Tink Half Expo!!

Since I had volunteered the day before I had to go back to the expo on Friday in order to pick up my roommates bibs and to check out what they had to offer.

Now I have a confession to make, I’m not huge on expos. I usually make a mad dash in, get my bib, shirt and gear bag and get the heck out of dodge! At least that is what I have done for every expo except for Tink. I’m not sure what it is about this particular expo, but all 3 years I have found myself wondering around checking out the vendors, and this year I even went back several times!

On Friday I picked up my roommates bib for her, got her shirts and bags and made my way over to the official merchandise where most of the hot ticket items, like the zip up jackets, were pretty picked over, but was glad to see plenty of the pull over hoodies where still available. I quickly grabbed my size as I weaved in and out of the other isles seeing if anything else caught my attention, but thankfully it didn’t. I stood there for a moment looking at the hoodie in my hand trying to decide if I was going to drop the cash or not, and of course I did.

Around this time I met back up with DisBroad Patty, since we came to the expo together, but quickly went separate ways. We went over to scope out the KT Tape line for DisBroad Tania, and after we met up with her she got taped and we were on our way to the parks for a bit!!

I had been following the New Balance tweets and as of Saturday morning they still had my size in the Cinderella shoes so I thought I would make my way over there after the 10k and see if I could on the reservation list, and I did with no problem! I literally walked up, entered my info on the iPad and was told it would be my groups turn in about 2 1/2 hours so I went into the expo and picked up a couple pair of PRO Compression socks that I had been eyeing online! I also went over to get a picture with Jeff Galloway since he was the reason I actually felt like I could do a half marathon in the first place!! He is all around a great guy, and has no problem chatting it up with you, which is just awesome!

I then headed to the park for a bit until I got my “it’s your turn” text about 3 hours later and made my way back to the expo . . . again, and picked up these beauties!! Easy peasy!!

Since this was going to be my last runDisney event for awhile I spent more then I normally would, but I love every single one of my purchases and I have no buyers regret so I would say it was a success!!

Do you like to shop the expos? or are you usually in and out, like me?

VoluntEARing at the Tink Half Expo

As part of this year’s Project ME I decided my act of kindness for last week would be to voluntEAR at the Tink Half expo, and since my room reservation was for Thursday- Sunday and my fellow DisBroads where not arriving until Friday Thursday seemed like a great time to do it.

 

As a volunteer you get a free volunteer race shirt, which in this case was a long sleeve purple t-shirt, a certificate, and a meal during your shift. If you work 2 or more shifts you also get a free theme park ticket, but I didn’t have the time for that.

I arrived to my 1:00 check in about 10 minutes fashionably late, but thankfully I wasn’t alone so no one noticed. I try to be on time, really I do, but something always happens to prevent it.

After checking in at the volunteer check in table I was handed my shirt, a bottle of water and was instructed to fill out a name badge to wear during my shift. Since I was late I barely sat down and we were already breaking off into groups. It was then that I found my friend Tracy, who was also volunteering and she managed to get us a hook up to go upstairs and give out the race shirts!

              

Although for me that was short lived because I got pulled and ended up going back downstairs to help distribute the shirts and bags for the kids’ races, which was fun and allowed me to keep an eye on the lines! Towards the end of the evening there were no lines so I ran over to print out my waivers and went from one booth to the next and picked up both my half marathon and 10k bibs in a matter of 5 minutes!!

All in all it was a pretty fun experience, and one I wouldn’t mind doing again, if given the opportunity!

Have you ever volunteered to help at a race before?

What’s Up Wednesday v.1.12.14

Inspirational Quote:

I’m a planner. I like to plan and research, research and plan. Often after all that research and planning I no longer feel like doing, so I am going to work on less talking/planning and more just doing it!

(Intentional) Act of Kindness:

This week I donated to DisBroad Kristen St. Jude’s Hero fund. She will be running the St. Jude Country Music half marathon in April as a St. Jude’s Hero, once again. If you would like to join her she as a discount code you can use for $10 off just entry KSMITHRUNS as the promo code, or if you are feeling lucky you can also head over to her blog and enter for a chance to win a free entry!

Now for my randomness.

Eek! Tomorrow I am heading down to Anaheim to visit with the mouse for a bit! I honestly have some very mixed feelings about this. I know I’m not properly trained so I am very nervous about the running, or more likely walking, part of the trip. I’m doing both the 10k and the half pretty much untrained, which is just plan stupid.

I’m also somewhat solo! I’ve never done Disney without a family member, who was obligated to hang with me, so this will be very different for me. Several of my fellow DisBroads will be there, but we all arrive at different times and have different schedules planned so I am unsure how that will all pan out.

Lastly I haven’t exactly packed or updated a play list or anything. You safely say I’m pretty much a mess at this point. On top of that mommy guilt is kicking in big time!

Normally I don’t have this issue since the kids stay with Officer P when I make my runDisney trips, but with Officer P out of commission they are staying with grandma. I am most concerned about “the boy” since he has been having the hardest time with his dad’s absence, and has been sleeping with me every night. The older 2 could care less, and “puppy lover” is hit or miss. I think she will be fine, but she does like to lay on the guilt a bit too. I’m sure it will all be fine and dandy in the end, but right now it is adding to my stress.

Now off to pack! I hope I get to see some of you this weekend! If you do happen to run into me feel free to say hi! I’m pretty nice ;) but I am horrible about spotting people on the course or in crowds so I’m not ignoring or avoiding anyone. I promise. 

What’s Up Wednesday v1.7.14

With the launch of project ME What’s Up Wednesday is going to be a little different going forward. Now don’t worry it will still be filled with plenty of randomness, since it doesn’t get much more me then that. But I have also decided to add an inspirational quote that spoke to me during the week, and also report one act of kindness that I preformed, so here it goes. 

Inspirational Quote:

There is no surprise this one would speak to me this week since my theme has been working on removing negativity from my mind.

Overall I have done pretty well, but I’m not going to lie, this will be an ongoing process for me that I will really have to work on everyday day.

 

(Intentional) Act of Kindness:

My first act of kindness was to donate to the Taylor Brooks Foundation. I always want to donate to my friends fundraising efforts, but I never feel like I can donate enough to really make a difference, but I have decided every little bit really does count and when my small donation is added with other small donations they become not so small after all. That is why when DisBroad Julie told me about the foundation and how they deliver donuts to the children’s cancer floor once a week how could I not want to help? I certainly can spare some money for donuts for children fighting cancer!!

This is what Julie shared with me about the foundation, in her own words:

“My friend Melissa lost her teenage daughter Taylor to a very rare form of cancer. As Taylor recovered from her chemo and treatments she always remembered those on the cancer floor - patients, Parents, and caretakers with weekly treats. She also organized a holiday party for the patients. As Taylor fought for her life she always remembered others in the same battle. She lost her fight and in her memory her mom carries on her work. I am amazed how much this foundation does......there is VERY little overhead and its very grassroots. Any donation goes very far. I am so proud of Melissa my friend - a cancer survivor herself for carrying on Taylors kind deeds and legacy.” 

If you would like to learn more about the foundation you can do so here or you can make a donation here.   

Now for the randomness:)

I restarted T25 on Monday. I’m still not really feeling it, but that is because I have developed the habit for being lazy so I just need to keep with it until I come around again. Plus it is *only* 25 minutes.

Also a week from tomorrow I will be volunteering at the Tinker Bell expo so if you are visiting that day come by and say hi! I’m not sure where I will be yet, but if you follow me on twitter I’ll let you know when I find out!

And that is week 1 of 2014 in a nutshell. ;)