WDW Goofy Challenge: Slow and Steady Finishes the Race (Part 3)

There are so many reasons why this marathon should have gone horribly wrong:

1)  I ran a half marathon the day before, and therefore was already functioning on tired legs.
2)  It was HOT and HUMID, and would only get progressively worse as the race stretched on.  In fact, in all 20 years this race has existed, we set the record high temperature for marathon weekend.
3)  I was scared, which left me wondering what my mental state would be during the race.
4)  My body had no idea what time is was anymore.  After a red-eye flight to a time zone that was 3 hours ahead of my own and then waking up at 2 AM two days in a row, plus a few quick naps, my internal time clock was completely out of whack.
5)  I had had a little over 8 hours of sleep over the past 2 nights combined.  This is not a lot when you have to round out your weekend at 39.3 miles.
6)  My running buddy Erica woke up marathon morning with a fever and therefore was certainly not feeling at the top of her game--though she did still decide to power through the race.
7)  I had eaten nothing close to what resembled my normal diet in the previous 3 days.  Which may have been a contributing factor in (warning: TMI) my seeming inability to perform necessary pre-marathon bathroom functions before the race.  It just didn't happen.
8)  The minor hip problem I'd developed on my end of December treadmill runs sprung it's ugly head during the half.  Which meant that more than likely it would return full force for the full too.
9)  The no-so-fun cough I'd had for about 2 weeks was persisting.  (Again, TMI warning).  I didn't feel sick and my throat didn't hurt, but every few minutes to a half hour I'd encounter a coughing fit where some pretty disgusting green stuff emerged from somewhere deep in my lungs.

I'm sure there were more reasons why this day should not have worked.  But I think those listed above suffice to prove a point.  The entity of being that is the marathon will never cease to surprise you.  The marathon has a mind of it's own.  It lays out a plan for you that you could never predict until the day of the race.  It keeps you guessing, keeps you working, and keeps you alive.  And then when you cross the finish line, you can't help but simply wonder, "Why?"  Whether good or bad, the question that always remains is, "Why?"

The Marathon

For those interested in a visual aid as I describe the progression of this marathon through Disney World, here's a course map:

Click this link for the full PDF zoom-in/zoom-out version.

Sunday morning, as our 2 AM alarms went off again, we Goofy racers experienced a surreal form of deja vu. However, this wasn't actually deja vu, because all of it really had happened just a mere 24 hours ago.  I woke up, got dressed, ate my yogurt and granola, packed my gear check bag, and met the team in the lobby at 3 AM.

Minor differences in this picture from yesterday: t-shirt
instead of tank, super attractive water belt in place, hat
instead of Minnie Mouse sweaty band, and black instead
of dark grey capris.

We loaded the same shuttles as the day before.  Got dropped off for the same 5 minute walk to gear check.  Parked ourselves in the same area near the same Toy Story toy soldier enthusiastically directing traffic.

More sitting and less dancing.  Except Nadine, who "claimed" there wouldn't
be nearly as much race course dancing on this day.

The transition from this parking spot, through gear check, and the 20 minute walk to the race start went a little smoother on marathon morning.  Instead of pushing everyone through to wait on the other side, they tried to call one or two corrals at a time to head towards the start.  There was no penned in wait between the bag check and port a potties.

After the walk, once we made it to our corral, this is where things seemed to feel suddenly, drastically different.  This is the first start line I've ever been to where all 30,000 people were staring down the neck of 26.2 miles.  In all other races (where halves and fulls run on the same day) only a quarter to a third of the start line racers are doing a full.  You can pick them out in the crowd.  They're the quieter ones, the more subdued, more focused ones.  The day before for the half, people were standing, excited, enthusiastic, and energetic.  But today, everyone in the corrals was sitting.  Quiet.  Subdued.  Focused.

I should have taken a picture of the sea of sitting marathoners.  But my mind was elsewhere.

And oddly, even the Disney event planners made the start more subdued.  Instead of blasting fun music, they had people up on stage interviewing race organizers, event planners, celebrity runners (Joey Fatone did the Goofy Challenge), etc.  It was like listening to boring talk radio.  No music was played until just a couple minutes before the start.  Poor planning Disney, we need to be pumped up.  Not put back to sleep.

Eventually we were all directed to stand up so that everyone could fit into corrals.  And then they started the race.  For the marathon, Mickey did the count downs.  Corral A left with their fireworks to start us off.  Then Corral B.  More fireworks.  And then it was us.  MacKenzie, Erica, and I took off from the start line quietly, expecting a not very fun few hours ahead of us.

As we left the start line and ran our way through the first 3 miles back to Magic Kingdom, I still wasn't excited.  I could already feel my tired legs.  I began to dread that wall that I knew I would hit.  Probably earlier in this marathon than others in the past.  And while it was exciting to be running through Magic Kingdom again, I had done it already yesterday.  It was old hat.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, Erica had woken up with a fever and horrible headache, popped some ibuprofen and pushed herself to the start line.  Now she had a marathon to run too.  We made a quick bathroom stop just as we entered Magic Kingdom at mile 4 (they had opened the public bathrooms, so there were real flushing toilets!) and bumped into MacKenzie again on the way out as she waited in the bathroom line.  We had lost her somewhere in those few miles.  

We also leap frogged with 2 teammates, Regan and Stephanie, between miles 4 and 5.  Passing them, then stopping for the bathroom, passing them, then stopping to take pictures in front of Cinderella Castle, then passing them again.  It was great to see them so many times.  We also saw Coach Nadine, who was stationed around mile 4.  She ran with us for a bit, then said goodbye and hopefully she'd see us again around mile 24, but she wasn't sure she'd make it there in time for us.

Miles 6, 7, and 8 were the same stretch of highway as the day before, until we got to the Richard Petty Driving Experience Speedway.  This is where my mood started to pick up a bit.  As we ran through the race track, people had driven their old relic cars and lined them up all along the outer edges of the track.  They stood next to their awesome looking cars and cheered us as we ran by.  Towards the end, we even spotted this guy:

Lightning McQueen!  He had his friend Mater with him too.

After leaving the Speedway, we faced our longest stretch of highway between miles 9 and 12 as we headed towards Animal Kingdom.  One thing I have to commend Disney for in this race: there was never a moment where I felt bored.  They had entertainment crawling all over every inch of this course; from characters to comedians to DJ's to volunteers whose only job was to simply cheer us enthusiastically on.  And there was certainly no lack of enthusiasm on this course.

As Erica and I continued toward the halfway point, I tried to keep us on track with eating a GU every 40 minutes.  I also supplemented with Sport Beans in between my GUs.  We stopped at almost every water stop as the day grew hotter and stickier.  By mile 13, I was grabbing both a cup of Powerade and a cup of water at every water stop (basically every mile).  We tried to keep our pace above 9:30 and walk all the water stops.  Aside from constant pain throughout both my legs and an aching left knee between miles 2 and 7 (I think I was overcompensating for the hip), I felt great.  My breathing was smooth and easy and my energy seemed endless.

Erica, on the other hand, wasn't doing quite so well.  She was struggling to breathe and talk.  But we continued to run, sometimes in silence, sometimes with me talking at her.  We ran into Coach Siri as we entered the Animal Kingdom and got another little boost from seeing someone we knew.

I don't remember a lot about going through the Animal Kingdom other than seeing the Tree of Life, Mount Everest, and a few fun characters.  We weren't stopping for character pictures in the marathon, but I couldn't help but stop and take a picture of the Tree of Life.

This thing was huge and gorgeous.  I'd love to go back
to see it again when I'm not halfway through a marathon.

After we left Animal Kingdom, the next stop was the ESPN Sports Complex for miles 17-20.  On the way there we saw Coach Kelly, and Erica seemed to be feeling miserable at this point.  We ran with Kelly for a bit and then a mile or 2 later stopped at a med tent so Erica could take some Tylenol (the medics at the med tents were handing this stuff out like candy).  I also decided to take 2 more Aleve--I had taken 2 before the race to stave off hip pain, but it had worn off.

Then we entered the Sports Complex.  This was by far my least favorite part of the course.  Just look at the winding mess they sent us through: 

Turn here, then turn here, then around the track, then around the
corner, then turn again...blah blah blah.  All the while it feels like
you're running around the fields of a very wealthy high school.

Despite my dislike for this part of the course, these 3 miles were probably the most eventful of the entire race for Erica and I.  Here's a summary:

• About a half mile in, Erica started coughing, couldn't catch her breath, and then started hyperventilating.  We pulled over to the side, and while I watched her trying to catch her breath, I ran through all my old First Aid/CPR training of what to do in this situation.  I don't think there was ever a scenario that started with "When you're in the middle of a marathon and you're running partner starts hyperventilating because she's running a marathon with a fever..."  Luckily, she recovered and on we ran.
• Not too long after that, my hip, which had been hurting for about 10 or so miles, suddenly seized up to the point that I was limp-running and limp-walking through water stops.  Once again Erica and I pulled to the side.  I tried to stretch it, but couldn't get to whatever was seized, so Erica offered to dig her elbow into my hip (a trick learned from Coach Shelby whose solution to all injuries is to dig it out).  Only in a marathon would people run by two girls standing on the side of the road, one digging her elbow as hard as possible into the hip joint of the other and not think once about it.
• Erica's impromptu elbow digging worked for about a mile, but then my hip seized up again.  Finally, we stopped at a med tent, where I proceed to stand in full view of other runners, stick my hand down my pants, and rub BioFreeze (similar to Icy Hot) all over my hip.  Again, no one looked twice.  The BioFreeze succeeded in numbing my hip for the rest of the race.
• I knew my parents were going to be waiting for us somewhere around mile 20.  They surprised us when we saw them in a crowd around mile 18.5.  We stopped, hugged, took a couple pictures, and smiled huge smiles.  I had expected to be exhausted, in a fog, and in a wall by the time I saw my parents.  But I wasn't.  And seeing them made me think I could actually make it to the end.  It was just the boost I needed to get over all the pain I was feeling in my legs and feet.  They'd be waiting for me at the finish line too.  I simply had to get there.
• Somewhere in mile 20 as we ran through the baseball stadium was Disney's "Mile 20 Spectacular" for the 20th anniversary of the race.  I was not impressed.  
• Finally, we hit the actual mile 20, left the Sports Complex, and went merrily on our way.

6 more miles to go.  In past marathons I had hit my wall as early as mile 18 and as late as mile 23.  I knew I was in the range.  I knew it had to be coming.  It was simply a matter of time.

WDW Goofy Challenge: Slow and Steady Finishes the Race (Part 2)

TNT WA/AK Chapter at Inspiration Dinner, ready to take on Disney

A Short Poem

(Inspired by Disney magic)

Twas the night before Goofy and all through Disney World

Team in Training runners were stirring, awake in their beds

Clothing was dressed on chairs with care

In hopes that race day would not too soon be there.

The racers were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of finish lines danced in their heads

And me in my hotel room, with the covers pulled tight

Was trying to get at least a little sleep that night.

The Half Marathon

By the time I had my purple shirt decorated and had all of my race gear arranged for the morning, it was about 9:30 when I fell asleep on Friday night.  This allowed me just about 4.5 hours of sleep before the half marathon.

Yes, if you do the math on that one, this means that my alarm went off at 2:00 AM.  Never in my life would I have ever imagined that I'd be setting an alarm for this time in the middle of the night to get up and go running.  Really far.  And then, just to rub it in a little deeper, as I was putting on my Nike+ GPS watch about 30 minutes later, I glanced down at the time (which was still set for PST) and it read 11:36 PM.

That's right...as I was crawling out of bed, putting on running clothes, and eating my yogurt and granola, the west coast was just falling asleep.  I received a good luck message from Ironman Jason, which I'm guessing he sent just before falling asleep.

Nonetheless, I was up, I was awake, and I was ready.  At least, as ready as I was going to be.  MacKenzie and I were rooming together and we walked down to the hotel lobby to meet our teammates at 3:00.  The hotel lobby was filled with TNT runners who were all staying in the hotel.

All dressed up and ready to go. Totally loving my new
Team Sparkle shirt.

Erica and I had talked the day before and decided to leave our water belts behind for the half.  This was kind of a big deal, because aside from my first half marathon, I haven't run a half without it.  But Erica and I had a plan for this race, and with what we were thinking we both figured we didn't really need our belts.

The plan was simple:  Go slow.  Aim for a 2:30 half.  Take lots of pictures.  Have fun.

And I may be spoiling the ending for you here, but that is exactly what we did.

Before we could start enacting our plan, however, we had to get to the start line.  This proved to be more of a process than anyone had anticipated.  First, we had to wait in line for a shuttle bus (ahem...motorcoach) to take us from the Coronado Springs Resort to Epcot.

3:00 AM, yet comfortably warm enough to be standing
outside in tanks and t-shirts.

In fact, it was colder on the bus.  That's when Erica and I
pulled out out mylar blankets saved from previous races.

Once we got to Epcot, we had about a 5 minute walk to get from the bus drop off point to the finish line/bag check area.  Our local WA/AK crew parked ourselves in a spot near the bag check to wait things out until it was closer to start time.

We happened to sit down right next to a toy soldier character from Toy Story, who was loudly directing/entertaining the crowds.  We also noticed a guy nearby who was getting dressed in full fireman turnout gear (including the huge air tank on his back).  After speaking with him, we found out that he intended to run the Goofy Challenge in full gear.  With the heat that was expected on both days, I found this absolutely unbelievable.  And incredible.

And of all the ladies couldn't resist the fireman photo op.

After hanging around for a while, our fearless, enthusiastic coaches directed us towards the start line and told us that they'd see us out there on the course.

Fearless, enthusiastic, dancing coaches.  Even at 4 AM.

After we were funneled through the bag check lines, things seemed to come to a standstill on the other side.  A few thousand runners seemed to be penned in by the bag check tent on one side and lines of port-a-potties on the other.  As MacKenzie, Erica, Annemarie, and I kept getting penned deeper in, word spread through the crowd that they hadn't opened the gates to head to the start line.  It felt like we were sheep being led off to slaughter.  Interminably waiting.

See the one tiny exit area in between the endless banks of port-a-potties.
Eventually they funneled 30,000 people through there.

When they finally opened whatever gates were holding us back, it was a slow and also seemingly endless walk to actually get to our start line corrals.  The race directions had told us to expect a 20 minute walk to the start line.  About a mile.  We were already running 13, why not tack another one on there?

Slowly but steadily, MacKenzie, Erica, Annemarie and I made it into our corral.  And then there was more waiting.  There were 8 corrals total (each corral starts one after the other so that there isn't a mass start where 30,000 people start running all at once), and we somehow ended up in the 3rd, even though we had been aiming for the second.  The start line was pretty energetic with lots of people crowded together, music blaring, big screen TVs showing what was happening up at the front of the corrals.

Disney put together a pretty good start line celebration for the half marathon.  As each corral was started, Donald Duck, flanked by Goofy and Mickey on either side, counted down to release the crowds.  They set off fireworks for each corral start.

Donald, Mickey and a hidden Goofy waving from the start
line state in their track suits.

What was even cooler though was as we passed by the stage, MacKenzie spotted Drew Carey who happened to be standing below the stage.  She screamed "Go Sounders!!" at him and then we all crowded to the barricades as he came over to say hi to the Sounders fans.  And, not to name drop or anything, but this was after I spotted Freddy Montero on Wednesday night a couple people ahead of Erica and I in the airport security line.

Yeah, I shook is hand.  NBD.

MacKenzie, Erica, Annemarie and I all started together.  Annemarie took off pretty quickly ahead of us.  MacKenzie stayed with us for the first 2 or 3 miles until we stopped to take the first picture.  And from that first picture is where all the fun began.  This half marathon was the most fun I've ever had in a half.  I wasn't stressed about running fast or PRs or bathroom stops.  I wasn't stressed about finishing strong or giving it my all.  My only goals were to run slow and have fun.

And through this photo montage, I will show you just how much fun Erica and I had in our Disney World Half Marathon:

Pirates of the Caribbean.  This first stop was where we lost MacKenzie.

A girl saw us trying to take pictures, and said "I'll take yours
if you take mine."

Entering Magic Kingdom ~3 miles in (after a bathroom
stop)

Cinderella's Castle lit up in the back.  SO COOL to run
through Magic Kingdom in the dark.

First characters we deemed important enough to stop for.
Alice and the Queen of Hearts!

And then things got exciting...

OMG THE LITTLE MERMAID!! Favorite Disney Character!  And she thought
I was dressed up as Ariel.  Several other characters (including Cinderella)
thought this throughout race.  It was totally unintentional, but I'll take it!

Beauty and the Beast! I think the Beast was one of the few
characters that was actually taller than me.

We spotted royal Donald and Daisy as we entered Cinderella's Castle, but
didn't stop to wait in line.  The runner in the pic seems to be dressed as
Cruella DeVille though, which is an interesting juxtaposition.

We encountered Cinderella and Prince Charming while the sun was rising
as we left Magic Kingdom.

In the half, after you left Magic Kingdom, all you had was a long stretch of highway until you got back to Epcot for the finish.  Disney did a pretty good job of keeping us entertained along this long stretch, but it was a skinny road and very crowded.  Erica and I did a lot of weaving in and out of people to keep a comfortable pace.

Things I thought about in this stretch:

1)  It's really crowded.

2)  It's really flat in Florida.

3)  Those characters must be really hot in those costumes.

4)  They must have to wash those costumes very thoroughly after all the characters have hugged sweaty runners in both these races.  Or just throw them away.

5)  I'm running a half marathon right now.

6)  I HAVE TO RUN A FULL MARATHON TOMORROW.

But I didn't let any of this lower my spirits, because out on those roads, the pictures continued.

Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins!  If Ariel is my absolute favorite Disney
character, Mary Poppins is a close 2nd.  She even had a British accent.  And
the angry penguin is literally elbowing me in order to be in the picture.

This is not a Disney character.  This is Coach Kelly.  Which is just as exciting.

Somewhere after seeing Coach Kelly, we also saw Coach Siri but somehow managed to miss taking a picture with her.  This is sad.

Lilo and Stitch were somewhere along this stretch.  Not sure of the exact
order.  Still haven't seen this movie, but lots of people seem to love them.
They're very short.

Coach Nadine!!  Again, not a Disney character.  Again, just as exciting.
Especially because we got to see more dance moves.

Then a few more miles, a few more random pictures, and just like that we found ourselves back at Epcot.

Inadvertently picking up the pace as we neared the finish
line.

Then it was over.  The excitement, the fun, the merriment.  Erica and I hooked elbows and proceeded to skip across the finish line.  Wizard of Oz style.  Even though that's technically not Disney.  And remember that slow goal time we had?

I think that's as pretty close as it gets to nailing it on the head.  Net Time of 2:29:12.  Almost 40 minutes slower than
my PR, and I couldn't care less.

And waiting at the finish line were Mom and Dad.  They saw us just before we crossed.  This is the first time they were ever there to cheer for me.  The first time I ever picked them out of the crowds in the finish line chute.  The best way to cap off a great race.

And they got both Erica and I Mickey roses, which they handed to us after the finish.

Poor wilted Mickey rose a couple of days later in the
hotel room.

After the race, we got our Donald medals, checked in at the TNT tent, and then headed back to the hotel.  I iced bathed and then proceeded to lounge/nap by the pool for a couple hours.  Because it was 80 degrees out.  And sunny.  I ate lunch with Erica and my parents and then went back to the hotel for another nap.

I woke up around 3:00, and met my parents to head to Downtown Disney to wander through stores for a bit.  We put our name on a list at a pasta restaurant called Portabello, anticipating the 1.5 hour wait they told us it would be.

Mom and dad got drinks at a margarita bar while we were waiting.  I did not.
This is highly unusual because I am usually the one with the drink and they
are not.

A couple of teammates met us at the restaurant to carb load for the next day.  Again, none of us got drinks, but mom and dad did.  Again, highly unusual.  But it was an unusual kind of weekend.

We of course had one more photo to take.

Pleasure Island, how could we not stop for a picture?

And then it was back to the hotel.  Back to bed.  Back to tossing and turning all over again.  Back to this:

A Short Poem

(Inspired by Disney magic)

Twas the night before Goofy and all through Disney World

Team in Training runners were stirring, awake in their beds

Clothing was dressed on chairs with care

In hopes that race day would not too soon be there.

The racers were nestled all snug in their beds

While visions of finish lines danced in their heads

And me in my hotel room, with the covers pulled tight

Was trying to get at least a little sleep that night.

Because tomorrow I had to do it all over again.  And run twice as far.

WDW Goofy Challenge: Slow and Steady Finishes the Race (Part 1)

T-shirt courtesy of Mom and Dad (the best marathon cheer squad ever).

Yep, seemingly to no one's surprise, I made it across both finish lines of the Goofy Challenge this weekend  at Walt Disney World.  I ran 39.3 (or, according to my watch, more like 40) miles in 2 days.  

Bling.

I earned my 3 shirts, my 3 awesome medals, and did it all with my Team in Training teammates.

And as a forewarning, I'm pretty sure this'll be a 3-parter.  There's no way I could even attempt to fit all the awesome occurrences of the past weekend into a single post.  But I'll try my best to limit it to 3.

To start off though, here's a short summary of the major things I learned from running the Goofy Challenge:

1)  Disney World is magical.

2)  My body is capable of doing just about anything I ask of it...as long as I ask nicely.

3)  It is possible to run a marathon without hitting the wall.

4)  It is not possible to run a back to back half and full marathon without the support of family, friends, teammates, and coaches.

5)  Running slow is fun and stress free.

This race (or should I say, these races?) was the most fun I have ever had in a race.  I should have expected Disney to put on a good show, but I guess I wasn't prepared for what they could really accomplish.  Or what I could really accomplish.

But, as with any good story, we must start at the beginning...

Wednesday Night

I was on the Team in Training team flight that took off at 10:30 Wednesday night in the general direction of Florida.  This was after only 3 days back at school from Winter Break...3 days full of re-training the kids, writing extensive sub plans, and packing.  In fact, I kept my brain so fully occupied that I never got the chance to let it sink in that I was going to Disney World.  That I was going to run 39.3 miles.

Even as Erica, MacKenzie, and I sat chit-chatting on the plane before we passed out for the duration of the flight, it hadn't hit me.  I didn't quite get what I was doing.

Don't we look energized and ready to go?

It didn't hit me on the flight.  It didn't hit me as the plane touched down.  It didn't hit me in the Orlando airport.  The first moment that it hit me was when I stepped outside of the airport into upper 70s weather and a wave of humidity.  And all of a sudden I thought, Uh oh, this can't be good.  I have to run through this blanket of humidity and heat.  Twice.  Crap, crap, crap.

Thursday

But I ignored my nagging worries as we took the "Magical Disney Express" bus (ahem...motorcoach) transport to the Coronado Springs Resort Hotel, which was right in Disney World.  We arrived at the hotel around 11 AM.  This place was massive.  We got lost between buildings trying to find our rooms after we checked in.  But we got things settled and then headed straight the marathon expo.

To get to the expo, we had to hop onto another motorcoach that took us straight to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World.  First we got our numbers.

6 Goofy runners.  Me oh my.

Then we headed to the vendors, which were housed in an entire different building.  I found my name on the very Nike-ish wall that displayed the names of everyone running the race.

See me in the middle there?

We browsed around and I managed to buy myself a running hat with the Goofy logo on it and a car magnet that said 39.3 (as opposed to 13.1 or 26.2).  We saw a big wall with a picture of the medal and of course had to take another picture.

All of us were silently crossing our fingers that we'd actually earn this medal.

And then after wandering around for a while, we tiredly dragged ourselves back to the hotel to eat the crappy resort food (my only big complaint about this place--2 restaurants, one overpriced and the other just plain horrible--and no where else to go unless you wanted to get on a bus and go to a busy Disney area to pay lots more money).  

And then after a long night of flying and day of wandering through the expo, we all crashed into bed to get our last full night of sleep for the next couple of days.

Friday

Re-energized after a full night's sleep, we decided to get up and take on the Magic Kingdom for a few hours.

It's magical!!

Thanks to Dorothy's diligent Facebook check-ins, I have a nice list of all the rides we were able to experience.

1) First, a tour though the Magic Kingdom town.

It's me...in the Magic Kingdom!

2)  Photo op in front of Cinderella Castle

Disney World is the only place where it's totally OK for adults to walk
around unquestionably wearing Mickey ears.

Just as magical as you always imagined it to be.  I ran through the arch in the
castle twice during the weekend.

3) A ride through Space Mountain.  No picture here.  But it was a pretty awesome ride.  You literally couldn't see a thing inside except a few twinkling stars.

4)  A cruise around the Tomorrowland Speedway.

Erica actually trusted me to drive her.

5)  A visit with the Little Mermaid in Ariel's Undersea Adventure.

By far my favorite Disney movie ever.  I sang every word to every song
as we rode through in our mechanical clamshells.

5)  A boat ride through It's a Small World.

According to my mother, I was incredibly frightened of this ride and refused
to open my eyes inside it at the age of 2.  I've gotten over it, but can kind of
understand the creepiness I may have seen in those little machine-like people.

6)  An attempt at Big Thunder Mountain. But it was shut down due to a mechanical failure.

7)  An attempt at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  We loaded into the boat and then the whole thing shut down due to another mechanical failure.  We waited in the boat for about 15 minutes before they booted us out.

8)  Upon hearing that it was fixed, another attempt at riding the Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster.  Success.  But no pictures.

Then, exhausted and not wanting to over-exert our feet or legs, we took the monorail towards Epcot and then the shuttle bus from Epcot back to our hotel.  

I couldn't help but look at this thing and think, "there's my
finish line...take a big deep breath.  And hope against hope
that you'll get there.  Twice"

After getting back to the hotel, I met my parents who had just arrived on their flight from New York.  I freshened up, got a snack with them, and then took them to our Inspiration Dinner.

I could recap the Inspiration Dinner here, but I thought I did a pretty good job of that in my San Diego RNR Recap.  If you're interested, take a look there.  What made this dinner really great though was having my parents there by my side.  Having never seen me run a race, let alone a TNT race, they got to see all the excitement, motivation, dedication, and commitment that is involved in being a part of Team in Training.  They got to hear the stories, the thanks, the cheers, and the tears that come along with being a part of this great Team.  They got to understand just a little bit more why it is that I continue to do what I do to support this team.

They also got to hear the totals for this race.  There were 1,080 TNT participants in the WDW Marathon Weekend, and we raised a total of $3.4 million for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for this race.  That money will go a LONG way towards finding new cures and support for cancer patients.  It's amazing to see numbers that big.  

With that in mind, we decorated our purple shirts and headed to bed.

Because we had a VERY early wake up time the next morning.  And many miles to go.

Holy crap, I'm going to Disney World

In like...2 DAYS.

And I'm not going to have a frilly, fun, ride-the-rides, enjoy-your-vacation Disney trip.  I'm doing the Goofy Challenge.  39.3 miles in 2 days.  And it's happening in less than a week.

Wasn't I just saying yesterday that this race was a month away?  And the day before that, wasn't it still a few months off?  Where did those months go?  What happened to all that time??

In my last couple years of racing, I've learned something about myself.  During race week, AKA the last week of taper, I freak out.  To the nonchalant observer, you would not notice this.  If there's one big thing I've learned from teaching for so long, it's to keep a cool composure on the surface, while on the inside you may be falling to pieces.  I'm very good at "appearing calm."

In reality, when someone asks me if my race is this weekend, my mind wants to scream "OMFG YES IT'S THIS WEEKEND HOLY CRAP DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO."  But what comes calmly out of my mouth is "Yep, this weekend." Smile.

Or if I get that endlessly inevitable week-before-the-race question, "Are you ready?"  My brain wants to yell "NO NO NO NO NO GIVE ME MORE TIME!"  But I simply respond with my staple go-to answer "As ready as I'm going to be."  Smile.

And that's just for "normal" races like half and full marathons.  But this race, this is Goofy.  Not just a half.  Not just a full.  Both.  Back to back.  Let's take a look at the agenda for my extended weekend:

Wednesday: Take 10:30 PM red eye flight from Seattle to Orlando.
Thursday:  Arrive in Orlando early in the morning.  Check into hotel.  Go to the race expo.  Maybe visit a Disney park.  Try not to walk around too much.  Try to get lots of sleep.
Friday:  Sleep in (hopefully).  Maybe go to a Disney park.  Greet parents who are flying down from NY to watch my race(s).  Go to TNT Inspirational Dinner.  Try to sleep.
Saturday: ~2:30 AM ET (11:30 PM PST) Wake up and get ready.  3:00 AM ET (midnight PST) Meet team in hotel lobby to catch shuttles to race start.  4:00 AM ET (1 AM PST) Hang around start line in the cold until race starts.  5:30 AM ET (2:30 AM PST) Start half marathon.  Try to run slow.  Take lots of pictures with Disney characters and running buddy Erica.  Wave to and take pictures with parents.  Go slow.  8:30 AM ET (5:30 AM PST) Finish half marathon, if all goes according to plan.  Rest of day:  Ice bath, nap, enjoy time with parents.  See grandma for the first time since graduating from undergrad.  Try not to walk too much.  Eat a lot.  Try to sleep.
Sunday: Repeat Saturday schedule minus the pictures...oh yeah, and run TWICE AS FAR.  No. Big. Deal.  Celebrate by ice bathing, napping, eating, and watching the Seahawks wipe the Falcons out of the playoffs.
Monday: Sleep in, recover, catch a long, uncomfortable flight back to Seattle.

Done and done.  Right? ...

Here is a completely irrelevant picture of super cute
puppy snuggles.  Because it calms my soul and makes
my heart want to explode in a good way.

Race week is the point in my training that I convince myself that I am completely ridiculous.  Who does this kind of thing?  I'm pretty sure I convince myself to sign up for these things by somehow subconsciously convincing myself that the event will never actually happen.  It will forever be that far away race that I'm training for.  The time to run the race will never actually get here.  Time doesn't actually proceed forward in a linear, predictable fashion.  This line of reasoning is completely logical.

It's right about now that the reasonable, subdued, hermit side of my brain is staring incredulously at the side that never says no and is always ready to take on new challenges and adventures.  I can feel the tension between the two sides of my head.

But I know what all of this is.  I've experienced it before and it will pass.  It's kind of like the opposite of the quiet before the storm.  It's the storm before the quiet.  Come race day(s), everything will be ok.  I will trust my training.  I will trust myself and the friends and coaches that have helped me to prepare for this race.  I will remember the $2800 I raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and all the people that donated that money to help me to get here.  Race weekend is a celebration.  It is not the be all end all of everything.  It is simply the finish line.  The close of another great journey that I'm sad to see coming to an end.

I will get there.  I will do it.  I have faith in everything I've done up until this point.  But that doesn't mean that I won't still quietly freak out until it happens.

More puppy snuggles.  I know you want to reach out
and squeeze them through the computer screen.
You're welcome.

Here we go.  It's time to get Goofy.  See you on the other side of the finish line.

2012: short and simple

According to Nike+, here is what 2012 looked like for me in running stats:

I add an extra 50 or so miles for 2 weeks without a watch, runs where I forgot
my watch, and recent treadmill runs.

In 2012, I ran:

1 5K

1 8K

4 half marathons

1 marathon

1 sprint triathlon

I dropped over 10 minutes off my marathon time, and 7 minutes off my half marathon time.

I ran with friends.

I ran with Lucy.

I ran alone.

I ran.

A lot.

2012 wasn't the year I started running.  It wasn't the year that I finally considered myself a "runner."  It wasn't the year that I learned everything I need to learn about running.  I didn't qualify for Boston or accomplish anything amazingly spectacular.

Nothing very epic happened to me in 2012.  Except those numbers above.  In a list on a page like this, they don't really look like very much.  But behind those numbers are a million stories.  Some of them have been told here, but not nearly half of what could have been told.  Were they stories full of drama, epic failure or epic success?  No, not really.  But they didn't need to be.

Hidden in those numbers are small triumphs and small losses.  Hidden in those numbers are the ups and downs of an entire year.  The small lessons that one learns with the passage of time.  Quiet smiles.  Acceptance of things as they are and will be.  Little hills were conquered.  Flat straightaways were enjoyed.  And downhills were relished.  Life was lived.

I have no list of "great life lessons learned" to sum up 2012.  But, of course, I do have a small list of some important reminders that 2012 dealt me.  A list of the little things that matter that made 2012 a pretty great year.

1)  Numbers are fun, but they aren't everything.  Sometimes it's just about getting out there and loving it.  All of it.

2)  Treadmills are awful.  I just re-learned this one in the past week when forced by this white fluffy stuff in New York to step foot into a gym.

I love having a white Christmas...just wanted it to disappear for about 2 hours
so I could do my long run.  Unfortunately that didn't happen.  In fact, more fell.

3)  Putting one foot in front of the other is easier than it sounds.  Just make it a priority in your life, and it will happen.  The more important it becomes to you, the easier it gets.

4)  When you continue to put one foot in front of the other, you get better at it.  Sometimes you learn to move your feet faster without even trying.  Without even thinking about it.

5)  Putting one foot in front of the other isn't ever really easy.  It may feel easier than it sounds, but you still have to set your mind to it and dedicate a lot of time to it.

6)  It's important to have someone in your life that you love more than anything. 

The love of my life.  Maybe one day I'll have a human to
brag about too.  Just not in 2012.

7)  Being comfortable in your own skin is the first step towards finding unending happiness.  It took 28 years for me to feel fully comfortable in this skin.  Pretty sure that I'm ready now for anything life has to throw at me.

8)  There are other things in life besides running.  Swimming and biking are pretty fun too.

9)  Friends are the best.  Whether you've known them for a year or a lifetime.  They make everything better.

10)  Family is everything.  Even if they live on the other side of the country.  Or the world.  They are everything.

We wear bibs and eat at restaurants that have "eat me" written across the
back wall.  We're pretty awesome.

11)  When life gets tough or tricky or sad, it's ok.  Because you know how to put one foot in front of the other, you know how to wear your skin proudly, you have the love of your life, your friends have your back, and your family will always be your rock.

12)  Life is great.  Despite everything, this fact is simple and true.  Because I've made it so.

There you have it.  12 short and simple things that 2012 reminded me of.  The question now is, what comes next in 2013?