So, this weekend, The Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend is going on. By the time this post goes up, the Neverland 5K will be going on (with the winners already across the finish line). Sadly, I will not be running in any of the races. It’s kind of a shame. After all, the Inaugural Neverland 5K was my very first race. The 2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon was my very first half marathon and the race that taught me I could complete these crazy long distances. So, why haven’t I run in this runDisney weekend since? Well, with the additions of the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon and Star Wars Half Marathon at Disneyland, I have more choices. As a guy, Tinker Bell just doesn’t hold as much say as Marvel and Star Wars. So, Tink is low on my race priorities. Although, I’ve got to admit that I love the Neverland 5K and Tinker Bell 10K medals!

Also, on Thursday night, the very last showing of Wishes at the Magic Kingdom happened. Since I’m writing this post shortly after that show, I can’t put a video of the very last show. So, the one above will have to do. Since I’m a Disneyland homer, I don’t have the same emotional connection to Wishes as my Walt Disney World loving friends have. I mean, it’s a really good fireworks show. I have nothing against it. However, I don’t have years of watching this show for it to hold a special place in my heart like others. My favorite Disney theme park fireworks show is still Remember…Dreams Do Come True at Disneyland (for the Disneyland’s 50th Celebration). Over at the Disney Tourist Blog, Tom, wrote up a beautiful tribute to this beloved fireworks show. Click here to read the blog post. If you’re a fan of Wishes, I think you’ll like it.

Three weeks from today, I will be heading down to San Diego to run in the Rock n Roll San Diego 5K and Half Marathon. This is the race I’ve been training for. Although, the wheels have fallen off my training a bit. I’m still pretty excited about getting to run San Diego again. It will be a weekend spent in San Diego that I’m sure will be lots of fun.

In spite of all these wonderful things, my mind has been thinking about New York and the TCS NYC Marathon trip planning. Now that my airline ticket has been booked and hotel has been booked, I’m full on planning mode.

While some things aren’t set in stone yet. There are some things in which I’m planning around. First, on the Friday before the marathon, I’ll head to the Health and Fitness Expo in the AM. The plan, right now is to be there from 10am through noonish. I figure that 2 hours should be enough. If not, hopefully my plans will allow for more time.

On the morning before the TCS NYC Marathon, I want to run in the Abbott Dash to the Finish 5K. The route starts from the United Nations Building….

and runs by Radio City Music Hall! The sad part of this 5K is that there is no finisher medal (or medalion). However, it does finish in the same spot where the marathon finishes! I thought it would be fun to run through a different part of Manhattan while I’m in town. Plus,  I’ll get to the finish line feeling less tired than I will the next day.

Of course, the main reason I’m travelling to New York is to run the marathon. So, all the planning do will have to leave me ready to take on 26.2 miles through the 5 boroughs of New York.

Although my plans will likely change a lot through out the planning process. Right now, I’m thinking that I’ll try to take in a tour of Lincoln Center and check out the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum on Friday after the Expo.

If you remember, earlier this year, I finally made it out to the Los Angeles Science Center to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour. I had been trying to see this exhibit for a few years. So, I thought…how cool would it be to see 2 space shuttles in 1 year?

After the Abbott Dash to the Finish 5K, I’m thinking about heading to the Bronx to take a tour of Yankee Stadium.

On the day after the marathon, I’m going to be a full blown tourist all day long. There’s a harbor cruise I read about where you can get some pretty spectacular pics of the Statue of Liberty. So, that would make for a pretty cool medal picture. Don’t  you think?

I also want to take in the 9/11 Memorial and Museum….

and hit up the Top of the Rock for their amazing views of NYC. I’ve read that, if you can only do Top of the Rock OR the Empire State Building, you should do the Top of the Rock. Why? Because, you not only get a great view of Central Park…

but, you can get a picture with the Empire State Building in it. This might also make for a pretty great spot for medal pics. These are kind of the places I’m planning the trip around.

Oh, and I’m staying like a block away from the Disney Store in Times Square. So, you know I’ll have to make a visit while I’m in town.

It’s been hard to narrow down what I want to do while I’m in New York. There are a few more things I’m thinking about adding if logistics will work out. As I continue to move forward in planning this trip, I’ll have to see how the logistics work out. The hard part of planning a race-cation is that you can’t do everything. You have to make sure you don’t completely wear yourself out before you run the race you traveled to run. If I end up cutting out some of the items I’ve listed in this post it will be because I value the opportunity to run a marathon that’s on most marathoners bucket list races to run. I want my marathon to be truly memorable one for all the right reasons. I do not want a DNF on this race because I planned too much in the days leading up to the marathon. That’s where logistics come into play. I’ll be researching how to get to each place I want to go and see if I can even get there in a timely manner and figure out how much time on my feet will be required. One goal I have is to eat dinner at around 5pm on the night before the race and to chill at the hotel the rest of the evening. It’s going to be fun to see this trip come together!

So, even with all this other stuff going on, I’m all about New York right now. Even these final long runs before Rock n Roll San Diego are all about getting ready for the TCS NYC Marathon. Have a great weekend everyone!