Goofy Movie III? Father and Son take on 2011 Goofy's race and a half challenge!

[PrincessRora]

Hello all!
Looks like it’s time for another pre-trip report. Truthfully I can’t believe we’re actually going again. I’m in complete disbelief. However, this trip is going to be a lot more relaxing (for me anyway) than any of our last trips. This time it’s all about the Disney Marathon Weekend 2011!!

And yes, even though I’m way behind (slacking actually) on my trip report from Nov. 2009, I have to get this one going, because it’s going to be such a different experience from anything we’ve ever experienced before.

So the details – well, we haven’t decided much but here goes:

When: January 6-9 2011 (Jan 4-5 will be spent at Universal since Stephen has never been).

Where: Undecided, but it will more than likely be a moderate resort. Probably Port Orleans (thought not sure which one). All input is welcome. We’ve never stayed at these before.

What: EPCOT Thursday, 5K Friday, 1/2 marathon Saturday, Full marathon Sunday. Yep that’s absolutely right. We’ve got people running in all three. In fact, 2 of our cast members are participating in the Goofy’s race and a half challenge. They’ll be running the half marathon on Saturday, followed by a full marathon on Sunday.

Who: (Cause this is the goofy challenge, I’m gonna use A Goofy Movie references)
Me (Roxanne): For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Nikki. I am the self proclaimed Disney fanatic. I love everything about it, and I can not wait to have my own children to take to Disney and participate in everything it has to offer. I am truthfully excited about the Fantasy land make over. Yeah, it’ll be a little sad to see some things changed, but I think it’ll be even more magical in the end. I got to stay on property for the first time in Nov. 2009 and I absolutely loved it. I’m the sane one in this so I’ll just be running the 5k. When I actually have time to train, maybe I’ll one day work my way up to a half marathon. I would love to participate in the princess half one march.

DH-to be (Max): Stephen is my best friend, who also happens to be my fiancé. He is not as crazy about Disney as I am, but he tolerates it for me. Funny enough this trip came about through him, although not directly. Last time we were at Disney, Stephen really got into the spirit and we had an amazing time. Although we’re not doing the parks a lot this trip, I’m sure he’s going to enjoy it. And although it’s Blasphemy here, he’s also very excited about doing Universal because he’s never been and he loves thrill rides. Stephen is going to be running his second half marathon, and his first full. He’d better start training.
Here’s one of our photopass pictures from November 2009.

FIL-to be (Goofy): Mark is Stephen’s father, and a really wonderful man. He’s the reason for this trip, and he’s also the one paying, while I’m in charge of the planning. Talk about starting the relationship with the in-laws off with a bang. I’ve been running everything by him like crazy because I don’t want to step on any toes. But he’s very laid back and easy going. Like Stephen, he likes to push his body to the limit, which kind of explains why Stephen called me one day saying “So, dad just signed us up the goofy challenge in 2011? Want to run it too?”
Here's father and son before they ran the United States Marine Corp Mud Run in Sept. 2009.

Possible supporting cast:

DM: Debbie is my mother, and I love her to death. I didn’t get my love of Disney from her though (or dad actually- it just surfaced on its own). But she is sort of the reason why I love it. After all, it was mom who convinced dad to take us kids to Disney so often when we were younger. Her goal for the future however is for me to give her a granddaughter that she can one day take to BBB since it didn’t exist when I was little. She loves the idea of one day taking her grandchildren to Disney. This trip however, she’s mostly excited about Universal and watching her daughter and future SIL run like crazy people.

DF: Santos is my dad. He’s not into Disney at all, but tolerates it for me. Last time he went was June 2008 as a graduation from college present to me. I wanted to go with my best friend and my niece and he wonderfully paid for everything but park tickets. He was very nice. He’s the reason my parents aren’t sure if they’re coming. Mom wants to go; dad keeps saying we’ll see. They have friends in Orlando, so they’ll be visiting them when we spend the day at Epcot. And dad is very anti-property. But they’ll probably drive, so they’ll have their own car.
Here’s a picture of them from out 2008 trip – before I was with Stephen.

So about a month ago, my mother and I were at the airport picking up my brother from his study abroad. While waiting outside customs, I got a phone call from Stephen. His dad had called him and told him that his friend was running a full and half marathon the next weekend at Disney and he thought it sounded cool. Stephen as if he meant the Goofy race and a half challenge, and his dad said yes. That’s when his dad said “I’m going to sign you and I up to run it in 2011, start training.” Stephen then asked if I’d do it too. Um… no. But sign me up for the 5k. That I can handle.

As soon as registration opened, Mark signed the two of them up. I couldn’t believe it. Mark has run one marathon, and Stephen’s run a half. Together, if they were one person, I’d say ok, they’ve got this. However, they both have their problems: Stephen’s is muscle stamina. He needs to train. After the half marathon, his muscles were very very unhappy. Mark’s muscles are fine. His heart and lungs however, not so great. He gets tired and winded very easily. He’s already started training.

On my end, I can run a 5k, interspaced with walking, but maintain time. I want to be able to run it without stopping. That’s my goal. My goal is also to loose 20 lbs by my wedding in 18 months, so hopefully training and weight loss will go hand and hand.

With luck we’ll all come home with medals.

I want to make this trip special. I’m thinking about making us all t-shirts or something as Christmas presents, but I’ve never done this before. Ideas anyone?

And lastly, we’re looking into one table service meal for Friday night. It needs to be outside the park, and preferably high in carbs, and very early; Which is why I’m looking now so I can be ready as soon as we reach our mark for reservations. Is it 90 days or 120? I’m not sure anymore. Does anyone have any good restaurant ideas for 5 adults?

I'm all Ears

 

[cmp1111]

Cool story! Can't wait to hear some of the decisions!

 

[PrincessRora]

Cool story! Can't wait to hear some of the decisions!

Welcome. Thanks for joining in. As for decisions, neither can I actually. I'm the only one who actually likes a plan in place. The rest of them are perfectly willing to wait to have a resort and meals and stuff until the week before we leave.

 

[PrincessRora]

Just received an email from FIL-to be. Apparently our possible supporting cast will be even bigger than we though. So here goes:

DFIL's Friend: I don't know much about this person. I don't even have a name, but the more the merrier. It's Disney. Although they won't be arriving till Friday, and then it's just going to be running and watching for them.

DMIL-to be: Jerilynn is a wonderful worman. She and DFIL-to be have been divorced since Stephen was a teenager. She lives here in Charlotte while he lives in Tampa. They're still great friends and apparently she's thinking about coming.

DSIL-to be: Erin will be my sister in about a year and a half. She's a sweet girl, and I love her already. She's loves to look her best, but she also knows how to get down and dirty.

Here's a picture of brother and sister at the mud run. Their mom didn't run, a friend of Erin's did. I don't have one of DMIL-to be. I will have to remedy that soon.

The email also told me that we were going to need two rooms. DFIL-to be and his friend want their own room. So Stephen and I will either be sharing a room with his mom and sis, or we'll have our own room. And he wants to stay at Port Orleans, but he doesn't care which, because they're both right outside the race route. So, any insite anyone? French Quarter or Riverside? We've never stayed at a moderate before. I need help to not make a bad call here.

Last, DFIL thinks we should go to carabas for dinner. Problem is he has a tiny 5 seater car. The rest of us will be flying, probably, and not getting a car, so how will that work? I might need to talk to DFIL about eating somewhere on property. But that can wait. I can make a reservation somewhere and always cancle it if need be.