Tinkerbellarella
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2008
- Messages
- 3,520
Who knew when I started this PTR many moons ago that, with only two posts under my belt, it would change so drastically! I certainly didn't see any of it coming...
Let's rewind it back a bit, shall we?
...
Acid wash and Aquanet?! Wait...is that ZZUB with hair?
Sorry, the rewind button was stuck. Moving a little further forward in time...
Ahh, yes. Here we are, just a couple of months back. As you've read in the first two chapters, my friend Jill and I were planning on tackling the Disney 1/2 Marathon in January together and, in a way, in conjunction with our co-authored weight loss blog, Fat Girls Slim.
Best laid plans and all that.
Suddenly, our work (a large, internation law firm) announced that they are outsourcing 130+ staff positions to a support center located somewhere just on the outskirts of middle America. My job was not one of those being moved. Jill's was. We were both devastated. When I tell you that this came out of left field...really, there is no clever turn of phrase that properly sums up how shocked we were.
On the positive side of things, the jobs aren't being outsourced to a 3rd party. The resource center is owned and operated by the firm.
1,200 mi. away.
They offered the 130+ employees their jobs out in Middle America if they chose to move. Or, if they chose to stay through a specific end date before being, really, laid off, they received a tidy little severence package that included some sort of bonus.
Needless to say, Jill had NO IDEA what to do. And the blog, the training, and the trip plans all took a backseat to helping her figure out what her next steps would be. Ok, not a backseat. Those plans were thumbing it for a ride.
After weeks of research, a visit to the new office, lots of emotional stress and countless 'what if's', Jill was finally able to make a decision - she's moving to Just Right of Middle America.
While I'm so proud of my bud for making a tough and scary decision, I don't know exactly how I'm going to get along without having her mere floors below me on any given weekday.
Once her decision was made and she started moving forward, I started gravitating back to thoughts of this trip, the blog, etc. I knew these things were puny in comparison to other things she has on her plate now - namely selling her condo and figuring out the logistics of moving over 1,000 mi. away. Still, the thoughts tickled and tugged and tapped. Until finally I felt it was an ok time to discuss them with Jill.
As expected, maintaining the blog, training for a 1/2 marathon and saving for a Disney trip weren't going to be feasible amidst all of the other plans that she needs to make. And so I received her blessing to pursue all three by my sweet lonesome.
After crunching numbers and checking out some different training programs, I quickly came to realize that January was no longer feasible for me. And yet, I didn't want to wait until next year's Wine & Dine.
Enter Disney's Princess 1/2 Marathon - a 13.1 mi. women-only event. Tiaras encouraged.
The more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with the idea. I'd gain almost two extra months to save for the trip, since it's a much bigger expense paying for the room solo, not to mention the 8 extra weeks of training time.
I started to get a little tingly.
I could really do this.
The excitement and motivation I felt even started to surpass that which I had when we first started planning the trip as a pair. I'd never been so looking forward to achieving something in my life. After a couple of therapy sessions and lots of deep thought, I finally realized why.
This is about ME. This is about MY DREAM. This is about realizing something I've thought I could never, ever do.
Though most of you already know this, TK and I are very, very close. We visit each other when we can, but are usually in touch on a daily basis. When she lost her mom so suddenly a month or so ago, I was profoundly touched. And I didn't realize it right away. But things slowly started to leak through the cracks in my brain. Things that said:
"LIVE your life."
"DO the things you're afraid of."
"LOVE every opportunity you have, even if you fail."
It was like the last puzzle piece was lovingly pressed into place. I wouldn't just do this for me. I was going to do this for TK's mom, who in her passing helped me to realize just how much more is out there. I'll be running this 1/2 marathon in her honor and, after crossing the finish line, will make a donation to the American Heart Association in her name. It's the very least I can do to say thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes to everything that could be.
I'm so ready to live. I'm so ready to push myself past all of these boundaries I've created so that when I arrive at the end, battered and bruised, I also arrive at the end happy and proud and able to say, "I DID IT."
This trip has become a whole new animal. It is tied so intimately to me, in a way no other trip has been. I did a week's worth of trip and training research in just a couple of days. And now folks, I'm happy to say, I'M READY.
Welcome to the Rum Runners PTR, Version 2.0.
Who: Yours truly, Tinkerbellarella
What: Disney's Princess 1/2 Marathon and, of course, some touring of Where the Magic Lives
When: February 25th through March 4th, 2011
Where: Why, Disney World, of course! (The more specific whys to be detailed in a later chapter...)
Why: TO LIVE.
How: By the grace of God and with all your support.
As I did with my September PTR, this PTR will be updated on a schedule of at least a post a week. Sometimes more, never less. While 90% of the posts will pertain directly to the planning of the trip itself (this is a TR board, by golly), there will be one post a month to give you a brief update on my training. I'm hoping to add an update as soon as tomorrow with some of my planning and training tools and the few confirmed details I have.
Some of you have expressed interest in training for and possibly joining the Princess 1/2 Marathon. Please do! While the Rum Runners were originally supposed to be a pair, it is now just one. I'm happy to expand that number to 2 or 3 or 30! Even if your trip doesn't mirror my trip, even if you just want to be there to participate in the race...heck, even if you just want to show up to cheer us across the finish line, you're welcome into the ranks of the Rum Runners. If you just want to train along with us, DO IT! There's so much to gain and nothing to lose.
Lace up your glass slippers, ladies, it's time to get our run on.
UP NEXT: Nine months of training...why do I feel like I'm preparing to give birth???
P.S. I'm happy to report that I completed my first 5K today. I finished, I survived, I had fun! I'll divulge more details tomorrow since it's more easily related to the upcoming post.
Let's rewind it back a bit, shall we?
...
Acid wash and Aquanet?! Wait...is that ZZUB with hair?
Sorry, the rewind button was stuck. Moving a little further forward in time...
Ahh, yes. Here we are, just a couple of months back. As you've read in the first two chapters, my friend Jill and I were planning on tackling the Disney 1/2 Marathon in January together and, in a way, in conjunction with our co-authored weight loss blog, Fat Girls Slim.
Best laid plans and all that.
Suddenly, our work (a large, internation law firm) announced that they are outsourcing 130+ staff positions to a support center located somewhere just on the outskirts of middle America. My job was not one of those being moved. Jill's was. We were both devastated. When I tell you that this came out of left field...really, there is no clever turn of phrase that properly sums up how shocked we were.
On the positive side of things, the jobs aren't being outsourced to a 3rd party. The resource center is owned and operated by the firm.
1,200 mi. away.
They offered the 130+ employees their jobs out in Middle America if they chose to move. Or, if they chose to stay through a specific end date before being, really, laid off, they received a tidy little severence package that included some sort of bonus.
Needless to say, Jill had NO IDEA what to do. And the blog, the training, and the trip plans all took a backseat to helping her figure out what her next steps would be. Ok, not a backseat. Those plans were thumbing it for a ride.
After weeks of research, a visit to the new office, lots of emotional stress and countless 'what if's', Jill was finally able to make a decision - she's moving to Just Right of Middle America.
While I'm so proud of my bud for making a tough and scary decision, I don't know exactly how I'm going to get along without having her mere floors below me on any given weekday.
Once her decision was made and she started moving forward, I started gravitating back to thoughts of this trip, the blog, etc. I knew these things were puny in comparison to other things she has on her plate now - namely selling her condo and figuring out the logistics of moving over 1,000 mi. away. Still, the thoughts tickled and tugged and tapped. Until finally I felt it was an ok time to discuss them with Jill.
As expected, maintaining the blog, training for a 1/2 marathon and saving for a Disney trip weren't going to be feasible amidst all of the other plans that she needs to make. And so I received her blessing to pursue all three by my sweet lonesome.
After crunching numbers and checking out some different training programs, I quickly came to realize that January was no longer feasible for me. And yet, I didn't want to wait until next year's Wine & Dine.
Enter Disney's Princess 1/2 Marathon - a 13.1 mi. women-only event. Tiaras encouraged.
The more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with the idea. I'd gain almost two extra months to save for the trip, since it's a much bigger expense paying for the room solo, not to mention the 8 extra weeks of training time.
I started to get a little tingly.
I could really do this.
The excitement and motivation I felt even started to surpass that which I had when we first started planning the trip as a pair. I'd never been so looking forward to achieving something in my life. After a couple of therapy sessions and lots of deep thought, I finally realized why.
This is about ME. This is about MY DREAM. This is about realizing something I've thought I could never, ever do.
Though most of you already know this, TK and I are very, very close. We visit each other when we can, but are usually in touch on a daily basis. When she lost her mom so suddenly a month or so ago, I was profoundly touched. And I didn't realize it right away. But things slowly started to leak through the cracks in my brain. Things that said:
"LIVE your life."
"DO the things you're afraid of."
"LOVE every opportunity you have, even if you fail."
It was like the last puzzle piece was lovingly pressed into place. I wouldn't just do this for me. I was going to do this for TK's mom, who in her passing helped me to realize just how much more is out there. I'll be running this 1/2 marathon in her honor and, after crossing the finish line, will make a donation to the American Heart Association in her name. It's the very least I can do to say thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes to everything that could be.
I'm so ready to live. I'm so ready to push myself past all of these boundaries I've created so that when I arrive at the end, battered and bruised, I also arrive at the end happy and proud and able to say, "I DID IT."
This trip has become a whole new animal. It is tied so intimately to me, in a way no other trip has been. I did a week's worth of trip and training research in just a couple of days. And now folks, I'm happy to say, I'M READY.
Welcome to the Rum Runners PTR, Version 2.0.
Who: Yours truly, Tinkerbellarella
What: Disney's Princess 1/2 Marathon and, of course, some touring of Where the Magic Lives
When: February 25th through March 4th, 2011
Where: Why, Disney World, of course! (The more specific whys to be detailed in a later chapter...)
Why: TO LIVE.
How: By the grace of God and with all your support.
As I did with my September PTR, this PTR will be updated on a schedule of at least a post a week. Sometimes more, never less. While 90% of the posts will pertain directly to the planning of the trip itself (this is a TR board, by golly), there will be one post a month to give you a brief update on my training. I'm hoping to add an update as soon as tomorrow with some of my planning and training tools and the few confirmed details I have.
Some of you have expressed interest in training for and possibly joining the Princess 1/2 Marathon. Please do! While the Rum Runners were originally supposed to be a pair, it is now just one. I'm happy to expand that number to 2 or 3 or 30! Even if your trip doesn't mirror my trip, even if you just want to be there to participate in the race...heck, even if you just want to show up to cheer us across the finish line, you're welcome into the ranks of the Rum Runners. If you just want to train along with us, DO IT! There's so much to gain and nothing to lose.
Lace up your glass slippers, ladies, it's time to get our run on.
UP NEXT: Nine months of training...why do I feel like I'm preparing to give birth???
P.S. I'm happy to report that I completed my first 5K today. I finished, I survived, I had fun! I'll divulge more details tomorrow since it's more easily related to the upcoming post.
"If only...."
Congrats!!!
