Wordy Wednesday: Halloween

I'm going as a tapering (possibly) future marathoner with a bad case of cabin fever who has taken up spelunking much to her partner's chagrin.

Oh wait.

Life update: We were good for the storm, just missing Internet (thanks for all the sweet messages from so many awesome people!). Who'd a thunk I'd ride out 2 storms of this magnitude in 2 completely different cities?!

Tapering in full effect!

Tapering reminds me of my life pre-marathon training, which I cannot wait to get back to!

 The fabulous PIC invited me to see one of the funniest movies I've seen in awhile (Lloyd the conqueror. Check it out!) I went out on a Friday night! What?! That's unheard of!

More bleachers!

The next morning only called for 6 miles, and I was home in time to have brunch with my love before work. What?! This is amazing! I very much miss life on the other side. January can't get here quick enough!

My amazing compression socks came in the mail and I got to practice with them. I swear compression is the only way I'm going to get through this thing. Thanks again, Becka, for an awesome virtual race!

So, not only did I go out Friday night, I went out last night, too. And drank alcohol! No wonder there is a storm coming (which I also plan to drink my way through)! Last night also made me realize Halloween in NYC is my favorite! It's been 2 years since I've been here for the festivities (both times I was in DC for the MCM. . . spectating then running the 10K) and I was a little bummed not to have a costume, but then I remembered I've already dressed up 3 times so I felt better.

If anyone is in Sandy's path, stay safe!
Is it wrong I'm super excited to get a chance to just hang out, even if it is in the dark?
Flashlight tag!

Wordy Wednesday: Princess!

YaY!! I would like to 1st give massive Kudos to runDisney for making the reveal as painless as possible. Waiting a day to see it is nothing compared to what they put us through for the Full Marathon. Please keep this in mind for next year's Wine and Dine reveal- and while you're at it, please please don't stray too far from the original design, I want that Epcot ball medal!

Just in case you haven't had internet all day and my blog is the 1st thing you opened as soon as you got it back (yes, please allow me to be delusional, I'm blaming it on the taper):

(source)

Ta-Da!

Who else is super excited about this medal?

(source)

I fell in love with the design last year when they used it as the logo on the race program. Nothing makes my heart happier than seeing good design and beautiful typography. The designer in me really wanted to run that race and get that program just for it's cover (we do dumb things like that), but alas it wasn't in the cards. I'm also a big fan of subtly putting the anniversary on it; if you look very closely, it's on either side of the banner and below. I'm hoping runDisney has a booth at the NYCM Expo and I can see it in full detail then!

The only complaint I have is I wish they would've filled in the heart with a color so "Princess" would stand out more because, again, I love love love the typography! It's right up there with the clever use of the 2012 and 1/2 marathon in the Donald medal last year. (Yes, these designs are controversial in the running world, but I am here to tell you these are examples of extremely well executed design. I know you're not used to seeing that in the running design, but don't worry, it's safe to embrace!) I think the white glitter is a little clashy, but I'd like to see it in person before I finalize my opinion. Other than that, I'm pleasantly surprised and can't wait to get it in February! 

The interwebs seem to have questions regarding the correct color of the ribbon. The one revealed (above) and the one that was in the email sent by runDisney regarding their sweepstakes (right). My guess is that the purple one is for the "Perfect Princesses" (those who have run the race all 5 years) and the pink is the official ribbon. In years past, the ribbon has always matched the jewels on the medal, which would make sense seeing as the jewels are pink. The purple being for the Perfects could be concluded due to the 1st race having a purple ribbon and it being a nod to that. But who knows?! I clearly have spent too much time on this as it is. But I can't help it! This medal makes me extremely happy!

What's your favorite runDisney medal to date?

The Queensborough Bridge to The Finish Line!

The PIC and I were finally reunited after so many long training months alone! Since she is running with TNT (If you have a couple of extra bucks, I'd send good vibes forever if you sent them her way. Please and Thank you!), I tagged along on their 10-12 Mile Queensborough Bridge and last part of the marathon run. What a smart plan for the 1st week of taper, right? I'm really glad we ran that and if you're in the area, it's a really good practice for Nov. 4. Even better? Our favorite, Coach Barb!, tagged along with us for most of it! This woman is a rockstar and a wealth of information and we were so lucky and blessed to have her for our 1st half marathon. I don't think we'd still be running without her!

It was really nice to get the chance to get a feel for it the course. Newsflash (to me!)? It's annoyingly hilly. Like the kind of inclines you don't really see; they just sneak up on you and then never end. I'm really glad we ran it but not super happy I'm going to have to mentally handle that crap at the end of our 26.2 mile journey. Everyone talks about Queensborough like it's the ONLY thing to worry about. . . well I can tell you, there are 5 more inclines that sucked just as much if not worse (5th ave, I'm looking at you!), and I didn't have 15 miles done already- those were fresh legs! (Sorry. This marathon has heightened my whining immensely. If you'd like to check back around Feb, that might be a good plan).

The marathon route flags were already up and once we got to the finish line, we saw the bleachers were already get set up. That was pretty inspiring. A ton of runners were also running the route, which was comforting. I'm really hoping the excitement will mask everything, mainly the pain. 

The Finish Line!

I have a nagging pain in my upper glute. It's been there since last Tuesday, so damn you again Jillian Michaels yoga! and I'm hoping it is just one of those new aches and pains you get while tapering. I'm trying every stretch and roll I can find, but nothing seems to help. It's almost like a nerve, it only hurts when I move it, but only when I'm not running. Weird? We'll see.

I'm actually really liking the taper! Yesterday, my day did not consist of me sidelined on the couch until Monday and I actually got stuff done, like laundry (sorry about my stinky running clothes, my love. You're amazing ;) It feels really nice NOT to be completely dead for days due to an obnoxiously long run. Again, you should either be single or unemployed if you're training for a marathon. Juggling all 3 is just too hard. That seems to be my favorite complaint as of late, so I will calmly tell myself "If it was easy, everyone would do it" and shut the hell up (even though, it is REALLLY HARD!!! like, really really fucking hard. ok. I'm done. For now.)

However, I'm not a fan of the Runger. I thought I overcame that by limiting my carb/ sugar intake. Recently, not so much. I pretty much had 2 dinners last night. That's obnoxious. I don't want to say goodbye to the 10+ pds I've lost during this training, so I'm trying extra hard not to give in.

I'm really glad I made PIC pinky swear we'd never do this again.

Whats your favorite part of tapering? 

One Word Wednesday: LightReading

I really like that NYCM mails it to you, instead of getting it at the expo.

Rock-n-Roll: NY 10k +14 #RunAllTheRaces Virtual Race!

I found someone to run 18 of the 20 I wanted to run that day. Guys? A running partner is where it's at! How did I survive before?! No wonder I was having meltdowns! Clearly, just music wasn't working for me. No matter how loud it was or how awesome, I still ended up crying. Crying and freaking out in front of someone else? Not as easy. I was still in pain, lots of it, but I didn't focus on it and I felt better.

I got to Prospect Park early to get my 2 extra miles in and my right glut was giving me serious pains (Damn you Jillian Michaels yoga! 1. WTF was I thinking? NOT your normal yoga. and 2. I have never seen The Biggest Loser or any of her other videos, but I could tell within 5 minutes of this video. You know what I'm talking about. Just sayin.), so I cut it short and hoped for the best. Once the race started, the pain went away (weird).  It felt so good to run in 40 degree weather. Perfect. Now let's hope it's that beautiful for marathon day.

We finished our 6.2, got our medals, chugged a chocolate milk (FINALLY RNR starts giving them out at the end) and then continued on to finish up our 12. I was actually pretty excited and happy with the course change from last year. This time, we ran outside of the park and only doubled up on a part of the course. The post race party looked like fun (no insane lines to get your tshirts) but we didn't get into the thick of it because we weren't even half done.

Since Prospect Park is only a 3 miles loop, we circled the outside (which was about 6ish? and the concrete was so much better than CP) then came in to loop one more time. We wanted to see "20" on our watches, so we walked for 2 more miles (such a good plan! Totally made my legs feel better instead of abruptly stopping), giving me a total of 21.6 miles and a whole new confidence. Thank. God.

Wearing compression also made a world of difference. My Asperis compression shorts and compression knee socks? O.M.G. Total game changers. I was so spoiled with my lululemon capris, but I knew I needed to do a marathon dress rehearsal, so compression it was- even if trying to go to the bathroom requires an act of Congress. I also decided I want to get a new iFitness Belt, one without water bottles used solely for nutrition and carry my water. The more places to hold things, the better. Nov. 4 is going to be a long day.

Besides this being the last of my long runs, I also decided to make 13.1 of these miles apart of Becka's #Run All The Races Virtual Race to raise money for Suicide Awareness. This is an issue that hits home for me and honestly, if I ever joined a charity again, it would be along the lines of this. This is apart of her awesome journey to run a half marathon in every state, where this weekend she ran her 50th State! Congrats, Becka! You Rock!

This long run totally got me mentally ready. Bring on 26.2!

(after the taper. I am so damn excited about the taper).

Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party!

I feel like I did tons of research on this party in order to get as much out of it as I could but WoW! I couldn't get in as much as I wanted to, so be prepared. If you can, you might want to hit it a couple of times. 

My personal mission was character hunting. The more rare, the better. That's just me and what I like to do when I'm in Disney. You might have other plans for the party, but personally I'm paying $60 for the unique experience of getting to meet characters. You can ride the rides anytime and buying candy from the store might be cheaper. Just my opinion. Although, I do think stopping at a candy station or two is fun- The one by Splash mountain has 3-4 stops in one!

Things from my experience:

They really do let you into the park before 7. I wanted to make it into the park for 4PM, but unfortunately I didn't wake up from the night before's excitement until 1PM and I was moving slowly. I made it there by 5PM and headed straight to It's a Small World to take pictures (I am making my cube at work into the ride). I should've ridden it again, but I wanted to get in line for the dwarfs.

People really do line up for the dwarfs early. Everywhere I read said people start lining up by 5:45ish. They were right. There was about 10 people in front of me. Waiting was a long time, but we had benches. I made friends with the people in front and behind me who were all runners so it was fun comparing notes on the ToT10miler the night before. If I could've done it over again, I might've waited until 6:15ish, but once they came out, it felt totally worth it. What a great moment!  

Never take the poncho out of your bag while visiting Florida. That's when there will be a sporadic shower and annoy the piss out of you for it. Luckily, there was an awesome guy (Shout out to Tim!) behind me in line for the Pooh characters (not a fan but who could pass up Eeyore as a clown?!) who offered me a poncho. I quickly decided he was going to be my friend since we were both on the same mission. 

 Dole Whip is a must, especially when it's a bazillion degrees. If you're special (like me) ask for a bigger cup to put it in. It started melting within seconds and I was screwed.

 Lotso isn't in the hub, he's actually in front of Crystal Palace. 

Don't continue to take your camera in the rain/ sweaty half marathons. It will die at the most opportune moments, i.e. right before you're supposed to meet Maleficent. I can't really complain that much, this trusty camera has lasted 5 years (at least 12 half marathons and goodness only knows how many rain storms), but it's still a sad moment. RIP lil purple kodak. You were really good.

 The Villains show meet and greets are a certified shitshow. Just because you do your research and know where the villain you want to meet will come down, doesn't mean 500 other people didn't do the same thing. From what I've read, you have time to meet up to 2 after 1 show, but after the mass mob to meet Maleficient, I said screw it and went to meet friends for the parade (which was also another annoyance, there were tons of people waiting for the parade there that had no idea what was going on and were just in the way).

 Watching Hallowishes from the train station was really fun but get there early to get a chair. I wasn't as impressed with it as I thought I should be. No worries, Illuminations. You're still the front runner for the only "firework" show I think worth watching.

If it rains there will be no headless horseman and no Creeper Crew dance party to entertain you. Boo.

I highly suggested attending a party if you're in town for the season. It's totally worth it.

What's a character you were stoked to get to meet?