Disneyland 2015: Digital Scrapbooking Pages Part 3

These pages cover the 10k (2 pages), the ride on the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the trip on the monorail, and a little bit about Downtown Disney.

Materials Used:

Project Mouse

Matterhorn Bobsleds Font

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Disneyland 2015 Trip Report: Part Three

After I got cleaned up from the 10k, I met up with my mother back at the hotel, and we grabbed lunch at Downtown Disney at the Earl of Sandwich. I had the Hawaiian BBQ sandwich, and it was seriously the best sandwich of my life.  

After lunch it was time to hit Disneyland! We traveled by monorail nearly everyday (except the days where there was a crazy HEATWAVE, and the monorail shutdown due to overheating). But on this day, without asking, we were offered the chance to sit in the front of the monorail. That is a total Disney bucket list experience for some people. We loved the views, and our lovely driver, Debra, gave us so much history on the monorail. 

I'm not going to share everything that happened on the trip going forward, instead I will only focus on new things. One of the new rides I rode that day was the Storybook Land Canal Boats. I've always wonder what was on the other side of that whale's mouth. And now I know! It is miniatures of scenes from Disney movies, pretty darn cute. 

I also got to ride the Matterhorn Bobsleds for the first time ever! I was super excited because on my previous trips, it had been closed. Earlier in the week, I got in line for the sleds, and they broke down. But I was successful this time round in the single rider line! I wouldn't say I loved the ride, it was jerkier than I would have liked (but not scary). I did love seeing Harold the Yeti on the inside though!

Some of the magic of Disney is you can turn the corner and see something awesome. This day we not only saw Mary Poppins and Burt strolling down the street, we also got to stop and listen to the Pearly Band!

After a few hours in the park, we spent a few hours in the pool. I really wanted to take it easy for the half-marathon in the morning. We had a dinner date that night downtown with my two best friends from California, Albert and Rianne. I met Albert in Grad School many moons ago, when I didn't know a soul, outside of Adam, in California. We became close friends, and soon we all became couple friends. Albert and Rianne were pregnant when we left California, and this was my first time that I got to meet their precious son, Roald. What a lovely evening we all had. 

Afterwards, we did a lot of shopping, maybe ate a churro, and we headed back to the room. It was an early night for me, as I had a half-marathon in the morning!

 

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Southern Tennessee Power Classic Half-Marathon

So a couple of weeks ago, I went into the rundisney website so I could put in my proof of time from a recent 10k, so I could get a higher corral placement for marathon weekend. This is important because the higher your corral, the more time you get for the race, and the more likely you won't be attacked (swept) by the scary, balloon ladies! I have yet to see the balloon ladies, but just the thought of them strikes fear in my already overly anxious heart. 

But on the website, I saw you couldn't use a 10k time, like you could for the Disney Half-Marathons I've done (I should have figured that out months ago).  You had to have at least a ten miler! I thought, "Crap." Because my other halfs were fun races, and I ran the whole thing, but I stopped and took my time. So my times weren't usable. 

So with the proof of time deadline being October 6th, that left me two weeks to find and run a half-marathon. So I signed up for the Southern Tennessee Power Classic Half-Marathon in Winchester, Tennessee, for October 3rd.

Friday afternoon, I packed up my bags to road trip up to Tennessee. Winchester is an hour and half away, so I ended up renting a hotel room for the night before the race. I went alone because there was really no reason for Adam to come. We didn't want to figure out what to do with Link. I'm a lot more confident in my running than I was when I first started racing, so while I love the support of having someone there with me, it isn't required. 

I loved my little road trip though, I blasted my tunes the whole way, car dancing like crazy, and singing at the top of my lungs. I posted this pic on facebook to tell everyone I was doing the #soloyolo.

When I got to Winchester, I headed to pick up my race packet, which was at this old-timey theatre downtown (the Oldham theatre), which was pretty cool ! The town of Winchester is small (a lot like my hometown), and it has a beautiful square area. It was decorated for autumn with all these adorable owls around it. I adore owls, as they are my college mascot. So of course, I had to text a picture of them to my college buddies.  

The lady I talked to at the packet pick-up was so sweet! When I showed her my ID, she said she wasn't sure that was me, and I explained to her that I had lost 200 lbs. She was impressed, I don't wear my weight loss on my sleeve, but when someone notices it, I feel a little proud. She told me the local rotary was having a spaghetti dinner really cheap for race participates. So I got a to-go box, and they loaded me up with so much food! I only ate a fourth of it. I spent the rest of the night watching TV in the room. 

I had to laugh because in the hotel room I was flipping through channels, and I saw these "teams of contestants" and I thought, "it's The Biggest Loser. I haven't seen this in forever! I'll watch this. " But then I realized everyone was skinny and not crying, and I was watching The Amazing Race.

It was so cold the morning of the race, like 47 degrees! It was also drizzly, but I knew I would be fine once I started running. I felt pretty good when the race started. Fairly quickly I was at the back of the pack, and a police car was following behind me THE WHOLE TIME. Holy anxiety, Batman. Eventually I forgot about him though.

I knew all I could do was run my own race, and not care that I was last! 

My first mile time was somewhat slow, and not at all what I wanted if I wanted to get a sub 3:15 race time. This was partly due to having to warm up more and partly due to it being such a hilly course. But my split times decreased for the first 4 miles, and pretty soon I was averaging a 14:30 mile, which I was pleased with. 

It rained the entire race! I have never raced in the ran. Sometimes it was sprinkling, sometimes it was raining hard. And sometimes that was downright miserable. I was more concerned about wet socks (and getting blisters) than anything else. But it also felt pretty hard core to run in the rain! 

The last mile was really tough, but I ended up passing a few people I had been behind the entire time. I finished strong and never quit running!

I was really pleased with my half-marathon time! I wanted a sub 3:15 race time, and I got that. I was very proud of myself because this was the most physically demanding race I have ever done.  As soon as the race was done, I immediately became freezing cold. I was miserable and soaking wet! I couldn't wait to get some dry clothes on. So I stopped at the gas station before I got on the road to go home to change.  Being dry for the first time in three and a half hours was heavenly.

When I got home I took my first ever epsom salt bath to try to get rid of some of the soreness. And oh my gosh Epsom salts are the best thing ever. I have taken a bath with them every day since. And every time  I take one, I immediately zonk out afterwards, and wake up confused about where I am! It's the best. 

I'm so happy with how this half went, and I just can't believe in 100 something days, I'm going to be running a full marathon!!

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Project Life 2015: Week 36-38

It took me a while to get back on routine after getting back from vacation, but last weekend when I got my pictures in, I sat down, and knocked out three weeks of project life in one evening. I'm not going to lie, it was not a bad way to spend a Saturday night #homebody.

Even though I am doing my full Disney digital album, I still needed to represent the week we were in Disneyland in my yearly album. So I picked out a few pictures I loved from the trip, stuck in some filler cards, put on some embellishments, and called it done! 

I purposely did no journaling on this layout because everything I need to say, I will say in my Disney album!

I really love the "Never too Old for Fairytales" card on this side. It pretty much sums up the reason I love Disney so much!

Week 37 was my niece's wedding, and it was such a special day, that I didn't even include anything else for the week! And I will be blogging about the special day soon (I'm so behind), but I do love how this layout turned out. 

I had to include this selfie we took with our girls, it is one of my favorite pictures ever. And the QR code links to the totally emotionally speech the bride's sister (my other niece, Cassie) gave. I wanted to remember that moment forever. 

My favorite part of this side of the layout is how I included our place card settings from the dinner table. I think I just loved seeing Uncle/Aunt of the Bride on there. We were just so proud to be part of the big day.

Week 38 was the week back from vacation, and it certainly had its share of highs and lows. Which included not WANTING to be back from vacation, and then us being out of internet for the week, and Adam having to work at Panera. 

I thought the "sigh" card, and the "I need a do over," cards explained everything perfectly. But I also included a picture of my new pair of pants that I love, and a shot from group therapy. 

The weekend was much happier! There was the food truck rally, and the pictures from the little dinner party we threw. I also included some shots of the new fall decor, and the family getting ready for the Packers Game! I'm really thinking Link needs a cheese head now.

Materials Used:

• Studio Calico: Fairytale Card Set
• Project Life: Adventure Kit and Chipboard Stickers (retired) 
• Studio Calico: Brimfield Kit

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Disneyland 10k: Race Report

On the second day in California, I got up at 4:30 a.m. for the 5:30 a.m. race (The Disneyland 10k). I put on my Baymax race day costume that I loved (especially my I'm Not Fast t-shirt)! I was a little bit sore from hitting the parks a little too hard the day before, but I wasn't too concerned. I run 10ks in my training all the time, so I felt ready. I headed to corral D, which was way back from the starting line. But Corral D, only took about 20 minutes to get up to the starting line after the race begun. 

I got a little disheartened because although I never looked at my time, it seemed like I was going really slow! The first mile was taking me forever. And then I rounded a corner, and I saw mile marker 2! I had totally missed the first mile marker! I was relieved, and then disappointed because I wanted a picture of all the mile markers.  But I was super excited to enter Disney's California Adventure (as I had never been there). I ran past Paradise Pier & The Mickey Fun Wheel. And then I entered Carsland! And I was just amazed as I thought I would be. It was like stepping into the movie. I stopped to take a picture with "The King."

I loved the villains theme of the race. There were a lot of great villains on the course. I especially loved the ones from the Song of the South! I'm hoping at upcoming races I'll feel confident enough in my time to stop and meet the characters, but I always get anxiety about standing in line, because I don't want to get swept!

Of course, nothing beats running through Disneyland and the Castle proper! I always linger a little too long in the parks, but I can't help it. Running through them is just magical! 

After leaving Disneyland, I ran through Downtown Disney, and I headed toward the finish line. With all my stopping, I finished the race in about1:49, which I was totally cool with. I never run these races to get good times! It's all about having fun. 

I couldn't believe the next day I would be doing it all over again, running the half-marathon!

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