In Every Run That Must Be Done; There is an Element of Fun (comments welcome)

[Naomeri]

That suitcase is iconic.

I know, right!? I have the best coworkers!

 

[avondale]

Princess Half Training: Day 162

My running gear bag is packed! This tiny little bag, that barely passes my knee (which isn’t that high off the ground, since I’m 5’3” ) has a ton of stuff in it!
View attachment 648975

View attachment 648976


Full inventory: 2 pair running shoes, 3 pair leggings, 3 shirts, 3 pair socks, 3 pair underwear, 3 sports bras, 1 handheld water bottle, 1 bottle Aleve, 6 sets extra shoelaces, 1 set extra insoles, 1 mini Body Glide, 1 mini Foot Glide, 1pair clip-on sunglasses (in a pocket case), 3 disposable ponchos, 1 mask, 1 visor, 1 bag with safety pins and bib magnets, 1 medal holder, 3 sweatbands, 1 pack of gum, assorted bandaids, and probably a few things I’ve forgotten.

This evening I did 16 minutes on the stationary bike, then 11 minutes of yoga, and then another 38 minutes on the bike.

Oh, and I downloaded some tv seasons to watch on my flights/during resort breaks. This is always a tough decision to make, since I try not to choose anything excessively violent/mature (since you never know who might be sitting next to you on the plane) but I also want something interesting. I went with Foundation, Outlander (season 1, it’s been a while since I’ve watched it), and Invasion. Of course, I sometimes I end up not watching anything on flights because I’m too tired to focus enough, so I also loaded up my Kindle with a bunch of books.


2022 workout data to date: 56h 10m 9s of exercise; 23,635 active calories burned; 28,977 total calories burned

I never considered for any of my races that a single shoelace might break, and you're bringing 6 extra sets! LOL On the plus side, if you get one of those misbehaving people on your flight, you will be able to tie them up with string to spare!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Naomeri]

I never considered for any of my races that a single shoelace might break, and you're bringing 6 extra sets! LOL On the plus side, if you get one of those misbehaving people on your flight, you will be able to tie them up with string to spare!

Good luck and have fun!

I don’t even know why I have that many sets of shoelaces. They were just in a bag together, so I threw it in the suitcase because it seemed like a good “just in case” thing.

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 163

Lots of working today. I worked until 5 (usually off at 4:30), took an hour for doing my yoga and making something to eat, then worked again from 6-9:15. I was going to start organizing my clothes to pack tomorrow, but it’s late and I want to relax for a little bit before I go to bed. I’ll just pack on my breaks tomorrow, clothes are easy. Tomorrow night we’re going to see Pretty Woman (the Broadway show).

We’re supposed to be having a snowstorm, but our house is apparently situated outside the worst of it (or any of it really, so far—we’ve only gotten enough to dust the crevices in the brick patio).


2022 workout data to date: 56h 52m 49s of exercise; 23,938 active calories burned; 29,342 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 164

It’s almost time to go!! It’s currently 11:45pm central, and I have to leave the house at 4am to get to the airport, and instead of sleeping, I’m writing this

I started work at 6am today, and worked until 4:30 (my normal quitting time), had dinner, and went to Pretty Woman the Musical at The Orpheum. It was amazing and hilarious, and Adam Pascal is as amazing as ever, and born to sing Bryan Adams ballads.



During the work day, I also gathered all my clothes for packing, shoveled the patio, did half an hour on the stationary bike, and took a shower. I’ve hardly sat still today, sleep will be hard.

After we got home from the show, I got all my clothes into packing cubes (the most useful thing ever) and got everything wedged into the suitcase. It weighs in at 45lbs, which means I should have brought more stuff, right??




2022 workout data to date: 57h 30m 25s of exercise; 24,172 active calories burned; 29,640 total calories burned

 

[avondale]

Have a safe flight and good luck with your races!

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Half Training: Day 165

Approximately 11,700 steps and 4.9 miles today


Today was a super long day, but I feel like I hardly did anything. Flying to Orlando took forever because Southwest doesn’t fly direct from Minneapolis, so my plane went via Baltimore. It was mostly empty for the MSP-BWI leg, and then completely filled for the BWI-MCO leg. But seeing the sunrise from the air was kind of cool (although I couldn’t actually see the sun because of the angle)





Once I got my bag, I found the Sunshine Flyer buses and got shuttled to ASMu. And then the day went wonky because it took forever for my room to be ready, and I didn’t want to leave my bags with bell services because I wanted to get everything unpacked before I headed to the parks, since I need to go to bed early (which I swear I’m going to do shortly—I’m in bed and in my pjs already ). By the time I got my room and got everything put away, it was 4:30, which is really too late to bother with AK, which was my park res for today. I checked the availability, and there was MK for passholders (but not AP with resort stay, which is weird and stupid, but I digress), so I cancelled AK and grabbed the MK, and hopped right on a bus. I didn’t do a lot, but I did a few rides, ate dinner, and escaped while the crowds were watching the fireworks and hopped right on a bus back to the resort.

Time to sleep before it’s time to catch the yoga bus!!


2022 workout data to date: 57h 30m 25s of exercise; 24,172 active calories burned; 29,640 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Weekend: Day 1


Approximately 18,500 steps and 7.6 miles today. 13,325 of those steps from rD-related activities (yoga and expo)

“Sunrise” Yoga was maybe not the best use of time and money ever, but it was a neat way to start the event weekend. I got a decent spot right up near the castle.


Here’s the sunrise part of Sunrise Yoga: through the condensation-covered window of the bus back to the resort.


Next up was a desperately needed breakfast of Mickey waffles, followed by a short break, and then off to the expo bus stop. The bus arrived at 9:09, and we got to the expo at 9:30. 2hrs 20mins of merch line later, I got:

A tank top:


A spirit jersey:


And a pin:


I didn’t buy any of the “I Did It!” stuff because, I haven’t done a darn thing yet, and I’m not about to jinx anything. I also picked up my pre-ordered Pandora charms. I got a picture with the Cinderella carriage on my way to bib pickup.


Bib pickup was quick and easy, no lines for either of my bibs (once I got into the correct line for the challenge bib—I’m bad at figuring out which group my number falls in ). Then I went to shirt pickup and the vendor area. I stopped by Sparkle Athletics and got a skirt and tiara visor. I don’t know exactly what I need the skirt for yet, but how could I resist??





Then I went and exchanged all my shirts for WXL, instead of WXXL (yay!!) and finished up with a visit to the Pandora store to get charms to go between my Princess Weekend charms. Half the cost of these is an early birthday present from my grandparents (originally they were going to cover the full cost, but I blew the budget to smithereens ).


Grabbed a snack and sat for a bit, then headed back to the resort a little before 2. Took a bath and relaxed for a few hours before heading to MK for dinner. Yes, I could’ve gotten food at the resort, but I felt like getting Casey’s, so I did. Then I stopped in the confectionary on the way out for some sweets. Once I got back to the resort, I got everything out for tomorrow morning, including pinning my bib to my shirt (because sleep deprivation and safety pins don’t mix).

Now I’m going to go to bed and wake up much too soon.


2022 workout data to date: 58h 17m 16s of exercise; 24,424 active calories burned; 30,052 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Weekend: Day 2


Approximately 27,000 steps and 11.7 miles today. Almost 16,000 of those steps and 7.2 of those miles were from the 5K and associated walking.

Princess Weekend 5K:
Total time from start line to finish line: 1h 13m
Actual running time: 43m5s


I distinctly remember saying this morning at the DIS meetup (which was great!) that I was going to walk the 5K. But it turns out that I’m incapable of just walking when given the opportunity (and the energy) to run. I hit that starting line, with the fireworks going off (I was just behind the front of my wave), and just…went. I walked occasionally (not always by choice) but did quite a bit of running.

I skipped the triple princess line because it was insane and I’m tired of lines. But I had to stop for Lilo & Stitch! It was at this point that I accidentally ended my run on my watch (because I’m an idiot and forgot I can do it with the buttons, instead of onscreen, where I have a history of hitting the wrong spot)



I skipped whichever royal sister was in Norway (because, LINE), but had to stop for Snow White in Germany, because, obviously!



I paused for a quick selfie in Japan, but I was very sad that SE wasn’t being particularly pretty at that exact moment.



More running, more skipping of long lines. Then I was saw Tiana and Naveen, and I jumped in line (which was not long, but was out of sight of the characters). By the time I got back insight of the photo spot, Tiana was gone and it was just Naveen . I obviously got the pic anyway, since I’d already wasted all that time (ok, it was 10 minutes, max) but I was super bummed.



Last photo I stopped for was Joy and Sadness. I really hate the setup for this one, with the ugly fencing and trash can, and Sadness being so far back. I know it’s tight through there, but they could’ve done something better.



This was the best of all the on-course photos I got. I look slightly deranged in some of them, IMO, but this was looks good.



I thought I had a giant hole around me crossing the finish line, but then a bunch of people appeared out of nowhere and crowded me, so I didn’t get a real great finish line shot. I like my “I Did It” photo though.



I did not enjoy much of the post-race food offerings. I’ve had bad reactions to drinking Dasani in the past, so I opted for Powerade, and chose red, under the assumption that fruit punch couldn’t be that bad, even for my picky self. And it wasn’t, except for the fact that it was really warm. I ate my chips from the snack box, but nothing else. I bought a Coke from a food truck in order to get some more liquid into me before heading to the bus (that was a heck of a walk, ugh!) I was happy that I thought ahead and through my sanuks in my gear bag, it was great to switch out of my running shoes. For tomorrow and Sunday, I’m also going to toss water and snacks into the bag so I can take better care of myself immediately after the race.

When I got back to the resort, I had some milk and most of chocolate chocolate chip muffin after my shower. Than I just rested until 10, when I got up and got ready to go to HS. I didn’t do anything before my lunch res at Mama Melrose (plain spaghetti and a couple rolls really hit the spot), and afterward, I did Toy Story Midway Mania, because I love that ride/game and most of the queue is inside. After that, I left and caught the first resort bus I came to so I could go to Disney Springs. I was hoping to go to Gideon’s but the VQ was too long, so I just walked around a bit, didn’t buy anything, and went back to my resort.

I had to stand on the bus, and that sucked. Then I grabbed a burger and a bunch of food stuff for tomorrow (including a cupcake for my post-shower snack tomorrow). I soaked in the tub for a bit, and then took a shopping bag to the ice machine and got some ice for a feet-size ice bath, which I then sat on my knees for a minute. I need to get my bib pinned for tomorrow (or at least half pinned, since it needs to go on over my plaid sash, and I’m not putting that on until I get to the race, due to the bear on the back). I’m going to try to go to sleep really early tonight, I’m carrying a heavier sleep debt than I’m used to.

I hope to see all you Princess runners tomorrow morning!!


2022 workout data to date: 59h 0m 21s of exercise; 24,793 active calories burned; 30,495 total calories burned

 

[azrivest]

I'm curious where you got the I did it shot? Was it next to the stage?

 

[Naomeri]

I'm curious where you got the I did it shot? Was it next to the stage?

There were a whole bunch of spots all in a line right after you walk away from picking up your gear bag.

 

[avondale]

Great photos! Glad the 5k went well!

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Weekend: Day 3

Approximately 34,300 steps today and 14.87 miles. About 20,000 of those steps were from the 10K (and related walking)

Princess Weekend 10K:
Total time from start line to finish line: 1h 43m
Actual running time: 1h 30m 31s

Yet another race survived!



I even had plenty of time for a few character stops. My actual running time was about on par for me on a 10K distance. Probably faster actually, since when I do virtual 10Ks, I only run the required 6.2 miles, and not the extra .16 that comes from dodging around people and detouring toward character lines.

First was Anna and Elsa, who I skipped in the 5K. FYI, I look like I’m putting my hand on my heart because I was showing off the wrist bear :



Then there was Elastigirl (weirdly, my PhotoPass shot hasn’t come through for this one, but I had given the CM my phone, so I still have a pic, but I had to tweak it to make myself not orange):


Finally, there was Chip and Dale! This one cost me a bit more time, because they took a short break (or maybe switched to a different pair of CMs to keep them from overheating?) but I couldn’t NOT get a picture with them!:



I have a weird feeling there was another stop, but I could be hallucinating, since it’s not on my phone or in my PhotoPass account. I also got a few good on-course pics, and a much better finish line shot than yesterday.







After the race, I got my bag, got my “I Did It” picture, ate some food and drank my water, then headed back to ASMu for a shower and my celebratory cupcake.



Then came resting, followed by Epcot (where both Frozen and Remy broke down right when I was going to get in line). Then I was off to Hurricane Hanna’s and the DisMeetUp. You all are awesome and it was great to hang out with you!

Now it’s time to get off the internet and try to sleep.


2022 workout data to date: 60h 30m 52s of exercise; 25,500 active calories burned; 31,357 total calories burned

 

[avondale]

Nice race! You do look like you're doing some odd salute in the Anna/Elsa photo, LOL! The photos came out well!

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Weekend: Day 4

Princess Weekend Half:
Total time from start line to finish line: 3h 45m
Actual running time: 3h 23m 15s

Approximately 55,500 steps and 24.2 miles today. 36,792 steps were from the Half and associated walking.

I didn’t die!! I never saw the balloon ladies! And I went on to have a very full day in the parks afterward.

All the hours of standing before the race absolutely killed my feet. The orthotics I have for the shoes I wore for the half are fine for running, but not great for standing/shuffling from corral to start line, so I started the race in pain. I was seriously thinking that there was no way I was going to make it to Magic Kingdom, let alone all the way back to Epcot. I stopped at the Mushu photo stop as the leaders were passing in the opposite direction. The brief break helped me keep going, but it was slogging.



Another problem was my music—my headphones kept cutting out, and the only thing worse than no music is music where you only hear it every 5 seconds or so. So I took the headphone out and hooked them around my neck. I stopped for Nick and Judy because I like Zootopia and it was time for another break—photos every 2 miles or so became my rule. On the way towards MK, 7am hit and I had to try to do Genie+ stuff while also moving forward. I was reasonably successful, grabbing a LL for Kilimanjaro Safari and a $LL for Flight of Passage. The safari was a little closer to my lunch reservation than I would have preferred, but I was hoping to make it work (spoiler alert: I did, in fact, make it work)



When I hit Main Street, and all the cheering friends and families, it didn’t give me the boost I thought it would. It actually made me sort of depressed, because none of them were there to cheer for me specifically. I know most of the feeling was just the sleep deprivation messing with me, but I was absolutely crying all the way down Main Street, even if you can’t tell in the castle selfie I took.


Honestly, what helped things start turning around was the on-course photographers. I paid good money to have access to my pictures from Disney, and I’ll be damned if any of them catch me crying, so I pasted a smile on my face every time I saw one of those green shelters coming up, and it became kind of a “fake it ‘til you make it” thing. I didn’t stop for the castle picture, despite originally planning to—I just wasn’t ready for a line at that point. But I knew I had a good shot coming out of the castle, because I stayed to the left and no one jumped in front of me.



By the time I hit the Cruella stop in the backstage area, I was feeling reasonably positive again.


Then there was the area past the MK hotels. Ugh! I hate those narrow areas. I obviously have to get faster so I can be in earlier corrals so I have more space to actually run a little . By the time I got to the Cinderella and Charming photo stop (around mile 7?), I had made a decision, and while I was in line for the picture, I took off my shoes and pulled the orthotics out. The relief was immediate, it was like switching shoes mid-race. I dropped the orthotics down the back of my shirt and they honestly didn’t annoy me very much, I just had to check once in a while that they hadn’t pulled my shirt out of my skirt and escaped.


Next was the insanity of the Honey Stinger stop. I didn’t take any because I’ve never tried them and I wasn’t about to try some random thing in the middle of a race. But why did that area have to be so narrow?! Like, there was a whole parking lot available, they could have made a wider lane. And why were there no trash cans?! Those stupid little bags were everywhere, and probably a major slip hazard. I was going a little insane in that section, and frustration probably gave me more energy than the chews would have.

The cloverleaf of death was basically as advertised but the marching band playing the Rocky theme and giving high fives halfway up was really helpful. Then I found Genie, and got that photo op.


Boring highway…boring highway…oh look, we’re almost to Epcot! I finally started getting a little more aggressive about finding holes in the crowd and running, really stretching my legs a bit more. That half-shuffle/half-run thing the crowds force you into is hard on me. I found 2/3 of the musketeers and grabbed a photo with them.


I liked running through Epcot, but I really hate the people who stop. I had hoped there would be less of them in the half than the 5K or 10K, but I still almost crashed a few times. The last mile of the race seemed like it took forever because of all the twists and turns through the maze that construction has turned Future World into. But I found a spot to get a selfie with SE.


Then the race was over!! Woohoo! Hurry up and give me my medals so I can get my bag and take these blasted shoes off! I was smart and put my bag in Truck 7, the one closest to the finish line.



To be continued in the next post <insert dramatic music here>


2022 workout data to date: 64h 13m 7s of exercise; 27,076 active calories burned; 33,314 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Princess Weekend: Day 4 (cont.)




I didn’t take much time before heading back to the resort, just drank my water, ate a little of my food, and got my “I Did It” picture. I knew I need to to try to leave my resort by 11:30 to get to Beaches & Cream by 12:30. In the future, I will give myself more time—I failed to account for the time between the start of the race and the start of my race. I had an hour in my room to get cleaned up and eat a little more food.

But I got a stupid room inspection that screwed everything up and threw off my timing by at least 10 minutes. The woman saw me clinging to the door for dear life, and asked if I was ok, and I told her I just finished the half and asked her to hurry up, but she kept fussing and wouldn’t just get on it with it. I couldn’t sit down, because as soon as she left, I was just going to have to get up and lock the stupid door again. Then I sent an message to the hotel about how I had been out of my room for 8 freaking hours that morning (and I always take the sign off my door when I leave, so they know, and hopefully do their thing while I’m gone), and they chose the exact time I had just gotten back and put the sign up to show up. I understand why they do these, but I don’t understand why they can’t respect the door sign, at least on the first time they walk around. How hard is it to make a note “room 46XX occupied at 11:03am, check again later”? This is exactly why I always always lock my room when I’m in it—I don’t want a random stranger coming in while I’m in the bath or something.

Anyway, I continued on with my day, grabbing a bus to HS, and then walking to BC (I didn’t have enough time to use the skyliner) and made it to my reservation exactly on time. The food was good, and then I hurried to the bus stop to go to AK. The bus was there as I was walking up, but the doors were closing so I started running a little until it started pulling away. I was screwed. But wait—it stopped, and it was backing up!! Three cheers for Michael the bus driver!! I sent in a cast compliment, and told him in person he was the best.

I made it my 12:55-1:55 safari at 1:56 (only because there were dumb people scanning in ahead of me) and everything was fine. I saw the lazy lions, and the little rhinos!







Then I watched Festival of the Lion King for the first time, did my FoP $LL, and a LL for N’avi River Journey. Interspersed with making G+ selection for AK, I also started stacking them for MK, since I wanted to go there afterward. I ended up with a Space Mountain that I made by the skin of my teeth (are we sensing a theme for the day?) and a Haunted Mansion for the end of the night. In between, I got a LL for Buzz Lightyear, and for Small World (didn’t actually need that one, but it filled a space, and saved me waiting at all. I also walked onto to Carousel of Progress and Hall of Presidents. I’m doing MK again on Tuesday, so I’ll grab the rides I missed then.

I did work on my goal of getting pictures with all my medals in all four parks. I’ll get Hollywood Studios on Monday, and more MK and Epcot on Tuesday.











I ended up getting back to my room at almost 10pm. According to my watch, I ended up with 23 stand hours, missing only the midnight hour. Other than sore feet and extreme sleep deprivation I felt totally fine. On the subject of sleep deprivation, I was so messed up and exhausted once I got back to the room that as soon as I got ready for bed and laid down, I burst into tears and practically cried myself to sleep. I have no idea why, I was totally fine when I was sitting up, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, the tears came.


2022 workout data to date: 64h 13m 7s of exercise; 27,076 active calories burned; 33,314 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Post-Princess: Day 1

Genie+ worked sort of well for me again today. I woke up and bought it at 6:55 (since AP can’t buy it before midnight the morning of) and then bought an early afternoon slot for Rise, and grabbed an 11:15-12:15 slot for Tower of Terror. This was a little iffy, since I had an 11:45 Sci-Fi res, and I know ToT has been half down lately, but it worked out.

Since I didn’t have anything on the schedule early, and didn’t really want to get up yet, I stayed in the room until it was time to leave. I made it ToT about 5 minutes after my window opened, and walked right into the pre-show room. I got off the ride and made a beeline for SciFi, while also grabbing a LL for Star Tours (not really needed, but it filled a hole between lunch and Rise), and checked in while I walked down Commissary Lane. Food was good, better than the last couple times, and I actually had verifiable Oreo in my Oreo shake.

I actually had extra time between lunch and Star Tours, so I got medal pics. The photographers in HS have been the best at medal pics so far.








After Star Tours, I grabbed a LL for Indy, because I wanted to see it, and I might as well get a good seat (ended up in the front row). I headed over to Rise and walked right on. Then I saw a PhotoPass spot in front of the x-wing, so I dragged the medals out again (they live in a nice cloth thing with separate compartments for each when I’m not taking pictures with them) and got some great shots.







After Indy, I went to Disney Springs via the Skyliner to Pop Century, and got rained on (but I had my poncho in my bag). The rain stopped by the time I got to DS. I didn’t end up buying anything, but it was good to do some more walking. I did about 20 minutes of yoga once I got back to my room to close the exercise ring on my watch (and to get a little more use out of that expensive and boring yoga mat I got from “Sunrise” Yoga).


2022 workout data to date: 64h 13m 7s of exercise; 27,076 active calories burned; 33,314 total calories burned

 

[azrivest]

I am super impressed you were able to walk to Beach Club from HS after the race. I would have been like "heck nah"



Those are some really great pictures!

 

[Naomeri]

I am super impressed you were able to walk to Beach Club from HS after the race. I would have been like "heck nah"



Those are some really great pictures!

I’m honestly having way less problems walking than I expected. I even walked up the stairs to my 3rd floor room after the half (my room is 3rd from the stairs, and I think it’s less steps to go vertically than to walk all the way to the middle of the building for the elevator and then all the way back to the end of the building to my room)

 

[lookingforsunshine]

spoiler alert: I did, in fact, make it work

best spoiler ever.

congrats on your races!