Star Wars Dark Side 10K - Part 2

We woke up Saturday morning while it was still dark outside (again).  I think the alarm was set for 2:45 AM or so.  We dressed quickly and headed out to the bus stop to be there by 3:30 AM.  I'd finished the Asajj Ventress costume, and I was pretty darned proud of it.  It was time to take it out and show it off and be Sithly!  There was a line at the bus stop at our hotel, but it wasn't too bad of a wait and the bus pulled up quickly.  We hopped on, and we were off to the races.

It was awesome driving on the property in the dark.  Pulling into the Epcot parking lot where it's just a barren wasteland of parking spaces but you can see Spaceship Earth in the distance - that was just cool.  We pulled up to the drop off area, and we kind of blindly followed the crowds as we walked...and walked...and walked to the main area.  It was kind of a ridiculous walk, honestly.  There were a few volunteers, some people checking bags.  We didn't have to worry about any of that, so we figured we'd have plenty of time to maybe get a picture or two with some characters or some schemes.

When we got to the main area, it looked like the party had been in full swing for hours to be honest.  If busses didn't start running until 3:30 (and we were on that bus), where did all of these people come from?  The lines for the characters and photo scenes were outrageous, and they were already announcing the fact that they were closing the lines in 15 minutes because it was almost time to get people to their corrals.  Weird.  But maybe it's always like this.  I have no idea; it's my first event.

So we enjoy the DJ silliness and fan crazies - DJ Elliott was providing some entertainment, and it honestly felt like being "home" at a Star Wars Celebration.  So that part was pretty neat, and we decided not to worry about the pictures.  It's not like we couldn't grab those at a convention later on.  I saw one other Asajj Ventress costumed runner, but other than that, Asajj wasn't anywhere to be seen!  That kind of made me sad considering all of the time she got on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but oh well.  About 20-30 minutes went by or so, and then they announced they were moving people to the corrals.  So we follow the herd (literally) to our corrals, find corral E, get in place and get ready.

Get ready to be smushed in with a bunch of other people for about an hour and a half, unable to sit, unable to stretch, unable to do anything but stand and watch Star Wars trailers and have conversations with the people around you.  And freeze.  It was pretty darned cold that early in the morning, and we just kept having to think warm thoughts and huddle together.  I guess that was one good thing about being packed in so tightly.  But the wind was just brutal at times.

The Nerd Husband and I spent time pointing out costumes in the sea of people who just kept flooding into the corral section.  It was seriously never-ending, and they kept packing us in tighter and tighter.  I knew right then there was going to be no way I could run this thing.  Not in the slightest.  Even if I had a hope of breaking through in some way, I had a feeling it was going to be like this most of the 6ish miles we had to go.

They released each corral with a length of 10-15 minutes in between.  Something like that.  I didn't time it; it would have annoyed me far too much, I think.  But I spent my time in a pleasant mood instead - watching the fireworks and cheering for the corrals as they were released.  Patiently waiting to move up, and finally...it was our turn.  Corral E.  The "Evil" Corral as we then referred to ourselves.  It's the Dark Side 10K, after all.

We got our on your mark, get set, gooooooooooo - FIREWORKS!  I filmed it on my phone, we walked until we go to about the start line, and then jogged lightly over the start - because c'mon, you kind of have to start off a run at least kind of running.  I think I gave a thumbs up to the camera guy, but who knows if it was broadcasted on the screens to corral F (the only folks left waiting to start the race).

We did our running through the Epcot parking lot and met up with a high school band who was playing Star Wars music.  That was a great pump-up, and it made me so excited to be outside running(?) at Epcot.  We managed to do a few run/walk intervals, but it was proving to be difficult to keep up with our interval timer on my phone.  Even this early on, we were kind of bottle necking in places - especially as we moved our way into Epcot.  It was then that we decided that we would do what we could with our intervals, keep up with the folks that were close to us in the corral, and speed up when necessary to not get swept.  Honestly, this was the best decision of the race - the decision to not make it a "race". 

I never even saw the mile marker for the first mile - who knows what I was gawking at.  It could have been the backstage view of Epcot, trying to figure out what the buildings were for and what they housed in them.  Or waving at the cast members who were cheering for us.  Or checking out the back gate that was open into Mexico as we rounded the corners to Star Wars music playing.  The lights on the Mexican pavilion as we made our way into the park and up the pathway toward the entrance to the World Showcase.  Or looking at the giant screen playing Star Wars movie clips.  Of course, then there was Spaceship Earth - that ball never ceases to amaze me.  Somewhere in there I think I saw Artoo and Vader, and I just kept staring at it all and smiling and walking quickly or jogging a bit when I could find a place to break through.

We rounded into Canada and the UK, and then the path took the bridge toward the "back door" of Epcot with the intent of moving on to the Boardwalk area using a little bridge.  It was kind of a narrow little pain-in-the-butt pathway, let me tell you.  But again, we treated it like a walk-fest when we couldn't do our intervals.  No big deal until you see the balloon ladies, right?  (The balloon ladies, by the way, are women who do Disney races and walk at the back of the pack at the correct official pace time.  It's my understanding that they carry balloons so you can see them, and you don't want to fall behind them because then you will be swept.  I am proud to say we never saw the balloon ladies.)

The best thing about this little narrow path was a lady at the end of it who was cheering people on.  She had a sign that said sometime like "Good job, Random Stranger.  You can do this!"  It literally made me laugh of loud, and I said, "Thank you, Random Stranger!  That's awesome."

The Boardwalk was just a nightmare to run on with all of those people - lol.  So we walked it.  And then we walked quite a bit of the pathway from the Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios, doing little jog spurts when we could get into a good groove and not get in the way.  I was starting to worry around this time that it was going to rain on us; we felt a few little misty drops, but that was about it.  We ran under a little bridge down by the river that they had bathed in deep red lights and Darth Vader's breathing was playing on a loop.  It was pretty cool, but that was about the only thing we saw until we got to Hollywood Studios.

I honestly don't recall what characters or stops or anything were in Hollywood Studios.  It was just neat seeing the whole place in the early dawn light.  The lights were still on, and the cast members just seemed genuinely thrilled that we were up and out this early in the morning being stupid.

From here on out, the pathway is kind of a blur to me, and I'd have to sit down with a map to really show you were we were.  I remember seeing an alligator in a little bog-like thing off of a main road.  That was a fun little pit stop.  I think my favorite part of this last bit of the run, though, was running down this little dirt/gravel access road.  We were surrounded by trees and everything, and it felt a bit like running through Endor.  I loved that.

The homestretch was back at ESPN Wide World of Sports, complete with dozens of costumed Rebel Legion and 501st folks.  I stopped long enough to ask a stormtrooper if I could take a selfie with him, and he obliged.  And then...

FINISH LINE!

I filmed going across the finish line, too.  They were calling out names of people as they crossed, but I don't remember hearing my name.  Not a big deal.  I finished.  I got my medal placed around my neck, and I was given a box of goodies.  There was really no place to sit down except on the pavement which was weird, so we just took our box of goodies and our awesome medals and decided to head back to the bus.  There were huge lines waiting for the bus, and we were all very hot and tired and still standing and waiting.  That was just...hard.  Really hard.  We got in a conversation with teh couple in front of us, and it helped pass the time.

Back at the hotel, I prompted pulled off my shoes.  Wearing new socks was a bad idea, and my feet were swollen.  That never happened during any of my training sessions, so it was a new one.  I let my feet rest and I gobbled through some of my goodies.  Then the Nerd Husband took a nap, and I drew up a hot bath and relaxed.  Who needs a hot tub when you've got a bath tub?  Yay, value resorts!

After our rest, we decided to head out to actually get to enjoy the Epcot Flower and Garden festival, and we spent the rest of the day on our feet.  My phone told me at the end of the day that it was my "most active day ever" - clocking in at a crazy 18.25 miles.  Holy.  Mother.  Of pearls.

So as a conclusion regarding the Dark Side 10K race - all-in-all, I had a pretty good time with it.  Did I have some gripes?  Yep.  Did I have some nerdy geek moments?  Yep.

Let's start with the complaining first.  ;)

Gripes

• The walk from the bus pick-up/drop-off to the Expo and the Finish Line.
• This was just hard.  Normally, it wouldn't have bothered me, but I was trying to prep for a race.  And then afterward, I was trying to recover from a race.  I felt like all of that walking just tacked another 5K onto my distance, to be honest.  Can we just move the bus area closer to wherever it is we need to be?
• Expo merchandise
• There was nothing left that was worth getting, and we were there very early on the 2nd day of the Expo.  My guess from reading message boards and other blogs is that local eBayers come out, purchase a bunch of merchandise, and then resell at crazy prices on eBay.  Sure enough, I did some searches, and that's what happened.  I hate this.  Please, there are some people who this is their first race.  Maybe just having a magnet to put on our cars would make us feel kind of cool, you know?
• Narrow pathways and too many people - not able to "race"
• I understand that part of this is because I was in the next-to-the-last corral, but surely something could have been done.  Maybe even split up the last couple of corrals.  I don't know, but it was kind of upsetting to not be able to do what I'd trained to do.  I accepted that fact early on, though, and it made life easier.  Next time, I know - submit a proof of time and get in an earlier corral.
• More entertainment in some places
• There were times when there was just...nothing.  Not a lot of times, but I know there's that stretch of road from Hollywood Studios until the access road where my greatest entertainment was the girl who complimented my Asajj hat (without realizing what it was) and the alligator I saw in the bog.  I didn't need much, really.  Maybe even just some music or a random Star Wars character holding a sign.  Nothing big.  But there were times it just seemed quiet.
•  Fix the Race Day photo weirdness
• If you're on the first bus at 3:30, but by the time you get to the Race all of the photo ops are closing...something is wrong.  Severely wrong.  If you need to start busses earlier, that's fine.  If you need to start the festivities later, then that's okay, too.  But it doesn't seem okay that for some reason those of us who stayed on property got left out of the photo op fun.
• Fix the Race Day walk to the corrals
• Did we really have to trek that far to our corrals?  lol  Holy cow.  I mean, I really don't care in the long run - what does it matter?  But that just seemed a bit of a stretch to me.
• Seating at the Finish line - benches, maybe
• I'm not sure how to fix this one, but I saw so many people sitting in the sun on the pavement trying to eat their banana.  It was hot and uncomfortable, and there they sat.  It didn't seem quite fair, and I think that's why we just opted to go to the busses.  Maybe a tent?  Some bench seating or something?  
• Buses
• More of them, maybe?  Or just shaded areas to wait for them?  

And now for some nerdy geek moments...

Fangirl Squee-worthy Moments

• 501st and Rebel Legion volunteers
• I was so glad to see all of those costumers out there supporting the runners and walkers.  That truly made my morning because there were so many of them and so easily accessible to everyone for pictures and whatnot.  Those of us who couldn't afford to wait in official character lines got a chance to take a picture with these folks, and that was just awesome.  I really appreciated them being there.
• Epcot backstage
• Why this made me as happy as it did, I have no idea.  There isn't much back there, but it still felt like I was getting away with something by being somewhere I'm traditionally not allowed to be.  
• Epcot in the early morning
• What more can I say?  Epic.
• High school band playing Star Wars music
• This pumped me up quite a bit, and I needed it after standing in the wind for about an hour and a half.  Thank you, bandies!
• Random Conversations with strangers
• I'm weird; I know.  But this is the part of a convention that always means quite a bit to me - getting into random conversations with random people that you'll never meet otherwise.  You meet these people right now - in that moment - because you're sharing something cool.  You're sharing fandom.  And yes, I'm a natural-born introvert, but I still love interactions like this.
• Getting to wear my medal to the park
• You get into all sorts of conversations with people.  You exchanges congratulations with other racers.  You get congratulated by cast members, and some of them even stop to admire your medal.  It was just another way to meet more smiling people; I liked that.

So it was a mixed bag of good and bad - as most things are, really.  I don't want to knock this event completely in a hole and cover it up for dead because it's just starting, and I think it could be a really great thing.  I'd love to attend next year's race, but due to the timing of it (the weekend immediately after Star Wars Celebration), I just can't make it work.  Perhaps next time...

Star Wars Dark Side 10K - Part 1

I realize that I flake out on writing when I have to write about something huge - like the Star Wars Dark Side 10K race in April.  Yep.  April.  Like over a month ago now.  I've ignored it that long.  It just always seems so intimidating, and I ask myself all of these questions.  What if you leave something out?  What if you ramble on too long?  Do you really want to talk about how your bank closed down your credit card when you tried to buy your annual passes?  Do you only talk about the good things?  My word, how many blog posts will this take?  No one really reads it anyway, so why are you doing this?  

And the list goes on.

So first, I apologize to myself for being a slacker.  Secondly, we're going to go back in time just a little and talk about a few things regarding the race weekend.  Things I liked and things that need a bit more help in my book.

This was my first runDisney race, so I realize that this was all new to me.  I have no idea how past events have been, so none of that clouded my thoughts on how the weekend went.  That being said - all in all - I had a great time, and I'll definitely be attending a future runDisney event at some point.  I think the Star Wars race is a great concept, full of fun people and fans, but I think it requires some tweaking to make it a truly great event.

So let's see if I can actually write up some sort of trip report here based on what I can remember...

First day we arrived in Florida, we took an ungodly flight time (had to get up at 2:40 AM) and landed in Florida around 8 AM.  We hopped the Disney Magical Express to All Star Sports, checked in and linked our credit card to our Magic Bands (first time we've tried this, and there's more on this to come), dropped off some bags with luggage services, and we took a bus to Epcot.

This year, the Nerd Husband and I celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, so we figured our big gift to ourselves would be annual passes to Disney World.  One of our favorite parks is Epcot, so we figured we'd head on over there and purchase our passes first thing our first morning.  No problem.  Until our credit card company flipped out at the amount we'd just charged in another state, and they put a block on our account.  So we then get out of line, go to call the bank, fix the problem, get back in line, get the same Customer Service Cast Member, and finally get our card to run and get our tickets in our hot little hands.  We get a nifty little Annual Passholder booklet, and we feel kind of special.

It's a pretty early morning, so crowds are low and the weather is feeling pretty darned good.  We know that future world is open, but we're not exploring just yet because we have other plans.  We walk on back to France to Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie.  This is seriously one of our favorite (if not favorite) places to eat in all of Epcot.  We picked up a croissant and a cold ham/cheese sandwich to split for breakfast.  Good times, let me tell you.

After breakfast, we head on out the back door of Epcot because we figure the next thing on our list to get done in the runDisney Expo.  We exit the park and walk on toward the Beach Club resort where we picked up a bus to the Expo.  No problems there; it worked like a charm.

The bus dropped us off at the Expo...or at least a mile or two from the Expo.  Seriously, it was a hike from the bus drop-off to the actual Expo buildings.  It was a little ridiculous, to be honest - especially if you had a race/races to be attending that weekend on top of theme park walking.  Oy.  But we made it with no problems, and the grounds of the ESPN Wide World of Sports are kind of interesting.  Nothing hugely special, but kind of neat to finally see it.  We picked up our bibs with no problem at check-in, and I got my pre-ordered 10K pin.  We then headed out to check out the merchandise.

This is where the disappointment kind of sets in.  The Expo was pretty easy to navigate but also a little strangely set up.  There were at least two places to purchase official merchandise, and neither one of them was remotely close to one another.  The Expo opened Thursday morning, the day before we go there.  We were there around 10:30 AM on Friday...and seriously there was almost nothing worth getting.  I picked up one shirt because this was my first event, so I felt I had to have something.  There were lots of pins left, but there were no car magnets.  No hats.  We found one cool shirt I would have loved to purchase for the NH, but it wasn't his size and it was the only one left.  We later found out they only had that one because it had been returned.  The Dooney and Bourke handbags that had looked so neat on the internet looked...well, not great in person.  That was disappointing as well.  So I got my shirt (and remember my newly acquired annual pass discount), and we just sort of wandered around for the rest of the Expo. 

It was then that we figure we'd grab a quick drink while at ESPN and figure out our next move before heading out.  We went to the little food court there, ordered two drinks, and scanned our magic band.  Nothing.  Actually, something - it said we were "over our charge limit".  *sigh*  More credit card bank issues - yay.  So I finally just use my debit card to get the drinks, the NH spends a good portion of time on the phone with the credit card company, and we finally get everything worked out eventually.  Our credit limit is fine - company isn't sure why the error read that way, and they assure us we're okay.  No block on the account.

From ESPN, we take a bus back to our resort to drop off our stuff, and we decide to just spend a bit of time at Magic Kingdom.  Why not?  We have annual passes, right?  Let's use 'em!  So we bus on over and hit a couple of our favorite rides.  The only ride I remember right now is the People Mover which is kind of sad because it's the People Mover - lol - but seriously, how do you skip that one?!  I love it!  We tried to purchase a drink in the Magic Kingdom using our Magic Bands - again - with more errors.  Finally, someone told us that it could be an issue with how the card was linked to our bands originally, and we could get our front desk to fix it.  Honestly, I gave up and just used my card.  So much easier than the headache of the silly band.

We left the Magic Kingdom early because we knew we needed to get some dinner and hit the hay early for the race the next day.  We decided to grab a bite at Earl of Sandwich at Disney Springs, which suited us just fine.  But man, that line gets longer and longer every year; soon we'll need two locations!  By then, it was nearing bedtime, so we bussed on back to the All Star Sports, got ready for bed, and hit the hay early.

I am so glad we did...because two days of waking up at 2:40 AM will just about kill you.  But when you're running on adrenaline and geekery, you're probably going to be okay.

Next time: the actual "race"

Oh, She's Not Dead. Not Yet.

I've been putting off posting because I have too much to say and just not enough time (or brain power) to sit down and say it.  So I decided a while ago that I should wait, collect my thoughts, and then type it all out for the blog.  Then the brain went "OMG SO MANY MUCH THOUGHTS", and it flipped out.  So I haven't written a thing until now.

It doesn't really hurt anyone but myself when I don't write about stuff, so really - I'm not out much.  lol  But I really want to make an effort to keep this blog going and up to date because it's a pretty good source of hope and inspiration for me.  All too often, we deal with the negative things in life and have to wade our way through the crap of work, mean people, personal issues, and interpersonal relationships.  But here, I'm doing my best to focus on two over-arching things that bring me joy - Star Wars and Disney.  That's a lot of happy stuff right there, so I don't want that die out.

Right now, though, my brain is tired.  I need to still gather up my mental and physical resources to come back here and type out something that makes some sense.  Maybe there's just too much going on in my brain, and I can't fit it all in one post.  So what I'll do is make myself a little list of ideas - things I've been wanting to talk about but not having the time.

• Recap of the Disney trip in April - complete with Dark Side 10K race details (short story - we finished, we got medals, we looked awesomely geeky, my feet hurt)
• Costume ideas for Disney trip in October for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
• Announcement of Star Wars Celebration in Orlando next April 2017
• Which leads to...costume ideas for Star Wars Celebration next year

I'm sure there are other things, but that's kind of where I'm sitting with it all right now.  I might come back and adjust this list or just leave it as is because it's still kind of overwhelming to look at on an early Monday morning.

Bags Are Packed!

We completed our last scheduled run at the Community Center last night in preparation for the Star Wars Dark Side 10K at Walt Disney World this Saturday.  I figured it was fitting to choose locker #77 for my last run (Star Wars 1977...made sense to me).  We did an easy 2 miles of run/walk, no timer, but we kept up our regular 30/60 interval.  Aside from just feeling horribly tired in general, we both felt pretty good after this run.  Last night and the long run this past weekend have made both the Nerd Husband and me feel pretty good about this coming weekend. 

I think we can do this.

It's been fun perusing the Disboards, watching everyone get excited for the upcoming races.  People are posting pictures of their costumes - which always makes me happy to see what people come up with.  There are folks making dinner plans, discussing options on what to do regarding injuries, and people just generally fanboy and girl squeeing all over the place.  It reminds me of my old message board days on StarWars.com, and that makes me rather happy.  I need that right now, I think - just a bit of old fashioned happiness.

Our bag is packed and ready to go, aside from those "get ready" items that you kind of need to - you know - get ready.  Toothbrush, stuff like that.  That will get tossed in the suitcase early on Friday morning, and we'll head on out to the airport to start this year of Disney craziness off right.  I have a few things I still need to take care of - just have to work on getting my carry-on put together, and then I think I'm golden.  That will be my job this evening.

I had so many projects I wanted to complete for this trip.  My brain went into overdrive on creativity, but I had to nix those due to time and stress.  I didn't want to stress.  It wasn't worth it.  So I set those things off to the side for "later".  I'd like to come back to them, eventually.

For now, that's what I've got to share.  It's not much, but we're getting closer...

The Past of Fandom Relived

Oh, fandom.  Fandom is a funny thing.  Fandom is what makes you crazy.  It's what allows you to strike up conversations with people you never would have met.  Travel to places you never would have gone.  Wear things you never would have worn (body makeup and a bald cap?  puh-leeze).  Fandom is what drives to you seek out places to talk about your fandom.

Back in the early 2000s (doesn't that sound like forever ago), that's exactly what I did.  I had started college and was working while doing school.  I didn't live on campus which didn't allow much much chance to make new friends and socialize.  So I did what a lot of us did during that time - I took to the internet.  It was there that I found the StarWars.com message boards.  Sadly, the boards no longer exist because the times have changed, but those message boards were a saving grace for me during that time.  I made friendships with people from all over the world.  I met up with folks in person in conventions.  I connected with good people who shared a common interest, and it was Star Wars that wove us all together into this tapestry of awesome.

Today, while working on a mundane printing project at work, I thought about the boards for some reason.  I was thinking about this blog and how things "used to be", and I rememered the old StarWars.com blogs of old.  I'd forgotten all about it.  Had I saved my entries before the blogs ended?  Maybe I could find them on the "Wayback Machine" in the internet archives.  So when I had a free moment at lunch, I pulled up the old StarWars.com.  I had no luck, really.  I found the blogs, yes, but searching through them page by page without remembering my old URL address didn't really seem like a good use of my lunch hour.

So I did a Google search, thinking I wouldn't turn up much because this thing has been dead for years.  But lo and behold, I found a link to my old blog on Club Jade's website.  First of all, I had never realized I'd been featured anywhere, which made me feel awesome about ten years too late - lol.  But then I realized - holy cow, look at that, I'm talk about the Binary Sunset.  That's this blog!  The Twin Sun Destiny!  There's a link!!

Back to the trusty Wayback Machine I went, and I plugged in my URL...and the memories flooded in.  It was crazy.  It was unfortunate I wasn't able to uncover all of my entries, but I read through a few of them.  I made sure I read through the Binary Sunset one, though.  I was curious as to how 10 year old younger me phrased this.

And I liked it.  It seemed fitting.  And I still totally agreed with it...


Thoughts on a Binary Sunset 
by Lady Shada
date posted: Sep 26, 2006 7:49 PM

One simple look.

That's all it took to grab the attention, to kidnap the senses and pull them closer to simply see...and feel.

Just one fleeting moment. One simple binary sunset of purples and reds...and a sigh from a farmboy filled with wanderlust. A hoper that wanted more out of life than what his "family" had to offer him. A dreamer that knew his future lied along a different path than that of his peers.

A disappointed boy. A boy who simply watched the suns set on all of those adventures, hopes and dreams. And he stared hopelessly as they simply burned out, dying, falling...sinking into the sands of the very planet that held him back.

In that one moment, I became a fan. But "fan" isn't even the proper word for it, is it? "Fan" sounds too...fun. All too often, I take part in the playful side of this fandom. The collecting (Star Wars Legos decorate my computer desk), the costumes (my Jedi robe is hanging in its rightful place on my door)...all of that sort of "kid stuff" that no one really understands except you (oh, yeah, I own coloring books too...which have been used.) After all, that's what Star Wars is all about right? It's about the fantasy - that operatic space drama that we can use as an escape tactic to take us away from the real world if only for a moment.

What happens, though, when in one moment, that space drama that seemed like the biggest piece of fiction on earth reflects your reality?

In that one moment - that one look from Luke Skywalker as he watched those suns setting - I saw myself. Maybe it sounds silly. Maybe it sounds absurd. Maybe you'll say, "Shada, you need to get out more and meet people." But it's true. It happened. And every now and then, I still see it.

I don't just see it, either. I feel it. Every disappointment, every hurt, every...hollow ache inside of your chest that just...begs for something more. Something you know is out there waiting for you but you lack the means and the know-how and the courage and will-power to strive for it. And everything else around you just gobbles up that hope, that dream, and all you can do is just hang your head and walk away.

That's what made me a fan. It wasn't because I thought Han Solo was a dreamboat. It wasn't because I wanted to chop arms off like Obi-Wan Kenobi. And it wasn't because I wanted to fly an X-Wing. Okay...so it was partially because I wanted to fly an X-Wing, but that's not my point.

It was that one moment that started it, that let me identify with a character and connect to him. And then watch as he jumped one obstacle over another that stood in his way...and overcame the strongholds of the past to find his true destiny.

And he made me think I could do the same.

Training and Costuming - A Dark Side Update

There's quite a few things to be updated on in terms of the upcoming runDisney Star Wars Dark Side 10K race.  I keep watching my little race ticker count down the days, and it's so hard to believe that the Nerd Husband and I will be on a plane to Florida in just nine days.  9 days.  9.  When you write is as a numeral it just seems scary because it's just one digit.  Not two.  1 not 2.  Yep - see?  Scarier.

I am not proud to report where the NH and I are on our training, but I am proud to report where we are on our training based on the craptucular winter we've had here in the lovely midwest of blah.  We have battled stomach illness, colds, fevers, bronchitis, muscle aches, ankle pain, foot pain plus vacation time and weekend-long visits with family.  But through all of this, we are sitting here looking at 51% of our total training sessions completed since December 16th.  That's...not a great number, but given everything we've dealt with and the extreme length of this training (which is crazy, now that I think about it), I'm happy with it.

I realize that if I were running this thing alone, I would have gone about this differently.  I think both NH and I are in the same boat when it comes to that.  We both realized not too long ago that we walk/run differently when the other person isn't with us.  For some reason, we both compensate for the other being there by slowly down (even when it's not necessary).  I think if we were both doing this as single runners, with no intent of staying together, we would be in a vastly different place than we are now.

However, our intent was to do this thing together.  So that's what we're doing, and we've both had to adjust for the other's illnesses and battles these past few months.  It's been a lesson in patience for me, and I'm sure he's had to adjust to some things as well.  It's so different to train with someone, and it doesn't always make it easy.  But this is something we both love, and I can't imagine not sharing it with my best friend.  That just doesn't make any sense to me, so onward and upward we go!

I've fixed up our training schedule for these last few days, and it goes a little something like this:

• Thu 4/7: 2.5 mile walk/run
• Sat 4/9: 5 mile walk/run (or as far as we can get)
• Mon 4/11: 30 min walk/run
• Wed 4/13: either a 30 min walk/run or a 30 min cross-training
• Fri 4/15: (in Florida) light walking at theme parks
• Sat 4/16: Race Day

So...this is the moment of truth time.  Right now I know we're capable of staying under the 16 minute/mile pace requirement, and that might be all we really need right now.  I know us.  We might not be runners, but we are finishers.  We're pretty fit for the most part, and we're definitely capable of walking this distance with no problems.  So I think that plus all of the course entertainment and the characters and the costumes and everything will carry us through to finish this with no problem.  That's what I'm holding on to - hope.  Because hope is a good thing and no good thing ever dies (thank you, Andy Dufresne).

In other fun Star Wars runDisney related news, I finished the daggone costume, yo!  Seriously, the Asajj Ventress Clone Wars inspired running costume is complete, and I - for the most part - am happy with it.  I ran into some issues, though, and I learned some things that I want to try and keep in mind for costumes in the future...

I'll share some pictures here, but I'll put all my process and notes under a cut.  So y'all don't get too bored if you don't want to be...  ;)

(clickable thumbnails)

"You Want the Impossible"

I'm feeling a bit discouraged.

We had a long run scheduled for yesterday - which was rough anyway since we were out of town visiting the Nerd Husband's family.  We figured we'd be able to get out with the nice weather, though, and put in our 4.5 miles.  However, overeating and not eating things we were used to caused some problems to crop up, and NH had to back out of the long run.  We were going to just take a break and get back to it, but then his brother had driven in to visit.  So it didn't seem right to go back out and ignore family that we rarely get to see.

So we completed 2.4 miles of the 4.5 mile run.  We plan on doing the other 2.1 miles tonight, just to say we completed it.  But it doesn't feel "real" to me.

I'm worried for the NH because he hasn't really been able to finish any of the long runs due to health issues.  Some days are better than others, and he's on top of the world.  Then there are days that are just...like Sunday.  They suck.  It's discouraging to him, and I keep trying to talk him up and help him out.  But I don't know what else I can do to help. 

I really want to finish this race because it's my own personal goal, but I would feel awful if I would have to leave him behind to do it.  So I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

Add to that the fact that I'm personally upset by some other family stuff that's going on, and it's just not making for a very good Monday, really.  At all.  I feel kind of useless and sad and blah, and that's not a good mental attitude to have.  I know that.  But I'm not sure what to do about it right now when all of these signs are pointing to "you're not prepared and you can't handle this".

I guess we'll just keep going.  Do our best when it gets here.  And if we're swept - oh well.