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

[Naomeri]

Amazing eagle!

He or she just flew in and landed in a tree at the top of the hill, so obviously, I had to run up there and take a picture or 5.

 

[Naomeri]

10 Days Until: Princess Weekend 2023

I managed to get out for a run yesterday, despite not feeling 100% and not enjoying the wind. But I knew I wasn’t going to be able to run today because it was 100% chance of rain all freaking day (and is, in fact, pouring rain right now)

I did not, however, manage to achieve the workout I was aiming for. I was trying to run faster on the second lap and utterly failed. But I did get to stop and pet the black lab I met on my virtual half a few weeks ago (her name is Frieda, apparently) so that was a bonus (and also why mile 5 is so slow).




I am slightly bummed that runDisney registration failed so hard and I wasn’t able to get registered for yoga in Disneyland, but since I have all my races locked in, it’s not going to make or break my trip at all. And I got Valentine’s presents from my grandparents this morning! I got 2 chocolate covered Oreos and a giant peanut butter cup (and by giant, I mean like 3.5 oz, at least an inch thick, and the size of the palm of my hand). I also got a set of Apple AirTags to stick in all my various bags. My grandma reads a lot of travel tip articles and decided this was something really handy, and I can’t really disagree. Since I fly Southwest and they never have direct flights from Minneapolis to anywhere I want to go, knowing whether my bag made it on the plane is nice (although the only time I’ve ever had a bag delayed was on Delta coming back from Vegas years ago). So know I have tags for my big suitcase, my little suitcase, my carryon backpack, and my gear bag.

Speaking of my gear bag, this is the best little bag ever. I got it as swag for one of my Yes.Fit year-long cumulative events, and just tossed in my closet. But then, last Christmas, I had a sudden epiphany! I could use it to organize all the stuff I toss in my gear bag at races! After the W&D 10K, I almost had a meltdown at the door of my hotel room because I couldn’t find my magic band in that stupid giant plastic bag (luckily, my phone actually worked to open the door—of course, I found the stupid thing right after I got inside). This little bag can hold everything I need to go on a run—shoes, sunglasses, headphones (in their case), post-run food, a bottle of water, and has places to clip extra stuff, like my awesome microfiber towels that I got for Christmas. I also use it when I go to the community center to run and I can stuff my jacket into the bag after I take my running shoes out so it doesn’t hang onto the potentially wet-from-snowy-shoes bottom of the half lockers they provide. The bag has a sling strap that can also be unclipped and tucked into the back pocket. So for Disney races (and any other with official gear bags), I’ll tuck the official gear bag into the back pocket of my bag until I’m ready to check it, then just throw my bag into their bag and ta-da! I’m all set.



Fun(ny) fact on the little charms—I had asked for chip clips for a stocking stuffer, and my grandma saw these “bag clips” and thought they’d be cute, Disney-themed chip clips


2023 workout data to date: 40h 30m 28s of exercise; 18,864 active calories burned; 22,870 total calories burned

 

[Naomeri]

3 Days Until: Princess Weekend 2023

Well, in about 12 hours, I should be landing in Orlando!! Which probably means I should be asleep. Whoops!

Anyway, I forgot to post on Saturday after my run. It was just under 3.5 miles, and felt sort of hard because the barre workout I did on Friday night kicked my butt and my legs really didn’t want to do stuff.




My legs were still sore on Sunday, so I didn’t run. At this point, one run more or less isn’t going to make a difference anyway.

I’m super glad that I’m escaping this state before the massive blizzard that’s coming. We only got about an inch today, but the wind picked up later in the day and it was really whipping through the backyard.



I finally got everything packed at like 11:45 tonight, and didn’t even go over the weight limit



2023 workout data to date: 44h 50m 6s of exercise; 20,708 active calories burned; 25,123 total calories burned

 

[azrivest]

See you soon!

 

[HangWithMerida]

Wow, you can see the wind whipping in that picture! Have fun this weekend and enjoy the warmer weather.

 

[GollyGadget]

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Naomeri]

2 Days Until: Princess Weekend 2023

Stats of the day: 18,774 steps; 7.44 miles

I made it Disney World! My travel day was fairly uneventful, though I did not enjoy walking from the far end of one concourse to the far end of a different concourse at Midway. Once I got to MCO, I just had a short wait for my bag, then a short wait for a private Sunshine Flyer ride to All Star Movies. The check-in counter was basically deserted, so I decided to see if they had a room ready for me, and they did—in the Mighty Ducks section, which is fairly apt for someone coming from the State of Hockey The room fits 95% of my request parameters (highest floor, facing the parking lot, away from the elevators) but it has a connecting door Why do I always get a connecting door??? Oh well, I’ll just suck it up and hope that the folks next door don’t need to blow dry their hair at 10:30pm every night.

I got all unpacked and headed over to MK. The bus took forever to come, but once it did, I put in my mobile order for a meal at Casey’s. The parade was just hitting the end of Main Street when I got there, and there’s nothing more magical than character floats welcoming you back to the Most Magical Place on Earth.

I noticed it was smelling/tasting really smoky, and the western sky was very hazy and orangey-brown. These two pictures were taken in the same minute, one facing northeast, and one facing west-ish. I had a LL for Jungle Cruise and it was literally snowing a bit of ash on the ride.



I got a few nice pictures just wandering around and killing time between lightning lanes.

I was proud of myself for remembering that I had a slow shutter app on my phone to get the slightly blurred water effect on the creek by the Tangled bathrooms.



I love the swirly golden, glowing clouds in this one, and the silhouette of the ride-formerly-known-as-Splash-Mountain in the background.



The crescent moon was just making its appearance while I was waiting in the LL for Big Thunder



It was even better by the time I got off Big Thunder. The way the stars (or planets, I didn’t open my SkyGuide app to check ) look like they’re trying to align with each other and the moon is giving me Hercules vibes (time for a prophecy from The Fates?)




I also turned around and got this shot of the castle across Liberty Square that turned out really well.



I’m very disappointed in how today is turning out though. I thought I had my alarms all set to wake up for the Guardians VQ, but apparently I forgot to turn them on I looked at my phone at 7:05 and the VQ was gone, and the available ILL times were too late, since I have to hop to HS for early Fantasmic dinner, followed by the After Hours event. So I’m just going to go and shop around Epcot, then go out the IG to Beach Club and hop a bus to Disney Springs.


2023 workout data to date: 45h 11m 26s of exercise; 20,845 active calories burned; 25,295 total calories burned

 

[HangWithMerida]

Oh no, sorry you missed the guardians VQ! I have a love-hate with the VQ’s. It’s nice to avoid a multi hour line but I hate how attached to my phone I have to be at WDW now in order to make the day work well.
Your pics are cool. I love a crescent moon. It makes me think of the Cheshire Cat.

 

[striker1064]

Love your pictures!

 

[avondale]

The photo of the stream and flowers is gorgeous!

It is the planets aligning - just after sunset, you're seeing Venus (lower) and Jupiter (higher). They are getting closer day by day and will be closest in the sky on March 1, if I remember correctly. Makes for a pretty view!

Good luck with your races!

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

The pictures are stunning! I don't like VQ either. Hopefully you can get a reservation a different day.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Have a great time and good luck at the races!

 

[Naomeri]

The photo of the stream and flowers is gorgeous!

It is the planets aligning - just after sunset, you're seeing Venus (lower) and Jupiter (higher). They are getting closer day by day and will be closest in the sky on March 1, if I remember correctly. Makes for a pretty view!

Good luck with your races!

Thank you for being a live SkyGuide

 

[Naomeri]

43 Days Until: Springtime Surprise 2023

I’m absolutely going to do a whole trip/race report soon, but I wanted to share some conclusions that I’ve come to.

First, I need to spend more time on my feet outside of running during training. I’ve got no problems with any part of my body during race weekends except that my feet are freaking killing me by the end.

Second, going to my corral early so I can get in there and sit down for while is really helpful. I also like being in the first wave.

Third, having a snack in the corral was good. My grandma found these individually wrapped Belgian waffles and I had one before each race. I think I’ll bring two in the future, one for when I get to the race, and one for the corral, especially on the long race morning.

 

[nancipants]

First, I need to spend more time on my feet outside of running during training. I’ve got no problems with any part of my body during race weekends except that my feet are freaking killing me by the end.

Ugh, same here and I only did the 10k. The walk to the corrals, then the shuffle to the start is awful, especially in the last corral!

 

[sandam1]

First, I need to spend more time on my feet outside of running during training. I’ve got no problems with any part of my body during race weekends except that my feet are freaking killing me by the end.

Or you can flip this on its head and always look for the opportunities to get off your feet more.

Since I've (sadly) gone into most of my runDisney weekends with foot issues of one sort or another, I am pretty good at asking myself "do I actually need to be standing right now?" If the answer is no, I find some place to sit. My travel partner is buying something in a store and I'm not, I'm going outside the store and sitting down. Waiting in line to get KT Tape at the Expo, I'm sitting down. Waiting in the corrals, I'm sitting down until we actually start to move. If you are conscious of how much you are standing, you can find the opportunities to sit. Of course, I'm also at ease with sitting on the ground so that probably helps.

 

[Naomeri]

Or you can flip this on its head and always look for the opportunities to get off your feet more.

Since I've (sadly) gone into most of my runDisney weekends with foot issues of one sort or another, I am pretty good at asking myself "do I actually need to be standing right now?" If the answer is no, I find some place to sit. My travel partner is buying something in a store and I'm not, I'm going outside the store and sitting down. Waiting in line to get KT Tape at the Expo, I'm sitting down. Waiting in the corrals, I'm sitting down until we actually start to move. If you are conscious of how much you are standing, you can find the opportunities to sit. Of course, I'm also at ease with sitting on the ground so that probably helps.

I also do try to do that, but I think the jump in time-on-feet from home to Disney is pretty extreme for me. On a non-running home day, I’m lucky if I hit 4,000 steps. A Disney day will average 18,000-20,000 for me, so I have to believe closing that gap will help.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

On a non-running home day, I’m lucky if I hit 4,000 steps.

Have you considered getting a dog?

Seriously though, today is my rest day, but I still have 7,247 steps as of 1:50 p.m. from taking the dog for 2 of his 4 daily walks...

 

[Naomeri]

Have you considered getting a dog?

Seriously though, today is my rest day, but I still have 7,247 steps as of 1:50 p.m. from taking the dog for 2 of his 4 daily walks...

I think my cats would take issue with that suggestion My average will go up once spring finally comes and I can go out to spend time with my chipmunks, but walking around on grass for 10-15 minutes at a time still doesn’t quite cover the beating that feet take on a Disney trip.

 

[sandam1]

I also do try to do that, but I think the jump in time-on-feet from home to Disney is pretty extreme for me. On a non-running home day, I’m lucky if I hit 4,000 steps. A Disney day will average 18,000-20,000 for me, so I have to believe closing that gap will help.

Yes, in that case, you are probably right. The only day that I get around 4,000 steps is maybe on my dedicated rest day. Since my training plan only has me running 3 days a week, I usually throw some walking in as cross-training at least one additional day. I have additional motivation for the mileage because I'm doing the "Run the Year Challenge" which means that my goal is to log 2023 miles (daily activity included) before the end of the year. It comes out to about 5.5 miles per day so the walks serve more than one purpose.