Category: Reward

Slacker does Disney

Sorry, couldn’t help myself. 🙂

Ok, I hadn’t been to Disneyland since Disneyland Grad Nite my senior year of high school. People, that was last century!! I’ve been trying to go for a couple of years now but never made it work. My birthday, mom’s birthday, random day in March, nothing seemed to work out. Then last year, it occurred to me- Surf City! Disneyland is like 5 minutes from Huntington Beach. Ok, more like 30. But then that was in the middle of their not so little measles outbreak. Yeah, umm no thank you. Cut to this year.

We were torn between going to Disneyland on Sunday after the race or Monday. I was concerned with how sore I would feel- Disneyland is a lot of walking. Then my little lung issue put a kibosh on a Sunday trip. After lounging around the hotel on Sunday, we headed to Disneyland bright and early on Monday. Yay! So while this is not running related, how about a little recap of my little adventure?

Favorite Ride-

More like experience but Star Tours rocked. I remember loving it years ago, but the addition of Star Wars made my inner nerd so very happy. We even managed to ride it twice. Which was sweet because there was more than one story line!!! The second time was also the longest wait in line of the day but that’s ok, we had some visitors while in line-

Other Rides-

Throughout the day we managed to ride the Matterhorn (2x), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (story there), Hyperspace Mountain, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the teacups, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones is still one of my favorites, the sharp turns and drops are awesome. Haunted Mansion as an adult is only meh, kind of cheesy. And Pirates of the Caribbean?! Where did that come from? I don’t think I had ever been on that ride before because I remembered nothing! And considering I ended up drenched, I would have remembered that! Oh and there’s a random restaurant inside the ride? How do you get reservations there?

Fun Story-

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Yeah, normally this is a pretty speedy coaster (for Disneyland) and our first ride had started normally. Halfway through, the coaster had just started to go up a hill when it just stopped. There was a pre-recorded message about a slow train ahead on the tracks so we thought it may have been part of the ride. Nope! Soon another voice came on the speakers announcing that all the trains had stopped due to technical difficulties and that we needed to stay in our seats until we were evacuated. What?! Eventually some cast members came out and instructed us to stay in our sits as the coaster had to be anchored before we could get off. Apparently the coaster could roll if it wasn’t tied down. Then the fire department showed up. Meanwhile the couple sitting behind me and my mother were throwing a fit about their lunch plans and trying to get off before the fire department showed up. One of the cast members threatened to get security. Truthfully, I was trying not to laugh. Once off we were escorted through the tunnels on foot.

Bummer-

Due to the building of Star Wars land and some scheduled refurbishments, there were quite a few rides closed. Splash Mountain, Autopia, Jungle Cruise, Mark Twain’s Riverboat, the pirate ship and some other attractions were all closed. Boo. 😦 Also, we were in line for Hyperspace Mountain again when it too was shut down. Also it turned out to be a school holiday so the place was very crowded. And hot- who predicted temps in the 80’s in February?!

Nerd Moment-

Super Hero HQ was nerd-vana for me. Well, that and Star Wars Launch Bay. Seriously awesome. And I finally found myself a trucker hat. I’ve wanted one for running but could never find one I liked.

The take home-

We saved all the stores for last as we didn’t want to have to carry anything. I am not a huge Mickey or Minnie fan (sorry!) nor am I fond of the princesses. My favorite Disney cartoon is Lilo and Stitch. I remember seeing it in the theater when it came out years ago. I was a little over 20 and I went with my best friends-at that time they were all guys. All 4 of us were sniffling by the end, I still get teary eyed watching it today. So I wanted a Stitch stuffed animal. I finally found one in the very last store. I swear I picked it up, hugged it and proceeded to carry it around the store like a 5 year old. #noshame

Fail-

Everyone was gathering to watch the parade in the afternoon but we chose to skip it and go try Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again. While this ride was successful, we missed something big. Peyton Manning was in the freakin’ parade!!! Seriously?!

All in all it was a fun and tiring day. Maybe someday I will finally make it to California Adventure. 🙂

Ever been to Disneyland?

Favorite ride?

Favorite Disney character? Who is Mr. Toad?

Award Season

Last week felt like the longest week, granted that was probably aggravated me trying to knock myself into next week. 🙂 Friday was stressful but I knew if I could get through I had a whole weekend ahead of me! I briefly thought about trying to get a few miles in after work but my head was still a little off and hearing my boss exclaim at how bruised my head was, I decided against it.

Saturday I was up earlier than I would have liked but that was ok because I spent the day shopping in SLO. The weather was great, there was a storm coming in but it didn’t get windy until we were leaving. The food was super yummy and I didn’t do too much damage to my bank account. 🙂 I managed to get in a few miles when I got back to town, but man they were rough. It was like my brain forgot how to work my legs. I managed to bring the pace down by the end but my body was rebelling. Even though it was harder than I would have liked, I loved that I was out and moving. Especially when I consider that I am now less than 28 days from my next half marathon- SLO!!!!!

Moving on- I call my blog Slacker Runner for a few reasons, one of which is that I am a huge procrastinator. If I can do it later, I will, usually at the last minute. I am the exact opposite at work, but in most other aspects of my life, I am a Slacker. I was recently nominated for some blog awards and I am just now following up. Sorry!!! So time to rectify that –

The Versatile Blogger Award-

Suzan over at Welcome to the Nuthouse sent me this shout out last week. Thanks!! She’s awesome and if you haven’t checked out her blog, you should go do so! And I found out that we both just completed our 6th half marathon last Sunday 🙂

Now, there are always rules-

1. Thank the person who nominated you for your new award, and be sure to include a link back to their site in your acceptance speech. DONE!
2. Share 7 random facts about yourself– hmmmmm
3. Pass on the award to 13 other versatile bloggers.—- that’s a big number

7 Random Facts–
1. My mind just went blank. it does that sometimes.
2.   I have a freaky memory for numbers and some things. Sometimes I can’t decide if coworkers and customers are impressed or scared.
3. The list of childhood movies and cartoons that I haven’t seen is pretty large.   Actually some popular movies too. I get a lot of shocked faces. Like The Sound of Music and A Christmas Story or any of the Matrix Movies. Never seen them.
4. I worked at a Taco Bell for 10 years.   Spent most of those years as Assistant Manager before I left.   Oh the stories.
5. I went stag to my Senior Prom. My dress was borrowed and in recollection was a little more scandalous than I thought.
6. I got through the City to Sea half marathon by listening to Hannah Montana songs. No not Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana.   And I am not ashamed.
7. I love owls. I have necklaces and ear rings and artwork and decorative pillows. My boss even bought me an LED one for station at work.

Now for the nominations-

Life-Everyone Has One

Close to 13 right?

Thanks again Suzan!!

So, with my slacker-ness, I make no guarantees that I will message any of you before you read this (if you read this 🙂 ) so consider this your notification and run with it! If you’ve been nominated before, congrats! Just take this as further confirmation of your awesomeness. If these awards just aren’t your thing, well that’s cool too. You’re still cool. Oh and another random fact- my lingo is still in the 90’s. 🙂

The other one is The Liebster Award by the lovely Jenni on the Run, but that will require some thought and deserves a post of its own.

How was everyone’s weekend?

Now, I’m off to order a new gear bag, any suggestions?

The Difference in Numbers

It’s almost Friday!!!!

The schedule for Wednesday showed a 5 mile run. However, sleep on Tuesday night while better than Monday was the opposite of good. I was tired and my head hurt so I skipped the run and went for a rest day. Since running 2 days in a row, I was hoping a day off might. No dice. Again with the restless, crappy sleep. I barely managed to drag my tired butt out of bed this morning at 6:40. Why was this bad? I have leave for work by 7:15. If only I could find a way to channel that speed into running. 🙂

Work for the last week has been great all day and then chaos for the last 45 minutes. Is there some weird moon thing going on or something? Today was no different. I also spent over 30 minutes sitting in my car at lunch waiting for a car wash. Apparently I wasn’t the only one running errands on lunch. So now the outside matched the inside. Well, kind of. Now that it looks all shiny and clean, I can see just how badly I cleaned the inside windows. Seriously, I make them look worse after cleaning them.

After the last minute craziness at work, I changed and was ready to hit the gym. Tonight’s run called for an easy 3. However I ended up stuck behind a car going 20 miles under the speed limit who brake checked me every quarter mile. So much for a nice calming commute 😦 So I had some energy to burn by the time I finally made it to the gym. Once again I had the Garmin and Nike+ to track my miles. Combined with my fuel band on the other hand, I probably looked like the biggest gear nerd. The place was packed. It was the busiest I had seen it all week, I almost didn’t find a treadmill.

Once I found one, I started it up as well as all my gear. I admit I walked a minute of every mile. I ran 10 miles at race pace before walking in my last half marathon, but I can’t run one on the treadmill. What gives? Plus I still haven’t mastered drinking and running, ha! Ok, I’m not that bad but it’s a great excuse. 🙂 I hit 3 miles at just shy of 31 minutes and kept going. I actually sped up. I was tired and hot but feeling ok so I pushed on. 4.5 miles in 44:55 so I pushed stop on both the Garmin and Nike. I walked another quarter mile cool down.

Stat check: The treadmill read 4.5 miles in 44:55. Nike said 4.37 miles in 44:56 and the Garmin? Well, Garmin said 3.90 miles in 45:01. Hmmmm, what to believe. Other than the 60 seconds of walking each mile, I ran between 6.4 and 7.1, so I really want to believe the treadmill. I think the Garmin will only be used outside from now on. Once home, it was time for another smoothie. And hopefully some decent sleep very, very soon. Please? I rarely ever get in a run on Fridays, so I am looking forward to getting in my long run this weekend.

Oh, yesterday I received the medal from the only virtual race I did last year. I’m still not sure how I feel about those but I will admit that I did this one just for the medal. My inner nerd girl was jumping up and down-

How has everyone’s week been?

Any races this weekend?

The Slacker in the Sisterhood ~

It’s Monday!! And the first one back from vacation. Note to self, never go back on a Monday. Overall it wasn’t bad, one person called in sick but we made it work. After work, we all hung out and ate pizza and decorated for Christmas. We hung so many lights, going up and down the ladder felt like a workout. There are garlands wrapped around the beams and lovely silver bells hanging down as well. Snowflakes and lights fill the windows. There is a little more to finish up tomorrow and then the tree comes on Friday!! It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Well as long as you don’t go outside, it was a lovely 70+ degrees today with a bright shining sun.

Today was also my mother’s birthday so I then rushed home with flowers for her. She wanted a cake…oops. Tomorrow the plan is to take her and my pops to dinner for their birthdays (his is Wednesday).

There is a decided lack of running in my schedule right now but I have chosen no to stress about it. I am calling it a rest period. I am going on day 5, let’s see how long til I get twitchy. After the last race, I was tired, so I figured a little rest won’t hurt. But it will only be a little one!!!!! I promise, help hold me accountable people!!

In brighter news, I was recently nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. Say that 5 times fast. The nomination came from the wonderful TIA and the awesome Tartan Jogger. Thanks Ladies! I won’t lie, sometimes these awards confuse me. They are amazing to get, don’t get me wrong, they sometimes bring back memories of signing yearbooks and never knowing what to write. “Have a bitchin’ summer” anyone?

So the rules are as follows (I think)- Thank the blogger who nominated you, answer some questions, nominate 10-12 other bloggers and notify them on their blogs. Easy enough right? So Q&A time-

Favorite color– Alternates between purple and grey, depends on my mood.

Favorite animal- Cats- they are self-sufficient enough for my admittedly Slacker self, and slightly anti-social like me, ha!

Favorite non-alcoholic drink– Diet Coke, seriously I’m addicted.

Facebook or Twitter– I’m still working out Twitter (17 followers, woo hoo 😦 ), so Facebook.

Favorite pattern– Ummm, help? Chevron?

Favorite number– 394, anyone know why?

Favorite Flower– Rose, is it narcissistic if that’s also my middle name?

What is your passion– Still looking for it, but when I do, I will shout it from the rooftops.

So next- my nominees in no particular order-

Don’t Blink. Just Run

I Thought they said RUM

See This Girl Run

Lucy on the Lookout

Hmmm, just noticed a lack of female bloggers I follow. I need to find more!!!! Any suggestions? I would have nominated TIA and Tartan Jogger, but someone beat me to it! 🙂

Ok, I totally admit that I am a Slacker, and I am going to do my best to notify everyone on their blogs, (yearbooks again) however, if I do not in the next 24 hours, and any of my nominees read this before I do, please don’t wait for me, enjoy your shout out!!!!! Also if you have previously been nominated just use this as confirmation that you rock.

Hope everyone had a good Monday!

Any Reindeer or Jingle Runs in the future?

Hello Cutie

Sundays for me alternate between track days and Slacker Sundays. And despite my best intentions to have yesterday be a track day, the Slacker in me won over. The time came to go run and well, a nap really sounded like a good idea at the time. I can’t even say that vacation brain kicked in because it was just me.

Today was the first real day of my vacation, and I admit I slept in, late. It was kind of awesome. I had plans to go to lunch with my mom, run some errands and hit the gym in the afternoon. Those plans were derailed in the cutest of ways.

My parents have been fencing their yard in preparation of getting a dog. It’s almost done but not quite so some thought the dog would be the beginning of next year. Surprise!!!! My dad was totally not prepared for us to show up with a dog. Neither, really was my mother, there was nothing for the puppy yet.

So the afternoon was spent taking care of this adorable fur ball (so hard I know 🙂 ) and running around getting stuff for her. She now has a collar and a leash, a bed and some toys, a squeaker frog! What she does not have is a name. The whole family is in on it now, but no one agrees. I said Marathon, my brother said Ammo, my dad said “not thought out”. My mother has shot everything down, I am currently calling her Misfire, but my mom hates that and it is her dog.

Every time she would bring up getting a dog, I would tell her that it had to be able to run. That way I could “borrow” her and train her to run with me. I have always wanted to run with a dog, instead of being attacked by them. She is an Aussie/ Lab mix and the lady said that she could totally be a runner. We would just have to start her early and slowly and she could do shorter runs. Woo hoo!

Even after I chased her around the yard all afternoon I knew I should get a run in. According to my Nike fuelband, chasing a puppy does not earn you many points. 😦 It was getting dark and I did not feel like going to the gym. So I changed into whatever was on the top of my running drawer and went for a quick run. Good lord, I was obnoxious.

Damn, that's bright! — Damn, that’s bright!

But, racing the darkness, I completed 3.8 miles. If I could have seen my phone to know how close I was to 4 I would have run more. But that’s for another day.

Anyone have any tips for puppy training?

Hope everyone had a good Monday!!!!

And some last cuteness-