Y’all, I’m really excited for TODAY!!!!!! I get to run again this morning! As a matter of fact, by the time this post goes up, I should be finishing my first run in a few weeks! I get to do this because I’m finally healthy enough to get running again. It’s been a rough couple of weeks. If you recall, two weeks ago, I decided to take the week off to try and get this cold under control. It worked pretty well. I was all set to start running on the 4th of July. Then, overnight, I must have caught some bug. I was really sick on the 4th of July. Not only did it ruin my running plans for that day, but it ruined the whole day. I felt like I had been hit by a big truck and was out for almost the entire day. While I felt well enough to try and work on the 5th, I got sick at work just a few hours into the work day. So, I had to leave and spent most of that day sleeping as well. From the 6th on, I’ve been on the mend.

By Friday, I was well enough to keep the planned date night with the wife at Universal Studios City Walk! I’m really glad I was up for it. We had lots of fun eating dinner at Buca Di Beppo and just hanging out at City Walk. My appetite wasn’t there to eat as much as usual. But, that’s okay. We still had lots of fun and enjoyed a rare night away from the boy. I’m so thankful for in-laws that live so close and were willing to take the boy for the night!

On Saturday, we braved 100+ temps to attend a birthday party for the daughter of one of our friends. Brooke and I survived the heat. Colton had a blast with all the water play! This kid is a water baby. He loves being in the water. We also had a fun family dinner with the in-laws where Colton got some time in the big pool!

Then, on Sunday, we had Colton’s baby dedication at our church. For those unfamiliar, this is more a thing for Brooke and I than it is for Colton. We basically went before our church to show our desire to raise Colton in a home with Christian values. It also is a call for those at the church to help us out along the way. As he’s raised in the church, he will make friends and have teachers, etc. that all play a part in helping him understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It’s kind of hard to explain without getting into too much “Christianese.” So, since I know not everyone who reads this blog is a Christian, I won’t go into all the details. However, I do want to stress that this isn’t like infant baptism that the Catholic (and some other denominations do.) We don’t have God parents set up for Colton and he wasn’t baptized. Anyways, it was a fun day with family and friends!

Other than running today, I’m also excited because today is the first day we can pick our transportation option and baggage pick up option for the TCS NYC Marathon! Beginning at 9am our here on the West Coast, we can sign up through our New York Road Runners account. I have been deliberating for the past few months about what to choose. My decision is to take the buses to the start line. Of course, much like those runDisney race sign ups, I’ll be on the computer promptly at 9am to sign up. We have until sometime in August to change our minds. So, I figure that I’ll sign up for the buses and continue thinking about it. If anything changes before the deadline to change, I will. However, I don’t think I will change my mind. I’ve read about how crazy it gets at the ferry to Staten Island on Marathon day. Then, I read, there’s another bus you have to take from the ferry landing in Staten Island. So, it just seems better to me to take the bus. Especially since I chose a hotel within walking distance of the buses.

One decision that was easy to make is that I’ll choose to get the special poncho they give out to those who don’t check a bag for race day. It was an easy decision because the poncho’s are cool. Plus, you get out of the finishers chute area quicker. There is no good reason I could think of to check a bag. I know that I’ll have to be in my race gear longer this way and it might be quite cold. But, the opportunity to exit the finishers chute earlier and the free poncho outweighed the other options. Plus, I spent part of my Chicago Marathon worried about making it back to the finish area quick enough to get the bag I checked at the start of the race. I don’t want to repeat that. So, I’ll be choosing that option.

Being sick these past two weeks has sucked. With race weekend getting closer every single day, it’s been a little stressful to think about the miles I’m missing in the process. However, I’m so happy to be healthy enough to run again right now! I’ve re-worked my training plan around this set back. I’ve even started prepping a play list for the runs. I need something new. So, I’ve piled a whole lot of songs into one playlist and will spend the next few weeks with that playlist on shuffle. Hopefully, some songs will stick out as good together. Others may kill my energy and I’ll know to kick them out. Either way, I’m hoping to have a killer list by the time the Disneyland Half Marathon rolls around.

Speaking of which. Have you seen the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend medals? All I can say is WOW! They look amazing!

So, why does the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend have their medals (which runs towards the end of September) and the Disneyland Half Marathon (which runs at the beginning of September) remains without any medal reveal? I think the West Coast runDisney team is slacking. Not only are we without any medal reveal in July….

But, the 2018 Star Wars Light Side Half Marathon has yet to open for registration. Even though the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon runs in May, it’s registration has been open for a while now. Come on runDisney West Coast, you’re slacking.

While I wait for runDisney West Coast to get their act together, I’m back on the the training path to the 2017 TCS NYC Marathon! It’s Go Time!