Mardi Gras Run to the Great South Bay Brewery

Another week, another race recap, this time a local one: The Mardi Gras Run to the Great south bay brewery. This race is put on by the greater long island running club, and is marketed as a fast, flat race with an awesome after party.

Was the after party fun? Yes. Would I call the course flat? Not so much.

Mike, Sophie, Carson and I all decided to sign up for this race, and Emily agreed to come along to cheer us on, and drink my share of beer at the after party - a big perk of this race is that it includes a post race party that has plenty of beer to go around, all of which is brewed locally. Personally, I don’t like beer, but I do enjoy a good after party, and was happy to DD this one so that my friends could enjoy the party.

Emily, Sophie and I decided to pick up the race bibs the night before the race, so that we could sleep in a little later on race morning, and make sure we got our shirts in the sizes we wanted. We headed to the brewery in the afternoon to grab our bibs, and they were handing out a free drink ticket when you got your race supplies, so we stopped and had a drink as well. They had cider on tap that night in addition to all of their beers, so I was happy to get at least one drink out of this race! The bib pickup was located in a back room, which would serve as the VIP race area the following day, and the room was pretty empty when we got there. They allowed us to pick up Mike and Carson’s race supplies as well, which I always appreciate being allowed. As a bonus, there were GLIRC (Greater Long Island Running Club) calenders available, which list all of our local races, so I grabbed one of those to hang in my cube at work.

The brewery had a nice open room for its patrons, complete with ping pong, live music, and colorful artwork on the walls. We managed to find seating in what appeared to be old airline chairs, and enjoyed our drinks and chatted for awhile before heading home to prepare for the following day’s race. It turned out to be a good decision on our part to pick up the bibs early, as they ran out of shirts (and medals too!).

Come race morning I made the rounds to pick up my friends, other than Carson, who was meeting us at the Brewery, since she was coming in from Brooklyn. It was a quick ride over, and the race had people out directing traffic, so it was easy to find parking. We got there about 45 minutes before start time, and had no issue with parking.  

We got all of our race gear together, and headed into the brewery to wait until start time. It was a cold morning, so it was very nice to not have to wait outside. We walked out just before they sang the national anthem, and all crossed the start line together.  

The first mile of the race was crowded, so the four of us wound up weaving a little. We all run pretty close paces, and no one was looking to intensely race, so we figured we would stick together as much as possible. I was having a hard time getting into a groove, so I was glad to have company. 

The course was well manned, with volunteers stationed frequently to send runners in the right direction. Unfortunately there was some road kill in the middle of the course that we had to run by not once but twice, and I’m not really sure why an effort wasn’t made to remove it prior to race start.  

Around mile three we were all feeling the miles in our shins and quads, and while there weren’t any major climbs during the race, there were slight, consistent uphills that wore on our legs. I made a mental note to check the elevation profile on my garmin later that day.  

There were two official water stops, and a third unofficial one, where someone was hanging out water bottles to runners as they went by. There was also a porter potty at about the half way point, but other than that there were no restrooms on the course.  

We had consistently been running between 10-10:30 miles, but when we hit mile 6 and only one mile remained ahead of us, Carson decided to pick up the pace, and being the competitive individual I am, I of course obliged. We raced back and forth over the last mile, but as we approached the finish line we were loosing Mike and Sophie, and I really wanted to finish with them, and we called it a truce so we could try to get a nice finishers photo.... a truce that did not last, when Carson saw the finish line and started sprinting. I had taken the whole race easy, so for me it wasn’t worth sprinting at the end, as I valued finishing with my friends above a quick 0.1 mile sprint. 

We crossed the finish line and were handed our medals- a luxury that not all finishers got that day, as the race actually ran out before everyone had completed the run. They assured runners that they would be mailing out medals to anyone that did not receive one, and cited high “day of” race registration as being the cause of the shortage.  

We headed over to the car to change out of our sweaty clothes and into our race shirts, and then went into the brewery to enjoy the after party. They had a huge space set up, with several types of beer and lots of food to go around. They had subs, muffins, bagels, packaged waffles, and popcorn, as well as water and sodas. It was a bit crouded to get to the food, but once we had our spoils we all enjoyed our meal, and my friends enjoyed their drinks.  

We stayed until the party ended, dancing to the live band and relaxing post race.  

All in all, it was a fun event, and I would recommend checking it out if you’re local to Long Island, or if you’re really into after parties that have all you can drink beer.  

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!

2019 NYRR 9+1: The Gridiron 4 miler

As we begin 2019 I start, for the third time, the process of qualifying for the NYC marathon. While I qualified in 2017, I didn’t run the race in 2018 as I wound up getting married the week before, and in 2018 I completed my nine races, but ultimately decided not to fulfill my volunteer obligation, as I knew that my cousin Jen would be getting married race weekend for the 2019 marathon, and in Georgia, so there was no way I would get to NY in time to run it. But so far, things are looking good for 2020!

If you’re not from New York, you may be wondering what the heck I am talking about - let me give you the run down. If you’re a runner, you have probably heard of the NYC marathon, which happens the first weekend of November every fall. It is a tough race to get into, as you can’t register for it unless you have time qualified, won a race lotto, raised a lot of money for charity, or participated in the 9+1 program. The New York Road Runners, the race company that hosts the NYC Marathon, gives runners an option to earn guaranteed entry by running in 9 events, and volunteering at one event. The spot you earn is non-complimentary, so you still have to pay registration fees, but you are guaranteed the opportunity to register.

This year both Sophie and Mike have agreed to my marathon madness, and will be running the weekly races with me throughout the course of the year - Kasey, just think of all the blog posts that you won’t be in if you don’t run with us, are you sure marathon FOMO isn’t a thing?

I picked up Sophie, and her first question was “Are we running up the hill in central park? Your dad warned me about it.” I had maybe neglected mentioning the hills of central park to Sophie, who had never before run there. But lucky for her, today’s race excluded Harlem hill, so she got to avoid the worst of the hills this time.

For this week’s race, I linked up with Sami and Nicole from the tri team to carpool. I had offered to drive, but when Sophie and I got to Sami’s house Nicole was ready to take us as passengers, and I wasn’t about to complain about getting a ride into the city. It was an easy ride into Manhattan - you usually don’t hit too much traffic driving in from Long Island on Sunday mornings. We had to do a few laps of the area before we eventually found parking, but we prevailed in the battle against parking garages and found a spot on the street. It took us about 10 minutes to walk to race day central, where Sophie, Sami and I picked up our bibs, and then Sami and I checked bags before the race started.

We debated getting in some mileage before the run, but ultimately wound up getting in about a 1/4 mile before happening upon the football toss that they do for the superbowl, and Nicole to try a throw since the womens line was short. We then made our way to the corrals, which were set to collapse 10 minutes before the race started. It was only a 4 mile run, so we didn’t have to bother with gels today, so it was just a quick stretch and then we were on our way. Sophie and I stuck together, while Nicole and Sami zoomed off, as they had paces they wanted to hit during the run.

After a relatively flat start, we turned the second corner and faced the first of the three sisters - a hill formation consisting of three hills that are less than friendly, and which stayed with us as we ticked off the first and second mile. We did a drive by water stop in the second mile, and I had to peel off one of my layers - it was just too warm. As usual, I had seen a temperature in the 30s and panicked, putting on an underarmor cold gear shirt that I was regretting by the half way point.

This was a superbowl themed race, so during the second mile runners had to pick a lane - depending on which team they wanted to win. Sophie, being from New England, went for the patriots as the winner. I, not caring about football but lover of harry potter, went against the patriots, since Dan Radcliffe had spoken out as being against them in the week leading up to the race.

We had a short hill reprieve as we made our way around the south side of the park, but soon enough the steepest hill we would face that day was upon us - Cat Hill. By the time we were over it, we had about a mile left in the race, and I was able to truthfully tell Sophie that the hills were over, aside from the slight uphill at the finish. With no hills left I was able to relax my breathing, and sail right to the finish line. We completed the race in 37:39, an average pace of 9:18 min/mi.

We collected our bagel and apple, grabbed our checked bags, and changed out of our running clothes that were wet with sweat. As we were doing this, my friend Carson found us, and we all chatted as we stopped to grab our race shirts and made our way out of central park and to the car.

All in all it was a good day for a race, that went by quickly thanks to good company. My next NYRR race? The United Airlines NYC Half Marathon.

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.

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 14

Race week was finally upon us: I just had to get through 4 days of work, and then I got to hop on a plane and head to Florida for Walt Disney World’s Marathon Weekend!

I had a busy week, so I decided to focus on packing on Monday that way I could make a list of any last minute purchases that needed to be made. The hardest part? Trying to decide what I was going to wear for the marathon! I had already decided to make a Minnie Mouse outfit for the half, but knowing that Florida weather is tricky this time of year, I was stumped when trying to pick something for the full. Eventually I settled on a tank top and shorts - the “Will run for Mickey shaped food" one, with a few extra layers packed in case things got cold.

On Tuesday morning I got myself on the bike trainer, and rode 10 miles. I was finding myself nervous about each workout as race day approached, worrying that I was overdoing it. But I reminded myself that this cycle had gone well- so much better than the one leading up to wineglass. And I was strong, and not going to hurt myself with a bike ride.

Tuesday night was my last run before the race day, and there was an easy track night on my schedule. Emily agreed to head to planet fitness with me, and we even managed to find treadmills near each other - nothing short of a miracle this close to the new year. And wouldn’t you know it- Mike showed up and hopped on another treadmill near by. I was excited to see him still working hard in the days leading up to his first half. When he got to the gym I was in the middle of an intense (for me) pace, and almost flew off the back of the treadmill when I tried to turn my head to look for Mike. So, I waited until the interval was over before looking around for him while at a slower, safer, pace, and saw that he was just a few treadmills down.

As for me, my plan was for a total of six miles - 2 mile warmup, 1x1200, 1x800, 1x1200, and then a cooldown. The paces weren’t too aggressive, but the 1200s felt long. I was red faced and sweaty when I hit the cooldown, and happy to have gotten through this last night run before the race.

Wednesday I spent making sure I was VERY hydrated, drinking waterbottles full of nuun all day. After work I took a quick trip to target with Emily to pick up all of me last minute Disney trip needs. I finished up packing and got all my bags in line, only one day of work left!

At long last it was Thursday, and a full plate at work meant the day flew by when I expected it to drag. It was a little of a frenzy getting home on time to leave for the flight, and before I knew it Mike and Jude arrived with Mike’s parents, who were giving us a ride to the airport. We were flying out of MacArthur Airport, AKA the best airport on Long Island. Its further east on the island, and much smaller than the airports near New York City. It makes for a much lower stress start to a vacation, and an easier airport drop off. Liz and Mike Sr. were able to drop us off right next to check in, without having to fight standard airport traffic. We said goodbye, and headed into the airport.

We got there with plenty of time to grab food before boarding out flight, and excitedly discussed our DIsney plans. Jennie works in Manhattan, so she was going right from work to JFK, and had a little less luck than us with - as she sat in the airport delays were slapped onto her flight. As Mike, Jude and I climbed onto the plane, Jennie was still waiting to see when she would take off. It was seeming like she would be leaving NY as we landed in Florida. We managed to get three seats in a row on our very full flight, and even got overhead baggage space. Once we were in the air, I pulled up the media that southwest offers on my iPad, and selected Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom, as I hadn’t seen it yet. As the flight came to a close, I found myself tapping the screen to see how many minutes were left in the movie, nervous that I was going to miss the end of the film. But, I managed to just squeak through the ending as the plane landed. We were officially in Florida, and I was ready for the magic to begin!

Once we were off the plane we grabbed our checked bag, and headed for the magical express. It was Mike and Jude’s first time with magic bands, so I got Mike to scan us in, and after a quick reservation look up, we were on our way to the all-star Music resort. I had called the resort earlier that day and requested one of the newly renovated rooms, and for just $5 a night they were able to upgrade us to a preferred room, which was renovated. This was especially nice because it meant we were in the building closest to the main hall, which I knew I would appreciate with all of the running and early mornings I had ahead of me that weekend. We settled into our room, and set our alarms for the next morning - the plan was to head to the magic kingdom for extra magic hours to start our trip off on the right foot.

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 13

The last Monday and the last day of the year -December 31. I took a rest day to start the week, cleaning up the apartment and doing some last minute errands to prepare for company on New Year’s Eve.

We rang in the new year with family and friends, and Tuesday was a little bittersweet, knowing that we had to return to work on Wednesday. After a long day of relaxing, I got out for a run just as the sun was starting to set. It was windy, but I just wanted to get a few miles in to start the year off on the right foot.

I brought my headphones along, but as I tried to find a groove with the music I realized it was the kind of run that called for me to unplug. I turned the music off, and listened to the sounds of the neighborhood, and three miles slipped away, with a little push at the end.

I didn’t sleep well Tuesday night, and it thwarted my plans for a trainer ride on Wednesday morning. I was hardly able to drag myself out of bed in time for work, let alone to get anything done before that. But after work I made plans with Sophie and Emily to head to the gym- having a plan with them keeps me accountable.

Once we were all home and about ready to get moving, we of course gave each other excuses, but blew through them and agreed to meet anyway. We even managed to find three treadmills near each other, and got to work.

I had a speed workout planned, as is my usual approach to treadmills. A two mile warmup, then 6x200 @ 6:58, 2 miles at 8:57, and a final repeat of the 6x200 set.

I actually felt good this time around, and hitting the numbers happened without feeling like I was going to die- even if I did feel like I may fly off the back of the treadmill a few times. At the end of the workout I had gotten 9 miles done, and was thankful that Emily and Sophie had kept me accountable.

On Thursday I had bike trainer plans for the morning. I was hoping to get Day one for the “tour de zwift” event done, but didn’t realize that I had to log on at a specific time to participate- a rookie zwift mistake. But it was the first event that I ever tried to participate in, so I didn’t know any better. Since the first stage wasn’t available, I did an FTP test instead, since I hadn’t don’t one since April. It was challenging, but I was happy to get it done. That night was a lot of running around and packing for my family’s annual trip to woodloch, so nothing was accomplished fitness wise- but I did find a little time to work on my costume for the Disney half marathon!

On Friday my family was heading to woodloch just before lunchtime, so Kasey and I agreed to meet up at 8 for a long run. I planned to do 12 miles, but once I met up with Kasey- who had overslept for the first time ever- she informed me that we were leaving 30 minutes earlier than I thought, so I had to cut the mileage down to just a bit over 8 to get it done and have time to shower and get ready for the ride.

The weather was nice, and we covered a lot of ground on our run. I was overdressed, as usual, with a too heavy jacket - maybe one day I won’t be scared by temperatures that are below 30. We both agreed that our legs felt heavy, but we somehow trudged forward at sub 10 minute paces, the miles getting away from us as the time we had remaining to dedicate to the run dwindled. Eventually we parted ways so Kasey could run home and I could head back to the apartment.

An hour later, we were on the road and headed to Pennsylvania. Woodloch Pines is a resort that was founded in 1958, and can most easily be described as a cruise on land. Lots of food, activities, and shows over the course of a weekend. My family has been going there since I was a little kid, our numbers growing over the years. This year we were heading there earlier than we normally do, to accommodate my cousins that are now in college, so that they don’t have to travel home an extra weekend.

We started the weekend with a trip to the Go Karts - there were nine of us wanting to ride, and six cars. So a few of us doubled up, which was simpler when we were all tinier. Kasey and I wedged ourselves into a car, and I only thought I was going to die a few times as we whipped around corners - so basically it was the same as driving with her normally.  We still had some time to kill before dinner, so we headed over to the main lodge after go karts and played some pool and ping pong with Dennis, my brother, and a few of our other cousins.

After dinner we headed to the traditional horse race- which uses giant chess horses and dice, and cheered for our favorites to win the races.

The next morning after breakfast, Sophie Kasey and I headed to the gym to get in some miles on the treadmill. I would have liked to go outside, but it was raining so the treadmill was a better option.

My plan told me to get in a “threshold” run, which consisted of a two mile warmup, and then 10 minute intervals swapping between a 8:58 and a 9:17 pace. I got through the warmup easily enough, but the air circulation was lacking in the tiny hotel gym. The paces weren’t hard but the temperature in the room ensured that I was a puddle of sweat as I slogged through the miles. Kasey and Sophie headed out after three, so misery had no company in the second half of my run. But I kept going, and soon enough I was able to slow the pace for a quick cooldown, before ending my run with a total of 7 miles. Then it was on to another meal, and another busy day at woodloch- this time a home run derby, and a variety show.

The big event on Saturday at woodloch - which is an almost annual event for my family - is the big dress up night. The lead up to this goes something like, Kasey asks me what I am wearing, I tell her what I think I may wear, and then i change my mind last minute anyway. It was a bit of a frustrating day, but it felt good to put my best foot forward and try to enjoy the night.

Sunday we enjoyed our last meals at woodloch, and then headed home. I was exhausted from a busy weekend, and very happy to see the kitties when we got home.

With only 4 days to go before I head to Florida, I have quite a bit of packing to do, but not a lot of training left before the marathon- just a few more miles to go before the big day!

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 12

Week 12 started off different than every other week in this cycle: with a long run, on a Monday!

My office was closed for the holiday, and since I had family in town over the weekend, it made the most sense for me to complete a simulated goofy challenge between Sunday and Monday, running 13 miles Sunday and then 18 Monday.

I let myself sleep in a little bit that morning, and got moving around 10 am. It was drizzling a little when I started running, but the temperature wasn’t bad so it was manageable. I threw on a hat to keep the rain out of my face and got moving.

A few miles solo to get to Kasey’s house, and then we set out together. I left my fuel at her parents house, so we dipped by after mile 4 to grab a Gu and some water. Kasey was a bit unhappy with me at this point, but I somehow talked her out of climbing on a bike, and she agreed to keep running- so she would total 6 miles, the longest run since she ran the Star Wars half back in April.

We headed out once more, making our task an out and back route so that Kasey wouldn’t be tempted to cut it short. The air quality wasn’t great because of the high humidity, but at least the temperature staying nice. We grabbed another sip of water when we got to the halfway point- the apartment- and then left on the last leg of Kasey’s run. I was just over 8 miles. That meant 10 miles solo were ahead of me, and I needed to get my head in it. I was feeling the 13 miles from the day before, but knew that I needed to get this run done. So, I turned on an old favorite, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and let the audio book guide me through the miles.

Every few miles I dipped into my parents house for water, grabbing fuel when necessary as well. I stopped and stretched when I needed to, took one or two quick walk breaks, but slowly but surely managed to tick away the miles.

Towards the end of the run I swapped from my audio book to some music, counting off songs as they went by. Eventually I only needed two more miles, so I could start heading in the direction of the apartment.

My watch hit 18 miles, and I made it back home into the apartment and proceeded to cough for a good ten minutes- there were still a few lingering effects of the cold I had the week before. I was a bit chilly, and rewarded myself with a nice hot shower to warm up. Goofy simulation successfully completed!

Turns out, I ran 18 miles last year on Christmas Eve too, so it seems like I am establishing somewhat of a tradition with these runs.

I took Christmas Day off so that I could focus on spending time with family, and Dennis and I celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple. Den and my family spoiled me - Den got me a R8 recovery roller, and Dad got me a pair of clip in shoes for the bike!

I sadly had to head back to work the day after Christmas, and woke up feeling congested again. I had wanted to cycle in the morning, but figured it was best to not burn the candle at both ends when I’m still not 100% - I was planning on running after work, so didn’t want to start the day exhausted.

After work Kasey and I headed to the gym when I was done with work, to hop on the treadmill. I was planning on getting in a speed workout, that would total between 10-11 miles. At first I was intimidated thinking about doing speedwork again coming off of this cold, but these were paces that I realistically knew I could run. So, I got going to see how the paces were gonna feel that day.

First, a two mile warmup. I took it easy, listening to the final episode of the not real runners podcast. Once I finished two miles, I switched gears, swapping to some fast paced music to match the speed I needed to get to. Up first was 800s, three of them at a 7:30 pace, followed by .25 mi recovery. The 7:30s were hard for me to hit, but I fought for each one of them. When I rolled into the next section of my run, a 30-minute block at an 8:56 pace, it was a relief to be able to be at a relatively easier pace. As I made my way though the miles, I worked hard to talk myself into committing to the last set of repeats, which would be another set of 800s at 7:30.

Thirty minutes flew by, and before I knew it it was time to get moving again. My headphones had died, but luckily Kasey had an extra pair on her, which she loaned me. For easy paces I love running without music, but for hard efforts it is a necessary distraction. I managed to make it though the repeats one more time, and was very relieved to be finished. I slacked a little on the cooldown, doing just enough to bring me to a round 10 miles - Dennis and Rachel were preparing soup for dinner at the apartment, and I didn’t want to keep them waiting for too long!

I will say though, my legs hated me a little for that 10 miler- I woke up super sore on Thursday morning!

Thankfully, I was able to get outside to run on Thursday, with Kasey and Sophie. The weather has warmed up a little, and while I started my run with gloves on, I really didn’t need them or the jacket I was wearing. We made our way through the neighborhood loop, and when we hit the smaller of the two inclines that Kasey insists on calling “hills,” she came to a dead stop (I use the term hill very loosely here- the usual run path has about 12 ft of elevation gain when you hit both of the hills).

I’m paraphrasing here, but she said she would die if I made her run up the hill. So, we turned instead of going straight, and made it about three houses before Kasey flopped onto a strangers lawn, where she was content being left. Not that we left her- after a few moments of croaking, we wrenched her off of the grass, and accompanied her for the half mile back to her parents house. The good news is, she lived to run another day.

Sophie and I went on for about two more miles, and when we finished the run, I realized that it had accidentally been progressive- you know it’s a good feeling run with that happens! Sophie got a garmin for Christmas, so it was fun to watch her watch show us all of the new records she had just set. I called it a night after that run, knowing that I should probably run the next morning as well, as I was going out with Den’s family for dinner on Friday night.

Friday morning I woke up to a message from ProCompression on Instagram, asking if I had received an email from the the day before- I hadn’t, but upon seeing this message I was excited enough at the idea that they may select me as an ambassador, that I found the motivation I needed to get moving, and headed to the gym to get my mileage in. It was raining, so outside wasn’t an option today.

I pulled on a bright outfit to contrast the stormy sky, and headed to LA fitness. I listened to Harry Potter 7, and trotted along for five miles. It was an uneventful morning on the treadmill. But around lunch time I received an email that I hoped to get - I was invited to become a 2019 ProCompression ambassador! I excitedly accepted, happy to be offered a spot to represent a product that I love and use on almost every run.

Saturday was full of planned activities, so I had to get out before they started- we were heading into the city with Den’s family to see the pop up exhibit for Mickey’s 90th birthday.

It was windy when I got up, but I got moving eventually. My body didn’t feel like running, but I think it was just heavy with sleep. I headed away from the apartment in the first mile, telling myself that I could quit after two miles if it really sucked. Two miles came a few blocks from the apartment, and by the time I was almost home, I was just over 2.5 miles, so I figured I may as well go for three. As you can probably guess from here, once I hit three I figured I may as well try to squeeze in the full distance, 6 miles. At mile three I ran away from the apartment for a little over a mile, and miles 4 and 5 just slipped by. At this point, I was running out of time to finish the run, as I had to leave the apartment by a specified time to get into the city on schedule, so I wound up at a total of 5.5 miles. All in all, it was a good run, despite the wind. The exhibit that we went to was fun, and had a bunch of Mickey themed photo ops - if you would like to see a video of this event, let me know with a comment below!

The final run of the week, and the last long run of my training cycle, came on Sunday. I had to run a total of 16 miles, and I recruited Mike and Sophie to share some miles with me.

I headed out around 9, and got in my first 6 miles solo, while listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As I approached mile 6, I made sure my route headed towards Mike’s house. He joined in on the run, and we chatted our way though the miles as usual, this time through the roads near his house, which were a bit unfamiliar to me, so I more than once took a turn that lead us right out onto a main road.

As Mike’s miles came to an end, we swung by my parents house and picked up Sophie so she could keep me company for the last few miles, and then ran Mike home.

Sophie and I opted to run near the apartment, and were both feeling stiff as we approached the end of our miles. I hit 16 right as we approached the apartment, and then we treated ourselves to some Chinese food to celebrate a job well done.

I had to spend the rest of the day preparing to host people on New Year’s Eve, but was glad that I found time to get my miles in.

Also, this week turned out to be my highest mileage week to date - 59.5 miles!

Kelly’s Goofy Plan: Week 11

I came into week 11 with one hell of a cold, making sure I stayed on top of my asthma meds, not wanting a repeat of last years marathon weekend debacle. Usually when I have a cold I manage some small amount of mileage, but that was not happening this time around.

I managed to get on the bike once early in the week, but the difficulty level of the ride told me that my body was not ready for running. So throughout the week the most I did was some resistance band exercises, and when Thursday rolled around I attempted a morning run with Kasey.

She dragged me out of bed even earlier than usual, as she needed to get to school early for her last finals of the semester. So by 6:05 I was headed out the door, and I quickly found Kasey outside.

The air was cold and my breathing was rough, and excuse my language, but way more phlegm was a part of this run than usual. We kept the pace as easy as possible, and I managed to get through 5 miles. Kasey ran the first two with me, and at mile three I stopped by my parents house to grab water. I tried to bail on the run at that point, but dad pushed me to finish the five miles that I intended to set out for, so I went back out and made my way back to the apartment.

I considered going out for more miles on Friday, but after not feeling great on Thursday’s run I decided to rest, and save my mileage for the days ahead.

My plan for the weekend was for 13 miles on Sunday, and 18 miles on Monday.

I met up with Mike and Carson on the bethpage trail on Sunday, and we headed north to get the hills out of the way in the first half of the run. Carson only planned to run 5-6 miles with us, so we figured that we could head out a few miles and then double back, before heading south for the second half of the run.

The miles slipped away as the three of us chatted, and I honestly felt better than I had all week getting those miles in. We shared gu, found a decorated tree in the woods, and Carson’s miles were over quickly. We took a quick pit stop in the parking lot to refill my water bottle before getting moving again. Once we were heading south, we needed to get to 3.7 miles before we could turn around and head back to the car, so we would have a total of 13 miles complete.

As our miles came to a close our legs got heavy through the last few miles, and we had to fight our way up the last little hill. But we had such an amazing last long run (for mike) before Disney. Plus, it was his longest run to date! After we finished our run we exchanged Christmas gifts, and I spent the rest of the day wrapping gifts and recovering.

The week started off difficult, but I was feeling so much better by the weekend, and I’m sincerely hoping that this cold has run its course, so I can get in all my remaining miles before the Goofy Challenge!