Salt Lake Comic Con

Hi Everybody! (Be honest, what voice did you read that in?) I hope you are all having a great week so far. Sorry I was gone all last week. I was just getting caught up on stuff after Comic Con. Also, Supernatural season 9 came out on DVD so...yeah I have to finish that before season 10 starts!

So here it is, my great comic con review!

Loki Kitty had to come home with me!

Day One: I met my comic con group (there were 10 of us all together!) at the train station. (NOTE: Always take the train. Yes, you do have to pay for it. But then you save gas and parking. And you get to chill out and talk with all your friends, instead of someone having to pay attention to, you know, driving.)

Train station selfie. Also, random people we don't know.
Like the girl in the steampunk hat up front, and those tiny heads in back.

Once we got to the Salt Palace, we separated into lines. (VIPs get in early AND have a special line; always go VIP.) I only had to wait about 45 minutes to get in, but that was because we'd arrived before it opened. Day 1 was a shopping day, as we had no photo ops planned and only a couple panels that we wanted to get to.

Look who I found! Bloody Dean, a Con Exclusive! PS I LOVE pop figures...

The one panel that I, and most of the group, really wanted to go to today was the 2 Doctors panel. We got there early to get in line but they let us sneak into the Cary Elwes panel. I'm glad we got there because he was awesome and funny!

Cary Elwes, AKA Westley

Because we were in the room early we got awesome seats for the 2 Doctors panel. They had the 6th (Colin Baker) and 8th (Paul McGann) doctors from Doctor Who. Both men were sweet and British and interesting. Colin Baker was a tad crotchety which made him all the more funny! And it doesn't hurt that Paul McGann is a total babe.

I mean, just look at him! So cute!

After this I shopped a little more and ate an $11 burrito for dinner. (Oh con food, why are you so expensive, and so not amazing?) We headed home shortly after.

Day Two: Shopping again! Look at this cute cosplayer I found!

Toothless!

Also we spent a lot of time at the Weta and Evermore exhibits. They were so cool! This Smaug opened his eyes and looked around!

Oh, you're a scary little dragon aren't you?

And, man, I am so excited for Evermore Park! Please open up soon! I tried to take more pictures of this "booth" but it was always so dang crowded! I did get to trade a bronze sharpie for an Evermore coin that will be good for a VIP perk or something when the park opens.

That scary creature moved!

We were on the upper level of Evermore, do you see Smaug in the background?

Some of my friends had a photo op with Alan Tudyk, but I decided I would rather watch his panel. And I am so glad I did! He was so entertaining! I wish I would have gone up to ask a question because he was giving out random stuff.

Wash! Please come back!

We had our photo op with John Barrowman today. He was so fun! He came out and spoke to the line about their pictures and stuff first. I was lucky to be at the front so I could hear him really well! Yay!

He squeezed us really tight! Yay

We ended the night with a Supernatural panel. Man I love that show. And I love talking about it with people who also love that show. I wish the panelists (authors) had made it more of a conversation and less of an opportunity to pimp their books...but it was still fun. Some girls in line for the panel had this awesome art!

Awesome SPN fanart. Adventure of acquiring it below.

Day Three: Day of panels! We were lucky (read: had a VIP pass so we got in early!) to get really good seats and keep them for all 3 panels we wanted to see! First up was Simon Helberg.

He's on the right, if you can't tell.

He was sweet and stuff, but he wasn't as funny as I had hoped. But I guess we has sick so maybe that had something to do with it. Then, the moment I was really waiting for, Stephen Amell panel!

Look at him! He is so dreamy!

Now, this is a man who can hold the attention of a crowd. He was hilarious, exciting, and proved that he had some serious nerd cred. I was impressed with his entire personality. I didn't think anything could upstage him, but then... John Barrowman.

Cute. Cute. Cute.

Mr. Barrowman is dazzling. He was hysterical, sweet, naughty, flamboyant, and just plain great. I think I lost my voice from how often I screamed and yelled and shouted with him! Then, to top it all off, he sang to us! So cool!

After sitting in the same chairs for 3 plus hours I really wanted to walk around. And we had a mission. That Supernatural art I already showed you, well we really wanted to find it. And the girl from the panel the night before gave us specific directions really vague meandering areas to look through. We practically ran through Artist Alley looking for anything like it. After an hour of solid looking, we almost gave us as it was about time for the Stephen Amell photo op. But then my friend Alexandra spotted one last artist that we hadn't checked out. And lo and behold, there it was! Wahoo!

He was really, really tall. And yummy! If you don't watch Arrow, do it! Now! I'll wait!

After the photo, we left the con. It is really sad knowing you won't be back the next day. I wish my real life was as magical and colorful and comic con!

Best Part of the Con: Stephen Amell...John Barrowman...Stephen Amell...John Barrowman...uhh it's too hard to decide!

Worst Part of the Con: Um...my experience was pretty good. I heard there were really bad lines on Thursday but I didn't have them. I guess, Saturday was a little uncomfortably crowded; I could hardly walk through the isles. And the food is over priced. But it was mostly a fun time!

Pro Tip: PRE-REGISTER! I don't care if you live far away, do it anyway. Have a friend help you. Come in really early the day of, just do it! And go VIP. Or don't, less VIPs for me to compete with! Also, wear comfortable shoes!

The other art I got! Such pretty men!

Motivation - Or the Lack Thereof

Guys, I have a really hard time getting up in the morning to go for a run. I think I've talked about this beforehand it remains the case to this day. 

But I have learned a couple tips that helps me, and maybe they will help you too! 

1) Set out your running/walking/yoga/exercise clothes the night before. Yes, just like you are your mom the night before the first day of kindergarten.

This really helps be because I wake up a little groggy early in the AM. Also, something about doing this really helps me psychologically, like I've been preparing to go for hours instead of just when I woke up. PS- I almost always run in nerd shirts and Bondi Bands. They are my fav!

2) Wake up to something fun!

As most of you probably know, I am obsessed with the show Supernatural right now. So my alarm song is "Carry On Wayward Son." I dare you to watch Supernatural and not love that song.

And 3) Go to bed on time. Seriously. I know how fun it is to stay up all hours of the night with your fun roommates. Trust me, my roomies are awesome. But I cannot get up with only 4 or 5 hours of sleep. I just can't. So I save my late nights for weekends and non-running eves.

I hope you all have a good week! I'm so excited for Salt Lake Comic Con this weekend! Tomorrow after work will be a total prep day! 

Question of the Day: Do you have any "tricks" for your brain to help you do an unwanted task?

Changes

Hey there!

So you may notice that there is a change to my blog. Or maybe you didn't. (Hey, I won't judge your observation skills)

Evidence of my nerdiness, I painted a Jack
pumpkin last Halloween while wearing a
Dr. Hooves tee.

I do have a rationale for this.
1) I don't really have a big following, so a change won't affect traffic that much.
2) What if I want to write about something not Disney or running related? This will still mainly be about me trying to get healthier, better, and more awesome and hopefully it will still help some people.
3) I LOVE Disney. I really do, but I also love MANY geek things as well.
4) I don't want any legal issues. Not that I think any big wigs at Disney will read this, but just as a preventative measure.

Well, today is Labor Day and I am at work. Boo. But I did just take off almost a week for the Disneyland 5k trip and then I'll be off Thursday and Friday for Salt Lake Comic Con which I am super
stoked for.

This was me at FanX in April of this year!

I am really glad to be back to blogging on a computer! It is so much faster than blogging on my iphone!

I've got to get back to work, but I'll be here again soon with a couple product reviews and new workout regimens!

Stay Awesome!


Question of the Day: What do you think of the changes?

Disneyland 5k

Hey all!

Sorry, I meant to blog yesterday while we were driving back to Utah, but instead I fell asleep for awhile, and got caught in the audiobook for the rest. So here is the race recap!

The start line/stage!

I woke up at 4am to get ready for the race. My whole family, apart from my dad who had to work, was running it! 

Pre-Race Selfie with my mom and sisters

First we had to walk a really, really long way to get to the start line. My mom said it was a little over a mile. And then we waited for the start. There were only 3 corrals for this race and we were in the third and largest corral. This caused a little bit of congestion throughout the race. 

First park sighting of the race. Carsland!

As I was running this one race, I couldn't help but compare it to the 5k from the Tinkerbell Weekend. And I have to say I liked the Tink course better. Because in that race we started and finished in the parks. In this one it felt like we were just briefly in both parks. 

Main Street USA!

And let's face it, the really reason we pay as much as we do for the Disney events is to be in the parks while we run. Not to say that this race was not fun, just that I would have liked to be in the parks a little more. 

Finish line! Almost there!

Now, Disney does treat you the best after a race.  They make you feel like you really accomplished something. And you just finished a race so you did! There are thousands and thousands of people who didn't or wouldn't finish even just a 5k. 

Post Race Selfie with my Mom!

I don't have a very accurate time for how long it took us because my mom's app didn't really start when we did. But it wasn't very fast because we were stuck in lots of traffic and my legs were just so not feeling it this time! 

Race Goodies

Well, there's my thoughts on the race. Did anyone else run it? What did you think?

I wish I was still there!

Disneyland Expo

Hey guys! Today was a wonderful, long day of playing in the parks and going to the Health & Fitness Expo (twice!)

First off, we are staying in my most favorite hotel on the planet. At least out of all the hotels I've ever been to. As proof I submit a picture of the lobby: 

And my room:

And the common area of my room: 

And then the view from my room: 

One more at night:

**we don't always get this view, sometimes we get the parking lot. But we really lucked out this time! 

I spent the majority of the day in Disneyland with my family. We had a blast! Around 11 we left to go check out the expo. 

Look at this cute running Mickey!

Package pick-up went really smoothly. 

The only hitch was when we went to sign up for a time to try the runDisney New Balance shoes. We were told that they had no more times for the day, which made me really sad because we're leaving tomorrow! But my brother-in-law tried signing us up online on his phone anyway...and it worked! And then not even 5 minutes later every slot was gone! Wahoo! But the estimated time was 5:50. So what followed was a day of checking the inventory on my phone almost obsessively. But after a little stress and a long nap, I ran back to the expo and got these:

Even the box is darling! Expo round 2 was a rousing success and cost me way too much money. But I love everything. I got a new gadget to try so I'll have to give a review once I give it a shot! 

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Question of the Day: What is the best ride at Disneyland? There is a correct answer. 😜

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend

Hi all! So I'm sorry I've been so MIA. I've just got in a couple bad habits and not blogging is one of them.  

But right at this very moment I'm on my way to Disneyland to run the Family 5k for Half Marathon weekend. The original plan was to run the 10k this weekend but it was sold out by the time I got on the computer that day so I could only get into the 5k.

I'm going to try and blog everyday for this trip. Tomorrow is the Expo and I'm really looking forward to package pickup and looking at the New Balance runDisney shoes! In case you haven't seen them here is what they look like!

I'm going to try and get those cute blue Cinderella ones, even though she is not my most favorite princess. I just love that shoe!

I'm going to be running as Rapunzel on Friday. I'll post a picture later because my skirt is packed. But here is a picture of the shirt I made for my brother. Bet you can't guess who he's dressing up as.

Ok well I'll be back tomorrow with an expo review! 

And here is a picture of some lightning we saw on the drive last night! Scary cool! I loved it!

Question of the day: Have you ever worn a costume while running/walking?

The First Mile

The first mile of my run is always, ALWAYS, the worst. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost quit, or have quit, before I’ve even finished the first mile.

Just this morning in fact. My feet hurt (spoiler: my feet always hurt the first mile) and my right calf ached (my sister, who is way more of an athlete than me and studying sports medicine, has since told me it is a shin splint…lovely). I’d made my one loop around the blocks near my apartment which equals .9 of a mile. I was literally walking into my complex thinking “Well I did very nearly one mile, that’s better than nothing.”

And it’s true, one mile is better than nothing. But I knew I could do more. Plus I am training for a freakin’ half marathon. So I paused for a few seconds stretched out my calf and my feet and I gave myself permission to slow down.

I think that is the key. Give yourself permission to go slow. If one mile is better than nothing, then two slow miles is just wonderful. I actually read this tip on a blog somewhere (see my first post on scouring the internet…I really have been doing that). The girl was training for some sort of big race, so during a smaller race she said, “I gave myself permission to go slow.”

I can see that some people might be leery of this Go Slow philosophy. Can it get you into a trap of never going fast or not really giving your runs all you’ve got? Undoubtedly. But, so can staying in your cozy bed at 6am instead of getting out there and pounding the pavement.

I know that I can do this. My mom (Hi Mom!) always gives me great advice. And one thing that she says to me frequently, that I am passing on to you, is “You Can Do Hard Things.”

And, just so you know, after I went slow for a few minutes I was able to go faster than before.

So keep going. Keep moving. Keep having fun with it. You Can Do Hard Things.

Question of the Day: What is something that keeps you motivated through hard things?

Brilliance of the Day: A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work. – Colin Powell

Research You Say?

So once upon a time, I thought running long distances was crazy. I thought running any distance was crazy.

I have friends who have done the Goofy Challenge and Dopey Challenge in Walt Disney World. (For those of you who don't know, that means running a half marathon on one day and a full marathon the next...oh and the Dopey has you run a 5k and a 10k on the two days before that...)

Wait, I still think this is all crazy.

In fact, I think that running 13.1 miles sounds crazy. Today I did a walk/run of less than 3 miles and I just don't know about that 10 more miles. 

So, as I mentioned in the last post, I've been searching the internet quite faithfully for beginning runner help. Luckily for me, and now for you fair readers, runDisney has a great training program put together by Jeff Galloway. Other runners swear by this program. Podcasts swear by it. Come November I will tell you how I feel about it.

However, I am going to combine the Galloway program with the c25k program. I feel like these can go hand in hand quite nicely because for the Galloway program you do 2 normal runs during the week and your long run on Saturday. So for the "normal" runs I'll be following the c25k but sticking to the days from the Galloway program. 

Look at all that bling those Dopey people get!

After my "run" today I was super motivated to spend money on work out things. I'm going to show you my haul and in 2 weeks I'll let you know what I think. And without further ado...

These are super cute and look like they are made out of a sweater!

So these Nikes are the ones I've been using for a couple of months. They are usually comfortable but I have weird, wide, big feet so sometimes they hurt the sides of my feet. So when my mom (Hi Mom!) took me birthday shopping for new running shoes at the Nike Outlet I chose these...

Aren't they cute?

I really like these. The color is super cute. The tongue is attached to the shoe and made out of a neoprene-like material that makes it feel like the shoe has a built in brace. The bottoms are flexible and they are so light! But then when I was out shopping today I found these...

The bottoms/soles are my favorite.

Aren't they adorbs? One of my very good friends, Alexandra, who happens to be running the Avenger's Half with me, keeps touting the Asics brand. So when I found these on sale, in my size, they decided to come home with me.

Bright colors!

Running socks. And here I thought running was a relatively inexpensive, low tech sport. Boy was I wrong.

What is it? Any guesses?

Some of the podcasters I listen to are always talking about their Spi belts. I decided to try this cheaper version first to see if I could stand to run with a belt on. And then finally...

One of these things is not like the other.

Running mags. I usually find that I am most inspired to do something if I am absolutely immersed in the thing. One even talks about a Couch to Half Marathon program. I will peruse these at my leisure. Oh and the Geek magazine, that's because I am a huge geek...have to get my nerd news some where. 

I know you guys are super interested in my every move every day, but for convenience I'm going to do a weekly workout update. Feel free to comment with your successes, challenges, and goals. Happy training everyone!

Question of the Day: What is the craziest thing you have attempted? Was it a success?

Brilliance of the Day: "All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney