Week 6: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

One week flows into another, and somehow, we are more than a month into this! I am still wrapping my head around the fact that we are halfway though August and starting to look forward to the cooler temps that will come along with fall running. Heck, I will even take frosty winter mornings over humid hot ones!

Monday was a rest day, and while I was supposed to run Tuesday morning, it just didn’t happen. My alarm woke me up, I texted my parents about the crap night of sleep I had spent tossing and turning, and rolled over and slept for the extra hour. I’m not proud of it, but we all have mornings where the bed wins over the run.

I did get my run in Tuesday though – just as the sun was going down. When I got home from work I painted the bathroom that was renovated last week (the only part that wasn’t done by the construction crew was the paint), and once that was done I changed into my running clothes and hit the road. I did another one way trip to my parents house, this time with a quick loop near my house at the start to make it a little longer, since I would need to use their shower after. It was warm out, but the humidity wasn’t bad and there was a little breeze as I ran along. The sun got lower as I got closer to my parent’s house, but I managed to make it there while it was still day light. Once my three miles were done I headed inside and knocked out 10 minutes of core work before hitting the shower. Dennis met me at the house so he could shower too, and we headed home together. Hopefully when this paint dries we will not need another coat, and will be able to pull down the plastic and actually use the new bathroom!

I promised myself that I was going to get up and run Wednesday morning, so I went to bed early. Despite this, my body was not agreeable about being asleep that night. I woke up groggy on Wednesday morning, but still got up and made myself go through the motions of getting dressed, putting my running shoes on, and driving to my parents. I went for another 3 mile run that morning, just focusing on forward motion as I put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes marathon training is about showing up and getting the run done, even when you don’t feel like it.

Thursday morning I planned for my longest weekday morning run so far in this training cycle – 6 miles. I got to my parent’s house a little later than planned but got on the road as quickly as I could. I focused on getting through one mile at a time, and at mile 4 asked my dad what the latest time he could bike along until was – he said he had maybe another 10 minutes that he could be out for, and I let him know that I would be running for at least another 20, so he should break off as needed before I started looping. I worked on picking up the pace a little bit for the last two miles, and mom and dad both stuck with me until the end of the run. It was then a mad scramble for me to get ready for work and get out the door on time, and I mentally resolved to not do this to myself again – If I needed to run further in the mornings, I had to get up earlier.

Saturday I was registered for the NYRR 12 mile training run, which consisted of two loops of central park. I had volunteered to drive my friends in, so I rolled out of bed when my alarm went off at 4:45 am, and got ready to go. I had packed all of my gear the night before, so I just needed to get dressed. Once I was ready I took a ride to the bagel place around the block from my house, and picked up breakfast – a plain bagel with peanut butter for me, and a cream cheese bagel for Mike. Michal met me at my house, and the two of us rode to pick up Mike and then head to central park.

When the NYRR races are on Saturday’s street parking can be hard – on Sundays there are more spots available, as a lot of “no street parking” signs are suspended on Sundays, but that is not the case on Saturdays. So I usually use the spot hero app to book a parking garage near the start, and was able to snag a place to park for $15 – well worth the time saved, which we would have spent looping city blocks and hoping we would not have to sprint to get to the start on time.

Once we were parked we walked the few blocks to central park. Race day central was at the ball fields, and we even had gotten there early enough that there was no porter potty line (a rare runner “treat”). After using the bathrooms we picked up our race bibs, and had a little under a half hour to kill before the race was set to start. Michal had to get in 16 miles, as she is training for the Chicago marathon, so she headed to sneak in some extra mileage before the start, while Mike and I headed to our corral and hung out there, stretching as we waited for the race to begin. I took a Ucan gel, a brand that I decided to try last month after hearing the Ali on the Run show talk about it. I ordered a case of gels and a case of bars to sample.

Michal got back to the corral just as we were starting to move forward towards the start line, and the three of us crossed the start together. It was a warm and muggy morning, and Michal and I had decided to try using base salt for the first time, at the suggestion of our friend Katie. We took salt as we crossed the start line, then planned to take more every other mile as our run progressed.

The first mile was spent dealing with runner congestion, as we headed downhill before arriving at Harlem hill for the first time. By the time we made it to the top of the hill we were sweating, and the crowds had started to spread out a little as everyone found their pace. There were aid stations every mile or so, and at the second one I was already glad to see cups of water, and took salt for the second time as I chugged a cup of water.

After Harlem hill we headed to the three sisters, a set of rolling hills in central park. I was already feeling the heat of the day as we approached the aid station after mile three, and could feel a little numbness in my hands, which sometimes happens when I am not fueling well on hot days. I decided to take a gel at mile 3, in hopes of getting ahead of this, even though it was earlier than I would usually take nutrition. Soon after, I realized that when I pulled out my gel, I managed to knock the salt out of my pocket – so the salt experiment ended abruptly for me.

We continued around the Central Park loop together, chatting as we made it to the south side of the park, climbed cat hill, and finished the first loop. It was a humid day, and we were all feeling the impact of the heat. I continued to take a gel every 3 miles, because I could tell my body needed it. Around mile 9 my knee started to bother me, so I pulled my knee strap out of my pocket and pulled over to quickly pop it on. At least we were nearing the end of our slog.

We took to walking through the aid stations to make sure we were taking in enough water, and when we finally hit mile 12 and crossed the finish line there was a huge sense of relief…. For mike and I. Michal was aiming to finish 16 miles, so she ran on to complete her final 2 while Mike and I took our time stretching and having post-race snacks. Once she was finished with her run, we walked together back to my car, and headed home.

The hills and humidity took a big toll on me that day – I wound up falling asleep on our couch around 6 pm, and den tried to wake me up to move me to bed to no avail. When I did wake up, it was around 9:30 pm, and I had a quick snack before moving to bed for the night.

I was glad that my long run was done on Saturday, because it meant I could use Sunday to recover. I headed to a yoga class in the morning, and then had an acupuncture session, where they focused on hamstring release. I felt so relaxed and my legs felt so much better by the time I was done at the yoga studio.

Week 4: training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

It was almost surprising to realize we were already at Monday again when I got up this morning - where did the weekend go!? I didn’t have a run in the morning, but I did make plans to go to the gym with Sophie after work.

This time instead of taking a class we opted to head to the weight room, focusing on our legs. Since my knee has been a little achey, I’m trying to prioritize strengthening it up as I get more into training. We spent about 45 minutes taking turns on different machines, and when I got home I finished up the workout with a 10 minute core class before dinner.

After Sunday’s easy long run and my day off from running on Monday, I was feeling good Tuesday morning, even if I hadn’t gotten to bed as early as I would have liked. I remembered to opt for a pair of stability shoes, in hopes that it would benefit my knee, and got out with Mom and Dad along on their bikes. I settled into a comfortable stride, and as we turned the first corner Dad commented that we were going faster than my usual paces as of late – I looked down at my watch and was surprised to see that we were in the 10 min/mi range. I made a quick decision to see how long I could hang out at this pace, since I had been thinking about trying to add some pushes into my running routine anyway.

I tried not to look at my watch every three seconds to see if I was still pulling off the pace and was happy when the first mile clocked in at 10:15. I could feel my body working, and it was in no way a conversational pace. When I called back to Dad and said that breathing sucked, he pointed out that even if I was going slower it would still suck, because of the humid air. He was right, and I kept pushing through mile two, when my watch dinged out a 10:14 completion time. With one mile to go, I focused on just keeping that pace. I was struggling more, and when I had a ¼ mile left I saw my mile time was a bit slower than I wanted, and I pushed the pace until I saw the average drop down to a 10:12, just before my watch let me know that I had finished mile 3. I slowed down and eventually transitioned into a walk, happy that I made the choice to push myself. As we got back to the house Mom commented that she “had to pedal the whole time to keep up!”

Apparently at that pace there is no coasting along on her bike, haha.

Now, I get that a 10:15 average pace run may not seem fast to you – but to me, as I come back to running after some medical issues and a few months off, I was elated that I managed a few miles at what used to be an easy pace for me.

Sophie agreed to meet me to swim after work, so my first stop of the night was the pool. We got stuck in the short lanes, as it was crowded. The short lanes are tiny – I would say 10-15 yds at most. It is annoying, because by the time I glide up after a launch off the wall I am already halfway through the lane. Sophie didn’t have a lot of experience swimming laps, so I did my best to give her some tips. I felt underqualified to do this, because I am probably one of the slowest swimmers that I know. Granted, I train with an awesome tri team full of athletes, but I typically use swimming as active recovery, so I am never too concerned about having a perfect stroke or going fast. We spent a little under a half hour in the pool, and then called it quits.

After our trip to the pool I tried something new – Emerge, a local yoga studio, was holding a “Acutone” class, which combined acupuncture and live Tibetan bowl music in their light therapy room. I have been enjoying the solo acupuncture sessions that I have been going to at emerge, so I decided to sign up for the special class. When I got there, they had reclining chairs set up for each of us and walked us through the process before starting the class. When the class started the music began, and the acupuncturists came around to set each of us up. Once I was all set up, I did my best to relax and try to meditate and was surprised to realize I fell asleep when the class was coming to a close. All in all, it was a relaxing experience, and a good opportunity to learn.

Since Wednesday was the first weekday morning that called for 5 miles, it was the first time I needed to be up before the sunrise in order to get my distance in before work. On Tuesday night Mike had sent snaps of his run on Tuesday night, which had taken place in sunny 90 degree weather, and after letting him know he was crazy, I got him to agree to come out for another morning run instead of braving the heat in the afternoon again.

I picked Mike up on the way to my parents’ house, and they were waiting outside with their bikes when we got there a minute or two later than we were supposed to arrive. My legs were officially sore from Monday night’s workout, and my brain was still asleep, tucked under a cover of fog and not quite ready to jump into the day. Mike was excited that the construction on his house was finishing up and filled me in on all that was going on, and eventually my brain caught up to my body, and I was able to join into the conversation.

My knee was cranky on this run, and I had to stop and adjust my support band about halfway through. I briefly considered cutting the run short before the adjustment, but when I got the band into its proper location things felt better. By the time we hit 5 miles, Mike and I were both dripping with sweat. While there had been enough of a breeze when we started that Mike “considered wearing a sweatshirt,” the breeze had died down as the sun came up, and the humidity rose with it. I was very glad that we got the miles done in the morning.

When I got home my legs were feeling the miles, and I knew that I needed to make time to stretch, or I would pay for it later. I popped on a 5 minute peloton stretch, and did that before moving on with my day. I didn’t have anything else planned, as my uncle was coming over to install some sheetrock and I wanted to help with that as much as possible, so that in the future I could attempt to do it myself.

I was so pooped on Wednesday night that I got into bed by 8:30, and was asleep soon after. Despite this, when it was time to get up Thursday I wanted to roll over and sleep for another hour. The last few days had been so nonstop that I felt like I hadn’t stopped moving since Monday, but I knew I needed to get this run done and that my parents would be waiting for me.

I stepped outside and felt like I had been hit in the face with a brick of humidity. I immediately went back in the house and grabbed my inhaler, knowing that I would need it before this run if I didn’t want to struggle with breathing the whole time.

Mom and Dad were waiting for me with their bikes, and we got out on the road together. Today was more of a struggle than other mornings, but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, and made it through the three miles, with the support of my parents.

Thursday night I played catch up with the core challenge, and stacked three classes in a row. It was a challenge, but I felt really strong when I made it through all the classes, and ended the session with a good 10 minute stretch.

I had a long list of plans for the weekend, so I knew I had to prioritize time to run so that I could stick to my training plan. Mike and I made plans to run on Saturday morning, and I picked him up at 6 so that we could try to beat the heat. Of course, as soon as I got to Mike’s house the low gas light dinged on my car, and we had to take a slight detour to stop for gas before heading to the Bethpage trail. It was just the two of us that morning, and our plan was to run 10 miles together, with no bike support crew to make sure we were staying hydrated.

I planned accordingly, and had stuck my Nathan vest in the freezer the night before so that it would stay cool the whole time, and filled the rest with water that morning. In the pockets of the vest I had 2 Ucan gels and pouches of Gu, because I couldn’t decide if I wanted sweet flavors (I had birthday cake and a s’mores flavored gu) or fruit flavors (the Ucan was strawberry banana flavored). We parked on the street near the path, and stretched as we talked towards the bike path. The only goal was to make it through 10 miles, regardless of the pace. We got moving, chatting as we made our way to the first hill of the day, that would show its ugly face just before we hit a mile. As we climbed we complained to each other, but noted that we would be thankful we opted for hills when we are running across the many bridges of the NYC marathon.

We kept making our way down the trail, and I opted to take a gel around mile 3, since I hadn’t taken one before starting and I could feel the humidity getting to me already. As much as carrying the hydration vest is annoying, I was glad to have it and take sips of water as needed. As much as the hills mainly consists of rolling hills, the more uphill portion was done when we hit mile 5, and got to turn around to head back to the car. At mile 8 we made a pit stop at the bathroom in the park so Mike could re-fill his handheld water bottle. The last 2 miles were a bit of a slog, as we were feeling fatigued and it had gotten more humid as the sun rose higher into the sky.

When our watches buzzed at mile 10, we were both happy to be done with our long run. We hopped in the car and headed home, and after a quick change I picked up my mom and together we headed into the city - we had plans to get brunch and then tickets to see Hamilton! I had bought these tickets almost a year ago, but then delayed them twice, so it was nice to finally make it to the theater.

Sunday I prioritized recovery - I got up and headed to Emerge yoga, where I took a great Sunday morning class and then had an acupuncture lesson. I left the studio feeling super relaxed, and was glad that I took the time to go.

Week 3: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

Marathon training always flies by fast, but I can’t believe it is already week 3! I was looking at my calendar yesterday and realized that I have managed to book something almost every weekend before now and the race, so I am sure to be squeezing in long runs between activities at some point. This week started with an off day, with no running on my schedule.

When I got home from work I changed into my workout gear and knocked out a 10-minute peloton core class. Sophie and had plans to meet up at the gym and do a group Pilates class, so we met there right before class started. I have been enjoying returning to group workouts, and it is nice that the cost is included in the cost of the gym membership, as it lets me just have fun as we try new classes instead of worrying about getting my “money’s worth.”

Once the class was over we decided to head to the weight room, as I wanted to do a few lower body exercises – my knee was still bothering me a bit, and I felt like it would be good to revisit some of the strengthening exercises that I had been given when I did physical therapy back in 2019, as the pain felt similar (but less intense). We spent about a half hour between three machines, switching off for sets so we would get a break between each bit of work.

It had thunder stormed for a bit on Monday night, which meant that Tuesday morning gave us the gift of cooler temps and low humidity. I had forgotten to locate my headphones when I set out my clothes the night before and settled for grabbing my Shokz open swim headphones (which are waterproof, so they don’t have Bluetooth capability). I had been listening to the Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix audio book as I swam, so that morning I got in another chapter as I ran.

My Mom and Dad were waiting outside when I got to their house, and we got right on the road this morning. Mom and I chatted for a bit at the start of the run, and then I got into a groove and started the audio book as the conversation petered out.  It was another three mile morning, and when the run was done I headed home and had some eggs for breakfast.

After work I decided to walk to the pool again and managed to find an empty lane for laps. I got in 30 minutes, and then walked home and did a 10 minute peloton core class, before digging into some thai food. I am hoping that while the pools are open for the summer I can get there every two or three days to swim some laps. Since I am just returning to running, I worry that my mileage isn’t high enough for marathon training, and supplementing with swimming laps makes me feel better about the volume of work I am doing.

It was another miracle in July on Wednesday morning, as we had mild temperatures in the 60s and relatively low humidity again that morning. I had a restless night of sleep and was worried my body would be against waking up to run, but like clockwork I woke up just before 5:30, and got moving once I transferred one of our cats, Binx, from my lap onto my still sleeping husband.

I got ready, this time with my regular headphones since I had managed to find them the night before, and was greeted with a pretty sunrise as I stepped outside. I had 4 miles on tap that morning and got to my parents’ house early enough that they were not yet waiting outside for me.

We headed out together and got on the road, and as I chatted with my mom during the first quarter mile I almost felt like my old self again. My stride felt natural, and my feet moved with a cadence they had so many times before, unlike the slower paces I had become accustomed to as of late. After a moment of taking in the feeling I slowed myself down, knowing that if I pushed my knee was likely to feel even worse than it had over the last week or so. But it was nice to know that, even if it’s just for a moment, running can feel good again. It makes me feel like I can build back to where I was, as long as I take things slow and trust the process. The four miles slipped by without any fanfare, feeling like a normal morning run to me.

Run three of the week was slated for Thursday morning, and I worried about its fate as I saw thunderstorms in the forecast. I texted with Dad, and we decided to push the run to Friday when the skies would be clearer. Thursday became a day of strength training – in the evening, since I took full advantage of a little extra sleep in the morning. When I got home from work Den was setup in the home gym on Zwift, so I grabbed a jump rope, kettle bell, and resistance band and headed out to the backyard patio. I turned on some up beat music, and started a cycle of jumprope until burnout, kettle bell thrusts and squats, and then monster walks and side squats with the resistance band until my heart rate was back down in zone one, at which point I would start the cycle again.

It wasn’t the best or most structured workout, but I enjoyed listening to my body and going through motions that felt good. It was a break from my normal routine, and I really enjoyed it. Eventually I called it quits, and finished my workout with 10 minutes of core.

Mike had inquired about joining for a morning run, so on Friday I picked him up on the way to my parents’ house. It had not been an easy wakeup morning, as my alarm ripped me from sleep when I was not expecting it, but once I was on the road I was happy to be getting my run done. The weather had returned to the soupy, humid air that is expected in July, and I was happy that Mike joined us as we looped around the neighborhood. It was warm enough that instead of waiting for a water signal, my dad pulled alongside us several times during the short run and mandated water intake (not that I minded, the water was refreshing!). We kept the pace conversational, but I still struggled to talk at times, just because of the conditions. I dropped Mike off after the run, and went on with my standard work day.

I took it easy on Saturday, and caught up with my housework. Den and I went shopping to get supplies to do some weekday lunch prep, and I got all my stuff together for Sunday - I had plans to run a NYRR event and then head to Brooklyn to go to smorgasbord with my brother and some friends.

Sunday’s race was the NYRR team championship, one of their weekly races that I hadn’t done before. It was a 5 mile race, that we planned to tack 3 miles on to so we’d get a total of 8 miles done.

Dennis came along so that he could join us for smorgasbord after, so the two of us got up around 4:45 and stopped to grab some bagels before picking Mike up. I drove the three of us into Manhattan, and after a few loops of city blocks we managed to find street parking. It was a little under a mile walk to the start area of the race, where we met up with Apryl, another member of the BibRave community. Apryl and I had been chatting online for years, and since she recently moved to NY I was excited to finally meet in person and get to run together.

We picked up our race bibs and race giveaway, which was a cool reflective Fanny pack! I really like when races give out something other than a shirt.

We headed towards the porter potties, and got in just in time before the race got started. We hopped into the corral right as the crowd started moving forward, and started our running intervals as soon as we crossed the start line.

Thankfully the course headed south from the start, so we got to avoid Harlem hill. Mike, Apryl and I chatted as we made our way first through the three sisters, then around the south side of the park. The weather wasn’t too warm when we started, but the heat turned up as we made our way further into the run, and I was happy each time I spotted an aid station and got a cup of water. The second half of the race took us around the bottom of the park and then north towards the finish, and included a trip up cat hill, and a spotting of the cat statue that lives at the peak of it.

The different teams within NYRR were out in full force as we approached the finish, with the front runners even forming a cheer tunnel on the course! We crossed the finish with smiles on our faces, and grabbed some water before venturing out to do the last three miles of our run.

We explored Central Park a little as we got in our final three miles, first heading north in a way that would have brought us up the backside of Harlem hill, but bailing onto one of the smaller, more wooded trails before the climb got too bad, and then approaching the hill from the other side, enjoying that downhill that took us to the base of Harlem hill before turning around.

Eventually we made our way back towards the ball fields, where Dennis was waiting on a rock as we ran. With our miles complete (8 for me and Mike, and 14 for Apryl), we took a minute to stretch before heading back to the car.

From there Mike, Den and I picked up Carson and her boyfriend before heading to Brooklyn, where we stopped at my brothers apartment to pick him up, and so Mike and I could each shower quick and change before heading to get lunch.

I had never been to the prospect park smorgasbord before, and it was easy enough to find once we made our way into the park. It was a loop of maybe 20-30 vendors, all serving different foods. One of the first booths we saw was selling different types of lemonade, and we all gave into temptation on the hot day, getting drinks as we decided on food choices. We took the try everything and share it all approach, sampling things like dumplings, rainbow grilled cheese, poutine, and pad Thai. It was a fun afternoon, and a yummy way to refuel after a training run while catching up with friends.

Week 2: Training for the 2022 NYC marathon

Well, I resisted going out to run on Sunday, but mentally bargained with myself that if I rested Sunday, I would run a few miles Monday to make up for not doing a “long” run like my training plan had called for over the weekend – I was only supposed to run 6 miles, but instead opted to participate in a 5k. 

Logically, I know that missing 3 miles this early in training is not going to keep me from crossing that finish line in November. Heck, if anything skipping it and gradually increasing my training load would probably help prevent me from getting an injury from ramping up too fast! But I just couldn’t get over the mental hurdle of feeling like I didn’t stick to the plan that I committed to, and felt the need to “make up” some miles on Monday morning.

Sunday night the forecast was calling for thunderstorms on Monday morning, so I pulled an outfit and laid it out on my treadmill to make the morning as easy as possible. I woke up before my alarm went off, and managed to sneak in a few minutes of cuddles with my cat before rolling out of bed and heading downstairs. 

I decided to stack a few peloton classes – a 5 minute pre-run stretch, a 30 minute Disney run, and then a 10 minute core class. 

The class wasn’t anything particularly special – I followed along as the instructor shouted to increase and decrease the speed, just at a slower average pace than I was used to. The incline is still broken on my tread, so I avoided any ups and downs, and just stuck to trying to run as much as possible. When the class had ended I had 2.5 miles done, and I rolled out a mat to do some core work.

I had to modify some of the standard planks to forearm planks in the core class, as I have been having some carpal tunnel issues with my wrist, but other than that I put in as much effort as I could. It was a bit frustrating to not be able to perform the exercises as well as I used to, but I tried to remind myself that fitness isn’t always linear, and I needed to give myself grace as I worked on building back up. The core class was the beginning of a 5 week challenge that one of the peloton instructors was hosting, and I decided it would be a good motivator to get me to do more core work.

Monday night I met Sophie at the gym, and we took a TRX class together. Back when I did orange theory regularly, I was familiar with TRX – but now, I felt like a fish out of water. It almost felt comical at times, but with a few modifications I managed to survive the class. 

Tuesday morning I had what is becoming the standard morning run routine of rolling out of bed and heading to my parents’ house for the morning run. Dad got a good laugh when I ran by a dumpster in front of a house and a squirrel popped up and gave me a surprise as I went by. It was a morning in July, so of course it was hot and humid. It was a slog through the three miles, but I was happy to be done when my watch chimed at the three mile mark. 

On Tuesday night I once again headed to Emerge (my favorite yoga studio), this time for a massage. I had booked it a few weeks ago, as my shoulder had been bothering me, and when the same thing happened earlier this year combining acupuncture and massage got me back to feeling normal. It was an intense deep tissue massage, complete with cupping that I almost want to call painful (I was, surely enough, bruised from this the following day, to my mom’s shock when she saw my back the next morning), but my shoulder felt so released after it was done. Before leaving I scheduled another one for next month, just a few days after the NYRR 12-mile training run. I know if I book it, I am more likely to go through with it, and I really do feel like it helps my body recover. After I got home from the massage I begrudgingly did my 10 minutes of core that I committed to, and then spent the rest of the night not working out.

My body seems to be getting on board with these earlier wakeups (and earlier bedtimes), because on Wednesday I woke up 15 minutes before my alarm for the third time this week. My cats were annoyed that I was exiting the bed, but Dennis did not even notice. I got ready and hopped in the car to head over to my parents’ house, where their bikes were waiting in the driveway. As soon as I got out of the car, I realized I was missing a crucial item – my Garmin. Ugh! I had dropped it into my backpack the night before when I got the massage, and never put it in my morning run pile, and my sleepy brain totally forgot about it. 

So, I am not even sure that this run counts since there was no running watch involved (that’s how it works, right?). I settled for tracking the run with my phone and got on the road. I really didn’t have any time to waste since it was my first 4-mile morning of this training cycle, and I hadn’t gotten up early to account for the extra mile. A mistake? Perhaps. It was the kind of morning where the humidity makes the air feel soupy, so I knew it would be a somewhat difficult run.

I added a big old loop to the front end of the run, because in my head that meant I was getting the extra mile out of the way first, and then could continue onto my standard loop. By runner logic, it made the whole run feel shorter. Dad and I chatted a bit as we passed along miles, and Mom lingered a little behind us. When I checked my phone to see the distance as I knew we were approaching 4 miles, dad was surprised to hear that we were already at 3.9 miles, and he faked outrage that we had gone more than the 3.5 miles he petitioned for the day before. 

I hit 4 miles about a block before getting back to my parents’ house, so I took a little cool down walk to finish off the morning. I did have to rush a little when I got home to get out the door for work, so I only had time to mix a protein shake and grab a superhero muffin. 

That night I planned to do my 10 minutes of core before bed, but after going out to dinner with my husband I was stuffed to the brim, and instead committed to making up the 10 minutes another day of the week.

Thursday morning I once again headed out with my parents for another three mile loop, and for the first time in this training cycle it felt routine. It was still slower than I wanted it to be, but I was able to settle in and enjoy the miles - It felt like it used to when running was really a steady routine for me. My knee felt a little sore after the run, so I made a note to add some resistance band training into my routine for the rest of the week. 

After work I met Sophie at the gym and we did two group fitness classes together. First a 30 minute arm class, and then the stepper class again. By the time I got home I was POOPED! I snuck in my 10 minute core class, took a quick shower, and then got in bed around 8:30 pm, so it was an early night for me.

Even though I went to bed super early on Thursday, I slept as late as I could before work on Friday - my body felt exhausted! My brain was in a fog that morning after such a long night of sleep. The only exercise that I did Friday was a 10 minute core video, to check off a box for the core challenge that my friends and I are participating in. 

Since MIke and I are planning to run the NYC marathon together, we want to do as many runs together as we can. While this isn’t practical on weekdays because we have different work schedules, we try to sync up our weekend runs whenever possible. I had plans to head into the city to see “Little Shop of Horrors”, so between that and the heat of summer we knew we would need to get out early for the run. My parents agreed to bike along and pass us waters as we ran, so we agreed to meet at their house at 6 am. I picked up mike on the drive over, and we quickly got on the road.

This was my first time running with another person (at least with someone else who was also running) since March, and I had almost forgotten how much misery loves company. Now don’t get me wrong, I love having my parents join me on their bikes for my runs, but it is just different when you have another runner along. The four of us made our way around the neighborhood, Dad making sure we stayed hydrated despite the heat. Mike and I caught up, cutting each other off as we flowed from one story into another. 

The plan was for a 6 mile run, and at mile 4 we decided to take gels, even though it was a short run - in part because of how hot and humid it was, and in part because we both like to practice our fueling on every “long” run, to make a consistent habit out of it. The 6 miles flew by - in my mind at least - we certainly didn’t break any speed records. But we had a good time, and I even ran through a sprinkler at the end to cool down. Since we weren’t in a rush after the run, we loaded up the peloton app on the TV and took a post-run stretch together. 

I spent the rest of my Saturday in Manhattan. Dennis and I met up with some friends and went to brunch, followed by seeing the “Little Shop of Horrors” revival, which was very good. After the show we headed to a bar, and then found a restaurant that served super yummy tacos and quesadillas. By the time we got home I was ready for bed, after an awesome Saturday that was both fun and productive.

I had one thing on my Sunday schedule - cross training! Where I live we have community pools, and we had finally gotten around to picking up our pool pass, so I wanted to swim some laps. My knee was still feeling a bit sore, so I figured it was a better choice than biking. Dennis walked with me to the pool, which is just under a mile away from our house. When we got there I was able to snag a free lane, and popped on my aftershokz open swim headphones with an audiobook playing to entertain me as I swam back and forth. It felt really good to get into the routine of a stroke and I knocked off laps for a half hour. 

We walked home together, and finished our weekend with a nice pasta dinner, and some mindless TV to relax. 

I’m hoping that as my miles continue to ramp up in this training cycle, I find time to get to the pool and swim more often. 

Week 1: Training for the 2022 NYC Marathon

The finish line of the 2021 NYC marathon

I wasn’t sure this would happen in 2022, but here we are – week one of training for the NYC Marathon! So as of writing this, we are 17 weeks out from the big day. Right now, it feels like that time is going to pass in the blink of an eye.

I am somehow more nervous for the miles that I am supposed to run this week than I have been for past training cycles, probably because I am coming off the longest running hiatus I have taken since I first started running in 2015. It has been a few months since I have trained consistently, my last long run being the NYC Half marathon in March. Since then I have completed a total of ONE run that lasted longer than 20 minutes…. So I have my work cut out for me.

I took the time to make my traditional excel sheet, with color coded runs and mileage tallys, which tells me what mileage I need to run on a given day. NYC will be my 10th marathon, and I have tried a bunch of different training plans over the last 5 years. I first pulled up the plan that lead to my marathon PR, the runners world “Break 4 hours” plan. While my race wound up taking 4 hours and 13 minutes, it still stands as my PR, and I was eager to give it another go – but I had to admit to myself that my base fitness is not at that level right now. The first week of that plan has a 7 mile track workout, and I haven’t run that far at even an easy pace in months. So I tucked that plan away, and reached for a more basic plan – Hal Higdon’s marathon novice program. I was a little bummed to make this decision, but I know that starting off with that plan will help me ease into longer runs and higher mileage, and that I can always add in speedwork as my fitness improves. 

Since the mileage starts out lower with this plan, I want to make sure I am focusing on caring for my body, with regular strength work, yoga, and solid nutrition. To set myself up for success I spent Sunday with my slow cooker, meal prepping chicken and rice to have for lunch during the week. 

Since I didn’t have any mileage planned for Monday, I went to my favorite yoga studio after work. I had an acupuncture appointment scheduled, something I started doing earlier this year after a pinched nerve lead to shoulder pain. I also really like that the sessions force me to unplug and take time to breathe and relax, something that I am not always great at making time for. 

When I got home Den and I took a walk to the library to pick up a book I had put on hold, which was about 2 miles round trip. Not running, but I feel like any miles under foot count when you are marathon training. I rounded out the night with a 20-minute restorative yoga class via the peloton app, and then a little reading before bed.

For months I have struggled with morning wakeups, but there is something to be said for having someone else hold you accountable – and my Dad knows that, which is probably why he texted me Monday night saying that his bike would be hitting the road at 6:20 the following morning. It was the exact motivation I needed to get in a morning run, which is really when I prefer to run while marathon training. I got to my parents’ house, and both my Dad and my Mom had bikes ready to go, so I would have company on my run. My primary goal was to get through three miles without walking, regardless of the pace. As we left the house, Dad teased that he didn’t need a helmet because we would be moving so slow – which was unusual, because my Dad is ALWAYS a helmet person. Wearing a helmet while riding a bike is something that was ingrained onto me from a young age…. Perhaps because I was known to ride a little too close to hazards as a kid. 

Having struggled to run shorter distances without walking in the previous weeks, I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull this off, but I knew having my parents along with me would give me an extra push. We got moving and chatted a little bit. It was a warm morning, and I was struggling. But I picked a 3 mile route that I had probably run a hundred times before, and focused on landmarks – I knew the fire hydrant that marked one mile, the tree at the two mile location next to the sump, and that I would hit three miles right as we got back to the house. I focused on just getting to each of these, regardless of the pace I was running. It was a “short” run, but damn, I wanted to walk. 

Somehow, I pulled it off – which I know, may not seem like much.  A big part of me wants to say it was “only” three miles. But for where I am mentally and physically right now, 3 miles is an accomplishment! My legs agreed that it was a big deal, as they felt wobbly as I walked for a minute after hitting the three mile mark.

That night I got in a little cross training, by heading to a group class at crunch fitness with Sophie. We recently joined in an effort to do more strength training, and I am hoping that eventually I will work up the courage to go near the squat rack, like I used to!

My alarm went off Wednesday morning and I once again dragged myself out of bed and headed to my parents’ house, so they would bike along with me as I ran. This time Dad pulled on his helmet, as Dennis had teased him about not wearing one Monday. Dad’s rebuttal included comments about how Dennis has been known to mow the lawn in sandals, so Den is naturally scheming to pick out the safest outfit possible the next time he breaks out the mower – does anyone have a bubble wrap connection?

The miles were just as slow as Tuesday’s, but I felt more at home as I ran. I chatted with Dad about my training schedule, trying to decide if I should tack miles on before or after Saturday’s 5k, or if I should do a separate long run Sunday. I was skeptical about doing an additional long run Sunday, as this was my first week back to running and the training plan only called for 4 days and 15 miles of running, so adding the extra 5k would increase the weekly mileage by 20%. Three miles doesn’t sound like a big adder, but 20% is a significant increase!

Dad pressed the point that I was just starting to run again, and that I shouldn’t jump into things too fast. He advocated for me to just run the 5k, and wait until next week to do my first “long” run, which was ultimately what I decided to do. When I finished my run, I felt it in my legs, and I was hungry! I headed home and decided to actually make myself eggs before heading to work, at the expense of stretching post run. I know, I know, I should be doing both things, but I started a new job with an earlier start time, so I am still figuring out the timing of morning runs. 

Thursday was my final pre-work run of the week, and I really wanted to roll back over after a less than stellar night of sleep. But it was week one, and I knew I would be starting a bad habit to already be hitting snooze – plus, my bike escort was waiting for me. 

I changed up the route that morning, instead of going for my standard three-mile loop and spotted a few other runners out at the same time, which is unusual. I wondered if they were starting to train for NYC as well. I really wanted to stop and walk about halfway through but settled for chugging some water as I ran. By the end of the run. Sweat was dripping down my face, and I even ran through a sprinkler as I approached mile 3. I took a 5 minute post-run stretch class before getting on with my day.

After work Sophie and I wanted to go swimming, but mother nature had another plan, as thunderstorms loomed in the forecast. We settled for doing another crunch fitness class, this one called “HIIT the deck,” which felt like a jazzercise class. It did force me to work on single leg motions and squats, so I count it as solid cross training for my legs. We had fun with it, even if it made me feel a little like I was back in high school and trying to learn the dance combo as I auditioned for the school musical. 

Friday was a rest day, that I took seriously. I did a restorative yoga class after work and took it easy for the night.

I didn’t really plan on doing a race so early into marathon training, but on Saturday morning my younger bother had invited me to participate in a local 5k that his police academy class was helping with, so I agreed. I really feel like I should be putting the word race in quotes or something, because I was in no way racing this event. Since I decided to participate instead of doing a “long” run, I wanted to try to push the pace a little, and at least finish faster than my week day runs had been.  

The race was called “the Bayshore fire department race to the pump 5k.” and on Saturday morning I met my brother at my parent’s house, and he drive Sophie and I with him to the start. Kevin claimed he wasn’t planning on racing, but I knew from past experiences that he would take off as soon as the race started, and we would not see him again until we finished. When we got there Sophie and I hung out and entered a few raffles as Kevin worked with his classmates to set up the food drive tent. We picked up our race bibs and then hung out on the beach as we waited for the race to start. Eventually an announcement was made asking all runners to head to the start line.

They had little cheerleaders chanting at the start, and a blow horn sounded to let us know it was time to go. Sophie and I decided to stick together, and we watched as Kevin disappeared into the first row of runners. The course was on small local roads, all along a channel. We had water views and even some shade covering us at times. Sophie and I chatted and just focused on forward motion as we made our way along the course. At about the half way point there was a water stop, and we grabbed little cups, since it was hot out. 

The second half of the course included a little out and back, before we crossed over the channel and headed to the final turn of the race. As soon as we turned the corner we could see the finish line - and a fire truck spouting water on the other side of it! I really liked that it was truly a “race to the pump!”

Sophie and I crossed the finish line together, and Kevin was waiting for us right on the other side - he had finished the race in 19 minutes and change, placing second in his age group and 9th overall! Sophie and I agreed that we had to run though the water that the truck was pouring out, and had fun doing it!

After the race there was a free drink for each runner, which I was pleasantly surprised to learn was not beer - instead it was an alcoholic Gatorade that a local brewery makes! It was dangerously good. There were also bagels, and free stretches from a local PT place, which I took advantage of.

We waited for the award ceremony, and the raffle prizes, which we had some luck with - I won a $50 gift card to a local tattoo parlor, and Sophie won a soft cooler filled with white claw, AND the “basket of cheer!” Her new apartment will be well stocked!

After all that was done we packed it into the car, and headed to brunch to celebrate my Mom’s birthday.

On Sunday I woke up and headed right to the yoga studio, and took a nice stretchy class, that was just on the cusp of a challenge. Normally the Sunday morning class is intense, but it was like the universe knew I needed a slower flow. After the class I had another acupuncture appointment, and was glad that Vanessa offers this service at her studio, as I felt really taken care of.

I spent the rest of Sunday mentally battling my rest day. I felt like I HAD to do something, whether it be a swim, run, or bike, but reminding myself that I need to ease back into doing all these things, and instead cleaned the house and finished reading a book.

That’s the end of week one - thanks for reading, and I hope that we can make it to the NYC marathon finish line together!

The 2022 Big Sur Marathon Relay

Disclaimer: I received a Marathon Relay entry as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

If you’ve ever read a “top ten marathon destination” list, you’ve probably heard of the Big Sur marathon - at least that was what first introduced me to this race, which runs along the west coast, up pacific highway 1. It’s full of scenic views, and rolling hills, and when bibrave offered up an opportunity to run the race, Mike and I decided to team up and take on the marathon relay together. 

My planned trip was short - fly to CA Friday night after work, and then a red eye going home on Sunday. I packed my suitcase, including all my race supplies on Thursday, and on Friday after work Dennis gave me a ride to the airport. I had just enough time to grab some dinner before I hopped on the plane, and when I landed in San Francisco Mike and Jude picked me up from the airport - they had headed out earlier in the week, so they would have more time to explore California. It was late when I landed, so we just headed to the hotel and went to bed. 

The plan for Saturday was to grab breakfast and then take a two hour drive down the coast to Monterey, where the Big Sur Marathon ends. We left the hotel around 9 am, and picked a restaurant in Palo Alto called “sweet maple,” where they had a yummy looking brunch menu. We each got a different brunch entree, and split an order of “millionaire’s bacon,” which was the restaurants signature dish. 

Once we were all fueled up we got on the road, and it was an easy ride to Monterey. Once we got there we checked into our hotel, and then headed over to the expo to pick up our race bibs. We had good timing with our expo arrival - a bunch of our bibrave team mates were out front, and we were able  to grab a photo with them before heading inside. 

It was an easy pickup process at the expo - there was a dedicated table for relay runners, and a volunteer pulled our race bibs out. Usually a relay team consists of 4 runners, but Mike and I opted to take on the race as a team of two. The volunteer let us know that only one person needed to be there to pick up the teams bibs, so keep that in mind if you’re ever running the relay. 

Once we had our bibs we could go get our shirts. The shirts ran small, but they had limited sizes available for exchange. Overall the expo was pretty big, with 4 aisles of vendors. Mike and I both opted to buy some swag from the official race store - I went for a hot pink Big Sur hat. 

The last stop before leaving the expo was picking up the tickets for the pasta party - we attended the 4:30 seating. 

We had decided to buy tickets for the pasta party so that we didn’t have to worry about finding a place to eat the night before, and the event did not disappoint! We waited in a short queue at the hotel across the street from where we picked up our bibs to get into the banquet hall, and there were tables all over the room. On each side of the room there were buffets with pasta, salad, vegetables, sauces, and even desert. Mike, Jude and I loaded up our plates, and found a mostly empty table. As we ate we chatted with other runners, and it was neat to connect with other runners. There was even a beverage table in the middle of the room, that had wine and beer - including athletic brewing’s non-alcoholic beer. I thought it was a great touch for all of the runners!

After dinner we headed back to our hotel, and got ready for an early bedtime. Mike and I laid out our outfits and packed all the fuel we would need for the next day - we had an early wakeup the next morning - even though the race didn’t start until 6 am, I had to board the bus at 3:45 a.m. - Since the race is a one way course, all of the runners had to be bussed 26.2 miles to the start.

On race morning Mike and I rolled out of out beds and into the car, leaving Jude behind at the hotel. We were half asleep, but it was a short drive to the race busses. Mike and I had to get on at different times, since I was starting at leg 1 with the marathon runners, and he was starting at leg 2. As I was about to get on to the bus i ran into Sylvia, a fellow BibRave pro, and we wound up sitting together on the bus and chatting as we made our way to the start area.

It took a long time for the bus to get to the start, and when we arrived it was crowded, and a little chilly. From the time that we left the start, I lost cell service, and would not wind up getting any connection until around mile 7 of the race - where a blip of service allowed some texts from Mike to come through. I milled around the start, stopped at the porter potties, checked my bag, and ate a pb&j sandwich, and waited for the sun to come up.

As it got closer to start time, I made my way over to the start line. I though about visiting the porter potties one more time, but the lines were insane. I made my way into my corral, and watched the sun come up over the mountains as I waited for the race to start. 

The race wound up beginning a few minutes late, but as soon as the start horn went off the corrals started to collapse, and everyone moved forward. I was so excited to take in the scenery for the next 8 miles as I got moving, and happily clicked on my Garmin as I crossed the start line of the race. Since Mike and I were running the relay in legs, I was doing leg one, then he would meet me at leg 2 and finish the rest of the race. 

From the start line we headed onto the highway, where both sides of the road were surrounded by trees - it was beautiful. I got swept up with the start of the race and took off a little too fast, but found by pace and settled in. The course started with a downhill. While the Big Sur marathon is known for its hills, the leg I was running was mostly downhill, ending with an uphill right as the forest opened up and we got our first views of the ocean.

We ran by campgrounds and roadside hotels, many of which had patrons out and cheering as the runners went by. The aid stations were well stocked, with volunteers handing out water and Gatorade. The miles went by quickly, as I was surrounded by runners who had so much energy - with most of them in the beginning miles of a full marathon! 

As I approached mile 7 the scenery transitioned from wooded to beachy - the highway opened up and revealed mountains and beach views - it was beautiful, and made up for the gradual uphill that I was climbing, and the wind that had started gusting as soon as the road opened up.

Before I knew it, I was approaching mile 8, and saw the school busses lined up for relay runners, and spotted Mike, who looked just as excited as I was! We took a selfie and ran together for a second, before he took off on his leg of the race. 

There were some snacks out for runners that were finishing the first leg of the relay - there had been bagels, but by the time I got there only oranges were left, so I happily filled a cup with orange slices as I boarded the bus. 

One regret that I had - a lot of relay runners had given their leg 2 runners a bag of clothes, so that they could change out of sweaty running clothes before climbing onto the bus. Mike and I had not thought of this, and it was a long ride to the finish - so if you ever run this relay, I definitely recommend giving your partner a change of clothes to pass off to you when you finish your leg of the race.

It was a bit of a wait before the bus took off - we did not leave until all of the runners had past by, to ensure that no relay runners would be left behind without a ride to the finish. One side of the highway was still open, so as we made our way to the finish, we caught up to the runners and watched them go - I even spotted Mike on the course as we went! While I was bummed that I did not get to run the more scenic sections of the course, I was glad that I got to watch the views roll by the bus window.

When I got to the finish area, I decided to wait for Mike at the finish line. There was a Starbucks near by, so after grabbing my checked bag I went and got a snack, plus a tea for me and a coffee for Mike, and then found a seat on the stands at the finish line. My only complaint about the finish area is that there was no easy way for relay runners to get post race food (like the boxes that the other finishers got at the finish line) - because I was hungry after the run plus long bus ride. But at least there was something available for me to purchase. 

Eventually I spotted Mike nearing the finish line, and cheered my lungs out for him as he finished the race - then I made my way to the exit point for the finishers chute, and found Mike - where he slung a medal around my neck - Marathon relay complete!

From there we headed back to the hotel and packed up, then stopped for food on the way to the airport. Our quick California trip had come to a close, and we had a great time taking on the Big Sur Marathon Relay!

Make sure to check out Mike's blog post about his leg of the relay by clicking here!

If you have any questions, drop them in the comments below!

The 2017 Dopey Challenge: My First Marathon

As we approach the 2022 Dopey challenge, I decided that it was time at last to talk about an experience of mine that predates this running blog: The 2017 Dopey Challenge. For those of you that are not familiar with the Dopey Challenge, it is a RunDisney event where runners complete 48.6 miles over the course of 4 days, by completing a 5k on Thursday, a 10k on Friday, a Half marathon on Saturday, and a full marathon on Sunday.

I know, it’s a little insane – or at the very least, DOPEY.

I took on the Dopey challenge in 2017 with my then-boyfriend, now husband, Dennis. You see, once upon a time I was someone who would have laughed at the idea of running a race of any distance – in fact, when friends ran races before 2015 I had no interest in even considering lacing up a pair of running shoes – who needs $100 sneakers anyway, I thought the whole thing was insane.

I eventually came around to the idea that this could be something fun – and signed up to complete the 2016 Disney Princess Half marathon with my cousin Ryan, as my family had a trip to Florida planned that coincided with the dates anyway. Once I crossed that finish line I couldn’t wait to do it again, and in the summer of 2016 we started talking about heading to Florida for marathon weekend in 2017, I toyed with the idea of running my first marathon.

We started talking about signing up for the Dopey challenge. At first, I seriously resisted but over time started thinking “well, I have almost a year to train, and if I am going to go all the way to Florida for a race I may as well run all of they races they’re offering….”

So, when registration day rolled around I found myself not only registering for my first marathon, but clicking on that Dopey Challenge option.

I essentially started training right away, using Hal Higdon’s Dopey Challenge plan. Throughout the summer Dennis and I logged miles together. My Dad biked along with me on many solo runs, where I made sure I was logging every mile that my training plan assigned. We completed races together – Dennis and I even got engaged at one! As the seasons changed and fall rolled around, Dennis and I ran the Run Rock and Roll half marathon in Philadelphia, so that he would have a proof of time to submit to RunDisney. After the half school picked up for Dennis– who was still in college at the time – and I started logging more and more miles with Dad biking along. I honestly would not have made it through that training cycle without him. I also started running with the Merrick Bicycles Tri team that fall, and made friends with runners like who were down for a long, cold weekend run with lots of miles. When it got too cold for dad to bike outside, members of the tri team often agreed to tag along on long runs, even though they weren’t marathon training at the time. I remember logging my last long run – my first 20 miler – with two guys from the tri team with weekend before Christmas, and just being so grateful for my amazing team.

Soon enough it was January, and it was time to head to Florida for Marathon weekend. I feel like I packed every piece of running gear that I owned, and I had even headed to the thrift store and purchased throw away layers in case of chilly race mornings. We arrived Tuesday night, spending our first night at the Caribbean beach resort, before moving into Saratoga springs for the rest of the trip. After we swapped rooms on Wednesday, spent some time in the parks before eventually heading to the race expo. I went jacket crazy that year, in part because it was my first marathon – by the end of the weekend I had purchased three jackets: the preorder jacket, the dopey challenge jacket, and one of the marathon jackets.

We had assembled costumes for the various races, but were all at different training levels, so as we prepared the night before the first race, we were uncertain how much we would all run together over the weekend. I had put a lot of hours and early morning wakeups into training for the dopey challenge, and wanted to really give it my all.

For the 5k we were all planning to stick together – it was the start of the challenge, and we needed to be conservative with our paces. We headed to the buses together, all dressed up as characters from the lion king. I had found a vintage Simba hat, and then made character hats for the rest of the group to wear. The icing on the cake was that Dennis surprised everyone by adding a hula skirt to his Timon costume. As we waited for the race to start we layered up with trash bags to keep warm, as it was a little cold that morning. Once the race got moving, we all enjoyed a 5k around Epcot together, and checked off the first 3.1 miles of our challenge. We headed into the parks after freshening up, and had an easy day wandering around Magic Kingdom.

Next up was the 10k, where Dennis and I had our own Wall-E and Eve costumes. It was a little harder to wake up on morning two, but it was a warmer outside that morning which was some small consolation. We all started the race together, and were able to snap some photos together in the backstage areas of Epcot and on the boardwalk, as the sun came up. As Den and I ran the last mile together, we even broke into a full sprint as we raced for the finish line – to this day, neither one of us is really sure who won. After the race we all met up and headed back to the hotel together, where we ate breakfast in the food court. Dennis and I headed to Epcot and got lunch in Via Nappoli, for a full carb-loading feast.

We had been regularly checking the forecast for Saturday morning, as rain was being predicted. When we headed back to the hotel on Friday night, we went to the hot tub to relax before another day of running. We chatted with other runners, and while we were there RunDisney sent out an update: The half marathon was cancelled due to thunderstorms.

I was devastated. All of the back to back long runs, the hours spent training to be prepared for dopey, were they for nothing? I saw others reacting to the news – many people were relieved because they were undertrained, and now they would be getting a $180 disney gift card, and not have to run 13.1 miles. But it was about more than that to me… so, Greg and I, being the crazy runners of the group, made a pact – we were going to get in our 13.1 miles, so that we would have ran 48.6 miles over four days, even if it meant running loops around the resort.

I can safely say I have seen every path at Saratoga Springs resort in walt Disney world. We ran between all of the buildings, over to Disney springs, passed the pool, around the dining area, and passed every carousel. About half way through our run the promised rain began, and it was almost a relief when the humidity broke. We made our own aid stations, with Dennis bringing us fuel and water when we ran by the room. When we completed our 13.1 miles, I took the rubber luggage tag that RunDisney had given us – it was supposed to be the 20th anniversary of the half marathon – and clipped it to my pin lanyard, and declared it my medal. So, Friday held 18.3 miles instead of 6.2, but I would still have my 48.6 miles by the end of the weekend.

When the race was cancelled, Disney offered runners several options to refund their registration – they could either receive a $180 Disney gift card, 2-two day park hopper tickets, or they could run the marathon in place of the half. Since we had annual passes and were already running the marathon, we took the Disney gift cards. Dennis and I were completing the castaway cay challenge after the marathon, so we wanted to pick up our gift cards rather than wait for them to come in our email, that way we could use them on the cruise. So, on Saturday we slept in, and through the thunderstorm that had derailed our half marathon, and headed back to ESPN worldwide sports for another visit to the race expo. It was raining at this point, and the expo was packed. We had to park in a field near the expo, and Disney had shuttle buses running to bring us to the main entrance. Once we got into ESPN, it was clear that we were not the only runners wanting to pick up our refunds and medals. The lines were so long that they weaved outside of buildings and around the sport fields. As we waited, it started raining. Thankfully, we were almost in the building at that point, so we were not stuck outside for too long.

Once we got into the building picking up the gift cards and medals was the same process as bib pickup. Wait in line, show your ID, and get issued your items. We headed back to the car once we had our stuff, and were once again watching the weather in anticipation of the following morning’s race: it was going to be cold. Like, winter in New York cold! They were estimating a temperature of 28 degrees at the start, with a wind chill that would bring the real feel temperature into the teens – yikes! I had packed my cold running gear, but the rest of my group was in need of throwaway layers. So, to make sure everyone stayed warm we headed to Walmart. We scoured the store for gloves, but apparently we were not the first ones to have this idea… all we could find were children sized gloves, which were far too little for the guys hands, so we wound up buying a pack of socks to keep their hands warm at the start. We also couldn’t find sweatpants for the guys, so they wound up with women’s sizes for those. Also in short supply were sweatshirts, with only the “3XL” size remaining. But it would do the job to keep them a little warmer in the morning. We headed to Disney springs after Walmart, where I picked up a heavier pair of gloves at the underarmor store, just in case it stayed cold throughout the race – the pair I had packed were on the lighter side.

I spent the night before my first marathon stressing over whether I was going to be too cold or too warm during the race, flip flopping about what I was going to wear at least a dozen times. I was also nervous about the race itself, as I was planning on running it alone, since no one else had trained for mileage beyond a half, and since it was my first full I wanted to see what I was capable of.

The next mornings our alarms once again went off too early. Once we were ready we loaded onto the bus and headed for the start area.

Den and I split up into our own corrals as we Hiheaded for the start line. By the time I got to my corral the race was just about to get going. As a result of the cold temperatures, they weren’t waiting long between releasing corrals and I was on my way just after 6 am.

I like to break the WDW Marathon down into segments:

1. The run from the start to the magic kingdom

2. Magic kingdom to animal kingdom

3. Animal kingdom to ESPN

4. ESPN wide world of sports

5. ESPN to the Hollywood studios

6. Hollywood studios into Epcot

7. Epcot to the finish

For me, breaking it down like this really helps me to appreciate each step of the journey, and to enjoy the mile that I am in.

As I ran to magic kingdom I spotted the entrance sign – it was my first time seeing it in the dark, and it was MAGICAL! It gave me exactly the boost I needed. By the time I got to magic kingdom, the sun was just starting to come up. I ran through the park with a huge smile on my face, and it was warming up already – it would wind up being in the 40s-50s for most of the race.

Once I was through magic kingdom, the next step was to make it to animal kingdom- the half way point would be right after that park. When I got to the back stage entrance, there was a petting zoo! Did I stop to pet a bunny? OF COURSE! It was the little things like this that make me feel the magic of Disney. We also had a banana stop at mile 12. Animal kingdom flew by, and on my way out I stopped for a photo with the haunted mansion grave diggers.

The highways between animal kingdom and ESPN are somewhat brutal, as they just feel like they’re dragging on forever, especially in the out and back sections. My parents were cheering me on from NY, texting me encouragements as I ran. When I did get to ESPN, I deemed it my least favorite part of the course. We ran through various sporting fields, it was crowded, and just felt like we were winding in circles. But, when we finally exited, there were strangers with candy and I happily accepted a twizzler.

Another long stretch of highway eventually lead me to Hollywood studios, where we entered the park through the fantasmic area. Right before we got to the tower of terror they had an official candy station, and I picked up some more goodies to help carry me the rest of the way to the finish line. My emotions were running high by the time I got to Hollywood studios – I was already at mile 24 – I was going to finish this thing, and then I would be a marathoner!

By the time I left Hollywood studios it was just over a mile to the finish line. When I entered Epcot it was already opened for the day, and cones separated runners from park-goers. I had a smile plastered onto my face, and even stopped for a few characters as I made my way around world showcase. All my hard work had paid off, this was really happening. I ran passed spaceship earth, turned the corner, and heard the gospel choir singing. One more turn, and I spotted the finish line. I could do this. I ran through the finish line, hands held high, and crossed that line. I had done it. I was a marathoner. I burst into tears – full, sobbing heaving tears. A volunteer at the finish line pulled me into a hug and congratulated me. I needed that hug! I started moving forward, collected my metals, and had my finisher photo taken. In the photo my face is literally swollen from crying as I finished the race. When I began that 26.2 mile journey I didn’t know if I would make it to the finish, but by the end I was only wondering when I could do it again.

I sat in the finishers area for a little while, checking on where the rest of my group were. They all still had miles ahead of them, so I decided to head back to the room and shower since it was cold at the finish line. Eventually they all filtered into the room, medals strung around their necks, and Dennis proclaimed “I am never doing that again!”

What can I say, we are very different people.

The next morning Dennis and packed up our things, and got ride to the Port Canaveral cruise terminal. We were boarding the Disney Dream, for a short cruise that would include one last running challenge – the castaway cay 5k. I was looking forward to just relaxing and laying around doing nothing for a few days after all those miles. We ate lots of delicious foods, I got my medals signed by the characters that are on them, and I even got a photo with Dopey.

The morning of the Castaway Cay 5k challengers runners had to be off of the boat before the rest of the cruisers. It was a cold morning on the island, and I was glad that I brought along the mylar blanket that they gave out at the end of the marathon. Dennis and I dressed up as the aliens from toy story – the costumes that we had all intended to wear for the half marathon. I decided not to bring my phone along for this race, since it wouldn’t work on the island anyway, so I don’t have any photos from the race, since they use the cruise line photographers at character stops. I was particularly bummed out by this, because chip and dale were out dressed up as the rescue rangers, which was one of my favorite shows as a kid.

Dennis and I started the race together, but he eventually needed to stop running due to ankle pain. So we agreed to meet at the finish line. After the race we re-boarded the ship, took a quick nap, and then spent the rest of the day hanging out on the beach.

Ok guys, I’m done rambling on. I enjoyed the dopey challenge so much that I later decided to complete the goofy challenge in 2019, the 2020 dopey challenge, and soon I’ll be taking on the 2022 Dopey challenge. At the end of the day, I really believe runners of all levels can enjoy the Dopey challenge, especially if they embrace the magic of all those Disney miles.