Tag Archives ⇒ disney_cruise

Weird week

· Lauren

It’s been a weird week. On Monday and Tuesday I was frantically making final preparations at work for an event that took place on Wednesday. I was in charge of the whole thing so I was really stressed about it going well. There were a lot of people I needed to impress. I was so tired when I got to work on Wednesday morning that I was already ready for the event to be over. But in spite of the high stakes, I honestly expected to breeze through the day and leave that afternoon with a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Unfortunately I was wrong. Actually, the first half of the day was great, but everything went downhill after lunch. The good news, if there is any, is that I had nothing to do with the downward spiral. All of the products I created worked the way they were supposed to, but we uncovered a few vulnerabilities that we don’t currently protect against. Aargh. This means more work for me, of course, but I’ll get back to that in a minute. I eventually escaped from work and celebrated by watching a movie and basically accomplishing nothing for the rest of the evening. Thursday was an even weirder day because I had to work from 11 PM to 7 AM. My plan was to get up at my normal time, get a few things done in the morning, take a nap in the afternoon, and then go to work at night. It didn’t quite happen that way, though. I just couldn’t sleep when I needed to. I probably dozed off for an hour or so in the early evening, but that was about it. So I wasn’t in very good shape when I got to work at 11 PM. But I powered through. And I probably would have been fine if I could have gone home at 7 AM and immediately crawled into bed, but that wasn’t in the cards. There was an important meeting scheduled at 8 AM regarding my event on Wednesday that I needed to attend. Happy Friday, right? (Not that I remembered what day it was at that point. When your shift spans two days your brain started to get a little confused.) I was exhausted by the time the meeting rolled around. I ultimately got home around 10 AM and I passed out after inhaling some breakfast (or whatever you call the meal you eat after being awake for more than 24 hours). I woke up again around 4 PM feeling slightly better, showered, and got ready to run some errands. Specifically, I needed to pick up my race shirt and bib for the Race on the Base 5K the next morning. (Don’t worry, I’ll write more about the race tomorrow.)

The best news that came out of last week is that I booked my Disney Cruise for next February! If all goes the way I’m planning, I’ll run the Princess Half Marathon ay Disney World on 2/21 and then hop on a cruise to the Bahamas the next day. It’s going to be amazing!

2015 Resolution #1 revisited

· Lauren

New Year’s Resolution #1: Decide whether to train for a full marathon

I hate to say it, but I’m close to admitting defeat on this one. When I first wrote about this resolution I said I’d have until sometime in April to decide whether I want to train for a full marathon this year, and that deadline is still valid, but the decision has pretty much already been made for me. There’s a reason I haven’t written about running lately. Mostly because I haven’t done any. My knee is still not fully healed. I’ve gone to the chiropractor a number of times, but it hasn’t been the miracle cure that I was wishing for. Despite more than two weeks of rest (since the Surf City half marathon), my knee still hurts in certain situations. Like when it’s bent for too long. Sadly a desk job isn’t doing me any favors in this arena. And when I fall asleep in the wrong position I wake up in pain a few hours later. It’s not fun. The chiropractor appointments definitely haven’t hurt, but the lack of improvement means that it’s not entirely a muscular problem. After I described my current woes at today’s appointment the chiropractor referred me to an orthopedist to get an MRI of my knee. I’m was actually relieved when he gave me the number. I’m still hopeful that this isn’t a serious injury, but I’ll be glad to find out one way or another.

Getting back to the resolution, I have a strong suspicion that marathon training isn’t going to happen in 2015. I was hoping to get an idea of my capabilities while training for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon this spring, but I haven’t been able to even start that yet. In January I wrote all of my planned Tinkerbell training runs on a calendar and hung it up in my cubicle at work. I was so excited to tackle a new challenge, but unfortunately that program was derailed almost right from the start. Now I have to set my sights on something else. My only goal right now is to be healthy in time for the two half marathons (and one 10K) I’m registered for in May. I don’t need to be completely prepared for them, but I want to be able to run without pain. Hopefully this isn’t too ambitious. The good news is that there are benefits to putting off marathon training for a year. Assuming my knee makes a full recovery, I’ll be able to participate in the Star Wars Rebel Challenge at Disneyland next January. Also, I’ll be able to take a few more days off in February 2016 to go to Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon weekend. (Including a Caribbean cruise afterwards! I can’t wait!) So I’ll still be challenging myself, just not in the same way. And if all goes well, I’ll sign up for the Disney World Marathon in January 2017. Fingers crossed!

January travel

· Lauren

It’s my birthday, but I’m exhausted after a couple of busy days at Disney World, including a 10K this morning. So instead of penning something new I’m going to share a post I wrote on my flights from Long Beach to Orlando on Wednesday.

I’m on my way to Orlando right now and reveling in how easy this trip has been so far. I know I’ve said how awesome it is to fly out of the Long Beach airport before , but I’d like to reiterate it. It only took me about ten minutes to get to the airport this morning and there was virtually no traffic. So relaxing! And then there was only one person in front of me at the ticketing counter and the security line. Could it get any better? Yes! Free wifi not only in the airport terminal, but on my Jet Blue flight to Austin. That along with an empty middle seat beside me right now I think I’m in heaven. Too bad travel can’t always be this lovely.

Speaking of travel, I made a wish list back in December. Not a Christmas list or a birthday list (for those of us who have birthdays shortly after Christmas) or any other list of gifts that I’d like to receive, but a travel wish list. There are so many places I want to go and I figure it’s time to start making plans to visit them. Daydreaming about amazing trips is good, but making them happen is even better. I’m going to do everything I can to make 2015 a fantastic year, including as much travel as possible. (This might include a work trip to DC as well, but that’s OK as long as it doesn’t snow like last March! I also don’t mind because it means I can craft a side trip for personal enjoyment.) I’m still working on a more specific New Year’s resolution regarding travel because I want to make one that’s realistic. Like last year when I resolved to visit as many new states as possible. I think I did pretty well with six! I’m still going to try and visit new states in 2015 (including a family trip to Alaska in August), but that won’t be the main focus of my travel goals. This year I just want to have fun. Case in point, after this little sojourn I’m on to Disney World right now, I think my next adventure will be in Hawaii. I have a some girlfriends who are planning a trip to Maui in June and I am definitely going to join them. (This ties in with another one of my New Year’s resolutions, but I’ll write more about that later.) I can’t wait to do some swimming, snorkeling, and exploring new places/things I didn’t see when I was last there in 2011. I need to buy my plane ticket for that trip pretty soon. There are other trips I need to plan ahead for as well.

Believe it or not, I’m already thinking about 2016. Yes, I’m getting ready to book a Disney Cruise for February 2016. Not only am I dying to go on a Disney Cruise, but my ultimate goal is to run the Princess Half Marathon at Disney World and then leave on the cruise from Port Canaveral the next day. That particular cruise has the Castaway Cay 5K on Disney’s private island which is one of its major selling points. I might be going a little crazy with these Disney races, but at least I’ll have some awesome medals to show for it! I know it’s more than a year away, but I’m already looking forward to this combination Orlando/Bahamas trip. I’ve never been on a cruise before and I’ve never been to the Bahamas before. February 2016 will contain a lot of firsts! I can’t wait!