Disneyland California Adventures

September 10, 2014 by Jamie Lam

It’s been a week and a half since I went to Disneyland during Labor Day weekend. And I’m still having Disney withdrawals! After our marathon, we were too sore to go to the park. MG and I ended up going the day after (in our half marathon shirts)!

^^^ Mg hasn’t achieved pro-status on selfies!

Is it cool to like Disney at the age of 26? I think so! The magic never goes away. That warm, fuzzy feeling after you watch Disney movies is the same warm, fuzzy feelings you get as you walk through the theme park. Going as a child is great. There’s so much to see and a few fun rides. Going as an adult is a whole different story. The roller coasters are fun, but what’s even better is that you’re willing to spend money on superfluous foods and toys (I always buy lunch and snack on a turkey leg, soda, and candied apple). More importantly though, you really appreciate the little details that Disney puts into the parks as an adult. For one thing, when you’re in line at the Little Mermaid ride, there are seashells in the pavement. But these details at Disneyland is NOTHING compared to Disney World. If you haven’t been to Orlando for the parks, do yourself a favor and go! It will not disappoint. I’m not over-hyping it, because you really can’t describe the fun in words; descriptions do not do it justice.

Fortunately for us, the lines weren’t too long on the Monday that we went. The longest we waited was 90 minutes for Radiator Springs Racers. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not bad at all!

By far the highlight of the day was walking through Carsland. The designers did such a great job bringing Radiator Springs to life.

^^^ Willy’s Butte Rock

Cozy Cone Motel – everything is cones!!!

Watching Lightening McQueen switch with Mater. Then the line got suppperrr long!

The second best part of the day would have to be the Pixar parade. Look at how cute all the characters were. Can you think of some of the movies they are missing?

^^^ Haha someone is the butt!!!

Third best thing – my turkey leg. Reminds me of home, of the days my dad would come home with turkey legs from work. And it’s delicious!

We ended up leaving the park at 6:30pm to catch our flight at 8:45pm. When we gas-ed our rental up and dropped it off, we noticed that our flight was delayed for an hour. We asked an employee if we could get onto an earlier flight, and he told us “run, it leaves in 10 minutes.” We went through security in a hurry, didn’t get a chance to clean off or wipe my sweat down from the day, and boarded our flight at 7:30pm. In an hour we were able to leave the park and get on a flight. It’s never a calm moment with me and airports. Travel with me to find out!

Have you been to Disneyland or Disney World? How did you like it? What is your fondest memory of the park?
Jay

Disneyland Half Marathon

September 3, 2014 by Jamie Lam

This past weekend was by far one of the most memorable things I’ve done in my life. Coming back to a normal, regular day is so difficult when you’ve had an epic weekend.

If you’ve been following along, you’d know that I ran a half marathon. I ran a half marathon – that’s 13.1 miles!!! When I first started training, I could barely run a block. I was literally wheezing because my lungs would burn and my legs would ache. Not even kidding. But I did it. I ran a half!

Okay, more like walk/run. Still… I’m pretty proud! MG and I signed up for the Disneyland half marathon, inspired by my sister and her boyfriend who ran the half at Disney World in January. We trained during the month of August (yup, in one month). We ran 5 miles the first week of August and decided that if we could run 10 miles by the third week, we’d be ready. And we were right!

Remember my last post (DIY costume materials)? Were you able to guess what our costumes would be? It’s from Monsters, Inc. Ming-Gih was Mike Wazowski and I was his counter-part, Sulley. We looked like this when running:

It was a blast! We ran with our friend, Sang (he did the Dumbo Double Dare which means the 10k and half marathon). We got up at 3am to get ready because the race started at 5:30am. To make things fun, we took many pictures, with as many characters as we could. I’m a slow runner, but Sang stayed by my side and encouraged me the whole time (Thanks!). With all the water stops, character pictures, and my slow jog, we were close to where racers are cut off (you must keep a 16 minute per mile pace). If you past that time limit, you get picked up and cannot finish the race. Once we saw where the cut-off was, we would run from that point!

^^^ Ready and not sweaty… yet. We’re all Pixar characters – Russell, Mike, and Sulley ^^^

What we look like at 5am – ready to run!

Lots and lots of people in our corral – we were the last to go ^^^

About to run through the park

So cute!!!

^^^ More than halfway!!!

We even ran through the stadium

1 more mile to go!

And then we did it!!! The finish line!!!

^^^ This guy is a beast! He ran the Goofy Challenge (5k, 10k, half, and full marathon in January at Disney World). And now he did the Dumbo Double Dare (10k and half). Look at all 10 of his medals – including the Coast to Coast where you must run everything within the year. Amazing!!!

We finished the half but with a small injury. MG hurt his knee by mile 8 and couldn’t run the rest of the way. With a bit of bio-freeze lathered on, he could power walk the rest of the way. But YAY! We finished!

My knee was a little sore but more importantly, I was starving at this point! Sang knows me well… He motivated me by telling me that there were snacks at the finish line!

Teheh I even did my nails for the race.

If you’re not a runner (I promise you, I am not), sign up for the Disney run. Characters cheering you on. Cheer squads encouraging you. Bands playing to pump you up… It doesn’t get any more fun than this! The Disney run will be a great motivator to work out and train. Plus, you get this shiny thing!

Epic weekend is an understatement. Words can even begin to describe the memories I have from this past trip. Because of MG’s bum knee, we didn’t get to go to Disneyland after the race. But we went the next day! That’s a different post for different day!

Stay tuned…
Jay

Prepping for the Half

August 29, 2014 by Jamie Lam

It’s Friday before Labor Day. That means one thing for me – the Disneyland Half Marathon is this weekend.

That’s 13.1 miles. Whew! When I first started running, I ran a block and was totally winded. I kid you not. MG convinced me to sign up for this half (why did I say yes?!?), and since then we have been training to run. I’m nervous but exhilarated. It’s going to be a great first half marathon with Disney characters cheering for you. Yup, that happens!

At first, I had decided to concentrate on my run and wear normal gear. It’s my first one, and it’ll be hard. But then, it’s Disney! How could I not dress up? I literally decided to make a costume this week, one week prior to the half. We basically have most of our gear (remember my Lululemon post?). But I wanted to make this half more fun by dressing up. One week left? Definitely do-able. I made a trip to JoAnn’s and Michael’s and Viola! I created something but won’t reveal it quite yet until after the half.

Here are some sneak peeks of my materials. Can you guess what characters we’re dressing up as? Keep in mind it’s at Disneyland!

^^^ Smile!

C’mon! Take a guess.

Come back next week to see pictures from the half marathon. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see pictures before they are posted on my blog so add me (username: jayscup).

Readers – any advice on how to get through?!?

Wish me luck,
Jay

Lululemon Superpowers

August 18, 2014 by Jamie Lam

On Friday night, MG and I decided to go get some Lululemon gear for our half marathon. We thought it might get me hyped up for the run, so I wanted to get a moisture-wicking long sleeve. That’s what we set out to do!

Except we spent an hour at Lululemon, getting talked up by the sales people, and ended up dropping $250. Oh goodness… The tops were so expensive that I decided “Nope, not getting that!” If I was going to spend money, let’s get a sports bra. Something that wouldn’t squash my girls, keeps all the jiggle in, and something comfortable (isn’t that what every girl wants? Why is that so hard to find). OH MY GOD. I’m a LULU believer! The Energy Bra does all that, and it keeps my figure. When I wear a shirt over it, I have boobs! It’s not flatness, which is amazing. Seriously, if you need a good sports bra, I think it’s totally worth the spend (and no, I’m not getting paid to tell you this… I wish).

Aren’t the straps so cute?

Then the sales lady sold me on a pair of capris because they were on sale. I’ve wanted a pair for a while now, so why not? I added a headband because I sweat like a beast monkey, and the band is suppose to wick sweat too.

At this point, MG is jealous that I have stuff and he doesn’t. He picked up some socks and found a pair of compression shorts (Surge shorts) to run in. These shorts have a built in pair of compression briefs, and he loves the comfort! No chafing means a happy man.

I love the camo print ^^^

Finally, we went to check out and spent too much. We were there until closing time. Yikes!

On Saturday we tested out all our gear on a 10 mile run. 2 weeks ago, MG and I ran 5 miles outside, the most we’ve ever run. We made it to 10 miles this past weekend! Now we’re definitely ready for our half marathon. We joke that our Lululemon gear gave us superpowers!

At the 2 mile mark, we made a pit stop at Lucky’s in order for me to pee. MG also purchase a granola bar because he was hungry…

This is the funniest part – Before we went to sleep, MG looks over at me and tells me, “I’ve decided. I’m a Lululemon snob, and I don’t care. They make the best gear, and everything is well-thought out… the zipper even snaps back down. I don’t work out, but I want all Lulu gear. When can we go back?”

Probably once every 3 years because we simply can’t spend too much money on work out gear, especially if we don’t work out! Tehehe…

What did you do this weekend?
Jay

Walt Disney World Half Marathon

January 13, 2014 by Jamie Lam

If you’ve been reading along, you know I’ve been in Orlando, Florida! This was a trip to celebrate my birthday and also to support my sister and her boyfriend in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon.

Kay and Balds with their medals ^^^

I’m finally back in the Bay Area as of Sunday afternoon, and I can’t wait to crawl into my own bed and cuddle with my kitty. Vacation is always fun, but I will always choose my own pillow, bed, and comfort food, for me that’s Chinese food. MG and I are both happy to be back!

On Saturday, my sister, Kay, and her boyfriend, Baldwin, ran in the half marathon (that’s 13 miles!). I’m so proud of them for completing the run. After watching them, I’m actually intrigued and am thinking about training to run a half myself. I hate running, but after this experience, I could learn to love it.

I have to admit, it’s my first time being a spectator at one of these things. And wow, it’s an awesome experience! Everyone comes together to cheer for the participants. There’s so much encouragement and love from a group of random strangers. Specifically at the Disney marathon, at each mile marker, there are characters in costume cheering for you, choirs singing, and even DJs spinning. At the end of the race, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Duck are waiting for you at the finish line.

Baldwin running past the 12 mile marker

Katie running past the 12 mile marker

Passed the finish line!

Then we bumped into this guy – Ivan! He lives in the Bay Area too and we randomly bumped into him at the end of the race, so good to see him there.

If you run this race, you’ll be spoiled for sure and won’t want to run another one. I didn’t know this race was so exciting; I’m contemplating on running the half in LA at Disneyland. Any one do this before?

Do you have a half or full marathon on your bucket list? Any tips on how to enjoy running?

What did you do this weekend?
Jay

Jay's Cup

the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair…

Tag Archives: half marathon

Disneyland California Adventures

Disneyland Half Marathon

Prepping for the Half

Lululemon Superpowers

Walt Disney World Half Marathon