Time flies

I have 25ish days until the start of my Disney races! This will be my third half marathon. The first one I got injured during the race and had to walk half of it due to overuse. The second I did not train very much for it. I think pre-race I ran one 7 mile run. I only finished with a fantastic time of 2:09 because my coworker ran with me the entire time. So since this is a Disney race and very expensive, I decided to train for it. I didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past by overtraining but wanted to make sure I could finish the TWO races I signed up for.

Yep, to make things exciting I signed up for the Dumbo Double Dare for the 10k and the half marathon. So there's that to consider.

So with a little over three weeks, where am I at?

For the last two weeks, I have prefaced my long runs with a short 3 mile run the day before - to simulate the actual race weekend. Yes, I plan to run half the 10k and walk the rest to spare my legs for the half marathon. This past weekend I ran 3 and then 10 miles. 10 miles is the longest distance I'll run for training because my knee started to bother me and I want to give it plenty of rest. I plan to continue with the consecutive weekend day runs to prepare, but 7 miles will be my longest run until race day.

Is that a smart thing to do? I honestly don't know!

I ran the 10 miles with a 10:00 minute per mile pace, so I don't think I'll be in danger of not finishing within the time limit. I also dug into my Nike running records and my time for the disastrous first half marathon was 3 hours so I think I'll be good.

Now I'm preparing on how to deal with being in the last corral and not tiring myself out to get away from the pack.

I am stoked that my costumes for the race are done!

Whistler!!!

Whistler plans are starting to fall into place.  I've got the condo  and flights booked for the annual snowboarding trip.  I'm so excited.  It's turning into a two-fer.  We are flying into Seattle and driving up to Whistler, but we'll be spending half a day for the hubster to do some sightseeing since he wasn't able to come with me to Seattle the first time when I went with Kristina.

The group is a lot bigger than normal and some people were unable to make it from past years.  I was looking forward to an even bigger group. I think it would have been fun.  The condo is within walking distance to the lift which is something we've never done before, so I'm liking the convenience of it already.  Also has a hot tub and beds for everyone!

I want to go bobsliding at the Olympic sliding center, but I'm not sure if anyone will go with me.  The hubster is adamant that I will get sick since you go pretty fast and there are a lot of turns.  It doesn't last very long so how bad could it be?  It seems like a once in a lifetime experience...

Stay tuned for more details!

Time to start blogging again

Ever since moving back home to California, the blog has suffered.  So sorry poor blog.  I also think that in that time, I have created a twitter and instagram account which has also provided more outlets for what normally would go on to the blog, but without necessarily writing a whole post about it.

My facebook account is heavily curated.  I don't post that many updates or pictures on purpose.  That was the great thing about this blog.  Prior to twitter and instagram, everything that was "good" enough to go on facebook went on the blog, but now it goes on twitter or isntagram.  It's time to fix that.  I'm aiming to post at least 3 times a week!  And go...

So Frustrated with Southwest

I don't usually fly Southwest.  I have status with Delta which doesn't really get me much, but being able to book exit row seats or even Economy Comfort and go through the first class security lane is enough to choose Delta over others even if it's not the cheapest.

I've flown Southwest three times this year which is a lot.  The first flight was during the winter where I flew into PHL and my flight was cancelled on the return leg due to weather.  Usually it's not a problem... with other airlines.  To Southwest's credit, I did get a notification the day before saying my flight was cancelled due to weather.  The email had very clear instructions on what to do.  I rebooked online and the process was easy.  What sucked was that I couldn't leave until Wednesday... I was supposed to fly out Monday.  So why did I have to stay an extra day and half?  Because Southwest only rebooks you on other Southwest flights whereas other airlines will put you on their competitors which is infinitely better than having to take extra days off work with no compensation for the delay!

The second flight was a short one to San Jose and while uneventful, I still hate Southwest because the boarding process sucks.  They pride themselves on their no assigned seat model, but when they don't enforce their own rules about saving seats, then what's the fucking point?

The third time is occurring as we speak.  I'm flying to SLC via Las Vegas.  Well, I was!  My flight was delayed due to a mechanical issue and I would miss my connection.  None of this is enough to hate Southwest because it happens to every airline.  It's how they handle it is what frustrates me.  Not only do they rebook you at the gate and doesn't give a phone option like Delta does, but you also run into the same problem as the first flight.  My first option was to take the flight to Vegas and arrive in SLC at midnight.  My original flight got in at 1:10 pm.  No thanks.  The second option was to fly THE NEXT DAY.  I'm going for a clinic which starts tonight and ends Saturday afternoon.  I would arrive in SLC at 4 pm.  Kinda defeats the purpose of going.  However, I was "lucky" to get another flight which someone else had cancelled, so I'll get into SLC at 11:15!!!!  with an 8 hour layover in Phoenix.

I don't know.  I feel cheated.  Yes, they are getting me to my destination and yes, I got a voucher for wasting 12 hours of my time, but there has got to be a better system.

I'm just fed up.  I don't think I'll fly Southwest again unless it's to use up my voucher.

Souvenir cups

I'm totally sold that the overpriced souvenir cups are the only souvenirs worth buying at shows.

For example, Newsies souvenir cup:





This $7 cup was by far the best item compared to the $20 mug which just said newsies in newspaper type font or ugly rehired or useless key chains or even more overpriced magnets. I even got a beverage out of it.

Example #2





Britney Spears show in Vegas. Her shit ain't cheap and so I bought this cup which is actually pretty sturdy for $15 and that's without the alcoholic beverage that would come with it at full price. Similar type overpriced ugly merchandise.

These cups may be mass produced and poor quality, but I'd rather pay a few bucks for these than overpay for something I would only use for a few months.

Maybe the ultimate lesson is not to give into any impulse purchases and save my money!