A Pink Pixie Princess - Complete!

[SarahDisney]

I know you're a fan! I actually thought of you because the game I went to was against the Mets - I know you're a Yankee fan though (so I made the New York connection, at least).

Thanks for thinking of me
And I was a Mets fan until I was 6 or 7, and my mom is a big Mets fan, so I still root for the Mets sometimes. It's definitely an acceptable connection to make.

 

[Dis5150]

@Ariel484 congrats on all your progress! You are doing great! How is your standing desk working out for you? I just got one, a Varidesk and am still unsure of it. I tend to stand leaning one way or the other. It is so hard to stand with your weight distributed evenly on both feet! Who knew??

I know you are doing Tink 5 & 10k, and W&D. I thought I remembered you saying you were doing Goofy in 2017? Or is it just my imagination lol? We decided to just do the full and do Dopey next year. I will miss the bling but we are wanting to rent points and stay at AKL so decided to save money and just go with the full.

 

[Ariel484]

Thanks for thinking of me
And I was a Mets fan until I was 6 or 7, and my mom is a big Mets fan, so I still root for the Mets sometimes. It's definitely an acceptable connection to make.

I did not know that people could be fans of both - seriously, my husband and I were talking about this the other night, how people in Chicago either like the White Sox or the Cubs, but not both. If it were me I feel like I'd like both...more of a chance to root for a winner that way and more baseball to enjoy.

@Ariel484 congrats on all your progress! You are doing great! How is your standing desk working out for you? I just got one, a Varidesk and am still unsure of it. I tend to stand leaning one way or the other. It is so hard to stand with your weight distributed evenly on both feet! Who knew??

Thanks!! I have to admit...I do not stand as much as I should. Only a few minutes a day. I honestly forget to do it!

I totally know what you mean about standing the correct way. I need to do some research on how to properly set it up. There are lots of articles on how standing desks can actually hurt more than help if you don't use proper form. Who know.

I know you are doing Tink 5 & 10k, and W&D. I thought I remembered you saying you were doing Goofy in 2017? Or is it just my imagination lol? We decided to just do the full and do Dopey next year. I will miss the bling but we are wanting to rent points and stay at AKL so decided to save money and just go with the full.

I'm planning on Goofy for 2017...assuming it's actually 39.3 miles and not 19.3. I'm sorry you guys are passing on Goofy, but yay for the marathon and YAY for AKL, I love it there!! Hoping to stay there for Princess.

 

[SarahDisney]

I did not know that people could be fans of both - seriously, my husband and I were talking about this the other night, how people in Chicago either like the White Sox or the Cubs, but not both. If it were me I feel like I'd like both...more of a chance to root for a winner that way and more baseball to enjoy.

You're not really allowed to be fans of both, but I'm a rule breaker.
But ... more baseball is basically the reason I like both. I'm also really big on minor league baseball ... I like to go to a few minor league games every summer because you can get really good seats significantly cheaper than major league games. I've sat in the front row at minor league games a few times (once right behind home plate), and I could never do that at a big league stadium.

 

[Ariel484]

2017 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Trip - DEFERRED!
2017 WDW Marathon Weekend Trip - REGISTERED!

Time for some registration updates!

2017 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend: one of my sources (LOL) texted me yesterday around lunchtime to tell me that the deferral link for the Tink Weekend events had gone live. Y'all have heard me whine about deferring my PDC entry from this year to next year enough - you KNOW I dropped everything to fill out my info! I plunked down my $55 and got my confirmation email...WOOHOOOOO I am deferred to 2017! So funny that 1.) I am doing Tink weekend twice (if you'd told me that before January of this year I would have looked at you like you had 3 heads), and 2.) That I am sooo happy to be deferring, when I was so upset to do it with Princess.

I am just so relieved not to have lost the $300+ that I paid to register for the Pixie Dust Challenge! I would have been sick over that! I really do feel like they will not offer deferrals forever, and I hope to never need that option again.

And second...

2017 Marathon Weekend

I started thinking about Goofy in late January, just before my second appointment with Dr. Spine. Around that time, people were starting to talk about how 2017 would be the 20th anniversary of the WDW Half Marathon. I love me some anniversary bling, so I started thinking about signing up for the race. But more than anniversary bling, I love the WDW Marathon. I really think it's my very favorite race. I'd be bummed to be in WDW during marathon weekend and NOT do the marathon...

...so why not do both?

Once the idea popped into my head, I couldn't let it go. I just really wanted to do it.

Way back in this thread I mentioned that I emailed Dr. Spine on February 1* with some follow-up questions that were running-specific - one of those questions was "would I be an idiot to plan on doing a half marathon in November (Wine & Dine) and a marathon in January?" He said no ("not an idiot @ all"), that he saw no reason why I couldn’t be race-ready by November, but warned me that my endurance would be the last thing to come back, so I'd need to start with shorter runs. So that's what I have been doing while prepping for the Tink "15K" with Goofy in mind as a longer-term goal.

*Why February 1? 3 reasons: 1.) I'm impatient, 2.) I love to plan (both Disney trips and running schedules), and 3.) The 11-month window for DVC reservations was about to open up 4 days later, and I wanted to rent points for Marathon Weekend (and I did! The terms being that the reservation had to be paid in full and is non-refundable, so I'm locked into being in WDW over Marathon Weekend in 2017). And let me be clear that if Dr. Spine had vetoed any part of this plan, I wouldn't do any of it. I've read far too many accounts of people running through injuries and being worse off because of it...I'm stubborn, but I'm not stupid (I'd like to think so, anyway).

What else, what else...oh. Why Goofy and not Dopey? I'm not sure. Just don't feel compelled to do it every year, I guess (see earlier posts debating whether or not I want to do it in 2018). Funny little story: I posted on Instagram that I signed up for Goofy and within a minute or two I had a "not Dopey?" comment. Haha!!

So that is what the rest of 2016 looks like for me - lots of Goofiness with a little Wine-ing thrown in for good measure. And hopefully NO injuries! I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous...but I'm pretty excited, too. I'm ready for a fresh start, and I'm hoping to set myself up for an awesome 2017 and beyond.

Continued in Next Post

 

[Ariel484]

You're not really allowed to be fans of both, but I'm a rule breaker.
But ... more baseball is basically the reason I like both. I'm also really big on minor league baseball ... I like to go to a few minor league games every summer because you can get really good seats significantly cheaper than major league games. I've sat in the front row at minor league games a few times (once right behind home plate), and I could never do that at a big league stadium.

Such a rebel!
More baseball is always a good thing. When I was in grad school we lived about 20 minutes away from the Indians' AA team and we'd go to see them a decent amount. I miss doing that.

 

[ZellyB]

Woohoo!!! In for Goofy and yay on getting the deferral for Tink. It's a good day!

 

[rteetz]

Yay for Deferral and Yay for registration!!! I can't wait for next week Tuesday!

 

[Ariel484]

Woohoo!!! In for Goofy and yay on getting the deferral for Tink. It's a good day!

It definitely is! Especially if I don't total up how much money I have given to runDisney over the last 24 hours (between the deferral fee, Goofy registration and the Goofy pin bundle)!

Yay for Deferral and Yay for registration!!! I can't wait for next week Tuesday!

Double yays!! Good luck to you next week!

 

[LindseyJo22]

Awesome awesome! I'm glad your doctor seems to be on board with the plan - that's great and really motivating

And really glad your Tink deferral went through - I saw somewhere else that the deferrals sell out which I didn't know. I'd be so angry if I lost all that registration $ :/ :/

Wow, Goofy challenge! That seems a little crazy to me, but I'm just starting to consider the half marathon distance Who knows what might happen in a few years. But it seems like a good way to get some awesome anniversary medals

 

[girliea]

So glad that you are in for Goofy and that you have gotten the "ok" from Dr Spine!

Now on to the important stuff........what are you wearing?!?

 

[Ariel484]

Awesome awesome! I'm glad your doctor seems to be on board with the plan - that's great and really motivating

Me too! I think it really helps that he is a runner and that he understands how important running is to me. I REALLY lucked out finding him, he seems like the perfect person to help me recover.

And really glad your Tink deferral went through - I saw somewhere else that the deferrals sell out which I didn't know. I'd be so angry if I lost all that registration $ :/ :/

Me too! That would have been so awful. And I would have felt so dumb after buying another 10K bib from the TA...because if there were no deferrals and I was going to lose the money anyway, I could have just run the 10K with my PDC bib (most expensive 10K ever!). I'm so happy everything worked out.

Wow, Goofy challenge! That seems a little crazy to me, but I'm just starting to consider the half marathon distance Who knows what might happen in a few years. But it seems like a good way to get some awesome anniversary medals

Seriously, you just never know! I started out wanting to complete a 5K - that was my big goal. Then I found myself doing a 10K...and a 10-miler...and a half marathon (Princess). Suddenly a marathon seemed possible...then Goofy...then Dopey. If you'd told me years ago that I'd ever want to do a marathon, I never would have believed it. Though I have to say, if Disney didn't have distance races I'm not sure I would have progressed beyond that initial 5K!

So glad that you are in for Goofy and that you have gotten the "ok" from Dr Spine!

Me too! Somehow registering for Goofy didn't seem as "triumphant" as recent registrations because I know Goofy isn't as popular...isn't that dumb?? I'm a little intimidated to do the loooong training runs again after this recent break from running but I'm definitely excited for the races!

Now on to the important stuff........what are you wearing?!?

I LIKE your priorities!! I don't know yet!! I have my Mickey's Holiday 5K outfit planned out, and one outfit for Princess...and one for next year's Never Land 5K. And I think I have one planned out for the Castaway Cay 5K (in June). But I have a lot more to plan besides those ones!

 

[BigEeyore]

So much good news! Double digits on the weekly mileage, Tink deferrals, and the Goofy registration! I admit that I am tempted by the half marathon anniversary bling, but I'm trying to stick with my plan to take a break from run Disney in 2017, as I'm looking ahead to 2018 and going for Dopey and hopefully the C2C medal too by doing a race in California (probably either Avengers or the D-land half).

I really hope people aren't going to try to work the deferral system to get into the 2018 Dopey. I already feel stressed about registering for it!

I am a bit frustrated with run Disney right now - just back from the Dark Side Challenge, and while the races themselves were great (though a bit skimpy on the entertainment factor), the expo was a fiasco. They need to require people to show their bibs to be able to purchase official race merch. Period. It makes me so frustrated that they sell out of most of the stuff by noon on the first day, and then everything shows up on ebay. Either that, or offer more merch for pre-purchase. Ok, vent over...otherwise we did have a great time and I know I'll be back running Disney again in 2018!

 

[Ariel484]

So much good news! Double digits on the weekly mileage, Tink deferrals, and the Goofy registration! I admit that I am tempted by the half marathon anniversary bling, but I'm trying to stick with my plan to take a break from run Disney in 2017, as I'm looking ahead to 2018 and going for Dopey and hopefully the C2C medal too by doing a race in California (probably either Avengers or the D-land half).

Yeah, runDisney is certainly getting a lot of money from me lately!!

I really hope people aren't going to try to work the deferral system to get into the 2018 Dopey. I already feel stressed about registering for it!

YES - especially as someone who legitimately needed deferrals this year, I hope that people don't take advantage and take spots from people that really need them. That kind of abuse could also lead to deferrals going away altogether.

If I do decide to do Dopey and don't get in, I'll go through the ASPCA, I think.

I am a bit frustrated with run Disney right now - just back from the Dark Side Challenge, and while the races themselves were great (though a bit skimpy on the entertainment factor), the expo was a fiasco. They need to require people to show their bibs to be able to purchase official race merch. Period. It makes me so frustrated that they sell out of most of the stuff by noon on the first day, and then everything shows up on ebay. Either that, or offer more merch for pre-purchase. Ok, vent over...otherwise we did have a great time and I know I'll be back running Disney again in 2018!

I agree, I just don't think they care - WHO purchases the merch doesn't matter to them. They just want the money for it...it's another Customer Service fail on runDisney's part. The pre-purchase option is a good one, but I hate that they don't show pics of the current pre-purchase things they have (i.e. the "runner bundle," jacket, etc.). Big reason why I'm just going to make an effort NOT to care as much about the merch going forward.

I'm glad you had a good time overall though! It definitely sounded like there were some hiccups (example: my BFF had to wait 90 minutes for a bus back to her resort after the 10K!! And another friend at Wilderness Lodge had NO BUS one morning - WL wasn't on their route for some reason?! What even??).

 

[pxefig]

Seriously, you just never know! I started out wanting to complete a 5K - that was my big goal. Then I found myself doing a 10K...and a 10-miler...and a half marathon (Princess). Suddenly a marathon seemed possible...then Goofy...then Dopey. If you'd told me years ago that I'd ever want to do a marathon, I never would have believed it. Though I have to say, if Disney didn't have distance races I'm not sure I would have progressed beyond that initial 5K!

Yup- if it weren't for Disney, I would have probably never picked running as a sport. I remember the first time I did 13.1 miles in a training run calling my dad to tell him there was no way I could ever do a full because I couldn't imagine the only being the halfway point. Less than a year later I was signed up for my first full ... Once you start imagining what it would be like to cross the finish line of a full- I'm telling you that "what if" doesn't go away. Once you start wondering if you could, the only way to answer it is to try. I suppose there are worse things to be addicted to than adding miles to running ...

Me too! Somehow registering for Goofy didn't seem as "triumphant" as recent registrations because I know Goofy isn't as popular...isn't that dumb?? I'm a little intimidated to do the loooong training runs again after this recent break from running but I'm definitely excited for the races!

Yeah, I remember going to WDW for the full and hearing the announcers ask, "Who's running JUST the full?" I mean, really, only at Disney is running a full freakin' marathon something only the underachievers do! I honestly can't see myself ever signing up for Dopey at this point,. Goofy, yes.But for the $$$$ of adding a 5k and 10k in addition to all the early wake ups- I have to admit it doesn't seem worth it to me., Goofy will probably the cap running challenges for me I think.

I can't believe you just snuck in the plan for a full marathon challenge in on us! I saw the post on instagram and was blown away and assumed I missed something here since I haven't been on the computer lately, but no. Little Miss Independent Thinker went ahead mad made Goofy happen!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Congrats on getting registered for Goofy and yay for finally getting the Tink deferral.

I have to say, all your talk about the WDW Marathon and loving it so much is seriously making me think. I thought I had no desire to do a full marathon, but now I'm thinking how amazing and awesome it would be to do the Disney one with the entertainment and experience of running through all four parks in one race. You've got my interest, and now I want to add it to my race bucket list. I've got a long way to go, though, and I don't foresee myself being ready anytime soon.

 

[SarahDisney]

Yay Goofy! I'm really impressed that you continue to set these goals for yourself and put in the hard work to get there. Recovering from an injury is never easy, and some people would probably be tempted to wait a while to start planning for longer races, but I think it's awesome that you're working towards these goals. It's a lot harder to ramp the miles back up if you're not working towards a goal - and I think Goofy will be the perfect motivation for you to keep working hard and ramping up the training!

By the way ... the thing you said about wanting Dr. Spine's approval because you didn't want to run through the injury and hurt yourself more ... that really resonated with me today. After several months of being a "3x/week runner" consistently, I'm skipping run #3 this week because I did something to my knee earlier this week and after being stupid enough to run on it once, I've learned my lesson and I'm resting it because I don't want to make it worse. Had I not seen what you wrote here, I might have been tempted to run on it out of sheer stubbornness (getting to a point of running regularly has always been a big deal to me, and the idea of skipping a run scares me). But seeing someone else write out that it's a bad idea to run with an injury made me think twice and ultimately helped me decide to skip the run. So thank you. My knee definitely appreciates the rest. I just hope that the 6 days of rest it gets between runs (last run was Tuesday, next run is scheduled for Monday) will be enough for it.

Also ... yay for finally being able to defer Tink. It may not be your favorite race theme, but if going back in 2017 means that you're not losing the money from this year's PDC, that's a good thing!
(And maybe I'll see you there (and at Princess) in 2017 ... if I win the lottery or figure out how to grow a money tree in my backyard)

 

[Ariel484]

Yup- if it weren't for Disney, I would have probably never picked running as a sport. I remember the first time I did 13.1 miles in a training run calling my dad to tell him there was no way I could ever do a full because I couldn't imagine the only being the halfway point. Less than a year later I was signed up for my first full ... Once you start imagining what it would be like to cross the finish line of a full- I'm telling you that "what if" doesn't go away. Once you start wondering if you could, the only way to answer it is to try. I suppose there are worse things to be addicted to than adding miles to running ...

I think what actually made me start to run consistently was watching "The Biggest Loser" - some episode where they had to run for a few minutes or whatever, and it was early in the season so it was before they'd lost significant weight. And I just remember thinking that if they could do it, so could I. But that was what got me to want to do a 5K and lose weight for my wedding. Disney is what got me to want to go beyond a 5K. And before I'd done Princess I knew I wanted to do the marathon, but I wanted to make sure I survived Princess first.

Yeah, I remember going to WDW for the full and hearing the announcers ask, "Who's running JUST the full?" I mean, really, only at Disney is running a full freakin' marathon something only the underachievers do! I honestly can't see myself ever signing up for Dopey at this point,. Goofy, yes.But for the $$$$ of adding a 5k and 10k in addition to all the early wake ups- I have to admit it doesn't seem worth it to me., Goofy will probably the cap running challenges for me I think.

OMG right?? I am really more proud of myself for training for and completing that first 5K (because it was something I NEVER thought I would do) so I really can't stand it when they put SO much emphasis on the challenges at the expense of the other races - because I'm sure there are many people there like me who are doing their first 5K, and it's a huge accomplishment for them. So to hear "only the 5K/10K/half marathon/marathon" because they aren't doing Dopey just makes me mad!

I get bothered by...not sure how to put this...the "culture" of Dopey. I feel like there are some who train for/complete it and they just cannot shut up about it - like "I'm SO crazy" and "I'm SO bad@$$" etc. etc. And while those things are true, I just feel like some people take it to the extreme bragging about it, and then you get the attitude that Dopey is the only event that matters. That bothers me, not sure why, but it does. Probably goes back to what I said above about wanting people to remember that EVERY event matters.

ANYWAY...rant over! And yeah, it's definitely a lot of money for the 5K/10K to be added, and the early wake-ups all in a row were tougher for me than the actual running of the races. I was OVER waking up at those times by the morning of the half marathon!!

I can't believe you just snuck in the plan for a full marathon challenge in on us! I saw the post on instagram and was blown away and assumed I missed something here since I haven't been on the computer lately, but no. Little Miss Independent Thinker went ahead mad made Goofy happen!

I think I didn't want to mention it when I first started thinking about it because I didn't want people to think that I wasn't taking my injury and the recovery from my injury seriously. And also, I'm weird.

Congrats on getting registered for Goofy and yay for finally getting the Tink deferral.

Woohooo!!!

I have to say, all your talk about the WDW Marathon and loving it so much is seriously making me think. I thought I had no desire to do a full marathon, but now I'm thinking how amazing and awesome it would be to do the Disney one with the entertainment and experience of running through all four parks in one race. You've got my interest, and now I want to add it to my race bucket list. I've got a long way to go, though, and I don't foresee myself being ready anytime soon.

Have you done an event at Marathon Weekend yet? I really do think it's my favorite runDisney race weekend - I just feel like there's sort of a buzz and vibe that you don't get with the other weekends because it's just a little bigger (as in, more events, more people participating, etc.). And the marathon is great because it goes through all 4 parks (let's not talk about ESPN Wide World of Sports ). And really, that experience of running through the parks and getting that entertainment is, I think, the only thing that could motivate me to actually do the training needed to complete a marathon (probably explains why I have signed up for local ones but then end up dropping down to a shorter distance...).

If you can complete a half, I think you can complete a marathon. The tough part is committing yourself to actually training for it.

Yay Goofy! I'm really impressed that you continue to set these goals for yourself and put in the hard work to get there. Recovering from an injury is never easy, and some people would probably be tempted to wait a while to start planning for longer races, but I think it's awesome that you're working towards these goals. It's a lot harder to ramp the miles back up if you're not working towards a goal - and I think Goofy will be the perfect motivation for you to keep working hard and ramping up the training!

Aw, thanks! I think I am SUCH a planner that it is hard for me not to think long-term about what races I want to do, because I want to map out the training and make sure I will be ready.

And yeah...I NEED a race of some kind to act as a carrot for me. Otherwise I'm not sure I'd stick to a running schedule as well...or really at all.

By the way ... the thing you said about wanting Dr. Spine's approval because you didn't want to run through the injury and hurt yourself more ... that really resonated with me today. After several months of being a "3x/week runner" consistently, I'm skipping run #3 this week because I did something to my knee earlier this week and after being stupid enough to run on it once, I've learned my lesson and I'm resting it because I don't want to make it worse. Had I not seen what you wrote here, I might have been tempted to run on it out of sheer stubbornness (getting to a point of running regularly has always been a big deal to me, and the idea of skipping a run scares me). But seeing someone else write out that it's a bad idea to run with an injury made me think twice and ultimately helped me decide to skip the run. So thank you. My knee definitely appreciates the rest. I just hope that the 6 days of rest it gets between runs (last run was Tuesday, next run is scheduled for Monday) will be enough for it.

Ugh - I'm sorry that your knee is bothering you again!

I totally know what you mean about getting to the point of running consistently...after awhile you'll realize that skipping a run here and there won't derail your progress. Think of what great shape you are in, physically and mentally, from all the miles you have been covering over the past few weeks/months - that doesn't go away because you aren't going out for 1 run. Sometimes it's a better decision to rest.

I hope you feel better soon!!

Also ... yay for finally being able to defer Tink. It may not be your favorite race theme, but if going back in 2017 means that you're not losing the money from this year's PDC, that's a good thing!

Yeah, I mean...I don't love Tink but I do love runDisney race weekends, so I'm not mad about it or anything. And I'm obviously THRILLED to come away from deferring both of these race weekends without having lost too too much money...

Let's see, my Princess 5K race fee + 2 deferral fees. So almost $200 (that's probably around what it'll end up being with my having to pay the difference between this year's registration prices and whatever they will be next year)...which isn't great but it could have been so much worse!!

(And maybe I'll see you there (and at Princess) in 2017 ... if I win the lottery or figure out how to grow a money tree in my backyard)

EEK! Get on that!!

 

[FFigawi]

I get bothered by...not sure how to put this...the "culture" of Dopey. I feel like there are some who train for/complete it and they just cannot shut up about it - like "I'm SO crazy" and "I'm SO bad@$$" etc. etc. And while those things are true, I just feel like some people take it to the extreme bragging about it, and then you get the attitude that Dopey is the only event that matters. That bothers me, not sure why, but it does. Probably goes back to what I said above about wanting people to remember that EVERY event matters.

I don't get it either. It's really not that much different than Goofy. Most people are going to run 5k or 10k on Thursday before Goofy or the full, so an extra day of running isn't all that. It's the four days of waking up at 345am that's the real challenge.

 

[Ariel484]

I don't get it either. It's really not that much different than Goofy. Most people are going to run 5k or 10k on Thursday before Goofy or the full, so an extra day of running isn't all that. It's the four days of waking up at 345am that's the real challenge.

THIS, exactly. If you train well for a marathon, Dopey is doable (heck, that's how I trained for it - using a beginner marathon training plan).

But yeah...those wake-ups are killer.