virtual race, real life wine

Dopey Challenge training started this week!!!

Crap.

Less than 2 months to go until I hop on a plane and take an unnecessarily long and out of the way airline route out to L.A. to run the Disneyland Half/Dumbo Double Dare.  I'm ready for that one.  I even got a little over-excited and make my Eeyore ears, tail, and bow last night.  Right now I'm tracking 3, about to be 4, training programs- DDD, Tower of Terror 10 miler, Dopey Challenge, and Wine & Dine training starts next week.  I just sort of gave up on following anything too precisely and just run whichever is longest that week. 

Last month I signed up for my first "virtual race"- it's the Daytona Beach Firecracker 10 Miler, benefiting a local veterans association.  Basically, I signed up, paid my $40, and got a t-shirt and medal in the mail a few weeks later.  There was a few days time frame for me to do the 10 mile run anywhere and anytime I wanted, so I decided to knock it out this morning as my "long run" around the neighborhood.  You may be wondering what's actually holding me to even bothering to do the run, since I don't have to submit my time or even tell anyone I've done it.  We're totally on the honor system on this one- I'm sure if you want to be a loser and pay, get the medal, and forget about it you can but...why?  It's only 10 miles.  Suck it up, Buttercup.  (That, btw, is my new favorite saying.  I started saying it to my students when they get all sissy with the airplane, or if they say they can't study for a progress check because *insert lame reason here*)

So I finished my 10 miles this morning in around 1 hr 39 min.  I just this week started training with intervals and I'm so in love!  Especially since it's so damn hot here in FL.  When I ran the Princess Half marathon last February, I ran it straight through, slowing at the water stops.  I wanted to die at the end and could barely move the next day.  I'd noticed that during the longer training runs, my legs would cramp up approaching the 10 mile mark.  This week I've started doing a 4:30 minute run/45 second walk interval and it makes all the difference in the world. My time is faster because I know I can push myself a little more because there's a walk break coming up!  Check out my new bling:

I also made a medal hanger for all my new lovelies.  I bought a board, screw-in hooks, picture hangers, and paint from the craft store.  I looked all over for a stencil for the Walt Disney font but couldn't find a thing.  I finally just googled it and hand-drew the lettering in pencil before going over it with a paint pen.  I think it turned out fantastic!

I should be adding...13 more by the time Dopey is complete.  14, if you count the one I'm holding above.  That one wasn't on the display when I took the picture. 

On a non-running note, Scot and I went to Grapevine, TX for my family's annual reunion.  If you go searching for a blog I wrote last summer, you'll see how I raved about a little bar/restaurant called Into The Glass in the historic downtown area.  I'd been looking forward to going back there for an entire year and when we stopped by again, they did not disappoint!  I posted a photo below of the wine I had because it was amazing and, yet again, I'm going to drive myself crazy looking for it.  I'm pretty sure it's not pronounced Ferret like the stinky little rodent some people keep as pets.  Fer-AY maybe?  Whatevs, it's French.  And it's got this crisp, peachy note that was perfect for the 90-something degree day we had.  Find it.  Drink it.  Srsly.

When we got back from Texas, we scooted down to the Magic Kingdom for a day because I'd booked us Fastpasses for the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train like 3 weeks earlier.  I'd seen the local commercials for it and was bouncing in my seat to finally get down there and take a ride!  When we got to the park (it's about an hour drive) we found out 7 Dwarfs was down for maintenance.  For the whole day.  Talk about disappointment!  I guess we'll get down there in a couple weeks and try it again!  Fingers crossed this time.  (Although we did get in to Be Our Guest for lunch, only had to wait in the hot sun for maybe 20 minutes, which totally made up for it.)