Last week my son told me he was feeling like he was losing his Christmas Spirit. Well I had to put an end to that right away! I think he was feeling that way because during the week we have the regular hustle and bustle of needing to be at Girls Scouts, or Cub Scouts, my working late, doing homework and this unusually warm weather we have been experiencing.
To change that up I made sure that the elves were delivering messages to them to help encourage them to feel more “Christmasy”. I also loaded up our schedule this weekend to include many holiday oriented events. Friday afternoon my mother came over and helped the kids decorate their new study room with a snowman’s face and then we hung ornaments off of the trees in the front yard to add a little more flair to our outdoor decorations.
Then after that we had dinner at Giovanni’s with my mother and brother, followed by a trip to Hubbard Park in Meriden to see the Festival of Silver Lights
I planned this earlier in the week because I knew the weather was going to be warmer so we’d be able to park the car in various locations in the park to get out and walk around to take pictures of and with the lights. We had some fun with the lights and my brother “accidentally” unplugged one of the cords that lit up a bridge. It’s not fun until you start to throw in a few shenanigans!
Tonight we will be visiting Goodwin Park and Sunday Gillette’s Castle! But not before we go out for a bike ride to the Gouveia Vineyards first on this beautiful afternoon!
Well it’s less than 30 days away now! For me, the Dopey challenge is close to half way completed 30 days from now. I will have been through Day 4 of the challenge on the half-marathon portion of the event. The funny thing is, you aren’t halfway through the mileage until around mile 1.9 of the marathon on Sunday.
The runDisney Official Event Guide is now published and has all of the information you need to know for what to do, where to go, what time the Expo takes place, when and where the kid races are, Pasta in the Park info and so much more!
What I was waiting most for was the map of the marathon course. Now that the Richard Petty Speedway was demolished that removed some distance off the course we used in the past. My friends in Team Shenanigans put together screens comparing the 2015 and 2016 course maps.
From what you can see in the Magic Kingdom portion of the course, it appears that we will be running through the castle and Towards Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and then out through the back side of the park and towards Cone Alley and the long road towards Animal Kingdom. There is also a little out and back portion in there on the way to Animal Kingdom created to make up some of the distance. I’m just grateful we aren’t making up the difference in ESPN Wide World of Sports. Although I have to say that last year it didn’t feel as long and dreadful in that part of the course as it did the two years prior.
I’m getting excited to know that in less than a month I’ll be racing in Florida. I was listening to the Mickey Miles Podcast today where Jeff Galloway was answering questions and he answered the question I had posted to the Mickey Milers Team page. I asked what to do about my training since Marine Corps was my longest distance since October and then in November I was up to 10 miles (plus the 12 i did last weekend). Jeff’s recommendation is to do a cluster of runs to simulate Dopey beginning on December 17. He said to do 3 miles, then 5 the next day, walk 7-10 the following day and then on the last day get in 23 miles with either most of it walking or walk a mile, then run with 15/30 intervals. So I am going to think about this suggestion and compare it to what I had in my mind which was to do a longer run that weekend of 15-17 miles (mostly running) and perhaps I’ll tack on the last 3 miles as a walk to get the 20 miles under my feet for the endurance. I know Jeff knows best. But many of my fellow running pals are getting training burnout. But we all know what happens when we don’t train like we should (see my Marine Corps Marathon recap).
I’m starting in Corral I and the corrals go up to letter P so that give me about a 20 minute buffer between when we take off and when the last of the pack takes off. I’m not worried about finish time with the race this year. I just want to have fun. And it wouldn’t be fun if we didn’t see the balloon ladies at the races!
I just registered my kids today for the Kids Dash races for Friday. I usually register them for Saturday based on when they fly down; but in the past that was crazy for me to rush back from the half marathon, pick everyone up at the hotel and then get over to ESPN. So it will be nice for a chance to do the 10K and then shower and head over to ESPN for their race. This is becoming a tradition that I would like to keep doing with them while I can. It’s easier to get them up for an 11:00 race than it will be to get them to a 5K that takes place at 5 a.m.!
Now I have to start putting together my costume ideas! I already have one planned with my mom! She and I are doing her first Disney race at the 5K. We have been sharing ideas back and forth from Etsy, we both have the same Minnie ears and Team Sparkle Skirt so now we have to find coordinating skirts. I have another one planned with Christina and Diana and that leaves the half and full marathons to plan for. I have to really get going to put something together. Let the fun of packing and planning begin!
Do you have a runner in your family? Or perhaps a walker? Those who participate in fitness or races? I have a few holiday gift ideas to share with you to give you some insight into what runners will appreciate for gifts.
Layers – If you live in cold areas fleece lined pants are so helpful. Target actually carries and affordable line of fleece lined tights so before you invest a lot of money for something you won’t need unless it is 30 degrees or colder, check out Target first. Under Armor is also a good brand name for getting your layers on. It’s best to dress in layers for the colder temperatures so you can take off a layer if you get too warm. But when running in cold weather, make sure you hands and head are covered. If they are warm; the rest of you will also remain warm.
Photographs – You may wonder how photographs could be a good gift, but actually, Marathon Foto offers gift certificates. When I ran the marine Corps marathon they had a special offer during the event. I knew that this race was going to be something special and like no other race that I have run before, so I took advantage of that offer.
The Gift of Flight – Airline gift cards. I use Southwest for most of my trips, but all airlines offer gift cards. So for the runDisney runner in your family every little bit helps to enable the addiction to continue to run in the runDisney races.
GPS – Garmin Forerunner 220 – This is the watch that I have and I love it! I has always been reliable and consistent. Except for when I forgot to charge it before a long run; but that was my fault. I brought a power pack and a cord with me so I could still get some use out of it for most of the run. I had to because I have come to depend on my Garmin to be accurate with my distance and my pace.
Bluetooth or wireless headphones – I don’t have blue tooth headphones yet. I use yurbuds; but that is because I use an iPod shuffle when I run and it doesn’t have the blue tooth receiver. But if you do use blue tooth (you cell phone), then you could you blue tooth headphones to eliminate the wires. I have been getting a little irritated by my wires getting caught in my hands but haven’t pulled the trigger to make a purchase of blue tooth headphones yet.
RaceDots® – Get rid of the pin marks in your nice running gear with these great Race Dot magnets that lock together to hold your race number in place. They never hurt your clothing! No more holes or rust marks in your running gear! They carry 20 stock colors plus custom designs. This is actually an item that I have not tried yet! (hint hint!)
Photo by Race Dots
Beecause Charms – My friend Kimberlee got me hooked into Beecause charms! I had seem them at races and placed a pair of crowns on my Princess New Balance sneakers; but I hadn’t considered them for my running shoes. I picked up some at the Marine Corp Marathon. Then after that I picked up one for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. While at Wine & Dine, I picked up a Dopey Challenge charm! Can you see the habit forming problem here?!
Stocking Stuffer ideas:
Hand warmers – you can always find these at Target or even Home Depot! These are great for training runs and for waiting at the start of the races to help keep those hands and feet warm!
Mylar Space Blankets – you must be wondering what the heck would we need those for? Runners get them at the end of the race. Well I actually purchase them in bulk every year or so and take them with me to my races in case the mornings are cold. You can find them on amazon.com for less than $10 for a package of 10. They are all folded up so you can easily stick them in your fuel belt to have with you in case you do need it. I used several of them for many races this year. Especially during the 5K of the Dopey challenge last January when it was incredibly windy and cold before the start! They really do help hold in your body heat and are easy to discard at the side of the start line. It’s also a smaller item to have to pack in your luggage, rather than a piece of throw away clothing.
Sweaty Bands! I am now a Sweaty Bands Ambassador and LOVE my Sweaty Bands. These make a great stocking stuffer! And with my Ambassador discount you can save 15% on your order! I have to hurry up and order this holiday design this year. It’s too cute not to purchase!
photo by Sweaty Bands
Real Time Pain Relief – This is my go to cream/lotion after and sometimes before some races. Depending on the aches or injury I am dealing with I will use this cream and it has enabled me to continue to run with less pain. It does not cure the injury but makes running while having pain/discomfort more tolerable.
iTunes gift cards – every runner has some kind of an electronic device which access music and most likely it is from the iTunes store. So iTunes gift cards will NEVER go to waste!
Amazon gift cards – When I need a last minute item for a race, I always turn to amazon, especially since we have Amazon Prime. I wouldn’t put it past myself to one day ship something from my hotel to my hotel if I needed it bad enough for a race depending on where I am staying. Amazon has just about everything you could need for running, walking or fitness. It’s my go-to place for most of the training needs.
What’s on your holiday list? Do you have any special you are asking Santa for?
Are you running the Inaugural Star Wars Dark Side Challenge in April? I am! I try to run almost every inaugural event that runDisney launches. But then that means I have to keep running them so that I can eventually earn legacy status with their special recognition.
Today runDisney launched their medal designs for the Star Wars races in April and they look awesome! I wish I were running the Star Wars challenge in January in California so that I could also earn the Star Wars Kessel Run Challenge Medal. It’s all about the BLING!!!
Photo by runDisney
There was another teaser in the email which was the announcements for the registration dates and race dates for 2016 and some for 2017. As a fellow Mickey Miler, Eddie McCoy pointed out. There is the caveat at the bottom of the list telling us to stay tuned for 2017 additional race dates. Wonder what that means!
Photo by runDisney
Which races will you be running in 2016 and 2017? I will be running the Dopey Challenge, Princess Glass Slipper Challenge, Star wars Dark Side Challenge, Tinkerbell Half Marathon and the Dumbo Double Dare. With intentions of doing Wine and Dine when registration opens.
That was a quote from Poppa, the father dinosaur from the movie, The Good Dinosaur. We took the kids to see the movie last Sunday, our last day of the wonderful Thanksgiving weekend we had. I wanted to have something fun planned for each day that we had off. It was a fantastic weekend!
The movie was full of emotions! On our way our of the theater my son and I were talking about how the movie was like Inside Out because we felt every emotion during The Good Dinosaur – sad, happy, fear, disgust and anger. It was yet another hit from Disney Pixar.
That one particular quote was said close to the beginning of the movie and as soon as Poppa said it I immediately wanted to write it down. As I thought about it over the past few days it really ties into many elements of my life. One in particular that I can recall is last December with my job. My co-worker was going on a 3 week vacation from work and we preparing me to handle all of the accounts while she was out. But she was always going to be available for me should I need to reach out to her. But this was my chance to spread my wings a little more and stand on my own two feet. I recall specifically one account with a person that Heidi worked with primarily. I had very little to almost no contact with this person and the site they worked on. Her name is Ellen. Now Ellen is one of my favorite clients to work with.
So when Heidi left and Ellen reached out to me with a question, fear set in. I was afraid of the type of work that needed to be done for Ellen’s account. I was still learning some things and wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to deliver the standard of support that Heidi delivered to Ellen. Well I did my best and was able to give Ellen what she needed (with some gentle guidance from Heidi). I pushed past my fear and learned some new things.
In my running life I have fear. Anytime I am at a race there is that rush you feel prior to the race, sometimes up to 3 or 4 days for a marathon. But I don’t know what the fear is, specifically. I always finish, so I can’t say that it is about failing. I know how to be smart about my training to avoid injury, so I haven’t gotten injured in a race. So what is the fear? Is it just part of the process when doing races? Fear to give you the edge you need to push yourself a little harder and go a little longer when training?
I know for sure, that when I have a long training run on my schedule I get anxious. I think it is the fear that I am going to be out on the roads alone for such a long time and that I am doing something that many “normal” people don’t do. But once I am done and I am showered and refueled and refreshed I do see the beauty on the other side. I have those miles behind me and I accomplished another feat.
The movie had a lot of great learning points in it. I will give a more general review of the movie in another post, but I wanted to share the point that struck me the most within the first 10 minutes of the movie.
Did you see The Good Dinosaur? What did you think of the movie?
I’m loving these mornings of sleeping late! Once again I slept until 10:00! Tomorrow I will set my alarm because we have plans to go see the movie the Good Dinosaur. But after I was up and had breakfast, I did a little work on the computer and got ready to head out for my 10 mile run. Of course, just as I was about to head out to run it started to drizzle out. I put I some rain gear and made sure my iPod was loaded up with my favorite podcasts. It was important that I got out there to do this run.
I haven’t run a far distance since Marine Corp Marathon and the Wine and Dine half wasn’t a half due to weather. I have the Dopey Challenge coming up in a little over a months and I want to put together a plan to help me manage to get though it despite my like of diligent training like last year. I had a very successful, strong 10.25 mile run despite the drizzly rain the entire time and it gave my confidence and the boost I needed to get my running strength back.
After my run I had to shower and get everyone ready to head out to Branford for the annual tree lighting parade. Kevin and Adrienne invited a friend to join them in the parade this year. When we arrived the rain had just stopped so we lucked out. While we waited for all of the floats to line up we scoped out Mrs. Clause and Santa and got pictures with them!
The parade is so much fun! My favorite part is when we head into town on Main Street and the crowd is there! There are so many people lining the streets waiting for Santa and Mrs. Clause to arrive with Rudolph so they can light the tree on the green and kick off the holiday season
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After we pulled up to the green we visited one of the churches there and enjoyed the beautiful stain glassed windows and architecture of such an old structure. The congregation was offering hot chocolate and cider along with cookies and treats to visitors as well. This was the first time we visited the church during the tree lighting. After the tree lighting we took our annual trip over to Giovanni’s to enjoy our dinner with rosy cheeks and happy memories! Looking forward to more fun adventures during this 2015 Holiday Season!
