Team 'Ohana--No One Left Behind: The Continuing Adventures

[Dug720]

It's been so long since I was here, I honestly don't remember if I ever answered them. So...

Name: Beth
Day Job: special ed teacher with a gig at the Times Square Disney Store on the side
Family: just me and my cat MoFarah (Mo for short)
Location: New York, NY
Favorite race you ever ran: as much as I love Disney races, this one has to go to the UNG Hartford Half Marathon this year. it's a tough course - much hillier than I'd been led to believe by someone who had run it (in her defense, she was surprised by them too...she'd forgotten) - but I honestly had the time of my life and never once wished I was doing something else
Best recovery food or beverage: Black Velvet!!
TV Shows you watch or have loved: Castle, SVU, Finding Bigfoot, The Biggest Loser, The Amazing Race, Once Upon A Time, Grimm; Past - Crossing Jordan, Law & Order, The L Word
Races Planned this year: (I'll just go 2014-marathon weekend 2015) WDW Marathon, Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, Expedition Everest Challenge, The Great Alaskan Marathon (Running) Cruise, ING Hartford Half Marathon, and 2015 Goofy
Meaning of DIS screen name: Dug (from Up) is one of my favorite characters and 7/20 is my birthday!

Welcome Jillian!!

 

[tiberius]

Oh, I *GOT* this. Name: Jillian (JillyBean) Day Job: Student; driving Mr. Daisy; bowl filler , doorman and tummy scratcher. Family: Living here: 95 year old granddad (see second job above ... no, that's not his name, but that's what I feel like sometimes lol) and 9 year old shiba inu mix (see third job above) Location: Panama City, FL Favorite race you ever ran: None yet, unless the mad dash to the best ride in the park as soon as the rope drops counts. Best recovery food or beverage: Open to suggestions TV Shows you watch or have loved: Here's where I get my sci-fi cred (albeit semi-obscure "OMG I forgot about that show!!" type cred) ... seaQuest, Sliders, Space: Above and Beyond, Earth 2. Oh, and I watch NASCAR and college football. Races Planned this year: Expedition Everest Challenge and Tower of Terror Ten Miler in 2014 Meaning of DIS screen name: Jillian Byrd ... Jilly Bean ... Better than the "Jail Byrd" name I got saddled with in elementary school.

Welcome, Jillian ( and welcome back, Beth) You are so in, especially with the sci-if cred! We area bit of a rag tag group but love a good adventure, especially if that adventure includes a race with a really cool medal. If you read back a bit, which you probably already have, then you will get a feel for things. After that post away! I'm still pressed to much for time to catch up with everyone's activity but will update myself. I'm pretty much recovered from this October's injuries and still working on the last 10-15% of recovery from the previous October. I'm trying to find my way out of a strange bit of a funk where I'm not all that interested in any organized training and lacking in the way of goals and goal races to do. I'm thinking of just concentrating of running and possibly shorter triathlon distances for a while. Perhaps the one exception to that is that I am registered for, and looking forward to, August 2014 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships. I recently deferred my Dopey 2014 for Dopey 2015 and am thinking of some longer trail races late 2014/early 2015 before considering a shot at Ironman Florida in late 2015,

Debra - I placed a few calls and had your sci-if fan card extended 30 days, now get your butt to see Ender's Game already!

 

[bellaally]

Name: Alexandra (25)
Day Job: Nurse at a local children's hospital
Family: my husband Jesse (28), and my two sons Nicholas (3) and Jordan (18 months)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Favorite race you ever ran: I have never ran a race! I have lost a total of 60lbs with eating healthy and exercise. Even thought I am far from my goal I wanna take up running and the rundisney events seems fun.
Best recovery food or beverage: overnight oats with coconut soy milk and a banana
TV Shows you watch or have loved: Scandal, The Simpsons, once upon a time
Races Planned this year: a couple local 5k, 2 local 10k, Disneyland dumbo dare challenge, Philadelphia half marathon
Meaning of DIS screen name: Ally is my nickname and my favorite princess is belle


I was excited to see your running group as I am super new to running and its nice to find a place where I can come with my questions and for advice!

 

[JillyBean1899]

Iron man Florida, huh? The one that's held in Panama City each year? Or is there another one somewhere else in the state?

 

[tiberius]

Iron man Florida, huh? The one that's held in Panama City each year? Or is there another one somewhere else in the state?

That's the one! I've done the Ironman race in Texas 3 times, so I am looking forward to trying another course.

 

[JillyBean1899]

I live just across the bridge, in Lynn Haven. Small world, huh?

Guess this means you'll have someone local to cheer you on next year!

 

[tiberius]

I live just across the bridge, in Lynn Haven. Small world, huh? Guess this means you'll have someone local to cheer you on next year!

Cool! It would be great to meet you and hear a few cheers.

 

[deekaypee]

Checking in - it's the first time on the family vacation that I've had some free time AND wireless. We've been doing a lot of outdoor stuff - light hiking, holiday lights - and we're renting a trailer in my IL's retirement community. (I now know I never want to live in a trailer park, even an upscale one. )

Anyway, I wanted to be sure that I wished all my cousins a Happy Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas!

Ally: Welcome to the family! I'm sure you'll love races and runDisney is a lot of fun. And congratulations on losing 60 pounds. Dropping some of my extra baggage - not talking about DOOD the DH, here - is on the agenda in 2014, so I may pick your brain a bit.

Have we decided on Beaches & Cream for ice cream on Saturday of WDW Marathon Weekend? I'll be in recovery mode but I also have it on good authority (*cough, cough* Corinna, JenB) that it's good pre-race fueling.

John: How are you enjoying your Christmas time in the office. Do you get to go through all your photos from Indian and/or to last-minute trip planning for Sri Lanka?

Beth, How is Time Square? Where are you staying? I'm very jealous of your Christmas plans as I love the city. And congrats on getting into the Cherry Blossom race!

Jackie: How is your relationship with the foam roller? Still intimate?
And how was time with the ILs? We've only had M&M cookies here, so I'm wondering what goodies you brought home. Oh, and boxed butter cookies for the nieces at breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. I guess grandparents are allowed to spoil the kids' meals, especially if they're cooking them. LOL.

Richard: First, I'm glad to know you're almost recovered - do you think the process contributes to your funk/goals/races? Maybe you're still feeling your way into the fun of the game plan? IDK, but I hope you find your mojo. And of course I need to point out for someone isn't planning, you've got plans!

I still haven't seen "Ender's Game." These non sci-fi people (and non-movie goers to boot) in the family boggle my mind. I hope to sneak out on Christmas Day, as the kids might leave people too exhausted to plan much of anything. We might need a break from all of this togetherness. If not, then I'm definitely seeing it when we get back to Pittsburgh. I just hope it's not already at the dollar theater by then. (Bad screens/sound system)

AFM: My BIL mentioned wanted to do the WDW Marathon Weekend with us at some point in the future - he and his partner run, and they have two girls who he think would enjoy WDW. My first response? "Do you mean run the same race or run together?" I apparently looked alarmed because then he back-pedaled. Bad form on my part?

DOOD and I didn't really train per se for the Half, but we did focus on being consistent with getting our base miles up. My plan is to work on speed (she says, optimistically) after the January race. The way this winter has been going, though, I'm afraid there might be more TM than I care for in my future. I may have to break down and get Yaktraxs or something. I can't do the hills otherwise.

 

[MouseDogMom]

Jillian - Welcome! And OMG. I DO remember Sliders! Loved that show. And a shiba inu is on my list of dogs I'd love to have. Personally, I think the run at rope drop should count as a race.

Ally - Welcome! Congratulations on the weight loss. Disney races are a great place to start. They are also addicting. We have a group from here looking at running Philly, but I think I'm going to pass in favor of Wine & Dine. Also, I'm a huge Scandal fan.

Maura - Thanks for popping in. It's a very hard realization, but I'm beginning to be okay with it. I'm trying to be very realistic about a race schedule for next year. Looking at 5K's for the first time in several years, which is actually kinda fun.

Richard - Maybe we should all just proclaim 2014 the year of no organized training and just be really laid back! Call it a recovery year...

Debra - I'm still seeing the foam roller, but we're not exclusive any more. Unfortunately, I can tell... I need to recommit to him... Lunch with the inlaws turned out to be a very small gathering of just the girls, and only about half of us. And oh, the cookies! My SIL made some in the crockpot (who knew?) that are amazing. We've actually seen TWO movies this month, both Disney. Frozen and Saving Mr. Banks.

Wishing all the cousins a fabulous holiday season!

Jackie

 

[deekaypee]

As my thoughts turn to 2014 (already??), the inevitable New Year's resolutions begin to occupy my thoughts. So, what are the cousins' health & fitness goals in 2014, if you make them?

Inspired by Rose's year-long streak in 2013, I think I'm going to give that a try. At least a mile a day, with regular mileage 3x a week. I've never been a run-every-day person, so this will be challenging for me. But I really admired the discipline she brought to the goal, and I could do with both that and the consistency.

I'm also going to try to actually log how many miles I make over the year. I haven't done a great job with that since the days of the WISH team challenges. (Remember those?) But I'm curious. I'm not sure I'll hit Mel's goal of 1000 in 2014, but I'd like to get a sense of how far off I'd be in a normal year.

What about you?

Jackie: I, too, have commitment issues with the foam roller. Sometimes I don't think it's solely interested in me.. it hangs out with DOOD too often.

I skipped "Saving Mr. Banks" this weekend in favor of "Inside Llewyn Davis." I'm interested in Disney - go figure - but I'm a big fan of the Coen Brothers. Tough choice. ("Ender's Game" was no where to be found near me; I need to look further afield for it.)

And crockpot cookies? I'm not much of a cook, so it doesn't surprise me I didn't know this. It's amazing what you can do with one of those things.

AFM: Today was supposed to be the last LR before WDW Marathon Weekend. It was pouring rain here, but I didn't want to use the TM, so I went out. Both DOOD and I cut our runs short. Wet feet, cold, getting icy. C'est la vie. We'll try to make it up this week...or we'll call it good. I'm looking forward to some dry, not-icy running in Orlando.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Hi to everyone!

Richard--after every thing you have been through over the past two years, you are entitled to a little funk. But you are a tough guy! I know you are going to figure out a way to get back to a training routine that you are happy with and feel good about.

***
We spent last week in Orlando. Stayed at BCV, but did a lot of things other than the parks. We actually only went to the parks 2 days out of the 8 we were there. It was great--did lots of new things including driving out to Blue Springs to see the manatees. So very cool. They come in from the St. Johns River (I think that's the name) to stay warm and there were tons, including babies. It was really fun to watch them, and a highlight of our trip.

My goals for 2013, including continuing with the mile a day, but I have added a few things to my spreadsheet. I got very lazy in 2013, and my health has suffered because of it. So I have made some simple, achievable goals, that really won't take much time. I think the reason I was able to stick with the mile a day, is one that I threw it out there publicly, and two I was able to remind myself it didn't take long, and that surely I had 10-20 min a day to devote to myself.

Anyhow, definite goals for 2014 (which shouldn't take more than 30 min per day):
mile a day (run or walk)
plank a day (front, side, front, side)
32oz of water a day (minimum)
8 Min Meditation each day (it's a book, for simple meditation)

Stretch to goals:
1000 miles (this might be a stretch, but I hit it this year)
59:59:00 10k (to use as a qualifier for W&D)

I am hoping all of these plans will make it easy to take off the 25 (ugh!!) pounds I have put on. I am trying to not focus on the weight, but instead focus on being healthy.

Sorry for the book, but I have now put it all in writing, so you all need to hold me to it!

Would love to hear everyone's goals as well. Thanks for starting this Debra.

 

[deekaypee]

Well, I just felt the need to bump this thread!

Just a reminder that the Beaches and Cream ice-cream meet will be Saturday at 2 p.m. Even if I'm the only one there.

DOOD and I (with Maura, Rhonda and Mike) will be scream teaming at ESPN WWoS around mile 19 of the marathon. We'll be sporting smiles and offering hugs, washcloths and orange slices. From my disorganized point of view it's more challenging than training for the half!

In my continued attempt to resurrect this thread, how about a question: Do any of you have any personal mantras or motivational sayings when the going gets tough?

Mine tend to have four-letter words in them. I may have been a dock worker in a former life. I do tell myself to "Man up" a lot...and then giggle. Then there's the "Star Wars" geek in me that says, Do or do not. There is no try."

AFM: I've been doing the mile+ a day for three days and my admiration for Rose and other streakers is already through the roof. I've got some arch tenderness, so am having to be more conscientious about stretching and exercises. Good for me even as change is painful!

I see a bunch of people doing that plank challenge. I may try to catch up with that as core strength is not one of my core strengths. Kind of like planning.

 

[GeorgeAndDiana]

Well, I just felt the need to bump this thread!

Just a reminder that the Beaches and Cream ice-cream meet will be Saturday at 2 p.m. Even if I'm the only one there.

I'm pseudo-solo for the Marathon Weekend portion (Diana comes out with me Tuesday but goes back home Thursday) so count me in for Beaches and Cream! I'm volunteering that day but the schedule says we're done at 11.

Thanks for the nudge to check the boards, Debra! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.

George

 

[Rose&Mike]

Do any of you have any personal mantras or motivational sayings when the going gets tough?

Motivational (maybe only in my brain ) saying: 'suck it up buttercup' (ok, not very positive, but it works)
I also have a tendency to sing songs in my head with the word run or running in them--like One Headlight, and We Come Running.

****
I like seeing the thread resurrected. Thanks Debra!

 

[laughinplace199]

I won't be there this year, but I'll be there in spirit (and I'm already trying to talk Rob into doing the marathon in 2015). I'll be sending good vibes and to everyone racing next weekend!


Debra - Like you, my motivational sayings are also full of 4 letter words - I swear like a truck driver when things get tough! Perhaps I used to drive my truck to your dock in our previous lives. Luckily, I rarely utter them out loud, so it's ok.

Have fun scream teaming. I think you picked the perfect spot. I thought I was going to die at mile 19 last year, so I think that's the perfect place to give the runners a little pick me up!

 

[MouseDogMom]

I'm looking forward to some dry, not-icy running in Orlando.

Be careful with that. The last time I said that, we ended up with Arctic Goofy. I distinctly remember commenting after a very nasty rainy/sleety race in December 2009 that "at least the next race will be warm..." Famous last words.

Rose - So much for running W&D with you. This body doesn't have a 59:59 10K in it this year! But your goals are fabulous. And I totally agree that putting them out there makes you accountable. A couple of years ago, I listed 4 or 5 fairly aggressive running goals on the boards, and by year end had accomplished all but one. I think that one was the 1000 mile goal. I came close, but injuries got in the way.

Debra - I started the plank challenge. Twice. Made it to day 9 the first time, day 12 the second time. Apparently I get bored after 90 seconds of plank. And my mantras seem to go more along the line of "Just keep swimming... or just keep running/walking/moving" and "relentless forward motion."

Julie - Mile 19 is always a bad place for me, no matter where I'm running. A volunteer saved my race in Richmond when she offered me a peppermint patty at mile 19. I'm pretty sure I might have given up if she hadn't been there. Didn't help that there's a nasty hill about that point in the race as well, but I was miserable until she offered that. It's been 4 years, and I still remember the boost it gave me! I wish I were going to be there to scream team with them.

I'm not quite ready to make firm goals for this year, but I have directions I'm headed. This winter I'm focusing on hip strengthening and stretching (and yes, foam rolling) and a gradual return to some semblance of eating right. I'm so far off course that goals are laughable, but if I can just turn the ship in the right direction it will be a huge accomplishment. The more I think about it, the more I think I may not sign up for any races other than Wine & Dine, just to keep the pressure off. I will probably do local 5K's, but nothing longer. My biggest goal for the year is to heal the existing injuries and not do any more damage, but like Rose, I need to drop some pounds too...

Jackie

 

[deekaypee]

Hello cousins! How's the weather treating you? We're here at Orlando right now - came in early for the WDW Marathon. Doing the half but we're focused on the endurance event that is the social aspect of the weekend.

But before I go to bed I'm popping in with just a couple of things, with maybe time for more detailed updates tomorrow if the cold weather is really cold. Yep, that's one of the reasons I'm posting...because like *Jackie* comments about 2010 predicted, it's COLD here. WDW/Orlando is getting the cold snap that practically the whole country is experiencing tomorrow. Of course, the temps aren't nearly as cold as elsewhere, but it did dump about 35 degrees today. Tonight is supposed to be in the 30s with tomorrow being in the mid-40s.

Naturally, I thought of the Hoth-like conditions of WDW Marathon 2010. (Thanks to WISHer Judy I now use the world Hoth-like all the time.) And then I thought of 'Ohana. I wouldn't be doing races, or running, without the support of so many of my WISH family, especially the cousins. Anyway, these cold temps aren't supposed to last any time at all, which is good. But I'm also hoping the weather conditions don't interfere with people's travels. It's going to be stressful for many, I fear.

AFM: I've already discovered the mental challenge behind the "run at least a mile every day" thing. I didn't run in the morning because of an early flight, but because of delays, getting settled in, etc., the first opportunity I had to run wasn't until 8ish at night. Normally I would have just called it a rest day. But the ego wouldn't let me confess to having giving up my NY's resolution after five days. So I did it...got a mile in. Just a mile, but I felt better for having done it. Thank you again for the inspiration, *Rose.*

Speaking of inspiration, if any of you are flying Southwest Airlines in the month of January you should check out the magazine. There's a profile of a years-long streaker (of the running variety) named Raven.

 

[Rose&Mike]

Good luck to everyone running this weekend!! Hope the weather cooperates.

Debra--great job getting that mile in! Mike is doing a mile a day too (he is walking some) and he forgot to do it at the gym yesterday and ended up going outside yesterday at work--it was 0!! I thought he was nuts. I did 2 miles on the treadmill before my strength class. Travel days make things challenging and we thought a couple times we were going to be going a mile in the Atlanta airport, but it always worked out ok. I often didn't want to do the mile, but always felt better afterwards. I truly believe it kept me sane during a challenging year.

It is going to be 35 tomorrow!! Cannot wait. We only had a couple days of these nasty temps and that was more than enough for me.

 

[FFigawi]

Hi Cousins! Now that my recent travels are over, I finally have time to sit down and type up a real response to the recent flurry of conversations happening here recently. It's nice to see our thread coming to life again. I know lots of us are on FB, Twitter, etc., but here always seems like our home. Yeah, yeah, I know, sappy.

In my continued attempt to resurrect this thread, how about a question: Do any of you have any personal mantras or motivational sayings when the going gets tough?

I tend to use a lot of words like *&%#!$@ and %^*# and #$%*!, mostly because I'm telling myself that I'm not letting all the training go to waste. I also tend to remind my brain to remind my body that I've done this many time before, that it should be hard, and that my training has always come through in the end. If none of that works, I just tell myself that the sooner I'm done, the sooner I can have my post-race beer.

As for my 2014 goals, I sadly don't have very many. Part of that is due to the fact that I'm focused on one big race in June, and part is because we're leaving Doha at some point this year but dont know when or where we're going next. Tough to schedule races when you don't know where you'll be living. Anyway, here are my goals:

- Run Comrades (89km ultra in South Africa in June) in 11 hours (time limit is 12). I think this is very doable as long as I get plenty of hill training done in March and April.

- Run 3:45 in Dubai (Jan 24). This one will be harder to do since I've missed a few key weeks of training while in India and Sri Lanka. I'm doing a half at race pace this weekend, which should be a good test.

- Practice yoga every week. I always find it hard to head to class on Saturday mornings after my swim workout, but given how much I need it, I have to do better in making it there.

- Eat better. I'm never going to give up my pizza and beer since that's what helps keep running fun and enjoyable for me, but I do want to cut out a lot of the other not-so-healthy stuff.

- I'd like to hit 1000 miles again too. Got it in 2012 but was short this year after a summer of swimming & slacking to avoid the heat.

Good luck to everyone running this weekend. I hope you all have a great time. I look forward to reading lots of race reports. And even more good luck wishes to everyone dealing with the cold around the country. The people here wearing hats and earmuffs have no idea what real cold is.

 

[deekaypee]

Bah. We'd fallen to the second page and I couldn't let that happen. I'm still at WDW, so this will be brief and focused on race weekend.

My half went well, overall. It was hot and humid, which is marginally better than rain and freezing temperatures by a bit, but uncomfortable for me. I was sweating before we started. My goal was to run positive splits and to put as many miles behind me before the sun rose. I accomplished that goal, but my perceived exertion was more than in 2013.

I wasn't in as good as conditioning as last year, but I ended up coming in 13 minutes faster. Part of it was I didn't take as many pictures on the course. I started to, but it was dark and they weren't great. So I made a deal with myself - I'd only take photos of new stuff on the course. Yeah, well. I didn't really take any photos after that point. Sad.

Looking back, I missed running with people this year; I've finally gotten to the point where I remember most of the course and entertainment so it's not "fresh." Kim was with me in corral J and I should have stuck with her. As for the corral change-ups, it hasn't entirely relieved the congestion in many spots. I will say, though, it was the first time in a few years I was able to "run" through the castle. Not fast, but not the dead shuffle it was last year, either. I have a feeling the problems were pushed back by a few corrals.

Another change for the better. It looked like the water/Powerade stations were using two different colored cups to identify the liquid. Other changes: a security check before moving to bag check...understandable since Boston. Oh, the lounge singer wasn't on the course, but we did hear "Sweet Caroline" in the post-race celebration area. (I didn't miss it on the course.) There were changes made at the expo, but it's still a zoo.

I've been running every day since then, part of the mile every day I promised myself. My hip and knee is a bit twinge-y (there was a slip and twist at a water stop, but not a fall) that I'm paying attention to but hasn't stopped me. And the top of one toenail is sore. No blisters, a first. So I call it all success.

I also scream-teamed for the full. Most of you have caught the FB posts on the some of the challenges, so there's no need to dwell on that. Let me just say once again how rewarding and how much fun it is to scream team. Love seeing our WISHers, and the people digging deep as they move through the miles. The costumes are also fun, with the sousaphone player, Richard Simmons and all the Dopey costumes standing out. There was also a juggler, Speedo guy, basketball dribbler, a firefighter in full gear.

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll think of more later. Just let me add that as much as I enjoyed the entire weekend - including the Beaches & Cream meet - I wished more of you were physically here. You were missed.