Mickey Waffles

Workout

Today I finally returned to the world of cardio workouts!  After mandating that I take 2 weeks off following Goofy, I was ready to break a sweat.  Unfortunately I’m still waiting to run so my glorious return to sweaty glory took place on the stationary bike in my building’s very tiny gym.  I was worried someone might be using the lone upright bike when I went, but fortunately I was able to get a good 30 min ride in, covering 7.35 miles according to the bike.  While running is obviously preferred, I’ll take the miles I can get on a bike for now.

Cherry Blossom Update

Tomorrow morning marks the kickoff of the PR Running training program for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler!  If you’re registered for the race and still haven’t signed up for the training program (for those of you in the DC area), you still have time!  The DC training group meets tomorrow morning at 8:30 at 33rd and K under the Whitehurst Freeway in Georgetown.  Even though I won’t be able to join in on the run, I’ll be heading down to get all of the information and hopefully figure out the best way to train for the race once I can start running again.

If you’re not from the DC area, the free virtual training program is also available, and training begins January 28!  Make sure to check out these great training tools available to runners so you can run your best race on April 7.

The Artist’s Palette

When we were down in Florida, I woke up the morning after the marathon (around 10:15, don’t judge!) and my marathon hunger had fully kicked in!  Instead of the Eggo waffles we had in the freezer at our villa, though, I had an insane craving for Mickey waffles and I needed that craving satisfied ASAP!

So I threw on clothes as quickly as possible and hobbled to the main building at Saratoga Springs Resort for breakfast at The Artist’s Palette.  (I say hobbled because the 39.3 miles had finally caught up with my knee and large steps were not possible.)  The Artist’s Palette is a quick serve restaurant serving a variety of dishes (one day I ordered a cheeseburger flatbread that was pretty darn tasty) making it the perfect stop for a quick bite.

Along with a cup of coffee – seriously, Disney has some of the best coffee – Matt and I each picked out a pastry to munch on while waiting for our orders to finish cooking.

I went with the cream cheese pastry while Matt picked cherry.  Disney has some of the best baked goods and these definitely did not disappoint, though really if you put enough sugar and cream cheese on a good dough I’m going to love it.

A few minutes after sitting down, our orders were brought out.  My mom and I decided to split the Bounty Platter and Mickey Waffles, which you know made me the happiest person in that dining hall!

The protein from the eggs and breakfast meats definitely hit the spot (thanks for sharing, Mom!) and I still got to enjoy the carby-goodness of Mickey waffles.  I hold it a point of pride that so far I have eaten at least one waffle every day of 2013…but the best were definitely the Mickey waffles .

Melodie ordered the Country Breakfast Wrap and Matt had the Ham and Cheese Omelet.

Both of them really enjoyed the meals, as well, and Matt even let me sneak a few bites of his omelet!

I loved being able to grab a quick bite at The Artist’s Palette whenever we needed to while we were in Florida (we ate 4 meals there during our trip).  Each time we went I was able to order something completely different – cheeseburger flatbread, buffalo chicken sandwich, Mickey waffles, and a pulled pork sandwich) and I always felt like there was more I wanted to try.  For a quick service restaurant in a hotel, that’s a pretty good accomplishment!

Our delicious breakfast was followed by margaritas and mojitos poolside for the rest of the day until we headed to dinner (my PT did say that I could do all of the swimming I wanted and the pool had a really fun water slide ).  I attempted to make some of the tan lines I’d picked up during the marathon a little less obvious, but I don’t think I was very successful!  Maybe I’ll just need to head back to Florida again soon and work on them some more.  All in all, I’d say it was a pretty perfect way to recover from marathon #4!

Your Turn:  What’s your favorite waffle shape?  Do you have a favorite quick service restaurant?  Are you doing one of the training programs for Cherry Blossom??