The Very First Video Blog

Video Blog of Owensville 4 Mile Race, August 1, 2009.

A Week Off

Today I got back to running after a week off to rest a sore right foot. The foot is still sore, but it magically feels better when I'm running, so I figure why not. During my week off, I didn't see the need to watch what I ate (when do I ever), and I am realizing that I am almost back to my original weight before my running career began, so I am now on food watch, as I am sure that if I lose a few pounds, my knees and feet will thank me for it. Due to my sore foot, I chose not to run an 8 K I signed up for yesterday, and nicely enough, the race director called me and asked if I would like him to send the race shirt anyway. I tried to tell him I didn't earn it, but he was very nice, so I accepted his offer. I will hopefully redeem myself next year and complete the race. So, this week officially starts half marathon training, and I am excited to see my weekly milage go up. More next week!

Evansville Otters 5 K Race Report

Today was the "Start Inside The Ballpark" Evansville Otters baseball 5 K run. The starting line was on the warning track in the outfield of Bosse Field, otherwise known as the field they used while filming the Tom Hanks classic "A League Of Their Own". This was fantastic race, with most of the coarse sticking to walk/bike paths. There were a few hills, but nothing I coundn't handle, and there were at least 3 water stations along the route. It wound through a beautiful park with a few ponds, they through a neighborhood, and back to the park. I felt pretty good through most of the race, but hit the wall at about 2.5 miles, but I kept trucking, making it to the finish line. All in all, this was a very nice race, and all participants got a free ticket to the nights game, but I coundn't stay, so I gave it to someone who could use it. After the race I shot over to Moe's Southwestern Grill for a Homewrecker burrito and large Diet Coke which I consumed at 70 MPH on the highway back home. I will definitely check this race out next year, and probably bring along the wife and kid as well.

Back In The Saddle Again

Wow, it's been almost 3 months since a new blog post, I've really been slacking. But rest assured, I am back, hopefully on at least a weekly basis, to give you, the running and Disney public, a nugget of truth here and there. My blog posts for the next thirteen weeks will probably mostly focus on half marathon training, because I have decided to run the Evansville Half Marathon on October 11, 2009 ( http://www.evansvillehalfmarathon.org/ ). This will be my second half marathon, I ran the Indianapolis half about the same time last year, and loved it. Training starts next Tuesday, I'm using the Hal Higdon novice schedule. My wife is also walking this race with about six of her friends she recruited, maybe I can try to get her to fire up a blog to track her progress as well. Anyway, a few things that will be different this time around is that my Garmin is fully functional, so no more driving routes, and I plan to do a lot more streching, cross training, and weight training as well. I'm also going to try and watch what I eat, and cut out the regular soda and beer (not totally cut out the beer, but severely cut back on it at any rate). I would also like to finish the race in under two hours. One more thing, I will also be using twitter (nickphillips97), facebook (nick phillips), and Buckeyeoutdoors.com to update and track my progress, so feel free to follow me on those sites as well. I'll try to be back here Sunday night to recap a 5 K I am running Sunday afternoon.

The Gem of the Library Sale

This book is probably the coolest find from the Library sale, it is one of those books that came with a record and you listened while you read, but unfortunately the record was missing, but the book is awesome none the less. It is based on Pirates of the Caribbean the ride, way before Captain Jack was in the picture, it even has a ride vehicle in the story! It is dated at 1970, what a fantastic find! I can't believe I picked this up for under a quarter.

I'm not quite sure of the year of this book, but it has a cover price of $1.00, so it has to be at least 25 years old. A few pages are falling out, but it will look great on the Disney shelf anyway.

More Cool Disney Books

Here is another great find from the Library book sale, It's a small Winnie-the-Pooh book from 1974. This book is older than me, and in better condition than me as well! Plus it cost less that a quarter.

Cool Disney Books From The Library Sale

I found some hidden gems today at the Knox County Public Library's monthly book sale. This book has an inscription in it dated 1958, what a find!

Fantastic 5 K

Today I ran the YMCA Healthy Kids 5 K race, and it was great. I awoke about 7:30, had a piece of my wifes tastey cinnamon toast, a glass of OJ, and hit the shower to rinse the sleep off. About 8:30 me and the family headed over to the YMCA, where the race started and finished. There were quite a few people, something like 84. It was great to see all runners of different shapes and sizes together, having fun. The race started at 9:00, and I was sure not to catch 5K fever and jump out at too fast a pace. About a mile in I really found my goove, even though my knee and lower glute seemed to bother me, I kept about an 8:30 pace. The pack thinned out about this time, so I didn't have to watch out for any other runners until a dude passed me pushing a stroller, which was cool to see, I think I may try that with my boy. At about 2.5 miles we started up a little hill, which was not bad at all, and once we got to the top it quickly decended down and I hit the afterburners, running my pace up to about 7 minutes, which I maintained until the finish line, where I crossed at 26:17, 17th place overall. My wife and son were there to cheer me on, which was awesome, I'll be sure to have them with me at the next race. We hung around to watch the 1.2 mile kids fun run, and then the awards, then headed for home. This is a great race, it is well organized with lots of food and police escorts, and best of all Starbucks Coffee. I highly recommend it to anyone in the area.

Nick's Guide to Free Dining Disney Style

If you are a Disney Visa card holder, now is the time to book a trip to Walt Disney World, because if you book a vacation package for 3 consecutive nights or more, you will recieve The Disney Dining Plan for free. The Disney Dining Plan consists of 1 quick service meal, one table service meal, and one snack per day. So, you are wondering, what kind of savings does this provide? Well, lets look at a typical day touring 3 different parks, just to mix it up a little. First, we start out at Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's getting to be around 11 o'clock, and you want to grab an early lunch, so you head over to the Yak and Yeti Local Foods quick service spot for a your quick service meal. With a quick service dining plan meal, you get an entree, drink, and dessert, so you order the Shrimp Lo Mein (10.99), a large Diet Coke (2.49), and the Mango Mini Pie (3.59) for dessert. So, by my calculations, you are up to 17.07 just for lunch, but wait, you have free dining, so do a happy little dance once you place your order! Anyway, back to touring, after you have consumed your lunch and take in a showing of Finding Nemo The Musical, it's time to head over to the TTC and catch the monorail to Epcot to check out World Showcase. You have a 5 o'clock ADR for Le Cellier, so you start in Mexico about 2 o'clock, and work your way around, riding the Maelstrom twice in Norway, just because it's that awesome. Once you reach Canada, you check in at Le Cellier for Dinner. On the table service plan, you get an entree, a non-alcohalic drink, and a dessert, and you have to leave a tip, so that is out of pocket. Le Cellier is known for the steaks, so you order the Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon (34.99), a Diet Coke (2.99), and the Chocolate on Chocolate Whiskey Cake (7.99) for dessert. So, without tip, you are looking at a bill of 45.97 - if you were paying that is, but you're not so all you have to cover is the tip which should figure out to be about 10 bucks, if you value good service. After dinner you jump back on the monorail to the TTC, and take a Ferry over to the Magic Kingdom to watch Spectromagic and Wishes to end your evening. Before you find your spot for the parade, you head over to the Main Street Bake Shop to use your snack option for an ice cream cookie for 3.95. So there you have it, in one day you can save a total of 66.99 on food with Free Dining. Now, these are all meals that I have personally had on Free Dining, and if you swing it, it's the best way to go.

Races I'd like to run

Here are some races I'm planning to sign up for. I need more T-shirts.

1. Health Kids Day 5 K - 4-18-09 - Vincennes, IN
www.vincennesymca.org
2. Pike Central NHS 5 K - 5-9-09 - Petersburg, IN
www.pcsc.k12.in.us/pchs/NHS.htm
3. Run Though The Jungle 5 K - 5-16-09 - Center Point, IN
www.junglerun5k.com
4. Laufenfest 5 K - 6-20-09 - Haubstadt, IN
http://www.laufenfest.com/index.html
5. Bring The Heat 8 K - 7-25-09 - Montgomery, IN
http://tristaterunner.com/documents/BringtheHeat2009.pdf

All of these races look like fun, I ran the Health Kids Day 5 K last year, it was local, and a good turnout. The Run Through The Jungle 5 K goes through an exotic feline rescue center (lions and tigers), so it should be cool, but a 2 hour drive. Laufenfest will have a biergarten at the finish line, so that should be awesome, and I've never done an 8 K before, so the Bring the Heat race should be fun, it's also a trail race. Hopefully all these races will lead up to training for a fall half marathon.

The best resturant in Walt Disney World - Le Cellier.

Me riding Expedition Everest

This is footage of me riding Expedition Everest last August at Disney's Animal Kingdom. What a blast!

Running Blues: Race to Half Marathon Mountain

Well gang, when we last left off, I was just finishing up my training and preparing to run the half marathon in Indianapolis, IN. Two days before the race, my virtual training partner (he training in Knoxville while I was in Vincennes) Ben Sealey and his family showed up at our house, because Ben was racing the full marathon while I did the half. We did a two mile run together on Thursday night, and then headed up to Indianapolis on Friday around noon, to stay with an old college friend to catch up (and not have to pay for a hotel room). Our hosts were very nice, making a fantastic pasta dinner on Friday night to fuel our bellies for race day. After a few Bud Lights that evening, Ben and I hit the sack to awaken at 6:00 am. We had another great meal, this time oatmeal, and then we were off to the races. When we arrived, we had to walk about a half mile to the starting line area, where we both lubed up with vasoline in the sensative areas (we did this seperately of course). As the start time approached, we found our way to the proper seeding corral, the 9-10 minute pace group. After the usual opening shpeal, the starting gun fired and we were off. I had of course prepared a playlist for the ol' Ipod, so I was in the zone with some Metallica flowing between my ears. The first few miles of the race everyone was pretty compacted, but after a while everything loosened up and I found a comfortable pace. At mile 5 I slammed a Chocolate GU and some water, then at about mile 9 my dogs really started barking. My feet were becoming a little numb, probably due to the fact that my shoes were worn out, because I didn't have time to break in new pair of shoes before the race. But I kept moving forward. Around the same time the course turned into a park, and I ran on a trail for a short while, then we were back to the road, and the finish was closing in. At 10 miles I hit another GU, and some more water, and felt that finishing this race was reality. I was really feeling tired at this point, but the goal of finishing was keeping me upright and moving. At about mile 12 the coarse split for the half marathoners and marathoners, so I picked up the pace a little until mile 13 where I broke into a full run, seeing the finish line. I crossed the line at 2:00:28, pretty good for a first timer in my view. After I crossed the finish line, I recieved my finishers medal, and I was on top of the world. I sat around a firepit after a banana and some water, and then decided to hobble back to the car to change into street clothes and get something to eat while I waited for Ben to finish the marathon. All in all, this experience ranks up there with the birth of my son and my marriage (and my trip to Walt Disney World), as one the the greatest achievements of my life. Next time I will get into my sore knee, and the post half marathon running, or lack there of I should say.

Running Blues 2: Disney and the Indy Run

When we last visited my running tale, I had just finished my first 5 K, and was wondering what the future held. It was late spring 2008, and the weather was beginning to get warmer, and my milage started to get higher. Not by much, but my weekend runs started getting longer. I did run another 5 K, and improved my time by 2 minutes, but 3.1 miles was beginning to be somewhat easy for me, so I set my sights on a longer run - a marathon. Yes, thats right, not a half, but a full marathon. Somehow my buddy Ben had talked me into running a full marathon on October 18 in Indianapolis with him. Being the relative newbie that I was, I thought this would be no sweat, so we selected a starting date for training and set our sights on Indianapolis. Before our official training began, I was chugging out 7 mile long runs on the weekend with ease, and I welcomed the challege of he Hal Higdon training regimine Ben had suggested. When we started training, things were going great - until I took a long scheduled trip to Walt Disney World. I decided to take that week off of training, and really overdid it touring the parks, even rubbing some nasty blisters on my toes. I tried to do too much too fast, and did not use a touring plan (Len Testa's Unofficial Guide touring plans really do work!), and ended up do a BUNCH of extra walking the first few days of the trip, and I paid for it the rest of the week. Anyway, once I returned from my commando trip in The World, it took me a week to get back to running, and I slowly came to the realization that my full marathon dream was over, I had to knock down to a half, which in the end was a great decision. Over the next 3 weeks, I adjusted my training to fit the half marathon, and before I knew it, started feeling a little pain in my right knee (more on this later). The pain didn't slow me down any, but it seemed that karma was against me, because my Garmin Forerunner died about the same time, so I had to basically run the same routes that I knew the milage to every day, which got really boring. But, the training was going pretty well, and I felt prepared to tackle 13.1 miles. Next time I'll fill you in on the highlights of the race, a great weekend spent with friends, and the aftermath.

The first 3 people to follow my blog win a prize!

Thats right folks, I'm desperate to know if anyone actually reads my ranting on running, so the first 3 people to sign up to follow my blog will recieve a wonderful prize! It may be food, a movie, money, or some other sweet nickphillipsworld swag. Rest assured true believers, this is not a hoax, and there is no timeshare speech when you sign up, just a wonderful prize, so start following me today! Shoot me an email at thenickphillips@aol.com when you sign up and start drinking the kool-aid.

Quick Disney Note

Anyone who wants to try and win a prize and register to win a Disney vacation head on over to http://www.disneyparkcelebrations.com/ You can play once a day, I've been playing for about a month, and have won nothing, but you never know, tomorrow could be my day!

Running Playlists and the Bands That Fill Them.

Hello faithful readers, I am back with a short but sweet post today, I'll get back to the story of My Running Life So Far in the very near future. Today I just wanted to discuss running playlists a little bit. I don't know about you, but I can't run unless I have some adrenaline pumping music to listen to on the old Ipod. I've tried podcasts and audiobooks, but they just don't have the same energetic effect as music. A lot of runners like to listen to the stereotypical stuff that is inspirational and uplifing, but I prefer good old Hard Rock, with a little Heavy Metal for good measure. A few of my favorite bands are KISS, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, Velvet Revolver, STP, Smashing Pumpkins, Twisted Sister, Van Halen, and of course Black Sabbath (and solo Ozzy as well). These bands keep the blood flowing as I make my way mile after mile, and for really long runs the right song at the right time can really pick me up just as good as a GU gel pack. I'm interested to know what you jam on while running, so leave me a comment with some recommendations. Oh yeah, and my guilty pleasure song - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper.

The Running Blues

I want to start out my running posts with a short history of my running. I started January of 2008, at the recommendation of my friend Ben, who lost a bunch of weight running when he hit 30 because he realized he was fat and out of shape. At the time I was 29, but also realized I was fat and out of shape. So I started going over to the Vincennes University fitness center to use the treadmill a few times a week. At first I started out walking, then running a short distance, then walking again for 30 minutes. After time I was able to do less walking and more running, until it was all running for 30 minutes. By this time I was chugging out 2 to 3 miles at a time, and slowly started to whittle my time down. Around this time I knew I was hooked, and started planning for a 5 K run in the spring. I also upgraded my running apparel quite a bit, getting some compression shorts, technical shirts, and the crown jewel, a Garmin Forerunner 205 watch, so I could run outside and be able to keep my time, pace, and distance. When I started running outside, the game completely changed, as I started incorperating high powered playlists on my Ipod to motivate me to run faster and harder and it was nice to run wherever I wanted, and not have to worry about falling off the treadmill. As the 5 K approached, I was running 3.1 miles each time I headed out, and was realizing that finishing the 5 K was not a dream, but a reality. On the morning of the 5 K, I arrived at the park where the start/finish line was about an hour early, not knowing what to expect. I was the first one there. So, like any man who has no clue, I got in my car and drove around for a while. After circling the park listening to Rush for what seemed like 3 hours, I started seeing runners of all shapes and sizes trickle into the park, so I found a spot, parked the car, and started suiting up (picture Barney from How I Met Your Mother). I went to get my goodie bag and bib, and being the newbie that I was, put the bib on wrong. After spying the bib attachment techniques of other more seasoned runners, I corrected mine. Of course i had carefully selected a playlist for my Ipod the night before, and tuned it to the first song and hit the pause button, so I could pump up the jams the second the starting horn blew. I decided to line up midway back at the starting line, behind the super-thin pros in spandex, but in front of the walkers wearing blue jeans. After the race organizer spoke about our sponsors, the horn sounded, and we were off! Man, I hit the ground running on a huge adrenalin rush, which promply wore off after about a quarter of a mile. About one mile in, I started to wonder why I ever thought this running thing was a good idea, and began to get winded, but I kept on trucking. At 1.5 miles, there was a water station, and in my infinite wisdom I thought I could get a cup of water and drink it without slowing down. Of course most of the water ended up down the front of my shirt. At two miles I figured hey, I think I may finish this thing! Then at 3, I was really struggling, but the finish line was in sight, so I kicked it into overdrive. But overdrive was not enough, because people were passing me one both sides, but I stuck to it and crossed the finish line at 26:50, not a personal best, but better than a lot. After the race I hung around to watch the trophy presentation, and it was really fun seeing the running community celebrate everyones accomplishments. After this race, I found a few more 5 K's, but started to think about higher miles, maybe even a half marathon, which Ben was starting to suggest. Tune in next time for tales of higher milage, lots more sweat, GU gels, and a knee injury or two.

Hey everybody, just wanted to post a quick blog to thank Gordon from http://www.runtodisney.com/ and the Running to Disney Podcast (available on Itunes) for plugging my blog on his podcast this week, hopefully that will help bring a few more readers around. As for the blog itself, I know it is kind of hit and miss, and has a far range topic wise, so I think I will try to reign it in to covering my running, my Walt Disney World interests, and family stuff. I will also try to post new blogs more often, maybe once or twice a week. I'll update everyone on my running (well, lack there of) on the next blog. Oh yeah, I'm giving up writing a Fringe blog until after the season is over. Out.

Micheal Phelps

Micheal Phelps should get a free pass. The dude won more Olympic Gold Metals than anyone ever. So what if he hit the hippy lettuce at a party? The guy deserves to kick back and smokc a bowl if he wants to. Now, I am not in any way endorsing the use of marajauana, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. I have never personally in my 30 years of life put my lips to the mouth of a bong, so I have no idea what the cheeba does to you, but I think it's not as bad as Big Brother (Big Government) makes it out to be. Phelps is a relatively young man, and as I have experienced in my life, young men make lots of mistakes. Lots. This is one of those mistakes. Sure, it will cost him a few million in endorsement deals, but the cops should leave him be. I think we would all be in a better place if the government worried more about giving us back our hard earned tax dollars than going after a young man exploring all that is offered at frat parties. I promise that Fringe blog is coming...I'm just waiting for Fox Mulder to make a cameo on the show before I tell you it is a complete rip-off of the X-Files.

Ready for Summer

Well folks, as I write this, it is 11 degrees outside and we are in our 8th day of snow and ice covered roads. To say the least, I am ready for summer, or spring at least. The ground has been covering in ice for far too long now, and I am tired of slipping and sliding as I drive. Not that I don't like a little snow, but I think I have reached my limit. I highly look forward to the days of MLB Spring Training, cutting the lawn, and running outside without having to wear 3 layers of clothing. Don't worry, as I promised last time, my Fringe blog is coming.

That Beanbag Blog

Well, today Colin (my son), got his first bean bag chair. His Grandpa got it for him at Garden Ridge in Lousville, KY. Colin has had his eye on a bean bag chair since Chirstmas, when he discovered one at his cousin Ryan's house. The bean bag chair is black, so it can be moved from room to room without much of a color clash. He was able to break it in a little bit tonight, and I am sure he will use it to the best of his ability for many years to come. This is a pretty boring blog post, but I just wanted to keep the ball rolling, and this is the best I could come up with. At least Colin is happy. Faithful blog follower, you should definitely head out to your nearest bean bag chair retailer and pick up your own bean bag chair. Tune in next time, when I will discuss the finer points of JJ Abrams newest creation - FRINGE.

Disney Pin Trading

I have officially thrown my hat into the Walt Disney World Pin Trading Community. I bought 4 different pins off eBay the other day, and they are really nice. I got a few Wilderness Lodge pins, and a D-Ticket pin from Disneyland. The coolest pin I have ever seen by far is the pin depicting Walt Disney's personal letterhead from 1922. I don't really plan to collect a great deal of these pins, I just saw a great deal on the ones I bought and couldn't pass them by. I will most likely stick to what I know, and just collect ones pertaining to The Wilderness Lodge, Pop Century, The Animal Kingdom, and any rare or really cool looking ones that tickle my fancy. On the plus side, purchasing these pins off eBay is much cheaper than shilling out 8.95 in the parks, so I will keep an eye pealed on the internet. I'll be sure to keep you informed of my WDW pin purchases, check back here early and often.