Wife Mother Runner Joe Pardo Archives

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!

Suck It Up and Be Grateful

September 20, 2015

I was having a rough week last week and during the beginning of my week before I started to call it “hell week” I stopped myself and told myself that I was going to stay positive and not let things upset me. I tried very hard to keep that positive attitude. I also told myself that I have it VERY good. Compared to others, my life couldn’t be better! I have a beautiful family, I have a beautiful home, I have a job, a car, my kids are doing well in school and sports, I have a loving husband, I have my health, we are all healthy (well the children are at least).

As the week went on, I tackled my challenges as they came my way. One of the things that I was dreading was my trip to New Jersey. I had to teach a virtual class all day on Wednesday in East Hartford and then I had to drive back home from work; pack up, have dinner with my family, and then drive to New Jersey. I was dreading the drive because it was going to be after 7:00 at night and lately when I was travelling while tired I was having difficulty driving. I was anxious about that. I don’t mind driving places. I enjoy listening to my podcasts and having time to myself. But I was scared to make the drive at night. Especially in an unfamiliar area.

The positive thought I had was that while in New Jersey, I was going to have the chance to visit my friends Joe and Melissa Pardo. So again, I kept trying to make the best of the situation. I drove to NJ, missed an exit and drove around Newark airport and then arrived to my hotel around 10:30 p.m. At that point I was so wired up from the drive that I didn’t get to sleep until close to 1 a.m.

The next day, I arrived to the facility where I was doing the training. The beginning of class was bumpy with technical difficulties and was getting off to a very rough start. I took a deep breath and told myself I was going to get through it. I thought I was teaching 6 people online and 6 people in the class. When I arrived to the small conference room I was annoyed when I learned that there were no students in the class. Then two people arrived, I had at least two people in the room. Ok then it wasn’t so bad. I pulled out some magic and had a good class for the day with a decent class review. Then it was off to dinner with Melissa and Joe.

I had a great night with Melissa and Joe at the Cheesecake factory in Cherry Hill, NJ. We talked and had dinner and spent over 3 hours visiting with each other. I am so grateful for the friends I have gained from runDisney events to be able to hook up with a friend in just about any state to share a meal with someone.

On my way home from dinner I called my family and was told that my husband’s uncle passed away. We knew he was sick and didn’t have much time left; but he passed much faster than expected. I was also told that my mother-in-law was suffering from dementia even worse in the past weeks and my father-in-law was under a lot of stress with her health and the loss of his brother.

The next day during a break from class I took a walk outside and saw a beautiful pond with geese on a sunny, beautiful day and took a few minutes to myself to enjoy the view and to feel grateful. Sure, I wished I was home with my family but I was making the best of the situation.

The drive home was going to take a long time. It was a Friday night driving north through NJ, NY and CT and the GPS was right. It was over a 4 hour drive home. But when I arrived home, I was thankful. I enjoyed some time on the couch with the kids and watched the America’s Got Talent Final episode and we all climbed into bed happy.

This weekend we had the pleasure of attending our nephew Stephen’s wedding to his beautiful wife Shirlie.

We also had the joy of watching our baby girl Adrienne have another win with her softball team. The weather was perfect for both events this weekend.

Then we attended our town’s fundraiser for my son’s good friend Lyla who is battling cancer yet again. It makes me grateful that I have many things to be grateful for and I am more than happy to help out this wonderful family and little girl who has spent time playing with my son since they were in kindergarten.

Suck it up buttercup, Many others don’t have it as good as you, so be grateful for what you have and think twice about complaining about things. It’s something I have been chewing on for a few days now.

Dopey Challenge – The Half Marathon

January 24, 2015

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!

First Step To Reaching Your Dream

July 17, 2014

I seem to be on a dream theme these days. I came across The Dreamers Podcast from Joe Pardo, which I had the pleasure to be a guest of on his show (coming soon); and also the Dream Warriors Podcast from Doc Kennedy and they have been very inspiring. Today 59 years ago, one man had a dream that he made come true even when no one believed in it – Disneyland was born. Walt is known for pursuing our dreams – “If you can dream it, you can do it”.

While listening to Doc’s podcasts today I got something out if it that I appreciated. In order for your dream to come true, you have to take the first step. What great advice, but sometimes that first step feels like you are walking off a cliff. It doesn’t have to. Try taking baby steps.

Your first steps can be:

– To sign up for a class
– Attend a seminar
– Get books about the subject you are interested in
– Listen to podcasts related to the topic

As you educate yourself in the field you are interested in you will gain confidence. Facing a new dream takes courage and risk. Sometimes the fear of the unknown is why our dreams never come true. Sometimes you need to give up things in order to achieve your goal. But if it is that important to you, the end result will mean more and you may have no regret for the things you gave up.

It could be as simple as this… you want to run your first 5K. So what would you have to give up to meet such a goal? Well, you may have to give up a little sleep on a Saturday morning in the summer so you can get out and run in the early morning hours when it is cooler. What’s more important to you, the sleep or working towards your first race finish?

Another road block towards reaching your dream is usually fear. You are afraid of the unknowns and the what ifs. If you let fear get in your way and paralyze you, you will never reach your dreams. For instance, if you were working toward that new finish line (a further distance or your first race) you need to think of what those fears are and talk yourself through them. What if I get hurt going further, what if I can’t finish, what if the weather is bad on race day. I’ve had many of those things actually happen to me during training and on race day, but you learn from it and it makes you a better achiever.

I came across this quote from Anaïs Nin which said:

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Very powerful quote for me. Take your first steps. What have you got to lose? You may lose something, but what you will gain will be so much greater! I know I am so scared of the Dopey challenge this January, but when I cross the finish line on January 11, 2015 I am going to be so proud of my accomplishment! I also hope that during this process my children will see that I set my goal, worked hard for it and achieved it regardless of the fears and concerns that I faced during the way.

I am also afraid of my first sprint tri that I will be participating in on September 7. But I am making the effort to get in more swimming this summer and have to get back on the bike again (I have been lacking since May). But I will go for it. If I fail, I fail, but I will feel better for giving it a shot.

What is your dream or goal? What fears are holding you back from achieving them?

What Stops Us From Living Our Dream?

July 9, 2014

I have been listening to two new podcasts recently, The Dreamers Podcast by Joe Pardo and The Dream Warriors pod cast by Doc Kennedy. I came across the Dreamers Podcast from my friend Eddie McCoy. I love to listen to stories of how people are living their dream and it has really got me thinking about living my dream. Am I living my dream? I think I am. Sure things don’t ALWAYS turn out the way we want or go as we “PLAN” them to, but that is life. Challenges come our way which change us and many times we have to endure hard things in order to really see the good in life.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that something is stirring, there is a lot of change going on at work. I sense a change is happening in my life, not sure if it is going to be with me or with my husband. But I have that feeling. Fear tends to get in the way of us making a change in life and doing something different. I know that fear and doubt are major factors to why I don’t like to make change. I am also comfortable. So why rock the boat when things feel fine? What if I fail? What if I lose money trying it? What if you don’t? What if you succeed? How will you know until you try.

How do you live your dreams? I am learning a few things about this. There are goals I have in life and things that I would like to achieve. Some of them require some learning, growing and time. Identify stumbling blocks that can be used for stepping stones. This has been something that I am using as a resource. Past adversity and create opportunities. I am going to chew on that for a while. I think the key to that is the timing. We don’t know how long the past adversity will open the door for a new opportunity, it could be a year long process, it could be big picture and a few years.

So the basics about dreaming and living or pursuing a dream:

Write down your dream. When you put it on paper it becomes concrete – something to act on.
Believe it. Be positive about it. Visualize your life as you are living this dream.
Do it. Don’t talk, just do. You’ll never know until you try.

Another important thing to me lately has been to live in the present. We aren’t promised tomorrow. I’m not waiting to enjoy life, I am enjoying each day.

What is your dream? Are you living your dream? Have you had challenges along the way to get there? How did you overcome them?

Tag: Joe Pardo

2016 WDW Marathon Half Marathon

Suck It Up and Be Grateful

Dopey Challenge – The Half Marathon

First Step To Reaching Your Dream

What Stops Us From Living Our Dream?