Life After Marathons: A Running/barre3/Coffee/Life Journal

I haven't done Universal since 2011 (aka pre-Diagon Alley), so I really need to get back. It's hard for me, because I usually travel with my sister, who has no interest in Universal, so I feel bad wanting to drag her to a place that she likely won't enjoy very much. So on a solo trip, going to Universal is kind of a no-brainer for me.
Maybe we'll see each other at Universal!

Honestly, Diagon Alley is completely amazing for any HP fan as is the Hogwarts Express. I was in total HP fangirl state in that part of the park. Even if you have no other interest in Universal (and I actually do enjoy Universal outside of HP), if you like HP, it's worth it for those experiences alone. And Escape from Gringotts is a phenomenal attraction with an insane queue.
 
To chime in on Universal... Diagon Alley is the most immersive, detailed, well imagined area in almost any theme park. You truly feel like you are in that world and it is SO cool. We went to Universal in Nov 2016 and spent the entire day between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and had the best day.

The rest of Universal doesn't appeal to me as much (#disney4life) but I think you should definitely go!!
 
Honestly, Diagon Alley is completely amazing for any HP fan as is the Hogwarts Express. I was in total HP fangirl state in that part of the park. Even if you have no other interest in Universal (and I actually do enjoy Universal outside of HP), if you like HP, it's worth it for those experiences alone. And Escape from Gringotts is a phenomenal attraction with an insane queue.

To chime in on Universal... Diagon Alley is the most immersive, detailed, well imagined area in almost any theme park. You truly feel like you are in that world and it is SO cool. We went to Universal in Nov 2016 and spent the entire day between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and had the best day.

The rest of Universal doesn't appeal to me as much (#disney4life) but I think you should definitely go!!

I'm really excited for Diagon Alley. I'll probably check out a bunch of the other stuff (including my old favorite Seuss Landing at IOA, because it won't be at all weird for a solo adult with no kids to be wandering around that area...), but Diagon Alley (and the Hogwarts Express and returning to Hogsmeade, which I have done) is the primary reason I want to go!
If I don't end up doing it marathon weekend, I'll probably do a quick 2-3 day trip down to Universal at some point. Because I really need to see Diagon Alley.
 
To chime in on Universal... Diagon Alley is the most immersive, detailed, well imagined area in almost any theme park. You truly feel like you are in that world and it is SO cool. We went to Universal in Nov 2016 and spent the entire day between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley and had the best day.

The rest of Universal doesn't appeal to me as much (#disney4life) but I think you should definitely go!!
Agree with all of this. I did enjoy a Big Pink from Lardlad’s and seeing the Simpsons area, and I thought it was funny that they sold a Clogger burger, but otherwise...:confused3

Diagonal Alley is jaw-droppingly amazing. And I didn’t really know what Hogwarts Express was until I rode it - awesome surprise and really a genius idea by Universal.
 


Agree with all of this. I did enjoy a Big Pink from Lardlad’s and seeing the Simpsons area, and I thought it was funny that they sold a Clogger burger, but otherwise...:confused3

Diagonal Alley is jaw-droppingly amazing. And I didn’t really know what Hogwarts Express was until I rode it - awesome surprise and really a genius idea by Universal.

I'm probably going to skip the Simpsons stuff, since I've never seen an episode of The Simpsons in my life (as a child I wasn't allowed to watch it and as an adult I have no interest), but ... I'm definitely excited for Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express. I loved Hogsmeade (even though it was mad crowded when I went), so if Diagon Alley is even better, I'm super excited.
 


Work Update: waiting for my new MacBook Pro (the kind with the touchbar) to finish an OS update, and then I'm done setting up my environment. Next step is to start learning some of the stuff I will be working with.
Formal orientation is tomorrow .. today is just computer setup day. Nice and low key.
 
Thanks for the well wishes, guys!

Today went okay. I met the other new people (who seem nice) and got my new computer (which costs more than my other two computers combined) and set it up. I discovered that I can use the Touch Bar to switch between files in my text editor, so I'm basically in love with this computer (the TouchID helps too). Tomorrow is orientation, then Wednesday will probably be our first day onsite at the client. Things started slow, but hopefully they'll pick up once I get to the client and can start doing actual work.

Sorry for the work detour, but I was kind of super nervous about my first day (I'll probably be just as nervous when we head over to the client on Wednesday). I may have a mini-running update soon ... Coach and I are going back and forth a bit about some issues I have with the long run (and by that I mean I'm totally being a witchy PITA, which I do feel bad about, but whatever), and once we have things in a place that make sense, I may share some of that.
 
I'm glad the day went well. I've been working for the same employer for the last 27 years, so I don't remember what it feels like to start some place new. But, hopefully there's good excitement mixed in with the nerves!
 
So glad to hear your first day went well!

I started my current job about 6 years ago and I remember that "new job" feeling so well... where are the bathrooms? How much should I talk? Lunch breaks? Not to mention actually having to learn how to do my job... ;) The coming weeks and months will be an adjustment, but stick with it!

Hope you have a great 2nd day!!

(PS Your new computer sounds awesome! Woo!)
 
Coffee report: on a total whim I purchased a Starbucks drink called a Dark Cherry Mocha. It was Saturday after my 6 miler. It was amazing! It had whipped cream and cherry and mocha. It comes with a straw, unlike typical coffee.

Once my employer (regional management) asked us to limit our coffee purchases to save money... at the time the office had a Keurig. We did the math and figured out that each coffee drinker could have 2.5 Keurig cups per week. There was almost a revolt. That's when I first invested in the little baskets that are made for Keurigs.
 
I'm glad the day went well. I've been working for the same employer for the last 27 years, so I don't remember what it feels like to start some place new. But, hopefully there's good excitement mixed in with the nerves!

Thank you! I was thinking that my last first day of work was a while ago too (especially because my last full-time job, I started part-time in the middle of planning an event, so I just got thrown into it), but this kinda seemed similar to my first day of school, and that was only a few months ago, so I guess that makes it less foreign :)

So glad to hear your first day went well!

Thank you!

I started my current job about 6 years ago and I remember that "new job" feeling so well... where are the bathrooms? How much should I talk? Lunch breaks? Not to mention actually having to learn how to do my job... ;) The coming weeks and months will be an adjustment, but stick with it!

Um, I had to have someone show me where the bathroom was twice yesterday. True story. I forgot after the first time. And I still haven't figured out if there's water I'm supposed to be taking (I've just been refilling my water bottle with tap water).
(Lunch breaks have been easy so far since we've all gone out together, but starting tomorrow we're onsite at the client, so I don't know how that will go)

Hope you have a great 2nd day!!

Thanks, it was pretty good!

(PS Your new computer sounds awesome! Woo!)

It is kind of awesome ... for a Mac. (It's actually kind of awesome in general and I might love it even though I hate Apple products on principle.)

Glad you had a good first day!!

Thanks!

Glad you had a good first day! Hoping that trend keeps going and going and going!

Thanks! I certainly hope it keeps going too!

Nice first day! Jealous of that new fancy MacBook!

Thanks!
It's not too late to change your major ... software developers get all the fun toys!
(Although I'm not in love with this port situation ... I don't know if you've seen the new MacBook Pros, but all of the ports are USB-C. Which means I need an adapter to plug in anything but the charger. Thankfully, they gave me an adapter, but ... yuck. I use the USB ports on my MacBook Air (and my PC) all the time, not sure how I'm going to like not having them...)

Coffee report: on a total whim I purchased a Starbucks drink called a Dark Cherry Mocha. It was Saturday after my 6 miler. It was amazing! It had whipped cream and cherry and mocha. It comes with a straw, unlike typical coffee.

Interesting.
I'm not a big cherry person, so I really haven't had any interest in the dark cherry mocha, but ... sounds like it could be interesting. Comes with a straw. Fascinating.
I'm glad you enjoyed!

Once my employer (regional management) asked us to limit our coffee purchases to save money... at the time the office had a Keurig. We did the math and figured out that each coffee drinker could have 2.5 Keurig cups per week. There was almost a revolt. That's when I first invested in the little baskets that are made for Keurigs.

That seems horrible. I understand wanting to save money, but ... it seems like taking away the coffee decreases productivity, which decreases profit ... and that just starts an ugly cycle. I am not in favor of this policy at all.
 
Thanks!
It's not too late to change your major ... software developers get all the fun toys!
(Although I'm not in love with this port situation ... I don't know if you've seen the new MacBook Pros, but all of the ports are USB-C. Which means I need an adapter to plug in anything but the charger. Thankfully, they gave me an adapter, but ... yuck. I use the USB ports on my MacBook Air (and my PC) all the time, not sure how I'm going to like not having them...)
Fun toys are intriguing...

I do know about the port thing. I got the MacBook Pro right before they went to that so I luckily didn't have to get adapters or anything. That is definitely a pain.
 
From 5K to Marathon Dreaming: A Three Year Journey

Today, Facebook reminded me of something that happened three years ago ...
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Three years ago today (2/20), I completed my first 5K, the runDisney (Freezing) Frozen 5K. Until a few weeks before the race, I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish. Once I knew I could do it, I thought 10K might be the next step in 2-3 years, and then a half in 2020. A marathon wasn't even something I was considering.

I honestly don't know when marathon went from "never going to happen" to "two in one year." I know there was some talk a while back on @Ariel484's old training journal about the 30th anniversary in 2023. I remember last year on Facebook my friend asked me if I was doing 9+1. I fell in love with the 25th anniversary marathon medal when I saw it on Twitter. But I don't know how these factors (and any other potential factors) came together to get me to planning vacation days in January. What I do know is that, as much as I will probably panic a lot between now and January, I feel ready to do this.

In honor of the 3rd anniversary of my first race as an adult (for those of you who didn't already know this ... I did peewee races as a kid, and pretty much always came in last), I thought I'd look back on how I got to this point.

2015: My First Races
February 2015 - Princess Weekend, aka my love affair with runDisney begins
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I honestly don't know how anyone could possibly do a runDisney race and not fall in love. Even with the sub-freezing temperatures and characters I'd met before, this was such an amazing and fun race. In fact, as a result of walking this race, my sister decided to start running so that we could do a runDisney 10K in 2016 (in case anyone was curious how my schedule got accelerated ... it was all Beth).

November 2015 - Prospect Park Turkey Trot 5 Mile, aka I can love local races too
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I did this race to help me bridge the gap between 5K and 10K. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. This was the first year of what would become an annual Thanksgiving morning tradition for me (Beth sat this one out because she was injured).

2016: My First 10K
January 2016 - Marathon Weekend 5K & 10K, aka rain is the worst
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5K - Beth and I did this one together, super casual (partially because both of us were recovering from injuries). Lots of fun characters (I forced Beth to stop for every character, even ones we don't care about), and it really reinforced our love of runDisney.

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10K - This was the disaster race. Serious rain made for fewer characters and overall not my favorite experience. I decided to make the best of it, but I knew I needed a do-over at some point. I was hoping to get back the next year, but alas, it was not to be.

November 2016 - PPTC Turkey Trot 5 Mile, aka my first repeat race
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I assume you guys all recognize me by the skirt ... this race was actually the debut of the NYC skirt, which I had bought a few weeks earlier at the NYC marathon expo.

2017: Run Local (The Year of 9 Races)
February 2017 - Central Park Half Marathon, aka my first half
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After a lot of deliberation, in which I determined that I was ready for a half but wasn't going to make it to a Disney half just yet, I signed up for this. I learned that I hate running in Central Park, but at the end of the day ... I was a half marathoner, and that was something pretty amazing.

June 2017 - Narrows Half Marathon & YIJE L'Chaim 5K, aka run with family and friends
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Narrows Half Marathon - I ran this because my cousin was coming up from Maryland to run it. My cousin from NJ also ran it. They both finished a bit ahead of me, but it was nice to experience this with them (especially because there were a few out and backs in this, so we crossed paths a few times)

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YIJE L'Chaim 5K - This is my synagogue's annual 5K. I volunteered the first year. I've thought about running it once or twice since (I think my brother did run it when he was in high school). It was nice to run around my stomping grounds surrounded by a community of people, some of whom I've known for 30+ years.

July 2017 - Firecracker 5K, aka "A Race A Month" Continues
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I don't know where my one race a month idea came from, but it happened. This was my July entry. It was hot and I didn't bring my own water (and I didn't feel like they had enough on the course). It was on Governor's Island, which is beautiful, and it really wasn't a bad race at all.

August 2017 - France Run 8K, aka My first (adult NYRR)
This was yet another brutal Central Park race. But ... it showed me that while I am one of the slower runners at NYRR races, I'm not the slowest, and there's no reason to be afraid of NYRR races.

October-November 2017 - Haunted Island 10K, RangersTown 5K, PPTC Turkey Trot 5 Mile, aka 3 races in less than a month
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Haunted Island 10K - In which I achieved a PR that I couldn't even imagine was possible. I don't know when I managed to pick up that kind of speed, but ... it felt kind of amazing to smash all of my expectations and goals.

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RangersTown 5K - My favorite non-Disney race. Possibly my favorite race period. In addition to an unimaginable PR, I also had an incredible amount of fun. This was the perfect race.

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PPTC 5 Mile - Year 3. Didn't love it as much this year ... maybe because I knew what else was out there for me. Next year's return is questionable.

2018: 9+1
January 2018 - Fred Lebow Manhattan Half, aka begin all the qualifying
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Not my best race by a long shot, but the first step towards reaching some incredible goals that I never thought would be possible.

PRs:
5K - 30:40 (RangersTown 5K, 11/12/17)
5 Mi - 55:33 (PPTC Turkey Trot, 11/24/2016)
10K - 1:05:36 (Haunted Island 10K, 10/29/2017)
Half Marathon - 2:31:08 (Narrows Half Marathon, 6/4/2017)


In pictures and a few words, that's my last three years of running. It's really been such an incredible journey, and the races are only a small part of that. I'm very excited to see what the next year brings.

(I was going to also post some long run related thoughts that came out of this past week's run and a conversation with Coach DB, but I've officially been awake for almost 20 hours now, so I should probably go to sleep now (stay tuned for those thoughts). Still no idea what I'm wearing tomorrow (first day onsite at the client), though ... ahhhh!!!)
 

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