Running through 2014

As I am one week away from leaving for my first full marathon, here’s a picture look back of the races I ran in 2014.

The thing that stood out most for me in 2014 was the whole runDisney experience. I went from doing zero Disney races to TONS of them. I tried to pick out one picture from start line/during and one medal pic from each race when I could.

January

Neverland 5K

Tinker Bell 10K

Tinker Bell Half

February

Enchanted 10K

Princess Half Marathon

And all the friends who went on the Princess trip!

March

Rock and Roll Dallas Half Marathon

May- Glow 5K

June- Wounded Warrior 10k and Half

August

Ninja Turtles 5k

Disneyland 10K

Disneyland Half

September- Tour de Fleurs 20K

November

Wine and Dine Half

Avengers 5k

Avengers Half

Hot Chocolate 5k

December

Dallas Half

I *know* that there are a couple I’m forgetting- probably because I went to them myself and didn’t take any pictures, but all in all, a very eventful year!

Thanks to anyone who who visiting from http://noguiltlife.com/ link up!

A change of pace

 

Okay, if you know me at all you will know how out of character this post is. I usually don’t use Facebook or my blog for deep thoughts. I really think eye contact and tone of voice matter for having meaningful conversation, and you get neither of those over the internet. So I usually save deep discussions for when I can look someone in the eyes and have the ability to take them out for a martini in case we can’t see eye to eye to buttress that we don’t have to think exactly alike to be able to get along and respect each other. But after the barrage of tweets and Facebook posts over the last 24 hours, I just cannot stay silent.

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Robin Williams died. I debated posting this until the news had moved from just speculation to confirmation that it was suicide, because I hate to be one of those people who jump the gun based on incomplete information. But I realized the discussion currently happening about depression is very real, so what I have to say on the matter is pertinent regardless of if Robin Williams’s cause of death is changed.

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The entertainment Robin Williams has provided has been a fixture throughout my life. He has impacted everyone so much that there is no reason to rehash all of his memorable roles. But as a 12 year old figuring out the nuances of growing up and life, through him I learned something- Funny people are hurting inside. Of course, there’s nothing like growing up and living life to realize that thought needed adjustment- People are hurting inside. Everyone has their own burden, their own darkness, their own piece of inconsolable sadness. And regardless of if I personally feel that their burden is cosmically important, the fact is that these fears and sadness are real to those who shoulder it, it’s real to them, and I will always treat it as such for them without judgment. That’s just part of being a member of the human race. There has been no time in my life that I have regretted being too nice to someone, but a lot of the regrets I have stem from the guilt that I was not as kind as I could have been. And that’s a positive from Robin Williams’s loss- the outpouring of discussions that we all could be more compassionate to each other. As humans with hearts and souls and empathy and sympathy I think there is a greater good in just being darn nicer to one another.

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However, some of these posts take it a step further, and that’s where I have my issues with the turn the discussion takes. To condense the mentality to a simple sentence, people are saying, “If only he could have seen how much he is missed, Robin Williams wouldn’t have committed suicide.” Which. Is. Just. WRONG. I’m sorry. No, I’m not sorry. Because people who post this should be sorry of their ignorance of depression. Depression isn’t just feeling sad or some bout of “the blues” that you have rational responses to situations and can just shake off if someone is nice enough to you. That is not how this shit works. Telling someone you love them doesn’t cure depression any more than a mommy’s kiss can cure a broken arm. Some things you just need actual medical/professional treatment for.

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I have given birth to four kids, and I have run the gauntlet of feeling perfectly normal to tired and overwhelmed to the baby blues to full-throttle postpartum depression. I know on some small level what it is like to be truly depressed in the medical sense. But more importantly, I have seen how depressions affects the people I love. I have witnessed friends and family members in the death grip of full-on chronic and/or major depression. People I love more than my own life and breath. But people whose depression has thrown them down an oubliette so deep and dark that they are moaning at the bottom and I am unable to follow and helpless in getting them out. And it’s not because I didn’t love them enough or that they didn’t know I loved them enough. Depression is a finger dipped in soot that smudges darkness into the lives of everyone it touches.

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Depression is like an emotional cancer. You can treat it, but it’s never gone. At most you can hope for remission. But the threat is always lurking in the dark corners, the ominous thrumming a constant background noise in every interaction. And the possibility of it rearing its ugly head of destruction makes it a constant enemy, even when depression isn’t currently winning the battle.

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Really, I’m happy for people who obviously have never had to deal with real depression that they can make blanket, easy fix statements about its treatment and “cure.” But let’s be real here. Robin Williams did not commit suicide because there weren’t enough pictures of him and movie quotes of his on Facebook. The man couldn’t even stop at a Dairy Queen on his way to rehab without someone telling him how much they, a complete stranger, adored him. It was because depression is not logical or reasonable, and to treat it as such as a disrespect to anyone who is battling with it. This dissemination of misinformation is what makes me appreciate how truly, amazingly brave the people who seek help are. To go forth, knowing the stigma and ignorance of others they are fighting against, as well as their own doubts on the journey to wellness. Someone seeking mental care should be treated as well as someone getting penicillin for strep throat- treated as someone just doing what they need to take care of themselves.

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My heart aches when I think of the loss of Robin Williams. Not because he was a celebrity and I feel the selfish loss of my own future without him to entertain me like he was some organ-trained monkey. But I mourn because I imagine how tortured and lonely he must have felt those last few moments of his life, and I grieve for him as I would any human who is feeling inconsolable suffering. But at least now he is at peace. To paraphrase the first law of thermal dynamics, he is not lost, but changed. But because of this the Earth is dimmer while the heavens are brighter. Rest in peace.

Faith and Trust, part 5

Ok, now we are onto the inaugural Tinker Bell 10k. I really, really love that runDisney has started adding this distance to most of their races. I love that the medal is an actual metal medal, instead of the rubber medallion they have for the 5k distances. I think it’s the perfect gateway drug to distance running- it’s a respectable distance to feel amazing for having done it, but it doesn’t take up the entire morning or the entire day the way a half or a full marathon can if you are slower and just starting the distance run journey.

Faith and Trust part 4

Going to the parks after the 5k gets its own mention because the day involved a never-before event for me, and if you know Disney and myself, you know how rare those events are. I met Thor! And he was awesome! I personally love character interactions- they are always different. Angela and Dara are all ridesridesrides all the time, so I had to beg to have them hold still long enough to stand in line. But you know what?

Hems totally worth it! I do believe the word Angela used to describe her emotions after meeting him was, “Twitterpated!” He gave each of us a hug and I made some sort of inane comment about it, which led to this exchange:

Me: Oh my gods, Thor just hugged me!
Thor: Yes, I have read all about human’s perchance for germs.
Me: Well, you probably missed the concept if you are willing to hug random people who wait in line to meet you.
Thor: [a beat] Fair enough.So very excited to be able to meet him again at the Avengers Half Marathon!

 

The day also included a visit to Trader Sam’s, possibly one of my favorite places on Earth! It’s kind of like Adventures Club and Jungle Cruise and Enchanted Tiki room all rolled into one. So much fun! I won’t go into too many details, because the surprises are part of the fun of the adventure, but going in there for a drink is certainly worth your while. It’s so popular that they are making an East Coast counterpart at Disney World.

Uh-oah, uh-oa, uh-oaoaoa!

Faith and Trust, Part 3: Neverland 5K!

Now, Disney 5Ks, like everything else at Disney, are pretty darn expensive. And the Neverland 5K is the only one I think it wrth spending the money on. It starts inside a theme park, and it’s the ONLY Disney one on EITHER coast that does. The term “magical” gets thrown around so much describing Disney things to the point where the word loses some of it’s strength, so I won’t use it. But walking down Main Street with all the lights on, seeing all the runners and costumes and the DJ getting everyone pumped up, it was … well, it was magical okay?!

 

I’m walkin’ right down the middle of Main Street, USA

And then the race starts not with a gun shot, but with Tinker Bell flying around the castle and a fireworks show. No, not a single burst of fireworks- I’m talking a whole fireworks synchronized to music extravaganza. I’ll admit, I cried. It was all so overwhelming and exciting. That moment before my first-ever Disney race will never be matched- it’s just the perfect moment frozen forever. 

Obligatory blurry fireworks photo

Another thing I love about this race is that is done entirely between the two theme parks. Disney property the whole time, baby!

Starting line selfie- pre-race tradition

 

There’s a lot of backstage parts, which is always neat to see, and lots of cast members at those parts, cheering and seeming genuinely excited for everyone. 

Running + picture taking= BLURRY

At Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom I didn’t see a whole lot of character stops, and the ones I did see had such amazingly long lines that I just didn’t have much desire to stop. However, right by California Screamin’ they had this cute little set up. Everyone was just standing in front of it, but I guess we are boundary pushers- I think in 3D and we actually got in it for our photo. 

Everyone I saw after us followed our lead. Trendsetters. Keep your eye on me!

And right around the corner from the finish line were these crazy kids- the line was less than a minute- I guess it being so close to end people wanted to just be done?

Another great aspect of this 5k was finishing in a theme park. They had the lights and fountains from World of Color were going, the atmosphere was one of PAR-TAAAAY. It’s just another part of the Disney experience that comes with the price tag!

We hung out and soaked it all in, took about a million pictures, but then quickly realized if we left right THEN we could still be ready in enough time to make early morning extra magic hours! 

Another nice Disney touch- they give rubber medallions to the 5K finishers- moist places to give medals for 5Ks.

 

Faith and Trust, Part Deux- The Expo and the Happiest Shoes on Earth

Thursday morning dawned (seriously, we were up and about since 4 am due to excitement a jet lag. Not that I’ve completed Disney runs on both coasts, the whole going back two hours makes those 3 am wake up calls that feel like 5 am much less painful than the 2:30 am ones that feel like 1:30! But I digress …)

The sky’s awake, so I’m awake …

We hung out at the parks in the morning and then headed over to the expo for the bib pick up. Now, I’ve heard constant horror stories about how crowded, busy, insane runDisney expos are. And with the addition of runDisney New Balance shoes these events have turned into fever-pitch mania. And, yup, I was throwing myself in the fire because I had my heart set on getting a pair of Cinderella running shoes! Feed the beast! They had this whole process that they have since done away with involving getting to expo hours before it opens to wait in line to sign up for a time to come back to wait in line to get your shoes. Did ya catch all that? And we got there an hour before THAT line was supposed to open and there were still several hundred people in front of us! In addition to that, there were already dozens of people waiting in the merchandise line, which wasn’t going to be open for another four hours. I do sometime wonder if Disney does this on purpose- whips everyone into a must buy now because it’ll be gone state of agitation. Although a simpler answer would be to let people preorder race merchandise, or, I don’t know, maybe make more? It seems like the same items consistently sell out at EVERY EVENT (wine glasses, event-specific sweaty bands) and some things they have surplus of ($45 cotton t-shirts).

West Coast Partners Statue!

We got our time to come back and grabbed sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich and eat lunch on the balcony of our hotel. That’s another nice thing about Disneyland races- everything is so close together. No buses or shuttles- walk to hotel, expo, parks, starting line. Anyway, go our text that we could get our shoes, got the bibs, wandered around the expo (even making it into the merchandise area and getting a wine glass).

Yay for Team Poor Unfortunate Soles!

After the expo the real fun was about to begin! My sister was arriving, there were radiator springs to race and a chef’s table to eat at! Angela had been admiring the Minnie New Balance shoes and she saw my Facebook post with my Cinderella ones and was appropriately jealous. But me being the awesome person I am had a surprise- Disney New Balance for all!

The start of something magical -The Happiest Shoes on Earth!

There was a small debate about if we should wear these shoes to Napa Rose, and the answer was yes- I based my opinion on the fact that these shoes were waaaaaaay more expensive than the $10 “dressy” ones I bought at Target. And then early to bed- the first run was second star to the right and straight on till morning!

Faith and trust

Ok, there is so much to catch up on! This last month has been pretty major, s far as my running goals go. And no, it’s nothing a normal runner would be concerned with, like a sub 2 hour half or finishing a full, heck for all of the races I have done in the past month I didn’t PR for a single one of them. And yet I still had the TIME OF MY LIFE. Because *drum roll* I finally did my first runDisney half marathons!
Because chronological order makes the most sense for these events, that’s what I’ll do, although I reserve the right to add additional thoughts as needed because it really is too much to expect my poor brain to remember what I want to say.
On Jan. 15 my friend, Dara, and I departed from DFW to LAX. We stopped by the AMEX Centurion lounge to chill waiting for our flight. If you are someone who gets to the airport super early for flights I recommend making your way over here. Once you are in the door, everything is free from food to drinks to manicures and massages. A pretty swanky way to start out the trip, if I do say so myself.
But our decant beginning wasn’t finished- we boarded Virgin Airlines and stayed in the cushy white leather recliners that are first class. Sometimes being constantly awesome is difficult!
We checked into the Grand Californian Hotel and dashed off for a couple of hours at the parks before closing. It was Dara’s first-ever trip to Disneyland and she got the odd vertigo I remember getting from my first stroll down Disneyland’s Main Street- everything is so similar, but slightly off. Now, I was a WDW cast member so I always feel like that is my home base and it is incredibly special to me, but I also was an annual passholder to DL when I was stationed in San Diego, and that much-needed dash of magic in military life was a soothing balm, so both coasts are close to my heart- it’s like children- why would you ever pick a favorite when all are so amazing in their own way?! And now that I live in the heart of Texas it’s pretty equidistant between the coasts.
Anyway, we closed down Disneyland- like the security sweep that walks behind the last person to exit the park was following US, we were so casual about our exit from the Happiest Place on Earth. We went to bed because the next morning was another day in the parks and my very first runDisney expo!

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More to come of my impression of the Tinker Bell Half Marathon weekend, but I just had to share my favorite picture!

Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulders

Well, I have been terrible about chronicling my marathon training. Of course the excuses are that I have four kids, go to college full time, was actually spending several hours a week running …. all that expected stuff … but the truth of the matter is, other than saying, “I got up and ran x miles” there’s really nothing interesting to say about the training 😛 So sorry if you were expecting the riveting, edge of your seat adventures in my journey to be a marathoner.

As I take stock of 2013 and look to 2014, I realized I needed to close out the beginning reason for the blog- my Dallas marathon experience. I had put off writing this because I thought I’d wait until I had my next marathon lined up, but I don’t and I’ve put off sharing this bit of disappointing news long enough. I am still not a marathoner. I didn’t even make it to the starting line. Don’t worry, it’s not because of injury or giving up or poor training, it’s because the marathon was cancelled. I had the unfortunate (poor, unfortunate soles!) luck of signing up for the Dallas marathon the ONE time in its 30 year history that it ends up getting cancelled because of ice storms. As a Minnesotan, I usually find the South’s poor tolerance for cold weather laughable, but as I lay in bed at 3am listening to to power cut out and the rather musical sound of branches snapping and ice shattering, I knew the marathon was not happening, and it was just a matter of waiting for it to be officially cancelled. And it was. I had searched for some upcoming marathon that I could do with just maintaining the training I had already put in, but there really isn’t anything so the marathon dreams are on hold. If I can convince DH, I think I would like to make my new marathon goal be Disney World in Jan. 2015, but that’s a year off, so I make no promises.

The good news is, I do have TWO half marathons I am very excited for! In January I will be participating in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, 10k and 5k at Disneyland, and in February I will be doing the Glass Slipper Challenge at Walt Disney World, so I will FINALLY get to have my first Disney half marathon experiences, and I get to go coast to coast to do so! So the race recaps and experiences from those will probably be faaaaaaaaaar more interesting than anything I have blogged about thus far, so stay tuned!

I hope everyone has a Happy NEw Year! There’s a great, big, beautiful 2014 shining at the end of today!

Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here!

Okay, since my running music playlist is rather eclectic and expansive this will probably be a multi part series on my playlist, because like every good pretentious music snob (aka: every college student) my music choices are smart and IMPORTANT and YOU will be a better person because I have taken the time to introduce you to what I like. You’re welcome.

I have also decided to limit each post to easily-digestible segments of ten songs and I’ll pretend to have some sort of overreaching theme for why I picked these particular ones.

Today’s edition is …. Newest additions!

These aren’t even necessarily new songs, or even new songs to me, they are songs that have been recently added to my playlist. As a side note, my playlists as always titled RFYL, which means Run For Your Life, which represents for a promise and a threat to me! And when I have a themed playlist, such as a Disney running playlist, it is titled DRFYL. See what I did there?

Okay, so the 10 most recent additions to my playlist are:

1. The Phoenix, Fall Out Boy

The very first lyrics in this song are, “Put on your war paint!” And when the beat starts I feel like I am getting ready for battle and can kick everyone’s ass. I also personally feel an affiliation to the phoenix and rising from the ashes because every longer than ever before run I do, I feel like I reclaiming something I once was yet also being better than before.

2. Step in Time, Mousercise

This song was a compromise because I had wanted to original version from the Mary Poppins soundtrack, but it is over 8 minutes long and there are a lot of “dead” spaces (for lack of a better description, where you are waiting for the music to build which is fine for a car ride, but when you are counting on the music to explode with energy it can feel interminable. The Mousercise version is a tight less than two minutes ball of fun, plus it has the added bonus of reminding me when I was six years old running around the house with my sisters dancing to it.

3. Rewrite this Story, SMASH cast

This was an experiment in not having a song that has a fast tempo but I really, really like on the playlist. This song has such tight harmonies that I get goosebumps when it reaches its fever pitch.

4. Cups (radio version), Anna Kendrick

Just because I really like this song 🙂

5. Can’t Hold Us, Macklemore

There’s just something about songs that make you feel like you can do anything! And they lyrics are cheeky, “Give a little speed to a great white on Shark Week” always makes me smile, because like any good student of Liz Lemon and 30 Rock, I do try to live every week like it’s Shark Week. AND he references Plinko! The song is amazing. Macklemore is amazing.

6. Thrift Shop, Macklemore

This one of those rare songs that I feel the explicit version is the only one worth listening to. That also makes in a RFYL playlist exclusive in my life because that’s the only time I will never have kids with me and can revel in the R rated lyrics. As a former Sailor, I have developed a real appreciation for when curse words are used with purpose and great affect and this song turns swearing into a word-smithing art form. Plus, have you seen the music video to this song? It is hilarious! It seems like a Weird Al version of a song, but it’s not- it’s the original. I actually didn’t really care for the song until I saw the music video, and then I realized the spirit in which the song was performed and totally got it.

7. Birdhouse in Your Soul, They Might be Giants

One of those songs I can’t believe took me this long to add to my RFYL. As an eighth grader, They Might be Giants were the band de jour, although it was the Mmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm song that was most popular. But this song is funny. And Tiny Toons had music videos of Particle Man and Istanbul. Which I am now realizing I don’t have either one in my playlist. That’s going to have to be remedied!

8. Let’s Go to the Mall, Robin Sparkles

I DARE you to listen to this song and not smile. Separating it from the whole HIMYM aspect of it (if such a thing is possible) makes the song extremely confusing, but, well, I have the point of reference so I can laugh when I listen to it. And it is not vocally demanding, so it is very easy to sing along to when you are almost out of breath- expect that giggle takes a surprising amount of energy to get out!

9. Little Wonders, Rob Thomas

Another song I added just because it means a lot to me. I’m not going to go into details about why this song and the movie it’s from, Meet the Robinsons, literally changed my life when I saw them because it’s not really for random public consumption. But if you are ever in town and want to buy me a drink, I’ll share my story. But even without all of that, God, I love these lyrics. I love how in life you never know which flashes of everyday are going to be seared into memory that they can be perfectly recalled forever.

10. All These Things I’ve Done, The Killers

While it’s not the most bouncy, peppy song of the Killer, which is why it so long to be added to the playlist, for heaven’s sake, the very first lyrics are, “When there’s nowhere else to run …” And it has a great build. You can’t help but build up speed as the song carries on.

So what about you? What are your recent finds for good songs to run to? Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments. I am on the hunt for new songs not that I have to make my playlist twice as long to last through a marathon!

BTW, my run this weekend is 15 miles, which will be the first time I have gone a distance beyond the half marathon. Cheers!