Disneyworld

 

As a runner, I have always had a small case of medal envy.  Every Monday on #MedalMonday I would see these beautiful medals runners earned that weekend or from previous races and always say, “Awe! I want that medal! When is that race?”.  Well this time my medal envy lead me to do something a little crazy, or should I say, something a little Dopey.

Wednesday morning, I took the short flight from my new state of residency, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, home of the Gators, Florida Oranges, and the happiest place on earth, Disney World!  The flight was quick and easy, filled with passengers all asking the same question: Are you Goofy, or Dopey? To anyone else I am sure this would seem like a weird question, but to any runner, you knew what they were asking.  Are you running the half marathon on Saturday AND the full marathon on Sunday (AKA the Goofy Challenge) or are you running the 5K on Thursday, the 10k on Friday, the half marathon on Saturday AND the full marathon on Sunday (AKA the Dopey Challenge).  

My answer: I am definitely Dopey! 

 A few months ago, during my training for the Chicago Marathon, my family and I signed up for the Dopey Challenge.  I mean, what better excuse to spend 4 days at Disney World.  Funny story though how my entire family came to sign up for the Dopey Challenge.  Initially, I had thought the Goofy Challenge consisted of the 5k, 10k, and half marathon, so after calling out the men of my family for being running wimps, I signed my brother and husband up for the Goofy Challenge.  It wasn’t until I was going through the expo at the Chicago marathon that a fellow runner corrected me.  I still remember her words, “O honey, no.  The Goofy Challenge is the half marathon and the full marathon only…” Only?!?  I remember the look on my brother and husband’s face the moment I told them my mistake.  Ever see one of those Mickey cartoons where the character knows they are in trouble and shrinks down really, really small? Well that was me.  I felt so bad! My husband was a great sport about it though and just said, “Well, looks like I’ve got to change my training plan, and probably buy life insurance.”  My brother on the other hand said, “Well heck, if I’m doing those two then sign me up for all 4 races!”  I am so proud of my boys!

So now race weekend had finally arrived. Getting in on Wednesday was a rush.  It was the first day the expo opened and it was so crowded!

The energy was intoxicating and everyone was ecstatic to see their shirts and take a first look at the legendary medals in person. I swear the line to get our gear was longer than any line for Indiana Jones (if you have been to Disneyland) or Space Mountain!  But it was so worth it!  After taking the necessary pre-race pictures, it was an early bed since the 5k began at 6AM.

Thursday: The Pluto 5k

Thursday I got up at 3AM to get ready for the race.  Unlike most races where my pre-race ritual consists of bagels, bananas, and stretching while drinking Gatorade, this pre-race routine consisted of make-up, hair spray, capes and even a snowman.  The sky may not have been awake, but we were!  For the 5k, my family went as Frozen! I was Elsa, my mother was Ana, my brother was Sven, and my dad was Olaf.  Oden (the shop keeper, aka my husband) may have stayed in bed for that one.

The weather was cold, but nothing too bad. I was definitely glad I had my cape.  The race itself was so much fun! I was supposed to be in corral A, but my brother was in F, and I promised my family that we would run the races together so we could get some awesome pictures.  The race started at 6:00AM, but we didn’t cross the starting line until 6:45AM. People were done and waiting for their buses by the time we started.  Honestly though I was glad we started late.  By the time we ran through the World Showcase at Epcot, the sun was just beginning to rise, giving the entire route an even more magical gleam than I thought possible.  While running we stopped nearly a dozen time to take pictures, singing Disney songs through out the run and trying to get a family picture at every opportunity.  It may have been my slowest 5k time ever, just it is going down as my favorite one!

After the 5k, we showered up and headed back to Epcot to eat around the world and fuel up for the three more races that were to follow.  
It was an early night again, with the 10k starting even earlier than the 5k.

Friday: The Minnie Mouse 10k

Minnie 10k? We thought the said Minion 10k! No, not really, but you just can’t help to smile when you see a minion, right? 

Friday’s 10K began at 5:30AM and thankfully we were able to start in an earlier corral so we didn’t have to wait so long in the cold before we started running. The 10k had a similar route to the 5k, however the extra three miles went out onto the highway for 1.5 miles before looping back into the pack.  Once again we ran as a family, taking the necessary pictures, and having a blast.  We even carried bananas the entire race! Everyone knows minions loves bananas, so it was the final touch to our costumes.  By the end of the 10k however, my banana was definitely not edible, so we all exchanged them for some fresh, post-race bananas.

After the race we made our way to the Magic Kingdom, where we had some delicious waffles, Dole Whip and carb loaded with pasta at a Lady and the Tramp inspired restaurant.  I have grown up at Disneyland, but the Magic Kingdom, specifically Cinderella’s castle, blows California’s version out of the water.  If I could, I would move in in a heart beat

Once again, an early bed time since the half marathon was the next day…or so we thought.

Saturday: Donald Duck Half Marathon.

We received notifications on Friday that due to thunderstorms the half marathon might get cancelled, but I didn’t actually think a Disney half marathon would actually get cancelled on account of rain. Not knowing, I still went to bed at 7pm, making sure to get plenty of sleep for my 3am wake up call. “The race has been cancelled…” My mother told me as I finished getting dressed for the race.  I stared, then laughed, then rushed to my phone.  She wasn’t joking. 

I was so shocked and honestly really disappointed!  Normally you would think I would have been excited, like school kid when they find out they have a snow day, and would have jumped right back into bed, but I wasn’t.  I had flown to Disney to run 4 races in 4 days and earn my Dopey Challenge. What was I supposed to do now?  I ended up going back to bed, part of me praying it was a dream, but around 8am, I realized it wasn’t.  “The Inaugural Grump Challenge: 35.5 miles” is what social media began to call it. Subtracting the 13.1 miles of the half marathon from the original 48.6 miles that was supposed to be the Dopey Challenge. 

 I tried to convince myself that it was probably healthier to rest before the day of a marathon, but it was no use.  I had come to run the Dopey Challenge and gosh darn it I was going to run the Dopey Challenge.  I told my family I was still going to run those 13.1 miles and they were welcome to join me.  Needless to say they boys were all too happy to go back to bed, but mother proudly got up, put on her Mrs. Potato Head costume and running shoes and joined me. 

We began running the perimeter of the Caribbean Beach Resort, which is where we were staying, and a few miles in I noticed some people running around the lake on the inside of the resort.  We turned in to join them and found that there were dozens of people running on the inside of the resort!  Everyone was dressed in their race outfits or costumes, proudly wearing their bibs!  One group cheered us on and said “Come on Dopey’s! We are earning this!” It was such an unbelievable sight.  As we ran around the lake, there was a group of people who set themselves up by the outdoor eating section.  They had made signs, and were playing music from the bar, cheering on all the runners as they ran by.  On the other side of the lake there were even some women who had set up a water station on a bench and trashcan.  They had grabbed a bunch of glasses from the dining area and bought jugs of water.  They filled the cups up and placed them on the top of the trashcan just like a real race water station.  It was so encouraging and heart warming that even the volunteers, on the day a race has been cancelled, came out to support us runners.  Some people even took their phones out to snap pictures of the runner as the unofficial ‘photographers’ of the “1^st Unofficial Half Marathon of the Caribbean Beach Resort”.  

Once everyone had finished their ‘unofficial’ half marathons, we all meet in the middle of the lake to take a picture, proof that no matter what the weather (it did rain, complete with thunder and lightening, while we were running), and no matter what the official decision was, were had ran our half marathon and were going to complete our Dopey Challenge.

After that run, it was already after noon, and my family decided to take it easy, spending the rest of the freezing day exploring Disney Springs and feasting! We tried a new restaurant, T-Rex Restaurant.  Think Rain Forest Café meets pre-historic time.  This restaurant had a really cool atmosphere and delicious food!  After dinner, it was back to bed early for the last race of the weekend.

Sunday: The Mickey Mouse Marathon

It was 36 degrees by the time the race started on Sunday.  I have run races in New York, but none have ever been this cold!  I ended up wearing three layers under my Incredibles costume, plus a throw away t-shirt on top of my costume, all of which was under a trash bag.  

I personally have never worn a trash bag before for a race, but always see other runners wearing one. Now I know why.  Those things keep you so warm!!! I swear I kept mine on for the first mile and a half.  I even kept my throw away shirt on for the first few miles until we entered the Magic Kingdom and I only took it off because I pinned my bib under it and wanted to be able to track my pictures (#Priorities). 

This race was my husband’s first marathon and I promised him from the start that this race was about running it together, no matter the pace.  If you know a competitive runner, or are one yourself, you know that statement right there is true love!  

There marathon technically started at Epcot, but we didn’t actually run through Epcot at the beginning.  The first few miles were along the highway on the way to Magic Kingdom.  The sun was barely rising when we entered the park, and the Christmas lights were still sparkling as we ran down Main Street.  The castle was all lit up and has never looked so beautiful!  I was so mesmerized I even mis-stepped, tripped on the curbed and ended up falling hard.  Great way to start a race right? Don’t worry, we got the picture.

After Magic Kingdom we ran down to the Animal Kingdom, which personally at first wasn’t all that great.  Its green and lush, but there isn’t too much around to take your mind off the race.  When we got into the park though, that was a different story.  This trip we didn’t have an opportunity to make it to Animal Kingdom, so this race was our chance to check out the park.  The Circle of Life Tree was my favorite!

After the Animal Kingdom, the race course took us to the ESPN Zone, were the race expo had been.  I appreciated the route taking us back literally to where the race weekend began.  Inside the Zone we got to run around a baseball diamond, and made a bunch of out and back loops to complete the miles. That was a little daunting, but it was fun to cheer on the other runners either heading back or heading out.  We got very lucky at this point because despite wanting to take pictures with at all the character stops, the lines were just too long.  However, as we were running closer to the character line for Mickey and Minnie, we noticed two familiar Incredibles waiting at the front of the line.  Hello wonderful parents! My parents had waited in the line and were just about to take their picture by the time we met up with them.  Score! We are able to get our character picture after all.

After the ESPN Zone, we ran to the Hollywood Studios.  Here we got a picture with the Tower of Terror, one ride that was just recently closed in California Adventure. 

 The best part though was in this park there was an M&M station and a Snicker’s station! 

I was so excited.

After Hollywood Studios we were off to Epcot, and off to the finish.  The last few miles finished along the same route that the 5k did, so I knew once we got close to the Epcot Globe, the end was near.  What was my time? No idea.  What was my pace? I could honestly care less.  Where were those photographers, now that I kept a close eye out for.  Again, priorities.  By the time I saw the 26 mile mark, I looked at my husband and gave him the thumbs up.  We did it. He did it! And he didn’t die! 

 

We met up with my family in the runners corral after receiving all of our medals and I swear the smiles of pride shown brighter on our faces than any of the medals around our neck.  My feet and ankles were swollen and aching.  My knee was throbbing from where I fell on it in the Magic Kingdom, but I had completed one of my life goals: I had completed MY Dopey Challenge. 

Better yet, my entire family had completed the Dopey Challenge and my husband was officially a marathoner! I was so proud of everyone!

To celebrate, we did what all good runners do, we went back to our hotel room, ordered pizza and beer and watch the Green Bay Packers playoff game while sitting in bed.

Monday: #MedalMonday

I have never been so excited to post a #MedalMonday than I was when I got to show off all 6 medals.  

Despite my feet being sore, I still got a short recovery run in.  The increase circulation really does make your muscles and feet feel better more than not running at all.  For our last day at Disney, we spent the morning packing and the afternoon checking out some last minutes tourist spots we hadn’t had the opportunity to see yet.  I also made sure I got in just one last Mickey shaped treat before I said farewell to Florida. 

Now the magical weekend may be over, but it is absolutely true what they say:

 EVERY mile was MAGICAL!