Blogging

I did much better from the road than from home when it comes to posts. Plus there was more fun stuff to talk about in Orlando.
The week has consisted of work, tending to the car and cleaning the house. Work will always be there. It was just a matter of getting back into the swing of things. Tending to the car is more of a logistical nightmare. The estimate has been submitted. The car is still at the shop. Insurance company has not found the estimate yet in their system to make a decision. Body shop says car is not drivable. Insurance company reminds me I did drive it all the way back from Orlando. So I have a loaner that needs to go back to the dealer tomorrow. I won't have a decision on the car as it is a holiday. Like i said. Logistical nightmare.
As for the cleaning. Yes, I know I have a cleaning lady that comes every other week. It is to give me more time for training. But I was kind of grossed out upon returning home. So decided I needed to do my own version of scrubbing. It is more the corners and the base boards and under the cushions and things like that. And you could vacuum up after the little guy daily. It was a busy few days of it. Finalizing laundry today.
Maybe I will be inspired by other things this week that will be more interesting

what a week

first the fridge
then the accident
now i have some allergic skin reaction rash thing going on....

i havent ran since sunday because the heat just makes my skin itch more
i have been spending all my free time washing sheets and clothes and stuff in different detergent and buying different soap... good stuff....

i hope this all passes soon

Ran a Mile!

Does that confuse you?  Well it was far more exciting for me when I was out there on the greenway realising that the foot pod/garmin were about to clock a mile and I was still running...  OK maybe we should call it jogging but...  This was the first time that I was actually at a run pace for a full mile... no walks in the mile... a full mile...  very exciting for me.
Of course when I got home and looked at the Garmin stats it wasnt as exciting for me.  The pace went up and stayed up.  The heart rate went up and stayed up.  None of that up and down like a rollercoaster from my usual routine.  But hey it is a great accomplishment I have been working towards for quite some time now.

In other news - the drive home was miserably LONG!!! I was so exhausted by the time I got home.  I took a long hot bath, crawled into bed and slept for 8 or 9 hours.

Yesterday was the pig pickin....  it was nice to see everyone... and the food was good... yesterdays workout consisted of unpacking, shopping, gardening(well weeding)...

Now off to two baby events....  a long story on how there are two on the same day...

Last day

We had to squeeze a whole lot in.... 
Animal Kingdom -- safari, kilimanjaro (Twice!), dinosaur, bug's life...  seemed like a whole lot more than that but that was alll...
Hollywood -- movie ride, star tours, darth run in, muppet movie, parade...  I was planning on riding the rockin rollercoaster but I had gotten too hot at that point and a bit dehydrated feeling...  waiting 40+ minutes to ride the rollercoaster just didnt do it for me.  And tower of terror never does it for me so there was no contemplation there.  Sure I know we discussed doing something outside my comfort zone but just couldnt bring myself to it.  Dont like that dropping feeling all that much.
Boat ride from Hollywood to EPCOT....
Thought we'd go back to England but strangely we went back to Italy...  I am thinking this would be our country of choice.  We had bellini, bruschetta, asparagus, meat and cheese, panini, biscotti...  It was a nice light meal...
We made our way back to the parking lot and home.
A few very long days for sure.
Now today we drive....

Today the last two parks.

I hope my energy level stays good. 
Park at EPCOT bus to Animal Kingdom.  Bus to Hollywood. Boat back to EPCOT.  The transportation alone is an adventure.
There is not much that I want to see in both parks so I am hoping for a little more time if energy level OK in EPCOT.
Always good to make closing ride Spaceship Earth.

After a good nights rest

With the walks around the park consuming the better part of 8 hours each day, my morning runs have not been occurring.  Instead I have continued with the morning sun salutation of stretches.  It seems to clear the mind and stretch out the kinks more so than a run.  Plus my feet have been aching by the end of the day... which is understandable.
Yesterday we opted to sleep in but that didnt result in much later than usual.  And we ended up at EPCOT pretty much the same time as every other park day.  So much for sleeping in.
There were only a few things in Future World we wanted to see...  Energy, Mission Space, Imagination.  They have dumbed down The Living Seas and I would much rather spend that time at the aquarium in Georgia.  And we saw The Land and Spaceship Earth the night before.
So we were on to World Showcase at a reasonably early hour.  First stop - UK!  Of course we went to Rose & Crown for a beer.  I must say it was early but one of my more pleasant experiences there to date.  Very few people inside.  Even had a chat with Gavin from Wales our bartender. 
From there were went to the French movie.  I like that movie.  If they could reconfigure it to the Soarin format it would be really cool.  (Yes, you may be noting, what about Canada?  I am not a standing in a theater in the round type of girl).  We had pastries that werent good at all.  They tasted stale and over-refridgerated.  We had wine.  That was OK but small pours in plastic glasses were not worth the price.  Off to Morocco.  Everyone suggested their tangerine daiquiri.  But to be honest at that point walking around the shops and the smell of the ever present incense was enough for there.  I have had dinner there before and it was amazing.  We opted to not do any big meals like that this time around.
USA!  We saw the fife and drum band, the choral group, and the show.  Why do I always feel like I am either going to burst into tears or fall dead asleep in that show?  They added a cameo of Steve Jobs in the closing movie.... kinda like that credit to garage computer creation in Spaceship Earth...
Back to Italy... oh did I mention the perfume in France?  We caught the sales woman's attention at my "I want to be Charlize Theron" when I grow up comment.  Actually liked Jadore but there was another that appealed to me more.  May grab some before we leave.
There was a juggling mime in Italy.  There was a chocolate shop (Werthers mostly) in Germany.  Italy lucked out again as our main meal of the day.  We decided the crisps and pastries just werent enough by 4pm.
But pretty soon after we got pretty darned tired.  The air cooled down.  A storm blew up.  We went threw Norway and Mexico and opted to head home.  Exhaustion overshadowed the magic that is Disney.
Oh one last magical item I did buy yesterday... a frangipani stick.  Stop laughing.  I have researched this for years.  And the only place to buy them is to have them shipped in stick form from Florida.  They were selling for the same price - without shipping - yesterday... so I bought one.  Wish me luck on that.

Just too tired

To give many details of todays visit.  It was just a long day.

EPCOT Flower Festival today

Soarin'

It started out as a way to switch up our day.  Hop on the monorail to EPCOT.  It is always a good ride above the park. 
Our intention was to grab a drink at the new wine cellar in Italy - Tutto Gusto. 
But we got side-tracked.  Spaceship Earth had no line - love the new Dame Judy Dench voice over.  Soarin' only had an hour wait. Living with the Land no wait.  So we did a few things before getting to Italy.  SO worth it!
Of course the skies opened up so we needed to get ponchos.  So wanted one of them.
And then made our way to Italy.  Prosecco, salami, parmigianno, hazelnut polenta torta.  A nice end to the day.
It was a long day.  We are taking a slower start today.  Headed back to EPCOT today.

Us in front..

Magic Kingdom

We worked our way to the Magic Kingdom yesterday.  Wow, what a busy day.  We saw so much.  Jungle Cruise. Tiki Room. Country Bear Jamboree. Pirates at the Caribbean.
And then we went to Splash Down Mountain.  We got juggled around in our seating... ended up IN FRONT!  And ues we ended up incredibly wet.  How hysterical.  Good times.
Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.  First time I have ever done a sit down meal at the Magic Kingdom.  From there... Haunted Mansion. Small World. Peter Pan. Snow White.
And finally SPACE MOUNTAIN.  what a laugh.  I forgot how fast that ride was. 

Hogwarts!

Morning Sunshine

Alarm went off this morning.  Didnt get as much sleep last night as we stayed up to watch The Bachelorette.  The show started off in Charlotte after all.  And now we know what the helicopters complaints were all about.  Given the number of complaints I expect there will be more helicopter sitings.  Oh, and they do jet off to Bermuda for a wee bit.  Probably find myself watching The Bachelorette for the first time.
Anyways...  the alarm went off... climbed out of bed...  yep, I can feel my feet, a little tightness in my legs, that heavy feeling.  I decided some morning sun salutation would be better for the day.
WoW!  It has been a while since I have done that.  What a great feeling.  Need to remember to add that back into my mix.
Actually going to revisit my entire mix.  No other races on the horizon.  A daunting interest to try the mud run next spring so... 
We shall see.

Harry Potter

Made the first ever venture to Universal parks today.  OK I have been to CityWalk but never into either of the theme parks.  So decided on Islands of Adventures to check out Hogsmeade.  We got there pretty close to the opening.  We made our way immediately to that part of the park.  We had heard horror stories of the wait and wanted to get an edge on it.  But the day was in our favor.  None of the rides had a very long wait.
We did the Journey ride twice.  I rode two rollercoasters all by myself.  The Spiderman was equally as entertaining as HP.  And the log flume like Jurasic Park dinosaur ride was a good laugh.
Of course laughed hardest on HP which is why we did it twice.
Lunch at Three Broomsticks was tasty.  And the butterbeer...an interesting sweet carbonated drink with a fun whipped topping.  Couldnt finish.  It was very rich.

We ended the day at Downtown Disney for some Ghiradelli hot fudge sundaes through the raindrops.
Tomorrow...  Magic Kingdom.

Resort Run

I needed to continue on getting some stress out when I woke at 6 after 9 hours of sleep.  I thought RUN.  Sure we are going to be spending the day walking around the park but I needed to get my heart rate up and the sweat on.
I snuck out of the suite so as to not wake anyone.  And just headed out.  Turn left out the front door and go.  I always think about an old acquaintance that went running while on holiday and got lost. 
Thankfully for me I am in a resort complex and no real ability to get lost.
I went down around to the end out some back units and back over to the main entrance and home again.  I suspect it is close to 2 miles as it took me a total of 24 minutes to cover the distance.
I ran 2 walked 1 with two one off 3 minute runs.  They are getting better.  So even after yesterdays mishap I am back to getting that determination back.

Happy Mothers Day

Well after all the excitement I took a short nap after my swim.
From there we went back to Devenney for Sunday roast.  The pot roast with potatoes carrots and broccoli was tasty.  Tried a little Blue Moon in the mix.  Liam, our bartender, was just as friendly as yesterday.
My mom said a good mothers day.  I suspect it could have been better.  Oh well.

Universal opens at 9 tomorrow.  I would like to get a run in ahead of time.  I dont want todays mishap to distract my objectives.

Twenty minute swim

Who knows the length of the pool here at the resort.  I swam for 20 minutes straight.  That should be close to a half mile.  I think a run will need to happen before my shower and nap.

Flat tire

When i told the Liv/giant girl yesterday that I would just call someone for assistance if I got a flat tire....  i was talking about my bike tire.  I am trying to find a bright side here.

Flat tire

When i told the Liv/giant girl yesterday that I would just call someone for assistance if I got a flat tire....  i was talking about my bike tire.  I am trying to find a bright side here.

No race today

For those of you not friends with me on FB.  Dont you wish you were?  :)
So we were taking this construction exit off the highway to get to the race.  It must be a new traffic pattern.  As I was making a left hand turn a kid on a motorcycle came barrelling up the road into the intersection and hit me.  As I was making the left hand turn it will be my fault with no citation issued. 
An hour+ sitting on the side of the road in my race attire.  EMTs. Police. Fire. The works. 
We went to the race site.  It was neat to see.  So many people.  Such a comraderie.  I felt so much on the outside with my own little experience going on. 
I returned my chip.  They offered to put me in another start time.  I declined.  I dont think I could have made it mentally. Probably would have started crying even more when I got out there on the bike all by myself.
Now we are sitting in the tire shop.  Hoping the real tire wont be impacted by the body damage.  I would like to wait to get back to NC to get any body work completed.
What to do next?  Swim at the resort.  Maybe even ride around the parking lot.  Something to get the stress and sadness out.

Pep talk

That was a great little meeting today.  The preview of the course was well worth it.  Um, that is a hill or two on those middle miles.
The overview of race day was inspiring.  Chatting about our fears and anxieties was good to hear.  Watching people swim helped calm the nerves.  And the general iverall feel was fun.

Somehow we ended up at an Irish pub for lunch.  Nice time chatting with friendly bartender Liam.  Good lunch before race day.  Salad for dinner.  Early to bed.

Downtown Disney

We had intentions of going to TRex last night for dinner.  The ljne to submit your name to wait was ridiculous.  We ended up at Fultons.  In my childhood that was Empress Lily and we would go there each visit.  It had wondeful lobster bisque soup and prime rib.  It looked the same on the inside when we walked in.  Brought back memories like they were yesterday.  But the venue has changed.  It is seafood now.
We sat at the bar waiting for our table and ended up eating at the bar.  Our two bartenders were quite attentive so you cant complain for that.
I had a local beer.  Toasted Coconut Pilsner.  It was not as dark as Guinness but not a red beer.  It reminded me of caramel with a kick.  No coconuts were harmed in the making of the beer.
Then onto one of my fried food favorites - conch fritters.  Still prefer Swizzle Inn but these were good.  Dinner consisted of steamed clams and mussels in a white wine garlic butter with tomatoes and spinach and grilled asparagus.  It sounds like a lot of food and the bill would indicate it was a lot of food but it was just right.
From there we walked around Downtown Disney.  Took all my will power to not be sucked into Haagen Dazs or Ghiradelli.  Maybe post race day treat?
The variations of live music as we walked around was the most entertaining.  The overwhelming amount of people... always breathtaking and overwhelming.

Tomorrow is prep day

Pick up bib and have a course walk through.  Open water swim option as well.  May or may not do that.

Have arrived

It took a little over 8 hours to drive here.  Got an early start and made some stops along the way...  potty break SC, gas break GA, welcome the FLA orange juice break, Daytona lunch.  It broke up the ride well.  Not as stiff or sore as I normally am.  But do want a nap right about now.
Downtown Disney for dinner this evening.
Race prep tomorrow.
Race Sunday.

Fridge issues

When it rains...

Some inspiration

Although I doubt my sprint time will even come close to this....
http://bernews.com/2012/05/duffy-wins-triathlon-world-cup-in-mexico/

The count down begins

Four day work week. There is so much I need to get done in the process. I don't have food for the week. And I can't let that distract me from the task at hand for that weight before Sunday.
So I will be headed to the grocery store after work. Some things to pack for the road trip as well.
Lots to do.

Fifty done

Well now that I have completed book one I learn that in fact the characters etc are supposed to resemble Twilight. Something about fan fiction. Ok so it wasn't as blatant a rip off as I had feared. I am sucked in and will read the next one. Just trying to put that on the back burner as we enter the final stretch of race preparation. Yesterday I rode the 12+ miles I hae anticipated and the run. Today I thought I would do the same until I felt the stiffness from yesterday. I opted to start to slow it down some. THen KP called to see if I wanted to swim in their neighborhood pool - outside. So I ended up swimming. 950 yards. Gonna bring the bike to my moms to work in some riding the rest of this week. Plus it will be easier to I assemble there than the prying eyes of others if I do it here. That's just a mild paranoia on my part. I think I will work on some light riding and running this week. I think it will also burn a good amount of calories So be prepared to follow the count down to race. As for 50.... I think I write better emails.

50 Shades of Grey

I am going to be a buzz kill. Before I get any further in this book I want to make my first observation.

Ana has lived with her (step)dad in the Northwestern region of our country. She chose not to live with her mom when she got remarried and the mom now lives in the Southeast. The story is from her point of view and we her the idle rumblings of her head and her self doubt. In addition she is clumsy.

Christian is adopted and I believe one of his adoptive parents is a physician. He also has a brother than is far more boisterous and jovial than he is. Who wouldn't be. Christian seems a bit intense and maybe a little sullen or brooding -thankfully just a little.

And in the beginning of the story when Ana our heroin is out on the town (kind of for the first time) she finds herself i a wee bit of a predicament. Who should appear out of no where to save her? Christian.

Am I the only on that sees screaming similarities here? Of course I know the book takes a darker turn. At that point I will start making comparisons to the OTHER vampire author if you catch my drift.

No work out tonight. Some linguine and white clam sauce to beef up a little on carbs before tomorrows ventures. Sun is up around 630. You know where I will be.

swim

this week has been all about the swim...  sure i am fearful of the hills on the bike ride but my bike ride is my bike ride...  i will get my butt up early the next two days and hit the road and hit the hils... it is what it is...  and we all know about my run - it is a constant struggle although I am slowly getting better - still nothing stellar...  but swimming in open water in a lake no less with no wall to tap or push off of... I want to make sure I am up for that... so that has been my singular focus this week... i have to say i have quite enjoyed it

my other focus has been sleep - of course as some may know that is not always the objective of my neighbors... here i am so happy to be home for two weeks to sleep in the comfort of my own bed and Monday night we have a drink fest going on outside... i said something it was getting a bit much...  of course Tuesday was OK - I suspect hangovers were on their ticket.. but Wednesday and Thursday back at it...  thankfully aside from one random door slam and an inability to find keys upon returning home those evenings werent as loud...  of course the driving that precedes the noise does concern me... makes me glad to be tucked in at home but fearful for my fence and flower garden :)

tomorrow and sunday will be some brick workouts
and the other excitement - a cinco de mayo derby party and some cooking for my new mom friend that has asked for some food...  mom's making ribs, i am doing sausage and peppers, another is making lasagna... it is nice to have someone to cook for for a change....

just a little over week now :)