Star Wars Dark Side 5k 2018 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I'm finally getting to my Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend recaps from April.


In case you missed previous posts from the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend:

• Expo

Friday morning I got up at 2:30 so that I could get ready and do some stretching before meeting Kelly and Franklin at 3:20.  We caught the bus and headed to the Epcot parking lot.  Like previous races, they had characters out to take photos with.  We decided to stand in line for Boba Fett.  While lines were long, they moved quickly and we probably were in line just 20 minutes.


After the photo, we went to the bag drop off and then to the start line.  The 5k start and course is the same one that is used during Princess and Marathon weekends, so there are no surprises for us.  We were all in Coral A which was good so we could hang with each other longer before the start.  The plan was Kelly and Franklin were going to take off and do as many photo stops as they could and I was going to walk as much as I could so that I could save my knee for the weekend.  We were entertained while we waited by announcers and Storm Troopers.  They even played the original trailer for Empire Strikes Back.


It was warm but not terribly hot, about 63 degrees at the start.  The first mile or so is outside the park and very boring.  Once we were in the park it was a lot more interesting.  The R2-D2 line looked short and I almost got in it, but didn't because I already had a picture with him and I didn't want to spend extra time on my feet since this was just the beginning of a long weekend.  As I went on, I kinda regretted it, but after the race Kelly told me that it wrapped around behind where you couldn't see and it was a really long line.  That made me feel better.

We wrapped around and saw Spaceship Earth through Torii Gate in Japan.



And seeing Spaceship Earth with some of the Flower and Garden Festival Topiarie.



When I got up to Spaceship Earth, there was a short line to take photos with the Storm Troopers.  I jumped right in.  Within moments of me getting in line, I looked behind me and the line was so long it was wrapping into the course.  When there was just a person in front of me left, some Cast Members came up and said that the Storm Troopers were not part of the race and that we could only take selfies with them (at this point Cast Members were helping out taking photos).  Everyone was very confused by them saying they were not part of the race.  Maybe they meant that they were not part of the official photo ops where there was a Disney photographer.



It was my turn and I asked the guy behind me if he just wanted to swap cameras so that we could still get photos without having to do a selfie.  He said yes.  I got up there and a different Cast Member offered to take the photo instead.  Well of course, that would be great, thank you!  Just very weird.

I got to the end where the choir usually is and the 501st Legion was there all dressed up to get pictures with.  Some of their costumes are very elaborate.


This Jawa's eyes even light up, which was a cool effect since it was still dark out.



I was going to take a quick selfie right before the finish, but a medical lady offered to take the photo for me.  How nice!



And then a quick selfie with a Storm Trooper right before I crossed the finish line.



Even though my knee felt fine through the race, I had them wrap ice around it as a precaution.  I got my medal, water food and a picture and then picked up my bag from bag check.

Kelly and Franklin were done and standing in line for Darth Vader when I joined them.



Kelly's favorite is Phasma and they had already gotten photos with her before I finished.  She insisted that I get my picture taken with her while they waited for Kylo Ren.  I really didn't care either way so I got one with Phasma.



After the photos the buses were coming through.  They couldn't pull up till the last runner had gotten past the finish line area.  We boarded the bus and headed back to the resort.  We had a long day at Magic Kingdom planned and we all wanted to get cleaned up and rest a little before we headed back out.

Continue reading about the rest of my day at Magic Kingdom.

 

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It's been a long week.  Very long.

I haven't run in a few weeks as I'm rehabbing my knee.  It's been bothering me since early this year and I kept running on it due to races.  Now that I do not have any races on the calendar, I am taking this time to rest and make it fully better.  So that means I've been trying to swim and bike more.

I was up too late on Sunday night to get up successfully on Monday morning to do anything before work.  In fact I was lucky to get to work on time.  That evening I had my first photography class.  It's a two month class that will take us to the river most weeks to take pictures.  I'm very excited about it.

Tuesday I want to the gym for my class.  By lunch time I headed home to work from home and that probably was a good thing.  I opened up my garage and water was all over the ground.  My water heater decided it was done and started leaking everywhere.  I called a plumber and had it replaced.  If I had gotten home at the regular time I would have had to deal with that after hours. 

Wednesday I made it to the gym again to swim.  I've been enjoying it but not much more then half an hour at a time.  I went to sit in the hot tub after but the jets were barely working.  It was kinda like sitting in a warm bath.  Later that morning the tree guys called saying they had time to get my trees cut down.

Thursday was a gym class day and the rest of the day really wasn't that exciting.  Work kinda sucked but that's how it goes some days.

Friday I got up and almost talked myself out of going for a swim 3 times.  I'm glad I eventually got there as it does make me feel better.  The jets were fixed in the hot tub and it was so nice to relax after the workout.

Saturday I decided to take my bike out.  I haven't ridden since last fall and I didn't know how my knee would feel.  I only rode 3 miles as my knee didn't hurt but it was talking to me.  I didn't want to push it so I kept it short.  The good thing was it didn't hurt the rest of the day.  That evening a friend and I went to dinner to celebrate my birthday that was last month.  We finally had a chance to get together.

Here's to a less crazy week.

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

Trees vs. Safety (Friday Five Edition)

Wednesday I had a couple of trees taken down in my front yard.  While I thought it was just cutting trees down, I actually found it very interesting.

When I bought my house 16 years ago, there were these really small little Evergreen trees in my front yard.

Over the years they grew.

And grew.

Because they are right in front of my front door, security became a concern.  Someone could easily hide behind the trees or break in my house without my neighbors seeing.  I really didn't want to cut them down, but I didn't have any other option.

I randomly found a company that cut trees down and asked if they could come and give me a quote.  It came to $275 and I wasn't sure if that was outrageous or just about right so I decided to find another company get me a quote.  The second company came in almost $200 higher, so I went with the first company.

They came by this week to cut them down.  While I didn't have to be there, I wanted to make sure that everything was done to my satisfaction while they were there.  And it made it easier to pay if I just gave them a check.

They came by and had a crew of 5 or 6 guys.  All of them very nice.  They started cutting the first down and I felt sad.  Cutting down beautiful trees like that is one of the things I really didn't want to do, but I knew that my house would look nicer and I would be safer doing so.



The mulched it up and moved to cut down and mulch the second tree.



They were going to grid the stumps as well and I have to say that this was the most interesting part as I didn't know how that would be done.  They brought out this machine.



They put up a mesh gate to stop the house from getting hit with anything that might spew out.  And they started to grind down the stump.



And then the second.  They filled up the holes and they were done.  In total the process probably took 45 minutes.  While I really will miss the trees, I'm glad it's done.  I do think that the house looks better and I feel safer knowing someone won't be jumping out.

Have you had someone take down trees around your house?  Were they dead and unsafe or just getting too big? 

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Star Wars Dark Side Expo 2018 (Friday Five Edition)

I'm finally getting to my Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend recaps from April.

On the Wednesday before the weekend, I headed down to Disney World in the evening after work.  The plan was that I would stay with my friend Kelly and her husband Franklin that night and after the Expo on Thursday I would move to my own room.  We did it last year and it worked out great.  This year, because of work, Franklin was not going to get there till Thursday evening, so it was just the girls for the Expo.


Kelly likes to get to the Expo early and wait for the doors to open.  I know we would have to wait either way, so I was fine heading there early.  We took an Uber to ESPN and got there a little before 8 and there was already a short line outside.  Last year we spent the time outside, so I brought a blanket for us to sit on.  The moment we got comfortable they started moving the line inside.  Since the official merchandise area is in a new building, there was room to have us wait in a room inside.


We chatted some and we both brought things to work on.  When we left the room to use the bathroom, you could see the empty Expo.  It was fun to see it empty with all the items there.


There was a DJ there for awhile and the music was too loud.  And every time he talked to the group, you could not understand a word he said.


The Expo was supposed to open at 10, but they let us in about 9:30.  I had seen the Disney blog about the merchandise and had an idea of what I wanted to see.  We did a once through and grabbed items that interested us.  They had tables on the side, so we grabbed one and went through everything we grabbed and tried things on.

The pre-purchased items could be picked up in the same area so we took turns picking up our items and putting things back that we didn't want.  It actually worked out well.  The per-purchased items were to include a magnet, a shoe ordainment, and a figurine.  Well it turned out that we got two ordainment and two figurines.   We came to a conclusion that maybe the ordainment and figurines from the Light Side in Disneyland were ordered before the race was canceled and they couldn't cancel it.  Therefore they were part of the Dark Side items.  We don't know for sure if that is true, but that was the only thing we could figure.


Noticed that they had an artist section set up.  I went over and looked at the drawings and saw the

Millennium Falcon.  I had the artist write "Never tell me the odds." on it and went to pay for my merchandise while I waited for that to be done.

After we paid, we got in the Dooney line.  When I saw pictures on the website I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.  But seeing them in person, I did like the clutch.  They were selling Passholder shirts which I fell in love with.  Kelly was a Passholder and was able to get herself, her husband, and me one.

I picked up my personalized Millennium Falcon and we headed out of the merchandise area.  We saw that they had characters setup for pictures.  As we waited in line for Jabba the Hut, Kelly went to get a drink and came back with this AT-AT.  OMG it was awesome.  It moved and opened up.  It was almost as nice as the toys my mom wouldn't buy me when I was a kid.  I had to have one!

We got our pictures taken with Jabba.

And then with the Storm Troopers.

We had done everything we could do in that building and headed to the building to pick up our bibs.  As we left there were more photo opportunities.  There was the Viper probe droid.

We went in to get our bibs.  Along with the races for the weekend we had to pick up our medals for the Star Wars Light Side virtual race that we did.  They gave us a box which contained the medal, and "I did it" magnet, and a little BB-8 that light up and made noise when a button was pushed. 

On the way to the main expo they had the runDisney icon out. 

In the Expo area they had more cool photo ops. 

I couldn't find my Rock Tape before I left, so I decided to have them tape my knee and buy a couple of roles.  After I passed the Sweaty Band booth and saw that they had a bunch of holiday headbands in their clearance area.  Yes please.

We made it around to the shirt pickup and got our race shirts.  I asked the people at the runDisney booth when and if they expect to have Star Wars Light Side back.  They said that there was a new hotel being built in the parking lot where the finish area usually is and that they wouldn't be back till the construction was done.  Knowing that I don't know where they would put the finish area if that parking lot is gone.  But I did notice on one of their brochures that they are still having the Star Wars Light Side virtual run for next year.  It is the only Disneyland race that they made virtual.  

While there the topic of the virtual summer series came up.  Kelly said that they signed up for it to get in a few longer runs through the summer.  Granted, they do track through the summer, so 3 miles is a longer run for them.  I thought since I probably will do more biking through the summer then running, this would get me out to do a few runs through the summer, so I signed up.  Plus the medals are so super cute!!

I also stopped at the Roo Sports booth.  I had bought one the week before at the Ukrop's 10k

 and noticed that the earphone hole was fraying.  They were super nice and exchanged it without question.  I also talked to the owner about how the corners of the pocket poke out and she thought it was a good idea to do something about that.  If they do, I'll defiantly buy another one.

I finished up the last row of the expo and noticed that there were people trying on compression sleeves.  I was interested as I had tried different brands and they were always too tight for me.  I got measured and tried on a man and woman sizes.  They were comfortable so I bought a pair.


Both Kelly and I were exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel.  We got back and dropped off our stuff.  We had lunch at the hotel and she went off to Epcot and I went to check into my room.  I moved my stuff into my room, showered and rested.  When Franklin got in, I met him at the bus stop.  Since it was pretty late, the plan was that he would jump right on the Expo bus to get his bib.  I met him to take his carry on items from the plane to his room so that he didn't have to carry them around the Expo.

It was an early night for me as I would have to get up early for the 5k.

Continue reading about the Star Wars Dark Side weekend with the 5k.

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Ukrop's 10k 2018 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I decided to do the Ukrop's 10k, in April, this year as it was a week before Star Wars and a good warm up.

The expo is usually at the Author Ashe Center, but this year it was moved to the Raceway.  I headed to the expo on Thursday and once I got in there, it looked like the exact same setup as before.  I assumed that it was moved to the Raceway because it had gotten too big.  But it turned out that it was because there was a Squirrel game (baseball) on Friday (the second day of the expo) and both share the same parking lot.


I picked up my bib, shirt, and bag and ran into one of my running friends.  It turns out that she was being a blind guide for her cousin during the race.  The story is very interesting.


I bought a shuttle ticket and headed to the expo booths.  The only thing that interested me was the Roo Sport.  I had the original one and it did nothing but chafe me.  After running the Princess Half without my big belt, I wanted to give this a try.


I was done and started to look for the exit.  For the life of me, I couldn't find it.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in the direction of it, and I still couldn't find it.  All of the booths and frame of the area, you couldn't see doors or the exit signs.  I finally wandered around and found the exit.

The race was on Saturday and I planned on meeting a friend at the shuttle parking lot.  When I got there she had run into a coworker of hers.  The three of us got on the bus and headed to the race.  We did all the pre-race items: port-a-potties, bag check, and a little stretching.


I walked to the start to find my corral and got there just as they were about to leave.  As I waited for them to set us off, I realized I never turned on my Garmin.  I hoped it would find the satellites fast.  If not, I'd hang back and go with the next wave.  I was in no rush.  But it synced just as they let us go.


The start was close to 70 and just getting hotter.  A lot of the course is shaded by trees, but not all of it.  Even though that's hot for runners, it was great weather for the crowds to come out and cheer us on.  One of the great things about this race is that it brings out tons of spectators.  There were the group that comes out every year to do Tai Chi, marching bands, cheerleaders, and college students handing out beer.


I passed the Richmond Police Trainees running in formation.  I had read an article about how each county had entered in their police trainees to run the 10k.  This was to promote comradery and cooperation with the different counties.


I was really worried how my knee would hold up for the race.  It had really been bothering me a lot during my last runs.  It was tight the whole time, but I never had any sharp pain.  I was also paying close attention to my steps so I would not hyper-extend it again.


Even with the heat and my knee tight, I felt very strong through the whole race.  I kept up my walk/run intervals without any deviation.  As I crossed the finish line I realized that I had a very even pace through the whole race.  Almost the same time for each mile.  I got my medal and had them put some ice on my knee.


My Roo Sports worked well and didn't chafe me at all.  Defiantly something I will be using in the future.  I did notice that the earphone hole was fraying.  Thankfully they were going to be at the Star Wars Half Marathon Expo a week later.  I also noticed that the corners of the pocket pokes out.  Functionally it was fine, but just pointed out that you had it under your shirt.

I met up with my friend from before the race and we met others for a fun brunch.  We go to the same place every year and every year we complain that they don't staff very well and everything takes forever.  But we keep going back. :)  This is one time I get to catch up with a lot of my running friends, so if it takes longer to get brunch, I'm fine with it.

This is a race I’ll do most years, but I’ll have to do it again next year. In 2017 they gave out medals that will click together with magnets and create a big medal with the 2018 and 2019 medals.  A great marketing technique to get runners to continue for the next two years.

Do you like when races do things to encourage you to run more races, like challenges, or themed medals?  Have you ever used the Roo Sport?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.