Goofy Day 1 (Donald) 2012

Another day, another early wake-up call. This one was super early, like 2:30 AM early. That's the only downside to these RunDisney events, but the races are totally worth the sacrificed sleep. We got dressed as quietly as possible, packed our bags and water belts, and made our way out the door without waking the kids.

Chuck had talked to a Cast Member at the gift shop the previous evening and learned that Animal Kingdom Lodge was going to have a small breakfast buffet for the runners in the wee hours of the morning. I was thrilled to find that they had bagels and peanut butter, my usual pre-race meal. Food always tastes better when it's free, and this was no exception.

The bus ride to the staging area was uneventful and we headed to the Galloway Training Programs tent. One of the little-known perks of being a member of the Galloway program is access to a special tent at the start of the Disney races. The tent area had coffee, decaf, canned soft drinks, and (imagine angels singing here) two porta-potties with minimal waiting. We felt like elite runners and even had a chance to talk to Jeff Galloway for a few minutes before the race.

Eventually it was time for Chuck, my friend and I to head out to our corral. It's a chilly, long slog from the parking lot staging area to the corrals, so we were putting it off as long as possible. We arrived shortly after the national anthem, which was no problem since our corral wasn't due to start until quite a while later. At that point, my phone buzzed with a text message from my daughter. (Remember the foreshadowing at the end of my last blog post?) Thinking she woke up just to wish us luck, I pulled out my phone with a smile, only to read the news that my son had gotten ill.

My daughter texted the friend we'd had dinner with, and she was an absolute godsend, helping them get the bedding stripped and purchasing some Gatorade and saltines for him. I felt terrible knowing my friend was helping clean up after my child and trying to make him feel better while his parents were hours away from returning to the room. Not the best mental state to be in at the start of the race. But I was so very thankful she was there and willing and able to come to the rescue. Cute story: afterward, I learned that my daughter had Googled his symptoms and became convinced he had alcohol poisoning from the trace amounts in the Zebra Domes he'd eaten the night before.

With our minds pretty distracted by what was going on in the hotel room, we watched the fireworks for each corral's start. Finally it was our turn to cross the starting line. My friend and I usually do a 3:1 run/walk ratio while Chuck tends to do 1:1. To conserve energy for the next day, we utilized the technique that had worked for our half marathon last year and did a 1:3 run/walk. That is, run for one minute, walk for three minutes, and repeat ad nauseum. Our average pace was in the 15:XX range as a result, which was perfectly fine. The sweep pace (the minimum you had to achieve for an official finish) was a 16-minute mile, and we remained comfortably faster than that for the entire race.

This was my 4th time running this particular route, and I definitely knew what to expect. Here is the view of our route in Google Earth (race route from 2009):

If you'd like to check it out using Google Earth, I saved the data HERE. The gist of it is, first you run from Epcot Center Drive to World Drive. You follow World Drive -- if you're lucky, you may spy the monorail overhead -- and continue up through the Magic Kingdom parking toll plaza, where you are cautioned to watch out for the dividers in the road between lanes. You then take a tour of the gigantic parking lot area. Eventually, you come to the Ticket and Transportation Center. About 3/4 of a mile later, you get to do something fairly unique -- run under a waterway. This involves a steep downhill followed by a steep incline. But it's OK, because the Contemporary Resort and the Magic Kingdom are just ahead. You pass the hotel and enter the Magic Kingdom from backstage.

One of the most magical moments of the race is when you go through a large gate and suddenly you are on Main Street, USA. The Christmas decorations are still up and it's as if you've entered another world. The spectators lining the street give you a huge boost, and after you make a right turn, you see Cinderella's Castle straight ahead. You make another right turn into Tomorrowland where you may get to see characters in space age costumes. You make a left and go past the Tomorrowland Speedway and then hang another left just past the Mad Tea Party. You follow the curve around Fantasyland until you see the Carrousel and then... the rear of Cinderella's Castle along with a Princess and Prince (and sometimes a Wicked Stepmother) for photo ops. We ran through the Castle and tried to get some good photos. We weren't able to get all three of us in one good shot, but there is a cute photo of me and Chuck with our arms up as we came through. After the Castle, you make a right turn into Liberty Square. Once again, characters abound, from classic Disney characters in colonial garb to gravediggers straight out of the Haunted Mansion. You follow the path from Liberty Square to Frontierland and go past Splash Mountain, which is usually down for refurbishment and looks oddly naked without the water flowing down the flume. Next thing you know, you go past the Walt Disney Railroad and through another backstage area, where parade floats and characters (including Jack Sparrow on a pirate ship!) are waiting for still more photo ops.

After a water stop, you leave the backstage area and head back onto the roads. It became very narrow and we saw that another runner had taken a tumble. Ever the good Samaritan, Chuck tried to come to her aid, but she seemed to have it under control. I hope she was able to finish her race without further incident. The next landmarks to look forward to were the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa (where Mary Poppins and Burt are usually waiting), the Wedding Pavilion, the Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses (where you can often find Golfer Mickey, Donald and Goofy), and the Polynesian Resort. There was a lot of crowd support near the hotels and we really appreciated the fact that our bibs had our names on them. Nothing like hearing, "You've got this, Kim!" when your energy is starting to flag.

After we passed the resort area, my stomach started to bother me. Hoping I wasn't about to have my own bout of "alcohol poisoning," I darted into the restroom at the Hess gas station near mile 9. I told Chuck and my friend to run on ahead and that I would try to catch up. GI crisis successfully avoided, I headed up the road at a faster pace to try and catch them. I ran the fastest mile of the day at this point and found them not too much further up the road. I worried that I might have pushed too hard during this segment, but the effort was worth it once I realized we would be able to finish the race together.

My least favorite part of the course was just ahead: the overpass where you go from World Drive back to Epcot Center Drive. Luckily (?) Sarge from Toy Story was there to encourage us to "Move it! Move it! Move it!" up that hill. Once we reached the top, we were heartened to see the large number of runners streaming behind us. It's always so reassuring to know the sweeper bus isn't right on your tail. Finally the overpass curved to the right and we could see Spaceship Earth in the distance. As we got closer, we noticed the ramp was sloping downward. Chuck and I said our usual, "Nobody beats Fatty on the downhill," and raced each other down while my friend just laughed at us. As I pulled ahead, he said, "That's right... Nobody beats Fatty!" So, I won this little downhill race, but I guess it was a dubious honor after all.

We had another clump of spectators at the edge of the Epcot parking lot and near the bus stops. We entered a backstage area through a gate and had our last water stop of the course. Next thing we knew, we were back on stage in Future World. We had a quick run down the side of Future World West and came back up through Future World East and one last backstage section. Of all the backstage sections, this one is the best, bar none. Not only did we get to see the long-awaited Mile 13 marker, but there was a gospel choir to inspire us to a strong finish. That last tenth of a mile felt quite a bit longer than that, but we were in the finish chute before we knew it. We all finished feeling terrific and looking forward to running again the next day. My friend and I were going to run the full marathon while Chuck was going to do the second half of the marathon as part of the relay team Sorry ExCuses with our fellow Syracuse alum running the first half.

Chuck and I grabbed our post-race amenities and scurried back to the hotel room as soon as possible. I was beyond grateful that we had a washer/dryer in the room, especially since we had soiled bedding to wash in addition to our running gear. This was a mixed blessing when I realized that my son's new iPhone (a gift from Santa, no less) found its way into the wash as well. Chuck took our daughter out for their traditional post-half-marathon meal at Epcot's Biergarten while I stayed in the room with our sick kiddo. I grabbed a great quick lunch at the Mara (Animal Kingdom Lodge's food court) and spent a quiet afternoon just hanging out in the room. My selection of Animal Kingdom Lodge was once again reinforced, since it was nice to be able to watch the animals from our room while my son rested.

The Epcot tourists returned in the early evening, our son started feeling better, and we all went to bed knowing another early, early morning awaited us.

Expo and Kids Races

First stop at the Expo was the Milk House for packet pickup. I was so proud of myself for remembering to bring photo ID along with my signed waiver. I ran into trouble with that one year and am eternally grateful to the volunteer who had accepted my Facebook page on my iPhone as photographic proof of my identity.

I felt like a rock star going to the special Goofy packet pick up area. It was housed upstairs, above the crowd of people who were "just" running the marathon or the half marathon. I say that not to take anything away from those runners at all -- I just found it funny that when I ran the half in 2009 and the full in 2010, I kept saying I was "only" running that one particular race. Only at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend do you feel apologetic for "simply" running a marathon and not doing a half the day before!

I received my race bib and was not very impressed by the fact that we had only one bib to wear on both days. My race bibs usually look like they've been through the wringer by the end of a half marathon, and I was worried about how well it -- and the B tag timing chip -- would hold up for both races. I then noticed my corral placement and was not impressed again. I think the Goofy runners were placed relatively willy-nilly with less regard for anticipated finish times than the full/half marathoners. A trip to Runner Relations with my half marathon PR results bumped me up a couple of corrals, and I was on my way to meet the family.

The Kids' Races were to be held on the track starting at 11:00. I rushed to get over there on time, despite the fact that I was starving. My son was to run the 400m race and my daughter was slated for the Mickey Mile. We spent some time checking out "Explore MyPlate," an interactive healthy eating display. The kids received pedometers, which my son immediately started using and attempted to max out the number of steps. Have I mentioned he's a bit hyperactive? We sat around and waited, and waited, and waited for the Kids' Races to start when my husband, Chuck, suggested I run up to the HP Field House to pick up my race shirts and check out the merchandise, especially the "I Did It" shirts (known in my family as "Idiot Shirts"). Naturally, this took much longer than it should have and I missed my son's race, but I did get a really cute Goofy t-shirt.

Luckily I still had plenty of time for the Mickey Mile, which I was planning to run with my daughter. (Still hadn't eaten anything, though). The race started in a grassy field which looked like it was used for soccer or maybe field hockey. There were a few twists and turns along the course, and the uneven grassy footing made me nervous. I saw a man wearing the 2012 Donald Half Marathon shirt slip and fall and hoped he would be able to race the next day. A twisted ankle the day before a race is not a good thing! My daughter took her walk breaks as diligently as one would expect from the child of a Galloway director and finished strong, with a nice kick at the end that left me in the dust.

By this time, I was starving, but wanted to finish checking out the Expo before grabbing something to eat at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill. I was captivated by the special Coast to Coast sling backpack giveaway for those who registered for the Disneyland Half Marathon at the Expo, and stood in the world's longest line in order to get Chuck and I registered. It was as if none of the people in front of me had every used a computer before. And Every. Single. One. of them fell victim to confusion when they hit the dialog box asking for their California county. You had to change this to "Not a California resident" if you lived out-of-state, but that was too confusing for most. By this time, I'm ready to start gnawing on my arm, I'm that hungry. Eventually I got us both registered (in less than the average time for one registration amongst the group that was ahead of me), grabbed our precious sling bags, and joined the family at the grill.

We ate, met two friends, watched my son have a meltdown where he hid on the floor under our table, and finally headed back to Animal Kingdom Lodge with all of our bags. Dinner that night was at Boma, one of my favorite Disney restaurants and a night-before-the-half-marathon tradition in the making. This was our second year to eat there on the Friday night before the race. My Galloway Training Program friend and her party of 7 were able to join us, so we had to adjust our original reservation, which had been for a party of 4. As a result, we were seated a bit later than I'd wanted, but the meal was worth the wait. My normally picky son had about 15 Zebra Domes, also known as "the best dessert ever" in my book. My daughter was concerned that there were trace amounts of alcohol (Kahlua) in the Zebra Domes, but I knew both kids would be fine. (See what I did there? That's called foreshadowing...)

Galloway Meet-Up

I woke up super early the day of the meet-up and put way more thought into my hairstyle (to SweatyBand or not to SweatyBand?) and clothing choices than usual. I decided my Galloway Training Programs shirt would be appropriate. I knew there would be photographs aplenty at the meet-up, so I figured I needed to be happy with my appearance since the images would probably live in perpetuity in cyberspace. Luckily I was able to get myself out the door and into the lobby before my friend came to pick me up. I'd have hated to keep her waiting due to my primping. I'm not a primping kind of gal.

We got to Disney's Hollywood Studios in plenty of time to see our mutual friends who had also been selected to be part of the meet-up. It was my first time meeting a couple of them in real life, but I felt like we'd known each other forever. The RunDisney staff gave us some fabulous Champion t-shirts with their logos and instructed us to wear them for the run.  (There goes my carefully thought-out clothing choice!) But it's a great shirt and I thought it looked flattering on everyone, so no complaints.

Jeff Galloway led us on a 1.5-mile run through the Studios. (I found a brief video clip here: http://t.co/3lt342Pt) We used his usual 30-second run/30-second walk ratio. I normally use a 3-minute run/1-minute walk, but his shorter intervals kept us going at a decent clip that was actually faster than my usual half marathon pace. I might have to try this on race day sometime. I managed to run next to Mr. Galloway (can I call him Jeff?) for a bit and ask one of the questions that had been plaguing my group for a while. The answer, straight from the expert, is that we don't need to worry about our heart rate dropping during the walk breaks.  Good, because I usually let mine get as close to my resting heart rate as possible.

It was so much fun to have the park to ourselves -- and to get to run in the parks, something that is usually forbidden when it's not race day. I snapped a picture of one of the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show cars as we went past. At first I thought they were performing just for us (ego much?), but then I realized this was probably just their usual rehearsal time.

We ended our run near the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and were introduced to the winner of that morning's 5K. How cool that he came and ran with us after his race.  We were then ushered into the Theater of the Stars, where Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage is performed.  Four directors' chairs were set up: one each for Jeff Galloway, Tony Horton of P90X fame and Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca (Survivor winners and The Amazing Race competitors). We were encouraged to Tweet, post to Facebook, and take photos throughout their presentations. Apparently, we all listened because the candid photographs of the group showed most of us absolutely engrossed in our smart phones.

Jeff Galloway started the discussion session and opened the floor for Q&A after.  I was able to ask what one of my injured runners should do to get back on track, and I knew he wouldn't be happy with the answer: start from the beginning of the Getting Started program and work up to previous mileage gradually. No runner wants to hear that, even if it is sound advice.

Tony Horton spoke next. I am quite terrified of the P90X program, but the man seemed to be quite likeable when he wasn't making people exercise.  He said something about distance running and enduring pain for a long time, but his program was more about "short-burst pain." All I could think was that I didn't want any kind of pain, even if it was only short bursts of it. He also talked about snack choices and the number of ingredients in a bag of Doritos versus a bowl of grapes. Food for thought.

I never watch reality TV, so I had low expectations for Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca. I had a vague notion he had undergone cancer treatment, but his story of how he would watch runners from his hospital room was quite moving.  And Jenna had the best line of the day. When talking about dietary slip-ups, she said to think of them like old boyfriends; they're in the past, just move on.  It cracked me up.

We next heard from show director John Phelan, and then the star of the show came out: none other than Mickey Mouse -- in track gear, complete with reflective accents.  My friends and I were able to get a group shot with him:

I started to worry about time at this point.  My children were participating in the Kids' Races at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, and I wasn't quite sure how to get there.  Luckily one of the photographers came to my rescue.  He was heading over to the Expo and didn't mind a hitchhiker.  We got to the Milk House, I picked up my packet, took my proof of time to Runner Relations to move up to a slightly higher corral, and went to find my family.

More Pre-Goofy 2012 goofiness

The flight to MCO was uneventful and Disney's Magical Express brought us to Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House without incident. The Magical Express ride is where I really start to decompress and feel like I am truly on vacation, and this one was no exception.

You may wonder why I chose the Animal Kingdom Lodge from among the many fabulous Resort choices at Walt Disney World. The answer is simple: for the safety (and sanity) of the animals, there are no fireworks within earshot. Why is this important to me? Well, the day before the 2010 Walt Disney World Marathon when we had stayed at Disney's Old Key West Resort, I awoke to give my husband moral support before he ran the Half Marathon on Saturday. As I fell back asleep in the wee hours of the morning, I heard the fireworks in the distance and knew his race was about to start. I went to bed around 8:30 Saturday night before the marathon -- my first full marathon ever -- convinced I would never fall asleep. What seemed like hours later, I awoke with a start to the sound of, you guessed it, fireworks.  Heart racing, I leaped out of bed, certain I was about to miss the start of the marathon and calculating just how quickly I could throw on clothes and get to the starting line. All I could think about was the months of training going down the drain. Only when I looked at the clock did I realize it was only 9:00 PM and those "race start fireworks" were actually the Epcot nighttime spectacular, IllumiNations. It took forever for my heart to stop pounding, and as I struggled to get back to sleep, I vowed to stay only at Animal Kingdom Lodge for future Marathon Weekend trips. We stayed at the Kidani Village section with Chuck's parents in 2011, and I slept as well as could be expected for my first Goofy Challenge.  I was looking forward to a similar experience at Jambo House for this year's Goofy.

We had an Advance Dining Reservation (ADR) at the Crystal Palace shortly after our arrival, so we pretty much threw our stuff in the room, greeted Chuck, grabbed the race packets he had picked up for my friends, and all rushed out the door for the bus to take us to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived at the podium more than 15 minutes late, and I was a little worried we would be charged the recently-implemented "no-show" fee of $10 per person, but the Cast Members got it all straightened out for us.  We had to wait a little while to be seated, but since the "Cinderella's Castle Dream Lights" holiday icicle decorations were still on display I took a moment to snap a photo.  I just love Christmas at the Magic Kingdom, and this put me back in a holiday mood (even though it was January 5).

Chuck's birthday had been noted on our reservation and he was wearing the "Happy Birthday" button provided by the front desk, which resulted in the Cast Members bringing him a special birthday cupcake for dessert. I love those special magical moments Disney Cast Members are so good at providing. It truly sets their theme parks apart from the Six Flags and local amusement parks and makes each visit feel like a homecoming.

We kept a close eye on the time and my phone, because I was planning to meet my friend to give her and her husband their race packets. They were running the 5K in the morning (in addition to the Goofy Challenge), and needed their bibs.  As we wrapped up the meal and headed out to meet them, "The Magic, The Memories and You!" show started. Chuck hadn't yet seen the show, so I left him and the kids to enjoy it while I went to meet my friends. Race packet hand-off went smoothly and we were busy talking when Chuck and the kids got out of the park.  We all spent a few moments chatting, but realized we couldn't talk long.  They had a race to get to, and I had an early morning date with Jeff Galloway and 39 of our mutual friends!

The "marathon" leading up to the 2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend

I've decided it is time to start blogging about my fabulous Disney vacations and my marathons... and especially about those wonderful times where the two coincide. As usual, I am a bit behind schedule, so please bear with me as I recap my 2012 experiences to date.

This January, I ran the 2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. This is an aptly named event because participants complete the half marathon on Saturday and then come back for twice as much fun and complete the full marathon the very next day. I can't think of a better mascot than Goofy for this type of behavior.

I was a little nervous heading in to race weekend, but only because I WASN'T nervous. An odd feeling for me. You see, I'd been terrified before my first half marathon, panic-stricken before my first full marathon, and full of self-doubt before my first Goofy Challenge. This was my very first Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend where I wasn't experiencing a new race distance, so I felt a little "been there, done that" about the whole thing -- and then I worried that this attitude would somehow diminish my chances of success. Long-distance running is such a head trip!

The marathon was my third in my quest to level-up in Marathon Maniacs. I will earn another star if I complete six marathons in 6 months. These Maniacs are as appropriately named as the Goofy Challenge compet

My best running friend decided to join me in my Goofy quest immediately after hearing I had completed the Rocket City Marathon with a personal record (PR).  I think I was more excited about having her to run with for race weekend than I was about my PR!  It was to be her third Goofy Challenge, so she definitely knew what she was signing on for.  We continued to run with our respective groups -- me with the Birmingham Galloway Training Program and her with Team in Training -- each Saturday with a nice chat over coffee afterward and then we would meet again on Sunday for about half the mileage (and more coffee!) with my husband, Chuck.  Speaking of Chuck, he was registered for the "nameless challenge": the Walt Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday followed by the Chip and Dale Relay on Sunday, where he was to run the second half of the marathon course.  To cement his ranking as Best Husband Ever, he agreed to do this even though he doesn't love running and despite the fact that the marathon was being run on his birthday.  What a great guy!

So training progressed and race weekend was fast approaching when I spotted an alert in my Twitter feed: RunDisney was hosting a meet-up with Jeff Galloway and the first 40 people to register via email would get to join him for an exclusive run-walk-run.  As a Galloway program director, this was right up my alley.  I clicked Refresh on the Disney Parks Blog like a madwoman and sent my email off as close to "immediately" as possible.  I sent a second email to register Chuck just moments later (the rules stated only one name could  be registered per email message) and discovered that those few seconds were enough time to allow those 39 additional people to be selected.  Amazing how on-the-ball we obsessive RunDisney fans can be!

So now to compare notes with my "virtual friends" who had been training with me all throughout the country.  I saw that several had been selected, and when the list of the lucky 40 was posted, I was sad about Chuck not making the cut but amazed to find I knew almost half of the names from one forum or another.  How exciting!  One of them was going to be staying at The Animal Kingdom Lodge's Kidani Village and I was staying at Jambo House, so I asked if we could share a cab to the meet, which was to be held at Disney's Hollywood Studios long before park opening.  Score!  She had a rental car and didn't mind my coming along for the ride.

Logistics pretty much figured out, we then proceeded to pack our suitcases.  Utilizing the Divide and Conquer strategy that works so well for our family, Chuck would fly out Thursday morning in order to hit the expo early, and the kids and I would travel later in the day so we could get at least a half day of work/school and keep the unexcused absences to a reasonable level.  In true "amphibious landing" fashion, our travel plans were pretty complicated.  We all got up early to take Chuck to the airport so we wouldn't have to park both cars there while we were away.  Even though he had the first flight out, the school buses hit our neighborhood so early there would be no way to get the kids to school in their usual fashion.  We managed to drop him off on time, grab some drive-thru breakfast (Note: this is NOT a blog about healthy eating), and get to both the middle school and the intermediate school before first bell.  Whew!

Next was the struggle to get the dog to the kennel.  This is usually a job for Chuck, and it's obvious I'm no good at it.  Our dog, Kinja, is 60+ pounds and 13 years of age. She has spinal spondylosis and has trouble with the stairs from time to time. Since I'm only 5'3" I can't exactly carry her.  Needless to say, that was a "bad back" day for the pup.  It took forever to coax her out the door and down the back porch steps.  Then she didn't want to get into the car.  Once we reached the parking lot, she simply refused to get out of the car.  Lucky for us, another car pulled up when I was just about to beg for help from a vet tech.  Kinja took one look at the dog who got out of that car and decided that maybe it would be nice to go visit, and hopped out.  So thank you, Kind Stranger Dog, for being the inspiration she needed and allowing me to get on with my day.

With that hurdle out of the way, I was finally on my way to the office for my half day of work.  Of course, just one mile past the vet's office, I had to wait for a train.  This was not shaping up to be a very good start to my race weekend. Work complete, I dashed back to the schools to pick up my darlings.  This was a more time-consuming process than I had imagined.  We rushed to the airport, checked in, my daughter tried to talk the desk agent into buying Girl Scout cookies, and we hurried to security.  Somehow in our rush to get Chuck off earlier in the morning, the three of us had ended up with all of the carry-ons.  So we did the shoe-and-laptop-removal dance and somehow I found my youngest had gone through the metal detector while my oldest was still struggling to push the bags through the conveyor.  I went through the metal detector and then tried to help her with the bags from the other side.  BIG no-no, I discovered.  The TSA agents were nice about it and just made me go back through the metal detector again, but that could have gotten ugly.  So there's your travel tip of the day.  Once you go through the metal detector, you are not permitted touch your bags!

All of that out of the way, we had just enough time to hit the rest room and get to the gate.  They were already boarding (naturally), and had already called our numbers in the A boarding group.  The agent was nice enough to let us go right to the jetway and we were able to get three seats together.  Whew!

Tune in to my next post for details about our time in Florida.