"Ready Are You?" - Maintaining Rebel Challenge Legacy - A Continuous Journal - Update 5/29

[Dis_Yoda]

Star Wars Half Marathon - The Finish

At the halfway mark in the course, Mouseplanet had set up a Red Vine station and photo op. I didn’t take the Free Candy from Strangers as well, still wasn’t going to risk it despite having a gu not destroy me!

It was then Mile 7 and Mile 8!

After Mile 8 comes the best part of the half-marathon! It was all the fan groups out with their awesome costumes.

And the awesome character fan group stretch ended once we hit Mile 9!

Immediately after this though is my least favorite part of the race. The crazy protester who wanted to let us know that Star Wars is all a fantasy world. Well, crappy feeling Dis_Yoda totally flipped out on her. I think I scared the people around me! Whatever filter I had was long gone.

My two friends I finished the 10K with passed me at this point (they started in the 2nd to last corral) and tried to cheer me up. Well, it was a nice effort on their part but I was really just trudging along. My 15K text message was at an 18:52 pace. Mile Markers 10, 11 and 12 were for the most part a blur. The only thing that kept me going was my husband messaging me some really nice encouraging things. I knew he would be waiting for me when I passed by Disneyland Hotel.

Mile 10

Mile 11

Mile 12

It was after I turned into the parking lot behind Paradise Pier hotel did I finally see the balloon ladies and they passed me. At this point, I wasn’t worried. I knew I had less than a half of mile left in the race and there was no way Disneyland was going to sweep at this point unless I requested it. I was going to make it.

Balloon Ladies

Mile 13

And right at the Disneyland Hotel was my husband to cheer me on! I gave him a hug and kiss and worked my way to the end.

I see him!

Close to Finish

Shouldn’t I be happier?

My finish text message stated I was at a 18:53 pace. When I looked at the official results. I was like 35th from last place! This is officially my worst pace! I’m ok with this as well, I felt like crap and shouldn’t even had tried to do the race.
I trudged to getting my metals then my powerade, water and snack boxes.

I really wanted to get a massage when I was done as my glut was screaming at me but the booth was done for the day already. I slowly moved back to the hotel and was really sad to see the hot mess that was the re-entry point to Downtown Disney. They really needed to have a runner’s only line!

When I got back to the hotel, I was happy to see that the room had already been cleaned for the day (it happened while my husband was waiting for me by the Disneyland Hotel Entrance) and he had drawn a bath for me! He had even placed his cookies & nutella for me! Best husband ever! I added in my cookies & nutella along with my bag of chips. Soaking felt so nice!

 

[TeeterTots]

So sorry to hear the morning started so awful! You always look so cheerful to me. Love your race outfit! Skirt is awesome and I'm assuming the tank is something Star Wars related! I'm ruining all chances at a friendship, I know! Glad your hubby got his jacket. So nice to see him smiling and enjoying character pics and so super sweet of him to be your chear-squad and preparing your bath! Good on ya for sticking it out and finishing the race! I'm hoping this won't be me for PHM (round two of the puke bug in my house.....)

 

[roxymama]

I know your pace wasn't probably what you envisioned when preparing for this half marathon; but I'm so proud of you for finishing it and not sure I would have been as strong. I've tried speed/brisk walking before when I haven't felt well and can't imagine doing it for 13.1 miles.
The bright-side is that you got a lot of cool pictures along the course and I'm glad you had a good cheerleader there for you and to put nutella by your bathtub. I hope you felt better later that day but I guess I will have to wait to find out (cliffhanger!)

I have to mention that those were some pretty cool death star balloons the ladies had

 

[Ariel484]

Wow, what a rollercoaster you were on! I'm so sorry that you got sick but you are TOUGH!! You have to feel like a bad@$$ after that. Glad to see you had a smile on your face in some of those pictures. And you kept your legacy status! Woohoo!!

What is up with the corral jumper and the protester??!?!? I have no words.

 

[dis_or_dat]

You get major props for powering through with your stomach rebelling. Is Mouseplanet the same as Free Candy from Strangers? I got red vines (by the way, red vines >>> twizzlers) from Strangers with Candy and didn't see the photo-op thing. I was really looking forward to 501st Legion and they didn't disappoint. That was so sweet of your husband to draw you a bath, well deserved!

 

[cavepig]

Way to go powering through, being sick is the worst, running on empty takes so much effort so way to Rock it & finish! Protestors.... that's nuts! I can't stand corral jumpers either, I yelled at one similar to you at the Jan 16 marathon, and she slinked off to hide. She actually smashed me when she jumped over the railing & she could have cared less, I was sick and seriously wanted to punch her. I'm looking forward to the 501st or whomever shows up for Darkside. Great pics, thanks for sharing!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

So sorry to hear the morning started so awful! You always look so cheerful to me. Love your race outfit! Skirt is awesome and I'm assuming the tank is something Star Wars related! I'm ruining all chances at a friendship, I know! Glad your hubby got his jacket. So nice to see him smiling and enjoying character pics and so super sweet of him to be your chear-squad and preparing your bath! Good on ya for sticking it out and finishing the race! I'm hoping this won't be me for PHM (round two of the puke bug in my house.....)

Yes...the tank top is Star Wars related . It is the Rebel symbol. One of the shirts you could buy at the expo! My husband was my rock during this. Don't think I could have finished without that cheering!

Hope you made it through PHM without the puke bug! I've puked more in the last two months than I care to admit. I think I'm finally over being sick now though...

I know your pace wasn't probably what you envisioned when preparing for this half marathon; but I'm so proud of you for finishing it and not sure I would have been as strong. I've tried speed/brisk walking before when I haven't felt well and can't imagine doing it for 13.1 miles.
The bright-side is that you got a lot of cool pictures along the course and I'm glad you had a good cheerleader there for you and to put nutella by your bathtub. I hope you felt better later that day but I guess I will have to wait to find out (cliffhanger!)

I have to mention that those were some pretty cool death star balloons the ladies had

I've learned that pace isn't the most important thing to me. I care about finishing. It was a really long time to be walking! I need to get serious if I'm going to be prepared for Dark Side though as being sick most of February totally killed my training!

As by now you read my trip report, I did totally feel better after my mini nap! I was able to eat a fair amount at ESPN and Napa Rose without problems!

My husband was the best that day

Wow, what a rollercoaster you were on! I'm so sorry that you got sick but you are TOUGH!! You have to feel like a bad@$$ after that. Glad to see you had a smile on your face in some of those pictures. And you kept your legacy status! Woohoo!!

What is up with the corral jumper and the protester??!?!? I have no words.

Total rollercoaster! I'm glad I finished and I'm glad I was able to mentally get through it all and finish! Not sure I would have been able to do that my first year! Only 1 more year to get through and then I get my special bib! I do wonder how many of us legacy runners there will be in year 5! Star Wars Fans are crazy people so I do wonder if the initial 5 year will be more than usual. (And I better not get a spatula like the Wine & Dine folks!).

I saw more corral jumpers too...I did get a response back from RunDisney that said they are looking into it. Hopefully that guy is banned for life!

You get major props for powering through with your stomach rebelling. Is Mouseplanet the same as Free Candy from Strangers? I got red vines (by the way, red vines >>> twizzlers) from Strangers with Candy and didn't see the photo-op thing. I was really looking forward to 501st Legion and they didn't disappoint. That was so sweet of your husband to draw you a bath, well deserved!

Mouseplanet is the same as Free Candy from Strangers! I'm not the biggest fan of either red vines or twizzlers on normal days! If I wasn't feeling so bad, I probably would have partaken!

I'm glad you enjoyed the 501st Legion! They are definitely the highlight of the city running! Love how there are no lines there.

Way to go powering through, being sick is the worst, running on empty takes so much effort so way to Rock it & finish! Protestors.... that's nuts! I can't stand corral jumpers either, I yelled at one similar to you at the Jan 16 marathon, and she slinked off to hide. She actually smashed me when she jumped over the railing & she could have cared less, I was sick and seriously wanted to punch her. I'm looking forward to the 501st or whomever shows up for Darkside. Great pics, thanks for sharing!

It did take a lot of effort to power through but I'm glad I got through! I don't under people corral jumping - just accept the corral you are given! I'm glad I got a photo so I was able to send that to RunDisney as otherwise I probably wouldn't have remembered the number!

I hope the 501st is around for Darkside! Until we know what the course looks like we won't be able to figure out where they probably will be located!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

February Training Update



February Running: 8 Miles
2017 Total: 37.78 Miles

After Star Wars, I realized my left ankle is a real problem. During December/January, I noticed a new pain that was different the IT pain I’ve dealt with before on my left leg. The pain had now moved to my glute and was causing spasms as well in my left thigh shooting down. I thought about it and I realized it must be because of how I’ve probably unconsciously adjusted my form to make up for my extremely weak left ankle. Your ankle is supposed to have a side to side range of motion of about 30 degrees - I have over 90 degrees. I had to decide when I wanted to the surgery though. It needed to be after Dark Side as I don’t want risk legacy there. We’re also going to Italy in October so I need to make sure I’m healed by then as I want to be able to hike the Mountain of the Gods with my husband. I also have to worry about June in work and being able to move around since June is always our big push. What I didn’t expect was that she only does surgery on Fridays. We ended up picking May 12th as the date of my ankle surgery. I won’t be able to put any weight on it for 2 weeks. After that I will get a walking boot. I’ll probably be out of work for a few days but when I get back to work, I have to keep my foot propped up and not moving around. I think I should be able to handle that with office chairs and telling everyone they have to come to me.

Here are the photos from my MRI behind the Spoiler Tag:

Spoiler

I was sick for a good part of February and couldn’t stop coughing. The few runs I did have were painful as I could barely breathe without a coughing attack. When I finally went to the doctor, turns out I had a horrible ear infection (no clue!) and a sinus infection that was probably at least a month old as my sinuses were completely closed up. No wonder I couldn’t breathe and couldn’t run! I got on lots of meds and then immediately went to Disney the next day with my mother. The trip was good - I haven’t done a dining report or such for that yet but here are some photos:

I got home that Sunday for Disney and immediately turned around and left for California on Tuesday for work. I was little nervous on flying with my ear infection just clearing but it was ok. The trip to California was whirlwind with a supplier visit and corporate training. I got home around midnight that Friday and proceeded to sleep most of Saturday. I needed that! I finally felt well again at the end of the month and am getting serious about my Dark Side training now.​

 

[TeeterTots]

I'm such a nerd...I didn't lose my posts.....you have two trip reports! I'm batting 1000 here! Lol

Your poor ankle! I can't believe you can continue to train and run! You're tough, but we knew that!

Sooooo, PHM did not goes as planned! The 5K was a blast but Friday took a turn for the worse and I had a gallbladder attack! I was alone and didn't want to go to the ER so it set me into a panic which made my heart go crazy and set my palpitations off! Needless to say with sleep deprivation I was in no shape to run Saturday and flew home! after a heart monitor, labs and a gallbladder scan we'll see if surgery is necessary. I feel like such a loser. I'm so disappointed! I was trained and ready to conquer my first challenge! Oh well....there will be more!

Love the photos. I hope you had a great girls trip with your mom!

 

[roxymama]

I'm going to DL with my mama for the first time in over a decade so your pictures are getting me excited for that! Wishing you good luck and speedy recovery and lots of healing!!! And no more sinus infections! And lots of dark side fun!

 

[cavepig]

Here's to some good Darkside Training over the next weeks! and to staying healthy!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm such a nerd...I didn't lose my posts.....you have two trip reports! I'm batting 1000 here! Lol

Your poor ankle! I can't believe you can continue to train and run! You're tough, but we knew that!

Sooooo, PHM did not goes as planned! The 5K was a blast but Friday took a turn for the worse and I had a gallbladder attack! I was alone and didn't want to go to the ER so it set me into a panic which made my heart go crazy and set my palpitations off! Needless to say with sleep deprivation I was in no shape to run Saturday and flew home! after a heart monitor, labs and a gallbladder scan we'll see if surgery is necessary. I feel like such a loser. I'm so disappointed! I was trained and ready to conquer my first challenge! Oh well....there will be more!

Love the photos. I hope you had a great girls trip with your mom!

I'm glad you didn't lose your posts! I figured I should post my race posts both here and on my trip report!

My ankle is a constant beast. At this point - I'm planning on being slow and careful to finish Dark Side Challenge. I don't care if I end up over a 16mm for each race as I don't want to be hurt again. I'll plan on running strong for Wine & Dine 10K with my new and improved ankle!

Oh no about the gallbladder attack! I don't blame you for flying home after that! Definitely shouldn't run! Are you needing surgery? You will get a challenge done one day!

My trip with my mother was alright. I just started my dining report for it. It was rough emotionally as I had to be the adult most of the trip and the stable one. Its only 2.5 months since Steve's death so she's still grieving.

I'm going to DL with my mama for the first time in over a decade so your pictures are getting me excited for that! Wishing you good luck and speedy recovery and lots of healing!!! And no more sinus infections! And lots of dark side fun!

Hope you have a great mom & daughter trip to Disneyland! When is your trip?

I hope I get better soon - something is up with me! I thought I was finally getting better and now I'm like the puke queen. I'm so over it! I'm blaming it on the air quality around here because of the huge forest fire. It's screwed with me so hard this past week!

Here's to some good Darkside Training over the next weeks! and to staying healthy!

Thanks! At least Training this month has gone better than last so far as I've run more mileage already!

 

[roxymama]

Going with my mom and sister for Tink weekend. They'll be my personal chear squad. I'm gonna need it

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Going with my mom and sister for Tink weekend. They'll be my personal chear squad. I'm gonna need it

That's awesome! Hope you all have so much fun!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

March/April Update



Total March & April Mileage: 41.7 miles
2017 Total Miles: 79.48 miles

This will be my last update until probably August. March and April were rough. I’ve hard to come to terms that my ankle is just not strong enough for these things. I’m hoping come surgery May 12th, I can come back much stronger than before and finally improve times rather than my times getting progressively worse. I’ll have 2 weeks with no weight whatsoever on my foot and then start my weeks in a boot as it heels.

When I sprained my ankle on April 16th, it just felt like an accumulation of everything going on in the last year. I did make attempts to try to get through the races with going to a chiro and getting cortisone but in the end, my body just couldn’t run; heck, it barely wanted to walk at all. I’m sad I lost legacy for Star Wars Dark Side, but my body is more important.

I've made my plan for races. The Wine and Dine 10K will be my return to a real race. I also decided to do St. Jude's Half Marathon with some of my friends I've made through here. I figure its a smart half marathon to do before Star Wars in January. There is a really nice race time limit (6 hours) for the half which is perfect for a first half marathon post surgery and give me a great idea on how January will go.

Photos from the months:

Yoga

Alton Brown

Dark Side 10K

Dark Side Half

Plan Forward:

May 12th - Ankle Surgery!
May 29th - Husband Runs/I Volunteer at Memorial Day 10K in Punta Gorda, FL
July 1st - I should be clear to slowly start running (hopefully)
November 4th - Wine & Dine 10K
December 2nd - St. Jude’s Half Marathon in Memphis, TN w/ Cupcakes
January 13th/14th - Star Wars Rebel Challenge
February 24th - Enchanted 10K​

 

[TeeterTots]

Great photos! Here's to a successful surgery and speedy recovery to get you back racing strong!!

 

[cavepig]

Great job finishing the 10k and attempting the half in pain, that had to be rough! Sorry if I startled you at the expo when I yelled DisYoda, I tend to do that, but it was nice to say hi! Good luck with the surgery!

What was Alton Brown from?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Great photos! Here's to a successful surgery and speedy recovery to get you back racing strong!!

Thanks! 11 more days! Hopefully this fixes all the issues!

Great job finishing the 10k and attempting the half in pain, that had to be rough! Sorry if I startled you at the expo when I yelled DisYoda, I tend to do that, but it was nice to say hi! Good luck with the surgery!

What was Alton Brown from?

I'm alright with what happened. It is what it is at this point and I knew it was a sketchy option anyway.

Its ok that you startled me! I was in my little expo zone with a husband that was ready to get to the room (nevermind our room wasn't even ready) It was nice to say hello! Sorry my husband wasn't feeling social (he does that sometimes!)

Alton Brown is in the middle of his tour around the US, called "Eat Your Science" He came to Fort Myers (about 30 minutes from Naples) so we bought tickets last August for it. It was so much fun as who doesn't love Science and Food and Sarcastic Jokes? (I'm sure those people exist, but I don't know them)

 

[Sleepless Knight]

You got some great race photos from Dark Side weekend. Sorry you weren't able to finish the half, but I commend you for knowing that your health is more important. Hopefully surgery goes well and you're back out there.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

You got some great race photos from Dark Side weekend. Sorry you weren't able to finish the half, but I commend you for knowing that your health is more important. Hopefully surgery goes well and you're back out there.

Did you get your trip report posted from Dark Side?

I loved all the set ups for Dark Side and the photo opportunities! I'm actually kinda glad I'm not running Wine & Dine Half so that when my husband and I get there in the morning - I can get all the photos! I'm sure we'll get one photo together at the 10K but at the half - he'll join me for one and then I'll just do the rest. I won't feel stressed out that I have to be at the front of my corral (he doesn't worry about it like I do, but he's usually in the front!).

Surgery went well. It feels great to be off the crutches as of Friday and I can just survive in the booth for the next month!

I'm sad I lost legacy but at least with my husband keeping it up - I can see what the special stuff is and still have it in my home in 3 more years! Kinda how I feel about not getting the challenge medals for Dark Side!