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

[GollyGadget]

Safe travels and have a great time!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Hello! I found your training journal signature link from your posts in the Springtime Surprise and I've read through the entire thing.

• I love that you have resident chipmunks that interact with you!
• I am impressed at your consistent training, and having read through this all at once, it's really amazing to see the steady growth in your metrics over time. I have had an Apple Watch for about 6 months or so, and I pay some attention to the rings, but you work to close all your rings every day. For some reason, this has not been a goal of mine, but it seems like a good goal.
• Your Princess race and medal photos are great. I agree - the DHS ones were the best overall.
• I had a ticket to the touring production of Waitress a few months ago, but it was during peak Covid and I skipped it. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I just saw Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and it was good. I see that Hadestown is coming to a city a few hours from me for about a week, but the only date I could make it work is the night before an early flight the next morning so I'm going to have to pass. I'll have to keep an eye out for another opportunity. I just booked a ticket for a touring Hamilton production; I've seen it before but I'm excited to be able to watch it again in a few months.
• I hope you're enjoying your trip already and that you enjoy your Springtime Surprise runs! You are in a very good position with your training to really enjoy them.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I didn’t just play with chipmunks all day

This is belated but you are an actual Disney Princess with chipmunk friends!!! Adorable.

 

[Naomeri]

Springtime Surprise Trip


So…it’s super weird that I haven’t posted this whole trip, but I just couldn’t get myself to sit down and do it. I was either completely exhausted and couldn’t keep my eyes open, or I was watching season 2 of Bridgerton. But now I’m home and I have time to do it. This will be a multi-part report, since The Dis only allows 10 pictures per post.


So, trip stats first: 180,265 steps, totaling 77.4 miles (including races), which averages out to 22,533 steps and 9.7 miles a day.


Tuesday, March 29: I woke up extremely early to catch my flight down. I successfully navigated Genie+ from the air (thank you for cheap internet, SWA) and grabbed a Jungle Cruise LL at 7am for 6-7pm. Throughout the day, I also grabbed LLs for Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, and Big Thunder, while also navigating airports and transportation. I arrived at Coronado about 1pm, and waited in the lobby for a little bit before going up to the counter to get an ETA on my room. The lady clicked around on the computer a bit and got me into Casitas Building 5. It wasn’t a top floor room, which is my preference, but it was Casitas, so that was good for bussing.


I got everything unpacked, and headed for MK. I got there just in time to grab a spot in front of the castle for the 3pm parade. Then I got my traditional first Disney meal at Cosmic Ray’s and started hitting my LL reservations. I watched the castle projections (not so much the fireworks, because there was a tree in the way) and then hit a couple more rides to let the bus crowds thin out.


Wednesday, March 30: Hollywood Studios day. I got up early to do G+, but decided I didn’t feel like doing rope drop. I got there about 930, and hit my ToT LL, then watched Frozen and did Star Tours. After lunch at Backlot Express, I did MFSR twice in a row as a single rider. Yes, it kind of sucks to always be the engineer, but as a solo person, I often end up as an engineer waiting standby, so I might as well save myself hours of standing around. I did standby on Midway Mania to kill time before my Runaway Railway LL, and then I headed back to the resort because the early wakeups were catching up with me and I wanted to relax.


Thursday, March 31: Expo day! The bus arrived at 940, after already stopping at the Tower (which is supposed to be the last CSR stop, not the first) and we arrived at the expo at 954. I immediately got in the merch line and made it into the room at 1140, so a slightly shorter wait than Princess Weekend. I got my bib and shirts with minimal waits, and picked up a running belt and a new Sparkle Athletic visor at the expo. I headed back to the resort a little before 1 so I could head to Epcot for my 305 lunch at Rose and Crown. Lunch was great, and I was very happy to find a sit-down restaurant I can eat at in Epcot, which will come in handy if I ever want a dining package. I walked around World Showcase and went back to the resort to rest up before the 5K.


I caught the first rD bus from CSR to AK, and then suffered through the annoying shuffle crowd to the starting area. I had a little water, and then headed into the corral. The race was sort of unremarkable for me, the course was nice enough—it was definitely cool to run through Pandora at night, but the picture lines were too long for my preference, so I basically just ran through the course, got my medal, ran the missing .42 in the parking lot, and headed back to CSR.





Friday, April 1: I was scheduled to go to Animal Kingdom in the morning, but I chose sleep instead. Then I headed to Disney Springs for Gideon’s and shopping (mostly Gideon’s—I wanted that rainbow cake!). I got on the VQ at about 1115, with an expected 2 hour wait. I wandered around, and eventually got to the Marketplace Co-Op, where I bought a new Dress Shop dress because the dressing rooms are finally open again and I could actually try it on. I got the return text for Gideon’s after only an hour and half, so I headed back that way, with a stop at the Sanuk store for another pair of Yoga Sling flip flops. I got my rainbow cake and some cookies for myself and my grandparents and went back to CSR. I decided to check out the pool and grab some late lunch/early dinner at the pool bar before trying to turn in early for the 10K (emphasis on the trying )

Saturday, April 2: Oh. My. Gosh. The humidity!! My visor kept trapping the air around my glasses, so I mostly kept it flipped up, which led to goofy-looking pictures Otherwise, the run was pretty good. I didn’t stop for as many characters as I might have liked, either because the lines were too long, or because I didn’t see who it was until I was already past and I didn’t want to deal with getting back to the end of the line. But I got Joy and Sadness, which was a better set up than it was for the pic I got at Princess. And I stopped for Remy and Emile, because how could I not? I was super thrilled to see that I even ended up having my little rats on the same sides that they ended up being on for the picture.






After the race, I got my “I Did It” pic (really bummed that I couldn’t get one at the 5K) and headed back to my resort to get ready for Hollywood Studios. Once again, I started my day riding on ToT via a LL, then headed to lunch at SciFi. I hit up Star Tours and Midway Mania, and watched the Indiana Jones Stunt Show before walking over to Hurricane Hanna’s for the Dis Meetup. We managed to snag the one table with an umbrella, so we were able to hang out while the storm raged, until the umbrella got so saturated with water that it started dripping through. We all got pretty wet dashing into the Beach Club lobby, and then I headed for the bus stop to catch a bus to a park where I could transfer to a Coronado bus. I ended up on an Epcot bus that was also delivering stranded Skyliner folks, so it was a long ride. And that was followed by a long, windy wait for a CSR bus. My soaked feet were freezing! I took a bath to thaw out, and watched a bit of Shrek on Netflix until I started to fall asleep.


2022 workout data to date: 91h 48m 45s of exercise; 39,226 active calories burned; 47,978 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Springtime Surprise Trip—continued

Sunday, April 3: I was much happier with the weather this morning! I was slightly chilly a few times before I got in my corral, but then I was fine. My feet were really sore at the beginning of the race from all the standing around/shuffling toward the start line. I kept it slow in the first half, doing a lot of walking until we got out of the parks and onto the highway. That section from Epcot to HS sucked just as much this time as it did during Princess, possibly even more because I get emotional when I’m really tired, and seeing all the signs about Make-A-Wish was killing me.

I hit the road area right at 7am, so I had to wait to start running until I got my $LL for FoP and LL for Safari. Pro tip, hopping to the park that opens earliest and then hopping elsewhere is an amazing way to work the G+ system. Because AK opened at 730, I was able to make my first LL for MK at 930, way before all the people who started their day at MK, and I stayed ahead of the MK crowd all day long. In addition to my AK selections, I did Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Buzz Lightyear, Laugh Floor, Small World, Little Mermaid, and Barnstormer all on LL. And yes, a couple of those at the end of the night didn’t actually need LL, but I grabbed them anyway.

So…I might not be as up on my Disney lore as some of you all, because I didn’t quite get the whole 1939 thing. But I enjoyed the race anyway, and I grabbed a couple photo ops, but mostly skipped them because of lines (or not knowing who they were). You can definitely see where I got going out on the highway, and got my intervals running. I didn’t think my headphones would work well in the crowds (because they didn’t when I tried them at the beginning of the Princess Half) but they were fine out on the highway. So I had entertainment, and something to remind me not to walk too long. I chose 30 run/45 walk and it worked pretty well.







I finished the race with plenty of time to spare before my lunch reservation, so I headed into the merch tent to see what was left. I grabbed a 10 Miler magnet and then hit the “I Did It” spot before catching a bus back to CSR.


2022 workout data to date: 91h 48m 45s of exercise; 39,226 active calories burned; 47,978 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Springtime Surprise Trip—Continued Some More

I got all cleaned up and sat for a little bit, then caught an Epcot bus so I could get to Beaches & Cream. I had a wonderful lunch (as always) and then went back through Epcot to catch an AK bus. I stopped for a few medal pics on the way, since I had time to kill.




They didn’t have the signs up to tell people which stop at Epcot was the Ak stop, and by the time me and another person found someone to tell us, and got back to the stop, the first bus was pulling away—earlier than it was supposed to, and completely ignoring us as we were flagging it down. I would have let it go, but the other person was pretty angry and reported the driver to a supervisor. They checked the cameras and verified that the bus left 2 minutes before 1:30, which is when park-to-park buses are supposed to start, so I guess someone is going to get a quick training refresher. We got a floater bus at 142, and everything was fine. I did my 2 LL in AK, and then walked around the park to get a few medal shots.





After AK, I was off to MK for my glorious stack of LL I also got some medal pics and watched fireworks from Gaston’s Tavern. Yes, you can’t see the castle from there, but I was there for the pyro, and having a seat was an added bonus. Also, having no one within 20 feet of me for like 20 minutes was incredible!







I didn’t quite make it to park close, but 1030 was pretty close, considering how early my day started.


2022 workout data to date: 91h 48m 45s of exercise; 39,226 active calories burned; 47,978 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Springtime Surprise Trip—Last Day


I decided to sleep in rather than bother with G+ for this day, so I didn’t end up doing any rides (but I did do shows in all 3 parks I visited). I had lunch at the Plaza Restaurant, and it wasn’t bad, but I’m not adding it to my must-do list. The chocolate shake was the best part, and I can always get chocolate ice cream from the parlor. I went to the Laugh Floor while my food settled, and then started my photo pass hunt. I tried to look for places that I hadn’t had pictures before, and/or for enthusiastic photographers. For sure, the most enthusiastic photographer of the whole trip was on the side of the castle. She was super upbeat and really having fun.







From Magic Kingdom, I hopped on the Monorail over to Epcot for pics around the world. I also stopped into the America Pavilion for the Voices of Liberty and a showing of The American Adventure (which never gets old for me). But most exciting for me was getting to meet Donald next to the Mexico Pavilion! I’ve never gotten to do a character meet and greet in Disney World (I did a couple in DL at the Avengers Campus last September, but superheroes<cartoon characters as far as fun goes). Donald decided that I was crazy to get up early and run, rather than stay in and eat, which is what he was doing while we were running I also found both of the Encanto magic shot spots.







2022 workout data to date: 91h 48m 45s of exercise; 39,226 active calories burned; 47,978 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

Springtime Surprise Trip—Last Day Continued

After Epcot, I grabbed a skyliner ride over to Hollywood Studios. Yes, it’s probably faster to walk, but I was being lazy

Aside from the various photo shoots, I also watched the Mickey & Minnie short cartoon, and walked through the One Man’s Dream exhibit, and watched the film afterward. I’d never been through there before, and it was interesting.












Ok, that’s it. Tuesday was my travel home day, which went almost perfectly, except that I left my Powerbeats earbuds in my hotel room, and they apparently got pocketed before I filed the lost and found report (which was before the 11am checkout time, so they shouldn’t have even been in there cleaning yet), because the hotel called and said they didn’t find them. This meant I had to buy new Powerbeats at the airport, because cheap earbuds don’t work in my little ear canals, and airport vendors know that you’ve got no choice but to pay their exorbitant prices. I couldn’t go without headphones because I’m not great at flying and I need music or movies to distract me. Also, the flight from MCO to MDW was full of kids, including the very annoying one next to me, and I would’ve gone bananas.


2022 workout data to date: 91h 48m 45s of exercise; 39,226 active calories burned; 47,978 total calories burned

 

[azrivest]

Springtime Surprise Trip—Last Day


I decided to sleep in rather than bother with G+ for this day, so I didn’t end up doing any rides (but I did do shows in all 3 parks I visited). I had lunch at the Plaza Restaurant, and it wasn’t bad, but I’m not adding it to my must-do list. The chocolate shake was the best part, and I can always get chocolate ice cream from the parlor. I went to the Laugh Floor while my food settled, and then started my photo pass hunt. I tried to look for places that I hadn’t had pictures before, and/or for enthusiastic photographers. For sure, the most enthusiastic photographer of the whole trip was on the side of the castle. She was super upbeat and really having fun.
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From Magic Kingdom, I hopped on the Monorail over to Epcot for pics around the world. I also stopped into the America Pavilion for the Voices of Liberty and a showing of The American Adventure (which never gets old for me). But most exciting for me was getting to meet Donald next to the Mexico Pavilion! I’ve never gotten to do a character meet and greet in Disney World (I did a couple in DL at the Avengers Campus last September, but superheroes<cartoon characters as far as fun goes). Donald decided that I was crazy to get up early and run, rather than stay in and eat, which is what he was doing while we were running I also found both of the Encanto magic shot spots.
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2022 workout data to date: 91h 48m 45s of exercise; 39,226 active calories burned; 47,978 total calories burned

Congrats on all those medals

That's a very pretty dress btw

 

[Naomeri]

Congrats on all those medals

That's a very pretty dress btw

Thank you! I‘m slightly addicted to the Dress Shop dresses, I’ve got 4 of them now, and a skirt.

 

[Naomeri]

24 Days Until: Arboretum Bud Break 5K

So, I skipped a post for yesterday (Wednesday) because nothing interesting happened, and I hadn’t finished my Springtime Surprise entries yet. Today was a running day, and I wanted to do it right after work, on the treadmill, but my grandpa decided that that was the exact time he needed to use the treadmill, despite having sat on his behind all freaking afternoon. So I decided to eat instead. And then the annoying man ends up quitting after less than 10 minutes!! But I was already committed to dinner, so I had to wait. And I decided to finish my missing journal entries while my food settled. And that took so long, that I didn’t feel like running anymore, so I did yoga, and I’ll run tomorrow instead. The weather might even be good enough for an outdoor run (which it definitely isn’t today, with wind and snow)

This morning (during the beginning of my staff meeting ) I got registered for the TC Loony Challenge. These races are about a month before Wine & Dine, so they should be a good peak week for training. The Loony challenge is a 10K, followed immediately by a 5K (how immediately obviously depends on how fast your 10K is—you have to be under 1h 45m on the 10K to be able to start the 5K), and then a 10 miler the next morning. I feel confident that I can do it, and I’m excited to do a non-Disney challenge. I get one medal and short sleeve shirt for the 5K/10K, one medal and long sleeve shirt for 10 miler, and a medal and recovery package (foam roller, activator massage ball, and resistance bands) for the Loony Challenge. I’m hoping there won’t be anything going on at my house after the races this time, since I’d like to take a little time to enjoy the post-race festivities.


2022 workout data to date: 92h 25m 1s of exercise; 39,484 active calories burned; 48,281 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

23 Days Until: Arboretum Bud Break 5K

I had a 30 minute easy run scheduled today, and I succeeded in actually doing it. I got out after work and did one lap around through the neighborhood. I kept my intervals at 30s run/45s walk, and made a conscious effort to keep my run pace slow. I’m still a bit sore from the whole trip, so the easy pace was good. Tomorrow is 3 miles easy, and the weather looks great.




2022 workout data to date: 92h 58m 55s of exercise; 39,721 active calories burned; 48,576 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

22 Days Until: Arboretum Bud Break 5K

The weather was spectacular today: 55°F and sunny, with light winds. I got out there a bit after 4 and ended up going a bit over on miles just because that’s what my route ended up being. I went back to 30/30 intervals because 45s walking feels weird to me. I did my best to run a bit slower to keep an easier pace. All in all, I think it was a good run.



2022 workout data to date: 93h 41m 19s of exercise; 40,120 active calories burned; 49,047 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

21 Days Until: Arboretum Bud Break 5K

Today wasn’t quite as nice as yesterday, there were more clouds and wind, but it was still more spring-like than winter-like. I got out to feed my chipmunks a few times.

I found my old friend, Duchess; she’s still pushy and greedy.



And I made a new friend, who I’ve named Fern, because they live in a part of the garden that will be covered in ferns soon.



We also had an unusual visitor to one of our birdbaths—a merlin! We’ve seen merlins swooping around the woods, and they like to chase the songbirds into the windows to stun them, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one sitting in a birdbath before.



I did my 45 minutes in the bike and got 12.13 miles. I finally finished the Yes.Fit Pedal to the Medal cycling challenge, which was 340.4 miles. I started it July 14, 2021.


2022 workout data to date: 94h 26m 25s of exercise; 40,357 active calories burned; 49,361 total calories burned

 

[GollyGadget]

I didn't even know a Merlin was a bird. I was fully expecting that you spotted a wizard! But who's to say that you didn't?

 

[Naomeri]

20 Days Until: Arboretum Bud Break 5K

Today’s run was a problem. The leggings I grabbed are apparently not suitable for running with a phone in the side pocket, because as soon as I started running, they started falling down I made it the end of the cul-de-sac and it was like “nope, this is not going to work for the next half hour.” So I went back to the house, and decided to just do the run on the treadmill (I still had to change clothes). I did 60/30 intervals because changing speeds on the treadmill is such a slow transition. For the first 10 minutes, I ran at 6mph and walked at 3.8, then switched to 5.5 and 3.8 for the next 10 minutes, and finished the run at 6 and 3.8.

Tomorrow’s run will definitely be inside, due to the high chance of strong winds and rain.

In chipmunk news, I saw my old friend King in his hollow tree.



I also saw Ace, who is, by far, the pickiest chipmunk in our woods. He will pick out the nuts he doesn’t like and toss them on the ground.



2022 workout data to date: 94h 58m 3s of exercise; 40,624 active calories burned; 49,683 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

19 Days Until: Arboretum Bud Break 5K

I got to run outside after all! I checked the forecast this morning, and it turned out the rain wasn’t coming until after noon sometime. So I took a long lunch and got out there for my 45 minute run. It was still a bit windier than I’d prefer, but it was doable. I did 60/30 intervals because it’s Tuesday and that’s supposed to be my challenging day. I’d say my endurance is really getting better, this was day 5/5 of leg-focused cardio (runs Fri, Sat, Mon, and bike Sun) and I felt great. I do still need to work on backing off on that first mile though.



2022 workout data to date: 95h 46m 14s of exercise; 41,081 active calories burned; 50,222 total calories burned

 

[HangWithMerida]

I just read through your SS trip and it looks like you had a great time and some good racing! I wasn’t really keeping up with the SS thread since I wasn't going so it was nice to see a trip summary from someone who was there. Your medal pics turned out great and I agree, the ones in DHS were awesome!

 

[Naomeri]

17 Days Until: Arboretum Bud Break 5K

I went to The Prom last night (the Broadway show, not a HS dance ) and was too tired to post afterward. I must’ve slept with my legs or feet tensed on Tuesday night, because my calves were killing me all day Wednesday, and still today (Thursday). I think I’ll move my run from today to Friday again and just do yoga tonight to try to get the muscles stretched out again. I did stretching instead of strength after the show yesterday to try to help.

Another advantage of switching from Thursday to Friday for running is I might be able to run outside. Today it is snowing lightly, but with a wind advisory. Friday is just going to be windy, so I might be able to run. I’m really ready for spring weather to come back.


2022 workout data to date: 96h 11m 50s of exercise; 41,232 active calories burned; 50,391 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

16 Days Until: Arboretum Bud Break 5K

Today’s run was TERRIBLE!! It was much too windy to run outside (I walked to the mailbox and almost got blown away). So I had to settle for the dreadmill and it just went wrong in every way it could. The first pair of shoes I tired didn’t feel right (I’ve worn them before, it was just an off day) so I had to pause and switch. Then I just couldn’t get in the rhythm, and couldn’t keep up the run intervals for very long, and needed longer walk breaks. I kept it up and finished the full 45 minutes, but I hated it. Unless there’s a hurricane or something tomorrow, I’m running outside.


On a positive note, I got my really neat “Pedal to the Medal” medal from Yes.Fit for completing 340.4 miles on my stationary bike. I started this race on July 14, 2021, so it took a really long time.



2022 workout data to date: 97h 26m 17s of exercise; 41,725 active calories burned; 50,996 total calories burned