Run Savitre Run!

Some of you know me to be a wee bit crazy at times.

Sometimes, I just don't know when to stop.

TODAY was one of those days!!! :o)

Reggie told me that Chick-fil-A was sponsoring a race. The race, however, was on the same day as the Expedition Everest. This would not have been a big deal had I signed up to do the 5K race.

Did I sign up to do the 5K?

NO!! OF COURSE NOT!!

Savitre went ahead and signed up to do the 15K (9.32 miles). Why would I do such a thing? Because I'm KrAzY (plain and simple)!!! :o)

Here's my gang sign for you Reggie

...Gotta Represent!

Now, I'm never too sure how a race is going to be when put on by an Orlando organization, but I must admit that this was one of the better races I did this summer out here. The weather was perfect (not too hot, not too humid). The course started out south of downtown and through the city. It was GORGEOUS! For a moment I felt like I was running a Chicago race down Wacker Drive all over again. Track Shack (sponsoring organization) strategically placed volunteers throughout the course to cheer us on. The water was plenty (and managed to stay cold).

The first 7 miles was a breeze. However, during the last two miles, I started wondering why on earth I had signed up to do this. OH YEAH...THE MEDAL!!! Savitre wanted her medal. She could've signed up for the 5K race and not gotten a medal or be insane enough to do the 15K for the medal!

On one shoulder, positive Savitre would say "keep going, you can do 2 more. Afterall, you already did 7. The end is near! Hang in there, your legs are NOT going to fall off!" On the other shoulder was negative Savitre saying "what were you thinking? You aren't even ready to do the Tower of Terror 13K!"

What a struggle! Who do I listen to? How was I going to get through this? Before I knew it, I saw people walking back to their cars proudly displaying THE MEDAL. I tried to get a glimpse of what the medal had on it. So, I told myself, "get to the end, get the medal, and you'll see for yourself."

Before I knew it, I was sprinting for that finish line (managing to get a wave in to Kobfa and the camera). :o) YAY!! I did it!! I got my first medal for the summer!

But was this the end? NO, OF COURSE NOT!! This would have been a lame post if it were. Right? *palms up and shrugs*

I went home, showered, took a six hour nap, just to find myself lacing up again for ROUND TWO! Dum dum duuuum....

*in an echoing voice* THE EXPEDITION EVEREST CHALLENGE.... CHALlenge... Challenge... challenge.

The night was cool. The parking lot was packed. Music was blaring. "Tonight's gonna be a good night!"

Before heading off to the starting line, we ran into some familiar faces (I swear, they were EVERYWHERE!). No more trash talking now...just wishing the best of luck for both teams.

Justin and Stan were in the second wave. We were in the eighth wave. Because each wave started out four minutes apart, Justin and Stan finished the 5K leg of the race before we had even crossed the starting line. *sigh* I think this is going to be a loooooong night!

While patiently waiting for our turn,

I decided to capture runners in FUN costumes!

Now why hadn't I thought of that? :o(

5...4...3...2...1! And we were finally off and running. The run started out in the parking lot of Animal Kingdom and eventually through the theme park. It was adrenaline rushing because it was dark! However, by the last mile, it went from a split second sprinkle to a torrential downpour. I LOVE RUNNING IN THE RAIN!!! Rain makes Savitre get all giddy inside.

After the 5K portion of the race, we headed over to the obstacle course. The obstacle course first consisted of climbing over three beams. Ummm...maybe they should've put up a sign that said "WARNING: SLIPPERY WHEN WET". People were flying forward, backward, over, and under those beams. I must admit that it was quite entertaining. :o)

Rain continued to pour!!

Then we had to climb up ropes over a wall and back down on the other side. Next, we had to walk across a balance beam. At this point, it was extremely slow moving because you had to wait for the person in front of you before you could go ahead. EVERYONE was proceeding with caution. (smart move)

Finally, we had to crawl (army style) across under a net. Let the FUN begin! This brought back memories of when I was younger and loved playing in the mud. If you weren't the get down and dirty type of person, this obstacle course definitely was NOT for you (especially in the soaking rain). I loved it! When I got out from under the net, my entire leg was covered in mud, my new shoes were wondering why I had even bothered, and camera and ipod were done for.

The Siamese Twins carefully manuvered to the scavenger hunt trailer to pick up our clue passport. In a matter of seconds, the pages were ripping off, the pen was not writing, nor could we see where we were going. The rain pelted against our face, people took cover, but we didn't stop. We headed back into the theme park and tried to solve all of our clues before making it to the ultimate finish line where I got my second medal of the summer and DAY! *jumps for joy*

Unfortunately, they had stopped collecting the clue passports and had started closing off the race course due to the rain. However, they did email us the answers to the scavenger hunt clues, and I must say that I am quite proud of us. We got them all correct! We did read through the other clues that other teams had gotten and I think we actually got away with the easier clues.

Nonetheless, this was an EXTREMELY fun race. The rain definitely made it for a more memorable experience though.

YAY US!! :o)

The fun didn't stop there. We met up with Justin and Stan (seriously, they seem to be EVERYWHERE) and hit up some rides. The Dinosaur ride was freak'n cold yet still scary, the Kalahari Rapids was wet (I think?..couldn't tell because I was already drenched), and the Expedition Everest was indescribable. I've ridden the EE during the day before, but it was not being able to see anything at night that made it WAY cool! I ended up going on that about 4 or 5 times in a row!!

Justin, why you gotta be so Goofy? :o)

How I managed to do a 15K in the morning followed by mass chaos at night...I guess that's the magic of Disney! *wink* :o)

I can't wait for my next Disney race....Race for the Taste 10K....here I come!! :

PROST!!

It's the day before the BIG race!

After all that trash talking, it was time to meet up with "The Other Team".

Ha! You've been spotted

(and by a trash can nonetheless)!! *laughs* :o)

We headed out to Disney's Wide World of Sports to pick up our race packet.

I was a little bummed that the expo wasn't exciting. Out on the lawn in front of the complex, people walked around aimlessly trying to find their race packets and t-shirts. While the pre-race talk was being held on the stage, I wandered over to a GINORMOUS board to sign our team name. Go Siamese Twins!!

Check out the RED writing to the bottom right of us...

WHAT IS THAT?!?!? *wink wink* :o)

We then headed over to the Biergarten Restaurant at Epcot's Germany Pavillion.

While dining, we were entertained with some live music, fun entertainment, and pre-race goodies. I can't say I've had German food before, but boy oh boy was it goooood! *rubs belly* :o)

We even saw the Ricola people! *giggles*

After all the good eats, we went our separate ways!

Have no fear...I'm sure we'll see them again somewhere!

It was now time to hit up Epcot's Food and Wine Festival.

But not before long, we ran into some friendly faces! :o)

One would think that eating at the German buffet was enough, but not for us! We couldn't help ourselves but be tempted by all the goodies from around the world. While running around the World with our Kim Possible "Kimmunicator" and activating all the hidden gems at Epcot (which I HIGHLY recommend you try because this was one of the neatest things I've seen Disney do), we managed to pit stop at some of the international huts and grab some grub along the way.

Epcot's Food and Wine Festival is definitely not cheap (big price, small portion). However, it is always fun to try food from around the world. I can't wait to go back and try food from all the other countries! YAY season pass!! :o)

Enough fun for one day...time to get the A-Game on!!!

Sugary Goodness

Oh how I love working with sugar. Surprisingly enough I didn't burn myself! *woo hoo*

Unfortunately our sugar unit was only 3 days long *sniff*. I wished it were longer though because this was definitely a fun unit (plus more time to spend with Chef Notter)!

If working with pastillage and chocolate showpieces wasn't hard enough for my little gorilla hands...try having me pull sugar. NOT an easy task!

In the morning, Chef Notter would do a demo and then it was our turn. *laughs* I guess we were supposed to make something that resembled what he made. *shrugs* I tried :o)


My first basic flower: Not too shabby, eh?

The concept of making the ribbon was pretty cool, unfortunately I could not gain control of my sugar piece. It had a mind of its own...I SWEAR!!

My first swan:

Okay, so one swan looks like he just woke up and is stretching but believe me, out of all of the swans I made, this was my best. My first attempt at the swan looked like a cobra...definitely no good.

My first fishy:

I thought he turned out pretty cute. This was definitely my favorite piece to do because there were so many different techniques used.

Our last day before graduation week we watched (in the blink of an eye) Chef Notter put together a dragon for our Asian themed graduation. VOILA!

How DOES he do that? He didn't even need to sketch it out on paper first or do a rough draft. We just told him that we wanted a dragon for our graduation and JUST like that...a dragon we got!

*Note: I would've taken more pictures of the dragon if I hadn't been dying from a severe stomach ache. I'm not quite sure why I get these excruiating pains every so often. I know, some of y'all will say it's because I eat too much, but MAYBE I'm still not eating enough!* :o)

Chef Notter then treated us to a luncheon at Lai Lai (Chinese Buffet). I think I would've enjoyed the buffet more had I not been suffering earlier from the stomach ache, but this was our last bonding time with Chef Notter before we graduate. *sniff* :o(

I Can Do...26.2

Once upon a time lil Savitre used to sit in the kitchen and watch on her 9" tv the NYC Marathon received via antenna with knob controls. She sat in awe of the amazing runners with eyes wide open at the sight of these athletes running, picking up a drinking cup, and dumping the water on their head.


OH HOW FUN THAT LOOKS!!!...Savitre thought to herself. :o)


Nothing ever stopped her from imitating those that she admired. As the marathon played in the background, she set up dixie cups (filled with water) around her kitchen and dining room. (Her 1970s kitchen had two doorways where you could enter from one side and leave through the other into the dining room making a complete circle...good for running laps). She pretended that she too was running the marathon. As she approached a dixie cup while running around the kitchen, she would pick it up and dump the water on her head (of course making a mess all over the kitchen floor and dining room carpet) and celebrate victoriously with winners of the race. Sure enough she got in tremendous trouble but her mom COULD NEVER stop her on the days the marathon was aired.

Although the marathon was fun and exciting to watch, Savitre was never a long distance runner. She had always been a sprinter. Her favorite athletes were James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens and Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis. Reading was not her favorite subject in school, but nothing could stop her from wanting to learn more about these Olympic medal winners. Every morning at the bus stop, she would ask her friends to meet her there early so they could get a few races in (up and down the block before the bus came). In gym, she broke numerous records for the short distance runs and from third grade to senior year in high school Savitre received the President's Challenge award (at the time her most valuable prized possession because it had the President's signature on it).


Throughout college, running was no longer a priority. It wasn't until she became a teacher and met Erin, a small town girl from Iowa, that did marathons. "What?!?!?" she thought to herself. Could anyone just sign up to run a marathon? Did they not have to be an Olympic medal winner? With a huge smile on her face, Savitre dreamt of running in the same marathon just to be able to dump that cup of water on her head and NOT get in trouble for it.



"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." -John "The Penguin" Bingham


One day after getting into an argument with her college boyfriend, she decided to get out of the car and walk 5 miles home. Realizing that she was able to easily walk this distance, she also realized it was the best way for her to deal with anything going on in her life (stress, work, school, people, etc.). It was Savitre's alone time; her time to think and clear her mind. It was Savitre's happy place. :o)


The next day, she went out and bought her first pair of running shoes at Fleet Feet. It's been awhile since she's "ran"...so it took her about 15 minutes to do one mile. It never really mattered to her how long it took because the longer it took the more time she had to herself.


Going through several resources to find the dos and don'ts of running, she came across The Courage to Start: A Guide to Running for Your Life by John Bingham.


"Once an overweight couch potato with a glut of bad habits, including smoking and drinking, at the age of 43 Bingham looked mid-life in the face-and started running." A native of Chicago, he has become a role model for all ages and abilities. When he first started running and ran past shop windows, he thought to himself that he didn't look like a "runner" but more like a penguin waddling, and so, he calls himself "The Penguin".


Savitre felt like she could completely relate to this guy. Eventually, she bought every book he had written and even followed his blog as he trained for the Goofy Challenge the same year she ran it. This was very inspirational because it helped her to know that someone else was battling training in the bitter Chicago winter for a major race in Florida.


Before you knew it, she started doing a bunch of 5K races and had fun dressing up (as an angel, an M&M, a reindeer, a Purdue Boilermaker train, and even a banana) at these races. To her, it was fun being at the back of the pack. Running was meant for enjoyment and solitude not competition. Eventually, the 5K races lead to 8K then 10milers and half marathons. It eventually led to the proudest event of her life...the 2003 Chicago Marathon. Although it took her about 5 hrs and 15 mins to complete her first marathon, there was not one water station that Savitre did not stop at and grab a cup of water and dumped it on her head. It was definitely 26 miles of smiles. :o)


She eventually ran 3 more marathons: 2004 Chicago Marathon, 2006 Goofy Challenge, and 2007 NYC Marathon. Soon after the NYC Marathon, Savitre's running career came to a halt. Since then, it's been a complete struggle to get back into a routine. She yearns for the running bug and that runner's high that she once felt. She also hopes to one day return to the marathoning world.


As more races are approaching, Savitre seeks the support of others to cheer her on, be her guide, and provide words of encouragment. She isn't looking to come in first or have her personal best but hopes to find the love for the sport of running that she once had found.

Expedition Never Rest

OH MY...

Where has the time gone? I cannot believe I only have about a month left.

It felt like it was yesterday I was sitting on my bedroom floor debating what to pack and getting all giddy after an 18hr drive to find cows in my backyard!!! :o)

More to come with my trip down memory lane in a later post.

Until then...let me tell you about the crazy hectic (yet exciting) month to come!

September 25

Day at Epcot

I am hoping to get a season pass to Disney at a Florida resident rate so I could catch the different performances at Epcot's Food and Wine Festival's Eat to the Beat throughout the month of October. Why? There will be an AWESOME music line up (ie Boyz II Men, Richard Marx, Sister Hazel, En Vogue, Billy Ocean, Better Than Ezra, and much much more)!!! Great music and tasty food??...NOW we're talking!!!

Plus, since I won't be in school...what better way to spend my last month in Orlando than park hopping! OOOH YEAH!!! :o)

September 26

Expedition Everest Challenge

The Siamese Twins (Siam...Thailand...get it? :o) ) are back with a vengeance!

After coming in fourth in Urban Dare because of the silly plaque on Wacker Drive, we knew we just had to team up again and go for the gold!!

This race includes a team (of two) 5K run, obstacle course, and scavenger hunt through Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's also a night race...oooooo...scare-eeeeeee!! :o)

October 2

GRADUATION!! :o)

I have 10 tickets but will be only using 2 on Kobfa and Renee...

I think i'm going to be the one with the lowest family/friend attendance. *sniff* :o(

anyone else want to go?....pleeeeez!!!

October 4 -7

John and I will be in Tulsa, OK for the Three Jays.

It's a 2 day cake class with Food Network Challenge veterans Jason Ellis, James Roselle, and Joshua John Russell. Ooh la la...hehe..HOW FUN!!! Can't wait!

Do you recognize James Roselle's chef coat? (check out the logo)

October 11

Disney's Race for the Taste 10K.

This will be my first 10K race in a loooooong time!

After this race though, I should be getting a bonus medal for doing both the EEC and RFT.

Whoop Whoop!! More Disney medals makes Savitre smile! :o)

October 12 -14

Airbrushing Techniques with Stephane Treand

Assuming this class doesn't cancel (eh, with my luck it probably will), I will return as an alumni to Notter School of Pastry Arts for the one class I have seriously been waiting for. Savitre + Airbrush = FUN FUN FUN!!!!

October 24

Tower of Terror 13K (8.08 miles) - Hoo Rah for another night race!!

This will be my last race on Disney property. So sad :o(

more on my running history to come...

THEN IT'S TIME TO HEAD BACK...

TO THE WINDY CITY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! :o)

NOT a Notter Day!!

(please click to see larger image)

I think we're losing it...

Noooo...we have OFFICIALLY lost it!! :o)

Ummm...Chef Jim...what is that? *giggles* :o)

This past week...

Monday - Field Trip to Yacht and Beach Club

Tuesday - Free day with Chef Jim. This was a fun day because we got to experiment with different recipes under professional supervision. He's so awesome because he loves what he does and he loves teaching us everything and anything he knows. :o) Sometimes, he's soooo into it, he doesn't even know what's going on with US *laughs*

"Check it out guys"


Awww...that's why we love you Chef Jim :o)

Wednesday - Slide show presentation on Cost Efficiency....

LOOK HOW MUCH FUN IT WAS!!! *lmao*

Thursday - Partnered up with the other class and made different convenience items (already made or made from pre-made mix) and items from scratch.

TAH DAH!!! PREEEE-SENTING our super sized smorgasbord!!!!

HAHAHA...this post makes me smile :o)

Field Trip Frenzy

Friday morning (Sept. 11th)...I usually wouldn't be rolling out of bed so early to go to school, but that day was different. Our school had an optional field trip planned to attend the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show.

I was pretty excited to go because there have been many years that I've seen the NRA Show go to Chicago and have always wanted to attend but never could because I didn't have an "in".

So, here's a recap of that day:

9-10am: I arrived at school to find out John and I were the only ones from our class to attend. It was cool though because we got to hang out with students from the other class. Chef Notter then announces that the convention isn't opened until 11 (oops). :o\

10:00-10:30 Ivonne decides to take us to Panera and discusses Code of Ethics...she said that this was something that HAD to be discussed because it wasn't in our handbook.

*whispers* my opinion...it was used as a time killer :o)

10:30-11:00 On the road to the Convention Center. YAY!! :o)

11:00-3:30 We got there and parked in the North Concourse...and after walking for quite a bit, later found out that it was in the West Concourse (oops again). :o\

HOWEVER, once we made it into the convention, we walked around and got to sample the many goodies they had to offer and check out the latest and greatest inventions for today's happening kitchens.

We even saw a pizza throwing contest...

And ran into some friendly faces...

Overall, I had lots of fun. I just wished more of my classmates could have gone....

WAIT...BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!!!.... :o)

Because...that's exactly what happened...

On Monday, September 14th, our class had a surprise field trip planned to the Yacht and Beach Club on Disney property. I can't tell if they ran out of stuff to teach us or because the schedule is completely out of control this month...ANYWHO...another field trip for us!! *WOO HA!!*

At first I wasn't too thrilled about going...seeing as I have been there several times now and the fact that Disney World is in my backyard. I wanted to see something new, something different, go somewhere that I haven't gone yet. My friend and I believe that the school is planning their field trips around my blog...first Farmers' Market in Winter Park then Julie and Julia and now Yacht and Beach Club. Obviously I didn't attend the first two...but I'm glad I went to this one...because it's one side of Disney I may never get a chance to see.

Ooo..makes me want to sit on a hammock with a Mai Tai!

Anyways, as soon as we got to school, we were told to head over to Starbucks (which til this day, I'm still not quite sure why we did that) and order a drink of our choice. Of course I had my Iced Grande Extra Vanilla Latte...which means you KNOW it's going to be a good day. :o)

Everyone piled in my car and off we went!!! I like driving because I like playing DJ and tormenting everyone with MY music...*evil laugh* Thanks for putting up with Hannah and PYT guys...and I must admit that our rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight is WAAAAY better than the original....y'all are so awesome!!!! *group hug* :o)

Check out how HUGE our class is...wait...where did everyone go? :o)

After the brief pitstop at Starbucks, we headed to the Yacht Club to meet Chef Kelly (one of the Sous Chefs at the Yacht Club). It was nice of her to take time out of her busy schedule to show us the kitchen and even let us try the lemon basil gelato and the multi-grain roll.

When I used to work in dining services, I met some of my best friends in the kitchen...right "G"? :o) Something about not being in an office behind a computer with no windows but rather the sounds of the pots and pans clanging always made me feel alive, awake, and active. Ahhh...and nothing beats being around the smell of things baking and cooking!!! :o)

After our tour of the Yacht and Beach Club...we headed back to school to discuss our career objectives (more on that in a much later post) :o) and then it was early dismissal day!!! WOO HOO!! So what does Savitre do with the extra free time she has on her hand? She does 10 miles on a treadmill! YUP...TEN MILES!! *pats myself on the back*

More on running and my crazy October schedule COMING SOON in a post near you!!!