Tuesday, April 19, 2016

are you ready?

Are you ready for race registration?  In exactly one week registration for Marathon Weekend 2017 will open at noon EST and I will have my bum parked in my computer chair a few minutes before while Critter has no choice but to enjoy some time jumping in her jumperoo.  Must get registered for Goofy #12.  
If you've ever experienced a runDisney event registration it can be somewhat nerve wracking.  So many people trying to get access to registration and the nervousness of "did the registration go through?"  Over the years it has gotten better, at least for Goofy and Marathon/half marathon registration.  But I still sit anxiously in my chair at the computer, hitting refresh until I can register and then practically break out in a cold sweat with shaky hands as I enter my information.
Who will be joining me for marathon weekend 2017?  There are many race options available and you get to go to Disney in January.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Happy Early Birthday--Magic Kingdom Original Park Map!

My mom was going through things in her basement and one of the bins/boxes was stuff from Grandpa's basement.  In the box was a folded paper that said, "Cathy's map.  Do not touch."  She unfolded the paper and found this amazing gem:
 It was a map of the Magic Kingdom from the year that Walt Disney World opened and they had gone on a family trip and stayed at the Contemporary.  When Aunt Cathy came to town my mom asked if she knew what it was and she said, "no, but that is mine."  After seeing the map she said I needed to have it so an original park map was mine.  Cue happy dance.
 Knowing that my office is basically a Disney room for my running stuff my parents decided that for my birthday they were going to have the map custom framed for me.  I went to the store with them and picked out the frame and the girl working helped pick out the mat colors to coordinate with the map without taking away from the amazingness that it is.
 I love how it fits in perfectly with the colors in our office and we went for some special UV protective glass that will prevent fading.  My Papa Bear came over and hung it on the wall for me since it is quite heavy and I wanted it done right.  I did hang all the photos below myself though so I am perfectly capable of drilling holes in the wall and finding the studs for heavy items (like the curtain rod for my medals).
 So here is what our office looks like from the doorway.  The top curtain rod I hung up and since I have run out of room my dad (since he already had his tools out for the map) hung a second curtain rod below it for me to continue my medal collection.  Only Disney medals are displayed.
 When you sit at the office chair by the computer this is the wall of photos and pins.  One is all my Dumbo pins and the other is my race pins.  I love how I get to display important to me race stuff in our office where I can see it every day.
But that framed park map is really the icing on the cake of the office.  There are so many cool things about the map.  I love looking at the names of the attractions and details in the map.  Some things have changed but some are still the same at the park.  For a Disney lover like me it's perfect.  Thanks so much Momma and Papa Bear for the amazing birthday gift and of course Aunt Cathy for knowing that the map would have a good home with me.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Things I Thought, "that's stupid, I'm not doing that."

There are things that I would see people (parents) do that I thought to myself, or even said out loud, "that's stupid.  I don't know why they do that.  I would never do that."  And here I am doing that.  In no particular order:
*talking in that baby voice.  Thought it was stupid until Critter responded to it and it's tough not to do when you get those smiles and giggles.
*smelling their rear end to see if they went potty.  Sniffing is more of a confirmation of that fart was something more or sometimes to see if they peed since diapers are squishy and bulky to start and you'd rather not have to strip the kiddo down to find out they didn't go in the first place.
*wiping drool/spit-up on your shirt sleeve.  That was always gross to me but with my own kid it's not so bad and you do what you have to.
*get excited for small things.  Other people had kids and would be excited because they rolled over.  Big deal  was all I could think but now that I have a little of my own it's those little things and they are huge deals.  They are major milestones and worthy of celebrations--even if it is dairy free ice cream after the kiddo goes to bed and a high five with your Manfriend.
*making sure bedtime is a certain time and not really wanting to be flexible on that.  Totally get it now. Avoid the major tears and screaming followed by over-tired party animal that doesn't want to sleep and then when they finally sleep not sleeping very long.
*wanting a mini-van.  Well, in all honesty I kind of want one and wanted one before having our Critter.  I have done a few relay running races and mini-van was way more practical than the Suburban.  So before even having Critter I started wanting a mini-van.  If Subaru made a mini-van I'd be all over that since I love my Subaru.
*time is going by so fast.  It does and I get it now.  Don't even go there.
I am sure there are other things missing from my list that have crossed my mind over the past almost 9 months (Critter is growing up so fast!).

Monday, April 11, 2016

If Crocs made Running Shoes...

I have long joked that if Crocs made running shoes I'd buy them.  And I was very serious.  I love my Crocs and own over 30 pairs (they aren't all just those hole filled beach ones either!).  Well, I have heard great things about a brand of shoes called Altra and was wanting to try them.  They boast of a roomy toe box (love that about my crocs, no squished toes) and being a minimalist shoe (I love my minimalist shoes with a 4mm heel/toe drop or less).  Well, someone in a running group was selling a pair in my size and with shipping I figured the price was right to give them a try.
 I headed out the door on an easy run day and took the pink puke peptobismal colored shoes for a 6 miler.  Oh my gosh I fell in love with the shoes within minutes.  It felt like running in Crocs without the heel slippage.  My feet were very happy.  At the end of my run I had to take a little pause and wait for those creatures to cross the road so I could finish up my run.  Yup, two deer crossing the road.  This happens regularly by the way.
 So these are my "new" shoes and I love them.  They have very minimal decoration/details on the toes and it is like wearing a sock with a hard bottom.  The pink across the toes is rubber and across the top of the foot is mesh.  Wearing the shoes is like walking around without shoes because they are that comfy and un-restrictive.  Oh, and that little dot on my right leg is a lovely scar from the Disney bus marathon morning this year.
Looking forward to more training runs with my Altras and hopefully finding another pair or two in the near future.  I will definitely want to go to the store and try on several of their different types to find one that I "love" but these are pretty amazing.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Fashion Night

So on Friday, April 1 I went to Fashion Night at our local Fleet Feet store.  Tickets were $20 or you could get a VIP ticket for $30.  With your ticket you were given $20 off any apparel purchase that night after the event and the proceeds from the event went to our local Children's Hospital--win/win!  I splurged and went for the swag bag--it was all going to charity anyways and I would get some extra goodies out of it plus front row seating for the show.
 At the end of the show they had the "models" walk the runway in their last outfits.  The models were store employees, local newspaper writer that does a lot of focus on athletic events/outdoor activities, local gym owner and a local radio DJ among other runway walkers.  After the show we were allowed to take a turn on the runway--of course I did and modeled my sparkle skirt.
 My swag bag wasn't as exciting at the one from our movie date night VIP.  It was 2 t-shirts--one from a new gym that will be opening and the other from a "clean eating" place that does meal prep/planning and sends the food to you. Included in the goodie bag was also a speed jump rope and a water bottle.  My favorite item (that I now realize isn't in the photo) was a mini-Saucony shoe key chain.  Saucony reps were at the event pouring drinks (free wine, beer and water/soda) with all the tips going to the hospital as well.
The event doors opened at 7 with the fashion show starting promptly at 7:30.  The show lasted just shy of 30 minutes.  Each outfit was listed in a brochure that had our $20 off coupon so we could mark items we liked and get assistance post-fashion show finding what we liked.  There were 25 outfits/shoes modeled and then the shopping began.  I ended up coming home with some Tailwind (a beverage for long runs to try) and a pair of black pants that were on major clearance (we are talking regular price of $105 down to $25) and a pair of really short shorts that I will likely use as bathing suit bottoms with a sports bra.  It was a great evening and I am glad that my mom offered to take care of Critter so that I could have a night out.  Manfriend enjoyed an evening out with the boys.