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2016 New Balance runDisney Collection Released

January 4, 2016

Many of my obsessed runDisney friends (who shall go unnamed) and I have been impatiently waiting for the news that was finally released today from runDisney and New Balance.

On December 18 we were teased with a Tweet from New Balance asking which characters will star in the 2016 runDisney New Balance collection. My phone started chiming with my friends asking me if I saw the clues and what did I think they would be! We couldn’t wait to find out! My guess was Dumbo, Belle and Ariel.

Photo from New Balance

But then time went on and we are just three days away from day 1 of the WDW race weekend and we were starting to get antsy jumping every time our Twitter chirped. Well, maybe I was the only one who was. Finally just before 3:00 p.m. the collection photographs were released. Again my friends were making sure I got the news. Thanks everyone!

So here they are… Dumbo, Ariel, Mickey and Minnie!

Photo by New Balance

Photo by New Balance

The Dumbo and Ariel models are Vazee Pace models, which features the neutral cushioning of the New Balance Vazee Pace shoes. There are elements of Dumbo hidden throughout the shoe, including his signature inside the shoe.

The Ariel model uses the mermaids main colors and textures to represent her signature look along with small details found throughout the shoe.

The Mickey and Minnie models are the 860v6s. View a video of the Minnie and Mickey reveal.

So how do you get your hands on these shoes? On Wednesday, January 6th at 6:00 a.m. the New Balance www.NBVirtualQueue.com will open and runners can begin to sign up with their bib number. The virtual queue will let you know when it’s your turn.

How much do they cost?

The Dumbo and Ariel Vazee Pace will be available for $124.95 for adults and $79.95 for kids.

The Red Carpet Minnie and Mickey 860v6s will be available for $139.95.

Be sure to visit NBvirtualqueue.com to get all the pdetails on reserving a pair and checking the latest announcements, inventory availability and updates.

Will you be purchasing a pair or pairs of these shoes this upcoming weekend?!

Running Goals for 2016

January 3, 2016

I have several things to talk about for my goals for 2016. But for now I will just give a brief summary of my running goals. Since this week kicks off the official week of the January Walt Disney World marathon events I will give a brief summary of my thoughts of my plans for my races and overall running goals this year.

Something that I began to include in my weekly routine is strength training. Before I started running I used to be very diligent with my weight training. So I want to make Strength training a more important element to my routine.
Next I want to add more JOY to my runs. Last Fall my running became more of a chore than my enjoyable time to myself. I was dreading my long runs. After Labor Day weekend I didn’t want to put in the time for the Marine Corps Marathon and once that race was done I didn’t want to put in the time for my Dopey training. But after listening to Dimity at the Girls Night Out event I really wanted my running time to be my play time again. So this year after my Dopey Challenge race is over I will determine what races I want to run this year and if I want to improve my finish times or my quality of my training runs.

I noticed that many of my runner friends also felt some burnout this past year. It seems that we have all participated in the same amount of runDisney races so we are at the same “mature” running age of participating in races. When you travel to these races and do as many as them plus local races it takes a toll on you. So I think we all felt like we were overbooked. Something I will think about for next Fall. It’s hard to train for a Fall marathon because the long runs do begin in the late summer and it is still very hot.

With that in mind I have to ponder the decision to re apply for the lottery for the Marine Corps Marathon to redeem myself at that race and I also want to enter the lottery for the NYC marathon. That marathon has been on my radar for many years.

So as I prepare for my second Dopey challenge and have these 48.6 miles ahead of me I will wait to decide what the rest of my 2016 racing season will look like and enjoy all 48.6 miles. The first 3.1 miles will be with my mom for her first runDisney 5K. The next 6.2 miles will be with my friend for 20+ years PK and his daughter who now live in North Carolina. And I will finish off the half marathon with Diana and Mandy will be joining us for the full marathon. And I want to enjoy every single one of those miles!!

I Am A Sweaty Bands Ambassador!

December 20, 2015

And we have special offers for you from Sweaty Bands! For the holidays you can still give the gift of a sweaty band with their e-gift cards and also get 20% off! Time is running out but you can always give a gift card!

After the holidays you can benefit from my special ambassador discount too! So if you get s gift card please be sure to check back here and follow my link for 15% off of your order!

I Am Now A Nuunbassador!

December 18, 2015

Wednesday night when I got home from a girls night out, I checked my phone and saw an email from Nuun congratulating me on becoming a Nuunbassador. I was so excited. I applied to the program in November and wasn’t sure when I would receive any type of notification. I love when I don’t check emails for several hours and then find an email with good news in it!

I used to train using Gator Ade and Power Ade; but once I was done with my run I would immediately have to run to the bathroom and had stomach problems for the rest of the day. I also didn’t like all of the extra sugars that were in the other sports drinks. I heard that Nuun is a much gentler electrolyte enhanced drink tablet from the Another Mother Runner Podcast so I tried it. There was an immediate improvement! So from now on I only use Nuun when I run my long training runs. Nuun does have a fizz to it when you first drop the tabs into water so if you want to have your water without the fizz on your run, then make the water the night before and leave the cap off. I also use Nuun before my runs to hydrate my body and prepare it for the longer training runs.

So be sure to check it out and if I receive special offers to pass to you as a Nuunbassador I will be sure to post it on my blog and via social media! So don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @pamjamer and Instagram @pamjammer and on Pinterest as pamjammer99

Goodwin Park Holiday Light Fantasia!

December 16, 2015

On Saturday of our weekend of holiday festivities, we slept in and had a leisurely morning. The kids were so excited that it was warm out they dug out their shorts and tank tops and had a picnic lunch in the side yard!

Later in the afternoon I wanted to take everyone for a bike ride since it was so warm. My husband was even able to join us, which was a real treat! But we knew it would probably be painful for him later. It was a beautiful morning and then some ominous clouds came out as we started on our bike ride.

We rode up to the Gouveia Vineyards near our house and drove through the vineyard and to the lake. It was a lot of fun for us to have him join us and to all get outside during the spring-like winter weather.

After the ride, we had dinner and my parents and brother met us at our house to follow us to Goodwin Park in Hartford for the Holiday Light Fantasia! Heidi told me she was volunteering there that night so we wanted to make sure we could see her! We were lucky she was manning the ticket booth we went to!

We were so impressed with the lights at this park! We had been to Fantasy of Lights in East Haven once or twice, but these lights blew them away. I also appreciate that the donations from the lights is going to the Channel 3 Kids Camp. If you are looking for festive things to do for the holidays, check out the three things we did this past weekend. Some are free and some only require a small donation towards charity. We went to Hubbard Park in Meriden, Goodwin Park Holiday Light Fantasia in Hartford and Gillette Castle in East Haddam.

Enjoy the slide show of the lights at Goodwin Park!

The night wouldn’t be complete without a little shenanigans. As soon as we got off the highway to head to our house I took a very quick detour to Beaumont Farms to get some photos of the new holiday decorations that farm owner put up for this year’s display.

Gillette Castle Christmas 2015

December 14, 2015

As part of our strategy to keep the Christmas Spirit alive this weekend one of our destinations on our must-do list was Gillette Castle. Before we went on our road trip to the Castle, I went for a run. When we were on our bike ride Saturday it rained on us briefly. I told my son that I love running in the rain. I told him it was so peaceful. He then told me that he wanted to go for a run with me in the rain. In the morning when I told him I was going to run he said he wanted to join me. So I made plans to do my route and then stop by the house to pick him up and we would do a mile or so and see how he felt. Surprisingly, by the time I got back to the house he had his shoes laced up and he was still interested in going!

I really enjoyed running with him. We ran from our house to the new development down the street from us. We ran together for a total of around 1.75 miles and he didn’t really complain! Running with him also made the time go by faster. My daughter is having trouble with her asthma right now, otherwise she would have been out there with us, too. When we were on our bike ride Saturday, Adrienne kicked butt and rode up the entire hill towards the vineyard without getting off her bike! She’s a badass! So I can’t wait until she can also run with us.

After our run we packed up lunches, and my parents met us at the house and we made the journey to Gillette Castle. It was 60 degrees outside, on December 13th! I won’t complain, it was perfect! We listened to Christmas music on the way there and had lunch in the car. It was perfect.

When we arrived we made a family vote to decide to skip the tour and go out onto the hiking trails instead. Last year we went to the castle and did the tour inside. This year it was unbelievably warm so we decided to skip the indoors tour and tour the grounds instead. Not much will change between last year and this year and we didn’t want to pass up the chance to enjoy the beautiful weather outdoors. The park has so many hiking trails and the last time my kids were there with my parents, my son found a “secret staircase” that lead down to a beach onto the Connecticut River. So I couldn’t wait for him to show me this “secret staircase”.

We hiked the trails, explored the beach and I checked out the Chester/Hadlyme Ferry docks and then rejoined the family on the trail to head back to our cars. The park was going to close at 4:30 and the sun was setting. On our way back to the castle I noticed someone special leaving! It was Sherlock Holmes! I’m not quite sure who his female companion is so if you happen to know, please share that information with me! I couldn’t pass up the chance to get a picture with these characters!

After the park, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts with my family to discuss our dinner plans. We decided to go to the market across the street from the coffee shop and grab some items to make a potluck spaghetti and meatball with salad dinner back at our house. The kids wanted to wrap some gifts for Kevin and I in secret and we still needed to put the train under the tree; which was a perfect task for my dad to help out with!

After dinner we all watched American’s Funniest Home Videos and called it a night. It was the perfect ending to a perfect holiday festivity filled weekend!