted the same company and had them create shirts for us to wear on the runs. These shirts are really light weight, so even if the forecast stays pretty warm, I think we will be fine with these. So, for the half-marathon...



I really wanted to use some Walt Disney quotes on the shirts and some different colors of printing to help distinguish the half from the full. So, the half reads, "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing". I'm wearing my black linen sparkle skirt (gotta love all the pockets) and then one of the shoes I bought earlier this year to reflect Goofy colors.

For the full, we went with orange text instead of the green...



This one says, "It's kind of fun to do the impossible". Along with it is my custom sparkle skirt. As custom skirts go it's pretty boring. I wanted the royal blue and they don't make that one in slim cut right now, only the swing. So, I had them make it custom for me. And as long as I was doing custom I went ahead and had them do it as a vented slim. I prefer that little bit of extra space you get with that little slit in the side. A different pair of shoes, but still working with the Goofy colors. Chris' shirts are identical except with his name of course . He's wearing black shorts and blue shorts, so we will match. Gotta love a man willing to wear matching outfits to run a Disney race.

So, that's it for now. We ran an easy 8 miles on Saturday. I ended up with a nasty cold over Christmas, so missed our normal mid-week runs, but I'm feeling back to normal now, so looking to just finish out a nice easy taper schedule and then on to the races. This has been a rough training season, so I'm happy to see it coming to an end.

 

[Ariel484]

Oh man!! What a fun update!

First and foremost - AWESOME JOB to you and Chris on owning that back-to-back run!! You guys must have felt soooo awesome to complete that!

I remember last year we had to do our 20 miler on a treadmill because of the ice and snow on the roads, so this was heavenly.

HOW did you do that?! I would have gone insane!

One thing is certain, I'm always messing with my intervals.

YEP. I can totally relate to that one!

I think you guys have a great plan for Goofy! Definitely always good to keep the 1:1 in mind for the later miles of the marathon.

WAY TO GO on getting that Be Our Guest reservation!! Mom of the Year right there!

Those Hogwarts robes your mom made - AMAZING! They look so great! The scarves look great too! I bought a Gryffindor scarf for my brother in the MCO Universal gift shop in November and honestly, the ones that your mom knitted look way warmer than the one that I bought. Two thumbs up for Oma!

LOL at Paige being a Slytherin! I "got sorted" last week and am a Ravenclaw just like Sophie!

And now finally, our race outfits.

Love your outfits. Classic and simple...and you know I'm with you on the SparkleSkirts. I LOVE your custom!! The color is soooo pretty and it's perfect for Goofy. I'm definitely a fan of the vented slims as well (not brave enough to wear traditional slims - the vent is perfect) and glad that they have been making more recently. I ordered the two new plaid ones and they just got delivered yesterday...LOVE them! My only thing is that I wish I could wear them with the zipper pocket on the back, but then the vent isn't in the right place. I guess that's what customs are for...

Great quotes for the shirts. They look awesome!

Sorry to hear that you were sick, but glad you're getting better in time to go.

This has been a rough training season, so I'm happy to see it coming to an end.

AMEN TO THIS!!

 

[ZellyB]

Oh man!! What a fun update!

First and foremost - AWESOME JOB to you and Chris on owning that back-to-back run!! You guys must have felt soooo awesome to complete that!

Thank you!

HOW did you do that?! I would have gone insane!

It was really terrible. We broke it down into 5 mile segments. So, we would run 5 miles and then climb off the treadmill and walk around a few minutes, get a drink, etc. Then back on. That helped a little bit and we had the TV on, but overall it was miserable.

YEP. I can totally relate to that one!

If nothing else, it keeps me from getting bored.

WAY TO GO on getting that Be Our Guest reservation!! Mom of the Year right there!

I'm really excited about telling her. Paige hasn't really paid much attention, but Sophie was pretty disappointed when I told her I couldn't get a reservation. She tried to hide it, but I could tell.

Those Hogwarts robes your mom made - AMAZING! They look so great! The scarves look great too! I bought a Gryffindor scarf for my brother in the MCO Universal gift shop in November and honestly, the ones that your mom knitted look way warmer than the one that I bought. Two thumbs up for Oma!

LOL at Paige being a Slytherin! I "got sorted" last week and am a Ravenclaw just like Sophie!

I'm so lucky to have a mom who can sew and knit like she does. I told the girls that I've read if you are dressed in Hogwarts robes that the workers will interact with you like you are students. I'm looking forward to seeing that. I've read some great things on here about how the TMs at Universal stay in character in the Diagon Alley portion of the park, so it should be fun.

I always figured I'd end up a Ravenclaw too, but then again I never would have picked Paige for a Slytherin so who knows. I should sort myself, Chris and my sister just for kicks before the trip.

Love your outfits. Classic and simple...and you know I'm with you on the SparkleSkirts. I LOVE your custom!! The color is soooo pretty and it's perfect for Goofy. I'm definitely a fan of the vented slims as well (not brave enough to wear traditional slims - the vent is perfect) and glad that they have been making more recently. I ordered the two new plaid ones and they just got delivered yesterday...LOVE them! My only thing is that I wish I could wear them with the zipper pocket on the back, but then the vent isn't in the right place. I guess that's what customs are for...

Great quotes for the shirts. They look awesome!

I love the vented slims and was also happy to see them making more. I've been debating about ordering the new plaids as well. I love them online, so good to hear that you like them in person too. Which ones did you get? I really think I'd like the pink one, but not sure about the blue or yellow. I was thinking about making a trip to SS headquarters on our non-park day to see some in person, but I'm worried they might sell out of them before that.

I'm really happy with the way the shirts turned out. I was originally going to go with color shirts (green and orange), but couldn't get the printing to look right on them, so we finally just opted to go with white again.

Sorry to hear that you were sick, but glad you're getting better in time to go.

AMEN TO THIS!!

Thank you. I can hardly believe it's almost time.

 

[ZellyB]

Well, today concluded our last full week of training. I am so ready for this race to come on already. I think after our last 10/20 back to back, I've just mentally struggled with these shorter runs. I'm ready to get to Disney and get my BLING!!

We've just stuck with our regular weekday runs of 4 miles and weekend of 8 miles. Yesterday, we planned for an easy 3 mile run since we were running today as well. It was pretty chilly out and the ground was wet from some light mist. Everything was going well, until we went to run over a bridge that crosses a river. The temp was right at freezing and we didn't even think about being cautious on the bridge and sure enough, the bridge was a big patch of black ice. Chris and I both went down. We both landed on our butts and hit pretty hard. I put my hands down to break my fall and jammed my shoulder pretty badly and still landed hard on my left rump cheek. I couldn't believe after all this time of being careful training that on one of our last runs we fell. Luckily no serious injuries and we finished the run, but I'm definitely a bit sore from the fall. I should be fine by race time but sheesh!

Today we ran an 8 miler and mentally I really struggled. Let's get to Disney already people. Still that's it for me other than maybe another 4 miler on Tuesday. We head out for Disney on Thursday and I can't wait.

We started packing today and got most of the things squared away. Finally it's almost time!!!!

 

[Ariel484]

Woohoo!! It's almost time!

I'm with you on the shorter runs feeling harder - such a strange phenomenon!!

OH NO!! You guys fell! As I was beginning to read that paragraph I was getting a bit nervous... so glad you guys are okay! I hope the soreness is getting better.

Almost Disney time!! Hope to run into you there!

 

[disneybarbie]

I've really enjoyed reading your PTR - thank you for sharing your training!

Sorry to hear about your fall... Sure you'll be fine by next weekend :... I have fallen twice so far since I started running, both times I fell flat on my face - it is quite a shock isn't it!

Good luck and enjoy every moment of the races - it will be a celebration of all the hard work and training you've done

Emma x

 

[ZellyB]

Woohoo!! It's almost time!

I'm with you on the shorter runs feeling harder - such a strange phenomenon!!

OH NO!! You guys fell! As I was beginning to read that paragraph I was getting a bit nervous... so glad you guys are okay! I hope the soreness is getting better.

Almost Disney time!! Hope to run into you there!

It really is strange how hard these last few runs have been, but hey, it's race time!! Woohoo!!!

The soreness is much better today. Phew! It'd be great to see you there! I'll keep an eye out for you.

I've really enjoyed reading your PTR - thank you for sharing your training!

Sorry to hear about your fall... Sure you'll be fine by next weekend :... I have fallen twice so far since I started running, both times I fell flat on my face - it is quite a shock isn't it!

Good luck and enjoy every moment of the races - it will be a celebration of all the hard work and training you've done

Emma x

Thanks, Emma! I appreciate your reading along.

It was definitely a shock to fall. I was on the ground before I knew what was happening. Thankfully I'm already on the mend. Thanks so much for the good wishes.