A Dopey Adventure

There's something that happens when long runs extend beyond two hours.  At some point, it gets boring and miserable and it makes you want to phone it in.  Even with all the miles that I've put in through training for the Dopey Challenge, there are still runs where motivation is definitely lacking.  Over the years, I've used different strategies for getting through those times where the miles seem to drag on. Music - Sometimes the right song on my playlist is all I need to motivate me to keep going.  Sometimes it's not even a "typical" running song.  "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from The Lion King has helped save a troubling run.  I know not all runners wear headphones.  It's also important to keep safety in mind.  Make sure the volume is low and consider keeping only one earbud in so you can hear your surroundings.  This is important where I run as there's lots of wildlife always around. Visualization - Thinking about the finish lin

For this week's edition of Wordless Wednesday, we head to Tomorrowland in Disney's Magic Kingdom for one of my mom's favorite attractions: the Tomorrowland Speedway, otherwise known as the Putt-Putt cars.  Enjoy! My first Disney trip

I'm officially done with the tenth week of Dopey Challenge training.  It's hard to believe I've been at this for around two and a half months.  It's depressing when I think that I still have three and a half months to go! It was a good week for training.  I was able to complete all of my runs feeling reasonably strong.  (There's only so strong you can feel after a 15-miler).  I'm counting down the days until I'm in Walt Disney World in two weeks and worrying about how I'll get all my training in! Here's the week in review: Monday: 4.6 miles Tuesday: 7.2 miles Wednesday: 10 miles Thursday: 15.2 miles Friday: 7 miles Saturday: 3 miles with Nicole Sunday: 9 miles with Nicole Total Weekly Mileage: 56 miles

First released in 2005, the Disney Dining Plan is available to guests booking a Magic Your Way Package at Walt Disney World Resort.   Magic Your Way Packages are when you bundle your resort reservation, park tickets, and other add-ons into one convenient purchase and confirmation.   One of these available add-ons is the Disney Dining Plan.   There are three different Disney Dining Plans (DDP) to choose from.   Each offers different meal credits: 1)       Table-Service Meals -Each one of these credits is good for a meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) at one of Disney’s sit-down table service restaurants.   For breakfast, this includes one entrée and one beverage (in 2018 this will also include alcoholic and specialty beverages) or one family-style or buffet meal.   For lunch and dinner the credit includes one entrée, one beverage, and one dessert or one family-style or buffet meal. Table service breakfast at Kona Café in Disney's Polynesian Resort 2)       Quick-Service

This past May, I participated in the Tinkerbell 10K as part of the Pixie Dust Challenge.  For Wordless Wednesday, here are some of the Photopass pictures of the event.

This past weekend, I participated in the Rochester Half Marathon.  This is Fleet Feet's premiere event of the season and it encompasses the 5K and Kids Marathon on Saturday and the Half and Full Marathons on Sunday.  It is also the final leg in the four seasons challenge...thank god that's done! We left a little late on Saturday but were able to get to packet pickup with about half an hour to spare.  I wish it ran a little later than 4:00PM for those out of town.  I picked up my bib and my race shirt and we headed to our hotel for the night.  I did chuckle at this sign outside of the expo: The taper crazy is real, folks! Before I knew it, race time was here! The race starts at Maplewood Park on the north side of Rochester and finishes at Frontier Field.  Parking is at the finish line and there are shuttles to the start.  The school bus shuttles were well-run and plentiful. I arrived at the start line with about an hour to go before race start.  There were a ton

Good morning and happy Monday!  It's hard to believe another weekend of racing has come and gone and it's time for the weekly recap.  I'll recap the Rochester Half Marathon later this week, but safe to say, it's always a challenging race! Week 9 of Dopey Challenge training is in the books and this week was tough.  Increased mileage with a race at the end of the week proved to be a challenge.  I'm glad I don't have any more half marathons on the calendar until Wine and Dine. (I can't wait!) Monday -5.2 miles I had only planned on three miles, just like every other Monday this training cycle, but I couldn't help myself.  Remind me not to do this again.  I really pay for it on my long runs. Tuesday -7.16 miles Wednesday -10 miles For some reason, this ten miler was absolutely miserable.  I was just happy to get through it.  That's the thing about this training, it keeps you humble.  No matter how many times you run a distance, there are days wh

1)       Spend a night in Cinderella’s Castle Suite - I know this is on the bucket list of almost every Disney fan.   The Cinderella Castle Suite was originally intended for Walt Disney and his family.   When Walt passed away before the completion of Walt Disney World, the suite remained unfinished.   It was finally completed for the “Year of a Million Dreams” promotion.   During this special event, guests could be chosen at random to win a night in this very special suite.   In fact (unless you’re Beyonce or something), you can’t book this room, you have to win it.   This is part of what makes it so special.   If you’ve ever been selected for this special opportunity, please let me know and we can share your experience! 2)       Experience a Ride Evacuation - Why would you want to experience a broken-down ride?   When rides break down at Walt Disney World, sometimes they will have to evacuate the ride building and vehicles.   While it’s unfortunate that you won’t get to

On Sunday I was able to participate in the Teal Ribbon 5K.  This event is hosted by Caring Together Inc..  It aims to raise awareness of ovarian cancer and raise funds for research for an early detection test as well as develop more effective treatment options for women with recurrent ovarian cancer. The highlight of this event is the walk that accompanies it.  The majority of participants were partaking in the walk, but the 5K was well-attended too. The course was 2 loops around Washington Park, starting and finishing at the Washington Park Lake House.  The course had a few mild inclines, but overall was a fast course with nice scenery.  I was running at a good pace and felt good for the majority of the race.  I must have been feeling pretty good since I won the women's race.  It was too bad that the course was a little short, because this definitely could have been a PR race for me.  According to my watch, my finish time was 20:03 and my official finish time was 20:05. I ha

Another week of Dopey training is in the books!  While it may not be officially fall here in upstate New York, it certainly feels like it.  Temperatures were cool all week and we saw some fall rain showers as well.  It's time to pull out the long-sleeved tees and running capris.  Summer is far too short for this runner. Here's the weekly recap: Monday - 4.3 miles Tuesday - 7.3 miles Wednesday - 7.25 miles.  The plan was for 10 miles, but the pouring rain forced me to run on the dreadmill.  I can only do a little over an hour on that awful machine before my legs start to hurt, so I had to cut the run short.  I learned my lesson from two summers ago when I ran 17 miles on the treadmill and had a bloody sock to show for it. Thursday - 14.4 miles.  This was the longest run of the training cycle and it felt pretty good.  I was planning on running 13 miles, but with my Wednesday run cut short, I decided to extend the run a little bit.  I'll shoot for a long run of 14 mi

With all the weather catastrophes out there, I decided to do a little something different.  Each Friday, I'll post about some of my favorite things from the week.  A little bit of positivity never hurt anyone. 1) Donation Drive at the Complex - The best thing to come out of this week has been the outpouring of kindness and compassion for victims of Harvey and Irma.  Today, we received an e-mail from our property manager that the townhouse complex where we live will be collecting donations.  I thought this was great.  It's nice that people locally are doing things to reach out.  I recommend looking to see what agencies really need before making donations.  i.e. It's great that you want to donate your winter coat or your prom dress, but that's not what the people of Houston or Florida are going to need right now. Some good NEW things to donate are: * Plastic storage totes with lids * Baby formula * New pet food & supplies * Filled backpacks, all kinds of school

One of the most popular questions I get asked as a travel agent is this: Should I stay on Disney property or stay off-site?   Ultimately, it’s up to each family to decide what is right for your vacation, but there are tons of great reasons to stay on property. 1)       Extra Magic Hours – This is one of my favorite perks as a Walt Disney World Resort guest.   It doesn’t matter which of WDW’s resorts you’re staying at, each gets Extra Magic Hours.   Extra Magic Hours are offered most days at one or more of the parks at Walt Disney World Resort.   The selected park will open to resort guests one hour earlier in the morning or stay open for resort guests up to 3 hours after the posted closing time.   These Extra Magic Hours can be less crowded, as they are only open to Disney resort guests.   My favorite way to use Extra Magic Hours is for a morning in the Magic Kingdom.   It’s nice to enjoy Fantasyland before it gets too crowded.   I love to make Peter Pan’s Flight my first ride of

The weather gods continue to not look kindly on me on race day.   I’ll take the crummy weather for these races as long as it’s nice for Wine and Dine weekend, but more importantly, for the Dopey challenge.   For those keeping track at home, it has rained or snowed for almost every half marathon I’ve run this year, including 19 degrees and snow during a half marathon to kick off the year.   We were tracking the weather all week and the forecast kept getting colder and rainier. On Saturday night, it looked like we might have a window, the heaviest rains weren’t supposed to start until 10:00AM.   With a 9:00AM start time for the 10K, we had a shot of making it. With temps in the low 60s, dressing for the weather is always a challenge.   60 degrees is generally my cut-off temp for wearing shorts, but rain complicates the issue.   I absolutely HATE being cold. For this race, I decided to wear my running capris, a short sleeve tech shirt, and my light rain jacket.   I completed the

Even with a new puppy in the house, I was still able to get my Dopey challenge training runs done this week.  It's always nice when the longest run's mileage is a little less than the previous week. Physically, it's not that different, but mentally, it's a huge boost.  This week also included a 10K race today (in the rain) which I'll recap later this week. Monday - 4.2 miles Tuesday - 7.2 miles Wednesday - 10.4 miles Thursday - 12.4 miles Friday - 7.25 miles Saturday - REST DAY! Sunday - 10K (total ended up being 6.34 miles)  Weekly Total: 47.79 Here's a picture of the running coach asleep on the job: