Raw Threads winnings!

Stephanie had a giveaway for Raw Threads and I won! YaY!!

I was super excited to buy one after I had seen them at many of the RnR expos I went to, but never got around to it. Then Fruit Fly bought one at RnR Vegas and I was super jealous. I wanted to get one in January at Disney but I couldn't decide on a design.

Even though I'm not a fan of the Ed Hardy look (sorry), I am a fan of another shirt that says I'm a rockstar, bc I am one :-)

While browsing on their site, I fell madly in love with the race you to the castle shirt. Unfortunately, it won't be stocked on the site until August/ September. . . perfect timing for the ToT10M ;-) (BTW, I've decided to tag it ToT10M, exactly like that. . so all 20,000 people running it need to refer to it that way.. . it's easiest and makes sense. . it drives me nuts on twitter when people reference the same event 107 different ways. . . is that just me? ok. . moving on).

It came in the mail the other day and as soon as I opened it, I put it on. 1. I was super excited b/c it fit! Most sporting/different material other than cotton, run small and I can't fit into them. Raw Threads said they ran big on their site, but I never believe companies. They were right though. I was super happy. 2. It's so soft and comfortable and quickly turning into my favorite. Can't wait until Sept to get my Castle one.

(PS- Just noticed the v-neck one I want isn't on the site anymore. Boo. I hope it shows back up).

 Thanks, Stephanie and Raw Threads!

What's your favorite tee and why?

Just in case: No one paid me to say all this. Yes, I won it randomly for free. I really like the product and wanted to share with you how awesome it is. 

Look!!

Im alive :) I promise. I guess when I'm not running, I don't have a lot to say except walking around in running clothes on the weekend is super comfie.

I just realized, for the 1st time in over a year, I am not half marathon ready. That's crazy. And I'm going a little crazy. June needs to get here already.

Anyway, here's a glimpse at what's been going on in my life via Instagram. I'm posting this via the app and it won't let me give you captions. Boo. Will add as soon as I can! UPDATED!

 Date Night #1: Went to see Dark Shadows

Theatre in East Village's carpet.

 Our favorite date night spot reopened as a different pizza place (previously Piola).

Looks completely different and they don't have my favorite pizza anymore :( Must stalk the Piola website to find out when the franchise will be opening another one in the city. I need my Lisbon!

 

 Date night #2. 

Nothing throws you into a nasty teenage flashback like attending the concert of one of your favorite bands from the 90s. Apparently the rules of concert attending have changed. We hung in the back as to not get trampled, but apparently that is the new place to act an ass. Our friends who wanted to mosh and get crazy pushed their way to the front only to find that's where the people who wanted to watch the show were. Strange, yes?

 Date #3

Our favorite place to chill out when NYC summers get too hot.

 Copper Union.

Yes, I apparently have been spending a lot of time in the East Village.

 My trustly Lil Rambo.

That's his name when I plug him into my computer. Do you name your ipod/ iphone? 

All the cool kids are doing it.

What are your plans for this holiday weekend?

Full marathon training starts in June.

If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty much taking the rest of the month to chill out on training. I feel like I've been in permanent training mode since December 2010. Now that I have some time to chill out, I'm totally taking it. I think this is a perfect time to give my body some time to heal and get ready for some serious marathon training.

Yes. Full marathon training.

New York City, to be exact.

I'm super scared. Why did I think this was going to be a good idea? I don't think I was this scared for my 1st half. I know 13.1 miles was scary then, but doubling that? That's just insane. We are talking a serious commitment. 5 hr training runs in the summer. Weekends completely consumed by either running or recovering. Cranky mood swings with a permanent hunger. Yikes!

I'm also training for this alone. Technically, Running Partner in Crime, Anna Banana, will be running the race with me but she has a super busy summer away from the city, so it will be just me and Central Park for those early morning summer runs. (She will also be fund-raising for TNT again. Any fund-raising ideas would be greatly appreciated. I plan on making tutus to sell and will be pimping them out via this blog soon. You know you want one ;) We will be setting up a check-in schedule to make sure we are both doing what we're supposed to be doing and for moral support. I don't know how those that train alone do it. Kudos to you! I do not have the motivation or will power. Getting out of a warm bed that houses the best snuggle partner extra early to beat the summer heat for 2hr + run does not sound appealing now, much less then.




What what does sound appealing is getting more bang for my training buck. Seeing as I will already be trained for a full, maintaining it for 2 months so I can run the 20th anniversary WDW Full Marathon seems like a no-brainer. I'm sure you all saw the big announcement with the course changes. I'm a fan of it, although running on the speedway looks like it's going to be hot. I only ran the 2nd part of it last year (which the miserable highway stretch after DAK is still there. I still have nightmares over those miles. I know they're going to be focused on mile 20, but more entertainment on those long stretches would be nice) but it looks like you get to run through Adventureland; Or is that not new? Anyway. Why it took them 20 years to make the course better, I don't know. But I'm excited they did it a year I might actually do it. I'm excited to see the medal (which I have a feeling will look a lot like the logo)- which will have a lot of weight in the decision.

I'm refusing to sign up for it until after I run my 1st one. I know I'm going against my own advice (which is always to sign up for your 2nd one before you run your first so you don't chicken out) but honestly, I'm waiting for the universe to decide this one for me. I might have a better idea after a 20 mile training run, but at the moment I want to wait to see how I feel after the big shabang. If that means it sells out before, then so be it. But it looks like only the Goofy is over 60% and that is definitely not in the cards for me.

I want to run Tinkerbell and Princess for my Coast 2 Coast. That means my January and February are going to be super busy; getting time off of work for that is going to be hard enough as it is. Adding another weekend so close might not be in the cards. If need be, I'm willing to switch out Tinkerbell for Disneyland Half, but Princess is non-negotiable (plus it's an anniversary year, you know how I feel about special medals). I'd rather not though, I want to secure my C2C early so what happened this year doesn't happen again.  

But there are a ton of factors involved to all of this so I should probably focus on training first :-)


What's your big fall race?

Stressed Desserts

I know it's not a funny disease, but that really cracks my shit up.

So the cashier at Duane Reade across from my office is starting to recognize me. I go there almost everyday for the most randomest of items, but nonetheless there is almost always some sort of sugar item involved (Milky Way: Simply Caramel is my new obsession).

I know, right?! I don't have a sweet tooth at all. What's up with this?

I heard somewhere sugar craving is actually linked to being stressed out. And I? am stressed out. Even more so when I realize what all those sugary goodnesses are doing to my waistline. Not to mention, I haven't really been working out (but I've decided I'm enjoying non-training mode bc in June, it's on.)

Today was the first day I didn't freak out so much I sweat through my clothes (until recently, I thought sweating when you're nervous was a made up thing. Oh, no. It's a very real thing.), so I thought I'd ask yall:

Does this happen to you? (The sweet tooth, not the sweating, although it would be comforting to know I'm not that big of a freak) How do you handle stressed desserts?

How's your week going?

It's been over a week

And this temporary tattoo is still going strong. What do they make these things with nowadays?

Wore a short sleeved shirt to a meeting last week. Oops.

Do you have any visible tattoos?

Im contemplating getting a running tattoo. I was going to after my 1st half but I think I'm going to wait until i complete the NYCM. I can't decide what I'd want. I know I want it on my foot though.

If you were to get a running related tattoo what would you want to get?

Happy Monday!

Expedition Everest: The Scavenger Hunt.

In case you missed the race part go here.

So back into the park we went. Grabbed our 1st clue, our orange Sharpie with a orange flashlight (who's idea of a joke was that?! Hello! You can't see what you're writing!) Luckily, I knew my way around and didn't need a park map. I can only imagine how much more it would've sucked if you didn't know where you were going. Tip: There were Cast members handing out maps- grab one if you're not familiar!

I think looking up last year's race beforehand really helped in figuring out the clues. Once you figure out Disney's clue formula, the answer usually comes relatively easy. Although, I was stumped on a few, which is where my genius teammate came in! Whichever clues I didn't know, I gave to her to figure out.

Clue 1:

If you click on it, you can read it better.

By this time, the scavenger hunt traffic had gotten thick. Too narrow paths to get in and out of the different lands and people were walking slow. I refused to stop and stay at a station. Once we got our new clue, we would read it on the walk and figure it out that way, or figure it out at the next station. 

On top of your clue it had the land/area that the next clue was in and what station to turn your clue in to get another one. They had different clues with different answers, which was kind of cool. It would've sucked if you ease-dropped on a different clue's answer though (just kidding!) These stations elevated some congestion but you still had to fight through crowds to get to the volunteer.

Clue 2:

Clue 3:

Clue 4:

Clue 5:

I thought we were done after Clue 4, but no. Luckily, B figured that one out b/c I was too tired to care at this point. To be honest, I don't know how half the clues are related and I haven't been bored enough to read them over again. The people at runDisney who come up with these things are on a completely different playing level.

Finally, the finish line! We crossed it, then stopped. There was an even bigger cluster of people to get medals. It was insane and the ultimate challenge of the night; trying to fight the crowd to get out the finisher's chute as newly finished people are trying to get to the medals. I heard they ran out for slower folks. We got ours, got a powerade and a clifbar and peaced out.

Yes, it really was a 30 minute wait. What?!

Since the finish line was right by the Everest entrance (again, with the tragic planning. This caused another cluster of people trying to exit the runner's chute and enter the Everest queue), we decided to get in line b/c I felt like once we got to Dinoland, I wouldn't want to come back. The line was long and I was tired hot and cranky.

Best picture of the weekend.

I forgot how much Everest freaks me out. Definitely the scariest coaster on property. I learned on this vacay that I am not as young as I used to be and riding roller coasters takes a huge toll on my body. Not to mention, I just walked 4.5 miles (according to my garmin. Everyone was different. Some guy told me his said 7 miles) in the sweltering heat and I needed food.

The tree of life

After the ride, we made our way to Dinoland, where the baggage claim line circled the ENTIRE land. Seriously?! I didn't pay attention as I dropped the bag off, but there didn't seem to be a good system. They just threw them in a van that transported them to the finish area. Luckily, B had cash on her (she's so smart!) so we went to Restaurantasarus to eat first. By the time we were finished, the line had gone down.

Next up, Dinosaur! As soon as we got back to the loading station of the ride, the lights came on and there was a ride stop. I think I was the only one happy but it would've been cooler if it happen while I was in the ride. Oh well.

Kali River Rapids and the Dinoland carnival rides/ games were also open, but we did not participate. It was about 1am at this time, so we decided to head back to the hotel to have that shower I had been dreaming about since stepping out of my last one.

All in all, it was a fun little adventure. As soon as I was finished the race, if asked if I'd do it again, I would've said no, but I think enough time has gone by for me to forget the really bad times. Although, I might need a little bit more incentive to go. That was a lot of money for a glorified 5k.

 We did it!

B completed her 1st race ever and got a kickass compass medal for it! She is ruined for all other 5ks, seeing as most don't even give medals. Guess that means this might have to become a yearly tradition :-)

Expedition Everest: The Race

I had been looking forward to this race for 5 months. . . then it was finally here! and now it's over. But that's ok, b/c yall get to relive it with me.

My first night race.

We got there at the early time of 7:30pm for a 9:30pm start. During training, we noticed neither of us were warmed up enough until a mile or so in, so we wanted to warm up properly. Not that it was needed. We had never trained in anything above 70 degrees and Florida didn't get anywhere near that cool while we were there. I was nice and sweaty before we even started.

Our costumes:

Can you see our team name in the graffiti? :)

No one knew who we were. I didn't realize Chip-n-Dale Rescue Rangers was that obscure. Oh well. It was fun and I got another sparkle skirt out of the deal! Even though, that hat, fur collar and hoodie were hot! It was totally worth it.

I'm still in shock over how unorganized the race was, especially after the way marathon weekend runs so smoothly. There were no set corrals. They just announced which wave was going and which wave needed to be lining up in the running chute (much like all of Disney's other 5ks). They didn't ask for a time when I registered, so I don't know how they came up with the wave plan. We had planned and trained to walk around a 13-14 minute mile. We couldn't get that fast with all the slower walkers, so we just went with the flow and there was nothing to worry about. We never saw sweepers. I don't think it mattered since the race was contained in the park area.

I get that it was hard to have a fun 3 mile course through a park. The 1st mile was entirely in the parking lot and there was a lot of going in and out of backstage. But there has to be a better way to put on the scavenger hunt. Running through the dark is hard enough as it is, doing that and dodging people who are scavenger hunting already/ still running the race is even harder. There were tons of places the course narrowed and there was foot traffic going both ways.  If there ever was a race to be fully aware of your surroundings, this was definitely it. 

I really hope they work these kinks out, because the race has tons of potential. With that being said, ready for some bad night pictures to go with the race? :-) 

"That better not be real" -B as we came up to it. 

Let's just be honest, it's Florida. It was a possibility.

 Obstacle 1: Hay-bales. 

It was very easy to go around if you didn't want to do any of the obstacles.

 Mile 1.5: The park entrance!

A thinned very well lit area of the crowd.

 The only characters on the course and you couldn't take pictures with them.

By the time we got to the after party, Mickey and Minnie were gone, too. Boo.

 Obstacle 2: Tires.

 Castasaurus.

The backstage of Restaurantasaurus, which means we are almost done!

Obstacle 3: Crawl under a net.

Yea. That didn't happen.

Next up: The Scavenger Hunt!

Mousta.gram

5 of my favorites.

Whales migrating in the Polynesian

Waiting for Fantasmic!

Can you tell it's too early?

Ellie, Phant.

Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

 I can go back there now, yes?

Expedition Everest Base Camp

Friday we land at MCO and decided that we would take it easy. This was our anniversary/ Christmas present and we had been looking forward to it for months. No parks the first day; just get our race stuff, hang out for awhile, dinner with friends and end with fireworks on the beach. In hindsight, best decision ever.

Our basecamp for the next 4 days

EEC base camp

Once we were ready to go to the expo (granted, it’s around 1pm on Friday. The expo opened at noon), no cast member had any idea what we were talking about.  The one that did, pointed us in the wrong direction. Really, Disney? I know this is a small event, but this is the host hotel. Someone should've had their act together. They didn't get signage up until Saturday, but whatever. Quirks of race weekend. 

The Expo

Blink and you would’ve missed it. I guess I was thinking it would’ve been bigger due to the fact that it is Disney and the only other experience I have with runDisney is Marathon weekend. I knew it wasn’t going to be that large (it is technically only a 5k), but a few vendors would’ve been nice. At least they had merchandise, which is more than I can say for the marathon relay (although no jackets. . .which I was hoping for. Oh well).

The wall

 I liked that the artist was creating the piece as the day went on. It was nice atmosphere but I have no idea what a graffiti like mural has to do with an Everest Challenge. . but a nice touch. Of course, I had to tag our team as obnoxiously as possible.

Team Happily Ever After reporting in!

We got our bibs. We got our pins. We got our shirts. We got pictures with basecamp. And then we got to wait 30 minutes for the presentation so we could make sure we knew what we were doing. They had a softball game going on and we could pick up our park tickets (score!) in the interim. 

I’m really glad they had these informationals, because even though I tried to do as much research as I could online, there isn’t that much out there for this event and I heard a few things changed this year. The Course Talk reviewed the rules and regulations with a course overview. 

There was also a Q&A and a ton of questions were asked; mainly about the scavenger hunt clues (seriously, runDisney, your clues are redonk). A few of my anxieties were addressed, but I was still a little worried about time (spoiler alert: we finished in time). As soon as I realized we weren't in the last wave, I felt better. They were spacing the waves out 6 minutes apart, so we were golden. The cast member assured me this was a “fun run” so have “fun”. Which helped put it in perspective, so I stopped worrying. (sidenote: Even in the dark and in costumes and hats, she remembered us after the race, and congratulated us. Now that's a cast member).

Did I mention this was the best vacation ever?!

 

Wishes from Polynesian

After that, we met a friend for dinner at Kona's Cafe in the Polynesian. I knew you could watch MK's Wishes from that hotel and I wanted a Dole Whip, so it was a win-win. The cherry on top? They were projecting The Lion King on the beach, too (I found out about hotels showing Disney movies the last time I was there. Outdoor movies are my favorite, I just didn't think I'd ever be at a hotel at 9pm to experience it). Feet in the sand, the weather cooling off, eating a Dole Whip with my favorite person next to me; It was such a great moment that even the kid throwing sand didn't even bother me. 

Then it was time for bed! The next morning was the only time I demanded we have a mission: run semi-psychoticly to Toy Story Mania; so we needed sleep :-) 

Let's play: Guess our Costume!

Sorry for the radio silence, but I just got back from the best vacation ever and I kicked and screamed all the way back to New York.

While I collect myself and process, y'all should play a game. First one to guess our costumes correctly wins 1,000 points!

What was your most favoritest vacay ever and why was it soooo fabulous?