Star Wars – Slacker Runner

Another reason I was so paranoid about running last weekend is because I had big plans for the week ahead.

I was going to Disneyland!

It’s kind of becoming and annual tradition for my mother and I. Unfortunately, part of that tradition includes me being sick… every single time. So when I felt a sore throat coming on, I hibernated in hopes of kicking it to the curb. Not so much but I was able to get through 2 days of Disneyland and California adventure and 2 mall stops. Whew.

Disneyland was awesome, we hit all of our favorite rides. Made it into Star Wars land which looked amazing but the ride was kind of a snooze. I had higher hopes.

California Adventure was awesome- it was the first time I had been there. Riding the River Ride at 9:30 in the morning might not have been a good idea but oh well. I managed to ride the Incredicoaster without running away screaming. However, I literally screamed my way through the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. Like the entire time. A nice woman next to me warned me that I needed to stow my purse much better before we started and then laughed while I screamed. Holy crap, that thing needs a better warning.

If characters are your thing, this trip was so much better than the last too. Last year, we saw no characters but this year- Chip and Dale, Stormtroopers, Rey, Woody, Jessie, Groot, Captain America, Lightnig McQueen and Mater. I feel like I am forgetting someone too. Oh- Chewie!

Then I made it home in time on Thursday for a later showing of Star Wars with my brother- another kind of tradition.

Friday rolled around and I told myself to go run but this introvert was tired. I kind of just hibernated again and recharged.

I did make it out for some miles on Saturday and crossed 5K off my list. I overdressed since I still wasn’t feeling great and alterated between being to warm and freezing. Probably not a good sign,

Sunday brought the pouring rain and an intensified cough. So instead of risking making things worse and running in the rain, I kept my workout indoors. I did 10 miles on the stationary bike and a few minutes with the kettlebell. It is sad how 6 minutes with a kettlebell exhausted me.

Is it sadder that I want to count all the days of walking around Disneyland as training for Napa? Oh, and I still need to tell you about Napa. Oops.

How was your week?

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?