Category Archives: Disney

2019 WDW Marathon Cheering Recap

As I did last year, this year, I flew down to Walt Disney World for marathon weekend to hang out with friends, cheer on friends and strangers, and celebrate my birthday.

This cupcake was weirdly filled with sprinkles, and I’m not sure what I think about that.

I got to Disney on Thursday (my birthday) and after I checked in and grabbed lunch, I wandered the parks for a while and went over to check out the race expo. I learned that when you can do whatever you want whenever you want, you can get a lot of rides done in a short period of time. I also took a conference call while waiting in line at the Haunted Mansion because that’s the kind of employee I am.

I wasn’t super impressed by the race expo. I admit, I didn’t bother to go check out the race-specific merchandise because I wasn’t planning to buy anything for a race I wasn’t running. But I just wasn’t impressed as a whole by the rest of the expo. So of course, I didn’t end up buying much of anything. And there was so much less free stuff than previous years! That’s half the fun of an expo!

Because of the course of the 10K, I didn’t go cheer on Friday (and let me tell you, sleeping in was glorious). But Saturday morning, I was out at the Grand Floridian entrance (my standard cheer spot) cheering on every single half marathon runner.

Guys, it was cold out there!

I had some company for part of the cheering, but people had to go get off their feet before the marathon, so I stayed out alone and made friends with the other people cheering. And then I went and had breakfast at the Wave, and went over to Hollywood Studios to ride Slinky Dog. As you do.

Sunday morning, same plan. Up and over to the Grand Floridian to cheer. This time, I had more company.

Yes, I had to get my cowbell in all the pictures.

Hung out at the Grand Floridian and cheered on every runner as they passed, then headed in to grab some quick breakfast before taking the monorail over to Epcot and continue cheering as people left Epcot towards the finish. That’s one of my favorite places to cheer because of the relief you see on people’s faces.

I also got the joy of annoying people with my cowbell. I was standing there, ringing my giant cowbell, when this woman moved a cone blocking the spectators so she could go past me and sit on the edge of a planter. This put her ear not terribly far from my cowbell. Then she proceeded to glare at me and finally got fed up and huffed away. Cowbell wins again!

My forearms were sore for about three days after though. Cowbell arm is no joke.

One common feature of marathon finishers is the various alcoholic beverages people are carrying as they exit the park. However, this year, we saw something new. After the balloon ladies passed, a crew of runDisney staffers came up and started stopping any racers who were carrying alcoholic drinks. They had to finish or toss the drinks – they weren’t allowed to carry them out of the park. Of course, the standard rule is that you can’t bring alcohol out of the park, but all the racers who were within the official time limits didn’t seem to have any issues. Those who were after those limits, however, were stopped. I wonder if this is to encourage people to not stop for drinks if they are behind pace. There’s a general belief that if you make it into Epcot, you’re “safe” and won’t be swept, which is generally true, but at the same time, they do need to get the runners through and finish the race. It will be interesting to see what they do next year.

And of course, I do plan to be back to cheer again next year. This year’s trip was a bit different in that last year, I was injured and wouldn’t have been able to run had I registered. This year, I was in fine form, and I have to admit, I had a little bit of FOMO that I didn’t run. Since next year, the 10K is on my birthday, I think I may have to sign up for the race. I’m certainly not running a marathon, and I’ve enjoyed being able to relax on my training during the crazy that is December, so I think the half is out too. But the 10K? That seems do-able!

WDW Cigna Blogger Meetup Recap

This past weekend, I was down at Walt Disney World to cheer on friends and strangers running the various races over WDW Marathon weekend.  In previous years, I had run at least one race that weekend.  Last year, I took the year off and stayed home, and I was filled with so much jealousy at all the fun everyone was having that I insisted on attending this year.  Still didn’t run, which was a good thing, given my lingering hip issues, but I was so, so glad I decided to go.  If you’ve got friends who go and run and you want to go along and cheer them on, DO IT.  (Or if the idea of screaming at strangers on the side of the road and then going to eat a Mickey Bar sounds like fun, this is your chance.)

One fun thing I got to do while I was there was attend the Cigna Blogger Meetup.  I really love all of the information that Cigna puts out surrounding WDW Marathon Weekend.  They’re great about promoting healthy lifestyles, tips for running, and they highlight a number of “every day” runners who are participating in the races.

I particularly enjoy this infographic, because it’s not all “sunshine and light.”  Running a marathon is HARD, guys.

Click to enlarge

The afternoon started with a healthy lunch (including soup to keep all of us warm) and then we went into the games.  While the games were a lot of fun, behind each game were facts about health – knowing your numbers, knowing what a healthy diet looks like, and understanding how to improve your health by making simple changes.

I think in the world of social media, people often get discouraged by the “healthy” people they see online, people who seem to have perfect diets, perfect workout schedules, who never slip up.  I’m sure some of those people are real, but let’s be honest – for most of us, healthy living is a constant challenge.  It’s important to remember that no one’s perfect, and you definitely don’t have to be either.  Just do your best, make smart choices, and know the facts.

I’ve talked before about how important it is to know your numbers and truly understand your health.  So I was a huge fan of this concept.  Unfortunately, it also showed just how much I don’t know.  I’m solid on things like how much sodium I should have, how many alcoholic drinks I should (or shouldn’t) have, but when we get into various vitamins, I have no clue!  I definitely have a lot to learn.  We had one question about Vitamin B, and I couldn’t tell you what foods contain Vitamin B.  Or what Vitamin B does.  But I’m sure it’s important.

One important thing is to make sure that you know facts, not just tips from some random person on the internet.  Make sure that you’re sourcing your information from reputable sources.

The games were a lot of fun – we had to do things like “throw away the sugar” by tossing it into trash cans (oh sugar, how I will miss you).  Of course, you don’t have to throw away all the sugar, just consume it in moderation.  Let’s be honest, most of us consume way too much added sugar in our diets.

Another game involved playing jacks (I was very impressed with some of our team’s jacks skills).  The lesson here was about jumping jacks, or rather, staying active.  Staying active and eating healthy can help lower your cholesterol levels, something I am all too familiar with.  I’m good at the active part, but the healthy eating… well, I can always use help.

We had to make apple towers to… remind us to eat towers of apples?  No, this one was about healthy diet and balance.  Also, balancing apples is really hard.  My team won, of course, because we are geniuses and good at balancing things.

This was a good lesson though, because I know I struggle with balance.  It tends to be all or nothing with me.  I’m either having a healthy period where I eat well, workout, stretch, and generally do good things for myself, or I’m skipping workouts and eating wine and cheese for dinner.  This was a good reminder that I can be healthy but still have balance in my life.

The Cigna team was incredible, and we had so much fun learning and getting to meet Drs. Minnie and Mickey.  Who knew they had time to go to med school!

Thanks for a great event, Cigna!

 

Disney Trip Report

I’m back from vacation.  And it was exhausting.  And I didn’t even run a race while I was away.  (I know, it’s a rarity for me.)  I didn’t even bring workout gear with me, since I knew I wouldn’t bother to get in a run.

The Magic Kingdom was beautifully spooky at night.

Of course, that meant that I had to do a Tuesday night ten mile run on my treadmill when I got home, but these things happen

At some point, I will learn to take relaxing vacations.  That day is not today.

If you couldn’t tell from the picture, I just got back from a trip to Disney World.  It was my one-year-old niece’s first trip, which made it extra special.  That kid had six adults around to entertain her. She is definitely living it up.

While I’m not a Halloween person, I love going to Disney at Halloween because I love the creativity of all of the decorations.  I love that the carved pumpkins placed all over on Main Street are themed to their respective locations (film strips over the theater, jewels over the jewelry store, etc).  I love that the characters wear Halloween costumes.  Because come on, characters in costumes are awesome!

Halloween season also means it’s Food and Wine season and if there’s something I love, it’s eating and drinking delicious things.

This was also my first trip to go see Pandora, the new land based on the Avatar movie. When it was first announced a few years ago, I wasn’t sure what I thought.  The movie was already old (and while I did watch it, I don’t remember being all that enthralled).

Guys, this place is incredible.

The theming is amazing and the space is just gorgeous.  Even just walking around was so impressive.  We got to ride Flight of Passage, where you ride on the back of a banshee, and it was incredible.  The technology is so cool and the experience was phenomenal.  If you’re going to the parks, make sure you get a Fast Pass for this ride.  We had Fast Passes, but because the ride was having some issues, we still had to wait almost an hour.  (The regular line was a 4.5 hour wait!)  No complaints here, it was totally worth it, but thanks to that, we were also given a Fast Pass to ride Na’vi River Journey, a ride that my niece could also join us for.  That was also absolutely gorgeous.  I want to go back and experience the space after dark, because I’m sure that it will be beautiful all lit up.

And yes, I do believe my niece had a blast.

While it’s not my place to put someone else’s child on social media, I think the back of her head is probably okay. Also I’m pretty sure Dad had a good time too.

Next Up – Tinker Bell Half Marathon

tbhmw2016_bannerNext up on the race calendar is the Tinker Bell Half Marathon.   I haven’t run this race since the inaugural year, so I’m looking forward to going back for the 5th anniversary to see how much it has changed.  I’m also excited to go back to Disneyland.  It’s been a few years, and I always love visiting.  Even when crowded, it always feels so much less hectic than a trip down to Walt Disney World.

In terms of the race, I’m feeling relatively unprepared.  I mean, I’m fairly sure I’m trained well enough, though let’s be honest, anything can happen.  I’m not in any danger of getting swept or anything, but I’ve been focusing so much on my biking that I forget that I’ve got a running race on the schedule.

This is the last runDisney race on my schedule for a while.  I’ve definitely gotten a bit burnt out by the the cost and the attitudes.  My worst experiences have been at Princess, so I’m hoping this women’s themed race doesn’t have the negative presence that I’ve seen there.

I think the biggest problem is that these have gone from running events to… marketing events?  Social events?   Experiential events?  I don’t know what to call them.  But the racing is no longer the draw, and that feels weird.  I like a good race experience as much as the next person, but it’s the actual race that is the draw, not the surrounding experience.  I actually want to run.  I don’t think everyone who signs up for these races feels that way.

Either way, next up, it’s off to California (which is stupidly far from DC, so it’s going to be a lot of traveling).  Here’s hoping it’s somewhat of a relaxing trip and that I don’t end up on the phone with the office half the time!

Drama at the Princess Expo

rihaij / Pixabay

Oh my goodness.  After yesterday’s post went live, I started seeing reports of lots of drama at the Disney Princess Expo.  Some highlights:

Lines.  So many lines.

People shoving and throwing elbows to get merchandise before others.

Women throwing wine glasses and breaking them (I think trying to toss them to each other for buying purposes?).

People grabbing at jackets as they came out of the back room.

People buying entire boxes of merchandise to resell.  Apparently there’s a new rule that you can only buy 25 of any one item, so there’s that.

One of my favorites – people posting items on eBay using photos they took at checkout.  Not even waiting to get back to the hotel room to list that puppy for up to twice what they paid.

My favorite – shoving and punching over merchandise.

Apparently the crowds got so heavy that the Fire Marshal came in and shut it down so the crowds could clear out.

People.  It’s just stuff. I mean, I get the desire to have a cool shirt or jacket for your first half marathon.  I’m sure I’m going to want all of the 70.3 gear later this year.  But can’t we be a little bit civil?