Week 10 is now in the books. Only 8 weeks left until the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend with the Dumbo Double Dare challenge. What a week it was. I celebrated the 4th of July with some great friends. This past weekend was also the second weekend in my training that called for 2 runs. I was scheduled to run 2 miles on Saturday and 9.5 miles on Sunday in preparation for the Dumbo Double Dare. I fully intended to run the 2 miles Saturday outdoors with a gym workout later in the day. However, my wife and I went to see these guys on Friday night…
…and with the late time of getting home that night, plans for a run early in the morning Saturday were scrapped in favor of sleep. I did get 2 miles of running in Saturday. However, it was 2 miles on the treadmill as part of my gym workout. As for the New Kids on the Block concert…it was very entertaining. My wife is a huge fan of theirs. So, whenever they are in town, we will find our way to the concert. This is our third New Kids concert since we met. The first one, back in 2008 had Lady Gaga as the opening act. The second one was the NKTOBSB tour with New Kids and Backstreet Boys. American Idol winner Jordin Sparks was the opening act for that tour. Also, on that tour, we sat in a suite at Staples Center for the first time. I must say, once you go to a concert and sit in the suites, it’s hard to do anything else ever again. So, this year, we made sure to get seats in a suite. As you can tell from my video, we didn’t have a very bad view at all. Plus, we had more space around us than you have in the other seats. This tour featured Boyz II Men and 98 Degrees as well. Boyz II Men gave a 30 minute set. 98 Degrees followed with a 45 minute set. Then, after the intermission, New Kids gave us a 2 hour set.
On Sunday, my long run was for 9.5 miles. So, I decided to try running to the Rose Bowl, do a lap around the Rose Bowl and back. I had no idea how hilly that route was. I must say that this run on Sunday was a disaster in many respects. It was a crazy slow time for me. I averaged around 2 minutes per mile slower than I have in all of my previous runs. Part of that was due to the heat that I encountered. I also had sunscreen get into both eyes around a mile and a half into the run. Unfortunately for me, I had nothing to clear the sunscreen. So, I spent the next mile after that trying my best to get enough out of my eyes, on top of the sweat, to be able to see. Needless to say, I went a little more than a mile walking the entire time because that’s all I could manage. It was almost 3 miles before I got to the Aquatic Center at the Rose Bowl. There, I was able to get some paper towels and found a rest room where I could get the sunscreen out of the eyes. Once I got to the Aquatic Center, I did stop my timer. Once cleaned up, I was ready to continue.
I was really happy to see this.
See?
After cleaning up, it did take me about another mile before I felt like all was normal again. By the start of the fifth mile, I was back to my intervals. They have a great little path around the Rose Bowl that is very used by runners and cyclists alike. On Sunday, there was a soccer match, so, things were a little more chaotic than usual. By the time I got three-quarters of the way around the Rose Bowl, a police officer informed me that the path was closed for the event. I apologized and told him where I was heading and he let me go off. However, what was odd to me was the amount of police officers and event security that I passed on my way around the stadium without anyone saying anything to me.
On my way back, I started off good. However, it was on the way back that I hit a lot of uphill roads. The first was coming out of the Rose Bowl parking area. I decided to walk the hill because of how tired I was feeling. Also, I knew that, by that time, my chances of hitting anywhere near my time goals was shot. So, I just wanted to get the miles in and call it a day. That hill wasn’t so bad. However, the next one was a doozy. It was pretty steep and seemed to go on forever. That hill wiped me out. It took me up to Orange Grove Blvd. By the time I got to Orange Grove, I realized that I went up the wrong street. No big deal. The street I intended to go up was the next one over. Plus, it gave me a chance to run by this place…
Yep. The Tournament of Roses house. Orange Grove Blvd. is a wonderful street. Very scenic. My pace seemed to be going decently well at this point and up through the end of mile 8. My ninth mile is where things started going bad. By the time I reached 8.5 miles, I felt like I was done. Part of that was waiting 2 minutes at a traffic light for some trains to pass. Part of it was the heat. Part of it was feeling discouraged by my time. Part of it was running out of water. However, even though I walked most of my last mile, I did finish. It was crazy hot outside. I dealt with some crazy hard hills. I ran on sidewalks, surface streets, and even some dirt paths. However, at the end of the day, I can say that I finished all 9.5 miles. When you set out on a 4 month training plan, it should be expected that you will have some good days, great days, and some bad days as well. This was a bad one. In spite of the bad, I did finish. Should I feel like I’m having a bad day on September 1st, I will have this run in the back of my mind to serve as a reminder that I will still finish…no matter how bad it gets.
Here is how week 10 went for me…
Monday – Rest Day
Tuesday – Ran 3.10 miles
Wednesday – 30 minutes Elliptical, abs, leg press, chin ups, dips
Thursday – Ran 3.10 miles
Friday – Rest Day…saw New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, and Boyz II Men
Saturday – Ran 2 miles on treadmill, 30 minutes Elliptical, abs, leg press, chin ups, dips
Sunday – Ran 9.5 miles
As my running playlist began to repeat, I realize that I need to increase the playlist. Maybe, this song will have to be added.
Why I runDisney 
Hang on, mile 10 goes past El Pollo Loco….if only it would be open as we ran past. I love EPL but with no car on this trip I’m on walking distance take out only.
I love El Pollo Loco as well! The 10 Mile marker was for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon this past January. I don’t believe that the Disneyland Half Marathon follows the same route. The El Pollo Loco in the picture is not that far from Disneyland. Depending on where you’re staying (on Harbor Blvd., close to the 5 Freeway), it might be only a mile or two. However, there are plenty of great places to eat around Disneyland.
I have a not exactly slimming list ready – coming from UK so Taco Bell and California Pizza Kitchen are very exciting!
CPK is awesome! However, I’m not a fan of Taco Bell. If you want Mexican, I’d suggest the Mexican restaruant in Downtown Disney (or better yet, the Mexican Restaurant in Californaia Adventure) over Taco Bell. Out here, we don’t really consider Taco Bell a Mexican place to eat. However, that’s just my opinion. It’s too bad that there isn’t an In-N-Out Burger within walking distance of Disneyland.
Ah you see, it’s actually Taco Bell I want. Gooey cheap, bean burritos with synthetic fire sauce – I’m excited already. Taco Bell is here, but it’s truly awful. The list also includes other such classy establishments as Jack In The Box, Wendys, Boston Market and Chick A Fila – but there are limited number of all my choices in walking distance! I know, I have google mapped!
Sounds like you’ve done your research. Cheap is what Taco Bell is best at. Love your list of fast food places. Although, it seems like Boston Markets are closing left and right. I’m not sure they are even still in business. There is a Chick Fil A in Fullerton off of Harbor Blvd. and Orangethorpe. You’d probably have to catch a bus to get there though. If you chose to do so, you’d also be accross the street from a Disney discount store. They sell merch from the theme parks that are from previous years and are no longer in the parks at severely discounted rates. It’s kind of a hit or miss store to shop at. Since I’m a Disney Cast Member (employee), I have access to a store called Company D that has the same kind of stuff, only with even better prices. So, whenever I venture down to Company D, I usually stop at this other store first to see what they have.