Hiding from reality

I guess I did this somewhat backwards since I just posted a recap of my training ride today and now I'm explaining my absence. Remember that breakthrough run I had about two months ago? Yeah, well, it was definitely "breakthrough", just not in the way I thought. First of all, it was not as nearly as fast a run as I thought because the trail map that's supposedly effective for 2011 included a couple miles of trail that have yet to be finished. Even still, it was a good run - except for the stress fracture. Yup. Stress fracture. Oh joy.

The two weeks following that run were full of pain. The first week the pain manifested itself in my calf muscle so I thought it was "just" a pull. That was apparently some side effect because the second week the shooting pain in my shin became evident. After several doctor's visits, a couple of x-rays, and a bone scan, I was diagnosed with a stress fracture in my left shin. Oh joy.

The next six weeks saw me hobbling around a lot, ditching the heels at work, and being told not to run and "stay off of your leg as much as possible." I guess I should have just scooted around on my butt. At any rate, I took the opportunity to finally add swimming and cycling to my training. I want to eventually do a triathlon but I have running plans for this year already so I figured getting a year of tri training in would be a good thing. I bought a road bike, ditched my years old, barely used swimsuit and got some real swimming gear. Coach added new workouts to my training and off I went.

Despite having other training to focus on, my desire to train slowly ebbed as I was frustrated with not being able to run. I just wanted to hide, so I did in some ways. I became very slack in my training. I used any excuse to skip a session. I was reduced to tears by the new bike and my fear of riding alone and on the road. Finally, two weeks ago, I put my big girl panties on and told myself to suck it up. It's only been two weeks, but I've managed to get in every workout in those two weeks. And they weren't halfhearted efforts. I put my all in it. Then  yesterday I finally ran! The doctor gave me the okay Friday and I jumped right in with a run/walk at a local 5K.

No more hiding. I don't care what gets thrown my way. I can't run away. I won't run away.

~Frenchie

Holy Gnat Clouds & Snot Rockets Batman!

A.K.A. The ride that almost wasn't.

I have discovered the pain of running even a slow 5K race the evening prior to a long ride, especially if you haven't done one bit of running in 2 months! I woke up this morning to the, as of late, unfamiliar sensation of tired legs. Immediately I thought, "Uh oh!". Still, this week I was more mentally prepared to get my bike and get outside. No indecision there. After having a bagel & some coffee, I was letting it digest when the boy texts me.

           Boy: Whose keys are these?
           Me: ???????
           Me: Crap! My car keys....

I hadn't even realized I left them in his car. At least he did because I would have been freaked out. Well, he was kind enough to bring them to me. Alright, time to get moving! Got my gear bag in the car and come back to get the bike off the trainer...get the bike off the trainer...GET THE BIKE OFF THE TRAINER!!! Yeah, a lot easier said than done. I must have tightened it too hard last time because it was NOT budging. After about 5 minutes, I finally got it to release. Alrighty! We're rolling now! Time to head to the reservoir and enjoy the ride. CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP! 80% of the way there, I realize the Garmin is at home. Turn around, get the Garmin, head out again. Okay, we've got this. I got the bike off the rack and geared up and headed out without killing myself. Within the first few hundred feet I had that sinking feeling that I had forgotten something. DOH! I didn't put on my helmet! Turn around, back to the car. Seriously, will I EVER get started??

Ok, fine. I'm on the road - FINALLY! Those tired legs were really making an appearance. I really wasn't sure how this was going to turn out but oh well. I felt more confident on the bike this week and less freaked out about dying. Or crashing. Either one. Got around the top half of the loop which was along the bay then past a bunch of neighborhoods with a bit of road. That's when I flew into the cloud of gnats. Gag! Cough! UGH! I don't even want to think of the number that flew into my nose & mouth. I tried to keep my head down and not crash. Then the snot came. Luckily, I have learned to blow snot rockets and managed to do so without getting any on me (or anyone else)! When I stopped to refill my water and wiped my face, I came away with a handful of smooshed gnats. EW!

Towards the end of the loop was a nasty little hill. One thing I've learned since I got my back is that the hills I hate to run on are no better on the bike. Harder even. I feel like I'm close to toppling over at points because I'm moving so slowly trying to climb the hills.

The first loop, combined with an offshoot I took, made up the first hour. The second loop was much of the same. After a second bout with the gnats and more snot rockets. There was also a fair amount of spitting. Apparently it's not very ladylike to spit so much. Well, I was way beyond lady status already, so what the heck. And these were no dainty girly spits. I'm talking loogies. Yes, that's me - all lady, all the time! :-)

As I approached the water fountain again, I began to realize that my seat was not nearly as sore as it had been on my previous rides. Having read a tweet yesterday from someone who had not worn her cycling shorts on a ride, I was happy that my girly bits were not being put through that torture. I was also presently surprised to realize that you do actually become used to the bike seat after a while. Either that or all of the nerve endings have been killed from the riding.

I had been on pace to actually get a mile further on this ride in about a minute less time than my ride last week but that water stop was a bad idea. Getting going again was a slow thing. On top of that, I was getting to the four consecutive climbs on this side of the loop. I'm really learning to hate those hills! I decided not to do the offshoot on this side of the loop because it's one steady climb. I'd just ride past the start and loop back instead.

Although I didn't get the extra mile in, I did still knock off another minute of my time. The past two rides I got about the same distance but both rides took over the planned two hours. This time, I hit 28 miles just under two hours and then cooled down for the last minute.

Now, about 8 hours later, I am REALLY feeling it in the legs. But, I am really enjoying this new training. Oh, and since I was cleared yesterday, I will now officially begin training for my first triathlon. I am doing a sprint tri the first weekend in May. Pray for me! :-)

Breakthrough Run?

I have been having a rough time lately with my long runs. I was originally scheduled to run the full marathon in New Orleans next month. After Disney, I just knew I didn't have it in me. I looked at my schedule and saw 14 miles on it for that first post-Disney long run and I wanted to cry! I told coach I was going to drop down to the half. That I could handle. Unfortunately, that didn't change my training schedule. Coach has kept me at 14 mile long runs every week since Disney. I don't know what it is, but I just was having a hard time getting through them. I'd crash and burn around mile 9 and struggle my way through the final 5 miles. My runs were coming in at 2:45+. Considering I have a goal of crushing my 2:17 PR and taking it under 2:00, I have been very disappointed and discouraged.

This week I had a pretty good week with my speed work and swimming. I was feeling like today's run could be a good one. I saw the forecast and wasn't too thrilled that winter picked this weekend to show up. We've pretty much hovered in the 50s-70s this winter with few very cold mornings. Even then, none of them coincided with my long runs. At most I was throwing on a long sleeve shirt with no base layer. This weekend it was supposed to be in the 20s at my normal start time! Okay, fine. Time to layer up. I can handle that...or at least I thought I could until I was out last night and it was about 30-33 and I was miserable! There's no freaking way I'm running in temperatures 12 degrees colder!! I actually talked myself into running 14 miles on the treadmill because I had no desire to be that miserable for 14 miles!

The Y doesn't open until 1 on Sundays. Leading up to that time, I was stalking the weather. It was still pretty chilly, but it said it was going to approach 50 by the time I would be ending the run. I got dressed in my cold weather gear but still threw some indoor gear in my bag, just in case. I had an errand to run first so I figured if I was miserably cold while doing that, I'd head to the Y instead.

I decided to tough it out. I get to the parking lot, get myself ready, reach to turn on the Garmin...what?!? Where the heck is my Garmin? DOH! I left it in the nightstand drawer! I knew it was now or never and I was on a trail that I knew well and knew had a mileage map. I planned to run out and back, so I knew I would also be able to get my true mileage later. I turned my timer on my iPod on and set out with some Geeks in Running Shoes to keep me company. In my head, I was thinking I would actually fall short and get "only" 13 miles in. Not exactly the planned run, but it's not like I cut the distance in half!

I didn't so much follow the my planned easy first 7 miles then 20 seconds faster than marathon pace for second 7. I just ran my 9:1 intervals. The course is fairly hilly on the way out, not as bad on the way back. Still, there were a few hills on the way back where I chose to walk them. Sometimes I ran longer before or after a walk since I "cheated" an interval by walking a hill. I finished in about 2:14. Considering this was a LSD run and that is actually 3 minutes faster than my PR, I was pretty happy about it! As soon as I got home I went to check the map for the trail. I was concerned I came up short of 13 and should be disappointed, not happy. The map marks off mileage in various increments so I got out my calculator and started adding. Added once. Added twice. WHAT?!?! 14 miles!!! I actually probably got in 14.25 because I went further out on some new construction that's not shown on the map. Wow!!! This even includes an extra walk break or two on hills. Part of me is thinking "No, that's got to be wrong. There's no way I bested my last two runs as well as killed my PR!" But I mean, it's there on the map. The time is there on my iPod. I wish I could truly enjoy this but I'm kicking myself for not having the Garmin. But perhaps it's because I did not have the Garmin that I did so well.

Do you normally use a Garmin or some other GPS watch to track your mileage and pace? Are you a slave to it, or do you regularly go "naked" and just run, only mentally tracking the data? Do you doubt your performance if you apparently have a breakthrough run on a naked day?

~Frenchie

This and that

It's kind of sad that nothing much has gone on since my last post.

I guess I'll post about my training then. I mean, this is a "running" blog, right?

Thursday I had an hour of riding to do. Since I don't have a bike, it was the stationary at the Y. Nothing exciting there except the people watching and the sore butt.

Friday I was back in the pool. This time I had 30x25 intervals. I did better with the counting this time...I think. I also realized near the end that I seem to swim more smoothly when I breathe to my left. Huh. A minor breakthrough? I was prepared for the fatigue and hunger this time. I left some peanut butter crackers in my car for afterwards. MM was at home so I had instructed her to prepare the sides for dinner and I popped some chicken breasts on the kitchen grill when I got in. I wasn't nearly as ravenous after dinner as I had been after my first swim.

Saturday I was plain lazy. I woke up initially around 9 and had some breakfast while watching some tv. Around noon I dozed off again...for three freakin' hours! I guess the week had done me in. I finally got up some energy to go to the movies that evening. The boy, MM, and I went to see Red Tails. I have always had an interest in books and movies about WWII. I had never seen The Tuskeegee Airmen but I was interested in seeing a movie about their story. I won't go into a detailed review, but I will say I was a little disappointed by the movie. The story itself was interesting, but I just felt that the movie fell short of its potential. The dialogue and acting left much to be desired and I felt that there were a few things that made no sense - story lines that either should not have been pursued or that were just dropped. Despite that, I am glad I went to see it and MM seemed to enjoy it, too.

Sunday morning dawned and it was time for my long run. Considering how little I moved around Saturday, I thought perhaps my run would go well. This was my first long run since Disney and I was a little anxious. I had 14 miles on tap and it was a great day for a run. As soon as I hit the road, I knew I was in trouble. My legs were heavy and tired. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought I'd just ran a half-marathon the day before. I was to do seven miles at an easy pace. For me, that is hovering at or just below a 12 minute mile. Just getting it to that pace was a struggle. I kept looking at my Garmin in disbelief. How could I be moving so slowly yet I felt like I was putting everything I had into it. After seven miles I had to pick it up to race pace. By mile nine I knew I was going to have a rough time finishing it. I was about a mile from my car and was so tempted to just call it quits. Hey, I had run 10 miles. That's not exactly slacking. But, my stubborn self refused to quit. The next four miles were the worst, hardest miles I think I've ever run. And I use the term "run" very loosely. I'm still doing 9:1 intervals for my long runs and had done well with them until I got to the hills on the return of my out and back route. That was at about the nine mile point. After that, I couldn't manage any kind of steady interval. I was doing some :30 second run/walks. I did a few 1:1 intervals. Whatever I could do to keep moving. When I walked, my legs were as wobbly as if I'd just finished a marathon. I couldn't understand it! I did manage to get all 14 miles in, even if they were ugly. My overall pace ended up being a 12:20+ minute mile. I was/am so frustrated by this run! Coach said it was likely due to the new training added to my schedule and I should adjust but it's still demoralizing to turn out such a poor performance. Hopefully this week's long run (another 14 miler) will be better.

How was your training last week? What do you do to get past a bad workout?

Whiny Wednesday

I tend to complain. A lot. Usually about little things, but things that just get under my skin. I'm going to do my best to not do too much of that in my posts, so I think I will reserve Wednesdays for that purpose - when needed. I have a couple today.

First, why in the world does women's shaving cream come in metal cans that rust on the bottom. Unlike men, women are pretty unlikely to do their shaving at the sink. Even if it's a shave without a shower, we tend to sit on the edge of the tub and shave our legs there. Thus, that's probably where the majority of us keep our shaving cream. If you're like me, you tend to get rust rings where the can sits. Why?! This really bugs me. I am not brand loyal for shaving cream so I tend to price shop. Perhaps if I bought cheap, no-name brand I would understand. Quality is usually a trade off for lower prices. But, my current can is not no-name. So why do I have a rust ring that I can't get rid of. It's 2012 people, can't you come up with a better package for shaving cream? Is there one out there? Granted, I don't pay a lot of attention to it when I buy it but I always think about it when the ring appears. Am I the only one bothered by this? Probably.

My second whine also comes courtesy of the shower. Let me say, I love my hair. It is my best asset. I am not humble about it. I know I have great hair. But you know, it's a pain in the butt. I shed like a long haired dog. Hair is everywhere. Most people complain about hair "dust" bunnies around the house from their pets. For me it's my hair. It's all over the place. The worst is in the shower. When I condition my hair I comb it out before I rinse. Not even counting the hair that stays in the comb that I throw away, a ton of it just comes out as I comb. This is why I have to call maintenance every other month to unclog my tub. Not only that, it gets all over the walls and sides of the tub. I swear it adds an extra several minutes to cleaning the tub because I'm chasing down the hairs. They stick to the sponge. I rinse the sponge, they stick to the tub. It's an endless cycle. I'm just surprised I'm not bald yet!

Okay, one more. This one I've said on Twitter before, so if you follow me there, you've probably heard it. It's also bathroom related. (It's sounding like I live in the bathroom!) I'm becoming somewhat of a germaphobe as I get older. The worst place for me is the public restroom. I'd hate to see some women's homes based on how gross they are in the bathroom. I won't gross you out with details. If you're a lady, you know. If you're a guy, enjoy your ignorance. Aside from the grossness of bathrooms, my biggest pet peeve is people too close to me. Why, for the love of GOD, when there are 12 empty stalls in the bathroom do you choose to plop your hiney down in the stall right next to me? I don't know you like that. I don't want to know you like that! I prefer to play ignorant and pretend I don't know what you're doing. But, when you are sitting two feet away with less than an inch of wall between us, I can't even imagine you away. To add insult to injury, you decide to sing, hum, sigh, chat on the phone, and Lord only knows what else. Please, just go away. Is it too much to ask that you walk another foot down the line and pick another stall? I guess it is.

What are some of your pet peeves? Was there something, little or big, that really grated at your nerves today? Until next time..

~Frenchie

Just keep swimming

First off, I'm going to revise something I said before. I wanted to blog every day. Well, that just ain't happening. Seriously, my life is not that interesting. I will, however, blog regularly. I figure every couple of days or so there's bound to be something I have to talk about.

Okay, now on to what I have to talk about today. One of my goals is to start doing triathlons next year. I would have liked to have done one this year but there's this tiny problem of needing a bike. Yeah, it's the small things. It's also hard to find a used bike for someone my size. So, I will continue to work on that and in the meantime I asked Coach to add swimming to my training.

Today was my first swimming workout. This is totally new to me. I know how to swim, but I just like when I started running, I have to learn all the terminology that comes with my workout. Also, I have to remember exactly what I am supposed to do. I'm not going to lie. I was really nervous about this. Armed with my instructions in a plastic bag, I headed to the local Y.

On tap for today was:

WU: 100 swim easy, 50 kick easy, 100 swim moderate, 50 kick moderate, 100 swim build speed, 50 kick build speed.

MS: For the first set decrease times with each work interval. All aerobic—easy breathing.

4 x 100 (10”) moderate.

Rest 2 minutes.

Kick 300 steady.

6 x 25 relaxed speed (15”).

CD: 200 easy swim.

Total: 1500

A few things I took away from this swim were:

• Using the kick board makes my lower back hurt. Am I doing something wrong?
• I don't think I kick properly. I feel like my feet are barely coming out of the water.
• Give me a calculus problem any day of the week, but ask me to keep track of my laps and I'm in trouble. I think I did 2-4 extra lengths.  How do you do it?
• I'm slow.
• Swimming makes me HUNGRY. I was starving when I finished and I hadn't restocked my gym bag snacks. I ate a good dinner when I got home...and kept eating. My grocery bill is going to skyrocket!

Overall, I'm happy with my results. I felt even better when the two guys swimming in the lane next to me asked me if I was a "swimmer". I think they saw my workout plan and figured I must know what I was doing. I told them it was my first day and they were impressed by my workout.

I'm really excited about the new addition to my training. Although I still continue to improve my running, the improvements have gotten smaller as I think I've reached my peak. Now, I've got a new challenge and I'm starting from scratch. I can't wait for a few months down the line to be able to look back and see how far I've come.

Do you swim? What tips and suggestions do you have for me? I'd love all the input I can get.

~Frenchie

What do you mean I'm not done???

Day two of my Disney adventure dawned bright and early. Another 3:00 A.M. wake up. The difference? I felt like crap! I did not sleep well even though lights out was at 7:30 the night before. I coughed and tossed and turned most of the night. I was certain I was sick! But, I hadn't traveled all this way to give up. Once again, I gobbled down a bit of breakfast and was on the shuttle by 3:30. This morning, I was meeting up with @dkliebel and Sarah, fellow PRSFit teammates. We had all donned our new team shirts and took a quick photo for Coach.

Team PRS reporting for duty

After that, I met Gina & Dee again for a few minutes before heading to my corral where I then found Jessica & Karen, friends from Mississippi. We huddled together and chatted for a while waiting for the start of the race.

Karen, Jessica, and me

The marathon was going to take us through all of the parks, starting with a loop around Epcot before making our way to Magic Kingdom. I knew the important thing for today was to stick to my 5:1 intervals and stay strong. Since I'd taken pictures in Magic Kingdom Saturday, I didn't plan on an extended stop for photos until at least Animal Kingdom, the third park along the route. I settled into my pace and just focused on moving forward. The route was still crowded but not nearly as bad as it had been Saturday since there were "only" about 15,000 runners/walkers for the marathon.

The medical stations along the route had Biofreeze and Tylenol. Somewhere along the way, I decided I should be cautious and take advantage of the Biofreeze. I covered myself from hip to ankle and downed a couple of Tylenol. I was feeling like hell. My throat was sore and it hurt to swallow. This made downing gels, liquids, and coughing difficult. I also was feeling like I might be a bit feverish. All I could think was "don't stop!"

T-I-GG-ER

Halfway!!!

After making our way out of the Magic Kingdom, we had about 3 miles until we got Animal Kingdom. I stopped for my first pictures along the way when I saw Winnie the Pooh & Tigger. C'mon, who doesn't want a picture with them?? Shortly thereafter, I hit the halfway point. WOOO!!!!

Look at that ass

Turning into Animal Kingdom, I felt like I'd reached a major milestone in the race. Only one park between me and the finish. Along the way, I made another stop for Biofreeze and I was refilling my water bottle at every aid station. The temperature was starting to climb and with no shade on the course it was getting really warm. I took a few more opportunities to snap some pictures with characters and my entrance into Hollywood Studios...and stop for chocolate, of course! :-)

Soooo close!

Now I knew I was close! I remember getting closer to the 20 mile point and thinking, I have not hit the wall and I refuse to! I know a lot of the wall is totally mental. I was feeling good, with the exception of the nasty bug I came down with, so I knew there was no reason to fade. At the 23 mile mark, I knew I had it but I kept running through scenarios in my head. I started thinking, "Maybe I'll do half mile intervals from here on out - run half mile, walk half mile." STOP IT! Why was I considering doing that when my 5:1 intervals had held up so far?? Coming out of Animal Kingdom, course volunteers were saying, "You're close now! You're about to enter Epcot!" I knew I couldn't stop then. I was almost done. Still, my mind kept bargaining with my body: "Fine, walk half a mile starting at 25 then run in the last half mile." NO!!!! Epcot seemed to go on forever but I knew it was close. I kept pushing on. I came in sight of the giant golf ball, ending my day like it started.

This was it. The finish was getting closer. Today, there was no mad dash to the finish. I knew what (who) was waiting for me at the end. I ran it in up to the finish line then stopped for my cherished finish line photo. As I fumbled with getting out my camera, the volunteer was very understanding. Hey, I had just run 26.1999999999999 miles after all. 

I crossed the finish line in 6:06:00. Yup, I'm a perfectionist! ;-) The thing is, without the photo stops and extended stops for Biofreeze, I might have actually PR'd the marathon. How crazy is that???? 

I repeated the same routine as the day before - grabbed my medals, grabbed food, changed clothes, caught my breath, then hopped on the shuttle back to the hotel. I was wiped. I felt like crap. I needed food. I needed a shower. I was effin' Goofy!

The rest of my trip was probably a couple of the most miserable days in recent memory. I was sick. There was no doubt about it. On top of that, I was sore, I was chaffed (I cried in the shower), I was underfed (I had no appetite). Monday, MM came back from Tampa and I got to spend some time with my friend Sharon. She was kind enough to take me to CVS for some medicine and Vaseline. We spent the rest of the time in the hotel room with a venture out for some dinner that I barely ate.

I was both glad when Tuesday arrived because I was heading home but sad because I knew it was going to be a miserable day of traveling. My sinuses were wrecked, my body hurt, and I just wanted to curl up and die. I had the Boy meet me at the airport when we got home and take me to the urgent care clinic. Turns out I had some kind of viral infection all along and the doctor ordered me to stay home for two days and gave me the good stuff.

A week later, I'm doing much better and I can look back at the race objectively and say, "I will never do that crap again!" No, it wasn't that bad. I wanted to do it for the challenge of it. But, as a race, it was extremely expensive, especially when you add in the cost of staying in Disney. It's so not worth it to do again. I will always remember this race, but all things considered, I am so glad it's over!

~Frenchie

I'm Going Went to Disney World!

Last week MM and I packed our bags and headed down to Disney. I went to run the Goofy Challenge, she to go over to Tampa and camp out with her friends for the weekend. Bright and early - too early - we began our journey. Traveling is always an adventure with me. This time was no different. We spent several hours in Atlanta trying to get on a flight. It turns out the fourth time, not the third, is a charm. Professor Dumbledore waited patiently. MM, a little less so.

Are we there yet???

Finally, we made it to Orlando. My friend, Andria, with Matrick Travel handled all of my hotel reservations and got us set up with a poolside room at Disney's Pop Century Resort. The hotel was so neat with separate areas for the 50s through 90s. All that stood between  me and my races was the Expo and day of rest. I dragged MM over to the Expo for a bit, grabbed my goodies, then back to the hotel for dinner and sleep.

Friday was all about resting and taking it easy. MM and I took time to walk around the resort Friday morning and take pictures. In the spirit of the weekend, we did act a little Goofy.

After that, my friend Sam from Tampa met us for lunch before taking MM back to camp. I headed back to the hotel for a short shake out run and bed. 3:00 A.M. comes early

This is just the beginning
Like I said, 3:00 A.M. comes early. Way too early. I grabbed a quick breakfast of half a bagel and banana, Wonder WoMANNED up and was on the shuttle to the start by 3:30. There I met up with three great tweeps, @deefsu, Mr. & Mrs. @EvaTEsq, and @ginaharris1. I ran Ragnar Chicago with Dee last summer, but this was my first time meeting the others. We huddled together and chatted for a while before we all made our way to the start corrals.

I started in corral H with the Mr. & Mrs. Having chatted with Coach Jeff about  my race plan, I wasn't concerned about being in the back. I was going slow just to make it through the race, besides there were TONS of people on the course. I couldn't have gone fast if I wanted. I stayed with them for about 10 minutes, randomly alternating running and walking and warming up. After that, I went on ahead and began my 5-1 intervals.

The first few miles of the race was making our way from Epcot on to Magic Kingdom. Nothing to see or write home about so I just kept moving. Much of my time running outside the parks was spent on the grass. There 25,000+ runners and not enough road. As I made my way into Magic Kingdom, it hit me. Oh my God! I'm running in Disney!

This was where the magic began. Eventually, we made our way into the park itself and I let myself really enjoy it. I stopped for pictures with the characters and took my time.

Us super heroes have to stick together!

MM was once chased by the Country Bears. This one was for her! :-)

Where's Johnny?!?!?!

Of course, I couldn't leave without getting pictures of the castle.

The obligatory picture of me in front of the castle.

The route back to Epcot was much the same, but this time I stopped for a few more pictures. When I stopped to get my picture snapped with Goofy and Mickey, I was surprised by a quick smooch on the cheek from the head Mouse himself! I was like a little kid, saying loudly, "I just got kissed by Mickey!!!" Yes, I am 12 years old.

Mickey recognized my strength!

Scrooge is really a big ole softy

I finished the race in 3:06. My actual run time was about 2:40. Not blazing, but it was a little faster than I had planned to go. Still, I got through it and didn't feel too badly afterwards.

Oh look, my own sign!

Precautionary measure as I have to do this all over again (and then some) tomorrow

Blingety bling!

I spent the rest of the day chilling at the hotel, eating anything that came near me, watching TV. My legs felt fine as I iced them up again at the hotel. But, I suddenly developed a nasty cough and  my body was aching. OH NO!!!

To be continued...

~Frenchie