Re: Reagan, Indy 500, Pixar Saluted in New Stamps

Check it out, cool new Pixar stamps coming out soon!  Hope the link shows up below as I'm forwarding from the iPad....as Jeff and Mike will attest, I'm not so good with the technology thing :-)

WASHINGTON - Two of America's favorite spacemen - the cool-headed Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard and the animated Buzz Lightyear of \"Toy Story\" fam...



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Wii Arm.....

So Santa brought us a Wii this Christmas and I was immediately hooked on Wii Sports Resort Bowling....and now I have the rare condition of Wii Arm.  Kinda like Tennis elbow, but more in the shoulder region.  All kidding aside, I love to bowl and haven't had time to be in a league for years now, so I might have overdone it a bit in the past couple of days.  The darn thing is very realistic in the movements where spinning the ball is concerned, almost exactly the throwing style I used when bowling...without lugging a 16 lb ball around the ally.

Anyhoo, I've had another obsession as of late that I think a few of us Disney marathoners can relate to.  Weather watching!  Since my last post I've discovered AllEars.net has a page of like 8 different weather forecast sites for Disney weather.  5, 10, and 15 day forecasts, it's a weather watchers paradise! LOL  What does that mean for Marathon Weekend?  Well, apparently not great things if the 15 day forecast I saw is correct.  Goes from 74 and sunny on Friday to 60 and raining on Saturday (59 Sunday rain in the AM) with lows in the 37 degree area.  Then it miraculously clears up on Monday.  Is that weekend cursed or something?  Okay, okay, I'm not exactly sold on a 15 day forecast quite yet.... probably just maddening as I want to know and check it constantly, but understand the variability.  I'd take the temps they are predicting if they could cut the rain out of the picture, yep, I'm down to "lets make a deal" with the weather!

Put in 8.5 today leaving me 8 miles shy of 100 running for the month.  I've put in another 85 cross training to make December a pretty productive month overall.  Right at about 1000 run miles for the year as well.  A bit less than I wanted to put in, but I have far exceeded my expectations for cross-training miles which I think has really helped keep me from larger injuries.  Combined mileage for 2010 will come in somewhere around 1350.  Probably a bit more if I recorded long walks, but I have a tendancy to forget those....maybe it's due to the Wii Arm....

7 days till I head down and 10 till the race....Woo....Hoo....

Holding My Breath, But...

Soooo, the weather outside is frightful, but the 10 Day Forecast for Disney is so delightful.  No, really, on both counts.  It's in the teens here in CT (probably colder with the whipping wind chill) with a pile of snow on the ground, but there is hope.  I've been checking the 10 day forecast for Disney for over a week to see if I can get a glimpse of what the weather is going to be like for Marathon Weekend.  I tell ya, it wasn't promising... I was looking at highs in the 40-50's for a while..but a couple of days ago, the longer range forecast was starting to show highs in the 70's as it got closer to race day.  Of course, it's tough to trust a long range forecast, but at least there is hope, right?  I've still got my cold gear ready to rock for this thing in the event that we get closer and the temps dip. 

My dilemma is wether to check a suitcase or buy a new carry on... I have a 17" carry on, but that won't fit all my stuff, will need the 21" that I can get away with carrying on.  Might just check the bag, pay the fee, to ensure I've got enough space to bring clothing for all possible conditions (cold, hot, wet, icy, whatever).  Not to mention the two pairs of running shoes (will wear one on the plane). 

Training..oh yeah, there is that whole race thing...  I've begun to taper (probably a tad early) and won't do anything over 10 in the next week.  Legs have been thanking me for it as I've been struggling through some aches and pains.  Just need to watch the weight over the next week now.

Merry Christmas, Team Voice!

Rest up folks, 2 weeks to go.....

Dynamite....

"we gonna light this up like it's dynamite..". I've caught the pop music bug lately and have adopted this song as my Goofy song. Good beat, fitting lyrics, it's on, and on and on! Think it's Taio Cruz, BTW.

Don't forget to Tivo the Ironman Kona on NBC today from 2-4, or something like that. These broadcasts are great motivation for races like the one we are facing in January. Great stories of regular folks looking to do the irregular. I'm so psyched for Jan, it can't come fast enough. Just wish Mike-Speed and Matt we're going to be there with us, kinda bittersweet. Guess I'm going to have to set the pace for the Goofy time in Mr. Speed's absence. :-). Hey, but I can't discount Justin as he's the man of a million miles! Maybe that's his thing, instead of "year of a million dreams" it's Justin's a year of a million miles....

Anyhoo, enough of this incoherent post!

36 on 13....

Just a reference for the age change today. So yeah, it's my b-day and all, but I had an interesting take on it today at work. I thought about where I was 10 years ago as compared to where I am today. Some people might trade anything to be 26 again, but I took a long hard look at it (in the 5 minute break I took during another fun all day meeting with a vendor) and I tell ya, I'm doing things now that I just couldn't do back at 26. Also, I remembered who I was at 26 and to tell you the truth, I didn't really like that guy all that much! Okay, I wasn't evil or anything, but I was complacent, a bit arrogant at times, probably not all great of a true partner to Lorraine (but don't get her going on that!), and a number of other things that I probably have forgotten. Oh yeah, I was getting fat as well....way too many cruises and dining out!

So what's this all about.... Well, I just like the person I've become way more than who I was and wouldn't trade the hair on my head (I had alot back then..) to have the "youth" back. I tell ya one thing, I couldn't have run a half mile back then, let alone 20 or more. I've stuck with this far longer than I would have back in the day. I also learned that success in your job is simply meaningless if you don't do it through hard work, treating people the right way, and putting you family first (even if it means you don't advance your career as a result). I've learned what true "fear" is, through having children and worrying about their safety, etc. on a daily basis. I dunno, maybe it's a sort of selflessness that comes with age or something, who knows. Hey, I didn't really even like Disney all that much at 26, is there anything more to say about 26 year old Chris versus 36 year old Chris? LOL

Sorry for the sentimental post, just figured I'd share how the day went and my thoughts on getting older.

Still recovering from the 20 miler on Saturday, but probably 85% now. Got 2 miles in wog fashion last night and a good even paced 3 miler this evening. Will probably do cross training the next couple of days to help recovery. Haven't recorded my mileage lately, but thing I'm over 50 running on the month and 20ish cross training.

Getting Closer....

Getting closer to Christmas, for one, and I'm sad to admit that I just don't have spirit this year. Not cause I don't want it, just has been a taxing year on the projects I've had. I do feel like it's getting better but have I run out of time? Surely I can get back into the swing of the season, right? I believe it's possible and I'm going to do what I can for sure!

Anyhoo, we are also closer to the WDW Marathon Weekend. I still have a lot of work to do, but took a large step today in completing a 20 mile run. Took it real slow as I'm still concerned about my leg, but got through it. My ITB is pretty sore now though and in great deal of continued stretching. So, it took me 3:15:xx to get the 20 in. Considering the terrain, this is really not that bad. Probably one more long run like that and then will keep it mellow through January.

Where does the time go....

While the summer training and whatnot seemed to drag on, the fall has flown by and we're right on the edge of marathon weekend. Amazing. While I'm probably "ready" for the Goof, I still have a bit of work to do to even have a shot at meeting my goals for this race. I tell ya, this year has been a real challenge for training. Finishing up the MBA was good, but then work has been double demanding to fill up that time. However, the numbers don't lie, and I'm going to be over 1000 run miles for the year, best year by a couple of hundred miles (in my 3 years running anyhow). So that might be why it's felt like a tough year, no training downtime except for being sick a couple of times. Which reminds me...the whole house is sick and I woke up feeling similar. Feel a little better now and will get a good run in shortly, but hoping it doesn't get worse in the next couple of days, can't afford it.

Leg has been getting progressively better, thankfully! Still not sure what was going on there, but will see the orthopedic in January for sure.

November was a good month overall, I believe I ended with ~109 run miles and 50 or so cross train miles. Not quite Amanda-like, but she had a SUPERB month and is going get all Grumpy on Dopey this January! Go Amanda! She was definitely inspiring to me in the middle of November where I was having a tough time getting going.

Got my magical express tags yesterday, right around the corner!