Happy New Year!

Here's to wishing all of you fine people out there a great and prosperous New Year! May it be filled with rock solid training, PR's, and increased health and longevity for you and your family.

Me personally, well, I'm finally going to get off the fence and commit to a Half Ironman for 2012. It's either going to be the Rev3 half at Quassy (Middlebury CT) which boasts many superstar pro entrants and a difficult and hilly course, or one I've heard about in Narragansett RI September. Either way, I'm pretty psyched and hope I come out with the desire to "TRI" a full in 2013 (if I could get into one...). So that's my big news for the new year.

As for 2011, it's been a great year of training for me. Just under 1600 miles of running with 600 or so on the bike and feel much stronger of a runner than when I entered the year. I think I have the Goofy to thank for that as I felt like my body responded after that race and demanded more miles as well as more quality mileage (interval and hill workouts, etc.). I also dabbled in the TRI training and race which was very interesting. Love the mental aspect that TRI brings to the table. So much so that I've purchased my first wetsuit and looking forward to putting it to good use in 2012.

As far as Disney goes, Marathon Weekend might be our only trip there this year as we are trying to save for a Disney cruise in 2013, but we shall see if I can get one more trip out of my annual pass before it expires in August. :-)

On the Team Voice front, I feel a little empty. By that I mean that I think that we all got so wrapped up in our personal lives and work lives that we had little left to come together as a team and do the things that helped bring the group together in the first place. I'm hoping that we can do something about that in the new year and resurrect the dream of sending a child to Disney! I know I'd like to dedicate some of my time to this if the rest of the team feels the same. :-).

Random Thoughts - Finally saw the Muppets yesterday, loved it! Just watched our Lion King Blu Ray, very cool as well. Nothing better than Lion King, in BluRay, on a 60" HD screen ;-).

Checking In...

Yes, I’m a blog neglector….  It’s been far too long since my last post, so here’s my attempt at getting back up to speed.

I think I last left this blog in October after a pretty darn good month, and to tell you the truth, it’s been more of the same since.  I’ve had a good November, posting 138.6 running and a single 13 mile bike.  December has been sort of an anomaly as I haven’t felt like I’ve trained a whole lot, but currently sitting on 84.02 running and 78 miles on the bike.  Going for a light 4 miler in an hour or so and then have a 20 miler planned for tomorrow as my last long run prior to Disney.  All in all, my speed is good, mileage is on….have been fairly healthy (knock wood) and the weather here has held out very nicely (with the exception of a 9 miler the other day in 24 degree temps).

So, in other words, I’m pretty much ready to roll in January!

October Recap

Simply put, best mileage month of the year, and a Marathon PR (I still owe a Marathon recap…soon, I promise)

 

Total Run Miles – 150.25

Total Bike Miles – 30

 

Total Run Miles YTD – 1264.93

Total Bike Miles YTD – 498.57

 

Some perspective:

 

October 2010 Run Miles – 95.55

October 2010 Bike/Xtrain Miles – 25.1

 

2010 YTD (Jan-Oct) Run Miles – 776.01

2010 YTD (Jan-Oct) Bike/Xtrain Miles – 205.71

I'm dreaming of a White....Halloween?

Yes folks, somewhere in the area of a foot of wet snow fell here over the past 24 hours (took this pic early in the storm, great snowman snow..wet). Luckily I was able to get a 7 miler in just before it started. Seems like we are also lucky to not have lost power. A good part of the state is out of power as the snow is ridiculously heavy/wet and brought down trees since they still have their leaves.

Kids are trading in the costumes for Yeti or various snow monster outfits....

Hartford Marathon - Done

I'll try to get a detailed report out soon, but the short story is that I finished, and clobbered my sub-4 hour goal. I don't have an official time yet, but it was right around 3:45:xx I'm pretty sure. My half marathon split I think was faster than my PR (1:48:56?) that i put in at Disney January 2010. Some cramping issues, but was able to overcome and not cost me my goal.

Going to rest a bit and then back to training for Disney in January where you know I'll be looking to take this PR down. :-)

Kummerspec....

Yeah, that one had me running to google as well. :-)  One of our funny guy vendors logged into a web meeting with this as his name today and after I figured out what the heck it meant, I sort of instantly related.  It's the weight gained as a result of emotional overeating.  So, no, I haven't gained a ton of weight or anything, but did gain 2 lbs due to my incessant evening snacking these past couple of weeks.  Running around 190 where I was averaging 188 the past couple of months.  Something about getting the loooong runs in that make me think I can eat "see-food" (as in, I see food and eat it).

Anyhoo, the marathon is actually this weekend and not last, as some of you fine folks thought.  17 hours away to be exact.  I'll have my iPhone with Mapmyrun on if you want to track me there (just need to send a friend request if you have it).

Goal is a sub 4hr marathon with the intended purpose of moving myself up a corral for Disney in January.  I was C corral last year and want to at least get up to B and think sub-4hrs will do it (or so they told me last year).  Yes, my name is Chris and I'm a corral snob....*hi Chris*  ......  ;-)

Nerves?  Well, yes and no.  I think they are caffeine fueled at the moment, but honestly, I feel like I could run sub 4hr without too much effort.  It's the ITB issue I had two years ago that go through my head.... Much has changed since then though.  I have added around 50% more miles in training for this one, I have added in a number of IT band stretches, and I'm around 5 lbs lighter than I was then..... Still, I feel like I've got alot invested in doing well and all I have to reflect on is the issue I had during that last marathon (not counting Goofy...a whole different animal that I was pretty happy with).

Anyhoo, I'm ready.  Packet pick-up tonight, then bed, then run...See y'all on the flip side!

Where's Waldo?

I'm still here... Just haven't been a great blogger or buddy as of late. Just one of those things that ebb and flow with my work life. Anyhoo, I'm good and ready for the Hartford marathon. Got a 21 miler in last weekend at race pace and feel pretty good about the 15th. Just trying to keep from getting sick at this point....

Doubt?

I always say that there is nothing like getting close to a race to make you doubt everything you think you know about your conditioning. 

So I completed a 20 mile training run this past Saturday, and overall it was what I was looking for at this point.  A little warmer out than I would have liked, but it is what it is.  Sunday and Monday go by and I'm still feeling pretty good about the run and my body fared pretty well with no aches and pains.  Until Tuesday...  For some reason I'm feeling like I've got a tweaked nerve or something in my right leg (typically my problem leg when I do have problems...).  It could be ITB syndrome again, but kinda weird as I had felt any issues there during my training runs in the past.  Doesn't seem right that it would just crop up 3 days later.  I did get a good bike training in on Sunday and 6.5 mile tempo run on Monday, so maybe that did it?  I dunno, but I toned it down to 3.2 miles yesterday and think I'm resting completely today.  Sitting here with an ice bag on my leg now for good measure.

Anyhow, this whole thing is affecting my mental state and putting doubts in my head about completing my training prior to the marathon 10/15....like, what if I get out there for my next long run of 22+ and end up hurting it worse, etc.   I know better than to give in to such foolish mortal-like thoughts, yet, it still sits in my mind.  Of course, that's all part of it right?  dealing with the insanity that is our own minds....  No worries though, I'm still going to push and complete my training.  If I end up with some pain after the last long run, then I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it.  No way I give up on my goals for October, come too far and worked too hard....

August Recap

Good month, probably a soild "B" overall.  I came into the month thinking I was going to come out knowing exactly where I stood for distance and speed for the upcoming marathon.  While I didn't get the two very long runs in, I did get a good idea of how my body would react after the 1 16+ miler.  I'm planning on 20 tomorrow and a 23+ in a week or two which should solidify my training for mid-October. 

Mileage-wise, I ended up with 124.65 running and added 45.2 on the bike.  Not a bad month considering I had a week long work trip and vacation in the World for an additional week. :-) I've kept my weight down as well, hovering around 189-190, which is down 5 lbs from where I have been the past 2-3 years.  With that, I'll be right at the weight I'd like to be for mid-October if not a couple of lbs lighter....just need to watch that evening snack-fest that I love. 

I was pleasantly surprised at my annual running total and where it positions me for my annual total in comparison to the past 3 years.  I'm at 990.75 for this year (added on 5.1 yesterday) with 4 months left.  I haven't had a month under 100 miles this year, so I'm looking at 1400+ miles running for 2011.  The past 3 years looked like this:
2010 - 982.46 (348.21 cross training miles)
2009 - 719.04 (1085 cross training miles...more due to injury and surgery)
2008 - 703.69 (*started running in February of 2008)

Feel like I've come a long way with my running since I decided I would start running for the 2009 Disney Half-Marathon....  You could say about my running.... "remember, this was all started by a mouse..."  I sometimes joke about writing a book titled "How Disney Saved My Life".  Honestly, it may not be far from the truth as I haven't been in this good of health and fitness since my first year of college...in certain aspects, I'm in better shape now than I was even then!  Had it not been for the challenge of running a half marathon in Disney, I may have never picked up running and who knows what would have happened. 

Rain, nor sleet, nor snow...

Or hurricane Irene was going to stop me from today's run!  Well, a power outage would have....so thankfully, we were one of the lucky ones and our power remains intact!  Got 9 miles in at a pretty slow pace.  Wasn't feeling all that motivated as we stayed up fairly late watching non-stop hurricane coverage.  The primary track of the storm was about 40 or so miles west of us (CT and NY border).  However, the whole CT coastline is pretty well flooded.  Seeing as how I work on the coast, I might be remote for the next couple of days while they clean up the area.  We were going to take tomorrow off anyhow and go to Six Flags in MA, but thinking we'll find something else to do as I'm sure they won't be in full operation.

In any event, today's run puts me a bit over 110 run miles for the month and I've got 45 bike miles in addition.  I'm planning on another medium run like today's for tomorrow if we've got the time and the roads aren't too bad (don't think I could do it again on the mill...God Bless Amanda for the gigunda # of miles she's racked up on the mill!!!!  I could do it on the work treadmills, but not my home one.. too squishy).

Still kickin'

Haven't posted in a while, just lazy I guess....  The week in the World was nice and I was still able to get 30 miles in while away even though I took a couple of days off due to vacation schedule.  The 1BR at Boardwalk Villas was okay.  Just okay as I think we were spoiled this past February when we stayed in a 2BR at Old Key West.  OKW 2BR's are HUGE!  Those rooms have tons of space and just worked for us from a layout perspective.  Differences between the two (aside from the extra BR) are full size fridge, full size washer/dryer, realistically seating for 4 people at the dining table, second bathroom (although, that might be normal for 1BR's to only have 1....however, AKV 1BR had two large bathrooms...).  I'm sure this is the same stuff other people gripe about as well.  The one very large thing BWV has going for it is location....and if you have ever been in real estate, it's "location, location, location"!  Many food options on the boardwalk, a quick walk to Epcot or the Studios...and the coup de gras (or something like that) the surrey bike!  Nothing like a surrey bike workout with a kid in the basket ringing the bell madly at innocent boardwalk strollers.  We used the pool a bit more than we normally do as well, but it was just okay.  The big hit at the pool was the water slide.  It is a pretty nice one and both kids were able to ride it. 

This is turning into a BWV review which was not my intent....but basically, we had a good time.  The one thing I didn't like though was with the purchase of the refillable mugs.  At BWV there are a number of places to refill them, but they don't "refill" them...they just note that you have it and then fill a vending cup and hand it to you...i like the self-serve approach that seems to be employed at all of the other resorts (unless this was a change that I missed somewhere).

Anyhoo, I'm still sort of on track for my marathon training.  Put in a total of 16.75 miles last Sunday.  Averaged an 8:39/mile, but I wasn't going for speed here.  The intent was to ramp back up on the longer runs as I wasn't going over 13 previously.  This weekend is going to be challenging as I might have to do it on the treadmill since Irene is going to hit us on Sunday.  I know there are people out there that can put in 20+ on the mill, but I'm typically not one of them!  We'll see....I think I really need to gear myself up for that one.... 

Speaking of the Hartford Marathon...they release the course info the other day and it changed from last year (and the previous year when I ran it last).  They took out a couple of hills I think, although, it appears to just be a reconfiguration of the same route I ran in the past....but it does put a couple of largish hills in the first couple of miles versus mile 20...that'll help for sure.

Will try to post more with the marathon a comin'!

Triathlon Recap (Long Post)

Race day stats - Sunday July 24th, 7:00a
* Weather - mid 70's, fairly humid with a fast moving thunder/lightning storm heading through 30 minutes prior to race start (slightly unnerving). Expected to get into the 80's and mostly sunny.

* Water conditions - 70 degrees, no reported jellyfish sightings (although, I get in the water to warm up and there is a jellyfish....), small waves mostly from passing boats (New London sits on long island sound...half sheltered by Long Island, but half open to the ocean)

Now that I've got the weather report out of the way.... :-)

Mindset - Coming into this race I was way more calm than normal, which is weird since I never have done this and did little in terms of transition practice and just started to really swim (in the pool) 25 days prior. Lorraine was able to answer questions and give some tips based on her experience, which definitely helped. I also did a bit of research online about rules and such, so I felt comfortable there. Having a very low expectation and just wanting to experience this also made it more comfortable.

Pre-race - We made the trek down to the shoreline the evening prior for packet pick-up. I picked up a spare inner tube for the bike after packet pick-up thinning I really want to finish this thing and couldn't if I had a blowout. Had dinner with the kids overlooking Niantic bay. Nice, but the kids were antsy as usual so we made it a quick dinner and got home. Collected all my gear when I got home and loaded it in the car for the morning. Lorraine got a tip about using a bucket to bring your stuff as well as having something to sit on during transition, really helped putting on socks and shoes :-). Applied race tats, number on the bike/helmet, ready to roll.

Left the house at 5 since it takes an hour to get there (down near where I work, fun drive...). Plent of time for me to setup my transition area and just walk around for a bit. They kept us ou of transition during the lightning storm, so my shoes got pretty wet...what can ya do as this storm wasn't expected and came out of nowhere. I did bring an extra pair of socks, so I figured I'd just made due.

Swim - made my way down on the beach and into the water for a quick warmup. With 70 degree water though, nothing was warm, lol. Still, I felt okay in the water. I wasn't sure what to expect with the swim, total wildcard, as I haven't done an open water swim in some time, not to mention one with a 100 or so dudes swimming around me! I was in the first wave and decided to move toward the back of the wave as I didn't want to have one of those "I got dunked on the swim" moments. The couple of guys around me in the back made eye contact with me and seemed to share that same sentiment. :-).

So here's the thing, I get into the water and start swimming and just couldn't catch my breath. It felt like a cross between an asthmatic reaction and anxiety rolled into one. I went from freestyle to breast stroke a number of times to try and get a groove going, but just couldn't. So I stayed outside of the groove and did what I could to muddle through the swim. I knew I wasn't going to drown or anything, but was extremely frustrated that my body was ready to go, but my lungs wouldn't let me.... :-(. Again, total wildcard. I finally made it to shore and almost couldn't believe that I finally made it....snapped out of it and ran up the beach to transition.

T1 - they had little pools with water in them for the sandy feet just outside of transition, awesome! I dipped in and didn't have a spec of and on my feet going to transition. I was wearing a swim shirt (will probably get a Tri top for the next one) that I got off quickly and threw on my Team Voice shirt (had some trouble with the shirt since I was wet...). Slipped on my socks/bike shoes and shuffled out. We were on a wet boardwalk so you couldn' really run on it... Made it to the parking lot unscathed and was ready for the bike.

Bike - after being so disappointed with the swim, I wanted to make it up on the bike/run best I could. I did a lot of passing early on and was keeping a good pace. There were several moderat hills and one very large/long hill which brought me to the lowest gear. The 45 year old Tri studs caught me by mid ride. You could hear the wheels on the Tri bikes come up behind you, so you know just to keep right and let them whiz by! I did get tonpass a couple of them back here and there, which was a good feeling, but these guys ride hard and often so it's difficult to even think about keeping their pace.

Ride was pretty uneventful overall. The course was curvy and slick from the rain, so I played it a little conservative, but did go at it as hard as it allowed me too. I took some cliff blocks toward the end for the run and loaded up on water as I didn't want that full feeling on the run. Made it back but was log jammed outside of transition....

T2 - bunch of people at dismount that I had to work around, but was able to okay. Felt a little more comfortable in transition this time as I dropped my helmet, shoes, threw on my run shoes and, well, RAN!

Run - legs felt a little solid/tight (calf mostly), but no pain or anything so I knew I'd be okay for the short run. Took me a minute to regulate the breathing, but it felt constrained like with the swim, just didn't have the capacity today...probably should have took a hit from the inhaler prior to transition...oh well... Mentally I was ready and felt like the run was my turf. Proved to be right given the runners on course as I started passing early and often. I only had one girl in her 20's pass me toward the end, but she must have been running 7's at that point...no hurt feelings on my end! I grabbed water at the two stops just to dump it on my head which felt good, but on the second one I dumped it too much in the front and soaked my shirt....it felt heavy and I started to get that "rubbing effect". I think y'all know what I mean by that! Only had 1 mile left though so I sucked it up and hit the gas. Finished with a sprint down the boardwalk.

Didn't know what my splits were for any part of the race as I didn't wear my watch or set the bike computer. Probably for the best as I like racing by feel. Being the philosopher that I am, I've been thinking about the race and have a growing fondness for the experience. I know I can do tons better on the swim and still improve on the bike/run as well...although, when I saw my run time my immediate reaction was "I smoked that run!" :-).

Great experience with more to come for sure, but my focus is on a PR for Hartford Marathon this October. I really want to have the same feeling about that run as I did for the Tri run and smoke that thing!

First Tri Report...Coming Soon

Lot of fun and good learning opportunity. I'll write up a report and post results once they are available.

Results are in, still need time to write up my recap, but as I figured...the swim killed me, more on that later.

Total Time - 1:42:03
Swim (.5 mi) - 24:36
T1 - 2:29
Bike (16.1 mi) - 50:19
T2 - 1:20
Run (3.1 mi) - 23:22

Something Different

Race day tomorrow, packet pick-up today. I've got pretty low expectations for this race, so there isn't too much pre race jittering going on. Still debating what to do for transition 1. I didnt purchase a Tri top to wear throughout, figured I'll do that if I like it and plan to do more. Anyhow, I think I'm going to wear my swim top and switch to a tech shirt for the bike and run. Figure I can do that pretty quickly. Other than that, I should be good.

Still debating one thing. Should I start with my age group, they have all men 44 and under going first at 7:00a, or wait till 7:12a and go out with the newbie group? If I go with the age group I'm thinking it's going to be a mish-mosh talent levels of which I'm probably somewhere in the middle of... If I go with the newbies, I'd try to get towards the front to try and keep ahead of the crowds....of course there is an assumption that the newbies are not speed demons.... :-).

I'm figuring that I can do the swim in 16-19 minutes, but kind of a wildcard at this point. The bike (16.1 mi), somewhere in the 48-52 range, and the run...ahh the run... Conservatively under 25 minutes, but thinking I could put in a 23-24 or so as this course is the definition of flat. So that puts me in the 1:30'ish range depending on transition times. Again, first one of these, so just going to take it easy and have fun. Maybe one of these days I can be an Ironman like Richard :-)

Mid July Update

Going well in my camp. Up to 74.xx miles running, just under 50 miles on the bike, and 110 minutes swimming. Last night I was able to get a mini Tri in (20min in the pool, 20min on the bike followed up by a 5k on the treadmill..thank god the kids didn't wake up and bother me! lol.).

Hoping to have time for two quality runs this weekend, kid schedule depending. Maybe some more pool time as well since I've only got a week to my Tri on the 24th.

Strong July Start...

I was wondering if I was going to fall into a July slump after 6 strong months of training.  Alas, I think I'm on track for one of my best months yet!  I'm currently at 37.8 total run miles (23 bike miles and 45 minutes of swimming), and ALL of them have been high quality miles.  No doggin' it to get through or anything like that, which is rare as I usually have a few of those (especially at the beginning of a month).  My speed is still improving, my weight is down a couple of lbs (hanging around 190.x, down from 193-195), and I've added in much more biking, and now, swimming.  What's not to like about July thus far?  :-)

With that all said, I've finally registered for my first triathalon.  A sprint tri, this one measuring out to 19.7 miles total.  .5 mi swim, 16 mile bike, and 3.1 run.  Weird as that's only 19.6...but advertised as 19.7...maybe the bike is actually 16.1?  Details, details.. LOL  I'm really excited to see what I can do at this event, just looks like so much fun and I'm sure I'll be hooked after this.

Looks like some DVC properties are finally coming available for the January timeframe through RCI.  Nothing for that weekend yet, but I'm stepping up my search as we'd like to stay on property without having to book 2 hotel rooms for us and the in-laws.  We'll take what we can get though and sort it out come January.  The other option is to stay off-site via timeshare, but I honestly don't want to rent 2 cars as I think we'll need it.  Now that I'm thinking aobut it, it's really not a bad problem to have....stay in DVC if it comes available or a huge 2 BR condo off-site to be in WDW for Marathon Weekend...how stressful... ha!

I haven't talked about goals in a while, but I'm still aiming for a sub 4hr marathon for the Hartford Marathon this October.  The pace that I've been running at lately will get me there easily and might even get me into the 3:40's, but I won't know till I start ramping up the longer runs which I hope to start doing this weekend (if the weather cooperates).  No goal for time in the Tri, just to not drown and have a strong bike/run as I know I can do that.  I'm more comfortable with the swim now that I've gotten a few sessions in and will continue to get at least 3 a week till the tri.

Mini-Tri

So, last Friday (I think..) I was trying to decide what type of workout I was going to get after the kids went to bed.  Maybe a swim...or a short run...maybe both....or perhaps a bike ride....  Or all 3.  Yep, that's what I ended up doing, all 3.  Started out with 20 minutes in the pool, followed by a 5k on the treadmill (Lorraine was still on the bike trainer), and then popped my bike on the trainner for another 20 minutes.  It was an interesting experience as you truely do use all kinds of different muscles in the body.  It was good though, and I felt pretty good about being able to compete in a Tri come July 24.

Of course, I do realize that these events are a bit different in execution than what I did at home, but it's more about mechanics than anything, and mechanically speaking, I'm confident that I can compete and do fairly well.  This is all based on being able to get 3 pool sessions a week in between now and then to build up the swimming muscles.  I'm pretty darnded excited about it, actually. :-)  I set this goal 2 years ago, and I'm going to meet it right on time, nothing better than that.  Now, if I could just get Lorraine to buy into my hairbrained "climbing Everest" dreams! LOL

This month has started off pretty well, got that "mini-Tri" in and surrounded it with some quality running.  27.3 miles thus far in July to complement the minutes in the pool and 13 miles on the bike.

Vacation coming soon, woohoo!  Looking forward to the blazing sun down in Florida and the 80 degree morning runs.  No, seriously, I'm looking forward to it.  :-)

"...I said, but I'm TIRED...I've been walkin' all day!"

"that don't confront me none, as long as I get the rent money by next Friday...." 

yeah, I'm weird....a little Thorogood for y'all.

Feels like I've been running all month though, so yeah, maybe I am a little tired...  Still, nothing like the mileage that Amanda has been doing! WOOT! 

I'm proud of the 126.65 run miles I put in during June (second best monthly total for me), and even adding in 107.22 bike miles (and one 20 minute swim last night ;-)) for a total of 233.87.  Not my highest run total, but I wanted to add in more bike and did that, so it's all good.  The swim last night was good, definitely showed that I haven't swam in a year, but I know that will change as soon as I start getting more reps in over the next month.

Annual total - 732.5 run miles; 265.72 cross-train miles.

I think I found the Tri that I'm going to compete in to meet my goal of at least 1 for 2011...  http://www.hartfordmarathon.com/Events/Amica_19_7_Triathlon_Ocean_Beach.htm  The issue....it's in 24 days.  I know I'm fine with the bike and run part, but want to make sure I don't drown prior to getting to those parts! LOL  Having said that, I'm confident that I'm in good enough shape to quickly ramp up on the swimming to muddle my way through it and then make up some ground on the bike, but more likely on the run.  Still need to talk with Lorraine to make the final decision, but I think I'm doing this one.  Wish I could do the one that my company puts on, but we'll be in the World when they hold this in August.  What can ya do.

Where did June go?

I'm not sure where it went, but it flew by without me even noticing.  I'm at 111 or so running miles for the month with 99 on the road bike.  So yes, I have upped my bike miles considerably for the month and feel better for it.  My run speeds have gotten faster as well, or I think they have....

I've still got to find and sign up for a tri of any distance as well as pick up a 10k and a half.  With time flying the way it has, I'm not sure I'll get all of that in.  The most critical is the tri as it was a goal of mine for this year from 2 years ago.  Which reminds me, I have to start swimming..  The other critical goal is sub-4hr Hartford Marathon in October, which I think I'm setting myself up for nicely with the traning I have done so far this year.  I still do need to test it out on the 16-20 mile runs, but that's coming pretty soon, all in due time.

On the Disney front, ADR's window opening soon, how cool is that.  Also, we went to see Cars 2 the other day.  Well, my daughter and I were able to see it while Lorraine chased my son around...  Anyhoo, I really like it and thought it was another quality Pixar product, but I'm a sucker for this stuff and not a hard critic. :-)  Can't wait to check out again to take in all of the detail that Pixar puts into this stuff.

Mid-June Report

60.25 miles run, and 62.22 miles biked in June as of yesterday.  Kicked up the biking this month for sure. I don't really feel too different, but sure the cross-training is helping to keep my legs fresh.  I do notice that I am less fatigued during my speed and hill workouts and have been able to increase the overall speed as well, but that could just be due to the continued mileage totals since January. 

Anyhoo, mid-year and I'm feeling pretty good.  I do need to get back to at least 2 longer runs a month as I haven't been able to do much more than 6-8 in any given session.  Targeting Sunday for a 13 miler, but we'll see as it's Father's Day and all and i don't know what the schedule is. :-)

Still need to find a Tri and register for it...been laaaazy...

Race Roster

So I was thinking yesterday about how I'd like to attack the rest of the year from the "event" perspective.  The only one I'm registered for (aside from the Disney full in Jan) is the Hartford Marathon in October.  I do want to get in at least 1 sprint Tri (or longer distance), but have not selected one yet.  What I think I might do is to register for escalating events with Hartford Marathon topping it off in Oct.  What I mean by that is that I just recently trained for, and PR'd, a 5k.  What I'd like to do in the next 30 days would be to do the same for a 10k, and then a half in the following 30-60 days.  The thought process is that the training for each will help me keep the speed goals as well as escalate the mileage appropirately to get me to the marathon. 

This week I did drop the run mileage/intensity down a little to ease the lungs back from whatever I had last week.  I was able to put in a few back to back sessions run/bike too, which helped as well.  Planning on ramping up the bike miles this month to save the legs although I'll probably end up doing more of both (time permitting).

May Wrap..

The chest congestion is still hanging around and being a nuisance, what can ya do.  I've still been able to get workouts in despite it.  Although, yesterday's run was very difficult as it felt like I had half the lung capacity.  Ended up with a fairly slow 5.2 miles, but happy that I toughed it out.  Might do a longer bike today, but we'll see.

May run miles - 125.55 (was on target for 140+, but last two weeks were challenging with the health issues)
May bike miles - 47

2011 Total Run Miles - 605.85; Cross-training miles - 158.5

Another Cold?

Well, the training still has been good. I've been working more bike into the mix as well. I developed a slight cough yesterday and it feels like it's getting worse (moving into the lungs) which makes for tougher breathing during workouts. I might go a little lighter on the running the next couple of days till I can shake this.

Solid Week Thus Far...

Close to 28 miles logged this week which includes the 5k PR, and great speed and hill workouts.  I'm still working on juggling in some bike miles, but feel pretty addicted to running since the Goof this past January...so I feel like I'm cheating on my running if I do the bike....just a mental block that I need to get over I suppose.

Still need to find myself a good sprint-tri so I have something to shoot for this summer, will post when/where once I get a chance to do that.

On the Disney front...wish I was down there this weekend for the opening of Star Tours, but sure it'll still be just as great when we get to it in August ;-).  Also, thanks to Trace the Disney Dude for a link to the Goofy sticker for the car!  I recall saying how great it would be if they made a 39.3 sticker like the 26.2/13.1 stickers and viola, there it is on Ebay!  I bought one and pretty sure I'll end up ordering another....

Newington Library 5k

Great day for a race event. Mid 60s and the downpour held off long enough for both Lorraine and I to finish. We both PR'd to boot. Mine was 21:58, 16th overall and 2nd for my age group. Lorraine came in at 27:04 and I think was 98th overall (not sure on the age group yet). They said there was just over 300 runners, great turnout for this event. I did get a small medal for being 2nd in the age group, kinda cool...first time for me.

Absent....

So I never wrote to recap my WDW Full Marathon, so I'll do an abbreviated version here.  First, I've been a bad blogger and blogger/commentor...  I do want to get better though moving forward, so here's to hoping!

Quick update before I get into the WDW Full Marathon recap.  Just over 114 run miles for the month and it looks like I'm on track for about 126-130 total running, with some bike miles thrown in for good measure.  That would equal my best run mileage month on record, so I'm pretty happy with it.  I did purchase a new road bike and looking forward to trading in some run miles for bike miles pretty soon.  The weather hasn't really been condusive for that yet.  The bike is a Specialized Secteur, pretty much an entry level bike, but much better than trying to ride the mountain bike on the road.  I'm sure I'll chat about the experience as I use it, so stay tuned.  The hope is that I'll be able to take in 1 or 2 sprint Tri's this year.

On the race front, I'm signed up for the Hartford Marathon in October as well as the WDW Full and the 5k (running with my daughter).  Aside from that, I do plan to enter the sprint Tri that my work puts on in August (as long as it doesn't overlap with my vacation...) and a couple of 5k's in the summer to keep the speed thing going.  Shooting to take down my PR of 23:11 this May in a local 5k....i think I can sneak under 23 based on recent workouts. Will give it my best shot anyhow.

WDW Full Marathon Recap:

With the drama of the half behind me, a good nights rest, some ice on the calf....I woke up early and tried my first set of KT Tape on my calf.  I think the compression socks that I purchased after the half and the ice bath really helped.  However, as I made my way to the bus stop I was still limping along with some moderately intense pain in the calf muscle.  Of course, that didn't inspire confidence, oy.  Even getting off the bus down the steep slope of stairs proved to be a challenge, prompting a number of looks from those around me probably wondering why I was going to attempt to limp a full marathon.  Still, I crancked up my music and tried to forget about anything around me. 

Met up with Justin and Amanda thinking to myself "and then there were 3..."  Of course, it was a bit more crowded with more T.V'ers running the half, but we were warriors ready to give this thing our best shot.  With Justin's back, my calf, Amanda's knee's...we were like a M.A.S.H unit or something.  But hey, that comes with a level of toughness I suppose...taking on 39.3 miles in what amounts to a 30'ish hour period of time isn't trival for most mortals (even foolish ones).  Although, I didn't really expect to have any issues with the half, so my confidence was definitely rattled.

One big mistake I made on both days was clothing.  I had it completely backwards.  I was in winter garb for the half and sweated my rear end off, and then dressed in shorts and a t-shirt for the full when it had to be 8 degree's or so colder.  I was frozen at the core for all of the pre-race and didn't thaw till about mile 8ish when the sun started to come up.  Not sure how I messed this up since I was packed and prepared for anything....next time...

The last thing I wanted to do was to limp around C corral for an hour, so I decided to use the overpass behind the corrals for an extended warm up.  Light jog with an occassional stretch and then a full stretch at the end.  Was thinking that I should have done this prior to the half as my legs really loosened up during this time, lesson learned.  Was able to get back to my corral about a couple of minutes prior to the overal race start, perfect.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...go time...well, almost.  We were able to move up a little bit anyhow, watch the B corrallers go, and then it was our turn.  I planned to go very lightly as I hadn't run this course before and wanted to make sure my leg had every chance at finishing.  Felt pretty good actually, almost like I could have kicked it up a notch, but didn't.

Miles past and the leg remained okay.  I did stop and stretch at any sign of tightness as I just didn't want to take the chance.  My ITB was good for most of the race partly due to the strap I put on it, but also the stretching routine I adopted after my issues in the Hartford Marathon way back when.  Still, I would stop occassionally and stretch pretty much everything.  I was happy to see Jeff W. in MK just prior to making the turn off Main Street, great to see a familiar face, definitely a morale booster.  As I passed the half-point I did a mental check and passed with flying colors.  It wasn't till about mile 15 or so that I started to feel a little sluggish.  Not sure what it was all about, might have been the bananas that I ate around that time, who knows.  Still pushed on, stretching here and there.  Coming out of Animal Kingdom and into the parking lot is where I got my next boost when I saw Rae and Erik.  They had a bag of goodies and Icy Hot which I put all over my ITB/Legs/etc.  Felt good to see them and hear about how Justin and Amanda were doing at that point.  I picked up the pace a little bit after that and really only slowed down on the overpasses.  Felt good overall and didn't think I was going to hit the wall at 20 like my past experience.  The Studio's were up next and the only real memory I had there was these insane park goers at the "crosswalks" sprinting across in front of runners and knocking down cast members that were trying to hold them back for the runners.  I tell ya, if one of these folks tried to get across in front of me, I would have had to mow them down...not cause I wanted to, but there was no way I was going to stop or dodge someone after 20 or so miles of running! 

Gotta end this post, yeesh...  Once I made it to the walkway that connects DHS and the Boardwalk I knew I was golden!  We have stayed at the Beach Club frequently and that's my run route, so it sort of felt like home...or something like that....I stopped once on the bridge next to the Swan to stretch..picked up the pace and ran all the way through the finish.  Only regret I had was that I didn't wait for the Goofy photo...or the regular marathon photo...not sure why, I probably wasn't thinking straight... 

Not much to else to add other than heading back to the hotel for an ice bath after a long stretch session.  The odd thing is that I actually felt physically great...  No issues with the calves or ITB, nothing...I figured I'd be a wreck after that race, but I felt good...tired...but good.  Nothing like a marathon after a half marathon to cure what ailes ya I suppose.

So I didn't hit my combined Goofy goal of 6hr 30 minutes, but came darn close at 6hr 35min xxseconds... so I really can't complain about considering that I didn't think I was going to be able to run on Sunday.  I'd like to do this again in 4 years for the 10th anniversary of the race, but next year I'm going to just do the 5k with my daughter and the full marathon on Sunday.  We'll get to watch Lorraine run the half on Saturday, which will be different for me.  So, I finally got this book of a report out, much smaller posts to follow, I swear!

Marathon Weekend Day 3 - Race Day #1

Day 3 – Saturday January 8, 2011  (another loooong post)

Woke up bright and early (okay, maybe not so bright) at 2:30am.  Felt much more relaxed about the Half-Marathon than I had the past two years.  I didn’t worry about whether the alarm clock was set correctly, or have any race anxiety.  This is probably due to the fact that I didn’t have a time goal, per se, just wanted to have a good injury free run in prep for the full marathon.  It’s funny how 13.1 isn’t really all that daunting when you work toward a full marathon training plan, almost seems light work at times.  Trust me, I don’t actually think it’s light work, just relatively speaking. J

The weather was a question mark so I took the conservative route and wore winter running tights, shorts, long sleeve tech shirt and my short sleeve Team Voice shirt over it.  Brought the gloves and hat as well, no freezing my buns off this year!  Okay, so, in hindsight, it was a bad move and probably led to some issues.  While it felt chilly when I peeked my head out the door prior to leaving, it was actually in the mid-40’s with no wind and it got warmer quick.  Wasn’t much I could do about it by the time I realized my error (mile 2 and I was sweating pretty hard due to the layers).  I hung out at our meet up spot and waited for everyone to show up.  Shortly thereafter, Team Justin showed with the rest of our Team Voice folks close behind (Amanda, Jeff, Jonathan, and Jeff’s friend Deb…can’t recall if there were others…probably waited too long to write this up!).  Jeff then reminded me not to run too fast as his wife’s phone was going to get the split time notifications, got it, don’t run to fast…wasn’t planning on it anyhow, lol!  We hung out for a bit and chatted, but I was starting to get antsy so I said good luck to everyone and headed to back check.

As you might have read from others, we were held on the other side of bag check for whatever reason.  I made my way to the front as I thought the crowd was just lines for the Port-o’s, but alas it was not.  Helped a newbie with his D-tag while I was waiting, it was upside down and I would have hated for him to not have his times recorded for his first half-marathon. J  He thanked me and we ended up in a conversation with a couple of other folks as well.  One of the folks noticed I was in A corral and said “you’re in A, huh, you must be one of those fast guys…”.  I got a kick out of that as I would NEVER call myself fast, but do try like heck to keep getting better and love competing with my own times.  I tell ya, I’m amazed at what my body has been able to do these past 3 years since I decided to start running.  Maybe I shouldn’t be amazed, maybe it’s always been there waiting to be unlocked.  I just remember when I was younger and even at my best fitness levels, my lungs just wouldn’t allow me to accomplish speed and distance….was very frustrating and probably why I never got into running…  Anyhoo, I’m way off track.  So they finally allowed us to head to the corrals and I went directly there.  What I should have done was stay out on the highway and do an extended warm-up….  I did a light jog for about 10 minutes and stretched in the corral.  There weren’t too many people in the corral at that point (they were all out warming up like I should have been!).  I moved all the way up to the start gate, kinda had a Bob Uker moment “I must be in the front row…”.  I had started in Corral A two years back for the half, but was in the rear of it, so it didn’t feel the same.  Last year I was demoted to B, so I definitely didn’t have the experience…  Anyhoo, Al Roker and company were running this year and after their bit on stage he was one person away from me talking to folks in the crowd, he seemed pretty excited to be there.  Although, he didn’t look like an A Corral runner ;-), good to be a celebrity I suppose.  I took a quick video of the countdown and start and was off!

It was tough to hold back a bit on the pace, but I knew that I needed to save the muscles for the full.  Sort of good news/bad news, I was way too hot with all the clothing so it did help me to regulate the run.  I stopped once to use the Port-o, something I never do, and hit every water stop, alternating water and powerade.  Had a cramp in my back for pretty much the whole run, but it was a dull pain so the slower pace made it pretty insignificant.  Running up Main Street was outstanding as usual, took a quick peek through the crowd to see if Rae/Eric had made it there, but didn’t see them.  No worries, I knew it was going to be tough for them to get around to seeing everyone as we all run very different paces.  Tried to take a couple of pictures from the iPhone during the run, but they didn’t come out very well, so I gave up on that.  The rest of the run was uneventful.  The earlier start was helpful as I was farther along the run before the sun started to come up.  With the heat issues, it was a welcome change. 

So I finished, within a minute of what I wanted to run this at (2hr 1min), did a mental check on the muscles, no major aches or pains, check.  Walk through the finish area, go my medal, took a picture and decided to get a quick massage….mistake.  Decided on 15 minutes for the massage, hopped up on the table (sweating profusely) and the girl went to work. Quickly turned into pain as she did something and my left calf muscle locked up to rock-like status and hurt immensely!  I asked her to hold off for a second to loosen it up, but she kept at it….ugh…  finally I sort of twisted myself so she had to stop.  It unlocked, but when she did something else, it locked up again and now it felt like it was tearing muscles….holy painful Batman!  She asked one of the other guys to look at it..he worked on it a bit and at this point I was just praying for my time to be up.  I got out of there and did some stretching in the parking lot…seemed to help, but my calf felt like jelly now and was in pain.  I was debating as to whether I should wait to see the other Team Voice folks finish or not, but I knew I had to get back to the room and into an ice bath ASAP.  So I headed back.

By the time I got back to the room, the sesamoiditis in my right foot was acting up so I was hobbling on both legs at this point….Oy Vey!  It’s all good, I figured an ice bath would fix it all and we’d be good to go.  Filled bags, buckets, and the like up with ice (of course the ice machine was in the next building…  After the bath I felt a little better and figured that through the day it would heal up.  With that in mind, I must have stayed in the room to elevate and rest the legs, right?  No, of course not, why would I do something that would help me!  I made my way to MK sporting my new Half Marathon finishers medal.  My plan was to walk around casually and sit and relax as much as possible though (which I think I did for the most part).  I do love all of the congratulations and smiling faces when people see the medal as well as the mutual congratulations for those that completed it as well.  I didn’t wear my medal around the park a couple of years back and I learned my lesson, it’s a requirement of competing in marathon weekend!  I met up with Amanda, Rae and Eric and we hit Pirates and then the Team Voice Dole Whip meet.  Team Justin was there as well and Jonathan and Steve Swanson (Muppet Cast) joined us as well…forgetting someone….oh right, Team Wasowski was there too!  We toasted our DW, chatted for a while and split up for the most part.  I’m not going to get into the whole “finishers medal” thing as I believe it’s been sufficiently covered and beaten to death!  Amanda and I headed for the expo as I felt like I needed to find some sort of relief for the calf issue.  The expo was pretty cleaned out at this point, but I did manage to find a pair of compression socks that fit me and picked up a roll of KT Tape.  Thanks to Amanda for putting up with my whining! And standing around at the expo while I hemmed and hawed about what to do. J  I was pretty tired, so I headed back to the room right after to put out my stuff for the marathon and get some sleep.  Put out shorts and my Team voice shirt, no way I was going to go through the heat stroke again the next day, right?  Yeah, you’ll see what happened….

Marathon Weekend Day 2

Day 2 – Friday January 7, 2011  (loooong post, ye be warned!)

After my fun Thursday evening and Disney transportation adventure…..As Justin put it so well, “when Disney transportation works, it works very well. When it doesn’t work, it fails miserably..” or something like that. Friday morning it worked in the “well” department. I was up by 7:00am to get ready for the Studios. I wanted to be there at rope drop for a secret reason….okay, I’ll you guys in on it…just you guys though….if you get there at rope drop, you can get over to Toy Story Mania to get a fast pass in order to avoid the lines. Okay, don’t tell anyone else though as we don’t want it to get all crowded and stuff.  So, I made my room coffee and headed to the bus stop near Acadian House of Port Orleans Riverside. Side note on the resort. I asked for a room close to transportation and that’s exactly what I got. The building I was in was about as close to the bus stop as you could get. Also, as anyone who’s stayed at PO would know, there are like 5 stops between the two section of the resort, and it just so happened that mine was second to last, so I didn’t really spend much time on the bus, thankfully! This particular morning the bus to DHS showed up just as I finished my coffee, perfect timing, with little to no one on it. Only took a few more minutes and I was standing in line waiting for them to let us past the ticket entrance. I was second in line actually, and ended up on the front line for rope drop (first time for this).

The studios is my favorite park (although Epcot is starting to creep up there) and rope drop is one of the reasons. See, I love movies, so the park open is right up my alley. The two guys who do the whole “you’re big opening scene to Hollywood” thing is hilarious and really gets me excited to be in the park (Magic Kingdom obviously has a great open as well). Rope dropped and the usual running madness began. Of course, Disney does the crowd control thing and has the Toy Story team meet you in front of Brown Derby and walks the horde down to the ride/Fast Pass dispensers. I wasn’t going to run….39.3 miles in the coming days would be enough for me, so I walked and ended up #2 at one of the Fast Pass dispensers anyhow. As I walked back toward ToT I noticed the Fast Pass line was all the way to Voyage of the Little Mermaid, man that was quick. I hadn’t really eaten so I stopped by Starring Rolls Café for some coffee/water and a couple of bananas. Found a bench in front of the candy shop there and allowed a Cast Member to stare at me while relaxing with a banana. Not sure why that was so amusing to her, but it was…maybe it was the chaos going on around me and my ability to sit there and relax while it unfolded around me?

I ended up riding Rock n’ Roller Coaster as the line was only about 10min long. We had a Cast Member who was playing along with the pre-show script, something I don’t recall ever happening before… He did the “how about some backstage passes for these folks…” prior to Steven Tyler’s “yeah, backstage passes, that’s a great idea” or something like that. Got a chuckle out of the crowd prior to the doors opening and all of us going through what I call “the sausage maker”. I know I’m the master of the obvious, but my favorite part of RnR is the first 10 or so seconds. The rest of the ride is cool and all, and I love the blaring Aerosmith music, but something about being shot down the hallway into a loop that fast is exhilarating and I pretty much always scream like a girl. LOL After all that, and seeing how many spots were on my clothes from the lovely black lights….I ended up fast passing Tower of Terror and heading back to Toy Story for my FP there. I still haven’t figured out how to score over 300k at TSM and almost always end up in the 210-260k range. Still, it’s usually good for best in car, which makes me happy ;-). Was able to hit a few more attractions to round out a pretty productive day at the park and was also able to catch a seating of American Idol for my first time. I really like what they have done there, very
professional stage and theatre, must feel like an outstanding opportunity to budding singers who’ve never been in the spotlight (literally). Although, I’ll tell ya, I’m not sure if the rumors are true, but there were too girls who were obviously amateurs and one guy that smelled like a ringer. I had heard they do this when they don’t get a good enough talent pool, but whatever…I enjoyed the show regardless.

4:50 ADR at Mama Melrose with Jeff and his group, Amanda, and myself was enjoyable. Sure, it was a far cry from the 13 we had expected, but hey, sometimes stuff happens and you just have to make the best of it. Poor Rae and Eric got on the road late, and Justin and group enjoyed a late lunch at 50’s. I tell ya, it was probably the best time I’ve had at Mama’s though as the place does suit itself better to smaller groups. Also, our server was quick and accommodating (not something I’m used to there…).

Man this post is getting long…. Okay, wrapping it up, promise!

So I headed back to Port Orleans after dinner to lay out my stuff in prep for the Half Marathon in the morning. I got off the bus at the main entrance to pick up some fruit or something for the morning. Apparently, Fulton’s shop doesn’t sell fruit…disappointing since they do have fridges (needed to go to the cafeteria, but didn’t know this). I picked up a box of mini-muffins and tried to find my building in the dark. Of course, I took the multi-mile journey through alligator bayou instead, growing more and more frustrated with the layout…Finally got back to my room though, quickly put my stuff out, D-tagged my shoe, drank some water and tried to get some sleep. Now, I thought it might be cold in the morning so I put out my winter running tights a long and short sleeve tech shirt along with my skull cap and throw away sweatshirt. I’ll get into why this is important to know tomorrow…..and how it led to me freezing my rear-endus off for the Full Marathon…
See you real soon!

Marathon Weekend Day 1

I’ve never done a great job on the trip reports, I typically just dump the whole trip in one post and hope for the best.  Not this time… I’m going to take the day by day approach and string everyone along for a while. 

Day 1 – Thursday January 6, 2011

Travel Day

So, after becoming a weatherman in the weeks prior, it was time to get on the plane and head for the World.  Woke up at 4:30a or something (which I thought was early…till I hit Saturday and Sunday morning).  Of course, it never really feels early when you’re heading out for a trip.  Checked my bag the night prior, so it was an easy drop off and on to security.  With all of the craziness around security and pat downs recently I was fully ready to call a psychiatrist right after security to discuss my repressed issues, but no such luck.  I went through the metal detector as I normally do (even got a compliment at how I correctly spread out my electronics and such in the correct baskets, still remember from my travelling days, ha!).  Skipped my usual McDonalds pre-trip breakfast and chose a coffee and a fiber-one bar that I had brought (starting out the trip with a good choice….good stuff).  Airport has free wi-fi, which is more than I can say for Disney…..when the heck are they going to get with the times… 

Flight was uneventful and as smooth a ride as it comes.  I chatted with a family in the row across from me.  The husband was going Goofy and the wife was running the half.  Had my Pfizer hat on, so the wife asked if I worked there…turns out, so did she, small world. J  Nice couple (and daughter).  Wished them luck as we walked through MCO and I bolted towards Magical Express.  There was a huge line at their check-in counter, which was the first time I’d seen that…cruisers maybe?  Anyhoo, I walked straight through to the Port Orleans line, waited for like 2 minutes and we got right on the bus.  Since the flight got in early, I was about 30 minute ahead of schedule, cool. 

Since it was only 11ish, I didn’t expect my room to be ready, but I checked in and viola, it was ready!  Port Orleans is a pretty large place, easy to get lost…which I did, but that comes later.  The room looked clean, but obviously not too far off from needing an update.  Had a mini fridge, which I didn’t expect since I didn’t ask for it (brochure said you need to ask…), but worked great for the several bottles of water I kept in it.   So, after investigating the room for a minute, I called Lorraine to chat.  Tough trip to be away from her and the kids, sure it sounds good in principle, but I did really miss them and the craziness that comes along with it.  Decided that next year we’d have to do this as a family.

So, I changed into shorts since the temps were probably in the mid 60’s (20’s at home) and I was rebelling against the bitter cold we experienced Marathon Weekend 2010.  Should have brought a sweatshirt though as I knew I was going to be out all evening.  Anyhoo, I hopped a bus to packet pick-up…excited…anticipation building….walked up like a pro since I had done this a couple of times…smiled at the folks directing traffic as if to say “no need for help, I got this”, and they nodded as if to say “yeah, yeah, move along you Goofy SOB…” LOL.  Yes, yes I am Goofy….this time..  Slight miscalculation though.  I went down to the main floor of the pick-up building and didn’t see the signs obviously noting that Goofy registration is upstairs on the other side of the building.  But the folks on the floor were very smiley and nice, and directed me correctly.  Picked-up the packed and moved quickly to the expo.  I noticed on my way out that they had marathon merchandise on the floor of the packet pickup.  Should have shopped there, mistake…  The Milk House was jam packed at noon on Thursday….but I squeaked through and got to pick-up my shirts/bibs.  Tried to slowly walk around the expo, but didn’t work out that well.  Wasn’t sure if it was because I really wanted to hit the parks, or if the crowds were making me uptight.  There was a line for everything…so I just exited and went back to the hotel. 

Dumped my stuff and hit the bus for Animal Kingdom (so sayeth the itinerary…).  Got to AK around 2p and ready for some protein refresh at the Flame Tree Bar-b-que, love this place.  It was the first spot where I really knew I was alone.  But hey, I had the swarming birds and my iPhone…so I kept busy as I made quick work of the rotisserie chicken.  After that, I hit Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl (1^st and last time on this one…what is Disney thinking here…).  I decided to make a game out of my trip to help me keep connected to home.  So I was taking ambiguous pictures of ride queue’s or the rides themselves..send them as e-mail to the family and see if they could “Guess where Daddy is”.  Between text and e-mail, I felt pretty connect to home without having to talk all that much.   At this point, Amanda texted me and we met up over at Everest.  I think I like the queue for Everest even more than the ride, but the ride IS cool even if the Yeti isn’t working…  Did a couple of other attractions and then out to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Whispering Canyon with Jeff, Justin and company.  Amanda covers this pretty well on her blog, so I won’t rehash the happenings there.  The one thing I can add is that I was pretty darn cold on the boat ride to the Contemporary (they wouldn’t let us over the MK to hop a resort bus there..too late…).  So we took the launch to the Contemporary thinking we could walk over the MK and catch the bus, but they turned us away and made us take the Downtown Disney bus from the Contemporary…then pick-up a bus to our resorts.  Still pretty cold….We got to Downtown Disney so I got off the bus, only to find out that the very bus I was on would then be going to Port Orleans…back in the line in the freezing cold…ugh.  Still, I made it on and got back to the hotel (think it was about 11p..).