It's almost been a month!

Friends, Romans, countrymen... my apologies. I know I said last month that I would keep you up to speed on here. I've just been busy. Very busy. But now I'm here, just shy of one month from my last post. Let's catch back up, shall we?

Well, can you believe it? Not even three weeks out of training and I got to swim under the sea with Sebastian and all the other fishes on October 22nd! IT WAS GREAT! Absolutely LOVED it. I've even filled two more schedule holes since then, so I got to do it again and again! Gah! I'm no spectacular puppeteer, but I don't think I'm all that bad. Hope I get to play with Ariel more often!

What else? Hmmm, let's see... as mentioned earlier, I ran the final Tower of Terror 13K on October 24th, which was so much fun! Sad to see it go, but it was fun while it lasted. I crossed the line in 1:19:49, right at the pace I wanted to be. I'm still debating running the Marathon in January... let's see if I actually decide to do so!

OH! And it was Halloween on October 31st, for those of you that missed it. I'm not really all that big on the holiday, but I DID manage to carve my first pumpkin in at least five years and named him Skip! He's gone up to the great pumpkin patch in the sky now, but was super-cute and kept me company when not a single Trick or Treater showed up on my doorstep that night.

I also got to be an Armadillo for the first time two weeks ago in Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. Now, I've been in every unit! It was a lot of fun (after I remembered the correct choreography eight loops in). Downside? We're all required to walk on J-Walkers now (as opposed to the option to walk on Bigfoots, my preferred method) and I was a bit nervous. Surprisingly, it was good and I didn't fall... until I got backstage. You see, I'm used to being on Bigfoots and able to still walk around on them after my legs had been taken off. But, since the legs were tied on differently to these new stilts, that isn't exactly the safest thing to do. Up I stood. Down I fell. Long story short, the stilts weren't completely attached to my legs, so I fell in quite an unimpressive and rather messy way. However, this "incorrect" fall was actually good, as if I fell the "right" way, they would have came up and hit me in the back. So... yay?

Last week, I went and saw Tiana's Showboat Jubilee at the Magic Kingdom. Words can't describe... this show is absolutely AMAZING! It's celebrating our new movie, "The Princess and the Frog", coming out on December 11th. I can't wait for the movie, it's going to be awesome. In the meantime, though, go see the show. And meet Princess Tiana and Princes Naveen. So much fun.

Finally, I got to hang out with Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora for the first time in nearly a year and a half this past Friday at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Before you pull out your calendar, yes, Christmas parties have already started. It's Disney. It happens. But it was a lot of fun and I get to do it again this Friday. Easy night with a fun lady (and I mean that in a good way).

Soooooooo, that's basically it. I'm back... again... so yay.


Thank you, loyal followers, for still following. Love you bunches!

A 10K? Awesome. At Disney? Even better.

I'm just gonna say it... Disney races are where it's at. Now, I know, I know...

• They don't offer monetary prizes
• They're typically full of a lot of details and particulars
• They're hella expensive. 

I got it. BUT... you get to run through Disney World! C'mon, how cool is that?

I've been volunteering with the Volunteer Services Team, a small part of Disney Sports and Recreation (the big department in the sky that is responsible for putting on all these awesome events every year), since 2004. From the Marathon to the Cross Country Classic, Special Olympics to Muddy Buddy, I've had the opportunity to volunteer in numerous capacities at all kinds of events. It's a lot of fun. But to actually PARTICIPATE? Now, that's something I don't get to do too often.

My first Disney race was on March 30, 2003, just a couple of weeks before I would start calling myself a Cast Member. The Walt Disney World Inline Marathon and Half Marathon was probably one of the coolest endurance events I have EVER participated in.

Imagine, putting on your pair of inline skates (something you've recreationally done for years) and BAM! There you are, blading through the Parks with a few thousand other people, no guests around, going so fast and having the time... of... your... life. It was honestly a dream come true (how cliche!); an event that was so refreshing and so rewarding. (oh, and that's me blading through Future World in Epcot during that inaugural race!)

Sadly, the race made it's final roll in 2007, losing it's place due to a lack of popularity and to make way for the new Minnie Marathon the following Spring. Although a few pros did make their way out to the event, low participant numbers ultimately caused it's demise. Walt Disney World Inline Marathon, how I miss you so.

I didn't participate in a Disney race again until this past February (as I had mentioned earlier), but it was great to be back. The ESPN The Weekend 5K was so much fun! True, it wasn't on inline skates, but was still fun to run through the Studios early in the morning.

Getting to the real point of this post... this past Sunday brought Disney's Race for the Taste 10K and 3K, inspired by the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival occurring during the event. However, like the Inline Marathon, it has now come to an end. Sad day. Fortunately, I was able to register and race the 10K (that's 6.2 miles for you non-runners) in this, it's final year. Although a somewhat popular race, I'd just have to assume that it hasn't been making the revenue Disney wants to keep justifying its existence. So, it will not be returning next year (along with the Tower of Terror 13K and 6.5K, which I'll be running in next week - stay tuned), but will be replaced with an all-new event in 2010. Check out disneyenduranceseries.com on Wednesday at 3PM for the announcement. (Yes, I already know what it is, but I don't want to get fired by revealing it on here). 

Anyway, the race was SO MUCH FUN! Matt and I ran it together, with him pulling ahead of me about 2 miles in. We wound in and out from Wide World of Sports Complex to the Studios, Yacht and Beach Club and finally, Epcot. I managed to finish it in 56:12, which is about a 9.5 minute/mile pace - just what I was hoping for! Mom was there to cheer me on at the finish line, as well as help me sample some of the food brought out from the festival. All the finishers even got a cool medal! I really wish it was coming back next year, but I'll always have the amazing memories.


To sum up... Disney races are incredible experiences full of magic in every mile! I can do it, so why don't you give one a try? If you're not into the whole "beating your body up for personal satisfaction" thing (and I mean that in a GOOD way), try volunteering as a Sports Enthusiast. Not only do you get to help out the participants as well as a deserving beneficiary, but you can make friends and earn credits towards free Theme Park tickets! Check out disneyenduranceseries.com and disneysportsenthusiast.com today.

A 5K? No way!

This past Saturday morning I participated in WESH 2's Run Around The Universe 5K at Universal. It was an un-timed "fun run" and I had a great time!

I finished in 26:45, which is surprising because I haven't ran in months and am WAY out of shape. Nonetheless, I was happy with that time. I did use an 8-year-old to help me pace for about a mile and a half, though... is that wrong?

The end of this month will be bringing the ESPN The Weekend 5K at the Studios, an all-new event for this year, which I also plan on participating in. It will be timed and you even get a cool medal after finishing! Races through the Parks are the best.

I'm using these to help me prepare for my New Year's Resolution in 2010: "Run every Disney road race... including the Marathon." We'll see how that one goes!

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 2009

I'm up reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyy late, as usual, and thought to myself, "why don't I update my blog, since there's nothing else better to do at 3:30 AM!"

So, that's what I'm gonna do. Get ready... here come the super-posts!

Last weekend was the 16th Annual Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. What fun it was, as always! This was my fifth year as a volunteer Team Leader. Not only did I get to volunteer at the Expo on Friday, but I also got to be a Team Leader for about 50 people on Saturday! That was cool.

My crew on Sunday out in Epcot's Wonder Lot consisted of a total of about 160 volunteers and I was lucky enough to have some of the same folks from last year again. I was in charge of Bag Check and Gate Control, as always, and it was a good time. A little more hectic than usual as the day progressed and I ended up with 24 bags to take to Lost and Found. Not the worst, but surely no record. As always, 14 hours in that parking lot was a long time, but well worth it. I love volunteering for the Marathon.

Next year may be a little different, as I think I'm gonna be crazy and actually run it... I'm already prepping my resolutions for 2010 - one of them being "run every Disney road race I possibly can". Keep your fingers crossed for me!