Motivational Wednesday

There will be many excuses in the coming days as the holidays are upon us but remember...

only 67 more days

or 9 1/2 weeks

until Disney's Princess Half Marathon

so let that be the Reason you don't find an excuse to get out there and

stay focused on your training.

Happy Holidays

Vanessa Welch Reindeer Run

Yesterday, my family and I participated in the Vanessa Welch Reindeer Run.  This was a fun 3 mile run around Sea World Orlando.  The race fee was only $25 and there was a $10 off discount for those 17 and under or 65 and over.  The beneficiary for the race was the Florida Hospital for Children: Hematology & Oncology Program.  They also had Marines there collecting Toys for Tots.

The race itself was tons of fun through a wonderful course that started in the Sea World parking lot and then ran through the park that was completely decorated for Christmas.

They separated the runners who were scheduled to start at 7:15am from the walkers who were to start at 7:30am.  In the runners area, they also had pace signs for the runners to line up according to their pace. Packet pick up was quick and easy on site.  You just had to find your name on the board to find your bib number and then the packet pickup were separated by the bib number.

We decided to just walk the race and enjoy it so we hung out in the walkers coral waiting for the start.  We couldn't hear what was going on at the start line but about 7:20 the runners started.  A few minutes later we were lead to the start line where there was a group singing carols.

A quick countdown and we were off.  As we made our way around the Sea World parking lot around where the finish line was, we saw the male winner finishing.  His finish time was 15:07.  Wow that's fast and he looked like he was just strolling on a Saturday morning.  There were some great costumes in this race.  These were hanging out in the parking lot.

Once we entered the park, there were loads of decorations and a few photo opportunities.

In addition to the Christmas decorations, we even got to see some dolphins playing with a ball.

More decorations along the way

There was one water stop at the 1.5 mile.  The course is pretty flat except for the one area around Bayside Stadium.  Soon we were crossing the finish line.

There was water at the finish line.  In the post race area there were bananas, cookies and hot chocolate.  We grabbed bananas but didn't partake in the cookies or hot chocolate.  They were having kid races and costume contest the in that area as well.  We left to go back to the hotel to have breakfast so we didn't see these activities. 

My family and I really enjoyed this event and hope to make it a holiday tradition.  The race is well run, the course is beautiful and it's all for a great cause.  Plus you get this great long sleeve t-shirt

Motivational Wednesday

 

 

For those of us that are super slow, this is sometimes hard to remember.

Walking through the World - Holiday Decorations

I love theme parks.  All of them.  Living is central Florida is great for those of us that enjoy the parks.  The holidays are a specially great because I can enjoy the beautiful decorations at my favorite parks while incorporating some easy walking.

Yesterday, my friend and I decided to take a leisurely walk from Disney's Hollywood Studios to Epcot and enjoy the many holiday decorations en route.  We started at Disney's Hollywood Studios where they have decorations along the streets and a beautiful tree just outside the entrance. 

From the exit, we took a left turn by the bus terminal and headed towards the Epcot Resorts Hollywood Studios connector towards the Boardwalk.  It's a scenic route the along the boat waterway.  We stopped at the Swan Hotel and checked out their lobby decorations.  This display is made 100% of chocolate. The details on this display are amazing and pictures do not do it justice.  The wood chair Santa is sitting on looked real.  It smelled delicious in that lobby but check out the calorie count of that display.. WHOA!

Chocolate display at Swan Hotel

A quick left turn after exiting the Swan hotel and we headed towards Disney's Yacht and Beach Club.  We stopped first at the Yacht Club where the decorations started at the walk way.  Inside there is a themed Christmas tree and a holiday village with train.   The village has some great Disney details and touches including the Hollywood Studios water tower, Lightning McQueen, Mater, and many more.  We could of spent lots of time looking at all of the little details.

Disney's Yacht Club Hotel

Disney's Yacht Club Christmas Treet

Disney's Yacht Club 

Next up was the Beach Club and their chocolate carousal.   This beauty is not only made of chocolate but it rotates.  This year they added two additional small displays, a lighthouse and an underwater castle.

Disney's Beach Club Christmas Tree

We decided to skip the Boardwalk hotel and head over to the International Gateway Entrance of Epcot.  It was getting close to lunch time and we were hungry.    After lunch we took a walk around the World Showcase and towards Future World.  There are lots of holiday decorations all along the World Showcase.

We made one final stop before exiting Epcot.  I heard there was a chocolate display in The Land so we checked it out.  This display was so cool with some Disney landmarks and even a replica of a Disney Cruise Ship.

The entire route was a little over 3 miles long.  It was a great way to see the sights and get some exercise in for the day.  If you don't have park tickets, you can park at Disney's Boardwalk, they allow you three hours to shop or eat. Then you can tour the hotels in that area and walk to the entrance of Hollywood Studios, check out their tree and walk back.  Here is a map of the route we took.  With all the stops to look at all the holiday beauty and even a stop for a quick lunch in Italy, the entire route took just under two hours at a leisurely pace.  It was a great way to enjoy the parks and get some easy exercise for the day.

Tampa Bay Times Turkey Trot 10k Race Recap

On Thanksgiving 2013, I ran the Tampa Bay Times Turkey Trot 10k.  Originally, I was just going to run the 5k but changed my mind when I learned that Disney required at least a 10k time for corral placement in the Princess Half Marathon.  Unfortunately, this race was not chipped-timed so while it was a good experience, I was unable to  submit the time for corral placement.

The morning of the race, it was cold.  Super cold by Florida standards.  It was around 40 degrees.  I arrived at the race site, Clearwater High School, at about 7:45am, a full hour prior to start time.  I parked close to the finish line and then followed the crowd to the start area.  

The Start Line

Race started a couple of minutes late.  The first mile was a blur.  I skipped my first couple of walk intervals.  I was so cold that I just kept running.  The course went down a street and then turned into a neighborhood.  There were some spectators throughout the course and a couple of them even played music for the runners. There were 3 water stops along the course with great volunteers at each.

The Course

I maintained my intervals through most of the course and then I reached mile 5.  I looked up at one point and realized we were about to go up a hill.  I couldn't run up the hill.  All of my training is on flat courses so my legs just would not go.  At the top of the hill, it was a left turn and then we were at the back of the high school and finally at the finish line.

My goal for this race was to finish at around 90 minutes or 15 minute miles.  I was super happy when I crossed the finish line at 1:31:10.  I probably could of finished under the goal if not for that last hill.  There were no medals for this race so I just picked up a water, banana, and fruit snacks from the food line and walked back to my car to ride home.  

This race was a good first test for my training.  I would only run it again if I could convince some friends/family to join me.  The registration fee is super reasonable ($15) and the shirt was cute.