Day 3 of the Dopey Challenge and I was feeling so strong! I can’t remember now what time I woke up, but I think it was around 2:30. I had tea and cinnamon toast for breakfast and my dad left a note for me near my tea cup that morning. It was cute! The night before I had a turkey sandwich rather than Raisin Bran so I didn’t anticipate any intestinal issues during the race.
It takes me about an hour to get ready, just so I can wake up and get my body going. I planned to leave the hotel by 3:30. I wasn’t sure how traffic was going to be for the half and the full because these were bigger races and the Event Guide said that some areas will be more congested. Going into it knowing to anticipate traffic, I had allowed myself enough time. I arrived in about 12 minutes after leaving the hotel. I sat in the car for a few minutes and contacted Diana to know where to meet. I walked to the runner staging area and met up with Diana and Mandy and we made a smart move to use the porta potties (with the shorter lines) and head down to the corrals.
We got down to the corrals early and had plenty of time there to wait for the race to start. We were excited for this race. I think more so than the marathon because it was “just a half” and everyone was feeling good so far. This race allows you to run through the Magic Kingdom so I was excited for it. This was my first time that I would be running the first part of the Goofy Challenge also! I feel like my first Goofy was overshadowed by my first Dopey Challenge for sure. But I am still excited that I did get my first Goofy nonetheless.
It was a great race! I saw many friends wile out on the course, got emotional as I ran up Main Street and finished strong. Mandy and Kenn were planning on walking most of the race because Mandy’s IT band was giving her issues. Well their walk is equivalent to my run! So Diana and I stuck to a 15/30 type ratio most of the race. We did walk during many segments of the race because of crowds and also to make sure that we were saving our legs for the marathon the next day. As we were approaching the back of the race track Wreck It Ralph and Vanellope were out and Diana FREAKED out! We got in line for pictures and told Mandy and Kenn to go ahead and we’d catch up with them. It was great. Diana got some great pictures and she bascially floated for the next mile. We ran most of that area towards mile 3 and the next water stop then got to the congested area heading under the water towards the Contemporary. That’s one of my favorite spots. I don’t know what it is, but I love the DJ with the big hands and the energy that seems to radiate from going down the bridge towards the Contemporary resort area and into the side of the Magic Kingdom. I think for me, it is the excitement of getting closer to the Magic Kingdom.
As we ran down Main Street I was overcome with emotion. I think it was because of the music that was playing and seeing the castle there. To me it almost felt better than the first time I ran down Main Street for my first marathon. I think it had to do with doing my first Dopey challenge and feeling so strong. As we approached the castle I saw my friend Joe Pardo and we took pictures! Then I saw Mike and Michelle from the Mickey Miles Podcast! It was great.
The usual bathrooms off of Main street on the way to Tomorrowland were closed for refurbishment so we went to the bathrooms near Space Mountain. That was a good move. We were texting with Mandy and they weren’t too far ahead of us so I knew we’d catch up with them. As we were going through the castle I was surprised to see Elsa, Anna and Kristoff up on the castle. That felt wrong to me, because that is Cinderella’s castle. But they also couldn’t be on the ground or else no one would get through the picture stop; but it still was a little disturbing to me.
We went through the castle and headed towards mile 6 where we found Mandy and Kenn. Then we exited the park and went to Cone Alley towards the Floridian. Again I was feeling very strong and was enjoying this race, even in cone alley! As we passed the Floridian I saw more Mickey Milers on the course and grabbed pictures of them along the way. The sun was out that day but it wasn’t too hot for us. I felt that the temperature was just right for the race. I also thought there were a sufficient amount of character stops along the race, too. We didn’t stop at too many of them because I had to finish the race in time to go pick up my family to take the kids to ESPN for the Kids’ races.
We ran up the street that leads to Epcot and around the ramp and over the street that leads to Magic Kingdom and saw how far back the people were. There were plenty of people behind us even though we were taking the race slower than usual. We were in no danger of being swept. Just near the 12 mile mark Mandy and Kenn use a restroom stop and Diana and I continued on our way. I didn’t have much extra time to work with so I had to head to the finish. Close to the finish I ran into Eddie McCoy who was cheering us on! We ran through Epcot and towards the finish. We were pretty pumped up, too!
We finished the third of four races and were in great shape for the marathon the next day. I knew at that point that my Dopey training had been successful and that this Dopey challenge was not going to be my last.
After the race was over I rushed back to my car, went to my hotel and picked up the family to head to the Kids’ races. I will write a separate post to recap the Kids’ races, but in summary, they LOVED it! Before we left ESPN I went to the Expo one last time. I talked to Jeff and we took a picture, 3 race were done and I only had 1 left! I also picked up a bigger race belt to carry more things in the pouch for the marathon. I didn’t want to use my fuel belt and my spi belt wasn’t big enough. I found a great pouch with 48.6 on it that was the perfect size. We grabbed food on the way out of the expo to eat back at the hotel and made our way back home for a shower and some relaxation time at the pool.
That day we decided to spend some time at the pool since it was nice and sunny and warmer out. The kids couldn’t have been happier to finally get into the pool! I relaxed by the pool and cat napped for most of the afternoon. That was actually harder on me because my body was relaxing; but I wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom for dinner and to do a few rides. Sometimes it is better to not let yourself fall asleep.
We did go to the Magic Kingdom, rode the train to Frontierland and I grabbed a kid’s turkey sandwich from Pecos Bills for dinner. Then we rode a few rides and went back to our hotel early so that I could get to bed for the marathon the next day. I knew I was pushing it by being at the park that night; but I really wanted the kids to enjoy the vacation and I was feeling strong. My feet were a little achy; but I knew sleep would help and I’d be ok. When we got back to the hotel I managed to get my race stuff ready for Sunday and I don’t remember many of the details; but I was snoring in bed before everyone else was even ready to go to bed!
Next up… the last race of the Dopey Challenge!!!! I was so close to earning my Dopey medal! I was very excited!