Ariel484
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
Another Marathon Weekend at Disney has come to a close. Let me tell you about it!
The cast includes me (Shannon, 28), my husband Will (27), my brother Craig (aka Princess Craiggy, 26), my mom, Kriss, my aunt Laurie, and my moms childhood best friend Barb. I got no photo of all 6 of us, and in fact have no photos at all of my mom, aunt or Barb (not my choice). Le sigh.
Anyhoo, as the title of this report suggests, this year I participated in the 5K, half marathon and full marathon (unofficially known as the Dopey Challenge) during Disneys Marathon Weekend. Originally this trip was strictly for the Goofy Challenge (the half and full), but the idea of the 5K had been in the back of my mind for a while...eventually I pulled the trigger and signed up in August.
In my previous race reports (for the 2011 Princess Half and the 2012 WDW Full) I rambled on quite a bit about training. This time I posted a whole darn thread about it!
I really enjoyed documenting my training and feel like I made a friend or two along the way, so I'm glad I kept up with the "In Training" journal. The Cliff's Notes version: I am extremely Type A and was very, very diligent when it came to preparing for these races. Having said that, I should warn you that you wont find any speedy fast times here, but if youre looking for a somewhat detailed play-by-play of all 3 races with lots of character pictures, youve come to the right place. 
4 parks. 3 races. 42.4 miles. Lets do this!
The cast includes me (Shannon, 28), my husband Will (27), my brother Craig (aka Princess Craiggy, 26), my mom, Kriss, my aunt Laurie, and my moms childhood best friend Barb. I got no photo of all 6 of us, and in fact have no photos at all of my mom, aunt or Barb (not my choice). Le sigh.
Anyhoo, as the title of this report suggests, this year I participated in the 5K, half marathon and full marathon (unofficially known as the Dopey Challenge) during Disneys Marathon Weekend. Originally this trip was strictly for the Goofy Challenge (the half and full), but the idea of the 5K had been in the back of my mind for a while...eventually I pulled the trigger and signed up in August.
In my previous race reports (for the 2011 Princess Half and the 2012 WDW Full) I rambled on quite a bit about training. This time I posted a whole darn thread about it!
I really enjoyed documenting my training and feel like I made a friend or two along the way, so I'm glad I kept up with the "In Training" journal. The Cliff's Notes version: I am extremely Type A and was very, very diligent when it came to preparing for these races. Having said that, I should warn you that you wont find any speedy fast times here, but if youre looking for a somewhat detailed play-by-play of all 3 races with lots of character pictures, youve come to the right place.
4 parks. 3 races. 42.4 miles. Lets do this!
Sounds like a fun trip!
:
Duh, I was wearing a shirt from a local half marathon I’d completed in May 2012. Turns out almost the entire plane was full of Marathon Weekend participants and their family members. I thought this was pretty cool at first – it was easy to pick out the runners as they were wearing their running shoes or race t-shirts like I was - but quickly changed my mind when everyone began to talk about the weather. You see, the Orlando area was forecasted to have higher-than-normal temperatures for this time of year: highs in the low 80s with full sun. Great for a regular vacation, not-so-great for a marathon. I was already nervous enough about tackling the races, and nothing could be done about the weather beyond being smart about hydration (I’d been drinking water like crazy in the week leading up to the races), so the last thing I wanted was to hear constant chatter about how hot and miserable it was going to be. I was thisclose to putting my fingers in my ears and singing LALALALA. I freely admit that I was being a giant baby, but I just didn’t want to hear it.
Isn’t that amazing? He totally didn’t make a big deal out of his accomplishment…just told me to enjoy myself and take lots of pictures. I actually ended up seated next to another Perfectly Goofy runner, and she wanted EVERYONE to know about it. She went on and on about how awful the heat was going to be and was acting like a complete expert when it came to all things running. Look lady, OF COURSE it’s impressive that you’re Perfectly Goofy…but shut up! 
When a gentleman asked me if I could switch seats so that his young daughters could sit together, I practically jumped at the opportunity (later the flight attendant told me that the man told her that he’d pay for whatever snacks I wanted on the flight as a thank you…so nice! I didn’t take advantage). I swear I'm not normally this crabby, but it was early and I was nervous. Now I was next to a mom and her 5-year-old…the mom was going Goofy and the 5-year-old was participating in a kids race. She was super adorable, and the mom offered me donuts. SEATING UPGRADE! 
Sadness.
