Badgers

We went to two Wisconsin Badgers sporting events last week. On Sunday, we went to the Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field where Wisconsin played Minnesota and won! It was a fun game...but cold! Our friends Mark and KJ came to visit for the weekend to go to the game. I think KJ and I had three large hot chocolates each. We got pretty awesome souvenir mugs though!

Me, KJ, Mark, and John

We had pretty good seats!

Oh, and John, Mark, and I skated on the rink for an alumni skate event on Friday night. It was so fun!

Me and John

John and Mark

On Wednesday, John, Keith, and I went to see the basketball team at Northwestern's Welsh Ryan Arena in Evanston. We couldn't believe how small the arena was...but it made for a great setting to really see what was happening on the court. Our seats were in the second level but we could see almost everything. Sitting in the first level there would be so awesome...you're so close to the court! I was a little disappointed in the student section though. They were pretty quiet and it wasn't anywhere near full. The game wasn't very close either so I guess they didn't have that much to cheer about...but still! Also surprising was that the National Anthem was essentially a sing-a-long with a couple of Northwestern students leading with the first line...the band didn't even play!

Pretty good seats for $20!

It was certainly a different experience than games at the Kohl Center or Assembly Hall at UIUC...but it was a great experience. I would definitely go back for another Badger game!

Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.

~Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator

I saw this quote on my AANP SmartBrief feed today and it struck me particularly because of a blog post a friend shared yesterday titled Three Huge Mistakes We Make Leading Kids...and How to Correct Them. The three mistakes the author discusses are risking too little, rescuing too quickly, and raving too easily. As I was reading it, I was reminded of an exam question in an early nursing course. Essentially, the students were expected to understand that as kids grow, they should be expected to put forth their best effort and complete tasks that are age-appropriate. The wrong answer that many students chose fit along with the raving too easily mistake. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Where there is love there is life.

~Mahatma Gandhi

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

~Maya Angelou, American author and poet

Period.

Well, I'm not pregnant this month. Nope. Aunt Flow came to visit on Friday. I was pretty disappointed. In fact, I was almost in tears on my way home from work. I really have no reason to be. I mean, I've only been off the pill for about 5 months. I've only been somewhat paying attention to when I should be ovulating (at least according to What to Expect's Ovulation Calculator) for the last 2 months. Plus, my husband was at a conference in LA when I was supposed to be ovulating this month. So, really, I shouldn't be disappointed...but I was.

I'm not disappointed anymore. It didn't happen for a reason. (Probably because my husband was out of town, right?) As my mom says:

Saturday was a nice sunny day. The Badgers won a big game over #3 Michigan. I went for a 5 mile run. It was a great day!

I can't wait to become pregnant. But, then again, I can. I can because I know it will happen at the right time. I just don't know when that time is yet. All I can do is enjoy this next stage of life and be patient. Here's to next month!

Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge

It's been nearly three weeks since I completed the Walt Disney World Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge and I still can't believe I did it!  The whole weekend was so fun...both races, the time in the parks with my husband...all of it!

Saturday morning I got up bright and early at 2:52 AM EST for the half marathon.  I popped right up out of bed and actually felt rested.  The buses ran from the resorts to the start area from 3-4 AM and I wanted to make sure I was there in plenty of time.

Once I got to the start area, I stood around for quite awhile, stretching, drinking water, taking advantage of the port-a-potties, and waiting for my friend Shannon to arrive.  Once she got there we were able to make our way to the start line.  We were Corral G (of Corrals A-H) so were the second to last group to start.  There were fireworks with the start of each corral and lots of entertainment along the way.

Shannon and I in the start area

The start line!

It was so exciting to finally start, after all that time waiting!  Every few miles there were characters out so you could take pictures with them.  We stretched and chatted as we waited in line and then got back to running.  When we listed our predicted finish time at registration, we had accounted for time spent taking pictures with characters.  I think that was a mistake because then we were running with people who were going much slower than we were...but it was OK since I knew we had the full marathon to run the next day.

Pirates of the Caribbean!**

At the entrance to Magic Kingdom

Main Street USA

Almost halfway!

Unfortunately, John didn't quite know where the finish line was so he just met me at the very end.  Then, we walked back through Epcot, cheering on those runners that were still running, to our hotel where I took a quick shower and then we spent the rest of the day at Magic Kingdom!  That night we had signed up for the Pasta in the Park Party at Epcot.  It was a fun experience but we both decided we wouldn't have to do that again.  Actually, John said afterwards, "Well, next time we can skip that."  I hadn't even thought of there being a next time yet...but now I definitely want to do it again!

We found Chip 'n' Dale after the race!

I was so tired that night that we didn't stay for Illuminations but watched the fireworks from our hotel instead.  The next morning, I again woke up at 2:52 AM.  I was a little more tired but had still slept well.  I was also pretty nervous.  I made it to the bus on time once again.  I chatted with some older women who were running too.  They were pretty impressed that I was running my first full marathon as part of the Goofy Challenge.

Walking through the Mickey ears before the start of the full marathon

Shannon and I before the start

Pretty awesome fireworks display for each wave.*

Around 6:15 we were off and running.  We skipped the characters that we had taken pictures with the first day but took the time to take a few more pictures with characters at the beginning of the race.  We also took advantage of as many "real" bathrooms as we could find!

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Ariel

Belle

Lilo (Stitch went on break right before we got to the front of the line.)

A little owl at Animal Kingdom

A gator at Animal Kingdom

26.1 miles down, 13.1 to go for us Goofy runners!

The Mile 20 Surprise!

I still can't believe how fun the full marathon was.  I never got bored.  There was a pretty long stretch through the Wide World of Sports which other runners were complaining about a little bit but I thought it was OK.  There were TONS of spectators cheering us on all along the course, especially toward the end of the race.  Unfortunately, Shannon's foot was giving her problems throughout the whole day.  She also sprained her ankle at one point and finally had to walk more around Mile 21.  By that point, it hurt me more to walk than to run so we separated.  Once I was on my own, I appreciated the spectators even more!

There were lots of signs like these.*

These W.I.S.H. spectators were awesome. I thoroughly appreciated the Twizzlers they handed out!*

And, of course, characters like these!*

The course went right by our resort and I was super disappointed that I didn't see John there since that's where he initially had said he would be.  But, as I neared Epcot, I saw him along the route.  He found me two other times as the course made it's way through Epcot to the finish line.  I was so emotional I actually had tears in my eyes!  There was also a gospel choir at the last turn before the finish line which was very inspiring both days...the second day I almost burst into tears though!

I spotted him!

 

Overall, it was a great experience.  There were tons of volunteers throughout the entire race, from the pre-race area to the post-race area and everywhere in between.  I felt myself smiling almost the entire way.  There were characters and spectators with funny signs.  There was always something to see!  My name was printed on my race bib and near the end, strangers, both spectators and cast members, were cheering me on by name.  It was so motivating!

The one rookie mistake I made was putting BioFreeze all over myself!  I had never used it before and saw others putting it on their knees which seemed like a good idea because my knees were sore and I was hot.  It felt great!  The mistake I made was also rubbing it on my arms instead of wiping off my hands on the towels provided...oops!  I was all tingly!

I highly recommend runDisney, especially for beginning half or full marathon runners.  I'm not sure how the experience would be for serious runners, as so much of the fun is stopping to take pictures with the characters (which obviously isn't good for your time).  I can't wait to do another runDisney race.  I added the Coast to Coast Challenge, where you run a race at Disney World and Disneyland in one calendar year, to my bucket list.  I won't be able to complete it this year as the Disneyland races have already passed or sold out...but I will do it someday!

I did it!**

Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge complete!

All my loot...the medals and shirts are awesome!

One of my favorite Photopass photos from our trip...with Chip!

Final race stats for the half marathon
Time: 2:49:06
Overall place: 13,352/23,126
Gender place: 6490/13,128
Division (F25-29) place: 962/1781

Final race stats for the full marathon
Time: 6:10:38
Overall place: 14,107/20,679
Gender place: 6481/10,618
Division (F25-29) place: 1068/1693 

*Photos downloaded from runDisney Facebook album.
**Photo proof from MarathonFoto.com.