Summer Colors Week: Rainbow

It's Somewhere over the Rainbow Thursday!  Poppytalk is hosting a Summer Colors Week!  Come back tomorrow for Friday Red.

Summer Colors Week: Blue

It's Blue Wednesday on Thursday!  (I was having internet issues last night.  Boo!).  Poppytalk is hosting Summer Colors Week! 

Stay tuned for:

Thursday - Rainbow
Friday - Red 

Summer Colors Week: Pink

Hooray for pink!  It is Summer Colors Week over at Poppytalk!



Come back to see:

Wednesday - Blue
Thursday - Rainbow
Friday - Red

Summer Color Week: Yellow

What happens when your hair stylist asks if you can reschedule for tomorrow?  You might end up at hot yoga.  Oh wow, was it brutal.  I know I haven't been in awhile, but it was BRUTAL.  I think half the class was on their mats.  The half of those that remained in the room.  But I'm glad I went, even if I did only about half the postures.  And even that might be exaggerating how many postures I did.  Although when the teacher offered to open the door if everyone got up, you'd better believe I hopped up off the floor quick as can be!  Anything for a bit of air.

But more importantly - guess what??  It's Summer Color Week over at Poppytalk!!  I do so love color week.

The rest of the week looks like this:

Monday - Yellow
Tuesday - Pink
Wednesday - Blue
Thursday - Rainbow
Friday - Red

Week in Review

How exciting is this?  A really and truly training post!  With official "permission"to do a triathlon, I am starting my training.  Plus I am starting to train to walk a half marathon in either September or October.  And with that - full steam ahead!!

Tuesday - Pool time!  I am up to 36 lengths in the pool.

Thursday - My early morning 2 mile walk through the woods with all the critters.

Friday - Pool time!  I kept it at 36 lengths.

Saturday - 10K trail walk, where I thought I was last, but really I wasn't.  Hooray!  And I got super muddy.  But I finished!

Sunday - My first bike ride of the season.  It was a beautiful sunny day and I caught glimpses of the mountain here and there.  I kept to my normal, very flat route along the river.  I felt pretty good.  And so did my knee!!   It was a nice 10 mile ride.

Bridle Trails 10K

We're getting close to the end of June, which means I need to participate in a race of some sort to keep up with my one event per month goal as part of my 34 Things.  My co-worker had told me about this trail run that she was planning on doing.  Emphasis on run.  I combed the website but there was no time limit that I could see.  Okay, then.  My first official purely walking race in several years.

I lined up with all the other 10Kers and felt like a fraud.  I was not going to run any bit of this race.  But since it was on a trail, rather than a road, it wouldn't matter when I finished.  Right?  And then I saw the sign that said this was going to be a 5K, 10K or 30K race.  Woohoo!!  I may not be the last person on the course.  I will get lapped but I should be able to finish a 10K before even super fast runners finish a 30K.  A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.  (Turns out there was no one doing the 30K but it definitely gave me a psychological boost.) 

The race started off with a steep uphill.  Oh great.  But I actually passed a few people on my way up the hill!  That didn't last too long and before you knew it I was last.  I have this big fear of being the last person on the course.  Looks like I was going to face my fear today.

The trail was fairly muddy so there was a lot of zig-zagging to avoid the mud and the mud puddles.  I kept my eyes down so I could navigate between the tree roots and the mud.  So that's pretty much how the race went - up, down, avoid the mud puddle, watch out for horse poop, mud puddle, horse.  Wait, horse?  Yup, horse!  Nice horsey.  I kept to the side of the trail as I passed the horse.  There was one close call with a tree.  I was grabbing a hold of a tree to help me around a mud puddle when I smacked into the tree!  My shirt had gotten caught.  But I stayed on my feet.  Yay! 

I was alone for most of the race, except when the 10K route intersected with the 5K route.  From about mile 3 on I was basically on a walk in the woods by myself.  Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  It was very peaceful, when I took my eyes of the trail! :)  I finally hit mile 6 and the rest of the course was mainly downhill.  As I rounded the corner towards the finish, I saw the remaining volunteers packing up.  Yup, last one on the course.  But when they saw me, they cheered.  I love cheers!  Even if they are pity cheers for the last person.

My goal was to come in under 1:40 and I'm super happy to say I came in at 1:39:26!  Which is just over a 16 minute per mile pace.  Hallelujah!!  (Disney race pace is 16 minutes per mile.)  I still have 6 months (give or take) to improve on my time.  Ideally I would like to get under 15 minutes per mile.  And there is always hope my physical therapist will okay me to run! 

And I learned something else from the posted times - there were 2 people behind me.  I wasn't last! 

Five Senses Friday

Seeing

• Moles, bunnies, birds, and mice!

Hearing

• Squish, squish, squash.  My friend participated in a mud run and I went to cheer her on (it was extremely muddy!!  even for the spectators!).  And let me tell you - when I saw the medal I almost signed up there and then. 

Tasting

• Pad Thai

Smelling

• I think it was skunk cabbage along the river.  Not a pleasant smell.

Feeling

• TGIF!!  Seriously on Wednesday I thought it was Friday.  On Thursday I thought it was Friday.  But today it really is Friday!!

Oooh, Pretty

The Tinker Bell Half Medal was revealed today.  Oh wow!  If I wasn't already pretty much 100% committed to running (or walking) the race the medal would have pushed me over.  I do love shiny medals!  Race capacity is at 55% so I had better get on with registering! 

I'm even thinking about potentially dressing up for the race.  And what better costume for a Tinker Bell run than a fairy costume?  But rather than Tink herself, I'm thinking one of her new friends.  (I'm not as up on my Tink trivia.)  The blue-ish fairy (not to be confused with the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio) or the purple-ish fairy.   I think the blue-ish fairy is Silvermist but I wouldn't bet on it and I have no idea what the purple-ish fairy's name is.  I'm not sold on the wings yet.  I mean wings for 13.1 miles?  Maybe just for a picture at the end! :)

I tried something new this morning.  I got up early and went for a walk.  Only two miles, but still it was something.  We'll see if this is a start of a new trend for me or a one time thing.  I used to be much more of a morning person than I am now.  I saw lots of interesting critters this morning, including what I think was a mole.  He froze and I froze.  And then he skittered back into the bushes.  I saw him again on the way home except this time he just froze and didn't move.  I don't know what else he could have been, except a mole.  But aren't moles supposed to live underground?  Where I don't have to run into them?  I am not a critter person.  The bunnies I didn't mind at all.  They are cute and tiny.  But the mole?  Not a fan.

List: My Favorite Words

I haven't done a list in awhile!  And I do love lists!!  So how about a list of my favorite words?  Either to say or write.

1. Funicular
2. Defenestrate
3. Genau (German word basically meaning exactly.  When I was in Bonn for work I would count the number of genaus used in a meeting.  I think one time it was close to 100.  The Germans do love genau!)
4. Exactly
5. Plethora
6. Ruckus
7. Aplomb
8. Ciao
9. Quandary
10. Scrumptious
11. Antidisestablishmentarianism (supposedly the longest word in the English language)

I could probably list a few more, but these were the ones I could come up with off the top of my head!

It's a Go!

Woohoo!!  I think summer is really here!  At least it is for today.  The sun was bright and sunny and even let off a bit of warmth!  Of course it'll probably rain this weekend, but that's okay.  I'll take the sun when I can get it.

Sunday I went to the park and did 6 miles.  There were a lot more cyclists on the road than normal and it took me awhile but I finally figured out a race of some sort was going on.  A few times a pack of cyclists would ride by and the lead cyclist would yell out "WALKER!"  And while I appreciate the warning so no one would ride over me, I had to come to terms with being called a walker.  But that is what I am, a walker.  For now.

My knee held up pretty well for 6 miles so at today's physical therapy appointment I decided to slip in a question about what my therapist thought about me riding a bike.  She didn't see a problem with me riding a bike.  Yay!  So I decided to push my luck.  What about a triathlon?  As long as I walk (no running), it should be fine.  Okay now, I have permission!  You know me and rules.

Besides training for a triathlon, I'm really considering a half in September/October.  I had originally been planning to do one in late September but I may have a conflict.  (More to come on that later - if my plans come to fruition.)  If I can't do that half, what half should I do?  For a brief half second I thought about the Disneyland Half (ignoring the fact it is sold out).  It would defeat the purpose since the whole point was to do a non-Disney half with a longer time limit.  Hm...  But do you know what does have a longer time limit (and takes place October 2nd)?  San Jose Rock N Roll, that's what!  As an added bonus, the flight would help me in my quest to make MVP on Alaska.  Things you think about...  So that is the thought percolating in my brain...  Think, think, think...

Disney in June

When I heard Michelle was going to Disney World, I asked to tag along! :)  It seems I've been tagging along on a lot of Michelle's Disney trips lately!!  No kids this time - just me and her (her husband was at a conference in Orlando so I crashed the first part of the trip).  And to recap, we'll try something a little different and just go with some highlights.

• Number one on the list was seeing Michelle!!  
• When I first got off the bus at Pop Century, the cast member greeting the bus was handing out princess buttons.  Not to me.  Did he not recognize me?  But then he gave me one later.  Good thing he did or I might have had to lock him in the dungeon!
• I love driving to the Magic Kingdom because I can look outside and realize I ran on those roads.  And I WILL run on those roads again!
• There was the cutest little girl dressed up as Rapunzel and she even had a small frying pan!
• It was super hot so when I saw Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen had a short line (plus the line was in the shade) I decided to get my picture made.  Just as I got to the front Princess Tiana left.  Little did she know that was my plan all along!  It was just me & Prince Naveen! :)
• I forgot how much I love Splash Mountain - except for, you know, the drop!
• I love the Electrical Parade!!  
• I can be *slightly* OCD so once again I made sure we did more than 9 attractions at Magic Kingdom so we could beat the average! :)
• Michelle had never been on Toy Story so we got there right as Hollywood opened and ran to Toy Story and were still in line for a long time.
• The new Star Tours is fun!!  Not so different, but still very fun!
• There is no shade in Epcot.  Whatsoever.  
• We were just about to ride Test Track when it was suspended for inclement weather.  Boo.  I haven't ridden Test Track in a long time!!
• Oh yes, I wore one of my running skirts and it was maybe the best decision I made.  It was stinking hot!!
• There is a dessert at Via Napoli that is DELICIOUS!!  I forget what it's called but seriously yummy!!
• I heart the Yeti!
• Overheard in line for the safari "I want to go and get chased by the Yeti"

It was a really fun (but quick) trip!!  I'm so glad I went.  I am definitely getting a lot of use out of my annual pass!!

Wee Bit of Me (on Saturday)

Welcome to mixed up week!  We have Five Senses on Thursday and Wee Bit of Me on Saturday.  What is the world coming to?!  Ha!

{one} what color best describes you + why?

I'm probably a mix between green and blue.  I think of myself as more of a blue but I have had several people tell me I'm a lime green.  I think blue because I'm generally calm or at least I try to be! :)

{two} how have you changed in the past year?

The first thing that pops into my mind is dealing with my knee.  I tore my MCL this past November and I'm still adapting.  But on the other hand I have a great story!!  (Remember that time I fell off a cliff in Italy?)

{three} have you ever had any surgeries?

No, thank goodness!!  Initially the docs were thinking I might need one on my knee, but fortunately not!!  Oh, wait - do you count oral surgeries?  If so, yes.  I've had four permanent teeth removed plus my wisdom teeth.  

{four} why did you start your blog?

I like to travel and usually go on one or two big trips a year.  When I would get home I would find myself sending out lots of emails to people describing my trip and thought, hm I could have one central spot those interested could go and read about my trips.  Plus I thought it would give me a creative outlet.

{five} what are you looking forward to this summer?

Summer?  Where?  You know I don't have anything specific.  A little bit of sun would be nice.  I was looking forward to my trip to WDW with Michelle but I'm back now.  Oh and I have a trip to Houston coming up in August.

{six} do you have any family traditions for the 4th of July?

Not really - not since we were kids.  And this will be the first 4th in a long time I haven't been working!!  So yay me!!

{seven} what’s something new that you’ve tried in the past few months?

Drawing a blank...

{eight} what is the perfect a/c temperature?

I like it a little on the chilly side - probably 68 or so.

{nine} what was the last movie you saw in the theater?

Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides (Loved it!!  Mm, Johnny Depp!!)

{ten} what song do you think everyone should hear at least once?

There are so many songs out there - maybe Volare?  (It has been covered by several but I'm probably partial to Dean Martin's version.)  It instantly transports me to Italy.  Love that song!!

Five Senses Friday

Ha ha!  Oops!  Guess what happens when you try to schedule a post for tomorrow, but forget to actually schedule it?  Five Senses Friday on Thursday!  Oh well - enjoy it a day early!! :)

Seeing

• My BFF Michelle (can you guess where??  I'll give you three guesses!!)
• A random green balloon floating by my window at work

Hearing

• Cars zooming past me

Smelling

• Waffle cones, popcorn, fireworks, and oranges (in an "orange field"), oh yeah and apple pie (while I was "being a guest")

Feeling

• Sweat dripping down my back and the humidity in the air

Tasting

• Ice cream, churros, and corn dog nuggets

Did you guess where I was?  If you guessed Walt Disney World you would be absolutely correct!!  But this time was with Michelle.  I'll tell you all about it in a later post.

Training

• Swim: only one swim
• Bike: nothing yet - I'm hoping to start biking next week
• Run: almost 5 miles - I walked my "hilly" bike route along side the freeway, not my favorite walk route since it is so loud

Five Senses Friday

Seeing

• Rain

Hearing

• That I was someone's favorite babysitter!!  Let's not get into the fact that this someone is going into their senior year of college and her brother is graduating high school!!  When did that happen? 

Tasting

• A delicious crepe with turkey, cranberry, bacon and brie.  Yum!  And I'm not even a huge turkey fan!!  Too bad the service left a lot to be desired. 

Feeling

•   A general sense of blah (still not quite over jet lag)

Smelling

• Donuts!!  Swimming in the morning means I can eat a donut, right? :) 

And speaking of training, I'll probably soon switch to weekly training reports, but since there wasn't much this week I'll just add it here...(And I haven't yet checked with the physical therapist on doing a triathlon, but we're just going to assume it okay.)

Training

• Swim: Twice this week, increasing my pool lengths from 24 to 28.  And yeah, apparently 6 months of not doing a lot will mean your shoulders will really hurt when you start swimming again!  Guess I should work on toning my arms...before I was doing more power yoga and kickboxing which apparently use a lot more arm strength.
• Bike: Nada - although I made an appointment to take my bike into the bike hospital for a check up (and to get new tires)
• Run: So the run really is a walk but it's more fun to say swimbikerun than swimbikewalk, don't you think?  Four miles and that was without my iPod!  So instead I heard snippets of other peoples conversations as they sped past me and listened to the birds.  Oh and talked to myself.  A lot.  There is a lot of random stuff in my head.  I didn't feel super fast, but then again, I didn't feel super slow either.  I haven't powered up my Garmin yet so no stats.   

34 Things: The Invisible Bridge

When I read Mandi's take on The Invisible Bridge (by Julie Orringer), I put the book on my mental reading list.  Fast forward a few months and I needed a book to take with me on vacation and this one came to mind.  Oh my gosh!!  This was an incredible story!!  An epic journey through WWII following a young man from Budapest to Paris and back (have I mentioned before I am fascinated by WWII?).  I enjoy reading about places I have been and this was no exception, especially as it seems not too long ago I was in Paris as well as Budapest.  Plus the story was so compelling - each character was carefully brought to life and I cared about each one.  It was a masterful story.  I was in Austria and literally wanted to stay in my hotel room and keep reading this book.  My one complaint is that I felt it ended a little abruptly.  I would have liked a little more closure with the characters.  But it was an amazing, sweeping, powerful read.  I would highly recommend it.

34 Things: Heart of the Matter

I think the best part of this book was catching up with a character from one of Emily Giffin's earlier books (Something Borrowed which is in theaters now, or was.  I didn't see it - yet.)  Anyway, one of the main characters of this book is the sister of one of the main characters in the other book.  I kid you not, I got to the part in this book where Dex & Rachel were introduced and I put the book down to tell Jana they were in the book!  Jana was the one who introduced me to Emily Giffin's books.  It is definitely chick lit, but a good read.  I liked that it shifted between both of the main character's points of view so you saw it from both sides.

Wee Bit of Me Wednesday

I first saw this feature on Andrea's blog (via Leigh Ashley) and thought it looked like fun!  And I'm procrastinating tonight so thought playing along sounded like a good idea! :) 


{one} how many times have you been a bridesmaid/maid of honor?What is it they say?  Always a bridesmaid, never a bride?  I've been a bridesmaid four times now!! {two} what’s the last thing your do before you fall asleep at night?Usually watch a little TV {three} you just won your dream vacation, all expenses paid. where are you going?I have to choose??  I've always wanted to get an around the world plane ticket.  So that's probably it - or I'd go to Europe.  Hard to choose, although I can end up in Europe after my around the world trip! :) 
{four} what is your favorite outdoor activity?Hm, probably hiking, but swimming would be a close second. {five} as a child, what did you want to “be when you grew up”? did you end up there?Believe it or not the first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was a nun.  Then it was something to do with numbers/money and I ended up an accountant.  Go figure!
 {six} what are 3 things your dream home would have that you don’t currently have?An office/library, a big comfy couch, and (copying Andrea) a husband 
{seven} what’s for dinner tonight?It is almost dinner time!  I'd better come up with this fast.  Probably chicken sausages. {eight} if someone stopped by your house unannounced on a typical Saturday night, what would they find you doing?I'm really boring, most likely watching TV or a movie.  Lately though I've been going to Saturday night service at my church and then settling in for some quality time with my DVR. {nine} what’s your average monthly water bill?Um, no clue....next question please 
{ten} what do you do to relax?TV, read, go for a walk 

So that was fun!  I don't know if I'll make it a habit of participating, but we'll see...

Edelweiss

Well I'm not coming up with a witty opening line so let's just get to it!

Day 1

As flights go, there was nothing out of the ordinary about this flight, other than it was long.  But finally I was in Vienna!  After dropping my bags off at my hotel, I set off to walk around to shake off the jet lag (and stay awake until a reasonable hour).  My hotel was super close to St. Stephen's Cathedral so I walked down.  The cathedral itself wasn't open but guess what was?  The stairs to the top!  343 steps later I was at the top.  The top was enclosed though, which was a bit of a disappointment.  But the view was still pretty amazing.  I continued wandering around and found a gelato shop!  Yum!  I stayed awake as long as I could and then I gave up the fight and went to sleep.

Day 2

I started off the day at the Albertina Museum.  Last time I was here, the Albertina had crazy long lines.  This time it was amazingly empty.  Probably because I entered not too long after it opened.  They had a special exhibit from entitled from Monet to Picasso.  While I'm a huge fan of Monet, Picasso is not my favorite, but I was impressed with a couple of the Picasso's in this exhibit.  From there I hopped on an open top bus tour of the city.  And then it was out to Schonbrunn Palace, which was absolutely beautiful, especially with the flowers in bloom.  Back to Vienna and dinner at an Italian restaurant with dessert at my fave, Cafe Sacher!  Jana & I loved this cafe when we were in Vienna.  As a side note, I saw several women throughout the day with race bibs and medals.  If I had but known of this race!!  I so would have joined.  If running and Disney isn't expensive enough, can you image running and Europe?  But how much fun would that be? 

Day 3

I started off the day by switching hotels since the business portion of my trip was starting.  I finally got to see the inside of St. Stephen's and then toured the Imperial Apartments.  I walked through the parks and then met up with my co-workers for a brief walking tour of Vienna and dinner. 

Day 4 & 5
The next few days are going to be brief since they really won't be too interesting.  The taxi driver taking us from Vienna to Bratislava thought it would be too boring to go via the highway so he took us via the back roads.  Okay, random.  But we did see some cool Roman artifacts in the distance.  Dinner Tuesday night was at a restaurant near the castle and Wednesday night at a museum after a boat ride.

Day 6
We finished up at the conference and decided to swing by Munich for the afternoon before heading to Salzburg.  It was the beginning of the rainy part of our trip.  In fact our train from Munich to Salzburg was delayed because of lightening!  Another side note - today was the day we ended up in three countries - Slovakia, Germany and finally Austria.

Day 7
Well this morning did not get off to the best start and I was late.  I am never late.  Okay so you aren't supposed to say never or always.  I am rarely late.  But I finally got on track and met up with my bosses and we were off to a salt mine.  We dressed up in white miner suits and rode a train deep into the mine.  You'd better believe I was humming Hi-Ho!  And then we slid down a chute!  I was a little nervous but survived.  After the mine we went back into town and had lunch.  After lunch we walked around old town Salzburg and avoided the rain.  Later it was a beer garden and then dinner.

Day 8
So you know what Salzburg is famous for?  Well, besides salt and Mozart?  And I probably should clarify - famous for Americans.  Why the Sound of Music of course!!  It was the home of the Von Trapps and where parts of the movie were filmed!  We went on a Sound of Music tour (and sang on the bus!) and saw the gazebo, both houses that were used to film the front and the back of the Von Trapp villa, and the church the Captain and Maria were married in for the movie.  It was super fun!!  I really want to watch the movie again since now I can say "I've been there!"  After the tour we walked through the Mirabell gardens where Do-Re-Mi was filmed.  For dinner I had Wiener Schnitzel (when in Austria) and we finished up the day with dessert at Cafe Sacher.  And then it was time to say goodbye to my bosses who were going heading home the next day.

Day 9
My day to explore Salzburg!  I started off the day at Mozart's house, which was not the best museum I've ever been to but still interesting.  Then it was the Salzburg Museum and Rick's old town stroll.  Next up was the castle.  But do I take the funicular up to the top?  Or walk up?  I love funiculars.  It is probably my favorite word.  So funicular it was!  The castle was pretty interesting - they even had a random marionette exhibit.  Because I took the funicular up, I decided to walk down and did so the long way, walking above the town for awhile before making my way back down.  Dinner and then gelato and then I headed back to my hotel.

Day 10
I decided to sleep in today and it turned out to be the wrong decision because as I stepped out of the shower the power went out.  Ugh.  Let's just say I did not have the best hair day.  Finally I was ready to go.  I went to the Salzburg Cathedral and then it was time for my tour to Eagle's Nest.  I had debated trying to go to Berchtesgaden and the Eagle's Nest by myself but in the end decided to take a tour.  Not too long into my tour I realized I am really not a tour person.  The only thing we ended up doing was the Eagle's Nest, which was cool.  The Eagle's Nest was a chalet built up high in the mountains which was a 50th birthday present for Hitler.  He didn't use it all that much as he was afraid of heights.   To reach the top, we had to take special buses with really good breaks and an elevator.  The view was incredible!!  And don't worry - I stayed far, far away from the edge and did not go on any unmarked trails! :)  After the tour we were dropped off back in Salzburg.  I was looking for a Rick recommended restaurant but I walked by a pizzeria and the smell filled my nose and I wasn't going to be happy unless I had pizza!  So pizza it was.  Yum!

And that was all - the next morning I woke up super early and flew home!

At Schonbrunn Palace

Downtown Bratislava 

Marienplatz (Munich)

In the Salt Mine

Still Life - at the Biergarten

Back of the "Von Trapp Villa"

Doe a deer, a female deer

Salzburg - Mozart platz

Salzburg Castle

Afternoon gelato break

Eagle's Nest

Yum!  Pizza!

To Walk or Not to Walk?

I've been slowly cementing the idea in my head that 2012 is my year for half marathons.  And girly Disney half marathons at that.  My excitement level has been building.  I even started recruiting friends to think about coming along and cheering me on.  (I'm even going to make them wear Team Emily shirts!)  I was pretty confident, that while I might not be back to my top running form, I would still be able to finish in a decent time and maybe stop for a few pictures along the way.

I've been working with a new physical therapist on my knee and I decided to test the waters and see what she thought about me running a half marathon in January (I was only going to mention the first one and see where that got me).  January is so far off - I would totally be okay to be doing some running by then.  Right?  Right?  So I casually ask what she thought about me running a half in January...

I saw the look on her face as the words left my mouth and knew the answer wasn't going to be what I wanted to hear.  In a nutshell, injuries like mine can take 9 months to a year to fully heal.  (I whine to myself - but it's already been 6 months!!)  She told me walking wouldn't be out of the question and that we could work together to come up with an acceptable run/walk interval that would be okay for my knee.  The goal is to keep everything low impact on my knee while it heals.

Okay, that wasn't so bad.  I didn't hear a firm no.  So I'm still planning on both the Tinkerbell & Princess in 2012.  That Coast to Coast medal is going to be MINE!  But there will probably be a lot more walking than I anticipated, which probably means no photos (or very few).  The 3 hour 30 minute time limit does have me a little worried.  Even more so than last time.  And of course the possibility of being swept off the course.

So in addition to the girly Disney halves in 2012, I am now tentatively planning to do another half in September.  Pure walking.  No running.  It has a 4 hour time limit which will let me test out how fast I am (or not).  I say tentative because if I'm not ready I will drop down to the 10K.

What remains now is me getting over walking (rather than running) which is my own hang up.  It shouldn't matter - it is still an accomplishment.  It's how I started after all.  Walking a 5K, then a 10K and finally a half (way back in 2005).  My first half was finished in just under 4 hours.  So we'll see how much speed I have picked up in 6 years.

And at my next physical therapy appointment I guess I'd better check with her on me doing a triathlon!  It's coming up in August!

ETA: And to help me with making sure I'm at the right pace, I finally bought my Garmin!!

Five Senses Friday

Well jet lag has once again done a number on me.  But that is okay because it is Friday and I should be able to sleep a lot this weekend!!  Yay for Friday!!  Upcoming posts to look forward to - a book review or two, my trip in a nutshell, and news from my physical therapist about my plans to do both the Tinkerbell & Princess Half Marathons.

Tasting

• Hot dogs & cotton candy at the baseball game (Go M's!!)

Hearing

• The gate agent tell me my reservation had been cancelled (gasp!) but they were able to get me back on my flight.  Whew!!

Feeling

• A bad sunburn, smack dab in the middle of my chest

Smelling

• Aloe vera (for the sunburn)

Seeing

• My very messy desk after being away for over a week.  What?  No desk fairies came to clean it up while I was gone?! :)