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

[chimera]

Maria!!...how ya been? glad we will get to see you at Princess. I never watched OLTL...I grew up on the CBS soaps like Guiding Light and Y&R. I do remember when Bold and Beautiful first debuted. That show had the best soap character names...Ridge and Thorne...I mean seriously

Richard...I have to admit, I didn't recognize you at first when I saw you either. Good luck on that ultra!

Jen...thanks glad to hear your DD enjoyed her 5K. Mine has expressed an interest in doing the Princess 5K again. Maybe they can run together some day...WISH team 2.0.

Debra...thanks for the suggestions, the library sounds like a good idea. There are some cool things here, but most of the excitement is over by Jackie in Raleigh/Durham. I'm on the third Game of Thrones book and have Downton Abbey and Walking Dead on Netflix. I've been watching Rosemary and Thyme, kinda like a British version of the old Murder She Wrote series, but with two horticulturists who solve murders (nearly as realistic as those soap opera names )

Jeanne...sorry I missed you guys too. My whole trip seemed really discombobulated this year. Hope you are feeling better and get things straightened out soon.

Jackie...I do like Harris Teeter. We have a Loewe's and super Walmart closer, but the Harris Teeter seems nicer. They do have something we didn't have in FL...double coupons! Now I can become one of those extreme couponers! Their e-VIC card kinda bugs me though...probably from watching too much CSI.

Rose...I thought of you this morning...I saw on another board that Raglan Road has a gluten-free breading. Tornados in Jan are pretty scary...hope everyone was ok.

Kira...I have an interest in Pilates. I need some kind of stretching I think cuz I still have a tight spot in my right hip that seems to get better with Wii Pilates. I dont know if that counts as real Pilates so I'd like to take a class with an instructor.

AFM: Braved the cold and hills this morning...neither were bad. As mentioned on FB, I am really stoked about my pre-employment labwork I first started on WISH and trying to lose weight, everything was borderline, blood sugar, cholesterol, all that stuff. My mom had a heart cath last week and got her 4th stent placed. She was diagnosed with diabetes at 43 (my current age). Her dad died at 42...wasn't the heart attacks he started having in his late 30s...it was the stroke that finally got him. Every time I read about one of those folks that dies of a heart thing on a marathon course, I wonder if I should even be out there. My goal with all these races is to prevent my family history from catching up to me so seeing normal blood sugar and an significant increase in my good cholesterol numbers is HUGE

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Maria: Training with a spouse is tricky. Butch ran the Philia Marathon with me and I was really nervous because he is so much faster. It actually worked out really well and got me a PR, so it is possible. As long as the agreement of "you can leave if you need to" is in place I think it is a good thing.

AFM: I had an awesome time doing Goofy.

Jen! Thanks for the advice. I agree, we definitely need that agreement. I think he's going to get tired of my slow pace very quickly...It will be great to see you at Princess !

Hey Ohana. Just popped in to say thanks for letting me crash your B&C meetup Saturday. I'm a sucker for their chocolate milkshakes. And having this before my race the next day didn't seem to bother me.

Hope to see you around--virtually and otherwise (I'm looking for a Feb/Mar race to do)

Maura

Hi Maura! -- If I know my cousins, they were more than happy to include you at B&C Ohana means family

Maria - I don't do 50 running miles in a week either, so I am anxious to see how this race goes for me.

I predict it will go well! And I also predict that you will come back with a great race report, and some wisdom to share. You always seem to learn something from your races, and we greatly appreciate you share that knowledge with us

Maria - We mourned OLTL as well. Still haven't forgiven ABC, and Progress Park, for AMC going away last September. It was our lunchtime escape at work, and we're having a hard time finding a replacement. We've tried Bold and the Beautiful, but just can't get into it. I didn't watch OLTL at all after AMC went off the air, but shed a tear or two last Friday anyway! I grew up with both of them, and it just seems wrong that they're gone. I've somehow managed to train with Bill for the last couple of years, even with a 2-3 hour time difference in our marathon times. We don't do our long runs together any more, but our midweek training we do with a small group of 4-5 friends. And before this past year, it was mostly just the two of us. I did get faster trying to keep up with him.

abc is indeed the evil empire I like the idea of me getting faster I hope that is the effect we'll see!

Much to my surprise, I felt great over the weekend and finished both races. I'm sure alot of it had to do with my meds, which might be considered "performance enhancing" , but my psyche definitely needed some stroking and completing both races gave me a real boost.

I am so proud of you, even if we are now going to call you "Marion Jones" I know you needed these races, and it is wonderful you did it!

Mike and I will be there for Princess!

If I do the full we will do it together, cause I really think it will be my one and only. We decide ahead of time if we are running together or separate. Most of the time Mike likes to run together. At KDF in April I will do the half and Mike will do the full. Not sure if we will do part together or not.

Mike wanted to do Goofy next year, but I promised we could come back another year so he could do it. I am still having some electrolyte problems and I really want him to be with me for my ONE and ONLY full. I feel like someone should know my weird health history!

Unless you want to do it with me Maria?

I agree Mike should run with you...because I cannot keep up with you! I love that he wants to go Goofy! Keep the marathon weekends coming

- Let the aid station volunteers do their work filling your bottles, etc. Spend your brief time (never more than 1-2 minutes) there refueling on salted potatoes, PB&J, and pizza. And soup when it gets chilly after dark. Solid food works much better for long races like this than goo and jelly beans.

The refueling items sound pretty decent -- if you're not eating them in 1-2 minutes! Seriously, you guys just training for and attempting an ultra is Amazing!

When I read everyone's bios I realized that I had left something very important out of my family description - our pets! We are the happy owners of 5 cats (although one currently lives with my oldest daughter at college), a hamster, and one crazy labradoodle puppy named Shiloh. I think Shiloh runs the house right now - he's about 7 months old and completely adorable!

I don't even remember what I wrote in my intro, but I know the pet info is out of date. We lost our beloved Worf (the kitten of wisdom) right before Christmas 2010. We have two rambunctious young cats now, Spock and Spock is at least part Maine Coon, he's a big boy at 14 lbs. and not a bit graceful. Chewie is smaller, and actually moves like a cat...They're both just over a year, and show no signs of understanding they are no longer kittens. Instead of toddler toys, we are perpetually tripping over cat toys and whatever they have decided will be cat toys.

Maria: I love, love the idea of running any part of the Boston Marathon course - which is as close as I'd ever get to the Boston Marathon. I think the pure prestige of the route would get me through the hills. Hopefully, that'll work for you, too, with some added warmer weather for incentive! And big congrats to Dennis for running with you - DOOD won't with me. 'Nuff said.

Well, we were going to run it tomorrow, but now we are getting snow overnight, so not so much. It will be a slick mess But, now the idea is firmly planted, so at some point, we're gonna do it. I actually drove up the first two hills today on my way to a meeting, and I was thinking this isn't really going to be fun running We'll see how Dennis running with me goes. I have a feeling this could be one and done

Maria!!...how ya been? glad we will get to see you at Princess. I never watched OLTL...I grew up on the CBS soaps like Guiding Light and Y&R. I do remember when Bold and Beautiful first debuted. That show had the best soap character names...Ridge and Thorne...I mean seriously

I actually grew up on NBC soaps, migrated to GH for Luke and Laura, and even flirted with CBS for awhile -- yes, I know Ridge and Thorne Forrester I guess it isn't any worse than Roc and Roe Cannon -- oh wait, those are real people....poor babies! Tell me more about this move -- I fear I missed the basics

AFM: A rest day today. Since I'm bagging the outside 10M tomorrow, I decided to go ahead and do my 12M inside. I've already taken the day off, and I should have plenty of peace and quiet. Plus, when I'm done I could even take a nap if necessary

Everyone have a spectacular weekend!

Maria

 

[Rose&Mike]

Thanks for sharing the ultra tips, John. I cannot even imagine doing an ultra, but I enjoyed reading it.

My training so far is going really well. I am more or less starting all over again, so I'm using the 5K & 10K plans from Running for Mortals to get me back in the game and ready for the Broad Street Run in May. I'm also doing a weekly Pilates and Modern Dance class to work on my core. I have completed 100% of my planned workouts so far, and that's exactly what I need right now - consistency. I've been frustrated by my lack of weight loss since the beginning of the year, despite being much more disciplined with both my food & activity. I'm trying very hard not to get discouraged, and to remind myself that this is a marathon not a sprint!

It sounds like everyone is doing a great job with their training!

Kira

Great job on getting all those workouts in! I am struggling a little with the weight this year as I am slowly ramping my miles up.

Rose: Congrats on our 8/3 and return to good health (fingers crossed). In terms of racing, I think it's very cool that Mike wants to run with you...and do the Goofy. You've definitely got some race/vacation planning to do. And hopefully enough time to figure out how to work with the electrolytes, etc. Or more important, how one does the 100-day challenge with a treadmill AND a beer. Now that's a regime that you could market!

In terms of training, I haven't really worked out a new schedule yet - just moving through the 100 days by mixing in XT with running. We travel to my parents next weekend so I didn't want to start a new, more focused schedule only to be disrupted. Excuses, excuses, I know. I need for follow the Kira model!

On the up side, I'm weaning myself away from caffeine (again) before traveling. I have to choose my chemical dependencies, and it's time for caffeine to go.

How is the no caffeine going? The good part about going off it--even a half a cup does the trick now when I really really need it! I am both happy and unhappy about signing up for the 100 day challenge. Happy in that it is getting my bootie off the couch on days when I really don't want to. And unhappy in that, I don't want to do it some days! Plus I still need to baby that foot. I highly recommend half a beer for days that you just don't wannna. Made the 30 minutes tolerable and I drank the other half at the end!

Rose...I thought of you this morning...I saw on another board that Raglan Road has a gluten-free breading. Tornados in Jan are pretty scary...hope everyone was ok.

AFM: Braved the cold and hills this morning...neither were bad. As mentioned on FB, I am really stoked about my pre-employment labwork I first started on WISH and trying to lose weight, everything was borderline, blood sugar, cholesterol, all that stuff. My mom had a heart cath last week and got her 4th stent placed. She was diagnosed with diabetes at 43 (my current age). Her dead died at 42...wasn't the heart attacks he started having in his late 30s...it was the stroke that finally got him. Every time I read about one of those folks that dies of a heart thing on a marathon course, I wonder if I should even be out there. My goal with all these races is to prevent my family history from catching up to me so seeing normal blood sugar and an significant increase in my good cholesterol numbers is HUGE

Raglan Road is one of our must visits at WDW. The g-f batter is actually really good and gets really really crispy!
I'm so glad your tests came back so well. Mike's dad died of a heart attack at 49 and all of his uncles have had heart disease. So he has worked really hard to keep heart disease at bay. It's funny cause as thin as he is, if he gains even 5 pounds his blood pressure goes up! He can get his cholesterol checked at work and for a while was going every 6 months. The guy finally told him--you're healthy. You don't have to come so often.
How are you dealing with the hills?

I agree Mike should run with you...because I cannot keep up with you! I love that he wants to go Goofy! Keep the marathon weekends coming



AFM: A rest day today. Since I'm bagging the outside 10M tomorrow, I decided to go ahead and do my 12M inside. I've already taken the day off, and I should have plenty of peace and quiet. Plus, when I'm done I could even take a nap if necessary
Maria

I think I am going to be very very slow for the full! How was the 12 miles?

*****
Afm—my foot continues to do ok. I did the 3 miles Monday, walked 30 Tuesday, did a 60 minute pool run Wednesday, and did the bike, krankcycle and rehab yesterday. My ankle is a tiny bit sore, but not swelling, so I’m going to continue to avoid physical therapy for now! If only I had my own ultrasound machine……

Tomorrow the plan is for 4-6. I have two more long runs before Princess. One is when we are visiting DS in SC, so I’m not sure what I’m doing to do. I hate to spend what few hours we have with him doing a long run. As much as I love running, I think I’d rather see him!

Have a great weekend!

 

[chimera]

Rose...can you change your days or weeks around so your LR don't fall on the days of your trip to see dS? How was yesterday's run?

Maria...DH and I don't train together since one of us has to be home with kids. We did run the WDW Arctic race together in 2010 which cured him of running for awhile

I'm not sure what the status of the Princess meet is, but some of us old-timers are getting together at DTD at 4pm on Sat. We're meeting by the carousel and anyone is welcome to join us!

AFM: I joined Debra for 8 miles on the TM today since we're having cold, drizzlies all weekend. The Nook tablet is the Best. Toy. Ever. With the Netflix app on the TM...nirvana! I have been doing R1/W2 which I can keep up forever, but my brain chafes against the slow pace. I'm going to start working back up to R1/W1 over the next few weeks.

 

[deekaypee]

Hello cousins! It's a sunny afternoon here in Pgh, and I'm out enjoying some DIS time while DOOD reads the NYTimes. I hope you've all had successful weekends with a little pleasure for balance. On today's plans are laundry and banana muffins. Feel free to stop by to help with the one or partake of the other.*

Sorry about the formatting. On the iPad again.

Mel: I didn't know your WISH backstory - or if I did, I forgot it (happens to me *more and more). That's a terrific motivation, and a great way of modeling for the kids. I also know you're aiming for 50 halfs by 50 - that's an accomplishment I won't see, unless things change considerably in the next year or two and all my travel is for halfs- but so admire you for undertaking.*

Congrats on the 8 miler! I have to say, having something like a movie to distract would make the treadmill more enjoyable. No Nook here, but some of our gym's machines allow me to plug into my iPod. I've now started season two of BBC's "Being Human" on the days I'm on the elliptical.

How does it feel to be traveling a greater distance to Disney races, btw? I know you just did it for WDW Marathon Weekend and the Princess is coming up. Has it changed your plans for doing both? I've seen you post on such things speculatively, just wondering if you've made a firm decision.*

Odd questions: Has DD joined her local Girl Scouts yet? I'm getting the calls for cookies. Or maybe those are just my cravings. And when you mentioned couponing, I couldn't help but think of Jen M-L; the queen of coupons! So, what's the quirkiest things about your new hometown so far?

Maria: I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know about Spock! I knew you had welcomed Chewie, but it's so good to know you have two to be companions to one another. Spock is about the size of our cats. Who pretend they are graceful whenever they slip off the couch: "I meant to do that."

Rose: I'm so impressed with your progress in the 100-day challenge, especially in light of your foot and continued recovery. How did the 4-6 go? I didn't realize Raglan Road had g-f yummies. We're thinking of heading there the next time we go to WDW, which just may fall over St. Patrick's Day.

About your visit with DS. Very Cool. As for preferring to spend what little time you have visiting your DS, well, you are an alien creature to me. You like your family! (Of course, if I had your family....) Seriously, though, we try to shift up the days of our LRs when we see family, as Mel suggested. It's difficult to break away...

Hello to all my cousins! Richard, and his 50 mile bike ride, John and his new cocktails, Corinna and her most recent production (Iron Horse?), Jen B and her fantastical snow sculptures, Jen and her crochet projects, Jackie and her recent 13.1 mile run, Sandi and her no-tornados (I hope) weather watch, Kira and her DD (take care of that concussion), Jeanne and her continued recovery/diagnosis, Julie and her new WO to Jillian (who I have quit more times than I care to admit), and Kathy & her possible Raleigh Rocks race!

AFM: Trying to work on some new goals for 2012. Oddly enough, I've shifted my new year to Feb. 1 since doing the Jan. races at Disney. It's just easier. In 2011, I kind of tread water - or would have, if I'd actually enter a pool - but did manage to break a couple of bad running habits and keep a stronger base than in the past. I'll take whatever small gains I made. I just need to quit focusing so much on "running from" something (stress, work) to add "running to" something *(a specific event, a PR, something).*

So, and you knew this was coming....what are your goals - whether racing events, fitness, professional or personal - this year?

I'm going to find the 100-day challenge, well, challenging this weekend.. We're spending four days with my family. And just when I need it the most. getting in exercise will be difficult. And no beer in my parents' house. *Phooey. I'm going to have to tell them I have a challenge...and then try to explain it to them. As if they don't think I'm weird enough - and as if I haven't already heard the, "Well, since you're not training for a race, you won't need to go to the gym" (i.e. take time away from the socializing).*

No caffeine, either. But at least I'm caffeine-free and feeling good right now. It was easier this time than last, maybe because I'm ready for some changes. Now if only I could kick the sweet cravings.... Any suggestions?

 

[tiberius]

Jackie - Where did you go to get the ultra shot?

John - Thank you very much for all the good information. I am sure I will be re-reading that post a few times between now and race day.

Rose - Thanks for keeping me in mind on the 4th. I am sure I will need all the positive thoughts I can get.

Maria - I will definitely try to come back with a good race report for you.

Mel - Well, I sure can't blame you for not recognizing me when I have trouble recognizing myself!

AFM - This was my last hard workout weekend as I am stuck in the middle of post-Goofy recovery and pre-Rocky tapering. I did have some mental issues where I was questioning myself during yesterday's 18.1 mile run. However, some very well-timed comments by a few friends yesterday worked to support my mental state and self-confidence. Today had a nearly 50 mile bike ride that went much better, though it is tough to ride at an easy pace when everyone else in your training group wants to ride hard--not to mention that it was a balmy 63 degrees for tiding this morning. BTW, does anyone here listen to the Run Run Live Podcast? A friend of mine who is an outstanding local runner and sports psychologist (not to mention a fine young woman) is interviewed on the newest episode.

 

[MouseDogMom]

Rose - I absolutely think walking on the treadmill with the beer counts. The rules only say you have to be active, not necessarily 100% healthy! And there has to be a reward for this, so the beer is an important component.

John - Even though I have no interest in running ultras, I loved your list. And I do plan to volunteer at our local one this spring, so it's good to get a feel for what it's like out there. Several of our group are running the one here, so I really want to be there to support them.

Debra - I'm in awe of you for stopping caffeine. I'm only an occasional coffee drinker, rarely go near soft drinks, but take the sweet tea away and I'm afraid my blood would stop flowing.

Mel - Harris Teeter seems to be more "upscale" than the alternatives. At first I was freaked out that they knew what I bought, but now I appreciate them telling me what I need to buy each week! Congratulations on the positive labs. I've been really frustrated - my total cholesterol dropped around 60 points the first year I started running, but then it climbed right back up. My family history includes osteoporosis, so I feel like I'm helping keep my bones strong, but it's also one more reason I have to work on the upper body too! It looks like I might have talked myself into Raleigh Rocks after all - after Kathy's post on FB, I started talking to my running buddy on Saturday, and she needs to do it to qualify for Half Fanatics, so I think we may run that in addition to RunRaleigh. Why do we do this?

Richard - Got my ultra shot along with my flu shot... All I have to do is think about how miserable I am at about mile 18, and any thought of running a distance longer than 26 is long gone. I'm really, really happy when I think about the 13.1 distance. And so is my body. I think we've agreed that we need to concentrate on that. At least after February 12th.

Our midweek running group had a simulation race this weekend to see how prepared we are for the 26.2 with Donna race in 3 weeks. We were supposed to run a half marathon at our goal pace. So of course when we woke up Saturday morning, it was raining. DH Bill is our unofficial coach, and he'd given us goal times based on running the first 3 miles slower and then picking up the pace for the next 7, then running the final 3 at whatever we had left to give. The first 3 were in the dark, cold, rain, and I came up with every excuse in the book to quit. Somehow managed to finish the 13.1, and apparently put forth a hard effort since I'm really sore today! But I was well ahead of my goal; now I just have to do that for 13.1 MORE miles. Ugh. And without my best running buddy to pace me. Thank goodness for pace groups.

Jackie

 

[FFigawi]

Debra & Mel - I'm sorry, but nothing makes the treadmill enjoyable for me. I hate it every time I have to use one. No matter what I'm watching or listening to, time just seems to stand still. About the only way I can get through a workout on one is to turn off the entire display, crank up loud & fast music, and get done as quickly as I can. Of course, I might have to learn to tolerate indoor running better this summer since I've heard that the most anyone can really handle outside here in July & August is ~6 miles.

Debra - have you tried raisins or other sweet fruit? That works pretty well for my sweet tooth, but I'll admit that dark chocolate works a lot better.

Jackie - great job in getting that tough run done in the rain. It's training runs like that that build up the mental toughness needed to get through the end of a marathon.

Rose - I love going to Raglan Road too. After the WDW marathon, you'll find me there or outside in the sun on the back patio enjoying my recovery and rehydration beverages.

And now to answer Debra's 2012 goals question. My goals for this year are a lot less in number than they were just a few months ago. I've gone from planning to run one half, three fulls, and an ultra in the first five weeks of 2012 to downsizing to just the Dubai marathon. It'll be an interesting challenge because there are only 1200 or so runners, no on-course spectators, and the course is a long out-and-back. Other than that, my only other event for this year is Dublin in October. I'm sure I'll end up finding a few other races to enter because if I don't have something scheduled to train for, I don't train as hard or as often as I should.

 

[Kira G.]

Hi everyone! This thread has been nice & busy! I will try to respond to everyone:

Mel - First of all, congrats on those terrific lab numbers! What an testament to the difference it makes to keep moving! And I don't have my own TM, so when I run at the gym I get "treated" to whatever is on CNN at the time, so the Netflix app sounds like heaven!

Maria - 12 miles on a treadmill - wow! I don't mind the TM for shorter runs (4 miles or less), but I start to go buggy if need to do longer runs indoors. Good work!

Rose - Great job in getting those workouts done, even with a sore foot.

Debra - I really don't think I could tolerate giving up caffeine permanently. The prospect of my morning coffee is the only thing that gets me up out of bed at 6:30 each day! And I'm inspired by you taking on the 100-days challenge. I was such a failure with that last year (I lasted only 8 days) that I decided it would be too much for me to try to take that on again this year. And thanks for mentioning my DD's concussion (she fell while skating). She took it really easy this weekend, and while she might skip dance for a few more days, she's just about back to 100%.

Richard - I took a look at your blog and I was truly amazed by how you have transformed yourself and your life over the past 4 years! So inspiring - it truly gives me hope for myself! Good luck with all your upcoming events. 18 miles so soon after Goofy is so impressive.

Jackie - Another person with an upcoming race! I'm glad the training is going well - I'm sure you'll be great.

John - I look forward to hearing all about the Dubai marathon! Wow, just wow!

I'm always afraid I've forgotten someone -if I did I'll make up for it next time!

As for me - I have successfully finished my second week back in training, and I am feeling really good. I'm noticing that even though it has been almost 2 years since I was really training for an event, and I am heavier than I have ever been in my life, nonetheless I am not back to zero with my fitness. It's a good feeling. And the scale has finally been moving in the right direction - I am down 2 pounds since the beginning of the year! I am working very hard to be disciplined with my eating, and I am thrilled to see it begin to pay off.

One really cool thing that happened this week is that my brother, 20-year old daughter, and my sister have all agreed to run Broad Street with me in May! I am so excited! I've done events with my brother before, but Hannah & Berith are new to running, and I think this will be a fun family event for us.

Have a great week!

Kira

 

[Rose&Mike]

Jen--Have fun at the Tink Race!!!! I hope you have lots and lots of fun! Get that PR for your birthday!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Jen -- What Rose said! I think I missed something -- is your birthday Sunday? If so, you share it with Oprah, which you probably knew -- as well as my soon-to-be 14 year old former baby!

Have a fantastic race, I think this is going to be just stellar! (Or first star to the right, and straight on until morning )

Maria

 

[deekaypee]

Quick drive-by to wish John and Jen good luck on their races. I'm traveling to my parents' house tomorrow - where they don't believe in the internets. I'll have limited access, so I wanted to get my in now!

And in sad news, today I bashed my little toe on furniture. It's bruised, swollen and painful - may be broken. Looks like no running tomorrow, for sure, and I'll have to play it by ear this weekend. No time to see the doc beforehand. I'll be taping it and crossing my fingers (not my toes, not for a long time. )

 

[FFigawi]

Thanks Debra. My race is over and done! I hope Jen's goes as well as mine did. Some pics are on FB, and I'll have a full report here tomorrow. Too hard to type a lot on the iPhone.

Your toe will be fine in the end. My wife breaks hers every year or two, and they set pretty well with tape and time.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Thanks Debra. My race is over and done! I hope Jen's goes as well as mine did. Some pics are on FB, and I'll have a full report here tomorrow. Too hard to type a lot on the iPhone.

Your toe will be fine in the end. My wife breaks hers every year or two, and they set pretty well with tape and time.

I missed John's race! I hope you had fun!

Debra--I hope the toe feels better!

Maria-- Jen's bday is the 31st!

 

[tiberius]

Jackie - Ha Ha! I may have to ask about that upgrade when I get my next flu shot!

John - Congrats on Dubai! I hope you get to find a few more races. I tend to train for race to race for the same reason.

Kira - Thank you for all the kind comments!

Debra - You give me farrrrr too much credit if you think I am timing my marathon to the park opening for EE.

Jen - Have a great race!

AFM - I've had a bit of a dark tapering week this past week, however I seem to have found both my mental and physical balance and am looking forward to going the distance next weekend and know that every mile will be worth my while. (bonus points to anyone who figures out where I picked up the motivation to regain my mental balance!) I managed to finally get around to posting my marathon race report, just in case anyone would like to look it over.

 

[chimera]

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

Richard...dark tapering? Hope everything is ok. We got lots of reports of bad weather out your way and I hope nothing freaky happened.

John...glad your race went well! We found a place here that does some agility training. Thinking of taking Lola for a trial run.

Debra...I second John's comment. Most little toes get better with time and tape. Just check and make sure bruising isn't running down your foot...if you've broken anything further down, you might want to have it looked at. Caffeine-free and internet-free this weekend? Wow...you are hardcore!

Kira...glad your comeback seems to be proceeding well. neat that your family is going to run Broad street with you. I'd love to have more family members involved.

Jackie...ours is not to question why DH got new shoes and is currently planning to start training sometime before Run Raleigh My amusing story about too many races... I went to Elon yesterday to help out with admissions interviews. Faculty had to introduce ourselves with educational background, research interests and a fun fact. My fun fact was that I had just finished my 20th half marathon. The whole room gasped Around here, with everyone that's a Half Fanatic and Perfectly Goofy and the like, it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I guess real people think otherwise

AFM: Weather has been great this week so I've been doing more hill work. Everyone was kind to help me on FB and I've seen some improvement incorporating their suggestions. So, 9 miles today, on hills means I'll be more trained for Princess than I was for the relay, but still way behind normal

 

[tiberius]

Richard...dark tapering? Hope everything is ok. We got lots of reports of bad weather out your way and I hope nothing freaky happened.

No worries, Mel, but thanks for mentioning it. We had heavy winds and around 5" of rain a few days back, given the dry year we had last year the rain was very welcome. Apparently there was a similar rain event while I was at WDW. As for the dark tapering, I think the stress of all the training was getting to me, plus the 50 mile mountain was starting to look too big to climb. However, I feel like I have gotten past that and am ready to take on this taper week. Then I will take Rocky 1 mile at a time and go from there. I mean, all I have got to do is to keep moving for something like 12-13 hours....right? Aftter all, that's less than my Ironman time.....

 

[Jen117]

HI! All I can say right now is... I am the worst cousin EVER! Yes, I was gone for a long time. But last year had so many up and downs and emotional turns, I didn't know where I was half the time. I am finally dragging myself back here. I feel very disconnected with you all. AND... I told you all to drag me back when if I didn't get here and no one did!!!!!

So now I need to catch up...

 

[Rose&Mike]

Congrats to Jen B!!! Looks like you are having a fabulous time! And a PR if I am not mistaken?

 

[jbucci]

Rose: Thanks for the congrats! So glad you guys will be able to make it to Princess. Can you make it for the meet on Sat?

Mel: Awesome job on tackling those hills. As I said on FB, my tact is to retreat to the TM which is kind of cheating. I look forward to seeing you at Princess and catching up a bit more. 20 half marathons is a bit deal.. I think we just forget that kind of thing around here.

Deb: I am in awe of your attempt to stop caffeine. I'm already on my 2nd diet Coke of the morning and it's barely 9:00am. I took some "Eyes on Disney" photos at DL in your honor. It was fun but you do get strange looks when carrying around ping pong balls in a Disney park.

John: Congrats on the marathon!

I had an absolutely amazing weekend. DH whisked me to CA to celebrate my birthday a few days early and run Tink. Sorry if this gets a bit long...

The first stroke of good luck for this weekend was getting into the run with Galloway. I sent my email last Friday as soon as the blog post went up, but missed out on being in the first 30 people. I was bummed, but got over it. On Monday I got a surprise email that I got off the waiting list (didn't even know they had a wait list). I was so thrilled I think I actually squealed at work. The meet was really fun. We met by the sorcerer's hat near DL Hotel and got runDisney shirts. Galloway showed up a bit late and we took off through Downtown Disney toward Disneyland. We were doing run 40 walk 20 intervals. Galloway was running kind of fast because we needed to clear the park by 7:00am before early magic hours opened. I decided that if I ran near him I might get in some cool photos, so I stayed as close to Galloway as I could and chatted with him and the other runners. There was something really awesome about running down Main Street with Galloway and no other people in front of me except the biker leader guy. We ran through DL then over to CA Adventure and ended the run just in front of the Animation Academy. After a group photo we went inside and heard Galloway speak. We also got to meet Megyn Price from Rules of Engagement, the runDisney mom Lori (who I admit I am still jealous of), the stage manager for DL park, and of course Minnie Mouse. They also let us tour the Dream Suite after the official meet. It was completely awesome!!!

The race itself was good. The expo was fairly typical for DL with nothing too special and tons of skirts and wings for sale. The swag bag was completely lame with only one Luna bar and nothing else in it. They did have nice tech shirts for the event and they were available in men's and women's cut so DH could actually wear his which was nice. They also had an impressive size swap table set up if you needed. I did break down and buy a sparkle skirt in WISH green and absolutely love it. On race morning I went to put on my Garmin only to find it had gotten unplugged overnight and was completely dead. I made due with my iphone and had one headphone for my music and another for the phone telling me my pace (cause my running mix was not loaded onto the phone). The men were not allowed to start in A or B, so I dropped off DH at C and made my way up to A. I'm not usually fast enough for A, but figured I'd take advantage of it and push my way to the stage so I could see the prerace stuff. My plan was to move back in the corral before the actual start so I did not become a speed bump for the fast people behind me. Before I could move back, I heard a male voice next to me (strange since there were no men allowed in A). I turned and it was Sean Astin who played Sam in Lord of the Rings! I was so excited!!! He was a really nice guy and we chatted about music on our running mix, GPS watches, his training for the LA marathon and how his little girls wanted him to dress in fairy wings for this run but he declined fearing he would look like a freak. He graciously let me take a picture with him and the race started. The weather was really nice and the course was a bit more residential and less industrial feeling than the DL Half. On course entertainment was ok but felt sparse at times. DH caught up to me at mile 6 and we stayed together for a mile with me going too fast and him too slow, so we split again at that point. I managed to PR with 2:07:58 and was really happy. I got my free massage post race and waited for WISHers. DH also got a PR with 1:44:59. I quickly realized that with all of the Tink green going on you couldn't really see WISHers. Standing in the sun after pushing hard for the race started to get to me, so I bailed and went back to the room to shower. We had a celebratory breakfast at Goofy's kitchen and spent the day in the park. Perfect!!

The trip home was interesting. We flew out of LAX at 6:30 and were amazed by the traffic on the road at 4:00am. We were supposed to have a brief stop in Denver then stay on the plane and continue to PHL. We got to Denver early and the gate was not open yet, so the plane was pulling off to the left to be out of the way and wait for the gate to open up. We all suddenly felt a big THUD kind of like if you accidentally backed your car over a trashcan left in the driveway. Our plane had hit a giant light post with the wing and knocked the whole thing over. We were all fine, but because it hit the wind near a fuel line the entire plane was quickly surrounded by firetrucks. It took a while for them to decide it was safe and get buses for us. We had to exit via stairs and be bused to the terminal. To their credit, Southwest had another plane waiting already and we took off without much delay. When we got home I had an email from the "Proactive Customer Service Communications" department apologizing for the "unexpected disruption" on our flight.

It was a really awesome weekend. Today I plan to celebrate my actual birthday by doing laundry and catching up on work. I'm looking forward to Princess in a few weeks, but not sure how to top this one.