7 posts tagged “wdw”
Havybeaks recently posted this response to a Trail Running Blog Tag from Scott Dunlap and Paul Charteris. I figured that I'll give it a go as well but, like havybeaks, my answers are more general in nature than trail specific:
1. Most memorable moment on the trails… was the 2007 WDW Marathon in early January (race report). I went out way too fast in very hot/humid conditions and thus dropped of my goal pace at about mile 14 but the experience of a marathon + Disney was awesome. I'd recommend it to any runner. I ran a 3:51:44.
2. Best new trail I discovered in 2007… I dunno really. I did find a new six mile route from work but its more of a convenience route rather than a great route.
3. My best performance of the year was… I did not run many races in '07 and the ones that I did run weren't all that fast (i.e. no PRs this year except for the marathon). Of the races that I did run, I think that I performed the best at the Seaside Half Marathon in early March (race report). I ran a 1:38:07 which was only 30 seconds off my PR for the distance. I hope to train and run a 1:35:00 half mary this year in order to qualify for the CF National Running Championship.
4. I do not know how I previously survived without… my Amphipod Hydraform Handheld Pocket handheld water bottle (gear review). I used to run with a regular handheld water bottle and I found that the round cross-section of the bottles would lead to hand cramps on my longer runs. The ellipitcal cross-section bottles used by Amphipod solve this problem and the pocket on the handle works great for gels, ID cards, or credit cards.
5. The person I would most like to meet on a trail in 2008... While I wouldn't be able to keep up to his pace or run as long as he can, I'd love to see Scott Jurek out on the trails/roads (earlier post regarding Scott). This guy's ultrarunning preformances are just amazing.
6. The race I am most excited/scared about in 2008 is... the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon at the end of March (original post). I'm running/slogging this one with a team from my work. This isn't a regular mary; the course goes through the high desert terrain of White Sands Missile Range, N.M., conducted in honor of the heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II. In the division our team is entered, we will be completing the distance while wearing BDUs, hydration packs, and combat boots.
Wed, 5 Dec - I was able to sneak in a six mile run after classes and before our formal dinner. The cold conditions kept the snow nice and crunchy to run on.
Thu, 6 Dec - Final 13 mile long run in Kingston before return home to Florida. It was a bit warmer on this run so I had to deal with some slushier roads.
I haven't run since 6 Dec :-( Once I returned from my month away from home, I caught a nasty little bug from my wife and boys; this kept me out of work for a day and off the roads for a few more. Between trying to catch up with work issues, Xmas shopping, and the odd holiday party; I just could not get back to running the week of 10-16 Dec.
While I did not run this past week, I did do lots of walking while visiting Disney with the family. When on family vacation I normally bring along my running stuff in order to sneak in a few miles on the local roads or at least a quick run on a treadmill if available -- I decided against this tactic this time around. While I feel guilty for not running, I'm actually pretty glad that I did not even try as I have no idea when I would have found the time to lace up my shoes for a run.
If all goes well I will be able to get out for an hour or so tomorrow.
The family and I are spending our final week at WDW for 2007. While bouncing around Animal Kingdom today two weird things happened at the park; we heard the PA system and Everest was closed for most of the day. It got even weirder when I heard the PA system call for the same people a number of times. While playing with the kids, I overheard some other park guests talking to a park employee regarding the closing of Everest earlier that day. It seems that this family was the next group in line to board the ride when "a man was hurt/ill" and necessitated the closing of the ride.
When we got home we found the linked news story on the net.
We won Dream Fastpasses while at WDW!
If you are unaware what I'm talking about read this >> Disney has been celebrating it's Year of a Million Dreams (and has recently announced it will continue the 'event' through 2008. The best part is the Disney Dreams Giveaway promotion, where over a million extra-special dreams are randomly awarded. These giveaways include a night in the all new Cinderella Castle Suite, a DREAM FASTPASS badge to enjoy some of the most popular Disney attractions with little or no wait, selected to be a parade grand marshal, or even a World Tour trip to Disney Parks around the globe.
When we visit the Magic Kingdom we first visit Fantasyland so that we can do all the rides that our boys enjoy while the lines are short and the boys are well rested. This time we hit Small World first; it's definitely not my favourite ride but watching my boys faces is worth it. As we departed the ride we were presented with our Dream Fastpasses. Yet again the end of Small World was the best part.
Our plans for a relaxed day at the Magic Kingdom were tossed aside and we aggressively hit the park to make the most of our Dream Fastpasses. I was concerned that the boys would meltdown about halfway through the day but they pulled through like troopers. We pretty much did all the major rides twice (except the Lilo and Stitch one as I refuse to try that one) and even without Fastpasses the lines were pretty short for most of the day.
Marketplace @ Downtown Disney; the natural shopping extension of Walt Disney World with all the excitement and grandeur of the parks... not so much.
On our trip to WDW last week, we decided to head over to Downtown Disney during our mid-week down day. In particular we were headed to the supposedly big World of Disney store in order to pick up some Disney-themed Halloween costumes for the boys. We had already seen the costumes we were interested in, Peter Pan and Captain Hook, within the parks but we were told that the World of Disney store had more/better stock.
First a quick disclaimer: Anywhere at WDW finding Disney costumes for girls is ridiculously easy and there are lots of options. Finding Disney costumes for boys, on the other hand, is very frustrating. Unless you want a Captain Jack outfit, there is little selection and few sizes available.
The World of Disney store in the Marketplace of Downtown Disney is not big. I doubt if its any larger than the combined stores on Main Street of the Magic Kingdom. The selection is no different than what is available within the parks and in some cases they have less stock (or maybe they were just unwilling to look in the back). My sons did like the gigantic screen that was showing various Disney movie scenes and the large scaled model of Cinderella's Castle.
We continued to look around the Marketplace and I was continuously unimpressed with the stores. I certainly got a kick out of the Lego store but it was just a store with some simple play areas for the kids. There was no "magic".
I know that most of the pizazz of Downtown Disney is for the food and nightlife. I certainly hope its more impressive that the Marketplace.
P.S. Later the same day my wife stopped into the Disney Store while shopping at the Florida Mall. The quality and price of the Disney goods sold there far exceeded that sold within WDW. She immediately returned the costumes we had purchased at the World of Disney store in order to purchase cheaper and better quality costumes from the Disney Store. The cashier at the store told my wife that many of the Disney cast members shop at the Florida Mall's Disney Store when they want to purchase Disney stuff because the goods sold there are better than in the parks.
Got back yesterday from a week's visit to Walt Disney World with the family. As can be expected, we had a great time.
For part of the week we were joined by some friends of ours now living in Florida. The two pairs of kids had a fantastic time playing together and thus provided us parents with a drop or two of sanity.
This was the first time that we rode Splash Mountain. I thought that this ride was simply another one of those "ride a silly log around a water track until the final drop" rides. Boy was I wrong. This ride was very cool with the added Brer Rabbit story being told.
I'm already looking forward to our return trip in the fall.
The first half of the course went quite well; I was in the first corral, I was lined up with the Clif 3:30 pacer and was able to stay with him and his posse for 14 miles, I kept a sub 8 pace for the first half, kept to my hydration/nutrition plan, and managed to high five a bunch of Disney characters as I ran through the Magic Kingdom.
Things started to go wrong at about mile 14. I started slipping away from the pace group and this is when I realized that I would be unable to keep up my pace for the long haul (I should have realized this from the start line).
Between mile 21 to the end my pace further slowed to 9:50 min/mile. The run thru MGM Studios was pretty cool with the many Disney/MGM characters standing about to greet us runners. I did feel a bit intimidated as Darth Vader and his Stormtrooper guards loomed over me as I took a water and gel walking break immediately following one of the aid stations. Just around mile 26 I managed to see my wife in the rather large spectator crowd watching a bunch of sweaty and sore folks stumbling towards the finish line.
I managed to cross the finish line in a chip time of 3:51:42 with an average pace of 8:50 mins/mile.
One of the best parts of the race was the Monday evening afterwards.
I spent Sunday afternoon thru Friday afternoon visiting all four parks at WDW with my wife and sons; it was a great time (more posts to come on the fun we had).
Overall the marathon experience was fantastic and I feel that I may have spoiled myself by having WDW as my first completed marathon (I had a bad experience in Ottawa in 1996). The spectator and WDW cast support was fantastic, lots of great places to run through, the organization was done very very good, and my family was able to turn my marathon into a great vacation. I'm not sure if I can swing next year's WDW marathon but I'm defiantly thinking seriously about it.
Photos to the right (from the top):
- I am running down the ramp from Cinderella's Castle. I was running pretty good at this time (although my fake smile for the photographers had already faded as I figured that my picture had already been taken).
- In this one I've got Mt Everest in the background as I ran thru the Asia section of Animal Kingdom. This is around the time that I realized that trying to stick to my goal 8:00 min/mile pace despite the rather warm and humid conditions had been a really bad idea.
- Here I am running thru MGM and Piglet is in the background.
- Here is a photo my wife snapped of me as I neared the finish line. The Canadian "cast" in Epcot handed me their mini Canada flag when they saw my 'Canada' hat. It was pretty cool to hear the many "Go Canada" cheers in the last mile.
- And finally here I am crossing the finish line. While the clock says 3:52:19, my chip time was 3:51:42.
