Goofy Challenge training update

Base training is going pretty well, although there are days that I have trouble getting motivated to go out and run. A big part of the reason that I sometimes struggle with the drive to get outside is that I’ve been looking for a new job. I left my old position 9 weeks ago and I’ve had to spend a lot of time looking for a new job. Sometimes, I’m worn out mentally and I don’t feel like running. Other times, I get out, do my run, and have a productive day. The base training ends in two weeks and I’ll take the last week of August off to rest and recover from any nagging aches and pains, then September 1 (Labor Day), I’ll start my Goofy Challenge training program. I’m actually excited about getting to the training and I really hope that I’ll be able to go down to WDW for the Marathon Weekend. I pray that I have to take time off from work to go, even if I have to come back on the Tuesday after the race. That could be physically taxing, but I’d rather be sore sitting on a plane going home knowing I have to go to work the next day than going home to keep looking for a job.

Saw Wall-E!

My wife and I recently saw it finally. We, like the vast majority of people who have blogged or posted about the movie loved it. Not much more I could add to the overall discussion. I thought the Earth scenes were fantastically rendered and incredibly detailed. The scenes on the Axiom were also great. Another home-run for Pixar, but not a surprise. I know some people keep waiting for them to stumble, but I can't see it happening anytime soon.

Something different-Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

So, in the course of my job search and general Internet surfing over the last few weeks, I’d seen several blog posts about Joss Whedon’s sci-fi supervillain musical Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Act I was released yesterday, Act II will be released Thursday 7/17, and Act III will be released Saturday 7/19. The episodes are also available on iTunes. It’s hard to describe, but it is great! Please check it out.

Yesterday, the website’s servers crashed, so it may be tough to get directly to Act II tomorrow, but keep trying. This is definitely worth the effort of continually checking to see if you get through.

Still haven’t seen Wall-E!

I still haven’t seen Wall-E yet. My wife and I hope to see it tomorrow, but we need to arrange for someone to watch our son so we can go. I think it will work out to go tomorrow and I’m excited. I’ve heard a lot about it and it sounds like it’s really good.

Goofy Challenge training update

So I made it through the first week of training and felt good. I spent the weekend at my wife’s family cabin in Northern Minnesota and ran three of the four days we were there. My brother-in-law joined me for two of the training runs. He runs faster than I do (not so much that I burn out or anything like that), so I get a good workout when we run together.

This was the first time that I ran four days in a row and I thought I would be either really tired or really sore. I’m neither, interestingly enough. I actually felt pretty good, so maybe this base training idea is a good thing for me to do. Because I’m running both the half-marathon and the full marathon, I don’t expect to set a PR for either race, but I would like to try to finish in around the same times that I have finished previous races. That would mean doing the half in around 2:15 and the full in around 5:15. What I’d really like to do is finish the half right around 2:00, preferably a little quicker, and finish the full just under 5 hours. Yes, I’d be tired Sunday and Monday, but I’d probably recover quicker (barring injury, of course) by doing this base training program. We’ll see how this progresses.

I'm going to run the Goofy Challenge

Also, I’m running the 2009 Goofy Challenge. At my other blog, Fumbling through my Forties I talk about my first week of training.


I know there are many, many runners who love Disney, blogging, and running the WDW marathon. I’m one of them and I hope to keep updating my training progress either here or at Fumbling through my Forties.

Still upset about Adventurer’s Club closing, too.

Podcast thoughts interrupted

So I had great hopes three months ago to do a series of posts that reviewed and discussed my favorite Disney podcasts. But a lot changed since I first started writing my first post. Instead, while I continue to work on the podcast extravaganza, I will try to post more often about other Disney stuff.

When I started writing this post late this afternoon, I did not know if I would get a chance to finish it today. Now, I’m glad I’ve got the chance, because I have just read in the The Disney Blog that Pleasure Island is getting completely revamped, including the closing of all of the clubs. This makes very little sense to me on many levels, but some sense on some levels. I’ll definitely miss Comedy Warehouse and the great improve comedians, but I’ll especially miss the Adventurer’s Club, one of the best things about Walt Disney World. The themeing and acting of the cast was simply wonderful and the cast clearly enjoyed being a part of the barely-controlled chaos that made up a night at the AC. Since my son was born almost three years ago, we’ve been to WDW six times but have not been able to get over to PI. Now, I don’t know that I want too much any longer. I’ll wait to see what opens in place of the clubs. Apparently, we’ll get more restaurants and shops. Are more dining places needed at WDW? Probably, but will people go to the former PI area just to eat if there’s no entertainment? Does WDW really need more shops? I personally don’t think so, but I’m not trying to wrest every last dollar out of visitors (not that I have a problem with that, as I leave plenty of money with Disney every time I visit).

As always, time will tell, but hopefully, it will tell a story of new and exciting fun entertainment and dining (and shopping, I guess).

Podcast thoughts, intro

One thing that has exploded over the last 2 years or so is the preponderance of Disney-related podcasts. According to the Disney Podcast Directory website, as of June 1, 2008 there are about 125 podcasts that discuss, in one way or another, Disney. Now, I'm a lover of all things Disney, but my real passion is for Walt Disney World. As such, I listen to several podcasts that would be very familar to other WDW fans. I thought I would give one fan's opinions on the podcasts I listen to, what I like and what I don't, what I think makes the podcasts successful and what I think could be better. The first thing I'll do, though, is explain why I listen to these podcasts every week and why I feel they help with my desire to know as much as I can about what's going on at Walt Disney World. Podcasts are a great way to connect with others who have a similar passion for whatever interests, hobbies, or views a person has. At least I think so.

Questions raised by repeated viewings

So, my 2 1/2 year old son has taken to saying "Watch Cars!" "Watch Lilo!" "Watch Nemo!" "Watch Woody (or Buzz)!" Now, he can actually speak in sentences, but he's already using shorthand to tell us which DVD he wants to see. To be completely accurate, he also says "Watch Thomas!" and "Watch Sam!" (Fireman Sam, which can be seen on PBS Sprout-not a plug, just letting you know). But, the boy knows what he wants when he wants it. When this phenomenon first started around October, we must have seen Cars every night for three weeks straight. We gradually introduced Finding Nemo and Toy Story as alternatives and after having us read a storybook version of Lilo and Stitch, we have now started a streak that may rival Lightning McQueen and the Radiator Springs folks. What is so interesting about all of this is not that Daddy doesn't seem to mind having the movies on constantly (neither, really, does Mommy), but Daddy actually watches the movies and gets distracted by them enough that he sometimes doesn't notice that the Boy has lost interest in the adventures of Stitch, Woody and Buzz, Nemo, or Lightning and Mater and moved on to play with the plethora of toys he has.



I still notice things in Cars that I haven't seen before and I've probably seen the movie (all the way through) 30-40 times. I remember sometime in late November or early December first noticing how Lightning chuckles as he passes Chick in the first race and thinking, "Wow, I never noticed that before! What else am I missing?"



I also notice the things that really do make you think. Such as why are there farms in the world of Cars? Who planted the flowers in the flowerpots that Red waters at the beginning of the Radiator Springs scenes? What's the deal with the white race car that The King passes in the first race (the car with no sponsor decals)? And the one that really puzzles me: What's the deal with the car that makes it through the Chick-caused crash in the first race? Why can you see the car drive through the wrecks, but later see it spinning out?



I don't actually expect answers to any of the questions (except maybe the farm one), but repeated viewings of these movies create a lot of discussion fodder. At least I think so.

My first blog post and I suppose I should explain what I'm going to try to do here. The name of this blog is The Mouse and More. Now, for anyone who may find this blog by searching for Disney-related content, you would be right that this is a likely place to find such content. However, there are tons of blogs that will do a much better job of feeding a person's Disney need than I will do. I chose the title "The Mouse and More" because I have many interests that I may discuss in any given post, at any given time.

Why, then, should you continue to read this post, much less any others that appear here? Well, that's for you to decide (the beauty of the Internet-something else is always a click away). Personally, I like randomly reading blogs on all different topics. I'll post when I can and what I post may be my thoughts on Disney or on any number of other topics. Chances are, though, that any given post will more Disney-related than anything else.

I hope you enjoy!