I run because I can

Walt Disney World marathon weekend here we come

2011-12-14T10:16:00.000-06:00

Only about 3 1/2 weeks until the 2012 WDW marathon weekend. I am only running the 1/2 in 2012. I had originally signed up for the full, but I have had some foot issues so I dropped the full and moved to the 1/2. Oh yeah, I am running the 5K alos. Can't go to marathon weekend and only run one race right?

My training for the 1/2 has gone very well, and quite frankly I am tired of training and ready to race. Pam is walking her first WDW 1/2 in 2012 after completing 2 Disneyland 1/2 marathons. In 2012 she wants to go Coast to Coast. It has been a good year running for me. I set a PR for the 5K (23:53), the 1/2 marathon (1:52:58) and the full marathon (4:55:51). Pleased with those times and it gives me new goals to shoot for.

Til next time run strong and enjoy the moment.

Long time no post

2011-05-22T17:05:00.004-05:00

Wow it has been months since I posted anything here. Much as happened since the last post. I ran the Goofy challeneg in January, ran my first sub 2 half marathon in early April & ran a second sub 2 half in late April. Currently I am running 30 miles a week building my base miles.

My next scheduled race is the Disneyland 1/2 in September. Pam is going to run/walk it again this year as well. In June I am joining 11 other runners in St. Louis to run the Mojo StLoco. It is a 50 mile run with friends. We are running just for the fun of it and getting to spend time together.

In July Pam & I are cruising on the Disney Dream for a five night cruise. We are both really excited and looking forward to it. Hoping to take a short Xmas trip to WDW in December. We love the world at Xmas time.

In April we had a new addition to our family. Our grandson Elias came into the world on April 26th. He was a little early, but doing just fine. We know have Elli & Eli as our grandchildren. All I can say is this it is very cool to be a grandparent.

I will try to post more often than I have in the past, I promise.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Disneyland 1/2 marathon

2010-10-06T07:16:00.009-05:00

On Sunday Sept 5th I ran the Disneyland 1/2 marathon. It was the second time I have run this race. We flew to California on the 1st. We wanted time to hang out in the parks before the race. We stayed at the Grand Californian. Wow, what a fabulous hotel. Spent lots of time in Disneyland & California Adventure.

On Saturday the 4th we attended a Team AllEars meetup at the the Paradise Pier hotel. Got to meet and talk with Deb Wills, the founder of AllEars.net and some other team AllEars teammates.

Race day we got up at 4:30AM got dressed & ate some breakfast. Once we were ready to go we walked from the hotel to the starting corrals. There were runners & walkers every where. I went to my corral & Pam went to her corral. The race started at 6am. By about 6:15 I was crossing the start line. First couple of miles I ran at an easy warm up pace as we ran through backstage California adventure. One we crossed over to Disneyland I was good and loose and picked up my speed some. My goal was to run miles 3 through 9 at 9:00 to 9:30 pace.

Miles 1 through 4 took you through both theme parks and then it was on to the streets of Anaheim. We ran through the industrial area of the city. At mile 8 we ran by the Honda center (where the Mighty Ducks play) and then on to the Sana Anna trail headed towards the big "A" where the Angels play. It was a blast getting to run in the ballpark. Once out of the ballpark, we got to mile 10. I wanted to run the last 4 miles sub 9:00. Near the finish we went ran back into the California adventure (backstage) headed for the finish line. We left DCA, ran around the Paradise Pier hotel turned up Disneyland drive and I could see the finish line. I crossed the line with a time of 2:02:39. This was a 12 minute PR for me. I was pretty jazzed & pumped up over how well the run went. I crossed the line got my medal & then found the Coast to Coast medal stop, picked that up and went back to the finish area to wait for Pam to complete her first 1/2 marathon.

It was real neat seeing her come aroound the corner after she finished knowing she had completed the race with time to spare. We walked to the medal stop & Pam got her medal.

We got in line to have our picture taken together with our medals and then headed for the food line. We found a spot where we could take our pictures with the 5th anniversary backdrop and snapped a couple of pictures with our bling.

This is the 2nd time I have gone to Disneyland for the Coast to Coast medal. Will I do it a 3rd time, absolutely. We had just as much fun this year as last and we are already looking forward to doing it again next year.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment

California here we come

2010-08-29T18:18:00.006-05:00

We are less than a week away from the Disneyland 1/2 marathon. Our training is just about over & it's time to go run!!! During this past training cycle I have done a variety of different types of training runs. Everything from easy runs, tempo runs, progression runs, heart rate training & of course hill work. My goal is to set a PR. If it happens that would be great, but if not that's OK also. After all we are running at The Happiest Place on Earth.

I am most of all excited for Pam, who will be doing her very first 1/2 marathon. She is going to walk it. Let me tell ya, she has worked every bit as hard as me in her training. She is a little nervous & anxious. I have told her that is normal. I still get that way myself.

More than anything we are ready for a vacation. We have not been anywhere this summer. What we have done, is work on the house all summer. We are both very excited to "just get out of town" and relax at Disneyland. We are flying to So Cal on Wednesday, that gives us four days to just hang out before the race on Sunday morning. We have made a couple of dining reservations, but other than that just going to wing it.

Can't wait to see Pam cross that finish line and have that medal hung around her neck. Hope to get a picture of the two of us with our medals. Oh yeah, I'm going after another Coast to Coast medal. After this race, Wine & Dine is next up & then the Goofy challenge in January.

Well, all that is left to do is go ruuunnnn!!!

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment

2 weeks to go

2010-08-22T08:42:00.004-05:00

Two weeks from today is the Disneyland 1/2 marathon. I believe I am ready. I have most certainly put in the training miles. I have done progression runs, tempo runs, hill work & lots of HR zone training runs. You know, a PR would be nice, but I really just want to have fun running through the parks.

Last year I stopped and took some pictures. I had decided I was not going to do that this year & try to PR. The more I think about it, I don't really care much about a PR and I think I will carry a camera and stop and take pictures again this year. Hey it's Disneyland & I only get there once a year, so I want to soak it all in and just have a great time running the race.

Pam is doing her first 1/2 marathon this year. I am excited for her. She has put in all of the training also. Yesterday she walked an amazing 11 miles. I think that will be her longest walk prior to the race. She has told me she is anxious, nervous & excited about doing the race. I have told her that all of those emotions are normal. I still get that way before a race. Can't wait to see the 5th anniversary medal hanging around her neck.

In October we are going to WDW to participate in the first annual Wine & Dine 1/2 marathon. We are going to do the relay. Pam will walk/run the first 4.8 miles & I am going to run the last 8.3 miles. This race starts at 10pm & finishes in Epcot with a party for the race finishers. I do think it will be really cool to run the parks at night with all the lights on.

Next race after this one is the big one, the Goofy challenge in January. This race is the reason I have worked so hard this year putting in the miles. Once we get done with Wine & Dine it will be time to start marathon training again. I am averaging over 100 miles per month right now in running alone. In addition I am cycling about 15 to 20 miles per week. It has been super hot & humid this summer making it tough sometimes to get the runs done. It should be a lot cooler when I start the marathon training again after Wine & Dine.

My goal was to run a 1000 miles this year. As I write this I am sittinig at 802. Looks like I will reach and exceed my goal if an can stay healthy and injury free. Speaking of health, my doctor has allowed me to go off BP meds. I went to see him 6 weeks ago and we talked about going off the meds. This past Monday I went back to see him and my BP was right where it should have been, so no more meds for me. I was pretty excited about this. Now the goal is stay off them forever. Looks like tthe running, cycling & healthier eating is paying off.

As the blog title says, I run because I can. This is something I want to be able to do for many many years to come.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

Been Awhile

2010-07-06T18:18:00.003-05:00

Yup, it has been awhile since I posted. Just been doing maintenance running logging base miles. I have only run one race since the Illinois marathon on May 1st. On June 12th I ran a 5K. It was the State Farm Live Well Be Well 5K. The race started at 8am. The temp was 75F & the humidity was 96%. I did manage to PR in 24:51. First time I can remember running a sub 25 5K. I was pretty excited with the time & also wondered what I could have done if the humidity had been lower.

We decided to not go on a vacation this summer in lieu of working on some remodeling projects. There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow though. On September 5th Pam & I both are going to run the Disneyland 1/2 in California. 6 days at Disneyland, can't wait. Then less than a month later we are going to run the inaugural Wine & Dine 1/2 marathon relay on Oct 2nd at WDW. Wow, 2 trips to Disney parks in a month's time, I will be in Disney heaven.

Today registration opened for the Princess 1/2 marathon. Do I dare ask Pam if she wants to run it? I am registered for the Dopey challenge (all 3 races) during marathon weekend in January.

I am currently averaging 25 to 30 miles per week. I wanted to keep the fitness level up after the marathon, so I just kept running. I am hoping by doing this, it won't take as long to get trained up for marathon weekend.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.
Goofy 57 runner signing off

Catchin Up

2010-06-05T13:01:00.002-05:00

Been over a month since my last post. Thought it was time to catch up a little. Doing mostly maintenance running right now. Still keeping the mileage up some, don't want to lose the fitness I had for the marathon.

Just got back a week ago from the annual fishing trip to Canada with Dad & friends. As usual we had a great time and brought home our limit in Walleye. We had to work to catch the fish this, they were biting slooowww.

Have a 5K next Saturday morning. Going to try and set a PR in it. My current best is 26:16. Not really shooting for a specific time, just something lower than 26:16.

All of the reservations are made for Disneyland in September. Both Pam & I are running there. Looking forward to it.

Our big news is we are going to do the Wine & Dine 1/2 marathon relay in October at WDW. Pam will run/walk the 1st 4.8 miles & I will run the final 8.3 miles. This will be a blast. This is the inaugural Wine & Dine race and coincides with the Food & Wine festival at Epcot. The race starts at 10pm in the WWOS and finishes in world showcase with a post race party. We have attended food & wine a couple of times before and had lots of fun. October is a great time of the year to be at the world.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

I am a Marathoner

2010-05-04T18:01:00.014-05:00

This past Saturday, May 1st, I ran my first full marathon. Wow, what an experience I will never forget. It started with a 4:30am wake up. Got up, ate breakfast (cereal, bagel & banana), then started to get dressed. My wife also got up with me at 4:30. At about 5:oo the rest of my support team (daughter & son in law) got up. Once everybody was sort of awake, I took this picture of my team, which was aptly named the Goofy57 team. These three very important people in my life have supported me from the very beginning of my training until the race was over. I can not thank all of them enough!!!

We left home about 5:30 and drove to Champaign, which is about 40 miles east of where I live in Bloomington. The weather was overcast & it was misting a little rain. The temp was 61 degrees and it was really humid also. We got to Champaign around 6:20 or so and by the time we got parked it was 6:40. The race started at 7:30, which was good for me, I did not have a lot of time to kill before the gun went off.

I got all of my gear ready and put it on and we all walked towards the start line, with me making a pit stop at the porta potties. Said goodbye to my team and then walked to my corral. The corrals were set up as estimated finish times instead of A,B,C,D, etc. I got in the 4:45 corral and listened to my ipod and chatted with the people around me waiting for the gun to go ff.

I never did hear the gun go off, but I crossed the start line about 15 minutes after the clock started. Just past the start line on my left stood my team cheering me on. This picture was snapped of me as I passed them.

This was the view in front of me as I passed the start line. Wow there were lots of runners.
I started off nice and slow sticking with my pace plan which was written by my good friend Gordon from Run to Disney fame. Several months ago I asked Gordon to write me a training plan & pace plan for this race and he was gracious enough to have said yes he would do it. I spoke with Gordon before the race started and I think he was a s nervous as I was about the race.

The first 3 miles went by in a flash. I had to stop at a porta potty and get rid of some nervous energy I guess. Seemed like I stood in line forever. Finished up there and it was back at it. I checked in with Pam on the phone a couple of times to let her know where I was and how I was feeling. It wasn't long and I was at the 13.1 mark, half done half to go. I was still feeling really strong. I got to see my team also. I waved as I went by them headed for the back half of the race.

All was going really well at this point. I was staying hydrated, taking my gels at the right time & staying with my pace plan. It all changed in mile 17. I just started slowing down, not keeping with my plan. I think the humidity was beginning to work on me. I had not done any training for this race in any humidity at all. Most of my training was done in cold weather or cool temps. I stuck with it and just ran at a slower pace until mile 23.

Mile 23 is where I started doing a run/walk combo. Not a Galloway run/walk, just ran when I felt like it and walked when I felt like it. I would not say I was struggling, I was just taking my time so I could finish the race. I had a goal of 4:45, but I knew I would not make that so I just kept plugging along.

It was a great sight when I saw Memorial Stadium come into view. I knew I was close and was gonna make it. I ran down the ramp, into the stadium and the first thing I saw was my cheer team screaming and hollering at me that I had done it.

I crossed the finish line and was handed my medal. At that point I became a Marathoner!! I made my way over to my team and hugged everybody and thought to myself, I have done it, I really have. The next thing I asked for was my chocolate milk. I had started drinking it after all of my long runs and I am now a firm believer that is speeds recovery. Two great friends Mike & Jan were there to cheer me on and Mike asked me if I would run another full & I told him absolutely I would.

Reflecting back on this day, it was a fantastic day for me. I accomplished something I was not sure I could do, but knew I had to try. I proved to myself that I could do it. My finish time was just over 5 hours by my Garmin and now I have a PR to shoot for in the next one. I do know this, when training for a long distance event it involves your entire family not just yourself. I again want to thank Pam, Abby & Andy for their encouragement & support. I also want to thank my coach, yes I said coach, Gordon for taking lots of time out of his days & nights to get me to the finish line.

Next up, I am looking for a 1/2 to run between now and Sept to run. I do not want to just do maintenance running until the Disneyland 1/2 in September.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment!!!

Kentucky Derby mini marathon

2010-04-27T17:35:00.007-05:00

This past Saturday I ran the mini marathon in Louisville again. As last year I had good time again this year. I got up at 4:30 ate breakfast (Banana, bagel & cereal) and then got dressed. It was 61 degrees so I wore a short sleeve tech shirts & shorts. My son in law Andy, took me to downtown Louisville to catch the shuttle to the start line. It was lightly raining at the time.

I got to the start area about 6:15 and checked out where my corral was. And I put on the garbage bag I took with me because it was raining a little harder. I walked around a bit and then went to the porta potty line. By the time I got through the line, the race had started. It was no big deal because there were 15,000 people at the start line. I took off the garbage bag and jumped in with the mass of people making their way forward and crossed the start line about 15 minutes after the gun had gone off.

I started the race by listening to my ipod, but by about 2 miles into the race it was raining pretty hard so I put it in a plastic bag and stuck it in my pocket. So it was just me talking to myself the rest of the way. Miles 2 thru 5 were in a city park and it was pretty hilly. No big deal I have been running hills in training. It had pretty much stopped raining by the time we exited the park.

The next few miles were on a nice flat roadway. We were making our way to Churchill Downs. Entered it at about mile 8. It was just as cool this year as last, getting to watch the horses run on the fabled track as we were running on the infield. Had to run through 2 different tunnels to get in and out of it. Once out of Churchill we made a left turn and headed for downtown Louisville.

At mile 12 the mini (1/2) runners turned left & the full marathoners turned right. I had been watching my pace on my Garmin for the entire race and I was pretty pleased with the way I was moving. The crowds of people on the sidewalks were getting bigger as we got closer to downtown. I passed several live bands and lost of people holding signs and cheering for their runner.

Once we got to downtown we made several turns and I could see the finish line. The last 2 miles I gave it pretty much all I had. I did mile 12 in 9:20 & mile 13 in 8:35. I finished in 2 hours, 14 minutes & 28 seconds by my Garmin. Later when I check the Derby website, it showed my chip time as exactly 3 minutes slower than my Garmin. I started my Garmin as soon as I stepped on the first timing mat, so I don't what caused the 3 minute difference. I'm going with my Garmin time, as it is a new PR for me. Hey, I can do that right?

I had a great cheering section near the finish line. I looked to my right and there were Pam & Abby jumping up and down cheering for me, how cool is that!!! Andy was on my left side, I did not see him until after I crossed the finish line. He had my chocolate milk for me. I have found that drinking the chocolate milk after long runs has really shortened the recovery times.

Pam & Abby had to make there way to Waterfront Park where the after race festivities were being held. Once we all joined some pictures were taken and the we hiked back to the car and home.

Will I do this race a third time, absolutely. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hey, maybe next year sign up for the full marathon. Full marathon, I have my first one this coming Saturday. I am really pumped and ready to do it. Talk to ya later!!

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

Less than 2 weeks away!!!

2010-04-19T19:39:00.006-05:00

Yep, it's less than two weeks away. But first I have a 1/2 marathon this weekend in Louisville. Actually I'm pretty pumped up about both races. Looking forward to running through Churchill Downs again. I have been told the weather might not be the most agreeable, but I will still be running.

Last week I ran a total of 23 miles as I taper down for May 1st. My long run was 10 miles on Saturday with specific goals for the final 5 miles. I did meet my goals. This week I have two short easy runs, a tempo run of 50 minutes and then the 1/2 marathon. Wow it is almost here. I really think I am ready to do this thing.

Did I tell ya I'm ready to go back to a Disney theme park. Looking forward to our September trip to Disneyland to run and enjoy the parks. Gonna stay at the Grand Californian again. We really loved it last year.

Okay tell me where the above picture was taken. Hint, it is in California.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong and enjoy the moment.

Less than 3 weeks away

2010-04-13T07:41:00.005-05:00

May 1st, that's the date. Less than 3 short weeks away until I run my first full marathon. I am excited, anxious & nervous all at the same time. The past 2 weeks of I have run 33 miles & 24 miles respectively. This past Saturday I ran 20 miles in 3 hours & 30 minutes. It was agreat run. This week I start tapering.

The week before my marathon I am running the mini marathon in Louisville again. I would love to try and set a PR, but my coach Gordon, said nope, treat it as an LSD run. So that's what I'm gonna do.

It looks like I will have a cheering section on marathon day. Pam, Abby, Andy, Jan & Mike will be there to cheer me on as I slog through 26.2 miles. I really appreciate there encouragement & support.

Just yesterday I got an email from the folks at Disney about free quick service dining if I book a trip for summer. It is so tempting to do it. I'm ready to go back. We'll see what happens :)

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

5 weeks away

2010-04-01T06:54:00.003-05:00

Only 5 weeks away. It does not seem possible. 5 weeks til my first full marathon. I am excited and looking forward to running it. Nice flat course. A good choice for my first full, I think.

This past week I ran a total of 34 miles. My long run, yep I mean long, was 21 miles on Saturday. It took me 3 hours & 55 minutes to do it. I felt better after this run than I did the week before on the 18 mile run. Last weekend the wind was not nearly as strong as the weekend before, hence the reason I felt better after 21 miles than the 18 miler. This should be the most miles I will run in a week during this training cycle.

Won't be long I start to taper as it gets closer. My last long taper run will be the Kentucky Derby mini marathon the week before the full. Had a good time running that one last year & looking forward to running it again.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

6 short weeks away

2010-03-21T18:00:00.004-05:00

The photo above is from Spectromagic, my favorite Disney parade at WDW. It's going away in June as the Main Street Electrical parade returns for a summer engagement. I truly hope Spectro comes back sometime in the future. The lights and music are fantastic in this parade. I listen to the soundtrack all the time on my Ipod while running.

This past week I run a total of 32 miles. A couple of easy runs, a hill run (not hill repeats) & my long run which was 18 miles. The temp was 35 degrees with NNE wind of 20 to 25 mph. I did really well the first 14 miles. I was doing a pretty good job with my pacing & doing OK with my hydration and nutrition. The WIND finally got me. I finished the last 3 miles by doing a run/walk combination, but I did complete 18 miles in 3 hours and 19 minutes.

Next week will be my longest LSD run prior to the marathon. 21 miles is on the schedule. After that tapering will begin. I sometimes forget that I am running the Kentucky Derby mini marathon a week before the Illinois marathon. The Derby run will be a good taper/training run. I'm really getting excited about running a full marathon. Of course, all of this in preparation for the 2011 WDW Goofy challenge.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

7 weeks to go

2010-03-13T14:29:00.004-06:00

I ran a total of 30 miles this week. Had to change up my schedule for this week, being we were not going to be home this weekend. On Monday I did an easy 5 mile recovery run in 50 minutes. Tuesday I ran 6 miles in 1 hour and 3 minutes. Did a progressive run. Started with a mile w/u at 11:05 & finished the last 2 miles at 10:08 & 10:02 respectively. I had some tired legs when I was finished.

On Thursday I did a real easy 3 miles in 31 minutes. I moved my long run up to Friday. I ran 16 miles in 2 hours and 52 minutes. My average pace was 10:45 for the entire run. I was tired at the end of the run, but happy as I set another milestone for myself. Next week I have 32 total miles on my schedule with a long run of 18 miles. Kinda glad I will have had had two days to rest & recover before I get going again on Monday.

Disney announced a new a type of annual pass this week. The pass is good for one year for Disneyland & WDW. As much as we get to go to Disney we are considering buying the pass for at least one year. We have to do some price comparing to see if we would get our money's worth before buying it. We have the Disneyland 1/2 trip in Sept, the WDW 2011 marathon trip & maybe a Christmas trip this year. I guess we need to figure out how many totals days we would be in a Disney park and go from there. Sounds exciting to have a pass that is good for both parks.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

8 weeks to go

2010-03-07T19:41:00.006-06:00

This past week of training was a pull back week. I only ran 26 miles. My long run on Saturday was 12 miles which I ran in 2 hours & 3 minutes. I ran it progression style. Started out with 2 w/u miles at an 11:00 minute pace. Miles 3-5 10:30 to 11:00 minute pace. Miles 6-10 10:00 to 10:15 pace. Mile 11 I ran at a 9:32 pace and mile 12 I pushed it and ran it at an 8:44 pace. Was a little tired at the end but felt pretty good.

The rest of the week went like this: Monday 5 miles, Wednesday a 50 minute tempo run covering 5 miles & Thursday an easy 4 miler. I know this coming week I will be upping the mileage. My date with the marathon is only 8 short weeks away.
One of my favorite attractions at Disneyland. What is it?

We are celebrating 3 family birthdays this week starting with my granddaughter's today. Also this week is my wife and daughters b'days. Happy Birthday to the three favorite girls in my life!!!

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Only 9 weeks to go

2010-02-28T10:35:00.004-06:00

This past week I ran a total of 29 miles. Monday was 4 mile easy recovery run. On Tuesday I did hill repeats for a total of 5 miles. Thursday was an easy 4 mile run. On Saturday I ran 15 miles, yes I said 15 miles. That was a first for me in my running life. Prior to Saturday the furthest I had ever run was 13.1 miles half marathon distance. I did a progression run. Started out with a slow pace and finished by run running miles 14 & 15 at a 10:02 pace & 9:32 pace respectively. I was really happy with the run when I finished. Actually felt like I could have gone a little further. I am beginning to believe I can run a full marathon. 9 weeks from yesterday is the big day.

Last Wednesday I registered for the Disneyland 1/2 marathon in Septemeber. Going Coast to Coast again this year. Hope to meet up with my W.I.S.H. buddies from the Dis Boards while in SO Cal.

The picture above is my wife and I with Goofy last Septmeber in Disneyland. Good times & good memories.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the ,moment.

One more week complete

2010-02-21T15:43:00.005-06:00

I finished another week of marathon training yesterday. Ran a total of 27 miles for the week. My long run was 12 miles. Ran it in 2 hours & 5 minutes. The weather really has not improved much around here yet. Still cold, windy and lots of sloppy streets to run on. The important thing is, I'm still out there putting in the miles no matter what the weather has thrown at me. Race day is May 1st. I'm excited and yes a little nervous. I am just about to the point where I will be running further than I ever have. I know I can do it. Mind over matter right.

I know it's only been about 2 months months since I have been to a Disney park, but I want to go back!!! Next time will be Disneyland in September for the 1/2 marathon. My wife and I counted up not to long ago and we think we have been to WDW 20 times. The Disneyland trip will be our third. Can't wait.

Just a couple good memories above to share with all. Yea I know, I'm a Disney fanatic.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

Another Week of training in the bank

2010-02-13T16:46:00.002-06:00

I ran a total of 26 miles for this week of training. Monday I did 5 miles in 51:32. The temp was 22 degrees and it was snowing lightly. Wednesday was a treadmill day. To cold to run outside. I did 6 miles in 58:36. On Thursday I was able to get back outside and run. Did 4 miles in 40:43.

Today I ran 11 miles in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Average pace was 10:04 for the run. I ran the last two miles in 9:35 & 9:20. Today was a great run. The temp was 15 degrees, but the wind was very light unlike last week. Sun was out ad it felt good on my face. My marathon is about ten weeks away. I'm already excited about running it. I will update next week.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

PS Happy Valentines day all.

Marathon training week #3 complete

2010-02-09T07:44:00.002-06:00

I ran a total of 23 miles last week preparing for my May 1st marathon. I ran 4 miles on Monday in 40:18. It was a nice slow recovery run. Wednesday I did hill repeats for the first time. Wow, my legs were pretty tired by the time I got down with the workout.

On Thursday I ran 6 miles in 1 hour. Legs were still a little tired, not sore, from the hill repeats the day before. On Saturday I ran 9 miles. What a grueling run. The temp was 26 degrees, wind chill was 10 degrees and the wind was blowing 20mph out of the NNE. The wind was a constant for the entire run. I was worn out when I got done. Another week of training is in the bank.

Thanks for reading

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Marathon training week #2 complete

2010-01-30T15:44:00.004-06:00

I ran a total of 22 miles this week. 4 miles on Monday, 6 on Wednesday, 4 on Thursday & 8 on Saturday. All but the Thursday run were done outside. On Thursday the temp was -14 wind chill, so I opted for the treadmill. On my 6 miler on Wednesday, my water bottles froze up, but it was still a good run.

I had a fantastic run on Saturday. Did 8 miles in 1:15:47. The last 2 miles were done in 8:58 & 8:46. This is a first for me, sub 9 minutes miles on a long run. I was pumped when I got done and still had some gas left in the tank. I can't wait for next week's training. I have to thank Gordon from Run to Disney. He has agreed to be my "cruise director" as I train for my first marathon. The schedule for this past week was put together by him. Thank You Gordon!!!

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Marathon training week #1 complete

2010-01-23T13:23:00.008-06:00

Today I completed the first week of my marathon training by running a total of 19 miles for the week. I used the Higdon novice schedule. I began with week #4 of the schedule because of having just finished the 1/2 marathon at Disney two weeks ago.

Today's 9 mile run was the best run I have had since running at Disney. Yesterday I bought an Asics storm shelter jacket at my local running store. I wore it today on the run, man it felt fantastic. Here's a couple of pictures of the jacket, one of them with me wearing it.

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I wish I would have bought a jacket like this along time ago. I only had to wear one shirt under it and I was plenty warm. It did a great job blocking the strong southeast wind I was running into.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

The Donald Part 4

2010-01-17T17:30:00.006-06:00

While I was crossing the start line, I did stop and take a couple of pictures of Mickey, Minnie & my main dog Goofy. Running from the start to World Drive was pretty uneventful except for the sleet that was falling. Yep, I said sleet, just like we get here in good ole central Illinois. It sleeted off and on for the first three miles. The first three miles were kinda slow due to all of us runners bunched together. Once I made it through the tight exit ramp on to World Drive I could pretty much run at the pace I wanted to. While running I was checking my Garmin, and I was running between a 9.45 to 10.15 pace. I was Okay with that considering how crappy the weather was.

I stopped at the welcome to the Magic Kingdom sign to snap a few photos and then kept on trucking. It was pretty dark and you really could not see much. Ran around the speedway, through the TTC, under the sevens seas lagoon bridge, passed the Contemporary and then is was backstage at the Kingdom. My wife who was part of chEAR squad was waiting for me on Main St. I stopped long enough for her to take a picture & give her a kiss then I was off again.

I ran through tomorrow land, fantasy land out through Cinderella's castle on the it was off to frontier land with a dash through Liberty Square. We went backstage again, got to see Captain Jack Sparrow & his henchmen, but did not stop for an photo ops. Once we left backstage it was back towards spaceship Earth. Mind you, there were several miles to go at this point. Running by the Grand Floridian we got to see Mary Poppins & Bert. Also got to see, I think the guy was impersonating Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. Anyway he was belting out tunes.

Got to about the #9 mile marker and there's just not much to look at for a couple of miles. Just after mile 10 you turn and go up the ramp to cross over World Drive on your way back to Epcot. The view from the bridge is amazing. You look out on both sides of the bridge and you can see hundreds of runners that are behind you and lots still in front of you. I took a couple of pictures of all the runners.

Miles 10 & 11 cover several ups and downs, literally, with the overpasses you run up and down. I saw the #12 mile marker and knew I was almost there, The Finish. We came in backstage at Epcot, ran out into Future World, ran to where World Showcase begins, made a loop back into Future World and then went backstage again to finish the race. All the cast members were hollering you are almost there, keep going you got it made. I will tell you this, the last mile seems a lot longer than a mile. Yea, I felt the same last year. I knew once I ran past the gospel choir, which is really really cool, I would be able to see the finish line. I crossed it in 2 hours 18 minutes and 31 seconds. I had completed my 2nd WDW 1/2 marathon.

I crossed the line, got my mylar blanket, man did that feel good, got my Donald medal and headed for the food stations. By now it was raining and I was pretty soaked from the run and the rain. I did not take me long to get cold. Got some food and then got in the back check line to retrieve my goody bag. It took almost 35 minutes to get the dang thing. Once I got it, I got out of there, found Pam and put on my dry coat and gloves. By the way I was still freezing.

I went with Pam & Mike to the chEAR squad section to wait for Jan to finish. There were some portable heaters set up and they felt pretty darn good. Mike was talking to Jan on the phone, so we had a good idea when she would get to the finish line. We were there to chear her on and see her cross the line. Once she made it through the gantlet we got in line to get on the bus to head back to POFQ. It really felt good on that warm bus. We got back to the hotel, ate breakfast, I showered then we headed of to the MK for the afternoon.

Final thoughts about the race: I had just as much fun as last year even though it was about 30 degrees colder. I had packed all of my cold weather running gear and I wore just about everything I took with me. The on course entertainment was just as fabulous as last year even with the weather being as nasty as it was. Will I do it again, absolutely, I have already registered to do the GOOFY challenge in 2011. WDW is a fantastic place to run a race and I hope to be able to run many many more there.

This coming week I start training for my first marathon which is on May 1st. Wish me luck...

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

The Donald Part 3

2010-01-16T11:33:00.006-06:00

Saturday morning (01/09) 3am wake up call. That is what the alarm was set for as well, but I was awake at 2:45. Got up and ate my breakfast and then started dressing for the race. Let's see, layer one was tights and compression shirt. Layer two, long sleeve dry fit shirt and running pants. On top of that a sweatshirt and my running jacket. The temp was in the low 30's.

We left the hotel at 3:45 to walk to the bus. Saw lots of people bundled up headed for the buses. We arrived at Epcot shortly after 4 and made the long walk to the runners area. I checked my bag (with dry jacket & gloves) and then we stood and waited to go to the corrals. Saw several people dressed as characters ,but not as many as last year. Everyone was just trying to stay warm. Of course I had to visit a porta potty prior to walking to the corrals. Shortly after 5 it was off to the corrals. Many folks were standing under the portable lights on the walk to corrals trying to get warm.

As we got to the corral staging area, yep I had to go again, so I got in a porta potty line & man it was a long one. Took care of business and found my corral. I had gotten moved up to the "D" corral from G which was cool. While waiting for the starting gun it SNOWED, yes I said SNOW in Florida. It was just flurries, but it was snow. I'm thinking, I run in snow at home, shouldn't have to do that in Florida. The gun & fireworks went off at 6am and we were off. I crossed the start line about 6:15.

Stay tuned for part 4 (I promise it will be the final part) Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

The Donald Part 2

2010-01-14T07:47:00.003-06:00

We ended day one with dinner at the Big River grill & micro brewery on the Boardwalk. Wow, great burgers & the atmosphere was really charged in the place. Numerous runners in there, all talking about the weekend races coming up. After dinner it was back to Epcot to watch Illuminations. The illuminations soundtrack is my absolute favorite of them all. I listen to it all the time when running. We were off to the hotel and bed once the show was over.

We had decided Friday was going to be an easy day to rest our legs. We walked to the food court at PO Riverside to eat. What a ZOO it was in there. Finally found a table, got our food and ate breakfast. We decided to go back to the expo. I bought a couple of shirts that did not fit (silly me thinking medium shirts would fit) that had to be exchanged. The other couple with me (Mike & Jan) wanted to pick up a couple of more things. The expo was a mad house just as we expected it would be. We stood in line forever just to pay for the items we selected. By the time we got done, we were all thirsty, so we went next door to the All Star again for a drink. We took a bus back to the hotel, dropped our stuff off and headed for Hollywood Studios. We rode several rides, ate dinner at the Back lot Express and went back to the hotel to wait the arrival of Pam. She got there about 9pm. I sure was glad to see her. I was pretty close to turning in for the night, had an early Saturday wake up call you know, so we headed to the room and bed.

Stay tuned for part 3, thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

The Donald Part 1

2010-01-13T07:02:00.010-06:00

My wife and & got up at 3am on Thursday the 7th so we could be at the airport by shortly after 4 for a 5:50am flight. When we got up there was already 6 to 7 inches of snow on the ground and it was still snowing. So we shoveled lots of snow before leaving for the airport. Why do I tell you all of this, because I thought there was no way the flight to Orlando would leave on time. We did board on time, pushed back from the gate and sat for an hour. During that hour the plane was de-iced not once, not twice but three times. We did eventually take off and fly to Atlanta where we had to make a connecting flight to Orlando. There were probably fifteen to twenty people on the flight who had the same connecting flight to Orlando as we did. We left Bloomington one hour late, so obviously that meant we would miss the connector in Atlanta. Not so, Air Tran held our connecting flight in Atlanta. When we got to Atlanta we walked off the plane walked down a couple of gates and walked right on the connecting flight. We arrived in Orlando about 20 minutes late from our original arrival time. I don't think that is too bad considering the way the weather was that morning.

Once we arrived in Orlando we took Disney's magical express to our hotel, Port Orleans french quarter. We got checked in, our rooms were ready, so we took the luggage to the rooms and then headed to the Expo for bib number & goody bag pickup. We went to the milk house first to turn in our waivers and pick up our bibs. I also picked up my wife's goody bag for the chEAR squad.

Next stop was the expo in the Jostens center. We picked up our goody bags & shirts and started shopping. I bought several Disney related running shirts, one of them being a training for the 2011 Goofy challenge shirt. I also bought a waist strap for my bib, some Balega running socks and some gel packs for the race. We spent several hours at the expo. By the time we were finished giving Disney more money we were really hungry, so we went next door to the All Star Cafe for a late lunch.

After lunch I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow runner from Minnesota in person. I had spoken with Dom via email and through Twitter but not in person so it was really cool to get to chat in person. We probaly visited for 30 to 40 minutes. Dom is running the Goofy in 2011 as is another online friend Gordon from Run to Disney, so I will have company. You can read Dom's blog at themouseandmore.blogspot.com.

Stay tuned for part 2. Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

It's Here

2010-01-06T17:58:00.003-06:00

We leave tomorrow morning for marathon weekend. Yea!!! The current forecast as I write this is calling for 2 to 4 inches of snow tonight and additional 1 to 3 tomorrow. Our flight is supposed to leave at 5:50AM. Just have to wait and see what happens. We will get to Orlando sometime tomorrow.

Even with the potential weather snafu, I am really pumped up about running again at WDW. I hope to meet some folks I have been tweeting with & emailing. I will write a race/trip report when I return home.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

9 Weeks down 1 to go

2010-01-03T10:56:00.003-06:00

This past week I only ran 16 miles. Ran 3 on Monday the 28th. Got to run outside. The temp was 26 degrees with a 10 degree wind chill. Not to bad. On Wednesday the 30th did 4 miles outside. The temp was 26 degrees with a 15 degree wind chill.

On new years day I had to run inside. Did 3 miles on the treadmill. The outside temp was 2 degrees with -14 wind chill. It was even worse on Saturday the 2nd. The temp was -5 with a -18 wind chill. So needless to say I was on the treadmill again for 6 miles. Have I said before, I hate running on a treadmill. It was just way , way to cold to be outside running. I was more worried about frostbite than anything.

Only two more short runs before the Donald next weekend. Looks like I will be running them inside with what the weather forecast looks like. It also looks like it could be a chilly run at WDW. I guess I will have to pack all my running attire, so I will have the right stuff for what ever the weather is down there.

It's almost here, and I'm excited and ready to run at the World.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Happy New Year & looking ahead

2010-01-01T11:50:00.006-06:00

Happy New Year to all!!! I hope the coming year is good to you in your personal & running life. Looking back to 2009, I had a great year running. I ran and completed my 1st three 1/2 marathons. I ran a total of 840 miles. Along the way I picked up a Coast to Coast medal. I have some new running goals for 2010:

WDW Marathon weekend 2010: Run the Donald again. Complete it with a better time than 2009.

Kentucky Derby mini marathon in April: Run the mini again.

Illinois marathon in May: Run and complete my 1st marathon on May 1st.

Disneyland half marathon in September: Complete my 2nd 1/2 at Disneyland and pick up another Coast to Coast medal.

Throw in some 5k's for good measure.

Run over 1,000 miles for the year.

My ultimate goal is the BIG one. Run and complete the GOOFY during marathon weekend at WDW in 2011.

I am really looking forward to what this year holds for me with my running. I know it will not be easy training and preparing for running a marathon, but I know I CAN DO IT. My goal is to have run a marathon before I run the GOOFY in 2011.

I hope everyone succeeds in achieving their running goals for 2010.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong @ enjoy the moment.

8 weeks down, 2 to go

2009-12-27T16:41:00.002-06:00

Week 8 of training is done and put away. On Monday did 4 miles outside. Wednesday I had to run on the treadmill, did 5 miles. It was super cold with the wind chill. Thursday I was able to get back outside to run 4 miles. Yesterday, Saturday, I ran 9 miles outside. The temp was 25 degrees with a wind chill of 5 degrees. The wind was blowing about 20mph out of the SW and the roads were partially covered with snow.

Less than two weeks to go. One more week of tapering and then it's off to run at WDW. The long range forecast shows early morning on Jan 7th will be in the low 40's. That would be about like this year, but we will have to wait and see.

Shortly after I get done with the WDW half I will start training for what I hope will be the first of many full marathons. Squeezed in the training cycle will be a 1/2 marathon in Louisville in April. As I keep saying my goal is to run the Goofy at WDW in 2011 with my friend Gordon from Run to Disney.

Thanks for reading

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment

Happy Holidays

2009-12-25T19:36:00.002-06:00

Happy Holidays to all. I hope Santa brought all you asked for. I have a 9 mile taper run tomorrow, but it is currently 22 degrees, snow on the ground and a nasty N/W wind blowing. So we will see in the morning if I run outside or on the treadmill.

The countdown is on, only a couple of weeks until race day at WDW!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

7 weeks down, 3 to go

2009-12-20T19:48:00.002-06:00

I got my 26 miles in for the week. Monday 4 miles outside, Wednesday 6 miles on the treadmill. The temp on Wednesday was 7 degrees with -2 degree wind chill. I love running outside and detest having to run on a treadmill, but it was just too cold to run outside.

Thursday I did 4 miles outside and Saturday I ran 12 miles, my longest run for the training cycle. I ran it outside while it was snowing and the roads were covered with snow. The wind chill was 18 degrees, but I was dressed warm enough and I properly hydrated and took 3 gels during the run. My time was 1:53:29. This next week starts the taper. I would really like to run a sub 2 hour 1/2 at WDW, but I would be happy with a sub 2:15 run. I guess it will depend on how many pictures I stop to take and getting through the masses at the start. Last year I think it took 20 minutes to run the 1st mile, but my buddy and I were in one of the far back corrals.

I also made the decision this past week to run a marathon next year. I am planning to run the Illinois marathon on May 1st. The course is pretty flat and the temps should not be bad at that time of the year. As I have said here before, my goal is to run the Goofy in 2011. Before attempting that, I want a full marathon under my belt, so I'm going to do one. Wish me luck.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

6 weeks down, 4 to go

2009-12-16T20:02:00.002-06:00

This week my training plan called for 24 miles. Monday I did 4 miles outside. The temp was 28 degrees and the roads were snow covered. It was a good run, I just had to watch where I was running.

Wednesday I did 5 miles on the treadmill. The wind chill was 3 degrees with wind gusts up to 40mph. This is the first time I have run on a treadmill since last December, and I hate to run inside, but it was just to cold to be outside.

Thursday I ran 4 miles, once again on the treadmill. The high temp for the day was 7 degrees. It was bitter bitter cold.

Saturday I ran 11 miles. I ran outside. The temp when I started was 20 degrees and the wind was not to bad. It took me 1 hour and 40 minutes for the run. I was pretty pleased with the time.

Okay, one hard week of training left then I start tapering. Next week I have 26 miles on the schedule with a 12 miler on Saturday the 19th. I sure hope I can run it outside. I think I would go nuts running that far on the treadmill. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate. I guess I should expect cold weather living in central Illinois, but that don't mean I have to like it. I will update next week. Come on WDW, can't wait....

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

5 Weeks down, 5 to go

2009-12-07T13:52:00.003-06:00

In week 5 of my training I ran 21 miles. Monday 3 miles, Wednesday 5 miles, Thursday 3 miles & Saturday, my long run, 10 miles. That was the first time since the Disneyland 1/2 I had run double digit miles in one run.

Once again the weather on Saturday was not to bad. Temp was in the low 30's and the wind was not blowing to strong. I did my run in 1 hour, 31 minutes and 58 seconds. I was right around a 9 minute mile pace. I don't know if I can maintain that pace for an entire 1/2, but I'm sure going to try.

I am having withdrawals. Normally every year we go to the World for 3 or 4 days at Christmas time. This year we are staying home and I am missing it. I have watched a couple of Disney Christmas specials on the tube, but we would rather be there in person. This is one of the reasons am I so looking forward to be being there next month.

I will update next week with week 6 of training. It could be interesting with all of the snow that is forecast for the upcoming week.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

4 weeks down, 6 to go

2009-12-01T08:18:00.002-06:00

I have completed 4 weeks of training for the WDW 1/2 in January. I ran a total of 19 miles last week. My long run was 8 miles on Saturday. The weather was perfect for running, and I had a great run. My time was 1 hour & 11 minutes. I was pretty happy with the time. I also did a short 3 mile run on Thanksgiving morning. It was cold and spitting snow while I was running.

This coming week I have 21 miles on the schedule with my long run a 10 miler on Saturday. I usually feel after running 10 miles that I'm ready to run the 1/2. I am looking forward to being in the sunshine in Florida in January. I'll give you an update next week.

Thanks for reading.

Run strong & enjoy the moment.

3 Weeks down, 7 to go

2009-11-23T18:43:00.004-06:00

I finished week 3 of my training. The plan I use only called for 16 miles this past week. My long run was 6 miles on Saturday. The 6 miler was a good run, I did it in 53 minutes & the weather cooperated for a change. This coming week I will run 19 miles with the long Saturday run being 8 miles.

I am really starting to get excited about going to WDW in January. I hope to better my finish time from this year. I plan to run the whole distance instead of a walk run race.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who take the time to read this blog.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

2 weeks down 8 to go & Jingle Bell 5K

2009-11-16T17:06:00.002-06:00

I have completed the 2nd week of my 1/2 marathon training. This week only called for 15 miles, with the long run being 5 this past Saturday. I did my long run in 45 minutes, which I was pretty pleased with. A 9 minute pace is good for me. I don't know if I can maintain that pace for an entire 1/2 marathon, but I'm going to try and see what happens.

This week calls for a total of 16 miles with a 5 mile run on Saturday. I hope the weather cooperates. Rain is in the forecast for the next 3 days.

Speaking of rain, yesterday was the annual Jingle Bell 5K run. We ran it in pouring rain. My time was 27:25, which I did not think was to bad with the rain. The entire event was very disorganized. This was the 1st year for a new route. The route was not bad, just the host location. Once you finished the race you can eat. Lots of restaurants donate food for this event every year. All finishers had to stand in line in the rain to get there food. There was no place to eat once you got your food, unless you wanted to stand in the rain and eat. We opted to drive home, change into dry clothes and eat. I have run this race many times in all different kinds of weather, which I don't mind considering the time of year, but the rest of the event was pretty bad. I'm sure there will be numerous complaints voiced about it.

I will update you after week 3 of training. Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong and enjoy the moment.

A Christmas Carol 3D

2009-11-10T08:18:00.004-06:00

Over the weekend, my wife & I went to see Christmas Carol 3D. We both enjoyed the movie, but we were not blown away by it. I guess maybe it was because we have seen A Christmas Carol many times in many versions. The 3D effects were outstanding & Jim Carey did a great job playing all of the parts he did.

A Christmas Carol has always been one of my favorite Xmas movies. My two favorite versions of the movie are The Muppet's Christmas Carol & the movie version starring Alastair Sim. I watch both of these 2 every year.

Next 3D Disney movie is Alice in Wonderland set to be released next spring. I look forward to seeing it. The only drawback to 3D movies is the cost to see it. This seems to be a Disney trend right now, making 3D movies.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

One week down, Nine to go

2009-11-08T14:01:00.002-06:00

I have completed the 1st week of my training. It was a pretty easy week, I only ran 13 miles, which is what the schedule calls for. Next week 15 miles. Also, next Sunday is our local Jingle Bell 5K. I have run this race for as many years as I can remember. It is a good time for a good cause.

I finally joined D23. I bought the fall issue of the magazine, the one that highlighted the Haunted Mansion, and decided I would pay the membership fee just for the magazine at least for a year. I have thought a lot lately about our trip to Disneyland this past September. I can not wait to go back, but I gotta wait until next September.

Went to our local running store yesterday and got my wife properly fitted for a new pair of running shoes. She has been mixing a lot of walking with some running and she needed a new pair of shoes. While there I bought a new pair of Asics 2140's. I got them for a fantastic price. I will save them and start wearing them after the WDW 1/2 in January. I will post next week and let you all know how the training and the Jingle Bell run went.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

WDW 1/2 10 weeks & counting

2009-11-02T09:00:00.000-06:00

Wow, it is finally here. Today I started my training for 2010 WDW 1/2. I was really ready to start my training. I was pretty darn bored with the maintenance running I was doing. Now I have a goal, get ready for the race.

I am going to follow the same training program I used for all 3 of the 1/2 marathons I ran this year. It is a ten week program which tops out with a 12 mile run as the longest one. I am really looking forward to not only running at WDW again, but just being there again. It seems like it has been ages since I was last at the World, and it was only last July.

Today was a 3 mile run which I completed in 27:37 according to my Garmin. That is a little slower than normal, but that's OK. My goal at WDW is 2:20. I know I can do that if I don't stop and take a lot of pictures, but I love taking those pictures. We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarter. I think I can walk to the start line from there instead of having to get up way too early and ride the bus to Epcot and then stand around for hours before the race starts. I hope I made the right call and that one. I will try to post regular updates on my training.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Toy Story 3D

2009-10-19T12:14:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went to visit our daughter & her husband. On Saturday we all went to see Tory Story 1 & 2 in 3D. The 3D rendering was OK but not great. There were obvious times when the 3D popped out at you, but is was nothing spectacular. It was still nice to see both movies again. We are looking forward to next summer when Toy Story 3 comes out.

I did a 5 mile maintenance run this morning. The sun was out, for a change, and it felt really good. Two weeks from today I start my training for 2010 WDW 1/2. I am looking forward to running at WDW again. With the announcement of the new Wine & Dine 1/2 marathon next October, I would love to do that one also. My ultimate goal is to run the Goofy in 2011. I would really like to run it with my buddy Gordon from Run to Disney. That's all for now.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Running at Disneyland Part 3

2009-10-10T12:22:00.000-05:00

Day three was an easy day, as it was the day before the race. We went to DCA and rode some rides, watched the Aladdin live show and pretty much took it easy. We ate dinner in Downtown Disney at a bakery which was serving a special pasta meal meal for the race. The lasagna was outstanding. It was off to bed early.

Day four, Race Day. We got up at 4:45 to eat some breakfast. The night before we bought some breakfast items at White Water snacks. I got dressed, ate breakfast and about 5:30 we walked outside. The weather was perfect for running. The sky was overcast and it was not to terribly hot yet. I said good bye to Pam and walked with a crowd of runners to where my start corral was on Disneyland Drive. At 6am straight up the start gun went off. It took me about 12 minutes to get to the start line. Mickey & Minnie we there. Just after the start line, Goofy was waving to us from the monorail which was parked on the track above the drive

We ran down Disneyland drive turned left onto Katella Ave, then left onto Harbor Blvd. We then went into the backstage of DCA. We wound our way through DCA across the esplanade and into Disneyland going directly backstage.

It was neat getting to see what it looks like backstage. We ran through fantasy land, through the Castle, around New Orleans square, pass the Haunted Mansion and left Disneyland through Critter Country. We ran the streets of Anaheim until we got to Angel stadium. Man was that cool getting to run inside there

There was huge crowd of people in the stands cheering us on. We left the stadium and only had about 3 miles left to finish. When we got back to Disney, we ran again backstage at DCA coming out near the front entrance of the Grand Californian. Pam snapped a picture of me as I exited DCA heading for the finish.
We ran down and around the Paradise Hotel and finished the race on a service drive near the Disneyland Hotel.
I ran it in 2:21:08. I got my finishers medal, the castle medal, then got in line to get my C to C medal. I was able to keep the wristband as a souvenir. Next I got my picture taken by the Disney folks and then began looking for Pam in the family reunion area. Once we found each other, we made our way back to the Grand Californian. We both put on clothes we did not care about getting wet and went directly to the Grizzly River ride in DCA. It was really neat that we could get into DCA from the Grand Californian. We rode the ride, went back to the room, I showered then we were off to the park again. We spent most of the rest of the day going between the 2 parks riding rides and shopping. We finished our trip by watching Magical again at Disneyland. We had an 8am flight the next morning home.

We both had great time on this trip. It had been 8 years since our previous visit to Disneyland. A lot had changed and there are many changes in the works at DCA. Before leaving to go to Disneyland I told Pam I only wanted to do this one time. On our flight home I expressed to her that I wanted to do it again next year. The picture below says it all!!!

In just a couple of weeks, I will start my training for the 2010 WDW 1/2 marathon. I can't wait.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Running at Disneyland Part 2

2009-10-10T11:43:00.000-05:00

Day 2 continued. We went to the convention center at the Disneyland hotel to pick up my race packet. We were directed to go down to the basement, which required us to go outside, walk along the hotel and walk down a ramp to underneath the building. When we got to the ramp, the line was very very long just to get inside.

Once we finally got inside, we had to find the right station according to my bib number. After I gave them the waiver and signed in I was given my bib and timing "D" tag. Since I was doing the Coast to Coast I had to go to another station, sign in and have the C to C wristband out on. I was given the instruction DO NOT TAKE THIS OFF UNTIL THE RACE IS OVER.

When then went back outside, up the ramp and back into the convention center to get the goody bag. We stood in a long long line which snaked its way through the expo vendors. I got my Disneyland tech shirt and goody bag. In the goody bag was a copy of the premiere issue of the D23 magazine. That was cool. I bought some gel packs, new socks and several 1/2 marathon shirts. By then it was time to get out of there. We took all of the stuff back to our room out on our swimsuits and headed to the pool to relax for awhile. About 5pm we went back to the room changed our clothes and headed to Disneyland for supper. I know I said in my first post about our trip we watched Magical on the first night, but I was wrong, we watched it this night. When we left Disneyland we walked through some of the shops in Downtown Disney and the went back to the room for a good nights rest. More to follow.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

Running at Disneyland

2009-10-09T08:50:00.000-05:00

My wife and I left for Disneyland on Sept 3rd. We flew from Indianapolis to Vegas & then from Vegas to Orange Co. We were met by this guy at the airport.

It was really warm when we arrived. I grabbed our luggage and then we found the Disneyland resort Gray Line express bus and rode it to the Grand Californian hotel. Wow, it was fantastic. We walked into a huge beautiful lobby. It looked just like a lodge right out of the old Pacific Northwest. We got checked in, went to our room, put up the luggage and headed for Disneyland. Of course the first thing I had to do, was get a picture of the castle.

We ate lunch at the Carnation Cafe and then started riding the rides. We did Small World, Matterhorn bobsleds, Space mountain, Mr Toad, Peter Pan, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain & Haunted Mansion. It had been 8 years since we had been to Disneyland, so we did a lot of walking around and taking in the sights. I have to say I really like the intimate setting of Disneyland. We went back to our room and rested. Ate some dinner and then went back to Disneyland for the fireworks. The show is called Magical, and it really is, especially when you get to see Dumbo fly. And of course we got to Tink fly also. After the fireworks we walked the park some, had to get a dole whip, then headed back to the Grand Californian for the night.

Day two, we went to DCA. We headed straight for Toy Story Mania. We had a blast riding it, then went straight to California screaming. That is really a cool coaster. I love the fact that it is outside. You get some pretty cool views of the park on the ride. We also did Soarin, Tower of Terror & went into Blue Sky Cellar. That was really neat. We got to look at the upcoming attractions for DCA. We had lunch, I don't remember where, then walked to the Disneyland Hotel where the race packet pick up and expo where.

More to follow.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Disneyland 1/2 Marathon

2009-09-16T09:05:00.001-05:00

I did it!!!! 2 hours 21 minutes and 8 seconds. I had a fabulous time running. I took lots of pictures on the route, which kept me from a little better finish time, but I had a blast. I told my wife I thought I only wanted to do this one time, to get the Coast to Coast medal, but I really want to go back and compete again next year. I will write a more detailed trip/race report later.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Leaving Today

2009-09-02T03:25:00.000-05:00

This afternoon we leave for Disneyland. Staying all night in Indy, flying to Anaheim on Thursday morning. Should have 2 1/2 days to spend in the parks before the race on Sunday the 6th. I am really fired up and ready to run. We come home on Labor day. I will do a race report after we get home.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Disneyland 1/2 marathon

2009-08-27T20:25:00.000-05:00

Only a little over a week to the Happiest place on Earth race. My wife and I are really looking forward to going to Disneyland. We have not been there since 2001. We are going out on Thursday and returning home on Monday. We wanted to spend some time at Disneyland & DCA before race day. I am currently tapering for the big run. I am tired of the training and ready to run. I am really looking forward to being able to hang the Coast to Coast medal around my neck once I complete the race.

I have already registered for the 2010 WDW half and I have already got my airfare booked. Still working on the hotel reservation and park tickets. I will give y'all a race report from Disneyland after I get home.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, Run strong & enjoy the moment.

Family trials

2009-07-30T15:09:00.000-05:00

Today I am just writing a short post. My family is dealing with a serious medical issue right now. Hence, I have not had time to post part two of our trip to the World. I promise I will get it done. I have been able to squeeze in my training runs. It's the time where I can think and thank God for all that I have and how precious life is.

Part two of our trip report will be coming soon.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong and enjoy the moment.

7 Days at the World Part 1

2009-07-22T16:44:00.001-05:00

We left for the World on Monday, June 29. Our day started at 4:30am because we had a 2 hour drive to the airport, where we met my daughter and her husband. The flight to Orlando was uneventful except for the hilarious running commentary from the first officer on our plane. We arrived around 1:30pm and we were at Port Orleans, Riverside by 2:30 courtesy of Disney's magical express. Got checked in, which was easy, as I had done the online check in before we left home. We were hungry so off to the Old Mill food court we went. After eating we went back to the room and our luggage had been delivered. We decided we would spend our first evening at the Magic Kingdom, so off we went.

The crowds were not bad at all. We rode every attraction we wanted to without much wait. We stayed to watch Wishes which was as fantastic as ever. I also got to watch my all time favorite parade Spectromagic. Back to the room for some shut eye.

Tuesday we went to Epcot. We did Soaring, Turtle Talk with Crush, Spaceship Earth & spent a lot of time in one of my favorite stores, Mouse Gear. That store is a Disney geeks delight. We also had to dodge the rain most of the time we were there. We had our ponchos, so we kept doing what we wanted to do. That evening we went to Downtown Disney. Had dinner at the Trex restaurant which was kind of cool, literally, we were seated in what they called the Ice Cave. There were several different themed seating areas representing the Dinosaur age. Dinner was okay. Did some shopping and I got to spend time in my other favorite Disney store, The World of Disney. I could spend hours in this store just looking around. Shopped at some of the other stores, then took the boat ride back to Port Orleans on the Sassagoula river.

Wednesday morning it was off to Hollywood Studios. As soon as we got there we went straight to Toy Story Mania and got a fast pass. We then jumped in the standby line and waited about thirty minutes to ride it. I never gone through the queue and I wanted to see Mr. Potato Head. That was really cool how he interacted with guests in line. We also did Rockin Roller Coaster & Tower of Terror, which is my son in laws favorite ride. We did some shopping, ate lunch at the Back lot Express and used our Toy Story fast passes. We headed back to the resort for some rest and time by the pool. Later, after dinner at the French Quarter food court we went back to Hollywood Studios for the evening. We rode Star Wars, the great movie ride, spent time in Disney Animation where we got to see lots of stuff about the movie UP. We also did The Little Mermaid show and of course two more times on the Tower of Terror before the day was over.

Thursday was Animal Kingdom day. We started the morning with breakfast at Boma in the Animal Kingdom lodge. This is something my wife and I had done several times before and really really enjoyed it, so we wanted the kids to get to do as well. I can not say enough about how good the buffet is. If you leave this one hungry it your own fault. After breakfast we caught the bus to the Animal Kingdom. We got fast passes for Expedition Everest then got in the stand by line and rode it. We then went and watched Finding Nemo the musical. We walked back to Expedition Everest to use our fast passes, but the ride was shutdown due to the weather. We were told they had no idea how long the ride would shut down, so we decided not to wait and walked the trail to see the Bengal tigers and the other animals. Once we had done this, we went back towards the entrance and did some shopping and the n headed back to Port Orleans. Animal Kingdom for us, is only about a half day park. We went to Epcot later that evening so we could watch Illuminations, which we have always enjoyed. Did Test Track after Illuminations then went back to get some shut eye.

Off to Walt Disney World

2009-06-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow morning we head to the World for a week. We know it's going to be hot, but we are prepared. Go to the parks in the morning, hang around the pool or nap in the afternoon and then go back to the parks at night.

We have not decided where to watch the fireworks on the 4th. I read there is going to be a special fireworks show at Hollywood studios, so we may go there on the 4th and watch the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom on the 3rd. We also have a couple of ADR's for breakfast while we are there. One of them is a character breakfast, something we have not done for years.

I plan to start my training for the Disneyland 1/2 marathon this next week at the World. I am going to get up and do some early morning runs and listen to Disney podcasts while running. I am saving episode 24 of Run to Disney to listen to while running one morning.

I will post a trip report once we are home.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Back to running & My Garmin

2009-06-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

I took a week and a half off from running while I was gone on my fishing trip to Canada. I started back on Monday the 1st. I did 15 miles for the week. It was not to bad, actually it felt really good to be running again. I missed my run days. It is such a big part of my life, I get pretty cranky when I don't get my runs in each week.

For my birthday I got a Garmin 305. Wow is it cool. I really like all the features it has and love how it can help/assist with meeting your training goals whatever they may be. I have not installed the training software as of yet. I have read some other blogger & listened to some podcast reviews which have not been very good, so I might not install it.

Only 17 days until our next trip to the World. We are really looking forward to being there, even though it will be hot and muggy. It has been many years since we have been there in summertime. We will take plenty of rest breaks in the afternoon. I don't suspect we will go Commando style like we used to when the kids were young.

Today I am running in the Special Olympics Torch Run & tomorrow morning running a 5K. In a couple of weeks I will start my training for the Disneyland 1/2 in September. Can't wait to get the Coast to Coast medal.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

Home from Fishing, Back to Running

2009-05-31T16:32:00.000-05:00

Got home last Friday from fishing in Canada. Had a great trip. We all brought home our limit. Tomorrow back to running. I last ran on Thursday the 21st. I imagine it won't be easy getting back in the swing. I will let you know as to how it went and how I feel.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Fishing

2009-05-21T15:41:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I head to Canada to fish for a week with my Dad. This is an annual trip taken every year. Dad has been going for over thirty five years. I think this will be my 13th time going with him. There are several other guys who go with us every year. It's a long trip to get there, but well worth it. I get to spend time with Dad and do some great walleye fishing for a week.

I got 15 miles in this week, knowing I won't run for over a week while fishing. I know it's going to stink when I start up again after I get home, but hey I only do this fishing trip once a year. The last week of June I start my training for the Disneyland 1/2 in September. My wife and I are really looking forward to seeing Disneyland again. We were last there in March of 2001 right after California Adventure opened. I'm sure lots has changed since then.

It's only a little over a month until we go to WDW for a week. We are really starting to get excited about it. I have made some breakfast ADR's, one at Boma and the other is a surprise for my daughter & her husband. Can't wait to get there.

I hope your training/ running is going well now that the warm weather has arrived. Again, thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Mary Poppins on Broadway

2009-05-11T15:13:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday my wife and I traveled to Chicago to watch the Broadway production of Mary Poppins. In a word it was Fantastic!!!! We arrived early and had some time to spend walking along Michigan Ave. And yes, I went into the Garmin store and looked at the GPS training watches. I have asked for one for my birthday, which is next month.

Okay back to the play. The play began at 2pm. We arrived at the theatre around 1:30pm and had to wait until the doors to the lobby opened. Once we were allowed in, we made our way to our seats. We sat in the balcony about half way up. The stage curtains were made to look like a night time scene of London with homes and buildings lit up. Mary Poppins was printed on the curtains in big bold letters.

The singing, sets and acting were amazing. The actors portraying Mary and Bert were great and had wonderful voices for their singing parts. The transition of moving the sets from the Bank's living room, to the children's bedroom, to the park was very interesting. A few of our favorite scenes were "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" with the entire company (acting out the letters) and "Step in Time" with the sweeps...Bert does some unbelievable stunts. Mary's departure in the finale, while singing "A Spoonful of Sugar", was very uplifting (hint, hint).

It was an enjoyable time for us both.

A big thanks to Mrs. I run because I can for helping compose this post.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

The Lake Run 12K

2009-05-05T15:51:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I ran the annual Lake Run. This race is put on and sponsored by a local running club called the Lake Run club. They have put this race on for the past 29 years. I have run this race probably 6 or 7 times.

The race starts at 9am and there are two versions. There is a 4.37 mile loop, which goes around the inside of the lake and the 12K which goes around the outside of the lake. This lake supplies the drinking water for the city I live in. The past 2 years I have run the 12K. Last year the weather was really nasty. It was raining, very windy & cold. This year the sun was out, very little wind and the temp was not to bad at the start. I ran the 12K this year in 1 hour and 6 minutes which was about two minutes faster than last year.

Once you have completed the race there is music, lots of food to eat and free beer to drink. I think the free beer is what draws all of the runners. I was told there were about 1500 people who entered the race this year. I ran with my buddy Jeff, and we had a good time.

I am not signed up for anymore races until the 1/2 marathon at Disneyland in September. I am going to begin a maintenance running program, running about 15 to 20 miles week. I plan on starting my 1/2 training again for Disneyland the last week of June. The first week of my training should commence while I am at WDW. We are really looking forward to spending a week at the World.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Final Thoughts on the Derby Festival mini marathon

2009-04-29T18:25:00.000-05:00

My experience running the derby festival mini marathon was a great one. From the time I was picked up by the shuttle bus until I crossed the finish line I enjoyed every moment. There were plenty of water stops and the on course entertainment was good. There were spectators throughout the course cheering runners on and at the finish line it was fantastic with all the people lining the streets.

The entire event was very well organized. It is obvious they have held this event for many years. I will most definitely sign up and run this race again next year. I have to say a big Thank You to my own personal cheering section at the finish line. I really appreciated their support and encouragement. Thanks to Pam for putting up with my hobby of running. I know sometimes I have to drive her nuts talking about it. She has allowed me to commit a vast amount of time to preparing for the races I run. Thank You Dear, I love you.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Kentuck Derby Festival Mini Marathon Part 2

2009-04-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

Once we left the city park the course was flat and heading for Churchill Downs. We entered Churchill Downs at about mile 8. As I was going into the Downs I called Pam, my wife, to tell her where I was. The picture above shows where we went into the Downs. We ran into a tunnel and came out on the infield. Preparations were already underway for the Derby on May 02, 2009. There were huge white tents everywhere. We ran on an asphalt path. I made a pit stop again. The smell of horses was everywhere and there were horses & jockeys running the track. It was cool to actually be running inside Churchill Downs. I stopped and took some pictures, one of which is above of the two famed steeples which you see all the time on television.

We ran through another tunnel and came out under the grandstand and prepared to leave the Downs. Just as we left we passed mile marker 9. I figured at this point I could end up with a pretty good time. It was really warm and I grabbed a bottle of water at the next stop and took my final gel. The course turned north and headed for downtown Louisville.

The split for the mini and the full was at mile 12. Mini runners went to the left. I turned left and again let my wife know where I was on the course. She told me they had found seats in the bleachers at the finish line. At about mile 12 & 1/2 Pam told me I could beat the 2 & 1/2 hour time and I told her I was going to beat 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Both sides of the street were packed with spectators cheering on runners starting just before the mile 13 marker. It was so cool to see all the people. I made a last right turn and could see the finish line. I looked to my right and saw my own cheering section, Pam, Abby & Andy waving and yelling at me. That was really cool. They took some pictures of me, one which is above. I crossed the finish line and thought I DID IT. The time on my watch showed 2:16:06. I was pretty excited to have completed the mini in less than 2:20. I found some more Powerade and food. The bullpen like area for runners was packed and stacked. It took me about 15 minutes to get together with my family. I hugged my wife and daughter and we talked about what running the course was like. We walked back to where they had parked the car and headed to Abby & Andy's home.

Later in the afternoon I checked the Festival website and looked at the official time results. My "chip time" showed I ran the course in exactly 2 hours & 16 minutes. I was really pleased with this time and told Pam I wanted to better that time at the Disneyland 1/2 in September. I had a great time and will most certainly run this race again.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon Part 1

2009-04-27T13:32:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a great time I had running the Derby festival mini marathon. My day started at 4:45am. I got up, put on my running clothes, ate some breakfast and waited for my son in law Andy to get up as he was giving me a ride to dowtown Louisville to catch the shuttle bus to the start line. The temperature was 71 degrees. I knew it was going to be a warm day running once the sun came up.

We left the house about 5:30 and headed for Louisville. When we got downtown there were runners everywhere walking towards the shuttle buses. Andy dropped me off and I got in line waiting to board a bus. While in line I talked with a runner from Ohio and from Missouri. The runner from Missouri was running her first 1/2 marathon. The Ohio runner, who is a marathoner was running her first Derby festival marathon. Once we got on the bus, it took about 20 minutes to get to where the race started. When we arrived there were thousands of runners everywhere. There were 12,oo0 runners registered for this event. Music was already playing and I saw four different versions of Elvis walking amongst the runners. We still had a little over and hour to kill before the race started so I fired up my IPod and listened to some music.

The race began at 7:30 for the elite runners. I was placed in corral C, so it was about 7:37 before I crossed the start line. And oh yeah, the sun was coming up and it was getting warmer. The first 2 1/2 miles of the race were really flat and we ran through city neighborhoods. There was one water stop before we entered the city park which was between miles 2 1/2 & 3. The park was hilly. Not big hills, just lots of little ones. I took my first gel pack at mile 3. My plan was to take a gel every 3 miles. When we finished running through the park, we came out on the street where the race started. I made a pit stop and took off running again down the same street I started the race on. At mile 6 I took another gel and there was a water & powerade stop. I grabbed a bottle of water and drank some powerade. The next point of interest for me was Churchill Downs, the famed home of the Kentucky Derby.

More to follow in my next post.

Thanks for reading.

Run strong & enjoy the moment.

Last Training Run

2009-04-23T15:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I did my last training run, a 3 miler, before the mini marathon Saturday in Louisville. The weather is supposed to be in the lows 80's on race day. I hope its in the high 50's to lows 60's at race time.

I am really looking forward to running the course. There are 12,000 runners starting the race. Putting it in perspective, there were over 17,000 at the Disney World 1/2 marathon in January. I know I will want to get off to a fast start once the crowd thins out some. I also know I have to pace myself so I don't flame out early.

I will have my own cheering section at the finish. My wife, daughter & son in law will be there. Once I complete the race I am going to shut my training down some. I do have a 7 1/2 mile run on Saturday May 2nd. Its a local race that is done every year. After that I am just going to do some maintenance running until I start training for the Disneyland 1/2 in September.

Speaking of Disney World, only about 2 months until we get to spend a week there. Can't wait.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Podcasting

2009-04-14T15:44:00.000-05:00

I have become a Podcast listening freak. I listen to many Disney related and many running related podcasts. I also listen to a couple of conservative talk show podcasts. There are just so many great podcasts out there, that you could spend just about every minute of everyday listening to them. I think I drive my beautiful wife crazy talking about what I have listened to. She has told me more than once that I have become a Disney fanatic. Well, I was a Disney fanatic long before I started listening to podcasts, it's just made it worse.

I only have 11 days left til the Louisville 1/2 marathon. My daughter, who lives in the Lousiville area called me over the weekend to tell me the long range forecast calls for 80 degrees on race day. The race starts at 7:30AM, so I'm hoping the temp at the start is in the lows 60's. I am so ready to go do it. My training/tapering quite frankly has become boring. I'm ready to race. I really look forward to sharing my race expirience on this blog once it's over.

I want to give a big Thank You to Gordon at Run to Disney.com for plugging this blog on his web site. Thank You Gordon. Thanks to all of you who have decided to follow this blog I really do appreciate it.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Baseball is Back

2009-04-08T18:47:00.000-05:00

My other favorite sport, baseball, has finally returned. I sure hope this means warmer weather, which we still don't have around here. Still having to run part of the time in winter clothing. I'm so ready to wear shorts & a shirt while running instead of having to dress like an Eskimo.

I did 12 miles this past Saturday. That will be my longest run until I get to Louisville. I am tired of the training, I ready to go run the 1/2. I got the same way when I was training for the Disney 1/2 back in late December. After Louisville, I will take a break then gear it up for the Disneyland 1/2 in September. I am looking forward to seeing Disneyland again. It is neat to walk where Walt walked. I wonder what he would have to say now about Disneyland & WDW. It sure would be fun to talk with him about it.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

Several Things

2009-04-01T19:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I officially registered for the Disneyland 1/2 marathon in September. I am really excited about going to CA and completing this run. I want the Coast to Coast medal. We have been to Disneyland once back in 2001. California Adventure had been open for about month at the time. We loved Disneyland, but we were really not to impressed with California Adventure. I know it is now undergoing a major re-hab. I have read it will be and look more like the golden age of Hollywood when it's done. I hope so because I think that age was a special time in our great country.

This past weekend I took advantage of the buy 4 gete 3 free at WDW. We decided to go at the end of June for a week. We will be there over the 4th of July, which is something I have always wanted to do. I'm not sure the fireworks can get any better than they are now, but I bet they do something special for the 4th. Can't wait to see.

I am still plodding along with my training for the Louisville 1/2 later this month. Last Saturday I did 11 miles and this Saturday will do 12 miles which will be my longest run before the 1/2. I will start to taper after this Saturday. The wind has been absolutely awful here, which makes it tough somedays while running. I am ready for some nice warm weather. After runnning Louisville I am signed up to do a local run called the Lake Run. It is a 7 1/2 mile run around a local lake. This one is lots of fun. Once you get done there have tons of free food and beer. It's well worth the $20.00 dollar entry fee.

Thanks for reading!!!

Til next time, run strong and enjoy the moment.

New Shoes

2009-03-23T15:19:00.001-05:00

Today was the first run in the new shoes. They are Asics 2140's. I have been wearing this particular Asics model since the 2040's came out. The shoe provides good stability and support. I ran four miles in them and do not have any issues with my feet, which I know can sometimes happen when wearing new shoes on a run.

Still putting in the miles training for Louisville. Did ten this past Saturday and will do eleven this coming Saturday. The 1/2 is less than five weeks away now. Two weekends ago we were in Louisville and I drove the race route or as much of it as I could. The first five and half are in a city park which looks awfully hilly. I have got to remember to pace myself early on so I don't crash and burn at the end. The race course takes you through historic Churchill Downs. I am really looking forward to seeing it. I plan to take photos of it while running around the track.

We still have not decided on whether or not we are going to WDW this summer. I know we have to make a decision because you only have until March 29 to book the buy 4 get 3 free promo. Guess we need to figure it out this week. Also, still can't decide whether to join D23. It does seem like a lot of money for no more than you get. But hey I'm a Disney fanatic so I will probably join.

Til next time run strong & enjoy the moment

Celebrating a Birthday

2009-03-13T20:05:00.000-05:00

Today we travelled to southern Indiana to celebrate my daughters birthday. This is a 4 1/2 hour trip from home. The trip was uneventful and the weather was nice for travelling. Of course I brought my running clothes to run 8 miles either Saturday or Sunday as I continue my training for Louisville .

We spent time this evening talking about our summer vacation. I think we have decided to take advantage of the stay 4 nights get 3 free at WDW this summer. Looks like we might go the last week of June. It's been many years since we have done the World in the summer time as we have become pretty partial to going to at Xmas time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Abby!!!!!!!

til next time run strong & enjoy the moment.

D23

2009-03-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

Today I ran five miles. The temperature was 36 degrees and the wind was howling out of the west northwest. It was cold but I was dressed for it and the sun was out. I have been out there when it was much colder. I am still putting in the training miles for Louisville. Its only about 6 weeks away.

Yesterday Disney announced the launch of D23 their new online community for Disney fans. After looking at the D23 website I think I will join it for a year. It would be neat to be able to attend the expo in September.

Still trying to decide whether or not to register for the 1/2 at Disneyland in September. Probably will make a decision in the next week.

Til next time, run strong and enjoy the moment.

Struggles

2009-03-06T17:58:00.000-06:00

Today I ran three miles and it was a struggle. Nothing felt right. Legs hurt & breathing wasn't right. I guess it was just one of those days. Tomorrow I will run six miles as I continue my training for the Louisville Derby festival 1/2 marathon in April. The weather today was great, 72 degrees and sunny.

I think I'm going to run the 1/2 marathon at Disneyland in September. I really want the Coast to Coast to medal you get for running both at WDW & Disneyland in the same year.

Today we celebrate my granddaughters 2nd birthday. It is hard to believe she is 2 years old. What a joy she brings to our life.

Til next time, run strong and enjoy the moment

Welcome

2009-03-04T18:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to this new blog of mine. I have been a runner for fifteen years and a Disney lover for over thirty. This past December I ran the Disney 1/2 marathon for the first time. I had so much fun, I registered for the 1/2 for 2010. I am currently training for the Derby Festival 1/2 marathon in Louisville in April.

My ultimate goal is to run the Goofy challenge at Disney in 2011. I would go to WDW four or five times a year if I lived closer to it than I do now. I hope with this blog to share my ups and down of running and my fascination and and excitement I have for all things Disney.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to give me feedback.

Thanks!!!!