From Pennies To Yennies

Princess Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World- The Half Marathon and Post-Race Hangouts (Part III of III)

April 2, 2014 by Laurel

I woke up for the half feeling more excited than I did the 10k. I sprung out of bed at 3am for the third day in a row. Usual morning routine.
I was running the half in my home made Cinderella costume. Kelsey helped me sew and stuff the shoulder poufs!

I got on the shuttle and headed to EPCOT. All of this really confirms that I have no interest in EVER running the Dopey Challenge (a 5k Thursday, a 10k Friday, a half marathon Saturday and a full marathon Sunday). The 3am wake-ups really start to get to you! I met the Teamrundisney meetup again and we took a group picture. Then I hung out with my friend Katherine, whom I’ll be rooming with for the Avengers Half Marathon in November. She took off, and I finally got to hang out with my friends Matt and Holly!! If you recall they were at marathon weekend but I barely got to see them. I spent a decent amount of time with Holly the following weekend at the Tinkerbell half, but I was so sick I didn’t enjoy anything about that weekend. So we all just chatted for almost an hour which was really nice.
Holly and I!

We eventually made the hike out to the corrals. We parted ways as we went to our different corrals. Things got moving pretty quick and before I knew it we were on the course!

I think my biggest issue with this race was my overconfidence. I half marathon trained but I didn’t challenge train, for the back to back 10k and half. Why? I just finished the Goofy challenge! If I can run a back to back half and full marathon, a 10k and half is a walk in the park, right? Eh, not really. Especially when you take 3 weeks off of running in between. I powered through the first 5 miles and then just kind of petered out. I started out way too strong. It’s a pretty rookie mistake. Needless to say my tank was empty and my feet were sore from not only 2 days of racing but also hitting the parks. I was disappointed in myself but just kept pushing. I stopped for lots of photos to distract myself. It wasn’t my greatest effort, but I definitely learned from the experience.
Finally reached EPCOT! Almost done!

I didn’t feel amazing about my finish. More like, I completed the challenge and received my medals, instead of, “I dominated that course, I earned this!!” Oh well. I sat and stretched and waited for Dee and Rachel to finish. I saw my friend Pam but she was too far away to yell to. I was also hoping to catch my friend Ashley, whom I’ve chatted with at large online but never met in person. And as luck would have it, Ashley, Dee and Rachel all walked out of the finishers’ chute together! Quick introductions were made and of course we took photos!
Ashley and I! She did fantastic at this race, even rocking her giant ankle brace!

Dee, me and Rachel. They also earned their pink coast to coast medals. Proud of them!!

We went our separate ways to get cleaned up for the day. This was where a weekend of running really hit me. I was ready to crash. So I did. I napped. It was glorious. When I awoke the girls were already at the parks! I forgot they were checking out of their hotel today. So I flew out the door and as luck would have it, my bus was on the fritz. So I waited for them the fix its handicap ramp then was on my way to Hollywood Studios!

It was such a wonderful leisurely day. I met up with them when they got off Star Tours. Rode Tower of Terror. We communally bought a hoard of sweet treats and shared. It was all yummy, but I was most impressed by the carrot cake cookie.
It. Was. Amazing.

We walked the shops and then drove over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our dinner reservation at Jiko! I was really excited. I’d been before in 2011 with Dan, Kelsey and Jim, and it was fantastic. We had a seat and ordered drinks. I knew Dee would love it because they had a vegetarian menu also.

And then something awesome happened- Pam stopped by! She was staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and popped in to say hi. I hadn’t seen her all weekend so we finally caught up on each others’ weekends.

She sadly had to catch a cab to the airport, so we had dinner. But not long after dinner, our friend Jindy stopped by! It was hilarious and probably really confusing to the waiter. We had rotating guests! We were just finishing up though, so Jindy was a dear and showed us where to get amazing cupcakes at The Mara. We indeed did that, then took a quick photo before we hit the road.

Jindy went to her room and Rachel and Dee drove me back to my hotel. We said bye and it was sad. I went from planning on spending the weekend on my own to having an amazing time, thanks to these ladies. I knew I’d see them at another Disney race in the future! Goodbyes were said and they were back on the road to Miami. I went to my room, devoured my cupcake and went to bed. The good life 😉

Monday was my last full day in Orlando. I didn’t really have any plans. I reached out to my friend Jillian and she said she was hitting up EPCOT later with her friends Brooke and Morgan and I was welcome to join. I wasn’t sure what to do earlier in the day, so I grabbed my SLR camera and headed to Magic Kingdom. It was my first time venturing into a Disney park alone, and it wasn’t bad at all! I rode rides, took pictures and ate atrocious junk food. Frankly, it was awesome.

Eventually I made my way to EPCOT, and the girls were still on Soarin, so I jumped on Spaceship Earth. Met up with them after and they suggested happy hour sushi at Benihana. Oh I knew I was with the right people! We stuffed ourselves and then went back to EPCOT to stroll around. Rode The Seas and Test Track. It was really fun to hang out with Jillian since she used to work at EPCOT and would randomly spout out old memories or facts. I loved it! We took a quick ride on Maelstrom and feasted on School Bread in the Norway Pavilion, watched IllumiNations, and headed out. We said our goodbyes and I thanked her for everything. I’d sincerely miss her til my next trip to Florida! It just amazes me that these ladies don’t even know me, and still reached out and shared their weekend with me. I really hope I’m presented with an opportunity to be that generous.
I didn’t get any pictures of the 4 of us, but here is me, Jillian and Morgan the day before!

I was on such a high when she brought me back to my hotel, I didn’t want to go to my room and pack. Pack, sleep, sit on a plane all day, arrive in rainy Seattle. I wasn’t ready!! I impulsively ran to the bus stop and boarded a bus to Downtown Disney. I had no clue what I was doing. I got off the bus and just walked around. I walked up and down the outdoor mall twice. It was a warm night and lots of people were out. I soaked up the last little bit of vacation, before I boarded a bus back to my hotel.

I got back to the hotel around 1am. I packed and napped for 2-3 hours before catching my shuttle to the airport. This 3-part recap does not do my epic race weekend justice. It was amazing and I can’t wait for the next RunDisney weekend!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Disney food, Disney World, Downtown Disney, EPCOT, fitness, Florida, friends, half marathon, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Princess half marathon, running | 3 Comments »

Princess Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World- Enchanted 10k, Animal Kingdom and Kitchen Sink (Part II of III)

March 24, 2014 by Laurel

I woke up Saturday morning ready for the 10k. I didn’t get much sleep, but that’s just how it goes during RunDisney race weekends. I had breakfast and got dressed. I was running as Minnie Mouse!

I caught my shuttle to EPCOT and was later than I’d planned. The shuttle had a super long line. I got there eventually though, and caught the tail end of TeamRunDisney‘s meetup. I didn’t recognize many people but finally met a friend from Twitter named Carla. So that was nice!

I started heading to my corral and was on the lookout for some of the people I’d spent time with the day before, but no luck. I did however finally meet Shannon! We’ve been chatting online for quite a while and she also lives in Seattle.

I didn’t see anyone else, so I went to my corral. From there things moved pretty quickly. I was in corral C, and as they bring each corral to the start line you walk past the others and they cheer for you. It’s pretty neat, and was even cooler the day before, being in A and having all the corrals cheering. Anyway, Corrals A and B took off, and soon we were off too!
Obligatory start line photo

The course was pretty different from what I expected, I wasn’t happy the first half but in retrospect I think I enjoyed it. My biggest issue was readapting to the Florida humidity, and my headphones broke. I really hate running without music, so all I did was run in silence and dwell on the heat. We did a long out and back on the highway before entering EPCOT.
Toy soldiers as we entered EPCOT

We ran the World Showcase again which I just love. The sun was rising and it was a great reminder why I love to do these Disney runs. I stopped by the America pavilion to get my picture with Tianna, Naveen and Louis. I waited in line for 10 minutes or so, and with only 3 people in front of me Tianna and Naveen leave! Louis was still there though, and I’m working on conquering this character fear thing, so I went for it. I posed with my arms crossed thinking he’d do the same, like the girl in front of me, but at the last minute he threw his arm around me! I didn’t love it but hey, I survived.

Once we finished running the World Showcase, we left the park and ran the Boardwalk, running past the 3 resorts. This was great because again, I did it during the marathon at mile 23 and just have zero memory of it. So it was nice to run it and enjoy it. Soon we were back in EPCOT and basically heading to the front of the park and backstage to finish. With the heat and character stops I had a lousy time, like 1:35 or so, but again I don’t really do the Disney races for time.
Inaugural Enchanted 10k, done!

I still hadn’t found any friends so I decided to head to my shuttle to the hotel. As I was leaving I saw my friend Jillian and decided to go say hi to her. I kid you not, as I was approaching her and a friend she was chatting with, it just started raining! People were taking cover, and she looked up and saw me, and I basically said hi and ran away to get on a dry bus. I knew I’d see her again though!

I got breakfast at my hotel’s food court again and ate in my room.

The plan was to go to Animal Kingdom with Dee and Rachel. I went ahead and got ready, then just hung out, checking email, reading etc. I finally decided a nap wouldn’t kill me, and was only asleep for about 10 minutes when I got the text that they were heading out! D’oh! I’ll never learn that Run Disney weekends and sleep don’t mix.

I was really dragging at this point. I met the girls at the park and we also ran into Amy, the birthday girl from the night before, so we were a nice foursome strolling the park. Did some rides, ate some stuff. A typical day of fun!
Expedition Everest! Amy and I in the back and Rachel in front of us. Not pictured: Dee, who doesn’t like rollercoasters and had found a vegan food cart. Also, I’m not super sweaty, we’d just got caught in a total downpour!

And of course we did the safari because I love it! I’m sad they don’t do the whole plotline about the elephant poachers anymore though. Maybe it was too scary? Lots of giraffes were out and close to us though!

After we’d had enough of Animal Kingdom, we headed to the Beach Club resort to go to another meetup. A running group called Racing the Dream was holding a Kitchen Sink meetup. What’s a kitchen sink? A monstrosity. The ingredients are:
Â½ cup fudge topping, warmed
Â½ cup butterscotch topping, warmed
Â½ cup peanut butter topping, warmed
1 medium banana, sliced in 1/2 â€“inch slices
1 cinnamon spice cupcake (2 Â½ x 1 Â¼-inch), quartered
1 angel food cupcake (3 x 1 Â½-inch), quartered
2 4-oz. scoops vanilla ice cream
2 4-oz. scoops chocolate ice cream
2 4-oz. scoops strawberry ice cream
1 4-oz. scoop mint chocolate chip ice cream
1 4-oz. scoop coffee ice cream
3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
Â¼ cup marshmallow crÃ¨me
Â¼ cup strawberry topping
Â¼ cup pineapple topping
1 14-oz can dairy whipped topping
1 brownie (6-inch x 6-inch), quartered
1 regular-sized (2 ounce) candy bar, quartered
4 chocolate cookies with cream filling
1 tablespoon sliced toasted almonds
1 tablespoon dark and white chocolate shavings
1 tablespoon chocolate cookies with cream filling, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped jellied orange slices (approximately 2 large slices)
1 tablespoon milk chocolate chip morsels
1 tablespoon peanut butter chip morsels
1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles
1 tablespoon rainbow sprinkles
Â½ cup drained maraschino cherries
It’s insane. And HUGE. No one person goes and gets themselves a kitchen sink. So I thought this meetup was a pretty neat idea!
Almost everyone who attended the meetup. Jazz hands!

Photo by Liz Patel
While we waited for our kitchen sinks to be made, we chatted about the races, our lives outside of running, and all sorts of other things. We also noticed how we all had race wristbands on (if you run more than one race for a challenge, Disney makes you wear a wristband all weekend as “proof of finish”), Magic bands for the parks, and a bunch of us had Fitbits. We called it the “arm party”. We were also rather color coordinated

Alas, it was kitchen sink time.

We were given bowls so we weren’t all eating out of a trough, and got to work. Amy, Michael, Rachel and I all worked on it, and I honestly think we would have finished if it hadn’t melted to soup towards the end.
Our table. Can you tell I was excited about the kitchen sink?!

After much socializing and ice creaming, we headed out. The rain had stopped and it was beautiful out! The plan was to go to a s’more bake and singalong at the campgrounds, but I decided to bow out in favor of a good night’s sleep for once. To my surprise a lot of people looked relieved! We all ended up heading out!
Jillian, Rachel, Dee, me and Amy!

Of course, this is Florida, and while waiting for our boat to take us to the buses at Hollywood Studios it started pouring. I couldn’t help but notice how color coordinated Dee was…

We parted ways and called it a night. I was exhausted, and went to bed around 7:45pm. Success! Half marathon the next day!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 10k, Animal Kingdom, Beach Club, Disney food, Disney World, enchanted 10k, EPCOT, fitness, Florida, friends, glass slipper challenge, kitchen sink, Princess half marathon | 2 Comments »

The New Normal

March 21, 2014 by Laurel

It’s March 20th this evening. Dan and I have officially survived being apart 2 months. Which means I’ve pretty much been in Seattle for 2 months, and things have really come together as I’ve finally settled in.

When I first arrived in late January, after being sick for 2 weeks and 2 straight days of driving, this was home!

I didn’t have any furniture! But it slowly came together. Kelsey gave me her bedside table. I bought a bed frame at Ikea in Portland. A book shelf from Target my sister helped me pick. It slowly started to feel more cozy.

And of course, Shellie May made the move too 😉

I started working my first week in Seattle. Now, you may be familiar with my visits to Seattle in the past, and how I got to go to work with Kelsey on the days she nannied. Because the family was super cool and friendly, and I’ve come to know them in the 5 years I’ve now known Kelsey. They generously offered for me to nanny for them as well, the days Kelsey wasn’t available. I can’t even begin to tell you what kind, wonderful people they are. I spend time with their 2 daughters, E and G. E is 15 and loves ballet. And in true teen character, this is what she usually looks like- always on her phone 😉

G is 12 and is a girl with many talents, but is most passionate about horse back riding and soccer. And she’s such a joy to watch at her activities.
Warming up with her baby

We get along great, though activities usually wear her out!

I also puppy sit for them! I don’t have any pictures of their sweet Jack Russell Molly, but here is Finn

I miss Dan, and Japan also, but I’m so happy to be back. I love Seattle! And the things I can do because I’m here!
E’s ballet classes are, quite literally, next to the Space Needle, so with my annual pass i often go up and have a coffee and read or people watch

I was reunited with my friend Jamie, whom I’d met in Japan briefly last year through hashing. Together we hash and are on a mission to find adequate ramen in Seattle (spoiler alert- it’s not happening).

I can pop down to Portland any time I want. Like to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with my sister, nieces and nephew with some shamrock shakes!

Nate will be 2 a month from today!

My girl friend from high school, Brita, and I have cupcake dates

Sunday brunch with the roomies. I had the crab benedict

Living with Kelsey and Jim is pretty great. Especially because Kelsey loves Pinterest and gets inspired to try new things. One morning I’d woken up and she’d made breakfast quiches in our cupcake pans!

I got caught in the snow after a hash one night!

But it was totally worth it because my house looked so pretty the next day!

We actually just celebrated E’s 15th birthday last week! We went out to dinner before her french class and then picked some candy at the confectionery. She even let me take her picture when I asked, which is usually returned with a, “OHMYGOSH, nooooooo!”

For dinner we’d gone out for sushi, and all the plates were train lines in Tokyo. I’d ridden them all! Yurakucho is a great line- it gets you to Tokyo Disneyland 😀

And of course it’s nice to know I’m not forgotten in Japan, as hashers have gotten custom, personalized patches made and always make sure I get one. It makes getting the mail so exciting!

But most importantly, I was finally present for a girl scout cookie season. Yessssss.

I’m also happy to report I found a great trail to run on! It stretches through about 4 cities and I can just run my little heart out. I catch the trail around the middle at a park, along Lake Sammamish, so I can run either direction to mix things up!

Life is good here. I miss Dan and that’s really hard. I’ve also been working hard job hunting and am now finally getting some interviews! It was a depressing couple weeks of not hearing anything in the beginning! I nanny. I run. I cook myself dinner (and always have leftovers). I try new things. It’s just so good to be back!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged family, friends, hashing, job hunting, nanny life, Portland, running, Seattle | 3 Comments »

Princess Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World- Arrival, Expo and 5k (Part I of III)

March 17, 2014 by Laurel

The last weekend of February I headed to Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon. I wouldn’t just be running the half marathon though, I signed up to do the Glass Slipper Challenge- a 10k Saturday and a half marathon the next day. And if I was running 2 races, why not throw in the 5k Friday morning?

I actually went from not looking forward to this weekend at all to having one of the best race weekends to date. I was originally going to go with Dan’s stepmom Ann, but she had some conflicts get in the way. Then my friend who was really the only person I knew well, and my ride from the airport, suddenly wasn’t available. Or wasn’t sure she would be. It was confusing and as someone who likes to plan in advance I was a little stressed by it all. In the end I decided I’d just do everything on my own, and hang out by the pool in my down time. Then, the night before I left I reached out to a girl I’d made friends with during marathon weekend, and saw again during Tinkerbell half weekend, and she sent me her full itinerary of reservations and theme park plans and said I was welcome to add myself to whatever I wanted. I was still feeling meh, but decided to put myself out there and get to know these acquaintances better.

I flew out Thursday from Seattle and arrived in Orlando around 5:30pm. The expo closed at 8pm, but I was worried with luggage, shuttle service and checking in it’d be a tight squeeze. I needed my bib for the 5k early the next morning!

So funny short story- I met a nice gal in the bathroom at the Houston airport who saw my RunDisney shoes and asked me what time the expo closed. She was a flight attendant and trying to get on standby for the next flight. Fast forward- I land in Orlando and get on my shuttle, who sits next to me? The same girl! So that was fun. I was disappointed when the bus driver said my hotel was the 4th stop, but my new friend reminded me that all hotels have expo shuttles, so I thanked her and got off at the first stop, the Coronado hotel, and made a beeline for the expo shuttle.

I got to the expo with about 45 minutes to spare. On the one hand it was a little lonely being there by myself, since I normally do Run Disney races with Dan. It’s fun when we’re excited about the races together. But I did enjoy being on my own so I could browse the expo booths at my own pace! I got my shirts and bibs, meandered around a bit, and then realized I was super tired and headed out to catch my shuttle to the hotel.

Speaking of my hotel, it was adorable! I stayed at All Star Movies and I thought for a budget resort it was nice and had everything I needed.

The cute pool, which I ended up being too busy to use!

I was in the Toy Story building. How cute is this?!

I checked in, got to my room, laid out my clothes for the 5k and went to bed pretty much right away.
Shirts and bibs for the weekend!

Some goodies I purchased. A tumbler, a mug, a pink bondiband and white arm sleeves for Sunday’s costume.

A few hours later, I got up and got ready for the 5k! I wasnâ€™t really worried or anxious about this at all. I was more concerned over the fact that I wasnâ€™t going to let myself nap after. This was Day 1 of 3 days of 3am wake ups. I needed to be tired at night so I could get a good nightâ€™s sleep!

I decided to rep my Goofy Challenge shirt and some sparkle 🙂

I headed out and got on the shuttle to EPCOT. That went pretty quick, and then I milled about finding runner friends and chatting. What was exciting for me was starting in the A corral. Iâ€™ve never been in corral A, and probably never will be again! Not sure how that happened, but it was so nice to have the race start and not wait a half hour just to get to the start!

I got to my corral with about 20 minutes to spare, and just sat around keeping busy on my phone. I saw a couple people here and there I recognized from online groups or that Iâ€™d met once at other races, but didnâ€™t talk to anyone.

Things were about to get rolling, so I got up and started wiggling forward a bit in my corral. I like to be in the middle of the corral and on the far right. Just then I saw a friend of mine whom Iâ€™d been talking to online for at least a year. Jindy, who blogs @ Flowers Croon had just walked past me while chatting with a friend. I wasn’t lonely exactly but I didn’t know if I felt like putting myself out there. I eventually decided, “why not?” and jogged to catch up to them. This moment would be the start to my epic race weekend with running friends.

“Jindy!” I called, and caught her by surprise, “I didn’t want to interrupt, I just wanted to say hi in person…” and before I could finish she said my name and we hugged. She was as excited to “meet” me as I was to see her! She introduced me to her friend Marci who was also really friendly. We decided to do the 5k together. I’m so glad I introduced myself!

Ready to kick off the 5k with new friends!

The race started and we were off! It was a little crowded so we just kinda jog-walked and chatted. It was so strange, to be running with these women I’d only just met and have our mouths running a mile a minute. We were the definition of fast friends! We went about chatting and stopped for character photos.
Me, Jindy, Atta and Marci

Marci, Jindy and I passing through EPCOT

My favorite part about this race was running through the World Showcase. Until this 5k I’d only done it during the last mile of the marathon, and I definitely wasn’t enjoying myself and taking in my surroundings then 😉 Being in Florida AND being up early for the races also made it easier to talk to Dan in Japan. We Face Timed during F3H3 and I got to see all my running friends in Japan- as I was running the 5k! So that was fun.
Almost done!

The time flew by as we chatted about Disney races, running, and Disney. Jindy was there because she won a contest! So it was neat hearing about that. Before we knew it we crossed the finish!

Soon after we split up to go find rides with friends, catch shuttles, etc.
On my way back to All Star Movies!

I grabbed breakfast at the food court and went back to my room. I hung out for a bit. I REALLY wanted to go back to bed. According to my friends Dee and Rachel, whom I’d spent time with briefly at Tink half and sent me their itineraries, there was a runner’s meetup at the Polynesian resort followed by their friend Amy’s birthday dinner. I was on my high of having fun with Jindy and Marci and hoped this went as well. At least I’d met Dee and Rachel and knew they were fun. I didn’t want to invite myself to all their plans, so I told them I’d meet them at the meetup but do my own dinner.

The Runner’s Love meetup was a meetup hosted by Jen and Kristy, two girls who became fast friends through running. Through their magic they got tons of awesome companies to sponsor the event. Everyone communicates on Twitter via the hashtag #runnerslove. Though I was new, AND hadn’t registered in advance everyone was super nice and got me a name tag. I sat down and started chatting a little with people from my online running group TeamRunDisney. It was a nice day out, and we were all sitting in chairs on the beach. After not too long, Dee and Rachel showed up!

I unfortunately don’t have any photos from the meetup, but everyone won a prize. Mine was a bracelet that said “fear not”. Some people won shirts, shoes, water bottles, Nuun, Gu packets, socks. It was really impressive. I had told Jindy and Marci about the event, and Marci was there, but Jindy was really late. I was so glad she made it! Eventually we started to get rained on and the meetup was over. Everyone started running in different directions to get under cover, and Rachel, Dee and I found ourselves at Captain Cooks. Where they serve Dole Whips. What a coincidence! 😉 And after about 20 minutes, Jindy and Marci found us, and they had cute tiki cocktails. We all just sat and chatted. Everyone loved everyone. Everyone thought one another was funny. I’m the person who’s always hesitant to mix groups of friends. And here we all were just kinda blending together.
My giant Dole Whip

We chatted all the way til Dee and Rachel’s dinner reservation. Jindy and Marci left and in the end I tagged along to dinner. I felt really weird about going to someone’s birthday dinner though. We went upstairs to the Kona Cafe and I met Michael and the birthday girl Amy. They were just as nice as Dee and Rachel and welcomed me! As soon as we sat down they both asked to add me on Facebook to check in with me at the restaurant, and I knew I was in good company 😉

Dinner was a blast and included movie quotes, sing alongs and other general silliness. I had the caterpillar sushi which was really good.

We were all running the 10k the next day, and decided to head back. Michael was a local, Amy was staying at I think Boardwalk? and Dee and Rachel were at Caribbean Beach. We all said bye to Michael and hopped on the monorail, then parted ways at Magic Kingdom to catch our respective buses.
But we couldn’t leave without a group photo! L to R Michael, Amy, Dee, Rachel and me

I got back to my room, got everything ready for the 10k the next morning and hopped into bed. I had no intention of being out and about all day, but it was already after 10! My alarm was going off in less than 5 hours, but it was such a fun day I didn’t care. We were only just beginning anyway- bring on the glass slipper challenge!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 5k, All Star Movies, Disney food, Disney World, EPCOT, fitness, friends, Polynesian resort, Princess half marathon, race report, runnerslove, running | 1 Comment »

From Florida to Seattle

March 2, 2014 by Laurel

First off, someone asked what Ostrim jerky was, the jerky I ate during my half marathon last month. Itâ€™s really great for fueling as long as you eat it well before exercising! Hereâ€™s a shot of the packaging. I buy it at GNC.

Jumping backwards by a little over a month, I never told the story of how I got from Florida to Seattle! Oh and what a tale it isâ€¦

After the Goofy Challenge, Dan and I spent 4 more days at Disney World. I was too sick to enjoy it! Some days we didnâ€™t even leave the hotel. We finally went to a drop-in clinic where I was diagnosed with bronchitis. On Thursday Jan 16th we flew to Los Angeles to get ready for the Tinkerbell Half marathon! Only Iâ€™d be running the half, but Dan was joining me for the 5k. But first, we ran into Danâ€™s dad at LAX! He travels all the time for work so I knew this would happen some dayâ€¦

We checked in at the Grand Californian and took advantage of our newly acquired annual passes by getting dinner in California Adventure. Then to sleep early for the 5k the next morning!

The Neverland 5k was nothing special. Dan was really sweet and ran it at my pace (heâ€™s much faster than me!). We did get a few photos but theyâ€™re on his phone! What I did love about this race was it started on Main Street inside Disneyland. Pretty!

After the 5k I went back to nap. I was torn between my desire to sleep 24/7 until I felt better, or going to hang out with friends I rarely get to see. I slept a bit longer then went to play in the sun. As miserable as I felt, Iâ€™m glad I did. We had a blast!

After hanging with Florida friends for a while, Dan and I went to go meet our friend Holly for dinner! I was pumped because as you know from my Goofy race recap, we barely got to see her during marathon weekend. So the three of us got dinner and caught up. Saturday was more of the same. Fun with friends and some local errand running. Since Dan was heading back to Japan Monday, he stocked up on toiletries and snacks.

By Saturday night, I knew I couldnâ€™t do the race the next day. I was still too sick. So Dan decided to run it instead. It wasnâ€™t even my bib, it was his stepmotherâ€™s who wasnâ€™t able to come and run. So I slept while Dan ran. He said he had a good time and stopped for character photos, and even saw Holly after!
Dan and Holly after the half!

After the race we had a relaxing day with Holly before she caught her flight. We had food and drinks at Tangeroa Terrace and bummed around California Adventure. Holly told us all about Army life and her crazier days, like her THREE trips to Iraq. I donâ€™t know why, but it was all fascinating! Eventually Holly had to go to the airport and Dan and I got changed for dinner. We had been canceling all of our dining reservations since I felt yucky, but I really wanted to keep Carthay. The restaurant is supposed to be beautiful and it was our last night together for a long time 🙁

Iâ€™m glad we went out to eat. It was nice and the food was so good. We were seated by fellow runners and chatted about the races w them. After dinner we walked around the park a bit, then headed back to the hotel.

Monday morning, Dan left. 🙁

Dan flew back around 10am, and we officially started our long distance romance. I was sad. But really, just more mad I was so darn sick our last 2 weeks together. I missed him already. But nothing could be done now, so I too packed my bags. My mother recently moved from Portland, Oregon to Laguna Niguel, and I was off to visit her for a few days!

My mom picked me up from the Grand Californian and we were off to run a big errand. I needed a car! My wonderful mother was going to help me buy one. I wanted a car with cargo space like an SUV that drove like a sedan. After testing driving, I decided on a RAV4!

Love it!

It took longer than I thought it would and by the time we were done I was exhausted. I checked into my hotel nearby, had an early dinner with my mom and called it a very early night!

I was with my mom til Thursday morning, where we just enjoyed the California sun, shopped and dined, even saw Saving Mr. Banks which was great. It was really nice and relaxing, I just wish I wasnâ€™t sick still!!! To top it off, I was having on and off awful sinus pain. When it was time to leave Thursday morning, I wasnâ€™t looking forward to being on the road for 4+ hours.

I was off to Las Vegas though to meet Kelsey! My future roomie generously volunteered to meet me for a fun weekend in Vegas, and then drive my new car up to Seattle with me. I intentionally tacked on 45 min to my trip to 1. drive on Route 66 and 2. You know I love tourist traps!

Being Route 66, I had a lot of pitstops to choose from. I decided to go with Bottle Tree Ranch, a â€œfarmâ€ made up of glass bottles!

I donâ€™t know why I love these things so much!

Arrived in Vegas and checked into Mirage. I ordered soup from room service and went to bed. Oh, and all this time, letâ€™s not forget I cut my finger open a couple weeks earlier and am still doing most things one-handed!
Slowly healing

I picked up Kelsey at the airport Friday morning and we hit the strip for the next 2 days! Food, drinks, shopping, I even convinced her to see Frozen at the Palms and she loved it! It wasnâ€™t a wild and crazy weekend, she understood I felt like crap, but I think we still had a good time!
Bellagio!

Carousel made of flowers at Wynn

M&M World!

We hit the road early Sunday morning. We were beginning our road trip for Seattle. Split into 2 days, day 1 was driving to Kuma, south of Boise, to stay the night at her sisterâ€™s. We were getting there by way of Nevada, Arizona, Utah and finally Idaho!

I need to point out a few things. Over the next 2 days, Kelsey and I drove about 22 hours. We didnâ€™t listen to music or the radio the whole time. Never. We talked nonstop. Literally, nonstop. Thatâ€™s how you know youâ€™re on a road trip with your best friend. We laughed. We laughed so hard we cried. We retold stories about when we were roomies in 2009 and 2010, and shared new stories about our families or work. It was fantastic. I was almost dreading 2 days of driving but I had an amazing time and part of me hopes to road trip some day again soon.

We hit the road, and stopped every once in a while for caffeine, snacks or gas. Took a rest stop at an Ikea near Salt Lake City. I needed a bed, and the Washington Ikea wasnâ€™t on our way home. Also, cheaper sales tax in Utah! So I bought a vacuum-rolled memory foam mattress. Since we were there, Kelsey got two end tables for her and Jimâ€™s bedroom. With all my moving luggage, shopping trips and newly acquired furniture, we had to Tetris everything into the car. I think we did pretty good!

We were painfully starving, so we hit up In-N-Out for lunch. Our strategy? Since we always dilly-dally through Ikea, go hungry so weâ€™d hightail it out of there. It worked! After I stopped testing different mattresses 😉

Back on the road but for one more pit stop! The house from Up! How cute is this?!

On we drove. The temperature dropped from the 40s to the teens. Snow!

Not long after crossing into Idaho

We finally made it to Kelseyâ€™s sisterâ€™s house. She had an amazing meal all cooked up for us and it was fantastic. I headed up to bed before Kelsey, while she bonded with her sister.

Monday morning had arrived- the 27th! The day we hit Seattle! We packed into the car around 7:30 and hit the road. Stopped for gas and coffee.
Crossed into Oregon early in the day!

A few hours later we stopped for lunch at Wendyâ€™s

We drove and drove then we had done it! We finally hit Seattle! (can you tell I was running out of clean clothes?! ;))

Oh it was good to be home. I couldnâ€™t believe it was my home now, after visiting Kelsey so much here! We set up my mattress, which, as a memory foam mattress, needed a few hours to decompress (me too, mattress. Me too). I started basic unpacking but was too tired to think straight. I went to bed around 9pm!

So here I am! In Seattle and settled in. I miss Dan horribly, and we donâ€™t even have a plan for when weâ€™ll see each other next (maybe May or June?). But that aside, Iâ€™m working as a nanny until my job hunt prevails, and Iâ€™m reunited with friends and family. I think Iâ€™m gonna like it here 🙂

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Arizona, Dan, family, friends, Idaho, Las Vegas, moving, Nevada, Oregon, road trip, Seattle, snow, Utah | 3 Comments »

My Valentine

February 16, 2014 by Laurel

First off, thank you for all the sweet comments and emails about my marathon! It was a big accomplishment to me and I can’t wait to work harder and improve throughout 2014. I signed up for the Space Coast Marathon November 30th. I might do one before then but if not, it will be my first stand-alone marathon (aka, not running a half marathon the day before!).

My Valentine’s Day was a little lacking (because Dan’s still in Japan!) but I’m having a really great weekend anyway! I went to have dinner at Pro Club (the fancy shmancy Microsoft health club with a classy little restaurant where roomie works) where Kelsey served up an awesome meal and cocktails and even snuck me some dessert. I got chocolates and roses too! She really is the bestest. I saw a bunch of familiar faces from when I had a Pro Club membership also, so it was nice seeing old friends. Much better than going straight home after work!

Saturday (today) I woke up and had a mystery Valentine’s goodie bag on the porch! I was stumped as to who it was from but then learned it was Kelsey’s mom. So sweet!! Later I made Valentine cookies for friends. I finally got to use my new Kitchen Aid mixer I got for my birthday last summer. I don’t know how I lived without this beauty!!

It poured all day so no distance run for me before my half next weekend. It was a general lazy day of cleaning, laundry and organizing. Tomorrow I’m going to a hasher’s house for a crafting party! I’m excited about that, and I can unload some of my Valentine’s cookies.

Probably the best gift of all though, was that I found my heart necklace. In 2010, when Dan and I had our first Valentine’s Day together, he surprised me with a beautiful necklace. We had company in town that weekend so I wasn’t expecting us to do anything romantic or special. It was a beautiful 1/6 carat diamond in white gold.
Dan and I on Valentine’s Day 2010. Wearing my new necklace!

I wore it all the time. Then in January 2013 in Portland OR, I went out for a run with my girl friend Amanda and the clasp broke. Luckily I caught it and tucked it away in my pocket. Once back at my car I put it in a pouch in my purse and brought it back to Japan.

At some point, it went missing. I turned the house upside down multiple times looking for my heart. I felt naked without it! This went on all throughout 2013. When I moved out of the Japan apartment last month, a part of me felt like it was hopeless. I made peace with the fact that as beautiful and expensive as it was, it was still an object and not the only way I can see Dan’s love; losing it isn’t the end of the world. I’ve been in Seattle nearly 3 weeks now and I’m still sorting through boxes and trying to make everything fit in my closet. I got a fresh delivery of boxes last week and started unpacking clothes, shoes, handbags and other random things. I still subconsciously check little pouches and pockets looking for that necklace, and you wouldn’t believe my shock when my fingers closed around that little heart!! And the day before Valentine’s Day!

So this year for Valentine’s Day, I got Dan’s heart back and wore it proudly. I’m beyond happy. That’s my little tale! Hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged baking, friends Kelsey, holiday, Kelsey, Seattle, Valentine's Day | 2 Comments »

2014 Goofyâ€™s Race & a Half Challenge- Part II of II- The Marathon

February 13, 2014 by Laurel

This is part II of II of my Walt Disney World Marathon weekend recap. Read part I here!

Disclaimer- This is a recap of my race experience. I don’t recommend/encourage running a race while sick.

I didnâ€™t need my alarm the morning of the marathon. I was up a lot of the night, sometimes coughing, sometimes worrying. Under the sheets of my bed I texted my friend Thomas back home to ask for his advice on if I should run or not. He said I should go for it. Dan said I should go for it. When I polled my Facebook friends it was a mix of â€œgo for it!â€ or â€œtry again next yearâ€.

What if I got swept yet again? Two years in a row! I couldnâ€™t imagine. Then again, that finish line had become so elusive I couldnâ€™t imagine crossing it either. I seriously felt stuck. All night. Finally, around 2:20am, I decided I was in. I was going to run this thing, give it all I got, and know that I did my best. I had 7 hours to complete the marathon if I ran 16 minute miles, plus an additional 10-20 minutes since timing doesnâ€™t begin til the last runner of the last corral crosses the start line. I will not get swept.

My strategy was to push myself the first half, so I could take it easy with peace of mind the second half. 16 minutes per mile. I imagined a piggy bank in my mind full of minutes. I already had about 20 as a cushion just from starting in corral L (corrals went to P). There were 2 dreaded stretches, 2.5 miles each, with no entertainment (besides some characters) and no shade- Bear Island Road after Magic Kingdom and Osceola Parkway after Animal Kingdom. Iâ€™d have to power through them.

At 3am we got ready. The weather was supposed to be about 15 degrees cooler. Once we were ready to go, we made our way to the lobby and out to the race buses where they dropped us off at the finish again.I knew Dan was nervous for me. I was nervous for me! I felt even worse than the day before. After a while, we walked to the start with the rest of the runners and hugged goodbye. But first we got our photo taken!

The first corral was off, and every 5 minutes or so another corral took off. Being in corral L again, I was leaving about 45 minutes after the first corral. Then, I saw my friend Holly! Finally! We got to chat for at least 10-15 minutes, about the race and how I was feeling and whatever else. Iâ€™m so glad we talked because otherwise I would have just dwelled on the race looming ahead. My corral was slowly starting to scoot up, so I said bye and we went to separate corrals.

Once in my corral, I weaved to the front. Iâ€™d never been so far forward before! There was a person or two in front of me, then the volunteer marshals who lead us to the start line with a rope to keep us from jumping ahead a corral. I took my Dayquil and tried to get my head in the game.

Corral K was off, which meant we were next. I was next. I ran through my mantras. I am great and powerful. What happened last year doesnâ€™t matter this year. Laurel never gives up, because Laurel always finds a way (a la Jessie the cowgirl in Toy Story of Terror). All I could do was stare at the giant marathon sign we were about to run under.

They did a count down from 3, then set off fireworks. I canâ€™t begin to tell you how long it felt from the time they said 1, to the boom of fireworks. In reality, it was probably about 2 seconds. But it felt like forever, my knees shaky and my heartbeat in my ears. The fireworks finally erupted and I was off.

Miles 1-5: EPCOT parking lot and Magic Kingdom

I got my GPS and music on and fell into a groove much quicker than the day before. I finished the first mile in 13 minutes, which was better than Iâ€™d hoped. Dropped 3 minutes into my time piggy bank. Got on World Drive and hit mile 2 also in 13 minutes. Another 3 minutes for my time bank. I passed through the transit and ticketing center and looked for Matt, our cheer leader, but no sign of him today. I checked my phone and saw a text saying he was in Magic Kingdom.

The first 5 or so miles are the same for the full as the half the day before. I was more than anxious to get on some new ground. Go where I didnâ€™t make it the year before. But first, Magic Kingdom! I crossed into the park by Tonyâ€™s Restaurant on Main Street, and apparently that was where Matt was and I missed him. Dâ€™oh!

Obligatory castle photo

Miles 6-9: Grand Floridian, Polynesian Resort, golf courses no one cares about and the Disney Speedway

10k mark. I wasnâ€™t ready for water yet, but had to stop at the last table on the leftâ€¦ my friend Deb was volunteering! Her hug gave me a boost and I took off for some dreaded stretches of road.
Thanks for volunteering Deb!

Photo by Dan Moffitt

I ran past Disney Worldâ€™s 2 fancy shmancy resorts, Grand Floridian and Polynesian on my left, and their golf courses (who comes to WDW to golf?!) on my right. With every mile I was banking 2-3 minutes consistently, and feeling confident. At mile 8 we were approaching the speedway, also known as Disneyâ€™s race track where several cars have been wrecked in collisions and now the track is closed for racing and Iâ€™m pretty sure itâ€™s only used for the marathon now. I hate that track. It feels like youâ€™re going nowhere. But around I went, walking for a minute or so to have a Gu since I knew a water station was coming up. Hit mile 9 as I was leaving the speedway. Saw a sweeper bus parked for later use, and my butt cheeks clenched just a little bit at the thought.

Miles 10-13.1: Bear Island Road, behind the scenes and Animal Kingdom (and halfway!)
Dreaded stretch 1 of 2- Bear Island Road.

I hit up the first aid tent for a tissue. Knowing thereâ€™s no shade on Bear Island Road I had a water and Gatorade at the water stop. I walked for about 2 minutes to be sure it was all digested, then off I went.

This is the first race in my life where I was able to completely tune everything out around me and just focus on my running, breathing and music. It was awesome. Like, really freaking sweet. I felt very in tune with my body and got lost in my music. On and on Bear Island Road went, past the water treatment facilities and other strange, industrial looking buildings bearing the Mickey head logo.

I felt a moment of empowerment as I rounded a corner approaching the backstage area of Animal Kingdom. Last year, thatâ€™s where I saw the 7 hour pace group. I tried to keep up with them but I could only walk at that point and fell behind as they trooped on. This year I jogged around that corner and hit mile 12. Considering how sick I was, I felt pretty good.

The behind the scenes area had animal trainers holding birds you could pose for a picture with. We entered Animal Kingdom and ran towards Expedition Everest. It was operating and runners were going on, but I didnâ€™t feel like riding a roller coaster.

Me in Animal Kingdom. Hanging in there!

We ran through Dino Land USA and exited over there as well. There was a water stop and boom! 13.1! Halfway done with this beast! I believe I hit the halfway point at about 3 hours and 2 minutes. I was pleased. I knew I couldnâ€™t maintain that pace the rest of the marathon but I didnâ€™t care. I felt confident Iâ€™d finish now. That was all I needed.

Miles 14-17: Osceola Parkway and turning onto Victory Way

Once again, my heart felt a pang as I rounded another corner. I was leaving the backstage area and approaching the Animal Kingdom parking lot. This is where I got picked up by the sweeper bus the previous year. I was so upset. I was so sad. But that was last year and today I ran through that parking lot like a beast! Alright, settle down. It was a mild jog.

After crossing the Animal Kingdom parking lot we made a left on a short banked road and were face to face with the longest stretch of asphalt ever.

Dreaded stretch 2 of 2- Osceola Parkway

I walked through another water stop, then kept moving one foot in front of the other. My mind couldnâ€™t focus as well as on Bear Island Road. It was definitely getting warmer and more humid out. I took a decent walking break, maybe 4 minutes or so. People were out cheering and handing out candy and other goodies. One lady had paper cups with the tiniest sip of Coke in them. I took one and it was the most delicious soda Iâ€™d ever drank.

On, on, on. There was only one up and down, but that tiny hill felt huge 15 miles in. At mile 16 I saw a bunch of cheaters run across the median. We were supposed to make a right after Osceola, run 4-5 miles in Disneyâ€™s Wide World of Sports Complex, then head back up Osceola for a bit. So those runners completely cut out at least 5 miles. It was a little annoying, but oh well. Thereâ€™s always cheaters in life.

At long last, at 16.5 miles, I saw the end! We were approaching the ESPN Wide World of Sports!

Miles 17-20: Disneyâ€™s ESPN Wide World of Sports (WWoS)
We were running right next to people exiting WWoS, so I started scanning crowds for familiar faces. With no luck I gave up. Then, over my music I hear someone yell my name. DAN!!!!! Oh I was so happy I ran over and hugged him. I told him I was ok and not to worry because I was going to finish. We kissed and went our separate ways. I was floating. And not long after him I saw a runner friend of mine named Justin, and we waved.

Let me tell you something about WWoS. When you think itâ€™s going to end, itâ€™s not. We ran around a field. Around a track. Around a marsh. Around another field. And on and on. I was walking a lot at this point. The miles crawled by. To give you an idea, here is a picture of the complex thanks to www.allears.net

I had to get a picture of the Mile 19 marker, it was Goofy!

One of the last things we did at WWoS was run around a baseball diamond. I told myself if I run the whole thing, I can walk as much as I want after.

Wide World of Sports!

Once we were out of WWoS, we had to run nearly a mile back down Victory Way to get back on Osceola. At the intersection of Victory and Osceola, there was a giant screen set up playing Mickey cartoons. Cute!

Miles 21-22- Osceola and World Drive
I was mostly walking at this point. We went maybe half a mile down Osceola Parkway, then made a right onto an onramp to get on World Drive. It was a little steep, but a toy soldier from Toy Story was yelling at us to get to the top. He had no line for pictures so I went to get my photo taken with him. I handed the cast member my camera and the soldier says, â€œdrop and give me 10!â€ I laughed, but he didnâ€™t look thrilled, so I did it! Pushups in the middle of a marathon!

Once I got onto World Drive, I walked most of it. It wasnâ€™t very eventful. We made a right onto Buena Vista Street and made our way towards Hollywood Studios. I couldnâ€™t believe I still had 2 theme parks ahead of me!

Miles 23-25.5: Hollywood Studios, Beach Club, Yacht Club and Boardwalk
We entered Hollywood Studios via a backstage entrance and walked through the backlot tour. After that we ran towards the giant sorcererâ€™s hat and down the main street towards the front of the park. Here I saw my friend Mel again! That was another good boost. He was there cheering people on. We exited the park near the main entrance and were on a trail along the lake that would eventually lead us to EPCOT. This was it. On my way to EPCOT!

I was completely walking at this point. We walked past the three EPCOT resorts. Many guests were sitting outside cheering and watching. Eventually we crossed into the backstage area of EPCOT, by the World Showcase.

Miles 25.5-26.1: EPCOT World Showcase and approaching the finish!
Running the World Showcase is no joke. Itâ€™s never ending. Did they add more countries to this thing? We entered by Canada and made our way all the way to Mexico. I started running again just knowing how close I was to the finish.

See that look in my eyes? Dead. I was dead inside. I was a robot just putting one foot in front of the other.

Once out of the World Showcase, I started getting ticked off at how much further I had to go. People kept yelling, â€œyouâ€™re almost there!â€ and I wanted to punch them in the face. We ran past â€œThe Ballâ€, aka Spaceship Earth, and into a backstage area. I could hear it.. the gospel choir at mile 26â€¦ and only then did I soften. I relished. I was going to do it. After failing a year earlier, this was the moment. My moment. The one I trained for. It was here. I dreamt of this moment training run after training run. And now it was my time. All the pain temporarily left my legs and with slightly watery eyes, I pushed forward to cross the finish and earn my Goofy medal.

Miles 26.2- I, Laurel, am a marathoner
I turned the corner for the last tenth of a mile. The finish line was stretched before me. Dan was jumping up and down from the bleachers he snuck into. I waved frantically at him. My heart was beating out of my chest. The adrenaline fueled me to even confront one of my biggest fears- costumed characters. I couldnâ€™t look at Goofy, but I did high five him!

I crossed the finish line and after nearly 2 years of dreaming and planning and a failed attempt, I became a marathoner.

Normally I pose for my finish line photos, but in the moment I completely forgot. Iâ€™m thrilled that the cameras captured exactly how I felt.

Whatâ€™s that feeling?

How good does it feel?

All those training runs in the park? Finding perfect shoes? Fueling solutions? Tears after getting swept last year? Race fees and travel costs? Pain? Worth it. WORTH IT.

Iâ€™m a marathoner.

The Walt Disney World Marathon 2014 by my GPS

I collected my medal and did my best not to cry. Got my Gatorade and water. Did some cheesinâ€™.

At long last, I approached the long tables where Iâ€™d get my Goofy medal. I wasnâ€™t really crying, but I was teary. The lady who gave me my medal congratulated me, saw I was a little teary, and gave me a huge hug, telling me how good I did. That didnâ€™t help my tears! I thanked her and kept going. As happy as I was, I was beginning to remember my aches, pains and sickness.

After Goofy Challenge

Dan and I had a meeting spot picked out so I headed there. Less than a minute later he showed up. We hugged and hugged. I was so proud of us and I know he was too. I couldn’t have done it without him, and all his support and love. I also couldn’t have done it without our friends Matt and Holly. Knowing Holly was on course with me somewhere was nice, and Matt cheering for us and sending fun texts definitely helped keep me going. We were agreed that nothing sounded better than heading back to our hotel, but first, even though I wasnâ€™t in the mood, I knew I had to commemorate the moment with a photo.

We are Goofy Challenge finishers!

We had to wait about 5 minutes for the bus, then hopped on. It felt so good to sit and drink my water. I had a bunch of Facebook messages and texts asking what I decided to do, if I finished. I proudly sent out this photo!

When we got back to Animal Kingdom Lodge, it was so hard to get up and off the bus. Dan took so long, the bus door closed on him! We hobbled back to the room, proudly clink-clinking as our medals bounced with our steps. And man, I was proud. I felt like absolute crap, but I still felt so good. All the worry, all the wondering, it was just completely gone now. Nothing left but good feeling! Well, mentally/ emotionally. Physically, My legs were locking up, my feet were sore and I felt very congested.

We relaxed the rest of the day. I soaked in the victory every second. The question Iâ€™ve been asked most: â€œWould you do it again? Will I see you at Goofy Challenge 2015?â€ YES. You absolutely will.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged America, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Dan, Disney World, fitness, Goofy Challenge, half marathon, marathon, race, race report, rundisney, running | 6 Comments »

2014 Goofy’s Race & a Half Challenge- Part I of II- Expo and Half Marathon

February 6, 2014 by Laurel

Disclaimer- This is a recap of my race experience. I don’t recommend/encourage running a race while sick.

Wow. That’s really all I can say. Just kidding, I have a lot to say actually. But my experience at Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend really blew me away. Unforgettable.

But first, if you’re not familiar with my back story (and obsession with this race), you might appreciate reading my experience from last year’s Goofy Challenge.

Dan and I flew to Orlando from Japan with a brief layover in Denver. After 14.5 hours of flying, luggage wrangling (oh there was luggage. Don’t forget, this was my official move the the States!), and procuring a rental car, we arrived at our hotel for the next week!

My throat was scratchy on the flight and I began coughing, but I chalked it up to the recirculated air. A good night’s sleep was all I needed, I’m sure. Wrong. I woke up the next day feeling like I had a golf ball stuck in my throat, with a plugged up nose that wouldn’t decongest. This wasn’t happening. This WASN’T happening. It was Friday, the day before Goofy Challenge began. And it all felt so unfair! I was here and I did the work! I trained! Nothing was supposed to stand in my way of that Goofy medal I dreamed about all year!!

I decided not to get ahead of myself. I got up and got ready. Off to the expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Got our bibs and race shirts. Perused the booths but it was so crowded that we didn’t stay long.
My goodies from the expo. My bib and shirts plus a cute hoodie I couldn’t resist. Let’s hope I survive the weekend so I can wear itâ€¦

After the expo, we went to T Mobile so I could upgrade my MyTouch 4G to an iPhone 5. There was a hiccup at the first place we went to, so we found another store and were in business. Once that was done, we wanted to do something fun but stay off our feet. We went to Downtown Disney and saw Frozen at one of AMC’s neat dine-in theaters. I LOVED the movie! Seriously, if you haven’t seen it, go see it!
Dan at Downtown Disney. We also picked up some extra Gu packets at the new running store and I drooled over the confections at Candy Cauldron.

I was starting to feel worse and worse. I had a wet, unproductive cough. We left Downtown Disney and stopped by a Hess (minimart) to get some cold meds for me, and Dan wanted some iced coffees for the room. Then it was back to the hotel to rest! We had dinner at Mara, a quick service restaurant at the hotel. I had the chicken pita and it was good. Well, probably. I couldn’t taste much at this point.

I actually slept pretty good that Friday night. I woke up a couple times in a coughing fit, but was able to get back to sleep. The alarm went off at 3am, and it was time for the half marathon! I wasn’t terribly worried about this race. I knew I could run 13 miles no problem, especially with 3- 20 mile runs under my belt. We got up, had breakfast, and I downed some cold meds. I knew there was a general rule that if you have a head cold, you’re ok to run, but if it’s below the neck you should probably avoid physical activity. But I felt I had to at least try…

Got dressed and onto our bus. We were bussed to runner’s village, aka the finish line area. We quickly found our group of friends from an online running club and took a photo. Sorry it’s blurry!
I’m in the front row on the far left in blue; Dan’s in the back on the left in a maroon shirt

We chatted with people for a bit then made our way to the starting corrals, which is nearly a mile walk. I wasn’t so much as nervous, as anxious to get it over with so I could go back to bed and rest. Dan and I parted ways as he was 4 corrals up from me. I found my friend Staci and we sat and stretched and chatted for a bit. It was nice having someone to talk to since we had to be in our corrals 45 minutes before we even started (and my corral started 40 minutes AFTER that!). Eventually she had to get to her respective corral and I headed to mine. I was hoping to see my friend Holly too but I was herded into my corral and missed her.
In my corral and ready to go!

Corral A was off. B. C. D. On and on it went. We slowly shuffled up to the start line. I just wasn’t in a great mood. It was muggy out. I knew it wasn’t going to be drop-dead hot like it was last year, but it was still warm and humid. Soon enough it was time for corral L to hit the course, and with a 3 second countdown and launching of fireworks, we were off!

Miles 1-4: From EPCOT parking lot to Magic Kingdom
I started off with a steady pace. I felt like I wasn’t going terribly fast, but I was dodging a lot of walkers. I hit mile one faster that I thought, but when my GPS tracker read my pace I was really disappointed. I was nearly 2 minutes off pace! The only good thing was at least I wasn’t coughing much. When I did cough though, I couldn’t stop! Bleh.

Miles 1-4 took us down World Drive. We passed under the big Magic Kingdom sign and through the toll plaza. We ran around half of the outside of the Disney Speedway (race car track). I felt a pang of nervousness then. When I ran the marathon last year, the race track was where I completely lost steam. My power walk turned into a regular walk. I tried not to think about it though. This year had nothing to do with last year. So on I went!

I was approaching the Transit and Ticketing Center when I started to see more spectators. I then realized our friend Matt might be out here somewhere. I tried searching for him but there were so many people. And then there he was! I got so excited I yelled his name and started jumping up and down. I ran over and high fived him and kept running. It seriously gave me such a pick me up. I need to get more people to spectate my races!!
Matt being awesome. He even made a sign for us!!

After seeing Matt I ran past the Contemporary Resort. We then accessed a private road for cast members and crossed into the back stage area of Magic Kingdom. At this point I saw a runner friend I’d never met in person but was well acquainted with via Facebook and Twitter. I took a shot and yelled his name, Mel, ready to introduce myself. Surprisingly, he recognized me right away and gave me a hug! He was so happy and friendly, it was awesome and I’m glad I stopped to say hi. He welcomed me back to the States too!

Miles 5-10: Magic Kingdom, Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and golf courses no one cares about
Eventually we ran onto Main Street inside Magic Kingdom. And even though I was miserably sick, and hot and sweaty, I couldn’t help but smile. I was running towards the castle!

Down Main Street and through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland I went. And then right through the castle!

Once past the castle it was a quick stint through Frontierland and out of the park via a gate just past Splash Mountain. Continued on through another behind the scenes area and out onto Floridian Way. I was really feeling bad at this point. More worrisome thoughts on last year’s experience and getting swept. I knew I was fine for the half, but the full was creeping into my mind more and more.

I decided to have some fuel. I’m a huge fan of Ostrim, which is a high protein jerky. I had 3 or 4 little pieces and kept running. Not long after, I started having awful stomach pains. I suppose the meat product was just too heavy in my stomach. In the past I had it as pre-race fuel, giving it time to digest. So, as if I didn’t feel bad enough already, I just wanted to curl up in a ball clutching my stomach. It served as a crucial reminder- nothing new on race day!!

We kept running down Floridian, aka the longest road ever. I was keeping an eye out for my friend Holly, but at some point she passed me and I didn’t see her. There was some on course entertainment- spectators, characters you can take pictures with, music. I just stared at my feet and ran. Well, jogged. Shuffled on, really. We eventually ended up back on World Drive, heading to EPCOT.

11-13.1- Onramp, EPCOT Center Drive, EPCOT
The sun is out in full force. Dan and Holly have both finished. I just want to sit down. My feet actually felt fine, but everything else hurt, or was stuffy, or sore. Up the onramp I went, moving at a snail’s pace. I was then on EPCOT Center Drive for a little over a mile. My stomach was still angry about the jerky thing. I was hitting every water stop. Finally we went up an overpass and down, and were in the EPCOT parking lot. I saw Lou Mongello, host of the Mickey Miles Podcast, which I’m a fan of. I was so close yet so farâ€¦ I had just passed Mile 12. Into EPCOT I went, where we run to the International Gateway and U-turn back to the front of the park.
This is the face of determination. Or misery.

At long last I rounded a corner into a backstage area and heard the gospel choir singing. Hallelujah indeed! This miserable race was about over! I saw Dan and Matt cheering for me and finished as strong as I could. Official time: 3:23:51

Map of Walt Disney World Half Marathon from my GPS

Now at a Run Disney race, you can’t just cross the finish and be done with it and go see your family. You have to walk through the runner’s chute. First you get your medal. Then there are long tables of water and Gatorade. Then the snack box table. Then the photo panel, where you can have your photo taken. And new this year, you get a wristband saying you completed the race, which you needed to get your Goofy medal the next day. More walking til finally you are dumped by bag check. Dan, Matt and Holly were all waiting for me. I felt downright awful. My head was in a fog and I needed to sit down. I felt like a terrible friend to Matt and Holly, whom I’d been looking forward to seeing all morning.
Matt and Holly. Holly was doing Dopey Challenge- 5k, 10k, half and full!

I just knew I needed to get out of there. I was really sad, because originally Dan and I had planned on going out to a fun breakfast and inviting Matt and Holly along. But as I’m always learning in life, things don’t go as planned. Back on to the hotel bus we went. But first, Matt was nice enough to take a pic of Dan and I!

Once back at the hotel, I started addressing my needs. Food. Water, water, water. Elevated my feet. Took a mini nap. Besides being sick, my body felt fine. My feet weren’t sore and no sore muscles. Thank goodness for training!

We just took it easy for the rest of the day. Normally I complain when Dan works on vacation, and here I was worrying he didn’t have enough work to do while I laid around! And to think, the full marathon was tomorrow, and I was only feeling worse and worseâ€¦

Read part 2 here!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged America, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Dan, Disney World, EPCOT, fitness, Florida, friends, Goofy Challenge, half marathon, Magic Kingdom, marathon weekend, Orlando, race, running, vacation | 4 Comments »

Lights and Whistles

January 22, 2014 by Laurel

My time in Japan is now over. While I do plan to visit, I am no longer an expatriate, no longer a resident of Tokyo. It’s all so strange. I think it will sink in better once I’m settled in Seattle (still on the road!). I have also been horribly sick since the day I left Japan; what started as a bad chest cough manifested into bronchitis, and now I have a sinus infection on top of that. But before I catch you all up on my recent races and final days with Dan, I can’t possibly leave out my last week in Japan, which was so incredibly meaningful to me.

Thursday (7 days til departure)
Thursday was my joint going-away party with my good friend Cole! We did a pub crawl through Harajuku, Omote-Sando and Shibuya. And we had a huge turn out! Some people stayed the entire time, and others just popped in for a drink at one or two places. It was a fantastic night and it was really great to see so many awesome friends.

Friday (6 days til departure)
Friday was my last F3H3 hash. I was really sad about it. This will always be my home hash, the hash that named me, my first running friends in Japan. That Friday was a holiday so it was an afternoon hash. I bag watched because I still had stitches in my hand.
My friend Hiromi and I!

Saturday (5 days til departure)
Dan and I hared my last Samurai hash together! I was planning to run and lay trail with him, but since I cut my hand open I wasn’t really in a position to get my hand all flour-y while laying trail. So I ran a beer stop about 2/3 through, and our friend Dave took my place in laying trail. We had a delicious after party at one of my favorite Korean BBQ restaurants, Maruki.
My friend Steven and I when he visited my beer stop!

Photo by Hiromi Suzuki

Sunday (4 days til departure)
I co-hared my last Sumo hash. Once again, I was going to have a more active role, but my darn hand got in the way. I couldn’t even bake tasty treats! So I bag watched. Not always thrilling, but I’m happy to do it. Once runners returned, I got a lot of good byes, a lot of hugs, and even a lot of little gifts!
Great turnout!

This was my last day spending time with friends. I knew it was going to be a crazy week and tried to keep Mon-Wed open for packing, appointments and errands. So naturally that Sunday was an emotional day and in many ways, felt like my last day in Japan. Sumo hash ended, and people either made their way to the after party at a Thai restaurant, or back to the train station. I was having trouble parting with some friends. Particularly hashers I’ve known since my first hash.
We were probably on our 5th goodbye at this point!

Most of them were going to the party, and I was heading home. We finally parted ways, and I felt really sad. As Dan and I walked to the train station with a couple other hashers, I heard the party-goers yell, “on-on!” across the street. We yelled back and waved. But it didn’t stop there. We yelled and yelled. The voices grew fainter, so they started waving their flashlights and blowing their whistles from blocks away. Even as I stood on the platform waiting for my train, I still heard those whistles and saw their lights in the distance. I was really sad when our train came. I yelled, “on-on!” one more time, then got in. I’ll never forget that night.

Dan went home, but my friend Luke was trying to rally some people together for an impromptu bite to eat and drink, and I decided to go with my friend Yukie. My friends Sarah and Rachel joined us and it was a really nice group. I only stayed about an hour or two, then headed home.

Monday (3 days til departure)
I was up right at 6:30am to get to the hospital by 8am, to get my stitches out! I was nervous, but ready to move on in the healing process. Since there was no translator last time Dan came along. There was some waiting, go to this office, go to this floor, but by 8:30 the doctor called us in. He took off my bandaging and set to work. He removed a suture then stopped. He said it wasn’t ready and to come back in a week! Noooo!!!!! Dan told him I was going out of town Thursday. The doctor asked if I could find a doctor in the States, and we explained how that would be incredibly costly. So he told us to come back Thursday morning. This was frustrating, I hate having plans on travel days! The rest of the day was spent at home. Dan and I made more decisions on what I’m taking and leaving, laundry, etc.

Tuesday (2 days to departure)
Let the packing begin. I continued on with laundry efforts and tried to start making piles. Since my trip was Florida to Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Boise to Seattle, I was attempting to organize my packing so that I wouldn’t even need to open one of my suitcases until I got to Vegas. But alas, I’m never that organized, and normally I end up juggling clothes and shoes into suitcases to appease the weight guidelines of United Airlines. I also am terrible at staying on task, so I kept starting other little projects. It would go something like, “Laundry will be done in 5 minutes, so I’ll go take what’s on the drying line and fold it/ put it away in my closet. Hey, I love this scarf! This totally needs to come. Whatever happened to that scarf I started making for Dan? I’ll see if I can find it in the office, maybe bring that along for something to do on the plane. Man, this office is a mess. I’ll just tidy up in here a bitâ€¦ oh my gosh, are these my letters that friends wrote me when I first moved here? Oh things have changed! Aw, it’s Kelsey and Jim’s Christmas card from 2011!” And so onâ€¦ needless to say, I’m glad I gave myself a couple days to pack 😉

Wednesday (1 day to departure)
Wednesday was more of what I did Tuesday. I started organizing my stuff to make the apartment more livable for Dan. I still had sewing stuff all over the coffee table from working on my nephew’s stocking over a month ago, so I threw it all in a box. Repeat with all sorts of odds and ends I knew he wouldn’t need. More packing. Dan and I had a nice dinner out together.

Thursday (go time!)
Once again we were up at 6ish to get to the hospital early. The doctor says stitches can come out! The last suture isn’t completely ready though, and he applies some medical tape that needed to stay on for about a week. We paid our $2 bill and I was absolutely thrilled to be out of there! No more hospitals!

Dan had a hectic work week so as soon as we got home he started packing. I had everything done except toiletries. Once he was packed he ran to get Penny more food for the cat sitter and lunch for us. We ate and soon after were out the door!
Me about to board the Narita Express, a 45 minute ride to the airport

We cut it close to flight time, and it didn’t help that the lady who checked us in told us the wrong gate. But eventually we were in our seats and on our way to Florida! Goodbye Japan and thank you for everything! When I do find time I might take a moment to actually explain what I got out of my time in Japan and how I feel it benefitted me. For now, it’s back to bed to rest and get this virus out of me!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Dan, F3H3, friends, hash house harriers, hospital, Japan, party, Samurai hash, stitches, sumo hash, travel, vacation | 1 Comment »

The Seattle Saga

January 6, 2014 by Laurel

The past week has been a whirlwind of errands, parties, packing and goodbyes. Today I went back to the hospital to get my 6 stitches out, but the doctor could only take 1 out. I’m so irritated I have to not only go back, but it’s the day I leave Japan! My to-do list is pretty full, but what’s one more appointment?!

In the mean time, I was going through pictures on my old US phone and realized I never told the story of how I ended up deciding to move to Seattle. Yes, I’ve mentioned I want to get back into marketing, be near family and friends, run some races on my bucket list, but this has been quite the roller coaster since May 2013â€¦

In May, Dan’s stepmother asked me if I’d like to join her for the Princess Half Marathon at Disney World. I knew I was lacking the funds for another international trip (Dan and I had already committed to the Disney World marathon the month before), but I really wanted to try each Disney race once. I was talking about it with Dan, and agreed that while it would be fun, we can’t afford the extra flight right now. That was when I first brought up the possibility of moving back.

I always knew I wouldn’t stay as long as Dan here in Japan. But I had no idea what would give me that shove out of our nest here in Tokyo. Apparently it was the Princess half! At this point, I started entertaining ideas of moving to Orlando. I’ve always wanted to work for Disney, and have been pursuing marking jobs there for years. But alas, they prefer to promote within, and after speaking with many friends who work for “The Mouse”, they all say it’s best to get a foot in the door and work your way up.

So that was what I was determined to do! I decided I’d go to marathon weekend at Disney World January 2014, and stay there. But first, I gotta get a job there!

I went to Portland, Oregon in September to visit family, and applied to work retail at the parks while home. For the most part didn’t tell anyone. My friends told me that getting hired at Disney depended on timing- sometimes they took everyone, and sometimes they just weren’t looking for people. So I was pleasantly surprised when I got an online interview, and then an in-person interview! This was all happening really fast now, and they were interested in getting me out there by October, meaning I wouldn’t return to Japan in a few weeks as planned. Coincidentally, my mother was moving from her home in Portland to Aliso Viejo, CA, and I was no longer able to keep my storage in her garage. I gathered up all my boxes from her house and Dan’s mom’s house, and sorted through it all.

My mom’s living room was the crash pad for all my stuff. Until now she had no idea this chaos attacked her living roomâ€¦

So much of it got given away! I guess I just needed time without it to realize I don’t use most of it!

I flew out to Orlando and had my interview- I got the job pending my background check. Woohoo! I spent the next two days apartment hunting, which was exhausting. I got spoiled by my mom’s GPS in her car, and I was constantly pulling over to reconfigure my Google Maps on my phone.
Weather at 9:45am. Steamy!

I found two apartments I really liked behind Magic Kingdom, but they were a little out of my price range. And when I say behind Magic Kingdom, I mean literally. This was one of the ways I could go home if I leased there!

So, I was running into a problem. These apartments were new and beautiful, but came with a big price tag on the monthly rent. Also, let’s cut to the chase- I’m selling souvenirs at Disney World. Minimum wage and only guaranteed 25 hours/ week to start. Things didn’t look great, but I was determined to make it work!

I decided to mull things over with some ice cream with Rick and Sher. It was my first time meeting them, and they found me from my blog and Twitter! It was so nice to hang out with them while they happened to be in the area. I’ll see Rick again soon, he’s going Dopey at marathon weekend (5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon)!
Sher, Rick and I at Beaches & Cream

What was that in front of me? A giant mint, with fudge and caramel sundae.

This pretty much concluded a very quick trip to Orlando. But of course, Laurel and a rental car on the road means I need to stop somewhere stupid, tacky, and/ or touristy. So I foundâ€¦

It’s the World’s Largest McDonalds, boasting an arcade, party center, exclusive menu and epic tunnel town. I got some McNuggets, said hello to Mac Tonight (there was a giant statue of him), and went on my merry way to catch a flight at MCO.

As all this was happening, Dan was grieving painfully in Tokyo over the death of his cousin Josh. While I was in Orlando he decided to fly into San Francisco for the funeral, so we were soon united. I spent a lot of time with Dan’s family that week, and though the circumstances were less than favorable, it was so good to finally meet so many of them.

Dance party at Dan’s cousin Val’s house! Here’s Dan’s cousin Brenda and Aunt Carla, with Val’s two kids Hailie and Jake, and Dan’s cousin Becky’s daughter Stella. I’m so sad it’s blurry!

It was a day after Josh’s funeral that Dan and I sat down and talked everything over. Even if I got a second job, I would still really be pushing to make ends meet on my own. Not to mention I need deposits, a car, insurance, a new cell phone, pretty much everything to get by in the States. We decided that it just wasn’t practical. As much as we love Florida, it just didn’t seem feasible, especially because I had no idea when I’d be able to get into some sort of marketing position. In light of the recent events with his family, we decided Seattle would be the plan for now. Nothing beats being close to family. Dan has a lot of family on the east side of Portland, and my sister’s family is on the west side. And I already feel like I’ve missed so much!
When I moved to Japan, my nieces were 11. Now they’re in high school!

And Nate, naturally, became a Space Ranger

So when Dan went back to Tokyo, I got in touch with my bestest, belovedest friend Kelsey and inquired about taking up residency in her and her boyfriend Jim’s home. She was thrilled to offer me a room, and the deal was done.

That’s how I became Seattle-bound!

Kelsey waiting for me in the backyard. We’re excited for reading dates with lemonade, as soon as I figure out which boxes contain my pitcher collection!

In the end, I’m really glad Disney didn’t work out. At first I didn’t think I’d care about not being able to say bye to friends, but this past weekend has been unforgettable. And even though returning to Japan was only for an extra 3 months, it’s been so worth it!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged America, Dan, Disney, Disney World, family, friends, Kelsey, moving, Orlando, Princess half marathon, running, Seattle | 3 Comments »

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I’m Laurel!

Seattle resident with a love for running, hashing, baking, and being outdoors. Originally a journal for my family during my 3 years in Tokyo, Japan (hence the blog name), I now write about my every day life working at my local gym as well as nannying, running/fitness, as well as enjoying my hobbies.
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runner. baker. mover. shaker.

I’m Laurel!

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