Hanging up my running shoes-Update on ZellyB

[DopeyBadger]

By the way, I'm now in love with searching for Disney gifs, so you may get sick of these.

Never will get sick of them. They're the bomb!

P.S. We don't actually have enough money to go swimming in

LOL! I can't imagine diving into a pool full of gold coins would actually feel that good anyways!

I went through and looked up costs for all the various properties (complete with color-coded spreadsheet)

Yes, yes, yes! I also did this...

What about you guys, anybody got any preferences on which resort you would choose?

Depends on who comes with me, but we'll probably be at a Boardwalk studio or Old Key West studio (rented DVC at 11 months as well).

 

[rteetz]

Oh man so many tough choices! I've never stayed at either. I have always wanted to stay at the Poly though. It's always been a favorite resort of mine. I don't think you can go wrong with GF either.

I don't know where I'll be. I could be at a DVC resort again if friends of mine are going otherwise I'll likely be at a value. I have looked into DVC rental too which might be an option.

 

[Sailormoon2]

but probably going to send in the email inquiry soon. What about you guys, anybody got any preferences on which resort you would choose?

I sent my inquiry in already (I know, super early!) I really want to stay at AKL-I love the restaurants, it's close to my favourite park, plus ANIMALS! The Poly is my 2nd choice, although I already know I'll be back in both Jan and Aug 2018 so I may leave Poly for when DH comes too!

 

[Ariel484]

Both awesome choices...you really cannot go wrong with either. My personal opinion is that the Grand Floridian has the edge (Mr. Ariel484 and I just...really like it there. Can't quite explain why).

And whichever one you stay at, yous till get monorail access to go visit the runner-up resort. So you really can't lose!

 

[LindseyJo22]

Oh awesome ! I was actually just thinking about this - I'm hoping to sign up for the Marathon or Goofy (not ready for Dopey yet), and I just had the realization that we'd need to make our DVC reservation soon!

I really love the Polynesian's atmosphere - to me, it's incredibly relaxing to be there, plus they have the awesome pool if it were actually warm enough to swim in January. And Dole Whip (which is a plus for me). However, I may be biased - this is our home resort, so if we're booking at 11 months out that's where we book.

I haven't stayed there for a race yet, but we have a studio booked for Princess weekend, so I can give a more thorough opinion after that (at least on the Poly). Haven't stayed at the GF yet - maybe on a very special trip someday (or if we buy some points there)! It can be super hard to get a studio if you aren't jumping on that 11 month mark, so that hasn't been in the cards for us so far.

But either way you get the monorail, great rooms and atmosphere, and a pretty easy way to get to the other resorts if you want. I think either is a win!

 

[ZellyB]

Never will get sick of them. They're the bomb!



LOL! I can't imagine diving into a pool full of gold coins would actually feel that good anyways!

I blame you and @roxymama for introducing me to the idea of using them!

Yes, yes, yes! I also did this...

Of course you did! It actually helped us a lot especially for me to show it to Chris since he's not as obsessed with all things Disney as I am!

Depends on who comes with me, but we'll probably be at a Boardwalk studio or Old Key West studio (rented DVC at 11 months as well).

We really loved the Boardwalk area this year, but decided to give the monorail resorts a try.

Oh man so many tough choices! I've never stayed at either. I have always wanted to stay at the Poly though. It's always been a favorite resort of mine. I don't think you can go wrong with GF either.

I don't know where I'll be. I could be at a DVC resort again if friends of mine are going otherwise I'll likely be at a value. I have looked into DVC rental too which might be an option.

Really, there's no losing between Poly and GF right? I think we are sold on renting points. It's so much more affordable as long as you can make your plans pretty well in advance - and pay. GULP

I sent my inquiry in already (I know, super early!) I really want to stay at AKL-I love the restaurants, it's close to my favourite park, plus ANIMALS! The Poly is my 2nd choice, although I already know I'll be back in both Jan and Aug 2018 so I may leave Poly for when DH comes too!

Chris and I talked about AKL - that savanna view is REALLY appealing, but we like the idea of being on the monorail with 4 races to run. Hopefully it will be functional for all 4 race mornings!

Both awesome choices...you really cannot go wrong with either. My personal opinion is that the Grand Floridian has the edge (Mr. Ariel484 and I just...really like it there. Can't quite explain why).

And whichever one you stay at, yous till get monorail access to go visit the runner-up resort. So you really can't lose!

Absolutely. We really did struggle between the two and I think Chris really would have preferred GF, but I pushed him to consider Poly as number 1. We are probably going to eat at V&A again this time and so it being right there in the GF was a point in its favor, but as you say, you are just a monorail ride away, so either way it's very convenient.

Oh awesome ! I was actually just thinking about this - I'm hoping to sign up for the Marathon or Goofy (not ready for Dopey yet), and I just had the realization that we'd need to make our DVC reservation soon!

I really love the Polynesian's atmosphere - to me, it's incredibly relaxing to be there, plus they have the awesome pool if it were actually warm enough to swim in January. And Dole Whip (which is a plus for me). However, I may be biased - this is our home resort, so if we're booking at 11 months out that's where we book.

I haven't stayed there for a race yet, but we have a studio booked for Princess weekend, so I can give a more thorough opinion after that (at least on the Poly). Haven't stayed at the GF yet - maybe on a very special trip someday (or if we buy some points there)! It can be super hard to get a studio if you aren't jumping on that 11 month mark, so that hasn't been in the cards for us so far.

But either way you get the monorail, great rooms and atmosphere, and a pretty easy way to get to the other resorts if you want. I think either is a win!

Oh, I totally forgot to tell Chris about the availability of Dole Whips at the Poly. He loves those things! I'd love to hear your thoughts after your stay for Princess!

I love a no-lose situation. Assuming we can get the availability!

I went ahead and emailed the request to the same woman who worked with us last time. I told her I know I'm a little early, but want it ready to go come the 11 month mark, so here's hoping we get what we want.

Thanks all for the input, everyone!!

 

[roxymama]

Hmmmm...Poly vs Grand Floridian is like the most exciting game of would you rather ever. Because I don't think you can lose. I think if I was with my family I'd want to do the Poly but if I was just with hubby I'd pick the GF. But...gah...so hard to pick.
I know for a fact I'd be supremely happy either way. And no matter which one you pick, you owe it to yourselves to go to both Trader Sam's and V&A.
It's just a matter of which you want to stumble home from

 

[girliea]

Hey ZellyB
I've been catching up on all of the TRs and other threads. Congrats on finishing the marathon! Way to go--and good for you for giving your body(and foot) time to heal up! I'm in physical therapy now for my hip--I put it off for a few months and just had to go ahead and go so that I can run some distance again.

Ok, Poly or GF! First, I've never stayed at the Poly but it would be an awesome choice!
DH and I stayed at the GF for Princess last year......I fell in love with this resort!! We walked into the lobby to check in and the pianist was playing a medley of Disney songs, one was specifically "I see the light" and OMG, I almost lost it right there in the lobby! I am definitely a sobber-not a cryer- and I almost ugly cried right there! DH just rolls his eyes, he is not as much of a Dis-er as I am, but he tolerates my obsession so I keep him around.
The staff were awesome! The grounds are just beautiful!
We walked to the Poly several times. It took maybe 10-15 minutes, so not far at all! And Trader Sam's is great-we had a drink on the patio there after the Princess Half and met a couple of new friends. So sorry to go on and on with this post but we were sitting at a table for 4-so two empty seats. We noticed that two ladies needed a seat but no tables were available so we told them to join us. Ended up they were in the College program at WDW and loved the RunDisney races. They shared lots of stories of when they worked at WDW (but were sure not to spoil any magic-you gotta live Dis-ers!) and I felt like I had known them my whole life! I just love it when stuff like that happens!
Anyway, We had an awesome trip-I so hope future trips measure up, but I have a feeling they will.

So, to sum this up I just don't think you can go wrong with either choice!

 

[ZellyB]

Hmmmm...Poly vs Grand Floridian is like the most exciting game of would you rather ever. Because I don't think you can lose. I think if I was with my family I'd want to do the Poly but if I was just with hubby I'd pick the GF. But...gah...so hard to pick.
I know for a fact I'd be supremely happy either way. And no matter which one you pick, you owe it to yourselves to go to both Trader Sam's and V&A.
It's just a matter of which you want to stumble home from

So true, and given our first experience at V&A, stumble home is the right description!!

Hey ZellyB
I've been catching up on all of the TRs and other threads. Congrats on finishing the marathon! Way to go--and good for you for giving your body(and foot) time to heal up! I'm in physical therapy now for my hip--I put it off for a few months and just had to go ahead and go so that I can run some distance again.

Ok, Poly or GF! First, I've never stayed at the Poly but it would be an awesome choice!
DH and I stayed at the GF for Princess last year......I fell in love with this resort!! We walked into the lobby to check in and the pianist was playing a medley of Disney songs, one was specifically "I see the light" and OMG, I almost lost it right there in the lobby! I am definitely a sobber-not a cryer- and I almost ugly cried right there! DH just rolls his eyes, he is not as much of a Dis-er as I am, but he tolerates my obsession so I keep him around.
The staff were awesome! The grounds are just beautiful!
We walked to the Poly several times. It took maybe 10-15 minutes, so not far at all! And Trader Sam's is great-we had a drink on the patio there after the Princess Half and met a couple of new friends. So sorry to go on and on with this post but we were sitting at a table for 4-so two empty seats. We noticed that two ladies needed a seat but no tables were available so we told them to join us. Ended up they were in the College program at WDW and loved the RunDisney races. They shared lots of stories of when they worked at WDW (but were sure not to spoil any magic-you gotta live Dis-ers!) and I felt like I had known them my whole life! I just love it when stuff like that happens!
Anyway, We had an awesome trip-I so hope future trips measure up, but I have a feeling they will.

So, to sum this up I just don't think you can go wrong with either choice!

Hey!!

Thanks for the congrats. It was not the best race I've ever had, but was still loads of fun! Glad you are getting some therapy for you hip. I hope you get that feeling better very soon.

Man, now I'm wondering if I should have picked GF as my first choice. That piano moment sounds lovely. Well, it's always possible that GF will come through first as an option and I won't hesitate to pick it if Poly doesn't work out first.

I did email yesterday our dates and choices, so our rep at the rental place has all the pertinent info. She told me she would submit it as soon as the calendar permits and email me once she has a response. I'm so excited!!!

 

[dis_or_dat]

For Disneyland, I love the Plaza Inn. It's cafeteria style, so no ADRs, but love the fried chicken!

 

[Ariel484]

For Disneyland, I love the Plaza Inn. It's cafeteria style, so no ADRs, but love the fried chicken!

Yes, agreed! Super good counter service!

 

[croach]

Well I've already mentioned how much I love your GIFs so thumbs up keeping the going. Apparently iPads are GIF friendly(or I'm stupid) so I can't post a good one here.

And Poly will always get my vote. Especially for race weekends because you can walk to the TTC and board the EPCOT line. It's probably not that big of a deal but one less thing to do at 3:30 in the morning. Can't go wrong with either one you choose though.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

It looks like you have some great running/fitness goals this year! I'm excited to watch you crush them!

And that's pretty awesome to be choosing between GF and Poly. I haven't stayed at either, but I think I would lean toward @roxymama's suggestion and do GF for an adults only trip. Either will be fabulous!

 

[FFigawi]

So, yeah, I guess I've got about a week or so before the official request would be available, but probably going to send in the email inquiry soon. What about you guys, anybody got any preferences on which resort you would choose?​

Poly. We were very unimpressed with our room when we stayed at GF. The hotel and grounds are lovely, but the room felt cheap.

 

[ZellyB]

For Disneyland, I love the Plaza Inn. It's cafeteria style, so no ADRs, but love the fried chicken!

Fried chicken!! YUMMY.

Well I've already mentioned how much I love your GIFs so thumbs up keeping the going. Apparently iPads are GIF friendly(or I'm stupid) so I can't post a good one here.

And Poly will always get my vote. Especially for race weekends because you can walk to the TTC and board the EPCOT line. It's probably not that big of a deal but one less thing to do at 3:30 in the morning. Can't go wrong with either one you choose though.

We feel like the monorail will be a big benefit for race weekend. Assuming it's running.

It looks like you have some great running/fitness goals this year! I'm excited to watch you crush them!

And that's pretty awesome to be choosing between GF and Poly. I haven't stayed at either, but I think I would lean toward @roxymama's suggestion and do GF for an adults only trip. Either will be fabulous!

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm going to do my best to crush it. Off to a good start one week in!

Poly. We were very unimpressed with our room when we stayed at GF. The hotel and grounds are lovely, but the room felt cheap.

The grounds are what really tempted me. Just walking around there before our V&A reservation a couple of years ago was amazing. But, we can always enjoy the grounds if we stay at Poly since we are just a monorail ride away.

Can't wait for the 11-month mark to hopefully get things settled.

 

[ZellyB]

The New Year of training is off to a great start!​

Jan 22 – Jan 28​

It’s a new year, Darling, and I’m full of optimism about how it will go. Per the normal, I’ve planned out my training in a shiny new spreadsheet, which makes me happy. I’m working to meet all those new goals I shared recently and so far I’m making good progress on those, so let’s see how the week went!

Monday 1/22/17

First day of my new regimen of core/strength workouts. The first challenge was getting out of bed at 4:35 AM to head to the gym with Chris by 5:00. Goal 1 – accomplished. Goal 2 – to complete the basic workout I had found to do. I found a workout ingeniously entitled Workouts which had a decent and relatively easy set of workouts focusing on abs, arms, butt, leg, cardio and a full that combines pieces of all. I opted for time and focus on my areas of weaknes to do the abs, arms, butt and leg portions. This went pretty well and took about 45 minutes to complete. Not surprisingly, the abs were my worst area, but I did the portion as detailed. I had trouble with some other areas – most notably stupid side planks – UGH!! I barely did those, but did determine that each time I’d just work to do slightly better. My idea of a plank...

Tuesday 1/23/17

Back to the run. My goal here to slowly build back up to my old intervals of 2:00/:30 on the shorter weekday runs and :90/:30 on weekend longer runs. However to begin, for this week, I was sticking with :60/:30 intervals and shorter distance. So, today was a :60/:30 interval for 3 miles. I was feeling good and we actually had a few people join us on this run, so overall pace was 11:06 which is a little better than we’ve been averaging with those intervals. I felt strong and enjoyed the run. Good to be back out there!

Wednesday 1/24/17

Back to the gym for core and strength. Goal 1 – Get out of bed. Today that was significantly harder as my abs were so sore from Monday it was hard to sit up. Ah, yes, now I remember why I hate core workouts. But, I made it in and even had a friend join me. Abs were again difficult, but I finished it in spite of the soreness and even managed my side planks for slightly longer seconds than Monday. YAY!!

Thursday 1/25/17

Run again. :60/:30 again and took it a bit slower and 3 miles again. 11:27 pace but again felt strong and I enjoyed the run.

Friday 1/26/17

REST day!! And it feels so good!!!

Saturday 1/27/17

Long run. We headed out on a 6 mile run joined again by a friend. :60/:30 intervals and I felt really good and strong during the first 4 miles or so. We were averaging around a 10:45 pace, but the last couple miles I fatigued some and we slowed a bit, but still finished up 6 miles with a 10:59 pace. I felt good during the run even with the bit of fatigue and was pleased to have this first week behind me.

Officially I know that Sunday is next week, but did want to show you what I did today!!

I actually did my first attempt at yoga. I picked up this DVD and it’s got two very basic beginner sessions. So, I did the first this afternoon a short time ago and MAN, was that a humbling experience. I knew my strength and flexibility were terrible, but I could tell this should have been a very easy thing to do and it was a huge struggle for me. But through struggle comes improvement right and at least for me, it should be easy to see my improvements because there’s no where to go but UP! I clearly need this very badly and am happy to begin. I think this only took about 15-20 minutes, so I want to incorporate it at least 2 times per week likely in the evenings. Wish me consistency and luck to keep it up because I can tell already it will help me greatly.

So, there you have it. Week 1 of the new year back at it and I’d call it a success. Have a fabulous week, Darlings!

 

[girliea]

Love it!!

Great job ZellyB! Keep it up-we are pulling for you! Yoga and Abs--you the man!
We belong to a local running group on FB and we are doing a plank challenge this month (Feb)-we'll see how it goes.

 

[Sailormoon2]

Defintiely does sound like you rocked this week!!
I totally need to get back into yoga too! However, I am a yoga snob and only like doing YIN in the hot room, which is at super inconvenient times with my schedule ;(

 

[LSUlakes]

With the room decision, it is a hard decision, both are amazing places. Glad you are signed up for 2018 as well! Good luck with your training! A training plan for the whole year already is a impressive task, who doesnt love making spreadsheets. I usually go about 3 months out in case I need to make adjustments. Look forward to following along on your progress.

 

[ZellyB]

Love it!!

Great job ZellyB! Keep it up-we are pulling for you! Yoga and Abs--you the man!
We belong to a local running group on FB and we are doing a plank challenge this month (Feb)-we'll see how it goes.

Thank you!! I was pretty proud of myself. Planks are terrible.

Defintiely does sound like you rocked this week!!
I totally need to get back into yoga too! However, I am a yoga snob and only like doing YIN in the hot room, which is at super inconvenient times with my schedule ;(

See? I'm so clueless about yoga I don't even know what YIN is. I finally just broke down and got the DVD because every time I would look into going to a yoga class the times were just not good for me. Plus I knew I'd be totally embarrassed at how bad I am at it. I figured I'd start out looking stupid in the privacy of my own home!!

With the room decision, it is a hard decision, both are amazing places. Glad you are signed up for 2018 as well! Good luck with your training! A training plan for the whole year already is a impressive task, who doesnt love making spreadsheets. I usually go about 3 months out in case I need to make adjustments. Look forward to following along on your progress.

I'm pretty stoked about our resort options. Now just have to hope we score one of them. Spreadsheets just make me happy. And, trust me even with it scheduled out for a year, I'm sure I'll end up making multiple changes to it. Thanks for following along.