tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27522919952477732492024-03-05T04:40:25.375-06:00Snowy Tundra TrainingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-61054553092003829242013-04-04T06:59:00.001-05:002013-04-04T06:59:19.535-05:00Check InHey gang, I'm still here. I've updated the look of the site in preparation for Octobers run. Getting back into the swing of things here. Will post a status update by this weekend.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-25181984256225065852012-09-26T23:20:00.002-05:002012-09-26T23:20:21.155-05:00Change of plansCoast to Coast 2014 is out. My next run Disney event will be the Tower of Terror 10 Miler in September 2013. <br />
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Rather than post here on Tundra I may have some fun with this and post updates over on my other blog at <a href="http://hollywoodtowerradio.blogspot.com/">http://hollywoodtowerradio.blogspot.com</a><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-5128129211752055112012-06-04T03:17:00.001-05:002012-06-04T09:03:50.273-05:00DAM I can't Believe I did that!<br />
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On my last post I set forth a few goals. First among them was to do better with my calorie intake and secondly to get in 30 miles of walking or jogging per week between then and January 2014. <br />
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Regrettably I had a setback on my first day back on the road. I had worn a hole into the back of my right running shoe. I knew I needed to replace my shoes but I figured I could get in a jog or two before doing so. Wrong. About a mile out I noticed my heel felt hot and I knew a blister was starting. Another half mile later I took off my shoe and found that in such a short distance I had developed a dime sized blister. I walked back home. I went out a couple days later but my foot was still tender. I finally bought new shoes and got in two treadmill miles with those and a four mile outdoor jog a couple days later. <br />
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Due to lack of training I was already on the fence about running the DAM to DAM 20K and the blister situation was not helping. Packet pickup for the race was this past Friday and I figured that since my paid registration included a Dam to Dam tech shirt I would at least go down and pick up my gear. As I left the expo I was still undecided but by the time I got home I made up my mind that even if I got swept off the course I was going to give it a try. <br />
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So Friday night I loaded up on a nice chicken and pasta dinner and made myself go to bed early at ten. Sleep was restless and our dog Sophie waking me up at three in the morning did not help. Since I planned to be up by four anyway I did not attempt to go back to bed. I was afraid that if I did I would sleep through my alarm. <br />
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A got dressed, had breakfast and put a generous among of runners body glide over my blister. I drove downtown to catch a bus to the top of the course and I was pre drinking water to get hydrated. <br />
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Temp was in the high 50’s for the start. My niece and grand nephew were both running this year and it was also their first time running a long event. We met up and waited for the race to start. I knew they planned to jog the whole thing and my strategy (due to lack of training) was to follow the Galloway method of regular intervals of walking and jogging. <br />
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I started off with a one mile jog and then walked for 2/10 of a mile and my plan from there was to alternate walking 2/10 with jogging 8/10. I discovered that my endurance level was not going to sustain this long term and eventually I fell into a pattern of walk 2/10 and jog 2/10. This worked quite well and there were some portions where I did jog longer. <br />
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Once I passed six miles I felt go about my chances of finishing. Miles seven through nine felt the best during the run. Perhaps it was knowing that I was over halfway or more likely it could be that I was enjoying the shade of the mature trees in the Oak Park neighborhood. All was going well until I approached mile eleven and I felt my calves tightening up. From that point through the finish whenever I jogged my calves would spasm. I was wearing my Garmin GPS and I reached 12.4 miles (20K) blocks from the actually finish. Two factors for that are that when you run races like these you’re always going around people and that adds some distance the other factor is that at mile three I did have to run off road to water a tree so to speak. <br />
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My official chip time for the run was 2:40<br />
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The actual time I reached 20K according to my Garmin was 2:34<br />
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My niece Brianne and her son Tucker had a great run and finished twenty minutes ahead of me with an official time of 2:20.<br />
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Over all I am very happy with how I did. My training since January has been next to nothing and being able to complete this is very motivating.<br />
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I have to say a few things about the organization of this year’s DAM to DAM. First I’ll start off with the only real positive thing I can say. Additional water and power aid stations were added to this year making the run itself more pleasant.<br />
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On the negative side: The expo was moved from the Des Moines Convention Center to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. In the past you walked in and there was a wall with everyone name on it and your runner’s number. You got your number and then you proceeded to a booth that your number can be found. I walked into Vets expecting something similar and when I did not find any posting I looked to see if since this was a new location they might have someone answering questions and providing information. Nope, Nada, Nothing. I had to go into the pickup area get in a line and then be directed to a small unmarked room where I finally discovered my name and assigned number. There were some platters of toasted bread and some type cake available and there was red licorice. Most of this was picked over and what was there looked unappealing especially when you see kids (whose parents are not watching them) touching all of it. I the past such things were on counters and there were servers. <br />
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Like most races these days event sponsors’ have really cut back on the free swag and samples they give out. This year’s sole freebie was from Allied Insurance and it was a 12” die cast Nascar. Tell me how this relates to running?<br />
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This year the course was shift by nearly a mile. Runners used to start on the spillway side of Saylorville Dam and running across it completed your first mile. This year they moved the start to the far end of the DAM in order to have a new finish line area near the new Des Moines Library. The start was a mess. Event planners only put up a few speakers and no announcements could be heard. I was standing with the eleven minute pace group and there was not one speaker in that area. We all just had to guess that the race had started since the clock had past seven. We all started moving to toward the starting line and soon people were all bunching up because the race had not started. <br />
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It was mildly off putting that all of the mile markers that I have been used to in past years were now all shifted. But hey you just have to adapt to that. The finishing area was really the BAD part of the whole race day experience. Chip removal and a water station were far too close to the finish causing people to bunch up. Actually once you finished there was no way to escape the crowd. You were shoulder to shoulder with everyone. Between the temporary barricades, vendor trucks and the official finish photo area there was literally no were to go. In the past the finish was at Nolan Plaza which offers lots of room for runners to spread out and then get in lines if they would like food, beer or whatever else is offered. <br />
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(Finish came down Grand. DAM photography took up the corner of Grand and 13th. Food and Beer vendors took up 13th. I saw no way to access the large green space in this picture)</div>
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(This is the original finish area. Locust would be barricaded but right were it reached the building on the left you had an option of grabbing a water or power aid. Food venders were set up along third without baracades. This granted free movement in and out of the plaza area.)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-20657803862440352852012-05-20T02:38:00.000-05:002012-05-20T02:38:50.127-05:00New Blog Look and New Goals.<div style="text-align: left;">
After a brief hiatus I am back, feeling motivated, and ready to get serious again on the training front. Post January's Marathon weekend, I have allowed my training to slip into nothingness. At most I am getting out once every two weeks and that really does no good. There MUST be consistencey to yield results in endurance and weight loss. My last jog was two weeks ago and I completed 6 miles at a decent 11:29 pace but it took so much out of me. </div>
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Dam to Dam is only a couple weeks away and I am feeling that I am going to skip it. If I do choose not to run DAM it's not about throwing in the towel. Far from it in fact. Right now I need to be sensible while reclaiming once good habits. I do not want to end up injured and then finding myself on the sidelines slipping into less motivation. (which has happened before) For now DAM is a coin toss and I'll make a decision on that over the next two weeks. </div>
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The bigger goal is down the road on October 21st for the Des Moines Marathon. The company I work for remains a sponser and I will once again be able to register free of charge. My immediate goal would be to run the half again and beat January's 2:24 finish. I feel this is a reasonable goal and a stepping stone for what "may" lay ahead. </div>
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This past week RunDisney released the 2013 marathon weekend course maps. The half remains the same, but to celebration the 20 anniversary of marathon weekend Disney has overhauled the "Full" course and it looks amazing.</div>
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I've run five Disney half marathons, two Des Moines half marathons, five DAM to Dams and never once did the thought of running a full marathon cross my mind until I saw this course. Unfortunately I've no plans to visit marathon weekend this coming January. The reasons are varied but it comes down to this. As much as I enjoy visiting the resort I just need to step back and take a break from it. Since buying into DVC we have been down a lot and this year I'll be making an unheard of third trip which will include two nights at Vero Beach. Sea Turtles anyone? </div>
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2014 will be here soon enough and right now I'm thinking Mickey over Donald. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZWi-BvMMElenIez1are0MgDGY3tq7QJBtliwCZVZ42Lyp7uUiadu-6h2kWJv9QHi9JkutSiXBlLv8w6ImzfDiR6Ym8xQwAYHvJaBLdCvRvxP1J9vjlEjV8QXuxPJXkkRRLaFaNDxJNQ/s1600/26_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZWi-BvMMElenIez1are0MgDGY3tq7QJBtliwCZVZ42Lyp7uUiadu-6h2kWJv9QHi9JkutSiXBlLv8w6ImzfDiR6Ym8xQwAYHvJaBLdCvRvxP1J9vjlEjV8QXuxPJXkkRRLaFaNDxJNQ/s1600/26_2.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-56206000524038919042012-04-03T00:32:00.001-05:002012-04-03T19:11:56.957-05:00WDW Spring Break Trip ReportLong Post Ahead. Rather than break this all up across multiple days here is a full report on our recent WDW trip.<br />
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This past spring break, students from our local high school were invited to take part in vocal and band workshops which were hosted at Disney’s Saratoga Springs resort. The day following the workshops each group took the stage at Downtown Disney as part of “Disney’s Performing Arts.” Students from our school were just one part of this program. Throughout the day other students from across the country also performed. Some bands (although not ours) marched ahead of the 3:00 parade over at Magic Kingdom. <br />
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The idea of visiting Disney Parks during spring break in and of itself would never appeal to my wife and me, but since we wanted to see our daughter on stage at Disney, we decided to fly down separately from the group which was traveling by bus. Because we were not part of the traveling group my wife and I were able to enjoy some must needed time together. It was so nice to leave work and everything else behind and just unwind.<br />
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That being said our trip did not start out well. I had booked us a mid-day flight that should have got us to Orlando by 8pm. On the way to the airport I received a message stating our flight out of Des Moines would be delayed by 45 minutes which raised concern that we might miss our connection in Memphis. Arriving at the airport we’d planned to head straight up through security because I had boarding passes printed and we had no checked baggage. <br />
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As we walked in I received another call stating that our flight was cancelled. My heart sank and I thought (insert expletive of choice) are you kidding me? We made our way over to the ticketing counter hoping for options but with this spring break I had little hope. The ticketing agent said everyone had already been rebooked out of Cedar Rapids. (Groan and again insert expletive of choice) Our new flights would be Cedar Rapids/Detroit/Orlando. <br />
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The ticket agent printed out our new flight details and explained that upon arrival in Cedar Rapids we had to convert them to boarding passes. We were then told that everyone would be shuttled by taxi to Cedar Rapids. (2 hour drive) We were also given some “food vouchers” for our “inconvenience”. <br />
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Twenty minutes later we were in a taxi. When we arrived at Cedar Rapids we learned two things. First, that this groups of fifty people was not expected (one counter agent was visibly overwhelmed and a second agent threw her hands in the air, declared I don’t know what to do and promptly disappeared)Second, was that our flight to Detroit was delayed and there was no possible way we were going to make the Orlando connection. By now I’m seeing red and although it was hard to maintain composure I did my best to keep my cool, knowing that the agent standing before me is not responsible for all the chaos. The counter agent looked for a way to rebook us on another airline in order to get us through to Orlando. She found nothing. She gave us the choice of spending the night in Cedar Rapids or going onto Detroit with a first class rebook on an 8am flight the following morning. We took the Detroit option. We made our way upstairs to the gate and used the food vouchers for lunch and beer. <br />
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Once we finally got to Detroit we wanted to see if by chance our earlier rebooked Orlando flight might also have been delayed. No luck there. We missed it by twenty minutes. So we headed over to the customer service desk, picked up a “hotel voucher” and more “food vouchers.” <br />
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A quick note on the hotel voucher, our airline used an automated system to hand these out. My wife and I received vouchers for two different hotels. We got that squared away and headed down to catch a shuttle. Checking in at the hotel was smooth but we had to change rooms after discovering used towels and an opened bar of soap in the bathroom. There was a restaurant and bar attached to the hotel and we were able to use the food vouchers for some nachos and beer.<br />
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Before turning in I called Disney to explain we were delayed by a day and also to reschedule my planned birthday lunch at Le Cellier. Missing a night at Animal Kingdom Lodge really had me pissed off. I had not purchased the travel insurance offered by DVC and was therefore out the vacation points I’d used.<br />
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Neither of us slept well. We had three alarms and a 5am wakeup call set. We caught a 6am shuttle and used some more vouchers for an early breakfast at the airport. <br />
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Our flight was on time and all went well. It was the first time we had flown first class and the extra leg room was wonderful. We had a second breakfast on board and that helped to break up the long flight.<br />
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Upon arriving at Magical Express we only waited for about five minutes before boarding. <br />
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The bus loaded quickly and we were finally off to “the world.” Check in was smooth, my wife picked up her annual pass and we received a free lithograph at the DVC desk for the new Aulani resort. It’s a very nice matted print which I’m not sure what I’ll do with. It’s something I won’t display until after we visit there sometime. (I’m wondering if such a print exists for our home resort at Bay Lake)<br />
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We dropped off our bags and headed out to catch a bus to the Magic Kingdom. Being that Animal Kingdom is the furthest out of the resorts I was curious to see how well the bus service was. We found it to be very consistent for any location we wanted to reach throughout our entire stay. <br />
We arrived at Magic Kingdom at two in the afternoon. The crowd going through the security check point was huge and was our first real crowd level indicator. The park had extra magic hours until 1am so we planned on a late night. <br />
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Now this report is already long winded most readers of this blog are familiar with the Disney parks. I’m just going to report on a few highlights and first time experiences from this point.<br />
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Sunday Magic Kingdom: <br />
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1. First look at Storybook Circus. A new train station is open. Goofy’s Barnstormer has been re-themed but still needs some fresh paint. One half of the re-vamped and re-located Dumbo ride is operational. I was a bit surprised with Dumbo. The concept art I have seen showed both Dumbo rides inside a circus tent. That is not the case. There is a tent but the ride is outside.<br />
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2. It was my birthday so I was wearing an It’s my Birthday pin with my name on it, nearly every Cast Member wished me Happy Birthday. During the Main Street Electrical Parade, one cast member dressed in colonial attire noticed my pin, wished me a happy birthday, including my name, gave me a salute and she never missed a marching step. How she read my name in the dark I don’t know.<br />
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3. Fast Passes are indeed being strictly enforced. You must return within the hour shown on the pass. A fifteen minute late grace period was allowed and that was it. The result of these enforced rules is that you still end up in a line due to everyone else having to return within their window. Now the line is shorter and Cast Members are moving it through faster than the stand by line, but the good Lord help you if you get in behind a Brazilian Tour group. Should you see a tour group grabbing Fast Passes I suggest going elsewhere and coming back for a pass later. Your window to receive a second fast pass can be either the minute after the first pass is ready to use or up to two hours past when it was issued. <br />
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4. Magic, Memories, and You. In a word, WOW! Disney’s new castle show delivers such an unexpected treat. The show takes place between the Electrical Parade and Wishes. Through the use of projectors the castle is transformed visually in a multitude of ways. During the show pictures and video of that days park guests are displayed on the castle. Below I’ve attached a video that Ricky from the “Inside the Magic Podcast” put up on YouTube. <br />
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5. Tired so tired. As much as I would have liked closing the park down at 1am we just couldn’t do it. We left by 11. Although we had such a late start to the day we managed to see and ride most of the attractions. We had another day planned for MK later to catch what we missed.<br />
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Monday Epcot:<br />
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1. Missed rope drop by about half an hour. Soarin’ was first on the list of things to do. Only a 30 minute wait so we grabbed some Fast Passes for later and then we went ahead and got in line.<br />
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2. Universe of Energy. I have not seen this show in twenty five years. The version I was familiar with was the original. I was surprised to see that the tilting projection screen cubes had been removed. That was perhaps the most interesting part of the original show. What can I say about this attraction today? Hmm let me think… “Dated!” This show needs a major overhaul. It’s dull and Ellen is so trapped in the 80’s. There was one highlight. Just before leaving the main dinosaur room look to the left and you’ll see Jar Jar Binks and a couple of other Gungans in stripped tank tops. I kid you not.<br />
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3. Beverly. Yep it still tastes awful but it a tradition that just has to be relived with each visit.<br />
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4. Lunch at Le Cellier. I had a Cup of Cheese soup and the Mushroom Risotto Filet of course. Two thumbs up as always. <br />
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5. This was our first visit during the Flower and Garden Festival. The topiaries were nice to see and are also a way in which I don’t mind Disney bringing characters into Epcot. <br />
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Tuesday: <br />
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This day started off at Downtown Disney as our school’s band was scheduled to perform at 11:00am and our choir at 1:00pm. This gave us plenty of time to shop and take advantage of our AP discount at the World of Disney store. Our band did a marvelous job and Disney had the stage microphones’ set up so well that it really gave the band a full solid sound.<br />
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When our band finished, we did a little more shopping and then my wife went back to the stage area early in hopes to find a shady spot for viewing the choir. I found my way over to the pin station and then I spotted a margarita stand nearby. I expected that this stand most likely had premade frozen margs. I was wrong; it was actually a full service bar. I order a top shelf Patron margarita and somehow the bartender was able to get salt to stick to the plastic cup. It was perfection. I walked back to catch the concert and upon seeing my adult beverage a number of the official chaperones for our group declared their jealousy. <br />
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The choir also did a great job and afterward my wife and I went to Cookes of Dublin for lunch. I had the fish and chips and my wife had the chicken. She would later say that this was her favorite meal of our trip. <br />
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After lunch we decided to take our purchases back to Animal Kingdom before heading over to Hollywood Studios. On our way to the buses a cast member commented on the monorail pins on my lanyard. She asked if I had been by guest services to check out the pin trading book. I explained I was not aware there was one there and she told us that guest services in each resort and in each park has a book. This was a great tip and I ended up trading at least ten pins this way. <br />
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Once we got over to Hollywood Studios we caught a ride on Tower of Terror and then went on into the Beauty and the Beast show. <br />
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We stayed late in the park and got in two Star Tours rides, a ride on Midway Mania, and another ride on Tower. It was impossible to get into Rock n Roller Coaster. The line was over 90 minutes long and both times that I checked for fast passes the return times did not work for what we had planned. We closed the night by catching the 10pm showing of Fantasmic.<br />
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Wednesday:<br />
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Animal Kingdom: We made rope drop this day and caught two rides on Expedition Everest, an early ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris on which we saw more animals than ever before. The giraffes’ were out in great numbers. One of them even decided to stop in front of our truck for a while. We also caught the Finding Nemo show, It’s Tough to be a Bug and the Festival of the Lion King. <br />
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We left AK mid-day and went back over to Magic Kingdom because I wanted to see that Magic Memories and You show again. We hit many of the headline attractions and even took a chance on Splash Mountain. I got wet but not a wet as I did on Pirates of the Caribbean last January. <br />
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During this visit to MK we decided to check out the new Sorcerers of Magic Kingdom card game. <br />
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This is very similar to the Kim Possible program over at Epcot except this is free. You have to go to a Sorcerers learning center of which there are two. (One in the Firehouse and another out behind the Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square) You receive a key card, three spell cards and a map. (You can receive additional cards when you visit the park on another day) The storyline is that Hades is plotting to take over the Magic Kingdom and you have to stop all the villains from taking over the different lands. A map directs you to a window were you hold up your key card to a video camera. A video segment of Merlin or of a villain plays. You then hold up spell card and hopefully defeat the villain. You are then directed to another location across the park to face another villain. We did the training mission and then headed over to Liberty Square to the next location. Here I encountered why this is something I will not be doing. There was a line of at least 8 park guests each waiting their turn. Factor in 5-10 minutes for each guest to complete their task and you realize you’re wasting a boatload of your time. Now I can say that at least what I saw of the others experiences were unique, so at least you’re not just waiting in line to go through what you just saw the guest ahead of you do. My turn was uneventful and I never played a card. After watching a brief animation I was simply told to head over to Frontierland to continue my quest. At this point I said forget it and that was the end of my Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom quest. It was a waste of time and the only way I could recommend it is by suggesting that you go off season when fewer people are around and then only if you don’t care to ride any attractions, all day.<br />
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Later in the afternoon a cast member in a blue vest approached us in Tomorrowland and asked us about our day and if we planned to stay for the parade through wishes. We said yes and then she explained that Disney was testing a new fast pass that provided special seating during the Electrical Parade and for viewing Magic, Memories and You. She then presented us with the special passes and told us to report to the area located behind the Partners Statue by 8:45pm.<br />
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In the evening we walked over to check out the special seating and noticed a roped off area was also provided off to the side Walt Disney side of the central hub. It turned out that fast passes similar to ours were also given out for viewing Wishes from that area. <br />
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Our view for the parade and M, M & Y was fantastic. The only issue I could see with what Disney was trying to do here is that some people were standing and that was blocking the view of others who wanted to sit. <br />
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When Wishes started we were clearly too close, because from our vantage point, the fireworks were going off behind the Castle rather than above it. This explains the reason behind the second area. <br />
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I expected that after the shows the Disney cast member would mingle around to gather some feedback. We saw no one, so evidently at this point they must only have been concerned with how this affected crowds. When we asked how Disney was considering distributing this special seating no one really had an answer. I can only speculate that “A” this will be an add-on to a dinner package or “B” these will be handed put randomly as a magical moment.<br />
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Thursday:<br />
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Time to head home, but before leaving I took a picture of the giraffes grazing on the trees not far from our room. <br />
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As I come to the close of this way long trip report I would be remiss if I did not give a review of Jambo House at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The staff was very friendly and the resort was immaculately clean. This resort is huge and should you decide to ever stay here I would suggest asking for a room close to the main hall or on the third floor which is lobby level. Of course if you want one of the savanna view rooms then you may be placed further out from the lobby. For me I’d rather have shorter walks to the buses and to the dining over a room that is on the fifth floor and all the way at the end. There are plenty of viewing areas around the resort for watching the animal. <br />
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One thing that this resort and the other Disney deluxe resorts do fall short on in my opinion is the quick service dining area. The moderate and value resorts have food courts offering more variety. The food is fine but at breakfast/lunch and dinner there are only 6-8 hot meals to choose from. Whereas over at a resort such as All Star Movies you have sandwich bar and a pizza/pasta bar and a dedicated dessert bar. As I said, the food here was fine but the location of the quick service area was also poorly placed. It’s on the lowest level of the resort and you must go outside to get to it. It’s directly across from the pool area so I understand what Disney was trying to accomplish here but to me it was a real journey heading down there each morning. <br />
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Travel home was smooth and this time we got back home before our daughter. Before leaving the airport I noticed that our airlines desk had a couple employees at it and there were no other customers. I decided to ask how I might best get some further compensation for our canceled flight and having not made it to Orlando at the start of our trip. I mentioned the cash equivalent to how much the night stay we had to eat at Animal Kingdom was. The agent I talked to was friendly and apologized for our troubles and said he could most likely do something for us. He reviewed our earlier travel problems and presented my wife and me each with a $400 flight voucher. This was great and is far more than the other in our taxi had received. So what are we going to do with our vouchers? Why go to Walt Disney World of course.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-27463730672444892642012-03-17T06:12:00.000-05:002012-03-17T06:12:50.098-05:00Off to NeverlandHard to believe that it's only been two months since my last trip to WDW and I'm heading back down again so soon. In fact we leave this afternoon for nearly a ful week. Our daughter's school choir is attending a Disney Music workshop at Saratoga and then on Tuesday they perform at Downtown Disney. Should be a fun and quite busy trip. Staying at Animal Kingdom for the first time on this trip. No car rental. Just Disney buses and spring break crowds. Ahh such is the life...<br />
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Training has been nill this past week. It's all on me but here is a partial excuse. (and I hate to make excuses) My office hours have been switched up and now every four weeks instead of working 1pm-10pm I go into the office at 10am-7pm and then have to carry the phones overnight. So in short the company is taking three more hours out of my day. So if I get up at 8am there is no time to workout, shower and get to the office. I know, I know, I can here the comments now. Get up earlier. Well yes I could work on that. My trouble there is I'm a freaking night owl and have always had a difficult time getting myself in bed before 12-1am. I've also caught myself stress eating again. I'm looking forward to the structure of this Disney trip. I always do very well with a set number of meals and if we have a snack its just one and done. Registration for DAM sould be open when I return. Now THAT, will be some motivation.<br />
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In other news I'm still working on documenting my family tree. A few months ago my dad found some additional loose photos that he gave to me. Evidently others in my family history were fans of Mickey and Minnie as evidence in this picture of a home curio cabinet.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj878SvIEDhME_miOzwd8n8PYcYbXKAJpBvFM66wQqh2ER3e7CW9gkt19DTaZ0Ltr_sWft763TQ2LflFTPEKmvk9FXwGT8wK8PkW38j684NvWDOg9NeGeKDfeG9ryFsqq8s4dqYhGrF7s/s1600/pix001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj878SvIEDhME_miOzwd8n8PYcYbXKAJpBvFM66wQqh2ER3e7CW9gkt19DTaZ0Ltr_sWft763TQ2LflFTPEKmvk9FXwGT8wK8PkW38j684NvWDOg9NeGeKDfeG9ryFsqq8s4dqYhGrF7s/s320/pix001.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Now I can't really be certain who this belonged to. My best guess is that Mickey and Minnie belonged to my great grandparents Augustus and Dora Robbins. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ5rpzncelv2gFRjGhcVdbfoCBtB7jKF6H3wIQquiilx2DuwDw9VnYIhFEHf1YNK8RN7Rh6iBUJw3B8KKfEZmsVxkpgKimDIOvnRCgJcT3zXmKWl-rqIWYR75vlA6MYDA-xHatBV-2fU/s1600/pix002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ5rpzncelv2gFRjGhcVdbfoCBtB7jKF6H3wIQquiilx2DuwDw9VnYIhFEHf1YNK8RN7Rh6iBUJw3B8KKfEZmsVxkpgKimDIOvnRCgJcT3zXmKWl-rqIWYR75vlA6MYDA-xHatBV-2fU/s320/pix002.jpg" /></a></div><br />
My only clue is that my grandfather indexed all of his photos and this picture is in the same group.<br />
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It would be fun if I could confirm this somehow but I most likely never will.<br />
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Speaking of antiques here are a few pics of some I took during my last trip to the Brass Armadillo.<br />
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In this last picture I'm not sure I like the way BIG BOY is looking at Minnie.<br />
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Have a good week everyone!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-89708934365687046382012-03-10T11:46:00.000-06:002012-03-10T11:46:38.517-06:00Checking In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcwZv_wHt-pAyAy9L5BDHhs8oOzBaknRWoVTxUKb34Rnhm2oKVPDcMXplvMQzhN3qa0Ao39WeMlMvfN3J4i3KZhbcxWUnT9hwxwww0YuTRY0ZQRMFh78mVNAykvN7mSDYz_dpxDN13-8/s1600/Monorails+The+Movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcwZv_wHt-pAyAy9L5BDHhs8oOzBaknRWoVTxUKb34Rnhm2oKVPDcMXplvMQzhN3qa0Ao39WeMlMvfN3J4i3KZhbcxWUnT9hwxwww0YuTRY0ZQRMFh78mVNAykvN7mSDYz_dpxDN13-8/s320/Monorails+The+Movie.jpg" width="247" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
Yes my friends I'm still around. I will confess right up front that the past few weeks have not been good in regard to training and diet. As I told a few of you earlier this week in an email I'm up 5lbs. The reason is very simple. I have not been faithfully tracking my calories and exercise has dropped to near nothing. I managed to carve out a 1 mile walk yesterday which really does nothing for me if I'm not going to be consistent. My last long run was a 6 miler two weeks ago. It was a good run and I managed to keep a pace per mile in the 10's. Still I know that I really need to get back to the good habits I had going into last marathon weekend. The big DAM to DAM race is coming up in June and this year my niece and her 11 year old son are planning to run. That will certainly help with my motivation. <br />
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Warm weather is finally rolling in and I look forward to getting outdoors more often and shaking of this cabin fever. <br />
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Other things going on out here on the Tundra include geneology. My Grandfather did tons of research years ago I've been putting it up on ancestry.com. Years ago I did a bunch of this using family tree maker but using ancestry is more fun. One interesting thing is the hints it gives you. Here's a little cheat for you. On the main website it offers hints and to view those hints you have to subscribe. But... if you sync up the free ipod app the hints show more details and you can even preview documents once for free. <br />
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Interesting fact about my ancestry is that William Penn the founder of Pennsylvania, is my 1st cousin 11 times removed. His grandfather is my 11 great grandfather.<br />
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My wife and I are heading back to WDW on the 17th. I'm hoping for an in flight green beer special. If that fails perhaps a trip to Ragland Road is in order. Our daughter is singing at downtown Disney hence the reason for the trip. New this trip will be a DVC stay at Animal Kingdom lodge. Should be a fun time but I'm not looking forward to the spring break crowds. Can you say rope drop? Can you say rope drop is a must? <br />
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We also have plans to visit the world in July. The resorts are booked (Vero and Bay Lake) but we are holding off on airfare with the hope it will drop. <br />
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Hope all the rest of you are doing well with weight and milage!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-2195356110072094692012-02-04T20:26:00.001-06:002012-02-04T22:46:13.941-06:00Le Cellier Cheese Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjUaKuM3uf3fYQhHxQ-9v-mZiadD1bi6NhKn_bck9TSBZC8x3WL6OimDbEcMfCPmCYYbued6Hwej4rG5QHcY15Jy9x3yNTzaI-Dz1X50yG1ApdAJYV78KnWk-VUmbd4pQ5EjYPeM1sMY/s1600/bobdougsoup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="283" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjUaKuM3uf3fYQhHxQ-9v-mZiadD1bi6NhKn_bck9TSBZC8x3WL6OimDbEcMfCPmCYYbued6Hwej4rG5QHcY15Jy9x3yNTzaI-Dz1X50yG1ApdAJYV78KnWk-VUmbd4pQ5EjYPeM1sMY/s320/bobdougsoup.jpg" /></a></div><br />
An annual tradition at my house (for the past few years anyway) is to enjoy Superbowl Sunday with a nice bowl of Le Cellier Cheese soup. It's easy to make this delicious soup at home. A year or two ago Mike Speed also joined the annual bacon rendering feastivities. <br />
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Before closing this post I do want to give an update. Mileage wise I've been very consistent post Disney. Since returning home I've been averaging 20-24 miles a week. These have been both treadmill and road miles. One week after WDW I managed to finally break 6 miles in 60 minutes. That was a great feeling.<br />
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Now while the mileage has been good I have to confess that my weight has been all over the place. When I traveled to WDW I weighed in at 219. Upon returning I weighed in at 220 for a one pound gain. Pretty darn good I thought. I week later I was back down to 217 and then I decided to recalculate my calorie needs. I realized I had actually been quite low in my daily goal. I added 200 calories per day and to my surprise I had a great weigh in the following Friday of 213. Since that time I'm back up to 218. I'm very frustrated over this. I will confess that last weekend I went to a blues festival and there were plenty of drinks flowing that night. Hopefully next Friday will bring another loss.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-72146308947692936272012-01-15T22:04:00.006-06:002012-01-16T08:25:09.443-06:00Marathon Weekend 2012Had a great time down in “the world” last weekend. I was able to spend time with old friends and even made a couple new ones during the trip. Disney Marathon weekend also found me achieving a couple goals that I had set for myself in 2011.<br />
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Travel: <br />
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My flights to and from Orlando were smooth and on time. On my flight down I found myself sitting next to another Disney bound runner who turned out to be from our home town and who knew our son, having graduated just two years prior to him. In fact until recently they were attending the same college. It’s a small world. On my way home I ran into Justin at MCO and discovered he was on the same flight. I enjoyed spending some extra time with him there and again in Memphis between flights<br />
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Saratoga Springs: <br />
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This was my third DVC stay at Saratoga and I have to say that I like this resort. Disney was able to once again grant my request to be located in “The Springs” area of the resort. This put me close to the main dining area and more importantly close to marathon transportation.<br />
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Firsts: <br />
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I was able to meet up with Andy from Minnesota at the Magic Kingdom. Listeners of All About the Mouse will recall that Andy and I enjoyed some back and forth banter regarding Corn, Iowa and Minnesota. After meeting up at MK, Andy joined Lisa, Trace, Amanda and I over at Port Orleans to catch Yehaa Bob’s show. I have to mention that Andy is really a great young guy and I’m please to count him amongst my Disney friends. <br />
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My past three trips have found me wanting to catch Yehaa Bob’s show but it just never fit into previous touring plans. I’m so glad that it finally worked out for this trip. When I arrived at Port Orleans Bob was already working the room and talking to Lisa and Trace. Trace introduced me and upon hearing that I was from Des Moines, Bob asked me about a Holiday Inn that was located a few miles north of our airport. He mentioned that he had played there in the past and then asked me if the hotel was still there as it was prone to flooding by a nearby lake. As it turns out that hotel was demolished a number of years ago for that very reason. Small world huh?<br />
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Bob put on a highly energetic and interactive show. He recalled every name and location of the folks he meet preshow and I’m sure at some point mentioned each and every one of them. His show is family friendly and he did three unique sets between 8pm and 11:30pm. I look forward to a future Port Orleans visit this July with my family.<br />
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Star Tours: <br />
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If described in one word, that word would be WOW! I certainly have no objections to the enhancements made to this attraction. Now while I fall into the 3D is a gimmick and is greatly abused category, I have to give kudos to Lucas Arts and Disney here. The 3D works amazingly well and the glasses are designed to fit nicely over prescription glasses. In total I rode Star Tours 7 times and while there was some overlap with a few story segments, each ride always seemed to have at least one element that was unique. Disney guests on each ride were applauding when the ride was over. That in itself says a lot. There was one segment which I saw twice and it got chuckles out of the passengers each time. That scene (SPOILER ALERT) was when Princess Leia appears and says “Help me Star Tours, your my only hope.” In my opinion they should reedit and drop the words Star Tours. It just came across as too hokey. Park guests were hitting Rock N Rollercoaster and Toy Story Mania which made multiple back to back rides here possible.<br />
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The 5K:<br />
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I’m not one for spending extra money to add another race during Marathon weekend. (The races are already quite pricey) However when I learnt that the theme for the 5k was “The Three Caballeros” I knew that I had to do this event, if for no other reason than to be able to see Jose and Panchito in costume. In talking with some of my Disney pals I found there was interest in dressing up for this run. Lisa, Trace and I decided we just had to dress up as the three happy chappys in snappy serapes, Donald, Jose and Panchito. Amanda also had decided this would be a good time to dress for a Disney run and she dressed as Jose. The 5K turned out to be a walk due to Trace’s recently broken toe. Determined to do the race he taped up his toes and when we reached the starting line he had to be breaking the 16 min pace mark. Trace kept up a brisk pace well into Epcot before admitting that his toe was informing him that this was not the best idea. Regardless we powered through it and enjoyed the Mexican music that was being pumped throughout the entire park. We were a hit with both the Disney Paparazzi and other runners who were taking pictures of us along the course.<br />
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The Half and a couple of goals achieved:<br />
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Awoke shortly after 2am, showered, dressed and caught the 3am bus to the pre-race area. The canopies which we generally meet under did not have letters on them but after a few text messages we all met up before walking back to the corrals. This year the race started a full half hour earlier than years past. I had only been in my corral for about 5 minutes when I heard them start the wheelchair athletes. Each successive corral was released in 5 minute intervals. Last year I had set a goal that prior to my next Disney run I would provide proof of time and move up in the corrals. My training this year paid off last October during the Des Moines half and having sent in proof of time. RunDisney placed me in corral C for this year’s half. I was excited to be starting from this spot, however, soon after the start I realized that this large group of runners was not breaking apart. I think our starting group must have caught up with the back of corral B by mile 2. The road widens into three lanes at that point and the crowd was still thick. I did a lot of running on the shoulder because I simply could not pass anyone. The run would stay congested until just after mile 8 where the road once again joined the southbound three lane highway.<br />
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Another goal I had set for myself was to be through the castle while it was still dark out. I did not expect to achieve that this year but thanks to the early start I made it. Running through the castle and seeing Main Streets lights on really put a smile on my face. <br />
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Along with taking a few Clif Bloks I did a good job of managing my power aid and water intake. I never cramped up and only had a little tightness in my calves at the top of the clover leaf at mile ten and again while going up the overpass at mile eleven. This year the Gospel choir was once again in the same location as last year but this year thankfully they were indeed singing gospel and not pop hits of the 80s. Details of my Disney running history are listed below. For this race I managed to beat my 2011 Des Moines half finish by five minutes and just missed matching a half best by two minutes. Over all I was very happy with my 2:24 finish especially when compared against last year’s 3:02 finish. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOuF5Mt2ZfE7LzyAHwC1Onc5CgbLew3csGBORJhxKG9vhcCHYFugYwyTwcJ51TI-NjHMNaiLtpO60ixwAPr7Np38hvDY-xc8VNFSo605LutYVlOfw2rhN5hS6osthzgEN2Wnb3BKsRtM/s1600/0107120919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOuF5Mt2ZfE7LzyAHwC1Onc5CgbLew3csGBORJhxKG9vhcCHYFugYwyTwcJ51TI-NjHMNaiLtpO60ixwAPr7Np38hvDY-xc8VNFSo605LutYVlOfw2rhN5hS6osthzgEN2Wnb3BKsRtM/s320/0107120919.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Post-Race after returning home and a few words on weight:<br />
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As stated in a previous post my weight goals during the holiday season really suffered. End of year work related stress and nibbling away at all those Christmas cookies and fudge not only put me on a plateau but also resulted in some weight gain. Early December I had reached 214. On the day I flew out I weighed 219. Surprisingly the day after I returned home and weighed in I had only gained 1 lb. I can only attribute that small gain to structured eating habits during the trip. My scheduled Friday weigh in found me already back down to 217.6. So things are going in the right direction. <br />
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One thing I desperately want to avoid is falling into post marathon lag. Since returning home I’ve gotten in three workouts. Tuesday was an ugly 5 miler which started out to fast and caused me to become winded. After walking that out I went back into a jog and found that for some reason I was hitting the pavement very flat footed. I just could not get my feet to roll with my stride. Thursday was cold and I just did a 4 mile walk on the home treadmill. Today (Sunday) was another day of achievement for me. The weather was in the upper 40s with a light breeze. I started out and was careful not to overdo it and found a comfortable pace. Four miles out I realized I could possibly beat a goal I have been trying to reach for weeks. 6 miles in 60 minutes. I just keep missing that mark by 2 minutes. Today I made it in 59:59:51. Because I have been pursuing this goal for so long I have been more excited about todays numbers than this year’s finish time at WDW. Not to take anything away from my wonderful Disney experience but this thing has been dogging me for weeks.<br />
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Going Forward:<br />
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Local races such as DAM to DAM and the Des Moines half are in my future. I think I really need to keep something out there to plan for. Although I have a couple more Disney trips planned for this year, I have no plans for a Disney running event until either fall 2013 or marathon weekend 2014. So it will be a long time before I see many of my Disney pals again. Thank goodness for Skype and email. I know that I will need your continued support and I also want to be able to return that favor and keep up to date on the goals others in our circle of friends are working toward.<br />
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Disney Running History:<br />
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2009 Half Marathon Age 42, M, Chip time, 2:49:43, Finished 8105 out of 12451 finishers<br />
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2010 Wine & Dine Age 43, M, Chip time, 3:15:43, Finished 6230 out of 7292 finishers<br />
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2010 Half Marathon Age 43, M, Chip time, 3:06:47, Finished 13350 out of 17144 finishers<br />
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2011 Half Marathon Age 44, M, Chip time, 3:02:56, Finished 16895 out of 21991 finishers<br />
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2012 Half Marathon Age 45, M, Chip time, 2:24:13, Finished 8619 out of 22421 finishersUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-77620086086536637862012-01-03T07:17:00.002-06:002012-01-04T04:21:17.990-06:00Marathon Weekend ApproachesOne more day at the office and then its time to head south for marathon weekend at Walt Disney World. This trip will bring a few new experiences. On Wednesday night I will be catching Yeehaa Bob's show over at Port Orleans Riverside with Lisa and Trace. Hopefully Andy from Minnesota will be stopping by as well. Andy and I poked a little fun at each others home states once in a awhile on All About the Mouse. It all started when he said "there's nothing in Iowa but corn." To which I replied 'that's not true, we also grow soy beans."<br />
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It turns out that Andy has been working at Epcot while participating in Disney's college program. Today is his last official day to work but his family is coming down for a few days. Hopefully Andy can make it to Yeehaa Bob and if he can't then I hope we can meet up somewhere while I'm down there.<br />
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Also new this year is that I'm adding the 5K on Friday. I just could not resist signing up when I found out the theme was Three Caballeros. I will also be dressing up for that event. The plan for the 5K is just to enjoy and take it easy... <br />
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... The real work comes during the half. I'm actually more nervous about this run than I was going into the Des Moines Half last October. The holidays brought on a number snacks which my will power slipped on numerous times. The cooler temps here had pushed me into the gym and onto the elliptical for awhile. I did realize that for me the elliptical was not going to cut it come race dance. It helped with weight managment but as I mentioned a couple posts back, I learned that my breathing was way off when I converted back to the road. So it's been nothing but treadmill and open road when the weather has been nice. <br />
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Goals for the half.<br />
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Primary Goal: Beat this years Des Moines Half finish time of 2:29. That would put me 20 minutes ahead of my best Disney time.<br />
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Secondary Goal: Beat my 2008 Des Moines Half finish time off 2:22. This would be a personal best.<br />
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Where am I on reaching these goals? I feel pretty confident about my primary goal. My only concern is that Florida will be more humid that Des Moines was in October.<br />
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As for reaching the secondary goal. It is certainly possible. My long runs has been averaging a pace between 10:20 and 10:34. That puts me right in the ballpark. I would really like to meet this goal but I would be just as happy to break that 2:29.<br />
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Had a little photo shop fun with the course map below. It's pretty accurate. The finish is wrong and it appears to loop around Magic Kingdom but otherwise the roads lines up nicely. I created this because I wanted to see how the water stops lined up. I've always pictured the the first and second stops to be the furthest appart. Looks like I was way off. Its actually the stops after mile 7 and 9 making those two full miles apart.<br />
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The ten day forcast in Orlando is calling for great temps. 50s in the morning and 70s in the afternoon. Everyone remember to keep hydrated going into the weekend. See you all soon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-91809694957417667112011-12-30T14:18:00.000-06:002011-12-30T14:18:52.379-06:00It seems you can’t teach stupid:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ8-I1OQIIs3y2xBPkFfL-I97Ys52D5ybFdGwQIvQRCRfka46B4oemGFXiqkCQ0ikpZlwHqM6g1fOXVjsK6o0Ozz9p2grcX1K2fit0wBRUC4yzV0blSk4L5BmXCCQPyl2XqkYV3mwZUFo/s1600/stupidity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="295" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ8-I1OQIIs3y2xBPkFfL-I97Ys52D5ybFdGwQIvQRCRfka46B4oemGFXiqkCQ0ikpZlwHqM6g1fOXVjsK6o0Ozz9p2grcX1K2fit0wBRUC4yzV0blSk4L5BmXCCQPyl2XqkYV3mwZUFo/s320/stupidity.jpg" /></a></div><br />
7:00 AM this morning. Not only is it foggy but it’s also drizzling. Running with the oncoming traffic is the faint outline of a jogger in a light grey hooded sweat suit. The road is a two lane divided highway with only a two foot shoulder. Nobody has any business running along this highway. It’s a very busy road that long ago, on a clear day; I learned it’s just not a safe place to be, even if you’re running properly against traffic and can see what is coming toward you. <br />
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The jogger and the drivers coming up behind him are completely oblivious of each other. Two cars pass him from behind without moving over to avoid him. My guess is they never saw him. A third car comes up from behind; jogger is startled this time and eats the ditch. Driver of the car continues on, seemingly unaware of what just happened. <br />
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Pulling over into a driveway I see the jogger get up and I holler over at him. He says he is fine. I tell him to change sides of the road and to get off it ASAP. He just waves me off and resumes running on the same shoulder he was on. I did not recognize this runner and he had a hood up. I can only assume he was also wearing headphones. He was quite fortunate that the car did not strike him and he’s also lucky not to have taken a header into the power pole that was only a few feet away. <br />
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If I am able to indentify this guy at a later date, and I see him out running again, I will make an effort to talk to him about staying safe. However, by the way he shrugged me off I doubt he'd care.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-72652288446836415882011-12-29T20:54:00.000-06:002011-12-29T20:54:14.991-06:00Seriously? Capacity Issues? Wow!Tourists and locals flock to Orlando area theme parks<br />
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ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - For the second time in as many days, several Orlando area attractions have reached capacity crowds.<br />
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Shortly after noon on Thursday, Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure had to place guests in queues outside of the theme park until staff could accommodate additional people. As it did on Wednesday, Universal Orlando announced extended at IOA. The park will close at midnight, rather than 11 p.m. as originally scheduled, according to Public Relations Manager for Universal Orlando Resort Alyson Lundell.<br />
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Three of Walt Disney World's major parks -- Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom -- reached capacity crowds on Wednesday. The parks were expected to be as crowded on Thursday.<br />
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Park capacity has not been an issue for SeaWorld Orlando because of additional parking and holiday celebrations which are primarily nighttime events, according to a park spokesperson. Terry Prather, President of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment's three Orlando parks said this year has seen one of the top holiday weeks ever. "We're having an incredible holiday season," said Prather. "The weather is great and crowds are pouring in to experience Seaworld's Christmas Celebration."<br />
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By late morning, new arrival to Florida's attraction offerings, Legoland Florida, was nearing a capacity crowd. The park had to turn away guests around 2 p.m. just a day earlier. <br />
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Once people do get through the gates at most of the major theme parks, they are having to wait even longer for their favorite rides. Wait times of 1-3 hours are not uncommon for popular rides such as Space Mountain at Disney's Magic Kingdom or Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure.<br />
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For those who are tech savvy, you can use special mobile applications which are availble through iTunes which allow guests to track wait times at Walt Disney World and wait times at Universal Orlando .<br />
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The large crowds are expected to continue through the holiday weekend. Those who plan to visit an area theme park should arrive early and expect to wait in long lines. It would also be advisable to call ahead to make sure parks haven't already reached capacity.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-38656392033327304272011-12-23T22:32:00.000-06:002011-12-23T22:32:48.600-06:00Winter Wallpaper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRc8lR3cYT_WhRqLcRVUzqMv57dTfXzbmL1_NywokuXk_2Vqg9Rm2v8ZwOuWpyTAOxFlmpshFHawmlSTAWZQKBx8h54INCo29gnR0jWHW8uRyJv_njVMWlL7sv60fwKJ3w362HhQ2OMrg/s1600/Castle+Snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRc8lR3cYT_WhRqLcRVUzqMv57dTfXzbmL1_NywokuXk_2Vqg9Rm2v8ZwOuWpyTAOxFlmpshFHawmlSTAWZQKBx8h54INCo29gnR0jWHW8uRyJv_njVMWlL7sv60fwKJ3w362HhQ2OMrg/s320/Castle+Snow.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><strong>Happy Holidays from the Snowy Trunda</strong></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-64488511254141671962011-12-19T22:42:00.000-06:002011-12-19T22:42:36.893-06:00Breaking a WallIt has been a number of weeks since I posted anything about training on this blog, so with only a couple weeks left I figured I should chime in.<br />
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One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how quickly someone can lose their conditioning. Equaly amazing is how quickly you can regain endurance if you have not slacked off too long. <br />
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Over the past weeks I have been consistently getting in "some" exercise. Mostly I'd been hitting the elliptical and getting in 5 miles at a time 4-5 times a weeks. Certainly not slacking but a week ago on the 10th I came to a surprising revelation. <br />
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The weather had finally warmed up to low 40s and I knew I needed to get in a long run in my new shoes. As I began my run I found my breathing was very haggard even when I slowed down my breathing was so choppy that by mile 3 I had to walk and the next 3 miles was a mix of walking and jogging. <br />
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Upon reflection I realized that when I was on the elliptical my breathing was steady - so steady in fact, that I could breath through my nose for 65 minutes and never have any difficulties.<br />
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The difference being, that when I transferred back to the road, the experience became completly unique. Compared to the machines at the gym, movements are no longer fluid. Every heel strike transfered impacting forces through my core, turning me back into an avid and gasping mouth breather.<br />
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So over the course of last week I focused only on getting in treadmill miles when the temps dipped back down into the 20s.<br />
<br />
This past weekend temps reached back up into the 50s. Christmas plans kept me off the road on Saturday but Sunday afternoon I was free to run. I think it was around 56 when I went out and the breeze was very light. Shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt were perfect. I kept my pace in check as I started out and it wasn't log before I knew that already the treadmill work had helped greatly. In all I completed 10 miles with a 10:28 averaged pace. At mile seven I did walk for about two tenths of a mile to catch my breath at the top of a hill, but other than that it was a steady jog. <br />
<br />
Today I'm a bit sore but its a good kinda sore. Tomorrow I will get back on a treadmill if weather does not permit me to get out on the road. <br />
<br />
I want to share one of my favorite movie scenes of all time. In this scene from Run Fatboy Run, Simon Pegg hits the wall at mile 17 of a marathon. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6pttqFUviWs?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6pttqFUviWs?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><br />
This scene really speaks to me. As Simon's character Dennis Doyle comes to mile 17 he is surrounded by supporters and yet when he hits that wall they all fade away. This puts the focus on his personal struggle. When that brick moves and he sees himself urging himself on, ahh what can I say?<br />
<br />
This scene has so much truth in it. To achieve our goals its great to have support, but once you also beleave in yourself, nothing can stop you.<br />
<br />
Beleave my friends. Marathon weekend will soon be here!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-36586366472171242882011-12-11T14:18:00.000-06:002011-12-11T14:18:02.192-06:00Merry Christmas PodcastNando, Fred, Jeff and now a new alias comes into view as I launch a trial podcast which I might turn into limited series.<br />
<br />
Hello my name is Carlton and I'd like to introduce you to KHTH Radio. A podcast series that will showcase musical choices inspired by or featured in the themeing of Disney's Hollywood Tower Hotel. <br />
<br />
Carlton is one of the Tower Hotel's many Bell Hops and he also happens to be in charge of the music playing throughout the grounds. He knows that a tragedy befell the hotel back in 1939 and he steadfastly believes that the music of the era he grew up in was simply the best ever recorded. My intention is to model Carlton's voice and delivery after Terence Stamp who played Ramsley in Disney's 2003s Haunted Mansion movie.<br />
<br />
I've been trying to come up with a way to launch this possible new show and Christmas music of the 1920's is were I have chosen to start. Below is the link to the podcast blog. The show will start automagically.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://hollywoodtowerradio.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Hollywood Tower Hotel Radio</a></span></strong></div><br />
Please leave feedback here or on the other blog page.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-62808795319064966552011-12-11T10:29:00.000-06:002011-12-11T10:29:37.898-06:00Excited or Not?<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Apparently a trip to Disney can sometimes be more for the parent.</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="260" width="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcgNBezKyZQ?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UcgNBezKyZQ?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="380" height="260" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>In this second clip I would really wish the video had not ended. I would enjoy hearing what else this mom had to say to her kids.</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><br />
</strong><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="260" width="380"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8MIBxhh_R_w?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8MIBxhh_R_w?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="380" height="260" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>But on the other hand. Sometimes a trip can bring joy to pop culture</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="260" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F6hZ4bno7PA?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F6hZ4bno7PA?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="340" height="260" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>or in real life.</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong></strong><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="260" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rFxyBtVh61o?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rFxyBtVh61o?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="340" height="260" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-28464649090061227612011-12-08T07:00:00.000-06:002011-12-08T07:00:03.343-06:00End of Year Maintenance<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Out with the old</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmkSZeo-rp448UQs9hXMoYRS5e53EoaiVgubCNxdB09f2jbiNwzNdXZKO7g_DP68jhBoybO7pL3HqFl6Ue0NMYkU3IKq8-DSxdRigmNS_q_f8cV1pqdlXezyEfSfQZDVcnrVr-39itPA/s1600/svuxsunv240_2_dvd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNmkSZeo-rp448UQs9hXMoYRS5e53EoaiVgubCNxdB09f2jbiNwzNdXZKO7g_DP68jhBoybO7pL3HqFl6Ue0NMYkU3IKq8-DSxdRigmNS_q_f8cV1pqdlXezyEfSfQZDVcnrVr-39itPA/s320/svuxsunv240_2_dvd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">In with the new</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHRlTDqrunnxaSH3I4JxGb5aCxEp6K3bzC-1yCLVnZXM9lpnEAkTDJJny839Lh8CdWcx66O9aH08ZyDTvk5z7lkMSLrQi_opUAeDG3pa5ZkU3jzW8mLHxsCWIF-8BrAjW-Y6mm2k17wk/s1600/sun-hardware_netra_x4250_238112533_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHRlTDqrunnxaSH3I4JxGb5aCxEp6K3bzC-1yCLVnZXM9lpnEAkTDJJny839Lh8CdWcx66O9aH08ZyDTvk5z7lkMSLrQi_opUAeDG3pa5ZkU3jzW8mLHxsCWIF-8BrAjW-Y6mm2k17wk/s320/sun-hardware_netra_x4250_238112533_std.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday was phase one of my big end of year maintenance. In all we replaced six end of life servers and upgraded another six remotely. To our retiring SUN v240 I say thanks you've served my company and our customers well. Never had one hardware problem in over five years. Very solid equipment. I hope the new x4250s are as reliable. I can say they are freaky fast. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The over night maintenance was performed Tuesday into Wednesday and ran about 14 hours. Very long, very tiring, but knock on wood very smooth. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The equipment we replaced runs our Video On Demand service and delivers streaming video to Des Moines and three other major locations. Our furthest customers are located in Flandraeu, SD and Little Rock, Ill.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Today the field engineer remains on sight and will be providing training on some new software features. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Having this completed is a huge weight off my shoulders going into January. There is a second phase to this update in that, due to some space limitations the new equipment had to be activated in a temporary location. The plan is that once this has been stable for a week or two we will power down and remove the old gear and then schedule moving the new servers to a permanent location. My hope is that due to Christmas and my upcoming vacation this can be done when I return from Orlando. I should be able to confirm that today. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">In other news...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I was able to take a 1.6lb step off last weeks weight plataeu and this weeks new number is 215.6 I'm getting there. My new shoes are working out great in the gym. Hopefully I will get some road miles in soon.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">In other other news...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yesterday it was announced that actor Harry Morgan has past away at age 96. Harry was best known for roles on Dragnet and M.A.S.H. He was in numerous movies including many Disney films. In fact, he was in so many Disney films I was surprised to find he is not listed as a Disney Legend. In my opinion he should be. I will have to look to see how Disney Legends are nominated. Harry Morgan was a likable person onscreen, I'm sure was was just as likable off. To learn more about Harry, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0604702/" target="_blank">visit this link to the IMDb database</a>. You may be surprise at how many films and guest TV spots he has done.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If I had my way this screen would be found on our local VOD menu today. Actually I think a few of Harry's films are in our current library. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsbkA46JDCuTx1IbI7LvCg633nqJ_NAEPk2GSzBfOh8SEb5huL4TwDb8_gJrD8Cdnk6Vx-IBljBcHQTkq-UpVq8QKrUL2Wp6gpJymr8eP3Onk6gxt0SG3KISF8_iXDVdkRUkGhEzsKxQ/s1600/VOD+Harry+Morgan+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsbkA46JDCuTx1IbI7LvCg633nqJ_NAEPk2GSzBfOh8SEb5huL4TwDb8_gJrD8Cdnk6Vx-IBljBcHQTkq-UpVq8QKrUL2Wp6gpJymr8eP3Onk6gxt0SG3KISF8_iXDVdkRUkGhEzsKxQ/s320/VOD+Harry+Morgan+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-73496891468156920602011-12-04T14:15:00.000-06:002011-12-04T14:15:39.224-06:00Shoes are like a box of ChocolatesOver the past five years I've tried a number of shoe brands. <br />
<br />
Saucony: My feet shred the insides of these shoes. The material is not durable.<br />
<br />
New Balance: Arch support? Why provide arch support? Who ever heard of arch support? And speaking of arch support,what is it anyway? <br />
<br />
Asics: I have owned two pairs of Asics. I ran my first two halfs in Asics. Des Moines 08 and WDW 09. I also developed plantar fasciitis while using these shoes for long runs. I can't truly blame the shoe. The problem really lays in the fact that regardless of the shoe I need some additional arch support. <br />
<br />
Mizuno: My first pair was an Alchemy 9. These I ran in using heat molded arch supports from RED WING. An absolute and proven combinition for me. Later on when discussing how my toes fell asleep during long runs my Doctor suggested I needed a wider toe box. It was at this time that my running shoe store placed me into my second pair of Saucony's. I used them twice on a tredmill and took them back. The interior of both shoes had ripped apart behind my heels. So I asked the saleman about going back to Mizuno and while they did not offer anything with a "wider toe box" we found that the Alchemy 10 in a 2E wide worked well for me. I've since retired two pairs of those shoes and they have held up great. After adding up my miles a few weeks ago realized I was way overdue for a new pair. There was only one problem. My running store informed me that Mizuno had retired the Alchemy 10. The new Alchemy 11 was a close replacement but they did not have it stocked in a 2E. Hence I ordered the shoes.<br />
<br />
A few days ago my impatience got to me a little bit and I began looking over the Mizuno website. I ran through an online shoe fit guide and it suggested two different shoes. I went back to the running store and asked in my order had arrived and then I asked to try on these other options. Those were in stock but WOW even in a wide shoe they we tight!!!<br />
<br />
So I just had to wait and hope that the 11 would fit right. <br />
<br />
The next day I received a call and my shoes were in. I brought along a new pair of inserts I had molded to fit my old shoes and the fit was...<br />
<br />
Perfect!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONTwo6Qw7Y5igvbdCEvg3YzNGRwApku3qpwtSwN2B7zjqkl2RddyplwvmpyPa0T4YxHiZlPpfi8cmen3GhOUI9JCOwJcFYpIMc3V9_CHcIvBmhdyPrgl5SIxiHh8dT1qHWLEMsdlF1kI/s1600/1202111336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONTwo6Qw7Y5igvbdCEvg3YzNGRwApku3qpwtSwN2B7zjqkl2RddyplwvmpyPa0T4YxHiZlPpfi8cmen3GhOUI9JCOwJcFYpIMc3V9_CHcIvBmhdyPrgl5SIxiHh8dT1qHWLEMsdlF1kI/s320/1202111336.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Yesterday was a balmy 25 degrees so I tried my new shoes out on the treadmill at the Y. Got in 5 miles and my feet felt good. Planning another trip to the Y today after my wife gets home.<br />
<br />
This past weeks weigh in was a bit disapointing. I've finally hit a plateau. Looking back over and comparing the last few weeks I can see why. Last week my daily calorie intake creeped up due to holiday goodies which I mistakenly thought I was displacing with exercise. Too much sugar here and there I guess. One other eye opener is that my weekly calories have been in the 50% range since I started watching calories. I need to work on getting the carbs down and the proteins up. As I said, no weigh loss for the week is a downer,but it does not take anything away from what I've accomplished so far. Besides another weigh in is less than a week away.<br />
<br />
And now back to happy news. My Magic Express packet has arrived!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MtEGkNassluTWXCwrwJddPWznBWHrPNnjwOvfCcbYkQa4ESFq13zKZNRFA76gx2f8Olkk8HsJ0Lb_7UOcXSNiLnTQaM4w0ybXUPtZzVxCk3tv0D4baatiuGfEwie5MMe_zB7HjAF-SA/s1600/1204111021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MtEGkNassluTWXCwrwJddPWznBWHrPNnjwOvfCcbYkQa4ESFq13zKZNRFA76gx2f8Olkk8HsJ0Lb_7UOcXSNiLnTQaM4w0ybXUPtZzVxCk3tv0D4baatiuGfEwie5MMe_zB7HjAF-SA/s320/1204111021.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-41808515957085474702011-11-29T07:23:00.002-06:002011-11-29T09:38:10.975-06:00Crossramp 16At last a workout that felt good again! I seem to finally be over feeling so "off." I don't know if it was some bug trying to make me sick or perhaps the switch to daylight savings time is to blame. Anyway last night I had a great elliptical workout at the Y. I did a whole bunch of experimenting with the different crossramp and resistance settings. My favorite setting was a crossramp of 16 with a resistance if 10. This really targeted my glutes and calves. I felt the burn last night and its still there today. It feels great.<br />
<br />
My one concern right now is that I've not jogged more than 6 miles in some time. Cold weather has pushed my training indoors. I'm going to have to man up and get outside this weekend for sure.<br />
<br />
In other news my new Mizunos have still not arrived. This is concerning to me as I now have over 600 miles on my current shoes. I need to pick up some new supports as well. I really hope the shoes make it in this week.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-69760221829267795932011-11-27T08:58:00.000-06:002011-11-27T08:58:32.651-06:00Strange Disney DreamI had a most peculiar dream this morning about Walt Disney World and rather than forgetting it I’ve run right to my computer to write it down.<br />
<br />
The dream began with my daughter and me exiting some cloud themed attraction located in what had to be the Future World area of Epcot. As we walked along I noticed construction was everywhere. Most notable was that the concrete walkways where being replaced with bricks so as to give them an aged cobblestone look. In fact much of future world now had a Victorian age look about it. This struck me as very strange. I did notice a construction sign which I read but at present I do not recall precisely what it said. Something about remodeling being done by the new owner and it was signed by order of “The Quarterman.”<br />
<br />
From this point my Daughter and I somehow made the jump over to Liberty Square where we found Jonathan talking with someone I did not know. We sat down and talked a bit. It was at this time that I looked up and noticed the exterior changes to the Haunted Mansion. The entire exterior of the building had changed. It now resembled an oversized carnival ride with rail ways carrying passengers in and out of the façade. The whole thing was painted a light purple and the windows and doors were a dark purple. It made me feel very uneasy. I asked Jonathan if he had seen the changes at Epcot. He said he had not but was aware changes were happening in all the parks. I suggested we all go over and check out the mansion to see what in the world was going on. <br />
<br />
Nailed to the front door was a large scrolled note from “The Quarterman” I think it was a warning but I’m not sure, regardless we went on in. Upon entering the foyer we found ourselves literally walking through a dark ride. Everything was bathed in black light. Fluorescent words written on the walls told the tale of the Mansions new and resident owner “The Quarterman.” There were no references to Master Gracey anywhere to be found. <br />
<br />
At last we came to a door and waited to be admitted. To the right of the door a painted version of a bust would appear from time to time. The name below the bust read “Quarterman” and the image which shown in the black light was painted in florescence purple and pink. Bright white eyes glared out. Below the bust was more writing. Again I can’t recall what was written but I think it was a limerick about his fate. <br />
<br />
(At this point of the dream I’m asking myself if this Quarterman guy could somehow be a real ghost and how the heck is it that he was taking over all of Walt Disney World.)<br />
<br />
At last the door in front of us opens and a group of us are escorted by an elderly butler wearing a coat with long tails and a top hat. (He looked very much like Mansfield in Hot Lead and Cold Feet. Which by coincidence or not I had watched only two days ago.) <br />
<br />
We were not in the stretching room. Instead we were in a long well lit hallway perhaps 500 feet long, 12 feet wide, and with a ceiling 18 feet high. <br />
<br />
On each side of the hall were the paintings you would normally pass on the way to the library. There were also other paintings and again I don’t recall what those may have been of. At the end of the hallway the butler turned toward us and told us the Quarterman tale. What I recall (and this is somewhat gruesome) was that Quarterman had died in a manner related to his name. Simply put, he was drawn and quartered for being a greedy land baron who would stop at nothing including murder to get what he wanted.<br />
<br />
After telling us this story the butler stood still, looking straight past us toward the door we had entered from. Someone noticed a small table with a tray on it to the left of the door behind the butler. Someone also placed some money there, apparently as a tip for telling us the story and that is when the next door opened. (hmm greedy indeed)<br />
<br />
This room was a study. On the left was a roaring fire and the room itself was decorated with a desk, some books, a lamp, paintings. Everything one might expect to find in an old home office, everything that is with the exception of a way out. The door we had entered from had vanished. <br />
<br />
Everyone in our group began to spread out and began moving books, flipping switches, looking behind paintings, all of us where looking for something that might trigger a hidden door. Finally someone picked up a jewelry box, removed two drawers from the box, placed those on top of the box and after setting it back down a door opened up on the wall opposite the fireplace.<br />
<br />
It was at this point that my dogs woke me up and so then ended the dream. It was very strange indeed and I’m not sure what to make of it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-75800210526382734522011-11-25T07:30:00.000-06:002011-11-25T07:30:53.755-06:0013.49%This mornings post Turkey day weigh in revealed a 1 pound loss for the week. Ok I'll take it. I did all the right things. I got in exercise and measured food. yadda yadda yadda. Overall as long as each week brings even a small loss I can not complain. 13.49% is the overall percentage of body weight I've lost since my heaviest weigh in.<br />
<br />
My goal is to lose a total of 62lbs. As of today I'm 34lbs into that journey and staring down 26lb more to go. Percentage wise I'm 54% of the way to my goal. How I love the idea of a deminishing goal.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafxDnPfP4DxtlFO-Oim1iG09L5GkMso3HuUHrETy1OXjO7dC9Cp1ZagwZy0LdGyfTgo1jBTy1v3LkiDHULAPUTiNhwdJsqE5LbLXLZ26Ocdc2u3UDtBozliEL8LDbCmMCL2RO2pbZAec/s1600/me_simponized+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafxDnPfP4DxtlFO-Oim1iG09L5GkMso3HuUHrETy1OXjO7dC9Cp1ZagwZy0LdGyfTgo1jBTy1v3LkiDHULAPUTiNhwdJsqE5LbLXLZ26Ocdc2u3UDtBozliEL8LDbCmMCL2RO2pbZAec/s320/me_simponized+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-31781316234381028322011-11-22T23:56:00.000-06:002011-11-22T23:56:05.519-06:00The Great Tundra Blue Jean ConspiracyFor this weeks report I'm sharing some good numbers mixed in with a lack luster week of training performance. (so far anyway)<br />
<br />
This morning I took some measurments and found that I've lost 4 1/2 inches around my abdomen. I also noticed throughout the day that my jeans have become noticably looser. After work I tried on some old jeans and found that they fit my legs well but my waistline still needs a little work.<br />
<br />
So I went out shopping for some better fitting jeans to wear until I can get back into the old pairs I've held onto. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="267" width="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jHR314pMQYI?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jHR314pMQYI?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="350" height="267" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>Shopping for jeans really chaps my hide. I don't now why there has to be so many different styles and cuts. The Sonoma brand that I liked at Kohls is no longer made. Instead they now have Urban Pipe. I was looking for a size 34/32 and nothing in this brand worked. I was able to finally find a pair of Levis I think the style was 569. This style was not even close to fitting in a relaxed cut, but Levis offers a loose cut version and these fit great. Only trouble was the store only had one pair and the denim that covered the fly was sewn or mashed in such a way that the zipper was exposed and this looked bad. Try as I may I could not find another pair in the store. Finally decided to try another Kohls but on the way I began thinking about the price and $40 is really too much to spend on jeans. So we ended up at Target where I tried on a relaxed pair of Wranglers which snapped easily enough and were comfortable as long as I stood. I knew sitting down would not work. Grrrrr. So back out onto the sales floor to look around. I found they carry an offshoot brand from Levi called Denizen. Now the leather tag that reads Denizen looks utterly tacky but a loose pair of these jeans worked out well. The jeans were $20 and Target is running a $5 off special for any jeans over $15 so I got a pair for $15. I wanted a second pair but once again after looking high and low another pair was not to be found. I'm of the opinion that a conspiracy exist amonst the clothing stores around the Des Moines metro area. Either that or there is descimination against anyone wearing a size 34/32 pant. <br />
<br />
Now onto the lack luster portion of my week and maybe I'm being a bit hard on myself. This past Saturday was suppose to be much warmer than Sunday so I decided upon a long run for that afternoon. The weather app on my Ipod read 54 but driving into town I found the temps were actually in the low 40's. This would not have been bad except for the 17 MPH wind gusts that just chilled me. I completed a four mile loop that brought me near my car and called the run short. Running into all that cold wind really zapped me. Sunday my wife and I visited our local YMCA and I hopped on the Elliptical Climber. This workout felt very dragged out and I my heart rate never got into the cardio zone. I felt very off.<br />
<br />
I walked Monday night and again tonight and still I'm feeling off. Tonight should have been a jogging night but I did not feel any drive to break into a run. I did stay commited to walking a full 60 minutes both nights.<br />
<br />
I'm not having any problems with a desire to exercise it's just that as I've said twice already I just feel sort of off. Hopefully I'm not coming down with something. I really do not want to get sick. However colds have been going around the office.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-47767201640620215542011-11-15T22:59:00.000-06:002011-11-15T22:59:43.934-06:00El Guapo<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">El Guapo, you can't live with him, you can't live without him.</span></strong></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrI5slGFK5t_Xb6KbFyUwR7I4I5z0mcII_NbgjoSEY6jYJjP7oVkhmY6MmU18t-NWuMl8fQgN834HsNicJFGAKaidEJvScy2k1hVwySG9NhnztBsBIN9sL9Qt5jcowvcptsQO6nRP_mrk/s1600/el-guapo-el-guapo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrI5slGFK5t_Xb6KbFyUwR7I4I5z0mcII_NbgjoSEY6jYJjP7oVkhmY6MmU18t-NWuMl8fQgN834HsNicJFGAKaidEJvScy2k1hVwySG9NhnztBsBIN9sL9Qt5jcowvcptsQO6nRP_mrk/s320/el-guapo-el-guapo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the past few months I've had good success in the areas of weight loss and training. I'll provide a training update later in this post but for now I want to share that some of old nemeses have begun to creep back in over the past couple weeks. Typically when one hears the word nemesis, thoughts turn to heroes and villains. Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless, Batman and the Joker, Seinfeld and Newman are such examples. The list is endless.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVu8ESCdXz2EctjeQ1W1PIGAgSMhjjgCd3Xgqff2hCFO7CT89brFL1Gzvr_E7h-vH13tG1aCzRsjQHMlkr4cvrpyBjSgUNSwqcCTdLz-8vvo557tHYyXSOjYVtlebTLGIRRkXLGy6ykA/s1600/nemesis+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVu8ESCdXz2EctjeQ1W1PIGAgSMhjjgCd3Xgqff2hCFO7CT89brFL1Gzvr_E7h-vH13tG1aCzRsjQHMlkr4cvrpyBjSgUNSwqcCTdLz-8vvo557tHYyXSOjYVtlebTLGIRRkXLGy6ykA/s320/nemesis+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Now I’m not battling any super villains but lately I’m finding myself slipping into some old habits. Job stress has been a big factor. I’m currently involved in a project that should have been resolved last spring (or actually last year). </div><div style="text-align: center;">Over time many of the computer systems my office uses will receive an” End of Life” notice. Such is the case with our Video On Demand hardware. Our vendor notified us way back in February 2010 that when July 2011 rolled around they would end hardware support on certain systems. There are many details about the delays in this replacement that piss me off. (All of which are in house) I won’t go into it here let’s just say that it took a catastrophic event after July 2011 to wake up the higher ups and get the ball rolling. (Hello I’ve only been ringing the cowbell on this for a year) Now I’m responsible for getting this project complete by months end. So right now STRESS is my El Guapo and its led to a few nights here and there where I have eaten more than I should and even to enjoying the occasional beer. But the big issue I’m fighting is Pop. I am surprised at the amount of Diet Mountain Dew I’ve been drinking. Sure I’m getting a little bored with flavored water but I know its stress driving this pop issue. Funny thing is that on some level I know I really don’t need the pop. It’s more about just taking a few minutes to step out of the office. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Ok ok ok, What was today’s theme anyway? Oh yes the dreaded nemesis. In training a number of factors can negatively influence your thinking and if you don’t keep them in check… well then El Guapo wins and the next thing you know, you’re riding off into the sunset with nothing but your fancy sombrero. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">What El Guapo do you need to crush in the weeks ahead? Is it a food craving, fear of injury, lack of motivation, not setting aside time to train, apathy? Think about it and please share some comments.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07T7VcCgYDDDYtz2aVFA143xFLEhw6rGgaTBr3TvMMFty7hzBlKYaEWz5vSbhyEEdbonjMJpcSrh4HAlI7vUn2ZJb1VTmMvbF18BDVZIHd8i6usHQk0iaTERMX8YQ9ZDh8UzEj0yEuJI/s1600/nemesis2+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07T7VcCgYDDDYtz2aVFA143xFLEhw6rGgaTBr3TvMMFty7hzBlKYaEWz5vSbhyEEdbonjMJpcSrh4HAlI7vUn2ZJb1VTmMvbF18BDVZIHd8i6usHQk0iaTERMX8YQ9ZDh8UzEj0yEuJI/s320/nemesis2+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Now don’t be too worried about me. Besides the work stress I’m doing well over all. When I’ve indulged in a little extra food or had a beer I am logging it all down and counting my calories. The calorie counting is still paying off although I wish I was seeing some bigger numbers. My past three weigh ins have been -1.6, -1.4, and another -1.4. By my calorie counting I should be losing at least two pounds per week. Mentally I’m trying to stay focused on the BIG PICTURE, knowing that a loss is better than a plateau and also that slow loss is healthier than rapid loss. As of last Friday I was down 32lbs from my heaviest with another 30 to go. Ideally I would like to drop another 12lbs by January. <br />
<br />
<br />
On the running front I’m quite happy. This past Saturday I completed 8 miles in 81 minutes for an averaged paced of 10:2. It was a good solid run. The only thing lacking was that due to colder weather the city has turned off water fountains in the parks. So I ran without taking in any water. The cool temps kept me from overheating. I also completed a 3 miler a couple weeks ago that pace out at 9:45. <br />
<br />
So far I have been able to overcome those moments when motivation is lacking. Hopefully in the weeks ahead I can continue to meet my weekly mileage goals.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="213" width="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tHVpJGXZ21o?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tHVpJGXZ21o?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="360" height="213" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-48632381434314121412011-10-25T17:00:00.001-05:002011-10-25T17:01:27.552-05:00Break Out Your Snappy Serape<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmemQJeA69yqwh3C1DfBn4zXJ0DFv6pwMpRkz5HvYkQBA9XTXDgIkqL8_28VoxWHB4dgUWkMWlV-L4U-SBjObDMeoOEVW8jBFc1KT5wPcGOUvy8VzzYbc1VhQUaePKCF_pQ_ZuCKHmJTE/s1600/3cbs1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmemQJeA69yqwh3C1DfBn4zXJ0DFv6pwMpRkz5HvYkQBA9XTXDgIkqL8_28VoxWHB4dgUWkMWlV-L4U-SBjObDMeoOEVW8jBFc1KT5wPcGOUvy8VzzYbc1VhQUaePKCF_pQ_ZuCKHmJTE/s320/3cbs1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Since the invention of the Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato sandwich the world has had its fair share of notable trios. Some famous, and well others, not so much.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Abraham, Martin, John.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Larry, Moe, Curly</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Peter, James, John </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Peter, Paul, Mary</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Sabrina, Kelly, Jill</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Starsky, Hutch, Huggy Bear</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kukla, Fran, Ollie </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Alvin, Simon, Theodore </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jack, Chrissy, Janet </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Snap, Crackle, Pop</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Yakko, Wacko, Dot</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Maxene, Patty, LaVerne </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Barry, Robin, Maurice</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Tom, Dick, Harry </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Jan, Marsha, Cindy </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Greg, Peter, Bobby </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mike, Chip, Ernie</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hoss, Little Joe, Adam </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Lion, The Tinman, The Scarecrow </span><br />
<br />
Oh there are others to be sure, pigs, billy goats, mice and bears, plus three guys in a tub whose names shall remain forever anonymous.<br />
<br />
But as for Me, Myself, I, not even Huey, Duey, Louie hold a candle to those three happy chappies with snappy serapes better known as The Three Caballeros, Donald, Jose, and Panchito. <br />
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So imagine my surprise when I learned that the 2012 WDW 5K was to be themed around three of my favorite Disney characters. I just could not resist the temptation to add this run, so this morning I officially registered. Not sure what this makes me? Certainly not a Dopey, but more than a Duck for sure. This raises the question. What should we call 16.2 miles in two days? “The Donald Plus Fun Run?” or perhaps "Duck Sauce 2012"<br />
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As of this post we are just over 10 weeks away from Marathon weekend. Are you ready? Is everything coming together? <br />
<br />
Here is an update on me, post Des Moines Half.<br />
<br />
Sent in proof of time to RunDisney. They confirmed my proof of time but could not locate my half registration. Panic set in and I called Active to see what was up. At first they told me I was not registered because my credit card had been declined last June when I signed up. WTF? I insisted that I was registered and Active finally figured out the problem. During my first sign up attempt my registration was declined and then I recalled why. It was because I had forgotten to add the 3 digit code on the back of my credit card to the online form. Once I updated that form last June it had gone through. For some reason Active had a matching confirmation number on both the failed attempt and the successful one.<br />
<br />
I informed RunDisney and all has been cleared up and I now have an updated registration confirmation that includes the new proof of time. This morning’s 5K sign up went through without incident.<br />
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Last week’s exercise:<br />
<br />
Wed 19th: 4 mile walk<br />
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Thu 20th: 3 mile jog, 1 mile walk. Paced 10:08 during the jog.<br />
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Sun 23rd: 8 mile jog. Paced 10:40 (I have a blood stained shirt to prove it)(Body Glide Please!)<br />
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Mon 24th: 4 mile walk<br />
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Chris commented on my last post wondering about goals. Here are my goals leading up to and including marathon weekend.<br />
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Two weeknights each week walk for 4 miles. If under 60 minutes keep walking to get in a full hour.<br />
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Two weeknights each week jog for 60 min. Once casual and once pushing myself. <br />
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Weekend. One long run either Saturday or Sunday. Watch forecast on Friday and commit to which day. 8 mile minimum. If weather is bad get to the Y and get in those miles.<br />
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My Goal for the January Half is to finish with a PR for the half. This means breaking the 2:22 finish I had in Des Moines back in 2008. Doable? Yes! How do I get there? Commitment.<br />
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My plan is to move up the pace of the virtual partner on my Garmin from a 12:00 to the 10:80 I averaged during the 2008 Des Moines half. Then just stay ahead of it. If I can continue to average what I achieved last Sunday I should be good. Outside of working to improve pace and endurance my goal is to keep a close eye on my daily calories and keep losing weight. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="315" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZYkwDXa2lhE?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZYkwDXa2lhE?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752291995247773249.post-81365630637722479032011-10-17T07:23:00.001-05:002011-10-19T00:10:13.251-05:002:29:28 Updated 10/18/11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaraQG_cDf3CGoA8XejL6uadWPZ1dyDrWJ3mKBmyBYvqfCkxsMvOD2L-lwTklxK5ZgaI_eQ2NKncMwTm6kpCDtOfEIO_Qk79pwYjT4ZoMiZ8KPVrZr2lLGe9-0Ahwb4O8yeczUW98XMc/s1600/film-the_incredibles-dash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaraQG_cDf3CGoA8XejL6uadWPZ1dyDrWJ3mKBmyBYvqfCkxsMvOD2L-lwTklxK5ZgaI_eQ2NKncMwTm6kpCDtOfEIO_Qk79pwYjT4ZoMiZ8KPVrZr2lLGe9-0Ahwb4O8yeczUW98XMc/s320/film-the_incredibles-dash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last January when I received my corral placement for the half marathon at Walt Disney World I set a few goals and this past weekend I achieved the first of those goals. That goal was to be able to provide a proof of time performance at a 10k or longer event during the year to allow me to move up in the corral placements during Disney 2012 marathon weekend. </div><br />
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The past three Disney half’s that I completed were each over 3 hours and I have been on a quest to not only break that 3 hour window, but to get back under a 2:30 finish. My best half marathon run was in Des Moines 2008 where I finished the IMT half marathon with a 2:22 finish. Following that run I developed planter fasciitis which greatly affected my training for WDW 2009 in which I finished with a 2:49. <br />
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Since 2009 I have struggled with continuing to exercise and keeping my weight in check. Between 2009 and this past weekend I have completed a few races, but to be completely honest all I wanted to do during those runs was to finish and all I did for training was just enough to get me by. <br />
<br />
Since I turned 40 I have wrestled with my weight, knowing that my family has a history of heart disease on both sides. My maternal grandfather passed away at 49 following a heart attack and my paternal grandfather passed away at 67 following complications after open heart surgery. At 40 I found myself thinking pretty heavily about my prospective life expectancy. I won’t rehash the past five years here. It’s sufficient enough to say that I had gotten into good shape and that somewhere during the past couple years I lost my drive. Part of it was fear of future injury but for the most part was simply that regardless of family history I stopped caring. <br />
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Friends who follow this blog know that in the early days of its history I was very active and posted nearly every day. Then for a while I stopped posting and more recently I post only to provide a semi regular update to say hey I’m here and this is where I’m at. <br />
<br />
So where have I been and where am I at today?<br />
<br />
Last year I was 235lbs going into WDW 2011. That’s 35 pounds heavier than I was in 2009. This past summer I tipped the scale at my heaviest to date 252. My best weight since turning 40 was when I got down to 185 in March of 2009. In May of this year I began exercising again but my weight never seemed to change. (all due to diet) I just kept cycling between 252 and 244. In late August I finally started to look at calories and since that point things have been turning around. <br />
<br />
In May I was able to walk/jog six miles and average around a 13:35 pace. A couple months into it I was finally reaching into the 12s. Once the calorie counting began paying off I dropped into an 11:20s pace range. Mentally the past couple months have been good for me and I am back to getting anxious if I miss a planned jog or gym visit. I used to blame my rotating work schedule for getting in the way of working out but I have found ways to get around that. I’m finally getting consistent with training and its been paying off.<br />
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This past Saturday at 229lbs I participated in the 10th annual running of the IMT Des Moines Marathon weekend. My race of choice was once again the half marathon. (The full marathon just seems like such a mammoth under taking) The half continues to be a distance that works well for me. It provides a challenge and requires me to be at a reasonable level of conditioning. <br />
<br />
Race day found me quite anxious when I lined up behind the 2:30 pace group. My Garmin virtual runner was set to a 12:00 pace and my plan was to just keep ahead of that pace. <br />
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Miles 1-3. Stayed with the 2:30 pace group and felt that they were pushing a bit hard. Somewhere between miles 2-3 my Garmin lost 3/10 of a mile. (Must have been the buildings) <br />
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Mile 4. As we approached mile 4 the pace leader checked her watch and realized she was indeed ahead of pace and slowed down to a walk. I was not about to walk so I kept up my pace and although my Garmin’s distance was messed up the clock was fine and as I crossed mile 4 it read 45 minutes which was in line with my goal. <br />
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Mile 5-7. Sometime around mile 5 I did have some mild stomach concerns. I blame that on all the fluid I was taking in during this run. Past training runs had not included much fluids and my stomach was complaining a bit. At some point during this section of running I was able to mentally check out and let my mind wander a bit. I found myself thinking about being in Florida and seeing my friends in just a couple of months and as I ran I pictured that these are the miles where you approach and run through the Magic Kingdom.<br />
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Mile 8-10. I found myself thinking about my more recent long runs and focusing on the fact that I’ve done this distance and that getting through it should not be too difficult. Although I was growing a bit tired, I did not hit the wall at 9.5 as I had the previous weekend. Instead I focused on nearby runners and picked out a few that I wanted to pass and others whom I wanted to pace with. <br />
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Mile 11. Coming into mile 11 I was feeling good and someone ahead of me turned around and mentioned that a pace runner was coming up. That pace runner was the 2:30 pacer who I left behind earlier. She past me on the hill coming out of mile 11. I was a little surprised by this but kept my focus on that pacer and refused to let her out of my sight. <br />
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Mile 12-Finish. Slightly downhill and flat during this stretch. I walked briefly twice in order to catch my breath. I was pushing a little too hard trying to get ahead of the pace runner. I realized that I might not catch her, accepted it, and kept moving forward. One block out from the finish I had the slightest twinge of a cramp in my right calve. This was my one brief moment of panic on the course. (In 2008 I cramped up really bad here and fought to keep my legs moving) I kept moving and it did not worsen I just knew that after I crossed the finish I needed to get some potassium and salt. I crossed the finish with an official time of 2:29:28. 33 minutes ahead of my WDW half last January. I actually got a little worked up over it knowing that my efforts over the past several weeks had paid off. I also thought about how Chris had such a great full marathon the day before crushing his goal of a sub four hour finish by fifteen minutes. What a great weekend.<br />
<br />
Post Race:<br />
<br />
I’ve been feeling great. Nothing outside of expected sore muscles. Saturday and Sunday I just shelved the whole calorie counting thing. Monday and today my calorie intake has been more in line with maintaining weight but tomorrow I go back to keeping my daily intake down and getting back on the weight loss train. I’m not sure what Friday’s weigh in will bring but up or down I’m not going to sweat it. I’m just going to keep working at it with a goal in mind to drop another 19+ pounds before January.<br />
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Tomorrow I will also resume walking and some light jogging.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5