Oh Dopey!! - January 2016 Trip Report & VLOGS *updated 02/21
- Thread starter dancingtodisney
- Start date
dancingtodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
Day 10 – Walt Disney World Marathon
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 2 – Walt Disney World Marathon (1)
We started running and immediately I knew this was going to be a tough race. My legs felt stiff and I was just really tired all over, add on top of that the humidity and I felt proper BLEUGH!
We stuck to our intervals but this time we didn’t skip the first walk break. I decided I wasn’t going to take pictures on the mile makers on this course, I really didn’t need the extra stops and time that it took.
We passed the first mile marker on Epcot Centre Drive and came down onto World Drive. I was trying really hard to stop the negative thoughts I was having in my head and focus on my intervals. I find that one of the big advantages of interval running, it breaks long distances down into lots of small segments, for us that was 5mins running and 1min walking and I was just taking each 5mins at a time.
We ran by mile marker 2 and Dad ran on ahead for the Nightmare Before Christmas photo opportunity. I was still feeling really hot and my stomach was really churning, I wasn’t sure if it was the anxiety or the heat or what but I was already planning to make a stop at the toilets at the TTC.
We made it to the character stop and got in line, I LOVE Jack and Sally and luckily they were out today but I was just happy to stop running and cool down a bit in the line so I was probably a lot less excited than normal!
We got straight back out on course and continued with our intervals, I knew I had just over a mile to go now until the TTC and so I just kept focusing on that, I was getting a bit emotional as well thinking about how much we had all put into this and that it was me that was struggling and what if I had to stop and the others finished… AAAAAAAAH!
I was hitting my ‘wall’ and I was only 3miles in!!
One thing that REALLY helped me out during this low point was the support on the course, far more than any other day the crowd support was BIG! There were so many signs and shouts and cheers that I was able to get swept up by it and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. As we got closer to the TCC I had to walk, I felt ill and I needed to make it to the bathroom.
The support coming into the TCC was fantastic! I remember some really funny Steve Harvey signs like ‘Welcome to the SeaWorld Marathon’ and ‘Keep going you’re winning’ which made me smile.
I finally got to the bathrooms around mile 4 and I literally gave myself a pep talk in that cubicle. It was cool in the bathrooms so I was able to get my body temperature down which helped so much. I probably spent about 5mins in there but it was completely worth it as I felt semi-human again afterwards. My legs were still tight but now that my core temperature was lower I could feel that it was my knee causing me the most discomfort.
The next section is where we experienced pretty bad congestion the day before but it was so much today, most people around us were running so although at times we were running slower than we may have liked but at least we were running.
The Magic Kingdom was getting closer and I set that as my next goal. We passed mile 5, almost there!
I should say that this whole time my Dad was trying hard to keep me motivated, I don’t think initially he realised how bad I was feeling but once he did he was reassuring me and going with my pace which I really appreciated.
We followed the same route as the day before and soon enough we were back on Main Street
FINALLY SOME MORE PICTURES YAH!
I had made a deal with my Dad that I wouldn't stop for anything until the Magic Kingdom (other than our scheduled walk breaks and water stops - hence the lack of photos)
We stopped at the bathrooms right before Future World and took a quick snap of the castle
Now that we were in MK I was keeping my eye out for some good stops, we ran around to Future World and I think there were some characters around here, either Buzz or Stitch if I remember correctly but we skipped that
We ran around through New Fantasy Land and I spotted it in the distance.....
BEAUTY AND BEST MEET!!!!
We HAD to stop and the queue wasn't too bad, people were walking in the walkway up to Be Our Guest
This is my attempt at a happy face hahaha
This character stop really boosted my mood! This is where the Disney magic comes into play… this why we pay so much for these races… this is why I was sat at my computer with my payment details already copied and ready to paste refreshing the sign up page on the day of registration… This was not just a marathon, this was a Disney Marathon and I was going to do everything I could to enjoy the remaining miles.
We reached the castle and actually ran through it today!!
(don't I look happier already?!)
Again we stopped at the front for some photos
Where's Dad gone??! OOOPS!
Oh there he is!!
We ran off into Adventure Land, anticipating another big meet and greet where Peter Pan had been the day before my Dad ran on ahead.
Me and Rachel stopped for a sneaky extra photo outside Splash Mountain.. I loved this one!
When we caught up with Dad it turned out that they just had a float from Fantasmic out….. em…. Not really what I was hoping for actually! We skipped this and walked through the water stop refuelling as well with our cliff blocks. We past mile marker 6 as we left the Magic Kingdom area.
Back into the swing of things we continued with our intervals. I was still struggling a bit and I’m pretty sure I cut several running intervals short but Dad and Rachel were great and just kept with my pace.
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 2 – Walt Disney World Marathon (1)
We started running and immediately I knew this was going to be a tough race. My legs felt stiff and I was just really tired all over, add on top of that the humidity and I felt proper BLEUGH!
We stuck to our intervals but this time we didn’t skip the first walk break. I decided I wasn’t going to take pictures on the mile makers on this course, I really didn’t need the extra stops and time that it took.
We passed the first mile marker on Epcot Centre Drive and came down onto World Drive. I was trying really hard to stop the negative thoughts I was having in my head and focus on my intervals. I find that one of the big advantages of interval running, it breaks long distances down into lots of small segments, for us that was 5mins running and 1min walking and I was just taking each 5mins at a time.
We ran by mile marker 2 and Dad ran on ahead for the Nightmare Before Christmas photo opportunity. I was still feeling really hot and my stomach was really churning, I wasn’t sure if it was the anxiety or the heat or what but I was already planning to make a stop at the toilets at the TTC.
We made it to the character stop and got in line, I LOVE Jack and Sally and luckily they were out today but I was just happy to stop running and cool down a bit in the line so I was probably a lot less excited than normal!
We got straight back out on course and continued with our intervals, I knew I had just over a mile to go now until the TTC and so I just kept focusing on that, I was getting a bit emotional as well thinking about how much we had all put into this and that it was me that was struggling and what if I had to stop and the others finished… AAAAAAAAH!
I was hitting my ‘wall’ and I was only 3miles in!!
One thing that REALLY helped me out during this low point was the support on the course, far more than any other day the crowd support was BIG! There were so many signs and shouts and cheers that I was able to get swept up by it and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. As we got closer to the TCC I had to walk, I felt ill and I needed to make it to the bathroom.
The support coming into the TCC was fantastic! I remember some really funny Steve Harvey signs like ‘Welcome to the SeaWorld Marathon’ and ‘Keep going you’re winning’ which made me smile.
I finally got to the bathrooms around mile 4 and I literally gave myself a pep talk in that cubicle. It was cool in the bathrooms so I was able to get my body temperature down which helped so much. I probably spent about 5mins in there but it was completely worth it as I felt semi-human again afterwards. My legs were still tight but now that my core temperature was lower I could feel that it was my knee causing me the most discomfort.
The next section is where we experienced pretty bad congestion the day before but it was so much today, most people around us were running so although at times we were running slower than we may have liked but at least we were running.
The Magic Kingdom was getting closer and I set that as my next goal. We passed mile 5, almost there!
I should say that this whole time my Dad was trying hard to keep me motivated, I don’t think initially he realised how bad I was feeling but once he did he was reassuring me and going with my pace which I really appreciated.
We followed the same route as the day before and soon enough we were back on Main Street
FINALLY SOME MORE PICTURES YAH!
I had made a deal with my Dad that I wouldn't stop for anything until the Magic Kingdom (other than our scheduled walk breaks and water stops - hence the lack of photos)
We stopped at the bathrooms right before Future World and took a quick snap of the castle
Now that we were in MK I was keeping my eye out for some good stops, we ran around to Future World and I think there were some characters around here, either Buzz or Stitch if I remember correctly but we skipped that
We ran around through New Fantasy Land and I spotted it in the distance.....
BEAUTY AND BEST MEET!!!!
We HAD to stop and the queue wasn't too bad, people were walking in the walkway up to Be Our Guest
This is my attempt at a happy face hahaha
This character stop really boosted my mood! This is where the Disney magic comes into play… this why we pay so much for these races… this is why I was sat at my computer with my payment details already copied and ready to paste refreshing the sign up page on the day of registration… This was not just a marathon, this was a Disney Marathon and I was going to do everything I could to enjoy the remaining miles.
We reached the castle and actually ran through it today!!
(don't I look happier already?!)
Again we stopped at the front for some photos
Where's Dad gone??! OOOPS!
Oh there he is!!
We ran off into Adventure Land, anticipating another big meet and greet where Peter Pan had been the day before my Dad ran on ahead.
Me and Rachel stopped for a sneaky extra photo outside Splash Mountain.. I loved this one!
When we caught up with Dad it turned out that they just had a float from Fantasmic out….. em…. Not really what I was hoping for actually! We skipped this and walked through the water stop refuelling as well with our cliff blocks. We past mile marker 6 as we left the Magic Kingdom area.
Back into the swing of things we continued with our intervals. I was still struggling a bit and I’m pretty sure I cut several running intervals short but Dad and Rachel were great and just kept with my pace.
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dancingtodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
No it really wasn't, especially coming from Irish winter weather it was a bit of a shock to the system...
Thank you! I posted that one in a rush it's updated now!
CLIFFHANGER MUCH?!
Hahaha sorry! I had planned to post a few in a row there and then I had to get back to work sooner than expected!!!
ZellyB
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2010
Woohoo and you are off on your marathon!! I love your Minnie outfits. I've never done Dopey, but I know with Goofy those early miles were tough for me on the marathon. I was just sort of over it, but luckily that attitude improved as the race went on. Sounds like yours is doing the same.
dancingtodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
Thanks!!!! Yes I love the pictures!!
Haha ye we were pretty good at getting in sync! Originally we thought we would only be able to get my photos so we really made an effort to get photographer together!
Ye I was glad it opened back up but it was a bit late for us then as we’d already spent way too much time on our feet and all that walking meant we’d tightened up so much
It was a nice evening, shame about the weather though! Haha ye it was super big but it was also demolished!
Oh, I'm green with envy. Scrooge McDuck and Vacation Genie!
Since we have 10 TS meals planned but only get 9 on our dining plan, Via Napoli will be an OOP meal for us too. Figured it makes the most sense since cost will be kept low with sharing the pizza. Good strategy!
I've never heard of this! What a happy surprise for your cousin!
I'm really enjoying your report. I'm so impressed with all the running the three of you are doing. What energy! I'm exhausted just reading about it
It was such a great way to finish, having two amazing characters right at the end was a really good shout by Disney, I’m so glad they had no wait too!
Ye exactly, it’s relatively inexpensive and perfect for sharing too.
I had read about it before, they do it for people wearing birthday pins but I think it is pretty rare
I’m exhausting writing about it hahaha I still can’t believe we did all this running!
Be Our Guest were just reaffirming to your mum that asking this question is still necessary
She was genuinely nervous that there might not be a FREE cupcake...
Fingers crossed!
HAHAHAHAHA!! I feel you girl! Chip Sandwiches are like one of my favourite things... I also love crisp sandwiches... Mmmmmmm carbs
HOW. My legs are sore just reading this TR
I'm still recovering... haha!
LOVE these Festival of Fantasy meets, what the heck! Didn't know they did this
Awesome right?!
OH MY GAAAAAD I thought Scrooge was good, but vacation Goofy is on another level
Rare meets is one of the best things about these races! It's such a boost getting these photos on course!
Errrrm yes this definitely needs to be uploaded
Will do! Rachel is over to visit me in London next weekend so I'll make sure she brings her videos... we're going to see Aladdin... EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
I'm going to buy LOADS from wall-mart this year..
Meet or cheese??! Surely you can't ask such a question! The perfect choice is a combo of course!
She had a birthday pin on lol
Oww don't be! I know it's already been and gone, but don't be
Hahaha I feel nervous for myself writing this thing
Thanks for reading! I know!!! I still can't believe he was serious!
I love the castle pics, it was great that they had so many photographers out so there wasn't much of a line and they took a few...
I think that might be a one and done for me!
I can tape a tennis ball to my back in 2018?! Hahaha
dancingtodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
Ye that was such a killer, my body was just like 'No no.. not today!'
dancingtodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
Day 9 – Walt Disney World Marathon
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 3 – Walt Disney World Marathon (2)
Mile marker 7 ticked by and there was again a lot less congestion than the day before. Dad decided to run ahead again as we expected another stop where we had met golfer Donald the day before. Myself and Rachel continued with our intervals although I was still struggled to complete the full 5mins so it was more like 4.30mins running and 1.30mins walking.
We caught up with Dad and got in line with him for MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER….
GOOFY!!!!
I was so happy it was Goofy and looking pretty dapper in his golfing attire!
I love his pose too, so cute!
Back on course and we passed mile marker 8 and continued on our way towards Animal Kingdom. I knew this would be a pretty long stretch that wasn’t going to be very exciting BUT I was also keeping my fingers crossed for the Villians character stop, this was one I was really excited for!
We passed mile marker 9 and I think it was just after that when we came across our next character stop.
It was the Evil Hag
There was a really short queue which was great BUT I was wondering why they would have just one villain out by themselves…. Hmmmmm
We passed the stop for I believe Hade’s but I think he was on a break so we continued past. I now knew that it was unlikely that there would be a group villain shot which I was pretty bummed about
Next up was Shan-Yu with again little wait
Probably one of the worst attempts at taking our photo on course
A lot of the characters did not have official photographers which is a shame...
We passed mile marker 10 around this point (sorry I'm not exactly sure as I've no mile marker photos to go by this time!)
We continued with interval running and spotted the Pirates of the Carribean meet up ahead which I definitely wanted to stop for. I was feeling really hot again so I was kinda glad that there was a bit of a queue so I could cool down and fuel up again.
We got chatting to a really nice couple while we waited in line..
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 3 – Walt Disney World Marathon (2)
Mile marker 7 ticked by and there was again a lot less congestion than the day before. Dad decided to run ahead again as we expected another stop where we had met golfer Donald the day before. Myself and Rachel continued with our intervals although I was still struggled to complete the full 5mins so it was more like 4.30mins running and 1.30mins walking.
We caught up with Dad and got in line with him for MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER….
GOOFY!!!!
I was so happy it was Goofy and looking pretty dapper in his golfing attire!
I love his pose too, so cute!
Back on course and we passed mile marker 8 and continued on our way towards Animal Kingdom. I knew this would be a pretty long stretch that wasn’t going to be very exciting BUT I was also keeping my fingers crossed for the Villians character stop, this was one I was really excited for!
We passed mile marker 9 and I think it was just after that when we came across our next character stop.
It was the Evil Hag
There was a really short queue which was great BUT I was wondering why they would have just one villain out by themselves…. Hmmmmm
We passed the stop for I believe Hade’s but I think he was on a break so we continued past. I now knew that it was unlikely that there would be a group villain shot which I was pretty bummed about
Next up was Shan-Yu with again little wait
Probably one of the worst attempts at taking our photo on course
A lot of the characters did not have official photographers which is a shame...
We passed mile marker 10 around this point (sorry I'm not exactly sure as I've no mile marker photos to go by this time!)
We continued with interval running and spotted the Pirates of the Carribean meet up ahead which I definitely wanted to stop for. I was feeling really hot again so I was kinda glad that there was a bit of a queue so I could cool down and fuel up again.
We got chatting to a really nice couple while we waited in line..
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Sounds like really tough weather for a marathon!
Grumpy's Wife
Dollar Tree gal here
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2005
Your outfits are adorable! I couldn't even think about doing the 1/2 marathon much less the whole. Running two days in a row that far....
. I love all the character pictures and especially the characters that aren't out all the time. Congratulations. 
. I love all the character pictures and especially the characters that aren't out all the time. Congratulations.
ZellyB
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2010
Ditto to @Ariel484 I've never seen the Evil Hag or Shen Yu out anywhere. So jealous of those. That's a different spot for Pirates than they've had in the past. The three years before that we ran the marathon they were around mile marker 2 I think and the pirate ship looks smaller and different. Still love the shot!
dancingtodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
Day 10 – Walt Disney World Marathon
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 4 – Walt Disney World Marathon (2)
After the pirates meet we could already see the next meet just up the road which was right before a sort of out and back. We ran over to our next stop with………….
JAFAR!
I thought the set up for this photo was pretty cool.
That was it for the villains for us and although I did enjoy have a few stops and it helped break this stretch up I was still disappointed that there wasn’t a group shot.
We starting running again and passed mile 11 at the start of the ‘back’ part of the out and back lol
We were getting close to Animal Kingdom now! When we spoke about this race I said one thing I really wanted to do was ride Expedition Everest. We thought we would arrive just before opening and therefor have to wait a bit but because I’d had such a rough start it was looking like we’d be there about 9.10am! Mini little rant here, Disney knows that it’s a ‘thing’ for runners to ride Everest why not just open it early on this one morning for runners only? Even 8.30am would mean a lot more people got to add it to their marathon experience and I know for me when I was telling people back home that you can ride a roller-coaster halfway through that was a massive selling point.
Anyway… back to our run! We saw the welcome sign and I was so happy to getting into our next park…
There were some animals around here that you could pet and stuff but we didn't stop and I obviously decided it wasn't worth photographing!
There was a water stop and some bananas so I grabbed one, I was getting hungry!
We passed mile marker 12 just before running into AK, we entered out near safari but not passing the entrance to that ride and joining the path towards Everest. The park was open so there were lots of guests watching us run past.
We made it to Everest and saw the wait time was posted at 15mins. I’d read from previous reports that runners were allowed to use the fastpass queue but that was not happening this morning. Again this was pretty annoying, 15mins is a long time to wait for a ride when you’re in the middle of a marathon and it would increase the risk of us getting swept later on if any of us were struggling and we had to slow our pace.
I REALLY wanted to ride so we hopped in line. The line was constantly moving which made it less painful and I’d say it was around 10mins before we were boarding. There were lots of runners interspersed between the regular park guests.
It was so weird getting to sit down! We took off and OMG the breeze we felt as our car moved off was amazing! It was one of my favourite roller-coaster experiences and I’ll always remember it….
We don’t seem to have been snapped by any of the official photographers in AK although I do have a random picture of someone who is not me in AK.
After the ride on Everest it was a little difficult to get back in the rhythm of our intervals and I could feel my knee was going to continue to cause me trouble. We ran towards Dinoland and by mile marker 13 which is pretty much half way!
The course then went out of the park (through a backstage exit) and here we experienced some congestion but not for very long. We came out into the carpark and the course was restricted to a pathway despite there being lots of space outside the walkway so anyone that was running moved out onto the road and just ran along there bypassing the walkers, we did this for a while until we reached a CM that was instructing people back onto the path. It seemed silly where the space was available to have not extended the course out although I understand the CM instructing us back onto the official path for safety reasons.
There was a big support area as we passed by the entrance to AK which was great, all that cheering does really encourage you! I was trying not to think about my knee or the fact that I had another half marathon to run!! EEEEEEEEEK!
Wow the AK car park is MASSIVE! It definitely seems a lot bigger when you are running it as appose to driving in!
Finally we came to the end of the car park section and past mile marker 14. This is when I can switch to countdown mode. Just over 12miles to go! Once I have less miles to go that already completed it’s countdown time!
I was dreading this next section of the course though, 3miles along the BORING Osceola Parkway (a section of course I’ve completed before in the Wine & Dine) followed by 3miles of Wide World of Sports which I’d heard was another dull part of the course… YUCK!
I was struggling with my knee but trying hard to keep our intervals up, we’d lost a LOT of time in AK and I wanted to keep our comfortable cushion between us and the dreaded balloon ladies.
We passed the grave diggers and I stopped for a quick photo (I was in no shape to lay on the ground!)
We passed mile 15 (11miles to go) and I was still hurting but pushing through, I knew there was a first aid section coming up and I’d warned Dad and Rachel that I planned to stop.
About half a mile later we hit the aid station, I had to take my compression socks off and tend to a bleeding toe with some plasters and I also slathered on the biofreeze on my knee. Due to the pain I decided I would also take a Tylenol. This was a bit risky for me as I’ve felt very unwell in the past on Tylenol but I was hurting! I drank some water and we walked through the water stop right after the aid station.
We got back into running again and I waited for the effects of the painkiller to kick in. By mile 16 I was still feeling rough but managing to keep up relatively good intervals. We were at the section now where there were runners on the opposite side of the road coming out of WWOS (so over 4miles ahead of us) and just like I’d read before the commentator was screaming about only 4miles to go… GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! SHUT UP!
We carried on and took a right turn towards WWOS and it was about this point when I started feeling so much better! The painkillers had kicked in and it was like a fog of pain had lifted and I was actually enjoying running again! YAH! We hit mile 17 and shortly after turned into WWOS which meant finally I could stop looking at all those runners across the road with envy!
We came into WWOS and we wanted a bathroom break but the first set of real bathrooms we came across had a line so we kept running past.
This section is a bit of a jumbled blur to me now but I’ll try my best! We hit our first character and it was none other than the big cheese!!
Love this photo, Mickey is adorable in his soccer outfit
We continued with our intervals and at one point Dad went to the bathrooms and me and Rachel ran on. I remember chatting to Rachel at this point and saying how good I felt. I was really enjoying this stretch of the course because I finally felt OK!
We made it onto the track and I was so excited to see our next Character
Goofy!!! Twice in one race AND he’s my favourite!! YAH!
Professional photo
His football outfit is so cool!
We passed mile marker 18 and continued running, we were sticking with our intervals well at this point. I do understand why people get frustrated running through WWOS, it kinda seems a bit like you’re running around in circles, like we could see parts of the course up ahead thinking we were almost at them and then it would be ages before we actually made it to that section if that makes sense!
Next up was Donald Duck
Not to be outdone Donald was in baseball gear, I think it’s cool how they all represented different sports.
Finally we came across Chip and Dale, how adorable!
Professional photo
We had very little waiting time for all of these characters, I think Mickey was the only one with an actually wait the others we pretty much went straight up to for a picture.
I ate a banana sometime in WWOS but don’t remember where I picked it up.. it looked something like this
We passed mile marker 19… only 7.2miles to go!
We then made it into the stadium for the big lap around, it was quite cool and were looking up on the big screen at the runners going past
There was a big water and fuel stop after the stadium and we stocked up on some gels and fluids, we also had a bathroom stop in some portaloos because the real toilets all had lines in WWOS.
I was still feeling pretty good, the last 4miles had kind of sailed by and all the character stops had really got us buzzing!
We came out into the carpark area and ran out onto the main road past mile marker 20. The other side of the course which was just over 3miles behind us was now being swept!! They were also taking down the mile marker signs so we saw them take down mile marker 17. We had seen some runners going into WWOS so they were really in danger of getting swept from the course.
We weren’t too worried, 3miles by 16min mile was still 48mins of a cushion and if we were moving through the course quicker than 16min mile we were going to be constantly widening that gap. We came back out onto Osceola Parkway for a short stretch, I was now thinking ahead to our next park… Hollywood Studios!
I was trying really hard to think about our next park because I could feel myself starting to fade again and HARD…. My knee pain was coming back and my body was just DONE. We got to the first aid stand and I again through some biofreeze on. We passed mile marker 21 and took a right turn onto Word Drive.
This stretch was tough… there was no longer anything to keep me entertained and suddenly those final 5miles seemed like SO FAR to make my body run. I was the one struggling, Dad and Rachel were doing a lot better although still obviously tired. We made it through our intervals though and our pace was still decent. We passed mile marker 22 and continued running towards the overpass for Hollywood Studios.
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 4 – Walt Disney World Marathon (2)
After the pirates meet we could already see the next meet just up the road which was right before a sort of out and back. We ran over to our next stop with………….
JAFAR!
I thought the set up for this photo was pretty cool.
That was it for the villains for us and although I did enjoy have a few stops and it helped break this stretch up I was still disappointed that there wasn’t a group shot.
We starting running again and passed mile 11 at the start of the ‘back’ part of the out and back lol
We were getting close to Animal Kingdom now! When we spoke about this race I said one thing I really wanted to do was ride Expedition Everest. We thought we would arrive just before opening and therefor have to wait a bit but because I’d had such a rough start it was looking like we’d be there about 9.10am! Mini little rant here, Disney knows that it’s a ‘thing’ for runners to ride Everest why not just open it early on this one morning for runners only? Even 8.30am would mean a lot more people got to add it to their marathon experience and I know for me when I was telling people back home that you can ride a roller-coaster halfway through that was a massive selling point.
Anyway… back to our run! We saw the welcome sign and I was so happy to getting into our next park…
There were some animals around here that you could pet and stuff but we didn't stop and I obviously decided it wasn't worth photographing!
There was a water stop and some bananas so I grabbed one, I was getting hungry!
We passed mile marker 12 just before running into AK, we entered out near safari but not passing the entrance to that ride and joining the path towards Everest. The park was open so there were lots of guests watching us run past.
We made it to Everest and saw the wait time was posted at 15mins. I’d read from previous reports that runners were allowed to use the fastpass queue but that was not happening this morning. Again this was pretty annoying, 15mins is a long time to wait for a ride when you’re in the middle of a marathon and it would increase the risk of us getting swept later on if any of us were struggling and we had to slow our pace.
I REALLY wanted to ride so we hopped in line. The line was constantly moving which made it less painful and I’d say it was around 10mins before we were boarding. There were lots of runners interspersed between the regular park guests.
It was so weird getting to sit down! We took off and OMG the breeze we felt as our car moved off was amazing! It was one of my favourite roller-coaster experiences and I’ll always remember it….
We don’t seem to have been snapped by any of the official photographers in AK although I do have a random picture of someone who is not me in AK.
After the ride on Everest it was a little difficult to get back in the rhythm of our intervals and I could feel my knee was going to continue to cause me trouble. We ran towards Dinoland and by mile marker 13 which is pretty much half way!
The course then went out of the park (through a backstage exit) and here we experienced some congestion but not for very long. We came out into the carpark and the course was restricted to a pathway despite there being lots of space outside the walkway so anyone that was running moved out onto the road and just ran along there bypassing the walkers, we did this for a while until we reached a CM that was instructing people back onto the path. It seemed silly where the space was available to have not extended the course out although I understand the CM instructing us back onto the official path for safety reasons.
There was a big support area as we passed by the entrance to AK which was great, all that cheering does really encourage you! I was trying not to think about my knee or the fact that I had another half marathon to run!! EEEEEEEEEK!
Wow the AK car park is MASSIVE! It definitely seems a lot bigger when you are running it as appose to driving in!
Finally we came to the end of the car park section and past mile marker 14. This is when I can switch to countdown mode. Just over 12miles to go! Once I have less miles to go that already completed it’s countdown time!
I was dreading this next section of the course though, 3miles along the BORING Osceola Parkway (a section of course I’ve completed before in the Wine & Dine) followed by 3miles of Wide World of Sports which I’d heard was another dull part of the course… YUCK!
I was struggling with my knee but trying hard to keep our intervals up, we’d lost a LOT of time in AK and I wanted to keep our comfortable cushion between us and the dreaded balloon ladies.
We passed the grave diggers and I stopped for a quick photo (I was in no shape to lay on the ground!)
We passed mile 15 (11miles to go) and I was still hurting but pushing through, I knew there was a first aid section coming up and I’d warned Dad and Rachel that I planned to stop.
About half a mile later we hit the aid station, I had to take my compression socks off and tend to a bleeding toe with some plasters and I also slathered on the biofreeze on my knee. Due to the pain I decided I would also take a Tylenol. This was a bit risky for me as I’ve felt very unwell in the past on Tylenol but I was hurting! I drank some water and we walked through the water stop right after the aid station.
We got back into running again and I waited for the effects of the painkiller to kick in. By mile 16 I was still feeling rough but managing to keep up relatively good intervals. We were at the section now where there were runners on the opposite side of the road coming out of WWOS (so over 4miles ahead of us) and just like I’d read before the commentator was screaming about only 4miles to go… GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! SHUT UP!
We carried on and took a right turn towards WWOS and it was about this point when I started feeling so much better! The painkillers had kicked in and it was like a fog of pain had lifted and I was actually enjoying running again! YAH! We hit mile 17 and shortly after turned into WWOS which meant finally I could stop looking at all those runners across the road with envy!
We came into WWOS and we wanted a bathroom break but the first set of real bathrooms we came across had a line so we kept running past.
This section is a bit of a jumbled blur to me now but I’ll try my best! We hit our first character and it was none other than the big cheese!!
Love this photo, Mickey is adorable in his soccer outfit
We continued with our intervals and at one point Dad went to the bathrooms and me and Rachel ran on. I remember chatting to Rachel at this point and saying how good I felt. I was really enjoying this stretch of the course because I finally felt OK!
We made it onto the track and I was so excited to see our next Character
Goofy!!! Twice in one race AND he’s my favourite!! YAH!
Professional photo
His football outfit is so cool!
We passed mile marker 18 and continued running, we were sticking with our intervals well at this point. I do understand why people get frustrated running through WWOS, it kinda seems a bit like you’re running around in circles, like we could see parts of the course up ahead thinking we were almost at them and then it would be ages before we actually made it to that section if that makes sense!
Next up was Donald Duck
Not to be outdone Donald was in baseball gear, I think it’s cool how they all represented different sports.
Finally we came across Chip and Dale, how adorable!
Professional photo
We had very little waiting time for all of these characters, I think Mickey was the only one with an actually wait the others we pretty much went straight up to for a picture.
I ate a banana sometime in WWOS but don’t remember where I picked it up.. it looked something like this
We passed mile marker 19… only 7.2miles to go!
We then made it into the stadium for the big lap around, it was quite cool and were looking up on the big screen at the runners going past
There was a big water and fuel stop after the stadium and we stocked up on some gels and fluids, we also had a bathroom stop in some portaloos because the real toilets all had lines in WWOS.
I was still feeling pretty good, the last 4miles had kind of sailed by and all the character stops had really got us buzzing!
We came out into the carpark area and ran out onto the main road past mile marker 20. The other side of the course which was just over 3miles behind us was now being swept!! They were also taking down the mile marker signs so we saw them take down mile marker 17. We had seen some runners going into WWOS so they were really in danger of getting swept from the course.
We weren’t too worried, 3miles by 16min mile was still 48mins of a cushion and if we were moving through the course quicker than 16min mile we were going to be constantly widening that gap. We came back out onto Osceola Parkway for a short stretch, I was now thinking ahead to our next park… Hollywood Studios!
I was trying really hard to think about our next park because I could feel myself starting to fade again and HARD…. My knee pain was coming back and my body was just DONE. We got to the first aid stand and I again through some biofreeze on. We passed mile marker 21 and took a right turn onto Word Drive.
This stretch was tough… there was no longer anything to keep me entertained and suddenly those final 5miles seemed like SO FAR to make my body run. I was the one struggling, Dad and Rachel were doing a lot better although still obviously tired. We made it through our intervals though and our pace was still decent. We passed mile marker 22 and continued running towards the overpass for Hollywood Studios.
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So many awesome character stops!
I remember the Steve Harvey signs we had to go to the TTC that morning to get to GF for an early morning ADR.
I hope they have some of those awesome character stop again this year like the Cogsworth one.
I am debating whether or not I will ride everest during the marathon.
Just like Z-Night said now there is suspense I want to know how you finished! This report is really helping me for my dopey in January.
I remember the Steve Harvey signs we had to go to the TTC that morning to get to GF for an early morning ADR.
I hope they have some of those awesome character stop again this year like the Cogsworth one.
I am debating whether or not I will ride everest during the marathon.
Just like Z-Night said now there is suspense I want to know how you finished! This report is really helping me for my dopey in January.
dancingtodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
Day 10 – Walt Disney World Marathon
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 4 – Walt Disney World Marathon (3)
We came up the overpass and in the distance I could hear the screams from the green army man but I was beat at this stage. I had to walk. My knee was so sore!
Rachel was like ‘come on you can’t walk by the Green Army Man’ and I knew this was true but I literally left it to the last possible moment to take off running because I just felt completely drained.
We finally made it up the overpass and managed to run down it on route into Hollywood Studios.
I was so excited to get some more park time, it was all I was thinking about, that and getting away from those evil sweeper buses! We were still a good 50mins ahead so I kinda knew at this point that regardless of how bad I felt… even if I had to stop running completely, I was going to finish this thing. I think this was actually a real negative for me, I was struggling to keep myself motivated and I’m still not sure even today if I was losing the mental or physical battle or both!!
I saw TOT in the distance, what I would’ve given to just finish up there and get on my favourite ride to the twilight zone.
We passed a water station AND we got chocolate!!! YUMMY! It was Dove chocolate and really tasty, I grabbed a few!
We them came across a rare character meet right after we entered and sort of hidden away before we came out of the backstage area (I’m assuming to avoid the regular park guests)
BOO!
What an AWESOME meet!
We passed mile marker 23 as we entered and I believe it was a backstage entrance near Toy Story Mania and then we ran around to Streets of America… it’s a bit of blur!
We came down Hollywood Boulevard and the support was fantastic, there were some CM’s outside Starbucks and I was dreaming of a caramel Frappuccino!!
We ran out of the park and around to the right of the lake to the walkway for the Epcot resorts passing mile marker 24. Only 2miles to go!
You can tell from this pic that Rachel was in the zone where as I was getting the pep talks from Dad to keep me going! LOOK AT MY FACE!!
Here the course really tightened up which we had expected. I was still managing to get run intervals in up to this point but I did not have the physical or mental strength to start weaving.
We continued run/walking towards the boardwalk, we were getting some short stretches of runs in when the paths were wide enough. We ran around towards the Swan and Dolphin and spotted an old friend
VACTION GENIE!!
Looks like we are all looking at a different camera which suggests that there was a professional photographer but it's not on any of our profiles!
Back on course we continued around by the Epcot resorts to our next character, one we had missed out on at the 10k…
The Fairy Godmother…
Oh I would have LOVED a horse and carriage ride to Epcot!
I remember the walkway getting really tight after this and we were in behind a group of girls that were doing intervals which I think were about 2mins walking and 1min running. We ended up just sticking behind them as it was difficult to pass and I was DYING!!
Finally we got out of the boardwalk area and ran towards our final park…
EPCOT! YAH!
We came in near the usual entrance from the boardwalk area and I could see the World Showcase and knew that this was our home stretch!
We passed mile marker 25 as we came into Epcot… 1 mile to go!!
I was dead on my feet… like completely dead on my feet… Rachel and Dad tried to keep me running but I was being really grumpy and just wanted to walk
I of course ran every time I spotted a camera though hahaha
I've no idea where the next part happened, it was just off the course sort of down a pathway away from the lagoon that didn't go anywhere. Looking at the map and my photos I'm thinking it was just after the American pavilion
So ye... hidden away just off the course to our right was a character gathering! Just random characters standing around, no photographers and just one CM with them all and no waits!
We darted over a grabbed a few pics
As you can see there were some regular park guests coming to get photos too so I'm pretty sure we didn't get everyone. Rachel was keen to move on which I totally understand because I'd been holding her up for a long time now.
We HAD to get a quick picture with Rafiki though!! We'd missed him in AK so it was good to catch him here
(is that America in the background? I don't recognize these umbrella things??! WHERE IS IT?!)
And finally the next pics tell their own story
We got back on course and began running, we were running pretty short intervals but still running so that's the main thing!
I was just thinking about that finish line and trying to enjoy this last section...
We made it to Mexico!
The World Showcase feel a LOT bigger when you're on your 48th mile!!
We passed Mexico and right after we did we came up on the couple that we'd been chatting to earlier in the race! We'd crossed paths with them several times around the villains section and heading into AK and again on the stretch out towards WWOS, they'd gone ahead then when I stopped for my knee and we caught up again in WWOS at some of the character stops there. Again they'd gone ahead when I'd struggled on the stretch to HS and it seemed fitting that we'd meet again right before the finish! We ran along them and said hello again and then set off for the finish
We passed by Spaceship Earth and ran out of the park for the fourth time!
We reached mile marker 26 and I could feel myself getting all emotional. My body was so ready for this to be done and I finally allowed myself to think about our bling!
Here we come
And across the finish line.....
WE DID IT!!!!!!
We collected our medals... FOR THE MARATHON!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Getting that medal today just held so much more significance! I mean obviously I'm proud of our other races but it's a strange feeling collecting your medal knowing your bigger challenges still lay ahead but not today!
My Mam and cousin we along the rails of the finisher shoot so we went over and said hi and to grab the bag with our other medals. We chatted really quickly arranging to meet back in the staging area again
As we made our way out of the finisher shoot and towards the area for photographs the couple we'd been chatting to caught up with us and we grabbed a group photo
There is such a great community spirit at these RunDisney events!
We grabbed our bottles of water and poweraid and on our way to get our picture taken we were stopped for a picture haha
Then the official photos
And that's it!! The Dopey Challenge 2016 is complete!
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 4 – Walt Disney World Marathon (3)
We came up the overpass and in the distance I could hear the screams from the green army man but I was beat at this stage. I had to walk. My knee was so sore!
Rachel was like ‘come on you can’t walk by the Green Army Man’ and I knew this was true but I literally left it to the last possible moment to take off running because I just felt completely drained.
We finally made it up the overpass and managed to run down it on route into Hollywood Studios.
I was so excited to get some more park time, it was all I was thinking about, that and getting away from those evil sweeper buses! We were still a good 50mins ahead so I kinda knew at this point that regardless of how bad I felt… even if I had to stop running completely, I was going to finish this thing. I think this was actually a real negative for me, I was struggling to keep myself motivated and I’m still not sure even today if I was losing the mental or physical battle or both!!
I saw TOT in the distance, what I would’ve given to just finish up there and get on my favourite ride to the twilight zone.
We passed a water station AND we got chocolate!!! YUMMY! It was Dove chocolate and really tasty, I grabbed a few!
We them came across a rare character meet right after we entered and sort of hidden away before we came out of the backstage area (I’m assuming to avoid the regular park guests)
BOO!
What an AWESOME meet!
We passed mile marker 23 as we entered and I believe it was a backstage entrance near Toy Story Mania and then we ran around to Streets of America… it’s a bit of blur!
We came down Hollywood Boulevard and the support was fantastic, there were some CM’s outside Starbucks and I was dreaming of a caramel Frappuccino!!
We ran out of the park and around to the right of the lake to the walkway for the Epcot resorts passing mile marker 24. Only 2miles to go!
You can tell from this pic that Rachel was in the zone where as I was getting the pep talks from Dad to keep me going! LOOK AT MY FACE!!
Here the course really tightened up which we had expected. I was still managing to get run intervals in up to this point but I did not have the physical or mental strength to start weaving.
We continued run/walking towards the boardwalk, we were getting some short stretches of runs in when the paths were wide enough. We ran around towards the Swan and Dolphin and spotted an old friend
VACTION GENIE!!
Looks like we are all looking at a different camera which suggests that there was a professional photographer but it's not on any of our profiles!
Back on course we continued around by the Epcot resorts to our next character, one we had missed out on at the 10k…
The Fairy Godmother…
Oh I would have LOVED a horse and carriage ride to Epcot!
I remember the walkway getting really tight after this and we were in behind a group of girls that were doing intervals which I think were about 2mins walking and 1min running. We ended up just sticking behind them as it was difficult to pass and I was DYING!!
Finally we got out of the boardwalk area and ran towards our final park…
EPCOT! YAH!
We came in near the usual entrance from the boardwalk area and I could see the World Showcase and knew that this was our home stretch!
We passed mile marker 25 as we came into Epcot… 1 mile to go!!
I was dead on my feet… like completely dead on my feet… Rachel and Dad tried to keep me running but I was being really grumpy and just wanted to walk
I of course ran every time I spotted a camera though hahaha
I've no idea where the next part happened, it was just off the course sort of down a pathway away from the lagoon that didn't go anywhere. Looking at the map and my photos I'm thinking it was just after the American pavilion
So ye... hidden away just off the course to our right was a character gathering! Just random characters standing around, no photographers and just one CM with them all and no waits!
We darted over a grabbed a few pics
As you can see there were some regular park guests coming to get photos too so I'm pretty sure we didn't get everyone. Rachel was keen to move on which I totally understand because I'd been holding her up for a long time now.
We HAD to get a quick picture with Rafiki though!! We'd missed him in AK so it was good to catch him here
(is that America in the background? I don't recognize these umbrella things??! WHERE IS IT?!)
And finally the next pics tell their own story
We got back on course and began running, we were running pretty short intervals but still running so that's the main thing!
I was just thinking about that finish line and trying to enjoy this last section...
We made it to Mexico!
The World Showcase feel a LOT bigger when you're on your 48th mile!!
We passed Mexico and right after we did we came up on the couple that we'd been chatting to earlier in the race! We'd crossed paths with them several times around the villains section and heading into AK and again on the stretch out towards WWOS, they'd gone ahead then when I stopped for my knee and we caught up again in WWOS at some of the character stops there. Again they'd gone ahead when I'd struggled on the stretch to HS and it seemed fitting that we'd meet again right before the finish! We ran along them and said hello again and then set off for the finish
We passed by Spaceship Earth and ran out of the park for the fourth time!
We reached mile marker 26 and I could feel myself getting all emotional. My body was so ready for this to be done and I finally allowed myself to think about our bling!
Here we come
And across the finish line.....
WE DID IT!!!!!!
We collected our medals... FOR THE MARATHON!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Getting that medal today just held so much more significance! I mean obviously I'm proud of our other races but it's a strange feeling collecting your medal knowing your bigger challenges still lay ahead but not today!
My Mam and cousin we along the rails of the finisher shoot so we went over and said hi and to grab the bag with our other medals. We chatted really quickly arranging to meet back in the staging area again
As we made our way out of the finisher shoot and towards the area for photographs the couple we'd been chatting to caught up with us and we grabbed a group photo
There is such a great community spirit at these RunDisney events!
We grabbed our bottles of water and poweraid and on our way to get our picture taken we were stopped for a picture haha
Then the official photos
And that's it!! The Dopey Challenge 2016 is complete!
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Mr Chelynnah
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2016
Long time lurker, big fan, very jealous!!!
So amazed by what the three of you did
You look in soooooo much pain by the end
So amazed by what the three of you did
You look in soooooo much pain by the end
chelynnah
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2015
Wow, I was so emotional reading that last part. I don't run (can't run) though DH does, and I could really feel your pain. So glad you didn't give up. Congrats to all 3 of you!!
How's your knee now? Are you doing all the DLP races or just the 1/2?
Edit: oops, looks like DH and I were reading and commenting at the same time LOL!
How's your knee now? Are you doing all the DLP races or just the 1/2?
Edit: oops, looks like DH and I were reading and commenting at the same time LOL!
dancingtodisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2015
Day 10 – Walt Disney World Marathon
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 5 – Walt Disney World Marathon Post Race fun
We collected some more snack boxes (we had a stockpile already!) and then went out to meet my Mam and cousin. The plan was for Mam to have already eaten in Disney Springs but that hadn’t happened yet (they must have had a difficult morning, having a nice sleep in and chilling at the resort) and she was proper stressing about getting her *free* lunch for the day. She wanted to go back to Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch but we had reservations for Beaches and Cream so there wouldn’t be time. I was a little snappy about it because we’d literally JUST finished a freakin marathon and I had no interest in having a debate about free food!
We dropped them off at Disney Springs to get Earl of Sandwich and make their own way back to OKW. We went back to the room to shower and chill.
I was HUNGRY so grabbed some pop tarts and raided my snack box as I waited for my sandwich.
Mam and my cousin arrived back and I devoured my sandwich so sorry no pictures!
Feeling fresh!
I had made a reservation at Beaches and Cream for ice-cream so we went there next, I had originally made the reservation for 4 because we didn’t know my cousin was going to be there and I wasn’t able to get one for 5 so we just turned up and tried to add her on.
I didn’t find the waiter very helpful, I know we were asking a favour really but I guess I’ve become accustomed to that awesome Disney service where nothing is ever trouble. We were told there was no table to fit us and that we couldn’t eat outside either. I spotted the bar stools and asked if we could split the party and eat up at the bar. Dad sat at the bar and we sat and table and ordered.
I was so excited for ice-cream…. I’ve never ordered this before but I’ve seen so many pictures of it on here
No Way Jose…
Oh it looks so good right now… Mmmmmmmm
Afterwards my parents drove my cousin back to home (she lives around the Daytona area but they dropped her to some shopping centre where they’d agreed to meet)
Myself and Rachel got the bus from Beach Club to Magic Kingdom, we just missed a bus but we didn’t have to wait too long for the next one.
We had been texting our other cousin (on my Dad’s side this time) that is from New York. He was over in Disneyworld with his girlfriend and they were in the Magic Kingdom so we arranged to meet them when we got to the park. We headed straight over to Big Thunder Mountain and met them just outside the entrance. The queue time was around 40mins which we normally NEVER do because we have fast passes or we get their early but we were happy to wait with them and it gave us the chance to catch up. They were shocked that we had just run so many miles and were still standing!
That was one really good thing I was happy about, I didn’t feel too bad! After the Dublin marathon I was in bits and just lay on the sofa all day. My legs still felt tired today but I was fine standing in the queue and happy to walk around the park as well.
We eventually got on the ride and it was great fun as always!
My cousins phone was low on battery so we went over to the charging area near tangled and sat there for a while for it to charge.
We had reservations for Be Our Guest for dinner and my parents were on their way to the park to meet us for that. We decided to grab some photos before saying goodbye, I told them to get one together and we could send it to them as well as they didn’t have the photopass.
No idea why I have my sleeves rolled up, I think I was too cold without my jacket and too hot with it on haha
We said our goodbyes and then we popped into the Bonjour gift store to sort a little surprise for my Mam. Today my Mam was officially one year cancer free, it was so fitting that we were doing this challenge for charity as a family and we finished on this exact day so we wanted to do something nice for her at dinner. I grabbed a nice belle postcard and wrote a message to Mam on it.
We went up to the check in desk for BOG and gave them the postcard and told them that we were celebrating also.
We met my parents and then checked in properly and waited to be called.
We waited about 5mins before being called to our table, the CM lead us to the table with Lumiere in hand, it’s so much calmer at dinner time! We were lead to our table at the back of the ballroom close to the entrance to the West Wing. Our server told us we had a great spot as Beast was going to be walking right past our table!
I love the napkin roses at the table, a really nice touch.
We ordered our drinks, I went for chocolate milk! I was addicted now!
I ordered STEAK! I was really hungry again and needed something substantial. Rachel ordered the same.
I can’t remember what my parents ordered, I think this was the fish of the day
Doesn’t help that Mam had already dug into her ‘free’ food haha but this looks like the Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops
For desert our special surprise arrived and Mam was really delighted, I think she did feel a little left out over the last four days because we were obviously getting a lot of attention with our medals and we were taking photographs of just the three of us and stuff.
We also got our FREE deserts that came with our dining plan meal but I don’t have pictures so here’s a random picture of the desert trolley I’ve borrowed from google…
Beast had just made one of his appearances in the Ballroom and right after we made our way out to meet him. The do the meet in the same area that you order your food during breakfast/lunch.
We waited about 10mins for Beast to arrive and after sitting for so long at dinner I was starting to feel sore.
He’s SO BIG!
We got lots of photos which was nice, it’s a really good extra touch at dinner time and I like that it’s separate from the dining hall so it keeps the dining experience feeling quite special and sort of fancy unlike the usual chaos that sometimes comes with character dining.
Dad wanted a couple more pics on his way out
We walked out towards the exit stopping on Main Street for some final photos
I figured this would probably be the last night that the Christmas decorations were up so I took a few photos
We went back to our resort and chilled in bed for a bit sharing some photos from our run with Mam and letting the feeling of being finished settle in. It was a weird day, it felt sort of like an anti-climax right when we finished because there had been this HUGE build up to all of this but then I really enjoyed the evening in Magic Kingdom and I was really proud of what we had achieved. I was disappointed that I’d held us up during the run but sometimes it’s just how race day goes. In the Dublin Marathon and our 10mile run a few months before I felt like I was holding back for Rachel and I was helping her more as she was struggling but she had a much better stint of training between the Dublin Marathon and Dopey that goes really to her dedication. I on the other hand struggled with my training at that time, I did not have the same physio anymore as I lived in London and the one I did have was nowhere as good, more enjoyable because I basically got a few leg rubs but definitely not as productive for my running. I was also running by myself, this was the hardest part, we’ve carried each other when we needed to and when I wake up at 6am and don’t want to run there was always a knock at my bedroom door and two people waiting outside that I didn’t want to let down. I was then living in a different country with a far more active social life and nobody depending on me. On top of that was some horrible job stress and injury. I’m not making excuses for myself I’m more just reflecting on the build-up and trying to learn from it.
On that note I made a short list of things I would do IF I was to sign up to Dopey again:
1) Start consistent training earlier - I think 12months of solid training is needed and this allows a buffer for the times you are put out by injury
2) Not run my first ever marathon so close to Dopey – The Dublin Marathon was such a tough race and it took so much out of us, I don’t feel we were fit enough to recover from that and get back into the intense training that was needed so close to Dopey. This may be different next time.
3) Get a better qualifying time for a better coral placement – This point applies mainly to the half marathon, I think being one or two corals higher would have really helped us avoid some of the congestion we experienced. It didn’t help that we stopped for quite a while in the early miles but we were surrounded by walkers and all that extra time on our feet was tough to deal with the day before a marathon
4) Enjoy the marathon more – This sort of leads on from the above, the marathon course is amazing and I’m already excited at the thought of completing it under better conditions. There are things I can’t control like the weather but there are others that I can like my preparation.
5) Not taking an ice bath – enough said.
Some things that worked really well for us:
1) Running together – I don’t know if I would have even completed the marathon without my Dad and my Sister but on top of that we had so much fun running together. You can probably tell from our photos how much we enjoyed running together.
2) Disposable ponchos and myler blankets – GET SOME! They were perfect pre-race for keeping us dry and warm and when you’ve got four early mornings and lots of miles to get through you don’t want to be wet and cold and miserable!
3) Taking lots of character photos – they really cheered me up when I needed it and we have such good memories! We even skipped some that I would have liked to get like Safari Minnie and Country Bears.
4) Driving – We saw some pretty long waits for busses and it was so easy driving, we’d initially planned only to drive for the 5k and 10k but it was so convenient to just hop straight in car, stay warm and head straight to the parking lot. It helped that our hotel was close to Epcot and that we left early enough to avoid traffic and road closures.
5) The Dis – the forums provided so much info and support in the build up to the races and I definitely recommend joining the threads for whatever race you’ve entered and introducing yourself and getting involved.
Finally I just want to say that overall this was an amazing experience and we loved it! I’m very envious of those heading back for Marathon weekend 2017 but I’ve already set my sights on 2018 so we’ll see what happens there.
Sunday 10th January 2016
Part 5 – Walt Disney World Marathon Post Race fun
We collected some more snack boxes (we had a stockpile already!) and then went out to meet my Mam and cousin. The plan was for Mam to have already eaten in Disney Springs but that hadn’t happened yet (they must have had a difficult morning, having a nice sleep in and chilling at the resort) and she was proper stressing about getting her *free* lunch for the day. She wanted to go back to Wolfgang Puck Express for lunch but we had reservations for Beaches and Cream so there wouldn’t be time. I was a little snappy about it because we’d literally JUST finished a freakin marathon and I had no interest in having a debate about free food!
We dropped them off at Disney Springs to get Earl of Sandwich and make their own way back to OKW. We went back to the room to shower and chill.
I was HUNGRY so grabbed some pop tarts and raided my snack box as I waited for my sandwich.
Mam and my cousin arrived back and I devoured my sandwich so sorry no pictures!
Feeling fresh!
I had made a reservation at Beaches and Cream for ice-cream so we went there next, I had originally made the reservation for 4 because we didn’t know my cousin was going to be there and I wasn’t able to get one for 5 so we just turned up and tried to add her on.
I didn’t find the waiter very helpful, I know we were asking a favour really but I guess I’ve become accustomed to that awesome Disney service where nothing is ever trouble. We were told there was no table to fit us and that we couldn’t eat outside either. I spotted the bar stools and asked if we could split the party and eat up at the bar. Dad sat at the bar and we sat and table and ordered.
I was so excited for ice-cream…. I’ve never ordered this before but I’ve seen so many pictures of it on here
No Way Jose…
Oh it looks so good right now… Mmmmmmmm
Afterwards my parents drove my cousin back to home (she lives around the Daytona area but they dropped her to some shopping centre where they’d agreed to meet)
Myself and Rachel got the bus from Beach Club to Magic Kingdom, we just missed a bus but we didn’t have to wait too long for the next one.
We had been texting our other cousin (on my Dad’s side this time) that is from New York. He was over in Disneyworld with his girlfriend and they were in the Magic Kingdom so we arranged to meet them when we got to the park. We headed straight over to Big Thunder Mountain and met them just outside the entrance. The queue time was around 40mins which we normally NEVER do because we have fast passes or we get their early but we were happy to wait with them and it gave us the chance to catch up. They were shocked that we had just run so many miles and were still standing!
That was one really good thing I was happy about, I didn’t feel too bad! After the Dublin marathon I was in bits and just lay on the sofa all day. My legs still felt tired today but I was fine standing in the queue and happy to walk around the park as well.
We eventually got on the ride and it was great fun as always!
My cousins phone was low on battery so we went over to the charging area near tangled and sat there for a while for it to charge.
We had reservations for Be Our Guest for dinner and my parents were on their way to the park to meet us for that. We decided to grab some photos before saying goodbye, I told them to get one together and we could send it to them as well as they didn’t have the photopass.
No idea why I have my sleeves rolled up, I think I was too cold without my jacket and too hot with it on haha
We said our goodbyes and then we popped into the Bonjour gift store to sort a little surprise for my Mam. Today my Mam was officially one year cancer free, it was so fitting that we were doing this challenge for charity as a family and we finished on this exact day so we wanted to do something nice for her at dinner. I grabbed a nice belle postcard and wrote a message to Mam on it.
We went up to the check in desk for BOG and gave them the postcard and told them that we were celebrating also.
We met my parents and then checked in properly and waited to be called.
We waited about 5mins before being called to our table, the CM lead us to the table with Lumiere in hand, it’s so much calmer at dinner time! We were lead to our table at the back of the ballroom close to the entrance to the West Wing. Our server told us we had a great spot as Beast was going to be walking right past our table!
I love the napkin roses at the table, a really nice touch.
We ordered our drinks, I went for chocolate milk! I was addicted now!
I ordered STEAK! I was really hungry again and needed something substantial. Rachel ordered the same.
I can’t remember what my parents ordered, I think this was the fish of the day
Doesn’t help that Mam had already dug into her ‘free’ food haha but this looks like the Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops
For desert our special surprise arrived and Mam was really delighted, I think she did feel a little left out over the last four days because we were obviously getting a lot of attention with our medals and we were taking photographs of just the three of us and stuff.
We also got our FREE deserts that came with our dining plan meal but I don’t have pictures so here’s a random picture of the desert trolley I’ve borrowed from google…
Beast had just made one of his appearances in the Ballroom and right after we made our way out to meet him. The do the meet in the same area that you order your food during breakfast/lunch.
We waited about 10mins for Beast to arrive and after sitting for so long at dinner I was starting to feel sore.
He’s SO BIG!
We got lots of photos which was nice, it’s a really good extra touch at dinner time and I like that it’s separate from the dining hall so it keeps the dining experience feeling quite special and sort of fancy unlike the usual chaos that sometimes comes with character dining.
Dad wanted a couple more pics on his way out
We walked out towards the exit stopping on Main Street for some final photos
I figured this would probably be the last night that the Christmas decorations were up so I took a few photos
We went back to our resort and chilled in bed for a bit sharing some photos from our run with Mam and letting the feeling of being finished settle in. It was a weird day, it felt sort of like an anti-climax right when we finished because there had been this HUGE build up to all of this but then I really enjoyed the evening in Magic Kingdom and I was really proud of what we had achieved. I was disappointed that I’d held us up during the run but sometimes it’s just how race day goes. In the Dublin Marathon and our 10mile run a few months before I felt like I was holding back for Rachel and I was helping her more as she was struggling but she had a much better stint of training between the Dublin Marathon and Dopey that goes really to her dedication. I on the other hand struggled with my training at that time, I did not have the same physio anymore as I lived in London and the one I did have was nowhere as good, more enjoyable because I basically got a few leg rubs but definitely not as productive for my running. I was also running by myself, this was the hardest part, we’ve carried each other when we needed to and when I wake up at 6am and don’t want to run there was always a knock at my bedroom door and two people waiting outside that I didn’t want to let down. I was then living in a different country with a far more active social life and nobody depending on me. On top of that was some horrible job stress and injury. I’m not making excuses for myself I’m more just reflecting on the build-up and trying to learn from it.
On that note I made a short list of things I would do IF I was to sign up to Dopey again:
1) Start consistent training earlier - I think 12months of solid training is needed and this allows a buffer for the times you are put out by injury
2) Not run my first ever marathon so close to Dopey – The Dublin Marathon was such a tough race and it took so much out of us, I don’t feel we were fit enough to recover from that and get back into the intense training that was needed so close to Dopey. This may be different next time.
3) Get a better qualifying time for a better coral placement – This point applies mainly to the half marathon, I think being one or two corals higher would have really helped us avoid some of the congestion we experienced. It didn’t help that we stopped for quite a while in the early miles but we were surrounded by walkers and all that extra time on our feet was tough to deal with the day before a marathon
4) Enjoy the marathon more – This sort of leads on from the above, the marathon course is amazing and I’m already excited at the thought of completing it under better conditions. There are things I can’t control like the weather but there are others that I can like my preparation.
5) Not taking an ice bath – enough said.
Some things that worked really well for us:
1) Running together – I don’t know if I would have even completed the marathon without my Dad and my Sister but on top of that we had so much fun running together. You can probably tell from our photos how much we enjoyed running together.
2) Disposable ponchos and myler blankets – GET SOME! They were perfect pre-race for keeping us dry and warm and when you’ve got four early mornings and lots of miles to get through you don’t want to be wet and cold and miserable!
3) Taking lots of character photos – they really cheered me up when I needed it and we have such good memories! We even skipped some that I would have liked to get like Safari Minnie and Country Bears.
4) Driving – We saw some pretty long waits for busses and it was so easy driving, we’d initially planned only to drive for the 5k and 10k but it was so convenient to just hop straight in car, stay warm and head straight to the parking lot. It helped that our hotel was close to Epcot and that we left early enough to avoid traffic and road closures.
5) The Dis – the forums provided so much info and support in the build up to the races and I definitely recommend joining the threads for whatever race you’ve entered and introducing yourself and getting involved.
Finally I just want to say that overall this was an amazing experience and we loved it! I’m very envious of those heading back for Marathon weekend 2017 but I’ve already set my sights on 2018 so we’ll see what happens there.
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