In Training: Marathon Weekend 2015 (Dopey Challenge)! **COMPLETE**

[Ariel484]

Good Luck at the W&D. Hope it is a vast improvement over last year!!

Thank you! OMG me too. Just need to make it a few more days without hurting myself.

 

[ZellyB]

Have a great trip and a wonderful run!!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[pxefig]

Just got back from the Wine and Dine trip. Can't wait to hear your report on it!

 

[Ariel484]

Have a great trip and a wonderful run!!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

Thanks Gisele! I'm back...not gonna lie, it was sort of a rough trip for me! But I still had a great time overall.

Just got back from the Wine and Dine trip. Can't wait to hear your report on it!

Welcome home! I saw your costume in the W&D thread - SO cute!

 

[Ariel484]

Week 6 of JJ5K/W&D Training, (non-WDW part of the week)
Monday, November 3, 2014 - Sunday, November 9, 2014

17.8 miles completed
101.9 miles completed in JJ5K/W&D Training so far
646.61 miles completed in 2014 so far

Monday, November 3: 60-minute Core class

It's Disney week. I'm calm. It's cool. I'm not freaking out.

AHHHHH!!!!!!!



Anyway. These next 2 days are gonna be busy! I need to pack, tie up work stuff (which keeps coming…), make sure food stuff is in order for Will at home (he can cook for himself, of course, but I worry ) and get a few workouts in.

Today was core! Originally I had a 3-miler scheduled today as well, but I bagged that. I need a step-back week! Core was tough, as usual - I felt like I hung in a little better but my quads are still a wee bit sore from Friday's 12-miler. I kept up with Core until the instructor busted out those TRX bands again. Those things are the devil.

My ankle has been feeling pretty good, but at one point during the TRX stretch of Core, I felt a little twinge. NOPE NOPE NOPE. I got out of those bands so fast! Just finished the rest of the sequence on the ground without the straps. Which I probably would have done anyway because those things kick my butt.

2 SLEEPS UNTIL DISNEY!!!

Tuesday, November 4: 3-mile run planned, 1.6-mile walk completed

Oops!

This morning when I woke up I felt pretty good - got in my car and drove to the gym. Then when I was getting out of the car, I noticed that my hamstrings were freaking killing me! Not in an injured way, more like a "wow, Core really kicked my sorry butt more than I realized" way.

Normally when I have soreness like this a run helps it feel better, but that wasn't the case today. I took a few steps and my legs just were not having it, so I set the treadmill to 30 minutes and decided to walk instead. I made it 1.6 miles. After the walk I stretched out for about 10 minutes, which felt good, and then looked and found an early-morning hot yoga class at the studio tomorrow. I signed up for that - hopefully I'll actually wake up and go to it, because I think that would REALLY help any lingering soreness a lot.

I think between the 12-miler, the cold cold cold 5K and Core yesterday, I just didn't give my legs enough recover time to recover from Friday’s long run. That and I’m probably not in great strength training shape, so Core just destroyed me. Either way.

I'm not gonna lie, part of my motivation for turning the run into a walk was paranoia over possibly rolling my ankle again. Maybe it's best to take an extra day and wait for the races.

Because the races are THIS WEEKEND!!! And I leave for WDW TOMORROW!!

WOOHOO!!!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Jingle Jungle 5K/Wine & Dine Half Marathon mini-trip report, Part 1

Wednesday, November 5

Yeah...no yoga today. I banked some sleep instead.

After waking up, I lugged all of my stuff into my car and went to see Will at school! We chatted a bit and it was so nice to be able to see him before leaving for a few days.

I left Will's school and was at a Starbucks around 10...and then I got a very, VERY alarming text message - my flight to WDW, which was supposed to take off at 12:30, was CANCELED!!! WHAT?!

The text message didn't give me any more information than that, just had a link for me to go to, to book a new flight. When I went to that link, all of today's flights showed as being full. UM, NOT ACCEPTABLE!

I called Southwest right away and it turns out I'd already been moved to a new flight - it took off only 20 minutes later than my original flight, but I'd have to connect in Atlanta and would land 3 hours later than my original flight was supposed to. At this point I was just happy to still have a flight for today! Later I found out that the first flight was canceled due to "mechanical issues" with the plane, so obviously I’m more than okay with it being canceled! They wouldn't send me an email confirmation with this new info, so I just had to show up at the airport and trust that everything was worked out.

And it was...whew. Flights were uneventful and I landed at about 6:20.

YAY!

DME took a long time for me today. I got on a bus right away, but had to sit there for about 30 minutes. Pop was the last stop and I didn't arrive at the resort until about 8:15. My friend who is a local was waiting for me and had made FPs for us for the Magic Kingdom, so I threw my stuff into her car and we were off!

The Magic Kingdom was all decked out for Christmas...in fact I think the first Christmas party is Friday? We'd just missed Celebrate the Magic! though...boo.

The new Christmas wreaths were up but not all were lit yet (they were by the end of my trip). I LOVE them. I think they fit in really well with Main Street and it's nice that the sight line to the castle isn't blocked like it was with the garland.

Amazing.

FP+ #1 was for Haunted Mansion! Definitely one of my favorites. Great start to the trip!

As we were leaving the mansion, Wishes! was going on and we both sang along as we headed over to FP+ #2, Big Thunder Mountain (which we both agree is way better in the dark). From here, friend suggested Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The standby line was posted as 30 minutes, but I don't think we actually waited that long. This was my first time on this ride and I really liked it a lot! I thought it was really well done - just such a smooth coaster, and the mine scene is great.

After Mine Train we headed toward the hub to go to Tomorrowland...but we noticed that 1. the park was empty, and 2. a bunch of people were sitting in the hub, facing the castle. We weren't sure why, so we stopped and faced the castle as well (hadn't grabbed a Times Guide on the way in). Mystery solved, there was a second showing of Celebrate the Magic! And we were right in front of the castle for it!

I love this show. This scene makes me tear up.

Holiday add-on:

I'm so obsessed with the Dreamlights. I hope they're still there in January!

All of these pictures are from my phone. They're not award-worthy or anything, but I was pretty impressed with the quality! In fact, I barely used my "real" camera at all on this trip (something to keep in mind for the future - bringing one less carry-on would be nice).

By this point I was incredibly hungry. With all of the flight craziness I'd forgotten to eat dinner! So we headed to the Contemporary and, at my friend’s suggestion, I ordered the hot turkey sandwich from Contempo Cafe (one of my favorite QS spots in WDW). It was HUGE!

It has turkey, brie, apple butter, apple slices...and some other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting. I could only eat half of it (friend had the other half). It was SO good! And I love those Disney house chips.

We also split a cupcake...the pumpkin-caramel cupcake (pumpkin spice cake infused with a caramel-cream filling and topped with orange-cream cheese buttercream). It was excellent!

After sharing our snack, my friend dropped me off at Pop. I had a room in the 70s building, which was a great location - very close to the lobby!

This was my first time in YEARS staying at a Value resort (1995, All-Star Sports when I was 11), and first time ever at Pop. I'm not sure I can really give a fair assessment since I was in the room for less than 12 hours and never used their bus system, but when I was there it was very quiet. The room was clean. No complaints! Except that I was surprised that there was no lotion in the room, and that the shampoo and conditioner were in a combination bottle and not separate. Yep, I'm a Deluxe resort snob.

Note my camera bag, containing my barely-used "real camera," sitting on the table.

My other friend arrived between midnight and 1AM- yay! Just one friend to go (she would arrive tomorrow early afternoon)! We chatted and went to bed way, way too late.

Up next: Day 2 - First full day in Disney, moving to our Royal Room, and Food & Wine Festival!

Dopey Challenge Training Plan

 

[Ariel484]

A New Plan - Dopey Challenge

AKA, Dopey Take 2. Hopefully without the injury this time.

No long into for this one - this is a hybrid of Hal Higdon's Novice 1 Marathon and Dopey Training Plans. Now that I feel like I've gotten a good base back training for Wine & Dine, it's time to ramp things up a bit once I recover from this most recent trip - the first few weeks of this plan are super tentative until I start feeling like myself again (info to come in the W&D mini trip report ). I'm going to have a few weeks of 3 days in a row of running, followed by a Dopey dress rehearsal the week before Christmas. And then taper.

Not gonna lie, it's a little panicky to look at this and only see 9 weeks in the plan.

It's far from ideal. In a perfect world I would have had a perfect year of training, but the 1-2 punch of IT Band pain followed by a foot strain just messed things up. It is what it is. The big thing I have going for me is the knowledge that I CAN do this - the training and the races - because I have done it before. I mean, not exactly, but this plan is similar to what I used for the 2012 and 2013 Marathon weekends, helping me to complete the marathon in 2012 and the 5K + Goofy in 2013 successfully.

I can do this.

COMPLETED

Week 1 (11/10 - 11/16): 29 miles planned, 21.55 miles completed
Monday: travel home from WDW
Tuesday: 4-mile run, unscheduled rest day taken
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: 3-mile run, unscheduled rest day taken
Friday: Warm Yoga flow/7-mile run planned, 2.3-mile treadmill run completed
Saturday: 15-mile run planned, 7-mile run completed
Sunday: Hot Yoga Flow planned, 12.25-mile run completed

Week 2 (11/17 - 11/23): 32 miles completed
Monday: 60-minute Core class planned, unscheduled rest day taken
Tuesday: 4-mile run
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: 4-mile run
Friday: 8-mile run
Saturday: 16-mile run
Sunday: Hot Yoga Flow planned, unscheduled rest day taken

Week 3 (11/24 - 11/30): 10 miles completed/29 miles planned (because of a blister and laziness)**THANKSGIVING WEEK**
Monday: 60-minute Core class
Tuesday: 8-mile run planned, 1 mile completed
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: 5-mile run (Turkey Trot) **THANKSGIVING**
Friday: Core 45/12-mile run planned, unscheduled rest day taken
Saturday: 4-mile run **THANKSGIVING WITH IN-LAWS**
Sunday: Warm Yoga Flow

Week 4 (12/1 - 12/7): 36 miles completed
Monday: 60-minute Core class
Tuesday: 4-mile run
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: 5-mile run
Friday: 9-mile run
Saturday: 18-mile run
Sunday: Warm Yoga Flow

Week 5 (12/8 - 12/14): 29.6 miles completed/33 miles planned
Monday: 60-minute Core class
Tuesday: 9-mile run (6 miles AM + 3 miles PM)
Wednesday: 5-mile run planned, 1.6-mile walk completed
Thursday: Rest Day
Friday: 5-mile run
Saturday: 14-mile run
Sunday: Warm Yoga Flow planned, unscheduled rest day taken

Week 6 (12/15 - 12/21): 37.5 miles completed **DOPEY DRESS REHEARSAL**
Monday: 60-minute Core class
Tuesday: Rest Day
Wednesday: 2.5-mile run
Thursday: 5-mile run
Friday: 10-mile run
Saturday: 20-mile run
Sunday: Warm Yoga Flow planned, unscheduled rest day taken

Week 7 (12/22 - 12/28): 21 miles completed **CHRISTMAS/TAPER WEEK 1**
Monday: 60-minute Core class planned, unscheduled rest day taken
Tuesday: 4-mile run
Wednesday: 5-mile run
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Hot Yoga Flow
Saturday: 12-mile run
Sunday: Rest

Week 8 (12/29 - 1/4): 15 miles completed **NEW YEAR'S/TAPER WEEK 2**
Monday: 4-mile run
Tuesday: 3-mile run
Wednesday: Rest Day
Thursday: 8-mile run
Friday: Warm Yoga Flow
Saturday: Rest Day
Sunday: Hot Yoga Flow

Week 9 (1/5 - 1/11): 50.6 miles planned **RACE WEEK!!!**
Monday: 2-mile run
Tuesday: Rest Day
Wednesday: travel to WDW/expo
Thursday: Walt Disney World 5K!
Friday: Walt Disney World 10K!
Saturday: Walt Disney World Half Marathon!
Sunday: Walt Disney World Marathon! <-- Dopey's proxy since there's no Dopey face

Continued in Next Post

 

[ZellyB]

Thanks Gisele! I'm back...not gonna lie, it was sort of a rough trip for me! But I still had a great time overall.

Uh oh. I'm glad overall it was a great time, but hate that there were rough patches as well.

Welcome home! I saw your costume in the W&D thread - SO cute!

So did I! Adorable!!!

Today was core! Originally I had a 3-miler scheduled today as well, but I bagged that. I need a step-back week! Core was tough, as usual - I felt like I hung in a little better but my quads are still a wee bit sore from Friday's 12-miler. I kept up with Core until the instructor busted out those TRX bands again. Those things are the devil.

My ankle has been feeling pretty good, but at one point during the TRX stretch of Core, I felt a little twinge. NOPE NOPE NOPE. I got out of those bands so fast! Just finished the rest of the sequence on the ground without the straps. Which I probably would have done anyway because those things kick my butt.

I think it's smart to step-back a bit. And I'm so impressed how you are being faithful with your Core workouts. I know that will help you overall, but man they sound tough!!

Normally when I have soreness like this a run helps it feel better, but that wasn't the case today. I took a few steps and my legs just were not having it, so I set the treadmill to 30 minutes and decided to walk instead. I made it 1.6 miles.

Smart!! There's really no reason to push yourself too hard right now before the race.

I left Will's school and was at a Starbucks around 10...and then I got a very, VERY alarming text message - my flight to WDW, which was supposed to take off at 12:30, was CANCELED!!! WHAT?!

So glad that everything worked out although bummer on the delays in arriving. Let's face it, once you are on your way to Disney you don't want anything to slow you down.


I love the shots of the castle all lit up. I've yet to see that in person. Maybe this year???

From here, friend suggested Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The standby line was posted as 30 minutes, but I don't think we actually waited that long. This was my first time on this ride and I really liked it a lot! I thought it was really well done - just such a smooth coaster, and the mine scene is great.

Glad to hear you liked it. The reviews on here have been pretty mediocre it seems. Although I wonder if that is just because with the long wait for it to be completed that people just got some really high expectations.

We also split a cupcake...the pumpkin-caramel cupcake (pumpkin spice cake infused with a caramel-cream filling and topped with orange-cream cheese buttercream). It was excellent!

Yum. That looks and sounds delicious!

Yep, I'm a Deluxe resort snob.

I suspect I would be the same way even though I haven't stayed Deluxe, I'm picky about my offsite accommodations. But, overall it sounds like a nice resort and good room.

Can't wait to hear more about the trip.

Not gonna lie, it's a little panicky to look at this and only see 9 weeks in the plan.

It's far from ideal. In a perfect world I would have had a perfect year of training, but the 1-2 punch of IT Band pain followed by a foot strain just messed things up. It is what it is. The big thing I have going for me is the knowledge that I CAN do this - the training and the races - because I have done it before. I mean, not exactly, but this plan is similar to what I used for the 2012 and 2013 Marathon weekends, helping me to complete the marathon in 2012 and the 5K + Goofy in 2013 successfully.

I can do this.

Isn't it hard to believe that we are only 9 weeks out? Wow. Time is flying. And stupid injuries this year have just been a problem. But, I have no doubt that you will have a great Dopey experience. You absolutely can do this!!

Love the spreadsheet.

P.S. I'm curious if you went to the SparkleSkirt booth at the expo and if you bought anything. I've seen some posts about that digital camo print and I want it!!! I saw they have the Wine print on the site now, but I just signed up for a custom team skirt on the SFZ page, so I think I'll hold off on it.

 

[Ariel484]

Uh oh. I'm glad overall it was a great time, but hate that there were rough patches as well.

Me too, but as I'm getting further removed from the trip the good parts are standing out in my mind more.

I think it's smart to step-back a bit. And I'm so impressed how you are being faithful with your Core workouts. I know that will help you overall, but man they sound tough!!

They are SO tough!! I wish I could consistently get there twice each week because I feel like if I did I'd be totally ripped.

Smart!! There's really no reason to push yourself too hard right now before the race.

That's what I thought too. I think paranoia over my rolled ankle was the bigger driving factor, but at that point I knew I was ready to do the half anyway.

So glad that everything worked out although bummer on the delays in arriving. Let's face it, once you are on your way to Disney you don't want anything to slow you down.

YEP. I was trying not to be too big a baby about it because I knew I'd get to Disney at some point, but I wanted to be there THAT DAY.

I love the shots of the castle all lit up. I've yet to see that in person. Maybe this year???

I hope so!! The past couple of years they have left the Dreamlights on for the marathon and half marathon...hopefully we will luck out!

Glad to hear you liked it. The reviews on here have been pretty mediocre it seems. Although I wonder if that is just because with the long wait for it to be completed that people just got some really high expectations.

I did. I tried not to read much about it or look at pictures, but I did know enough to not expect something on the level of Big Thunder or Space Mountain - which it's not. They describe it as a "family coaster," not as an E-ticket.

Yum. That looks and sounds delicious!

It was sooooo good! Contempo Cafe always has good cupcakes!

I suspect I would be the same way even though I haven't stayed Deluxe, I'm picky about my offsite accommodations. But, overall it sounds like a nice resort and good room.

It really was. Like I said I don't think I was there long enough to REALLY get a feel for the place, but for one night it was totally fine.

Can't wait to hear more about the trip.

Isn't it hard to believe that we are only 9 weeks out? Wow. Time is flying. And stupid injuries this year have just been a problem. But, I have no doubt that you will have a great Dopey experience. You absolutely can do this!!

YES. You're totally right, time is flying by...and you know it'll go faster now that the holidays are coming up. Less than 2 months away at this point!! ARRRG!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, friend!

Love the spreadsheet.

I thought you would!!

P.S. I'm curious if you went to the SparkleSkirt booth at the expo and if you bought anything. I've seen some posts about that digital camo print and I want it!!! I saw they have the Wine print on the site now, but I just signed up for a custom team skirt on the SFZ page, so I think I'll hold off on it.

I did! I bought the wine skirt. I'm sort of on the fence as to whether I'll be keeping it. I am pretty sure I saw the digital camo skirt there - it was cute!

I have been wanting SaucyWench for awhile and that one popped up on the site before I left, so I ordered that one - love it. I'm on 1 team customs list and 2 team customs waiting lists, so I'll definitely be taking a break from the skirts for awhile. The customs are frustrating because they take soooooo long. Which skirt did you sign up for?

 

[Ariel484]

Jingle Jungle 5K/Wine & Dine Half Marathon mini-trip report

Thursday, November 6, Part 1: Food & Wine Festival!

Today we were up early to get ready and check out of Pop. We'd set up a luggage transfer and our local friend came to pick us up, along with her adorable 2-year-old. He's not my kiddo so I won't post pictures of him here, but trust me when I say he’s just about the cutest kid ever. It was funny to compare the way he acted toward us on this trip vs. when we last saw him in February. In February, he was super shy and wanted nothing to do with us. This time, he called us "Mama's People," which we loved, held our hands, played with us, etc. Yay!

The four of us had a 9:05 ADR at The Wave and we all opted for the breakfast buffet. It was good, but not great enough that I’d make a special trip and service was SLOW. If I was staying on the monorail I'd definitely eat there again, though.

Friend #4 was texting us that she'd arrived at Riverside, so we finally settled our bills and headed over to check in! The Royal room was pretty great - I really got a kick out of all of the special touches, and the attention to detail was awesome.

One problem we had was that the only Magic Band that worked for the room was the one belonging to my local friend, so we had to go to the lobby to get that straightened out.

And then it was off to Epcot!

We rode The Seas with Nemo and got some coffee!

I was the only one that opted for a large coffee.

From there it was on to the Food & Wine booths! Friend #4 and I had made lists of things we wanted to try, and since our lists were almost identical we decided to split the items - she'd buy one, I'd buy the next and so on.

The first thing we had was everyone's favorite, the Kalua Pork Slider from Hawaii!

Next up was Puerto Rico - the Carne guisada con arroz blanco: Slow-braised beef with Puerto Rican-grown rice (no picture) followed by Greece - Chicken gyro with tzatziki sauce. And then Canada for the Le Cellier Filet with no mushrooms, extra truffle butter sauce. YUM!

One of my buddies loooooves Spaceship Earth, so we headed there to ride. After that we had FP+ for Soarin', rode Living with the Land (new water garden?!) and cashed in a FP+ for the Character Spot!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Jingle Jungle 5K/Wine & Dine Half Marathon mini-trip report

Thursday, November 6, Part 2: Food & Wine Festival!

After the Character Spot we rode Spaceship Earth again and headed back into World Showcase!

First up, Mexico - Rib eye taco: Marinated rib eye, roasted chipotle salsa and grilled scallions on a corn tortilla. This was pretty underwhelming, I wouldn't get it again. Everyone else got the grilled shrimp taco and liked it a lot (I don't eat seafood so I didn't try it).

After that, some Karamel-Kuche for dessert. I went with the s'more. It was a little disappointing...the graham crackers were too soft. One of my friends got a gingersnap and it was much better.

Even though we'd just had dessert, we hit up Belgium for the Potato Leek Waffle with Braised Beef - my favorite item from F&W last year. It was sooooo good! My picture didn't come out, sadly, so I'm going to cheat and use last year's picture. OM NOM NOM NOM!

You can't see it, but there IS a waffle under there!

Our last food stop was France - we went into L'Artisan des Glaces for the pumpkin spice macaroon, which is a seasonal offering. We’d been looking forward to this for months, so much so that we each got our own instead of sharing.

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM

So this was my first true F&W experience - last year Will and I only hit up 2 booths (Canada and Belgium), but this year I feel like I really got to try a lot. Unfortunately this was the start of skipping real, full meals in favor of snacking, which I think came back to bite me later on...

Anyway, after the delicious macaroon we headed to Test Track. The wait time was posted as 50 minutes - WAY longer than I like to wait for any ride - but we hopped in line. I don't think it took quite that long, probably because I just chatted with my friends the entire time.

After Test Track, everyone wanted to go on Mission: Space...except for me. I cannot do that ride! I tried it for the first time in February, Green Side, and even that made me feel ill. One of our friends decided she wanted to skip it as well (even though I insisted I'd be fine waiting by myself) and suddenly the two of us decided we wanted a soft pretzel...like, REALLY badly. And we could not freaking find one in Future World!! What the what?! So we settled for a Cronut instead. Not a bad consolation prize. No picture, but it was delicious!

After enjoying our Cronut, we headed back to M:S in time to meet our friends, and we all decided to close out the night with our 3rd Spaceship Earth ride of the day! We headed out of the park just before Illuminations began and were back at Riverside for some sleep.

We walked over 10 miles today! EEK!

Up Next: runDisney expo, Magic Kingdom, Citricos

 

[ZellyB]

I did! I bought the wine skirt. I'm sort of on the fence as to whether I'll be keeping it. I am pretty sure I saw the digital camo skirt there - it was cute!

Word on the SFZ page is that they won't put digital camo on the website until after Avengers and then just whatever is left, so it may be slim pickins once it does appear.

I have been wanting SaucyWench for awhile and that one popped up on the site before I left, so I ordered that one - love it. I'm on 1 team customs list and 2 team customs waiting lists, so I'll definitely be taking a break from the skirts for awhile. The customs are frustrating because they take soooooo long. Which skirt did you sign up for?

Awesome on SaucyWench.

I signed up for a new one they just posted in the last day or two. It doesn't have an official name yet, but it's a black skirt with green and blue swirls sort of on it. Right now the group name is something like green and blue until a name is decided. I know it will be months until it's ready which is sort of hilarious, but it's not like I'm in any hurry for it so it's fine.

Friend #4 was texting us that she'd arrived at Riverside, so we finally settled our bills and headed over to check in! The Royal room was pretty great - I really got a kick out of all of the special touches, and the attention to detail was awesome.

The room looks awesome. So pretty!! I love that faucet.

All the food stuff looks delicious. I've got to get myself to Wine and Dine one of these days.

 

[Ariel484]

Word on the SFZ page is that they won't put digital camo on the website until after Avengers and then just whatever is left, so it may be slim pickins once it does appear.

I think that's what they just did with the Wine skirt. It's funny, they made a big deal about how limited the beer skirt is, but that one has been online longer and doesn't seem to be selling out. The Wine skirt is already sold out in 2 sizes. The beer skirt must not appeal to many people. I hope you can get digital camo in your size!!

Awesome on SaucyWench.

I like it a lot!! It's really cute.

I signed up for a new one they just posted in the last day or two. It doesn't have an official name yet, but it's a black skirt with green and blue swirls sort of on it. Right now the group name is something like green and blue until a name is decided. I know it will be months until it's ready which is sort of hilarious, but it's not like I'm in any hurry for it so it's fine.

Okay, I know which one you're talking about. It's really cute!

I'm just worried that I'll either 1. forget which ones I'm signed up for (which I do sometimes, I actually have written them down), and 2. once they actually come I won't like them anymore. Which I guess isn't a huge issue because someone on a wait list could grab it or I could sell it. But it's crazy how long it takes.

The room looks awesome. So pretty!! I love that faucet.

I really liked it! Last time I stayed at Riverside our room seemed pretty dated and tired (February 2011) so staying there in a refurbed room was nice and made me like the resort a lot better! All of the details in the royal room were really fun.

All the food stuff looks delicious. I've got to get myself to Wine and Dine one of these days.

Yes!! And if you do get there make sure you don't miss the Canada, Hawaii and Belgium booths. Those are the ones I would definitely go back to for seconds!!

 

[sumlee]

Hello! Haven't been on here for a while, but I'm loving the trip report! Yummy food and gorgeous castle pics!!!

 

[Ariel484]

Hello! Haven't been on here for a while, but I'm loving the trip report! Yummy food and gorgeous castle pics!!!

Welcome back! Thanks for the kind words on the pictures, I was happy with how my phone camera performed, for sure.

 

[Ariel484]

Jingle Jungle 5K/Wine & Dine Half Marathon mini-trip report

Friday, November 7, Part 1: runDisney expo

EXPO TIME!

Of the four of us, I and one other were SUPER excited to get our hands on some Wine & Dine merchandise. I'd remembered that I had some old gift cards lying around, plus some Disney Visa rewards, so I was ready to shop! Friend and I agreed that we should head to the expo area first, then go back for bibs (something I just recently read is allowed), and everyone else seemed okay with this. I'd studied the merchandise preview that runDisney posted on Facebook earlier, so I was ready with a list.

I had one other thing I had to accomplish today - I was on the pre-sale list to get Taylor Swift tickets (!!). I needed to get 6 all together - one each for me, my mom, my aunt and 3 of my cousins. Of course the sale would begin at 10, the same time as the expo started. Of course. So I was VERY stressed out about that...mostly worrying whether or not I'd get reception inside the expo.

But before the expo and Swifty, it was time for breakfast! We walked to French Quarter and had Mickey Waffles and beignets. Best breakfast EVER!

I rode with my local friend (who had her car and her 2-year-old) to the expo, while everyone else grabbed the bus from French Quarter. With the car, we made it there first and I was surprised to see that the buildings were open early! Once everyone else arrived we headed inside and I made a beeline for the official merchandise area. As I mentioned before, I'd made a list and had the TSwift tickets to get, so I didn't waste much time. I grabbed everything I wanted - hoodie, I Did It shirt, 2014 runDisney Vinylmation and medal, runner Mickey plush (which I may stop buying at the race weekends - they are so generic! ), a coffee mug and a Wine & Dine SweatyBand. Later one of my friends teased me because I got all of that stuff and was in and out so quickly, but hey - I'm efficient! There was no line at the registers and I quickly paid with my Visa Rewards/gift cards (after a 10% AP discount).

Here's some of the stuff...I forgot pictures of the Vinyl, runner Mickey plush and coffee mug. Oops!

I Did It! shirt:

Back:

Hoodie (probably my favorite purchase at the expo):

SweatyBands...these were available in 4 colors, if I recall correctly:

By the time I headed out of the merch area it was about 9:58AM and I immediately got to work on the Swifty tickets. Getting 6 together wasn't happening, so I ended up getting a set of 4 and a set of 2. But I did get them! So glad that was over.

After that I was able to relax and head to other booths. SparkleSkirts was next on my list, and I managed to restrain myself and just get the limited edition wine skirt:

Currently undecided as to whether or not I want to keep it...if I'm being completely honest.

I also got some KT Tape and a holder for my phone (which I hoped was waterproof, but ended up not being so water proof). We also went to the SweatyBands booth and three of us got matching SweatyBands for the half. I saw someone else walking around with the one we ultimately ended up getting and thought it would be perfect because it reminded me of Spaceship Earth lit up at night, which seemed appropriate. Also, since it’s colorful we should be able to wear it a lot - the other girls loved it! The one friend that did not get a SweatyBand was wearing a visor for the race - she always wears visors and that is what she is used to. Not gonna lie, I ended up being jealous of her visor later on...more on that later.

This same friend is also very crafty, and while at the SweatyBands booth she pulled out gifts that she'd had made for us! I love this thing - it's 32 ounces, so I try to drink 2 each day and keep it at my desk. Slowly letting my Disney crazy creep into work...

The other side has my monogram in super cute Minnie form! The characters on the mugs for my other friends are Jiminy Cricket, Ursula and Stitch.

After this, we headed over to bib pick-up. And the lines were HUGE. I don't regret going to the merch area first (and may do the same thing in January) because I got everything I wanted in the sizes I wanted...on the other hand part of me wishes we'd done bib pick-up first, THEN merch. JJ5K pick-up was quick, but I waited maybe 20 minutes for W&D.

From here we went back to the expo to get our shirts, and then my one friend left with her kiddo, who had been a trooper through the whole thing - but he needed a nap! (He was a little squirmy in the bib line and eventually started saying, "We gotta get out of here!" but otherwise he probably handled it better than us adults did!).

I forgot a picture of the JJ5K shirt and pins...the JJ5K shirt and pin look just like the medallion (picture of that to follow), and the W&D pin looks a lot like the I Did It shirt.

We also got these cute cork coasters with our gEAR bags. Apparently the perfect Wine & Dine runnser (those who have done all 5 Wine & Dine half marathons) got a plastic spatula or something. I thought that was a joke, but nope, it's a real thing.

We headed back to the official merch area because I decided I wanted another Wine & Dine Sweaty band in purple, but they actually did not have any more! Everything looked picked over compared to when we'd been there before...which really has me thinking I'll use the same strategy in January as well, merch first then bib. Though there's no way I'll get there right at opening...I could see myself going back to the expo after the 5K to get anything I miss.

Some pictures with the three of us (missing the one friend that had to take her kiddo home):

All of the merch!

This alarms me for January. I know I'll want a runDisney SweatyBand, I Did It shirt and Vinylmation...just to start. Good-bye money!

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

Jingle Jungle 5K/Wine & Dine Half Marathon mini-trip report

Friday, November 7, Part 2: Magic Kingdom and Citricos

After the expo we went to Riverside to drop all of our stuff off and headed to Magic Kingdom.

We rode Space Mountain (probably my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom) and Splash Mountain, which looked fantastic.

Next up was Philharmagic. Solid day at Magic Kingdom - all of these attractions are in my top 5 at the park, I'd say (along with Haunted Mansion and...honestly, probably TTA/Peoplemover!).

The 3 of us have these matching Vera Bradley backpacks (LOVE this for a park bag), and we got this cute picture in front of the castle:

I Instagrammed it and put a VeraBradley hastag...and some Vera Bradley fansite picked it up and re-grammed it. It has 311 likes, so clearly we're famous.

This was lunch today...ice cream from the Plaza (2 of my friends split the sundae, the cone - birthday cake single scoop - is mine). Again, another instance where I didn't have a full meal. Not good!

I mean, it WAS good, but ya know.

After "lunch" we headed back to Riverside to meet up with friend and her kiddo, fresh from his nap and as adorable as ever. He was handed off to his dad (who was finishing up his last long run before the Avengers Half Marathon!) and the rest of us headed to the Grand Floridian.

Dinner at Citricos has become a little girls trip tradition for us, so that's where we were this evening. Even though we were on time for our ADR, we had to wait an extra 20 minutes to be seated. And we had AWFUL service. Our server - let's call him Bob - was not apologetic at all, either. We ran out of water multiple times (not good as we were all trying to drink a lot in preparation for the races the next day) and he was pretty weird about splitting the check. Then he claimed my friend's card was being declined, which embarrassed her - but when she went to use it again the next day it was totally fine, even without her calling the credit card company. Our ADR was originally at 7:45, and we didn't get out until close to 11...not good since two of us were running the 5K the next morning! From then on out we blamed everything bad that happened that weekend on "Bob." It became a recurring joke. Like, it's snowing in Ohio already - clearly "Bob" is behind it.

The food was good though. I got the filet.

The good thing about dinner taking so long was that we got to see Wishes! out of the window.

Dessert:

Once we finally got back to Riverside, I took a Flat Runner picture and went to bed.

Up next: Mickey’s Jingle Jungle 5K!

 

[ZellyB]

Love the updates!!

You scored some good stuff at the Expo and that sounds like a solid strategy.

Great job managing to get everything you wanted and get online and purchase those concert tickets. Glad you were able to get them. That would have stressed me out too!!

The shot of the three of you in front of the castle with your matching backpacks is great.

Your meal at Citricos looks delicious, but bummer about "Bob." We've generally had really good servers at any Disney restaurants we've eaten at, so it's a shame you had one that was below par. We've never eaten at Citricos, but that dessert might be enough to get me to put them on the short list. YUM!!

Can't wait to read more.

 

[Ariel484]

Love the updates!!

You scored some good stuff at the Expo and that sounds like a solid strategy.

Yes!! The more I think about it, the more I am leaning toward doing the same thing in January. Shopping first, bibs second. I have my priorities!!

Great job managing to get everything you wanted and get online and purchase those concert tickets. Glad you were able to get them. That would have stressed me out too!!

Haha, thanks...I know it's totally cliche, but that was such a first-world problem! Here I am in Disney World and I'm freaking out about concert tickets. Glad that worked out!!

The shot of the three of you in front of the castle with your matching backpacks is great.

Thanks! I love that one too.

Your meal at Citricos looks delicious, but bummer about "Bob." We've generally had really good servers at any Disney restaurants we've eaten at, so it's a shame you had one that was below par. We've never eaten at Citricos, but that dessert might be enough to get me to put them on the short list. YUM!!

I know! That's maybe the 4th or 5th time I've eaten at Citricos and the first time I have had service like that. So I will definitely be back! Hopefully "Bob" won't be the one taking care of us though...

Can't wait to read more.

Thanks friend!

 

[Ariel484]

Jingle Jungle 5K/Wine & Dine Half Marathon mini-trip report

Saturday, November 8, part 1: 2014 Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K!

There were only two of us running this race, and we had alarms set for 4:30/4:45. We were both still sleeping when I heard another of my friends say, "It's 5:15...what time is the 5K?!" Obviously this gave me a slight heart attack as the 5K buses were due to stop running at 5:30! Nope - turns out the clock on our nightstand hadn't been changed for Daylight Savings Time, and that was the clock my friend had rolled over and looked at. It was actually 4:15. Oops!

I wasn't mad at her at all, just glad that we weren't going to miss the bus. And I know she meant well!

We got up and got ready. I looooved our outfits.

Soooo sleepy. It's all Bob's fault!

We caught our bus and arrived at the staging area. It was a wee bit chilly - we'd both forgotten throwaway clothes! So the wait was a little painful but I knew it would be perfect weather once the sun was up and we were actually running.

We chatted with a few people we knew and made our way to Corral A just before 7. We also made many jokes about how runDisney clearly has recognized our superior speed and how we would most definitely win the race and set all kinds of records.

*SPOILER ALERT*: We did not win the race or set any records.

And suddenly it was time to GO!

3-2-1 GOOOOO!

I really like this race, but the first and third miles are so boring. The first mile was through the parking lot. At the end of it my friend handed her phone to someone and we got my favorite picture from the race, and one of my favorites from the weekend as a whole.

My friend is representing the yeti and she actually has fake fur on her Minnie bow. Too cute!

We headed to the entrance of the park. I was really hoping to see the Animal Kingdom Christmas tree (my favorite park Christmas tree) up, but unlike last year, it wasn't there. Disappointing.

Mile 1 complete!

Now we were in the park.

We passed up a meet and greet with Santa Goofy (HUUUUGE line, and he meets in the parks) and then stopped to get a Tree of Life picture. I was stunned at all of the construction walls. I knew they'd be there, but reading about it online versus seeing it in person is just crazy! It'll be interesting to see how far along they are in January.

Just me and my good friend, Everest.

Our first character picture of the race was with Timon and Rafiki! It's not on my phone but you'll just have to trust me on this one. Next up was King Louie and Baloo. It looks like Baloo is going in for the hug and I'm just not having it!

Somewhere in here we stopped for a picture with Chip & Dale and ran into a friend, so we pulled her over to run with us for the rest of the race. No C&D picture (not on my phone, anyway) but they were wearing scarves. And it was sort of a big line. And the Minnie ears were starting to squeeze my head a bit...but pain is beauty.

Through Asia and on to Mile Marker 2! So that second mile took us 30 minutes. TEE HEE HEE!

For the third mile, you leave the park and run a looooong out-and-back behind Everest. We stopped for a picture with Pluto (not on my phone) and hopped in line for Donald.

We found the Christmas tree!

I'm thinking the topper would fit nicely in my house...

Our friend's 2-year-old recently learned what a "duckface" is from his middle school-aged cousin and when he does it, it's basically the cutest thing ever. So in his honor we did some duckfaces with Donald!

Mile Marker 3!

And we're done!

The finisher medallion!

At the finish we got water, Powerade, bananas and the runDisney snackbox (weak options this year, in my opinion). We didn't waste much time before hopping on a bus back to Riverside.

Another fun Jingle Jungle 5K in the books!

Up next: DISASTER STRIKES