Life is Short. Wear the Mouse Ears in the Rain!

January 8, 2016. Weather forecast. Rain Rain and more Magical Rain! But you know what 'they' say! Its all about Location. Location. Location! I have participated in the Walt Disneyworld Marathon Weekend for the last 5 or 6 years now. Every year I run one or more of the races offered depending on my goals for the year. Sometimes the weather is a little unpredictable!

Picking up my waiver for the race!

My favorite race is the WDW10k. It has been Minnie Mouse themed since its origin 3 years ago. Of course the whole Minnie Mouse theme, medals, bibs, participant shirt, Minnie everything puts this race at the top of the Oh My Gosh list and I have found my way to the start line of this race every year! Its a really fun race. There are more Minnie Mouses running around than you can count, there are polka dots in every color everywhere and wearing mouse ears with a big hairbow is just plain fashionista! I really love this 10k! The distance is nice. 6.2 miles. The course is pretty perfect! It starts in the Epcot Parking Lot takes a short exit out of the Park then around the loop up the hill and back into the World Showcase. The course exits out of Epcot again through the Boardwalk area then back thru Epcot Future World for the Finish! Just about the time you begin to feel a little winded its time to enter Epcot again so the energy level is always on high!  Its easy to keep a steady run/walk pace and still have plenty of time to fool around on the course and take character pictures. I never complain about my clock time on this race. If Im speedy or if I'm slow my time is always good for me! 

I finished! Soaking wet and freezing!

My goal for Marathon Weekend this year was to hang out with my daughter Kristin aka @bamagirlruns who was running the Dopey Challenge for the third year in a row! I am so proud of her accomplishments but honestly I don't know how anybody can do it! Its alot of running and getting up sooo early! I just don't think I'm Dopey Challenge material. Thats probably debatable as far as being Dopey is concerned but I don't think I could run 48.6 miles in 4 races 4 days in a row. Maybe one day I'll try it but for now There is no Dopey Challenge in my future! For 2016 I  opted to to have a great 10k run and instead of running any of the other races I decided to Volunteer and work them! I can only say Wow what an experience for now. The recap deserves its own blog post! 

Kristin and I drove down to Orlando on Wednesday in order to be there in plenty of time to pick up our race & volunteer packets. And of course to be there in plenty of time to shop at the Expo! The only thing I bought was a Magical Miles Coffee Cup! Trust me there were plenty of things I could have bought but I was trying to be frugal! I'll make up for it at Princess Weekend! 

Our first O dark thirty wake up call came in at 2:30 am Thursday morning. Kristin went to the Dopey bus I headed to my Volunteer spot! The 10k was on Friday morning. Same O dark thirty wake up call came too early Friday morning too! Keep in mind after we are coherent enough to acknowledge the alarm clock we spend a few minutes trying to rationalize the clock! Its a hour earlier on Alabama time! Nobody mentions out loud how painful that is! We get ready in a quiet still half asleep zombie kind of state and hope we have everything we need when we step on the bus! A sleepy short bus ride later we are usually wide awake and ready to go!

It's so early for a photo shoot! 

The roommates made it on the first wake up call! Beth, Christy, Kristin & Me!

Scott and Ronnie were in the crowd!

Friday morning we made it to the start area early and in plenty of time. We met a few friends at baggage check and took the usual wee hour pre race photos! Its hard to look happy and awake and cute all at the same time at 4 o'clock in the morning which is really 3 o'clock Alabama time and its cold and its rainy! Somehow we pulled it off!  Since all of our early morning friends were running the Dopey Challenge i was in a different coral than all of them. I grabbed a big garbage bag for rain control and headed to my own coral! I was wishing i had brought a hot cup of coffee a rain jacket and an umbrella at that point! 

Looking for the best possible light situation! Love the folks in the background!

The rain was steady and beginning to get cold already by the time i made it to D coral. Somehow in between raindrops i found a friend! Shawna! Its always so fun to see a familiar face! We caught up on our social chatter as we moved up to the start line. We stayed together for about 2 steps to start the race! Shawna was in skinny minny PR mode and left me in her mist! I found out later she had an awesome PR in each of her races! Way to go Shawna!

Yay! I found Shawna!

The first 3.1 miles were fairly miserable! I was drenched! By the time i made it back into Epcot from the Boardwalk the rain finally stopped just enough to take some pictures and finish the race in typical Disney fun! 

Absolutely drenched! But I took time to enjoy the View!

The second 3.1 miles were a little more fun! The rain never let up! I challenged myself to take one picture in each World Showcase country and one in each part of Future World.... In spite of the rain. Since i was running by myself the real challenge was finding strangers on the course willing to snap a quick picture of me! As it turned out there were plenty of runners willing to trade pix in the rain! If you take mine Ill take yours! So it all worked out perfectly! 

World Showcase! Just waking up!

Morocco

Japan

I found my friend Marc in France!

Journey into Imagination!

The homestretch! The Geosphere!

I had a good time on the course. I had a really good run (for me) and I felt really strong and healthy throughout the whole 6.2 miles. No sore legs or feet no blisters or leg cramps. I was happy to finish and excited to receive my third Minnie 10 k medal! Its such a good size and the perfect amount of Minnie gold bling! The lanyard was red with polka dots! Who doesnt just love that combination! I was equally excited to wrap up in a Mylar sheet and find a little relief from the rain! 

It's all about the bling!

My sweet daughter who is not even sappy was waiting for me at the Cigna balloon in the family reunion area! I think Olaf is on to something! Warm hugs are nice!

After a warm up shower and some dry clothes back at the resort we all split up into different journrys! Social Media Meet ups & Expo shopping was on everybodys list! Except mine! I went back to Epcot for the afternoon for a little photo shoot with the Fab 4's! Later that evening our room mates met up for a big pasta dinner at Art of Animation! Shrimp Alfredo cooked on the spot was the perfect night cap! We had another early wake up for the Half Marathon! 

Love Pluto!

Awww. Always so much cuteness with Minnie!

They are such flirts when I'm around! They were so happy to see the Minnie Bling!

I had a really great day. My big run was done! I was still chilled from being soaked all day! But I was happy. I accomplished what I came to do. I reached my goals. Sometimes adversity as in terrible weather jumps right out in front of you and makes you rethink the situation using logical common sense! It doesn't really make any sense to run any distance in the rain. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to to spend that much money to be miserable!   But in the big picture of it all sometimes you just have to throw common sense to the side! I mean seriously. You should always choose the Mouse Ears and chase the medal!  Even in the rain! Because what if you don't? What if you miss that? Now that is what doesn't make any sense! Not to me anyway! Life is Short! Wear the Mouse Ears!

Xoxo Peace Love & Grandmary

The Christmas Box for 14 inmates

Today I brought my annual Christmas goody box to the St. Clair County Jail. I have been donating this gift every year since the year my own son was an inmate. I have donated every year since then in honor of one mother who might not be able to donate for her inmate son. Every year I struggle with this & think I probably won't do this again next year because they don't really want the donation and because it really creeps me out every year to go to the jail by myself. But this year I brought enough for 14 inmates to each have a few drinks & a few snacks. This is the only time of year the inmates can have food & snacks from the outside! They distribute the goodys to the inmates on Christmas Eve. It's so sad to me. Every year nobody wants to accept this gift box. Every year they tell me I can't leave it unless I have an inmate. Every year I say I Don't have an inmate, but here's the box in honor of one mama who wasn't able to bring a Christmas box to her son, Merry Christmas. I put the box on the floor and leave. Every year! This year I said I don't have an inmate but  I'm leaving this box for one mama & one son & also for 14 inmates as 14 acts of kindness in honor of 14 victims of San Bernadino. I put the box on the floor and turned to leave. As usual every year & again this year the guard looked at me like I'm crazy. Someone over the speaker said mam what is your name? I said I'm Mary Butler & I'm wishing you a very Merry Christmas. She said Oh OK! Hmm. As I was leaving & heard that slam & click of the big heavy locked door. I was still creeped out but I was 14 times happier that I did this again this year! #14actsofkindness #14acts #14MerryChristmasWishes #TisTheSeason #BeKind #HashtagThe60s #MaryButlerMerryChristmas

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

I stepped outside this morning and fell in love with that first hint of Fall in the air! The colors were gorgeous! Mother Nature just has a way about herself this time of year! The sky is bluer than usual. The clouds are prettier! The last summer blooms are still hanging on to their colors! I do love this time of year! 

Three miles on my schedule this morning! It's running season and I'm not registered for any races until January! What is wrong with that? Everything! My fav running peeps are all on the DL. Plagued with hurt backs & disc issues, broken legs & mystery stomach issues! My running calendar is lonely! 

I'm on the mend from my own injuries which is another reason my running calendar is slacking. But I think I have finally recovered. I spared you all the misery! No pics just in case I wanted to do a blog post! Trust me! It was awful! My own diagnosis was simply Messed Up Feet! I ran the Historic Marine Corp Half Marathon in Fredericksburg Virginia in May. Who knew Virginia had such brutal hills? Who knew the downhills were even more brutal? I did not! 

By the end of the race my feet were swollen and my toes were killing me. I didn't think much about it. Just that it was hot and I needed to finish and kick my shoes off! 

By the next morning I could hardly walk! My feet were swollen even more and both big toes were purple. As in Barney purple. Purple!  Later that afternoon in an ice bath soak both toenails basically exploded off my toes and I was soaking in a blood bath! In the hotel room! I considered pics for Instagram but It was just too bad!! So you are welcome for being spared from that trauma! I know. I'm very thoughtful like that!

I struggled all summer long with my poor feet! My poor toe nails have not been polished in months! Every time I ran my feet started swelling all over again! I have lost the same toenails 3 different times on both feet. Seriously! No flip flops or sandals in public all summer! I've kept the band aid companies in business since May! The struggle has been terrible!

But as always things always get better! I think I'm finally on the mend! My toenails are finally growing back. I gave in to the swelling and took a 2 month break from walking or running. Working 12 hour shifts on my feet all day were tough and some days I came home to soak my feet in ice! Yikes! Torture! 

I started out slow in August and have kept my walks in the 3-6 miles per week range. No running at all. Last week I was able to increase to 9 miles for the weekly total with a little bit of running. Today I really wished I had been registered for a 5K!  It was just so nice outside! I really wanted to run the whole 3 miles but I didn't. I kept an easy 12-13 min mile pace  walk run walk run. So far so good. No swelling & I'm wearing flip flops with no toe nail polish :(

I'm working hard to get back to my Half Marathon training schedule! Im so behind! I'm waiting for my fav running girls to recover! I should throw in a disclaimer that they could all breeze right past me even on the DL but I do miss the local races with them! I'll be ramping up my training schedule soon and  don't worry I'll catch up with them!! They will all be back too! 

In the meantime I'm going to enjoy this gorgeous weather and get some miles in however I can! Join me in my race to stay healthy!  Happy Fall Y'all! 

xo peace love & Grandmary

I {heart} running! No I don't!

After our big running Adventure in January with the Walt DisneyWorld Half Marathon and Castaway Cay Challenge ( 16.2 total miles) I found myself wondering how I was going to stay motivated without a training schedule! Its so easy to just take a little break and start back next Monday or the next Monday or the next! All of a sudden if you're not careful its January again! I was right in the middle of taking a little break when I came up with the brilliant idea of Challenges!  I'm always up for a challenge! The first one was the #GrandmarybMarchChallenge #OnYourMarchGetSetGo #LetsGetHealthy By the time I thought of that fabulous idea it was March! It took me 2 months to get to next Monday! See what I mean?! Time just slips away if you are not focused on something! The challenge is to run or walk one mile everyday. #ItsOnlyOneMile So far I haven't missed!

Today is day 16 of my #DontBeAprilFoolishChallenge #ItsSpringtimeGetOutside ! And Glory Glory Its Springtime in Alabama. The Springtime weather is perfect for running but it rains here in the Springtime! It rains alot! Sometimes it rains when you don't think its going to rain! Sometimes it rains just when you get to mile 2 and have a pretty good 'groove' going! Sometimes it rains alot! Thats what happened today! 

Right in the middle of a downpour I decided to just go with it. I was in my neighborhood and the temptation to run home was logical! I was already wet by the time I made it back around to my street. I was suddenly hungry cold and wet! I was easily convincing myself to ditch the run and go home! There was Campbells soup in my pantry and a nice warm shower! Almost irresistible! But my feet just kept running! By mile 2 the bottom fell out and I was drenched! 

As I was getting wetter with every step I was thinking about all the things I love about running. And all the things I hate! For starters its hard work. Its committment. It's exhilarating. Its painful. And sometimes you are cold and wet! Those words are all on the love and hate list! I was thinking of all times I try to find a good logical valid excuse not to exercise! It hurts to exercise! Its time consuming and  usually hot and sweaty too. Again. Love & Hate list! But I feel better when I exercise. I seem to be easier to get along with!  I think I look better too! I tone up and lose those extra flabby pounds that pile on quickly when I don't exercise! #justsayin Does old lady fat ever go away?

I have never been an athlete. Running is hard! The beginning of every run starts with an argument for me! I can do this. No I can't! Yes I can. Shut Up. Quit whining. OK. Ouch. I have found out with a little effort I really can do more than I think I can. Everybody can. I think about that alot. I was thinking about that as I was running in the rain! I can finish the last 2 miles freezing and soaked! It probably won't kill me! And it didn't! 

For some reason hitting my 60th birthday has really made me aware of how important being healthy is! Its almost like #The60's is the home stretch to being really old! Have you noticed when you fill out forms for anything you have to 'check the box' for your age group? There is always a 60-69 box and then its 70 and above. What the heck? I guess i'm starting to wonder what its going to be like when I start having my 'and above' birthdays! 

I have one month until my next birthday! #Hashtagthe60s is going by fast! My goal for #Hashtagthe60s is to nuture my love-hate relationship with running! So I can ease into 'and above' with grace! I'm going to stick with my crazy home-made running challenges! I bet you never guessed that I just made them up! HA! Yup. I did! It keeps me focused. It keeps me committed to myself. It keeps me healthy! Feel free to join me! #Don'tBeAprilFoolish #RunInTheRain Its tops on my love list today! Peace Love & Grandmary

Castaway Cay Challenge!

.We accepted the Disney Castaway Cay Challenge! For the first time in forever Run Disney, Walt Disneyworld and Disney Cruise Line all came together! The first part of the challenge was to complete one of the distance runs at Walt Disneyworld during Marathon Weekend. We chose the Walt Disneyworld Half Marathon! 13.1 Magical Miles! 

The second part of the challenge was to complete the Castaway Cay 5K! 3.1 Magical tropical miles on Disney's private Port of call paradise Castaway Cay! The completion of the two events earns you a whole bunch of Disney swag and bling! We received a half marathon event shirt and finishers medal and a 5k Challenge event shirt and finishers medal and the brand new beautiful Inaugural Castaway Cay Challenge Finishers medal! All great stuff if you are a Disney fanatic, I mean Disney fan!!!

Did I mention that the only way to get to Disneys private Island is by Cruise ship, more specifically, by Disney cruise ship! That was the real challenge! Having enough time money and effort to take a two week Disney vacation! It was a hard choice #Iknow ! But we are troopers no make that warriors! We stepped up to the battle and accepted the challenge! Somebody had to do it! 

We relied on our favorite Disney Travel Planner Main Street Memories to make all the Magic come together! As usual everything was practically perfect in every way! No snags at all! Main Street Memories just makes vacation easy & I recommend letting them book your next trip! 

We set the clock for typical Run Disney dark early thirty! 4:30 am ship time! But thank goodness there was no early bus to catch! We decided to dress in a Mary Poppins and Burt theme! That was really fun! We were even a little costume under dressed compared to some of the other runners! 

We met for breakfast at the Cabanas and then asseombled in our pre assigned corals in the Walt Disney Theatre. It was nice to have a seat to wait in until time to head to the Start Line! This should be mandatory for all future runs! Breakfast ready and waiting and a nice cozy chair! 

After a 5-10 minute pep talk and a review of Island Race Instruction it was time to go! We disembarked the Disney Dream Cruise Ship and within minutes the photos began! A night time view of the ship was a bonus photo op for sure! And of course Mickey and all of his pals were making their way to the course! 

There were 3 corals A B & C with less than 1000 runners. Very small scale for a Run Disney event! After the Mark Get Set Go countdown by Cruise Director Christian & his pal Mickey runners were on their way! We started in Coral B so we had about 5 minutes to wait until it was our turn! Mickey cheered us all the way! 

The course was easy & flat! A little congested all the way simply because its an island! We ran down the airport runway and made a loop around the bike path! It was a scenic view of all the green bushes and trees on the Island! The Disney Fab 6 characters, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto were on the course for pictures and Magical Motivation! 

We walked the majority of the 3.1 miles and just enjoyed taking the scenic route! We were not in a big rush but of course we ran across the finish line and finished strong! We recieved the Castaway Cay 5k finishers medal and the beautiful Inaugural Castaway Cay Challenge Finishers medal! We did it! We finished both of our races! 16 .2 miles! 

We returned to the ship and ate breakfast again! After a much needed shower and short nap we soon forgot about that 4:30 am wake up call! We spent the rest of the day in a lazy lounge chair on the Island! It was the perfect way for catching up on a little R&R! Neither of these R's stand for Run! 

After a fabulous Disney Island style bar b que lunch we returned to the ship again to celebrate Pirate night! Pirate Mickey was waiting for us! He loved our medals! I think i heard him say Hi ya Pal! I hope to see ya again real soon! I hope so too! 

It was really fun to be part of the Inaugural Castaway Cay Challenge. It was a great Disney run, theme park and cruise vacation!  There's been alot of Magic and Bling from Cinderella Castle to The Disney Dream for us this year! So far 2015 has been a really good year!

xoxo Peace Love Mickey Mouse & Grandmary!

We did it!

The Walt Disneyworld Half Marathon is in the books! We did it! 13.1 miles was the goal & we both ran our part! If you do a little fuzzy math thats a Marathon between us! We usually give a 50/50 effort so that works out great for us! Way to go US! Way to ring in 2015 with a goal & way to rock #the60's!

We had a great run overall. We kept a really good run/walk pace for the first 6 miles. At the halfway point around mile 7 Johnny started having some leg cramps. We kept the walk/run pace but increased our walk time for the next few miles. At mile 9 the cramps were a little more intense so we just walked the rest of the way! It was fun! We had plenty of time to take some great pictures and just enjoy being out there! 

Running through Cinderella Castle is the most Magical part of the race! It was our first time to run through the Castle together! So much fun! This is truly the highlight of the course! The sun was beginning to break through when we got there! It was a perfect way to say Good Morning to the Magic Kingdom!

If you know me at all you know we have a thing about this fountain at Epcot! There has always been a table with two coffee cups calling our names! We always drink and watch the Fountain! It is spectacular! Every time i have ran thru Epcot I have wished Johnny was waiting for me with coffee! Today we didnt stop for coffee but we did stop for a photo op!

Mile 13 was a wonderful sight! We were just about finished! We were feeling good at that point and had our eyes on the Finish Line! 

Im so proud of us for finishing the Walt Disneyworld Half Marathon! We did it! Together! Im proud of Johnny for all of his efforts & staying on course with me! I am  so happy to have the Bling! So far I LOVE #the60's! 

Life is good in #the60's! Peace love & Grandmary 

Tis the Season to train for a Half Marathon!

Ho ho ho! Tis the Season to get serious about training! Our Half Marathon is only a few weeks away. 2015 will be here in 11 days! The hubby and I are hitting the about to panic button! When we registered for this event it seemed like it would never get here! And now it's almost time to start packing! Yikes! 

The Holiday hustle is in full bustle! The clock seems to be ticking two beats at a time! The alarm clock went off early Saturday morning. It was 37 degrees and it didn't take much persuasion to roll over and hit the snooze! After a brief bah humbug about the weather we decided to wait for a little bit of a warm up! By 10am it was 43 degrees. We grabbed jackets and headbands and added an extra layer to our running clothes and headed for the park. 

Lakeside Park is all aglow in lights and Decorations for the holiday season! It's fun to run there this time of year! There was a church party happening yesterday morning complete with a DJ and Christmas Music! No playlist necessary! We ran along and sang along for a few miles! 

We managed to get in a solid 7 miles. We had a run walk easy pace but it was cold! It was a good opportunity to chat and catch up. We have been stressed and busy lately and it was nice to have a little bit of time to sync our schedules! I guess you could say we made a few lists and checked them twice!  Overall it was a nice workout and a nice little time out from the holiday hectic-ness! I love the little moments and reminders that put it all in perspective! 

As we finish out the holiday season and 2014 time will hurry hurry hurry! Our half marathon training is winding down. We've got 2 more weekends and 2 more 10 mile runs. And as many 3-4 milers that we can squeeze in. January 10,2015 will be here in a wink of an eye!  See you at the Start Line!

xo peace love & Grandmary