Race Reports/Kudos/Encouragement - January 9 - 11

[pyrxtc]

What is "DOPEY" ??

Well, Dh did great, wiht a time of 2:11 for the half. I'm very proud of him.

 

[aldisneygrl]

What is "DOPEY" ??

Well, Dh did great, wiht a time of 2:11 for the half. I'm very proud of him.

Dopey is the term for those folks who decide to do the Goofy (which is the Half AND the Full) AND they do the 5K on Friday as well. It is meant in love though.

Congrats to your DH!

 

[plutosmyfav]

Zela,

I was almost afraid to keep reading. I can't believe you were swept at 36 miles into Goofy. My heart is broken for you. But I know you can do it! I hope you rebound and conquer Goofy.

Sunny

 

[dsnyfan21]

Heres a recap...

Thursday was the EXPO. Was up near the front of the line with Jeff, Marcia and others along with some DRers.
Process was a bit different as you get your packets, bibs, chips and pins at the Milk House and then go over to the Josten's Center for your goody bag and for all the vendors.

Friday up at 4:45 to get on bus by 5:30am. Mom and I did the 5K. It was her first. Things went well and I didn't push anything and finished with a decent time.

Friday was the Pop meet. Was great to see some that I have met previously and some new members. THANKS again for those that donated money for the nametags. It is greatly appreciated!! Loved see my WARRIOR leader Carrie!!

Saturday was up at 3:15 to be on the monorail at 3:50am. Was still pretty cool in the AM. Nice to hang with the WISHers before the race. Met up with Pat and Jim, my DL 1/2 corral buddies, so we could hang out again at the front of the corral.
Race went pretty well. Not sure I liked the new start of the Half, lots of trees and a road. Oh well. I did love these things.... the monorail honking at the runners (didn't even know they had horns that sound like Mack trucks), going though the Magic Kingdom TTC station, seeing WISHers along the course, seeing Susie (escape) at the bus area at EPCOT, the DJ on the stage near the EPCOT fountain, the choir at the end!!!
I PR'd the Half, I wasn't trying but it happended!!

Up Sunday at 4:20am to walk across to the Goofy or was it Pluto? parking lot to sign in for volunteering for the Full Marathon. Fellow WISHers Bryan, Maura, Amy and I worked at Water Stop #11 behind Splash Mountain. We were all at the last water table , but then the leader called Bryan over to help with the Powerade, poop! I enjoyed volunteering!! I tried to yell out at every WISHer I saw and then some yelling out people's names inbetween yelling out "water". We were the last table on the right side.

At the checkin tent...

The first Marathoner to come through our stop...

Bryan with his powering Powerade Pouring...

The three Water Wishers...

All done by 9:10am and heading back to the bus...

Couldn't make it to the Boardwalk Breakfast. Slept in till 8:15am and out by 9am to get some shopping done before driving home.

Thanks to Jeff and Marcia for being them and making such great friends. Glad we met on the WISH and can meet up like old friends at these events!! Loved seeing Marcia's mom Kim. Lunch Saturday was great!

Thanks Jen and Noah for taking care of my Mom during the 5K!! You two are great and loved seeing you two again. Noah I hope you liked your anniverary gift!! HEHE

Liz and Patrick thanks for the invite to breakfast on Friday. Great company to be with!! Liz thanks for putting together the desert party on Sunday. It was very nice!!

Great seeing everyone!! WISHers rock and I am glad to be a part of such a great support system and finding some great friends along the way!!

Racey Tracy.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

After a year of training and working for this, I got swept at mile 8 in the half.

My sciatic and I weren't on speaking terms (amongst other things) during mile 2 so I switched strides and tried to get going. I couldn't maintain the 16 minute mile pace and gradually fell back. But I was determined to do the best I could...

I'm sorry that you got swept. This is sad to hear. You started and went 8 miles in difficult times. That sure counts for cudos! I'm glad you are not giving up and hope your training continues to give you the strength and all that you need to get over that finish line.

Zela, that is an amazing story of courage you have reported. I am sorry that you got swept. I'm encouraged by your drive to try again and admire you.


Tracy, good report. Thanks for the pics. You were really flying for the event for sure.

corinnak and Bryan, way to do it! Congratulations.

I made it through the Goofy. It was not pretty, but I got it done thanks to the help of our WISH Team. My half went quite well, I finished in 3:12 and that was a bit faster than I had planned, but it felt good. For the full I started out about as I did for the half and realized that I could not keep that pace so slowed it down. I maintained a slower than 15 min/mile pace for a good bit and knew that I could use all the extra minutes in the bag for the end. The first half of the full was not too bad, the second part and about the Animal Kingdom and beyond found me suffering from the heat. For some reason I was not able to get to feeling cool and kept feeling worse. It was not as hot as the last two years had been so I don't really understand what happened. I held it together, but really had a tough time digging deep for this one. I have managed to get through limping and such, but this heat had me nauseated a bit and a bit light-headed. It sure helped to have the cool cloths and ice given to me and definitely to have Matt walk me around the world. I'm going to enjoy the memories I have from all WISH Team members for all the support during the events this weekend and throughout this past year.

WISH Team is the Best!

 

[jmasgat]

Hi all!

Finally back in Michigan where it is definitely NOT 80 degrees & sunny! I hada greattime this past weekend. Good to see the WISHersI met live in May last yearand meet new ones, too!

TestTrack on Friday was fun. I had two groups of "family" to bring in. I think people enjoyed it.

Oh yeah, the race! Perfectweather conditions--nice and cool. (Thanks for the gloves, Anne!) I was my ususal nervous self before hand. Makes it hard to eat breakfast, but I managed oatmeal and a banana. I had the advantage of starting towards the front, so it only took me 2 minutes to cross the finish line. Started out at a "measured" pace--not slow, just cautious. By mile 3, traffic had thinned out enough so that I could run without constantly trying to pick the right path. I wonder how much dodging and weaving adds to the course mileage?! Felt great all the way to MK. Tried to smile for all the photographers-hope the pics don't look too creepy!

Started to feel somewhat tired approaching mile 8-9. And who decided to put ALL the inclines in the last 3 miles of the race? AARRGGHH! Refused to walk while going up the cloverleaf, but must have slowed down. Was ready to be done when the race ended.

My goal for my first half was to finish by 2:15--not necessarily an ambitious time based on 10k/15k results of mine, but didn't want to over reach, especially since I have spent a bit of time trying to overcome my IT issues. So let's just say I am THRILLED beyond belief to have finished in 2:01:14! Apparently I ran all negative 5k splits--not that I could plan that. I finished 2118 out of 12434, 666 out of 7181 women, and 30 out of 602 in my age group.

I felt great postrace and the nextday--justa little quad soreness and my stupid feet--not blistered, but I have something thatjustgets rubbed the wrong way.

It was also great to cheer for people at water stop 11 and at Epcot. I was the person with the beer just at the entrance to Epcot and also at various points in World Showcase/Future World (as I was walking to UK to buy my beer!)

So who knows what's next. I watched people finishing the full and thought-- "Should I, or shouldn't I"?

Maura


BTW....I saw Mr Marathoner--he posted briefly a while back after one of the WISHers found his blog--at the airport yesterday while headed home, and he was on my flight. Turns out Leslie had issues with shin splints or something along those lines and pulled out of the race somewhere along the way. He was disappointed, but not giving up. Will be back next year. Feels like he let people down! I still think he is an inspiration, and made sure to tell him.

 

[JimB.]

Hey Gang! A really quick report for my weekend.

Other than oversleeping on Sunday, it was a relatively crisis-free weekend.

I walked the 5k w/my DW & DD in 44 minutes. Even though the "medals" were plastic, I really liked them. Very colorful and bright!

The 1/2 went well. I went pretty slow & finished in 2:14. Felt well except for a slight "twinge" in my left thigh.

Sunday I was pleasantly sleeping on the sofa in the living room @ SSR so I would not wake up the family when I got up. My DW pops in & says "what time did you set your alarm for?" I replied "2:17.......". The UNSPOKEN 1/2 of the sentence was "......... now leave me the heck alone until then!".

She then said "It's 2:30 now"

So I hop up, run around the hotel like the frickin' Tasmanian Devil, but still manage to make the 3 a.m. bus to the start.

I was REALLY hoping to break 5 hours, but came up slightly short @ 5:01:35. But I guess I should be pleased with that.

Starting on Friday I battled severe GI upset all weekend long. Don't know if it was nerves or what, but I was really fearing dehydration. As a result, I drank Gatorade like a race horse all the time. I managed to keep hydrated. I even had to water a few trees along the marathon route, so I took that as a good sign.

This was my first, & probably my last Goofy. It is just a bit too much pounding on my legs for me. Mickey next year for sure though!

For all of the cheering, clapping & encouragement from the crowd & the WISH'ers, my Angels of the Weekend absolutely HAVE to be the people at the Med tents that actuall slathered my legs up with BioFreeze (it is now a very good friend!). Some places they just handed it to you (which I kept dropping), but at 3 or 4 of the tents they put it on for you. Those Guys Absolutely ROCKED!!!! Of course, I know it was just because they wanted to rub my cute legs, but I'll take it no matter what the excuse.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!! See you next year!

 

[getnthinr]

So who knows what's next. I watched people finishing the full and thought-- "Should I, or shouldn't I"?

Maura, you definitely shouldn't bother registering for the marathon -- go straight for the GOOFY! All the cool kids are doing it!

Seriously, congratulations on your wonderful half -- I'm sure you'd do equally well on the marathon course -- it could become a "maura-thon"!

 

[ironz]

Great to hear the reports!!

Zela and Gecko...sorry about the sweep...but you showed great courage and strength to get as far as you did!

yay for everyone!!
Wish I could have been there....but....I'll be there next year! In for the Dopey!

 

[Cindylou]

I'm really enjoying all the reports. Keep them coming. WISH I had been there too. Congratulations to you all.

Cindy

 

[getnthinr]

So, I decided less is more... Here are my top ten Goofy Challenge weekend memories (in chronological order because... well, just because).

1. Being interviewed by Creigh (pronounced “cree”) Kelley, the Disney Sports commentator, at the Circle of Life 5K. (A WISHer [who shall remain anonymous] volunteered me for the interview, which was really just a bunch of silly questions about “my upcoming trek across the Serengeti.”) The funniest part was one of my Disney Dead friends heard me being interviewed while she was in the port-a-pottie and shouted, "I know that woman!" I don't know if a voice issuing from a port-a-pottie is a good recommendation or not!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Having a fabulous character breakfast with WISHers Pat and DH Jim at Tusker House in the AK after the 5K. Pat said what I was thinking, “I can see this becoming an annual tradition!”
   
   
   
   
3. Being treated like royalty at the Test Track Lounge and being able to "skip line" to ride with my WISH friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Maura!!!
   
   
   
   Can you believe the view?????
   
   
   
   
4. Seeing all the WISHers and Deads on the course for the half and full. I would love to thank everyone by name, but I’m certain to leave someone out. I cannot tell you how many times (maybe a dozen?) the participants near me after I passed a cheering group of WISHers/Deads would enviously say, “You sure have a big cheering section” or “You seem to have a lot of friends.” Special thanks to DD Vicki, and WISHers Jeanne and Matt who "took turns" walking with me on the marathon course and tried to stem the tide of panic I was fighting.
   
5. Meeting several Disney Running folks and Disney Dead folks on the course who shouted "Go WISHer!" and expressed the same sentiment I feel about those groups -- we are all in this together, and the color shirt you wear doesn't affect my sincere desire for you to do well in your race. I especially loved that the WISHers providing course support also cheered for everyone. What an admirable group!!!
   
6. Getting an icy diet coke on the marathon course from a group of my Disney Dead friends who waited patiently for me to arrive (despite my slow pace), including one who FINISHED the marathon and then came back out on the course to encourage me!!!! How did I get so lucky to have friends like these!?!?!?
   
7. Crying tears of joy all the way from the gospel choir to the finish line of the marathon. (I have an entirely different list of the 10 times I felt assured God was with me, but I'm saving that list for the Womens Prayer Breakfast at my church.)
   
8. Having a farewell breakfast with the Disney Deads at Chef Mickeys and having the Main Mouse himself join us for our group photo, pose while three cast members took goodness-knows-how-many-photos with our stack of cameras and then led us in a spontaneous performance of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song (M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E).
   
   
   
   
9. Seeing Lily all dressed up for the vow renewal as I was on my way to bid my WISH friends goodbye at the Boardwalk Bakery on Monday. She was stunning!
   
10. Getting loads and loads and loads of hugs and congratulations from my WISH friends on my 30th marathon/4th Dopey. It's good to share an experience like that with folks who "get it" -- and understand how something like that can be so important, even to a slowpoke like me.
    
    
    
    

If you ever get a chance to do something like this, DO IT!!! It is always one of the high points of my year. Wonderful folks at a memorable event in a magical location!

 

[twotoohappy]

So, I decided less is more... Here are my top ten Goofy Challenge weekend memories (in chronological order because... well, just because).

1. Being interviewed by Creigh (pronounced “cree”) Kelley, the Disney Sports commentator, at the Circle of Life 5K. (A WISHer [who shall remain anonymous] volunteered me for the interview

1. 
   
   hmmm.... I plead the 5th

 

[dsnyfan21]

So, I decided less is more... Here are my top ten Goofy Challenge weekend memories (in chronological order because... well, just because).

1. Being interviewed by Creigh (pronounced “cree”) Kelley, the Disney Sports commentator, at the Circle of Life 5K. (A WISHer [who shall remain anonymous] volunteered me for the interview, which was really just a bunch of silly questions about “my upcoming trek across the Serengeti.”) The funniest part was one of my Disney Dead friends heard me being interviewed while she was in the port-a-pottie and shouted, "I know that woman!" I don't know if a voice issuing from a port-a-pottie is a good recommendation or not!
   

1. 
   
   WENDY!! I loved seeing you out on the course!! Your my idol!! I remember at the Minnie 15K thinking that all I wanted to do was find you and catch up to you!!
   
   
   
   
   
   You did a great interview!
   
   Tracy

 

[bubba73]

Wendy,

I am partly to blame too. The guy came to me first and asked me if I had competed in a lot of races. Of course, I told him no and then I pointed to Liz and she gave you up. I didn't lie to get out of the interview though. It was only my second ever race and first at WDW. Not being a veteran, I just wanted to kind of stay to myself until I got comfortable.

Thanks for being so great about it!!
Bryan

 

[mkymsehi]

Hey Gang! A really quick report for my weekend.

Other than oversleeping on Sunday, it was a relatively crisis-free weekend.

I walked the 5k w/my DW & DD in 44 minutes. Even though the "medals" were plastic, I really liked them. Very colorful and bright!

The 1/2 went well. I went pretty slow & finished in 2:14. Felt well except for a slight "twinge" in my left thigh.

Sunday I was pleasantly sleeping on the sofa in the living room @ SSR so I would not wake up the family when I got up. My DW pops in & says "what time did you set your alarm for?" I replied "2:17.......". The UNSPOKEN 1/2 of the sentence was "......... now leave me the heck alone until then!".

She then said "It's 2:30 now"

So I hop up, run around the hotel like the frickin' Tasmanian Devil, but still manage to make the 3 a.m. bus to the start.

I was REALLY hoping to break 5 hours, but came up slightly short @ 5:01:35. But I guess I should be pleased with that.

Starting on Friday I battled severe GI upset all weekend long. Don't know if it was nerves or what, but I was really fearing dehydration. As a result, I drank Gatorade like a race horse all the time. I managed to keep hydrated. I even had to water a few trees along the marathon route, so I took that as a good sign.

This was my first, & probably my last Goofy. It is just a bit too much pounding on my legs for me. Mickey next year for sure though!

For all of the cheering, clapping & encouragement from the crowd & the WISH'ers, my Angels of the Weekend absolutely HAVE to be the people at the Med tents that actuall slathered my legs up with BioFreeze (it is now a very good friend!). Some places they just handed it to you (which I kept dropping), but at 3 or 4 of the tents they put it on for you. Those Guys Absolutely ROCKED!!!! Of course, I know it was just because they wanted to rub my cute legs, but I'll take it no matter what the excuse.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!! See you next year!

Jim, a few things...

1) Always set two, if not three alarms.

2) Didn't you read the thread "Norwalk Virus going around Saratoga Springs and Beach Club Villas?"

3) Way to go on the races!

 

[dsnyfan21]

A possible new avatar for Jeff,

Found this neat little sign at the Poly...

hehe Racey Tracy

 

[mkymsehi]

Great reports everyone.

I'll add mine later, since I just got home after 16 1/2 hours of travel since getting up at 4:15 am.

Thank you Maura for not only taking us on the backstage tour of Test Track, but for volunteering with Steve, Tracy, and Amy during the marathon. Hearing you yell my name at Spaceship earth with less than a 1/4 mile really kicked me back into gear.

Tracy, we love you and you mom Judy. Always great seeing you, and hanging out. Come out here and race with us in the islands! Mushu will come out!

Thunder Matt and Cheryl. Great seeing you on such short notice. I applaud you Matt for taking your time in the marathon, and helping those who you could get to the finish line. Simply awesome. Let's work on a plan to do that together at Disneyland if you're going again, and at next year's Goofy.

Wendy, you rocked all three races. Great to meet your brother Ken in person finally.

Deb and Dood, what can I say, it was fabulous meeting you both in person.

Duckie Jenn, you made me laugh so hard with your greeting at the 5K. I almost pee'd my pants. Your husband didn't know what to make of your screaming.

Laurie & Suzanne, great to meet you both, and I look forward to running with you next year. That is if I can keep up with you two.

Chester, Chet, & Tracy, great running with and seeing your family again.

Pat & Jim, always a pleasure. Same for you Suzie.

Karen and John, enjoyed meeting you and the family.

Kira, we didn't have enough time to sit and talk.

Angie, you did it girl! You did so good. Keep in touch, and we'll meet up at another race. Don't be so shy, especially around this great group.

What? Carrie was at the POP meet, how did I miss her? I did meet Mel & Jeff.

To all of the rest of the WISH team, it was fun seeing you at the meet, in the parks, and out on the race courses. I'll get the photos up soon. Way way way lots of Lime Green.

(Good lord, this is starting to look like a Deb posting ).

 

[Rpsemont]

Girlthegecko - Good for you for getting out there and making it to mile 8. Keep the faith for another race
Zela - I must have been right behind you at the half - I finished at 3:19 - I can't imagine being swept at mile 23 or 24 of the full - but you have alot to be proud of.
Maura - Great job
Congratulations to everyone else who participated! and thanks for all the reports

Some random thoughts from a newbie and first time Half'er.
First and foremost, thanks to everyone on these boards. Having the support and wealth of knowledge here before the race was just incredibly helpful. Being able to seek out and find a few other wishers in the pre race area made the time go quickly and keep my mind off the stress. And of course, all the cheering was inspiring and invaluable.
Overall it went well, despite a few setbacks. First was the fact that I had decided to "re-load" my music on my phone so I deleted all the music that was there and at 10:30 at night before the race attempted to install a new playlist. I don't know what the issue was, but nothing would load (except for the songs from the CD "Where the Magic Lives" all WDW theme park music - go figure! I just wasn't sure I could take 25 minutes of Disney music and hear it over and over again for 3.5 hours. Luckily DH had his mp3 player so I borrowed that. Unluckily, he has a different playlist and listening to Frank Sinatra Love songs at mile 8 was tough! I skipped through them and opted for Beethoven, instead! Even though I'm sure some of music helped me keep pace, I don't remember much of it from the last third of the race - not sure I was really listening at that time!
I managed to get a few pictures with characters in the MK, but was disappointed at some the lines for the early porta pods. I remember stopping at the ones just outside TTC and having to wait 4+ Minutes! All of a sudden, the great time I was making (14 minute mile) was gone to just above sweep time - very nerve wracking!
I never did read the post race chapter in Marathoning for Mortals - so post race, went back to my room (which we had to check out to move to another room) took a hot shower, had a glass of wine, and headed out for 12 hours (and probably 12 miles) of park touring and further alchoholic hydration (which in hindsight, I guess, really doesn''t hydrate) I took 3 advil and fell into bed at midnight and woke up sunday at 8:30 feeling like a million bucks. We had to switch rooms again, so got packed up and by 10AM were on our way to another 12-14 hour park touring day (and probably another 12-14 miles) - Had my first cocktail at 11Am and continued on from there. Started to loose steam around 8:30 sunday night. On MOnday, I got up, barely, and felt like I'd been hit by a bus - achy, chills, stomach/ bowel issues, headache (probably dehydrated) and right knee pain. I peeked out of my BWV room at a crowd at the bakery around 8:30 but just couldn't muster the energy to get out of the room quickly.We checked out of the hotel around 10:30 (which by that time, there didn't seem to be many at the bakery) and I hobbled my way from the BW to DS, then to Epcot before heading home. I fell asleep immediately on take off and despite sitting the last row of the plane in a seat that wouldn't recline, I was out cold for 1.5 of the 2 hour flight home. I skipped work the next day, rested, drank lots of water and ate comfort food - homemade macaroni and cheese - not healthy, but hit the spot!
Possible best advice I received - vaseline on your feet - after hearing about others blisters, perhaps the body glide I rubbed all over my feet before putting on my socks was of some benefit!
I'm feeling pretty good tonight, but I probably won't work out for a couple more days yet. And I'm not sure I'm a repeat performer. But am probably going to do the ToT 13K next October.
For those that particpate one day and chear the other (or visa versa)- extra, extra kudos to you! If I do go in future years, I think I'll go just to chear! I feel like I owe some payback! I may have to go alone though, because DH, DD and her friend thought that watching a waiting for me in the cool morning air was probably harder than running the race themselves.
Of course, they didn't get to see the gospel choir - which I thought was great!
So thanks again to all!!!!!!


Anne

 

[mkymsehi]

Ha ha ha Tracy, I love it.

 

[bubba73]

[*]Getting loads and loads and loads of hugs and congratulations from my WISH friends on my 30th marathon/4th Dopey. It's good to share an experience like that with folks who "get it" -- and understand how something like that can be so important, even to a slowpoke like me.

[/LIST]

If you ever get a chance to do something like this, DO IT!!! It is always one of the high points of my year. Wonderful folks at a memorable event in a magical location!

You know what. All year long, I didn't get it. During all of the training, my one lone 5k before going to WDW or even when I actually signed up. I didn't get it. Why would so many people want to go outside and actually run or walk? This doesn't make sense. It just takes too long. But now, I feel like I am beginning to get it. I was the one that was told that I would never be able to do anything like this and now I have. I have been told since I have been back that I must have gotten that out of my system so I won't be doing that again. I haven't stopped thinking about it or stopped wanting to go back there and do it again. I had an incredible time and want to go back so I can do it again.

Thank you to all of you who helped me get it!!!
Bryan