Five Favorite Things Friday, Paris Edition!

As you will know if you read our blog, Paris is one of our favorite destinations.  There are so many exceptional places to see and of course don't get us started on all the tasty food and wine to be consumed.  We feel a day in Paris is not complete unless there is a stop at a local cafe for a pastry, flaky croissant or perhaps a mille feuille.  While there are many favorites things, we have chosen five to highlight!

1.  Eiffel Tower:  The iconic symbol of Paris and to view it at night with the twinkly lights is a sight to behold.  I could watch that every night, kind of like the fireworks at Magic Kingdom!

We Run Disney loves Paris!

2. Montmartre:  This is a lovely village on the northern side of the city that includes the Sacre Coeur basilica and a quaint little area where artists work and sell their finished paintings, prints etc.  You can spend a day here strolling around visiting the local shops and restaurants and visiting some sites such as the Moulin Rouge! 

Sacre Coeur

3. Louvre Museum and Musee d'Orsay:  Paris has many wonderful museums and these tow are favorites of ours.  At the Louvre this world famous museum includes the Mona Lisa painting by DaVinci, Venus de Milo sculpture by Alexandros and of course the pyramid by I.M. Pei.  The Musee d'Orsay is located inside a renovated old railway station which makes it very unique.  The building itself is worth a visit, let alone the impressive collections of artwork inside.  There is a large collection of impressionist paintings by Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and Cezanne.

4. Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe  No trip to Paris would be complete without a stroll down this boulevard where you can see many shops, cafes, and restaurants.   It is a beautiful tree lined street with loads of shops, hotels, cafes and of course the Arc de Triomphe which is a prevalent landmark at one end.  It is fun to stop for a coffee and croissant and people watch at one of the outdoor tables!

5. Pastries:  We love to eat and Paris offers many options for your gastronomic pleasure. Many morning and afternoon stops include a cup of tea or an espresso and a freshly baked croissant or pastry treat! One of our favorite restaurants is Chez Andre, located just off the Champs Elysses.  They offer the biggest creme brulee I have ever seen! And just in case you're wondering, anything to eat tastes better in France!

What are you favorite spots in the City of Lights?
(Pam)

A Surprise Race Without Music

As many of you know, I ran the Goofy Challenge in January at Walt Disney World.  Despite being super organized and obsessed over my gear and race day outfit, I made a huge mistake.  My ipod shuffle was not charged.  Despite putting it on the charger the day before, I also left it overnight in the on position.  Somehow, I did not check the settings properly and I ended up in my starting corral with a shuffle that had no charge.  That's right, it could not even play one song.  Thankfully, this dilemma was not evident until just a couple minutes before my corral was going to start.  In fact, I had maybe two or three minutes to get anxious, and then get over it.  Waiting for the race to start with Christine and several other running friends made the time go quickly and also keep me from losing my cool.  A half marathon with no music sounded terrible.  But I handled it and stuffed the ipod and headphones inside my Sparkle Skirts pocket and started running.

These pockets could hold a picnic for 2, but I just had my gels and the  shuffle

One thing about Disney races is the on course entertainment and volunteers who cheer, and provide water are plentiful.  There are also many things to look at including the costumes of other runners, the mileage markers, the parks you run through and of course the character stops along the way.  All of these things were a great deal of help considering I am attached to my music when I run.  It is probably not the ideal way to run, but it works for me.

Excited and ready to run in Corral B....smiles before I realized the Ipod was not charged!

Finishing this race about five and a half minutes faster than my plan was probably due in small part to the lack of music.  Also, I was running the half by myself since Christine was going for a PR, which she achieved!  Once the race was complete, I hurried back to the hotel room to put my ipod on the charger!  I must have checked it at least three or four times so that I would be sure to have music for the Mickey Marathon! And it was a "Happily Every After" story because I did have my music the next day!

(Pam)

Dumbo Double Dare.....100 day Countdown!

Are you as excited as we are? Dumbo Double Dare, we can't wait! This will be our next Disney trip and running adventure.  Since this is an inaugural race it should be special and we are looking forward to our first runDisney 10k!  Our flights are booked and our hotel reservation has been made.  We are planning our race costumes now! Are you going to California for this race?  

Christine at 8 years old....loving Dumbo then and always!

Training Tuesday...Porta Potties

This would be considered a taboo subject by most people.   When you are a runner, bathroom stops can be very important, especially if you are on a long run, or away from your home.  I recently went back to the track after a long hiatus of running my speed workouts on a treadmill.

4 months since my last visit

As it turns out, I hydrated a bit too much while Tom was still in bed and paid for it once I got into my training session at the track.  After a good warm up and then two sets of 800 meters with 90 second breaks I knew I could not make it through the whole set without stopping for a bathroom break.  At this university track near me, there are four little gems, aka porta potties right at the entrance to the field area. I have avoided these each and every time I have worked out here....until now!

Scary

First, I  debated going into the wooded area that surrounds one side of the track, but realized there could be poison ivy, snakes or worse. Now I had to make the inevitable walk to the the porta potties and get it over with!  I held my nose and opened the door preparing for the worst.  The unit was clean and even had a good supply of hand sanitizer and toilet paper.  Score!  I did what I needed to do and quickly got back to my sprints.  Are you ever surprised by things during a run? Have you ever been stuck using a bathroom or porta potties in an unlikely place?

(Pam)

Weekly Roundup: May 19th

We had a good week.  We finally started getting some warmer and sunny weather in VA which was a great pick me up.  It's been a cold and rainy spring and I have been desperate for some better weather.  I've been battling some knee pain, that I believe is the result of a pretty painful bruise on my left knee, just below the knee cap.  I've started using KT Tape to help with my IT band trouble as well as knee issues and have had pretty good luck.  I'm going to rework the knee taping, but IT band seems to be doing just fine.  With two races on the horizon (a 10k next weekend and a half the following weekend), I need to focus on staying healthy and relatively pain free.

And now for our workouts this week...

Sunday, May 12
Pam:  Track speed work, 3x800, 3x400 total 4.75 miles
Christine: 9.9 mi

Monday, May 13
Pam:  Sculpt class, 35 minutes stationary bike, TRX class
Christine:  Boot camp

Tuesday, May 14
Pam:  Ran 3.5 miles 31 minutes, walked/carried 9 holes golf
Christine: 25 min stationary bike, 30 min elliptical, leg weights, abs

Wednesday, May 15
Pam: 30 minutes stationary bike, walked/carried 9 holes golf
Christine: Rest

Thursday, May 16
Pam: 6.1 miles, stretching, rolling
Christine: Speed work - 1 mi warm up, 2x1600 (90 RI), 1x800 (90 RI), 1 mi cool down (4.3 mi total)

Friday, May 17
Pam:  Rest
Christine: Rest

Saturday, May 18
Pam:  2 3/4 mile run, walked 4 miles
Christine: 12.4 mi

How was your week?  Are you ready for summer?
{Christine}

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Super Minnie!

That's right, I am dressing up as Super Minnie for the Superhero 5k race in London, England on May 19th at Regents Park.  Because this is a superhero run and costumes are provided, I decided it would be more fun to bring my own and dress as my favorite mouse!

Minnie can be a super hero too, especially with a fancy cape with her own logo.  So without further ado, I present my costume/racing outfit for my first international race!

Brooks Ravennas spray painted and bows added!

Back of cape

Minnie is running for the charity Health Prom

Sparkle Skirt and accessories

So what do you think?  Ever thought about tailoring a Disney character to suit a race theme?

(Pam)

Five Favorite Things Friday, London Edition!

We arrived in London this morning and since we have visited many times due to a job assignment in England, I thought it would be fun to share a list of favorite things. Since this is a running blog, mainly about Disney, I also wanted to mention that on Sunday morning I will be running a race in Regents Park dressed up as a Disney superhero.  Stay tuned for a full recap and photos!

London at sunset with Big Ben and Westminster Abbey in the distance!

1.  The Tower of London...This is one of the best historic sights to see in the city. It is.a mysterious place that includes not only the Crown Jewels, but also the place where two young princes mysteriously died.  The ravens are another interesting facet of the place, all in all a great spot to tour and enjoy.

2.  Harrod's Department Store  You do not need to shop here to enjoy your visit.  Harrod's has many floors of delightful things to peruse and many restaurants where you can enjoy either a cup of tea and scones, or lunch, or champagne or chocolate......you get the picture.  My favorite place to peruse is the pet department.  I will be visiting there to find a little toy to bring home to Lulu!  Christine is a huge fan of Paris, so her gift will be coming from a special shop on the Champs Elysee!

3.  Wimbledon  This blog may be about running, but I am also a huge tennis fan.  Back in the early 1990's, I played alot of competitive tennis while living in Texas.  While tennis is not part of my exercise routine at the moment, there is nothing better than visiting Wimbledon and seeing a match or two.

Brits dress up for tennis!

4.  Buckingham Palace   The shiny golden gates and beefeaters who guard the palace give this place such a regal air.  It is always fun to see the changing of the guard and if you go during summer hours, you can get tickets for a tour of the building (be aware though, only certain parts are open to the public)

Typical gray skies in the background!

5.  Babylon  There are roof top gardens on Kensington High Street at a place called Babylon.  This is an amazing restaurant that has fabulous views and a wonderful atmosphere for a special meal.  We will be dining here for a late lunch after my race on Sunday!

Have you been to London?  What is your favorite thing to do or see?
(Pam)