Team 'Ohana--No One Left Behind: The Continuing Adventures

[corinnak]

Mel - Sorry, I'm no help for Wine & Dine planning. I think it would be great to do another Ohana Mini-meet during Marathon weekend, though it can be tough to find a time in amongst all the races and other meets. I'm planning on Friday night @ POP with dinner to follow at the food court. Also, I assume there will be a Monday Morning meet? Do we want to commandeer the Beach Club wine bar on Saturday afternoon once again or do something different? Polynesian again for the Ohana photo? Other thoughts?

Richard - Oh yeah, the park tickets - it makes sense to do the Friday, from that perspective.

I just registered for another Half Marathon - the Monster Dash on October 30. I just need to squeeze in one more before the end of November to qualify as a Half Fanatic. Problem is: There are no Half Marathons in Minnesota in November. I'm so not kidding! There is a trail half in the middle of October that I've always wanted to do, so I may do that one. Or I may continue to be a Half Fanatic Wanabe.

 

[tiberius]

There is a trail half in the middle of October that I've always wanted to do, so I may do that one. Or I may continue to be a Half Fanatic Wanabe.

I love trail runs! Good luck with the scheduling! Whether or not you technically qualify, you are no wannabe in my book.

 

[FFigawi]

Mel - Sorry, I'm no help for Wine & Dine planning. I think it would be great to do another Ohana Mini-meet during Marathon weekend, though it can be tough to find a time in amongst all the races and other meets. I'm planning on Friday night @ POP with dinner to follow at the food court. Also, I assume there will be a Monday Morning meet? Do we want to commandeer the Beach Club wine bar on Saturday afternoon once again or do something different? Polynesian again for the Ohana photo? Other thoughts?

Since I'm running Goofy again, I'd vote for taking over a bar on Sunday instead of Saturday. Last year, I spent part of the afternoon at the Irish pub in DD and then went to the tequila place up the street (which I think is gone now ), so I've got no problem with meeting at a bar.

 

[MouseDogMom]

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

We were very tempted Wednesday night... our Galloway group has apparently just become an official member of the Disney Running group, and therefore has 2 entries into any Disney race, including those that may already be sold out. Our assistant leader dangled Wine & Dine in front of us... However, since I'm struggling to get trained for MCM, I don't think it makes sense to try to run a half marathon while doing that. But I can't say that DH and I didn't look at each other for just a moment...

DD is waiting to hear on an internship in Indianapolis for the spring semester, and if she gets it, we intend to go back and run the Indy Mini-Marathon again. Probably wouldn't repeat, but if she's there anyway, and the internship would be with the committee that does all the Festival activities for the month of May. Keep your fingers crossed for her! There are many, many reasons that we would like for her to get this.

Corinna - Simple solution. Raleigh has a wonderful half in November. Come see us!

Jackie

 

[FFigawi]

Jackie - you're in Raleigh? Got any free time at the beginning of November? I'm going to be at UNC for a week and would love to meet up, go for a run, etc.

 

[MouseDogMom]

Jackie - you're in Raleigh? Got any free time at the beginning of November? I'm going to be at UNC for a week and would love to meet up, go for a run, etc.

Great! I'll be back from DC on the 1st, and nothing on the calendar other than the City of Oaks Marathon on Sunday the 7th. I'm not running it, but DH is. Would love to get together when you're here!

 

[jbucci]

Jackie: sending good thoughts for your daughter, I hope she gets it. I hope your training for MCM is going well.

Corinna: there is a nice half in Philia in Nov, Butch and I are doing it you'd be more than welcome

I'm up for a repeat of last year's meet. sat afternoon worked well for us but we can be flexible. John, the bar was tragically closed at the time, we just sort of took over the space.

We are gearing up for the RnR Half in Philia this weekend. I'm pretty psyched about the race, here's hoping it goes well. I do have to grumble a bit about Disney.. They were at the expo and offering cool looking backpacks if you signed up for a race. We told them we were signed up for pretty much every race they offered and would love a bag. She not very politely said "you need to sign up today to get it" and did not really interact with us at all. I was polite but a bit miffed that she was not even apologetic. I think I'll wait to sign up next year so I can get some of the perks too.

 

[FFigawi]

We are gearing up for the RnR Half in Philia this weekend. I'm pretty psyched about the race, here's hoping it goes well. I do have to grumble a bit about Disney.. They were at the expo and offering cool looking backpacks if you signed up for a race. We told them we were signed up for pretty much every race they offered and would love a bag. She not very politely said "you need to sign up today to get it" and did not really interact with us at all. I was polite but a bit miffed that she was not even apologetic. I think I'll wait to sign up next year so I can get some of the perks too.

I'm not impressed with how Disney is handling their events this year either. I feel like a fool for signing up so early after seeing all the gift cards and other goodies they're handing out now. They taught me my lesson well - don't sign up until late summer in order not to miss out on the goodies.

Sorry the bar was closed. We'll find a way to fix that this year.

 

[chimera]

Since I'm running Goofy again, I'd vote for taking over a bar on Sunday instead of Saturday. Last year, I spent part of the afternoon at the Irish pub in DD and then went to the tequila place up the street (which I think is gone now ), so I've got no problem with meeting at a bar.

LOVE Raglan road!

Corinna...there are lots of halfs down here in Nov


We could meet on Sat for lunch or a snack. I'm not really sure how to eat before this race. Definitely not Mexican or Chinese!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey Cousins!

Just wanted to do a quick shoutout to let you know I'm back from Denver...I have way too much work to do at work and home, so I probably won't get to do a real post until later this week. I hope all the race plans are coming along nicely, I'm going to bite the bullet and register for Princess soon!

Oh, and can I just say running in Denver was quite the challenge?! I can't believe the difference in my ability to breathe! I am not used to "thin air", and it showed!

Maria

 

[tiberius]

Maria - I've always heard that about altitude, and I know that many pro athletes train in areas like that, although I've never really been at high altitude to see for myself.

Mel - You can count me in for a Saturday get together, either meal or snack will work for me and I'll schedule anything else around it, which is pretty easy since I have no special Saturday plans until race time.

JenB - Good work on your Philly half, even if you did miss your PR by a bit you still beat mine (you speed demon!!!).

Corinna - Good luck in finding a later year half marathon. There are plenty in Texas around then when the weather is favorable here.

 

[corinnak]

Thanks for all the half marathon suggestions/invitations. I was going to say that after this summer I was all traveled out. Which is definitely true. But now it turns out I have to travel in October for a very unexpected, last-minute, probably crazy wedding. If I don't make it to Half Fanatic by next September/October/November, I may have to pick one of those farther afield races, but for now....I'm just going to try to get through the next month in one piece.


John- I totally agree with you - seems like they're encoraging the "wrong" behavior here, and definitely makes me think about hanging back in registering for races more even than I already do. I can see why they're doing it. I just don't think it's smart to leave the early registrants out in the cold.

Maria - Welcome back!! I am trying hard to remember my "altitude" experience. I feel like I ran somewhere once where it was a factor, but now I think maybe I was making that up! Oh yeah. I remember now. Charlottesville for DH's class reunion last year. Not super high mountains, but more than I'm used to in MN, SD, FL, CA and even MA. I definitely felt the extra challenge. It didn't stop me, but it did slow me down a bit.

I'm not registered for Princess yet either. Partly because maybe I'm hoping they start handing out gift cards or other promotions for registering.

Jen - Congratulations on your half this past weekend! Too bad it was a warmish day. That can make a big difference. Glad you had a good time, anyhow!

Richard - given the nature of your office, it sounds like your USDA visit was probably a cake-walk. A non-discriminatory-cake-walk, that is!

AFM - I started swimming lessons on Saturday mornings (same time as the kids) and while it is called a "stroke development" class - in stark contrast with their "diabetes prevention" class...(ba dum bum) it was me and a guy who needed to start with learning how to float. Fortunately they had two instructors available somehow and the one was able to give me some good things to work on right away.

I ran 7 yesterday, in spite of the fact that I couldn't find my ipod at all. At all. And I have a back up that I also couldn't find. Yup. I decided that rather than this being a direct result of some personal flaw, it was the universe telling me to run without music today. Eh, it was fine. Nice day for it. I should be all set for a 10K in 2 weeks, if I ever get around to registering for that one.

And today I went to Body Pump class for the first time in, oh....MONTHS. It was a really full class and there weren't any of the smallest weights for the bars, so I was making do with the medium and large. It was OK - probably better to go too light the first time back in months anyway. I feel like I kept my strength up OK over the summer, but some of the muscle endurance that class builds was slipping.

Tomorrow is picture day at one of the schools - I'm volunteering to help out. Not sure if I'll be fixing stray hairs or managing groups of kids or what, but it is sure to be...well, maybe not an adventure, but OK.

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

 

[tiberius]

and while it is called a "stroke development" class - in stark contrast with their "diabetes prevention" class...(ba dum bum)

I'll admit that I had to read this twice to "get" it, but you'd think people would put a little more thought into naming some things...

Seriously, Corinna, congrats on the swim lessons. Maybe before long we might even be able to drag you over to the Tri Thread Group!
...and I think a goal of making through the month in one piece is a great one; it's certainly more ambitious then the days where I just want to make it to the end of the day.

 

[chimera]

John- I totally agree with you - seems like they're encoraging the "wrong" behavior here, and definitely makes me think about hanging back in registering for races more even than I already do. I can see why they're doing it. I just don't think it's smart to leave the early registrants out in the cold.

Agreed. I was also hoping for something along the lines of the Coast 2 Coast medal for completing all 3 of the halfs at WDW this year, but nada so far. I'm thinking about skipping Donald for 2012 and saving the cash for Princess. It's the same course and I have the chance to maintain a 'Perfect Princess' streak.

Maria...I tried to run when we were in NC. It was sadly amusing. You are hardcore for running in Denver!

 

[FFigawi]

John- I totally agree with you - seems like they're encoraging the "wrong" behavior here, and definitely makes me think about hanging back in registering for races more even than I already do. I can see why they're doing it. I just don't think it's smart to leave the early registrants out in the cold.

This is one area where they could learn from the Rock n Roll races. They offer early registration discounts, and the price of the race goes up every few months after the initial registration period. That's one way to get more people to sign up early and feel good about it.

Now that we've got you swimming, maybe we can get an Ohana tri relay team going some time. I'd be happy to handle the run if Richard can handle the bike.

 

[corinnak]

Mel - I think that would have been a nice gesture, but probably something they would have started promoting earlier in the year. Like that bonus medal for the fall races last year. I did read somewhere that they will allow this year's wine and dine to count toward a Coast to Coast next year. I like the idea of you being a Perfect Princess!

John, I'm not sure I like the idea of making Disney races MORE expensive over time - cause you know it's not that they'll be giving a discount when you register in January...

Now that we've got you swimming, maybe we can get an Ohana tri relay team going some time. I'd be happy to handle the run if Richard can handle the bike.

Wait a second - I say I'm taking swimming lessons in which the other person in the class is a guy who can't swim at all, and you want to put me on a relay team as the swimmer? I seriously have a lot of work to do in this department, but I'll ask anyhow: do you have a particular race in mind?

Richard - I will admit to having lurked a bit on the tri-thread already. Reading about IMFL vs. IMWI....Ocean swimming vs. hills (I know what they call the hills on the Wisconsin course)...

 

[FFigawi]

Wait a second - I say I'm taking swimming lessons in which the other person in the class is a guy who can't swim at all, and you want to put me on a relay team as the swimmer? I seriously have a lot of work to do in this department, but I'll ask anyhow: do you have a particular race in mind?

No, nothing in particular in mind. Just throwing it out there as a possibility as a way to get together and have fun. Plenty of time for you to take lessons and for us to make jokes about how well you stroke.

 

[corinnak]

Stroke Jokes???? - Forget it - I'm out!!!

 

[chimera]

Stroke Jokes???? - Forget it - I'm out!!!

kinda reminds me of an ancient Billy Squire song

 

[jeanneg]

Jen and I HAD to stop for this one, for obvious reasons!

Oh, I just LOVE that photo!

Hi cousins.....remember me? Can I come back? I see our family has grown a bit....a big welcome from the "original" Ohana team captain!
Many of you are among my FB friends and know that to say this has been a busy year, is very much an understatement! Two of the three weddings are over and the last is next month. However, what has taken most of my time recently has been moving my 92-yr-old MIL from TN into a senior living community this month. Since everything she had was so old, we decided to buy new rather than pay to move the old, so I spent weeks getting her new little apartment furnished and ready for her. Unfortunately, she is not doing well with the transition and we think she may be better served by an assisted living arrangement. So I'm sure we'll be moving her again in the near future.

Right now, I am very much looking forward to the Wine and Dine event next weekend. We will be 5 relay teams (myself, hubby, all 4 kids and their respective siggies, but we are all mixed up!) We are wearing specially made shirts, so unfortunately this will be my first ever event without a WISH shirt. Fear not.....although we will have the same shirt in 5 different colors, I made sure to grab the lime green one! And I promise to wear my WISH visor. We have tried to make each of the teams equally handicapped by pairing a slow person with a speedy one. I am hoping that my team won't be last because we are all talking smack and DLF won't cut it for this race. Obviously, I haven't had much time to train, but I have been doing a little bit on the sly and am happy to report that I did my last 5 mi in 1:00:45, which comes out to a 12:33 pace! It's amazing what some friendly competition will do to you! I am so looking forward to seeing lots of my WISH/Ohana buddies there. We probably won't make any of the organized events - we will have 2 WDW virgins, so they have busy agendas - but I will look for all of you around the start/finish line. I'm not sure what the back of our shirt is going to say, but when I find out, I'll let you all know......please give a shout out to me and my family when you pass us. (still gotta beat the Greek!)

Sorry, I have not read all that I've missed in the last 4 or 5 months. I hope all is well and nothing earth shattering has occurred in your lives. I hope to show up a little more often now that my life is slowly coming back to normal.
Love my Ohana cousins!