2020 Dopey Challenge: 23 Days Out

Day by day, the Dopey Challenge inches closer, and my excitement grows! This week was especially exciting, because I got to head to Disney World with my family for a Christmas trip - I had never been to the parks in December before, so I was really excited for this trip!

After another weekend of back to back runs, my knee was sore on Monday. I decided to start my week with a ride on the trainer, so Monday morning I got up early and selected a workout on Zwift. The one I picked was a 55 minute ride that included hill intervals, so it was a little rough at times. I was dripping with sweat by the time I finished the ride, and hopped in the shower before work.

Tuesday morning I once again managed to get my butt out of bed early, this time with a run planned. I drove over to my parent’s house to meet up with Dad, since it was an unseasonably warm morning for December. I got there around 6:30, and Dad pulled his bike around to the front of the house… but then discovered that he had a flat tire as we went to hop on. Not an issue though - he had a spare. We headed into the back yard to pop it onto the bike stand to change the tube…. only to have the second tube to refuse to fill with air. Upon closer inspection, we realized that there was a burr of metal near the stem, and without another tube the bike wasn’t going anywhere that morning. Womp Womp.

So, instead of a run/bike Dad cooked some eggs and bacon for breakfast, I used the stim machine on my knee, and cuddled with the cat for awhile. I texted Mike inquiring about his plans for the night, and he agreed to head to planet fitness with me after work to get in some treadmill miles.

Before running, I headed to the nail salon with my Mom to get pedicures, a pre-vacation ritual. She was heading to Florida on Wedensday, before the rest of the fam, so Tuesday was our best bet. Then I changed quick before meeting Mike, and we met at the gym. We even managed to find treadmills next to each other, and got to chatting as we started our miles. I started at an easy pace, but was feeling really good as I got moving, and after the first half mile kept turning the pace up. Mike and I were both planning to participate in the weekly BibChat session that BibRave hosts on twitter, so at 8:00 we hopped on twitter while we were running. Over the course of the subsequent four miles I upped the pace from a 10:30 to an 8:00 mile, and held that for about a half mile total before slowing down to cool down. I totaled five miles of running, and then walked on the treadmill for a few minutes while Mike made his way to 5 miles. Once both of our runs were complete we headed into the basement, where our planet fitness has their strength training equipment, and did about 20 minutes of mobility work, since both of us had knee pain over the weekend.

Since I ran Tuesday night, I wasn’t going to push it by running again Wednesday morning. Plus it had snowed a little overnight, so that made running a less of a choice anyway. So I had a lazy morning, sleeping in a little and then working on packing for my trip. My plan was to workout after work, and swap one of the five mile runs on my training for a swim. I had my company’s holiday party after work, and planned to head from there to the pool to meet up with some of my teammates from the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team at the pool - until I wound up with a flat tire. That, unfortunately, changed my plans. Instead of heading to the pool I got my car to the shop, where I hoped they would be able to fix it the following morning. I thought about running when I got home after, but my knee was aching so I figured it would just be better to call it a wash.

When I woke up Thursday though, my knee was still aching. I weighed my options, feeling guilty at the idea of not running another day in a row. Ultimately I decided to take another day off, reminding myself that the goal was to make it to the start line, and be able to participate. So I listened to my body, and once again took it easy. At least it gave me time to finish packing, and pick up my car, which had thankfully been repaired by my local mechanic.

Friday after work I headed to Disney with my family, for a Christmas trip! I was traveling with my husband Dennis, my parents, my Aunt Karen, and my cousin Ryan. We spent a total of four days in the park, taking in the new attractions and enjoying all of the holiday decorations. We even went to Mickey’s very merry Christmas party, which was a first for me!

Since we had Christmas party tickets for Sunday night, we weren’t heading into the parks that morning. So, I took advantage of the time I had and went for a run around the resort. We were staying at pop century resort, which has a shared running path with the art of animation resort. I got in a total of 6 miles, and my knee felt foot throughout, which I was really thankful for. My original intent had been to run 12 that day, but with the pain I had been feeling throughout the week, I figured it was a safer bet to keep it short, since I would be walking around the parks for the next few days. I explored the hotels as I ran, checking out all of the decorations that they had around.

I stayed in Florida with my family until Tuesday night, when we headed home. It was a great little trip, and we even got to meet up with our family that lives in Florida. I’m the “planner” for my family, so these trips can get a little exhausting at times, but at the end of the day I’m so grateful that I have the chance to spend time with the people I love, especially at Disney!

2020 Dopey Challenge: 30 Days out

Two weeks in a row - the blog is back to active status guys! I am excited that I am finally starting to be able to train consistently again, and I am getting excited as the countdown grows smaller and smaller, and my trip to Disney for the Dopey challenge approaches!

Monday we got the first snow of the season in NY, and while I had originally planned to meet up with my brother at the gym after work I got a text from him asking to reschedule to the following day, so I agreed to meet him on Tuesday instead. Which made Monday a total rest day, which I think are good sometimes. I stayed home relaxed, and it was a relaxing way to start the week. Plus, my throat was a little sore, which for me usually means a cold is coming on - so I hoped that it wouldn’t mess up my plans for the week.

Tuesday morning I totally had intentions of getting on my bike trainer for a ride, but was exhausted when I woke up and just didn’t manage to get myself out of bed -these things happen. But Tuesday night after work I did manage to get to the gym with my brother Tommy, and we did a chest workout. I like that when I go to the gym with Tommy I get to just play follow the leader, as he likes to set the workout. Today’s set included chest presses, flys, and tricep pull downs, among other things. Once we were done lifting I found a free treadmill and hopped on, needing to get a five mile run in. I had kind of been dreading the treadmill, but when I hopped on and started a show on Hulu, and knew I just had to get through one episode and I would be done. The miles slipped away, and I even managed to increase the pace as I progressed through the miles. The gym that I go to recently remodeled, and I have to say I am a fan of the new treadmills.

Since dealing with this knee injury, I have been swapping some of my “easy” runs for swims or bike rides, and on Wednesday I did just that. I was supposed to run 5 miles, but instead I planned to swap it for a swim. First, I headed to the gym with my brother and we got in a leg workout. He was working on maxing out his leg press, so we wound up doing 7 sets on that machine, which was a lot for me! We also included squats and some calf raises, which I was sure to feel in the days that followed.

When we finished with strength training I headed to the pool and met up with a few members of the Merrick bicycles Tri team. Our coach, Jackie, had assigned us a workout. I was a little nervous about it, since when I go to the pool I usually just swim laps without any real goals. The workout was a long one for me -

Swim workout - concentrate on EVF (early vertical forearm)-

w/u 200 easy

4x75 (50 catch up drill, 25 free) rest 10' btw. each

2x200 bilateral breathing rest 30' btw each

4x75 (50 fist drill, 25 free) rest 10' btw each

2x150 - concentrate on your pull rest 20' btw each

8x25 (follow below)

2x25 - free fast 5' rest

2x25 catch up drill

2x25 - free 5' rest

2x25- fist drill

*add in optional:

2x300 for endurance- rest 30' btw each

I teamed up with Ken, and we split a lane for the workout. We swim really similar paces, so it was nice to have someone to swim with throughout the whole thing. It took us about 50 minutes to get through it all, and I was pooped and starving by the end! But I was glad I got in the pool.

Thursday was listed as an off day on my schedule, and I needed it! I headed to the doctors office on Thursday morning, as my sore throat had evolved into a cold. I’m asthmatic, so when I feel a cold coming on I have to be on top of it, or I wind up down for the count. Leaving the office I was on a steroidal inhaler, prednisone, and antibiotics, plus a recommendation to use my nebulizer a few times a day. I headed to work after the doctors appointment, and took it easy Thursday night. Instead of workout out, I headed to the fabric store and grabbed some supplies to start on my costumes for the Dopey challenge!

I did have intentions to run Friday morning. I even laid out clothes on Thursday night. But when Friday morning rolled around my body refused, feeling the full cold symptoms. I rolled over and got an extra hour of sleep, thinking maybe I would try to get in some miles after work.

But of course, I wound up having to stay late at work, and missed out on having a real lunch during the day, because I was just so busy. So by the time I got home, dinner was my first priority. My mileage for the weekend was planned to be 18 miles on Saturday and then 9 or 10 miles on Sunday. So I was worried about running too late on Friday, and not giving my knee time to recover. So instead of the 4 miles that I planned to run, I hopped on my bike trainer. I figured that way I would still get some cardio in, but it would be lower impact on my knee.

Saturday morning was a little rough when it arrived. Was it really 6 am already? Because it felt like I had just gotten into bed. I grabbed my gear bag, which I had thankfully packed the night before, and got dressed in some cold weather running gear and drove to Mike’s house. From there he drove us into Central Park, where we were planning to get our long run done. Mike was running the ted Corbett 15k, but I had hesitated on registering, and missed out. It was one of the last NYRR events on the year, and since I had already completed more than 9 events, I didn’t want to take a spot away from someone who needed this event to qualify for the 2020 marathon.

It was a chilly morning in central park, and I was glad that we took the approach of booking a parking lot right near the entrance of the park that was closest to race day central. We started our run as soon as we got into the park, and ran right to the porter potties - gotta have your priorities in order! We found Carson shortly after, and were on our way to 18 miles.

So, I carried my own water and tried to stay out of the way of the runners and organizers of the event, as I started my Central Park run that morning. Mike and I started on our loops, and were very relieved that Harlem hill was not a required part of our day. We proceeded to run loops of Central Park for a little over the next three hours, first following the race course and then exploring other routes. Around mile 16 the hills started to bother Mike’s knee, so we eased the pace as we finished up. Despite the pain we managed to finish the 18 miles, feeling strong overall. I really love running in Central Park, there is something going on to focus on between the people in the park and the scenery, and it makes for an interesting long run, even if the hills can be difficult at times.

As is the catch of dopey training, our weekend runs weren’t over after completing our 18 miler - we still had another 9 to run on Sunday! The original plan had been to do the long run Sunday, we we decided to swap the distances, as we were attending a holiday party Saturday night, and didn’t want a late night to impact our long run.

As is the theme of dopey training, we had a second long run planned for that weekend - a 10 miler a little closer to home. We were both registered for Race Awesome’s jingle all the way 5k at cedar creek park. Mike and I met at the park about an hour before the race, and we headed out to the trail that leads towards jones beach. We kept the pace easy as we chatted, and when it was time to line up to start the race we had run just over 4 miles.

We met up with my friend Allison who was pushing a stroller with her 11-month-old in it during the race, and we stuck together for most of the race. it was an out and back course with a loop of the park, and when we were on the “back” part, just around mile 2, Mike’s knee started to hurt again. We took a walk break, and after a moment of stretching we were on our way again. We finished our loop around the park, and headed towards the path again.

As we reached the path, Mike’s knee started to hurt again. It reached a point where we were walking more than running, so we decided to switch to walking after a total of 7.5 miles for the day. We both felt like we would rather cut the mileage a little short rather than wind up injured. Plus, it was nearly a mile walk back to the car, which was still distance under foot! We had a fun time at the race though, and were still able to snag some hot chocolate and bagels when we finished our miles, which was really good.

All in all, I felt good about the mileage that I got done this weekend, and am really trying to listen to my body. My knee was sore after the long miles, but I was so happy that I was able to get through them feeling strong. 30 Days between me and the Dopey challenge!

Chicago marathon: week 13

Ok guys, ready for the blog post with the least amount of running content of this training cycle? Well, welcome to the training recap for week 13, where I spent the week on vacation, cruising to Alaska from Vancouver with my husband Dennis. 

We had left New York on Friday, and spent the weekend in Vancouver. While we were there I got to run the Seawheeze half marathon, we went to the Vancouver aquarium, ate lots of yummy food, explored Stanley park, and checked out the Capilano suspension bridge, which was amazing. Come Monday, we checked out of our hotel and headed towards the cruise terminal, where we would set sail from.

It was my 5th Disney Cruise, but my first time aboard the Wonder, which is one of the fleets original ships. It is significantly smaller than the ships I had been on previously, the Fantasy and the Dream, and throughout the week I found myself comparing the experiences. Even though it here were less passengers on this ship, it felt much more crowded. 

We boarded the ship on Monday, after a fun weekend in Vancouver that included the Seawheeze half marathon, the capilano suspension bridge, and exploring Stanley Park. We were both so excited to get on the ship, and headed for the terminal around the 10:30 am. We had the hotel we were staying at, the Ramada by Wyndham in downtown Vancouver call us a taxi, since there is no Uber or lyft in Vancouver, and we had a ton of luggage. This may have been the best choice I made all week, as it only cost us $8, and was so much easier than taking the train with all our stuff, as we had done when we first got to Vancouver. The train system was simple, but it was hard to not be in the way of other passengers with all of our luggage. When the taxi dropped us off at the cruise terminal, Disney had people collecting our bags, so we handed the bulk of our luggage over at this point. 

The port officially started accepting passengers at 11 am that morning, so we were pleased when we got there at 10:50 and they were already allowing people to start the check in process. 

Disney has a loyalty program called the “castaway club” on their cruise ships, and the more cruises you have been on the higher your level. My 5 cruises puts me in the “Gold” category, but my husbands 12 or so cruises lands him in “Platinum,” the highest section at present. The big perk of this? We get a free meal at palos, the premium dining on the ship, and dedicated lines at check in - which meant no line at all on this particular morning. The cruise staff were all so welcoming, and quickly got us through the terminal. We had to bring our carry on bags through security, and clear customs since we were heading from Canada back into America, on our journey to Alaska. 

Once we had our “key to the world” cards, the cards that you use for rooms and any purchases that you make on the ship, we waited in the terminal for the ship to be ready for passengers. The schedule told us that the ship would start boarding at 1:30 pm, so we hopped on line to snag a photo with Minnie Mouse while we waited. We settled into the lobby after, trying to catch a glimpse of the boat as we waited. 

Lucky for us, they were ready for passengers a little earlier than planned, and started letting us on board around noon. We were in boarding group one, so we were among the first group of passengers to load onto the ship. We spent some time wandering around the decks while they were still empty, and checking out the kids club and teen areas, which are open to the public on the first day, so that we could see what they looked like while we had the chance - they always have fun Disney touches, and they vary from ship to ship, so I was excited to get a look at them. 

After we had toured around the ship for a while, we headed to Cabanas, the buffet, for lunch. We relaxed in there until our room was ready, and then headed down to deck two to drop off the bags that we had opted to carry on to the ship, which we had been lugging around since boarding. 

The ship was slated to leave at 4 pm, so around then we headed to a top deck, to get a view of Vancouver as we left. As we explored Vancouver we noticed a big pile of sulfur that was visible at an industrial park across from the port, and Dennis kept joking that he was super excited to see the pile of sulfur up close at last as we sailed away. 

Through the course of our weeklong cruise we headed to Dawes Glacier, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagaway. 

Since we were spending the first day of our cruise at sea, and my body was still running on NY time (three hours ahead of our actual time zone at that point), I headed to the gym for a yoga class they were offering, and to get in some treadmill miles while I had the time. 

The yoga class was more guided stretching, but it was nice to get moving. The views were pretty from the top deck of the ship, where we could spot some islands to both sides of the boat as we sailed along. Having previously only done tropical cruises, it was strange to be able to see land throughout most of the cruise. When the yoga class ended I spent another 15 minutes stretching out my hamstrings and hips before heading inside to hop on the treadmill. 

The treadmill had a TV attached to it, and a handful of channels that played various Disney movies. I settled on the end of Big Hero 6, and eventually swapped over to Tarzan when it ended. I got in 6 miles before my stomach was really shouting for breakfast, and I headed back down to the room to see if Den was awake, and ready for food - my breakfast of choice for day one? Mickey waffles, of course.

The second day of our trip was largely spent sightseeing, as we sailed down the Tracy arm passage towards the Dawes glacier. Den and I attended a talk given by a former park ranger about the nature and history of Alaska, and then bundled up to head our for our first excursion - we were boarding a smaller boat, which would be able to sail up to the glacier, while the Disney wonder had to keep its distance, as it was too large to make a close approach. 

Leading up to the cruise Den and I went back and fourth a lot, trying to decide if this excursion was worth the cost, but ultimately felt like we didn’t know how long glaciers would be around, and I wanted to see one up close while I had the chance. I have to say- if you ever get this opportunity, take it. This was by far my favorite experience of the cruise, from sailing along outside in the crisp Alaskan air, taking in waterfalls and mountains as we got closer to the glacier. When we finally approached the glacier, the boat spent about an hour going in circles, and Dennis and I stayed on deck the whole time. I wanted to take in the sights as much as possible, regardless of the temperature. 

Eventually our time at the glacier came to a close, and I was happy to get back into the heated ship, and to find some hot chocolate. 

We were supposed to go on a bike tour when we stopped in Ketchikan the next day, but it was unfortunately cancelled, as not enough people had signed up for it. We considered trying to hike on out own, but were warned of bears, and didn’t have access to bear spray. The other option was a bus tour or the white pass rail road, which looked beautiful, but I was concerned about sitting for such a long period of time, as my hip flexor has been causing issues for me any time I sit for more than an hour or two. Ultimately we decided to just explore the port area at Ketchikan, which was tiny and unlike any other port I have been to before. 

The town was tiny, and had multiple national park sites scattered through it. We could see mountains in every direction  as we wandered through town. We went into little shops, and even found a yarn store with Alaskan yarn. I was excited to pick out some vacation yarn that was hand dyed in the state, and am planning to knit up some socks with it. We went to each of the national park sites, and found two museums in town that we enjoyed checking out. Eventually we headed into a brewery, where Dennis tried some local beer and I wrote out postcards to mail home. 

As people finished their excursions the town got more crowded, but by that time Dennis and I had wandered through most of the shops. So, we decided to get back on the ship and grab a bite to eat. We sat so that we had a view of the town from above as we ate lunch. 

Once we were finished eating, we went back to the room to relax for a bit. Once I was digested I decided to head to the gym to get a few miles in before dinner. Since we had excursions planned for the next two days, I wasn’t sure I would have the time or energy to get out after either, so I wanted to get in a few miles while I could. 

So, I headed to the gym and hopped on a treadmill again, which gave me a view of the town. This time I watched ratatouille as I ran. I wanted to get in at least 6 miles again, but my knee started to feel off around two miles into the run. I had to stop and stretch it a few times, and after each stretch it would feel ok for a few minutes, and then start hurting again. It was unusual, but I figured I had just overdone it at seawheeze or my shoes needed to be replaced. So I called the run after 5 miles, knowing that I had a hike planned for the next day. 

When the ship docked in Juneau the next day, we were lead off of the boat and to a an that was waiting for us in the port. It was rainy that day, but I was prepared with a baseball cap and my hydrophobic running jacket. There were two other families on the excursion with us, during which a tour guide would lead us through a 4 mile hike through the rainforest that surrounds the mendenhall glacier. We drove up “the road” as our tour guide called it, as it is the only highway in Juneau. He told us about the town as we headed towards the glacier, and handed out snacks to bring along when we got to the parking area. He offered hiking sticks as well, but I wanted to be able to have my  hands free for photos, so I passed. Dennis grabbed one though, and was happy to have it during the hike. 

We headed into the forest, and the tour guide, Matt, told us facts and pointed out sights as we made our way through the forest. We chatted with him and the other families as we followed the path, getting higher up the mountain as we got deeper into the woods. 

 It was overcast, but the rain let up a bit as we kept hiking. The final uphill bit of the trek was up about 100 stairs that had been built in the woods, and we all stopped at the top to catch our breath and remove some layers when we got there. At the peak of the hike we noticed that there was some abandoned industrial equiptment, and our guide told us it was from when there was mining happening on the mountain.

On the way down we had a few scenic stops, one for a water fall and two that gave us peaks at the glacier. My knee was bothering me by the end of the hike, so I was happy when we were finished with the four miles. It had been a nice journey through nature, and I was ready for lunch as we headed back to the ship. That day we opted to not head back into the town to explore, since my knee was sore and it was still raining on and off. Instead we took it easy on the boat until dinner time, and then headed to a pin trading event before going to the show of the night - the Frozen musical. The theater was totally full by the time the show started, so I was glad we got there early to make sure we had seats. The show was great, with some amazing puppetry, costumes, and sets.

The next day was our final port of the trip - Skagway. We had another excursion, this time kayaking. Luckily, it seemed like the weather was going to be nicer, and when we got off of the ship things were looking good. We had about a half hour ride to get to the boat that would take us to the Tatooish islands, where we would board Kayaks and go on a guided tour. The dock that we left from was a part of a tour company, and there was a friendly dog running around, who I was very excited to say hello to - after a week on a boat I was so happy to see an animal.

To get to the area we would be kayaking in we boarded zodiak boat a with the tour guides and other people who were participating in the excursion. After a quick safety briefing we were allowed to climb into kayaks, and the guides pushed us into the water. About 60 seconds into the tour someone managed to flip their Kayak, something I would not call an easy thing to do, and I spent the rest of the time slightly paranoid that I was going to wind up in some very cold water. We paddled around the island formation, as the guides told us about the area. We even spotted some bald eagles, seals, and deers. It was a really nice ride, and a beautiful day out. When our time was up, we got to have cookies on the beach as we waited for the Zodiak to pick us up.

When we got back to the port we walked around the town, exploring and picking out a few souvenirs. It was a good last port visit, before we boarded the boat. out next stop would be Vancouver, but we would have one more day at sea before our vacation came to a close. Since we knew we could sleep in on our last day at sea, we hung out at one of the bars on the ship on our last night, and even played the Disney version of the newly wed game - match your mate. We didn’t win, but they did give us a free drink and a voucher for a free photo print from the shop on the ship.

On our final day of vacation we mostly relaxed, watching movies and eating lots of food. I tried to go for a run, but was forced to stop after about a mile and a half, as my knee gave out on me, and it made me feel like it wasn’t a safe running conditions for me. I was bummed, but hopeful that I just needed new shoes or a break from the treadmill. We packed our bags so they could be picked up that night, and then would be waiting for us on the other side of customs.

On Monday morning we disembarked the ship, and headed right to the airport via a Disney bus. It was bittersweet that a vacation that we had looked forward to for so long was over, but we had such an amazing time, and made so many memories.

If you are ever on the fence about a Disney cruise, this is me telling you to go for it - you won’t regret it. Even though it was an amazing trip, I was looking forward to getting home to our cats, and back into my regular routine.

Video recap: The 2019 Disney Princess Half Marathon

Did I carry my go pro for another 13.1 miles? You betcha! Today I’m sharing a recap of Kasey and my experience running the princess half marathon together. 

Disney Marathon Weekend: The Half Marathon

This post is part two of my recap of the 2019 Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, for which I headed to Florida with my friends Mike, Jennie, and Jude. To read part one of the recap, which is about our first day in the parks and the race expo, click here.

Like every RunDisney event, the 2019 Half Marathon started with an early morning. A 5:30 a.m. race start meant a 3 a.m. alarm, and as much as I love RunDisney, I certainly do not love the early mornings that they require. But they are a necessary evil, made worth it by the fun that is to be had. We planned to be on the bus by 3:30, when the race guide suggested runners be on their way by.

We had set our outfits and race bags up the night before, so it was thought free preparations in morning, that way we wouldn’t forget any race day essentials. We did the best we could to get ready quietly (and if you know me, you KNOW this is not a skill I possess), and were out the door about 15 minutes before the 3:30 cutoff. It was a little chilly the morning of the race, but nothing compared to the freezing temperatures that runners dealt with during the 2017 marathon weekend. Mike brought along an old sweatshirt as a throwaway later, and I had a heat sheet stored in the bag I was planning to check, for when I had to remove my jacket.

It was a quick walk to the bus stop, and lucky for us we were able to get right onto the bus without a wait. I dozed in my seat as the bus took us to the Epcot parking lot, where we would start our 13.1 mile journey.

As is standard at any RunDisney event, there was a sea of runners dressed up as various Disney characters as we stepped off the bus, and we joined the masses as they made their way towards the start area. Walking through the parking lot we got a quick peek at spaceship earth, illuminated in the pre-dawn hours, and a reminder of the sight we would see just before the finish line. Both Mike and I had bags that we were planning to check, so we had to wait to have them scanned by security before we could enter the area, but the very populated line moved along quickly. When we got into the race staging area, we headed towards the DJ setup, and found a spot behind the bleachers to plop ourselves while we ate our breakfast. We had picked up the runner boxes that all star movies was selling, so we had bagels to eat from there, and I had brought along a Kind Breakfast Bar as well. Once we were finished eating, I organized the stuff in my bag into two piles - the stuff that I would need during the race, and the stuff that I was going to check during the race. I threw my jacket into the check bag, and although it wasn’t too cold, opted to bring the heat sheet I had packed into the corral with me.

We headed towards the bag check, and the green army man was stationed in front of the bag check trucks to encourage the runners to start moving towards their corrals. In previous years, bag check was in large white tents, but this time they had Fed-Ex trucks in place to collect our belongings. Mike and I had to split up, since our last names were assigned to different trucks, but were quickly reunited on the other side. We decided to make a porter potty stop before we headed to the corrals, and it was very dark in those toilets! Since it was still dark out, there was no sun to illuminate into the porter potties, and the parking lot light poles weren’t quite illuminating things enough.

Next step was to make our way into the corrals, and it was about a mile walk to get there. They had a DJ along the way, and photo pass photographers to take photos for anyone that wanted to stop and pose. We still had some time before the race when we got to the corral, so we found a spot that wasn’t too close to the speakers, and started stretching while we waited. Mike found a highschool friend in the same corral to us, and had a quick reunion as we waited. We made sure to each take a Gu before we got going, and I took a precautionary inhaler puff. Soon enough the announcers had Donald on the stage, and the countdown was on to the start time. Since we were in corral D, we got to watch a few sets of fireworks go off as the corrals ahead of us got moving.

At last, it was our turn to start, and with a Disney amount of excitement and fanfare, we crossed the start line as fireworks went off. Jennie and Jude were our official cheer squad for the day, and shortly after we had left for the start area, they got up and made their way to the start line, which would be the first of their four planned cheer spots. We texted them as we started, and Mike had the bright idea to shine his cell phone flash towards the spectators, who were across the street from the runners, so they would be able to spot us, and when we saw two people jumping up and down with excitement, we knew they had spotted us. As we ran towards magic kingdom, they hopped on a monorail to head towards the ticket and transportation center.

For me, the highlight of the first leg of the run, which consists of the highway between the start and magic kingdom, is getting to run under the Magic Kingdom entrance sign. There is just something magical about getting up close and personal to a sign that normally you only get to drive under, especially in the dark, it just looks magical!

There were a few characters on the highway as we made our way towards Magic Kingdom, including Lightening McQueen and Mater, some leading villains - the Evil Queen, Maleficent, and the Queen of hearts, and Wreck it Ralph with Vanellope. They also had a DJ, and a few High School bands playing to keep us entertained along the way. Soon enough we had reached the ticket and transportation center, where Jennie and Jude were waiting to cheer us on. We managed to spot them quick enough, and ran in for quick hugs before we were on our way. They were planning to walk over to the Polynesian, while we made our way into the Magic Kingdom. The next time we saw them we would be more than half way through our journey!

The bus stops were all lit up as we ran through the station, and they had big blow up lights set up to lead us into the Magic Kingdom through the main entrance. We had managed to make it to the park before the sun came up, so when we got to main street we could see the castle beautifully lit up in the distance, still covered in its holiday lights. Mike played to the cheering spectators that lined the road, interacting with their signs and even hitting a power up boost that one held and zooming off.

We then entered tomorrow land, where they had Mike with Sully and a Buzz Lightyear character stop. We decided not to get photos, and kept moving instead. The white rabbit was out neat the tea cups, and the evil step sisters held their usual spot just before the castle. We ran through the castle, and then stopped to get our photo taken in front - and to our dismay, that castle photo never did make its way into our race photos.

From there the course took us though liberty square and into frontier land, where we made a pit stop to get a photo with Woody and Bullseye, since they are Jude’s favorite characters, and we wanted to get a photo taken to show him. Then as quickly as it had begun, our time in Magic Kingdom came to an end, as we left the park through a back stage exit, and got to run by some festival of fantasy parade floats on our way out.

The park exit lead us to cone alley, a stretch of highway known for squeezing runners into a more narrow than preferred run way. At one point Mike and I both got a chill as the air froze momentarily, a event that is still a mystery to both of us. We sang along to the disney and pop songs that they had playing, as the sun finally began to climb into the sky.

As we got to the resorts that are nearby, they had Chip and Dale out with Clarice, and a group of Grooms near the grand Floridian. Just after mile 7 we approached the Polynesian, and spotted our cheer squad once more. We couldn’t believe how fast the miles were slipping by. For our second strech of highway, we passed by Mr. Incredible, and then after passing mile marker 9, which featured a photo of Anna and Elsa and played let it go, Mike serenaded me with his own rendition of Let it Go.

Mile 10 had a highway ramp that the green army man was positioned on, and as we ran by he shouted to Mike - “Keep going Lilo, you have me in stitches!” and Mike was very happy that he had recognized his costume. In what felt like the blink of an eye, we were entering Epcot, and stopped for a photo with Doug, Carl, and Russell from “Up” as we headed in. There was a DJ playing as we entered the park near the imagination pavilion, running by Journey into the Imagination, then onto Space Ship earth. Just a few more turns, and less than a half mile, and our race would be finished.

They had a gospel choir out singing as we approached mile 13, which of course featured Donald Duck, and then we turned the corner and could see our destination: The finish line! We crossed it with joy, and collected our metals - Mike was officially a half marathoner. We walked through the finish line chute, collecting cooling towels, power-aide, and of course, the coveted runDisney snack box.

After getting our finishers photos and collecting our bags, we found Jude and Jennie in the parking lot - they had made it there in time to watch us cross the finish line, even though Mike and I had not successfully spotted them as we ran through.

After hanging out in the Epcot parking lot for a few minutes, we headed into the park to get on a few rides, since Epcot was just opening for the day, and the lines would be relatively short. We managed to get on the Frozen ride, and soarin, then grabbed breakfast before hitting a few more rides. We had fastpasses in Hollywood Studios in the afternoon, so eventually we boarded the bus that would take us back to the resort for showers and naps, and after resting up for a bit, made our way into Hollywood Studios for another day of fun, and to celebrate completing the race.

After we had finished off all of our fastpasses I decided to head back to the room before everyone else, as I was pooped from a busy day, and had a big day ahead of me - my 5th marathon, and day 2 of the Goofy Challenge!

Disney Marathon Weekend: Expo Day

By the time our alarms went off on Friday morning, Jennie had managed to join us in the hotel room, without waking anyone up - I guess we were all exhausted from travelling the day before. There were extra magic hours at the Magic Kingdom that morning, so we planned to start our day there, then head over the the expo, followed by a visit to Animal Kingdom. We only had two park days, so we wanted to make sure we made the most of our park time.

By the time everyone was ready to move it was almost 8:00, when the park was set to open, so we opted to call a Lyft instead of waiting for the bus - not something I usually do in Disney, but like I said before, it was a short trip. Standard Lyfts can’t drop off directly at the Magic Kingdom, so the driver took us to the ticket and transportation center, where we were able to hop on a monorail, that brought us to the park. A big benefit of arriving through the ticket and transportation center was we got to go through security there, where the line was much shorter than it is at the main park entrance.

Once we got into the Magic Kingdom and were scanned in for extra magic hours, we decided to make our way to seven dwarfs mine train, as Jude and Mike had never been on that ride. The posted wait time was 45 minutes, but luckily it was actually closer to a 20 minute wait. After the ride we headed over to tomorrow land, where we rode Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin. They were handing out stitch stickers as we entered the second ride, which Mike was particularly happy about, as Stitch is his favorite character. We had time for one more ride before breakfast, and since we were eating at Be Our Guest we decided to go on The Little Mermaid ride, since it was right next door.

Breakfast at Be Our Guest was wonderful, as always - there is good reason that I always make a stop there during my Disney trips! We checked in with the hostess, and were lead into the restaurant shortly after. We hadn’t pre-ordered our meals, so there was a bit of a wait to place our orders, but once we made it through that we were seated in the main ball room, and given our tray of pastries while we waited for our breakfast. The restaurant uses RFID technology associated with magicbands to know where you are seated, and soon enough our food had made its way to us. Mike and I both couldn’t choose between the open faced bacon and egg sandwich and the Croque Madame, so we each ordered one and split them. Both were delicious, but I think I preferred the bacon and egg sandwich just a tad more. I also made sure to have some of the pastries that they brought to the table - you have to carb up in the days leading up to a marathon, right?! Jude and I also made sure to remind Mike to drink lots of water, so he would be well hydrated for his first half the following day. Of course, the meal was finished off with a “Master’s Cupcake,” which is topped with the famous “grey stuff.”

After breakfast we made it onto The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, and then met up with my sister-in-law Liz, and her Boyfriend Bobby. Bobby works for disney, and Liz was in Florida visiting him during her school break, so I was happy we were able to find a little time to hang out. We wandered around magic kingdom a bit, taking in the sights, and eventually made our way over to the Dumbo ride, and then the people mover. Our last order of business before saying goodbye to the magic kingdom was a character meet and greet - Stitch! Since he is Mike’s favorite character and we had no way of knowing if he would be out on the half course, we wanted to make sure to pay him a visit at least one. It was a very fun character interaction, and we all left the park with smiles on our faces.

We parted ways with Liz and Bobby, and walked over to the contemporary to catch a bus to the expo. We got lucky, and one was off loading runners just as we got to the bus stop. I was excited to get to the expo, even though we didn’t spend as much time there as I usually like to. Our first stop was the RunDisney merch, since that building was closest to where we got dropped off. When we walked in they were offering free airbrush tattoos, so we all decided to get one. Minnie for me, Stitch for Mike, Mickey for Jude, and the Castle for Jennie. They came out super cute, and I loved that it lasted all weekend.

Then it was on to the merchandise - I tried to limit myself in how much I was buying, since I already own about 10 RunDisney jackets, and had purchased the pre-order jacket (did that make me want the mint green half-marathon jacket any less? No. But I somehow managed to resist the purchase). In addition to the pre-order jacket, I had pre-ordered the annual passholder pin. My other souvenirs included 2 wine glasses, a pint glass, the tervis water bottle (they had all of the distances written on them, and the cutest Mickey - I couldn’t resist!), two pins - the replica marathon medal and the goofy challenge event pin, and a tank top commemorating the marathon. I really loved the dooney and burke bag that they were offering, but couldn’t bring myself to spend so much money on a purse. Once we had finished our shopping, we made a quick stop for pretzels - fueling is key - and then Mike and Jennie watched with jealousy as Jude and I lived our best lives, enjoying every moment of our pretzels and their dipping sauces.

Since our priorities were in order and we had taken care of food needs, the next step was to get our race bibs… you know, the whole reason we had come to Florida and all. While I had thought about printing out the waivers at home, I had completely forgotten to actually get it done, so we had to print them out before going into bib pickup. Thankfully, RunDisney has plenty of printers set up as you enter the expo for this reason, and since we were at the expo on its third day, there wasn’t much of a wait to print.

Waivers in hand we headed onto the main floor, and it was quick work to pick up our bibs. I had to take the traditional RunDisney mug shot, since I was running the Goofy Challenge. They always take your photo that way they can confirm that the same person is running both events, to ensure that the challenge medals are really earned. We snapped a few photos, and then headed to get our race shirts. We had fastpasses, so we didn’t have too much time to check out the vendors, but I made sure to stop by the ProCompression booth, and to pick up some GoGoSqueeze, which they always hand out at the expo.

The next plan was to head to animal kingdom, but as we went to leave the expo I remembered that the parks don’t let you bring glass ware in, and I had purchased a few pieces at the expo. So, I took everyone’s expo spoils, and sent them along to the park while I headed back to the hotel to drop everything off. I took a Lyft back to the room, and there was a bit of traffic leaving the expo, but soon enough I was back at All-Star Movies, and got lucky with bus times - right as I got to the bus stop a Animal Kingdom bus pulled up, and I wound up being the only one taking a ride. I got to the park just as they were getting off Dinosaur, so I met them in dinorama area. We had a fastpass for Avatar Flight of passage, so we headed over to Pandora next. It was necessary to make a stop at Pongu Pongu to get drinks - non-alcoholic for me, as I try not to drink in the days leading up to a marathon, but I looked on enviously while Jennie enjoyed her night blossom. We took another cross-park journey for our next fast pass, this time heading to expedition everest. This was the first time Mike and Jude had ever ridden at night, and I could hear Mike’s exclamations though out the ride, and I couldn’t help but to laugh with joy as we all enjoyed the ride together.

By the time we got off of everest, we had about 45 minutes until park closing. So, we pulled up the disney app to check out wait times, and decided we were going to try to get onto primevil whirl and then nav’i river journey. We were closer to dino land so we headed there first, and had a quick wait to get on the ride. By the time we were done it was a quick walk over to pandora, and I may have scared Mike into skipping a bathroom stop for fear of not getting into the queue before the park closed - but we made it, entering at 7:59 when there was an 8:00 closing time. Lucky for us, it was a quick wait, about 15 minutes total from entering the queue to getting on the ride - very much worth the hustle. We made a quick bathroom stop before heading to the buses, and making our way back to the hotel.

When we got back to all star movies we headed to the food court for dinner, where I went for some pasta and an uncrustables sandwich, I also picked up a runners box for the next morning. The food court had a decent selection of options for runners, but I would have loved to see a build your own pasta station, as some of the resorts offer on race weekends.

Then it was time to head back to the room, and set ourselves up for the next morning’s half marathon.