A Mosquito Before the Storm

Like a mosquito before the storm...I was drawn to the road tonight.  All afternoon I have been hearing that the storm is coming, the storm is coming.  Well as of right now it has still not made it to us!

After a long day driving to Hartford, CT and back to pick up some materials for work I was exhausted.  So I did what I do best when I am worn out...I took a nap.  I woke up at 7:15 thinking well I guess I missed my chance to run tonight.  Around 7:45 my husband came home from his bike ride and I decided - why not?  Prest-o change-o and I was out for a run with my safety vest on.

I wore my white Princess Half shirt from 2011, my extra large Princess Half shirt.  I am proud to say that between 2011's race and 2012's I went from an XL to a M!  The baggy shirt was good for the hot night run this evening though.  It was another one of the full on sweat fests.  At first I thought I was going to have a decent breeze because of the income storm, but then it went dead calm.  In the end I went 6.5 miles and was so glad that I had gone out!

When was your last run that wasn't going to happen, but did in the end?  Next time you think about not going out, do it anyway!  You will feel twice as glad that you did!

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration Headed to New York, Texas and North Carolina

Hey runDisney lovers here is a great social media event that may be coming to a city near you! 
Anyone else near L.I.?

There will be exciting half-day events in the following locations:
Long Island (Melville), New York – Thursday, September 6, 2012
Houston (Galleria Mall), Texas – Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Charlotte (South Park), North Carolina – Friday, September 14, 2012

http://www.disneyeveryday.com/disney-social-media-moms-celebration-headed-to-new-york-texas-and-north-carolina/

DisneyRunFest2012 - Part 5 - Tues Morning Run

Tuesday morning we woke up at 6:15 threw on our cloths and headed out to the pool to go...running! It was just Marcia and myself, but we were not alone...we were meeting Bob Hitchcock (runDisney's Public Relations Manager/Content Producer). Bob had already done his morning run with the Orlando Galloway group, but was willing to come out and run another 2 miles around Port Orleans with us. Marcia took most of the photos on our run.

Bob made my day right from the start. As we walked toward each other he smiles and said "We have met before haven't we." All I could think was why yes we have Bob. We met the first time at the Princess social media meetup and Galloway run this February. Our matching shirts were probably also a clue. There were 80 people at the meetup and they ran out of black women's cut runDisney shirts. So I ended up with a men's cut. I had no idea which shirt he would be wearing, but we look like brother and sister in the photo!

Bob and I were chatting away about all things running and runDisney.  He has been with runDisney for 2 years now and really was not a runner before joining the team.  We talked about our upcoming races and past runDisney races.  He really was not spilling any details about future runDisney events.  I let him know that I was going Dopey in January and he confirmed that they are not intending to make Dopey a formal event.  They like that it is an underground runDisney lovers thing.  

Happy Runners!

There were other runners out that morning,
but we mostly had the resort to ourselves!

It was a beautiful morning.

For now the water was in the river.
Later in the afternoon the water would be everywhere!

If we were not headed to rope drop I would have loved to keep running and check out that green path.
Has anyone run on the green path?

There are so many great paths and walkways all over Disney property. I could easily spend a week running here and there and everywhere around the resorts. So when you go to Disney don't leave your running gear behind. You will be a much happier you if you get out in the morning and get a few miles under your belt before you head to the parks.

In attendance:
Erin Williams – for the love of Disney running on FB; @lovedisneyrun on Twitter; and http://lovedisneyrunning.blogspot.com/
Marcia Barton - @TravelRunEat on Twitter and Travelruneat.blogspot.com
Bob Hitchcock - runDisney's Public Relations Manager/Content Producer

If you want some other running route ideas for your next Disney World vacation check out Lori's runDisney route ideas. Lori is the runDisney specialist on the Disney Mom's Panel. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/06/stay-on-the-run-at-walt-disney-world-resort%E2%80%A8%E2%80%A8/
You should also check in at the main desk at your resort and ask about the resorts running routes.

Have a great vacation and runDisney!

DisneyRunFest2012 - Part 4 - Drinks, Desserts & Fireworks

After our evening run at DisneyRunFest2012 we headed over to the Polynesian for Drinks, Desserts and Fireworks.  Our plan was to be there at 9 pm, but we were late.  We arrived sometime around 9:45.  By the time we realized that there would just be the 3 of us it was time to head outside to see the fireworks.  They were amazing looking across the lagoon with the soundtrack to wishes playing on the beach.

After the fireworks were over we headed inside the Polynesian to look for the drinks and desserts.  Unfortunately it was now after 10 pm and most things were already closed.  We ended up at the quick service getting "runner recovery food" for me a Mickey ice cream bar, for Marcia chocolate milk and ? I don't remember now, and for Jen a pizza (she is still in college so it seemed a perfect choice)!

The upstairs lounge was very pleasant at that hour.  We were the only ones enjoying the space!  If you try this post race outing make sure you get to the desserts and drinks before the other options close.

A Mickey bar is always my favorite hands down!
I am sure there are some other great desserts at the Poly!

We could not resist a photo with this guy!

Gives you an idea of how far the fireworks are away from the Poly.

Folks were very relaxed at the Polynesian.  I would highly recommend celebrating a great run with an after party there!  Just make sure you have your timing right if you want something more than quick service.

In attendance:

Erin Williams – for the love of Disney running on FB; @lovedisneyrun on Twitter; and http://lovedisneyrunning.blogspot.com/ 
Marcia Barton - @TravelRunEat on Twitter and Travelruneat.blogspot.com
Jen Kelly - Facebook 

Next up is our morning run with Bob Hitchcock!

DisneyRunFest2012 - Part 3 - Our Monday Evening Run

When you think about Disney World does the Seven Seas Lagoon come to mind first?  How about Disney's 3 main resorts: the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian and the Contemporary?  Okay...what about Magic Kingdom and the Monorail?  Now wrap that all into one great adventure of a run and you have DisneyRunFest2012's Monday evening run!  Fantastic to the highest degree would you not agree?  This is why I flew to Florida this week.  I wanted to runDisney, but off the main course routes that I have run during Race for the Taste in 2009 and Princess in 2011 & 2012.  I wanted to run in my favorite place on earth and see it in an all new way (to me at least).  I am a running tourist who loves to take tons of photos along the way and this was my dream trip.

There were five of us out on this run.  I was quick to comment that on this runDisney run we were the character stops.  If someone wanted to stop to take a picture all they had to do was say so.  Chances were good that we all wanted to take a picture!  So there are a lot of photos in this post.  Most are mine, but some of them are Marcia Barton's my runDisney loving companion for all of DisneyRunFest2012.

Our running team for the evening:

Erin Williams – for the love of Disney running on FB; @lovedisneyrun on Twitter; and  http://lovedisneyrunning.blogspot.com/ 
Marcia Barton - @TravelRunEat on Twitter and Travelruneat.blogspot.com
Rachel Wright - @runnerstales on Twitter and http://runnerstales.com
Kirsten Reutebuch  - Facebook & Twitter
Jen Kelly - Facebook

Who wouldn't want to run in the happiest place on earth?

Meeting before the run in the lobby of the Contemporary.
 The staff was great about all of this!
We were in and out quite a few times over the course of the evening.

Out front waiting for our fifth runner to join us.

On the run toward Magic Kingdom
 Always be polite running along the walkways.
Passing a happy family on the way to the park! 

We were chatting about all things runDisney the whole way.

This was the moment when I knew we were going to be making a few photo stops.
"Can you take our picture?"

One of my favorite shots!
It is easy to get through bag check when you are running!
(Never run through bag check!)

The finer details in life!

Coming back around the Contemporary to head towards the Transportation Center

This section of the run was along the road...so caution was in order, but traffic was accommodating.
What a background eh?

And there I am taking the photo above...thank Marcia for catching me in action!

It was nice to have a moment off the shoulder.
We all wanted a real running path through here
and Rachel (the engineer in the group)
 is going to plan the additions we desire:
a new path here, a bridge crossing there.
She can be the Fairy Godmother of runDisney loving runners.  

Marcia in the lead taking on the traffic with a wave and a smile!

Coming through the Transportation Center

The welcome arches always make me happy!

Go ladies go!

On to the Polynesian!  I love this photo!  Another top pick from the run!

You know runners...it is all about their watches!

Which way should we go...which way should we go...look at that pool!

Love the theme details at the Polynesian!

Who could miss going to the chapel?  We all took our turn - Rachel!

Kirsten!

Jen!

Marcia!

& me - Erin!  (I love my RunningSkirt by the way)

Now let's explore the Grand Floridian!

Beautiful!

Potty break / Tweet fest in the Grand Floridian lobby

Even though we are wet and in our running gear
 I did not feel as out of place as I thought I might!
I love this hotel!
There were quite a few little Princesses roaming around!

Night falling on the lagoon

They need to build a bridge over there
and complete a running path all the way around the lagoon!
Please!

I love gaining perspective on a run...that is where we started.

Out front at the Grand Floridian!

Had to hunt for this sign.  It was all the way out on the road.

Bring up the lights!

Rather than risk the road on the way back to the Contemporary
we jumped on the Monorail at the Transportation Center.
Don't you wish you could have a handy monorail for your ride back when it gets too dark outside!

Party on the Monorail!

We were this close to getting our picture with Mickey
...we settled for the photo setup in the lobby of Chef Mickey's.

Great restaurant, but we were headed to the Polynesian for Drinks, Desserts & Fireworks!

So you think Florida is flat?  Any questions?

This was hands down one of my favorite runs as Disney World ever!  It combined so many amazing places and I was doing it all with such a great group of runDisney loving ladies.  Given that it had all come together so quickly I could not believe what a fantastic time we were having.  I really was having the time of my life and there was still tons more to come!

We once again ducked into the restroom at the Contemporary to change out of our wet running gear and get ready for the Polynesian.  Kirsten had already called in a night at the Transportation Center and headed home to get ready for a morning test.  So there were four of us remaining.  Once changed we headed for the Polynesian.  We gathered in the lobby with our leis waiting for Rachel only to realize that she had a change of plans and was headed home as well.

More on Drinks, Desserts & Fireworks at the Polynesian in the next post.

The full itinerary can be found at http://lovedisneyrunning.blogspot.com/2012/07/disney-run-fest-july-16-17-2012.html

Thanks for reading along folks more tomorrow!  Night!