Life

Life around these parts is crazy.  Just flat crazy.  I can't believe tomorrow is March.  Here's what's been happening, or not happening ...

• I've been training someone at work.  I come home exhausted everyday.  It's not hard while I'm doing it but it sure is mentally taxing keeping tabs on someone all day.  Two more days and I'm back to my normal schedule for one week.  Then it's onto two weeks of brutal math for my own training.

• The past two Sundays I've done some scrapbooking.  I finally made it through Chicago and am now working on some Ohio photos from the same trip.  Having a table setup in the living room has helped my scrapbooking productivity.  Which has probably hindered my productivity elsewhere.

• I haven't been doing all that great at exercising or eating well lately.  I'm at a make or break point for starting my next round of half marathon training so I don't really have a choice.  It's time to get back on the wagon.  And once I'm on the wagon, I need to dump out all the crap food that has been making me even more sluggish than normal.

• We started house shopping.  We actually found one we really, really liked but it doesn't work with my work radius that I have to stay within.  The house was only 1700 feet outside of range too.  That kind of stung.  Still does, actually.  It was a great house with a lot going for it.  I could have had my goats.  And a garden.  So close yet not close enough.  

• I seriously need to make a dentist appointment.  I have no idea why I've been putting it off for as long as I have.  I have a major organizational dysfunction.  I can't get anything done lately.  My life will forever be hinder by my huge lack of organization skills.  Or maybe it's just my no cares to give, procrastinator subconscious that really screws me over.  Yup, that's probably it.

Off to bed.  Tomorrow is a new day!

snow day sunday

I did very little today.

Some scrapbooking while watching the Daytona 500.

More scrapbooking.

A shower.

And now I'm in bed while watching The West Wing on my Nook.

Maybe tomorrow I will actually venture to the gym. I've been beyond unmotivated lately. Exhausted. And unmotivated.

Scandal Eve

Less than 24 hours until Scandal.

I will not be able to contain myself tomorrow.  Seriously.  Twenty one hours.

Tuesday Tidbits

• My two months of chaos starts tomorrow.  I have a few weeks with a trainee, then have training of my own, an interview, and possibly, more training.  It could be mid-April by the time schedule returns to normal.

• I've made it through an entire season of The West Wing in the last two days.  I'm not ashamed of obsession.  In fact, by the time I got through the episode "The Supremes" I was as giddy as if I had just started watching Season One all over again.  Matt Santos has now made his appearance. Bring on the campaign trail!

• I slacked off on working out the past two days.  We worked pretty hard at volleyball last night but I should have made time for the gym.  I'm not sure I'll have much luck staying after work this week.  We shall see.

• Brent comes home on Friday!  Friday!  After cleaning this morning and more this afternoon, it may appear like I lived less like a pig this time while he was gone.  Let's see if I can fool him. HA!!  It's an evil cycle I've created.  I have no clue why I can't clean as I go.  No clue.  Oh look, squirrel!!

• I ordered my WDW Half Marathon photos from Marathon Foto.  Pricey bastards.  Whenever the digital files are sent, I'll share!  And I'll eventually have to get to scrapbooking them too.  So much to do.

• I've cleaned most of the evening.  I even have my bowl with oatmeal packet on the counter.  And my coffee cup with spooon by the coffee pot, which is set for automatic brew.  Clean clothes are air drying.  Lunch box is partially packed.  It's like I'm an adult or something...

Funday Sunday

Sunday was a busy one for me.  It started out with the Valentine's Day 5k at Washington Park in Denver!  It was the first time I'd ever been to Washington Park.  And I loved it!  It was a great park with very slight rolling hills and a wide path for the race.

I felt really strong through the whole race and felt like my pace was fast.  I was secretly hoping for a PR as I made my way through the course because I was feeling that good.  I didn't have my watch on me so I had no idea how I was actually doing.  I finished in 32:35 which is good but not a PR.  Maybe next time.


I got to spend the rest of the day visiting friends.  First stop was Wash Perk for coffee with Vanessa and the second stop was to see Heidi.  I got to take pictures of sweet Tori.  Hopefully it will not be so long in between visits next time.


I always love coming home to this face!! He's always so happy to see me.

Progress

It's been a crazy week.  Crazy enough that I can't believe tomorrow is already my Friday!! Yah!  I had a great trip to the gym.  Steady progress, I hope.  It feels weird doing so much more than running lately.  I feel strong but weak at the same time.  Seriously, I bench like 55lbs.  Pathetic.

Yeti Chase 10k Race Report

Before Bryn and I left for Florida we signed up for the Yeti Chase10k.  Last year we ran the 5k.  We figured after running 13.1 miles, 6.2 miles two weeks later would seem like a piece of cake.  And it would be good motivation to keep running once we got home.

So we did our usual routine.  I went down after work on Saturday and we woke up Sunday morning and made our way to the race start.  The weather was fantastic compared to last year.  The sun was out and we were debating whether or not we had one too many layers on.

The Yeti Chase runs around Bear Creek Lake Park.  The 5k has a few hills... manageable hills.  The 10k, it turns out, has A LOT of hills.  Big hills.  The first few hills we conquered.  But we eventually had to walk up some hills.  And it also turned out, we were right about having too many layers.  The sun was shining and 45 degrees may as well have been 80 degrees for the amount of sweat that was pouring out of me.

Bryn and I eventually split up.  She was fighting off a sinus infection and needed to walk in order to breathe.  I kept trudging uphill the best I could.  It was a mentally tough race.  And it was the closest I've ever come to being last across the finish line. There may have been 15 people behind me.  Maybe.

But Bryn and I discovered an awesome advantage to being dang near last... at least with the Yeti Chase.  They were announcing the winners and handing out awards when I crossed the finish line.  Clearly, those weren't for us.  After the awards though, they started the raffle.  And we both won something!!  I won a new water bottle and carrying case and Bryn won a RoadID gift certificate!  That may be the one and only time we ever win anything!  I think I might start hanging out after races now!

Walt Disney World Half Marathon

When the race started we got to pass Mickey, Goofy, and Donald at the start line!  They were kind of hard to take a picture of while jogging in the herd.  The blurry pictures were in abundance.  Once Bryn and I got started, there was no stopping us.

The first few miles were pretty uneventful.  Bryn got her new running belt situated, we ran past a marching band, and through a pretty thick cloud as we took the exit ramp to the Magic Kingdom.  It was great to see the glowing Magic Kingdom sign in the distance and run towards it for a while.  It was also great because the road got really wide and we had some room to spread out.  We managed to snap some action pictures along the way.  

I was reaching out in front of me to prevent from plowing into somehow if they happened to stop in their tracks for a photo op.  Off to the left there was pirate ship aglow and with dancing characters.  It had the moth to the flame effect but Bryn and I kept right on running.  We really weren't too far into the race yet, maybe two and half miles.  See how we glow??  Yes, the moisture was very present.  Humidity was at like 99%.  I was sweating profusely.  And even though I was sipping my water like I did in training, it wasn't nearly enough to keep up with the sweating.

Even though we passed under the sign, we were still miles from the Castle.  We looped by the race track and through the Ticket and Transportation Center.  It was great to see the crowds lined up along the route at the TTC.  Bryn and I almost flattened a girl who stopped in her tracks when she saw her family, or the bathroom, I can't remember which.  As soon as we left the TTC we could see the glow of Space Mountain and the top of Cinderella's Castle in the distance.  I was so excited to see it and I was feeling pretty good overall.

Near the Contemporary Hotel we had some slight ups and downs as the road made its way towards the park.  It was very weird running so much in the dark.  It was most definitely day light when I ran through this area during my first race.  The hill coming out of this underpass was a slight ass kicker, but it was nothing compared to what was to come.

When we entered the Magic Kingdom, I experienced that awesome feeling of accomplishment.  The race could have stopped right then and I would have been perfectly happy.  It was the Cinderella's Castle still lit by Christmas lights.  It was Main Street U.S.A.  It was Disney World.  MY Disney World!!  All that training and we had made it to the Castle!!  We tried to keep a watch for Bryn's mom in the crowd but it turns out she had left before we got there so she just missed us.  

We made our way through Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and through the castle.  Exiting the castle we hit a bit of a bottleneck but we were soon on our way through Liberty Square and Frontierland.  The sun was coming up and lighting up Splash Mountain as we passed.  I could clearly tell it was closed for renovation.  Insert sad face here.

They had the train steaming at the tracks as we entered backstage.  My picture didn't come out.  But with the sun coming up, I got a somewhat in focus picture of the route passing the 3 o'clock parade float!!

When we exited the Magic Kingdom I really began to realize I was in for a very long second half of the run.  I felt absolutely drained and dehydrated.  I tried to drink more fluid and down a second Gu.  The second Gu did not sit well with my stomach.  It was very hard to get out my own head and think about anything other than how drained I felt.

The returning stretch from Magic Kingdom to EPCOT is a blur.  At one point I picked up some Powerade or something from an aid station.  The electrolytes helped out some but my gut was still churning.  I just kept telling myself to keep going.  Bryn was in the zone and I fell in step behind her and watched her shoes for a few miles.

As we got within a few miles of EPCOT we had to go up an exit ramp and up and down a few other ramps while entering the parking area for the park.  Those hills took whatever I had left in my tank.  Hills, hills, hills!  They were rough.  I was in pathetic shape and knew that I couldn't stop with Spaceship Earth in sight.  As we entered EPCOT and passed the ball, I looked at Bryn and said, "I've got nothing left!"  I was in some weird out of body mode just running and not knowing how I was managing it.

As we looped back towards the ball I knew that I was so close very close to the end.  I just had to pass the ball and run to the finish.  It was an unbelievable relief to see the finish line.  I remember raising my arms the best I could to celebrate and make sure I ran past every timing mat on the pavement.  It's a good thing I didn't stop at any other point during the race because when I did stop running and tried to walk my left leg seized up and I kind of hobbled towards the left while fighting for my leg to do what my brain was telling it to do.

We worked our way through getting our medals and having our pictures taken.  Then we got food and drinks.  Food and drinks!!  I don't even remember what I ate but I ate.  Bagel or banana or whatever.  And I downed some Powerade and tried to stretch the best I could.  After some stretching, I started to feel somewhat human again.

Getting back to our hotel bus was way more work than we originally planned.  In addition to the walk to the start and the 13.1 mile run, we made multiple trips around the huge EPCOT parking lot looking for the bus.  It was good to stay moving but it was frustrating because we wanted to sit down and get back to the hotel for ice baths!!

I didn't expect the race to go quite like it did.  The humidity drained me way more than I expected it to. I should have been drinking way more at the start.  And I think I learned my lesson about using more than a few Gus during a run.  I need to mix in something more solid along the way.  Maybe some graham crackers or something.

I'm proud of what I accomplished.  Even though it was tough, it was still a great race!!  But I know I can do better, and I will.

Walt Disney World Half Marathon Pre-Race

Race day started very, VERY earlier.  Much earlier than I remember my first Disney half starting back in 2006.  If memory serves me correctly, I didn't have to catch the bus until 5ish.  The start wasn't until 7:30 or 8ish.  This year our wave was set to take off at 5:49 a.m.

We got ready freakishly in-sync and grabbed some food downstairs in the hotel lobby.  Our hotel, the Hilton Bonnet Creek, had an awesome spread of food and drinks for the runners.

And they had a cheer squad waiting for us outside!  I still can't believe these people were willing to wake up at such a crazy hour just to cheer on a bunch of complete strangers.  Kudos to Hilton Bonnet Creek!!   If I ever do another Disney race, I'll be staying there again, at least through race day.

We got on the bus at 3:20 and arrived at EPCOT by 3:45.  Then started the most unbelievable unDisney like mess in all of Disney history.  For some unknown reason, Disney expected to get 30,000 people through a gate the width of two cars.  And I'm pretty sure someone forgot to unlock that gate or something because we had to stand in this ridiculously huge mob of people for about an hour before we even started moving.


Once we did start moving towards the chutes (Disney advises a 20-minute walk) to the start, it was at a molasses pace with half steps... for over an hour!!


The bottleneck got worse as we got closer to the chutes as people who were the usual large crowd a-holes tried to get off the paved street and run past everyone on the sides towards the next gate sized opening.  They were just making the whole situation worse.  If you were one of those people... bravo for being so selfish!  RIDICULOUS!  I kept telling Bryn that it wasn't anything like the first time I ran the race in 2006.  We arrived so bleepin' early at EPCOT so that we could get to our chute and SIT DOWN!  We did exactly what runDisney suggested.  Obviously, I'm still disgruntled about all of this.  I hate it when Disney lets me down.


We arrived at the very back of our chute with about 18 minutes to spare.  At that point there was no where to sit or point in even sitting.  The race started within just a few minutes of us arriving in our chute.  Luckily we did get to see some fireworks as the elites took off down on the course.

Bryn and I didn't have too much time to really get nervous.  I think we were both relieved we made it to our chute before the race actually started.  I wouldn't be surprised if there were many who did not make it given the unbelievable screw-up on Disney's part.  I tried to stretch my legs out but they were already feeling heavy from the two hours we had been our feet standing and inching our way to the start.

This is the before race shot.  I think I look a little tired.  I didn't feel tired but I certainly felt a little rushed and out of sorts.  I knew one thing though, I was absolutely ready to get the show on the road!!