It's been a while since I've blogged, so you know it has to be reeeeeeeeally important for me to make this update. Disney added a new race to 2010 - the Wine & Dine Half Marathon!!! Oh my gosh! Can we think of any event that is more perfect for me!? Who's in? We can even do a 2-person relay!
Reasons why this is my dream event:
1 - it's run at night! Finally, a race where I don't have to be up at the crack of dawn (or earlier).
2 - after party at the Food & Wine Festival - as you may recall, this has become a family tradition and I look forward to it every yr!
3 - it's only a half! so only half the training, half the pain, etc. you get the picture!
4 - did i mention Disney World? this place is becoming my magical second home, apparently
Hit me up if you want to go! We have a year to train, that's more than enough time! :)
Showing posts with label disney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disney. Show all posts
Friday, October 16, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
disney marathon: mile 26.2
Ahhhh this is it! The end!
As I ran under Spaceship Earth, and the applause and cheers became even louder and thunderous, I was shaking...oh my goodness, could this really be the end? I rounded a corner, out a back entrance, into the parking lot...and there it was. Huge crowd to my left. Trees. Grandstand. Finish line. Tears. Arms up. One more smile. One more "yeah!!" Waving at my fan club one more time from this side of the finish line - their cheers & smiles & jumping up and down gave the final push I needed to get over the line.
And then it was done. 26.2 miles. Done. Once I crossed the line, a million thoughts left my head and for just one second I felt sad. A year of training to do something less than .5% of Americans will do this year. And now it was over. Now what? But then as I kept walking, I saw the medals, I saw how far I had to keep walking and the lines of people going through the aid stations and all I could think was "I need to see my family RIGHT NOW." I was so giddy and excited and I just couldn't wait in any more lines! I needed ice for my legs, badly, but I just didn't want to wait. Time to celebrate!!!!
As I ran under Spaceship Earth, and the applause and cheers became even louder and thunderous, I was shaking...oh my goodness, could this really be the end? I rounded a corner, out a back entrance, into the parking lot...and there it was. Huge crowd to my left. Trees. Grandstand. Finish line. Tears. Arms up. One more smile. One more "yeah!!" Waving at my fan club one more time from this side of the finish line - their cheers & smiles & jumping up and down gave the final push I needed to get over the line.
And then it was done. 26.2 miles. Done. Once I crossed the line, a million thoughts left my head and for just one second I felt sad. A year of training to do something less than .5% of Americans will do this year. And now it was over. Now what? But then as I kept walking, I saw the medals, I saw how far I had to keep walking and the lines of people going through the aid stations and all I could think was "I need to see my family RIGHT NOW." I was so giddy and excited and I just couldn't wait in any more lines! I needed ice for my legs, badly, but I just didn't want to wait. Time to celebrate!!!!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
disney marathon: miles 13-26
Slowly but surely, we are nearing the end of my marathon memories. Sad! Maybe that's why I didn't want to blog on it for so long, because then there really would be nothing left :(
Anyway, from the Grand Floridian on til the finish, I didn't see my fan club at all. It was a very long stretch. Even though the race was already half over, the last half was excruciating. I also don't have as many pictures.
So after Grand Floridian, we started the trek towards the Animal Kingdom. So boring. I never thought I would say that at Disney World. But seriously, those roads in between parks can be really dull. Especially the back roads that the service vehicles take. I think we got to see the recycling center or some other kind of maintenance area. Exciting right? All the while, the only thing really keeping me going was the Sharpie fun facts signs, the food stand where I grabbed a banana, and the sudden urge to pee. I actually stopped a couple times at portapotties but the lines were so dang long that I didn't wait around for long before I continued running.
Finally, a break! The Animal Kingdom. We ran through a back entrance and were greeted by all kinds of exotic animals with their trainers, as well as some more Disney characters. And then...thank goodness. A real bathroom. Potty break with no line. I was happy :) And then running through the Animal Kingdom. I enjoyed it - we actually ran through a large portion of the park rather than just skirting the front like we did at the Magic Kingdom.
Here I am in front of Mt. Everest:
After leaving the Animal Kingdom, we ran around the bus stops in front of the park and at this point, the sun got really, really hot. I closed my eyes a lot because of the brightness. Then the heat really started to get to me. And then of course, we were back on roads that were not so exciting. I got to this point, I can't remember what it was called, something like Mile 20 lift? A bunch of photographers on a huge lift above us taking pictures. Maybe you can tell how bright it was getting:
At this point I was really starting to drag. Soon after the lift, I started to walk, I remember seeing the Wide World of Sports kind of near us. It was just so hot! And I started to feel the pain in my feet and legs. There was a slight hill around Mile 21, and after topping that, I started to run (at this point, really it was a jog) again. I knew that MGM was close.
Yep MGM was close. Around mile 22, we went in through a back entrance right onto the set of their backstage tour. We actually ran through the wardrobe tunnel. I got really cheered up to see High School Musical costumes in the windows. They also passed out mini chocolates...I think this was the last food station. We ran right by the big hat, which was also pretty cool. We ran through MGM out the front and onto the sidewalk that connects MGM to the back entrance of Epcot. At this point, I took another walking break. At first, I was very discouraged. I wanted to keep running, but the pain was just unbelievable. I've never felt that way before. I thought, it's just 4 more miles, that's nothing to me. Why does this hurt so freakin bad?! Then I just kept thinking about my training book though, and I held my head up high, because dangit, I was going to finish this thing!!! I prayed a lot in my head too, and I just kept thinking about my fan club and how much I loved them and couldn't wait to see them at the finish line. So I would run as much as I could, then walk. Then run again, then walk. Just basically did whatever I could take to keep moving forward. We ran around the Boardwalk and those resorts - I have some very unflattering pictures of me there if you really want to see them, haha.
Then finally, back into Epcot. You know that feeling when you come home after being gone for a long time, and you just feel so at peace and happy? That feeling flooded my heart. Oh hello Epcot. It's been 5 hours since I was here earlier in the morning, and I was SO glad to be back. Yay Epcot. We ran around the countries once more, and then back to the ball, and then the cheers were getting so thunderous that I started to cry. I couldn't believe all these people cheering us on. Waving signs, flags, etc. Even though I wanted to walk some more, I just had to keep going. The energy was incredible!!
Anyway, from the Grand Floridian on til the finish, I didn't see my fan club at all. It was a very long stretch. Even though the race was already half over, the last half was excruciating. I also don't have as many pictures.
So after Grand Floridian, we started the trek towards the Animal Kingdom. So boring. I never thought I would say that at Disney World. But seriously, those roads in between parks can be really dull. Especially the back roads that the service vehicles take. I think we got to see the recycling center or some other kind of maintenance area. Exciting right? All the while, the only thing really keeping me going was the Sharpie fun facts signs, the food stand where I grabbed a banana, and the sudden urge to pee. I actually stopped a couple times at portapotties but the lines were so dang long that I didn't wait around for long before I continued running.
Finally, a break! The Animal Kingdom. We ran through a back entrance and were greeted by all kinds of exotic animals with their trainers, as well as some more Disney characters. And then...thank goodness. A real bathroom. Potty break with no line. I was happy :) And then running through the Animal Kingdom. I enjoyed it - we actually ran through a large portion of the park rather than just skirting the front like we did at the Magic Kingdom.
Here I am in front of Mt. Everest:
After leaving the Animal Kingdom, we ran around the bus stops in front of the park and at this point, the sun got really, really hot. I closed my eyes a lot because of the brightness. Then the heat really started to get to me. And then of course, we were back on roads that were not so exciting. I got to this point, I can't remember what it was called, something like Mile 20 lift? A bunch of photographers on a huge lift above us taking pictures. Maybe you can tell how bright it was getting:
At this point I was really starting to drag. Soon after the lift, I started to walk, I remember seeing the Wide World of Sports kind of near us. It was just so hot! And I started to feel the pain in my feet and legs. There was a slight hill around Mile 21, and after topping that, I started to run (at this point, really it was a jog) again. I knew that MGM was close.
Yep MGM was close. Around mile 22, we went in through a back entrance right onto the set of their backstage tour. We actually ran through the wardrobe tunnel. I got really cheered up to see High School Musical costumes in the windows. They also passed out mini chocolates...I think this was the last food station. We ran right by the big hat, which was also pretty cool. We ran through MGM out the front and onto the sidewalk that connects MGM to the back entrance of Epcot. At this point, I took another walking break. At first, I was very discouraged. I wanted to keep running, but the pain was just unbelievable. I've never felt that way before. I thought, it's just 4 more miles, that's nothing to me. Why does this hurt so freakin bad?! Then I just kept thinking about my training book though, and I held my head up high, because dangit, I was going to finish this thing!!! I prayed a lot in my head too, and I just kept thinking about my fan club and how much I loved them and couldn't wait to see them at the finish line. So I would run as much as I could, then walk. Then run again, then walk. Just basically did whatever I could take to keep moving forward. We ran around the Boardwalk and those resorts - I have some very unflattering pictures of me there if you really want to see them, haha.
Then finally, back into Epcot. You know that feeling when you come home after being gone for a long time, and you just feel so at peace and happy? That feeling flooded my heart. Oh hello Epcot. It's been 5 hours since I was here earlier in the morning, and I was SO glad to be back. Yay Epcot. We ran around the countries once more, and then back to the ball, and then the cheers were getting so thunderous that I started to cry. I couldn't believe all these people cheering us on. Waving signs, flags, etc. Even though I wanted to walk some more, I just had to keep going. The energy was incredible!!
Friday, May 29, 2009
stoking the fire
I have been going back & forth in my head on running again. On one hand, I want to run the Disneyland half in LA so I can get an additional cool Coast to Coast Disney medal. It's only 13.1 miles! But, it's Sep 6, theoretically a day I would be on my honeymoon. On the other hand, I could just do the Disney marathon again, maybe as soon as next year, and try for the Coast to Coast in that yr as well. But, who knows if I will ever be able to put the time in for training again, and do those 26.2 miles? I can't really predict the future.
But then as if all this back & forth wasn't enough to encourage my indecision, Disney sends me the marathon newsletter in my email...and I read it and get that yearning to do it all again. Darn those emotions!! And then I watched this 3 min marathon video and relived all the feelings...ahhhh I really want to do it again!
And p.s. I am not the only one who throws her hands up & yells "yeahhhh" :)
But then as if all this back & forth wasn't enough to encourage my indecision, Disney sends me the marathon newsletter in my email...and I read it and get that yearning to do it all again. Darn those emotions!! And then I watched this 3 min marathon video and relived all the feelings...ahhhh I really want to do it again!
And p.s. I am not the only one who throws her hands up & yells "yeahhhh" :)
Monday, May 18, 2009
disney marathon: miles 11-13
Once we left the Magic Kingdom, I have to admit, I was pretty bummed. I knew that what lay ahead was pretty much no man's land for the 5 miles between the Castle and the Animal Kingdom. I knew we would swing around the other side of the lake and run past the Grand Floridian, but either I was so caught up in the morning that I didn't hear Ryan tell me, or I was so in the zone that I didn't realize it was time...in my low after my biggest high of the race, there was my whole fan club again, waiting for me in front of the Grand Floridian. I can't even describe the rush of joy it was to see them where I wasn't expecting and right before a hard, lonely stretch. In fact, I may not have seen them were it not for the water stop right before them, where of course I slowed to get some water, catch a breather etc.
Here I come!!! Swooping in there on the right.
Why, hello there! So glad to see you! High fives all around!
And I'm off again, into the sunrise.
Another cool thing around the Grand Floridian...I don't know what the tradition is, but there a lot of older couples, like grandmas and grandpas, dressed with mickey ear top hats and minnie bride ears & veils. I assume this is because the Disney Wedding Pavilion is right there with the Grand Floridian, but I wasn't sure what the tradition was with all the older people. Anyone know? They were super cute and so great at cheering :)
Here I come!!! Swooping in there on the right.
Why, hello there! So glad to see you! High fives all around!
And I'm off again, into the sunrise.
Another cool thing around the Grand Floridian...I don't know what the tradition is, but there a lot of older couples, like grandmas and grandpas, dressed with mickey ear top hats and minnie bride ears & veils. I assume this is because the Disney Wedding Pavilion is right there with the Grand Floridian, but I wasn't sure what the tradition was with all the older people. Anyone know? They were super cute and so great at cheering :)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
disney marathon: miles 10-11
Man, I am a bad blogger these days! It's been over 3 months since I ran the Disney Marathon and I still haven't finished blogging about it. Sorry! I will try to get it done by the end of the month??
Ok, this is by far my favorite mile of the whole course. Good thing it was about halfway through right? Because after this, I was soooo pumped! Adrenaline rush. I think it's pretty obvious from the pictures how excited and happy I was to be running through the Magic Kingdom.
So after running through the Contemporary, we ran through a side service entrance that dumped out onto Main Street where there were tons of cheering fans. Encouragement! Then we ran through Tomorrowland - there was a cute Tomorrowland band there playing music.
Then we ran through the back of Fantasyland and then da dada da! Trumpeteers on the balcony of Cinderella's Castle. I seriously let out an audible "yaaaay" at this point. And then...for just a short couple seconds...I ran through the castle. One of the greatest, proudest, most exciting moments of my life! I mean really, completing the thing was that moment, but the castle just brought so much emotion. Hey I'm a girl who pretty much dreamed all her childhood of 2 things: being a princess like Cindrella (who was my favorite Disney princess) and doing amazing things. Here I was running a marathon and I felt like a total princess.
And just as soon as I was there, I was gone. The shortest, quickest mile of the whole race. And of course the most memorable. After going through the castle, we ran through Frontierland, out another side entrance, and on to the Grand Floridian.
Ok, this is by far my favorite mile of the whole course. Good thing it was about halfway through right? Because after this, I was soooo pumped! Adrenaline rush. I think it's pretty obvious from the pictures how excited and happy I was to be running through the Magic Kingdom.
So after running through the Contemporary, we ran through a side service entrance that dumped out onto Main Street where there were tons of cheering fans. Encouragement! Then we ran through Tomorrowland - there was a cute Tomorrowland band there playing music.
Then we ran through the back of Fantasyland and then da dada da! Trumpeteers on the balcony of Cinderella's Castle. I seriously let out an audible "yaaaay" at this point. And then...for just a short couple seconds...I ran through the castle. One of the greatest, proudest, most exciting moments of my life! I mean really, completing the thing was that moment, but the castle just brought so much emotion. Hey I'm a girl who pretty much dreamed all her childhood of 2 things: being a princess like Cindrella (who was my favorite Disney princess) and doing amazing things. Here I was running a marathon and I felt like a total princess.
And just as soon as I was there, I was gone. The shortest, quickest mile of the whole race. And of course the most memorable. After going through the castle, we ran through Frontierland, out another side entrance, and on to the Grand Floridian.
Friday, March 6, 2009
disney marathon: miles 8-10
So the first stop after Epcot after the highway running was the Ticket & Transportation Center. That was a fun area to run through because it was kind of unexpected. I forgot it was there. But we ran under the monorail station where there were tons of fans cheering us on! And gotta love the cast members with their mickey gloves on! It was also very cool running through completely empty parking lots. What a sight!
And how convenient...the course ran right by our hotel, The Contemporary between miles 9 & 10. I was really really really excited as I saw the Contemporary come into view. I was going to see all my fans together for the first time on the course. Here's Holly & Shane with signs ready:
Right before I saw them, we all went running under a bridge of sorts, and as I came through the end, I could see everyone. I started waving, and tried to yell "hey!" But no one was paying attention!!! Maybe you can see me waving frantically on the left side...
I literally was right in front of them before they saw me. I guess I was a little early. Like I said, those first 8 miles went by so fast! Luckily they caught me and took this lovely progression of pictures below.
Unfortunately there were wall to wall cone barriers between us so I couldn't get any high fives or hugs in. But no worries, there were still 16.2 miles ahead! And the Magic Kingdom was less than a hop, skip & a jump from here.
And how convenient...the course ran right by our hotel, The Contemporary between miles 9 & 10. I was really really really excited as I saw the Contemporary come into view. I was going to see all my fans together for the first time on the course. Here's Holly & Shane with signs ready:
Right before I saw them, we all went running under a bridge of sorts, and as I came through the end, I could see everyone. I started waving, and tried to yell "hey!" But no one was paying attention!!! Maybe you can see me waving frantically on the left side...
I literally was right in front of them before they saw me. I guess I was a little early. Like I said, those first 8 miles went by so fast! Luckily they caught me and took this lovely progression of pictures below.
Unfortunately there were wall to wall cone barriers between us so I couldn't get any high fives or hugs in. But no worries, there were still 16.2 miles ahead! And the Magic Kingdom was less than a hop, skip & a jump from here.
Friday, February 13, 2009
disney marathon: miles 1-8
Looking back on it now, I can't believe how fast the first 8 miles went. It feels like a blur now. After the split start, we reunited with the other runners around mile 4. Before reuniting, we ran on a highway behind Epcot before finally coming back around to the parking gates.
Of course, as we were running around Epcot, I was wondering, when are we going to go in?! I was so stoked. After running through the parking gates, we ran straight up the middle walkway toward the ball. And there were spectators cheering us on, on either side. Lo and behold, as I was thinking, aw I wonder if Holly & Ryan are here...there they were!!! There wasn't enough time to snap a picture, but I saw them all bundled up in the dark cold cheering for me :) So then I was really stoked!
Then we ran under the monorail, and the cheers were echoing so loud. I started to get emotional! Just amazed at all the fans and all the runners.
And then...on into Epcot! The course significantly narrowed at this point and there were race workers guiding us through the area right in front of the ball. But once we got past it, the course widened and it was a spectacular sight. All of the nations around the lake were lit up, and there was fire in all of the torches. It was so beautiful, still and serene. And yet, here we were, this huge wave of runners. There were characters to greet us, I can't remember all of them but I do remember seeing Mulan and some guy yelling over if he could see her after the race. Funny. We ran in there for such a short time before exiting through a back entrance and back onto highway roads.
These roads were...boring. No characters. But there were DJs, marching bands, the works every so often to keep the energy going. There were also Sharpie sponsored billboards at every mile with funny pictures and/or sayings. And eventually, the sun came up. I remember coming down on road ramp, curving towards the next park. At this point, I really started getting excited because the next park was...the Magic Kingdom!
Of course, as we were running around Epcot, I was wondering, when are we going to go in?! I was so stoked. After running through the parking gates, we ran straight up the middle walkway toward the ball. And there were spectators cheering us on, on either side. Lo and behold, as I was thinking, aw I wonder if Holly & Ryan are here...there they were!!! There wasn't enough time to snap a picture, but I saw them all bundled up in the dark cold cheering for me :) So then I was really stoked!
Then we ran under the monorail, and the cheers were echoing so loud. I started to get emotional! Just amazed at all the fans and all the runners.
And then...on into Epcot! The course significantly narrowed at this point and there were race workers guiding us through the area right in front of the ball. But once we got past it, the course widened and it was a spectacular sight. All of the nations around the lake were lit up, and there was fire in all of the torches. It was so beautiful, still and serene. And yet, here we were, this huge wave of runners. There were characters to greet us, I can't remember all of them but I do remember seeing Mulan and some guy yelling over if he could see her after the race. Funny. We ran in there for such a short time before exiting through a back entrance and back onto highway roads.
These roads were...boring. No characters. But there were DJs, marching bands, the works every so often to keep the energy going. There were also Sharpie sponsored billboards at every mile with funny pictures and/or sayings. And eventually, the sun came up. I remember coming down on road ramp, curving towards the next park. At this point, I really started getting excited because the next park was...the Magic Kingdom!
Friday, February 6, 2009
disney marathon: the start
These are Ryan's pictures from the start. He & Holly staked out a spot along the road. Unfortunately, there was a split start, so one group of corrals started down one side of the highway, and the other corrals started on the opposite side of the highway. Of course, I was on the opposite side of the highway. Which was cool for me, because I was the first corral to go under the big start line with the fireworks. But bad for Ryan & Holly because there was just no way they would see me. Not that they would have anyway because there were thousands and thousands and thousands of people running by.
And then, the start. Oh my goodness. If I could only convey the feeling with words. I staked out a little piece of pavement, and I was amazed to find that I was in the first corral on the starting line side. At this point, I started to get really nervous and excited, because I couldn't believe my luck! How did I get so close to the start? And then I thought, oh man, these people around me are probably really fast. Another cool thing is that I was in spitting distance of the official starting stage, where Mickey & crew came out in their tracksuits and wished us all a good race and then started the countdown to the start! Everyone else got to watch on big TVs along the median of the road, but I saw it "live" right in front of me. Some dude near me also got interviewed, I was sitting right behind him. So yeah...a pretty exciting build-up to the start, and I had butterflies fluttering around the whole time!
Then of course, the moment I had been waiting for a almost a whole year.
10...fireworks!
9...fireworks!
8...fireworks!
7...fireworks!
6...fireworks!
5...fireworks!
4...fireworks!
3...fireworks!
2...fireworks!
1...fireworks!
And we were off...well not really. More like a walk-jog-run start, but that was to be expected! And it was such an emotional rush! I was so happy, screaming "yeah!!!", smiling, waving...we were all doing that.
There was a big riser after the start with photographers, videographers etc, and these are their pics:
And this one is my absolute favorite start picture. Can you spot me & my purple shorts on the right side of the pic? #7499
And then, the start. Oh my goodness. If I could only convey the feeling with words. I staked out a little piece of pavement, and I was amazed to find that I was in the first corral on the starting line side. At this point, I started to get really nervous and excited, because I couldn't believe my luck! How did I get so close to the start? And then I thought, oh man, these people around me are probably really fast. Another cool thing is that I was in spitting distance of the official starting stage, where Mickey & crew came out in their tracksuits and wished us all a good race and then started the countdown to the start! Everyone else got to watch on big TVs along the median of the road, but I saw it "live" right in front of me. Some dude near me also got interviewed, I was sitting right behind him. So yeah...a pretty exciting build-up to the start, and I had butterflies fluttering around the whole time!
Then of course, the moment I had been waiting for a almost a whole year.
10...fireworks!
9...fireworks!
8...fireworks!
7...fireworks!
6...fireworks!
5...fireworks!
4...fireworks!
3...fireworks!
2...fireworks!
1...fireworks!
And we were off...well not really. More like a walk-jog-run start, but that was to be expected! And it was such an emotional rush! I was so happy, screaming "yeah!!!", smiling, waving...we were all doing that.
There was a big riser after the start with photographers, videographers etc, and these are their pics:
And this one is my absolute favorite start picture. Can you spot me & my purple shorts on the right side of the pic? #7499
disney marathon: to the start!
Around 3 am, I woke up from a pretty restful night of sleep. I guess I wasn't that nervous after all! But I got dressed, and Holly & I met Ryan to catch the monorail out to the start.
We walked from the Epcot station over to the family reunion area, where we chilled for as long as we could together. I brought a banana for breakfast and tried unsuccessfully to eat an energy bar. It was just gross eating peanut butter & chocolate with a texture of cardboard at 4:30 am. But, I regretted it later, I got really hungry about 3/4 of the way through the race. So if I were to ever do this again, I will definitely eat something more substantial before the start!
The family reunion area in the wee hours of the morning:
Mapping out where the family should try to see me run by:
Pre-race photo ops with my 2 biggest fans:
Entertainment stage where there was an 80s band getting us pepped up:
Time to say goodbye...walking through baggage check tents. I didn't check anything, but after the tents, there was a ~15 minute walk to get to the back of the start, followed by a 5 minute walk to my starting corral. Who knew there would be so much walking? Haha. It was good though, nice warm up since it was pretty cool at this point. And it was good to get my nerves down.
We walked from the Epcot station over to the family reunion area, where we chilled for as long as we could together. I brought a banana for breakfast and tried unsuccessfully to eat an energy bar. It was just gross eating peanut butter & chocolate with a texture of cardboard at 4:30 am. But, I regretted it later, I got really hungry about 3/4 of the way through the race. So if I were to ever do this again, I will definitely eat something more substantial before the start!
The family reunion area in the wee hours of the morning:
Mapping out where the family should try to see me run by:
Pre-race photo ops with my 2 biggest fans:
Entertainment stage where there was an 80s band getting us pepped up:
Time to say goodbye...walking through baggage check tents. I didn't check anything, but after the tents, there was a ~15 minute walk to get to the back of the start, followed by a 5 minute walk to my starting corral. Who knew there would be so much walking? Haha. It was good though, nice warm up since it was pretty cool at this point. And it was good to get my nerves down.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
disney marathon: The Wave
For pre-race dinner, we went to The Wave. It's located on the first floor of The Contemporary and it's relatively new. I really like the entrance tunnel, felt very swank and non-Disney. We checked in and were promptly seated.
Our server was really nice & funny. My sister ordered hot tea (she was sick) and all the tea was organic and in silk sachets with a cute little pot. So, she started a trend and almost all of us got hot tea. It was good!
Being the runner, I was on a semi-strict diet, and the restaurant was really easy to work with when modifying menu items. Most if not all the menu items were organic and/or local products. For an appetizer, I got mixed greens, which was a step above your standard salad. Holly & Shane got the crabcakes, which had a nice spice to them. Ryan got a hazelnut soup which was very...interesting. Don't know if I could eat a whole bowl or cup, but it was a different taste/texture - fun to try.
For entrees, I got the sustainable fish of the day, unfortunately I can't remmeber what kind of fish it was. I subbed out the sides for whole wheat pasta, which I asked for but was not mentioned anywhere on the menu. What luck, right? The fish & pasta was only ok. My dish was definitely the least colorful and boring of the party. The other entrees were chicken pot pie, lamb, seafood pasta, and a flank steak. Everyone enjoyed the entrees, I don't know that I would characterize them as spectacular.
What was really spectacular was the desserts. 5 kiwis all the way here! There are 3 or 4 different dessert trios to choose from, and they also have a selection of sorbets (that I would love to go back & try!). The trios are very well thought out, awesome mixtures of flavors and textures. Really a delight for the senses. And just the right amount so you're not over-indulging. We tried:
Creamy indulgence - raspberry cheesecake, coconut panna cotta, chocolate passion-fruit mousse
Winner: tie between cheesecake & panna cotta - both were perfectly textured and very fresh on the fruit
Loser: Passion-fruit mousse - I didn't like the flavor combo here
Crispy/crunchy - braised pineapple, baklava, zucchini carrot cake
Winner: all 3. This was my favorite trio as a whole. Who knew braising pineapple could taste so sinful?
Loser: no losers here!
Decadent flavors - salted caramel chocolate mousse, blueberry on yogurt gelato, lemon cornbread with panna cotta
Winner: salted caramel chocolate mousse. My absolute favorite of all the desserts. I am starting to shed a little tear right now just thinking about how good it was and how long it will be til I taste something as amazing.
Loser: no losers here, the gelato and cornbread were also good.
Debbie's birthday was the next day, so she got special treatment :)
After dinner, we all headed to bed! I layed out my marathon outfit (my favorite race day shirt & lucky socks - wore those socks at every race last year), tied my commemorative championchip to my shoes, and pinned my bib on to my shirt.
And the next morning...
Friday, January 30, 2009
disney marathon: The Contemporary
So after the Expo, we headed to our hotel, The Contemporary. Honestly, I don't think there is a more perfect place to stay when running the marathon. The concierge let us check in 3 hours early and was so just so darn nice about everything. I had to keep reminding myself not to be surprised...this is Disney. They are always that amazing.
Anyway, we took our bags up to the room which was in the main tower with a lakeside view. Really beautiful. I had never stayed at The Contemporary before, so I didn't really know what to expect, the outside is so old looking (although I know back in the day it was supposed to look really modern, ah how times change!)
What I really loved about The Contemporary was the quiet. Maybe they weren't completely full, or maybe families just don't stay here often. But it was very quiet & relaxing. The only times it was loud was when character dinner was going on in the 4th floor Grand Canyon (open air atrium where the monorail goes through) and when they had a night music show on the lake, maybe around 9pm? I love kids, but this was one weekend where I didn't want to deal with the noise, ruckus, crowding etc that happens when there are tons of excited children around.
We got to go to the pool both when we got there and the hours after the marathon. So relaxing! The waterslide was really fun, and I loved the hammocks!
I loved seeing the monorails come through every day. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them coming through! :( Darnit. We ate a couple times at the Contempo Cafe which is in the Grand Canyon atrium. It was neat - you order your food at kiosks, pay for it, then sit down with a buzzer that goes off when your food is ready for pickup. There were lots of healthy options, but you could still indulge with a cheeseburger & fries if you wanted. I especially liked all the whole wheat breads and the option to have green beans on the side. Not over-cooked, water-logged hammy green beans. Fresh, crisp green beans with a soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds. Yum! I was really happy with this little place. My favorites were the turkey, apple & brie sandwich and the grilled chicken & monterey jack sandwich. Delicious!
What really makes The Contemporary good for marathon day is the monorail. It's only one stop from the hotel to the Ticket & Transportation Center, where you can hop the monorail to Epcot. And the resort monorail ride was almost empty. The monorail to Epcot was relatively crowded, but not uncomfortably so. No driving, no bus riding. We were amazed at the traffic jam we avoided.
We enjoyed a beautiful moonrise? Not sure the term. But it was really pretty right before we went to my last meal before the race!
Anyway, we took our bags up to the room which was in the main tower with a lakeside view. Really beautiful. I had never stayed at The Contemporary before, so I didn't really know what to expect, the outside is so old looking (although I know back in the day it was supposed to look really modern, ah how times change!)
What I really loved about The Contemporary was the quiet. Maybe they weren't completely full, or maybe families just don't stay here often. But it was very quiet & relaxing. The only times it was loud was when character dinner was going on in the 4th floor Grand Canyon (open air atrium where the monorail goes through) and when they had a night music show on the lake, maybe around 9pm? I love kids, but this was one weekend where I didn't want to deal with the noise, ruckus, crowding etc that happens when there are tons of excited children around.
We got to go to the pool both when we got there and the hours after the marathon. So relaxing! The waterslide was really fun, and I loved the hammocks!
I loved seeing the monorails come through every day. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them coming through! :( Darnit. We ate a couple times at the Contempo Cafe which is in the Grand Canyon atrium. It was neat - you order your food at kiosks, pay for it, then sit down with a buzzer that goes off when your food is ready for pickup. There were lots of healthy options, but you could still indulge with a cheeseburger & fries if you wanted. I especially liked all the whole wheat breads and the option to have green beans on the side. Not over-cooked, water-logged hammy green beans. Fresh, crisp green beans with a soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds. Yum! I was really happy with this little place. My favorites were the turkey, apple & brie sandwich and the grilled chicken & monterey jack sandwich. Delicious!
What really makes The Contemporary good for marathon day is the monorail. It's only one stop from the hotel to the Ticket & Transportation Center, where you can hop the monorail to Epcot. And the resort monorail ride was almost empty. The monorail to Epcot was relatively crowded, but not uncomfortably so. No driving, no bus riding. We were amazed at the traffic jam we avoided.
We enjoyed a beautiful moonrise? Not sure the term. But it was really pretty right before we went to my last meal before the race!
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