WDW Summer 2013 - Day 11

Well let's get back to what we got up to on our last visit to WDW.  I can't believe it's now over 6 months since we were last in my happy place and as I type we have no plans for another visit any time soon - the disadvantage of living over 4000 miles away and the subsequent travel costs!  But I continue to keep my Disney passion alive by reliving and sharing my memories.

So Day 11 - what did we do??

Well, we had a relatively slow start to the day with a full breakfast at our hotel before heading off to Blizzard Beach.  But we weren't going for a splash about, no we were going for the golf...mini golf to be exact.  It was time to visit Winter Summerland mini golf course;

..and having played the Winter course during our previous vacation in 2011 we decided that it was only right to play the Summer course this year;

We had great fun playing the course, although Molly did get a bit grumpy when her brother won!!  Although I did manage to get a couple of hole-in-ones!  Honest!!

Victory celebrations!!!

One unusual occurrence for us though was that it didn't rain, we seem to have a habit of playing mini golf in the rain but this time it stayed hot, dry and sunny.

After golf we hopped on a bus and headed over to Coronado Springs Resort; this was the resort that we should have been staying in before we got our unexpected hotel upgrade.  But as I'd done my pre-trip research all about Coronado Springs we thought we'd stop by and see what we were missing.

The Three Caballeros!!

Some beautiful views around the resort and around Lago Dorado

And I just had to have this photo taken...

...me 'running' around Lago Dorado...OK fake running!!  Well I did say that was one of my must do's for this vacation...unfortunately the hotel upgrade kind of got in the way of me achieving my goal for real ;)

It was lovely to walk around the resort, it really is beautiful.  The main pool area looked amazing although Molly was not happy at being made to look at it and not be able to use it as it had been one of the things about the hotel that she had been looking forward to. Although, one thing I will say is that the pool is very exposed to the sun, in that there is not much in the way of natural shade, so anyone thinking of going needs to bear this in mind, especially if with very young children who are prone to getting sunburnt!

I will agree with a lot of the reviews which I'd read before the vacation which made reference to the size and layout of the resort.  It is a big, spread out layout which could mean your room being a good distance from the main building and amenities.  I would guess it took us, with a leisurely stroll, about 20 minutes to walk around the circumference of Lago Dorado which could mean for some people that walk on a morning to have breakfast in the resort could add a bit of extra time onto your day.

One of the reasons that I have always loved Port Orleans French Quarter is for its relatively small size and compact layout when compared to other moderate resorts.  But smaller size may mean you miss out on things like table service restaurants...it really is a case of weighing up what's important to you on a vacation when you make your decision. For us a 'bit of a walk' to the main buildings at Coronado Springs didn't really bother us...it may have changed the way we did things though.  I wonder if we may have been more inclined to get on a bus early and have breakfast in the parks rather than take the extra time at the resort...who knows?  Maybe on our next visit we may have to give Coronado Springs another try!

Having explored the resort we then headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the afternoon stopping for lunch at one of my favourite quick service eateries the Backlot Express.  Now I will admit it's not the best place for choice of food; it's your typical burger/hot dog/nugget type of establishment but it is big, and airy, with some great theming and free refills of soda!!

Once we were refuelled it was off into the park.  Molly took the chance to 'meet & greet' with Phineas and Ferb...

...which was followed by re-visiting 'The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow' following our failed attempt a few days earlier.  I have to say for a walk through attraction I really quite enjoyed it.  I wasn't expecting much in fact if truth be known I thought it might have been a bit lame and was only really doing it as it was a 'new' addition to the park since our previous trip. The whole experience was worth it of only for the amazing projection of Captain Jack at the end; brilliant technology at play.

We then had a brief stop for ice-creams...Mickey shaped of course...

...before we headed towards Animation Courtyard.  But as we approached we heard the sounds of the Monsters University Pep Rally and so took a slight detour to see what was happening; this resulted in me becoming the embarrassing parent...apparently it's not cool to dance along to 'The Cha-Cha Slide' in front of your teenage kids...who knew ;)

Ethan ignoring me, Molly trying to stop me dancing!

After embarrassing the kids we decided to venture into Animation Courtyard in hope of a new 'Meet & Greet' and sure enough we got to meet the stars of 'Wreck-It Ralph'.

As we made our way round to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster we bumped into friend and podcast co-host Michelle.  So whilst us ladies had a chat and a catch-up the rest of the family got thrown around on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.  We all then headed out of the park but not before taking advantage of the Disney Photopass+ to get a group photo...

Don't ask me how but we ended up with this pose! It's a hidden Mickey!!

Next we headed over to Swan & Dolphin resorts via boat..

...and then walked over to The Boardwalk.  Both Michelle and I had it on our respective 'To Do' lists to go into the Boardwalk Inn resort in search of a working carousel model that we had both heard about listening to Lou Mongello's WDW Radio, and look we found it!

Beautiful and it was working when we saw it.

Molly getting a little too comfy in an armchair inside the Boardwalk Inn lobby!!

And would you believe it the kids wanted yet more ice-cream...so who can resist a stop at the Seashore Sweets...well our two can't!!

How big???

Having filled the kids up with ice-cream we headed over to Epcot to finish off the evening in World Showcase, but this was the sky that greeted us as we made our way from the Boardwalk...

...yes you guessed it a sudden downpour occurred!!

Once we made it over to Epcot (and relatively dry too!) we headed to the World Showcase and more specifically Norway.  I had a couple of foods I'd heard about that I wanted to try over at the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe...first the Roast Beef Sandwich followed by Rice Cream and both of which were lovely.  I think this eatery may become one of our must do's in future years.

Enjoying the Rice Cream - kind of a rice pudding topped with strawberry sauce

By now it was getting late and time to take the bus back to our hotel, time for feet up with a hot chocolate and then time for bed - night all!

Running....again!

OK so I think it may be confession time.  When I started this blog the idea was to document not only my love of Disney and all the planning that goes into a Disney vacation but also my venture into running - hence the initial tag line of 'Blogging, Jogging and Planning my way to the Magic Kingdom'.

Once we had last years vacation to Walt Disney World booked I gave myself the goal of running around the lake at Coronado Springs Resort where we would be staying.  Not a massive goal but one that I felt very achievable; I'm not a natural runner and felt with the time I could put in before the vacation this was realistic.

However due to the unexpected hotel upgrade we received when we arrived in WDW last year (we were upgraded to the Wilderness Lodge - see my previous post WDW Day 1) I never got to run around Lago Dorado...not that I minded too much.  After all the unexpected upgrade more than made up for it.

But the knock-on effect seemed to see me fall out with running.  I think a combination of straight back into work and then the dark evenings of Winter all contributed...or should I say gave me the excuses I needed not to run.  Initially after our vacation I managed to get out and get a few runs done but as the time between runs became longer and longer I eventually realised I'd not been out in months.

I am ashamed to say that I used the excuses of work, life, other commitments, bad weather and dark evenings to give me the reasons to not go out for a run.

So my confession is that I haven't run for nearly 6 months :(

BUT I have decided to do something about it.  So around late February time I decided that if I couldn't get out and run (because of all the excuses above!) I could at least walk and make walking part of my normal day.  So I started to walk to and from work.  Now work is only a couple of miles away (takes me around 30 minutes) but I figured it was better than doing nothing.  So I aimed to walk at least 3 times a week and I am pleased to say that I have been able to achieve this and it was a lot easier than I was telling myself it was going to be.  In fact I am now at the point if I can't walk to and from work I feel cheated.

And then 12 days ago at the start of my Easter break I decided that enough was enough, no more excuses I needed to get running again.  So 12 days later I have 4 runs under my belt.  Simon has always said that once you've run your body knows what to expect and you kind of pick up from where you left off; and you know what he's right!  Now after my first run I thought 'what have I done?' my knees hurt and my legs ached so much but I was pleasantly surprised at how long I was able to run for and the pace I achieved.  So I left it a couple of days before run number two and this time the aches and pains weren't anywhere near as bad as after the first run.

So 4 runs in and I'm glad I've got back on the 'treadmill' so to speak.  I am still in the run-walk-run pattern but I am quite happy with that at the moment.  My pace seems consistent across all runs, and I'm covering a good 2.5 miles each run.  And you know what I'm not bothered about being the fastest, or going the farthest distance I'm just bothered that I'm doing it for ME.  I'm the one getting out, I'm the one running as best as I can, I'm the one doing something and it's for MY benefit.

Here's a couple of photos taken today on my usual running route...

So as I type this I have not long finished run number four, and am eating a home made, freshly prepared, fruit salad and am feeling pleased with todays efforts but also feeling motivated.  Motivated to keep at this running lark but also motivated to have a healthier lifestyle. 

I recently watched a documentary movie called Fat,Sick & Nearly Dying which follows Joe and then Phil as they tackle their weight, illnesses and their lifestyles.  The film is definitely worth a watch, not necessarily for the approach taken, but for the motivation it can give you, as you watch two unhealthy, ill and overweight guys completely change their lives for the better.

So that's what I intend to do; get fit, eat better, make healthy choices and enjoy life doing it.  Simple!

5...

5...days to go

Well it's getting closer but what has today brought...well a combination of mundane tasks and a surprise treat!

This morning started off with general mundane tasks getting done; cleaning the house and more laundry.  The thing is leaving the house for a couple of weeks and arriving home with jet lag means I'd like to come home to a house that's clean and tidy.  Although I'm guessing we may have a repeat of our return last time we went away as depicted by Simon's drawing as part of his 365 Mickey's project...

The downside of living in the countryside - spiders!!

I even ended up doing some more pre-school work today, having to speak to the dreaded Ofsted (our national governing body) about our annual fees...suffice to say I was right and they were wrong!

I then decided it was time for my run (or as I like to call it my bouncy walk), but before I went out I had an idea.  I had been struggling to decide which colour nail varnish to wear for my vacation so I posted a photo on Facebook and asked my friends for some advise.

The possibilities...

So off I went for my run/bouncy walk and did myself proud even if I do say so myself.  I've only been back running a few weeks but I can feel it getting easier each time I go out.  I'm never going to be doing marathons but I am enjoying what I'm doing and am looking forward to a few runs around Lago Dorado in a few days time!

But when I got back I had a number of replies to my nail varnish dilemma all of which contradicted each other but one reply offered another solution.  To actually get my nails painted by a professional...now I'm not one to do this sort of thing I always manage to talk myself out of it but a spur of the moment decision led to an appointment this afternoon and look...

Matching toes and nails, a lovely neon pink in gel nail varnish which should last me over my vacation :)

8...

8...days to go!

Well today has been a relatively quiet day mainly getting jobs done around the house.

Firstly I raided everyone's wardrobes to make sure that any clothes they were likely to want to take on holiday have been washed (I know...I just made more work for myself but better today than when I come to pack!) and also to confiscate all the clean and ironed clothes so that they can't wear them between now and when we pack!  Method in my madness you see!

Then I was faced with the task of trying to sort my missing dollars.  So as a recap my dollars were due to arrive 3 days ago and according to our postal service, the Royal Mail, they were delivered and signed for...shame we never got them.  Anyway after tweeting about it I was contacted today via twitter by a very concerned Royal Mail and I am now still waiting to see what the outcome is.  I have also contacted the sender who are also not very happy with the Royal Mail and are also trying to sort it from their side of things...I await further developments.

This afternoon saw me starting off our 'Mousekeeping' envelopes; these are simply an easy way to sort tips for the housekeeping staff to make sure that whilst we are there all the staff who look after us get recognised for their efforts.

Oh and I also managed a run this evening, only a short one but I am getting better at running for longer and this evening only walked three times and ran the rest so I was really pleased and even more confident for that run around Lago Dorado at Disney's Coronado Springs!

Another Run Day

Just a quick post to update you on my running efforts.  I now seem to be back into my stride (pardon the pun!) and have completed two small runs today.

I decided that as I wanted to visit my mum who only lives a short distance away, that rather than jump in the car I would run there.  So I put on my running gear and off I set.  I decided to make the route a little more interesting and a little longer by going off the most direct route and so a short 20 minutes later I had completed 1.5 miles through a combination of running and walking.

I then spent a good hour catching up with my mum before heading home, which I did with a straight run home following the direct route.  So I managed 1 mile in just under 15 minutes which included a walk to start, followed by my longest uninterrupted run since getting back out onto the road and then finishing with a short walk.

I reckon that I must have ran for around 10 - 12 minutes without stopping, which is a great achievement for me and makes my target of running around Lago Dorado at Disney's Coronado Springs look very achievable.

I have just over a full week before we set off for WDW and I reckon I can get at least another 3 runs, if not 4, done before then which should set me in good form for achieving my goal.  And as soon as I have done it I will let you all know!

Running Where?

Well it's been awhile since I wrote a post about my running endeavours and to be honest that's because there hasn't been an awful lot to write about until now.

Since the end of May I have struggled for one reason or another to find the time, and inclination, to get out and run but I have now re-found my mojo and am back out running...or as I like to call it 'my bouncy walk'!

So I have hit the roads with a combination of running and walking, I'm not following any special plan just simply listening to my body and switching between running and walking when it feels right for me.

I always start with a good paced walk for a couple of minutes and then launch into my run and see just how far I can go before I need to slow down, walk and get ready for the next run.  This seems to be working really well for me, and even though I have had a break of a couple of months it is both surprising and re-assuring how my body has responded. Simon has always said that once your body has experienced running it will pick it back up relatively quickly and I have to say he's right.  So apart from a few muscle aches all is going well so far.

As I run I set myself goals of where I think I should be able to run to and then surprise myself when I run further!  I am also changing my route; todays run was completely different to my usual route which made it more interesting for me with more things to look at and more hills to run up!!  I am fortunate to live in a semi-rural area so I have some lovely places to run around, even if it does mean dodging overgrown nettles and local wildlife! I got surprised today by a bird running out of a bush in front of me, I'm not quite sure how we missed each other!

I am pleased that I am back out there and running the best I can and am looking forward to the challenge of running around Lago Dorado at Disney's Coronado Springs in a couple of weeks time :)

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well I feel that I have neglected my blog a little of late but life has been so busy that I don't seem to have had time to think let alone blog!

So it all started over a week ago...

Day 1 - Daughter has guitar lesson followed by her brown belt grading - 4 hours gone.  I was then out at the theatre with my BFF to see 9 to 5 the musical which was fabulous.

Day 2 - Father's Day - so a day devoted to our dads.

Day 3 - Full day at work followed by a quick meal and out the door to the theatre for the second time in three days.  This time to see Birdsong a play set in World War 1 - terrific performance and very moving.

Day 4 - Full day at work, quick cup of tea and then out the door to take my daughter to her karate lesson followed by a trip to Costco to stock up on supplies for that weekend's Summer Fair at my pre-school.

Day 5 - Full day at work, followed by daughters first parents evening at secondary school. Pleased to report she is doing really well :) Then home to wait for my grocery shopping to be delivered, think I stopped about 8.30pm for the first time that day!

Day 6 - Another full day at work that ended in a 2 hour staff meeting.  Then home to make dinner and 6 dozen muffins (apple & cinnamon, chocolate and blueberry) all for my pre-school's Summer fair.

Day 7 - Last day of work for the week, finished with an hours overtime getting ready for the Summer fair. I spent a little time with my mum having a catch-up before heading home to get the dinner sorted and then leave the house at 8.30pm to make my way into Derby to complete a moonlight 10K walk for my local hospice.  It was a really fun night, hanging out with some great friends and 499 other ladies who all managed to raise £43,000 - wow!  Home for 12.30am!!

Day 8 - Up at 7am (on a Saturday!) to head down to my pre-school to run our annual Summer fair.  After a very grey start and a mid morning downpour the weather managed to stay dry for the fair and in 3 hours we raised an amazing £900!  The best part of the day was finishing off with a take-out for dinner (our local kebab shop is amazing) followed by Wreck-it-Ralph on Blu-ray and posh chocolates - fantastic :)

Day 9 - A little less hectic but I had a few jobs around the house to catch up with and concluded the afternoon with a walk in the grey and the wind!

So as you can see things have been a little hectic.  So much so that my running endeavours have taken a back seat big time although I was really pleased with my 10K walk as I think we improved on last year's time by over 15 minutes.  So I still have that target of running around Lago Dorado at Coronado Springs and  I will do it.  I have decided to get out when I can even if I only get out and walk, as long as I am out there and moving.  Hopefully as the school term comes to an end and life becomes quieter I will have a good few clear weeks to get those miles in and make my little dream a reality - only 57 days to go :)

Jogging along...

Thought it was time I gave you a little update with my running efforts as it's been a couple of weeks.

So at the end of April I completed a local 3K race raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation UK, but what have I done since then...

...well confession time...not a lot if I'm honest.  That's not to say I haven't been out running because I have but I haven't done as much as I would have liked.  The good old British weather has played its part with some pretty awful wind, rain and cold temperatures. And then finding time after work, juggling the mundane aspects of life, has been against me so my opportunities to get out there and run have been somewhat limited.  But I still have that goal of running around Lago Dorado at Coronado Springs to spur me on and I am determined to get there.

So in conclusion, if this were a school report I think it would read 'must try harder'!!

So, how's the running?

Well part of this blog was to detail my progress as I took up running for the first time, with my aim of running around Lago Dorado at Coronado Springs Resort on our next visit to WDW my motivation.

So after a shaky start this time last year I got motivated and took advantage of working in education and used last years Summer holidays to get into a routine of running three times a week following the C25K plan (Couch to 5K).  And I did really well, I stuck to my goals and by the end of the six weeks Summer holidays I had completed week 6 of the 9 week C25K plan, and even once I returned to work I was still getting out and running as often as I could until early October...

Autumn came along and through a mixture of social commitments, cold and wet weather and darker nights I suddenly found it more and more difficult to find time to go out for a run.  Before I knew it December was upon us and for my birthday Simon bought me some cold weather running gear so I really had no excuse now to get back out there.

So New Year met with new determination and out I set for a run in my new gear, and was pleasantly surprised with myself.  I did better than I thought I would and although I couldn't run for as long as I had been doing I still got out there and gave it my best shot.  A couple of days later I got out for another run and thought I was back on the way to getting into a routine and running regularly again...

But then the British weather took hold!  We have had the coldest and snowiest winter that I can ever remember and conditions just weren't good for getting out and running.

My garden looked like this for what seemed an eternity (actually about  2/3 weeks)

I was also suffering from a chilblain on one of my toes which was making walking, never mind running, extremely painful.  So yet again my running came to an abrupt stop.

I now find myself at another school holiday; two weeks off work!  Now the weather is still awful, apparently it's been the coldest March on record (no kidding!) but I have two clear weeks to get back into that ever so important routine.  So as I write this I am not long back in from my second run in four days...now I say run but to be honest at this point I am back to a combination of running and walking...but at least I am out there and moving!

I have to admit that they haven't been the most pleasant of runs, my cold weather gear has kept me lovely and warm but running in cold air really quite surprised me; really taking my breath away.  Today I was confronted with quite a strong wind which again didn't help matters but two short runs in and nearly 700 calories burnt so I don't think that's too bad.

So although tough going I am pleased that I have got back out there and know that long term I will benefit so much from what I am doing; I shall be fitter, slimmer and healthier.  I am setting myself sensible, attainable goals; I have a 3K fun run planned for 28th April and two possible 5K charity walks coming up.  Simon is also taking part in a 10K on the 28th April as well as our local half marathon in September so I think it's fair to say our house is going to be a lot fitter by the time we take on WDW in August!!

By the way when Simon and I take part in the 10K & 3K on 28th April we will be raising funds for the Make-a-Wish Foundation UK.  Having previously supported the WDW Radio Dream Team Project which supports the Make-a-Wish Foundation in the US we felt drawn to help support their UK counterparts.  You can help us fundraise by visiting our Just Giving page and making a donation - thank you x

Running Update

Now that's a blog post title that I've not used in a little while...nearly 3 months in fact!

But today saw me brave the elements - a dark, grey and damp afternoon - and dust off the trainers and get outside for a run.  No excuses, I had the time, the weather was as good as it was going to be and I had the clothes.  Simon had bought me for my birthday in December some new running clothes - gloves, hat, leggings, cold weather top and a lovely bright pink jacket.

So off I set with no great aspirations other than to get outside and get moving again, even if that meant just a walk I would be happy with whatever I could manage.  But I surprised myself, after a quick warm up walk off I jogged and you know what it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I kept giving myself little targets...get to the end of the road, pass the houses...and although I didn't run all of the time, I managed a combination of short runs and quick walks, I completed 2.35 miles in just under 37 minutes and burnt off 336 calories.

And after all as my visit to WDW is only 230 days away I need to get training in order to accomplish my little dream of being able to run around Lago Dorado at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in the Florida sunshine!

So for anyone out there thinking about going out for that first difficult run stop thinking and just do it.  Whatever you manage to do is better than doing nothing, don't compare yourself to others just do what you feel comfortable doing because the person who'll feel better for it is you!