i want adventure in the great wide somewhere - running journal! (comments welcome)

[Cabius]

Oh, and I did see my dad just before mile 15! ... He did find me and I did ask him to run me over with his car. He refused. So much for doing anything for your children.

What a terrible Dad. If I were you, I'd trade him in.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Great job on your sim!!!

I've been running well more than 3 hours since starting this marathon thing because your girl is slow... ish.

FWIW, your paces are my goals!!!

 

[xjillianpaige]

What a terrible Dad. If I were you, I'd trade him in.

Tell me about it! I told him I’d lay in the road to make it easy!

Great job on your sim!!!


FWIW, your paces are my goals!!!

Thank you! I’ve been peeking at your journal! You’ve got some speedy miles in there! Totally crushing your training plan!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 16​

Keeping it short and sweet because my parents are on their way for Christmas Eve pizza and a movie. Let's go! Also, I skipped today's run because it was freezing (literally - single digits) and I prioritized cleaning my house instead (way overdue).

December 20: 5.58 miles • 1:03:15 • 11:20 avg pace
I actually made it on time! We had our holiday lights run so it was a big night time group for the run. The plan was 5 but I went over because finding good light displays took us around some extra spots. Ended up being about a half a mile or more extra. Not complaining. Lots of stops to see lights and take photos.

December 22: 4.01 miles • 45:02 • 11:14 avg pace
A morning run! Met up with the 6:30 am girls for 4 miles and coffee before my half way work from home day. Nothing remarkable to report. Everyone has been so festive on our runs lately and I'm wearing all black. I don't have many festive outfits. Oh well.

On the docket for week 17:
Tuesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: 8 miles

Merry Christmas Eve & Happy 7th Night of Hanukkah!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 17​

Ummm I ran over 800 miles this year! That's a record! Wild! I hope everyone had a great holiday - and now begins the countdown to Disney!

December 27: 4.00 miles • 44:55 • 11:14 avg pace
My last Tuesday night with the girls before the race! It was very cold. Felt easy and got it done. Took a few walk breaks with my running buddy since her running has been less consistent. I don't mind a break!

December 29: 3.01 miles • 39:06 • 13:00 avg pace
Jenna was in town for the holidays unexpectedly, so she came with me to run with my club! Normally our Thursday morning run starts at 6:30 am, but with the holiday break a few of the girls were down for sleeping in and starting at 7:30. Jenna and I did a 1:30 to 1:00 ratio and then sat for coffee with the girls. It was so nice having my running friends all together!

December 31: 6.85 miles • 1:23:20 • 12:10 avg pace
The last long run. Decided against 8 miles, honestly, because I didn't want to run past my car and I figured at this point... what real difference does it make? The metaphorical hay is in the metaphorical barn. Managed to almost get to 7 anyway. Ran with Eric and we did 2:1 ratios. Then coffee and bagels. Carbo loading starts now, right?

On the docket for week 18:
Tuesday: 2 (or 3) miles & flight!
Thursday: 5k
Friday: 10k
Saturday: Half Marathon
Sunday: Marathon

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Training Journal
Week 18​

Just here to report on my shake out run. I fly out today. I FLY OUT TODAY!

January 3: 3.00 miles • 33:12 • 11:04 avg pace
A nice and early 6:30 run. I was up at 4:30 and couldn't really fall back asleep. This is good practice. Between waking up early today and going to bed late tonight, I'll be totally on schedule for the 2 am wake ups. I had two on the schedule but didn't mind getting a third one in so my friend Jen didn't have to add a solo mile on. Coffee after. Now I'm showered and trying to empty my phone of old photos so I'm Disney ready. See ya real soon!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Race Recap Post #1
Day 1 & 2: Travel and Expo

Travel Day​

My travel day was one of the most leisurely travel days I've had in a while. No delays. No mishaps. I was all packed and super organized. My notes app had a packing list, inclusive of which bag everything was packed in. If I moved something from my suitcase to my carryon, it was moved on the list. I'm honestly amazed by myself.

I was able to check one bag with my fashion sneakers and Birkenstocks and vacation clothes, then I had a carry on duffle bag (in retrospect, I wish I had done a full carryon suitcase) with all my race clothes, sneakers, accessories, fuel, etc. and then my personal item which was a backpack with the items I needed at hand like my Kindle and chargers. I wore my 5k/10k sneakers.

My flight was at 4:25 and I have pre-check, so I ran that morning, then went home to shower, tidy the house a bit, do my hair, and pack those few final items. Eric was dropped at my house at 2:00 and then my Dad picked us up and drove us to the airport, arriving at around 2:45. We checked in and dropped our bags, then got Wahlburgers before going to our gate.

​

Fun fact: I cannot tell the difference between a Wahlburg and Matt Damon. They're all the same person to me.

Our flight was uneventful. I read the whole time (The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams). We landed and met up with Bridget, Tara, Jenna, and Alex at the airport and got our rental cars, then went to our hotel. We stayed in Jenna's dad's timeshare and my goodness... the room was clearly redone recently because it was beautiful. The biggest perk is that we stayed in a real suite, so we had a full kitchen with a nice sized living/dining space. We had a balcony over looking the golf course, and we had two bedrooms and two baths.

Alex and Jenna stayed in the king room with a gorgeous bathroom with a tub (that I never used ) while Tara and Bridget took one bed and Eric and I took the other. The only bummer was that our beds were fulls. I sleep in a queen by MYSELF at home. Brutal. I sleep like the dead in a tiny ball, so I'm a good sharer. Eric has a history of sleep walking. I was stressed that I would have to take him out, if ya know what I mean.

Anyway, we stayed up too late and then went to bed because we had an early morning expo virtual queue to join!

Expo​

We were all up and ready to go for the virtual queue. My job was to watch the world clock and count down the seconds. Everyone else tried for the queue. Bridget ended up being the one to get it and we were in group 15! We were amazed. It also helped us map out our day. We all got ready to go immediately since it said we would be called back at 10:05. Our breakfast plan became Starbucks on the way since we didn't have food yet and our grocery run would now be after the Expo.

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While we were in line at Starbucks at 9:45, we were called to the queue! It was so much faster than I thought (and technically before opening). So we went and parked and headed right to the Disney merch area. This was a MUCH better experience than going the last day of the expo last year. Our system was divide and conquer. Grab anything you might want in whatever size and we could always bring stuff back to shelves. I wanted Dopey pins, two magnets, and then maybe a jacket. I wasn't sure what I would like/how it would fit. I was also grabbing a weekend jacket for a friend who was going a few days later and an ornament for another friend.

I did just that and then we found a corner to try things on. I liked the light purple hoodie but it ran SO small. I put on a large and it was constricting so I decided to go with the Dopey jacket instead (which I LOVE - much better quality than last year's jackets) and then I grabbed 3 tank tops. A marathon weekend one, the Dopey one, and a generic runDisney one. I also got the pins and magnets I wanted and the stuff for my two friends. Overall a good haul.

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From there we went to bib pick up which was a surprisingly long line - it moved the entire time, but it was LONG. Wrapping all over the place. I've never waited to get into bib pick up before, even for Princess weekend in 2020. The shirts are shirts. Too many blues - not cohesive in terms of color palette... a mess. I do like the Dopey one. I was in corral C for all races, which is weird because my friends got A for the 5k/10k bib! And then Bridget got corral F and we have no idea why... her estimated finish was the same as Alex's and Alex got C. So annoying.

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Then the expo! I was well behaved! Bought NOTHING (except a pretzel, I was hungry)! I wanted some shirts from Fit2Run but I was good and didn't get them. I also didn't buy fuel because they don't carry untapped! Luckily I brought enough (I was using clif bloks for the half and the untapped for the full).

From there we left and went grocery shopping for the week and Tara cooked us tacos for dinner (*sings* white people taco night! white people taco night! you get ortega sauce from the grocery store and taco shells from the grocery store - great song). We also began to lay out all our clothes for the race and steam them. I took a shower. Jenna realized her magnet didn't end up in her bag and went to the expo to have them replace it.

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After that... early to bed! We all had a 5k to run! I think I was the first to bed at 8 pm and my alarm was set for 1:45 am. Yikes. The first of 4.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Race Recap Post #2
Day 3: 5k

5k and Resort Hopping​

The first of four! This was the race that all 6 of our group was running. We decided to do parks/rides as our theme, so we each had shirts for a ride we loved. Bridget's was Haunted Mansion, Tara's was Space Mountain (give me space), Eric's was Star Tours, Alex's was Figment (one little spark), Jenna's was Spaceship Earth (if you can read this, thank the Phoenicians), and mine was my favorite ride of all time...

Jungle Cruise!

​

This race goes on for niles and niles (and niles and niles).

The humidity this morning was TERRIBLE. It was the type of humidity where you sweat just for having the audacity to stand outside. I wore my hair down since I was just going for a leisurely stroll and that was a BIG mistake. I sweat my curls into a gravity defying hair style and regretted the t-shirt instead of a tank top choice. Oh well.

​

This is officially my slowest 5k ever with a time of (according to my Garmin, which I did not pause for any reason) 1:16:13. With a total distance of 3.24 miles, my walking pace was an easy peasy 23:30 per mile. We waited in line for one character (Max) because Eric is a big Goofy/Goofy Movie/Max fan (and was going to be dressed as Max for the 10k). None of the other characters caught our eye or were worth the wait (in our opinion).

​

After our 5k, we drove back to the hotel so we could wash the sweat off before they all went to Animal Kingdom and I went on my own adventure!

We all drove to AK together (shoutout to the CM at the gate who gave us free parking) and they headed into the park. I, on the other hand, hopped on a bus to Port Orleans: French Quarter because I had a beignet with my name on it.

​

I have been DYING to try a beignet. I was bummed that the classic ones are only sold in 3s (according to the CM), but this cinnamon sugar specialty beignet was DELICIOUS and so worth the trip. I really like Riverside (I've stayed there) and I think I would also really love to stay at French Quarter. It seems to be a tad bit smaller, but just as nice and maybe a bit more convenient because of its size.

From there, I hopped the boat to Disney Springs. I had intended on doing some shopping and wandering around, maybe getting lunch before heading to another hotel, but the humidity was breaking in the form of a thunderstorm. The boat I was on (the only passenger, also) told me that boats would stop running as we pulled into Disney Springs, and then as I wandered around World of Disney the skies open. I pulled on my poncho and decided to call my day at the springs short.

I walked over to the buses and decided to hit up Animal Kingdom Lodge. I had never been and wanted to check it out. Plus, I had my kindle so I could sit in the lobby and read, then get lunch from the hotel's quick service.

What a gorgeous hotel. The tree was enormous and once I lifted my jaw off the floor from seeing that the moment I walked in, I kept going and saw that the back wall is all windows and from there, savannah. The rain had stopped and the humidity broke, so I went out and watched some of the animals.

​

Giraffes are my favorite. I also some some zebras and whatever that thing is with the antlers. (Antelope seems too easy.) I walked around a little bit and then went inside to sit and read.

I read the rest of my book from the flight (The Bromance Book Club - I'm now dying for the second one in the series to be available from the library) before heading downstairs to The Mara, the quick service, for chicken tenders and hydration.

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They were plentiful and delicious. After lunch, I went back to the lobby to read my next book (The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang). I also sat by the gorgeous fire pit in the lobby and called with my parents back home. Finally, I got the text from the crew that they were going on one last ride (the safari) and then popping through the shops before heading home. We made the plan that I would bus it over to them and we'd drive home. Dinner that night would be pizza and then another early bed time. We got the pizza from a local place that was very good (Tara and Bridget were having date night at EPCOT).

Race #1 done!

​

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Sounds super fun! Also I appreciate your book choices - I have enjoyed both of those

 

[jmasgat]

Sitting by the fire pit in AKL lobby is always a treat. I love it when I stay there.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Sounds super fun! Also I appreciate your book choices - I have enjoyed both of those

I looked this book up on my kindle app and it sounds SO MUCH like a pippa grant series. Baseball players. Book club. Make you laugh romance. Check, check, and check.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We spent a single night at AKL a few years ago on a girls' trip. I fell in love with the resort that trip and I would love to get back there someday.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Sounds super fun! Also I appreciate your book choices - I have enjoyed both of those

I looked this book up on my kindle app and it sounds SO MUCH like a pippa grant series. Baseball players. Book club. Make you laugh romance. Check, check, and check.

Ya'll came for the running, stayed for the books.

Sitting by the fire pit in AKL lobby is always a treat. I love it when I stay there.

We spent a single night at AKL a few years ago on a girls' trip. I fell in love with the resort that trip and I would love to get back there someday.

It was so beautiful! I would love to stay there some day.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Race Recap Post #3
Day 4: 10k

10k and Rest​

Another early morning. Today it was four of us running (Alex, Eric, Jenna and me). Eric's costume was Goofy while us girls dressed wore Camp Walden shirts. We took a very cute picture in the morning before we left the resort where Jenna is pretending to pierce my ears, I'm pretending to cut Alex's hair, and Alex is eating Oreos with peanut butter. I think we really captured Annie and Hallie in our costume.

​

We hopped in the car and made our way to EPCOT. It was SO cold this morning and we had nothing to keep us warm. And listen, I'm a New Englander. There is snow outside right now. I've gone for a run in 3 degree heat. But when I go for a run in the cold, I wear layers and shed them and I don't go outside and stand around for an hour before I run. I was cold.

Anyway, we waited at the front of our corral (we were in the front of C for every race). The day of the 5k they did such a good job moving us from being perpendicular to the start to parallel. They moved the gate and hinged us out and forward. This morning... no good. They barely opened the gate so it was a bottleneck and then people could not stop PUSHING. I actually got disoriented at one point and I looked around and just saw bodies around me. I'm shorter than my friends, but I'm not tiny. But in this space I was totally consumed by the crowd. Hated it.

Anyway, enough about my trauma.

We got started and began our second leisurely stroll of the weekend. Yep, we were walking this one, too. What's nice about walking the 5k is that you spend a lot (or I think it felt like a lot) of the time in the park. The 10k? Not so much.

The first 3 miles really is highway and parking lot. Then you do finally get into the park and to the boardwalk. We came in through the front of the park and then went right out to the boardwalk through the international gateway (side note: the folks out on the boardwalk whisper-cheering us on were so wonderful) and then back through the international gateway. From there we weaved in and out through France and Morocco and stayed in the World Showcase before exiting between Test Track and Mission Space.

​

We didn't stop for any characters this time. The few that we were mildly interested in had really long lines and we figured we could meet Mickey in the parks, just in a different outfit. So we finished our 10k and got our medals.

​

I genuinely cannot believe that the acorn hasn't snapped right off. My money was on that one to break, not the Goofy medal (more on that later). Once again, I did not stop my watch once, and we ran (according to my Garmin) 6.54 miles in 2:02:33. That's a much faster average pace of 18:45. Amazing what happens when you don't stop for bathrooms or characters. We were downright SPEEDY.

We got back to our resort. Tara and Bridget were going to Magic Kingdom with Bridget's mom and sister while we had a rest. I didn't think I would nap, but I was overcome with exhaustion and ended up putting my book down and having a nap. After we all slept for a bit, we decided to drive the 45 minutes to the other Gideon's for cookies. We also needed to buy some throwaway clothes for the half and full since the next two mornings would be just as cool as this one had been.

At Gideons, I got a classic chocolate chip and a cookies and cream. They don't sell the cold brew at this Gideons because the place that provides their cold brew in Disney Springs is located in the same little building as their original spot. We took our cookies with us for the drive back (I ate more than half of mine while on the road).

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We had an important stops on the way home. We grabbed some blankets and sweatshirts for $3 each at Goodwill as throwaways. For dinner Tara made us spaghetti and meatballs. It was very tasty. We washed and dried the throwaways and went to bed nice and early. Halfway through our early mornings but not even close to halfway through the mileage!

 

[striker1064]

I love Gideon's. Get myself in a lot of trouble there.

 

[HangWithMerida]

I love Gideon's. Get myself in a lot of trouble there.

I have yet to try it. I think about it every time I am at WDW but the whole queue thing really outs me off of it. It’s hard for me to imaging waiting around DS for hours to get cookies.

 

[GollyGadget]

I have yet to try it. I think about it every time I am at WDW but the whole queue thing really outs me off of it. It’s hard for me to imaging waiting around DS for hours to get cookies.

I just went for the first time last trip. I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into expect that people wait hours for the cookies. Once I realized it was a virtual queue, I figured it was worth a shot. We made that our first stop and by the time we were ready to leave, it was our turn for cookies.

Delish by the way.

 

[striker1064]

Yeah, you can actually come back anytime after they get to you in your queue, you don't have to go immediately. Not exactly sure why they do it that way, but it helps!

 

[xjillianpaige]

I love Gideon's. Get myself in a lot of trouble there.

Going to Gideon's is a really good practice in self restraint.

I have yet to try it. I think about it every time I am at WDW but the whole queue thing really outs me off of it. It’s hard for me to imaging waiting around DS for hours to get cookies.

I just went for the first time last trip. I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into expect that people wait hours for the cookies. Once I realized it was a virtual queue, I figured it was worth a shot. We made that our first stop and by the time we were ready to leave, it was our turn for cookies.

Delish by the way.

Yeah, you can actually come back anytime after they get to you in your queue, you don't have to go immediately. Not exactly sure why they do it that way, but it helps!

I've been before where the line was walk up, but it usually is the virtual queue. If you go right there and add yourself, you can sort of plan based on the estimated wait time. A little shopping or breakfast/lunch or both.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Race Recap Post #4
Day 5: Half Marathon

Half Marathon and Rest​

Day 3! Only one more early morning wake up. This morning's race crew was everyone except Tara. Bridget was starting in corral F and had a Donald inspired outfit (a super cute shirt she got for 2 Euro as she's currently living in Ireland and a blue tutu). Jenna, Alex and I were in our Zenon inspired outfits, and Eric was dressed as Max!

We got ready, put on our glitter and headed out. This time, though, we were prepared with our $3 sweatshirts for the start.

​

(Hey, if you're new here. I don't post photos of my friends. Well, I do... but I cover their faces. Just gonna say it and let the air out of the fact that there are blobs over their faces. Anyway.. onward.)

Yes, our outfits are so good. And yes, Alex did make us earrings inspired by the movie. Each of our shirts says something different from the movie: Zetus Lapetus, Supernova Girl, and Zoom Zoom Zoom. What you can't see is that we're also wearing hot pink leggings. Please... if you have not seen this movie please go to Disney+ right now and watch it. Then come back and finish reading this.

Alex drove us in and we headed to our corrals: Bridget went to hers and we went to ours in C (Tara was sleeping in, then getting breakfast with Bridget's family before going to the finish line). Right to the front again and we plopped ourselves down to the ground. At least this time we wouldn't need to hinge, we were straight on for the start.

The cold wasn't *as* bad as the day before, but it was still a bit chilly. I was grateful for my sweatshirt. Of course, I did toss it about a mile in. Sort of regretted it and wish I had kept it a little longer, but what's on the side of the road in Florida stays on the side of the road in Florida.

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One of Jenna's and my goals has been to get to Magic Kingdom while the sun is still down and... well... I'm so excited to tell you that we did it! We made it to Magic Kingdom before sunrise! It was so cool to be running down Main Street with all the lights on and the castle lit up and... rides! They had the teacups and the carousel going. I've never heard of this happening before. We opted out of the riding of rides because not all of us want to spin round and round that early (I'm the only one who has a stomach that could handle it).

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I wanted to upload a photo of us in front of the castle with our hot pink leggings but the quality of the photo is trash. Maybe I'll add it here one day.

Running through the castle was more of a... slight jog through the castle? It was SO crowded. Like, can't run if you want to crowded. But it was fine. We made it through, got in line for our castle photo, and then continued on. I also want to say that we were running based on Alex's pace with a 1:1 ratio (this was her first half, Bridget's first, too). And I felt really good the entire time. As you can see, my hair was half up, half down so I had lots of hair on my neck and while I ended up with a little bit of sweat and frizz, it mostly held up. I'm so glad I ran the race this way so I had somewhat saved legs for the next day.

While we were in line for the castle, we reached out to Bridget to see how she was doing. She was about a mile back at the ticket and transportation center - totally crushing it. Unfortunately, someone came into the bathroom and told them that the balloon ladies were on their tail and they needed to move or they'd get swept. Except... the balloon ladies were well over a mile behind her. This totally freaked her out and caused her stress the rest of the race. Had we and my dad known, he could have let her know she was okay. He was tracking her, us, his neighbors (also running) and the balloon ladies. He was telling us how well she was doing and what a large buffer she had.

Moving on... for characters we did meet Max early on in the race - over at Ticket and Transportation? Eric was dressed as Max but Max was kind of... a bummer. No energy. Just photo and goodbye. Photo goodbye.

And then when we came out of Magic Kingdom we saw Tink and her... sister? by the Floridian, so you know I had to stop for a photo. She loved my pixie dust (glitter).

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(Okay... seriously... the quality is so bad... what is going on???)

Somewhere in the mile 9 area I began to get texts from my dad that his neighbor's daughter, Emily, was somewhere near me. So we all started looking for her. A minute later, she's tapping me on the shoulder! She did some run-walk intervals with us and then just after hitting mile 10 Alex decided she wanted to walk the rest - fine by me! So we all walked that stretch of highway until we hit EPCOT. Once there, I hit the Figment bathroom and we did a few more intervals. We also ran into Jenna and Alex's coworker Makenna and she hung out with us to the finish.

As we're coming up to the finish chute... well... it was the most beautiful moment. THEY WERE PLAYING ANTI-HERO BY TAYLOR SWIFT. Let's just say Jenna, Alex and I screamed and lost our minds and jumped around and crossed the finish line singing along with the biggest grins (I even lost Emily). We're seeing TS together in LA this summer.

We got our post-race accoutrements, including a mylar blanket that we would use the next morning. My phone had no service - I was trying to check in with my dad and Tara about Bridget so we could see her finish but before we could get out and around to the bleachers, she had already finished! She was not far behind us. She made really good pace. It's so frustrating that she was given false information and ran over half the race stressed about being swept.

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We all linked up and headed home. Me with Jenna, Alex, and Eric and Bridget with her family. Back at the resort we resumed our typical post race activities. Alex and I had iced coffee on the balcony. We all took turns showering. Then Alex, Jenna, Eric and I got lunch at a restaurant around the corner (I got mac and cheese with chicken, but it was the wrong choice. I'm not over my fear of buffalo chicken since I had food poisoning in April and the "medium" sauce the waiter told me wasn't at all like buffalo was literally just buffalo sauce) and then went for ice cream at Coldstone. We got back to the resort and played card games until dinner time, which was leftovers.

Honestly, I wasn't hungry for dinner all. For the race mornings I had done a good job of having an uncrustable for breakfast and only felt hungry toward the end of races because it had been so long since I had eaten. This morning I did two uncrustables. One on the drive in and one right before we started and then my fuel was some clif bloks around mile 6 and then maybe again? Not sure if I had more. But honestly, I think the mac and cheese did me in. Really messed up my stomach. But I managed to eat a few pieces of the leftover cheese/garlic bread from the pizza place before going to bed at the reasonable hour of 8 pm.