dumbo double dare- part 2: the half marathon

After blazing through the Disneyland 10K on Saturday, I was ready to hit the parks!  After a trip back to the hotel for me to clean up, we had our park hopper tickets in hand and scooted back up to California Adventure 15 minutes before rope drop to ride the Radiator Springs Racers.  Fortunately, we didn't have hardly any wait but as we left the ride there was already a 30 minute waiting time at 20 after 9am!  

I didn't know it at the time, but I'd made a grievous error when I got dressed to go run around the parks.  I made a mistake I NEVER otherwise make.  I wore my running shoes instead of my regular sneakers.  It didn't bother me at the time, but as the day wore on, my feet started hurting really bad and I later discovered a nasty little blister underneath my toe.  

Running shoes are for running.  Not Disneyland-ing.

We made our way over to Disneyland park after about an hour in DCA and went hard until a little after 4pm.  No rest for the weary!  I'll have to put up another blog entry later about DL rides vs WDW rides.  I liked to compare the same rides in the CA park vs FL park.  Some things surprised me.  More on that later.

After a pasta dinner at the hotel later that evening, it was back in bed at 8:30 again for us.  I was exhausted.  My foot hurt.  I ended up popping the blister but didn't tear the skin.  I was hoping hoping hoping my extra soft Balega socks would keep me protected for 13.1 miles in the morning!  

The 3:30 alarm jarred me from my Disneyland-induced coma.  I started getting my Piglet costume together- I had pink shorts, a pink striped shirt, and little piggy ears I'd made with hopes to attach them to a stretchy headband.  After screwing around with the ears in front of the bathroom mirror for a few minutes I gave up on them.  They just weren't sitting right and kept flopping over.  I pulled a pink Bondiband over my head and then Scot and I headed back down to the bus.  

The bus dropped everyone off at DTD again, and it was another trek to the staging area.  I honestly thought that the crowds were going to be insane.  I mean, for the Princess at WDW back in January, you couldn't even move in the mass of people.  Lines for the bathroom were 30 minutes long!  The DL half marathon area was a ghost town compared to Princess.  25,000 people last Feb in WDW, probably 15 or 16,000 for DL.  We stopped for a few photos, enjoyed the people-watching (some of these folks has some crazy-ass costumes), then split up as I headed toward corral C and Scot went back to stake a spot in front of the Lego Store.  

I was feeling pretty good, except my shins were sooooo tight!  I found a curb in my corral and chatted with some other runners nearby as I sat and massaged the fronts of my legs.  After that little rest and some stretches I was ready to go!  C moved up to the start line, and, at 5:38 in the morning, our countdown was over and we were off!

There was less initial time on the regular streets for the first mile- it was really just around the corner and then directly into the parks!  Just after the mile 1 sign, we passed the mile 12 sign!  That gave me sort of an idea about how things were going to be oriented in 2 hours.  I seriously had no idea where I was for this entire course.  I mean, I'd looked at the map but decided to just take in the sights and not worry too much about where the miles were.  Surprise me.

As I started running though the parks, as especially as I got into Disneyland, there were characters everywhere!  It definitely made up for the zilch from yesterday!  I mean, there'd be like 3 or 4 in a row once we got into the DL park!  I didn't stop, even though there were next to no lines to see them.  I just enjoyed looking!  Before I knew it, after another trip backstage, mile 4 was coming up and my park time was over.  

After that, things get a little fuzzy.  Because I had no concept of where the hell I was, I'll be brief with what I do remember.  

I remember the people!  

The people who were watching.  The "Citizens of Anaheim," if you will.  They. Were. Awesome.  I saw so many funny and motivational posters.  So many people cheering.  So many people passing out orange slices, pretzels, semi-frozen sponges, grapes, and of course hi-fives!  One guy had a water mister and was spraying anyone who wanted to fun close enough.  One guy had a sign that he was giving out "Free Hugs!"  How could I not take one!?  There were a couple nasty hills that went over I-5, I chose those times to speed walk a little.  I'd forgotten to change my interval time on my app for a distance over 10 miles.  However, I managed to make it work with the conditions as I encountered them.  

Some of the route went through some sort of industrial area that I don't remember much about at all.  But  you know what really made it great?  Every mile or so, there was some school band, cheer team, flag line, whatever- performing for us all!  (btw, if you've never heard Tupac being done by brass, it's pretty awesome)  There were hula dancers, Mexican dancers, and line dancers.  I clapped for them, they clapped for all of us, everyone was so happy and excited it was fantastic!  

As we went on, we passed down a few streets lined with classic cars.  I'm guessing there's a club or organization or something in town for it, and there were what must have been hundreds of them for at least a mile!  The people who owned them were hanging out on the road clapping and cheering (and they were all dressed in sweaters, but I didn't think it was that cold at all!)  The classic cars turned to more modern ones as we approached the Honda Center (no idea what goes on there, I guess it's just an event center) and I even saw the Batmobile!

After Mile 7, I took out my Gu packet and sucked it down best I could.  I noticed that the street was littered with Gu packs and other sorts of fuel trash from everyone ahead of me so I figured that was a good a time as any.  The 8 Mile water stop was just ahead.

Passed around the Honda Center parking lot then the route took an unusual turn.  It went out a fence and turned into a dirt trail that ran alongside a giant dirt ditch.  I must have wondered out loud what the hell it was because someone next to me told me it was supposed to be a river.  Oh, right.  California's been in a bad drought for like 4 years.  Anyway, the trail was okay.  It was an interesting change from concrete road.  It did switch to asphalt after not too long, then Mile 9 came into view as I exited the trail and headed on in to Angel Stadium.  

I could hear the roar of the crowds before I saw them.  There was a steep hill (down, this time!), which I took advantage of to build up some speed, then I burst into the stadium to the sounds of, oh I don't know, maybe a million boy scouts and spectators.  I stopped at the entrance to get my photo taken, then started the run around the dirt area just outside the foul line.  Somehow, the announcer in the stadium was getting everyone's names and I heard him call mine as I passed in front of the crowd.  So.  Awesome.  I sailed around the back of home plate, took another picture, then headed for the exit.

Once I got out of the stadium, I slowed to a walk to fiddle with my phone.  I admit, this half marathon was exactly one minute slower than the Princess one because I had to post my stadium picture and "check in" there on Facebook.  Oh well!

The walk break did me good, though.  I felt rested and was able to pound out the last few miles with relative ease.  We were all back on the regular streets with crowds of people cheering from the sidewalks leading back to the parks.  Before I knew it, I saw that Mile 12 sign again!  The last mile was easy, I sped up my pace a little bit as I approached Downtown Disney.  I was looking for Scot near the Lego Store and I saw him!  I stopped as I ran by, planted a big wet *SMACK* on his lips, then gunned it down to the finish line

Finished!  Got my beautiful medal, someone handed me a cool towel (which I tied around my head...hm I guess it did warm up out here!), and another volunteer guided me over to the area to redeem my Coast 2 Coast and Dumbo Double Dare medals.  I was feeling a little wobbly as the adrenaline wore off!  I found my way over to the bananas and snack boxes, then headed out through bag check to find Scot waiting for me on the other side.  Hugs all around, then we started heading back to the bus.  He did bring my 10K medal with him so I could get a photo with all 4.  Aren't they pretty?

The plan was for me to rest and clean up and try to get on the road to Yosemite before 11am.  I made the mistake of sitting down on a bench while waiting for the bus and ohmygodmylegsnolongerwork.

It was a great race, though.  I'm hard-pressed to say that this course is my favorite so far!  Next up, Tower of Terror 10 Miler!  That one was my very first Disney race one year ago.  Safe to say, I've drank the RunDisney KoolAid.  They've got me hooked!  

Here's my results:
Place: 2,406/15.977 (Top 15%)
Age group: 183/1,890 (Top 9%)
Gender group: 901/10,142 (Top 8% )
Net Time: 2:10:58    

part 1- dumbo double dare recap: the disneyland 10k

Wow!  What a trip!

There's a few things I noticed right off the bat about California:

1.  It's wonderfully, blissfully, dry and my hair looks great the whole time

2.  It's hot, but not Florida-hot.  Florida is Africa-hot!

3.  Speaking of, I should have brought more chapstick than I did.

4.  Everything at Disneyland is really, really, REALLY, close together.

We got in to town and made it to the Expo in the Disneyland Hotel around 4pm.  We were running about an hour behind what I'd originally planned for, but somebody wanted to stop and eat at In-N-Out Burger.  I admit, it was tasty.  Scot has an obsession with it.  We must have come in the wrong door at the Expo (not surprising, we were travel-weary and had just schlepped 30 minutes down the road from the Hilton) because we had to go out and back around and underground into I guess what was a parking garage or something to get my race bib.  After that, back upstairs to get shirts and do some shopping.  All I wanted to get was the Haunted Mansion themed Sparkle Skirt.  Once that was in hand, we were out of there and off to California Adventure.

We spent maybe 3 hours in the park, which was a lot of fun but after being awake for almost 18 hours, we could barely stay up long enough to even find our way back to the hotel.  I crashed into bed by 8:30 and awaited my 3:30am wake up call!

My corral assignment was A for the 10K and C for the half marathon.  Yippee!  I'd been in A before, when Scot and I did the Expedition Everest Challenge, but never for a... real race I suppose.  We took the ART bus this time and Scot got to come into the staging area in the Stitch parking lot.  We hung out for a little while there- the crowds weren't too bad at all- then I went off to my corral and Scot went back to the Downtown Disney area.  He managed to find a spot to watch near the Starbucks, since the Mile 6 marker was right smack in the middle of DTD, with the finish line right around the corner!  

The pre-race banter onstage at the starting line was the typical stuff- folksy jokes and goofy character interactions.  Stitch showed up.  So did Elvis.  Elvis actually sang the national anthem and did an amazing job at it.  

 There's the start!  I'm in A!!!!

 The 10K was Stitch-themed

I learned something interesting about Disneyland that I didn't think about before.  They don't do fireworks at these parks!  Because it's in the middle of a city and they don't happen to own the 40-plus square miles surrounding to do whatever the hell they want, they have to abide by noise abatement procedures and such.  All the night shows are done with colored lights.  So was the kick off for the 10K.  Music, lights, and a countdown 3-2-1!  It all happened so fast, and we were off!

Know what else I learned?

I don't belong in Corral A.

The proof of time I submitted was a PR 15K with an 8:44 min/mile that I did back in April.  I can't for the life of my figure out how I didn't die doing that.  The entire A group passed me quickly, and I'm pretty sure the B group did, too.  It's hard to not over-do it when you're running with faster people.  I had to just focus on my time and my intervals, and it took me a couple miles to settle into my pace at about a 9 min/mi.  The first 2 miles were tough- outside the park on dark streets with no much going on.  We did pass a homeless guy walking down the sidewalk who was yelling "RUN MUTHERFUKER RUN!!!!" as we all went by.  Not Disney entertainment, but it made me laugh!

Just after Mile 2, I popped into Cars Land at CA Adventure.  It was a quick turn around the corner to Paradise Pier where I stopped to take a photo of the lake where the nighttime show is presented.  Pretty!

After running past a talking Mr Potato Head in front of Toy Story Midway Mania, and past Grizzly River Run (where I stopped for a real bathroom break, with a real sink and real soap), it was out of the park and off to Disneyland!

The route into the Disneyland park led me around the bus drop-off area then in through the front of the park, underneath the Main Street train depot.  I was excited!  This would be my first time in Disneyland!  I ran down Main Street and turned toward the castle and...

Um, where's the castle?

Oh wait, is that it? 

Way down there?  Is it even lit up?

Damn, it's tiny.  Like, Mona Lisa tiny.

I stopped for a photo on Main Street but it came out fuzzy.  One thing that I did notice that was different from running the Princess half at WDW was the lack of spectators on this route.  Disneyland was empty, as was DCA earlier.  At least for the Enchanted 10K at WDW last February, there were people lining the Boardwalk to cheer.  Not much going on on this morning!

I turned in toward Tomorrowland and past the Nemo Submarines ride (aw, it's closed for refurbishment? rats), past the Matterhorn (oooh I wanna check that one out!), then backstage for a bit.  The Disney employees backstage were cheering for us all, and they had parade floats operational with lights and music playing.  I was really enjoying myself and was feeling comfortable with my pace still.  Mile 5 sent me right through the castle (anti-climactic, since there was no cheering) then around through Frontierland, New Orleans Square (where I paused to shed a tear that the attraction I was most wanting to go on, my favorite attraction, the Haunted Mansion, was closed while getting prepped for Nightmare Before Christmas), then it was out of the park, backstage again, before popping up at DTD.  

Home stretch!  I hit mile 6 feeling great, saw Scot and waved as I passed before turning the corner and setting a 10K PR at the finish line.

I got my medal and my finisher bracelet for the Dumbo Double Dare, picked up my Powerade and snack box, then met him back in the staging area.  We caught the bus back to the hotel to clean up and hit the parks at rope drop.  Nothing was going to stop me from riding the Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land, dammit.  

Tiny castle!

Overall?  I liked the course, but there were no ChEAR squad people for the 10K.  Also, there were maybe 4 character photo stops?  I don't stop for characters, but there wasn't really much at all for people who do.  The route was fast, no hills.  I liked that it was mostly in the parks, although the first 2 miles on the street were bleh.  I think that time I was just trying to get in my groove, plus I really had to go to the bathroom!!!  It was hard to focus, but it generally takes me about 3 miles to warm up anyway.  

Here's the results!

Place: 770/9,603 finishers (Top 8%)

54/1,167th in age group (Top 4% of women 30-34)

258/6,271 in gender group (Top 4% of women)

Net Time: 56:33

More to come- next up the 1/2 Marathon Recap!

top gun virtual run and CA countdown

4 days until we're off to LA!!!  I've kinda sorta started packing, at least I have a list of stuff I need.  I just found out that while Anaheim is going to be lovely, temps are going to be in the 40s-60s in Yosemite!  Yikes.  Good thing I bought a new, ridiculously large suitcase this summer.

The other week, Lizzy Dragon and I did our Top Run Run- she came up to the house around 7am after I'd run almost 7 miles to join me for the back half of the half marathon.  Scot decided to run that morning too, even though he wasn't signed up for anything.  She and I stuck together and pounded out the last 6.2 together.  LD isn't a fast runner by any means, but she is steady.  We took about an hour and 20 minutes to finish the run.  After refilling our water bottles, we all jumped in the pool for almost an hour, which felt great!  Scot ended up cooking us some breakfast, and we were able to rest up, stretch, and be dressed and out the door for a day of work at 11 am.  

I've been stalking the mailman the past few days waiting for my medal- here is it, and it's gorgeous!

You really can't appreciate the heftiness of it until you actually get your hands on one.  Behind the airplane there's a clear blue glass and the clouds are all glittery.  It's fantastic.

Also, it just registered in my brain today that there's a little more than 4 months til I have to run a marathon. Eeek!  If it were just a marathon, I think I might be okay with it but this is DOPEY we're talking about!  The day I run my first marathon, I will have run a half marathon the morning before!  I will be on day 4 of 3am wake-up calls.  I will be sick of vacation food.  Actually, that's probably a lie.  I'm going to be eating the same, boring, safe foods I always do when I run and I'm going to be craving the biggest plate of junk food of all time when it's all over.

Anyhoo, back to Disneyland stuff- I bought us one day tickets to the park, figured we'd just do the Disneyland side on Saturday or something.  At work, a customer of one of my coworkers who works for Team Disney told me there's no way I could just do one day and completely pass up California Adventure (and Cars Land!)  He ended up giving us 2 one day park hopper passes to use on top of the tickets I'd bought already!  After figuring that the airport is only about an hour away from the park, the plan now is to get to the hotel, get to the expo, then go into CA adventure around 4pm.  Early day Saturday for the race, then back at the gate to Disneyland at 9am to use the park hopper tickets.  I'm pretty excited about it now- I think Scot thought this was going to be a restful vacation.  HA!  After the half marathon on Sunday, it's back in the car for a 6 hour drive to Yosemite.  Stay tuned for more pictures!

  

ok, now i'm awake!

So last Thursday, Scot did his first morning run with me.  It was also his first run over 5K, and he made it 6.3 miles!  I'm proud of him, and it bodes well for the 10K we signed up to run in September to use as proof of time for the Princess Half Marathon next February.  I certainly don't want to be stuck in corral P- he's male and had no proof of time when we signed up so you KNOW that's where he'd end up.  

On a more interesting note, we were maybe a half mile into our run, coming up the hill when we saw the lights from police cars.  We slowed down a bit to see- there was a ton of activity on the opposite sidewalk!  Cops, a couple DEA vans, and- I kid you not- about a dozen SWAT guys in their gear headed up into a house across the street!  The road was blocked off and because it was still dark, we could see just a line of car headlights up the road behind it all.  As we passed the house, a loud BOOM! went off, and I'm not gonna lie, I took off running!  It was a weird kind of run-walk, I was honestly trying to not look suspicious.  We carried on down the road, not wanting to stick around but peeking back to see what was going on!  We passed that house again a little over 15 minutes later on lap #2, and again on lap #3, all the lights were on, the front door and garage door were wide open.  The DEA van had gone and the house was full of police.  A haze hung in the air inside, probably from whatever they threw inside as they took over the house.  Flashbang, smoke bomb, whatever it was.  We did see too that there were 3 or 4 tightly wrapped white brick-like packages in the driveway and found out later that afternoon from the news that this house was one of many that were busted in a huge heroin ring in Volusia county!  Yaaaaaaay Deltona...!

Not long after our run was over, a big truck with a forklift-digger machine thing showed up to tear up the driveway.  That's the latest and final project- we're putting in pavers and adding an extra parking space.  I'll add photos later when it's done- it's looking pretty incredible so far!     

hollywood studios frozen summer (and DDD countdown!)

Headed to California for the Dumbo Double Dare in just a month!  So excited for this one!  I got my bib number and corral assignment yesterday- I've made it all the way up to Corral C!  When I ran my first race- Tower of Terror 10 Miler- last October, I was in G so I've come a long ways.  The C placement however, means I ended up with an estimated finish time of just under 2 hours for the half marathon, which is so not even going to happen.  I set a PR on that Riverside Dash 15K back in April, so I used that for all my proof of times.  I mean, my estimated finish time for the Marathon next January is like 4 hours.  HA!  

So, Scot signed up for the Princess half with me.  We have a group of about 15 or so people running it together, most of whom are friends of friends but that's okay.  It'll be great to have so much support!  I can't for the life of me figure out what compelled Scot to sign up for this race, but I'm supportive.  I've offered to let him get up at 5 am with me for my morning runs but he hasn't taken me up on that yet!  He has already started looking into costumes, though.  I've given suggestions (Incredibles, Piggy & Kermit, Elsa & Olaf) but he says he wants to be a Prince.  Whatever then!

We went down to Hollywood Studios this past Sunday for the Frozen Summer events and had an absolutely fabulous time!  We had some fast passes for our favorite rides (Toy Story, Star Wars, and Tower of Terror) and the wait for the rest of the stuff we did really didn't exceed 20 minutes.  But oh let me tell you about the Frozen stuff!  When we got to the park we were given a paper Olaf snowman on a stick and were told to use #olafsummervacation on social media and take his picture doing various things around the park.  Some of the photos would be selected for the big screen presentation during the fireworks that night!  Cool!  Off we went. 

We first snagged tickets to the sing-along, which was a great idea at 2 in the afternoon.  The theater was warmer than it should have been but it was better than being outside.  Olaf enjoyed it.

Of course I sang along to everything, and I think Scot just enjoyed the ride.  He doesn't know all the words but I saw him trying when I glanced over.  The whole show was great- really funny, with a finale of smoke effects, lights, and of course- snow!

We made it into Wandering Oaken's Trading Post, which was a temporary store filled with Frozen merchandise.  Nothing to write home about.  They did have a candy counter with all kinds of themed goodies, but I resisted.  I was saving my calories for a cupcake and glowing drink later!  After a couple more rides, we found a seat at the bar in the Tune In Lounge for a bite of early dinner.  From there, into Frozen Funland!  Frozen Funland is also a temporary setup down the street from Toy Story, you go inside and around a corner and they have an ice rink set up with skate rental!  There's also a big corner filled with snow for kids to play in.  This is where the cupcakes were!  I paid way too much for a chocolate Anna cupcake.  Olaf didn't get any...

We got a photo at the entrance with him, sat down, enjoyed the cupcake, then headed out.  

Here's a few more of the things we did over the afternoon- a couple shots of the Backlot Tour:

And we also took him on the Tower of Terror!

 After the sun went down, we had to wait for the fireworks.  We put up our feet for a while and I got to enjoy my glowing blue Frozen adult beverage!  And some popcorn.  Because I couldn't resist the smell.  As 9pm rolled around, we headed over to the Mickey Hat to the dance party.  The Mulch, Sweat & Shears guys we re-branded as the Ice Men of the North and of course are really good.  After their rocking performance, the fireworks show started with Anna and Kristoff on stage, talking to Olaf who was digitally represented on the screen above.  He started showing his "vacation photos" in song (from the pictures that had been tagged earlier that day).  Almost 2 dozen of them with various people posing with their Snowmen On A Stick flashed up during the 2 minute song, and right at the end- THERE WE WERE!!!  OMG we made it into the show!  The one of the 2 of us holding him in front of the bridge in Frozen Funland!  I was in heaven after that- the fireoworks were incredible, the music all day was fantastic, the food was amazing, the whole theme was fulfilling enough for a Frozen addict like me, it was the perfect end to the day.

a princess once more, and more, and more

Disney Princess Half marathon registration was today and I signed up for the Glass Slipper Challenge again!  Wooo hooo!  I've actually got another couple girlfriends who are participating in the 1/2 marathon phase so I'm looking forward to training together.  

By signing up for the Princess, et al, I'm officially on track to complete EVERY Disney World race over 10K (6.2 miles) during the 2014-15 racing season.  This includes the Tower of Terror 10 Miler (repeat customer on that one), the Wine & Dine Half, and the Dopey Challenge.  It's a total of 8 races, including the Princess half/10K.  The Dumbo Double Dare at Disneyland this Labor Day is just a lagniappe!  

I've also really caught on to this virtual racing thing.  There's a ton of them on www.willrunforbling.com and it's super easy.  Actually, I convinced my friend LizzyDragon to sign up for the-get this- Top Gun Run.  We're both pilots (she is a former student of mine) and we were doing what pilots do best- floating around in the pool sucking down rum and cokes- when I saw the link to this website.  I'll pretend I'm just very persuasive, but I didn't have to try hard to get her to sign up for the 10K.  I'm pretty sure the rum helped.  I ended up signing on for the half marathon.  It wasn't expensive, $25, and the money benefits muscular dystrophy research.  Since it's a virtual race, they send you a medal (which you pretty much just purchased for $25) and you run around your neighborhood or whatever.  Anyhoo, the cost is low and the medal is badass looking!  We've decided that when the time comes in the middle of August (AWESOME time of year to run, esp in Florida, know what I'm sayin'?) that I'm going to get up and knock out 7 miles and while I'm doing that, she's going to drive up to my house and we'll finish the 6.2 together.  Because it's a virtual race and we can do whatever the hell we want to, right?

We feel the need.  The need for speed.  During intervals, of course.

  

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.)