Ariel484
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
- Messages
- 11,911
Hellooooooo humans! It's another runDisney trip report!
The cast is a small one this time around...just my husband Will (28) and me, Shannon (29).
This runDisney trip was different from my other ones in a few ways, the biggest being that the primary motivation was not to run the half marathon (although I did sign up for the half...I can't pass up the opportunity to earn some runDisney bling
). No, the main reason we booked this trip was to run Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K...together! It was Will's first race at Disney...actually, his first race ever!
We originally had our sights set on May's Expedition Everest Challenge, but quickly realized that the race would more than likely fall during a big tennis tournament that Will coaches each year. It seemed stupid to sign up for such an expensive race ($210 for both of us to do the 5K!
) with such a strong possibility that we wouldn't actually be able to participate, so that's when we switched gears and planned on the Wine & Dine weekend.
If any of you have read my other runDisney race reports (here and here) you may be wondering what happened to my normal runDisney partner-in-crime, Princess Craiggy (my brother Craig, 27). Why didn't he come along and run the half with me? Apparently the idea of doing a night race really freaks him out for whatever reason. Plus, he's pretty busy - and broke - being a smarty-pants graduate student in a rigorous nursing program. (He's mentioned doing another runDisney race weekend more than once.) And finally, I sort of thought Will and I needed a little getaway, just the two of us.
The other big way that this trip was different was that it was the first time I've ever come into a runDisney race trip thinking there was a strong possibility that I'd either not start a race or drop out due to injury.
My last long run during training was a 12-miler on November 3, the Sunday before the race. Out of nowhere I had weird knee pain at mile 9 and changed my stride to compensate for it. I felt okay once I was done, but as the night went on I increasingly felt like I had an intense cramp in my left foot. The next morning it felt like I had a serious strain, and I spent the rest of the week hobbling around work, popping ibuprofen like it was candy, icing my foot, and researching compression socks and taping methods that I hoped would help me quickly heal or at least successfully limp through the race. 
(My knee, the thing that had started this whole mess, felt perfectly fine. 
) Monday and Tuesday were the worst - I was in serious pain and wasn't even looking forward to the trip. What if I couldnt start the races? What if I started and got pulled off the course? I know they give out medals to people even if they don't finish...what would I do with the medal? There's no way I'd keep it. What if I tore or ruptured something? Would I cause serious damage here? WHAT ABOUT MY TRIP REPORT?! Seriously though, it was a pretty miserable week.
On Wednesday I felt a little better and was starting to think that maybe I could make it through. By Thursday I was pretty sure I was going to at least try both races, knowing full well that due to my stubbornness (and, let's be honest, stupidity) there was no way I'd willingly leave the course once I started unless something serious happened.
It was just a really weird time...by far the least excited I've ever been for a Disney trip.
Continued in Next Post
The cast is a small one this time around...just my husband Will (28) and me, Shannon (29).
This runDisney trip was different from my other ones in a few ways, the biggest being that the primary motivation was not to run the half marathon (although I did sign up for the half...I can't pass up the opportunity to earn some runDisney bling
). No, the main reason we booked this trip was to run Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K...together! It was Will's first race at Disney...actually, his first race ever!
We originally had our sights set on May's Expedition Everest Challenge, but quickly realized that the race would more than likely fall during a big tennis tournament that Will coaches each year. It seemed stupid to sign up for such an expensive race ($210 for both of us to do the 5K!
) with such a strong possibility that we wouldn't actually be able to participate, so that's when we switched gears and planned on the Wine & Dine weekend.If any of you have read my other runDisney race reports (here and here) you may be wondering what happened to my normal runDisney partner-in-crime, Princess Craiggy (my brother Craig, 27). Why didn't he come along and run the half with me? Apparently the idea of doing a night race really freaks him out for whatever reason. Plus, he's pretty busy - and broke - being a smarty-pants graduate student in a rigorous nursing program. (He's mentioned doing another runDisney race weekend more than once.) And finally, I sort of thought Will and I needed a little getaway, just the two of us.
The other big way that this trip was different was that it was the first time I've ever come into a runDisney race trip thinking there was a strong possibility that I'd either not start a race or drop out due to injury.
My last long run during training was a 12-miler on November 3, the Sunday before the race. Out of nowhere I had weird knee pain at mile 9 and changed my stride to compensate for it. I felt okay once I was done, but as the night went on I increasingly felt like I had an intense cramp in my left foot. The next morning it felt like I had a serious strain, and I spent the rest of the week hobbling around work, popping ibuprofen like it was candy, icing my foot, and researching compression socks and taping methods that I hoped would help me quickly heal or at least successfully limp through the race. (My knee, the thing that had started this whole mess, felt perfectly fine. ) Monday and Tuesday were the worst - I was in serious pain and wasn't even looking forward to the trip. What if I couldnt start the races? What if I started and got pulled off the course? I know they give out medals to people even if they don't finish...what would I do with the medal? There's no way I'd keep it. What if I tore or ruptured something? Would I cause serious damage here? WHAT ABOUT MY TRIP REPORT?! Seriously though, it was a pretty miserable week.On Wednesday I felt a little better and was starting to think that maybe I could make it through. By Thursday I was pretty sure I was going to at least try both races, knowing full well that due to my stubbornness (and, let's be honest, stupidity) there was no way I'd willingly leave the course once I started unless something serious happened.
It was just a really weird time...by far the least excited I've ever been for a Disney trip.
Continued in Next Post
Welcome!!!
).
I think it was brought on because I was wearing a thick sweatshirt...or something. Oooookay.
) and found the Magical Express on my first try by about 11:40. That's two trips in a row now! Obviously I'm some sort of professional.
This just made it so much worse. I know it wasn't my fault that the flight got delayed but I felt soooo incredibly guilty.
She found another flight to move him to free of charge...the catch? It didnt land in Orlando until 11:45PM that night, which would mean he'd be arriving at our hotel around 1AM if he was lucky. 
Blech. And did I mention there was only one seat left on this potential new flight, so I needed to make a decision, like, immediately? 
). Instead I hopped on my phone and looked for other flights from Cleveland to Orlando. There was one direct flight from United with 3 seats left that took off at 3:56, which I think I looked at in the past but thought would be cutting it too close for Will to get to in time after school. Plus, now that I wanted to book this flight day-of it would cost $400. 
I also called Magical Express to update Will's arrival information and called Southwest again, this time to cancel Will's original flight. He got out of school and was to the airport quickly - luckily it's a short 10-15 minute right from school. With his new boarding pass already printed and no bags to check he was through security by 2:45. And I finally felt like I could relax.
). Before I could fully flip out, the driver went on to say that the bus would be stopping at Saratoga Springs before heading to the airport. THANK GOD...it just so happened that Saratoga Springs was also a race host resort, so I could grab an expo bus there. 
At this point I was sure I was going to start the races (which meant I'd do everything I possibly could to finish them - not saying this was smart, just what I knew would happen), so I tempted fate by getting myself some merch: an "I Did It" t-shirt, a Wine & Dine Sweaty Band (LOVE Sweaty Bands...they are pricey but awesome) and a Wine & Dine Medal for my 2013 runDisney Vinylmation. I got an AP discount on all of these things.
Luckily the pain was totally gone by the weekend after the trip and I didn't resume running until the first week of December, just to be on the safe side. Trying to get back to where I was has been a slow process so far - which it should be because if I do too much too soon I'll just injure myself again. But even though I did non-running activities I still lost a lot of fitness during that time. Boo! It totally could have been worse though.
