Be Prepared

The Walt Disney Marathon weekend is getting closer and you can feel the anticipation in the air. Don't worry about old Scar staring you down on this post. Just couple his advice along with that of Pumba and Timon and "Hakuna Matata" you'll have know worries going into marathon weekend.

I'm using this post to mention a few last minute things to consider before leaving home and what to expect once you arrive in WDW.

The morning of your event it will most likely be cold out. A couple ways you can stay warm is to pick up an inexpensive sweat suit from your local Dollar or Walmart store. On the way to the starting corrals, bins will be set up along the road to collect discarded clothing. The clothing goes to a local shelter. If you choose to discard clothing after the race starts, be considerate of others and take it to the side of the road. There are no containers on the course but the clothes will still be picked up.

Another inexpensive idea which works very well for your upper body is to simply bring along a plastic 33 gallon lawn bag. Punch holes in it for your head (and arms if you like) your body heat will keep you warm.

Don't forget to pack Body Glide or Vaseline to prevent chaffing. Do not wear a cotton shirt. Be certain to wear a tech shirt that wicks moisture away from your body and will not get heavy with sweat. I'm not sure how this advice affects women who might be wearing a sports bra, but men trust me, you do not want a heavy soaked cotton shirt rubbing on your nipples. Some runners even use band aids. Consider a hat or sunglasses as well.


On the morning of your run, buses will be operating as early as 3:30am to take you to the Imagination lot over at EPCOT. This staging area is the same location your family and friends can meet you after the race. In the morning only registered runners are allowed.

In the image above is a yellow line. At the beginning of that line is the canopy which Team Voice members can visit with each other while waiting for the announcement to head to the starting corrals. The walk from here is 6/10 of a mile.

The blue dots represent people waiting in line to use one of the two areas with porta-potties. Last year these lines were quite long but I noticed something that worked well for me. In the red circle above, the lines were very thin. Most runners entering this area where not walking all the way back and because these are in a corner no lines really seemed to form.

The green line is how you will return to the area post race. If memory serves correctly this is where you can have your picture taken with your medal. Once back in the parking lot Team voice members can look for each other at the canopy if they would like. On the far end of the lot Donald, Mickey, and Goofy are available for pictures. I realized this too late last year and was denied access to Donald's line because it was being closed down.

(Click Image to Enlarge)

Chances are you might want to pass along some information to someone looking for you out on the course during your run. The chart above can be used to determine where you can expect to be mileage wise based on pace.

Disney offers a couple other resources.
You can sign up for runner tracking sent to your cell or email account at http://live.activeresult.com/msg/MSG-signup.tcl?event_id=3

The Walt Disney Spectator Tool is another resource that gives advise on how to move around the parks to watch runners.

In closing

Expo Hours are:
Thursday 12pm to 8pm
Friday 9am to 8pm
Saturday 10am to 6pm

Also we have a dining update. One seat is now available for Mama Melrose on Friday and seven seats are currently available for Ohana's for Sunday evening. If we do not fill the seats for Ohana I will notify guest services on Sunday morning and give the extra seats up. So if you are interested let me know. Team members my cell phone was listed in my last group email. Feel free to email or text my phone anytime with any questions you have.

I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Jeff W.

Team Voice Member of The Month

Team Voice Member of the Month time. Last one of the year. Can you all believe we are down to just weeks before the WDW Marathon Weekend??

This is you LAST CHANCE Marathon Miles. You should be smoothing out the bugs in your long runs, got your gear prepared and know what you are going to wear and what works. Start the taper no later than 12/26/09. Meaning don't run your really long runs. Run shorter ones, cross train, but do not stop all the way.

Here is your Team Voice Member of the Month:

Hi I am Rae. I am the creator of Team Voice. Team Voice was created off of Jonathan chanting The Voice. And at the Mouse Fest, the Team Voice logo was created by E. I still have the sketch.




I love Disney. I grew up on the Original Mickey Mouse Club. They were reruns in the early 70's. I do not remember alot about my first trip to Walt Disney World in 1974. Other than I cried when Mickey Mouse ran away from me. I can remember when Space Mountain open, and you had to sit in the lap of the person that was with you, and you had to put your stuff in a locker before you could enter the mountain. I also remember when they use to hand make the rock candy there om Main Street and the Penny arcade. I remember when they changed the characters shape and colors. 20,000 leagues, Mr Toad, Birthday land. We made the 3p parade late cause my group{band} rode Space mountain and got stuck on it and had to wait for them to get us down, and then escorted to back stage to get dressed for the parade. :) After high school I never made it back to the world. 2005. 16 years later I went back as a parent. That is an experience I will never forget. :)
2005: Found online about the marathon weekend. WOW!!! I would love to do that. ME? I don't think so. Then I learned about the other races, made friends on the boards. And started walking. It sure was not an easy thing to do. I could not even run 4 houses and my lungs hated me. I was sore all the time. I pressed on and made it to 4 miles and then in 2006 I slipped and fell had to have knee surgery. I thought I was done. My ortho doctor said just walk the races. Do not run them. If you can keep the pace do it. He is an ironman,marathon, ultra runner guy too. SO... I was back at it.2007 I tore a muscle.My doctor said go get fitted to shoes and you will stop all these small injuries. SO I did. Tower of Terror was my first race. Met people from the boards, and made lasting friendships. I do not remember to much of the race after mile 5. All I do remember was I wanted to sit on the bench in Hollywood studios, and the played the song Chariots of Fire!!! How corny!!! If it wasn't for E I would have sat down, and never finished. I was wheeled out in a wheel chair. I could not enjoy the after party. I felt bad enough as it was.


I was done with running and woging at this point. I was done. Then we went to a turkey trot, and I did not get sick. I felt good. 2008 I did the Minnie. Met more friends from the boards and made more lasting friendships.
Then we enrolled for the 2009 half marathon. It was on E's birthday. I had lost 40 pounds at this point. I felt good trained hard. No injuries. In great company. Stood in the bathroom line with some of my close friends, and then it was time. I was time to line up for the Half marathon. It looked like there were tons of people out there. Holy Cats!!!! Most of us stayed together and the rest went to their assigned corral. It took 20 minutes to get to the start line for us. ME, E, Jeff W., Matt and Jonathan. We all crossed together and we all went at our pace. I has so much fun that day. We were walking as fast as others were running. I did it!!!



Then I did the Princess Half made another couple friends, good friends. And jumped in a season of duathlons, placed second in points in the category I was in. Now here I am with the Full marathon coming up in 2010. And a triathlon series to start in Feb. 2010, sponsors, and a Ironman Florida 70.3 in May 2010. Where else? At Disney.


Never ever would I ever say back in 2005 I was going to do an Ironman in 2010, or a marathon, or a 5k. Or loose 50 pounds!!! And find and make friends who love Disney as much As I do. And create a support system. Team Voice. I couldn't have done any of it without anyone from Team Voice.
The experiences and friends I have made I will cherish forever. I have learned alot about myself. And I am not done. Not by far. I have the bug and my ultimate goal is Ironman Kona. And I am glad to have Team Voice with me.

And my biggest fans, My family.

Wow this is long I didn't know I had so much to say about myself!!! Holy Cats!!! 2010 is going to be a great year. I can feel it. I have new things I want to do with Team Voice and move in new directions.

Happy Holidays to everyone who reads this.

I can't Wait to see everyone in Jan.2010 And those who are not going to there you will be missed dearly.

What?? 2011 Goofy??

“The Your Marathon Your Way Challenge”

Hey howdy hey pardners,

It occurs to me that some of the steam has left the locomotive these past few months. Let’s see if we can stoke that furnace back to life. Here is a challenge that I think should appeal to every one. I’m calling it “The Your Marathon Your Way Challenge”

Here is how it works.

Choose your event(s) Donald, Mickey, or Goofy.

Choose one or a mix of activities, walking, jogging, biking, or elliptical. Then choose how many miles of each type of exercise to reach your goal. Example, 4 miles elliptical plus 9.1 miles of biking is a Donald.

Choose your dates. To fit into your schedule any dates can be used between now and December 13th.

Donald (13.1 miles) and Mickey (26.2) can be completed on individual dates.

For Goofy (39.3 miles) Donald and Mickey distances should be completed across two days back to back.

Email me or leave a comment and we’ll get a roster started.

January Meets Announced

Greeting Team Voice!

On the last post we put up the park hours that Disney announced for January. This time we wanted to announced some planned meets. For those of you who have RSVP'd for Mama Mel-rose please note that the time has been moved up to 4:55. If you are interested in joining one of the dining events there are still a few seats open at each of the three. Please click on the restaurant name in order to review an online menu before committing. I especially recommend this for Mama's as their menu may have some items on it that you do not want to experiment with before a long run. I'm going for the Oven-baked Chicken alla Parmigiana - Served over spaghetti. Chicken and pasta sounds safe to me.

On the morning of the 8th and the 10th I will be updating guest services about any seats we do not need for Mama's and Ohana's. So if you are interested in either of these please email me directly.

Justin is handling the breakfast reservations for Kona on the 10th. Please email Justin directly if you are interested in Kona.

Be aware that because these are large parties Disney will be automatically placing an 18% gratuity on each ticket.

Non dining events are subject to change. A finalized listing with times will be available by the first week of January.

Cheers!
Jeff

Thursday the 7th: 7:30 PM
Yee Haw Bob Meet at Port Orleans Riverside. Will need to confirm from Bob's website in January if he will be performing. Bob's past shows typically start at 8:00.

Friday the 8th: 4:55 PM
Mama Mel-rose at Hollywood Studios. A table for 16 is reserved. As of 10/13 we have 4 open seats remaining. See menu for pricing.

RSVP's received. Chris C, Lorraine C, Amanda Y, Mike F, Deb B + 1, Julie B + 3, Jeff W, Connie W.

Saturday the 9th: ½ Marathon day
Pre Race Meet Up. (meet at the "T" for Team Voice canopy outside baggage claim tent)

Dole Whip Meet at Aloha Isle in Adventureland. 2:00

Sunday the 10th: Marathon day
Pre Race Meet Up. (meet at the "T" for Team Voice canopy outside baggage claim tent)

Miniature Golf at “Winter Summerland” Time to be determined. (2:00 or 3:00) $13.99 per person.

Lapu Lapu & Ohana Meet" 6:40 PM Meet in the lobby at the Polynesian resort between 6:00 & 6:15 to enjoy a celebration toast before dinner. The plan is to catch "Wishes" from the Dining Room. A table for 20 is reserved. As of 10/13 we have 5 open seats remaining. Ohana's has a set all you can eat menu. Cost is $26.99 per person.

RSVP's received. Justin, Krystal, Mike F, Bryan R, Amy R, Amanda Y, Rae + 2, Deb + 1, Julie B + 1, Jeff W, Connie W.

Monday the 11th:
"Just Keep Goofin' Tonga Toast Breakfast Meet" 7:55 AM at Kona Cafe located in the Polynesian resort. A table for 14 has been reserved. As of 10/13 we have 4 open seats reamaining. See menu for pricing.

RSVP's received. Justin, Krystal, Jeff W, Connie W, Rae + 1, Mike F, Amanda Y, Deb + 1

Tuesday the 12th:
Fantasmeet! at Hollywood Studios (Will have to confirm Fantasmic! schedule)

January Park Hours Announced

As you can see Disney Marathon weekend is getting closer...



...and Disney has finally posted January's park hours.

Click image to enlarge

Coming Soon: Meets for marathon weekend. (should be finalized this week)

Hope everyone is staying active and injury free. Be consistent in your training. (something which I admit I am still working on)

Be sure to drop in and visit Chris and cheer him to the finish line of his first full marathon run on October 10th. Blog'n Right Along

Jumping Jacks Weekly Challenge

Ok this is what my Trainer came up with. And I thought it would be different and share it with everyone. Tonight Biggest Looser season 8 started. And my trainer mentioned doing jumping jacks during the commercials. I thought, that would be a neat challenge, and I told her I will do it too. I started and hour into the hour, it was 2 hours to night, and i did them.
I did 569.

Next Tuesday I challenge all of you to join me in a one hour show and do jumping jacks during the commercials. And post your results here.

Here is something we all can do at home together nearly at the same time of the day.

Team Voice Member Of The Month

Before we go on to the Team Voice Member of the Month, I want to put out there that this month is the The 100 Mile month. Get in Your mileage !!! And your choice of core work out and post your status and how you are doing. SO now on with our Team Voice Member of The Month.......





I’m Deb from Michigan, DebWDW and Mouseketeer #17. My first trip to WDW was five years after I got married. We were going to Florida (remember, we’d had five winters in Michigan) and decided to spend a few days at WDW. We had a good time, but I don’t think we fell in love with WDW on that trip. Our next trip was another five winters later. And I think the second dose of magic did the trick! After that trip, we started visiting once a year. I love the creativity, magic and escape from the real world – my husband loves the restaurants, thrill rides and the sun.

I discovered other Disney geeks when I found the All Ears newsletter, and then eventually Disney podcasts. I was an original listener of All About the Mouse and went to MouseFest 2007 to meet some fellow geeks. MouseFest itself was amazing – the camaraderie, the instant connections, the celebrities! It was there that I met Rae and Kate, Bryan and Jonathan, and a slew of other Disney fans. Meeting Rae and Kate, however, turned out to be a life-changing experience.

I’d known about the Disney marathon for some time, and had fleeting thoughts of doing the race. But I was not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination, so it was just a “some day” thought. When Rae and Kate suggested I train with Team Voice for the 2008 Half Marathon, my first thought was “no way.” But they really believed I could do it, and then I started thinking maybe I could do it, so I gulped and said “okay.”

In January 2008 I started training. My first run was .25 miles on the treadmill and it just about killed me. But I was part of Team Voice and had to keep going! I added.25 miles each week, and by Labor Day had managed two 12-mile runs, and finally, a 13-mile run. It was a slow 13 miles, but it was under the maximum time allowed by Disney, so I felt like maybe, just maybe, I could really finish the race!

The half marathon experience in January 2009 was amazing! I finished the race, and so did ALL of Team Voice. During my year of training, all of Team Voice was amazingly supportive, at times nagging, and ultimately the reason I accomplished this huge goal. And here’s why it was life-changing. When I started training, I really thought there was a good chance I would quit. You see, that’s what I had done for a long, long time – get interested in something, tackle it, and then quit. I had not really finished anything in a long time.

When I finished a year of training – and that was the real accomplishment – I realized I COULD set goals and finish them. You can’t imagine what a big deal that is for me. And that’s how Rae, Kate and Team Voice changed my life. And as part of Team Voice, I’ll keep moving forward, with friends and teammates beside me!

Counting Down

Team Voice Member Of The Month

Good day Team Voice!!!
I am very proud to announce this month's Team Voice Member of the Month. He was suppose to be last month but things had ti be iron out so Here is Team Voice Member Of The Month.
I also want to give Brian a huge THANK YOU for all that you do for serving the USA!!

I am Brian Kling, 29yo. A Sergeant in the US ARMY with 12 years of active service. I got into Team voice after being inspired by Jonathan. I guess he has been a real inspiration to a lot of us. I am running for a few reasons. My fitness level even though I am a soldier is not the greatest. I am over weight by the ARMY standards and by my own, and I really want to fight the weight. When it comes to my own goals it is for basic health and fitness and to insure that I am around for a long time. My wife and I just found out we are going to have our first child and that made me think a lot about my health recently. On the ARMY front I can not stay in past 15 years unless I make the next rank. And I really don't want to have to be put out now. It would have been a huge waste of 15 years of my life if I am out out so close to retirement. And well, there is no chance of me making the next rank unless I get my weight under control and get my run time down.

When it comes to running, I seem to be one of the few that truly enjoy the sport. But I don't go nearly as fast and as long as I want to. My goal over the past year has been to improve my time and make it to the completion of a half marathon. I was signed up for the recent half marathon in Seattle, but I just plain forgot about it. I realized that I had missed it by listening to Jonathan talk about it on his podcast. Whoops! A HUGE congrats to Jonathan. I was also looking a the half at WDW in 2010, but never signed up since at the time I was not sure I would be around for it. And now I am glad because in October I will be deploying to IRAQ. So at least I saved the money on that one. My unit should redeploy in October 2010 and I have already talked it over with my wife, so be looking for me at the 2011 half. I just hope that I can get in some good training while I am deployed.

What is Disney to me?

Growing up in Orange, CA Disneyland has been a huge part of my life since my first visit when I was only 11 months old. Not that I remember it, but my family was there for the whole 25 hours of the 25th Anniversary. Too bad they did not do something like that for the 50th. I just plain love Disney and am proud of it. From my hidden Mickey tattoo, and stickers on my truck to my Disney filled wedding reception. I cant think of anything else that has made me smile like Disney has. Every time I come home, Disneyland is the first place I visit, and it will be where I spend my last holiday before shipping out. Really who could not love it?

So that's me. Part Soldier, Part fat body, and Part Disney freak. And loving it!

The picture included is back in Korea after a 5k run for the Year of the NCO. I did it in just under 30 min and placed 18th out of 56 people.

And then one of my wife and I at Disneyland on the first day of our honeymoon.

Brian

"NOTLWIMP"

Jill Time

Jillian Michaels Online Check the ingredients listed on any packaged food you buy; see if it shows hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils as part of the makeup. Hydrogenating oils adds (bad) trans fats to food. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows food manufacturers to make the "zero trans fats" claim as long as each serving of the product has less than half a gram of trans fat. It infuriates me that these food manufacturers

Challenge Monday

Jillian Michaels Online Run/Walk challenge! Running and walking are great and easy cardio workouts that will help tone your body. So this week, start incorporating running or walking into your fitness program. If you're just beginning, go with a single mile to start. Then add an extra half mile each week thereafter. Keep it up and you'll be looking and feeling great in no time!

Bob Harper Try using Almond Milk today as an alternative to cow's milk. Almond milk is loaded with magnesium, potassium and antioxidants like vitamin E. It is also lower in calories than cow's milk....it also tastes really good...xo

Bob's Weekend Challenge

Bob Harper Weekend Challenge!!! For 3 days in a row I want you to give me 50 push ups, 5 mile walk or jog, 100 sit ups and 5 minutes QUIET meditation. Work the body this weekend AND the mind. Also, get a friend to do this with you this weekend as part of your Challenge...xoxo

Bob is Back

Bob Harper Today's Challenge, get in one serving of Omega-3 fatty acid (2-4 grams). You can get it from Salmon, sardines, flaxseed, walnuts, some eggs and other fortified foods like some cereals. Benefits, may help lower high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, helps prevent heart disease.

Jillian Michaels Online Clear out your cabinets! Get rid of the junkfood - you aren't Superman, and if you have it around, you'll eat it. Dump the junk and you won't be tempted.

Jillian Michaels Online You have to be careful about serving size. Food manufacturers use advertising with enormous portions compared to the actual serving size. Which means those low numbers for calories, fat, and sugar can be as much as twice what you think you're eating. So take sometime to weigh or measure out a 'serving size' next time you eat — I guarantee you'll be suprised.

It's Not Bob...

Jillian Michaels Online To do cardio right, you must first figure out your maximum heart rate (MHR). This is done by subtracting your age from 220. For example, If you're 32, check it out: 220 - 32 = 188. (Now you know your MHR is 188.) Then take 85% of 188, which gives you 160—that's your target heart rate, the ideal number of times your heart should beat in one minute while training.

Trainer Bob's Daily Challenge

Bob Harper I can't believe how hard the Sleep Challenge was for everyone yesterday...so guess what, it is part of your Weekend Challenge. Also, you have the whole weekend to complete a 10K which is 6.2 miles. Have fun..xoxo

Trainer Bob's Daily Challenge

Bob Harper Asparagus is one of the most nutritionally well-balanced veggies, high in folic acid, potassium, fiber and vitamins A, B-6 & C. Your Challenge is to get in 5oz. today....xoxo

What Happen To TVMM??

Hey Team Voice!!!! I am sorry that I have not post the monthly Team Voice member for this month. The person I sent a e-mail to did not respond back. What to do now??? And no one came up with a challenge. Which I do have a challenge this month with out fail.

I am wondering how can we all stay connected and be able to help each other stay motivated for Jan. 2010.

Also since Trainer Bob has been posting daily challenges I am going to copy them and post them here. He sometimes doesn't get one in everyday since they are filming the next Biggest Looser season.



Team Voice Team In Training Challenge For July 2009 Extra Magic Miles For July
This challenge is for everyone. Beginners, novice ,experts all alike.

I want everyone to try to do 100 burpees for the month. What is a burpee. {no it's not standing around burping} here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Dq_NCzj8M
Mileage I know we all have been struggling with mileage. I am a victim of that. We have 6 months to go, and we all should be in a groove and comfortable with a long distance mileage. Specially those of us doing the full.

SO for mileage I am looking for 100 for the month. And homework and please post your answers. Why are you struggling?? What is the triggers to keep you from getting out the door or on the treadmill??

Hey Team Voice!!!! I am sorry that I have not post the monthly Team Voice member for this month. The person I sent a e-mail to did not respond back. What to do now??? And no one came up with a challenge. Which I do have a challenge this month with out fail.

I am wondering how can we all stay connected and be able to help each other stay motivated for Jan. 2010.

Also since Trainer Bob has been posting daily challenges I am going to copy them and post them here. He sometimes doesn't get one in everyday since they are filming the next Biggest Looser season.

Team Voice Team In Training Challenge For July 2009 Extra Magic Miles For July
This challenge is for everyone. Beginners, novice ,experts all alike.

I want everyone to try to do 100 burpees for the month. What is a burpee. {no it's not standing around burping}
Mileage I know we all have been struggling with mileage. I am a victim of that. We have 6 months to go, and we all should be in a groove and comfortable with a long distance mileage. Specially those of us doing the full.

SO for mileage I am looking for 100 for the month. And homework and please post your answers. Why are you struggling?? What is the triggers to keep you from getting out the door or on the treadmill??

Calling All Team Voice Members!!!

Do we all know what tomorrow is???? Anyone?? Anyone?? Yes,Jonathan is wogging the RNR half marathon!!!! He will need all the support he can get from all of us And Team Voice. SO PLease in someway tomorrow support him and show it. If you have your Team Voice shirt wear it !!! Wear your AATM buttons send me a photo and I will post it on the Team Voice Event page. I will be at work so I will be wearing a DIsney uniform and I will have my AATM buttons and I will have my Team Vocie shirt with me on the back of my chair and Pal Mickey will be sitting on the desk. I wll take pics to post. Oh yes I will have a picture of him crossing the finish line from Disney to so my support like I was there.

SO Jonathan it is your turn ....

Team Voice Member Of The Month For June

Hi everyone,

Rae has invited me to be the Team Voice member of the month for June. So here is a little about me and how I came to be involved with this fun group of people.

It all started with the Ipod I received for my birthday three years ago. If my wife would have known that such a little thing would have fueled my Disney obsession well…

It did not take long for me to discover the Wonderful World of Disney podcasting and when I came across Paul Barrie’s Window to the Magic I was hooked. Here was a way I could take (as Paul would later describe) an Imagication and visit the Disney parks any time I wanted to. Paul’s audio has always been top notch and his binaural recording where fantastic to listen to when I would go out for walks. Soon I found myself looking for other shows, and there where many of them out there. At one point I was listening to about eight shows per week and I was always trying something new.

In 2005 I had a physical and learned that I had many risk factors. Rather than going on medications. I began exercising and six months later I was giving a clean bill of health from my doctor. Some friends encouraged me to run in the annual DAM to DAM 20k here in Des Moines . A funny thing happened after running in Dam to Dam 2006. I lost all interest in exercising and reverted back into a bad case of couch potatoitis. One day while listening to WDW Radio I learned of Jonathan’s goal of losing weight and his desire to raise money for Lou’s Dream Team. The Dream Team raises and donates money to the Make A Wish Foundation.

I began following Jonathan’s blog and I soon learned that he would be a guest on a brand new Disney podcast called All About the Mouse. He was to be a guest on Bryan Rippers third episode which would feature a round table discussion about preparing for the WDW marathon weekend. In 2008 Lou Mongello and Bryan would be doing the half marathon for the first time. Also on the program was Disney running veteran Mike Scopa. Jonathan discussed his plans to be in shape for the 2009 half.

Initially through Jonathan I found the inspiration to get back out there and start jogging again. I began to regularly following of his blog. Soon I was following a few other blogs and building friendships with people I had never met.

It was Rae who first encouraged me to start blogging as a way to help keep my focus on exercise and weight loss. Many of you can attest to the fact that Rae has been a great motivator. Often she has held my feet to the fire and encouraged me.

In 2007 my wife and I made the trip down to Mousefest. She did not know what to expect, I think she feared it would be something like a Star Trek convention with people in various character costumes imitating who knows what. The truth was that everyone we met was very friendly and not at all freaky. Disney people are good people and we made some good and lasting friendships.

As 2008 rolled around I decided to run in the 2009 Disney half. Along the way I ran DAM again and finished 15 minutes faster than I had in 2006. In October I also ran the Des Moines half marathon for the first time. That was a good experience except at some point shortly after that race I injured my left arch. I cut back drastically on my jogging in hopes that it would heal in time for the Disney Half. I did a little biking at the local fitness center to keep my endurance up and as my arch improved I did some treadmill work. By January my foot felt 100%.

During marathon weekend I was reunited with my Mousefest friends and I also made a number of new friends whom had been blogging along with us over the past year.

Some of us even dined together off property at FRIDAY’S one night.

Running the Disney Half was everything I imagined it would be. Most of us gathered together in the early morning and walked to the starting line together. The first two miles went by quickly and around that second mile I saw my first monorail. Coming off that first curve you could see the parking toll gate in the distance. It looked much closer than it actually was. Cast Members where at the booth to alert runners to be cautious of the speed bump there. I kept looking for the Contemporary and before long there it was. Soon we were in the Magic Kingdom . It was fun to hear all the park sounds and to see the rides operating. Trumpeters’ herald us through the Castle. Coming through the castle you hit the six mile mark. Running into the back lot of Frontierland there was Captain Jack Sparrow, very cool. Beyond this area the course narrowed into more of a bike trail until it connected to a road leading to the Grand Floridian and the Raceway. Somewhere near mile eight you can see the Dolphin and Swan way off in the distance. I found the most uncomfortable part of the course to be jogging up the ramp that would take us back east toward Epcot. Something about the pitch of the road bothered my hips. Reaching Epcot was nearly as amazing as entering the Magic Kingdom . I finished quite a bit slower than I did in the Des Moines half but I expected that given my slow down in training.

What I did not expect was how far I would let that slow down in training continue. After returning home I rarely went to the fitness center and jogging so far this year has been minimal. The result is I have fallen back into old habits and gained a considerable amount of weight. I changed the goal I set in 2008 for finishing this year’s DAM in less than two hours to simply finishing it. I met that goal but finished nearly an entire hour longer than in 2008.

Currently I am working through some discomfort in my right heel, but I am going to be getting back on track in preparation for Disney 2010. While my foot is healing I have discovered that biking does not bother it and I will begin working jogging back into a regular routine as my foot improves.

Team Voice means a great deal to me. There is always support to be found here. One of my favorite things is that we are not out to prove ourselves to be super athletes. Rather we have been able to support each other as we work toward our own individual goals.

I wish you all great training and good health in the months ahead. I look forward to once more seeing my Team Voice/Disney Friends this coming January and meeting yet even more of you.

Jeff W.

Your Personal Juneathon

June is here and this months challenge comes to us from Chris Cullen (aka stroller boy)

Last year Richard Page (Jogger Blogger) turned some of us on to Juneathon. Junethon is a challenge is which all who participate agree to put in some type of mileage every day of the month. Now trying to get miles in every day can be quite a challenge, so the idea for the month is to personalize your own Juneathon by setting your own weekly goals. Chris made a couple of suggestions to go along with this idea.

1. Post a chart on the event blog on which to place your name and your weekly goal for each week of June. You can have a different goal each week. I will update the chart as you leave comments either on the blog or directly emailed to me.

2. If possible mix one of your days up with an alternate exercise such as biking or an elliptical. Swimming laps is an elective too. If choosing swimming your goal should include mileage plus the laps you want to achieve.

This challenge puts the power into your own hands (or rather feet) this month. If your interested send me an email or leave a comment here on the blog. This will give some visibility to how we each are doing.

Team Voice Member of The Month #1

Hello Team Voice!!!! This is Rae. Today I am presenting to everyone our first Team Voice Member of the Month. This is a chance for you to get to know the members of the group. As for now towards the end of each month, I will be sending someone, anyone in Team Voice,specially those who are In Training, a e-mail asking if you would like to be the next TV of the month. And keep a look out, and Keep Moving Forward.

Here is our first Member of the month..........

OK well where do I begin.
Well I am Mike Fess. I do intros with Jeff W. for AATM. I was always into sports, but never liked running great distances. Well all that faded and real life sunk in. You mean I have to get a full time job to pay my bills? What's up with that? I started to really put on weight. I was 245lbs. at my heaviest. Well things started to change when my daughter was born. I knew I needed to drop my weight and get my blood pressure in order so I could watch my daughter grow up. Well I was turned on to podcasting by an AllEars news letter. On one show I had heard this guy named Jonathan talking about how he was trying to lose weight. He started running and for motivation he was taking donations to help the dream team foundation. After I heard how much weight he had lost I knew it was time to put aside my loathing for distance running and get off my big at the time backside and start running.

Well I knew I needed to be held accountable and I needed a team to get behind me and support me when I needed it. Well when I heard about Team Voice I knew I just had to be apart of the team. Team Voice gave me the support and accountability I needed to start accomplishing my goals. I was so excited one day when I got on the scale and it didn't go past 200lbs. I nearly went through the roof. Team Voice to me is more than a Team. It is an extended family. I always know if I am struggling I can turn to them. I recently had surgery on my knee and have been laid up for a couple of weeks. Well I am proud to say because of the support from everyone I am back on the road and mark my words Mike-Speed will be back. As for why I love Disney so much(remember it is part of the rules to be on the team) is because I got the opportunity of a life time to work there on the college program. Spring '99 OOH RAH! Ever since then I have been hooked. WDW gives me a place to forget about reality for a week and just act like the kid in me I have to always hold back. So I would like to thank the committee for the nomination and I will end with this.



Team Voice "Many Goals, One Voice".
www.Mikesdisneythoughts.blogspot.com.

May Challenge

OK guys that's right this is Mike Fess (AATM's other intro guy) here to tell you all what our May challenge will be. I have been laid up lately because of surgery, but I am ready and willing to smash these goals! Are you?

Mileage:
100 for experienced runners
70 for I have a few months under my belt
40 for I can just get through a mile

Push up's(I will except strength training at the gym for this):
1000 push ups for everyone. People this is easily attainable. But you have to dedicate yourself to this.

If you do the strength training you must do at least 20 days at the gym.

Sit ups:
1000 for the month. These should be done everyday because it is a muscle area that can be worked everyday.

And for our Tri athletes:
20 days of laps
20 days of biking

And for extra credit:
Try and find some core exercises that work for you. Google and Runners world are your friend. They really helped me with my training.

So that's it. Now get out there and get moving. I expect to see some results people!

Addition April Challenge

In addition to the monthly challenge below I'd like to add that spring is rolling in and that means that many of the communities you live in or near will begin hosted local walking and running events. My added challenge to you is to register and participate in at least one event that will be held within the next 2-3 months. The distance of the event itself does not matter, only that you find one and commit. Once you sign up for one, email me or leave a comment here and I will list your name and event in a new list on the left hand side of this blog.

April Challenge!

It's TIME to get serious, Team Voicers!! If you really are serious about a race this year, make THIS the month that you are CONSISTENT and MAKE PROGRESS!

And it's spring in some parts of the country, so it might be time to get outdoors!
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*** Rookies ***

Core: 200 crunches, 100 pushups
Strength: 8 days of weights/strength work
Feet: 20 miles or 8 hours of walking/jogging
Days: 15 days of exercise (minimum 15 minutes)

*** Pros ***

Core: 500 crunches, 250 pushups
Strength: 10 days of weights/strength work
Feet: 75 miles walk/run
Days: 20 days of exercise (minimum 30 minutes)

The purpose of the month-long challenge is to establish CONSISTENCY in your exercise program, and to start to build FEET TIME for stamina, strength and wear & tear.

These are very REACHABLE goals with a little commitment over a lot of days! Go for it!!

March Challenge! It's TIME to get serious, Team Voicers!!

*** Rookies ***

Core: 100 crunches, 50 pushups
Strength: 4 days of weights
Feet: 10 miles or 6 hours of walking/jogging
Days: 12 days of exercise (minimum 15 minutes)

*** Pros ***

Core: 400 crunches, 200 pushups
Strength: 10 days of weights
Feet: 50 miles walk/run
Days: 20 days of exercise (minimum 30 minutes)

The purpose of the month-long challenge is to establish CONSISTENCY in your exercise program, and to start to build FEET TIME for stamina, strength and wear & tear.

These are very REACHABLE goals with a little commitment over a lot of days! Go for it!!

This Weekend 2/27/09 is Vern Week.

Welcome back to the events page. As you can see, we are building up to Vern Week. Vern week gives each of you the chance to name your own distance goal that we will put up on the roster. Leave us a note in the comments or reply to the team email and let us know what you will be posting for mileage during the weekend of 2/28. Time does not matter for this event and if you are one of the few working through some physical issue. Feel free to bike or use an elliptical machine.

Part of the fun of any virtual event is using you imagination. Please take the time to visit Passamaquoddy and search through the archives of February 2008 for details on last years Vern Week celebration. You'll learn that last years run was not without it's short comings.

Doc Terminus informs me that new air scrubbers have been installed over at Chum Shop Earth and that the running trails are much improved. I am also told that Herring Whips and Sea Perch Pop Ups will be sponsoring the race again this year. Earlier this year many Passamaquoddians were surprised to learn that the Sea Perch Pop Ups were actually cat food. In fact the makers of the frozen treat were shocked that people were eating it by mistake. In an effort to address a growing new market, the formula has been changed to one that is "safe for human consumption."

The challenge for the weekend of 2/14/09 comes to us from the "Voice" himself.

Greetings Team Voice!

This week's challenge is a bit unique and calls for a different kind of
introduction.

But bear with me to the bear end, and we'll barrel through it.

Let's face it - we've all hit ruts at times. Some of us are STILL in them. Why?
We hit a BIG goal and surpassed it. And now what? We have more goals, but
they're kinda far out there.

So let's focus on what GOT us to those goals. Because at some point on our
training, we were our BEST us. It might have been during the race. It might have
been during training. It might have been a second, a minute, an hour, a week.
Whatever! Maybe it was physical, maybe it was mental, maybe it was even
emotional!

Regardless - your challenge this weekend is three-fold.

1. Articulate to us, the team - what it was you did that made you the BEST you
BEFORE.

ex. (During my training periods, I focused on using LONG strides, so as to
maximize my distance! OR During my training runs, I made sure I always listened
to DISNEY music)

2. Work that into your routine this weekend. Tell us how it goes.

ex. (This weekend when I do my longer workout, I'll focus on using LONG strides.
OR This weekend I'll revamp my playlist for my workouts!).

3. Oh yeah - since it's us - include 100 crunches. :)

Now - there's a BONUS section to this challenge.

4. BONUS - part of what made ME the best me was my charity work. And it's still
going. In fact, I've already raised an ADDITIONAL $100+. And I know you guys
have all helped in one way or another. But if you want bonus points this week -
raise some money this week. Whether it's from your latte fund, or a co-worker,
or just spare change. Raise money to send to me for our charity work. Those
Make-a-Wish kids need it badly. Shoot for $5. Just five dollars.

If you raise it - let me know and I'll tell you where to send it.

Good luck team! Enjoy this week's more esoteric challenge!

MAIN STREET AWAITS!

From the desk of Jennifer Teig von Hoffman comes the challenge for the weekend of 2/7

Greetings, Team Voice, from the chilly Northeast! I just can't face
the icy Boston streets....but that 1/7 mile indoor track at the gym
has become one of my happy places.

This week's Challenge is short and sweet: The 20% solution. Find an
aspect of your workout that has been feeling a bit stale, or not quite
intense enough, and bump it up by 20%. That could be 20% in one go;
for example, if your current "long run" is 5 miles, run 6 instead. Or
it could be broken into smaller increases; for example, you could do
two runs, and go 10% farther than your usual distance each time. Even
if you have to walk part of the time in order to increase the
distance, the miles still count!

Or you could apply this creatively! If you wog, you could run 20% more
of the time, and walk 20% less.

And of course, sit ups and push ups....ask yourself, could you do 20% more?

Whatever you do....remember it's all about progress, not perfection.
It doesn't matter whether you're a marathoner, or lacing up the
running shoes for the first time in decades. Just keep moving forward,
just keep swimming!

Team In Training Challenge For 1/30-2/1

Welcome foolish mortals…or should I say “Team Voice”. The weather in the Northeast definitely has an aura of foreboding (where running is concerned anyhow). Is this team actually stretching, or is it just my imagination, hmmmm? (no really, we’re up like 10 people!) And consider this dismaying observation, the clock is ticking till your next Disney race which offers this chilling challenge…to ensure you have the day off to place ADR’s when you hit 180 days out!!!!! J

Here is the challenge for the weekend. It’s another 3 mile challenge, but this time with a twist. For those of us who are injured, give the alternate workout a try or a variation of it to keep in good health while on the mend. Note: I’m not an expert on this so feel free to do what you can and let us know how it went.

It wouldn’t be a Team Voice challenge if it didn’t include push-ups and sit-ups, so this one is no different J All of the below should be completed by the end of the weekend, so you can split up the push-ups/sit-ups if you’d like.

Pro’s: 150 sit-ups, 100 push-ups

Novice: 50 sit-ups, 50 push-ups

3 Mile Interval Workout The idea is to help each member of the team to reach their goal time which may range from a 7/min mile pace to a 16/min mile pace. Take whatever your normal 3 mile run/walk/wog would be and break it down into the below. If you don’t have a Garmin or other GPS-type watch then you can go to www.mapmyrun.com and figure out the intervals there for your particular route. If you think this is too much for you, then try to throw in 2 speed intervals of ¼ mile or so just to get the feel of it.

• ½ mile warm up jog/walk
• ¼ mile fast interval – Fast being relative to your normal pace.
• ½ mile regular interval – normal pace
• ¼ mile fast interval
• ½ mile regular interval
• ¼ mile fast interval
• ¾ regular interval – to finish the 3 miles

Alternate Interval Workout For those who can’t hit the pavement put in 30 minutes on your favorite low-impact machine (bike, elliptical, etc.)

· 5 minute warm up speed

· 5 minute pace speed

· 5 minute pace + 10% speed

· 5 minute pace speed

· 5 minute pace + 15% speed

· 5 minute pace speed

This is a good start to the interval training and can be varied depending on what race you are training for. If you’re training for a 5k you might increase the intervals to get up to 8 or so intervals by race day. The idea here is to get a feel for them and spread out the intervals when you start getting into longer runs. This will help your overall endurance and help you meet your pace goals. Also, don’t’ go “all out” during the fast intervals as the mission isn’t to hurt yourself, instead its to challenge yourself.

Give it a try and remember that if you haven’t been doing this already that it’ll be an adjustment, but this will really help you in the long run (pardon the pun). This is something I’m planning on adding into my weekly schedule for this year. I had run 3 half marathons between June08-Jan09 all with a 1hr 56min XXsec time and feel like all the training I did during that period just helped me maintain versus move forward. I’m hoping that this will help me break through the wall and start to bring down my overall pace!

Thanks!

Chris “Stroller Boy” Cullen

Vern Week Run Set For February 28th

Greetings Team Voice members, welcome to our first virtual event of the year.
We are going to start our first event by letting each team member set their own personal mileage goal. Future events, such as the ones some of you participated in last year, will have set minimum goals.

The purpose behind these events is to encourage you on toward a new personal best. Please note the word "personal." If you have not guessed by now, our fitness goals are not about out doing each other. It's about supporting each other no matter what your goal is. I find the same excitement in Jeff Hamm's one mile as I do in Bryan Ripper's WDW land speed record. Reading about, and seeing everyone meet new goals is very exciting to me. I know that other team members feel the same way.

Here's how this works. Send me an email, or post in the comments below, that you would like to be on the roster and what your distance goal is.

Now, I know some of you are coming back from or nursing some injuries. If this discribes you then feel free to bike or use an ellipticle. But please do so ONLY if you will not risk further injury.

If your not injured you should be either walking or running.

As team members sign up I will be updating the roster at the top of this page.
If the for some reason the 28th is a bad date for you, please select another date as close to that as possible.

On the day you do the challenge visit this blog again and email each other. I will update the roster with results as they come in. Be sure to visit the link to Vern days in the previous post. And on the day of your run just picture yourself in Passamaquoddy.

On word of caution. Please avoid the Herring Whips and Sea Perch Pop Ups.

February Is Vern Week In Passamaquoddy

Weekly challenges are one thing, but we at Team Voice really enjoy our team virtual runs. The theme for February was inspired by Glen Whelan's Passamaquoddy blog.
Last year Passamaquoddy hosted Vern days. A week long celebration honoring an author how wrote many adventures both on land and at sea. This year Team Voice has been invited to participate in the second annual running event. Details will follow soon.
Meanwhile you can follow this link to details on last years run. Vern Week Run

While your there check out the other events that were held.



Look for details for Team Voice this weekend.