Up Where They Walk, Up Where They Run: Going the Distance with Disney & My Dissertation (comments welcome!)

[SheHulk]

Ah, a fear of mine has somehow made it to my journal… that my students will start using bots to write their papers.

fr what in the heck is this

Sad to say I read it to the end... and I had been starting to worry if there was something wrong with the person halfway through. Hope a bot doesn't help you with the actual writing if you do bite

 

[WillRunForPizza]

I mean, good news is if your students start using bots/"services" like that, it'll be really easy to tell...

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Just got back to my hotel after 15 nonstop hours in HS and then at MNSSHP! It was a hot one and then a wet one. But I had fun!!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

@DopeyBadger I just successfully changed my Goofy registration to “just” the marathon. So now I’ll have the 5k, 10k, marathon, and castaway cay that week— I know my training plan won’t change but just wanted to let you know. I’m feeling really good and relieved because I REALLY want to succeed at the marathon, and I think this will be much better for my feet.

Had a great weekend at Disney— trip report coming soon. Running around AoA was awesome!!!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Week 2 MW Training
MW Training Runs Completed: 8/9 (89%)
17.2 miles (4:24:00)

Monday 9/12
Steps: 9198
Sleep: 7 h 50 m

Planned: 2 miles easy/LR, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 2 miles easy, 30:27, 75:30 intervals, 15:12 pace (T+D 119)

Mile 1: 15:16
Mile 2: 15:07

It was nice that it was cooler out. I wore my new shoes (Topo Phantom 2). A review said they were like Altras and Hokas combined which is my dream shoe. They felt great when I put them on and then there was a little discomfort on the run. Part of that is because they were rubbing a small cut I have below my ankle. Will need to continue testing them.

Skipped strength/core because tired. I had basically resigned myself to not doing strength this week because it would be very busy.

Tuesday 9/13
Steps: 3961
Sleep: 8 h 48 m

Planned rest day. I slept more but was exhausted still for some reason.

Wednesday 9/14
Steps: 10,276
Sleep: 9 h 44 m

Planned: 2 miles easy/LR, 31:50, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 2 miles easy, 30:14, 75:30 intervals, 15:06 pace (T+D 134)

Mile 1: 15:15
Mile 2: 14:58

I didn’t get home from work until late, and I had to do this run in the dark. My DH ran with me to help me feel safer. I skipped music and was able to talk pretty easily during the run. Wore my headlamp.

Thursday 9/15
Steps: 10,685 (5.1 mi)
Sleep: 7 h 9 m

Planned: 3 miles easy/LR, 47:45, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Did not complete (skipped).

I was v. sad to skip this run. I could have gotten up early to run before work, and I suppose I should have. I was wanting some semblance of rest before my trip, though, and my Weds run was at night so I felt like I had just ran. I was planning to run when I got to Disney, but that plan was thwarted by a delayed flight and thunderstorms. I knew I would be getting a lot of walking/time on feet the next few days so I’m not feeling too guilty.

Friday 9/16
Steps: 21,312 (10.2 mi)
Sleep: 5 h 37 m

Planned “rest” (park!) day. After way too little sleep, I was at the parks from 8 am to midnight! DHS + MNSSHP.

Saturday 9/17
Steps: 26,235 (12.6 mi)
Sleep: 5 h 13 m

Planned “rest” (park!) day. Another night of not enough sleep. I was at Universal (both parks) from 8 am to 9:30 pm.

Sunday 9/18
Steps: 15,817 (7.7 mi)
Sleep: 8 h 59 m

Planned: 3 miles easy/LR, 47:45, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 3 miles easy, 46:43, 75:30 intervals, 15:33 pace (T+D 152)

Mile 1: 14:52
Mile 2: 16:46
Mile 3: 15:03

I didn’t have anything until MNSSHP at 4 pm so I was able to catch up on some sleep. I woke up around 9 am, slowly got ready, ate a mediocre fruit cup, and then went on my run around Art of Animation/Pop! My feet were feeling sore from all of the heavy park days, and I had a slight pain in my left heel at the start. But once I started running it went away.

I had so much fun on this run, stopping to take pictures with everything. It was a great way to explore the resort. The loop around the lake is about 1.3 miles, so I started with that and then did some of the resort paths (skipped the Cars section bc no thanks sorry not sorry) and cut across the Skyliner entrance path to finish with another half loop around the lake. I dressed like Ariel and a girl told me she loved my running outfit. I said, “Ariel wanted legs so she could go running, right!?” Another highlight was I saw a black cat at Pop. Spooky season!


(Image description: Sign with map of running trail.)


(Image description: “Character stop” selfie with King Tritan and Sebastian.)


(Image description: “Character stop” posing with Ursula.)


(Image description: Me posing with Prince Eric statue, looking longingly at my man.)


(Image description: “Character stop” posing with Ariel.)


(Image description: “Character stop” selfie with Goofy.)


(Image description: “Character stop” selfie with Ray.)


(Image description: End of run watch picture denoting 3 miles in front of Ariel art on building.)


(Image description: Massage chair with text: RunDisney tip… the arcade at AOA has massage chairs LOL. Also this is no longer accurate info because literally the next day I saw that the massage chairs were gone and the floor was being ripped out of the AOA arcade… who knows if they’ll return.)

Totals

Run
Planned Mileage: 10 miles
Total Mileage: 7 miles
Planned Time: 2:39:11
Total Time: 1:47:00 (according to Strava)

Other
Walked a total of 35.6 miles this weekend around the parks!

Overall, a good week! My feet are definitely feeling the impact of the parks. I don’t think it’s the walking necessarily that gets me… it’s the standing in line. It hurts my lower back too. For MW I’ll need a plan to avoid lines, I think.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Spooky Season Trip Report
Thursday, September 15

The morning started off as all of my Thursday mornings do— teaching a class. After teaching was done, I headed to the airport straight from work around noon. I had some Zoom meetings from 1-4 pm, and my flight was at 4:30 pm so I knew the timing was bad. My plan was to get to the airport early to do my meetings there. This plan was fine, but the Columbus airport is LOUD. I had never really noticed before.

My flight got delayed about an hour. Once in the sky, it got delayed further and we had to circle around for a bit because of thunderstorms in Orlando. We finally landed, but then my luggage was delayed because of the lightning. My good friend who lives in Orlando was picking me up from the airport, but we had bad service so it was hard for me to communicate with her. Finally she found me, but then we got lost trying to get back to her car. Thanks, Mercury retrograde!

By the time we were finally leaving the airport, it was like 9 pm (we should’ve been out of there by 7 pm). Luckily, we could still go to Disney Springs for dinner as planned because they are open so late. We went to Raglan Road, which was fun and delicious as always. I love watching the performers. We then made a quick stop at my favorite store- Sugarboo- where I got a birthday present for my neighbor and some little spooky accessories (a light up pumpkin wand and a skeleton doing camel pose).

She drove me to Art of Animation and dropped me off. It was almost midnight and I had to wake up at like 6:30 am so I knew my run was not happening. My neighbors, who I was meeting there, were already asleep but since we had a Lion King suite I didn’t disturb them when I got in. I LOVE Art of Animation and the Lion King suites. The aesthetic is perfection. I was so happy to sleep in the Murphy bed with the beautiful Simba painting above me.


(Image description: Weird pig metal art at MCO.)


(Image description: Selfie of my friend and I in front of a Bono portrait lol. We got stickers from one of the dancers! We felt special.)


(Image description: A portrait photo of my sticker in front of Raglan Road. It says I met the dancers at Raglan Road.)


(Image description: A light up sign at DS that says Fall into Magic at Disney Springs.)


(Image description: Pumba and Simba decor. Pumba was giving me the same vibes as the metal pig from MCO (but much cuter). I don’t get stared down by artistic renditions of warthogs often, so it’s weird that it happened twice in one night.)

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Spooky Season Trip Report
Friday, September 16
Part One: Hollywood Studios

I’m going to try something new and tell this story in pictures!

The day started bright and early, waking up just before 7 am so we could start making Genie+ reservations. I slept like 5 hours but got great deep sleep which always happens at Disney for some reason. It must have been because of the cute sleeping Simba art above me:


(Image description: My murphy bed with sleeping Simba art.)

Of course, the Disney app was down and would not let anyone log in. I forget what time it finally started working again, but I feel like it was at least 20 minutes later. Thanks, Mercury Retrograde. Once we were in, we made a Tower of Terror reservation and a ILL for Rise.

We finished getting ready and headed to the Skyliner. Today would be a lot of firsts for me, and I was starting with my first Skyliner ride! I loved it.


(Image description: Selfie in the Skyliner!)

We transferred at CBR and then were at DHS before we knew it! I don’t think I have been to DHS since 2011, so I was pretty excited.

We had our Genie+ to ToT but when we arrived the line was v short and I wanted to experience the full queue because… shameful secret… I had never ever ridden ToT. I don’t generally like drop rides because I don’t like not knowing when I will drop, so I was too scared for this ride as a kid. But I am 32 now and older and braver. And I love the aesthetics. So we got in line and changed our Genie+ reservation to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad.

I LOVED ToT. It was so fun! I didn’t expect to go along the track at the beginning. And it was more of a bounce than a drop. So so fun. I can’t wait to ride it again during MW. And the aesthetic was perfection.

Afterward I bought a pin to commemorate my first ride— it was ToT themed with Pluto. The shop also had a pair of NBC ears I had been eyeing on eBay!

Outside the area there was a bellhop CM and I asked him for a picture. He went to take a picture of me and was v surprised when I said I wanted him to be in the picture. My neighbors informed me that he was not a character stop like I thought he was


(Image description: Me and the bellhop who was not a character stop but honestly should be look at that pose!)


(Image description: Selfie of me with my new pin.)

I forget the order of everything for the rest of the day, but I think we headed to our Runaway Railroad reservation next. Sadly the ride broke down while we were in line and we gave up waiting. We were hungry so we went on a mission to find a Mickey pretzel. There was a Mickey pretzel shortage!!! Mercury retrograde strikes again. After visiting like four different kiosks we finally found one with fresh pretzels… and it was worth it. So yummy. We found some shade because it was HOT and I enjoyed my pretzel and the energy drink I brought.


(Image description: Potrait photo of Mickey pretzel.)

After this we went to the BatB show which… lol. Belle is my favorite princess and the performers were fine but there was a 3 year old behind us who was very confused the whole time and honestly I cannot blame them. The pacing of the plot could use some serious work… but I thought it was hilarious how it exacerbated everything that is wrong with BatB (Stockholm syndrome, etc.). At one point I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. Plus they sang my favorite songs (Belle and The Mob Song) so really I loved it.


(Image description: Belle and the Beast reading.)

Next I think we had a reservation for RnRC. When I was a kid my dad took me on this ride and I SOBBED in the line because I was so scared. Clues I had anxiety disorder that were overlooked… c’mon parents! But I was brave and did it and loved it. I still loved it today.

I definitely can’t remember the order of everything else so I’ll just talk through other highlights of the day:

Shopping. I love shopping at Disney. I am not proud of it. I found the Winnie the Pooh Halloween pins I wanted.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad. Eventually this opened back up. It was so cute and fun but I need to have a conversation with Mickey about putting Pluto in his TRUNK at the beginning. Mickey, dogs do not belong in car trunks. Luckily Pluto seemed to have survived because he was at the picnic at the end. I just thought this ride was adorable… it was fun, I liked the storytelling, the waltz scene was super innovative.

Indiana Jones show. This was fun to watch! It was PACKED. The set cameras reminded me of the movie Nope.

Frozen show. Ummm this was amazing. The actors were hilarious and the kids around us were adorable. I’m not a huge Frozen fan but was laughing so hard.

Rise of the Resistance. So I am definitely NOT a Star Wars fan… sorry not sorry. I just can’t get into it. I think my heart is too full of fandoms already. But my neighbor loves this ride so she got us ILL. We still had to wait a long time to get on the ride because it was down for most of the day so once it was up there were so many people with unused ILLs. I think the standby wait got to over 3, maybe close to 4, hours. Although I am not a SW fan, I thought this ride was very cool and can see why people wait for it if they are fans. My favorite part was the CMs. They were awesome at their roles. After we got blue milk and it was delicious. I also liked that the CM was in character here too… she used a word different than money but I forget what it was.

We had a Genie+ for Slinky Dog but missed the window because of a line being longer or something.


(Image description: Mirror selfie of me and my outfit. Pink Crowned Athletics skort, villains tee that was like $8 at Target.)

After a fun day of rides, shows, and shopping, we headed to the bus stop around 3 pm to go to MK for MNSSHP. At one point we had considered going back to the hotel to rest and change but ultimately decided against it. This was a lesson I want to take with me to MW: plan less than you think you’ll want to/be able to do mode.

On our way out we saw Chip and Dale having a picnic!


(Image description: Me watching Chip and Dale have a picnic.)

I should also briefly state that I got Magic Band+ for this trip. While the band was super cute (the four parks one), I’m not sure what the point of this upgrade was. Sometimes it would buzz but I didn’t know why and couldn’t figure it out.

As soon as we got to the bus stop it started POURING rain. But we were gratefully under the shelter roof. We waited quite awhile for the bus but I was enjoying sitting there vibing with the tunes and trying to stretch.

Update on the rest of the day soon!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Spooky Season Trip Report
Friday, September 16
Part Two: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

We took the bus from DHS to MK, and as soon as got off it started POURING. Luckily I had brought a travel disposable poncho that I had bought for MW but thankfully never had to use then. It was sad that it was raining so hard because I didn’t get to see everyone’s costumes. I was glad I hadn’t put much prep into mine. We had to wait in a semi-long line to get in, and then it was a little chaotic getting our wristbands. I grabbed some maps, that wouldn’t be too useful because of the rain, and we headed in!

We went to the right instead of down Main Street for some reason. I had never walked that way. We got some candy (I got an allergy coin that I never ended up “cashing”), and then we hit up some rides because MNSSHP hadn’t officially started yet. We still had Genie+ from DHS so we were able to get a reservation for Haunted Mansion. A perfect start to MNSSHP! The ride stopped for a few minutes while we were chilling with the hitchhiking ghosts.


(Image description: Memento Mori shop sign. My favorite thing in all of Disney.)

After HM (or maybe before… my timing is fuzzy) we rode the tea cups! My neighbors had never ridden them. I love them. So fun.

At some point we also ate dinner because all we had all day was the Mickey pretzel… mistake. Idk what the place we went to was called (I think it was in Tomorrowland) but I do know it gave me the grossest vegan burger of my life. Fries were good though.

We got a Genie+ reservation for Peter Pan and I continue to be confused about why people intentionally wait over 10 minutes for that ride.

The rain continued for the rest of the night, and once it got closer to 6 there were no lines for anything. We walked onto Splash Mountain. I can’t wait for the Tiana remodel by the way! We also walked onto Big Thunder Mountain— twice in a row! I sat in the back row and because I was by myself I was sliding from side to side. So fun. We also waited like 15 minutes for Mine Train, which I don’t think I had been on before. Also fun. We also did Magic Carpets which was a blast.


(Image description: Selfie of me living my best life on Big Thunder Mountain.)

We met some characters too. I met Jafar which was a very short line (like 3 people). He freaks me out… not going to lie. Too tall. And staring down at me. Unsettling. I showed him that he was on my shirt and he clapped for me when I left so I guess I got his approval. We also met Jasmine and Genie. That was a longer line, and it switched between Aladdin/Abu and Jasmine/Genie every 30 min. I wanted to meet Aladdin but honestly both are great. I asked Jasmine what her Halloween costume was and she said she wanted to be a tiger like Rajah and wear cute little ears.


(Image description: Me and Jafar)


(Image description: Us with Jasmine and Genie.)

At some point the neighbors and I split up because I wanted to wait to meet Eeyore, Pooh, Tigger, and Piglet in their Halloween costumes. Pooh characters + Halloween is the absolute best. The line was way too long… at least 90 minutes? One reason for that is because you meet all of them together they take a break every 30 minutes. But it was so worth it. I told Pooh that I teach his book. I told Eeyore that he was my favorite and Tigger and Piglet got sad. I said Tigger, your energy level is too high for me. Then I told Piglet I did empathize with and love him. If I go to MNSSHP again I want to dress as Eeyore in his Halloween costume.


(Image description: Eeyore giving me the best hug of my life. Whenever I am sad I will look at this picture.)


(Image description: Me and the Pooh characters looking our best!)

After we got some disappointing snacks and then watched the Hocus Pocus show and fireworks. Because of the rain the Hocus Pocus show was greatly cut down, and the Jack Skellington puppet was missing from fireworks. Our fireworks view was also not great but I enjoyed the show. To end the night we found some curb spots on Main Street for the last parade, but there was an announcement that the parade was delayed. Since we knew we were coming back Sunday and had an early morning the next day (and had been going hard at the parks for like 15 hours at that point), we called it a night and headed back to the resort.

Overall, a packed, rainy, but good day!


(Image description: Portrait selfie of me in front of the lit up castle.)

 

[Naomeri]

Magic Carpets in the rain is the best thing! On my first solo trip, that was the first thing I rode in Magic Kingdom (probably because it had a short line and I was tired from travel) and it was pouring and just totally magical for some reason.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Spooky Season Trip Report
Saturday, September 17
Universal Studios

We woke up bright and early again and took a scheduled Lyft to Universal. My neighbors had never been, so I was very excited to show them around. I LOVE Harry Potter— probably more than I love Disney— so Universal is one of my favorites.

We had two-park tickets but the scheduling was weird because of Halloween Horror Nights. So we started at Studios because it would close first. We had Express passes which I am grateful for, since I had to wait in long lines for the two non-Express rides later in the day. We started by making our way to Diagon Alley, pausing to enjoy the spooky decor along the way.


(Image description: Me in front of some spooky decor. Yes, I am a proud Slytherin (is there any other way to be one?).)

It was very cool seeing their faces as they walked into Diagon Alley for the first time. It’s so neat how Universal makes it truly feel like you’re entering another world… even the temperature seems to change. We started by getting some breakfast at The Leaky Cauldron because we had learned our lesson about not eating from the day before. It was overpriced but yummy. Then we did Ollivanders, rode Gringotts, visited the shops, and got some butterbeer… my absolute favorite. A highlight for me was getting to see the Three Brothers puppet show, which I hadn’t experienced before. It was really cool!


(Image description: Dragon breathing fire on top of Gringotts.)

Before leaving, I decided to get a wand because I never had (although I do have a wooden wand from Alivan’s that I have had since I was 12) and I wanted a cool wand picture with my tattoo.


(Image description: Picture of me holding out my wand in front of Hogwarts. A tattoo of Expecto Patronum is on my forearm. It was worth getting a wand for this pic.)

The bad thing was that the Hogwarts Express was down. This is like two rides being down, and it also made switching parks a bit of a pain. You could still go in and get your picture taken walking through Platform 9 3/4, which was new for me too. The line was a bit of a wait but it was cool.


(Image description: Magically walking through the wall.)

We did a few other rides as we made our way out of the park and toward IoA. Simpsons, Men in Black… we wanted to do Mummy but it was an hour wait and didn’t allow express passes because it was a rehearsal something I don’t really know. My neighbor got a beer in the Simpsons area. We also went through the special Halloween store which was very cool. The Tribute Store, I think it’s called.


(Image description: Selfie with my new zombie bestie.)

My feet were killing me by this point and we had to walk all the way to IoA. Once we got there, we went to Poseidon’s Fury because a friend of mine from undergrad is the actor in the show. He told me to let the workers know I was there to see him, but no one I talked to had any idea what I was talking about and they put me in the wrong show which was frustrating. I tried to get back in line but missed him again so I gave up. We then made our way to Hogsmeade and rode Hogwarts which was basically a walk on with our Express Passes. We also did the small coaster. Around this point the day started to take a negative turn. Hogwarts messed with my neighbor’s stomach, but she felt okay enough to do the Jurassic Park water ride. This was fun but there was a guy filming it and a person came over the loudspeaker during the climb up before the big drop yelling at him to put his phone away. I don’t think he spoke English, and he completely ignored her. It took me out of the moment. While we were on this ride, it started raining and thundering really hard which meant that most rides closed down. IoA is not a great park for rain, as most of the rides/queues are outside and there are few places to seek shelter. We wanted lunch but because of the rain everything was packed. After having an entire evening of rain the day before, we were quickly demoralized by it. Eventually we made our way to an Italian quick service in the superhero area. It was good for me, but it made my neighbor sick.


(Image description: Us in our ponchos being sad about the rain.)

Since neither of my neighbors were feeling awesome between motion sickness and the food, I decided to head to the Velocicoaster line by myself while they rested. It was still raining but the thunder had stopped so I was optimistic that the ride would start running again. While I was in line, they decided to leave and head back to the hotel so I was on my own for the rest of the evening. I didn’t really mind— I like doing my own thing. I just felt bad that they didn’t feel well.

The posted Velocicoaster wait was like 50 minutes but it did not take that long. The queue moves pretty quickly. The queue is also AWESOME. In addition to the theming, it uses a cool locker system that is a great improvement on the locker situation elsewhere in the park. While waiting in line, I was contemplating going to HHN. We didn’t buy tickets for it because haunted houses aren’t one of my neighbor’s things. Honestly, I’m not sure they’re my thing either— I hate jump scares— but I loved what I had seen of Halloween decor. I researched the event but ultimately decided not to do it because it seemed like it would be A LOT more walking and my feet were killing me. I was also just kind of being a scaredy-cat, haha. Ultimately I am happy with my decision but hope to return to HHN in the future. I’d love to do the lights on behind the scenes tour.

I got on the Velocicoaster and it was AMAZING. Definitely the smoothest thrill coaster I have ever experienced. The lap bar was really good too— it felt like I’d fly out but was obviously safe. So great.

I then headed to Hagrid’s Motorbike which is my favorite ride ever. It had a 90 minute wait, which was accurate. This wait was not as fun because I didn’t have service during a lot of it. The person in front of me was watching the OSU game on his phone so I told him I am a Buckeye. He was in a group of 3 and asked if I wanted to be their 4th for the ride. This worked perfectly because his partner didn’t want to ride the bike side and I did. I love how it feels like you are zooming on a real bike on this ride… so so so fun.

Also, I hid my wand in my shorts for the ride because I didn’t want to use a locker. I felt like I was hiding a weapon lol.

By the time I got off this ride it was dark out and Death Eaters were roaming Hogsmeade. I got another butterbeer and a “gillywater” and waited in line for the Dark Arts Hogwarts light show. The organizational system they have for this is not ideal. It was claustrophobic and anxiety inducing. But I really enjoyed the show and even teared up a bit when it looked like Hogwarts was on fire. It took me back to the DH2 movie poster with that scene.

(Fun story: I was at a HP convention for the release of DH2 at universal. We got to see the movie early in City Walk with all fans— it was literally sobs the entire movie which was so surreal— and we got to go to the park after hours for just us. I met John and Hank Green for the first time in Hogsmeade then!)


(Image description: Hogwarts light show.)

It was like 8:40 at this point and the park closed at 9, so I made my way to Velocicoaster for one last ride. There was another person by herself near me in line so we chatted. She was from Australia. One perk to doing parks by yourself is getting to interact with strangers. The line moved relatively quickly again, and it was fun to do the ride at night. Next time I think I’ll wait for front row— they closed that queue right before I got to it.

My feet were sooo sore as I walked out of the park. I was desperately thirsty and thought I would save money by getting a free large water from Starbucks. I did save money but had to wait forever for a cup of water. I got a Lyft back to the hotel, and the dining area was still open so I got a snack (pretzel— not as good as my Mickey pretzel from the previous day) and some more water. My neighbors were asleep once I returned, which made me grateful we had the suite because I did not disturb them at all. Another magical day!


(Image description: Me posing in front of Hogwarts.)

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Spooky Season Trip Report
Sunday, September 18
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party round 2

It was so lovely to sleep in after two nights of very little sleep! The blackout curtains in the Lion King suites are fantastic. I woke up around 9 am I think and there was hardly any light in the room. My neighbors went to the food court for breakfast and brought me back a fruit cup. I had 3 miles to run, and they decided to go to Disney Springs for lunch and shopping. I planned to meet them there after my run.

I realize I never clarified who I was traveling with— my next-door neighbors, Nikki & Katie. They also have four dogs and love Disney (and runDisney— they did Dopey last year). We were meant to be neighbors— and friends!

I wrote about my run in detail earlier, but it was so fun! I love love love Art of Animation. After my run I was HOT and just sat in my room before mustering the motivation to shower. I decided to forgo Disney Springs so I wasn’t in such a rush. As I mentioned in a previous post, a lesson I am taking away from this trip for MW is to plan less than I think I should. I took a shower and got some lunch in the food court. Pasta and breadsticks… yum. I don’t think I ate any non-beige food all weekend. Oops. After lunch I took a NAP! And I struggled to wake up from my nap but eventually got ready and made my way to the bus stop and MK!

The line situation for MNSSHP was pretty similar to Friday’s, except this time instead of rain it was HOT. It was nice to see everyone’s costumes. Once I got in, I went straight to the Jack and Sally meet and greet line. I got there at 4:15 pm, and it was already a 2 hour wait. I shouldn’t have pressed snooze! Oh well. The queue for the line was inside so it wasn’t so bad. And the people around me were lovely— there was an especially nice family behind me. Once we got close to the front, someone near us said he had never even seen NBC (he was in line for his wife). I joked that he could have watched the entire movie while waiting in line, which was true lol. That was one missed moment with the line— there was no Halloween music.

After two hours, I made it to the front and met Jack and Sally! The wait was worth it. The actors (ahem, I mean Jack and Sally) were very very good. They both liked my outfit and we talked about the eerie atmosphere at the party on Friday with the rain.


(Image description: Showing my skirt to Jack and Sally.)


(Image description: Posing with Jack and Sally.)

Next I met up with my neighbors and we rode Space Mountain which had no wait. The ride was completely dark for MNSSHP which was fun. Since we had done so many rides on Friday, I didn’t have any priorities there. We went to Main Street to shop next. I got a villain spirit jersey, the 50th Mickey t-shirt which I have basically been living in since the trip, and a Halloween pin. I was hungry but the neighbors weren’t, so we split up again. I had the vegan slaw hot dog from Casey’s which was pretty good. It was sooo packed and there was nowhere to sit though which stressed me out. After eating it was time for the Hocus Pocus show, so I went outside to watch. I didn’t have a good view at all— too many children on shoulders and balloons. But I realized we had missed A LOT of the show on Friday because of the rain. Like basically the entire thing. Once the show was over people started clearing out so I booked it through them and found the perfect curb spot in front of the castle for the parade. It was nice to sit down. I had hoped the neighbors would find me but I guess it was chaos and they ended up leaving early since they still didn’t feel too well.


(Image description: Selfie with Zero and a Mickey pumpkin.)

The parade was AWESOME. The headless horseman came through and while I don’t feel great about using a live horse for the show, I did think it was cool. And the guy whose job it is to clean up after the horse was hilarious. I loved the Boo to You song and having a front row seat to the characters.


(Image description: Snow White and Dopey. I took this picture for y’all— you know how I feel about Dopey haha. Snow White complimented my Zero which was nice. Sorry for always being mean to you girl.)

My absolute favorite part of the parade was the ballroom dancers. One of the actresses did this thing where she was in front of her partner and pretended to plead “help me!” to the audience but then rejoined him and faked a smile. It was spooky perfection!!! I wish I had gotten it on video.

After the parade I made my way to the front of the castle for Hocus Pocus round 2 and fireworks. I sat on the ground while waiting which was apparently a mistake because there were a lot of roaches crawling around. I don’t think I had ever seen a bug at Disney before! None of them got to me but there were a lot of squeals from people around me.

I think Fireworks was first. They brought out the Jack puppet tonight which was very cool.


(Image description: Jack with his arms raised in front of the castle and fireworks. He is saying, “Happy Halloween!”)


(Image description: The castle with fireworks and Ursula imagery depicted on it.)

I stayed put for Hocus Pocus after the fireworks— it was only a 20 minute wait. The view was much better this time. What a great show! I’m so excited for the sequel.


(Image description: The Sanderson sisters.)

Hades and Maleficent were my favorite villains in the show.

After the show I couldn’t decide what to do. The only ride I hadn’t been on that I love was Pirates, but I decided to skip it for this trip. I was going to leave, but decided to sit down on Main Street for one more parade. I knew I would be tired the next day regardless of if I stayed an extra 45 minutes or not so I just went for it. I’m glad I did because Powerline Max came out and they sang Stand Out! I didn’t get to see that in my previous spot. They had people come dance in Main Street but I was too tired so I just enjoyed watching. It was cute though.

I was really hoping to see the girl who did the “help me!” thing but didn’t see it. I did, however, get chosen by Pluto! Or at least that’s what it felt like.


(Image description: Pluto came right up to me!)

I decided to head out after the ballroom dancers passed by to try to beat the exit crowds. It was nearing midnight, and I had to be ready for our Mears bus at… 3:45 am lol.

It felt really sad to leave MK. Halloween at Disney is my favorite, and I had been having a blast.


(Image description: See Ya Real Soon pumpkin lights over the exit archway.)

By the time I made it back to AoA and showered, it was 1 am. I finished packing up my last things and then said goodnight to Simba one last time.


(Image description: Sleepy selfie with sleeping Simba art.)

Travel home was uneventful. Our Mears bus was on time, and we didn’t have any extra stops. There weren’t many lines at MCO so we got to the gate quickly. I ended up paying to get A1-A15 boarding because I desperately wanted a window seat and I had one of the last boarding spots. It was worth it because I was able to sleep on the plane with my window seat. We landed in Columbus at 9:30 am, I changed and brushed my teeth, and then drove straight to work where I taught two classes! Lol I don’t know why I do this to myself but in this case it was worth it. It was a whirlwind of a weekend.

This week, I have been understandably tired and my legs have been sore from all the walking. But I’m already dreaming of my next Halloween trip! Thanks for reading! Boo to you!

 

[azrivest]

then drove straight to work where I taught two classes!

After spending the night at MNSSHP, I am truly impressed

 

[HangWithMerida]

Wow! Home and back to work in the same day. Impressive!
Halloween is so fun at Disney. It’s been years since we’ve had a Halloween trip but I’d love to do it again. Maybe once the kid has graduated.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Week 3 MW Training

MW Training Runs Completed: 13/14 (93%)
32.2 miles (8:06:00)

Monday 9/19
Steps: 7,500
Sleep: 3 h 19 m

Planned rest day. Lol @ my sleep. That was including both the hotel and plane.

Tuesday 9/20
Steps: 8,184
Sleep: 10 h 40 m

Planned: 2 miles easy/LR, 31:50, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 2 miles easy, 30:09, 75:30 intervals, 15:03 pace (T+D 137)

Mile 1: 14:50
Mile 2: 15:16

Wednesday 9/21
Steps: 11,012
Sleep: ??? (watch charging)

Planned: 3 miles easy/LR, 47:45, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 3 miles easy, 45:33, 75:30 intervals, 15:10 pace (T+D 156)

Mile 1: 15:03
Mile 2: 15:14
Mile 3: 15:12

Hot hot hot. This was the first run I really did not want to do but did it anyway. Ran with Rosie. Pain in feet.

Thursday 9/22
Steps: 7,220
Sleep: 8 h 27 m

Planned rest day!

Friday 9/23
Steps: 6,685
Sleep: 9 h 42 m

Planned: 2 miles easy/LR, 31:50, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 2 miles easy, 29:16, 75:30 intervals, 14:36 pace (T+D 105)

Mile 1: 14:37
Mile 2: 14:36
Went too fast today but it still felt easy. Hooray for a lower T&D? And look at those mile times! Consistent queen lol. I ran with Rosie again. I put Superfeet in my shoes and they helped a little bit but I’m still not sure if I like the shoes.

Saturday 9/24
Steps: 10,131
Sleep: 8 h 40 m

Planned: 3 miles easy/LR, 47:45, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 3 miles easy, 44:19, 75:30 intervals, 14:46 pace (T+D 124)

Mile 1: 14:29
Mile 2: 15:08
Mile 3: 14:39

Ran with Rosie again.

Sunday 9/25
Steps: 14,537
Sleep: 8 h 36 m

Planned: 5 miles easy/LR, 1:19:36, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 5 miles easy, 1:14:01, 75:30 intervals, 14:48 pace (T+D 122)

Mile 1: 15:22
Mile 2: 14:43
Mile 3: 14:33
Mile 4: 14:26
Mile 5: 14:55

Today has been kind of stressful and I didn’t want to do this run but felt fine once I got out there. DH and Rosie did the first mile with me. It rained for a little bit but felt nice.

The finale of my favorite show (Big Brother) was tonight and it was surprisingly great. As a BB fan I am very used to being disappointed but tonight I was not!

Week Total

Run
Planned Mileage: 15 miles
Total Mileage: 15 miles
Planned Time: 3:58:47
Total Time: 3:42:00

Other
Nothing, lol.

Overall, my legs and feet have been feeling the walking from my trip last weekend. This weekend I felt less motivated or excited about my runs but didn’t skip any which I’m proud of. I didn’t do any strength though, which I hope to get back into next week.
I am a little concerned that I am consistently going faster than my prescribed easy pace but I feel like I am going as slow as I can. I feel like the only way to slow down by a minute per mile would be to extend my walk break. I don’t feel strained by the runs at all and could definitely keep going at the end.

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

I am a little concerned that I am consistently going faster than my prescribed easy pace but I feel like I am going as slow as I can. I feel like the only way to slow down by a minute per mile would be to extend my walk break. I don’t feel strained by the runs at all and could definitely keep going at the end.

That is what I do to slow down as well. Insert longer walk breaks. Otherwise, I feel like you change your gait too much....

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Deleted: double post

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Week 4 MW Training

MW Training Runs Completed: 18/19 (95%)
52.9 miles (13:14:00)

September: 41.8 miles (10 h 25 m)
October: 11.1 miles (2 h 49 m)

Monday 9/26
Steps: 8,368
Sleep: 7 h 47 m

Planned: 3 miles easy/LR, 47:45, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 3 miles easy, 44:38, 75:30 intervals, 14:52 pace (T+D 104)

Mile 1: 14:45
Mile 2: 14:50
Mile 3: 15:02

Wasn’t feeling great today but felt better in the evening so I got this done. Was trying to beat the sunset and just barely made it. Less foot pain tonight.

Tuesday 9/27
Steps: 4,243
Sleep: ??? (watch charging)

Planned rest day. I was very tired after work.

Wednesday 9/28
Steps: 11,514
Sleep: 9 h 49 m

Planned: 1 mile @ WU, 8x100m @ R (9:24) w/ 2 min RI, 1 mile @ CD
Completed: 3.5 miles, 49:58, 14:15 pace (T+D 102)

WU: 1 mile (14:44)
8x100m totals: .5 mile (8:33 avg pace)
8x2 min RI totals: 1 mile (15:33 avg pace)
CD: 1 mile (14:59)

I am feeling physically & emotionally blah this week but tried to embody the spirit of @DopeyBadger & pretend that didn’t exist. I had hoped to do this workout at a track but ended up just running around my neighborhood. I found a low-traffic area where I could run in the street for the 100m parts which felt safer to me because the sidewalks can be uneven.

I set up the run on my Garmin so it would alert me for everything which was a neat feature. The only bad part was it meant I didn’t have my interval alerts for the WU/CD miles. It wasn’t too bad to just look at my watch for those but they did get a little off. Next time I’ll bring my GymBoss timer.

For the WU I tried to stick to my 75:30 intervals.

Here are my times from all of the 100m intervals. I was supposed to go 9:24 pace but honestly I have no idea what that feels like and am apparently very bad at pacing myself. I went too fast. If anyone has suggestions for this I am happy to have them. I did set my watch to tell me if I went too fast/slow outside of 9:00-9:30 I think but by the time it would alert me the 100m was basically over. I like running fast even though I feel like a beluga whale trying to run down the street while doing so. (No offense to beluga whales— you are majestic and awesome. But maybe not suited for running.)

View attachment 707478
(ID: 100m run interval times.)

For the 2 minute RIs, I walked 30 seconds, slowly jogged 1 min, then walked 30 seconds. This felt doable and I had more then caught my breath for the next 100m. I realized after the run that I only needed to do 7 of these— the last 100m would be followed by the cool down— but I had set up 8 in my workout accidentally.

View attachment 707479
(ID: 2 min RI times)

For the CD I did 75:30 intervals again.

After I watched Survivor and The Amazing Race. Maybe one day you’ll see me on a CBS reality competition show… *dreams*

Thursday 9/29
Steps: 2,446
Sleep: 6 h 54 m

Planned rest day! I was grateful for it because my dog had a seizure at 3 am which made for very poor sleep on my end. I was exhausted all day.

Friday 9/30
Steps: 9,234
Sleep: 9 h 53 m

Planned: 3 miles easy/LR, 47:45, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 3 miles easy, 44:36, 75:30 intervals, 14:52 pace (T+D 108)

Mile 1: 14:52
Mile 2: 15:06
Mile 3: 14:38

Ran with Rosie. Was super sweaty on this run.

I watched Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2 and enjoyed it very much!

Saturday 10/1
Steps: 9,242
Sleep: 8 h 11 m

Planned: 4 miles easy/LR, 1:03:40, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 4.1 miles easy, 1:00:00, 90:30 intervals, 14:38 pace (treadmill)

Mile 1: 14:44
Mile 2: 14:17
Mile 3: 14:35
Mile 4: 14:32

The extra .1 was an accumulation of distance at the end of both classes (.06 the first one, .04 the second).

I did this on my Peloton treadmill because I needed to stay home with my dog and there was an impending storm that I didn’t want to get caught in. I did Olivia’s 30 minute Taylor Swift Red run bc it is October first and Red is the epitome of fall. I took a 5 minute break to check on my dog (he cries all the time now, it breaks my heart). Then I did Matty’s 30 minute Disney run.

I ignored their cues and just did 90:30 intervals (which is 15 seconds longer of a run than I normally do, but the treadmill is supposedly easier… emphasis on the supposedly… and it was also just easier to track when the walk breaks were this way). Most of my runs were at 4.4 and my walks were at 3.2-3.3. For the first 7 minutes, I had a bad knee pain on the outside of my left knee that made me really nervous. I didn’t think I would be able to run. I changed the incline from 1% to .5% and sped my run up to 4.5 from 4.2 and then the pain magically disappeared, thank goodness.

Great playlists on both classes! And I know I should use my treadmill as little as possible but it was nice to use it today since I am paying for it/my Peloton membership haha. It was a nice change of pace. When I first got the Peloton it was sooo wobbly, but I got a thick rubber mat on Amazon and now it’s a little wobbly on the walk but not too bad and fine on the run. Much better. I hate the smell of the rubber though.

On a side note, I got Dreamlight Valley on the Switch today. I am not much of a video game person but I love it so far. Although I really need to use play time as a reward for getting work done because I am behind on everything.

Sunday 10/2
Steps: 15,771
Sleep: ~ 8 hours

Planned: 7 miles easy/LR, 1:51:26, 75:30 intervals, 15:55 pace
Completed: 7 miles easy, 1:49:23, 75:45 intervals (mostly), 15:37 pace (T+D 107)

Mile 1: 15:09
Mile 2: 15:52
Mile 3: 16:53
Mile 4: 15:11
Mile 5: 15:36
Mile 6: 15:29
Mile 7: 15:11

I changed my interval alerts to 75:45 to try to make my average pace closer to my prescribed easy/long run pace.

I didn’t start this run until like 5:30 pm because I slept in then was working on my dissertation. Since it was long, I decided to do it at the local run/bike path. Usually this path is crowded, but I guess because it was a windy Sunday evening, there was hardly anyone there at all. During mile 2, I started to feel bad. I was dizzy and shaking and had no idea how I would do 5 more miles. I thought I was sick or something but then realized I was having an anxiety attack. I took an extended walk break and figured out how to share my location with DH. Through mile 3, I slowly started to feel better and was able to run again by reversing my intervals to 45 run, 75 walk. Then I finally was okay and switched my intervals back to normal.

View attachment 707480
(ID: Horse on path ahead. I took this picture when I was not feeling well, and I was worrying that I was hallucinating the horse. Assuming you see it in this picture, it was real.)

My foot pain started around mile 4. It was bad for a little bit. I stopped to take a picture and then it was more muted for the last 2 miles afterward. Right now the pain is in my right foot ball of foot area/middle toes. I have dealt with this my whole life sadly.
It started to get a lot darker during the last mile so I planned it to be in the downtown area of my town.

I was meant to practice nutrition during this run. I ate two salt chews and 3 honeystinger energy chews plus drank about 10 oz of water about 20-25 minutes before the run. Then during the run I drank 16 oz of water + liquid IV and ate a single energy chew every mile (with 2 at mile 6 for no reason except I had 2 left). I found myself craving some plain water but otherwise this worked well for today. I didn’t get the stomach upset with the honeystinger energy chews that I had been getting when eating clif bloks on the run.

View attachment 707481
(ID: Selfie. Still smiling.)

Total

Run
Planned Mileage: 20.4 miles
Total Mileage: 20.6 miles
Planned Time: 5:21:05
Total Time: 5:08:00

Other

Nothing again, lol. Hopefully I can get my life together this week and do some strength/yoga.

I wrote about this in The Running Thread, but I ran 41.8 miles in September, which is the most I have ever run in a month before. I am a little embarrassed by that but also feeling proud of myself! And I can’t believe October will basically double that distance (granted, I didn’t run the first week of September at all for ChiTri recovery). I feel like I have momentum and am really enjoying the set up of my plan so far.
My legs have been feeling consistently “heavy”— not quite sore but I can feel that I have been working them. I am noticing, though, that as soon I start running that feeling dissipates. Strange but I’ll take it. I remember back in my ice skating days whenever I was very sore I was usually able to work through it by skating more. Seems counterintuitive, but I’m sure there’s science there.

I have also been dealing with some negative body image struggles but am trying to ignore that voice in my head.

Overall, I have never ever been this consistent with a training plan before and am really grateful to @DopeyBadger, this community, and myself (haha) for helping get me to this place! October is both my favorite month (I’m a Halloween girl) and also the anniversary of a traumatic event in my life, so I sometimes I have a hard time with it. I am hopeful that having this plan will help with my mental and physical health.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Have some problems with posting- here’s the pics that should be in the previous post.


100m run times


2 min RI times


Horse or hallucination?


Selfie.


Found a Mickey!

 

[NYC_MW]

kudos and props to being so consistent amid tough mental and circumstance times! sending hugs to your dog
and yes, the horse is real

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Here are my times from all of the 100m intervals. I was supposed to go 9:24 pace but honestly I have no idea what that feels like and am apparently very bad at pacing myself. I went too fast. If anyone has suggestions for this I am happy to have them.

I have the same problem - all I can say is it gets slightly better after you've practiced the pace a few times. If anyone has better suggestions I'm also here for them.

You're doing great! I'm so impressed with how you face all of these challenges and keep going. I hope your puppy is feeling better