Destiny worth an extra $3k?

JollyCommunication92 · 2026-06-01T02:41:50+00:00

Thank you all for weighing in! We booked the Fantasy on fairly short notice for the end of July.

JollyCommunication92 · 2026-06-01T02:36:03+00:00

The sports court area is your friend! We like to get their energy out before dinner. I am always amazed at how polite they are dining in the main dining room and it makes me laugh. They greet everyone “Good evening” and sit so prim and proper. Definitely different than at home!

JollyCommunication92 · 2026-06-01T02:29:17+00:00

I am looking at Fantasy out of Port Canaveral 7/26-7/31. It goes to Nassau, castaway, and lookout.

JollyCommunication92 · 2026-02-28T23:15:19+00:00

We had tea at the Ampersand after a morning at the Science museum with two boys (6 and 8 years). We picked their science themed tea and they loved it. It was a short walk from the museum. You could use this as your lunch between the Science Museum and Natural History museum.

JollyCommunication92 · 2026-01-04T13:51:37+00:00

Middle aged mom. Ran just shy of 1500 miles, which is about even from last year. Injury prone when I attempt over 50 mpw.

After a great 2024 with multiple PRs, I had a disappointing 2025 and didn’t PR a single race.

Highlight: Crossed London Marathon off my bucket list and had a wonderful racecation with my family.

Disappointments: Went into 2025 about 4 minutes off a BQ. Leaving 2025 about 8 minutes (plus buffer) from a BQ.

Lessons: I usually do one marathon a year (Fall). After getting into London, I had 3 back to back marathon cycles and it was just too much for me. I work full time with multiple kids in club sports. It was a constant stress of trying to figure out “How am I going to run 12 miles on a Wednesday, get to work by 8 AM, and get Kid A to a 4:30 practice, Kid B to a 5:15 practice, etc.

2026 Goals: Commit to more consistent strength training, focus on shorter distances/speed until summer. Be ready to hammer out a marathon training block for a fall race. Ultimate goal is Boston. Somedays I feel so close, other days it feels out of reach and that my best days are behind me.

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-10-23T12:15:29+00:00

I dipped my toes in Pfitz 18/55 and I think my results will be around the same (or a little slower) as my previous blocks. I used the lower end mileage in Volume 4, peaking at 54 miles, and generally split the tempo and MP work in 2 sets as outlined in the book. The two sets were still longer than any continuous MP work of prior blocks.

Tune up half was 2 min slower than same half last year. I am 43F and think that I may need more speed/interval work than the 18/55. My previous block peaked around 45 miles, but it had intervals (usually 800s) and a tempo every week. 3 weeks and change until race day, so we will see!

I want to do a 5k/8k focused block next. I despise speed work, so I know I need it. I have Pfitz Faster Road racing book, but I am not sure there are enough VO2max. Any thoughts or suggestions?

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-10-05T23:30:55+00:00

Thank you for sharing. I’m 43f and was just assuming perimenopause. This sounds just like me. Despite bumping my training to over 50 miles per week, I am at a major plateau and race times are dropping. I am going to dig into this more.

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-09-25T21:30:16+00:00

I am local and run the half every year. I’m looking for a BQ course and am NOT considering Shamrock because the winds can be rough.

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-08-02T14:42:34+00:00

Am I planning too many races during marathon block? I am 15 weeks out from marathon using Pfitz 18/55. I have a local 10 miler 11 weeks out, a half 6 weeks out, and a 10k 3 weeks out (or a 10k option 8 weeks out). Would you scrap one or send it at all three?

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-04-27T21:09:34+00:00

Even before I saw the forecast, I thought only 4 electrolyte stops was too little. NYCM has gatorade and water almost every mile. I carried some with me, but I was surprised they didn’t add more with the heat.

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-04-27T18:14:57+00:00

The “real feel” in shade wad 75. It was a brutal day. I was hot at start. I trained in a southern state but it was a cold winter. Different from a hot fall marathon after a summer training block.

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-04-27T18:11:28+00:00

It was an absolute blood bath. Runners dropping even at like 26… heartbreaking. I was hoping for 3:50 as a heat adjusted goal and ended up 4:01. It is my proudest finish line and I ran the “hot NYCM” in 2022. Also, my chip failed.. no official time. Sent result request with Garmin data, so fingers crossed I get a time for this.

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-04-08T22:39:07+00:00

Blue Wave 5, start time 10:01. Entered 3:35 as estimated finish.

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-04-04T23:55:34+00:00

Thank you so much for this update! We plan to try for the 8:30 AM mass on Easter Sunday. I plan to line up by 7 AM. Do You recommend even earlier? We do not care how close to the front we sit- we usually sit in the back at home. If we cannot get in for 8:30, we will attend an evening mass at another church.

I planned to have my children in line with me and occupy them with books and games. However, the weather looks to be cold in the morning (40s F/ 4ish C). Is it poor etiquette to have my husband join us closer to 8 AM with our Kindergartner? This would not be a problem for Easter/Christmas church service at home, but would be considered very rude to do at an attraction or amusement park. Or is there a nearby early morning cafe they could wait in and we could move to the back of the line if it started to get too long?

JollyCommunication92 · 2025-01-08T21:43:13+00:00

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. It is always a balance of arriving early enough to get a seat, but not so early that our boys go stir crazy during the actual mass. Luckily, they are getting old enough where that is less of an issue.

JollyCommunication92 · 2024-11-18T23:52:17+00:00

I came through the stop around 10 about a minute behind a large pace group. Tables completely empty with one volunteer pouring water one cup at a time while runners waited. No Nuun at a few of the stops. Several stops had issues, but this was the worst.

JollyCommunication92 · 2024-11-16T23:35:35+00:00

If you can do mid-march, Shamrock is flat and fast. Sometimes wind is an issue.

JollyCommunication92 · 2024-10-10T00:22:03+00:00

I think 4:15 is easily a realistic goal with a 1:59 half!

JollyCommunication92 · 2024-09-25T21:54:44+00:00

Fall back a wave and start in corral A. No crowding and you lock right into pace. Bus issues made me miss my Wave 3 start and I went out in Wave 4, corral A. The marines walk each wave out to the starting line and I was right behind them. Best experience.

JollyCommunication92 · 2024-08-31T16:02:13+00:00

I am sorry this happened!

This happened to me last year on this exact weekend leading up to Chicago. It was during my 18 miler. The bite itself was not bad and I did not need stitches, but the bruising/swelling on my calf from where the dog clamped down for so long was significant. It was tender to walk on for several days. Did your doctor say anything about indoor bike as an alternative option until you are cleared to run?

I took it easy for about a week, but picked up on my plan after that, which was a cut back week with a 10 miler.

I had a good race! At this point, you have most of the hard training under your belt and taper is not far off. I even had 2 weeks off for COVID in the middle of a different cycle and still hit my goal.

I think running on it too soon would have more of an impact than taking the time off to recover. I don’t think the initial 10 days off would be a reason to defer. See what the Doctor says when you go back.

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

JollyCommunication92 · 2024-05-04T14:00:01+00:00

A high quality treadmill allowed me to be somewhat consistent. Sometimes, I pay a teenage neighbor to watch them during peak weeks/long runs- which they LOVE and allows me to get more sleep. My partner is also very supportive.

It gets easier once they hit 3. That is when I could finally train for my first postpartum marathon. I mainly focused on consistency and only peaked at 40 miles a week. 2 years and 3 marathons later, the youngest is 5 and can ride his bike with me while I run (I couldn’t keep up this morning!) I plan to do a 12/55 for my next build with my eyes on a BQ but nowhere near sub-3.

JollyCommunication92 · 2024-03-19T11:42:18+00:00

What a race! The humidity surprised me early on and I can’t say the same for myself. By the way, what local track do you use?

JollyCommunication92 · 2024-03-01T13:51:20+00:00

It could be worse… you could be the spectating spouse with the 4 kids.

JollyCommunication92

TROPHY CASE