"I Only Run in Purple." - Anisum's Road PRs in 2018

I have actually never been on this ride! Can you believe that!
It's one of my favorites. I like it because 1. Bad puns. 2. Our boat "broke" one time when we were on it at night. Not like stop the ride broke but just would only go really slow and caused a slight backup broke. And our skipper's radio stopped working. So one of the other boats got close enough to radio back saying our boat wasn't working correctly and it caused a delay. You might think this was a bad thing but we got the "Extra-Extended Nighttime Jungle Cruise" according to our skipper with even more puns (they have extra puns but not enough time to put them all out on one ride). We had a great time.

Can you actually do that? Like in away you can feel.
Yes, so it works best if you have four people in your party but it can be done with 2. During the middle of the ride when you enter the mine and the cart slows down you rock your body from one side to the other in time with the other person in your row to swing your cart back and forth. Since each individual cart has two rows if you don't know the people in the other row they may be displeased or not wish to participate.
Yeah, what does this mean?? I have only rode the Mine Train once!
So the mine train "carts" that make up the coaster are connected to the wheels that keep you on the track at the front and the back of the cart allowing the area you sit in to pivot back and forth with your body weight to more realistically capture that mine cart experience (at least according to Disney), you can kind of see what I mean in the prototype photo. It's a bit harder to see in the finished product.

220px-2011_prototype_car_for_the_Seven_Dwarfs_Mine_Train.jpg
 
Part 7: The Half Marathon and Epcot
So, the half. It was going to be my first half in a while so I was kind of excited. Unlike the previous races where L and I ran/walked together this one I was just running. L and I had agreed to that ahead of time. L had her intervals and was sticking to them. D woke up and headed to the waterpark to report for volunteer duty (though she had to make a stop on the way). We headed out at the same time so could get on the bus and headed to the start. I get a text while we're on the bus. I know who it is but I have to nonchalantly play it off because who would text me at 3:00 in the morning. I tell L it's my dad and that he woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and texted me good luck. I respond.

Then we head to the port-a-potty area to wait until they open the corrals. I look around for the DIS sign but fail to see it. For now I have to stay close to L. I get a call. I play it off like it's my mom saying she got up and is getting ready to head on a bus to go to the race retreat tent once it opens to ChEAR Squad. It totally isn't. I take a picture of L... just kidding it was a video. Someone comes up behind her and hugs her. It's L's friend K who I know from previous runDisney trips and events with L. See at an event K, D, and I shared a room. K was sad she wasn't coming to Disney with us and decided to book flights. Then she decided to book the Goofy via a travel provider. This was in early November. Here she was with two months of training, surprising L because she didn't want her to run alone. Now guys, L was nervous about running alone but like, she had planned for it. So while it was great that K came, I have no doubt L would have done fine without her. Still, we added another to our party.

I look around while they catch up and I still somehow miss the DIS sign even though I was looking in the correct spot by the L of the port-a-potties. So when the corrals open I head to them. We sit and catch up for a while until it's time to start. Shannon still wasn't wearing a matching Donald outfit but her Donald sign language was amazing. She had all his mannerisms down. Soon it's time to go. I say bye to L and K and prepare to head out on my own.

Initially L and K speed ahead of me but with the interval rate I pass them around mile 1 or two. Photo with the stilt walkers. Photo with the Mickey balloon. Almost to MK. Made it to MK. Bathroom in Tomorrowland. Now, I normally would not use the bathroom on a race course but my body has a schedule and sitting in the corrals for hours then running a half marathon does not jive with my body's needs so that bathroom break was inevitable. It also cost me an official PR. After the bathroom was run through the castle. Run out of MK. See D at the water stop. Take both cups of water from her. Drink them. Almost stop for penguins. See the awesome Star Wars pilot cheering us on again and tell her I love her outfit. See the group that tells you that there are buses, boats, and monorails. Roll eyes. Pass the sports beans section. Trample beans. Hit the ramp. Run up the ramp. Hear a girl have to do push-ups because "THIS IS THE PHOTO YOU WANT SOLDIER". Continue running. Hit the turn around. Run more road. Hit Epcot. Run through Epcot. Small choir. Finish.

I was only a minute off from a PR and I wasn't going at full speed given the marathon the next day. That bathroom break killed me but it was so worth it. I get my picture taken with my medal. Then I meet my mom by the stands and she gives me a pink rose. She has a sign cheering me on (I saw it briefly before I crossed the finish) and brings me a bagel from her breakfast. The bagel has peanut butter. We sit in the regular stands (I can't go in the ChEAR stands) and watch for L and K. We somehow miss their finish and decide to head back because I start to get cold. We hop on the bus and L tells us she's heading for the bus. She makes it on the same bus which is exciting.

D's back at the hotel room half asleep. We get in, shower, eat most of our boxes, and take a nap. We don't wake up in time for our Epcot Fast Pass. We head to Epcot anyway. Meet back up with K. Go around the world. I traded a pin. It got a Star Wars tsum tsum pin. We eat a pretzel. We ride Figment. Then we head to 1900 Park Faire.

I really enjoyed 1900 Park Faire. Compared to other Disney buffets it was a smaller buffet but I felt like pretty much everything I had was really good. There was Mongolian beef, mac & cheese, some squash ravioli I think, salmon, chicken, Caesar salad. I think that's most of what I ate. I managed to eat balanced without overeating which was a huge concern the night before the marathon. I finished with a Mickey rice crispy treat. Character interactions were fantastic. Cinderella and the Prince were nice enough but then Lady Tremaine came by and she asked my mother if we had all been married off. She told her just the one. Then she asked if it kept my mother up at night. She said, yes, especially that one and pointed to D. Lady Tremaine asked her what she thought was most important in a suitor and my mom said "Money of course." Lady Tremaine was pleased with that answer but warned her not to interfere with getting Anastasia and Drizella married to the prince. Anastasia pushes by Drizella to get to our table next and talks to us about how any picture with her in it is perfect of course. Drizella asks us what our favorite thing about her is. D says her voice. I say her hair and hair bows. L says her dress which isn't a satisfactory answer but she took a picture with us anyway.

We bid farewell to K who is heading back to the park and head to our hotel where we soak our feet in the tub (the hot tub was outside in the cold) and then head to bed.
 
Awesome race and a nice feeling not to go full out and still almost hit a PR! It's my fault you couldn't find the DIS meet sign. There wasn't one for the HM because I had forgotten it in the hotel room. Arrgghh! Blame me... :sad1:
 
Great race recaps so far, thanks for sharing. Awesome so close to your PR without full effort for sure!!!
 


Awesome race and a nice feeling not to go full out and still almost hit a PR! It's my fault you couldn't find the DIS meet sign. There wasn't one for the HM because I had forgotten it in the hotel room. Arrgghh! Blame me... :sad1:
Wow. You're the worst. I'll forgive you but only because I almost PRed without putting in full effort after using your training plan. :D

Great race recaps so far, thanks for sharing. Awesome so close to your PR without full effort for sure!!!
Thank you! I was very excited.
 
Part 8: The Marathon
I struggled a bit to write about the marathon because the whole experience is kind of a transcendent blur. I can remember races where I struggled so vividly I thought I wouldn't finish or so hot I felt like I would burst into flames. The marathon is different though. After some races I think to myself, I don't know that I need to do that again. I feel that way about the Dopey experience as a whole but that's because the waking up every morning really took away from my enjoyment of Disney. The morning after the marathon I was up for doing one again someday. I still struggle to describe the marathon because while I remember it, it almost feels like I watched it happen instead of experiencing it. Bizarre.

We woke up and took a bit of extra time getting ready. I put on throwaway pants because I was wearing my capris. They were great and I should have bought more cheap walmart sweatpants to keep me warm earlier in the weekend. I put on suntan lotion even though I knew I would probably have to reapply. My mom had snagged free samples of my running suntan lotion (Neutrogena Dry Touch) so I planned to pack one in my flip belt (spoiler I forgot) but I had a base coat ready to go. My flip belt was full of 5 vanilla hammer gels and three packs of scratch gummy because I knew I would need to fuel (I do one scratch gummy out of the 10 pack every mile and a hammer gel every 5). I also had lip balm in the bag. My sunglasses were trapped in my bra and my hat was firmly in place. I also applied some KT type tape onto my back (the tape was made to look like an 'X') because I had a stridebox sample I had been saving because sometimes my running posture starts to be lacking on really long runs and I didn't want to risk it. I grabbed a mylar blanket and headed to the bus with L. I should note when we got off the bus a volunteer said "WELCOME TO DISNEY ALASKA" which was cute. 10 points to them.

We arrived a bit late at the start and surprisingly I had to use the bathroom. I also saw the DIS sign so I urged L ahead to the corrals and spoke to a few DISers who were still lingering. Then I headed to the corrals and made my way to where L and K were seated. At some point after we left D headed to her volunteer location (course monitor in AK) and my mother headed for the monorails to watch in MK. We heard from both of them while in the corrals. We hung out until it was time to go and I had to ditch my warm pants because they were no good for running and my mylar blanket and we were off. I said by to L and K and started running my race. My feet were already tired and made their protest known so I didn't really push it. I was going to PR regardless so I just kind of went with how my body felt I didn't really check my watch much at all during the race.

Mile 1 through MK were similar to the day before with a few different characters. I noticed Launchpad and DarkWing Duck were out. They had been in the Race Retreat tent the day before because my mother had pictures with them. Once I hit MK my body was again reminding me that it had needs and I should find a bathroom. This time I tried Fantasyland and that bathroom was fine. I texted my mother since it would delay my castle arrival but she didn't see it. I didn't end up seeing her at the castle because of the timing but that was okay because I would see her at the finish.

After heading through MK it was time for Cone Alley and back behind Grand Floridian. A nice woman gave me some pretzel sticks. I saw some Team Shenangians members around this time and would be in the same area until almost AK. After passing GF we turned onto what for me was uncharted territory. In this area Disney placed what appeared to be the contents of one of their storage lockers with polar bears and giant statues and retired ride vehicles. It was kind of cool. Then I saw some members of the Adventurer's Club out. I think I saw from other people's pictures that they were rotating members on and off. When I was there Hathaway Browne and Otis T. Wren were out. I got a picture with them and Hathaway told us that "there's nothing like gin before mile 10 of a marathon".

I continued on until just before mile 10 when I got a call from K. She was tracking me and wanted to make sure I was okay because they were ahead of me. I told her yes that I just stopped for a bathroom break and headed on. Then came the out and back. I ditched my long sleeve shirt that I wore under my singlet around this time and I passed L and K as L was applying suntan lotion from the sample since she didn't forget hers like an idiot. I should have asked to borrow hers. Anyway after the out and back it was banana time. Luckily I was able to open it while running but despite being able to chew gummies, I was unable to figure out how to make my mouth work when trying to eat a banana. I just kind of took a bite off and swallowed it and did that twice before tossing the other half.

Then it was the backstage of AK. Shout out to the two people trying to work the vending machine when I passed. Hope you got your drink. I got a picture with the zebra and the crocodile from Festival of the Lion King. I was thrilled because the zebra is my favorite costume. Then I continued into the park and passed rafiki and timone. We ran around to Asia and despite being only 9:05 there was already a good line of runners for Everest so I skipped. One guy had already finished and headed to the park to tell us that 'this is what we were working for' while showing off his medals. At least I assume he finished because he had challenge medals but to run from the first corrals and presumably finish sub 3hr then change and head to AK seems like a lot. We continued to Dinoland and I saw D. We took a selfie and then I headed out the side to run the parking lot. One of the spectators held a sign that said 'You made better decisions while drinking' and really that may be true. Dopey was a lot. I stopped at the medical tent to see if they had suntan lotion and they only had spray which is the worst if it drips because my eyes burn but I decided to risk it and sprayed some on myself.

Then I headed on until we hit the road again. It was up and down the road and a guy gave me Swedish fish (my favorite) on the McDonald's overpass. Then continuing on I saw people heading towards DHS and I will admit I was a bit jealous. Then I saw Pluto but I didn't stop because it was time for WWoS which I had heard was the worst part. Running in and out and all around was kind of crazy with the terrain changes but it wasn't terrible overall. The one DJ guy said the balloon ladies were exiting AK at the time which was nice to hear. Disney started their joke signs around this time too which was a lot. Then around the baseball stadium and I was a mile 20? The whole thing was kind of crazy. I know there were bananas again somewhere in here but again I took two bites and was done. When I got out of WWoS I looked for L and K just to be safe but fortunately did not see them. I did see where things started to thin out when we turned back onto the road where Pluto had been and just before the ramp that would take me to DHS I saw the balloon ladies. They were a good 4-5 miles behind me and that gave me a surge of energy and confidence.

Getting to DHS seemed like a slog because I saw the sign but it was still a while before we arrived. Once there I got some candy (M&Ms) that I tried and failed to consume and ran past some rides but I was ready to be done so I didn't ride anything. Then the narrow path to Boardwalk which was slow because some people were walking (not run-walk-run but just walking) as a group and taking up the whole path. Once it opened up things were fine though. Great course support here. Then backstage and today construction Spider-man and Captain America were out and then run around the world. Before I forget I should note my mother also saw super heroes as the characters at the race retreat were Starlord and Dr. Strange. Back to running. I didn't stop at Mile marker 25 because of the line but I ran through Epcot and had a ball. I didn't bring money or my magic band so no margarita for me but given how well my mouth seemed to be able to chew non-running fuel it may have been for the best. I did stop to get mile marker 26 and then the choir was there and I ran and I saw my mother just before the finish and stopped so she could take a picture because I promised I would and then I crossed and wow. It was something.

I did the race and it still doesn't feel real. I felt bad but I was starting to chafe so I wanted to head back before my joints locked up so I texted my mom to meet me at the bus. I got my Mickey ear hat which I wore because I didn't have anywhere else I could put it and then I got my challenge medals and took a picture with them and met back at the bus. My mother had gotten me a peanut butter bagel and a sprite. I normally don't drink soda but I needed it. It was worth it. Then we got on the bus and headed back to the resort where I showered and ate my box (minus cheese product) and then went to take a nap. I forgot to take advil though so it ended up just being me moaning when I shifted so my mother brought me advil out of pity before going to meet L at the lobby to walk her back.

L returned and showered while D woke up to head to a friend's for a party (she would meet us for dinner) and L explained that not long after I saw her and K at Mile 10-11 K started to complaining her knee hurt from running on the grass. See given a flat surface next to the road L will run on grass because of a knee injury she got in high school. I always do better on roads so I run on the road next to L on the grass in these situations. K I guess followed her onto the grass for some reason and says that caused injury (though two months of training for a back to back half and full probably had something to do with it imho) so they ended up walking more and more until L ditched K at mile 22 to finish her race. She finished a good 15-20 minutes before K and waited until K finished to see her off before returning to the bus since K was getting her things and going straight to the airport.

Neither of us could fully sleep but L wanted salt and my mother wanted a beer so she went and got L and I some fries and a drink for herself and me from the cafeteria and poolside bar. It was delicious. We hung out for a while more before D returned and then we all headed to Poly to experience Ohana. I had been to Ohana for breakfast but dinner was going to be a first for me. It was my favorite. First I liked the bread. Then, I had the Lapu Lapu which was great and came in a big pineapple! Then salad was good and then dumpling and noodles and wings oh my! Then meat and more dumplings and noodles and bread pudding to finish it off. Also the fireworks were earlier than we thought so we got to watch them which was nice. As we were leaving Billy and his family would have been coming in if my recollection is correct from when ADRs came out but I did not see them.

To no one's surprise we were totally exhausted and headed to bed.
 
Also, while my planned outfits didn't end up being what I said, I did wear a purple top every day and got progressively more purple each day.
 


Also, while my planned outfits didn't end up being what I said, I did wear a purple top every day and got progressively more purple each day.

I was legit worried about whether you had enough purple. Loved reading your marathon recap, what a proud, proud moment! Congratulations!!!
 
Great recap! It's fun to relive the whole thing. Unfortunately we didn't make it to Ohanas. Before we went on the trip we decided to tighten the purse stings and cut it. Turned out to be a good thing because G was far too sick to have actually gone on day of.
 
I was legit worried about whether you had enough purple. Loved reading your marathon recap, what a proud, proud moment! Congratulations!!!
I was too. The combo of mostly cold with some warm weather really saved me because I have two purple running tops for the summer since I am not regularly doing back to back races.
Great recap! It's fun to relive the whole thing. Unfortunately we didn't make it to Ohanas. Before we went on the trip we decided to tighten the purse stings and cut it. Turned out to be a good thing because G was far too sick to have actually gone on day of.
Totally understandable. It stinks that G was sick. No one should be sick in Disney. :(
 
I've been running, I even have a training plan, I've still somehow forgotten to update this journal. :(
Unfortunately running and writing are not always linked. Hope the training plan is going well. Is your training plan targeted to an upcoming race?
 
Unfortunately running and writing are not always linked. Hope the training plan is going well. Is your training plan targeted to an upcoming race?
Yes! @DopeyBadger wrote me one that should hopefully get me a PR in both a half and a 10 miler with the 10 miler being the main goal. So far all has gone well other than shifting a run due to 48 hours of rain that caused some minor flooding.
 
All right guys. So following my Dopey Challenge, I found that I was pleased with my distance and wanted to focus on speed. See, I haven't run a half other than the one last month since October 2016 so I wanted to find one to PR because I've improved and I love 10 milers and was so close to breaking 2 hours in the one I did last spring (2:00:53) that I just reeeeeaaalllly wanted to improve that. So I went to Billy and asked if he could write me a training plan with the goal of doing both of those things this spring and he did. I'm now starting the third week but let me tell you about the first two weeks.

Week 1:
Tuesday: 3mi @ EB
Thursday: 3mi @ EB
Saturday: RACE!! - Chili Run 2mi
Sunday: 3 mi @EB

So, I started out well with this, I had the mileage all planned out. The race was more of a fun run because I was running for the food at the finish and also because I got the race entry for L as part of her Christmas present and told her I didn't plan on running for a while after Dopey (spoiler: after two weeks I was itching for a run) and made a big deal about how I was only doing it because it was two miles. It rained from an hour after I finished my chili run (enough time to grab two bowls and my free beer) until Monday at 12:00pm. And not just rain but like downpour with bouts of sprinkles. It was crazy and as of Sunday the town I live in was getting waterlogged so I pushed my run to Monday.

Week 2:
Tuesday: 3mi @ EB
Thursday: 3mi @ EB
Saturday: 4mi @ EB + Strides
Sunday: 5mi @ LR

So I completed all of my runs. Sunday was looking iffy as of Saturday night when we got a rogue snow storm (and after I was able to wear at singlet on Thursday too) but when I woke up on Sunday the sun was shining so bright that most of the snow had melted away. That meant I got my run in as scheduled.

Also this weekend I got some good news and some bad news. So, the good news, I got in to Broad St!! For those who aren't familiar Broad St. is a big 10 miler. In Running USA's analysis of the largest road races in the United States as of 2016 (the report was released in June 2017 so no 2017 stats yet) Philadelphia's Broad Street 10 Miler was ranked number 6. Broad Street maxes out at 40,000 runners officially and I believe roughly 35k of them get in through the lottery. Usually about 80-90% of entries get in through the lotto but that still means a few thousand are left out so I do feel lucky to have gotten in.

On the other hand I had planned to do a half on April 22 but I found out that the family event that was supposed to be the end of March may take place that weekend instead. Luckily, I didn't register for a race yet but unluckily it may mean having to move my half to a different weekend.
 
Congrats on getting into the Broad St. 10 miler. I wish we had more 10 miler races around here, but they are scarce. Bummer about your half though, but hopefully you can find another one to substitute!
 
Looks like a great start! Congrats on getting into Broad Street (someone else just messaged me this morning they got in as well - DIS meet!)! Bummer on the HM though. This other person also has a HM on 4/22 (wondering if you were doing the same race then as well). I'd say don't put the HM any closer to the 10 mile race (not 4/28 weekend). Ideally, you go with a HM on 4/7 or 4/8 if you really felt the need to double up on races. Although not having the HM on 4/7 or 4/8 will improve your ability to race the 10 miler on 5/6 (because more training time for it instead of recovering mid-training plan from the HM).
 
Congrats on getting into the Broad St. 10 miler. I wish we had more 10 miler races around here, but they are scarce. Bummer about your half though, but hopefully you can find another one to substitute!
Thanks! You should come run Broad Street one year. It's a big one. I think because of Broad Street we get a few 10 milers. usually there is at least one other on that same Sunday and one the weekend before or after and then I know there are a few in the fall. I think it just became a popular distance for the region because of Broad St.
Looks like a great start! Congrats on getting into Broad Street (someone else just messaged me this morning they got in as well - DIS meet!)! Bummer on the HM though. This other person also has a HM on 4/22 (wondering if you were doing the same race then as well). I'd say don't put the HM any closer to the 10 mile race (not 4/28 weekend). Ideally, you go with a HM on 4/7 or 4/8 if you really felt the need to double up on races. Although not having the HM on 4/7 or 4/8 will improve your ability to race the 10 miler on 5/6 (because more training time for it instead of recovering mid-training plan from the HM).
I know @sourire has run it in the past. I'll have to check on the Running Thread to see if anyone added it to their list. I'm away in early April so I would either have to do one on 3/25 or wait and try and fit one in after the 10 miler.
 

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