Mo Miles, Mo Miles, Mo Miles...(55.46 left)

So I had a couple of meetings cancel, moved a third and decided to head home early to get a run in.  You know how you just feel good some days, you know the feeling right?  Those kinda days where you can overachieve and not even feel like it was that hard of work.  Well, I suppose my legs felt that way today.  They took me 9 miles at an average of 8:24 per mile.  This is pretty quick for that route as I typically run in the 8:40 – 9:00 range.  Again, the legs just never got tired and chugged along even when the rest of me was starting to get tired.  You can probably tell that I’m pretty psyched about this run by now… LOL

Anyhoo, here are the splits.  I added another .3 miles in a warm down jog for a total of 9.31 miles

Mile 1: 8:46 (one steep hill)

Mile 2: 8:41 (not as steep of a hill, but about .3 mi long)

Mile 3: 8:22 (flat)

Mile 4: 8:24 (flat)

Mile 5: 8:23 (flat w/couple up and downs)

Mile 6: 8:12 (flat and fast stretch of road)

Mile 7: 8:18 (good music on the iPod helped to push the mind)

Mile 8: 8:07 (some flat and downhill)

Mile 9: 8:20 (flat with a couple of inclines)

64.77...

Got in another 4.12 yesterday, against all odds mind you, and just under pace to hit the 100 for the month. It's all going to come down to the long runs. Hoping to get one in either Friday morning or Saturday sometime. The two things working against me are the retaining wall that I need to get going on, and a research paper that I've got to turn in for my Business Law final (Monday). Chose Vizcaino v. Microsoft for the case to work on. We recently went through a major overhaul in our contingent worker policy so I thought it was fitting.

More later when I get some time. :-)

68.89 to go...

Up to 31.11 for the month thus far. Took the last two days off from running but itching to get some miles in. Hopefully I'll get some work tonight on the treadmill as I just don't have the time at work to get one in and definitely don't have the time right when I get home from work.

First 5k race of the year coming up this Sunday. Kinda excited to get back into an event, but at the same time I'm thinking I might end up sick. Kids are sick now (same exact time as last year) and I'm starting to feel it a little more than just the alergies. I recall running this same race last year when I could barely breathe and ended up having to take two weeks off from running due to it (Still ran just over 26 minutes... ;-)). I'd like to put up a good time here, but will have to guage it with the lungs, weather, etc. Plenty more races around here during the summer, so I'm not worried about it. My wife is going to run this one again as well. Her knee and foot have been acting up a little bit due to ramping up on the mileage, but she's feeling pretty good about this one. Long way to January is what I keep telling her.

Other notes... Pool is opening this Friday, pretty psyched about that and having another mechanism for cross-training. Still have alot of work to do on the ol' retaining wall project. The paver base and pavers are sitting in my driveway, so I've got to clean up the trench from all the rain and such and get the base in. Hoping to have it near complete by this weekend, but will see what the priorites du jour bring.

75.69 to go

Another 4.06 miles last night on da mill. Legs are little sore with the consecutive running, but nothing major that would hold me back from putting in more miles. I think tonight is a rest night from running, will elliptical instead if I have the time.

So I mentioned Dis stock jumping to 23 or so the other day. On the ride home last night I see it was up more than 2 bucks in yesterday's trading period. Checked the news and not a heck of alot. They have that deal with Hulu and such, and Iger seems to think that the worst is behind them in theme park admissions....but nothing earthshattering. Huh. In any event, I missed the boat on that one, oh well. I'm guessing we're in for another bubble burst or two by the end of the year (tons of stuff going on behind the scenes that the mainstream media has turned their back on...) so perhaps I'll get another shot to buy low. :-)

79.75 to go...

With 20.25 miles under the belt in the first 5 days of this challenge I’m feeling pretty darn good. J Considering that the mileage in previous months have been lacking (40’s-60’s range) this challenge is really what I needed. Time to grovel to Mike I guess…..Sorry Mike….didn’t mean to pick on your challenge…*head down* The key to this month and hitting the target is going to be the “long run”. I’m planning on getting one “long” run in every week. Hoping to add distance to them each time as well; even if it’s just a half mile.

Spent 1500 bucks yesterday on a pile of stone……finally building that retaining wall in the extension to my patio area. Sweet retaining wall blocks, but they better be at that price… So, the trench is dug now I just need to wait for the rain to stop. My daughter asked when it would be ready so she could toast marshmallows. Huh? Soooo, a while back I explained to her why I was building a wall out back. The wall first, then the patio extension, then the fireplace so we could toast, you guessed it, marshmallows. That was like two years ago, that kid has a memory on her. I’ll take some pictures before/after and will perhaps post them…depends on how the wall turns out…. ;-)

How’s everyone else doing with the challenge this month?

Update - Just read about Disney's earnings report for last year. Sounds like ESPN (revenue up 4%) helped bolster the 46% disapointment overall. Honestly, in this market I'd say they did a genius job keeping their brand/image alive for the long haul. Sure they discounted prices and cut into profit, but in Orlando they still ended up at 89% occupancy (up from last year). What does that do when they aren't making as much money on it (spending per room down 17%)? Brand loyalty. They still provided a top notch product for less money and will most likely get people to come back cause of it. They also did a great job, in my opinion, cross advertising through the use of their other segments. Wondering how the deal with NBC/Hulu is going to go....I'm still not sold on this segment, but could just be old school and not in touch with the youtube times.... I wish I sold that Staples stock a couple of weeks back when it was 2 bucks higher than Dis stock...Now Dis stock in near 23 and my Staples is hanging in the 20-21 range....Oh well... It's all good, both are solid companies.

I survived...

the 9hrs of Bus. Law yesterday. :-) Thought I was going to say something different, didn't you..ha! Thanks for the comments feeling my pain, folks. I tell ya, I've taken two law classes in my undergrad (and a number of criminal justice classes with the same ring to 'em) and you'd think there would be something a little different in the MBA program, right? Nope, same ol', same ol'. Facts of the case, legal issue, application of law..... Okay, I'll admit a dirty secret... I actually love this stuff. Arguing over the smallest of points while my classmates roll their eyes. I envy Jonathan and Justin in that they went to law school (and Matt pretty soon). Something I always wanted to do, but life got in the way. Oh well, perhaps when the kids are older and all of my yard projects are complete (shaaaaaa, right..).

Realized yesterday when reading WSJ that Disney's earnings are coming out today, so apparently the stock price rise is tied into some positive speculation around earnings. There was an article in there as well around Disney banking on 3Q park attendance numbers to pay "dividends", but I didn't get a chance to read the article :-(

Not sure what I'm going to do today, need to get a run in, but also need to get out and decide on some retaining wall blocks for the neverending patio addition project.... I've got the trench dug though and think I'm going to see an end to this in May! Perhaps a quick 3.75 to round out 20 miles for the first 5 days of May....

Justin - You can use whatever useless stuff I post on this site! My plan was to come up with a new name for Mike's challenge for every run I post.... Today's will be ..hmmm.....Mike's "Give me 100 miles, or give me death" Challenge... ehh, ehhh, what do ya think? ;-)

Strong out of the gate

Hey folks, great opening weekend to Mike’s “Die runner, DIE” challenge.  Kicked it all off on the 1^st with 9 miles, followed it up with 4.25 (8:20ish average mile), and had an easy 3 mile treadmill run last night.  Grand total of 16.25 for the first weekend of the challenge.  Fell a little short on my push ups and sit ups for the weekend 80 su’s and 180 pu’s, but that’ll pick-up as the month goes on.

So, finally a rest day today… If you call early to work and then 9 hours of Business Law, a rest….  LOL 

What the heck happened to Disney stock last week?  I’ve been watching it and it had trailed my Staples stock by about a buck, but I noticed this morning on my XM ticker that it’s around 22 bucks now?  Quite the jump….  I haven’t seen any earth shattering news so I suppose it’s just market fluctuation…

 

Happy training all!

The Fine Nine

What a way to kick off the Mike-Speed “I’m gonna git you sucka” challenge. Nine miles at around 8:57/mile, some a little over 9/min and some a bit under, all in all it’s great for the route I take as it contains two very large hills. It’s a good start, but still a long way to go in order to hit 100 miles. Going to add in 100 situps and 100 pushups later on today to round off a good start.

Also, I’m over 300 miles on my current shoes and already thinking about the next pair. It took a while, but I like the Asics GT-2130, so I’m leaning towards ordering a pair on-line and saving some money. The other option is to head back to the run shop and trying out something else…..Perhaps for the next go-around…

If you guys didn't see the comments on my last post, you've got to read them...Heath and Mike trading jabs :-) You guys crack me up. Although, I think the new dirty word to a Sox fan is "Rays"...... Jus' Say'n...

The Mike-Speed "Kill Everybody" Challenge

As our Miami-dwelling friend would say “HOLY CATS”!!!  Mike-speed is really out to kill us this time around.  100 miles and running with no Eazy-E to help (sorry for the reference as I know not everyone is into gangsta rap…as I’ve mentioned prior, my music taste is, well, eclectic).  Now, I realize that with a marathon staring me down this October, 100 miles for a month should be the norm, but I haven’t gotten passed 65 miles this year as of yet.  Actually, looking back on last year I only hit over 100 miles once, last June in the Stroller Boy v. Voice challenge (aka. The Battle from Seattle).  That was quite a month running for me as I competed in my first half-marathon.  Ah, the memories….

I know, I know, whine whine whine…..  Actually, after the initial shock I though “I need to make a run at this” (pardon the pun).  The push-ups and sit-ups are no problem as Mike whipped me into shape on these with his past challenges; the mileage is going to be tough though.  I think this means that I’m going to have to get myself out of bed bright and squirrelly on those days that I have the opportunity to do so.  Ugh…was hoping it wouldn’t come to that….ANYTHING but THAT! LOL

One more thing….Yes, Heath…Go Sox, indeed J

 

Monday, Allergies, and such

I feel like Garfield every time I start a week with the “I Hate Monday”.  Something about looking back on the weekend and thinking “man, I really didn’t get much that I wanted to done”.  Heck, even with a good plan I typically feel that Monday defeat…..  Perhaps I’m setting my expectations too high and should go back to the old days where I would take on 1 item for completion over the weekend and that was it.  If I did more, great, if not..well…I got that 1 thing done.  At least the weather is starting to actually look like spring..or summer in our case over the weekend.

So, I promised a long run and fell a little short.  Plan was to get out last evening around dinner time as I had a family event earlier in the day.  No problem, getting geared up to go and then..  my 17 month old decides he’s going to fling his chair backwards and whack his head.  Lovely.  Yada, yada, yada, momma called the Dr and the Dr said..no more monkeys flinging themselves backwards in their chairs and hitting their head…or something like that.  He’s alright, but I didn’t want to leave the house with a head injured kid….so I reduced myself to the treadmill after the kids went to sleep and put in 5 miles.  Not was I wanted to do, but 5 miles is 5 miles.  I’m up to a paltry 37 or so miles running for the month and plan to get in at least 6 more over the final days here in April.  Working from home 3 days this week which typically allows me to sneak in runs a lot easier.  I’d like to say May is going to be better, but jeez, I thought April was going to be better after a strong 60+ miles in March.  Not to mention the allergies kicked in yesterday and I was sneezing all about and rubbing my eyes all day.  I suppose it’s still better than having swine flu, but not by much. 

Thanks for the comments on the ADR and dining question thing.  I found the same information that you guys pointed out and think they are more reliable than the other source I found which stated it didn’t start till the end of the year.  They may have made a mistake and meant to put 2008?  In any event, we’ll just wait till August and go from there.  We spoke with the other family folk that are heading down with us and the consensus is Chef Mickey’s.  I mentioned that my on-line Disney expert friends agreed with that assessment as well, which pushed the vote over the top.  I like the idea of getting in the park earlier, but think for this group they’ll want to see Mickey and co. over Pooh and friends.  Since we’re going down ahead of the rest for a couple extra days, we might made an ADR at CP just for us.  Anyhoo, thanks for the input and comments, you guys rock (as usual).

ADR Duped?

So after my bubble was burst by a Team Voice member not to be named, I went out and did a search to verify the whole change in ADR periods.  Low and behold, most sites state that one can make an ADR 90 (+10 days for onsite folks) days out.  But wait….my wife points out to me something on the top of the following site…. http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/dining/ADR.shtml    This one says it doesn’t go into effect till the end of this year, huh?  Now, I know I’m only a level 2 or 3, so I’m in need of clarification from one of you level 5’ers out there.  I’m going down in November, can I make my ADR’s in mid-May or do I have to wait till mid-August?

 

Can I get outside already!

Yeesh, you’d think the weather wouldn’t have been a limiting factor at this point in the year…. Rain, rain, and more rain lately though.  Okay, that’s not the only reason as I really don’t mind running in the wet stuff at this point.  It’s more along the lines that I haven’t had the time lately (with the exception of 8-10pm) to get out.  Excuses, excuses…that’s really what they are.  I have an option that I haven’t dragged myself to yet, but might just have to give it a go shortly.  The dreaded morning run…ugh…I hate morning….  Always been a night person, so it’s brutal for me to get up at 5am even when it’s required to get the kids to day care, let alone getting up to run.  However, the temps are about right for my lungs, so that’s not an issue any more…just the will….  I think Rae mentioned a while back that it takes 6 weeks of an activity to make it a habit…6 weeks of getting up early?  OUCH!   Actually, I’d only have the opportunity for this on Monday, Thursday and every other Saturday and Sunday due to work/daycare schedules and such, but at least the option is there and I think I need to opt for it.  Now, if I could just keep the work vultures from scheduling meetings at 8am, I’d be all set. J

Wow, on the number comments lately, more Team Voice activity indeed!  I’m starting to check more frequently on others blogs as well.  Have scheduled a 15 minute meeting here and there in order to do this.  It’s great cause it gives me a reminder notice.  They’ve tied me down at work with a blackberry finally, so I got that going for me….yeah right….like a noose…   Although, it does allow me to Blog on the run, so it’s not all bad.

From the sounds of it, the team is doing great with their goals and training for the most part.  Few lapses in progress, but I’m confident in this community to help prop ‘em up and get ‘em going again!  I’m not going to make the advanced challenge this month, just don’t have the long runs thrown in there to boost the numbers yet.  I’m going to get ONE long run of at least 8 miles this month if it kills me (and it just might!) so stay tuned.

Heath – Thanks for the heads up on the ADR’s, wow, I’m shocked!  Given that, what do y’all think the BEST breakfast character meal would be for a group of 8 kids and 8 adults?  The day we’re going to do this will most likely be at the Magic Kingdom, so we were thinking Chef Mickey’s or the Crystal Palace.  We did the Libertry Tree Tavern for dinner a couple of years ago, so perhaps Pooh and the gang would be a good change.  If we do CP we’re going to try and get a pre-park open time as we had a great experience with CRT in doing that last year.  Anyhoo, would love to hear what you guys think.

Testing, 1,2,3

Hello there folks, just now getting around to figuring out how to post when not actually logged into the Blogger site.  The funny thing is that I work in Technology/Informatics!  How lame am I!?!?  Okay, don’t answer that….  That’s when happens when you start to manage projects, you lose touch with the latest and greatest.  Anyhoo, just a quick post to give this a go, hope it works. 

 

Training-wise, it’s been tough over the past couple of weeks to get any more than 10 miles a week in (with a couple of elliptical sessions to add to that).  Not thrilled, but have dusted off my home grown Weight Watchers tracking spreadsheet to help balance out the lack of runs.  All in all I’m somewhat near my weight goal for the month, still need to lose a couple more pounds for 192 though.  May end up 193/194 which isn’t horrid, just means I need to figure out a way to get the mileage back up.

 

My wife and I are going to register for our first 5k of the year (May 16^th I think).  Was a race we ran last year, nice easy flat course.  Hoping to beat my best 5k time of last year (24:17), but we’ll see.  Will be happy with anything sub 25 minutes.

 

May also brings a milestone for our fall Disney trip as we’ll be able to make ADR’s….woohoo!   Have some draft ideas at this point and will solidify them by the end of the month.  This will be my first 10+ day trip to WDW, as we typically opt for the 6-7 day deals.

 

Movin' right along...

Thanks for the comments Matt and Amanda. The presentation went very well, best in the class I think... Other groups presented the financial pictures of Apple (got my Jobs on Dis board comment in there..), Pier One (yikes, what a mess!), Saks Fifth Ave, and Starbucks. Overall, Disney is one of the more diverse and financially sound companies of those that were presented. Some concerns for Disney Studio's segment on Wall Streets reaction to "UP", but Pixar will pull it off as they usually do. :-)

Of course, I got to show my half-marathon medal off a little bit too. Some were impressed with my Disney knowledge/geekyness, but hey, I'm an annual passholder now....I've got to know what they are doing, right? LOL Just glad this class is done with. On to Law for business managers next, 11 chapters to read for our first class on Monday, lovely.... One more after that and then a summer break.

On the training front, still not up to speed as I'd like to be. Getting decent quality runs in of 3-4 miles and one long run a month, just not there yet. Now that I've moved to our other campus for work, I'll need to figure out some new running routes. The campus I moved to is enormous and I haven't worked at this site in 10 years, so it'll take a bit to get my bearings again.

Need to catch up on AATM as well, haven't listened to a show since episode 99........ugh.....

Quick..

Sorry for being such a lousy team member as of late, folks. :-( I've been doing pretty much the same as when I last posted, just busier at work/school. Big presentation tonight in the financial accounting class on our analysis of the Disney Corp. annual report. Wish me luck :-)

Bolt Blu-Ray is awesome! Just had to add that in there...love that movie.

Spring has arrived, I think.

Beautiful weather this weekend. Took most of yesterday off and got in a run in 60+ degree weather. Ended up getting an 8.25 mile run in, longest since the Disney run in January. Felt good, a little sore afterward, but since it has been a while since my last long run it was to be expected. Right around 8:55/mile average which pretty good in my area with the hills.

Down a solid lb on the weight front (probably 2, but I'm being conservative....I'm sure some of you are shocked...at the conservatism thing ;-)).

The question now is, when will the next "race" be....

It's Amazing...

With the blink of an eye, you finally see the light.... Any Aerosmith fan's out there?

Anyhoo, so I heard the song this morning on the XM radio (ch 41 old rock songs, very cool) and thought, yeah, I think I finally have seen the light at the end of this bad cycle tunnel! Only a couple of days since my declaration of weight loss and turning around the traning, and I feel great. Ran 4 miles yesterday (all I had time for) and progressed throught the run very nicely. Started off around 8:54 for the first mile, then down to 8:45 on the second, took a hill route on the 3rd but still made it in under 9 (8:53). The last mile felt really good and the legs were moving fairly effortlessly (8:30). I'm over 41 miles for the month (already 3 miles more that each of the last two months) and while that is good, I'm still not back up to speed or on track to put in 70+ as I had been doing in 2008. That will come soon though.

Like an AIG Executive....

I'm getting fat! I've been gaining and losing the same 5 lbs over the past couple of months and it's killin' me. So it's time to put the ol' stake in the ground and put a goal on the books. I'm currently 198 and will be down to 190-192 (and will maintain at this weight) by the end of April. Why so long? Well, for me, I've been maintaining at 195 for 3 or 4 years now so my body is really used to this weight. I'm okay with that, but would like to be leaner for the summer running season and in prep for the marathon come Oct. I'd like to run the marathon at 188 or less, but will see how the summer goes.

I know it doesn't sound like much and y'all are like "you're complaining about 5 lbs?" but I tell ya, it's enough to scare me into changing my habits before the 5lbs turns into 10-15 lbs cause I'm starting to see that trend forming.....

Anyhoo, as always, thanks everyone for your support! I'm going to get this thing done and back on track!

WDW Annual Report..

Not sure how, but I talked my MBA group into breaking down the WDW 2008 Annual Report for our financial accounting class. They asked if I had an idea, so I said...take a wild guess....all together they were like "uh, I don't know, Disney?" Apparently I'm out of the Disney closet now...LOL They said they were cool with that, so I'm pretty psyched. Downloaded it during out diner break last night and began to skim through it. Cool stuff...lots O' big numbers in that balance sheet...like a small country's GDP, yeeesh!

Working from home today and just got back from a good run. 4 miler with all mile times under 9min each.

Mile 1 : 8:35 (some downhill)
Mile 2: 8:42 (nice and level)
Mile 3: 8:57 (some uphill)
Mile 4: 8:56 (more uphill)
.10 Hill sprint

Nothing stellar yet, but feel like I'm starting to get back a tiny bit of what I have lost in the past couple of months. I'll be shooting for a longer run on Friday after work as long as my meeting schedule doesn't get out of hand. I'll let y'all know how it goes, of course...

Niet on the D23 ehh... Interesting, but I see Mike and Rae's point. I'm not opposed to Disney trying to make money in this market though. They have shown in the past to create a good amount of value for the dollars spent. It might not be worth the 75 now, but I'm guessing if they get a luke warm reception that they'll up the ante. Too good of a demographic data pool for them to give up. Wondering if they'll ever extend offers to make some of the unofficial podcasts official? Or create their own? I think they should leave that arena alone, not their core competency for sure (although there is alot of media expertise in the company...). Not to mention that for every negative thing being said, there probably 10 positive things being said....

Anyhoo, run, run, run!

Solid Run...Lots of work to do

Got outside yesterday for a 5 miler. Took the "hill" route and it kicked my rear end. Still, I was able to bring my mile times down to the low 9's by the second mile (after the major hills) and just enjoy being outside for once. The weather appears to have broke and forcasts are looking good, for at least this week. Should be able to post another 2-3 outdoor runs this week. It's critical that I get out as I haven't been doing such a great job as of late. As I've mentioned, work has been insane and school is ever present. No Rae, not done with the MBA yet. Not till June of 2010. It's an intensive cohort program where we go 9hrs once a week for five weeks and then move on to the next subject (only one class at a time). The amount of reading per week is just nuts....but I'll be done in a bit over a year, so I'm looking foward to it.

My sister in-law was all excited yesterday as she thought WDW tickets had gone down in price, but it turns out that it was a DisneyLand deal. LOL Haven't checked out the new D23 yet, but from what I have read I think it might be something we could subscribe too...we'll have to check it out and see. :-) If any of you have done this already I'd love to hear your review.

Mmmmmmenucia

Sorry for the lack of posting as of late guys/gals. Work has kicked it up a notch and ask that I take over some new high profile projects that have seriously timeline issues. Lovely, just the thing I want to be associated with... I suppose it's sort of like an underhanded compliment that they think I can help...

Anyhoooo, I've only been running 3x's a week as of late and not loving the minscule numbers. I did finish my sixth MBA class and on to finance/accounting next.

Gotta catch up on all the blog activity as it seems like there's alot going on and I want to make sure I'm supporting y'all!

Mike, that surgery is coming up soon, right? Yikes! I'm sure they'll be over you saying "we can rebuild him...better....faster...stronger..." Okay, maybe not faster....I mean, honestly, what's after going plaid? BTW - I've got an intro to pitch to you and Jeff....hopefully will get a chance over the weekend to write it up. Thought of it while running on the mill last night.

Congratulations to all the Princess finishers!!!!

BEHOLD MY MARCH SNOW-MELTAWAY-ANATOR

If it were only that simple Dr. Doofenshmitz...if only it were that simple....

Nothing really new here in CT, just bitterly cold, like 8 degrees or minus something or other with the wind chill. Does it really matter what the wind chill is when they state that it's 8 degrees...I mean, C'mon, it's 8 DEGREE'S PEOPLE!!!!

We did purchase a new elliptical machine the other day, so it appears that my cross-training efforts will have a new option pretty soon. They need to get it from the warehouse and such, so it's going to be a couple of weeks. And yes, Mike, it has the speed and distance readouts on it :-) As well as a bunch of other crap as well. Looks like it has space invaders on there too...ya know, in case you get bored with the workout and all.... My take is that they should invest that money into building a better product! If people are bored on your machine then perhaps they aren't working hard enough... Just say'n...

Treadmill and bike training this week, that's about it... Hoping to pick up the miles to over 15 (weekly total) and see how the foot will handle it. Right now, the left foot feels like it has the sesamoiditis and the right one is horrid when I'm not wearing shoes, but feels fine with sneakers....ugh.

Spring is ...No wait...More snow...

Ugly. That's all I can say about this mornings commute and my loathing for winter at this point in the year. Took me an hour and a half to get in to work due to the lovely little snow storm that dumped a large amount of snow on us last night. I'm just done with all of this stuff.... Of course, that means that running more outside just took a break as well. :-(

In any event, I was able to get another 3.1 on the mill yesterday and rediscovered a little more speed. Not too much, but was able to push it a bit more and could feel my legs and lungs coming back, so perhaps all is not lost on that front.

Totally missed the AATM live show yesterday and was pretty bummed out! By the time I got the kids bathed and to bed, etc, etc, etc... It was after 9pm. Ugh, and I wanted to call in and at least congratulate the guys on their 100th show. That stinks...will have to leave them a v-mail I suppose. Just a failed weekend all the way around I suppose. Thankfully the Vern Week-Team Voice challenge was the one bright spot.

Is it okay to just "maintain"?

That's what I'm asking myself this month where my running is concerned. It could just be a knee jerk reaction to not being able to run all that much with the foot issue or the insanity brought on by the winter (and cold lung syndrome...), but I've been pondering this. Should I just do this year what I did last year in order to maintain my running pace or try and commit more time to it in an effort to reduce my pace. I feel it's a legitimate question as I'm actually happy at the moment with a high 8 minute pace and running sub 2hr 13.1 mile runs. Right?

The real question here is the time to commit to training. In order to reduce that overall time I need to spend more time out running as well as adding in serious cross-training. Between the work and home schedule last year I eek'd all I could out of it to just get in 3-5 runs a week. When the heck am I going to do the other stuff! And that's the problem I'm having as I don't like the word "maintain" or "sustain"....it feels alot like "settling" or "giving up"....

Perhaps I'm just thinking about this too much due to the reasons above and need to get back on my running schedule before figuring out when I'm going to squeak in the other stuff. I'm sticking to my goal of running the Hartford marathon in under 4hrs as I think I can do that without too much more speed tranining. As for other speed goals, I'm going leave them alone for now and wait till my head is a little bit clearer before setting them. Focus right now needs to be on my job, family, and school as there are major transistions happening in all three at the moment.

What do you guys think? Being hard on myself? Not hard enough?

Musings and Tidbits

Check this out.... one of the possible exam questions in my Management Process MBA class is the following:
Disney’s theme parks outside America have incorporated unique features that meet the special needs and interests of local customers. Disney is responding with what strategy?

What would your answer be? Granted, it's kind of a dated question, but thought this crowd would enjoy the topic. :)

So Rae, I finally registered for the 2010 half, you happy now? ;-) ..... Did they charge us a $10 processing fee last year? I don't recall paying it, but could be losing my mind... Also, these pins better be something special for nearly $12!!! Last years were 8.95 I believe. Man, I'm getting crabby and cheap in my old age, LOL.

Was going to try and brave another outdoor run today as I'm working from home, but chickened out due to the weather station reading 28 degree's....and with the wipping wind, I decided to keep it on the treadmill. Another 3.2 miles for the month of February brings me to 25.81 running miles, 850 push-ups and a mere 430 sit-ups. Really slacking on the sit-ups this month... I'm okay with the mileage being so low as this foot thing is still present. It feels just fine when I run, but I can feel it walking barefoot in the bathroom when I get into the shower and such. Also, it appears that my left sesamoids have joined the inflamation party. Again, nothing that is really killing me at this point just wish it would go away already.

That's all for today! I noticed that Jonathan didn't pass the torch for the weekend challenge....probably need the rest anyhow!

Building Steam

Another "quality" run today on the treadmill (4.1 miles). I've learned that my lungs just are not well at adapting to weather under 40 degrees, so I'm not going to press it too much at this point. However, I'll be keeping an eye on the weather and seeing where I can sneak an outdoor run in prior to spring moving in. Bummed, yes, but health is my primary concern. Perhaps I'll check with my doctor or a specialist to do some further testing. Right now, I'm chalking it up to the asthema.

Still holding out in registering for the half, although I'm ready to pull the trigger. Just figure that the money is better sitting in the bank till the registration starts to fill up more. Every dollar counts in this economy... Airfare is booked and I'm starting to think about lodging, but figure I have some time for that as well. I'll most likely renew the annual pass for next year so I might just call and see what I can get from an AP discount perspective as we get closer. Would love to stay at the Beach Club (or anywhere on the Boardwalk) again, but we'll see.

How's everyone elses trip plans? Is the economy impacting your trip planning at all?

Another quality run...

Albeit on the treadmill last night, but for a run that was planned for 1.5 miles it went 3 miles...

and Deb, to answer your question about how I run outside during February in CT.....very carefully! Between the piles of left over ice/snow/muck and the inch of sand on the street where I'd normally run, it's dicey to say the least.

Going to get another run outdoors this weekend somehow. Probably just a 3 miler, but it needs to be outdoors. I'm losing my mind and will to run on the treadmill without that outdoor air every now and then.

Great news, we're in for next Jan! I'm going to register the wife and I and get the airfare thing going in the next week or so. How cool is that? A little boost for me as it's been tough with the foot and all as of late.

On the Road Once Again...

First run outdoors since the Half Marathon down in Disney and it was a good one. My goal was simply to get some miles in outside and live to tell about it. Speed was not on my mind and it showed in the outcome. I'm happy about the distance and the fact that my feet don't feel any worse for the wear.

Mile 1: 9:34
Mile 2: 9:40
Mile 3: 9:44
Mile 4: 9:53
Mile .81: 8:06

4.81 total and a couple of big hills in there as a reroute due to a road closure. The speed will come as the workload increases I'm pretty sure, just happy to get out for once!

Looking at airfare and thinking about hotel or renting DVC points for next January....could that mean that we'll be there for the half in 2010?????? These questions and more on the next episode of Stoller Boy - Wheels of Action!

3 Miles and running

3.2 on the treadmill last night and I felt just a little bit better than I had a couple of days ago. Which is the idea of rehab, right? Speed was about the same as last, somewhere in the 9:30ish range per mile, just enough to work up a little sweat. Progress.... Foot feels good although I'm feeling it in both "sesamoids" now. Nothing horrible, but can't walk barefoot on the hardwood floors anymore. Probably shouldn't be doing that anyhow.

How's everyone else doing? All you DVC owners....and the one wannabe...me! ;-) Seems like TeamVoice communications have slowed down a bit after the initial January surge.

Foot and such..

Hey all - Was able to try out the foot again last night on the treadmill. Ran 2.5 miles at around a 9:30/min pace. I had installed the footpads the doctor game me into my running shoes and they apparently did the trick as I didn't feel any pain in the sesamoid area. Not out of the woods yet as I still have to wear shoes around the house, but it felt good to get a run in. The downside is that I'm clearly out of running shape after taking a month off. Felt good at the 2 mile mark, but started to tire out quickly after that. Will start to get some more short runs in to build up the stamina again and then see where I'm at. So far, so good.

Anyone see the article in the WSJ about Dreamworks looking for a deal with Disney? Sounded more like a monetary deal than a creative partnership, but that might prove interesting, yes/no?

All About The Wife...

Today is to give a shout out to my wife Lorraine who has battled injury after injury to a point of total frustration and discouragment.... A month ago she was pondering whether she'd ever run again after months of barely being able to walk up and down the stairs. The other day she said to me "I'm going to try and run a half this year...." Totally threw me off! She's been rehabbing tendonitis in her knee for the past couple of months and has made great progress there and is very close to testing it back out on the road. This all after spending a couple of months on and off with plater fasciitis, or however that's spelled.

Just really proud of the work she is doing as we both set out last February with the 2010 Disney Half Marathon in mind (I just couldn't wait that long...apparently I'm an impatient person..who knew) and it is looking more and more like a reality from the running standpoint. Now, all we need to do is to stay injury free, find someone who will take the kids for a couple of days, save the money....hmmm, I suppose there is still some work to do, but I'm feeling pretty positive about it now.

I'd love her to join us on Team Voice pretty soon (more formally anyhow) as she's been joining into the challenges and I know this group would really help her toward her goal. :-) Perhaps she'll read this and join... I'm pretty sure she doesn't read the blog anymore as she gets the blow by blow Team Voice and AATM stuff from me directly, lol.

Okay..I cheated...

Yeah, went for a 2 mile light treadmill to test out the foot as it has been feeling a little better as of late. Great for 1.5 miles (10min/miles..nice and easy) but could feel it the last .5. Nothing lingering afterward though, so I think I'm clear there. Will keep up with the doc's recommendations and try to throw in a short mile or so here and there for the next couple of weeks. Just felt like I HAD to at least jog a little, you guys know how it is... The one thing I didn't do is put one of the pads my doc recommended into my running shoe yet, so I might try that and see if it helps as well. Either way, I'm not going to push it any more than the 2 miles more than once or twice a week for at least another week or two.

J. Wasowski - I said I was going to do 8 by the end of Feb for the virtual run...well...I'm not sure that's realistic at this point, but I'll let ya know if we need to modify it. :-)

On the school front, I finished a hellish Probability and Statistics class for the MBA program, woohoo! The final and final project/presentation were brutal, but it's over now and I'm on to Business Management (more my current work speed).

The Final Verdict...Sesamoiditis....

Had my orthapedic appointment yesterday and found out from the x-ray that the sesamoid bones beneath the big toe joint are inflamed. The good news there is that they are not fractured, so no need for a cast or surgery. The bad news is that the Doc wants me to take at least 4 weeks off from running. He gave me a special pad for the shoe that should help relieve the stress from that area of the foot, but the sure way to heal would be to not stress it. So I'm going to give it a couple of weeks and see how I feel, and will then figure out if I can get going again. The pic above shows where/what the sesamoid bones are.

So, for the near future I'm bike bound! I suppose it could have been worse...

Random Pics

Foot-loose..

Although its feeling better today, the foot is still sore with some fleeting pain. Sort of looking forward to my appointment on Wednesday just to figure out what the deal is. Have my annual physical on Tuesday and the orthopedic appointment on Wednesday, fun week for me. Hoping to run the O'Hartford 5k again this year in Mid-March, but won't risk it if the Doc says I should be resting for a while. Marathon goal trumps 5k run for corned beef and beer ;)

Still, I'm able to use the bike and do sit-ups/push-ups, so at least I'm able to do something.

On the Disney front, I'm just about closed on renting some points for a 3 day extension for our late 2009 trip. Going back to the Beach Club Villas for 3 days and then will stay off site for seven more days. As for marathon weekend 2010, we're still batting it around. For one, my wife still isn't able to run yet and haven't really gotten the vote of confidence from the rehab folks as to when/if she'll be able to get out there. So it's kinda driven by that and whether or not it makes financial sense since we'll be there for 10 days at the end of 09. Will probably make the decision late Feb as I'm pretty sure registration will be open through then.

Pics from trip are on my other computer, so I'll post a couple more when I hit the bike tonight.

Pics...and a realization...

** --Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. --Wherever there is suffering, we'll be there. --Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find... --The Three Amigos!

***Shhhh, careful, you don't want to scare off the ellusive Nando and Tigger...

Going to spoon feed the pictures to y'all as I don't have that many. Was too busy having fun I suppose. :)

I came to the realization that while I was a little dissapointed with my Disney half time, I had a damn good year overall! Heck, I just started to run last Feb. something my lungs never really allowed me to do prior and jeez, the year turned out pretty well. Okay, so it wasn't all my lungs fault, more like a faulty plan and follow through.... Last year I set a long term goal, but also MANY smaller goals which allowed me to progress and train my breathing slowly. Just something I knew I had to do from years of dealing with the condition. At times during the winter here it's been tough, but I think with some more patience and work, I can break through the 1hr 56min barrier and onto new goals! So if anything, by "failing" to improve on my time it really has helped to motivate me for bigger/better things in 2009.

So, I'm out of the funk and onto the next goal! :-) Well, still have this Eagles losing funk, but I'm kinda tired of football this season anyhow...almost relieved! Was a good run for them, and congrats to the Cardinals! Damn fine team!

Race Day Recap

So I said I’d do a recap of race day as I remembered it and here it is!

Since I had done two other half marathons in the past 7 months, this should be old hat, right? Well, I guess not as I didn’t actually fall asleep till 10:30p or so. Just couldn’t get comfortable as I started to think about the race more and more. The funny thing is that I wasn’t even thinking about myself! Was thinking about all the other Team Voicer’s, pictured us hanging out waiting for the thing to get going, possibly if there was someone to pace with, chatting about our triumph post-finish… That kind of thing. Also, I still had yet to meet “The Voice” and the oddly spelled “Bryan”! These are the guys that put the idea in my head in the first place! I tell ya though, after meeting Mike-speed, Matt (and Bill), Heath, Rae (and family), Lisa, and Trace on Thursday evening, I felt a lot more connected to the team as well as the event itself. Kinda validated the whole year of training, and talking to my internet Disney friends (which I have been eternally mocked for!! Ha! In your face non-believers!!! Again..ha!). Okay, so no-one really mocked me, but c’mon, admit it...when you tell people all about your Disney buddies from the internet that you have never met in person, people do look at you a little funny, right? Come to find out that this is more than an internet buddy group, this to me is a kind of family. We’ve gone through a lot together over the year and I consider you all friends :) Oh boy did that get off track! Here’s something you’ll really like….nuttin’ up my sleeve…presto!

2:40am….alarm went off and I snailed out of bed and into the shower. Mike was going to swing by at 3am to see if we (my friend Chris and I) were ready to head to the bus. Well, apparently I was in the shower and couldn’t hear and Chris was in some kind of sleep coma… Anyhooo, we both got ready and made our way to the bus (about 3:05am). Chilly for sure, but very bearable considering the frigid temps back in CT at the time. Like Deb, I had my iPod rockin’ while I was on the bus, a little Hercules (which I didn’t discover till recently…like a joke that you don’t get for a couple of weeks…you guys have been talking about “go the distance” all year!), and other mixed songs. First tingly feeling was when the bus rolled into Epcot and seeing Spaceship Earth, yes indeed, this is a much different half than what I had run prior… Found the couple of TV folks at the rally spot and listened to the band while wondering where the pre-race water was….note for next time, bring my own bottle for the pre-race…. Yada yada yada…The Voice strolls up (nice use of stroll, ehh) right next to me and greets us all. Gave him a pat on the back, shook his hand, said nice to meet you and then asked if he threw up yet…LOL Okay, it was more of a joke, but I’m not sure he took it that way…DOH! On to the race!

5:50 start. Running to Disney Craig was in the same corral so we decided to pace together. We chatted it up for the first 3 miles and the time seemed to fly by. I recall as we entered the Magic Kingdom saying to Craig “This is what we’re here for, right? Let’s do this!” At this point we were just strolling through the park, slappin’ fives, yelling “Git ‘er done” to the person who had that sign (too funny). Next thing I knew we were out of the Magic Kingdom and in front of the Grand Floridian, time just flew by. Crowds were awesome! Heard a ton of “Go Team Voice” cheers as well as folks yelling our names. Felt a boost of energy everytime we ran through the large crowds. At about mile 9 I started to feel a little tightness in the lungs so I slowed down a bit. Craig was looking great and went on ahead. For his first race he looked like a pro! I saved a little energy to try and make a run at him toward the end, but could only close within two minutes or so (was probably more like 3-4 at one point). After the ramp off of World Drive, which was just a killer angle not the elevation so much but the pitch was killer for my right leg. Started to speed up when I hit the peak of the off ramp as the lungs felt much looser. Yelled “Mongello” to a guy wearing a WDW Radio shirt as I passed him. He looked a little tired and perhaps annoyed…guessing it wasn’t the first “Mongello” he heard J Kept pace till I entered Epcot and noticed the time 1:58’ish so I picked up the pace through Epcot as I wanted to finish under 2hrs and wasn’t sure what my chip time was in comparison to the clock. The last burst of energy came when I saw a kid Eagles hat cheering….so I gave him an E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!! chant and he responded with a cheerful “GO EAGLES!!!” ha! Awesome! After that, I started to sprint it out a bit more. As I came to the finish line, the announcer said “and here comes Chris Cullen from Kesington CT, and the crowd cheered pretty darn loud! What a great crowd, cheering for tons of people they don’t know. What a thrill given that there were so many people in this race. I put my arms up and crossed the line, feeling like I could have probably run another few miles around the parks. Made my way back to our rally point and shared my run story with Mike-speed and Craig who were waiting there for me…Of course…Mike had to look down at his watch and say “what took you so long” ;-) Well played Mike-speed…well played… :)

With the goal of a full marathon here in CT I’ve got my hands full once again, but nothing will match the great time had at the Disney race. That is, until I return for my NEXT Disney race. If that race is next year, I hope y’all will be there as well!

Back to the Grind

Hi all, back home to reality and not loving it... to be expected.

Firstly, thanks to everyone for their support over the past year, it really helped keep me on target throughout. If I didn't have this community to chat with I'm honestly not sure I would have stuck with running or pushing myself to achieve. Just made it that much easier.

Having said that...I'm disapointed.... I know a sub two hour half marathon is good and all, but feel like I let myself down a little bit. November was such a good training month for me and got me down to running just over an 8 minute mile during my training, and then I gave it all back in December! So, yeah, I'm happy with the sub 2hour, but know I could have done better if I had been more disciplined. Didn't taint my trip at all as I had a blast! I know it was a great trip cause I feel that post trip let down more than I have in quite a while (sign of a great trip!).

I'll probably muse about all this over the next month or so, but wanted to blurt it out now cause it's been festering since I finished the race. Will give my own race recap in the next day or so.

Once I get back up to speed at work and school I'll start to figure out the plan to meet my next goal of completing a full marathon in October of this year (Hartford Marathon). Not sure if we'll make it back to Disney for Marathon weekend next year, but the hope is there. As I've told most of you guys, my wife would like to run the half next year, but is battling hard with some foot and knee issues. If we do go, there won't be a time consideration for me, I'll definitely be running/walking it with her!!!

I'll try to get my pictures up soon, only have a few...

and yes Mike F....GO EAGLES!!!!!!! (that's what got me sprinting to the finish line, a kid with an Eagles hat was cheering me on in the last .10....I gave him an E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES chant and he yelled back "Go Eagles" LOL

Ground Control to Major Tom....

Or should it be "Lights Camera Action!" ? In any event, I'm packed, locked, and ready to rock! Early morning flight and snow sleet is already falling....should be a lovely morning commute to the airport and waiting around hoping that they don't delay it!

Won't have internet while I'm down there most likely, so I'll post when I get back. Later dudes!

Are we there yet?

Jeez, this thing just snuck up on me! Meetings all today, then MBA class all night....more of the same meeting schedule tomorrow then on to packing and sleep as 4:30a is going to roll around pretty darn quick on Wednesday. Weather is looking like a wintery mix for Wednesday morning...here's to hoping that the flight isn't delayed!

Depending on what time we get in I'm thinking that we may head over to Animal Kingdom for the afternoon. We'll see how the flight goes though....

Have run the past 4 nights and feel pretty good at this point. No run tonight as I don't get home till 9 or 10pm. Will try to get another 3 mile treadmill run in tomorrow night and will get out for a quick one on Thursday while down there. Other than that, I think I'm ready for this thing!

Anyone freakin' out? ;-)

What time is it?

Game time... or almost...

Getting some short 3 milers in pretty much every day lately to try and burn some holiday weight and keep the legs moving. Lung have been feeling tight lately. Not sure if I've got a mild bug or what, but something to keep an eye on.

Happy New Year all, since I fogot to post yesterday! My wife has been working alot this week so I've been busy with the kiddies and little to no time for other stuff. Jonathan was looking for resolutions I think. I'm not big on the year beginning resolution thing, more of a change on the fly kinda guy, but I'll give it a go. Not sure if it's a resolution or a directive, but I'm resolving to run a full marathon this year in under four and a half hours. I'm taking the conservative approach on the time as I've never run longer than the half marathon and have no idea what I'm going to be in for! I'm shooing for the Hartford Marathon in October, but who knows...I might try to get one in this summer if I feel up to it, just to give it a go. Perhaps the real resolution here is that the running thing isn't just for 2008, I'm resolving to keep this going into 2009 and hopefully will make it permanant after that!

Little trip anxiety as I'm still working on my "plan" and haven't talked with the friend of mine that will be heading down with me! Not sure if he's going to buy into the plan or not...it's all good, I don't mind flying solo in the parks if he wants to do something else. :-)

On the Road Again...

Got outside with all my spiffy new winter running gear. All I can say is...the gear held up great! Other than that...not so much. At about mile 2 I got lung locked and it hurt so much that I had to walk for a 1/4 mile before starting back up slowly. Same thing happened again at around mile 4. Walked another 1/4 mile and was able to back going with no other occurrences. In total I got 9 miles in, another disapointment. Condition-wise it was around 38 degree's with wind gust up to 25-30mph, not ideal conditions, but I should have been okay...not sure what happened...ugh. Very frustrated at the moment and being only 11 days out doesn't help matters. Just seems that I need to get more work in here prior to leaving next week than I wanted to. :-( As I had mentioned previously, the couple of pounds I gained this past week hasn't helped matters either.

Even though I'm frustrated right now, I'm still optimistic that I'll be good for the race. The other positive being that I'm guessing the temp won't dip lower than the 40's (my lungs will like that!). With withhold judgement on my actual condition till early next week.

Here's to hoping that everyone else is on track and ready to go for this thing!

So much to do, so little time..

Boy, I let myself go a bit over the past couple of weeks. I've done okay on the running end of things, but not on the food (not going to say how much weight...oy). The good news is that my metabolism is on my side, and have had a couple of days eating better on the road to recovery. I'm not sure that my time goals are in reach just yet, but will assess by this weekend and adjust the pace as necessary. The one thing I don't want to do out there is hurt myself. Anyhoo, I'm pretty psyched at this point for the trip. Didn't realize that I'd be back to work two days and then off to Florida, not sure how that snuck up on me. Not to mention that my MBA program kicks back in on Jan 5 with Quantitative Analysis/Statistics, fun fun! Will have some reading to bring with me for sure.

Haven't put in my second long run for December yet and looks like I'll be doing it in the snow tomorrow or Wednesday. Not a big deal, might cut back on the pace and up the miles as an adjustment.

More fantasy football stuff.... Won a league championship in one of the leagues I play in and will be putting that money into the 2010 Marathon weekend trip. Kinda psyched about that. :-)

Sorry for the hiatus

I'm back! Sort of! This week has been nuts with year end closeout projects at work..."landing the plane" as our finance folks call it, takes a bit more work than we originally anticipated. Also, it appears they want us to "take off" our financial plane for 2009, so that took a good amount of budget work as well. Throw in the final class for this segment (Marketing) for my MBA program and I had a nice work/school sandwich going on! Anyhoo, all my year end closeout, year beginning budget/renewal, etc., and Marketing work is done! Got an A in Marketing to boot!

Thank you all for your kind comments on the B-day and the unfortunate incident that happend! Window was fixed last Tuesday, so everything is back to normal, sort of.

Training has been treadmill based as of late due to the activites mentioned above. Snowing and 27 degrees here today, looks like we're forcasted for 8-12 inches, fun fun. Anyhoo, I'm off from work till Jan 5 and will hopefully have some outdoor runs during that span! Haven't had a good food week or two which is disasterous given that I've been scraping by on the running. :-( Injury to insult, I've had this pain in my lower leg for two weeks now. Seems to pop up when I use the treadmill more...I'm sure it'll be fine though.

It's getting late early! Up and at'em T.V.

Fantasy Football...for those who care... I fell short in the MouseGuest fantasy football league this past week. Was the #2 seed in the playoffs and bounced in the semi's...considering that my team was autodrafted for me...I'm actually happy that I made it that far. I'm in the finals of my "money" league and hoping to bring home a championship. So, for all you football fans...let's root for the following players! Donovan McNabb (Go Eagles!), Thomas Jones, Maurice Jones-Drew (had a good game last night), Pierre Thomas, Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Marshall, Lance Moore, Seattles own John Carlson ;-), Eagles Defense, and some kicker dude...forgot who I have....

Smash and Grab...

What a lovely birthday it turned out to be. The plan, go out to dinner and then to a showing of "Bolt". Well, dinner went okay, but when we went out to the car....smashed drivers side window and the GPS unit..gone.gotta love people.... I'm sure it's societies fault, right? Anyhoo, no Bolt, happy B-day.. :-(

Happened to me 10 years ago with my in dash radio in broad daylight...It's the time that it takes to get it all fixed and such that I'm more angry about. What can ya do.


Hope all y'all that are down at the Mousefest meets (Florida and northwest) are having a great day! Have a drink for me!

In the Long Run...

Great Eagles tune....

Put 12 miles in today for my long run. Almost thought I wasn't going to get them in this weekend due to work schedules, but my lovely wife got up early today so I could get out. Thanks honey! :-)

35 degree's, seeing my breath, etc. Not too much wind, so it was actually kinda nice. Ran a little slower than normal as I didn't really want to push my lungs coming off the chest cold I had. Was a little tight in the lungs after, but feel good now. Ran around 8:20's on average, which isn't too bad on this route with all the hills.

Anyhoo, one more long run on the 27th o r 28th prior to the race.

The Great Outdoors

No, no John Candy or Dan Ackroyd...Just me on the open road jog'n right along. First run outside for me in a couple of weeks, so it's sort of an accomplishment. Working from home today, so it made it very easy to get one in. 4.51 miles total at an average pace of 8:04. Not bad, thought I'd be slower as I wanted to warm my lungs up for the first mile (8:16). Did feel a little pain as my lungs expanded on the first monster hill which is only .3 miles from my start. Settled in though and felt okay the rest of the way. Still, a balmy 45 degrees and wearing shorts and short sleeves! Gotta love it.

This blog was almost entitled "Throw me a fricken bonus", but I like the other better. Totally unexpectedly my boss hands me a letter stating that I recieved some kind of team award and would receive a cash bonus, woohoo! Really just happy to have a job given the economy and all....but this was really nice as it's been insane lately... Sooooo, not worrying about getting the annual pass or spending money while down in the World anymore! Not exactly "drinks on me" money, but perhaps if y'all show up to the Rant-meet I might be persuaded...

One more thing. My daughter bought me the coolest gift ever today! My wife took her to the Disney store and she told her they had to buy me this Perry the Platypus stuffed animal. It growls like Perry and everything! Best Gift EVER! am I looney or what? ;-)

Are we there yet?

Almost asked myself that question today when I saw the mail. A nice neat little letter package was in there with the words "Disney Magical Express" on the cover. Then it hit me, my luggage tags and such, ahhhhh. First time for me using magical express, so it was a little exciting to see. :-)

Feeling a little bit better today, well enough to tough out a 5k on the mill just now (not too much hacking afterwards). Looking forward to getting outside for this weekends run...it's been too long since I ran outside. Feel like I'm in confession or something "So my son, how long has it been since your last outdoor run?" TOO LONG! I'm learning that it's not only the desire to get out there when the temps dip to a ripe temp of 30'ish, but its other stuff too! Like, it gets dark around 4p, so there goes the after work run (too many nutty drivers...and other nutty things...people..etc...wouldn't feel safe). Would run during my lunch, but I've been working straight through lunch and it doesn't appear to be letting up (I know, I know, be thankful I've got a job! or that I'm not run down by a mob of Christmas shoppers...jeez that a sad story and state of affairs....:-(.....)

Anyhow, enough of my bitching! Happy to at least have the treadmill outlet when life gets in the way of nice fulfilling outdoor runs! The plan is to get a long run of 12.5 in this weekend and do one final long run in two weeks (probably on my birthday, the 13th...gives me good leverage to take a couple hour run!) I'll be thinking of all your Mousefesters enjoying your meets on the 13th, wishing I was there.... Perhaps next year as I'll have that annual pass burning a whole in my pocket!

How's everyone else doing? Rae, you still with us? We NEED ya! :-) Looks like Heath is back in action, woohoo! Deb has been kicking tail for like 12 months...Mike-speed is priming his jets...Jeff is...well...I dunno...tending to the corn?... Jonathan sounded in good spirits last show.... Dare I say it...Team Voice is primed and ready to roll through WDW? I know there are plenty more T.V'ers out there too!

Sick and such

Not feeling all that great the past couple of days, some kind of upper respiratory thing. Not fun. Anyhoo, going to get some kind of light cardio in tonight and see how I feel aftwards. With a little over a month to go I think the next couple of weeks are the most critical, so we'll just have to wait and see. Stinks cuase I think I gained a pound or two over thanksgiving! ;-)

First snow for us in CT this morning, nothing that will last or hang out, but cool nonetheless.

Happy Thanksgiving

Best wishes to all the Team Voicers out there. Have a happy and safe holiday and keep the foot on the gas with your training....not too many days left...

Frigid..

It's a bit nippy here in CT today (33 at noon), but was going to forge ahead and still get an outdoor run. Well, after trying to figure out what to wear I decided to stick to the treadmill and brave it on Sunday (it's supposed to actually be colder). Waiting for some winter gear that I ordered before I'm brave enough to get out there for a long run. Last time I just went with the sweatpants, there were all sorts of issues :-) Anyhow, just confessing to wimpin' out on the run. Did get 5.15 miles in on da mill, so all is not lost for today.

One other thing. I've been slacking off on the push ups/sit ups, so I'm going to start posting them on the training log so y'all can get on my case if you don't see some numbers! Gotta get that core ready for January!

Let's not "Stretch" the Truth....

Check out this very interesting article on stretching that my work running team forwarded on to me. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112pewarm.html?_r=1

Now let's see your best "spider-man" stretch!!!!

4.25 mi treadmill run last night. I tell ya, for the first time in a while, I felt like I could have gone 5-6 miles on the TM without even thinking about it...just felt good. Part of it being that I was trying to envision the race in January....much easier now that we're so close.

Sunday Long Run

11.11 mi run in 1:29:33 (8:03 average). Colder this morning with a pretty strong head wind. Pretty much typical of all my long runs, tight to start, loose by mile 4-5, and pretty strong through the end. Felt alot better by the end of the run this time around, like I could keep pace for another couple miles. Almost there....

Thanks Heath, not sure how I forgot about Animal Kingdom. Might actually be a really good idea. Don't worry, I fairly certain that Lou doesn't read this blog ;-)

Simple Update

4.15 mile run today. Started out pretty quick and settled down into a couple of hills (up and down). Long run Sunday, 10.6 miles.

Splits:
7:40
7:42
8:03
8:04
0:45

Trip update: Made the final payment on my DVC point rental the other day (Beach Club Villas). They informed me that we're all set with our Magical Express reservations as well, so we're locked and ready to rock! Looking into my ticket options now. Might just get a 10-Day no expiration as we're going to be back down there with the family next November. Not sure I need the park hopper as I don't plan to hop this trip. Going to pick a park for a day and stick with it. Tentatively, it'll be Thursday - Studios, Friday - Magic Kingdom, Saturday - Epcot. Might do a park on Wednesday too as we get to Orlando at 9:45a and can't check in till 4pm... Any advice?

News and Notes...

Training is going okay in my camp. Speed is up as I've been running in the 8 min mile range for a few weeks now. Overall mileage is level at around 70 miles a month, but my long runs are increasing on a weekly basis (with the exception of the last two weeks cause of illness). This weekend's long run will be 10.6 miles and will increase .5 mile per long run till Jan.

Gel goo stuff... After listening to Steve and Bryan on the last couple of podcasts, I've decided to give the gel stuff a go for my long runs. Will try to incorporate them this weekend. Why the change? Well, as you might know I've struggled with the energy level in the last couple of miles for my two half marathons and want to do something to improve. The incremental addition to my long runs is part of that plan, and now trying the goo..... Steve did make the point to try it a couple of times as it might take some getting used to, so I'll be sure to try it at least twice. Any personal experience on this that you can share? I know Jonathan tried them and didn't seem to agree with him...

Props to Deb for her recent weight loss and hitting her training goals! Both you and Rae continue to inspire me on your work ethic and great attitude! Mike Fess as well for fighting through the injury situation! Mike Speed lives on!!! Shout out to Jeff W. as well....I personally call you "Mr. Steady" as you always keep an even keel throughout this process which appeals to my stead side. Long story short, you guys keep this team together with all that you bring. Thanks! (Mention to Mike Greene as well for always keeping my achievment goals in focus :-))

Quick last day of vacation recap as I hadn't done that yet.

Last day (Friday Nov. 7) spent at Magic Kingdom again.

We purposely left Tomorrowland off of our Wednesday MK visit so we could focus on that and our favorites for Friday. We were able to see Stich's no so great Escape (thumbs down from the wife and daughter), Monsters Laugh Floor (thumbs up, almost seemed too short), Buzz Lightyear (just okay after experiencing Toy Story Mania on Monday), TTA (had to give the little guy his bottle and this worked out perfect), Tomorrowland Speedway (daughter loves this, our necks...not so much!). After this run of rides, we were hungry and stopped in at Pecos Bills for a bite. Pretty much steady counter service here, but had the no backs on the chairs....the little guy was taking a nap on me and I had nothing to lean back on! We hit Splash Mountain after lunch (had a fastpass) and I was permitted to go this time (by my daughter...). Being the ride junky she is now, she wanted to sit in the front of the log, so we waited a little bit longer. She walked me through the whole ride telling me when the drops where, what was going on with Brer Rabbit/fox/bear....and of course the "Bad Birds" on the way to the big drop. Just classic!

By the time we got through all of this, it was time to do our shopping and get back to the house to pack. We did stop into the bakery on Main Streeth after shopping for some weight gain specials. We all split some kind of cherry filled pastry, a banana pudding bread thingee, and an apple pastry. There wasn't a crumb left on the tray..... Sooooo good though! After that, we headed back for a swim in the pool, packing and out to dinner. Great trip overall. However, I'm looking forward to seeing the parks without the family in January as well...will allow me to take my time and check out those things we typically blow by.

Pic of YOAMD Stuff

Figured you guys might be interested to see what the pins/lanyard look like that I got from the Dream Squad. Cool stuff.. Wonder how many of these pins they made, or more to the point if they are worth anything! ha!

Epcot...

So we weren't sure how this one was going to go as the attractions at Epcot are not really geared toward a 4 year old (or younger). Nemo/Crush, yes, and of course we hit this first. Had done this the last time we were here, so it was a known commoditiy. We had fastpassed Soarin' since my daughter is now a thrill ride junkie, apparently. I'm not going to go through the whole day, but lets just say there are good days with the kids and then there are bad days...this was one of the bad days...

The one thing I will report on is the Soarin' experience. We went back at our fastpass time (after Figment/HISTA..or at least part of it..) and decided to do the swap thing. My wife and daughter went first and I waited with my son. They came out after the ride and my daughter said she didn't want to go again, but did like it...big mistake for not wanting to ride with dear old dad.... I was waiting in the hangar line (or whatever it's actually called) and noticed some guy talking to the group in the front....then ensued some kind of cheering....he started to walk up the line with a counter clicking off the number of people in our line...uh, okay.... as the line started to move I figure it out. It was the dream squad and they were giving away prizes to our line. Too cool :-) We all got Year of a Million Dreams Pin's (2 of them) and Lanyard. Very cool as I NEVER win, well, anything! LOL One pin has Donald and Goofey and the other has Mickey and Minnie with the YOAMD logo in the middle. So my daughter would have got one if she just rode with me! ha! I'll hold onto it and perhaps when she gets a little older and into pin trading, she can have it. Wondering how many of these pins were made....maybe one of the guys knows.

Ran 4.5 today at just under 8 minutes a mile, and yes Rae, it's totally FLAT here! You should run the area where I live, if there's a half mile at the same elevation it's amazing... I think the new shoes are helping as well. Also, I do get to ride the rides, just didn't do as many since we wanted to see alot of stuff and didn't want to waste time in the swap transaction. Also, I figured that I'm going to be alone in Jan. and can see everything without having to worry about the kids :-) One more....the last two trips my wonderful wife allowed me to run off to rides while she hung with the kid/family. I'm having fun just being here, so it's all good.

Magic Kingdom Day

I know the other reviews were a bit on the long winded side, so I'll try to keep this one brief..."try" being the operative word!

Okay, so we had a 8:25a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table, so it was "up and at them" (Simpson's reference) really early today. The plan was breakfast, fantasyland, perhaps some of frontierland, and then home for naps/lunch. Then back to it for a list of evening attractions. So how did we do?

Got to the park exactly on time, walking down Main Street by 8:15a. As many have said before, its really nice to walk in with only a couple of others and not the mob that ensues at rope drop. We had done CRT for lunch last year so I was interested to compare how they handled the breakfast crowd. Actually, breakfast was the way to go, much quicker in, food was good (normal breakfast fare, but all you can eat which was a nice twist..and not a buffet either, woohoo). Same routine for the princesses as our prior experience. We saw Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella (at the entrace for pictures) and Jasmine. Last time it was Fairy Godmother instead of Jasmine. I know it's kinda on the pricey side, but my daughter loves this one, so we'll probably ride this as long as she's into the princesses. Will most likely stick to the breakfast as well.

We were done with breakfast right at 9am and out into Fantasyland. Got on Dumbo right away (3 min wait...there's ALWAYS some kind of wait at Dumo, lol). Went over to Mickey's Philharmagic, a new one for us, and loved it. Walk right on to Peter Pan, pretty much, not bad... a little Mr. Toad in the air kinda thing, but that's not exactly a bad thing. We fastpassed Pooh and got in line to meet Ariel. Loooong line there and took about 45 min for my daughter/wife to get to her. Had to though as my daughter had her Ariel costume on..wouldn't be the same if she didn't get an autograph. My son and I rode Dumbo while they were waiting, he was laughing up a storm, thumbs up from him. He had a bottle, I had my coffee for the rest of the wait. They came out and we went to use the fastpasses. Liked what they did with the Pooh ride. Last time we were on that one it was Mr. Toads Wild Ride!

We made really good time due to short lines and such, so we took a jaunt over to Frontierland to see if my daughter would ride Big Thunder. Well, she insisted on going on Splash Mountain....figured she'd chicken out, right? Nope, she dragged my wife on and had an awesome time, crazy 4 year old... She then dragged her to Big thunder and loved that one too. Told me all about it while jumping up and down stating that she wanted to ride Splash Mountain again. It was noon though so we headed out to grab lunch and a nap. Went back for the evening, so she could ride BT and SM again. Along the way over we rode Alladin and the Jungle Cruise (just an okay skipper). Got the Teacups and the Barnstormer (2x) before sitting down at Cosmic Rays for dinner. My daughter was too funny, siging along while munching on her fries...lol We were going to stay for the fireworks, but decided not to as the little guy was getting restless and since the day went so well, we decided not to chance it. (Did I mention that we got to ride in front of the monorail as well?) Just an overall great day with a ton packed into it! Going back to MK on Friday to spend some time in tomorrowland and get in the "greatest hits" tour. Epcot tomorrow.

Sorry if this is incoherent, just trying to blurt it out there so I can relax for the rest of the evening!

Day 2 and 3

Run Update - Ran 5 miles today at 7:53/mi pace...what the....Holy fast Batman! Felt really good and the new shoes just catapult me forward! Again, it's REALLLLY flat around the house here in Kissimmee, so I'm sure that helps as well. Feels good nonetheless.

Day 2 - ADR Breakfast at Chef Mickey's then on to Animal Kingdom.

Chef Mickey's - First, the Contemporary is REALLY cool, huh? Never been close or in it prior (aside from on the monorail). Always thought it was one of those "old" hotels and not somewhere I'd like to go. Wrong! Super clean and definitely somewhere I'd like to stay. On to the review. Had a 9:20a ADR and got there at 9:15...waited 5 minutes and we were in. Nicely done on the timing front. They are doing construction there next to the hostess station (Chef Mickey's Express?) and it was pretty darn loud. Was hoping that it didn't carry over to our area, and it really didn't. We were seated by the "window" which was nice as we had a great view of the whole room from there without having to crane the head around. Characters a plenty! Mickey, Donald, Goofey, Pluto, and Minnie. All were great (as ususal), and spent a good amount of time at the table. My 11 month old loved the characters (wasn't sure how that was going to go). He turned around to someone tapping on his shoulder to have a very large mouse staring him in the face! He laughed out loud and was reaching out as if to be held. Did the same for all the other characters too (phew, as there were kids his age that didn't fare so well). Daughter loved the characters, food, etc. Food was good and plentiful although I hate buffets....just an exercise in patience with people at a buffet line....everyone following their own rules and all. What can ya do. Service was great as well, very friendly and accomodating. 4 stars for this one and something I'll do again in a heartbeat.

We spent the afternoon at the Animal Kingdom and it didn't go as well as with the Studios. The kids didn't get their naps, so it was kind of a mild meltdown for the little guy. We were able to get into the Nemo show and stayed for most of it, but were sitting in the back and not able to see very well. Looked as good as reviewed though and would like to see the whole thing next time (in better seats ;-)). Spent a good amount of time (an hour I think) at the playground in Dinoland. Also hit a couple of the kids rides there as well. No Everest this trip. Walked along the conservation trail to give the little guy some time to nap in the stroller. Lots of wildlife along the trail and was one of the more enjoyable pieces of the day. The gorrillas are pretty darn cool as well. We had fast passes for Killamanjaro, but ended up leaving as it was going to be way too much to keep the kids out till they came due. I think the plan went against us on this one, but seeing as how we never toured with an 11 month old, it's all new! Have a better strategy for tomorrow as it's Magic Kingdom day (CRT for breakfast at 8:20, some planned attractions, home for naps, back for the early evening touring).

Tuesday (today) was our planned day off so we did the playground and such. Nap schedule was in full effect as well!

Day 1 - MGM Studios

That's right, I went there...ha! It'll always be MGM to me for whatever reason.

Quick run update - Went for a 3.15 miler this morning...Love running here, totally flat! LOL Averaged 8:05/mi. Now, I'm sure I wouldn't love the heat in the summer...Just sayin'.

Anyhoo, as I said many times, this is my favorite park. Something about the movies and being part of that action has always appealed to me.

On with the quick report (have beer to attend to...). Arrived just after rope drop, much to my wifes dismay, but was able to park up front with the AAA Diamond Parking pass (sweet deal that we've used for years now). Went straight for the Toy Story Mania speed pass which listed 1:10-2:xx, wow these things go fast! Then on to the Little Mermaid.

Little Mermaid - Getting there first thing in the morning helps as we walked right in. Now, we didn't do this last year as my daughter was 3 and we had read that it could get scary with the Ursula scene and the darkness. Seeing as how she's 4 now we figured we'd give it a try. Being the free spirited little red-head she is, we just had to see Ariel. Show was well put together overall. Music was better than I thought it would be, props to the siging talent :-) Daughter wasn't scared at all either, which was AWESOME for us parents, ha! My little guy (11mos now) watched from my lap and loved the music (bopped up and down) and almost fell asleep through Usula, interestingly enough. Huge hurdle for parents with kids this age and sets the stage for the rest of the day. Also makes you feel better about dumping the boat load of cash to visit when the kids are actually enjoying it!

After the little mermaid we waited for the High School Musical 3 show only for it to be cancelled due to rain. It "rained' on and off all day, nothing that made us rush for cover, but I suppose danging around and such could be dangerous, who knows. We opted for the Great Movie Ride at this point. While I was parking the stroller....funny side story... cast member asked if she could park it for me and I said "I've got it ma'am, I'm Stroller Boy...." but I digress... While doing that my daughter was attacked by rogue chipmunks! Okay, it was Chip and Dale who were heading in from their autograph session, but I wished I was there and they all had a nice hug moment, and I missed it :-(. Great Movie ride was good, a few updates in there, but mainly the same thing I saw back in 1992 (I'm pretty sure).

Next was Playhouse Disney. My wife and daughter went alone and I walked around the whole park with the little guy who decided he wanted a nap in the stroller. Love to just walk around the parks, cool stuff. They said it was fun, daughter was more interactive during the show, again, happy to see she's enjoying herself more this time! The point is that the previous two trips (at 2 and then 3) were really good warm up trips and now she knows what to expect (even asks about things we did in the past). She went for some little Einstein meet and sign time after and we then went for lunch. No ADR here. We asked what my daughter wanted to do and it was a resounding "Turkey Leg". I've got a picture of her choppin on a turkey leg the last couple of years now, so it was nice to add another shot (will post when I can). I've done Sci-Fi and 50's Prime time in the past, but would like to do Mama Melrose and Brown Derby sometime in the future.

After lunch was the best stop of the day, Toy Story Mania. Wow, what a cool ride/game. I had my son on my lap and my wife had my daughter so we could all ride together. Nothing I didn't like about this one. I can totally see how people could ride this thing over and over again. I think my score was something in the 170k range..not bad for a first timer with a 11 month old on my lap ;-)

Went for a walk after this to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, at least I think that's what it was... Wife and daughter went in and I strolled around with my son. Cast member standing in front of Lights, Motors, Action asked if I needed anything...said I'm just strollin' around, to which he said "it looks like you have room in that double stroller, can I join in!" I said, yeah, if you have 35 bucks! Ya know, cause a double costs 35/day now....he laughed and said "very true...". Had to get my stroller price hike dig in there. Yeah, like it was his fault, ha!

Last stop of the day was a never miss on any trip I've taken, Beauty and the Beast. However, I gotta tell ya, it wasn't good... Same show and all, but being the last, or near last, show of the day it seemed like these guys were mailing it in. I've seen this show like 5 times prior and always the first show of the day so I'm just guessing they were tired at this point, who knows. Belle was way off the music, they ARE singing this, right? Not recorded? I recall the interview with Paige O'Hare that Jonathan/Bryan did and it sounded like they did those "live". Anyhow, wasn't very good and I recommend going earlier..Probably will rethink that one next time.

Had to get out of the park by this time, kids were at their line as were we! All in all a great park experience with two little ones! We beat the system! ha!

Sorry for the long post, I'll try to be more concise as the week goes on.

We've Arrived

Hey folks, we've arrived here at WDW in one piece and feeling better. Tough flight with the two kids, but gotta say it went pretty well. Little guys was a tad restless, but that's what you get for waking him up at 4am. :-)

Settled into the house we rented, beautiful! Ended up with delivery "pizza" for dinner. Can't understand how there hasn't been a revolt down here on the pizza front.... What can ya do.

Heading to the Studios tomorrow, my personal favorite...yep, I'm whacked... ADR at Chef Mickey's Monday (I'm pretty sure). Looking forward to that one due to all the rave reviews.

Will try to get a run in tomorrow morning, if not, then perhaps in the evening...gotta go with the flow this week.