Marathon Weekend Report - Day 3 - 5K Day

My First 5K!!!

Yes, I have done two half marathons, but have never done an official 5K!!

My phone alarms went off and I was up and at 'em.  I had set out my running gear the night before, so I hit the shower and jumped into my kit.

I then went down to the bus stop to wait for some of our other team members to head over to Epcot for the event.

Arriving at the Family Fun Run 5K, it's PACKED!

Yes, they ran in those!

Meeting up with Team Hakuna Matata at Family Fun Run 5K

It's almost our time to go!

Here we go!

Coming from backstage to the backside of Test Track

Mile 1 of the 5K... why don't they put out markers per K???

Test Track with the sun coming up behind us!

I cannot even begin to describe how CROWDED it was for this event.  It has put me off of wanting to do this again. Overall, my time was good, but our team was separated right from the start due to how crowded it was.  I decided that I would just do my own thing.  I thought I was doing really well, but then apparently I had too much water before the race and I had to make a quick pit stop at the Morocco rest area.  

I didn't see ANYONE I knew at the finish, so I got onto a bus and went straight back to Pop Century to get ready for our team meet breakfast at Kona Cafe!

Team Hakuna Matata Breakfast time!

I was one of the first ones to make it over to Kona and I stood around watching people eat breakfast while my stomach was reminding me that it was WAY PAST TIME to eat, especially since we did a 5K that morning!

Waiting at Kona Cafe

Team Breakfast meet at Kona Cafe

A first for me!  The infamous Tonga Toast at Kona Cafe!

All gone!  MMMmmmmm!

I think we had a group of 16 for breakfast.

Team Hakuna Matata goes on longest Pirates ride!

Several of us decided to go into the Magic Kindom, whereas others were heading back to the Expo.

The first ride we decide to do is to go on Pirates of the Caribbean!  We had dismissed Jungle Cruise as there was a bit of a wait and Pirates looked to be a walk on. 

That was right, we got onto the ride in very short order.  They're working on the queue to this ride, as I think they're going to be making one of the sides a Fastpass + entrance.

The ride started off normally and we were able to see the new Mermaids added to the beginning of the ride.  We then went down the plunge and entered into the next scene.  We started to come around to the Mayor dunking scene... only to STOP.  There was a solid line of boats in front of us, apparently filling the ENTIRE rest of the ride.  Unfortunately for us, we weren't into the next scene yet and were getting hit by one of the water cannons... EVERY 60 seconds!  Dave and his wife were on the left side of the boat and Vickey and i were on the right side, RIGHT NEXT to one of those cannons.  Vickey bore the brunt of it, while I got totally soaked on the right side.  We were stuck in that position for about 40 minutes!!

No, this isn't me coming off of Splash Mountain

 Funny thing is, last year I came off of Pirates dripping wet  after the 1/2 Marathon!

Compensation for getting soaked on Pirates.

Vickey got 2 (eventually 3) compensation tickets for getting totally soaked, I got one.  Once we were out of the ride, Dave and his wife decided that the Magic Kingdom wasn't so magic today and we had a WiSH meetup later, so they headed out.  Vickey and I went shopping!  The voucher ticket is only good at Magic Kingdom, so we went off to get some new stuff to take the place of our soaked items.

Compensation cashed in on new shirt!

Team WiSH Pop Century Meet up!

Once we had completed our shopping, we headed out to go back to Pop Century.  I spent a little bit of time in the room relaxing and then I made my way down to the Pop Century quick service dining area.  I met up with people that I hadn't seen since last year and we all had a great time catching up as quickly as we all could.  All too quickly it was time for us to head outside to have our group picture taken!  

Team WiSH

Team Hakuna Matata

Rick trying to track his family down for dinner.

Once we chatted for a while it was getting time to grab something to eat!  Many of us from Team Hakuna Matata decided to dine together.  This turned into a bit of a mistake, because we all stayed out too late chatting!  We had a FANTASTIC time and were really disappointed that it was past time for us to be back in our rooms going to sleep!!

We finally broke up and went back to our rooms, as those wake up calls and alarms were going to be VERY early indeed!

I got back to our room and I laid out my kit for the half marathon and then went to bed!



Thanks for Reading!  Regards,
~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon January 7, 2012-  FINISHED 3:48:49 January 12, 2013-  FINISHED 4:00:29 Indianapolis Monumental 1/2 Marathon November 3, 2012-  FINISHED 3:37:29 Next Race: Cincinnati Flying Pig - 5/5/13

Marathon Weekend Report - Day 2 - Expo +

Going to Expo


Most of our race team decided to meet and head over to the Expo together.  First I got breakfast at the Pop Century quick service area.  It was a really good Chorizo Spinach Omelette.  

Breakfast at Pop!  Chroizo Spinach Omelette.

Once I was done with breakfast, I went out to wait for the busses and our team mates to head over to the Expo.  I took that chance to make sure my GPS watch had it's satellite locks in.

Getting the Satellite lock in on the Garmin (405CX)

Waiting to catch the bus to the Expo

Half of our group went into packet pickup and the other half decided to hit the merchandise first to make sure they got the items they wanted.  Once into the Expo, we were treated to a new RunDisney shoes by New Balance.  They, of course, do not come in a WIDE size.  

The new RunDisney Shoes on display at Expo

After Expo
I picked up my packets with very little trouble and made it over to the merchandise building of the Expo.  I ran into other team mates when it was starting to get VERY crowded and we were all ready to leave.  Dave and his wife were nice enough to treat me to a ride back to Pop Century.  I met back up with Dad and we headed out to Epcot.

Heading into Epcot

Drummers in Japan are always great.

We ended up having lunch at the Japan Pavilion's quick service.  We actually had to wait a few minutes for it to open, but I was glad to just sit down for a while, knowing that I really should be taking it easy.

Voices of Liberty at the American Paviliion

Waiting for Off Kilter at the Canada Pavilion

Dad and I went around and mainly enjoyed the live entertainment around World Showcase.  I was to meet up with Rick for dinner over at the Grand Floridian resort, so Dad and I parted ways and I took the Monorail over to Magic Kingdom.

Getting ready to leave Epcot

Since I was still early for our dinner time, I decided to go on into the Magic Kingdom.  I rode the railroad in the full circle and then stayed to see the Flag Retreat.

Killing some time at Magic Kingdom

Looking down at Main Street USA

Taking a ride on the train.

If you have never watched the Flag Retreat at Magic Kingdom, it's worth the wait.  They pick out a member of our military and then honor them with that flag.  There was a wounded warrior that they were honoring this day.  It's a very touching thing to witness.

Made it back around in time to see the flag retreat.

Once the flag retreat was completed, it was closer to our check-in time for dinner.  I made my way out of the park and headed over to the Grand Floridian on the Monorail.

Rick was running behind, so I let the gals at the podium know and they let me know that it was okay.  

Rick and I had a great dinner over at the Grand Floridian Cafe.  This was my first time eating there and it was a great meal.  I had the catch of the day and I was very pleased to have gotten that.

This is where I've gotten a bit fuzzy.  I'm pretty sure that we headed out to make our way back to Pop Century.  It was going to be our first early AM wake up call for the 5K race on Friday morning!




Thanks for Reading!  Regards,
~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon January 7, 2012-  FINISHED 3:48:49 January 12, 2013-  FINISHED 4:00:29 Indianapolis Monumental 1/2 Marathon November 3, 2012-  FINISHED 3:37:29 Next Race: Cincinnati Flying Pig - 5/5/13

Marathon Weekend Report - Day 1 - I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!

For once, I had actually started packing several days ahead of my departure, instead of the night before!

The shoes went in first

This trip was my first time flying SouthWest and their flight doesn't take off as early as the AirTran flights do.  So I actually didn't have to be to the Indianapolis Airport at such an ungodly hour in the morning!  This year, I remembered to take a picture of the bus shelter, so I would know where I needed to get off at when I made my trip back home!

Indycar display in the Indy Airport

First time flying SouthWest!

My first flight with Southwest was definately a new learning experience.  I ended up sitting near the tail of the plane so I could get a window seat.  Once in my seat, I then opened the shade to then discover I was right next to the engine and couldn't see anything.  Oh well, I listened to some podcasts and attempted to read a little bit on the way down.  I may have dozed off for a little bit, but it wouldn't have been very long.

Once at MCO, I quickly made my way to the monorail.

Orlando International Airport!  (MCO - McCoy)

Once into the main terminal, I hightailed it over to Magical Express to give them my bag ticket so they could pick it up for me and take it to Pop.  That went smoothly and I was soon on the Magical Express bus, on my way to WALT DISNEY WORLD!

Disney's Magical Express

Entering Disney World Property!

I met up with Dad shortly after arriving at Pop, but before Dad arrived, I ran into Robbie from our Hakuna Matata running group!

Dad and I got in a little bit of park time before I headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to go to dinner at BOMA with some of our other Hakuna Matata running team members that were also into Disney a little bit early.

Entrance to BOMA

Carving Station

More food!

Dessert!

Some early arrival memebers of WiSH Team Hakuna Matata

Thanks for Reading!  Regards,
~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon January 7, 2012-  FINISHED 3:48:49 January 12, 2013-  FINISHED 4:00:29 Indianapolis Monumental 1/2 Marathon November 3, 2012-  FINISHED 3:37:29 Next Race: Cincinnati Flying Pig - 5/5/13

Flying Pig - Week 1 Report

You're not following the plan!!

Week	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
F-13	2/25/2013	2/26/2013	2/27/2013	2/28/2013	3/1/2013	3/2/2013	3/3/2013	MILES
1	REST	3	REST	3	3	REST	4	13
Actual	REST	3.21	REST	0	0	REST	5.13	8.34

Well, already my first week of training I didn't do as planned!  I've had a large project for work that had me walking around a manufacturing facility Wed-Fri and my legs were very tired by the time I got home.

Friday evening I literally kicked my legs up and watched TV.  Just being off of them for a couple of hours like that really seemed to take the aches away (that, and the first ibuprofen I've had since the WDW 1/2).

Tonight's run wasn't so bad.  I didn't push it and had as nice of a run I can possibly have on the Treadmill-o-doom.  I listened to one of the podcasts I download, as I've fallen wayyy behind on some of them!  I've also started listening to them as I travel back and forth to work just to avoid listening to the news on the radio.

Yo-Ho!  A Marathon life for me!

Since I let the "cat" out of the bag, my WiSH Hakuna Matata race team members have been very "encouraging" about me signing up for the Full Marathon for the 2014 Disney World Marathon Weekend.  In other words, I already have a running partner that will stick with me through the race.  I'd say  that I have a 70/30... 75/25... 80/20 split that I'm going to end up committing to the full marathon.

I NEED to break into the 230's so I can just get the confidence back that I'll actually be able to loose the weight I want!  I think that if I stick to my training plan 100%, I'll begin to see progress again.

You make me; Promises, Promises.
As for my Marathon Weekend reports, I have them queued up for posting and I'll be releasing them beginning Monday!  It's actually been nice doing this report after so long, as it has given me the opportunity to "re-live" it all again.

Thanks for Reading!  Regards,
~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon January 7, 2012-  FINISHED 3:48:49 January 12, 2013-  FINISHED 4:00:29 Indianapolis Monumental 1/2 Marathon November 3, 2012-  FINISHED 3:37:29 Next: Cincinnati Flying Pig 1/2 - 5/5/13

Training begins for Cincinnati Flying Pig!

The next 10 weeks of my life
The following will pretty much be what I am doing for the next ten weeks leading up to the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon on May 5, 2013.

Week	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
F-13	2/25/2013	2/26/2013	2/27/2013	2/28/2013	3/1/2013	3/2/2013	3/3/2013	MILES
1	REST	3	REST	3	3	REST	4	13
M-13	3/4/2013	3/5/2013	3/6/2013	3/7/2013	3/8/2013	3/9/2013	3/10/2013
2	REST	3	REST	4	3	REST	5	15
M-13	3/11/2013	3/12/2013	3/13/2013	3/14/2013	3/15/2013	3/16/2013	3/17/2013
3	REST	3	REST	4	3	REST	6	16
M-13	3/18/2013	3/19/2013	3/20/2013	3/21/2013	3/22/2013	3/23/2013	3/24/2013
4	REST	3	REST	5	3	REST	8	19
M-13	3/25/2013	3/26/2013	3/27/2013	3/28/2013	3/29/2013	3/30/2013	3/31/2013
5	REST	3	REST	5	3	REST	10	21
A-13	4/1/2013	4/2/2013	4/3/2013	4/4/2013	4/5/2013	4/6/2013	4/7/2013
6	REST	4	REST	5	4	REST	11	24
A-13	4/8/2013	4/9/2013	4/10/2013	4/11/2013	4/12/2013	4/13/2013	4/14/2013
7	REST	4	REST	6	4	REST	12	26
A-13	4/15/2013	4/16/2013	4/17/2013	4/18/2013	4/19/2013	4/20/2013	4/21/2013
8	REST	4	REST	5	4	REST	9	22
A-13	4/22/2013	4/23/2013	4/24/2013	4/25/2013	4/26/2013	4/27/2013	4/28/2013
9	REST	3	REST	4	3	REST	8	18
A-13	4/29/2013	4/30/2013	5/1/2013	5/2/2013	5/3/2013	5/4/2013	5/5/2013
10	REST	3	REST	3	Walk 2	REST	13.1	21.1

I was originally planning on running in the Indianapolis Mini on May 4th, but a Disney running buddy from the W.i.S.H. team that I'm part of will be running in the Flying Pig.  With the offer to share expenses, it made it a deal that would be hard to pass up.  After all, they Flying Pig is celebrating an anniversary this year and that means special BLING!

Cincinnati Flying Pig

Future Plans??
I made a promise to myself that if I dropped 20 pounds by the time 2014 Marathon weekend registration price increased, I would sign up for the FULL MARATHON!  Current tally has me having already lost 1/2 of that.  As of last weeks weigh in for Dad and I, I was back down to the lowest I had been since a year prior.  243.  The illness I had after coming home from Marathon Weekend took 12 pounds off and aftrer I was feeling better I put a couple of those pounds back on.

How am I going to pull this off?  I do not know at this point.  This trip could possibly be the first trip in quite some time that I go to Florida and not go to the parks! (Except for the run through during the race!) In looking at the plan above, I'm going to be putting almost 200 miles on shoes that have already begun to show age.  I plan on making them work for as long as I can while training.  Once I get to the point that I'll be training for the Full... I'm probably going to need at least 2 more pairs of shoes!  I'm keeping an eye out for some sales like I ran into when I got shoes at the end of their model year for cheap... but I think I've already missed that mark!

Garmin Forerunner 610

I would REALLY love to be able to upgrade my GPS watch to the Garmin Forerunner 610.  I just really don't see that happening.  Even with getting the watch only, as my accessories from my current watch will work with this one, still puts it a large sum of cash output.

Lesson learned from this past Marathon Weekend is the fact that I cannot tell the difference between my watch beeping and the 10,000 other people with Garmins beeping.  The 610 has the option to vibrate.

In looking at training plans, the weekend that my plan I'm thinking of using has me running a half marathon will fall EXACTLY on the weekend for this year's Indy Monumental Half!  So, I may be thinking of doing that also!

So, what is this all about?  Well, 2015 is an anniversary year for the Goofy at Disney World.  A Marathon and a half all in one weekend!  I would like to do this with my W.i.S.H. teammates!  Am I crazy?  Quite possibly.  Or maybe just committed, as in SHOULD BE.

Remaining adventures of Marathon Weekend
I'm still working on my pictures for that weekend in January.  I swore I had certain pictures, then I realized that they were on my iPhone.  So, I've been sorting through those.  

With a new training regimen about to begin, I'm hoping that I'll start blogging this as I go, as I have in the past.



Thanks for Reading!  Regards,
~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon January 7, 2012-  FINISHED 3:48:49 January 12, 2013-  FINISHED 4:00:29 Indianapolis Monumental 1/2 Marathon November 3, 2012-  FINISHED 3:37:29 Next Race: Cincinnati Flying Pig - 5/5/13