Sorry that I didn’t get any blog posts out last week, Honestly, it was a hard week where I had a situation within my family that knocked me out in a bad way. Given what I went through at the beginning of last week, I’m surprised this week turned out as well as it did. Since I didn’t get to post last week, I need to go back to the last week of July first.

On Tuesday, July 28th, I got out for another solid 3 miles after work. I’ve been steadily working my 3 mile times down. On the 28th of July, I finished with a time of 33:28. It was around 20 second slower than the Thursday before it and 6 seconds slower than the same route one week prior. However, to finish with a time in the 33 minute range felt pretty good!

Thursday, July 30th, I made it out again for another solid 3 miles after work. This time, I was a few seconds quicker than Tuesday! However, it was pretty much the same run for me. I got off to a good first 2 miles. When I can cross the 2 mile mark under 23 minutes, I know I’m going to get a good run in over 3. This was the case for both runs during the mid-week. I was all set to get out Saturday for 6.

On Saturday, August 1st, I got my August off to a fantastic start. This was a hard-fought 6 miles where I was willing to quit so many times. I was sluggish from the first mile. So, it didn’t look like this was going to be a good run for me. When I run the Rose Bowl Loop, the first mile of the loop is the hardest in the 3 mile loop. It took me 11 minutes, 37 seconds to finish the first mile. This first mile was in line with my previous Rose Bowl runs. However, with the week I was having, it was disappointing. Part of that was how I felt running it as well. As I got towards the end of the first lap, I seriously was contemplating ending it. By that point, I was envisioning a horribly slow finish time. Up until the end of the 5th mile, I thought I’d finish somewhere around 1 hour, 20 minutes. So, when I got to the end of the 5th mile and a sub 12 minute per mile average was looking like it would happen, I got really happy. That propelled me to a finish in 1 hour, 11 minutes, 3 seconds! I was pleased because how difficult the run felt. It was another solid run. I guess that’s how you could characterize my runs for that week…solid. Nothing spectacular, nothing horrible. They were solid.

Sunday, the family situation I mentioned at the beginning of this post exploded and rocked my world in a bad way. I was seriously knocked off my game big time. Marathon training, running, gym workouts, were all so unimportant for the next several days. I skipped the gym workout that I had on the calendar for Sunday, August 2nd.

I was angry on Sunday. I was sad on Monday. On Tuesday, I started moving into acceptance. By Wednesday, running and marathon training in general were starting to come back into the picture. However, the temps were insanely hot on Wednesday evening. So, it didn’t happen on Wednesday.

Thursday, August 6th, i finally got back out and running. Because I had been doing well on the 3 mile route, I decided that it was time to up my mid-week runs to 4 miles. After all, without having to go off to work after the run, why not? No matter how tired I would be after my run, it wouldn’t matter. So, off I went on the old 4 mile route. I actually love this route. Lately, I’ve been having a minor back pain occasionally. This sprang up last year as well. Whenever I run and work out consistently, it’s not an issue. However, when I miss days, it comes back. So, I was actually a little worried that this wasn’t the run to up my distance to 4 miles. The first mile in this route is difficult because it’s largely uphill. The grade of the uphill is nothing to get too worked up about. However, you do feel it. I finished the first mile in just over 11 minutes. So, it was a pretty good start. When I was doing this run before work, I was getting through the first mile in 10:45 – 10:55. So, considering the extra heat, I was happy. The second mile is where the pain in the back started. It wasn’t until the last half of the second mile, but it was there. I had to take a few breaks the rest of the way to stretch it out. The stretching helped me get through the run. However, the pain or the fear of pain slowed me down. At least the pain wasn’t intolerable. I finished the 4 miles in 47 minutes even.

So, on Friday, this happened! The 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Guide was released! Click here so see the PDF version of the guide. With that, the corrals and waivers were up on the runDisney web site as well. Click here to find the waivers that you’ll need to have signed BEFORE going to the Expo. On the waiver, you’ll see your bib number. Then, you can find where you are seeded. I’ll do a post on the corrals and highlights of the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend guide tomorrow. For those interested, I’ll be in Corral D for the Disneyland 10K and Disneyland Half Marathon.

Saturday, I started off a Dumbo Double Dare simulation with 10K around the Rose Bowl loop. Since there are no traffic lights to stop you, it’s a great place to see how your race time might wind up. This year, I plan on attempting to get a 10K PR at the Disneyland 10K race. So, the goal was to see if I could beat my current 10K PR. When I started the day, it was overcast. So, I didn’t think I’d need the sunglasses. On Wednesday, I’ll cover my Dumbo Double Dare simulation in more detail. Let’s just say that this run turned out pretty good. It had a slow start once again. However, I finished 10K in a time that would represent a new 10K race PR if I get it at Disneyland on Labor Day weekend! So, day 1 of the simulation was a success!

Saturday was also my 6th Wedding Anniversary! On August 8, 2009, Brooke and I got married! It’s been 6 incredible years. There have been lots of highs and lows along the way. However, I’m still blown away that I’ve been able to spend them with Brooke! We decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary with dinner and a show. When you’re Disney fans, dinner and a show can mean many things. We had dinner at Ariel’s Grotto at Disney California Adventure….

and the show was World of Color: Celebrate!

If you haven’t seen World of Color: Celebrate, you should make plans to do so. This is the best version of World of Color yet! It’s co-hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse!

There’s a lot of Walt in this show! The Walt fan that I am, loved every moment Walt shows up!

It is interesting that a wold of “color” show would have so much black and white. However, this show celebrates the history of the Walt Disney Company.

The first sequence is all about Mickey Mouse.

This moves into a sequence about Disney animation throughout the years.

Then, they move into Walt’s biggest dream….Disneyland!

The Haunted Mansion sequence was my favorite!

All the ghosts were there!

I couldn’t get a picture of the partners statue with Walt and Mickey that looks like they were walking through Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. This was as close as I got.

All the typical Walt quotes were included in the show.

If you see the show, stick around to the bitter end. There’s a small clip of Walt telling you to go home that’s too funny! When I first saw the World of Color: Celebrate on You Tube, I didn’t see this part. The reason why is pretty clear, the show seems like it’s in its  exit music.

I may need to do a more thorough review of this wonderful show. When we got to the park, Brooke and I intended to take very little pictures of the show and no videos. We wanted to merely enjoy the show for what it was. However, I kept seeing cool thing after cool thing and was snapping up lots of pics. There are more than the ones I’ve presented here. It’s a fabulous show that should not be missed. I’ve long thought that the World of Color show was missing a narrator. Having Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse in this version makes it so good because the narration moves the story of the show along. While Olaf does a great job of doing the same in the Wold of Color: Winter Dreams, the current show gives such a great presentation of the history of the Walt Disney Company that I like it better. My only criticism of the show is that the only song from an animated film that gets to be sung in near entirety is “Let it Go” from Frozen. Disney is really milking Frozen for all its worth. With all the classic songs Disney animated films have seen incorporated into them, I think there are much better choices.

Six years of marriage and still going strong!

Sunday, I went out to finish my Dumbo Double Dare simulation. Again, on Wednesday, I’ll cover this more thoroughly, but this run left a lot to be desired.

So, this is what happened in the end. I didn’t finish all 13.1 miles. There are reasons for this. This run was so slow. I battled with motivation for most of the miles. I was tired from the start and was sure that I’d call it a day after 6 miles. However, I pushed through for 10 miles before running out of water and gator aide. With no liquids left, rising temps, and a sun that was out hitting me hard, it was time to finally give in. Honestly, it was hard to give up. After all, I was about to enter the last hard mile. I’m not giving the complete recap here because this post is already so long. Also, I want some time to reflect on this run before writing about it.

So, now that you’re all caught up, I have a BIG announcement! For the first time, I’m having a give-away! So, here’s the deal. I have not had any success with my fundraising efforts for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. As a way of trying to get the fundraising going, I’m going to give away ONE $50 Disney Gift Card! All you need to do to have a change to win this gift card is to donate. For every $10 donated between now and my birthday (August 28th), you will receive ONE entry. Sound good? If you are NOT a Disney fan who wins and have no desire to receive a Disney Gift Card, I will offer to send you a $50 Visa Gift Card instead. So, please feel free to donate as well. You could win a gift card that you could use as well. For the runDisney fans out there, these Disney Gift Cards can be used to purchases of the Official runDisney merchandise at the Disneyland Half Marathon Expo. Just sayin’.

So, click on the link above to make a donation. You’ll not only be entered in a drawing for a $50 Disney Gift Card, but you will be helping orphaned children and the families that want to adopt them. As I’ve mentioned before, with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, I’m running for a world with no more orphans. Please help these kids out. Please pass along the link for this fund-raising effort along to your friends and family. I need all the help I can get. I know that the registration for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon is coming up on Tuesday. That’s why I’m going to give everyone until the end of August before drawing. Thanks in advance for all of you who will donate.