As I recently arrived at the Disney Boardwalk Hotel I had a brief moment of panic. The thought of catching a bus at 3:30 a.m. To run the marathon blew through my mind. Then I remembered I was on vacation with my family. I wasn’t on a race trip to Disney. It was weird. I have been traveling more for races than I have been traveling with my family for vacations. There’s nothing wrong with that in my mind. Sure, I’d love to take them any chance I can but they have school and I have my friends and races.
After I realized I am on vacation then the thought of the Dopey challenge crossed my mind. The next time I check into the Boardwalk alone I will be preparing to do the 4 day race challenge in January. I am discovering a few things that happen when I travel. I seem to arrive to my destination with a pretty decent headache. It lasts into the next day and goes away if I take a nap on the second day. I am going to have to prepare for this in January if I arrive the day before the 5k race. Something to consider for January is weather. If I travel down the day before I have no buffer if there is bad weather. That could foil the plan for the entire challenge. I also have to be there to pick up my own bibs so I have to allow for this.
I also miss having a car. I got spoiled in the past with a car. Waiting for the magical express just adds hours to the day that I would prefer to do without. I also like the ability to go shopping for whatever I need in the room at a local grocery store rather than paying all the prices for essential items at the hotel. I didn’t have dinner when we landed because we had to catch our bus and got to the hotel very late. By the time we arrived to the hotel all the stores were closed. So planning for meals is important. We did pack sandwiches and snacks.
I very much enjoy family vacations. I also enjoy my racecations. They are two different experiences, each with their own special touches. As summer comes around and training begins for the Dopey challenge I will use Jeff Galloway to coach me through the training. But I am also going to have to train mentally for this experience. It will be interesting getting up 4 days in a row at 2 a.m. If I am here alone for the beginning go the trip I plan to rest and do a lot of nothing.
I plan to somehow work those early wakeups into my 4 run training weekends 🙂 Should probably try the napping thing too at the same time — I’m not terribly good at naps!
I am not good at naps either but after the 10k this year I still had a wicked headache. I ate a great burger at the pool then I did pass out in a chair by the pool for about 45 minutes and felt like a whole new person! I think that is the key. Protein and naps. If my family isn’t around for the first few races it will be easier for me to get to sleep early.