Just Checking In

Hi guys! Nothing really going on here, but I thought I'd check in anyway. Don't want to lose any momentum in my posting.

Well lets see... I've gone for a wog every day this week. I'm actually quite proud of myself. I've gone everyday and did two personal bests this week.

On Tuesday, I went for a 6 mile wog. I did some jogging and some super fast speed walking, but I was only able to make it to 5 miles before the deluge began. At that point, I was still feeling good. Had the storm stayed away, I know I could have made it to 6... maybe more. The fact that I felt so good kinda made me feel better about not making it to my goal, so I was happy.

While I was telling Justin about it that night(I'm loving this buddy system, it's really working for me!), he mentioned that he needed to do a 10k for yesterday. Now, I had only planned on doing a 5k, but I figured that if he was doing one, I could do one too. So yesterday morning I did a 10k. Not including the Renaissance (because that race sucked!), this is the farthest I've gone since January. I'm really happy with that and I'm hoping to plus it a little next week.

Today, there won't be any training because I'm hitting the road and going to the Neshoba County Fair up in the northern part of the state. It's a big deal here where lots of political speeches and campaign rallies are held. I'm going with the Lincoln County Teenage Republicans group (I'm a chaperon... how funny!). I think it will be a lot of fun and it's right up my alley. I'll post a "Non Disney Trip Report" when I get back. Maybe something interesting will happen.

Well, that's it for me. How's everyone else doing? Things seem to be getting a little quite again. Where is everyone? Let's not backslide! Oh, and don't forget about our Virtual 5k this Saturday! "See" you all there!!

A Leisurely Stroll Through the Country

Mongello! Well this week sucked as far as Club 8 is concerned. I only got in two workouts, if you can even call them that. I did do a ton of "manual labor" (yard work mostly), but I don't count that. The first workout was only a brisk 2 mile walk on Wednesday. The only good thing about this "workout" was the fact that I got up at 6 am and did it. It's a start!

The second workout really wasn't a workout at all. It was just a nice leisure stroll through the country. Over the weekend, I went up and stayed with Aunt De'Dee, out in the middle of Madison County. Nothing but farmland and woods for about 20 miles and my aunts house is right in the middle. Perfect place to go for an escape. Well this morning, I decided to go out for a little stroll. Nothing big. Nothing strenuous. Just get out and enjoy the countryside. Here's some pictures to show you what I'm talking about.

Other than drive way, This was the first leg of my stroll. I turned down onto the main road for a few feet then found this path through a Sunflower field. This was just beautiful to me! It's almost like what a perfect painting would look like. But, as you can see, this is certainly not the ideal area to run on!

I just love sunflowers. They're such a happy flower. What's interesting about this field is that the owner doesn't grow them for any commercial purpose. He just grows them because he thinks they're pretty and for the seeds. After the flowers die, the seeds will be left for the deer and whatever to come eat. Makes for a perfect viewing area of the wildlife in the area.

This was the next leg of the stroll. Just a gravel road that winds through the woods. It's not very apparent here, but there are these gigantic ditches on either side of the road. Fall in there and break your neck! Again, a very senic area but no good for running or speedwalking.

These next few pictures are back on Aunt De'Dee's land at her pond. I just thought the water lilies were nice.

Isn't that just gorgous?! I've always been a bit of a flower lover, but I can never get mine to look like this. I guess nature knows best. That flower was as big as my head and smelled heavenly!

After the pond, I went in. I have no idea how far I went, but I was gone for about an hour. My pace was only a stroll pace so probably no more than 2 miles. MAYBE 3. I didn't measure or really keep track of the time. The point of this walk was simply to enjoy myself and take it all in. I'm glad I took the time to do it, but back to work tomorrow!!!

Bathroom Magic

Well.... ok, that title really REALLY doesn't sound right, but still... I found this while cleaning the cabinets in my bathroom.

It's just a group of wormholes in the wood, but apparently the woodwork in the bathroom has been "Disneyfied". This hidden Mickey is only about the size of the head of a pin. I had never noticed it before, it's that small. Kinda cool.

Race Report - Watermelon Classic 5K

Where: Jackson, MS

When: July 3, 2010

Length: 3.1 miles

Running Buddy: Aunt De'Dee and Ashley

Time: 42:34

Level of Preparedness: Fair

The Watermelon Classic 5K is sponsored by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and has been a Fourth of July tradition in Central Mississippi for years. When I first heard about this race on the news back when I was a kid, I remember wondering out loud "Why are those people running?" My dad answered "They're running for fun." to which I replied "For FUN?! They crazy!". Yes, I was a couch potato even at that age. Little did I realized that I'd be running that very race 20 some odd years later.

When I was staying with Aunt De'Dee the weekend of the Renaissance Half, she brought up the notion of running the Watermelon Classic. She thought it would be a good way to jump start our training after the Renaissance (Yes, we don't train until after races.... That's how we roll.) I said sure, why not. But after our dreadful performance at the Renaissance, I wrote it off since we had both more or less swore that we'd never do another summer race again.

Then, about a week before the Watermelon, De'Dee sends me a text saying that she signed me up for the race. I was like "What the hell! I'm not ready for this!" So, I hit the pavement in a last ditch effort to train. I had about a week, so I figured I could be somewhat prepared.

Race Day: Get up around 5:30 so we could be at the Sports Hall of Fame at 7 (De'Dee lives a good 45 minute drive from where we needed to be). It's a nice morning, not too hot but it is very muggy. We get there and there are already a ton of people there. I never got an estimate, but There had to be at least a thousand people there. This race really is a big deal. Apparently it's the biggest running event in the state.

Anyway, we get there and meet my cousin Ryan and his girlfriend Ashley, who is running the race with us. We sit and talk and cut up for a little while. We even came up for a new segment for the blog (People at the Race - Think the runners version of "People of Walmart"). I mean, seriously people, What the hell were you thinking when you put on those short, skin tight running shorts? Seriously... I REALLY didn't need to see ANY of that! Thanks but no thanks...

After we were scarred for life, we walked over to the finish line. It was a good mile walk to the start, which never makes sense to me... I guess that's the warm up. Anyway, The race starts and we're off. The first leg of the race was on the frontage road next to the Interstate. The cars there saw us and almost every car honked their horn. I guess I'm easily amused, but I found that kind of cool.

De'Dee, Ashley and I were together for about the first mile, but eventually Aunt De'Dee took off and left us and it was just Ashley and I. We stayed together, mentally pulling each other along. We began a system where we would start running anytime the ground was flat or downhill for as long as we could then walk the rest. That seemed to work, but neither of us were as prepared as we thought we were. But it was all good. We both finished and crossed the finish line together, with De'Dee waiting for us. Ashley got me through this race and I hope she's with us for many more!

Overall, this isn't a bad race. Terrible time of year, but most of the route is in a wooded park area so it's pretty well shaded. Only thing is the hills. For some reason, Jackson (especially Downtown and Lakeland Drive) is very hilly. So, hills were to be expected, but still, hills aren't fun when you aren't prepared for them. The end of the race festivities went over pretty smoothly. Plenty of food and drink, and watermelon of course. Only thing I have to say something about is "tag removal". I think this race is probably the only race left that still uses a "ChampionChip" type system. I really wish they would switch to D-Tags. That is so much easier and you don't have to wait in line while two old ladies attempt to cut off your chip. I waited in that line for probably a good 5 minutes and another 2 while she tried to cut the damn thing off.

But other than that, things went very well. Though I'm not big on 5K races, if I just need some sort of event, I know that this race is a good one to do and I would definitely do it again.

Magical Discovery

Found this shortly after the "attack of the falling log" incident:

It's a rain poncho! Long before the yellow Mickey ones that we're so used to. Obviously from the 80s (1982-1989) as there are only two park emblems, but I think it's from the early 80s just based on the graphics and such. I could be wrong though. They're still in great shape. Been stuck in that box for nearly 30 years, I'm sure. My grandparents were going to just throw them away! I HAD to stop them! It's just awesome to find a piece of Disney history like that. It made my day!

I'm still waiting to hear back from my Aunt, but if she doesn't want it, I have an extra. Let me know if you'd like to have it. I don't need two of them.

Also, I've been playing around with the font color. How does everyone like the gray on black? Is it easier to read?

Welcoming a New Member!

I want to give a special shout out to my fabulous Aunt Tereasa (Aunt is a little too formal. I just call her T). She has decided that she wants to be a member of the Team!

She's just started a new blog, http://missteresad.blogspot.com/. I don't know what she has in store for it, but I'm sure it will be entertaining, to say the least.

So, I want everyone to go over, introduce themselves and give her a great big Team Voice welcome!

Welcome aboard Miss T!

Race Report - 2010 Renaissance Half Marathon

I've been meaning to get these up sooner, but I've done two races in recent months that need to be reported on. Neither were spectacular performances or anything, but they should be reported anyway. So here it goes.

Where: Ridgeland, MS

When: June 12, 2010

Length: 13.3 miles

Running Buddy: Aunt De'Dee

Time: 3:30:31

Level of Preparedness: Not at all Prepared!

So far, this has been the year of terrible racing. Granted, for the two halfs I've done this year, I was not prepared for them, but still... conditions have been terrible. Remember how cold January was? Well this race was the total opposite extreme. After the race the car thermometer said 109 degrees! God knows what the humidity was. It was so bad, that the NWS issued a Heat Advisory starting at 6 am and the Governor issued a "near" state of an emergency asking everyone to stay indoors. All of this, and we're out running a half.

We knew it was going to be hot. The "hellish onslaught of Mississippi Summer" was in full force. But, we had NO idea that it would be this unbearable! We left my aunts house at 5am and it was already 90 degrees. We knew that wasn't a good sign!

Anyway, Neither my Aunt or I were prepared to do this race, at all. I guess we were just cocky. We ran this race last year at a decent time and after the WDW half and it's terrible conditions we thought we'd be ok. We planned on walking most of the way with a little jogging anyway, so we figured we had this one down... We learned quick!

Pre-race stuff went along without a hitch. There were only about 1500 runners, so there isn't too much of a stress on the facilities. We were both fine up until mile 4. That's when my aunts knees began hurting and when my right foot began to give me some trouble. It felt like it was on fire! I had to stop and take a look. It was at that point that I had on the wrong socks! I was wearing the "great and wonderful" socks that we bought at the Expo in January and not my Dri-max. (Sidenote: Those expo socks are terrible. I think they're scam socks made out of cotton with a little polyester to give them a stretch feel. If I ever see the guy that sold them to me, I'll ring his neck!)After figuring out what happened, I knew there wasn't anything I could do. These socks were going to kill me, but I decided to press on and make due the best I could.

By mile 7, I had to go to the medical tent my feet were so bad. They put on some blister stuff(that works wonders) and wrapped my foot. It felt a little better, but my feet were still hot.

By mile 11, I had to stop again. This time from near heat exhaustion and both of my feet. They put stuff on my feet again and gave me some cold ice water and some frozen grapes. That seemed to help me out a lot, so I decided to keep going. Hell, I was at mile 11... I ain't about to stop now! So I got up and limped closer to the finish line.

By the time I got to mile 13, I was really limping. I mean seriously limping. Pedestrian old ladies who were walking on the sidewalk next to me were walking faster than me! But I didn't care. I was determined to finish. And I did... barely, but I did. It was the worst time yet at 3:30:31, but I did it.

Post race went along fairly well. Medal and food distribution went off great, unlike WDW. And thankfully I parked about 50 feet from the finish line, so I was able to hop in my car and drive home to a cold bath and take care of my feet. (Sidenote: reason why they were burning? Three quarter sized blisters on my left foot, one silver dollar sized blister topped with a nickle sized blister and two quarter sized blisters on the right... Ouch!!!)

Here's a picture of the medal... I was very disappointed in it this year. Take a look...

The front is ok. Design is just a little to "frilly" for me, but since the Renaissance is an upscale shopping area, I'm ok with it.

Here's my problem! Look how thick the damn thing is! A dime is thicker than that! I feel cheated!

Here's another thing I'm disappointed with. The "professional" race grading people screwed up again this year. Last year, they extended the race by a tenth of a mile. That's a long way really. Well, they mucked it up again when they extended it by not one... but THREE tenths of a mile! Yeah... not happy.

We've said that we're not doing this race again next year. I have no intention on doing it, but who knows... I'm sure we will. Give us something to complain about, anyway.

Special Kudos to a random runner at this race. This guy was dedicated and determined to finish. I saw him at both of my stops at the medical tent. He was definitely suffering from heat exhaustion when I saw him at mile 11. He looked faint, he was vomiting, and practically about to fall out. Did he stop? No. Race officials were following, pleading with him to stop. He wouldn't. EMTs then began to plead with him. He still wouldn't. Finally, they had to get the police after him and force him to stop. At that point, they took him away in an ambulance. But, for the downright refusal to give up, this guy gets special Kudos from me.

An Index to the Index

So, I finally finished those upgrades I was talking about. Just finished tonight. What do y'all think? The old color scheme had gotten a little too boring I thought. I kinda like the black though. Looks more professional to me.

I wanted to change the logo for the blog, but lack of proper equipment, no how, and overwhelming desire kept me from doing it. Besides, it goes with the black motif, and I kinda like it. It has represented the blog well and I still find it relevant. Maybe I'll change it eventually, but for now, it stays.

Anywho, I also finished the Index feature that I was talking about way back when. I'm so proud of myself! No I can reminisce any time I want. But, in order to explain the Index's labels, I thought I'd post an "Index to the Index". Some labels are self explanatory, but I've addressed them anyway, so it may be a bit redundant. But anyway, here it goes:

Breaking News- These posts contain news regarding this blog, Team Voice, the overall Disney community, and news from the Parks and the Company.

Club 8- All posts referring to my current Club 8 plan and goals. This includes all race training.

Coolness- Just random videos, pictures, links, etc. that I find cool. These posts may or may not be relevant to Disney... I just find them full of coolness.

Discussion- Just like it sounds... I pose a question to you guys and you discuss it.

Disney Humor- These can vary. Posts may be funny Disney created media to outside forces making fun of Disney. If I find it funny and it's even remotely related to Disney, I'll posted it under this label.

Disney Trip Reports- My adventures in the Disney Parks. Includes all Pre and Post trip reports and reports from the parks.

Disney Trivia- In the past and hopefully in future posts, I've asked various forms of Disney trivia. I think it's fun!

Everyday Magic- These are the "Everyday Magic" series posts. I'm hoping to expand this one a bit in the coming weeks.

Kudos- When Disney or anyone else does something right and good, I'll sing their praises in this section. I'll also post shout outs to other Team Voicers and Community members here as well.

Non-Disney Humor- Just things that I find amusing that have nothing to do with Disney.

Non-Disney Trip Reports- Yes, I am forced to go places that are not located within the Disney Parks. I'll bore you with those reports here.

Non-Disney Trivia- I'm a trivia junkie, so general knowledge, non-Disney trivia is bound to emerge at some point.

Old Training Days- These are posts from days gone by. Most of this stuff is irrelevant to the blog today, but there is a lot of history in these posts. Many of the old training posts were deleted back when I first started the overhaul, but I decided to keep some just to document my triumphs and my mistakes.

Racing- Anything and everything involving racing goes here, including race reports, results, and other cool stuff.

Ramblings- Quite simply, the ramblings of a mad man.

Rant- You all know I go on tirades some times. Many of you find them entertaining. So, go back and check out my rants from the old days.

I'm going to try to keep all posts with in these labels, but as I come up and debut new segments and series, I'll make new labels. The index is mostly for me. I lost track with the near 300 posts on the blog, and I kind of wanted to see what I had and such. But, if there is something that was said on this blog that you want to go back and find, maybe the index will help you out.

First day of the new Club 8 starts tomorrow. Y'all ready?

Captain EO

Hi guys! I hope you all had a great fourth of July weekend (regardless of citizenship). With the spirit of the season, I figured I'd make some fireworks. Yes, it is time for a Disney Rant!



Ok, maybe that was a little over the top, but I'm fed up. Let it be known that I am 100 percent against the return of Captain EO to the Disney Parks. I know, I know, I'm stepping on some toes here but so be it! I'm as mad as hell!

I'm against it for a number of reasons. I'm going to be rambling a bit, so bear with me.

First of all, I feel like this is Disney simply trying to capitalize on MJ's death. Sure, that's what corporations do. I get it. But still, I find the fact that Disney would have never entertained the idea of Captain EO's return had it not been for MJ's sudden death just a little morbid. But sure, I'll give Disney a little leeway here as they are simply doing what a corporation does and "moonwalking straight to the bank".

My second grievance is the fact that the show is so damn cheesy! Ok, sure, I've only seen the show via YouTube... but that's all I needed! What really pisses me off? They took out one of my favorite attractions (Honey I Shrunk the Audience) and replaced it with something that should have died (and did) years ago! Let's face it, Captain EO was taken out for a reason. It was old, hokey, and really had no place in the "new" Epcot. Yes it was time for Honey I Shrunk the Audience to go, but seriously? Let's move forward, not backward!

And, I know that 1993 and 2005 are eons in the entertainment world, but the man was an accused child molester. Sure he was acquitted of the charges, but the fact remains. I could go on here, but that is beside the point. Yes, MJ was an excellent entertainer and was very talented, but he still had those charges. Let's say that Disney brought back an old attraction that starred OJ Simpson. There would be outrage, as there should be. OJ was a very talented football player and he was acquitted of his charges too. But his name can't be spoken without thoughts of his crimes. So why? Why does MJ get a free pass and not OJ? I don't know... I just feel like we're glorifying someone who maybe shouldn't be. Maybe I'm wrong for even bringing that point up, but there it is.

Again, I just feel like Disney has gone about this all wrong. Disney says that the show is only temporary. Well, if this is only temporary, while imagineering thinks up something else to replace it, then great. I'm all for it. Moral objections aside, Captain EO will bring people in and that's what Disney is in business to do. However, let us recall what "temporary" means to Disney:

• Mickey's Toontown Fair was only supposed to be a temporary land for Mickey's Birthday Celebration in 1988. It's been temporary ever since.
• The dreadful Wand over Spaceship Earth was built as a temporary decoration in 1999 for the Millennium Celebration. It wasn't taken down until 2007.
• Camp Minnie-Mickey was supposedly a temporary land for Animal Kingdom while Imagineering came up with something better. The land opened with the park in 1998 and yet it still remains.

I could go on, but you get my point. I have a feeling that Captain EO will be with Epcot and Disneyland for a lot longer than the implied "temporary" label Disney has given us. If this happens, Disney is cheating their guests. They've replaced an aged attraction with an even older, cheaper alternative and that just isn't right to us fans.

I could be over-reacting. I tend to do that a lot, but I get so mad when an opportunity like this is squandered. They had the perfect opportunity to give us an awesome new 3D attraction and they screwed it up. It PISSES me off!!! But, if I'm wrong, and I hope I am, I'll retract this post and apologize to Disney. Hell, if they out do themselves, I'll even give them a kudos... and those are hard to get from me!

Ok, my blood pressure is too high. I must stop. What do you guys think? Are you happy to see Captain EO return? Or are you as pissed off as I am? Maybe you don't care.

Virtual Team Voice Meets?

Ok, I know I'm totally ripping this off, but here it goes...

I was reading over at Byron's blog earlier this week. There he talked about Team AllEars holding a Skype call every so often. I think that is awesome and that we need to adopt this! So, I figured I'd pose the question to you guys here. Is this something that would interest you?

The blogs do alot to keep the team going, but I think something like this, even for just a few minutes a week, would really bring us back together and keep us going. Though I'm not sure of the logistics behind something like this (can Skype handle more than 10 people talking at once and would we be able to handle that, when is a good time for everyone, etc, etc...) I think it would be interesting to say the least.

So, I'm going to open the issue up for debate. Do you think this is a good idea and are you interested? Post your thoughts in the comments and we'll get a dialogue going.