Big Hairy Audacious Goal (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

Currently I don't have any Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) for running.  Or really anything grand like that.  Well except for retirement, but I don't think that was the intended for this topic.  I have done most everything running wise that is on my bucket list.  Except I'd maybe like to do a 70.3 or commonly known as a half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run).  I don't see that happening any time soon.  So I thought I would recap some of my BHAGs from the past.

My First 10k
When I first started running, thoughts of running anything more then a 5k was something I never thought I would do.  While I had walked the Ukrop's 10k a few years in the past, running it was nothing I thought I wanted to do.  In 2011 I joined the training team and each week I surprised myself and ran the whole long run.  And three months later I ran my first 10k.  It's funny reading back at that post as I said that I didn't think I would want to do something that long again.  I love the 10k distance now.  In fact I do the Ukrop's 10k almost every year now.

My First Half
I actually had a different blog when I wrote up my recap of my first half marathon in 2012, the Richmond Half Marathon.  I honestly don't remember what made me want to run a half marathon, but I joined the training team and stuck to the plan.  The funny thing about that is I didn't think I would want to do that distance more then once a year.  Since 2014 I don't think I've done less then 2 half marathons a year.

My First Tri
The next year, in 2013, I did my first triathlon.  It was the Pink Power Sprint, which was an all women pool tri, which is very first timer friendly.  This is another one that I don't remember why I made it my big goal.  I just knew that I had been swimming and biking since I was little and now that I had been running for a couple years putting all three together might actually be fun.  While I could run, bike, and swim with no problem, putting all three together was something I just knew nothing about.  I joined a local tri training group which helped conqueror my fear of doing something so daunting.  I was glad to have the training group as they showed us things that we would need to know, I also still have great friends that I met through it.

My First Marathon
In 2014 I had run a couple runDisney half marathons and started eyeing a new challenge.  I was one of those that said I would never run a marathon.  Never say never!  I had signed up to run the 2015 WDW Marathon as my first.  Despite having food poisoning and going to the ER the day before, it actually was a great race.  I followed my training closely and that really paid off.  Should probably remember that next time.  lol

First (and only) Dopey
In 2014 runDisney announced a new challenge, run the 5k, 10k, half, and full in one weekend.  They called this the Dopey Challenge, because you have to be, well, Dopey to do it.  I had always been intrigued with Dopey and after I ran my first marathon I knew it was something I wanted to do.  And in 2016 I did.  Luckily I am a stubborn person.  Training for this race was long and it was hard.  It was the hardest weekend I had ever experienced running.  By Sunday I was done.  I had pain in my calf before I started the marathon and just did everything I could to finish.  This is one that I don't think I want to do again.  I'm glad I did it cause now I know I can do anything as long as I put in the training and commitment.  


And then of course I went to Disneyland the next weekend to participate in the Inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend.  Yes, I did 7 races in 11 days covering 71 miles.  I didn't plan it that way.  They had announced the Star Wars Weekend after I signed up for Dopey and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to be part of the inaugural race and well it's Star Wars.  The funny thing is the Star Wars Half was the most fun race of all of them. 


Back to Back Marathons
After I finished Dopey, I knew the next marathon I wanted to run was the Marine Corps Marathon.  Since the Richmond Marathon is just two weeks after MCM I decided to join the Richmond Marathon training team.  This would be the first time since my first Half Marathon that I would be training with a group.  I was very excited to not have to worry about fuel since they would have SAGs.  And I would have the chance to run with others.  I knew that I would probably change my race distance at the Expo and just run the half or 8k.

The MCM was HOT and the last 8 miles were miserable as we were out of the fun part of DC and there was no shade.  While I am very proud of that race and did PR, I knew with the great training I had had, I could have done better if it weren't for the heat.  I left changing the race distance for Richmond at the Expo.  By then I felt great.  So I decided to run the Richmond Marathon 2 weeks later. I am now a Marathon Maniac. 

MCM Accomplished

Richmond Accomplished

We will see if I have any other crazy goals at some point.  You guys will be the first to know!

What have been some of your BHAG?  Do you have any coming up?

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.

Favorite Pictures (Friday Five Edition)

I usually go through freeprints.com to print my photos.  They print up to 85 photos per month for free.  You do have to pay for shipping, so I found that it only makes it as cheap as going to a drug store or Target if you order 85 of them.  So I haven't done any in a couple of years and thought it might be time to see what I have.  In the last week I have been going through the last few years of photos on my phone and putting them in an album so that I can easily find them and send them out.  Going through a ton of photos made me want to share some.  Most of my photos have to do with my cats, races, or beautiful sunrises/sunsets.  I will hang some of the, give some of them to friends or family, but most of them will probably sit in a box.  But I love having photos that I can change out when I feel like it.  I know I can get a digital frame, but I'm still looking for a good one that I can hang on the wall with no wires - meaning wifi and battery operated.  I haven't found one that has that and is good quality.  Here are a few of them.

One of my boys, Riley.  If you can't tell he is in the hallway upstairs and I'm on the stairs.  He hangs off like that all the time.



At SeaWorld, Florida.



A sunrise on one of my morning runs.

 
 Finishing the Dopey Challenge.



Finishing the Marine Corps Marathon.




Disneyland after a Star Wars race.



At Universal Studios Hollywood.



A sunrise during a bike ride.


Getting surprised after the Bubble Run.




At the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore during the Baltimore Marathon Relay.




Disney World during Princess Half Marathon.




Entering Disney World for Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend.



During the Star Wars 10k.




How do you print your photos?  What do you do with your printed photos?  Do you know of a good wireless digital frame?

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

Star Wars Light Side Expo 2017 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

Last Wednesday I flew into Las Angeles.  I met up with my friend Kelly who is from Ohio and nicely our flights landed right about the same time.  We took a Super Shuttle and headed to the Disneyland Hotel.  Kelly always stays there, but this was my first time staying there.

We settled in and headed to dinner.  We went to Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen.  We went there for dinner last year and had a great meal.  I'm glad that we went back again this year.  

 

We split the Garlic Cheese Bread and Jambalaya.  I'm glad we decided to split the meal as the bowl is huge and we ended up with the perfect amount each.

The next morning we got up early and headed down to the expo.  By early I mean we got down there a little before 7 and the expo didn't open till 10.  Kelly likes to beat the crowds and I really didn't care and was up way before that because I was still on East Coast time.  It was either hang out in the hotel room, or downstairs with a bunch of other crazy people.

When we got down there there was already a line.  I asked the people in the front what time they got there and they said 6.  They moved us into a conference room where they had tape on the ground to show lines.  Kelly brought thank you cards for Christmas and work and I brought my laptop and watched some shows on Hulu.  The time actually went by really fast.

The line wasn't too long most of the morning.  We think this is because they started a VIP program where you pay and you get early entry into the merchandise (plus a few other things).  We really were not interested in paying for that, plus the other things conflicted with what we had planned.  A bit after 9 you could tell a lot of people had started to flow in.
 
A little before 10 they started to move us to the expo.  We were the first group that were let into the official merchandise area.  Kelly and I split up the list and she went to the pins and I went to the sweaty bands.  As I was walking through things I could feel the amount of people that were being let in.  It was starting to get crazy.  I could feel the anxiety in the air and it started to get to me.

Kelly and I ducked down in a corner and started going through to see who got what and split up our loot.  We put things back that we got double on and took one more sweep through the merchandise.  It was getting so chaotic in there that I just started grabbing things I might like.

Once everything was purchased we went back up to the room to drop off everything and head back down to get our bibs and look at other expo booths.  We went to the lower level and got everything we needed there.  The Dooney bag, our bibs, and pre-purchased merchandise.  The pre-purchased merchandise included a jacket and a bundle that included a ordainment and tumbler.  The jacket and tumbler were different then anything that they had at the expo but the ordainment was the same.  I ended up returning the jacket as I didn't like it as much as I did of one that I found at the expo.

We headed back upstairs and Kelly got our knee and back taped at the KT booth.  There was only a couple people ahead of us, which is a rarity.  When we went back on Saturday the line was insane.  There wasn't too much else that I saw interesting.  We took a few pictures at different booths.  Got some freebees.


The coolest thing that I got was a drawing done that was personalized.  I saw Kelly at the booth and I went in to see the drawings.  They had the same thing at marathon weekend last year.  I ended up talking to one of the artists there and he was telling me that there were a handful of artists did the drawings and a couple of them are there to personalize.  I ended up picking out one of the pictures done by the artist there that I was talking to.  He helped me decide what to put on the picture and made it really special.


We got our shirts and made our way back to the hotel room.  We saw Pluto on the way back.


Here is some of the loot that I got. I didn't get a good picture of it all but will have more of it in my vlog. 

 

We went to dinner at Marri's Pizza & Italian Restaurant.  It's right off property and a place I go to every time I go to Disneyland.  I usually stay at the Best Western right next door.  I actually met my friend Candace there a few years back (another story for another post).  

We headed back to get ready for the 5k the next morning. 

Also, check out my vlog for the Expo!

Have you ever gotten to the expo early?  Have you ever stayed at the Disneyland Hotel?  Do you have favorite restaurants that you go to every time in Disneyland?

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.

 

Star Wars Light Side Weekend Remembered (Friday Five Edition)

I am currently in Disneyland enjoying the Star Wars Light Side Challenge.  I thought I would share some fun things from last year.

1. I ran Dopey the week before and I still ran all three races for the Light Side Challenge.

Three Star Wars and four Dopey

2. I met up with my friend Candace and her husband and my friend Kelly.  Both whom I met separately at Tinkerbell in 2014.

Candace and me

3. They had some fun props to take pictures with before the race.  For those of you that don't know Star Wars very well, this is a scene from Empire Strikes Back where Luke was taken by the Wampa and held in his cave.

4. Kelly and I had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen after the 5k.  It's becoming a tradition when we go to Disneyland.

5. The half marathon was the most fun I've had in a race.  And this is from someone that ran Dopey the week before.  There is a group of Cos Players that dress up and come out and watch the half.  And take pictures with the runners.  They make the race even more fun.

R2D2 and me

Do you have restaurants where you always go when you are in Disney?  What is your favorite runDisney race?

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

A Very Uneventful Week (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

So I really don't have a weekly wrap-up.  So here are a few things that happened this week.

I actually got a couple of runs in this week.  I stayed after my class at the gym and did 3 miles on the indoor track on Tuesday.  And then 4 miles outside on Wednesday.  The run on Wednesday really wasn't too bad.  Didn't start really hating it till the 3rd mile.  That's progress.  I didn't have time to run on Friday and then it snowed this weekend, so no other runs.  I might try to get to the gym tomorrow to run, but we will see if I make it out on the snowy roads.

I've been touring day centers for my dad.  I'm very grateful for my friend who happens to be an elder advocate going to these places with me.  She knew the questions to ask that I would not have thought of.  We have one more to look at Tuesday and then I'll start talking to my mom about this whole thing. 

It snowed on Saturday.  We don't get a lot of snow here in Virginia, so when we get more then a few inches everything shuts down for a week.  I think we officially got like 8-9 inches.  I finally got my driveway shoveled today.  It was very light snow so it was not too bad.  But I have to say my forearms hurt.  Guess I don't use those muscles very often.

I finished cleaning out my office.  It was that room where I threw stuff and closed the door and forgot about it.  A couple trips to the Goodwill, trash and recycling that went out Friday, and it's clean.  I don't think it's organized how I really want it too, but I'm excited to have it clean.  I'll have to see how I use the room to organize it better.  Next is my bedroom.  It's not very dirty, but it can use some organizing since I'm on that kick.  And you can never clean out the closet enough.

I heard about the WDW Half being cancelled on Saturday.  I am really glad that I did Dopey last year.  I would have really cried if I was supposed to run it and they cancelled it.  But it sounds like people took it well and that's good.  Glad everyone was safe.

I'm off to Disneyland this week for the Star Wars Rebel Challenge.  I'll be meeting up with my friend Kelly and she has a fun weekend planed for us.  I swear I'll have more interesting posts after I'm back from the weekend.

Are you back on track after the holidays with your runs and workouts?  Did you get snow?  Did you run any races this past weekend at WDW?  

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

WDW Marathon Weekend Remembered (Friday Five Edition)

This weekend is the WDW Marathon Weekend.  Two years ago I ran my first marathon there.  Then last year I ran Dopey.  Here are some memories from the Dopey Challenge Last year.

1. Four races in four days is really hard.  It is true when people say that getting up early four mornings in a row (6 if you have early flights getting there and going home).  If you put in the training necessary, the mileage is not too bad, but missing out on the parks so that you can stay off your feet and going to bed super early is the hard part.

2. I signed up for the Runner's World VIP package.  This included the breakfast after the 5k and 10k, Race Retreat for the half and full, Pasta Party the night of the 5k, and a special shorter walk to the start line of the half and full.  I was too tired to take full advantage of everything.  The Pasta Party was fun, with great characters to take pictures with, but I was too tired to stay too long.  And I didn't even make it to the Race Retreat after the half and full as all I wanted to do was get back to my hotel.  Both the breakfasts and Race Retreats had some interesting character photo ops.  And the shorter walk to the start line was fun.  We ended up on a path in the woods.  Getting through the crowds and path in the woods was a bit tricky, so they had us all hold onto a rope.  It was like we were back in kindergarten holding hands so we don't get lost.

At the 5k Breakfast.  I have no clue who they are.

At the Pasta in the Park with Lotso from Toy Story 3.

At the 10k Breakfast.  Again, no clue.

Finally someone I knew at the Race Retreat before the Half.

3. The 10k was rainy through the race.  Most characters were not out to get photos with.  But I decided to stay after the race, even though it was raining.  I knew if I waited it out I would be able to get pictures with Minnie Mouse and Dopey with short lines.  Everyone left right after the race and after about 20 minutes of waiting in the drizzle, the rain let up and I got the photos with almost no line.

Minnie and me.

Love this picture.

4. My right calf started to hurt the night before the marathon.  I was very nervous about the marathon.  I did make it through, with stops at ever medical tent for more bio-freeze.  It was a very slow marathon but it was finished.

5. I did ride Everest.  It's a perfect adrenaline rush half way through the race.

Ready for Everest to start.

Spooky!!

People often ask me if I would do the Dopey Challenge again.  I never will say never, but I don't see me doing it again.  I really wish I had a friend to run with through the races, as doing all races by myself was hard.  But I'm really glad that I was able to do the challenge.  I love telling people how crazy I am by doing the challenge.

Have you done the Dopey Challenge?  Have you ever done any of the extras, like Race Retreat or Pasta in the Park?  What is your favorite character to get a photo with?

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