New Walker's Sharing Ideas

[Hockeychic]

Hi everyone, sorry I am so far behind.

Nancy and Jean definatley have to meet at ToT weekend. I don't believe we are doing the event, but we will be there Oct 19 - 26th and I can't wait.

Yes we are waitlisted fro BWV, we have 2 of our 7 nights confirmed so now just patiently waiting

Hope everyone is going well

Kim

 

[padisneyfan]

Kim--- I am there from 10/18-10/25, but we decided to do OKW and then move over to BWV on 10/24 since I couldn't get the entire week. I am trying to see if I can maybe get the Thursday night. We are waiting to see if the time limit is increased as Norm can't walk the 16 minute pace.

Hope everyone else is doing well. This is one of the few threads that I remain subscribed to, so I do try to read what people post but just don't seem to have much time to post.

Nancy

 

[Lynn G]

Yay, Kim......that's great news about TofT! Are you waitlisted for Boardwalk? My reservation for Wednesday night in a standard studio just came through last week so I now have my all 4 nights at BW. Got my fingers crossed for you. Don't want to miss Dave and Robert's party!

We did the day by day reservation for our stay at BWVs, I was concerned on the first day when I was told that there were only 10 1 bedrooms available, but we did get the whole week there! What was really fun was that we were on vacation while calling DVC every morning, we had an alarm set on the cell phone to remind us to call . But we are set for the after race party now!

 

[WDWFAN9]

We are waiting to see if the time limit is increased as Norm can't walk the 16 minute pace.

Nancy

Nancy, I received an email yesterday from DisneySports confirming the 2.5hr timelimit for the ToT 13K. I'm not sure what I am going to do - I was scheduled to end my WDW vacation with extended family that day. I don't have a problem with staying an extra day, but I am kind of miffed with Disney that they increased the price so much, and then messed around with the pace requirement. I still haven't decided what I will do.

 

[ultramickeymouse]

LynnG. I did the same for our 1 bd. I had no problem with it but studios are a premium. Some people didn't ask me about BW until after the 7 mo window opened this causing a wait list. Even with Dave's ressie calling every am, couldn't get 23 & 26

Linda and I still plan to skip the race as $170 is too much for an 8 miler. We wouldn't do any of the rides(like LY) so all we did was the race.

 

[jeanneg]

Oh come'on, Pat....YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO DO IT......and we all want you to also!

That's great about the looser pace requirements. Now Nancy's husband, Norm, can join us and I think Lily's Ted also.

Lynn: what days will you be there?

 

[WDWFAN9]

Oh come'on, Pat....YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO DO IT......and we all want you to also!

Oh Jeanne! I am so conflicted.

If I stay I will probably be by myself, which isn't really a problem since I've done a week in WDW solo, but I'm just really miffed with Disney for getting greedy with this race and don't know if I want to reward them by participating....but to be so close....it is hard to make a decision! I keep thinking I am definitely NOT going to do it, and then I start thinking about adding another medal to my collection......I have a little bit of time until SWA opens up their schedule through Oct and will have to decide by then.

 

[jeanneg]

Oooops, forgot to tell you about my training episode today. I have such a sit-com life......

Today I was doing my short fast walk on a 1/16 mile track at the Y. I usually pass everyone walking, but today there was a new woman there and she was walking darn fast. So I kicked it into high gear and finally passed her. As I pass her, she tells me that she trained for Nationals when she was in school. She slows down a bit and so a few laps later I meet up with her again and ask her where her school was. She replies "Kenya" and I get all excited. "OMG, I'm training with a Kenyan!" Then she replies, "Really, WHO?" And I respond, "You, right NOW!" We laugh and I continue to pass her again. Now the track overlooks the basketball courts and that's where the year-round students meet for track-out daycare. Whatever they were doing must have been really boring, because all of a sudden I hear one kid comment that those ladies look like they're racing. Now our schools are very racially diverse and before I know it, there are half a dozen white kids shouting "Go, White!" and an equal number of black kids screaming "Go, Black!" And i'm thinking "Oh boy, how did I get into this mess?!" Soon none of the kids are paying attention to what is happening in their class and even the counselors have given up trying. There are now about 40 kids screaming like this is the friggin' Boston marathon or something. My new Kenyan friend catches on and immediately starts running and, of course, she passes me. At which point, the kids start arguing that I passed her TWICE, so she has to pass me again! With that, she leaves the track which is probably a good thing because the kids are going wild now. As soon as she leaves there is this huge collective sigh of disappointment. And all I wanted to do was get my 2-mile walk in.....you can't make this stuff up!

 

[jeanneg]

Oh Jeanne! I am so conflicted.

If I stay I will probably be by myself, which isn't really a problem since I've done a week in WDW solo, but I'm just really miffed with Disney for getting greedy with this race and don't know if I want to reward them by participating....but to be so close....it is hard to make a decision! I keep thinking I am definitely NOT going to do it, and then I start thinking about adding another medal to my collection......I have a little bit of time until SWA opens up their schedule through Oct and will have to decide by then.

Pat, you won't be by yourself at all....you can definitely hang out with us. Hopefully, Robert will do the mini-golf again and if you want to come back to our room afterwards until the race starts, that's OK also. Trust me, you won't have time to be lonely!
I agree that Disney gets greedy sometimes and I almost cancelled our Panama Canal cruise because I didn't like the way they conducted things. In the end, I knew I really wanted to be there and so I relaxed my principals a little bit. At least we don't have to buy a useless park admission like with the EEC.

 

[SamSam]

Oooops, forgot to tell you about my training episode today. I have such a sit-com life......

Today I was doing my short fast walk on a 1/16 mile track at the Y. I usually pass everyone walking, but today there was a new woman there and she was walking darn fast. So I kicked it into high gear and finally passed her. As I pass her, she tells me that she trained for Nationals when she was in school. She slows down a bit and so a few laps later I meet up with her again and ask her where her school was. She replies "Kenya" and I get all excited. "OMG, I'm training with a Kenyan!" Then she replies, "Really, WHO?" And I respond, "You, right NOW!" We laugh and I continue to pass her again. Now the track overlooks the basketball courts and that's where the year-round students meet for track-out daycare. Whatever they were doing must have been really boring, because all of a sudden I hear one kid comment that those ladies look like they're racing. Now our schools are very racially diverse and before I know it, there are half a dozen white kids shouting "Go, White!" and an equal number of black kids screaming "Go, Black!" And i'm thinking "Oh boy, how did I get into this mess?!" Soon none of the kids are paying attention to what is happening in their class and even the counselors have given up trying. There are now about 40 kids screaming like this is the friggin' Boston marathon or something. My new Kenyan friend catches on and immediately starts running and, of course, she passes me. At which point, the kids start arguing that I passed her TWICE, so she has to pass me again! With that, she leaves the track which is probably a good thing because the kids are going wild now. As soon as she leaves there is this huge collective sigh of disappointment. And all I wanted to do was get my 2-mile walk in.....you can't make this stuff up!

What a wonderful story.

 

[Steffwalks]

Thanks for the chuckle Jeanne!

 

[padisneyfan]

To funny Jeanne.

I have had 2 people in the last week talk to me about Volkssport which is a walking association. www.ava.org Both of these ladies belong to the local group. After looking at the national and my local group, this does look like something that both myself and DH could do together. It would give us different long walks without actually doing a race. I really don't think my body will tolerate doing competetive races for an extended period of time and this would be a great transition from doing actual races but doing an organized event.

I am not registering for the ToT until something official about the time is posted on the website.

Nancy

 

[WDWFAN9]

Oh boy! Things might change. My DD23 just said she'd consider doing the ToT with me. She figures if her Aunt Deb could do it last year, she certainly should be able to do it. I want to see something official on the website too, before I make a commitment. Either that or I'll carry a printout of the email from DisneySports stating the 2.5hr limit!

 

[Superdebbie]

I'm new around here - what is ToT?? Also, are there any other overweight old ladies like me doing the Minnie 15K? I'll be 48 this year and I'm about 50 pounds overweight (I've lost over 40 pounds since last summer, but still about 50 more pounds to go).

 

[padisneyfan]

Debbie--ToT is the Tower of Terror Race which is a 13K night time race and has a party after the event at DHS. There are alot of us middle aged overweight women who do the Disney races. Congratulations on your 40 lb weight loss. Here is a link to the ToT race.

http://disneyworldsports.disney.go....name=EnduranceTowerofTerror13KEventDetailPage

Pat--- That would be great if you and DD can do the race. I am finding that now that my sons are in their 20's it is now cool to do things with your parents. Partly because we are paying for most of it.

It is becoming spring like in my area so have been able to do most of my walks outside. My back is better, but now the pain is moving to my knees. Trying to be healthy with exercising is slowly crumbling my body one joint at a time.

Nancy

 

[WDWFAN9]

I'm new around here - what is ToT?? Also, are there any other overweight old ladies like me doing the Minnie 15K? I'll be 48 this year and I'm about 50 pounds overweight (I've lost over 40 pounds since last summer, but still about 50 more pounds to go).

Hi Debbie!

ToT is the Tower of Terror 13K that will be held on Oct 25th. It is a night-time race and the medal is shaped like the ToT, complete with a moving elevator.

The WISH team is made up of people of all shapes and sizes and experiences. There is everything from super-competitive speed demons (you know who you are!!) to slow-but-sure people like me. I am one of the slowest and one of the older team members, but WISH supports and encourages everyone!

WISH rocks

 

[funwalker]

Welcome Super Debbie!

I am a member of the 'Older-Over Weight' group also...
Actually do not know who is the oldest but I will be 63 in July - and need to lose 25 pounds.

Enjoy WHO You Are ... Where You Are. We only pass this way once so enjoy all the moments!!!

 

[jeanneg]

I'm new around here - what is ToT?? Also, are there any other overweight old ladies like me doing the Minnie 15K? I'll be 48 this year and I'm about 50 pounds overweight (I've lost over 40 pounds since last summer, but still about 50 more pounds to go).

Don't fret, Debbie.....several of us are older bigger gals. Depending on which chart you use I am probably anywhere from 80 to 50 pounds overweight. In spite of that, I am still incredibly fit and completed my first marathon this past January at the age of 54. Some of us were even older. Sure I would LOVE to lose weight and am constantly trying to, but it just doesn't happen. I've learned to make the most of what I am and this board (this thread particularly) is wonderful for making all of us feel good about ourselves. You will fit in just fine!

 

[SamSam]

I'm new around here - what is ToT?? Also, are there any other overweight old ladies like me doing the Minnie 15K? I'll be 48 this year and I'm about 50 pounds overweight (I've lost over 40 pounds since last summer, but still about 50 more pounds to go).

Debbie - The Minnie 15K will be my first race ever and I am 54. Stay on these board and 'catch' the excitement!

I'm feeling a little down myself right now. I've been training hard (I'm a walker) and really feel like I'm accomplishing something (longest to date 10.3 miles), that part is good. But everyone once in a while I hear "oh,you're just walking not running". Yesterday, I was getting a massage (a gift from wonderful friends) and I was talking to the masseause about training for the Minnie 15K and the workouts I was doing and even she said "but you're just walking". I'm okay with being a walker and even with not being super fast, but when people make comments like that I feel like I need to start running instead of walking. Do any of the rest of you experience this type of response to being a walker vs. running? Okay, I'm off the PityPot now.

 

[nepatsfan73]

SamSam-I'll let others who have actually completed more distance events than me answer you with experience. I myself have only participated in and completed one event thus far (the ToT 6.5K with great difficulty). I have to walk due to various physical issues and my doctor has told me (sternly) to not even think about trying to run. I am now trying to get my body ready for the ToT 13K, an event or two at WDW marathon weekend and, if things work out, possibly my first half marathon in October.

Try not to let others "negative" comments/opinions affect you as you train, nor detract from your accomplishments. Most of those who may be commenting "but you're only walking" are not themselves out there putting in the miles and improving themselves physically. In addition, even Bill Rogers (the great marathoner who won Boston, New York and other marathons multiple times) has said that he respects the slower competitors as he could not imagine being on a marthon course for 4 hours or more (I don't have his exact quote handy).

Remember that you are doing this for you and for your reasons. When you are on the course, you are competing against yourself. By being at the start line, you will be accomplishing something that most Americans have not. After that (as I believe Calcio/Craig said on another thread), speed (relative to others participating) or mode of finishing (walk, run, wog, jog or combinations thereof) are not issues as there will be a winner, a dead last finisher and everyone in between.