Wife Mother Runner @MickeyMilesPod Archives

Dopey Challenge 15 Mile Training Run

November 20, 2016

It’s time to get back on track. I am increasing my mileage towards the runDisney 2017 Dopey Challenge. I used to follow the Jeff Galloway plan very exactly in the past years. But in recent years I have decided to not do a full 26 mile run prior to the race.

I did a 15 mile run this weekend. I was sure to keep my mileage around 13 miles per minute because I wanted to get the miles under my feet more than I was concerned with pace.

For fuel I packed pretzel gold fish and left over skittles from Halloween. They are the perfect size packages to stuff in my fuel belt. I also had a bottle of water since I knew I needed hydration for that long of a run.

It was a beautiful day and a little warmer than usual for this time of year. It was 60 degrees with not a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze. I was out on the road by 11:30 and got home around 3:00.

The first five miles were similar to my past long runs. They are the hard miles to get started. I took in some pretzels and skittles around mile 5.5 and was feeling good. Between miles 6-10. I was doing well but started to feel thirstier around mile 12. I stopped at the library and filled up my water bottle for the last 3 miles. I also had more skittles at this point as well.

I finished up around 15.2 miles with the last .3 miles up my hill. I felt strong after the run but my feet were hurting a little. I knew that this was the last run with these sneakers so I have to retire them and start wearing my next pair which will take me through Dopey.

I was happy with this training run and was able to enjoy time with the family and didn’t feel spent. I also didn’t have a lot of pain the following morning either. So I think the leg work I have been focusing on is helping me with recovery. I also found 40 cents on the run! Winning!

And nothing is better than a cold chocolate milk after a run!

2016 Hartford Half Marathon

October 11, 2016

This year for the Hartford Marathon weekend I ran the half marathon. I had been training for the Marine Corps marathon but deferred that race; but was confident that I had enough miles under my feet to have a decent half marathon finish time for this race. Diana and I were planning on running it together with a race goal in mind so we would have a decent finish time to use for runDisney corral placement for future races.

This was my friend, Portia’s first half marathon so I told her I would drive her up to the race so she wouldn’t have to worry about parking, finding where to go, and the best part is, my office is located just a block away from Bushnell Park so we could go there prior to the race to stay warm and use real bathrooms!

The morning of the race I got ready exceptionally fast and was actually on time to meet Portia in my driveway. I had oatmeal and two pieces of cinnamon bread with my tea for my pre-race meal and brought a banana to eat just prior to the start. Portia and I drove up around 6:20 and got to the parking lot a little before 7:00. I found Diana and then we went over to the carousel to meet up with some Mickey Milers to get a photo before the race and then I invited everyone up to my office to get warm and to get ready for the race.

At 7:30 we left the building to head back over to Bushnell Park where we could drop off Portia’s bag at gear check and head to the starting line. It was the perfect morning for the race with temps in the 50’s and overcast skies. We were at the start line with a few minutes of time to shake out the jitters and take some photos to commemorate Portia’s first half marathon.

When it was time to run Portia stuck with us for the first half mile and then we sent her off on her way. The crowd opened up at that point and Diana and I started our 30/15 intervals. I was feeling strong and we continued these intervals throughout the entire race except two small sections where the hills were steeper and we needed to keep a brisk walk instead.

Overall, we kept a great average pace of 11:49 minutes per mile with a finish time of 2:34:46. I am very pleased with that. I had been working on shorter, faster runs during my weekly short runs to try to increase my pace a little bit. That in conjunction with doing leg exercises have contributed to my success this race.

After the race I met up with my friend Anne at the park where we enjoyed our Harpoon UFO beer at the beer garden to celebrate a good race finish. The Hartford Marathon Foundation also had a special offer for race finishers to visit area restaurants and present your medal and get a free beer. So Anne and I went to the finish line to watch for some friends from the Be Our Guest Podcast relay team finish under the arch, and then we visited the restaurants offering these specials.

I was very happy with this race and my results and plan to continue to use this race for a PR course or training run towards a marathon in the future. I am also so excited for Portia. It all started with mojitos on Memorial Day on our back deck. From there she started her first journey towards a half marathon and accomplished her mission!

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 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:

2016 WDW Marathon Weekend Is Less Than a Month Away!

December 9, 2015

Well it’s less than 30 days away now! For me, the Dopey challenge is close to half way completed 30 days from now. I will have been through Day 4 of the challenge on the half-marathon portion of the event. The funny thing is, you aren’t halfway through the mileage until around mile 1.9 of the marathon on Sunday.

The runDisney Official Event Guide is now published and has all of the information you need to know for what to do, where to go, what time the Expo takes place, when and where the kid races are, Pasta in the Park info and so much more!

What I was waiting most for was the map of the marathon course. Now that the Richard Petty Speedway was demolished that removed some distance off the course we used in the past. My friends in Team Shenanigans put together screens comparing the 2015 and 2016 course maps.

From what you can see in the Magic Kingdom portion of the course, it appears that we will be running through the castle and Towards Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and then out through the back side of the park and towards Cone Alley and the long road towards Animal Kingdom. There is also a little out and back portion in there on the way to Animal Kingdom created to make up some of the distance. I’m just grateful we aren’t making up the difference in ESPN Wide World of Sports. Although I have to say that last year it didn’t feel as long and dreadful in that part of the course as it did the two years prior.

I’m getting excited to know that in less than a month I’ll be racing in Florida. I was listening to the Mickey Miles Podcast today where Jeff Galloway was answering questions and he answered the question I had posted to the Mickey Milers Team page. I asked what to do about my training since Marine Corps was my longest distance since October and then in November I was up to 10 miles (plus the 12 i did last weekend). Jeff’s recommendation is to do a cluster of runs to simulate Dopey beginning on December 17. He said to do 3 miles, then 5 the next day, walk 7-10 the following day and then on the last day get in 23 miles with either most of it walking or walk a mile, then run with 15/30 intervals. So I am going to think about this suggestion and compare it to what I had in my mind which was to do a longer run that weekend of 15-17 miles (mostly running) and perhaps I’ll tack on the last 3 miles as a walk to get the 20 miles under my feet for the endurance. I know Jeff knows best. But many of my fellow running pals are getting training burnout. But we all know what happens when we don’t train like we should (see my Marine Corps Marathon recap).

I’m starting in Corral I and the corrals go up to letter P so that give me about a 20 minute buffer between when we take off and when the last of the pack takes off. I’m not worried about finish time with the race this year. I just want to have fun. And it wouldn’t be fun if we didn’t see the balloon ladies at the races!

I just registered my kids today for the Kids Dash races for Friday. I usually register them for Saturday based on when they fly down; but in the past that was crazy for me to rush back from the half marathon, pick everyone up at the hotel and then get over to ESPN. So it will be nice for a chance to do the 10K and then shower and head over to ESPN for their race. This is becoming a tradition that I would like to keep doing with them while I can. It’s easier to get them up for an 11:00 race than it will be to get them to a 5K that takes place at 5 a.m.!

Now I have to start putting together my costume ideas! I already have one planned with my mom! She and I are doing her first Disney race at the 5K. We have been sharing ideas back and forth from Etsy, we both have the same Minnie ears and Team Sparkle Skirt so now we have to find coordinating skirts. I have another one planned with Christina and Diana and that leaves the half and full marathons to plan for. I have to really get going to put something together. Let the fun of packing and planning begin!

runDisney Wine & Dine Half Half Marathon 2015

November 25, 2015

The final event of the runDisney Wine & Dine race weekend is the half marathon. It takes place on Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. The starting line is at the ESPN Wide World of Sports and the race ends just outside of Epcot.

The day of the race I ran the 5k in the morning, went back to my hotel to shower and quickly drove to the expo to pick up my half marathon bin and race shirts. I ran into Brittany and Kendrick, Mark and Caryn there doing the same thing before our breakfast reservation.

After that I spent time with the Mickey Milers at breakfast at Kona in the Polynesian Village Resort. We had a 10:40 reservation but didn’t eat until close to 11:30 and left there close to 1:00. My plan was to go back to the Expo and do a little more shopping. Find a light meal and rest in my bed or maybe nap prior to heading to the starting line. That was my plan. What I actually did was meet Brittany and Caryn at their room to get the wine glass she bought for me the day before and then I went over to the Expo where I saw Dale, Jennifer, Robert and Donna.

I didn’t have a lot of time there because it was closing at 3:00 so I quickly shopped for a shirt with a wine glass design and found something at Raw Threads. I can always rely on finding something at Raw Threads and not have an issue with wearing it for the first time on a race day.

After the Expo I went to Disney Springs to do some shopping for the kids. There is still a lot of construction going on there but what is completed looks nice. There are pedestrian bridges that cross over the street from parking lots to Disney Springs.

It was very hot out so I was sure to hydrate. I picked up an ice tea from a shop and then refilled with water at Ghiradelli.

I was on a mission to find Tsum Tsum’s for the kids. So after going to World of Disney I was told they are in Once Upon a Story. I found some for the kids, and made my way back to my car so I could rest in my room. On the way back I got a message from Dale inviting me to join them for dinner at their hotel, Riverside to have pasta at 6:00 and then we can take the bus from there. That was a good plan so I could leave my car there for when we return after the Wine & Dine after party.

So after a quick rest to recharge my phone and my feet I got dressed and went over to Port Orleans Riverside to meet everyone for dinner. We got pasta with broccoli and shrimp and oil, which was just right for prior to the race. Then we all used a bathroom and went to the bus. We got in line at the perfect time because the line got very long and we were able to take the first bus to ESPN. Good thing because we were stuck in traffic for a very long time. This was very similar to when we were on the bus for Tower of Terror two years ago.

When we arrived we went through bag check and then found the rest of the Team Shenanigans members and the Mickey Milers. The Team Shenanigan members were dressed as Spaceship Earth and the characters within the ride. It was an awesome costume idea! We took pictures with everyone and then I needed to go find Diana and Christina.

As I was about to connect with them there was lightning in the distance and a strange change in the weather. It started to get very windy and the temperature dropped a noticeable 15 degrees. Suddenly everyone started to leave the runners gathering area and we were told that we were being evacuated and moved to shelter in the Wide World of Sports complex due to severe weather in the area.

This was a first for me and I think it was actually a first for runDisney to have to do this. We all shuffled from one area to the Stadium and the Jostens center to wait out the storm and wait for instructions. Diana and I decided to go to an area where we could actually see outside so we could watch the storm. We also wanted to find a bathroom. Since the women’s bathroom line was so long people started to use the men’s room. Then we were lucky to bump into Chip and Christina so we sat down and waited for further instructions. While we waited we kept checking the radar to see what all of the concern was about because nothing was really happening where we were.

After about an hour we saw people moving back towards the corrals so we followed the crowd. It was finally time to race, but we were hearing people talking about modifications to the course. Then I received alerts via Twitter that the course is going to be shortened. The section leading from ESPN to Animal Kingdom was being eliminated. With the humidity being so high and it being so warm and late I was relieved.

So finally at 11:10 we were released from the starting line and onto the course. We ran from ESPN onto Osceola Parkway towards Hollywood Studios. From there we ran towards the back stage area of Hollywood Studios and then into the park. There was a lot of zigging and zagging inside the park and I was so teased to see the Osborne Light Spectacular. Just when I thought we were going to see them we were in a different direction. When we finally arrived at the Osborn Light Spectacular we spent a LOT of time in there taking in all of the visuals. I noticed that there were hidden Mickeys in the lights and a cast member said there were over 40 of them scattered throughout the lights. Diana and I started to look for them as we were taking a million pictures. I didn’t want to leave the area! Knowing that this was the last time they would be displaying these lights I wanted to enjoy them as long as possible. But we were in a race and had to get going so we could finish and then I was going to attend the party afterwards in Epcot.

We used a “real bathroom” before leaving the park since we knew that after finishing the race it would be a while before we could get to one, and the continued on to exit Hollywood Studios. We ran towards the path that connects the Boardwalk Hotel and Hollywood Studios (miles 23-24 during the full marathon) and made our way towards the Boardwalk. The path was extremely crowded with people. It was practically impossible to run in this area. We did the best we could to zig and zag between everyone but couldn’t really run again until we got over the bridge near the Swan and Dolphin hotels and towards the Beach and Yacht Club. The end of the race runs through the back entrance of Epcot, back stage and then past Spaceship Earth and back stage to the Finish Line.

I was glad this race was cut short. It was extremely hot and humid (even at night) and when we finished it was past 1:00 a.m. I think if our corral was released at the original start time we would finish close to when we did with the shortened route; but we would have felt more worn out and affected by the heat and humidity. There was a lot of water support on the course, which helped.

Diana was heading back to her hotel and her family because they were here for their vacation; and I went towards the exit area of the runner’s zone to find my Mickey Miler friends Dale, Dave and the gang so we could go to the After Party. I saw my friend Anne as I waited for the gang and we got a photo together and then I finally hooked up with Dale and Dave. After receiving our free drink from Disney we went towards the entrance to Epcot where we had to go through a bag check AGAIN. This process took quite a long time and was frustrating since we had already been checked at the beginning of the race. This was a situation we went through last year as well.

After we got through security we began our trip around the World Showcase. We first met up with Brittany, Kendrick, Caryn, Dave, Susanna and her husband, Mark and Chris. Then we decided to head to Canada for the filet mignon. After that we headed towards Ireland for the seafood shepherds pie. Then we headed towards France, Morroco, Japan, America and then to Germany to try to find some of the other Mickey Milers and get some German beer. We had a Shöfferhofer Zitrone Weizen-Mix, which is a lemon flavored beer and was quite delicious! Dave Dunkowski got a the beer flight from there but I just got one of the full size drinks. Stephanie Grace and her husband Shane found us and we hung out for the rest of the nigh then walked towards the exit of the park. It was close to 3:40 and the party ended at 4:00. We caught a bus back to the hotel and then I hit the sack for the night. I had a flight home at 12:40 so this would give me the chance to get at least 4-5 hours of sleep.

I had a great time and a fun weekend with friends a love the runDisney races. Being back home now I have to step up my training for the Dopey challenge taking place in less than 60 days!

runDisney Jingle Jungle 5K

November 24, 2015

This year I did what I considered to be my first runDisney 5K race during the Wine & Dine race weekend. I participated in the Jingle Jungle 5K race Saturday morning. I consider this my first 5K because I typically don’t sign up for 5K races during the runDisney race weekends. The reason for that is because I usually have to fly in the day before the bigger race or the challenge races so I can’t get the time off to participate in the 5K which takes place on the day I am flying. With this race it occurs on the same day as the half marathon. The first 5K race that I did run was during the Dopey Challenge last year, but I considered that different because it was the Dopey Challenge. How does that make sense? I don’t know but it does to me!

I also wanted to participate in this race because it starts at 7:00 a.m. (one of the latest start times of a 5K race in the runDisney series), and because it runs entirely through Animal Kingdom. In most of the runDisney races I participate in we run through Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and ESPN Wide World of Sports. But not as many races go through Animal Kingdom besides the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, a few miles during the full marathon and the Jingle Jingle 5K.

The morning of the race I set my alarm for 5:00 and was ready and in the car before 6:00. Because my flight got in after the expo closed on Friday night I knew I would have to pick up my bib at the information tent at the race start. I had to be sure I brought my license with me or else I wouldn’t be able to pick up my bib. So when I arrived, I got a great parking spot and walked right over to the information booth and signed a waiver and picked up my bib. Then I looked around to connect with my other racing buddies. I spotted the Mickey Milers and their amazing costumes, said hello to them and then found Diana, Christina and Diana’s daughter Kenzie. This was going to be Kenzie’s first 5K.

Since this was Diana’s first race with her daughter and they were in corral C I told them I’d stick with the Mickey Milers and hang back in corral D. She wasn’t sure how long it would take them to get through the race and they were planning on stopping for every picture.

I went to my corral and reunited with the Mickey Milers. The team was easy to find with Bill Taylor’s “Elf” costume! Everyone was so creative with their costumes. I went with my low key approach but should consider stepping it up next time if I decide to do that race again. I also ran into Mike Rahlmann and his family in my corral so we got a picture together of course! I always try to grab a picture with Mike when we see each other at our races.

Jocelyn and her daughter (left), Pam and Mallory, myself and Mike from the Be Our Guest Podcast

The race started at 7:00 and we passed the start line at 7:10. The first section of the race went around the outside edge of the Animal Kingdom parking lot and then we entered in through the front gate. From there we walked towards the Tree of Life, towards Everest and then back stage before we went back to the finish line.

There were several character stops along the course and I was happy with the amount that was out there for the 5K. There was Rafiki, Timon, Chip and Dale, Donald and Goofy, Pluto, and a few others that I didn’t snag pictures of.

It was a very very warm and humid morning so I am glad we took it slow and walked this race. If this was any indication of how the rest of the race weekend was going to be, we were going to be up against some dangerous heat and humidity for the half marathon. I was sure to drink a lot of water after the race so that I would be hydrated for the rest of the day. I finished the race in a little over and hour which was perfect. We were done by 8:15 and I had time to go back to my hotel to shower for our 10:40 Mickey Milers breakfast reservation at Kona at the Polynesian Village Resort.

I was also glad to see that starting in the last corral and walking the entire race I finished in a little over and hour and there are no sweepers at that race. My mom is participating in her first runDisney 5K during marathon weekend and had been worried about not finishing the race in time. There will be plenty of time to enjoy the 5K course through Epcot and even take pictures. This race was a good way for me to estimate the pace and timing for our January race.

I really enjoyed this race and would consider doing it again. The downside to it is that you have to wake up early for the 5K race on the same day that you will be starting the half marathon at 10:00 that same night. If you are good about going back to your room and taking a nap then that works out great. But like me, I enjoy the social events that take place during the short trips that I have there so I generally don’t take the time to go back to my room and rest, let alone nap. So I ended up staying up for 24 hours straight. But again, it’s fun, I see my friends, have a great time and I’m at Disney so sleep isn’t necessary right?!

40th Marine Corps Marathon

November 12, 2015

Like I said in my previous post about the Marine Corps Expo, this race was special to me. It was special because it is a major marathon and I registered to be a part of the lottery and I was chosen the last week of March in 2015. I was so excited to wake up that morning at 4:00 a.m. and saw the email. I was awake that early because I had to travel to Boston for work. But it was a good way to start the day with this news. All throughout the summer I knew that I had to step up my training to prepare for this race because it falls earlier into the Fall season than the usual races I run during that time of year. Last year I ran the Philadelphia Marathon the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

The Marine Corps Marathon took place on Sunday, October 25. So that meant the long runs needed to take place earlier in the heat of the summer months. And I have to be honest, I wasn’t up to my game with my training this year for MOST of my races. In the Spring I ran the Cheshire Half marathon with intention. I wanted to get a PR or be close to my last PR for that races so I could use it as a proof of time race for the Disney races corral placements. I also ran the Middletown Half Marathon and had a decent time with that race, considering that it was such a hilly and warm race. But after those two races, the wheels sort of fell off the wagon for me.

Well, enough whining about the training or lack thereof, or insufficient training, let’s talk about the race. The night prior to the race the Mickey Milers had a meetup for dinner at Portofino for a pasta dinner which was fun. After that I walked back to the hotel with some friends and we made our plans for when and where to meet up on Sunday morning. I set my alarm for 4 am on Sunday morning so that I could be ready to meet Chris and Caryn downstairs by 5:10. I met up with Chris, Caryn and Meghan and then we walked to the shuttle pick up area, met up with Ian and took a bus to the Start Line area.

When we arrived we had to go through metal detectors. It didn’t take us long to get through because we arrived early . After that, we wandered around the runners village a little, some dropped off their bags at the bag check and then we used the potties (with no lines at all). Then to try to find a warmer place, we went to sit in a tent to get shelter from the wind. It was chilly out. Good running weather; but chilly for standing around. While in the tent it started to rain a little. I was able to flag down my friend Anne and she sat with us in the tent for a little bit. Several of our friends like Brittany and Kimberlee were stuck on the metro. It was very crowded and they were coming from an area much farther away than we did.

The Team Shenanigans Members

Around 7:15 we left the tent to walk to the finish area (porta potty stops again) to gather for our photo with the Mickey Milers. Anne was visiting with some of her friends and Kimberlee and Brittany were stuck in the line for the metal detectors. After the photo I went back to the runners village to reunite with Anne and wait for Kim. We were starting to get nervous for her.

The Mickey Milers Pre-Race picture

Just before the race starts, paratroopers dropped from the sky with American flags. That was really awesome. There was also a flyover with 2 marine Osprey helicopters. That was VERY cool. I wasn’t worried that we weren’t in our corral yet, we still had a little bit of time. The wheelchair athletes were going to take off at 7:55 and then the rest would begin at 8:00, with plans that the final person would cross the start line around 8:30. BUT, the bridge cut off time was 1:15 solid. Despite where you started, you had to be at the bridge by 1:15 or else you could not finish the race. More on that later.

We sent Kim a message to meet us at the corral. Anne and I went to the corral and stood in a place where Kim wouldn’t miss us. She found us and we were relieved that all of us were finally together! It was perfect timing because the 5:30 pace group was right about where we were standing so we continued moving forward with the crowd to the Start. Meanwhile, during all of this, it was raining. We had on our rain ponchos. That was a little bit of a bummer.

The starting line was cool. There were marines there cheering us on and the color guard was in the median. I went and gave all of them a high five. I needed all of the positive encouragement I could get. Off we went into the course. During the first mile there was a little bit of incline. We were heading to the towns on the outskirts of the city. So the race course was not going towards the monuments right away. It was heading to the town of Rosslyn. Much of the first 4 miles were up hill. And one of the hills was similar to heartbreak hill, in my opinion. All during that time it was raining, but we ditched our ponchos in the first mile because they made us warm. So during mile 4 we started to do the math in our head to determine how long we had to make it to the bridge. We did a lot of fuzzy math along the miles to determine what pace we needed to maintain to make it to the bridge.

After that area we approached a section of the race where there was an out and back. I was upset about that. There were a LOT of fast looking people going past us and the crowd coming from the other direction seemed very long. I was whining to the girls that it was bothering me to see all of those people and it seemed like we were never going to reach the turn around point. We had been playing leap frog with “Santa” on the race course. I couldn’t let Santa beat me at the race. I believe this was around mile 5 or 6 on the course. We finally approached the turn around and made our way back towards the water. When we approached the water stop that we had been to earlier, they were tearing down the table and the porta potties were being hauled away. There were also about 6 or more busses driving towards the turn around. I was afraid they were sweeper busses that were going to start following the field all the way to the bridge. Anne and Kim pointed out to me that the busses were filled with marines so they were taking them from their stations back to wherever they needed to be. That made me feel a little better.

After that we ran towards Georgetown. It was a beautiful little town. The main street was lined with quaint stores and eateries. It reminded me of Main Street in Middletown. There were bands playing on the street there for us as well. After running down a good size hill we stopped for a picture together along the river. Then we continued on. I think we were near mile 9. At this point we were supposed to be receiving orange slices but there were NONE left! All you could see were orange peels everwhere and you could smell the sweek smell of oranges. I was really looking forward to having some fresh orange on my tongue. I was again disappointed that I couldn’t have some. Was this now because we were so far back in the pack? Did we start that late??? I didn’t want to look back to see.

After that section we came across a Marine Corps Band playing in front of the Jefferson Memorial. At the time I didn’t know it was the Jefferson Memorial. THe marines were all lined up along the stairs so it was hard to see what was at the top of the stairs. We were running alongside the river. Then we came up to an area that had some commotion going on. I asked Anne what it was and she said it was the part where we will run through the park. But before that we had to run through the Blue mile. That is at mile 12 and it was just ahead.

The Blue Mile is a powerful mile. Photos of fallen soldiers line the street for the entire mile. They are the same photos on both sides. I was looking for my friend Linda’s husband’s photo and found it about half way into the Blue Mile and touched it. I haven’t been affected by the death of a soldier in my own family; but I met Linda at the 2014 marathon and know of her story and know about the extreme heart ache she endures every single day because of the loss of her precious Phil. This is a somber mile of reflection. So many, too many, all of those soldiers are someone’s loved one, a son, daughter, wife, mother, father, son, aunt, uncle, cousin, friend. They died so that we can have the freedom that we experience every day. Do we really appreciate their sacrifice? If you didn’t think you did, you will think about it during that mile. At the end of the mile the family member of those lost loved ones are holoding up American flags and cheering us runners on. I gave them high fives and used their love and encouragement to help power my run. The next time I run this race I want to be a run for blue runner and wear a blue shirt to identify that I am running for them. It’s so sad to imagine that they are out there cheering for us runner while their loved one is no longer with them. I just can’t fathom it.

So off we went past the blue mile and towards the miles at the mall, working our way to the bridge. We passed the half marathon point and I couldn’t believe it was taking me 3 hours to do the half marathon. At this point I was doing the math again, I still had to go 7 miles and it was 11:30 and we had until 1:15 to get those 7 miles done, when our average was 14 minute miles. I didn’t want to admit it but it was looking unlikely. At this point I was walking a lot more. Then my knee did something funky. So the girls told me there was a medical tent not too far up ahead. I planned to stop in there, take 2 Tylenol and have them give me a piece of foam that I would wrap tight around my IT band and thigh to hold it in place to keep it from doing anything funky. That stop couldn’t take long or else I was really in trouble. I was in and out of there in about a minute. We pushed on.

As we entered the Mall area there was a white car that came up along side us. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I had a feeling it was the pace car for the bridge. After a little while of it slowly creeping along side us I finally said to the girls that I think it is the sweeper car that is going to tell us if we don’t make it to the bridge. They didn’t think so because they figured someone would have said something. Well a little futher up, a marine started to yell out to everyone to NOT let that white car pass you or else you will not make it to the bridge. SHIT! It was a pace car. I had to pick things up and push to get through. The car was starting to get ahead a little at a time. There was a grass median between both sides of the Mall are but I didn’t have the good conscience in me to cut through the grass, plus I hadn’t discussed it with the girls. At the water stop the car was behind us. I took my Tylenol at that water stop and then we rounded the corner and made our way up the mall towards the Capitol.

I believe this was around miles 17 and 18.

Sadly, the car was creeping ahead of us. I tried to pick up some running; but we were on mile 18 of the marathon and running wasn’t coming easy for me. I had just taken that Tyelenol and I almost threw up with the water and Tylenol in my stomach. Just in front of the Capitol I told Kimberlee I was going to be sick; but keep going and I, too was going to keep pushing ahead. I walked as fast as I could, I tried to jog a little, I held down my vomit from actually coming out. Then I was at mile 18. Kim and Anne had gone ahead. They knew they had to, we didn’t want to not make it to the bridge. We all had a goal.

When I got to mile 19 the people yelled out you have 12 minutes to make it to the bridge. Keep up that pace you have and you will make it. Well about 6 steps later I almost lost my cookies. I had to stop. The car lights were fading away ahead of me. But I kept a laser focus on them and I did not look behind me. I was NOT going to stop. Even though earlier in the race I was whining that I couldn’t do it; I wanted to finish, I didn’t want to be swept at the bridge. Especially when I was this close! I rounded a corner and people were all yelling to keep pushing and the stop lights that you have to go under to make it to the bridge were just ahead. I was about 2 minutes from the bridge and the car was already parked there near the mile 20 sign. I DID NOT WANT to lose my girls! I could see them about 50 yards ahead of me. I approached the place on the bridge and thought that I made it but wasn’t quite sure. I was waiting for a bus or something to block the entrance and people to be told they were sorry. I didn’t hear that. I just heard people asking, “we are safe if we are on the bridge right?” I still kept my eyes on Anne and Kim but they didn’t turn around. I yelled out a few times but it was too noisy, the couldn’t hear me. I shuffled a little to catch up and yelled out again and they were happy to see I made it! We reunited at the end of the bridge and pushed on for the last 10K of the race.

We were so glad that we all made it and the rest was just going to happen and we were going to enjoy the medal at the end of the race. The last 6.2 miles were pretty uneventful. There were about 200 people left behind us, and a small smattering of spectators on the course. The place on the course where you receive Dunkin Donuts munchkins was being cleaned up by the marines and all you saw were the sad squished munchkins that were on the ground. I think I would have really enjoyed a piece of real food at that moment. I was tired of my pretzels and gummy bears. Even water was unappealing to me. I really wanted a chocolate milk or a Coke! We were im Crystal City and running right past my hotel for miles 23 and boy did I want to just walk off the course and take a shower and have my chocolate milk! With just 3 miles left I could get through this; but it also meant that we would be finishing around 3:00 p.m. My flight home was 6:30 and my hotel said I could keep my room until 4:30 so I could shower before my flight. It was a race against time.

We got to mile 25 and I saw the soldier that was on the Metro with me the day before with his adorable dog! Anne also saw him too and took pictures of his “dog”. I guess she didn’t believe me yesterday when I told her how good looking the marines are! We rounded the corner at the mile 26 mark and had to run up a very steep hill for the last .2 miles. Well there was no gas in this tank to run up any hill so we walked our way all the way to the finish line. It was a precious moment. The marines were there cheering for us and after we crossed the finish there were many marines lined up to hand out the medals. After you receive your medal you can take your picture at the statue of Iow Jima. That was great. I couldn’t be happier.

Soldiers at the Finish Line

Marines handing out the medals

I saw a fellow Mickey Miler Kristie Green at the statue and she said she had a tough race and she trained really hard for it. We all had a lot to say about the race but couldn’t identify where our issues were to cause our training to fail us. I know that I failed in my training. My longest run was a 19 miler a month before and even that long training run had too much walking in it, despite what Jeff Galloway says that it is still the miles under our feet. Yes, that is true; but it also means the quality of our run will only mimic the type of training we did.

I said goodbye to everyone and had to rush to get on the bus back to my hotel. The bus got lost going back so when I arrived it was 4:30 and I had to tell the front desk that I needed just a half hour to shower and get out so they were gracious to grant that for me. I took a stinging shower thanks to the chaffing I encountered from running in the rain at the beginning of the race. I rushed to get ready and was on the metro and at the airport in time to get through security.

While there I saw my friend Danielle Nardi. She actually is the person responsible for getting me into runDisney races, which lead to the Disney marathon, which now leads to non Disney marathons as well! She has run the Marine Corps before and we were trying to hook up at the Hartford Marathon and even prior to this race, with no luck. But thankfully we had the chance to visit for a little bit after security. Then I learned that I had to take a shuttle from where I was to the gates in the next terminal. I had to walk down stairs with my bags to get on that shuttle. That was scary. I just dragged my bag down the stairs real lady like! LOL. After the one minute ride across the tar mac I had to walk UP the stairs with my bags. I let everyone else go in front of me and a wonderful airport employee offered to carry my bag up the stairs. I told him I could have kissed him! I gave him a tip and went on my way to find a seat while I waited for the plane. It was a quick flight home and I couldn’t wait to see my family.

For several days after the race I relived many moments and talked to Anne and Kim about the race. During the race I swore I didn’t want to do it again. I was hating it, I expected to see more tourist attractions and be “in” D.C. more. Kind of like when I went there with my parents when I was 16. But then last week I was reading the brochure they gave us at the race and saw a few races that interested me and also said that if you did one of them, you are guaranteed entry to the MCM marathon the following year.

As I rethink the whole experience I felt like I had to have this race as a reality check for me. To break me down and show myself that I could push myself and build myself back up by actually getting to the bridge by giving it everything I had, and then from that point getting to the finish line. I didn’t want to NOT make it. I didn’t want to be swept or else I would have felt like a failure. But I also felt that I need to respect the marathon distance. It’s no joke. Sure you can half-ass the training; but you will also have a half-ass race experience as well. I didn’t finish strong, I just finished. I don’t want to have that kind of experience with my races. I want to be stronger, more prepared and happy (or less miserable) during the race. The race is supposed to be the celebration from all of the training. That wasn’t what happened for me with this race. Changes will be made for my future.

I had been saying that I didn’t want to do another fall marathon. I wanted to register for NYC to see if I would be chosen for the lottery and the same for Chicago; but was really beginning to feel strongly that maybe next year I should just work towards Dopey. So I have some soul searching to do. Of course after watching the NYC marathon on TV recently doesn’t help! I will definitely be putting my name in the lottery for that race.

So for now, I have to review my training schedule for the Dopey challenge, get my head back in the game and put in some work. Stay tuned!

Dumbo Double Dare Travel Day 1 and Expo

September 8, 2015

I can’t believe this trip was already a week ago. Life was so hectic right up to the trip and then right afterwards. I will be providing you my details of the trip in segments. Today we will begin with the travel day out to California and the Expo.

The trip began with a little bit of frenzy. When my alarm went off at 6:00 I snoozed it. Then when my backup alarm went off at 6:15 I snoozed that. I finally got up at 6:30. I wasn’t motivated to get moving too quickly. I wanted to be around to see Kevin get on the bus and then at least I’d have a few minutes with Adrienne also. I watched the traffic on the news so I was keeping up with any issues on the highway. With the last traffic check I did at 8:05 there was an accident just outside of Hartford! That’s when a little panic set in. I grabbed the
last of my things, kissed Adrienne and my husband and got on the road. Thank God for the Waze app. The traffic was looking OK according to the app. My estimated arrival time was 9:07 and I was leaving my house at 8:20 for a flight at 10:30. I arrived at 9:00 – Perfect.

I parked the car and got on the shuttle. Diana texted me that the line at the counter to check bags was very long. When I arrived, there was no one left! A flight to Chicago had a large amount of people there so they moved them all through. Security had a longer than usual line. It was doing the Disney zig zag rather than the usual straight lanes. But even with that we got through in less than 10 minutes. But of course, BOTH of my carry on bags needed
to be inspected. We were fine though. We had plenty of time to get a tea, use the restroom and chill for a few minutes before getting on the puddle jumper to New Jersey.

It was a quick 1 hour trip to New Jersey and when we arrived, we picked up sandwiches and snacks for lunch since it was close to lunch time and our flight to California was 6 hour flight. We wanted to make sure we had sufficient food with us to keep us fueled up for the flight. The flight ended up taking 5 hours and 30 minutes flight and was a good flight. I got some work done and rested and Diana read her book and rested. When I think back on it, it did go by quite fast.

When we landed we gathered our luggage and used the restroom. I had a moment in the restroom where I heard a woman calling out for help. I was alone in there with another woman and the woman in the stall. So we both walked over to see what was wrong. The woman who needed help had MS. She needed help moving from her motorized scooter toward the toilet so she could go to the bathroom. She did need the help of both of us women in the bathroom to help her move her legs. She had no feeling and mobility in her legs. We helped her and left her to her privacy and then helped her get dressed and move back into her chair again. She was a wonderful woman, whose daughter was going to run the Dumbo Double Dare Races. After she was all set and back into her chair we said our goodbyes and I felt grateful for my health and to appreciate the little things like how easy it is for me to quickly go in and out of a stall to get my business done and rush onto my way.

Diana and I got our rental car and went on with our journey to Disneyland. I took the advice from the man at the rental car check-out counter and we took the back roads to the Disneyland hotel. He said the highway at that time of night was a mess. That didn’t surprise me because that is how it was for me for the past two prior years. So we typed in the address to our phones and started on our way. As usual, it took 45-50 minutes to get to the hotel, when it is usually a 15-20 minute drive. Like in the past, I had to make a few U-turns and then we parked at the Downtown Disney parking lot and walked over to the Disneyland Hotel to go to the expo.

It was around 6 pm and many of the items at the Expo were picked over and there wasn’t as much of a selection left. I purchase an “I Did It” shirt; but it was only for the Disneyland Half Marathon, it wasn’t even for the Dumbo Double Dare. I also picked up a new Coast to Coast shirt. Those are the two items that I always want to grab when I run the Dumbo Double Dare races.

I did have the chance to go to the New Balance booth with no wait time and had the chance to pick up a pair of children sized Donald Sneakers. They didn’t have the exact size I wanted; but I was able to squeeze my foot into a half size smaller and was OK with that. We went downstairs to pick up our bibs, park passes, and coast to coast wrist band. Then we went upstairs to pick up our shirts. As we walked to the car it dawned on me that I had a coast to coast wrist band and Diana didn’t. Good thing I noticed it! We went back to the expo and talked to Runner Relations to get that resolved and she got her wristband.

It was getting late and we were getting hungry. So we dropped our items into the car and grabbed a sweatshirt to bring with us to Disneyland to watch the Electrical Parade and fireworks. Mandy had landed around this time and we were making arrangements to meet up near the gate so we could give them their passes. Diana and I went to Earl of Sandwich to pick up dinner and brought it with us into Disneyland to eat. But being close to the parade time; there was a large crowd on Main Street. I didn’t want to be too far from the gate because I still had to walk out to meet Mandy to give her the park passes.

We finally met up and the parade had started. Unfortunately, it was just too crowded to enjoy the parade. There wasn’t a good place where I could see the floats. But I did my best to take some pictures. We hung out for a little bit at the park and then decided it was time to head back to our hotels because it was getting close to 9:30 (12:30 back home) and I wanted to be asleep by 11:00 PST the latest.

We checked into the hotel, laid out our race materials for the next day and hit the sack around 11:00 p.m. The alarms were set for 4:00 a.m.

Stay tuned for my recap of the Disneyland 10K race recap.

I Completely Stopped In My Tracks Today

August 12, 2015

I went out for my run this morning and it was warmer than I was anticipating it would be. But I was determined to push myself a little harder and work on my speed. I was happy with my first mile’s pace of 11:35 and my last mile’s pace of 11:13. Granted I used to be much, much faster, but that was when all I ran were 5K races.

As I was working towards my next mile my phone chimed that I had a message. My kids were sleeping over my parents’ house so I stopped, paused my watch and checked my phone. It wasn’t the kids. It was a friend of mine filling me in on some news she was waiting for. It wasn’t the news she wanted to hear. After I read the message I just stood there for several minutes. I responded with some encouraging words and offered any help that I could give whenever or however they need it. But I was still stunned. I didn’t expect to hear back so soon and I certainly didn’t expect the news to be what it was. On the bright side they said they are taking the news really well. They were making plans on what the next steps were going to be.

To respect the privacy of the friend and their family I won’t discuss who is going through this difficult time; but it made me miss my kids and want to see them as soon as I can. It also made me stand there and reflect on everything I have to be grateful for. I looked at the blue sky and the cornfields in front of me, felt the sweat dripping down my back and face, and knew that my legs were strong and were going to run be back home.

I also decided at that exact moment that I wanted to recruit my family to participate in the Virtual Give Kids The World Gingerbread 5K run. I discussed it with the kids during dinner tonight. Adrienne remembered that Give Kids The World Village is the place where children who are very sick get to have ice cream for breakfast and are treated to every holiday during their week’s stay at the village. Kevin asked how far it was and gladly accepted the challenge.

I made it a priority to visit the Give Kids the World Village when I was in Disney last February. A few of my Mickey Miler team members and I pooled together some money and I went to Target to purchase some toys and supplies that they Village needs. I felt so honored to be able to bring the items there; but I also felt grateful for all the good I have in my life.

Will you join me in the virtual run? You can register here. If you raise up to $100 you get the great purple shirt sent along with your medal!

I am also a member of the Mickey Milers Team who also raises funds for Give Kids the World. Please feel free to donate with the button on the right side of my blog page.

This past weekend the members of the Mickey Milers Team participated in the Small World Challenge. They raised money and rode the Small World rides on both the West Coast and the East Coast for hours they were sponsored for, or some rode for the entire day from park open to park close. We have a passion for the charity and hope you can help!

Tag: @MickeyMilesPod