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

[xjillianpaige]

It was at the Polynesian, on the Grand Floridian side of the boat launch. That was in 2012. We really enjoyed the show and the food there.

Edited to add that it looks like the luau was discontinued last year to make room for the new Polynesian DVC construction.

Well, I guess I just have to go to Hawaii, then.

 

[azrivest]

Scary for the totaled car thing. Hope you really are okay!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Scary for the totaled car thing. Hope you really are okay!

Thank you! I really am. Didn't see it coming, so I just went with the crash and have zero pain. I'm so lucky.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Race Recap Post #7
Day 7: EPCOT​

I need to stop myself from planning a whole vacation to Disney and the way I do that is by recapping the most recent one. It helps with the withdrawals. So I last left you with bottomless sangria. The obvious next step is to wake up in the morning and go to EPCOT to drink more.

We woke up early again so we could attempt a boarding pass for the new Guardians ride. And - yet again - a great success! We had a low number and were able to board shortly after arriving in EPCOT at 9 am.

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We, of course, also had to take some medal glamour shots. We did have to wait a little bit before getting into line, as Bridget's sister had recently had gallbladder surgery and was getting her wheelchair that morning. She wanted to come with us to see the Guardians line and then she took the chicken exit out.

Here's my official review of Guardians. IT WAS AWESOME. I have a strong stomach so I did great. No issues. Alex took Zofran and did fine, but everyone else reported a little moment of concern at some point during the ride. Bridget went with her mom, and Eric went with Tara. He turned to Jenna, Alex and me and told us we had to figure out who had to ride alone. I volunteered since I didn't want Alex to puke on me if she did get sick.

I also love this ride photo. Alex and Jenna's faces are totally hid by their hair. My face... is feral.

​

After that, I left the group so I could exit through the international gateway to see my parents one last time before they flew home. We just sat and chatted on a bench by the skyliner for about 30-45 minutes before they took it back to Pop Century and I went back into the park where I ran into...

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Daisy! I showed her the half marathon medal she was featured on, which she loved. Once we said goodbye, I texted the group to see where everyone was. They were pretty spread out. Bridget was with her mom and sister, Jenna and Alex were having a snack, and Tara and Eric went on Mission Space. Since they were doing a few different things, I decided to get a crepe in France as my snack. It took forever, so I decided I had earned a Mimosa.

Once I got those, I went to a trashcan to eat (they really need some tables in France) and while I was there I ran into one of my club mates who was also in Disney and had run the half! So we took a quick photo.

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From there I went to go find my friends on the other side of world showcas. Our next goal was Frozen. They had gone on Test Track and then stopped for Three Caballeros but I was happy sitting on a bench and resting my legs. I also ran into Emily and her mom here and they came with us to Frozen since we all had DAS passes at the same time. Tara had to add me and Alex on since we were over 6 people, but the CM let us through for this one and then Tara went to go add us permanently to the group after this ride.

Alex stopped after the ride for a frozen coffee and then we continued on. (Also at some point we went on Spaceship Earth, but I can't remember exactly when - maybe right after Guardians?) It was somehow already lunch time, so we stopped in Japan for sushi. Eric ran over to America while we waited for food and picked up drinks. I got the Tennessee Lemonade.

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Just as good as last time! After lunch we kept going toward France where everyone got another drink and I saw Belle come out so I ran over to say hello to her. I have to say, both Belle and Daisy did not have a PhotoPass photographer. The CMs attending the characters were great and took a ton of awesome photos on my phone, though, I was so happy with how many and the quality.

Belle and I talked about my run and my shirt (I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, which is from my first half in 2018) and her invention. Guys, it's a good one. She's going to create a machine to make you run faster. The machine is a picture of Gaston and you run away from it. Genius, right? And the other part of the machine is holding the gray stuff, which is delicious, and it's in front of you so you'll run toward it. This is how I'll qualify for Boston one day.

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After meeting Belle, we went on Ratatouille, which I could do since Tara added me to the DAS pass. I told her only to add me if it wasn't a pain in the butt for her, and I guess it wasn't! From there we did Living with the Land and Soarin'! I skipped Soarin' because I don't have any interest. We then split up for a bit and Alex, Jenna and I did Figment, Alex's favorite ride. It was starting to get dark, so we headed toward the UK for another drink and to meet up with Bridget, Tara and her family.

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I got the Snakebite, my favorite. Didn't meet my husband, again. So weird. It's bound to happen eventually, right? We all met up and headed to the front of the park for some photos with our medals. Which is a process. And funnily enough, our photographer was the same as last year!

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The rest of the group was done drinking, but I hadn't had my margarita yet, so I ditched them for a minute so I could go get one before Harmonious. While I was in Mexico, I ran into Devin a.k.a. fitfabdisney on instagram. I love the designs she makes with her cousin, Carrie (their small business is zipadeetees on instagram) and was going to be wearing one of them on our Magic Kingdom day. Anyway, Devin was so sweet and I told her I'd send photos of us in the shirts when I had them. Also - so many people were wearing these shirts all week! The dopey and the every mile is magic designs were everywhere all weekend.

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I found us a spot for Harmonious and the rest of the group came to meet me for the show. I covered my ears the whole time and then we dragged our tired legs and bodies to the car and home.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Belle is a genius confirmed.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Belle is a genius confirmed.

Facts.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Race Recap Post #8
Day 8: Rest Day​

We finally had a day to sleep in! Tara and Bridget were going to Magic Kingdom this morning, but of course we were all so used to waking up early that I was awake before my alarm. I think my eyes opened around 7 am. We needed some groceries, too, so I went with Jenna and Bridget for a quick morning grocery run. I grabbed pancake mix and decided to make us some pancakes for breakfast!

Tara and Bridget got ready and then left for their day at MK with Bridget's mom and sister. The rest of us relaxed until it was time to get dressed. Our plans were to really take it easy. Relax. Hang out. Shop a bit.

So we loaded up the car and went to Disney Springs! We opted out of a Gideons stop this time since we figured we'd be back at DS on Friday before our flight. We did some shopping and I tried to get my ears embroidered, but they had reconfigured the store and said their machines had been acting up and they couldn't do the font I wanted. So instead I decided to bring the ears to MK later that week.

Eric needed redemption from last year's Duck Duck Razz at The Boathouse, so we decided to stop there for lunch. No reservations but we were sat right away! Our waitress was so incredible and sweet! She warned us that the Duck Duck Razz was intense (we know) but we were prepared. So four Duck Duck Razzes it was!

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The buttered rolls are amazing. I ate here for a friend's bachelorette a few years ago (2017) and it was phenomenal then, too. For lunch I got the Caesar salad (I was craving something green) with shrimp. They let you choose how many shrimp you want - I think it's $2 each. I got 6. It was incredible. The shrimp were grilled and seasoned so beautifully - so tasty! I got great protein on a really yummy salad. I was so happy.

And after lunch our server brought us out a cupcake each to celebrate our races! An angel!

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Eric got his redemption. From there we decided to leave the car and drink along the monorail. So we hopped on a bus to the Polynesian and made our way to Trader Sams! We put our name in and were told it would be about a 2.5 hour wait, so we hopped back onto the monorail and rode it to the Grand Floridian.

I love the Grand Floridian. It's so beautiful. My family stayed there in 2010 and I had just turned 20 and I did not appreciate the rest day opportunity of sitting by the pool and stealing sips of my parent's drinks. One day maybe I'll be back there. We stopped for some photos with Cinderella's slipper and then went to the Enchanted Rose.

Guys, what a gorgeous lounge. I absolutely loved it. Again, we walked right in and sat down and ordered our drinks. I got the Garden Daisy (Don Julio Reposado tequila, midori, lime, and cucumber, contains pasteurized egg whites). It was so delicious. I'm turning into a mixed drinks girlie! I forget what the rest of the crew got. I think Eric got the seasonal old fashioned. No recollection of what Jenna and Alex got.

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Our next stop was the Contemporary, so we cashed out and hopped back on the monorail. We grabbed a high top at The Outer Rim, which I did not realize was right next to Chef Mickey's. This bar is not as themed or spectacular as The Enchanted Rose, but the drinks were delicious. I got the Blood Orange Margarita with a sugar rim and it was soooo sweet, which I don't mind because I like a sweet drink.

Alex got a dirty martini, extra dirty. Jenna got the Magical Beacon, I think. It was blue. And I believe Eric got a Moscow Mule. I believe it was while we were drinking that we got the text that we could go to Trader Sams. If it wasn't while we were drinking it was just after we had finished our drinks. I wanted to step into the store because my dad was looking for a 100th anniversary shirt he liked, but he couldn't find a size L at his hotel or EPCOT (the only 2 places my parents spent time on this short trip) so I was on the lookout. Instead we went to the monorail again for our final ride and stop.

Trader Sam's! We went here post marathon last year and had a great time. We wanted to make another return and it's so worth the wait. This time we knew what to expect, so we caught on faster and participated more. My first drink was the Polynesian Pearl (RumChata Cream Liqueur, Grand Marnier, and cinnamon with tropical juices). The others didn't like it when they tried it but I really liked it since it was a little cinnamon-y. The pearl was mine to keep but I didn't keep it. I forget what everyone else got, to be honest. Eric and Alex split an Uh-Oa at some point also.

We all got a second round and I got the HippopotoMai-Tai (Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Bols Orange Curaçao, prgeat (almond), organic agave nectar, and fresh lime juice). I've never had a Mai-Tai before. I told you, I've never been a mixed drinks girlie. Other than margaritas, I tend to drink beer and cider. This was delicious, though. A little strong at first but I mixed it up and it was so sweet and yummy. And this drink also has a presentation.

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Speaking of the presentations. Eric was so paranoid they'd squirt him with water that he pretended to swim every time he saw someone walk out from behind the bar. The bud light orders were hilarious and I tried to get Eric to order one for the show. They shot my hippopotamus dead. Just good fun all around.

After our drinks, we went back to Disney Springs so Alex could meet up with some friends for one more drink and snacks and so Eric, Jenna and I could eat. We ended up getting food at Deluxe Burger. I got the chicken sandwich, Eric and Jenna got burgers and fries.

And then we all met back up and went home!

 

[striker1064]

We all got a second round and I got the HippopotoMai-Tai (Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Bols Orange Curaçao, prgeat (almond), organic agave nectar, and fresh lime juice). I've never had a Mai-Tai before.

You still haven't!

Although Trader Sam's is close. And it's very tasty! But it's not quite a Mai Tai. I do love that mug though, I have one in my bar cabinet (and the shrunken head, and the blue shrunken head, and the Uh-Oh!, and... some others).

 

[xjillianpaige]

You still haven't!

Although Trader Sam's is close. And it's very tasty! But it's not quite a Mai Tai. I do love that mug though, I have one in my bar cabinet (and the shrunken head, and the blue shrunken head, and the Uh-Oh!, and... some others).

Well, then if a real mai tai is as good as this then I'll like a mai tai! The mug is really great but I let it stay at the tiki bar.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Providence Half Marathon Training Journal​

A full week of running! So exciting. Workouts are hard, huh? When you gotta like, run fast? Weird.

February 14: 5.52 miles • 1:00:12 • 10:54 avg pace
Tuesday quality session. The start of week 2 working with Carmela! This workout was 1 mile warm up, 1 mile at threshold pace 10:22 (my actual was 10:23), 1 mile jogging rest, and 4x.25 at 9:30 with a 2 minute jogging rest in between (actual reps: 9:42, 9:40, 9:39, 9:42) and a mile cool down. I ran my warm up at 11:22, my mile jogging rest at 10:55, and my cool down at 11:52. This was a lot of fun to do. I felt good and challenged. Toshie joined me for the workout, too!

February 16: 5.01 miles • 58:17 • 11:39 avg pace.
Easy Thursday run. I did a much better job keeping pace on this one. For some reason mile 2 felt really difficult - not sure why, but once I got into mile 3 it felt much easier. Splits were 11:58, 11:59, 11:33, 11:42, and 11:03. When I got to my car and was stretching I got a call from Ellen. She had run past me and was going for ice cream with her husband so invited me to come along. A great post-run treat!

February 18: 9.00 miles • 1:39:48 • 11:05 avg pace
Saturday quality session. This workout was logged in the V.o2 app as 8 miles, but ended up being 9? The workout was 2 mile warm up, 1 mile easy (11:47-12:55 - actual 11:24) , 1 mile marathon pace (11:40 - actual 11:27), 2x1 mile at threshold with 1 mile jog recovery (10:22 - actual 10:31 and 10:25), and 1 mile cool down. I figured that the second mile's recovery and cool down would be the same, but my watch gave me a mile recovery and cool down so it ended up being 9 miles. Not a big deal, still pretty on target.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Race Recap Post #9
Day 9: Park Hopping​

After our rest day being the opposite of restful with a busy day, I had another busy day. The rest of the crew was going to Hollywood Studios, but I got a park hopper so I could use this day to go to Animal Kingdom in the morning and then meet them later. My goal was to get photos at every park with all my medals, so I ended up hopping from AK to EPCOT to HS. Let's dive in.

Animal Kingdom was opening later than Hollywood Studios, but Alex and Jenna dropped me off at AK and then went to Hollywood Studios for rope drop. I was so early for Animal Kingdom and thought that I would be able to enter toward FOP, but there were early park hours so I was directed the other direction. I waited in the crowd and decided to adjust my plan to be right off to Expedition Everest once we were allowed in. I like FOP but it's not worth a 3 hour line.

People in the crowd were complaining about the wait, but I think they were just dumb and didn't pay attention to the hours. If they were staying on property they're dumb for going the wrong way, if they were off property they were dumb for not realizing you wouldn't be able to go in early.

​

Once I could go in, I went right to EE and walked right on. Then I got into the single rider line and went again. My next stop was the Safari. It was about a 10-15 minute wait and it was a really good one. Very active animals. Giraffes walking right by us. A great view of the slumbering lions. Just a really good Safari. Also they definitely fixed the audio on those vehicles because I could hear the CM driving so well. A quick walk through to see the Gorillas after the Safari followed. My next stop was the bird show. Guys. I love this show. I tried to participate, but I didn't have a dollar bill. Maybe another time. What's weird is that I'm terrified of birds... and yet I love this show.

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The next stop was supposed to be photos at the tree of life. And I got there eventually. But this is where crisis began. I went to put my medals on and my goofy medal was in 3 pieces. I put everything back into the pouch I was carrying the medals in (with 6 pockets, one for each medal) and went right to the help desk to see if they could glue it back together as a temporary fix.

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Major shoutout to the cast member who helped me (and of course I gave a cast compliment). She made sure that I reached out to RunDisney (check) and then began making calls. Long story short, they wanted to keep it for the rest of the day after hot-glueing it but we compromised and I said they could keep it for an hour. The whole point was to get photos, and I explained that I was totally prepared for it to break again and that if the glue didn't hold then at least we tried.

Since I had an hour to kill now, I checked for my dad's shirt (found it!) then went on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. I basically just road it there and back and then walked to the front of the park to get my medal. I grabbed it from them (they were so sweet and made sure to glue it so everything was facing the right way and then used books to press it) and thanked them profusely and carefully made my way back to the tree of life for my photos. The medal held and I carefully put it away and made my plan.

At this point, it was barely even noon and I really couldn't go anywhere else yet since park hopping started at 2:00? I don't even remember. Looking back, I should have grabbed a bite to eat at Animal Kingdom, but instead I hopped on a bus to Art of Animation so I could take the skyliner to EPCOT. Since I couldn't get in just yet and I was hungry for lunch, I went to the boardwalk for a slice of pizza and ice cold water.

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Then I went to EPCOT for a few photos. I figured that the park hopping would likely let me in a few minutes before 2:00, so I tried at 1:45 ish and it worked. I high tailed it right to the front of the park for more photos with all my medals (careful careful careful). While I was on the way back I decided to do single rider for Test Track and walked right on.

Then right on back out to the Friendships for a nice, slow, comfortable ride to Hollywood Studios to meet my friends. Yeah, I hit every type of transportation that Disney offered.

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Made it to Hollywood Studios and since they were in line for Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, I went for photos with my medals. Guys. This hot glue held up the whole day. I was so careful with it, yes, but it also held up. I'm grateful.

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They also had a Slinky Dog DAS pass, so I also stopped for a Mickey Premium Bar and enjoyed that while I waited for them. Living. My. Best. Life.

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They had done all of the Star Wars land that morning, so I was off the hook. I like Ogas and would have liked to go, but it was what it was. I'll be back in Disneyland at least in January, if not August, so I can go then. I didn't do a lot in Hollywood Studios in general, but it's no my favorite park. I tried to do Rock 'n Rollercoaster on the single rider while they were all in line for something, but the single rider wasn't open which is so annoying. I feel like that single rider line is never open.

I met up with them in Toy Story land and they all wanted a snack, so we stopped for popcorn (and I got a Powerade). They had a FP that went down for Tower of Terror so they were going to again later and were able to add me on, so we did Tower of Terror. We also did Indiana Jones, then Star Tours (which was a 15 minute wait). We're so sad that the Frozen Sing-Along is closed. One of the best attractions. We also did some shopping before dinner.

For dinner we had reservations at the 50s Primetime Diner. Eric was anxious because he was traumatized as a child when they made him eat collard greens. Someone should have told him you don't actually have to eat the food they bring you. But we told him he'd be fine. The dinner was Alex, Jenna, Eric, Tara, Bridget and me. Bridget's mom and sister went to MK for dinner (then came back for Fantasmic!). We had a nice final dinner as a little family of 6 friends.

Our waitress was so cute. We called her Auntie Janice. She was the perfect mix of sassy and sweet. The little girl at the next table was telling Auntie Janice about how this was her favorite meal. We got the rules, keep our elbows off the table. Hats off. Napkin in our laps. I think we were on our best behavior. Eric, Tara, and Alex all got the chicken pot pie and demolished them. I got a caesar with salmon, Bridget got hers with chicken. Jenna got the salmon and veggies. Everyone cleaned their plate except me. Embarrassing. But it was a big meal and I am bad at finishing all my food! I get very full very fast. Everyone was honestly made because the meal was SO good. Like unexpectedly delicious.

Everyone also got dessert but I literally was so full I couldn't eat anymore. I had a taste of Bridget's apple pie but that's it. After dinner we met back up with Kris and Kelly and went to Fantasmic! We had great seats toward the front since Kelly was in her wheelchair. The show was great! But they didn't do the big boat so we couldn't watch them bag the fish. Heartbreaking.

We made our way out of the park and went home. Another long, long day.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Speaking of the presentations. Eric was so paranoid they'd squirt him with water that he pretended to swim every time he saw someone walk out from behind the bar

I have never been there and now I am … scared to?

 

[HangWithMerida]

I have never been there and now I am … scared to?

Yeah, I hate this kind of forced crowd participation. I don’t like being singled out. I would be nervous the whole time!

 

[xjillianpaige]

I have never been there and now I am … scared to?

Yeah, I hate this kind of forced crowd participation. I don’t like being singled out. I would be nervous the whole time!

You can get the drinks without the show/spectacle on their patio! And that doesn't really ever have a wait, as far as I can tell.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Providence Half Marathon Training Journal​

I'm up to 4 days/week now! Let's dive in.

February 21: 5.77 miles • 1:02:34 • 10:51 avg pace
Tuesday quality session. This workout was a doozy! Didn't quite hit my sprints but I'll get there. The weather mostly held out, but we finished in a decent amount of rain. I did a 1 mile warm up (actual: 11:10) with Toshie and then because roads were iffy after some snow, we did laps in a neighborhood near the restaurant. Kristin had 3-4 easy so she did that while we worked out. My workout was .5 miles at threshold (10:22) with quarter mile recovery (4 of those) followed by 1 minute at 9:07 with a 1 minute recovery (4 again). Then a mile cool down (actual: 10:55). Here are how I did on my targets:

.5 mile at 10:22: 10:34, 10:32, 10:23, 10:24
1 minute at 9:07: 9:17, 9:26, 9:31, 9:09

I'll get there on the sprints next time.

February 23: 5.00 miles • 57:46 • 11:33 avg pace.
The weather was crappy so did my 5 easy miles on the treadmill at my friend Siobhan's house. Now, the data above is from my watch. The treadmill had me at 4.75 miles and a 12:10 pace. But it didn't feel like a 12:10 pace, it felt faster. Not much to say about this. Sio's treadmill has fans on it so that helped me. And my niece came and sat in the gym room with me and watched her iPad while I ran.

February 24: 3.00 miles • 34:23 • 11:27 avg pace
After Thursday's crappy weather I had 3 easy miles on Friday. I managed to get out on mostly clear roads and not very clear sidewalks. Nothing particularly interesting to report.

February 26: 10 miles • 1:56:47 • 11:41 avg pace
This was supposed to be Saturday but it was freezing cold and I would have to go very early so I could get home and ready for a baby shower, so I pushed to today for warmer temperatures. Well, it was warmer today. And it was also snowing for most of my run. Fabulous. Anyway, today's workout was 2 miles warm up, 3 miles at marathon pace (11:40), and a mile at threshold x2 with a jog in between. Then 2 miles cool down. This added a mile rest after the second threshold mile also, so I cut the cool down to 1 mile. Here are those actuals:

Warm up: 12:00 average pace
3 miles at marathon: 11:41 average
Threshold miles: 10:24 and 10:24 (Rest mile was at 11:54)
Cool down: 12:47 and 12:18

Some crappy weather is due this week so we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I have a Tuesday workout but Carmela put in the notes that it can be moved to Wednesday if the weather requires it.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Dopey Challenge 2023 Race Recap Post #10
Day 10: Magic Kingdom​

Last day last day last day! We woke up and got ready for the day and had breakfast at our hotel. Honestly, it was so nice to do breakfast and coffee at home and save money and daily Starbucks. I did miss taking the Starbucks coffee cup aesthetic photo but at least I saved money.

Bridget and her family had breakfast reservations and then were flying out. The rest of us were spending the day at Magic Kingdom! This was the only day we got Genie+ and I think we used it well. I, of course, can't remember exactly what order we did what. I never can. Honestly, I pull up a park map and I see if I can remember what general direction we went into. I just went into the metadata on my photos app to see when they were taken to get a timeline.

My first stop (I think) was to drop off my hat for the embroidery. It took a few tries, but I found where they are now since the hat store has moved to town hall. Our first stop was to the fence by The Crystal Palace so we could do a photo shoot with our medals, with varying success. It takes a lot to hold all 6 medals. After the photo shoot we went to Pirates for our first ride of the day. I did not want to get wet so I hid underneath my long sleeve shirt.

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We had a fast pass to meet Mickey at 11-ish so we started heading that way where we took a photo on the side of the castle and then I got my hat and we got into line for Mickey! By the way, the hot-glued Goofy medal was still holding strong, I was just very careful.

Meeting Mickey was fun! We did group and solo photos. This was a box photo so no photographer. We did a combination of cell phone and their photos and got some decent pictures. They didn't appear on the app though, so I spent time once I got home calling photopass and finding photos. Next time it's going to be one person tapping for photos. Also in the preview of this photo on my computer, the image is zoomed out and I can see the entire background. But when I open the photo it's zoomed in on me and Mickey? I just feel like, other than the race photos, Memory Maker is no longer worth it. I feel like my friends and I took better photos of each other than photographers in the parks.

​

After Mickey we did... more rides? We went back over to the Adventureland side, maybe for a snack? I know we got the cheeseburger egg rolls which were not as good as I remembered from 2022. We then crossed over the park to Tomorrowland, seeing a little bit of the parade, and went to Monster's Inc. where Jenna and I both had jokes read by Marty!

Next up was Buzz Lightyear, my least favorite Toy Story shooting ride. We broke down early on and for a minute I thought I was going to experience my first evacuation. While we were stuck, Alex and I got Galactic Hero, which they then reset the ride on us and put our score back to zero! I still asked for a sticker though.

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After Buzz was the Carousel of Progress where we broke down AGAIN and had to watch the first room twice. Eery time it was time to spin, I was anxious we would be stuck and be on the ride forever. After that was Space, then the People Mover. Favorites, for sure.

We crossed back over to the other side of the park and took more medal photos at the castle. I wanted one with my hat similar to the one I took marathon weekend last year. After that was Dole Whips and more photos on the Hub Grass while the light was still good.

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I'll post the hub grass photoshoot photos in another post since there's lots of photos in this post in general and I'm going to hit the limit soon.

After our photos we went on the Little Mermaid. I have a gap in my notes here, so I'm guessing we might have gone over to the Jungle Cruise? I know we rode that toward the evening/sundown, but I'm not entirely sure when. Eric's friend Jess and her husband came and met us at dinner time. They went to Pinocchios and I went to the quick service in Tomorrowland. I finished first, so I met them over at Pinocchios and then we all split up for a minute. Eric and Jess and her husband went to the PeopleMover and Jenna went... somewhere? So Alex and I sat and waited for Jenna before heading to 7 Dwarves.

While we were sitting, the fireworks were going off. I think I've mentioned this before. I hate fireworks. They're loud. I don't like sudden loud noises. So I sat there like this:

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And then Jenna came back and we went to 7 Dwarves and tried to wait for Eric, but he got stuck on the People Mover so we had to go without him.

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Those super cute shirts? Jenna made them. Eric caught back up with us (Jess and her husband went home) and we went to the Haunted Mansion for what I think was our final ride. It's the last one I have in my notes. Let me see... We did the PhilHarmagic! at some point during the day... not totally sure when. Also It's a Small World sometime later in the night with a Lightning Lane.

And that's basically a wrap! We headed home, wandering through the shops on the way out, then hopping the monorail back to the ticket and transportation center and home. I was beyond gassed at this point. Basically falling asleep after so many days in a row on my feet with minimal sleep.

I will have two more posts (one in just a second with the hub grass photos and another with the last day at Disney Springs/traveling home) before this race/trip report is officially over!

 

[xjillianpaige]

​

 

[xjillianpaige]

Providence Half Marathon Training Journal​

The weather was crap this week so I got done what I could with what I was given.

March 2: 6.49 miles • 1:12:00 • 11:06 avg pace
Thursday quality session.

This week's workout was 1 mile warm up, 1 mile at marathon pace (11:40), 1 mile at threshold pace (10:22), 6 x .25 at critical velocity (9:33) with 2 min jog recovery, and 1 mile clown.

My warm up was done in 11:41, I hit marathon pace at 11:41, hit threshold at exactly 10:22, and my reps for CV were 9:29, 9:33, 9:42, 9:52, 9:42, 9:42. Cool down was 11:46.

I felt really good for the marathon pace and threshold, and started strong with the CV reps, but the last four were a lot more effort to hit the paces I did.

March 5: 12.00 miles • 2:23:40 • 11:58 avg pace.
Sunday quality session.

This was a TOUGH one. I got a late start (ran Sunday instead of Saturday because weather was crap) and had trouble deciding where to run and if I was going to join anyone. Sort of just a mess. But I ended up on the rail trail (which was clear of ice and snow). For some reason the GPS got wonky and the map showed 14 miles, but I definitely ran 6 out and no more, which means I ran 12 total. Anyway... the workout..

My warm up was 2.5 miles, then 2 x 2 miles at threshold (10:22) with 1 mile jog recovery, then 2 x .5 miles at 9:45 with .5 jog recovery, then 2 mile cool down.

I did my warm up with a pace of 12:22. I tried to be really intentional about keeping this easy. The 2 x 2 miles were 10:24 and 10:26 average paces. I'm honestly surprised. It was really hard. Not totally sure why I struggled the way I did, but the effort to hit these paces was high. The recovery miles were very very easy, with a fair bit of walking on the second one.

Just before starting the half miles, I stopped at the bathroom (perfect timing) and this definitely aided me in my recovery.

The half miles were pretty on point at 9:44 and 9:41. Did a little bit of walking in the recovery to make sure I had the energy to hit the paces. Then cool down was very easy at 13:37 (again with some walking).

I have some work to do to get back to my ability to not be totally gassed on a long run by the end. Coach was very happy with my performance here ("Beautifully executed") and knew this would be challenging but doable.

 

[NYC_MW]

This week's workout was 1 mile warm up, 1 mile at marathon pace (11:40), 1 mile at threshold pace (10:22), 6 x .25 at critical velocity (9:33) with 2 min jog recovery, and 1 mile clown.

Don't know if this was intentional, but I'm totally calling cooldowns "clowns" from now on

Also just realized I've been looking at doing the same race! The one on May 7?

 

[xjillianpaige]

Don't know if this was intentional, but I'm totally calling cooldowns "clowns" from now on

Also just realized I've been looking at doing the same race! The one on May 7?

LMAO def not intentional but let's petition to make it officially a clown.

Yes! May 7!