Extreme RunDisney: An Epic 40th Birthday Challenge

[zanzibar138]

Race Recap: RunDisney Virtual 5k June
Moonee Ponds Creek Trail, Melbourne VIC

It was a perfect sunny winter's morning for the first of my virtual 5k races on Saturday. There was a definite chill in the air, but the sunshine felt amazing and I loved getting out in it!



I chose to just stick close to home this time around, and did my 5k along the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail just across the road from where I live. Bits of the trail are pretty, with a natural creek surrounded by a bit of bushland. In other parts it's closer to a concrete drain with a path either side and a couple of levels of freeway overpass over the top! In some sections it even leaves the creek briefly for some suburban streets. Luckily I live close to one of the nicer parts, so I had a nice mixture of parks and bushy areas as my surroundings.

Sadly I don't have my cute Pluto running jacket yet, so I wore my Disneyland Half Marathon one from a couple of years ago, and accessorised with some Disney earrings and hair accessories. Thought briefly about wearing some Mickey ears but I have to admit I wasn't keen on drawing quite that much attention to myself.

Since I am currently in training for a walking event, and haven't done much running since my last 5k, I mainly stuck to walking this time around. However, I was keen to finish with less than a 16 min/mile pace as per RunDisney's guidelines, so I popped in a few random running intervals when I could see my pace dropping below the minimum. I ended up doing just over 5k and finishing in about 46 minutes, so I was pretty happy with that.

At the 'finish line', I had a banana and water waiting for me with my medal (I actually had my car as I was on my way home from somewhere else). I carefully unwrapped my medal and presented it to myself before posing for some selfies and enjoying my banana and water in the sunshine. Very pleasant race day.

Also very pleased to report that there was no sign of any shin splints, bursitis, stress fractures, or any other injury!

 

[zanzibar138]

Training Update
Currently in training for:
* RunDisney Virtual 5k - July 2017
* RunDisney Virtual 5k - August 2017
* Oxfam Trailwalker 50k - Friday 25th August 2017

Monday
Cardio:
* 10 flights of stairs, alternating 2 at a time and 1 at a time

Strength:
* 2 x 8 squats
* 2 x 8 lunges (each side)
* 2 x 30 sec single leg balance (each side)

Tuesday
Cardio:
* Approx 3hrs bachata dancing lessons

Wednesday
Cardio:
* Approx 3hrs salsa dancing lessons

Thursday
Cardio:
* 10 flights of stairs, alternating 2 at a time and 1 at a time

Strength:
* 2 x 8 squats
* 2 x 8 lunges (each side)
* 2 x 30 sec single leg balance (each side)

Friday
Rest

Saturday
Cardio:
* 8.4km walk

Sunday
Cardio:
* Approx 3.5hrs social dancing (salsa and bachata)


I have been slacking off with my strength exercises recently. I'll admit that I forget to do them on dancing nights. Decided I wouldn't bother with step ups anymore since I'm doing so much stairs training, although I probably should still do the lateral ones. My legs are still feeling pretty good, although I can't deny they were feeling the effects of the additional stair training last week. I was also finding that my dancing shoes were hurting my feet by the end of the night and starting to cause issues through my legs with overcompensating, so I bought a new, more comfortable pair over the weekend. Tried them out on Sunday night and they were much better!

 

[zanzibar138]

Training Update - The Long Walks Begin Again
Currently in training for:
* RunDisney Virtual 5k - July 2017
* RunDisney Virtual 5k - August 2017
* Oxfam Trailwalker 50k - Friday 25th August 2017

Monday
Cardio:
* 12 flights of stairs, alternating 2 at a time and 1 at a time

Tuesday
Cardio:
* Approx 3hrs bachata dancing classes

Wednesday
Cardio:
* Approx 3hrs salsa dancing classes

Thursday
Strength:
* 2 x 9 squats
* 2 x 9 lunges (each side)
* 2 x 35 sec single leg balance (each side)

Friday
Rest

Saturday
Cardio:
* 13.82km walk encompassing the zoo



Sunday
Cardio:
* 1hr bachata dancing workshop
* 2hrs salsa and bachata dancing classes
* 1hr salsa and bachata social dancing


Had an even worse week with my strength training last week! I'll really have to up my game on that. Legs are feeling good though, even with the long walk and extra dancing, so pretty happy with that.

 

[zanzibar138]

Training Update - Downed by Another Cold
Currently in training for:
* RunDisney Virtual 5k - July 2017
* RunDisney Virtual 5k - August 2017
* Oxfam Trailwalker 50k - Friday 25th August 2017

Monday
Cardio:
* 20 mins stationary bike
* 10 mins elliptical trainer

Strength
* 2 x 10 step ups (each side)
* 2 x 10 lateral step ups (each side)
* 2 x 10 squats
* 2 x 10 lunges (each side)
* 2 x 40 sec plank
* 2 x 10 single leg hip extensions (each side)
* 2 x 30 sec single leg balance (each side)

Tuesday
Cardio:
* Approx 3hrs bachata dancing classes

Strength
* 2 x 10 squats
* 2 x 40 sec plank

Wednesday
Cardio:
* Approx 3hrs salsa dancing classes

Thursday
Rest

Friday
Rest

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
Cardio:
* Approx 20 min easy walk


After a great start to the week, unfortunately I started coming down with a cold on Thursday. Thought I could get rid of it with some rest, but it was in full swing by the weekend and I was in bed all day Saturday, and most of the day Sunday. Of course, I was feeling better enough to get to work on Monday...

 

[zanzibar138]

My Plans for Flights

The other day I sat down and worked out exactly how many frequent flyer points I am going to need for this trip, and started planning how I'm actually going to get them. Here's a brief rundown.

Qantas Frequent Flyer
I plan to accrue enough Qantas points to get me from Melbourne to LA in business class. Because I know that these flights are incredibly difficult to get direct, I want to have enough points to go via Asia if I need to.

Points Required: 164,000
Current Points Balance: 19,622

Got a bit of work to do on this one! I'm hoping that there will be enough bonus points offers with credit cards that it will cover me. I should only need to apply for 3 or 4 if I can get good offers, and there will be plenty of time to do that.

Velocity Frequent Flyer
I plan to accrue enough Velocity points to get me home from LA with potentially a stopover somewhere sunny and relaxing along the way. I'm going to aim to cover myself for up to 15,000 miles in business class (the maximum for reward flights).

Points Required: 139,000
Current Points Balance: 115,047

Nearly there on this one. I should be able to accrue the extra miles by just applying for one credit card with a reasonable bonus points offering.

AAdvantage Frequent Flyer
I plan to use American Airlines for the other flights I require from and back to the US. Unfortunately they no longer offer a 'round the world' option, so I have worked out the cost of each segment in business class and will aim for enough points to cover that.

Points Required: 202,500
Current Points Balance: 7,482

The great thing about AA is that you can buy points! While not allowing me to actually fly 'for free' as the other programs will, it will allow me to 'pay off' my flights as I go. I will need to average a purchase of approx 3220 points per month to accrue enough points in time. I plan to wait for bonus offers and buy then. For example, at the moment there are bonus points on offer and a discount of 10% if you buy 11,000 miles or more. I can get 13,500 miles for less than the price of 10,000.


I realise there are probably better value programs I can use, but since I already have accounts and existing balances with these 3 programs, and it will be relatively easy for me to accrue points, it seems to make sense to just use those. Of course, this is all based on current rewards tables etc too, which are of course likely to change before I book!