runDisney Virtual Running  Shorts

Many Disney fans spend incredible amounts of time trying to find ways to relive the magic when we get home from vacation. We watch Disney movies after a day spent trying to recreate Dole Whips and churros.  We listen to podcasts for the latest news, and watch attraction videos online.  We make popcorn and watch livestreams of parade and fireworks.  We do what we have to do.  

This summer, fans of runDisney got an even more amazing way to bring Disney home.  We were offered the opportunity to participate in the runDisney Virtual Running Shorts Series, three different virtual 5Ks during the months of May and June with an epic Disney medal as a reward.  As you can imagine, someone like me, (who has travelled thousands of miles, many times to run Disney) jumped at this chance.  In true runDisney fashion, a challenge was also put on the line: Run all three 5Ks and receive a fourth medal!  And so our race registrations promptly went in.  Of course, I would collect all the Disney bling I could get for myself, and also registered each of my other family members for a 5K.

Since I was already in training for the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon, over the course of the six week runDisney Virtual Running Shorts Series, I ran a total of fourteen 5Ks and seven 10Ks.  But, I chose three of them to run somewhere really special in our city, Regina, Saskatchewan, to “earn my medal”:

Yellow Shoes - 5K at Depot Division, Home of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Red Pants - 5K around Saskatchewan Legislative Building and it’s newly unveiled copper dome

White Gloves - 5K around Wascana Lake with my kids (who also earned their medals)

 

I hope that we see many more runDisney virtual races in the future.  The medals are as beautiful as the ones I have travelled, and run dozens of miles to earn!  Although we will never be able to duplicate the magic of a true runDisney event with a virtual race, if you have a little Faith, Trust, and a touch of Pixie Dust, you just might catch a glimpse of Mickey at your finish line!

Dining in the Dark

Our Table at The Willow

Last night, I had the great fortune of attending the 6th evening of "Dining in the Dark" at The Willow on Wascana, one of Regina’s treasures.  It was such a thought-provoking, interesting experience that I knew immediately it would require its own blog post.  I don’t know what I expected going in to it, but I was certainly surprised by the whole evening.  Anyone who follows me knows that if I am going out for a special dinner, I will be taking pictures of my food and jotting notes about what I had, but in this case, neither of those things were possible.  Therefore, you will have to bear with my memory that I am getting some details right, but there certainly won’t be in depth descriptions of our dishes.  Even though my brain seems to cling to the lyrics for "Ice, Ice Baby", it is less likely to remember a chef’s description of a plate for some disappointing reason.

I was under the assumption that the crowd of diners would get seated at their tables and then at the prompt hour of 7:00 pm all the lights would go out, but this was not the case.  We entered the restaurant in the complete dark, which was a challenge.  In fact, not fifteen seconds into our “locomotion” style journey, I had grabbed my friend’s breast.  At our table, our server described what we had in front of us:  cutlery which we were to keep through the entire meal, a white napkin (which I never moved as I used it as a reference point to find my silverware) and a glass of water, which we were told we had to refill ourselves to avoid the server pouring it all over us.  I knew right away that I was not going to be drinking water as I was unwilling to undertake any kind of expedition to find the bathroom.  After a bit of time, our eyes adjusted and since it was still quite bright outside we could see some outlines and were better able to orient ourselves.  However, as the sun went down, it became complete and utter darkness.  There were some pieces of reflector tape on the back of the chairs, servers, and I am assuming sharp corners so it was a bit like sitting in a sparse, completely still version, of Space Mountain.  And just like Space Mountain, my stomach was a bit uneasy at times because it was so strange to be virtually blind.

The dinner is a $50 fixed price, four-course meal.  We were also offered the wine flight for an additional $25 which I would have loved to try had I not been driving.  I am an indecisive diner so love having a pre-determined menu, and this is The Willow for goodness sake, so it has to be good!  I put all my trust in them but was alarmed to hear that we would NOT be finding out what we were eating until after the course was done.  What?  We had to try and figure it out on our own.  Generally when I eat, I am doing three other things, and wandering around the house.  Sometimes I don’t even remember eating at all, so I know I need to focus more on what I am tasting, but this seemed a bit extreme!

As I said, without taking notes, I cannot describe in detail the food, but the first course was a Braised Leek dish.  The only thing on the plate I was able to identify was the shaved parmesan cheese, and a pickled item which we found out to be fennel.  There were also these terrific crunchy bits which we later found out were steel cut oats.  I never would have guessed them, but I loved it.  

At the end of each course, the Chef would come out and describe what you just ate and the Sommelier would describe the wine pairing.  After the second course, which I determined to be beef, the Chef asked the diners to provide their best guesses.  People were shouting “pork”, “bison”, etc. and I just thought “Now, if this turns out to be chicken or something, I am never cooking another meal in my whole life.”  Thankfully, it was a Korean Beef Short Rib on Daikon Radish “noodles” and was probably my favourite course of the night.

How did we eat?  Well, to be completely truthful, I used my left hand to feel around and my right hand held my fork.  I don’t love eating with my hands but I found it an absolute necessity to try and decipher the dish as well as make sure I actually found the food on my plate!  I immediately regretted not having a last minute extensive hand-washing but luckily I have kids so I fished a wet wipe out of my purse at some point to try and keep fresh!  Sometimes I would get my fork to my mouth just to realize that it did not have any food on it.  Other times, I would get such an enormous chunk of food on the fork that I must have looked like a cavewoman, meat dangling from my mouth and hand in my plate.  We figured it would be completely hilarious if they were recording us on night-vision cameras.

More hilarity ensued as we tried to have conversations with each other.  At one point, my friend said something to the effect of “I am nodding my head but I guess you can’t see that, so just know that I agree with you.”  I found myself straining to see my dinner companions as I was talking to them.  You would think I would have caught on to the fact that I couldn’t see them, and just closed my eyes, instead of leaving with a tension headache.  This was about the point in the night where I realized I have never sat in the dark that long.  Even when the power is out, one has a flashlight or a candle to give off some kind of light, or you just go to bed.  I also started to think that if I had to lose one of my senses, I didn’t want it to be sight.  I decided I would sacrifice my hearing because, let’s face it, this world is too damn noisy anyway.

The third course was Steelhead Trout with a beet puree, a green bean puree, and served on a “potato pancake”.  Chef had a fancier description but again…no notebook!  It was really good as well, and made me wonder if steelhead normally tastes and smells fishy, because it sure didn’t last night.  However, it was easy to identify by its texture.

"Oh my goodness, what if I have really gone blind?  How do I know that it’s just really dark and I am not actually blind right now?  Anything could have happened in the last three hours!!!”  

Wait, dessert is here.  Okay, I feel better now!  Right away, I tasted orange.  It reminded me of the Terry’s Chocolate Oranges that you see at Christmas time.  It had to be orange sherbet and there was also a thick chocolate sauce with some kind of nut, and a couple of pieces of a deep-fried “elephant ear” type dough.  But definitely orange!  However, Chef came out and described the dish as a deconstructed cannoli.  There was chocolate-pistachio ice cream, but no trace of orange!  How can this be??  I am second-guessing everything I have ever thought to be true at this point.

By the end, I was anxious to see something again and hoping that I could actually walk and drive.  Was it worth the money?  Yes, absolutely.  Would I recommend it?  One billion percent (unless you are scared of the dark and/or have an irrational fear of going blind)!  If I could give one piece of advice it would be to wash your hands really, really well before going in there, and keep some wet wipes in your pocket for an easy wash down.  The Willow is running "Dining in the Dark" Tuesdays in April but are hoping to extend it into June so if you are interested, contact them as soon as possible!

I spent most of the night and today pondering this experience and am dying to know what the plates actually looked like.  I wonder when a Chef doesn’t need to worry about what colours he/she uses on a plate, if it opens up different combinations that would not normally be explored.  And although I think we all know the role that sight plays when eating, it is fascinating to explore the loss of the sense in such depth.  Thanks so much to The Willow for the terrific evening and to my dining companions.  I assume you all looked lovely!

www.willowonwascana.ca

Cheddar & Apple Pizza 

I had the great honour of being invited back to the "Wheatland Cafe" on CTV this week.  Call me crazy, but I just love the opportunity to cook on television!  It is a challenge to find a recipe that viewers would be interested in recreating, simple enough for them to do so, and still teach them something new.  On top of all that, I have to be able to demonstrate the recipe in a matter of minutes, and make sensical words come out of my mouth at the same time!  I love playing with "television magic" (putting something in the oven just to have a perfectly cooked "double" come out seconds later).  I have pretended to have a cooking show since I was a little girl, so I think that's why I always jump at a segment! So, many thanks to CTV Regina, CJ Katz, and JC Garden for having me on the show!

I dug back several years in my cookbook collection for this easy, quick dessert!  It is one of my favourites and can be adapted in so many ways with different fruits and cheeses (can you say "Pear & Gorgonzola"?).  It can be made the day ahead, although fresh and warm from the oven is always best! Serve it with ice cream or your favourite whipped topping, or if you want to be really fancy, try making your own creme fraiche! It is easy, and decadent, and only takes a wee bit more time out of your schedule!  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!  Feel free to make it your own, and if you come up with any really cool fruit and cheese combinations, please let me know!

Cheddar & Apple Pizza

pastry for a single crust pie
4 large tart apples, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. chopped macadamia nuts (or walnuts)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. cold butter

Roll pastry to fit a greased, 12 inch pizza pan. Flute edges and prick with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Arrange apples in a circular patten in a single layer to completely cover the pastry. Sprinkle apples with cheese. Combine brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle over top.  Cut butter into small pieces and dot top of pizza. Bake for 20 additional minutes, or until apples are tender.  Cut into wedges. Serve with creme fraiche, ice cream or your favourite whipped topping.

Creme Fraiche

To make your own creme fraiche, mix 1 cup of whipping cream and 2 Tbsp. of greek yogourt or buttermilk in a bowl. Cover lightly with cheesecloth or a coffee filter and let stand at room temperature for 8-24 hours until it thickens slightly.  It can then be stored in the fridge, where it will thicken further.  If you would like more of a whipped cream texture, whip it with a beater until it forms soft peaks and sweeten with sugar or honey, if desired!

Superbowl   Snacks!!

I don't know a lot about football, but I do know a lot about snacking!  And since one of my dessert creations actually appeared in a commercial during the Superbowl last year (single most exciting moment of my life), I thought I would share a few Superbowl snack ideas.  Plus, I was asked to talk about Superbowl Snacking on NewsTalk 980 CJME so I had to put some thoughts together anyway!

I think the most important thing about preparing snacks for any viewing party is to choose items that you can prepare ahead of time, can be served easily, and will hold well at room temperature as guests will be grazing for hours.  In the case of the Superbowl, you need to also consider that you can't be running to the kitchen to flip appetizers in the oven during the commercial breaks, because we all know you can't miss the commercials!  I like to have a variety of items but you don't need 4 different hot dips!  I would suggest a couple of finger foods, a hot and a cold dip, and perhaps one or two main dishes like a beautiful plate of nachos.  I suppose you could have a veggie tray but I can't imagine anyone getting too excited over it.  If you wanted to serve a more substantial meal, try chili or gumbo in bread bowls, a tourtiere (meat pie), baked beans, or enchiladas, for example.

You cannot go wrong with a meat and cheese platter.  Some of my fondest childhood memories are the sausage and cheese plate we used to make up for every Grey Cup game.  This was THE treat of the year and we would have it all eaten before the game even started.  It remains a tradition to this day.  You can elevate your meat and cheese plate with a variety of each, and add chunks of Parmesan Reggiano drizzled with a balsamic glaze, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and pickled vegetables.

PIZZA!  Why not try something different like a Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Pizza?  They are a match made in heaven.  I believe that anything you can put on a pizza can also be an amazing combination on poutine or nachos.  Just think about that for a moment...Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Nachos??  Yes, please.  And for those of you who frown on blue cheese, try Cambozola.  It's my favourite cheese in the world and is a cross between a Camembert and a Blue, so is a bit milder.

Everyone loves a homemade bread so try whipping up a batch of biscuits to serve with your hot dip or to make slider-style sandwiches.  I call biscuits the "gateway bread" because they're a great place to start making homemade breads and can be in the oven in less than 10 minutes.  Who wouldn't love to have a slider on a homemade biscuit while they watch the Superbowl?  So, on that note, here are three of my SuperSnacks.  Quick, easy and guaranteed to be a hit during the big game! (we'll leave the "fancy schmancy" bites for the Oscars viewing party!)

Beef & Lentil Biscuit Sliders

1/2 C. cold butter
2 C. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3/4 C. cold milk
Heat oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients.  Cut butter into dry ingredients until you have pea-sized pieces of dough.  Stir in milk until dough leaves the side of the bowl and then turn onto lightly floured surface.  Knead lightly, until all the flour has been incorporated, but not a second more!  Pat into a 1/2 inch thick disc and cut with a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter.  Place on a baking stone, or cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 C. dry lentils, cooked (optional)
1 egg
1 Tbsp. whole grain mustard
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
Combine all in a large bowl and form approximately 1/4 C. mix into 2 1/2 inch patties.  Cook over medium heat in a frying pan or on a cookie sheet in the oven.  Serve sliders on biscuits with your favourite toppings.  (pictured above with caramelized onions, Boursin cheese, and a splash of greens)

Ranch Sausage Stackers

2 C. cooked, crumbled sausage (I use pork but you could use turkey, chicken or beef)
1 1/2 C. grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 C. grated monterey jack cheese
1 C. ranch dressing
1 can sliced, black olives
1/2 C. chopped red pepper
1 package fresh wonton wrappers
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients except for wonton wrappers.  Lightly grease a muffin tin and press one wrapper into each cup.  Brush with oil.  Bake 5 minutes, until golden.  Remove from tin and place on a baking sheet.  Fill with sausage mixture and bake an additional 5 minutes until bubbly.  Serve warm but they are also good at room temperature, and freeze well!

Texas Caviar

1 can each black beans, pinto beans, and black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
2 fresh, chopped jalapeños, with seeds
1 can kernel corn, drained
1 small jar pimentos
1 C. diced onions
1 C. diced celery
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
Mix all together in a large bowl. Whisk together the following to make a dressing:
1/2 C. oil
1/4 C. apple cider vinegar
1/4 C. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Add enough dressing to bowl to lightly coat your "caviar".  Serve with scoop shaped tortilla chips!

My MasterChef Canada Story: The Finale

MasterChef Canada Season 3 is upon is!  The last few months I have been wondering what I would feel like at this moment.  A new crop is born.  My friends and I are the “old” home cooks.  Would the unveiling of the new cast of characters leave us Season 2 finalists completely forgotten?  Probably, yes.  In fact, even the kid at the elementary school who used to shout at me “Hi, Mrs. MasterChef!!” is back to addressing me “ Hi, Emily’s Mom!!”  But now that it is here, I realize I am okay!  I am very excited about the new season and am thrilled for the forty home cooks whose lives are being changed as they help to promote the show.  Of course, most of those will see very little time on television but for now, they must pretend that they could be the big winner!!  I found this hard to do when we were getting ready for the launch of Season 2.  We couldn’t give away any indication of where we would place, so even though I knew I would only see two episodes, I had to put on the face of a potential champion.  It was hard for me to see my Province, friends, and family get so excited when I knew they would be let down in just a couple of weeks.  But, that’s what I signed up for, so that’s what I did.  

I have promised for months to tell you what Alvin Leung, the Demon Chef, said to me that made me laugh out loud.  And now that there are a new bunch of stories ready to be told, I had better wrap up my saga, so here it goes…

During my audition in Calgary, I was asked by one of our fabulous producers to talk about the people that I cook for.  At some point, I mentioned that I sit on a lot of boards for community groups and I like to bring baking to meetings to use them as guinea pigs.  For whatever reason, she thought my volunteerism was really interesting.  Those from small Saskatchewan towns know that this is not out of the ordinary, but perhaps a Toronto producer would think it to be so.  It also came out that I am married to the Mayor of our town, so once again, “First Lady” status must have sounded like a bigger deal than it really is in a town of 600 people!!

When I presented for the first time to the MasterChef Canada judges in Toronto, trying to earn my white apron, I was asked various questions by them.  You do see some of this on television, but as you can imagine, so, so much hits the cutting room floor.  These same types of questions about my presence in the community and volunteerism came up.  The judges all tasted my Ten-Layer Torte and then proceed to make comments and ask more questions. When it was the Demon Chef's turn, the conversation went something like this:

Alvin:  “So, you cook a lot for your town?  And they all think you’re food is excellent, right?" (insert Alvin’s voice here)

Deanna:  “Uhhh…well, I guess, I don’t get a lot of complaints when I bring people food.”

Alvin:  “So, everyone likes you and your food.  I don’t know…Maybe THEY ARE AFRAID OF YOU!!!”

Deanna:  “Hahahahahaha”

Then I quickly stifled my laughter, wondering if I was going to be in big trouble.  I don’t think we’ve seen footage of too many people laughing at the Demon Chef so I was fairly sure, it wouldn’t make the cut, but in any case, I will always remember the hilarity of that conversation.  Chef Alvin’s dead-pan, serious accusation that I was feared because of all the power I hold.  Pure comedy gold.

I would imagine when the new season begins on February 14 (with an online sneak peek this Sunday!!), we will see many entertaining home cooks and I am looking forward to seeing our fantastic judges again.  I have to be honest, I have already picked my favourite home cook, as my friend April Lee Baker has been named as a top 40 finalist!  I am so proud of her already and Sundays won’t come often enough so I can see the next episode.  I wish the very best of luck to April Lee and the other 39 cooks as they pursue the MasterChef Canada trophy.  I can’t wait to see it unfold.  And of course, all the best to Chefs Claudio, Michael, and Alvin, and to everyone at Proper Television and CTV for a fantastic season!!  I am so proud to remain part of the MasterChef family…even if I am now the elder generation!

Regina Restaurant Week 

#RRW2016

I have not been this excited about anything in a while, and it's not just the "Calories Don't Count Downtown" tagline!  Regina Restaurant Week is here!  This is an amazing collaboration put together by thirteen of Regina downtown's best dining establishments and the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District.  Restaurant Week runs nightly (5:00 to 9:00 pm) until February 10 and is an incredible opportunity for diners to experience some of our best downtown dining, at an amazing price!  All menus are a fixed price dinner and include an appetizer, entree, and dessert for $35.  When you look at the restaurant offerings, you will see that this is really a fantastic value!  I had the opportunity last night to attend a "social media preview" of the event and we stopped at three establishments to sample their offerings. We had a terrific evening that I will describe in stomach-rumbling detail, but in the meantime, you can find all the participating restaurants, and their menus here:

http://www.reginadowntown.ca/events/regina-restaurant-week

The Copper Kettle

www.copperkettleregina.com

This was our first stop and we enjoyed our appetizer course here.  Normally, you will get all three courses at one restaurant, but this was a special preview so we split the courses over three establishments.  Our group was blown away by what's happening at The Copper Kettle!  I had not been there in years, and quite honestly with the explosion of amazing restaurants Regina has seen over the last few years, it wasn't even on my radar to go back.  However, I am so glad we landed there as there are some amazing things going on!  The Copper Kettle has been a Regina staple for 50 years, but has just undergone a major renovation and menu update overseen by their new General Manager, and Junior Chef, Destiny Slobodian.  We were really impressed with Destiny's excitement about the renovations, menu, and being a part of Restaurant Week.  We were brought out a variety of appetizers, three of which appear as choices on the Restaurant Week menu:  Crusted Feta, Spanakopita, and Braised Back Ribs.  We were also served Calamari and Mussels as an extra something special.  Destiny explained to us that their new menu is a modern twist on a traditional Greek menu, and they have worked to play off of typically salty Greek food, by adding sweetness, such as honey or fresh fruit to a dish.  She also is heavily focused on Saskatchewan products and reported that approximately 85% of what we were eating was from our Province.  Of the five items we sampled, my favourite was the "Crusted Feta" (bottom right in photo).  It was wrapped in phyllo dough, pan seared, topped with seeds and nuts, and drizzled with salted honey.  Heaven.  It is one of those dishes that I am going to often dream about, and will be returning to enjoy.  All of the offerings we sampled were really good, but it's hard to beat a cheese dish in my books.  All in all, the restaurant looks beautiful, the location remains unparalleled, the food was tasty and well-presented, the staff were lovely, and Destiny brings a very bright future to the Copper Kettle.  I am excited to get back and sample a couple of their entrees, and well..."baklava".  Need I say more?

Famoso

www.famoso.ca

Our entree stop was at Famoso, one of our newest additions to downtown.  Even though I think about food approximately 23 hours a day, I get out to eat very rarely, so this is another spot I have been wanting to try, but hadn't until last night!  Anyone who has been out to dine with me knows that I am the very last person at the table to order, because I am indecisive and need the pressure of everyone else waiting on me to pull the trigger on a selection.  Not last night though!  The first pizza I spotted was the "Cavoletti" and it was a done deal!  I didn't even look at the other offerings.  Pictured above is my Cavoletti Pizzetta which is topped with oven-roasted brussel sprouts, proscuitto crisps, gorgonzola cheese, dates, walnuts, and honey.  There were also three side options and I chose the Caprese Salad.  I loved the flavours on this pizza.  I make a lot of homemade pizza but mine are very North American...thick crust, with lots of meat and cheese but the Famoso pizzas are what I would consider more authentic Italian.  They are a very thin, airy crust, lighter toppings, and interesting flavour combinations, and then fired roasted.  I thought my pizza could have done with a few less seconds on the fire.  There was a bit of charring and the proscuitto was beyond crispy, but I enjoyed it very much.  And since I tend to underbake things as I like a more soft, doughy texture, I may not be the best judge of "degree of charring".  Famoso is a bit different from the other Regina Restaurant Week options as here, it is 2 CAN DINE for $35.  How incredible is that??  I am anxious to get back and I know the kids are going to love it, especially when they see the gelato counter!  But in the meantime, I still have half a pizzetta in the fridge that I am going to enjoy for dinner tonight!

20Ten City Eatery

www.20ten.ca

Dessert.  There are many times I will skip a meal entirely just so I can have a dessert.  It explains a lot, doesn't it?  Another beautiful, new location to downtown Regina is 20Ten City Eatery and it is literally, a stone's throw east of Famoso.  We had our dessert course there and it is a lovely spot and we had excellent service.  I think aside from one creme brûlée, our whole group ordered either the brownie, or the dessert above which appears on the Restaurant Week Menu.  It is a spiced ginger toffee cake with banana anglaise, and vanilla bean ice cream.  It was very good, although I didn't get a whole lot of ginger flavour from it.  I could have eaten just a bowl of the anglaise, mind you.  It may be worth noting that 20Ten City Eatery only has one offering for each course on the Restaurant Week Menu (whereas most of the other restaurants provide at least two choices) so I would have a look at their menu, and make sure it's something you will enjoy, before you commit to making it your choice of dining location.  If you do go, I think you will be happy with the ginger toffee cake, although I generally prefer chocolate to toffee or caramel.  Except in the case of...well, baklava.

Thank you so much to Regina Downtown BID for inviting me to be a part of their preview.  It was a terrific night and I cannot wait to get back downtown to try some more of the offerings.  Keep an eye on social media when you are planning your dinners.  There is already a lot of buzz around the hashtag #RRW2016 so I would bet you are going to see a lot of photos and reviews of the menus.  And please feel free to tweet, snap, and post yourselves using #RRW2016.  I truly hope that all of Regina gets out at least once in the next couple of weeks to eat downtown!  

Every Mile is Magic

I am a Walt Disney World Marathon Finisher.
Today I was thinking about how long I have been running and I realized I started just over 2 1/2 years ago, and here I am with a full marathon under my belt.  I spoke with a few different runners this past weekend, and when I told them it was my first marathon, they all said, "Ah, yes! The bucket list!"  But I realized that no, I have never had a marathon on my bucket list.  I never even would have dreamed that I could run one, but I just did.  I only knew that I didn't want to get any older and regret it if I had never tried, so I thought it would be smart to make an attempt sooner, rather than later.  And I knew if I was going to run 26.2 miles, there would be only one place I would do it:  Walt Disney World, where as they say, "Every Mile is Magic".  A downside of running at Disney World though is it is the only place on earth where you catch yourself saying, "I'm JUST running the Marathon", because some runners are participating in the Dopey Challenge, which includes all four races.  But it's also awesome because it's the only place on earth where you can call someone "Dopey" and it is a compliment. "Hey look kids, he's Dopey!  Good job, Dopey!"  It was fabulous.

The Marathon is the only race of the year where runners get to travel through all four theme parks, including backstage areas, which for a Disney fan like me is the ultimate golden ticket.  I was also excited to find that I was running in the daylight (or near daylight) through the three theme parks that I had previously run through at night, so I got to see them in a different way.  I did run through the Magic Kingdom in the total dark, which was amazing because of all the lights on Main Street USA and on the Castle, which brings me to my first race highlight.

We entered the Magic Kingdom from the east, at the south end of Main Street, heading towards the Christmas tree.  There were spectators lining the street, screaming and cheering.  It was amazing!  I believe I shouted "Hello, Magic Kingdom!!" and took a good look at all of them because I knew in a moment I was going to turn the corner and there would be only one thing I would see.  And then it happened, in just a matter of seconds, I took a right hand turn and there it was, Cinderella's Castle in all its sparkling glory.  I ran towards it, Christmas wreaths lining the Main Street shops, cheering spectators packed along the left, cast members on our right, and I just kept thinking "Remember this. Remember this moment."  And I know I always will.

When you are not running through a theme park, there is entertainment along the way, including character meets and photo opportunities, DJs, and lots of water and snack stops (thank you sponsors!).  One of my favourite of these places was a pair of entertainers around mile 11.  They were wearing microphones so we could hear them for quite a while as we did a u-turn at that spot.  The banter went something like, "You guys are looking great!  Keep up the pace!  We hope you can come back tomorrow for the marathon!"
"Yes, they'll be all warmed up from this nice Sunday jog by then!"
"You do know, this is just the line up for Toy Story Midway Mania, right?"
I was laughing out loud.

Anyone who has raced at Walt Disney World knows the hill where the Green Army Men camp out.  It is the Osceola Parkway off-ramp onto World Drive and you will find them "cheering" runners up the incline by yelling at us.  They are the only people (aka toys) in the world that I appreciate yelling at me.  "I know it's hard to run in glass slippers.  But guess what, ladies???  You're not wearing glass slippers, YOU'RE WEARING SNEAKERS!!  NOW GET MOVING!!"  It's absolutely the best and at mile 21, was one of the last things I remember as it got pretty foggy after that.

I must make mention of the signs because they are something I always look forward to.  There were so many signs, and I really only got the chance to read a few of them, but some of my favourites were:
"I got a blister just making this sign."
"Goonies never say die."
"Spoiler Alert: You are killing this race." (with a photo of Kylo Ren)
But my very favourite sign was held by a lovely woman just outside of Hollywood Studios, at approximately mile 23.5, that simply said, "You are going to finish a marathon today."
And I think that's when it hit me, as the tears welled up in my eyes.  Yes, I really was.

I finished the marathon in 4:40:26 and although it wasn't an earth-shattering time, I beat the goal I had set for myself and finished in the top 11% of women, and top 18% overall.  Not too shabby for someone who hadn't ever planned to run one.  Minnie Mouse was at the finish line and I veered over to get a high five from her before crossing the line.  And then it was time to choose the person who would put the medal around my neck.  Having gotten to hand out medals at the Queen City Marathon last fall, I knew how the volunteers near the end of the line didn't keep as busy, so I took my time.  I scanned their faces and then I made eye contact with this beautiful girl and I knew she was the one.  I walked up to her, she put the medal around my neck and said "Congratulations" and then I said to her, "This is my first marathon and I am never going to forget your face.  Thank you."  And I could tell she was touched as she said "I am never going to forget you either."

Last night, I was watching a show about the IronMan in Hawaii, and Sean Astin said something that spoke to me, as he has done before.  He said "For the rest of my life, I'll know that I did that.  And no one can ever take it away."  Of all the photos we took that weekend, those staged with Disney characters, of parade floats, our favourite foods, or against the backdrop of a beloved attraction, this one is my favourite.  The moment when I saw my son, the relief of battling something hard and emerging a winner.

During the flights home from Florida, I had a talk with each of the kids and said "Do you know why I wanted you to come?  Because I wanted you to see that you can do things that are hard.  And even if they're hard, and you're scared, and you don't think you can do it, you can."
Emily replied, "If you can dream it, you can do it.  Right, Mom?".  That's right.  That's so right.

One Week until Walt Disney World Marathon!

My apologies for a quiet blog.  It has been a defeating fall and I haven't had much to say, but I just realized this Marathon is the reason I started these musings in the first place so I thought I had better share my progress!  I am officially one week away from running my first (and last) full marathon and am experiencing a variety of emotions.  I think I am mildly excited that it is nearly here.  If nothing else, I am very excited that it is almost over!  I am mostly terrified though, not of the pain and the fatigue, but that for some reason I will be pulled from the course and not finish.  I know for a fact that I will not quit, and as long as I'm conscious, will fight tooth and nail with anyone trying to remove me!  As I told a friend, if I don't finish, it better be because I am stone cold dead!

I have been suffering through an SI joint problem that has caused me a lot of pain and required me to slow my pace quite a bit.  Fortunately, thanks to the physiotherapist and chiropractor, I have been feeling a lot better in the last few weeks and am running with only minor pain.  It was looking pretty bleak for a while as I walked with a dramatic limp, and had a hard time getting in and out of the vehicle, and even rolling over in bed.  But I managed to keep getting my mileage in, albeit slow, and I have to be proud of myself that I never missed a training "limp" despite the mental and physical pain. By the time I leave for Walt Disney World on Thursday, I will have logged 600 miles preparing for this race.

When I signed up for the biggest RunDisney race of the year, I had no intentions of taking the kids along.  However, the day I ran my first 15 miler (at the time the longest distance I had ever run), I had an epiphany:  that this is a really big achievement and I was doing it once, and once only, so the kids should be there to see me finish.  And like every crazy thing that I do, I hope the memory of it would be inspiring to them at some point in their lives.  So, on Boxing Day, we surprised them with the news that they would be coming along to cheer me on, and they would be running their very own race ,"The Mickey Mile", on Saturday afternoon.  We are staying at the Polynesian Village Resort and the Marathon course will take me by the Polynesian twice for a good view for the family.  Then they are just a monorail ride away from the finish line at EPCOT so it should work really well.

I cannot say enough about the people in the running community who have given me advice.  I hope you know who you are!!  Talking to these experienced runners is so valuable (and I hope that something I have to say will help another runner along some day).  This fall, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the Queen City Marathon crew, and Darwin Weimer, in particular, gave me some amazing insight into the mental game of this sport.  He made me aware of, and this fall I paid close attention to, the crazy things our minds will try and tell us to stop ourselves from running.  On my 26.2 miler the week before Christmas, I came up with the analogy of having an angel and a devil on my shoulder, kind of like Fred Flintstone would have from time to time.  The devil voice would say, "You know you should just walk.  You've got plenty of time.  Your knee is starting to hurt.  You don't want to damage it before the real race.  Just walk it out."  But what I learned is, that if you listen for the angel voice (and sometimes it's hard to hear when you're really tired), it might say "You are doing great!  You are making good time.  Forget about that knee and look at that rebar and insulation.  Doesn't it look like Cinderella's Castle?"  Every once in a while, I will imagine our amazing RunDisney volunteers lining the edge of the road, waving at me with giant Mickey Mouse hands, and the odd time, when no one is looking, I might even wave back!

I will be posting lots from Florida and will do a weekend recap when we get home!  Please keep me in your thoughts (and prayers if you are so inclined) that we will have a safe trip and I will have a successful race on Sunday morning.  At the end of it, I just need to know I gave it all I had, and I hope I end up with a time that is gratifying enough that I won't feel compelled to do it again!  Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust.