Wife Mother Runner Blog - Wife Mother Runner

2016 WDW Marathon Half Marathon

January 18, 2016

The second to last race of the Dopey Challenge is the half marathon. Once again I set my alarm for 3:30. For this race I made oatmeal for breakfast to hopefully hold me over. I was so hungry during the 5K and 10K races; even after having a small breakfast before I went to the races.

Diana and I were running this race together. Mandy would be joining us for the full marathon the next day. I arrived to the Epcot parking lot around 4:45 and met Diana down by the corrals. The crowd size doubles from the 5K and 10K to the half and full marathon sizes. The 5K and 10K have around 7,500 people. The half and full have 26,500 people. That does impact your course time when starting in a later corral.

Thankfully it wasn’t raining for this race, but it was extremely foggy. I wore my Donald Duck costume for this race and Donald sent us off at the start.

Diana and I at the corrals

Since we had run this course several time with the previous year’s Dopey challenge and running the Princess Half marathon two years prior, I was very familiar with the course. Not to mention that the full marathon also runs most of the same route for the beginning of the marathon. I am pleased to say that this year the change in character stops made the race more enjoyable.

I listened to Jeff Galloway speak at the Expo on Thursday and he mentioned that for the 5K and 10K it was ok to run; but he said for the half marathon, plan to walk the first few miles, then incorporate your run/walk intervals for a mile, walk a mile, then do intervals again, etc. So I discussed that with Diana and that was the plan. Well when race day comes around, sometimes plans get thrown out the window. We ran most of the first half of the race. Below shows our splits from the half marathon.

The first two miles of the race we made ourselves run slower. There also weren’t character stops at that point; just props to take photos of along the way. Between mile 3 and 4 is where we started to do the character stops for Wreck it Ralph and Oogie Boogie. Mile 5 lead us into the Magic Kingdom and we did stop for some photos and then miles 6-7 are up cone alley. It was VERY congested up cone alley. This year I think the cones were set up differently and weren’t the tall cones that were lined right up against each other because people were hopping over the cones and running in the lane that was dedicated for car traffic. So we just continued to do our walk/run intervals up cone alley as best as we could with the amount of people in that area. I also found Mike Scopa heading into the Magic Kingdom and played some leap-frog with him during the race. I’d stop for a character stop and then he’d pass me. Then I would spot him and I’d tag him and told him he was it. It helped pass some of the miles along the way! I also found Sid Busch out on the course and gave him some encouragement. He is such a celebrity now among the running community.

Miles 8 and 9 didn’t have anything too exciting so we pushed ahead and around mile 10 we decided to walk the rest of the race in to save our legs for the full marathon. We had gone over the overpass of World Drive at that point and saw the crowd still coming up the road and we knew we weren’t in any danger of being swept. At mile 12 we took a photo with Vacation Genie and that was it for character stops in Epcot for us.

It was a good decision to walk at that point. I was starving, though. I definitely did not have enough fuel with me for that race. All I could think about was making an egg sandwich back at the hotel room when the race was over!

After the race was over I drove back to the hotel and made the egg sandwich my mouth was watering for! Then I showered and wanted to hang out at the pool with my family. PK and Katie were going to be there for a little while so I wanted to spend time with them. After visiting with them I got cozy on the poolside chair and next thing I knew I woke up with my mouth hanging open, my sunglasses smashed against my face and drool going down my chin! I had fallen asleep for a long hard 2 hour nap! I looked around and saw my family’s items around but couldn’t find them anywhere! I finally located them and we noticed the dark skies were starting to roll in.

The plan that night was to go to Disney Springs to have dinner at Wolfgang Pucks and then head back to the room for an early night. We were watching the radar and packed our ponchos. Joe Pardo was also going to join us for dinner there. We arrived at Disney Springs around 5:00 but waited a long time for the boats to take us to from the West Side to the Marketplace side.

The balloon was tethered down because of the storms coming.

Half way to the Marketplace side they stop, which I wasn’t aware of. The kids had to go to the bathroom so we got off the boat there, used the restrooms nearby and put on our ponchos. We ended up walked through the pouring rain to Wolfgang Puck Express and met Joe. I had a cranky moment at this point in the day. I was frustrated with the rain, the boats at Disney Springs and I was hungry. So I had a moment of a mini meltdown. Once we had dinner I was better. We ordered the bar-b-que chicken pizza as a good pre-race meal with the protein and the carbs. After dinner my son wasn’t feeling too well. He had been battling a chest cough for several weeks and there were times during the trip where he just felt funky and wanted his mom.

Always my favorite view at night.

It was nice for Joe to meet my family. I talk about them all the time when Joe and I are at races and when we communicate in our every day conversations. After we said goodbye to Joe and boarded the boat to head back to our car I sat with my son on the boat and it cheered him up. I think it was also hard on him that I was going to be early and then not around when he woke up during the races. Once we got back to the hotel it was time for me to lay out my gear for the morning and call it an early night. I was in bed before 10:00 and I wasn’t feeling too anxious about the race. I did have a harder time falling asleep that night; but I blame that on the nap.

Coming up next, the big finale race of the weekend…the full marathon!

2016 WDW Marathon Weekend 10K Now Known As the PK10K

January 16, 2016

The 10K took place on Friday, January 8th. PK and his daughter Katie were running it and it was their first runDisney race! There were many first for my friends and family this year! We talked on the phone a week before the race because they didn’t know what to expect. They weren’t sure if you ran the race for time or what time you had to be there. They were staying at the same hotel as us so I told them I would drive them to the race and that they didn’t have to get up at 3:00 a.m. because we are staying close to Epcot and it only takes less than 10 minutes to drive there. I explained to them that the Disney races are races for fun and that there are character stops along the way that you take photographs with. They weren’t aware of the character stops. I also told them that the Disney races are far different from the races back home. I also told them that costumes are welcome and recommended. Katie said she would put something together and PK said he wanted to wear his Patriots gear. Come to find out, the Patriots jersey got the most complements out of all of us that day!

Since I hadn’t seen PK in over a year and Katie in many years, I wanted to run the race with them. I told them that I use the walk/run method but we could play it by ear on race morning. Since the 5K and 10K are early in the Dopey Challenge series, you can run those races with little issue for the full marathon on Sunday. I couldn’t wait to see them. We planned to meet up at the Expo after they land on Thursday, run the race together on Friday and then spend the day at Magic Kingdom on Friday afternoon after the kids races.

The morning of the race, I set my alarm for 3:30 and met them at the hotel lobby at 4:30. I was a few minutes late because I had to dig through my luggage to find extra rain ponchos. It was raining pretty heavily and I saw the radar wasn’t looking too good for the race either. I told PK and Katie I’d bring them a poncho. I picked them up in the front and drove us to the parking lot at Epcot. We were there at a good time because the rain was picking up and we didn’t want to stand too long out in the rain. We used the porta potties and then had to resort to the ponchos to stay dry.

PK and Katie’s 1st runDisney Race!

In our corral waiting to start

Once we started running it was getting warm with our ponchos on. We started taking them off within the first mile and I stuck mine in my race belt. We didn’t do walk run at that point in the race. This section of the 10K is the 3 miles out on the road leaving the Epcot parking lot and running on the road to head towards the backstage entrance to Epcot. My legs felt fine to do a constant run. PK is a faster runner, but he had his leg wrapped because he was having an issue with his calf. So he said that taking it slower in the beginning saved him from having trouble with his leg issue. We ran to the first area where a character stop would have been at the turning point toward the overpass but because of the rain there was just a plane prop there without a character. We walked up the hill on the overpass and ran the downhill. On the downhill there is usually a character stop with Lilo and Stitch; but again, because of the rain there wasn’t a character there for photos.

We did start a run/walk ratio around mile 2.5 and then entered the back of Epcot at mile 3. I was getting excited to enter this area because I love the way Epcot looks in the early morning hours with the torches lit and the music playing. We did our first character stop as we entered Epcot. Mulan and Mushu were there and it was perfect! Katie and PK reminisced about when Katie used to ask for her “Mulan Sheets” when they were camping and PK and his wife Lori would make the bed for her in their camper. I enjoyed knowing that the character stop was something that had relevance to them. Diana texted me and told me she was at character stops up ahead so I figured we would meet up eventually at a stop.

The next character stop was a new set of characters that haven’t been out for the races yet. Remy and Emile from Ratatouille were there so a new joke with PK, Kevin and I is the Rat-Stinkin Ratatouille Bastard (long story). We met up with Diana at that point so it was perfect timing. We did our group photo there and then proceeded to run over the bridge to the International Gateway and towards the Boardwalk and Beach Club Resort area. Mike and Sully from Monsters University were at ESPN, then we saw Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum around mile 5 but didn’t want to stop for their picture. We went backstage in Epcot and then headed towards Spaceship Earth towards the finish line.

We had such a great time at the race! They are planning on doing it again next year. Katie wants to do the 10K and the half marathon as well!

After the race we went to ESPN for the kids races. It was pouring rain and my son was still fighting a bad cough. He didn’t want to run the race but I brought his bib with him just in case. Just as I suspected, as soon as we were at the race start he changed his mind and wanted to run. I had him carry his bib in his hand and he shot off like a rocket! I couldn’t keep up with him. Then he looked back to find me and waited and we ran together to the finish. Adrienne had already taken off with my husband and she sped ahead as well. She had her eye on that finish line!

Adrienne in the purple sweatshirt

After the kid races we went to the Magic Kingdom to play with PK and Katie and my parents. The weather cleared up and it turned out to be a very nice evening. We had so much fun! We went on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. Then we waited in line for the Mine Train. This was Adrienne’s and my mom’s first time ever! After that we rode the people mover while PK and Katie had fast passes for SpaceShip Earth; and then we all went over to ride Big Thunder Mountain. After we rode the rides we went to the Columbia Harbor House for dinner. I had a great meal of Salmon, cous couse and broccoli. This was the perfect pre-race meal choice for the half marathon. After dinner PK, Kevin and the kids went on Splash Mountain and then we hit Pirates before heading back for the night. I needed to get to bed for the half marathon the next morning. PK and Katie were staying to watch the fireworks.

It was a great day! I had so much fun running the race with them and it was so good to see them again. I have exposed two more friends to the runDisney club and can’t wait to run more races with them!

2016 WDW Marathon Weekend 5K

January 16, 2016

My mom and I were walking the WDW Marathon weekend 5K together. My mom had a knee replacement in March of 2014 and the recovery was hard. I kept reminding her that her recovery was her marathon and that she was going to achieve it. After her recovery and physical therapy she was able to walk. Last Spring she participated in her first non-runDisney 5K with the Hartford Marathon Foundation O’Putnam, O’Niantic and O’Hartford races. She walked the races but she got them done! Then during the year she entered in other races as well. She had a goal, she wanted to register for a runDisney 5K. She watched me finish my first marathon four years ago and happened to talk to a woman who had a knee replacement and it inspired her to want to do a runDisney race. She saw the energy and excitement that gets generated at runDisney events and wanted to be a part of it.

This January was her year! She and I were going to walk the 5K and my dad was going to spectate. After a night out at Hollywood Studios the night before and a busy day with travelling we had to get into bed because we had to set our alarms for 4:00 a.m. I had cinnamon toast and tea for breakfast and was dressed and ready to leave for 5:00 a.m. We arrived around 5:15, took pictures as we entered the runners area, and I stood in line to get my picture taken with Dopey. I hadn’t had the chance to do that last year so I was glad I was taking the opportunity to do it then. It was close to 6:00 and volunteers were warning runners that they were risking a chance of getting to the start if they remained in line. Since I knew we were going to be in Corral E I wasn’t concerned about the time. I took note from my Garmin Connect account of what time we started our race in 2015 so I knew what I had for a reference to start. I tried to find Diana. She said she was going to run ahead on her own.

We had decided to wear the same outfits and purchased Sparkle Athletic Skirts and ordered matching tops from Etsy that said “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes”, and wore matching Mickey ears with a white feather boa. We got a lot of compliments on our outfits! The temperature was just right for this race. As we were turning the corner after the start and heading towards Epcot, the runners who were in corral A were already finished and were standing in their bus pick up area! I found some of my team members from the Mickey Milers and Team Shenanigans in the Corral and we hung together for a little bit and I took pictures with both them and my mom.

The first character stop was Chip and Dale. Then when we entered Epcot we took a picture with Rafiki. We got some photos with the scenery of Epcot along with the ball in the background and then went to the next character stop which was Mittens from the movie Bolt, outside the Americas. Then outside of France we got a picture with Marie the cat from Aristocats before heading to mile marker 2. After mile 2 and heading to the finish we stopped for a photo with Spaceship Earth in the background and then went towards the Land. We were lucky to get a picture with both Lilo AND Stitch there because Lilo was about to switch out with Stitch but she decided to stick around! After that there were no other character stops. So we walked towards the Nemo ride, back towards Spaceship Earth and around the corner to the Finish Line where my dad was waiting past the finish line.

It was a very fun race and I am glad my mom had a great experience with it for her first runDisney race. The weather was good, we got every character along the way and we were not in any danger of not finishing the race.

After finishing the race, we went back and showered and the kids were just waking up. I wanted to go back to the Expo because I didn’t get to see all of the vendors when I was there the night before. So I went there around 11:00 and everyone else hung out at the hotel and my husband took the kids to the pool again. At the expo I ran into Jennifer Hall and talked to her for a bit and then I listened to Jeff Galloway’s seminar about best strategies to survive the Dopey Challenge. The advice I liked was when he mentioned to walk the first few miles of the half marathon and then do the walk/run for a mile. Then walk a mile, then do the walk/run for a mile. That will help keep your legs fresh for the next day.

After the Expo we were heading to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. It was so much fun. My daughter had her first experience with roller coasters and went on Big Thunder Mountain. I was so nervous for her but she LOVED it! She couldn’t wait to do it again so we had her move to the middle of the train for her next ride. Once again, no fear and she wanted to ride in the back next!

We had dinner at the Columbia Harbor House. I wanted to eat something safe the night before the 10K so I ordered a kids meal of chicken nuggets and fries. My dad ordered their pot pie, and my mouth was watering for it once I saw it! I knew that the night of the marathon that would be the meal of choice to celebrate with! After dinner we went on the Haunted Mansion and rode more Big Thunder Mountain. We had to call it a night at that point, because I had to get to bed for the 10K the next morning. We were back to the hotel by 9:30 and I was asleep before 10:30.

After the races mom was on the hunt to get some memorabilia and an official picture with Pluto!

It was a fun day and I was looking forward to running the 10K with PK and Katie and Diana. Stay tuned for the recap of the 10K!

Watch the video of the 5K Race:

2015 WDW Marathon Weekend – Day 1 Travel Day

January 15, 2016

After surprising the kids at 4:00 a.m. that we were taking them to Disney we arrived at the airport, had breakfast there and boarded our plane. I heard that the Osborne Lights were being extended another few days into Wednesday so we had to change to a flight that had a connection in Baltimore. We landed in Baltimore and hung out at the airport for a little less than two hours, had lunch and then boarded the plan for Orlando.

Once we arrived in Orlando, we picked up our rental car and went to Target to get groceries for the week. The plan was to surprise the kids once again, with the arrival of my parents. As we left Target and were heading back towards the airport, my mom called pretending to be someone from the airport and told us that we forgot something. I told the kids we had to head back to pick it up. When we arrived at the airport the kids spotted my parents and were very surprised! I love tricking them with our surprises.

We dropped off our bags at the hotel and my mom, dad and I went to the Expo while my husband stayed with the kids so they could swim. We arrived to the expo around 5:00 p.m. and picked up my Dopey challenge gear, my mom’s 5K bib and the kids’ race bibs and shirts. I saw Mandy, Kenn and Diana at the Expo at the bib pickup. Mandy had a 5:00 appointment with New Balance and I also had one from earlier in the day and I really wanted to check out the shoes

We headed over there after picking up my mom and kids’ bibs and I saw Kenn and Mandy and Diana there too. I had to check in with my actual appointment time because there is a limit of 6 pairs of shoes that could be purchased per appointment. I tried on the Dumbo and Ariel children’s sized shoes and was able to purchase them at the lower price than the adult size shoes.

After the New Balance booth I went to the shirt exchange area to exchange my shirts. They always run narrow for me. Then my mom and I went to the official merchandise booth where I picked up the Anger Shirt from Inside Out, sweaty bands, a Dopey sweatshirt, a magnet, a wine glass and a water glass. I was so happy to see that they had things still there that are usually gone by the time I arrive to the expo.

After making our purchases, we had to rush back and eat a quick sandwich for dinner so we could go to the Osborne Lights. We knew they were on display from 5:45 to 9:00 and it was already 6:00. As we arrived towards Hollywood Studios there were signs directing us to Animal Kingdom because the parking lot was “full” at Hollywood Studios and we would have to take a bus from Animal Kingdom.

When we arrived at Hollywood Studios we had to activate our military tickets that my dad got and then we were inquiring on how to upgrade them. We lost a lot of time while standing at that ticket counter. When all was said and done it was 8:30 and we had to pay for a full park admission in order to see the lights. My parents decided to sit it out and would wait for us while having coffee outside the gates. It was painful to pay all that money for what we thought would only be a half hour of the lights.

We arrived to the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights and the children loved the show! They had music playing to the lights so they were dancing and there was fake snow being blown down to the street from the rooftops. It was very fun. Someone was passing out 3-D glasses and it made the lights look like they were snow flakes! Thankfully when 9:00 came the lights were not turned off, they continued to play the music and the lights until park close. We left around 9:45 to take the bus back to Animal Kingdom. I was glad that I Was able to share that experience with the kids. I wished my parents were able to participate also; but I completely understand the cost factor involved, especially when retired and on a fixed income.

I put the 3D glasses against my phone to get the visual effect from the glasses!

It was a very long day and my mom and I had to get back to get to sleep for the 5K the next morning. When we got back to the hotel, we got everyone situated and I went to bed while my husband took care of the kids. I believe i was in bed before 11:00. I knew the 5K started later than the rest of the races so we could get away with waking up at 4:00 and leaving the hotel by 5:00 for the 6:00 start. Especially since we weren’t in the front corrals.

It was a fun and long travel day and I was getting excited to get the races started.

Stay tuned for the recap of the 2016 WDW Marathon Weekend 5K!

Operation runDisney WDW Marathon Weekend Surprise A Success!

January 6, 2016

At 3:30 a.m. my son came into my room. He couldn’t sleep. My alarm was set for 4:00 a.m. so I went to his room with him and laid there. No one went back to sleep at that point. We got on the road a little after 5:00 and were at the airport around 6:00. We had breakfast there and were on the flight at 8:00.

Operation Disney Marathon Weekend Surprise was a Success!

Operation runDisney Marathon Weekend Surprise is Under Way

January 5, 2016

The flurry and scurrying around to pack and sneak my kids’ summer clothes, flip flops, swimming goggles and bathing suits took place last week while they were home from school. Thankfully I was able to seclude myself in my room to do this while they were playing with their new Christmas toys. But the last two days to prepare for the actual departure was in full swing.

We are going to Disney for my WDW marathon weekend where I am running the Dopey Challenge and my mother is running her first Disney 5K and close friends of ours are running their first runDisney 10K!

On Sunday, as we were leaving the movie theater from seeing Star Wars the Force Awakens (AWESOME MOVIE), I saw a Facebook post that the Osborne Lights were being extended from January 3 to January 6th. Once I heard that I knew I HAD to do something to get the kids and my parents to Hollywood Studios that night to see the lights. So we had to distract the kids so I could call Southwest and find out what options we had to move my husband and kids from their Thursday flight to my Wednesday flight. Good news and bad news. They could move to Wednesday for only $38 each; but I had to give up my 12:30 direct flight and we are all now flying down at 8:00 a.m. with a stop and change plans in BWI. BLECH! I HATE early flights! Also since I will be getting up early 4 days in a row for the races, that was the last thing I wanted to do. BUT it is for the sake of the JOY that I hope to see on my childrens’ and parents’ faces when they go through the Osborne Lights to see something like no other.

When I ran the Wine and Dine Half Half marathon one of the highlights of the race is that we can run through the Osborne Lights. Diana and I spent and extra long time there because we knew it was going to be the last time we could see it. But, she was on her trip with her family so she decided that the next night they were going to see the lights for sure. When I flew home I was sad. I wanted to find a way to fly our whole family down either for Thanksgiving or for a few days after Thanksgiving JUST so they could experience those lights. Well, my wish is now going to come true!

The kids don’t know yet that we are going to Disney. As usual, we like to pull it off as a surprise to them. The notes have been sent to school and given to the bus driver. Homework has been sent home and now we just have to get their butts into bed real soon because we will have to wake them up at 4:00 a.m. to begin the surprise vacation. I know my daughter is on to me. She reads my texts on my phone at times and saw some communication going on between my dad and I. So I had to squash those questions and I think we may be able to pull this off. It’s going to be different, waking them from their sleep to announce the news. So stay tuned!