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2017 WDW Marathon Weekend Day 3 – Half Marathon….Not

January 23, 2017

While you may not like to see something like this come across your Twitter and Facebook feed the night before the race; it was kind of a sigh of relief for me. I was doing the Dopey Challenge this year; which meant I had to run four races in a row. But it was nice to be given a pass for one of the races.

That didn’t come without a lot of mental struggles, though. I was there to do the Dopey Challenge, but my training wasn’t as good as it has been in the past. I had been dealing with a lot of emotional pain, so my focus wasn’t on the races at the time. I didn’t have as much energy as I usually have so I was worried that I didn’t have it in me to get the job done. But I was also relying on our friend Lyla’s strength and courage to get me through these races.

When we got the word the race was cancelled I was with my son at Splash Mountain. Knowing that I didn’t have to get up at 3:30 the next morning meant that we could spend a little more time in the park. So that was a nice bonus with some extra family time. It also meant that I could enjoy time at the pool and hot tub with the kids after the park before the storms rolled in. And the big bonus was that I could catch up on some sleep the next morning.

I did sleep in, but not extremely late, and then there was the element of all the race chatter and what runDisney was offering as a refund and options all over social medial. People were running mock half marathons all over Disney World. They were at their resorts, the Boardwalk and guests were even setting up water stations for the runners. I felt guilty that I wasn’t getting in my 13.1 miles. But I was trying to justify that I was going to earn those miles as I walked through the parks with my family all week. But then I would think to myself that I always did the parks, as well as the race so I was taking the easy way out and my Dopey Challenge wasn’t truly going to be earned. See the struggle here?

I had to give myself a break. We had a major life event happen to all of us in the family so I needed to let myself take this time to rest. My friend PK was running his first marathon the next day, so I wanted him to have a good experience and I didn’t want my slower speed cause him to not enjoy the race. There were some variables I just wasn’t sure of for the marathon. He hadn’t done the Jeff Galloway method like we do, so I was worried it would bother him.

I finally decided to head out to tackle the traffic and go to the expo around 2:00 and check things out there. I wanted to return my Goofy shirt I purchased, and exchange Kevin’s 5k shirt. So at least I got something accomplished. I shopped the expo quickly, saw my friend Anne and went over to WalMart after sitting in traffic for 30 minutes. I needed to get some warm weather layers for the full marathon.

A men’s XXXXL sweatshirt and a women’s fuzzy zip up and I was ready for the full and the predicted 20 degree weather with windchill.

When I got back to the hotel we cooked chicken tenders for dinner and had cut up veggies and hummus and I went to the hot tub early for a quick soak before heading to bed. I wanted to be in bed by 9:00 and I believe I fell asleep at 9:45, with my alarm set for 3:00 a.m. for the marathon.

Stay tuned for the full marathon recap next!

2017 WDW Marathon Weekend Day 3 – 10K

January 16, 2017

The second race of the Dopey Challenge is the 10K. I set my alarm a little earlier for this race because it starts at 5:30. I was up at 4:00 and had the trouble I had last year with the exit ramp being closed. I ended up driving to Magic Kingdom and back around to World Drive in order to get into Epcot. Once I was able to park I went to the corrals. I arrived in time since I was in Corral E. It was a beautiful morning, temperatures were in the lower 50’s with sunshine anticipated at the finish. I tried to locate Diana and Tami and came across Sid Busch and Nick Takacs. When the corrals were releasing for the start Diana and Tami caught up to me.

It was my first time meeting Tami so we didn’t have a set strategy for our walk/run method for this race. We were just going to wing it. The first three character stops were crowded and we didn’t want to lose time standing in line so we ran past them. The character stops were Scrooge McDuck and Launchpad McQuack. I have yet to get my picture with them. The second one was Lilo and Stitch. The third was Mr. Incredible and Elasta-Girl.

As I was running the course I saw Mike Scopa on the road so I told the girls to go up ahead and I would catch up with them. I chatted with Mike for a while. We walked and ran while talking and catching up. He hadn’t planned to run this race at all, so he scrambled up some running gear and ran the 10K. We talked about what we thought might happen for the half marathon scheduled to run the next day. There was bad weather being forecast for the morning, and especially during the time the volunteers had to start setting up. So there was concern that they may delay the start, cut the course short, or even cancel the race all together. It was good to see Mike and then I ran up ahead to catch back up with Diana and Tami.

We entered Epcot but didn’t stop for characters there either because the lines were also long. Especially the line for Colonial Goofy, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck. In fact, we didn’t stop for any characters along the 10K course. In Morocco was Vacation Genie, on the Boardwalk was Pluto and heading back to the backstage of Epcot was Pooh and Tigger. We did find friends along the way. I ran into Linda Bachand-Jackson just as we were exiting the International Gateway and I walked with her a bit towards ESPN; and then after seeing the Mickey Milers and BOGP cheering squads I found Kimberlee near the Beach Club.

I NEVER get the chance to see Kimberlee when we are in Disney so I took this opportunity to walk with her to the finish. SHe was having issues with her IT band so I told Diana and Tami to go ahead and I walked in the rest of the way with Kimberlee. I figured I would save my legs for the half marathon anyway so I didn’t mind.

Despite not stopping for characters we finished in 1 hour 45 minutes. I think my pace last year was 1 hour 48 minutes. But I was in no hurry. I just wanted to be safe and conserve my energy and my legs for the second half of the race weekend. Little did I know what was going to happen the following day (more on that in a future post).

Diana, Tami and I went to the line for Dopey photos and I was back to our hotel by 9:15. I had to hurry to eat and shower because I was attending the Cigna blogger event that was taking place at Hollywood Studios and needed to be at the Floridian Convention Center for 11:30 a.m.

2016 runDisney Dopey Challenge – Full Marathon

December 30, 2016

This post may seem a little late since the Dopey Challenge for 2017 is just less than a week away; but this post may just get you excited for what you have to look forward to if it is your first Dopey Challenge. If it is not your first Dopey Challenge, then it will help you refresh your memory of the course and picture locations and also get you psyched up for the final race of the challenge.

The full marathon is the final race of the four race challenge. It takes place on Sunday and begins at the early hour of 5:30 a.m. I believe I woke up for this race at 3:00 a.m. and was on the road and entering Epcot just as they were closing the roads for the race at 4:30 a.m. Once I arrived and parked I had to track down my friend Diana so we could meet Mandy at the corrals. Once I located her we walked straight to the corrals with very little wiggle room for hanging around in the corrals before the fireworks were going off and the wheelchair races were being released. I didn’t mind though. It meant less standing around waiting for the race to start. However, I don’t recommend cutting it that close to race start. But this was my second Dopey Challenge and 4th Walt Disney World marathon so I was familiar with the process.

Here is a video recap of the 26.2 miles and the ending of the 48.6 mile challenge.

Are you doing the Dopey Challenge this year? Is it your first time? Let me know if you have any questions!

Running Is My Therapy

December 18, 2016

Sometimes I run because I need to for my training plan. Sometimes I run because I just feel like it. When I run sometimes I laugh. When I run I think. When I run, sometimes I don’t think. I run to solve coding problems in my head. I run when I am frustrated. When I run, sometimes I cry. When I run, sometimes I heal. When I run I realize my blessings. But running is really therapy for me.

I needed to get out for a run this past weekend despite the weather. It snowed on Saturday and it was colder; but I enjoy running during or just after it snows. There is a special peace in the air. I needed to release stress and take a load off of my chest. Feeling the cold air in my lungs and the crunchy snow under my feet was the perfect prescription for me.

Here are pictures from my run over the weekend right after it snowed.

Running Goals for 2016

January 3, 2016

I have several things to talk about for my goals for 2016. But for now I will just give a brief summary of my running goals. Since this week kicks off the official week of the January Walt Disney World marathon events I will give a brief summary of my thoughts of my plans for my races and overall running goals this year.

Something that I began to include in my weekly routine is strength training. Before I started running I used to be very diligent with my weight training. So I want to make Strength training a more important element to my routine.
Next I want to add more JOY to my runs. Last Fall my running became more of a chore than my enjoyable time to myself. I was dreading my long runs. After Labor Day weekend I didn’t want to put in the time for the Marine Corps Marathon and once that race was done I didn’t want to put in the time for my Dopey training. But after listening to Dimity at the Girls Night Out event I really wanted my running time to be my play time again. So this year after my Dopey Challenge race is over I will determine what races I want to run this year and if I want to improve my finish times or my quality of my training runs.

I noticed that many of my runner friends also felt some burnout this past year. It seems that we have all participated in the same amount of runDisney races so we are at the same “mature” running age of participating in races. When you travel to these races and do as many as them plus local races it takes a toll on you. So I think we all felt like we were overbooked. Something I will think about for next Fall. It’s hard to train for a Fall marathon because the long runs do begin in the late summer and it is still very hot.

With that in mind I have to ponder the decision to re apply for the lottery for the Marine Corps Marathon to redeem myself at that race and I also want to enter the lottery for the NYC marathon. That marathon has been on my radar for many years.

So as I prepare for my second Dopey challenge and have these 48.6 miles ahead of me I will wait to decide what the rest of my 2016 racing season will look like and enjoy all 48.6 miles. The first 3.1 miles will be with my mom for her first runDisney 5K. The next 6.2 miles will be with my friend for 20+ years PK and his daughter who now live in North Carolina. And I will finish off the half marathon with Diana and Mandy will be joining us for the full marathon. And I want to enjoy every single one of those miles!!

Today I Needed A Reset

June 10, 2015

Do you ever feel guilty or overwhelmed because you weren’t doing the things you want? Hello? Isn’t that pretty much all of us 99% of the time? Well something happens in June where all of a sudden the calendar has something set on 6 out of 7 days of the week. And the one day you don’t have plans it’s time to catch up on what you had to ignore while being out busy all the time. Or at least that is how it has been for me this month.

I feel like since we landed after vacation we haven’t stopped. Birthdays, baseball games, races, work and life. It’s all good stuff but I feel like I haven’t been able to balance it all lately. And what I have been doing is hit the snooze button. But I keep justifying it in my brain by saying that I need the extra sleep because I am so busy.

Well today I felt like it was starting to crush down on me. I set my alarm for earlier but didn’t follow through on it. I did the treadmill instead but all day I knew I was going to hit my roads for some therapy. I took a walk during a work break as well to get some fresh air. But when I got up today I had a headache and neck ache and my body was telling me I needed my therapy. I had been missing it. It was time to get back to it. And despite getting home around 6 I changed and hit the road. And it felt so good. There was a pretty bird just sitting on the side of the road. I just had to stop in my tracks and take its picture. It wasn’t moving at all. I just sat there. But it wasn’t there on my way back. I think it was telling me to take my time and enjoy all of the nature out there. It was very warm out and I was drenched in sweat but it never felt better. There was a fragrance of flowers in the air. There was a light breeze. The sun was warm but the shade was cool. I hit my reset button. I even did some cadence drills while I was out there. Now I have to continue that momentum.

First Dopey Consecutive Training Runs

September 25, 2014

This week Jeff Galloway had a 4 day consecutive training run on my schedule. I had to do a 3 mile, 4 mile, 6 mile and 20 mile run. Thankfully for me, I am off of work (between jobs) this week, so I had the time to get in these runs. I am also fortunate that my husband is home so I could do these runs early in the morning. I chose to do them early in the morning because I always feel better when I begin my day with a run. It makes me feel more energetic and I also don’t have to worry about trying to fit it in later in the day. I went out each day at around 6:40 a.m. The sun rises late now so I wait till after 6:30 to head out. The weather this week was so comfortable for running early in the day. The scenery was so beautiful as well! Here are a few pictures from my second run day (the 4 mile day).

My doggie friend who sometimes joins me for a little bit of the run. He wasn’t in the mood to run with me. He ran away instead.

The fog was slowly melting away as the sun was rising and warming the air.

I have been battling a problem with my shin due to my orthotics being 4 years old. When I first started running I thought I had severe shin splints. I stopped running for several weeks, tried calf sleeves and finally gave in and used my custom orthotics. Come to find out that was the answer to my problem. But recently that pain was coming back, so I went to my chiropractor and we decided it was time for a new pair to be made. I put a lot of miles on mine and I am hoping this will solve my problem. I also ordered new sneakers, so I am hoping I can make it all correct again. So during the week I have been careful to ice my leg often during the day. Tylenol made a big difference after my run and I wore KT tape and calf sleeves during my run. After taking Tylenol the pain was gone for several hours. I was told by my coach, Jeff Galloway, to walk all of my runs for this training assignment. I started my runs by walking to warm my body up and I would see how I felt and make my determination on whether or not I could handle the runs. Thankfully after I warmed up I was ok to run. I actually felt better the longer into my run and also when I ran longer intervals. Each day I started the run the same way, a long warm up walk and then gently ease into running. I used 30/30 intervals. After the first 3 miles the pain was pretty much gone. Seems like once the muscles warmed up the pain would go away. As the week went on I was looking forward to my morning shorter runs, but the 20 mile run was on my mind. I was beginning to dread it. I saw on the Mickey Milers page that people were talking about the latest episode from MIke and Michelle about running feeling like a job. I was looking forward to listening to that episode. I loaded it to my podcast and it was the first thing I listened to as I started my run today. I was feeling the exact same way as Michelle. I enjoy running, but preparing for Dopey was difficult for me. I could handle the short runs. I was nervous about the long run. I was mostly nervous because of my shin/arch problem. I gained confidence that I could do 4 consecutive runs with the last run being the marathon, but I am feeling scared about the Goofy portion of the Dopey Challenge. I did the 6 mile with the 20 mile run the following day and ran all 4 days. My body held up for it. So I know I can do it. During January the races will be with friends in Disney with photo ops and I won’t be running the races for time. I’ll be running them to finish and to enjoy myself. So this gives me confidence. I just need to get my leg back to normal and keep healthy for the rest of my training. For the 20 mile run I walked the first 2 miles to warm up. Then I began to add some running with 15/30 intervals. I did well for the next 8 miles. By mile 10 I didn’t feel anything with my left leg. I was also relieved that I only had 10 miles left. It was supposed to be a very rainy day (Nor’easter storm forecasted), but the rain held off for the first 7 miles into my run. When it did begin to rain it wasn’t bad. It was a gentle rain that was very peaceful. I continued with my 15/30 intervals through mile 13, then I started to walk some more. I decided to change part of my route so that my husband could meet up with me with water and pretzels. I met him at mile 15 and took a 10 minute break to have some water. I didn’t need a lot of water and fuel on this run. It wasn’t hot so I didn’t go through my fluid quickly. I also didn’t use Nuun on this run. I just used water, gummy bears and pretzels. By mile 17 I was walking a lot. Then at mile 18 I was able to put in some more running until I got to my street. I had to burn the last mile by running in my driveway and up my street a little bit so I could earn that last mile. I didn’t want to cut my run short. I am happy that I got it done. I had no expectations on the finish time that I wanted, and am feeling good. Just a little tired from being so busy all week and running 4 days in a row with a long run. In my mind I am accepting that I can do the Dopey challenge. It may not be pretty but I know that I can get it done. The key will be RESTING each day after the race and taking naps. Here are some pictures from my 6 mile run. It was another beautiful fall morning. I stopped to savor the peaceful morning and to embrace the alone time I had. How can you beat views like this to begin your day?!

Running Out of Depression

August 12, 2014

Well since the topic of depression is now coming out due to the death of Robin Williams I’d like to talk about how running has helped me. I talked about my illness of kidney vasculitis in my post “Everyone Has A Story – My Story”. I was feeling depressed when I was going through the onset of my illness and the time that I went with unanswered questions. At that time I began running. It was only on my treadmill at home, but it was something that I began to do and it helped me.

I needed to move my body and push it to limits that I never did before. I used to hate running. But once I started, I began to love it. I didn’t want to feel like the illness was going to take over my life and my moods. It was a very difficult time for me, but running did help.

After my second child Adrienne was born, I had a lot of hormonal issues where I was crying a lot. I felt overwhelmed having a 16-month old ACTIVE little boy and a newborn who was having trouble nursing. For my six week check up I just sat in the doctor’s office crying. The doctor looked at my husband who just didn’t know what to say. It happens, new moms sometimes cry a lot. But I really had a hard time. After that appointment I needed help. My mom came over after just having had shoulder surgery not long before and wasn’t really allowed to drive. She watched my daughter for me so I could go take a walk. At that point I wasn’t running because I was still postpartum. But I NEEDED to move my body and get those endorphins flowing. It helped to walk. Eventually that difficult time got easier for me and I got into running much more when the time allowed.

Running isn’t the answer for severe depression, doctors and perhaps medication are required, but getting active and moving your body while releasing endorphins is very helpful to me. I have been through very tough times in my life where I felt blue or in a funk and after a good run, it has helped me come back and feel a bit more hopeful. But like I said, it’s not the only answer to dealing with depression. If you feel you are anxious or depressed, talk to a doctor and let them know what you are feeling. I did and it was a very smart decision for me. Don’t be afraid. It doesn’t mean you are weak or incompetent or lessen your intelligence. It will actually make you more clear, focused and balanced. Your brain is a very complex cocktail of chemicals and if some of those chemicals get out of whack you need to help put them back where they belong so you can do the things you used to do.

Running When It Is Humid

June 17, 2014

This is the time of year now when I have to be smart when I am running. I have made mistakes that were costly and ended up requiring physical therapy because I got cramped up in the heat. I also learned about dehydration when I was a beginner and was pushing too hard in the heat to the point where I was seeing tunnel vision and stars in my eyes during my run (usually uphill). I saw a doctor for it and they told me I was dehydrated when I ran and pushing too hard for the conditions. I need to invest time at home for 30 minutes a day to do the simple exercises to prevent injuries and strengthen my core muscles and my glutes and hips. This is especially important during this time of year because it doesn’t matter how much I drink, I still lose a lot of water during the hot runs. However I prefer to spend 30 minutes getting on a good sweat instead, therefore I get injured.

Running in the heat is one thing. Running when it is very humid is another. The humidity is more taxing on the body because of the higher moisture content in the air, making it feel hotter. When you are running on a very humid day, the moisture that your body produces to help cool your body off doesn’t evaporate so the heat never leaves body. This is dangerous.

I noticed that after running the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon two weeks ago that I felt flush all throughout the afternoon and evening after the race. That is because body was heated up and couldn’t cool off with the hot and humid weather. I also had a headache that afternoon and I think that was because despite having water and Nuun with me and taking water on the race course, I was dehydrated.

So what do you do when you need to get in a run and you don’t want to use the treadmill? Find a shady course to run on. Try to run early in the morning. Run along the water where there is typically a breeze, and take walk breaks. You also shouldn’t try to get your best race pace during these conditions. Train to run in these conditions, but don’t expect to be at your peak performance. When the temps heat up, your heart beat also increases by 10 to 20 beats per minute. That’s going to cause you to work even harder.

Jeff Galloway says when it gets hot out to slow your pace down by 30 seconds/mile for every 5 degrees above 60F. That’s a lot to slow down. But he is totally right. If you don’t slow down in the beginning you are certain to be slower at the end because your body just won’t be able to cool off and you won’t be running at your best. He says:

For every second you run too fast during the first half of a race on a hot day, expect to run 10 seconds slower at the end.

How do you know if you are getting heat exhaustion? These are the signs to look out for:

Fatigue
Nausea
Dizziness
Headache
Tingly Skin
Confusion

If you feel any of these symptoms, end your run and/or walk home. It’s not worth the risk. If you do feel these symptoms coming on, get into the shade, pour cold water onto your head, and if possible put ice on your neck. Lay down and elevate your feet.

You can work towards the ability to run in this heat by taking it slow and in small increments. Being from the East Coast, I really only have these conditions to run in for about 4 months out of the year. I usually don’t do races in the summer and the last time I did it was my first injury that required PT. So I have learned what to look out for.

How Do You Know When It Is Time To Replace Your Sneakers?

June 11, 2014

Typically for me, I need to replace my sneakers anywhere between 250 – 350 miles. I try to keep a date in my sports software like Endomondo or Gamin. But sometimes my sneakers tell me it is time to replace them. When they are getting old, I sometimes feel it in my knees, shins or calves. Lately I was having calf cramps and then realized I think it was time to replace my sneakers Taking a look at the bottom of my sneakers also tells me when/if it is time for a new pair. When you get a new pair of sneakers, Nike in my case, they have little knobs on the bottom tread. Those begin to wear down with use. As you can see, the pair on the left have some good wear on them. They have about 275 miles on them. It’s never a good idea to try something new on race day, but I knew that breaking in a new pair of shoes isn’t an issue for me, especially when I am wearing the same brand, so I used my new pair for the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon on Sunday and got a PR (for a hilly half marathon – a category of my own I made up!) I won’t say it was because of the shoes, but they do help! How do you know when it is time to get a new pair of sneakers?

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Tag: running