Tag: race recap (Page 1 of 3)

Race Recap: 2023 WDW 10K

March 6, 2023 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

10K is such a great distance; it’s long enough to be a good run yet not too draining. The race course for this race made the distance even better. Add to that the amazing 90s theme for 2023 marathon weekend, and I cannot stop smiling! This was probably my favorite race of the Dopey 2023 weekend.

Getting Ready

After the 5K, I went to Animal Kingdom with my friend and her boyfriend. We met up with another friend and had a very nice day. We rode several rides, but I only got to meet Donald and Daisy. Since it would be another early morning, I wanted to get back for an early dinner and bedtime. My goal was to have dinner at the Pop cafeteria around 5 pm each night.

After dinner, I made sure to get all of my things together. Based on my super nerdy schedule, I made sure that I:

Had my morning fuel – a cherry Pop Tart and a caffeine sport Nuun
Laid out my outfit and bib, along with my shoes. My 10K shoes were the same shoes I was wearing around the park, a different pair for the half, and then the same shoes for the 5K and the marathon.
Recovery Nuun for when I got back to the room after the race
Emergen-C. I would take one packet of Emergen-C when I got back from the park and another one before bed. I was determined to not get sick.
Protein recovery drink. I would fill up my shaker with water, Tailwind recovery powder and put it in the fridge overnight. This was something I would add to my gear check bag for after the race. The sports nutritionist I worked with really stressed the importance of getting protein and carbs within 30 minutes after a hard workout. Because Dopey is so intensive, I made it a point to do this after every race – even the 5K. I think this helped me during the week, so I’m glad I did this.
Got into bed to make an Instagram post. Originally, I wanted to do my race recaps, but I couldn’t focus enough to type them then.

The Course

The 10K course was a different course than I had done at my two previous runDisney 10K events – 2022 Princess 10K and 2020 Dopey – yet it had similarities. Essentially, there was some highway running at the beginning, but by the halfway point, you’re in the park and have a lot to entertain you until the end. On top of the fact that Chip and Dale were the new mascot, I was really excited for this race.

2023 Disney Marathon Weekend 10K Course Map

Pre-Race Party

My 2 am alarm came quickly, but I was looking forward to the day. I wasn’t too tired yet, and as I mentioned was excited for the 10K distance. I was able to get on one of the first buses around 2:40 am or so and made it to the pre-race party in time to get a picture with Monterrey Jack! I’m so glad I watched an episode of Rescue Rangers before this weekend since the last time I saw one was when I was a child. That show was one of my brother’s and my favorite shows!

After getting that picture, I waited for my friend, but eventually got nervous and went to my corral. Why do those emotions creep up when I know I’m going to be okay on the 10K? There is no reason I should be scared about getting swept at this point, even with character stops. That is definitely part of the mental game that I need to address!

The Race

The race started promptly at 5 am after the playing of the national anthem. This is one of my favorite parts of sporting events, and Disney always has amazing performers! One day was a trumpet or something, and it may have been 10K day, but I can’t remember.

I was in corral C but believe I went off about 30 minutes after the start. My goal for the race was to take it easy with (I think 30:30 intervals). I wanted to go steady but feel strong at the end of the race – and maybe stop for a few characters!

There were a lot of characters on course! I was hoping to stop for pictures with a few of them, but the lines were out of control! If I had more confidence, I should have stopped, but I got so worried about making sure I finished. Once I entered Epcot, they had a photographer with the Figment statue, so I stopped for that since it was a shorter line.

Right before gettingo

Right before mile 6, there was a character I just couldn’t pass up; it was my brothers favorite cartoon – Darkwing Duck! Lucky for me, the line wasn’t too bad when I arrived. Since I was close to the end, I knew I could book it, if I needed to get to the finish. The line added about 20 minutes or so, I think, so it wasn’t too bad. That being said, his was one of the shorter lines that I passed. This was a cartoon I should have watched before coming in for the weekend since I hadn’t seen it in decades. We heard the theme song multiple times, and it always made me smile.

2023 Disney Marathon Weekend 10K Finish Line

The Finish

About 0.2 miles to go after seeing Darkwing Duck, and I was done with my second race. But in reality, you are only finished with 19% of the miles. I felt really good after the race and was on a complete high. The music and the course were so good, and there were still two more days of magical miles to experience!

There is something about crossing a finish line that is so exciting. If you’re someone who hasn’t done it yet, please do. Find a local race and traing for a 5K. You will feel all the feels everytime you cross one, and that feeling of accomplishment is just the best! Also, as a side note, this was my first time running wearing ears. This has always concerned me, but it wasn’t a problem at all! They didn’t move, and I never worried about them falling off, so I will definitely do this again!

After crossing through the finish line, I was able to get my medal with Chip and Dale, 2 waters, a snack box, and a banana. It was still dark, and I was so cold! Not sure what I was (or wasn’t) thinking when I packed my gear bag, but I didn’t pack my coat. For some reason, I didn’t see any mylar blankets either, so I had to find a way to warm up.

2023 Disney Marathon 10K Medal — I think this is the best looking medal from the weekend and makes me smile everytime I see it.

I think this is the best looking medal from the weekend and makes me smile everytime I see it.

Post-Race Party

There was so much energy after the race. I was waiting for my friend to finish, and decided to get in line for the most sought-after character stop of the weekend – Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers. They are just so darn adorable. Funny enough, it took me longer to stand in line for this picture than it took me to finish the race – and it was worth every minute!

By the time I got my picture, the sun was fully up and the party area started to clear out. This was an advantage for me because Launchpad McQuack’s line was pretty short (especially in comparison!), so I got a picture with him.

So even though I didn’t get many stops on the course, I was lucky enough to get 3/4 of the characters at the pre/post-race area. Unfortunately, I can’t remember who the fourth one was.

Post Race – Hollywood Studios

After the pictures, I loaded the bus back to Pop Century for a much needed shower and warm clothes. After breakfast and getting ready, I headed out on the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios to roam around for the day. My goal was to find more characters, but also to do some rides in the park that I hadn’t done before.

Character-wise, I was lucky enough to meet Sully (a very, very long wait) and Olaf (not too bad). I’m not sure where all the characters were, but after two days in the park, I was disappointed. In 2020, I met many more characters. For attractions, the new ones I saw were Lightning McQueen’s Race Academy, Mickey and Minnie’s ride in the Chinese Theatre, Frozen Sing Along, and lunch in Toy Story world. One of my favorite shows since I was a child is Beauty and the Beast, which I also got to see. It was really fun, and is another thing that always makes me smile.

I left the park around 3 or so to get back again for my evening routine. It was quite a day and an even bigger day was on the docket for tomorrow. I wanted to make sure I got a good dinner and felt prepared for the half marathon.

Race Recap: 2023 WDW 5K

February 23, 2023 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

Thursday morning was the first morning with a 2 am wake-up call for the 2023 Dopey Challenge where runners complete the WDW 5K. It’s definitely early, but it’s not a stressful morning because you “only” have to complete 5K, which is a normal weekly run for me. My goal was to be on one of the first buses out since I get worried about logistics. When I stayed with friends in the past, we would leave later, but I was worried about doing it on my own. The night before, I laid out everything that I would need.

5K/10K prep — I organized the drawers in the room with everything I would need for each day. This was very helpful and reduce a lot of nerves.

Getting Ready

One of my main concerns over Dopey was to avoid getting sick. This race is in January, there are big temperature changes, we are around a lot of people, and you expect your body to function with early mornings and high physical exertion, which all weakens your immune system. My plan was to take a sports Nuun with caffeine in the morning, a vitamin/recovery Nuun when I got back after the race, and then 2 Emergen-C before dinner. I think this plan helped me a lot, and I avoided getting sick during and after the race! Many people posted that they did get sick afterward, which is expected when you wear your body down so much.

Anyway, I had my Nuun while I got dressed in my Pluto-inspired costume. This was my first time doing a “costume” for each of the races. I didn’t do my first costume until the Princess 2022 Half Marathon when I dressed like Minnie Mouse. I love it when people wear costumes, but I don’t do them because 1. it can be expensive and 2. I’m not very clever.

This year, I decided to dress like the mascot for each of the races, with a few exceptions. For the 5K, I dressed in Pluto’s colors, which was hard because I don’t own a lot of clothes that are yellow. Many people wear skirts and hats from Sparkle Athletics, so I decided to get a yellow pair at the expo to match with a pair of pants and (luckily) we got a yellow race shirt with Pluto. To round it out, I made a green collar out of a ribbon I had at home, and voila, I was Pluto!

The Course

The 5K course for runDisney events is almost always the same, and I think the best course. You spend almost the whole time in Epcot, so there are just a lot of fun things to see. It is crowded, but the vibe is very calm and fun. This day is also when people where the craziest costumes because you can walk the entire race.

Essentially, you spend the first mile backstage and go into Epcot around Mexico then travel around the world. The lake has equipment from the evening show lit up with the marathon weekend logo, and it’s just really cool. They also play music from the speakers, so this year we listened to great 90s music and got to jam out!

Pre-Race Party

Getting to the race early was a good idea, and something I would do again in the future. There are characters set up before the race where you can take pictures. In the past, I never tried to do this because the lines are so, so long. When I arrived, they were not long, and I was able to get a picture in 15-20 minutes. My goal was to get a picture with Dopey after each race, but he wasn’t around on 5K day (nor would he be there on any day!!). While I can’t remember exactly, I think Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy were there. Daisy had the shortest line, so I got my first character picture of the weekend with her. Definitely worth the early morning!

My friend Tina and I spent the 5K together, which was a lot of fun. This was her first runDisney experience, so I was excited to see her experience this fun time! We had to wait for a while for our corral to start, but eventually, it was our turn for the fireworks to take us out! The announcers are the same each year and provide a lot of entertainment. We actually didn’t have to wait too long for our corral (D) to go off, which was nice. I think we waited 40 minutes or so.

The Race

There were a ton of characters on the 5K course and all of them had a 90s theme!

The lines for the characters were so long! I regret not stopping for Tarzan. He was the first stop and the line wasn’t really that bad, but I was in too much of a rush. There is no reason to be because there isn’t a time limit, but at the same time, it is a race. The other lines could have been 30-40 minutes! And even though there isn’t a time limit, I heard they almost swept people because people were waiting in character lines for so long.

In addition to the awesome characters, they were also playing 90s music. The overall environment was just so exciting. We walked most of it and did some running here and there. There’s no reason to rush this race since it is the first of the 48.6-mile challenge and just a fun course; it’s important to savor each and every moment.

The Finish

The finish line finally appeared in the distance and is always an exciting thing to see. This was the first finish line of the weekend, and it was just the beginning! I felt great and had a wonderful time doing the 5K with my friend.

Overall the course was busy, but everyone was friendly. There were a lot of Dopeys out on the course, so I think everyone was feeling the fun vibes.

After the race was over, I was able to get a picture of me at the “photo booth” with my first medal. I really liked this Pluto medal – Pluto moves across the bottom, and it is just fun! It’s bright yellow and just smiles when you see it!

Post Race – Animal Kingdom

After the race was over, I went back to Pop Century to shower and go to Animal Kingdom. There is a good amount of walking at Animal Kingdom, but it’s also a park where you can see a lot and not spend all day. I was able to go on the safari, watch the festival of the Lion King, and even as brave enough to ride Everest.

One of the main reasons I like to go to parks after the race (besides get walking in) is to get pictures with characters. I was really sad that I didn’t see many characters at Animal Kingdom. I did, however, get to visit with Donald and Daisy. Donald was very impressed with my Pluto medal.

I think I got a Genie Pass this day because I really wanted to ride Flights of Passage, which is my favorite ride at Animal Kingdom. While I was waiting for my Fast Pass, I couldn’t believe what I saw! During this training cycle, I learned about YouTube videos of people who run and record Disney races. The first channel I came across was RezRuns, and I binged on all of his videos. Lo-and-behold, there was RezRuns standing right in front of me!

He was absolutely the nicest person, even when I asked to get a picture with him. Not only did they stay and chat for a while, he and his friend even asked if I wanted to go on the ride with them! Of course, I said yes, and had a fun time talking to them about the race weekend and how they were feeling about Dopey. It was quite a highlight of the weekend – like meeting a celebrity!

To cap off the afternoon, I was able to get a picture with the Tree of Life and watch It’s Fun to be a Bug. Then it was time to take the bus back to Pop Century and get ready for bed to do the 10K the next morning. While I was done with 25% of the wake-ups, the miles were just starting…

Trip Synopsis: 2023 WDW Dopey Challenge

February 15, 2023 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

Dopey 2023 – whew! I’m finally writing this summary in mid-February even though the challenge was at the beginning of January. This trip was fantastic and everything that I wanted it to be. After completing the 2020 Dopey Challenge, I made a goal to complete it again in 2023. This would be the 10th anniversary of Dopey and 30th anniversary of the marathon.

The 90s theme made this weekend even better than imagined – there were bright colors, fun music you hadn’t heard in ages, and characters from when I was a kid. With people in their 30s being the main demographic for runDisney, it was a hit with almost everyone! RunDisney is a positive environment anyway, but there was something about this weekend that made it even more memorable. I wish I could describe it more, but I’m not sure how to. I recently bought a video camera so I can record my journeys to try to share some of the fun.

What is the Dopey Challenge?

RunDisney currently has 4 event weekends throughout the year: Wine & Dine, Marathon Weekend, Princess Weekend, and Springtime Surprise. Marathon Weekend is held in January, and consists of 4 events:

Thursday – 5K (mascot is usually Pluto)
Friday – 10K (this year it was Chip and Dale!!)
Saturday – Half Marathon (mascots are Donald and Daisy)
Sunday – Marathon (mascots are Mickey and Minnie)

The Goofy Challenge is when participants complete both the Half and Marathon. Ten years ago, runDisney said, “what is more ridiculous than the Goofy Challenge?” They came up with the Dopey Challenge, which is when someone completes all four of these events. It is an incredibly popular challenge and has about 500 people who are “perfect” meaning they have done all 10 challenges. Just blows my mind!

How to Prepare for the Dopey Challenge

Coach and Me — Finally got to meet Coach Twiggs in person!

Physically

This is obviously a very physical challenge. Training not only makes the event more enjoyable, but the training actually makes it more fun! I learned so much about myself and running during this 6-month training period. I’m so proud of myself. I improved as a runner by getting faster and completing 2 extra marathons which allowed me to qualify for Marathon Maniacs! I trained with Coach Twiggs in Galloway’s Customized Training program, and I cannot recommend this program enough!

Mentally

When I started training for the 2021 Chicago Marathon, I learned about blogs. My evening activity would be reading people’s stories about their running journeys. This was really great motivation for me, and it helped me get excited about the event and learned a lot. In that research, I stumbled upon running podcasts and started listening to Marathon Training Academy and Run4PRs.

Signs for motivation — This is one of the signs I made during training to hang on my fridge to keep me motivated.

Somewhere around the 2022 Princess Weekend, I stumbled upon a podcast called Rise and Run. This podcast is with a gang of people who love runDisney. It was so fun to listen to people talk about training for the same thing as me. They have a Facebook group and host bi-weekly Zoom calls. Through their conversations, I learned there was a whole world and community of people via Facebook groups, YouTube channels, and blogs. I really dove into this, and all of a sudden I found a tribe of people who had a similar interest. I love this community and being able to nerd about in this space.

Travel to Disney World

I planned a week for my trip because I wanted to have a chance to go to different parks and get pictures with characters. This was my first week-long vacation since Dopey 2020, so I was really, really excited for this trip. My teammate and I were joking around because his idea of a vacation is sitting on a beach; Dopey is my kind of vacation.

My Itinerary

Wednesday: Fly to MCO, check into POP Century, go to the expo, have dinner with friends at Ale & Compass, then have an early bedtime.
Thursday: 5K and Animal Kingdom
Friday: 10K and Hollywood Studios
Saturday: Half Marathon, relaxing, and Rise and Run Meetup
Sunday: Marathon and celebration in Epcot
Monday: Magic Kingdom for fun pictures then dinner with Dopey at Storybook Dining in Wilderness Lodge
Tuesday: Fly home

Lessons Learned

This was a wonderful trip, and even though I was tired on Sunday, I am looking forward to doing it again one day. I am not planning to do Dopey in 2024 because it was a lot to do with training, but I would definitely do it again one day. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on the weekend, and these are the things I would change in the future:

my guest room was a mess from packing — My guest room was a mess with everything I needed to pack

I need to incorporate strength training and more yoga into my training. I’ve been doing strength training for the last month, and I do think this is making a difference in my running.
Ride Everest during the marathon. I was too nervous that I would get picked up by the balloon ladies if I did because it’s a long ride, and I didn’t know how long I would have to wait in line, even though they were letting runners go in the single-rider line.
Don’t go to parks every day. The parks are really expensive, and with shortened days, I’m not sure I get my money’s worth. I went to a meetup on Saturday which kept me on my feet a lot longer than planned because I was standing at the event and then had to stand for an extra hour until the bus came to pick me up from Disney Springs. I think this is one of the reasons the marathon did not go as well as I wanted it to go.
I did a good job packing and making a routine for each day. I felt prepared and had everything that I needed for the trip. Dopey requires a lot of things, but I remembered everything for my costumes, vitamins to prevent me from getting sick, and all of my recovery tools.

Race Recap: 2022 Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon

November 26, 2022 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

The City of Oaks Marathon is held in Raleigh, NC. The 2022 event was on Sunday, November 6. This event has something for all distances – 5K, 10K, half, and full marathon. Originally, I signed up for the half marathon but when Coach Twiggs put a 26-mile training run on my schedule, I felt like I needed to get a medal for my efforts. I went back and forth for a long time on whether I should sign up for this race. I had a lot of fears:

It’s a lot of pressure to run a marathon. To just do one “for training” was something I could not get my mind around.
City of Oaks is not a large race like a world major or Disney. I’m a back-of-the-pack runner, so this was really nerve-wracking to be alone or maybe not even finish.
The race only had a 6-hour limit. My current PR for the marathon is 5:57, so that is barely squeaking in. I would be really upset with myself if I didn’t finish, and this limit added a whole lot more pressure than it just being a marathon.

After my successful 23-mile training run, I decided to be brave and just got for it. I changed my half marathon registration to the full, and then the pressure was really on to do it. If I could stick to my prescribed training pace of 13:15, I would finish under the 6-hour limit, but also earn a PR with a time around 5:47.

Logistics

The race logistics and communication were my two biggest complaints about this race. I don’t know if I was extra nervous because of the fact that it was a marathon or because travel was required. I lived in Raleigh for many years, so I shouldn’t be nervous about that, but I know that I was.

Packet Pickup

They offered to mail your race bib to your house instead of going to packet pick up. This was an extra $6.99, which is a nice option, but sometimes I like to go to packet pickup just to see what it is. They continued to mail about the deadline, but they never communicated when and where packet pickup would be. When I emailed to inquire about this, they said they weren’t sure and would communicate details later. Well, that makes it difficult to plan!

Ultimately, I decided to have it mailed to my house. This is nice because I got a picture of Churchill with a bib, even though he wasn’t there to tell me good luck for the race.

Packet pickup ended up being at a local school until 6 pm or something, so it was good that I had it mailed to me.

Parking

Another issue I had with logistics was with parking. The race started and ended in downtown Raleigh, but they communicated 3 parking areas that were between 0.3 and 0.7 miles away from the start. Some of the areas were street parking, which I scoped out the day prior. I didn’t feel confident at all that I would be able to find a parking spot, and this stressed me out a lot. I’m not great at driving, let alone in cities. Luckily, I drove through downtown from my Airbnb to those spaces and found a paid parking spot just down the street from the finish line. This ended up working perfectly, so I wish their communication would say there was paid parking in different lots downtown.

The Course

Alll of the City of Oaks courses lap each other and turn off at various points, but they all pass some of the big sites of Raleigh like the NC State Capitol on Fayetteville Street. Something I really liked about this marathon course is that the breakaway from the half and full happened at mile 8 where the full went straight onto a greenway and the half turned around at the end of Hillsborough St. Mentally, as a marathoner, that was a lot easier to process than seeing the half marathon run to the finish line when you had to turn off and do 13.1 miles more. The Charlotte Marathon is set up this way, and I think that would make for a really hard mental game.

The other thing to note about this course is that the Raleigh course is really hilly. If you’re doing the half and shorter distances, you have a few hills, but it isn’t anything too much if you live in the Piedmont area of NC, since that is just your normal. The full marathon, on the other hand, had some HUGE hills on the greenway. I remember running down one around mile 10 or so thinking this is going to be really hard to go back around. We were around mile 21 when we had to go back up that section, but that wasn’t the only one!

The Race

The Start

The City of Oaks Marathon races started at 7 am. I left my Airbnb around 5:30 am, not sure about what I would do with parking. This would give me enough time to fumble around and figure something out. I had my hydration pack full with no-flavor Tailwind, a few Ucann gels, and some graham crackers to eat before. The time change happened that morning, so I had an extra hour to prep for the race. I was incredibly nervous, so I was trying to find ways to calm myself down.

The weather was also not looking good. It was warm (I think around 74 in the morning) and the air was THICK! I made sure to pack S-Caps and Salt Tabs to help, but I knew this would make the day that much harder. I was sweating just standing around waiting for the race to start because of the humidity – this was not a good sign! You can even see the haze in this picture from the humidity. I was scared this was going to turn into 2020 WDW Marathon again, and that was NOT something I wanted to repeat – especially on a smaller race when I was already expected to struggle.

Miles 1 – 8

Since this is a smaller race (I think about 770 registered and 565 finished the full marathon), they don’t have start corrals. Everyone (all distances except the 5K) started at the same time. There was a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, then we were off. Well over 2,000 people registered for the half (1,700 finished) and 1,220 registered for the 10K. Imagine almost 4,000 all at the same time going down a city street. It was absolute madness! Topple that with me trying to run/walk (I placed myself towards the back, but then a lot of people came late), and it was a fiasco.

I wanted to make sure to start my intervals from the beginning because I was doing the full and needed to conserve my energy. I had to run through the first 1 or 2 walk breaks but eventually was able to get off on the side to walk. Originally, I started at 20:30, but I had to back off because I was going much faster than my 13:15 goal pace; my first 5K was under 12:00/mile!

I backed my intervals down to 15:30 to try to slow down. One or two people told me “thank you” for raising my arm to signal my walk break, as I think I was the only one run/walking at that point of the race.

It was really fun to run through downtown Raleigh to see all of my old sights. A lot of my downtown experience was the bar scene, so running a marathon is quite a difference! I even ran past the Junior League of Raleigh building where my Junior League career started, which was a fun surprise. It’s funny, one of my favorite things to do is to visit and tour state capitol buildings. North Carolina is one I need to do. Not only have I lived in NC longer than any other state, but I actually lived in the capital city for 6 years! So typical, isn’t it?

Even though I changed my interval, I was still running under 13-minute miles at the 8-mile mark. I don’t understand because running this interval is much slower when I’m at home.

Miles 8 – 22

The second section of the marathon was most of the race and all marathoners. I marked this off at where the half and full marathon split and the marathoners spend the entire time on the greenway. It was really hot and humid at this time. My goal was to stay strong on my 15:30 intervals for the whole race, which was okay at this point, but I couldn’t believe I still had 18 miles to go.

The greenway was really nice, and the noise of Hillsborough Street faded away. Little did I realize how many large hills were waiting for us! I was able to zone out here, just run, and say hi to some fellow runners while commenting on the weather. I started to struggle and chose to only walk around the halfway point. Since I did 10 miles with a power walk the day before for Mock Dopey 1, I figured if I could pull off 14-minute miles I could still finish under the 6-hour time limit. Just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. I also finished my whole hydration pack of Tailwind at this point – on top of taking water at every water stop! This was going to be really hard.

It was a really scenic view, which was really nice because of the colors of the trees. Everyone was struggling at this point. Around this point, I also saw the leaders coming back down. They were looking strong, but even the fast people were walking and looking hot.

This greenway took you up until around mile 15.5 or something, which was close to North Hills. I can’t believe that I was able to run from downtown to North Hills; seems like such a far distance! When I turned back around, I saw that I wasn’t the last person and tried to cheer people along. I had started passing people at this point because it was such a struggle. According to the race results, from the halfway point to mile 20, I moved up 29 places and I was just power walking. That’s how bad it was.

There were people with medics, too. One I saw was a half marathoner on Hillsborough St. with an IV. Another girl I saw on the greenway was flush white on the ground. I kept telling myself, just be safe and be steady. This is a training run and there is never a need to push yourself that hard.

The hills were killer. Mile 20-22 was 170 ft of elevation gain, which was quite steep. Writing it, it doesn’t seem like it should be that bad, but it was awful! My pace slowed to a slow walk where I was clocking over 15-minute miles. I was definitely feeling it!

Mile 23 – Finish

It felt like forever, but eventually, we got off the greenway and back onto Hillsborough Street. We did a weird out-and-back then were really back onto the road to get us back downhill. While 3 miles doesn’t seem like a lot compared to doing 26, these last 3.2 miles were killer. I was so, so tired. Miles 24 to the end were downhill, but I was still walking. I was trying to stay with my power walk, but I was so hot and so dirty. It was hard having an empty pack, and I hadn’t had electrolytes or calories since mile 13. I was too scared to take any of the electrolyte drinks they had on the course because of what happened at the 2021 Chicago Marathon. Maybe it would have helped, but I didn’t want to chance not being able to finish.

When I saw the 25-mile marker, I tried to run, but I couldn’t sustain my intervals. I had to just power walk. Some of the people around me were able to speed up and add in some running intervals. I was so impressed with them! I desperately wanted to, but I couldn’t. It was one girl’s first marathon, and she was doing amazing!

Eventually, we got back downtown, and I knew we were close. We crossed over Glenwood where we started, and it was just a little bit. I tried to press on and turned the final corner. There it was – the finish line! It was straight ahead and the clocked showed around 5:57 – I could finish in under 6 hours! It took everything I had but I powered in at the end. That short speed burst clocked in at less than a 12:00 mile, I think. But I finished!

The Finish

My official final time was 5:57:38. It is hard to believe that I had finished my fourth marathon, and I finished it at a race where I was so nervous. The City of Oaks Marathon is the kind of race that good runners sign up for and for people who really like marathons – but I did it! I snuck in just under the time limit, and I couldn’t be happier.

This was my third fastest marathon, but that was okay. It probably had the second worst conditions, outside of the 2020 WDW Marathon. There is a lot that I can do to improve, but I had even more to be proud of. It was a challenge for me to sign up, but I did it, and I stuck it out through the conditions, and I changed course so that I could finish. The race party was over and the race food was gone, but it was okay. I earned my cool spinner medal and gained a lot of confidence – more motivation to do better the next time.

Up Next

This was the first of three marathons that I have coming up. Dopey 2023 training is coming to an end, but there are still a lot of miles to go. Next month, I will do the Kiawah Island Marathon, which I am less nervous about because there is a 6.5-hour limit. Then, I will cap off my training season with Dopey 2023 in January – what I have been working towards!

If I can accomplish all of these, I am going to apply for the bronze level of Marathon Maniacs. I haven’t been able to say that yet, but if I can do 3 marathons in 90 days, I might as well. I’m not sure if I’ll do it again, but you just never know!

Race Recap: 2022 Boulder Dash

October 8, 2022 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

Overview

This was the first year of the “Boulder Dash.” Typically, the Six Pack Series ends in Rocktoberfest Half Marathon, but that was discontinued this year for a new mystery event. When it was announced, I wasn’t sure what to think about it. It was definitely different, but I wanted to give it a shot.

The race took place at 8:30 am on October 8, 2022, at the Martin Marietta quarry and was billed as a unique racing experience. They have hosted similar events at other quarries, and I think the company uses this as a marketing opportunity. This was a run during Dopey Training Week 15 which was a down week for mileage.

The Course

This was a course like no other. The Martin Marrietta quarry in north Charlotte that I didn’t even know was there. Being that I have never been to a quarry, I wasn’t sure what to think. I knew we were going to go down a mile into a “hole” and have to come up, so it would be a strenuous five miles. I didn’t think about it, but we ran on gravel the whole time. In thinking about my 2023 goals, I want to try a trail race, and I feel like this was a good transition into this type of change.

The race had two options. First was a 5K that ran around the hole. The second (which I did) was the 5K plus descending a mile into the quarry and then making your way back up a mile to return to the 5K course.

The Race

There were fewer participants doing this race than the others in the six pack series, which I expected because of the course. But of the people there – they were fast! These were serious people. I don’t know how many people did the 5K only but only 75 did the 5 mile course. It was a beauitful morning! We couldn’t have had a better day, especially since they were calling for rain earlier in the week (but they are always calling for rain in Charlotte).

The emcee started the race, and we were off. They told us to follow the white truck for the 5-miler and the silver truck for the 5K. I’m way too slow for such things, so I had no idea how that happened. My biggest complaint about the race was the lack of signage. While there was definitely a path, there were many opportunities to get loss. I’m not sure if I missed part of it because at one point some of us split thinking we were going into the quarry, but then we met up with people later only to find a sign that split the 5-miler away. I’m not sure what that was, and there is no way to know since we were following people and GPS was off.

There was a lot of cool equipment in the quarry

The race was getting started, and the view looked like we were in for a treat!

Going into the quarry was very easy. I ran down the whole way because frankly, I couldn’t get my legs to stop. It took a while, but once we were down, we ran on the bottom until a sign told us to turn around. There was a really pretty pond at the bottom, too.

At the bottom of the quarry! Now it was time to go up!

The ascent was a challenge – the whole point of the race. I was amazed at how many people I saw being able to run up all of it or most of it. I tried to run a little bit, but I think I was making better progress speed walking. It was hard, and that’s all there was to it!

It’s hard to see the incline, but that just goes up and up and up!

Eventually, I made it up and back onto the 5K course. I tried to resume my 60 second run / 30 second walk intervals, but it took me a while to get my heart rate down. Eventually, I was able to resume my intervals and kept steady until the end.

There were many MM employees volunteering to help with the event and tell people which way to go. At one point, a man mentioned that there was a lookout if we went off the course slightly. I took him up on it and got the below picture. It was a really beautiful view! That was what we had to go down and back up! You can see the people in the distance making their way back up.

Beautiful view from the top of the quarry

The rest of the 5K was gravel roads and nothing to specific to mention. You have to be careful running on gravel since you could turn an ankle easily.

The Finish

Even though I finished 5/5 in my division, I was really proud of myself. My final time was 56:00 for a hard 5-mile course. I got my final cup as my medal and completed my challenge. Even though it was a hard course, I felt really strong at the end and was pleased. I’m starting to feel like my training is paying off and that I’m getting better.

Displaying my cup with some cool equipment

There was a lot of cool equipment at the end of the race. I got my picture in front of one of them – a three year old boy would know what it is called, but I’m not sure!

Looking Forward

Going forward I have some big races coming up – Cannonball Half, City of Oaks Marathon, Kiawah Mararthon, and then Dopey 2023!

Running is a great release and is something I really enjoy doing. For some weird reason, I love it. I’m glad that I’ve taken time this year to dive deeper into a hobby that I enjoy for what it is. Even if I’m not really good, I do love it, and that’s what’s important. The Six Pack Series allowed me to experience some of the most popular local races that happen (almost) annually in Charlotte. It was neat to feel like I was a part of the Charlotte running community, which is right in my backyard.

2022 Six Pack Series Cups — All of my cups from the Six Pack Series Displayed

Read my race recaps from the other races:

Race Recap: 2022 Lake Norman 15K

September 26, 2022 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

Overview

This was my second time running the Novant Health Lake Norman 15K in Cornelius, NC. I really like this course because of the distance but also because it has some pretty views of Lake Norman. This is the fifth race in the Run Charlotte Six Pack series. It took place on Sunday, September 25, 2022.

The Course

The course has been the same for a few years. It starts at a shopping center in Cornelius and goes on Jetton Rd. down a Penninselua in Lake Norman. There are beautiful houses to look at and views of the water. Some of the houses look different than last year, and I swear they are larger! There are a few that are smaller, and I wish I could buy to have a cottage on the lake.

Overall, the course has steady rolling hills like you find throughout Charlotte. It’s not an easy course, but it’s a nice course. There is a killer hill around mile 7 that always gets me.

The Race

It was a beautiful morning! Last year, it was still hot and humid. This year, was a bit chilly and a great day for a run. I think this really helped make a difference for me. My goal was to do this run and maintain my marathon pace for the entire course. It’s hard to walk at the beginning of a race, but I knew I needed to do it to conserve my energy. Jeff Galloway and Coach Twiggs say that is key to finishing a race strong. I think I ran through the first couple of walk breaks because it was just too busy, but eventually, I found my spot.

I felt like I did the full race steady at my 60/30 interval, but my pacing shows otherwise. You can see something happened at mile 4 (was it a hill?) and mile 7 I know was a huge hill! I am proud that I finished my last 2+ miles at a steady mid-11 pace.

Fueling

My other main goal of this race was hydration. I’ve really struggled with fueling for long runs. My 20-mile run the week before was awful. Everything about it after mile 14 was horrific, and I think a lot of that is due to fueling (or lack thereof). Many runners in Customized Training recommend Tailwind. I was hesistant because I feel like 1. it is marketed for ultra runners, and I am no where close to that, and 2. it creates so much more in terms of logistics. It would be nice to be the kind of person who puts their shoes on and goes out the door then run for miles, but I’m just not.

This was my first race using my hydration vest. I measured out the mL/ounces that were needed based on a 9 mile run (about 3/4 full), then I added about 1 scoop of Tailwind/24 ounces as instructed, which was one single use pack from the running store. It worked really well, and I didn’t feel nauseous at all! I think that was the other reason I was steady. This was probably the first time I was fueled in a race. I didn’t have anything else, but I also didn’t drink all of my Tailwind. According to the instructions, I should have drank all of it to get the proper fueling, but I still had half of it left at the end.

The Finish

Last year I struggled for the last 3 or 4 miles; I was so tired going up Jetton Rd. This time, I was steady. Or that was, until “How Far I’ll Go” came on in the final 0.75 miles. I was moving, seeing how far I could go…but it was too fast! I had to recover with a walk for a bit and was then able to resume my 60/30 intervals. Eventually, I was back in the shopping center knowing the finish line was just around the corner.

I earned a new 15K PR (1:46:09) and was very pleased. It only beat last year’s time by 23 seconds, but I was steady. Last year I went out fast and flamed out. If I can learn to be steady, then I can accomplish a lot more as a runner and improve my stamina.

The other thing I’ve learned is the importance of post-fueling. I purchased a Tailwind recovery drink and had that after the race as well. Courtney, a nutritionist I heard it on a podcast, said that sometimes you have to force yourself to get it down, but it is really important for your muscles to recover. I never do this because I’m not hungry, but I do think it made me not so hungry later in the day.

Anyway, it was a good day at the lake, and I got the fifth of my six cups. Only one more race of the series to go!

Race Recap: 2022 Yiasou Greek Festival 5K

August 27, 2022 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

Going into this weekend, I was really excited for a race. I kept thinking how fun it is for races to be back on the calendar after a very hot and humid summer. And while the humidity and heat aren’t gone, we have had enough days below 100 and cool mornings to know it will be here soon. Those were my thoughts until I selected my shirt to wear for the race – the American 4-Miler shirt I got last month. Oops, yes, that was in the summer on a very hot and humid morning.

Race Background

Anyway, this morning (August 27) was the fourth race of the Charlotte Six-Pack Series called the Yiasou Greek Festival 5K. This was my first time doing this race, but I had heard a lot of good things about it over the years. People like this race because it is flat (not a common thing in Charlotte) and the Greek Fest is a lot of fun. I didn’t realize until the day before that Greek Fest is actually going to be September 10-11, this year, so I wouldn’t get to go to the festival after the race.

I picked up my bib at the Run for Your Life store in University. The lady there told me that the race used to be before the festival, but it was really hard to set up for the festival with roads closed for the race. Oh yes, that makes a lot of sense. They did give us two tickets to attend the festival, so I may check that out in a few weekends.

The Course

This race starts at the Greek Orthodox Church on East Blvd. and runs around the Dilworth area. I love this area, so I knew it would be a good race. The houses there are adorable, and it’s covered with trees, so we should get some good shade.

It is essentially two loops of the area (which is how it can be so flat!) around the church.

The Race

The race started at 7:30 am in front of the church. The sun was coming out, but it wasn’t fully out. The weather was nice (I think about 21 degrees Celcius or 70 degrees F). It was a bit humid but was a really nice morning for a race. The DJ was playing “Let’s Get It Started in Here,” and we were off.

My goal for the race was to run 2 minutes / walk 30 seconds, which was Coach Twigg’s suggestion. Based on my most recent Magic Mile time, I should do a 5K at 9:14/mile, but I just don’t see that happening. My goal was to PR the race (beating my Hot Chocolate 5K record of 32:45), but I was really nervous about being able to do that. I wanted to do the 2 min/30 steady and just feel strong. Around the Crown is next weekend, and I really want to do a good job there.

There isn’t much to say about the actual run since it kind of ran together. I opted to listen to music since it would only be about 30 minutes, and I needed to get my feet moving. I started running and ran through my first walk break because the path was so congested. Eventually, I made some space for my walk break and was able to sustain that pattern the whole time. There was supposed to be a water stop at mile 1.5, but it was really before mile 2. I was quite thirsty and very grateful for the volunteers and that cup! By the time I got to mile 2, I was feeling really tired, but I knew to keep pushing since I just had a mile to go. It’s so different running a 5K compared to longer distances.

The sun was out, and I was really sweaty by the second mile. I think it was really humid since it wasn’t really that hot. After the race, I checked the dew point, which was 70 F, so I think that’s what did it.

The Finish

Regardless, I kept trucking and was feeling okay. Finally, I got to the end and could see the finish line in the distance. I wanted to keep going, but I had to take a couple of extra walk breaks to recover. I think I was running too fast, even though I kept telling myself to be steady.

Eventually, I was able to cross the finish line with a final sprint in the last 0.1 miles at an 8:56 pace to finish with an official time of 31:47! A new PR! My splits were 10:08, 10:12, and 10:25; proof that I was getting tired and slowing down. I was so happy when I crossed the finish line! I think a sub-30 is definitely a possibility if I continue my training.

The finish line celebration was fun. I grabbed my cup (their replacement for a medal this year) and some water. After recovering with my water and taking some pictures, I scouted out a banana and then a King of Pop popsicle. This is a local popsicle vendor that is delicious! This is what should be served after all races instead of beer! (I think that comment could earn me a lot of hate, but hey, I like the idea.)

Takeaways

This was a fun, local race. It is small, but a very manageable event. I watched as some runners finished up around the 45-minute mark. I love these events because people of all types and backgrounds can do it, but they are out there doing it. It just makes me happy that there is a community and businesses that hosts these events. There were several families out cheering for us as we passed their houses, too. Thanks for all of the support!

Race Recap: 2022 American 4-Miler

July 4, 2022 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

The American 4-Miler is part of Run Charlotte’s 6-Pack race series. I had done the race in 2017, but the chip fell off my bib, and I didn’t get an official time. I am usually out-of-town for July 4th, but because it was on Monday, I decided to give it a try. This is also the first time I signed up for the entire 6-pack, so I might as well try to do them all.

As you can imagine, July 4 in Charlotte can be a really hot day. When I took the dogs out today, I didn’t think it was too bad. I left my water bottle out last night so I had it ready to go. This morning, I decided it “wasn’t as bad as yesterday” and that “it was only 4 miles” so I could make do with one water stop at the 2-mile mark. That was dumb. That was very, very dumb.

One of the reasons this was dumb was because I did 12 miles on Saturday and was so pleased with my new hydration pack. I love it. One of my best running decisions ever, so why I decided that two days later I didn’t need a small handheld will remain a mystery. Don’t be too tough.

The Course

The race was held in the midtown area of Charlotte, which is a really good location. We parked at a parking garage by the Trader Joe’s, who was a sponsor for today’s race. I arrived around 6:45 am for a 7:30 am race since I had to pick up my bib and shirt. For some reason, they changed the pick up on Friday to be on Saturday, which is really annoying. For anyone trying to go to the lake or beach this weekend, you would have to be there on Saturday. I was hoping to go on my way out of town Friday, but nope! I got it this morning, which turned out to be okay.

The 4-mile course would take us around Dilworth, which is a very familiar area to me. I usually drive around the area, so it was neat to actually run it. I’m horrible with directions, so I get from point A to Point B to Point E by Google Maps. What would have taken me a Google Map saga showed me how close things really were to one another.

Anyway, the race started with a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. I wish I would have written down her name because she sounded so wonderful! I love kicking off an event with our national anthem on a normal day, but today it was particularly special.

There were several hundred people at the race, so it was one of the better attended races for the season. When I looked at the results later, it showed there were 607 finishers, so quite a large race! I am always in awe of how many people sign up to do races. These people are either committed to doing something healthy or committed to a challenge. Think about how easy it would have been for them to sleep in or not make it back to town because of a lazy holiday weekend. Anyway, the DJ made his announcements, and we were off!

The Race

It was really busy at the beginning. I decided I was going to run this race at Coach’s prescribed half marathon pace, which was based off of my new magic mile (MM) time. This pace was 10:45/mile. In my normal training runs, I do a 60/30 ratio of running to walking, but I always feel like my time is high. On his recommendations, I am supposed to do a half a 10:45/mile and a marathon at 11:40/mile – both which would use a 60/30 pace. For the life of me, I cannot wrap my head around how you can change your pace in the same way. On Tuesdays call, I asked about this again and people suggested modifying the ratio. For this race, I decided to give 60/20 a try because I was told walking breaks should max at 30 seconds. Rationally thinking, I should walk less to go faster, right?

The beginning of the race was so congested! The roads were one lane and there were so many people. It’s so hard to do a run/walk in a race where people don’t practice that. At a Disney race, people will start that from the beginning, but at local races, that isn’t popular so people go all out right from the beginning. I tried to start further back, but I think I was too far at the front. Anyway, I eventually got to a part on McDowell where I could get on the sidewalk to take my 20 second walk break. From there I settled into my 60/20, where I would raise my left hand to signal that I was walking. Once I was about a mile in, more people were walking.

The course itself has some rolling hills, but nothing particularly terrible or notable. I was able to run most of the hills during my run time. But once I was a mile in, I knew not bringing my water bottle was a very, very big mistake. While the heat/humidity wasn’t anything like when I golfed yesterday, it was still horrible! I was already sweating and very thirsty. My goal became to get to mile 2.

Final Mile

The first mile went by in my steady 60/20 pace. By mile 1.5, I walked through one of my run times, but eventually I was at the water stop. Whew. That little cup of water, though, nope, definitely wasn’t enough. Again, I cursed arrogant Kristin thinking that it wasn’t necessary this morning. Humidity is no joke – water is needed. Eventually, I looked down in the second mile and saw my swollen fingers. Then I cursed myself for not bringing my Salt Stick tablets because my fingers hurt.

The third mile marker came right as I was about to start a walk time. I had definitely walked through some of my run times. I wanted to hit my 10:45 pace goal, but gosh, it was so hot. “Just be steady,” I kept repeating to myself. “You CAN do hard things,” was the other thing I kept repeating. I was listening to podcasts, so I had something to think about, but I was really ready for this to be over. I was surprised at how many people I was passing, but I’m sure they all went out too fast. This was just proof that my Galloway training was working the way it was supposed to work.

The nice thing about mile three was that I knew I was almost done. I didn’t even have miles to count down. I was behind a pair of women during this mile who were swearing the weather. One of the girls said, “this is bull****.” I chuckled to myself because, yes this was bad, but you signed up for a race in July. I mean, were you expecting to decide between a long sleeve and short sleeve shirt? That put my concerns into perspective, and I told myself to get on with it.

The Finish

I was sticking to 60/20. I was at mile 3.5, and my app told me it was time to walk. Do I run the last half or stick to my plan. I decided to stick with my goal of hitting 10:45/mile (which I was really close), and I opted to walk. It was hot, and I recall reading somewhere that you should add time to your goal if its hot, but I couldn’t remember the numbers, so best just to stick to my goal. I’m a Southerner, so man up.

Then I got to mile 3.8 or something, and my beep told me to walk. I rounded the final left turn and saw the finish line. Screw that – power to the end! I was on to the end. Not a full out sprint, but focused and going; it was a race after all!

I crossed the finish line to a song that made me happy, but I can’t remember what it was. It was surprising that I even passed a few people in the finish chute, but gosh, I was so happy to be done. I felt like I had gone swimming and, after finding some water, I really, really wanted a shower. Instead of medals, they handed out medal cups. This was my third cup I earned, but I miss a medal. I get that medals aren’t practical, but neither is a medal cup. Oh well, I know a lot of people like the cup, but I am not one of them.

In my dehydrated state (for the third time), I forwent my concern about germs and filled up my cup with water from the water stop. Run Charlotte is trying to be environmentally conscious and has you fill up your cup from the water bottle instead of having plastic water bottles. I agree with reducing the amount of plastic, but I hate not washing the cup first. On top of that, they still support plastic Gatorade bottles, and I don’t drink Gatorade! Be consistent or don’t, but I would really appreciate a bottle of water. If you want to say no bottles, then have a community Gatorade fill-up, too. <rant done>

Results

I was so proud of myself – my finish time was 43:00 which was a 10:46/pace. Despite the horrible heat, I basically hit my pace. I walked several of my run times during the second and third miles, but I was still about at my half marathon time. Hooray!

I didn’t stick around too long before heading home – a shower was required. Not bringing my beach towel was another regret like the water bottle. I was a sweaty mess! Also super proud I wrote my race recap the same day as the race – this is my new goal! 🙂

Race Recap: 2022 Shamrock 4 Mile

March 18, 2022 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

This was my third weekend in a row with a race having just completed the Corporate Cup 5K. I was worried about this when I signed up, but I was doing it for fun, so I figured a race is always a fun way to get in miles. It was neat to run different areas of the city for mornings when I should have been getting in a run regardless!

The Shamrock 4 Miler is the first run in RunCharlotte’s 6-Pack series. I have participated in some of these races before, but I decided to sign up for the whole series this year since I am not really traveling and as a way to focus on getting faster on shorter distances. They also bribed us with an AWESOME RunCharlotte quarter-zip up, and that is what sealed the deal. I love this and know I will wear it often when it is cool outside.

The Race

The race was held on March 12 in South Charlotte which is an area where I haven’t run before. We started at a local restaurant, Famous Toastery, which is the sponsor for this run. I have about a 45-minute drive to this area, and it rained at home and the entire ride down. I almost didn’t go because I didn’t feel like going for a swim. But I am trying to be consistent, so I packed up my flip-flops, a towel, extra clothes, and a plastic bag so I could complete the first of my six races. It would be bad if I didn’t make it to the first! As luck would have it, the rain stopped when I got to the parking lot!

Of course, the event team was planning for rain, so many of the pre-race tables were canceled, but they had fun music playing and everyone was happy the rain had stopped. Despite the weather, there were still a lot of people there and a lot of people were picking up their cool zip-up, so many people look to be doing the entire series! That’s great for the organization.

It was a neat race. There were some hills as is typical in our area, but we ran through the commercial area of Blankney and some neighborhoods. I was still struggling with allergies, but I earned a PR of 44:16 because the only other 4-miler I did my tag fell off. It was still a decent time for me even though I didn’t feel well.

The Finish

The rain held off for the whole race, and I avoided puddles…until I went to find our post-race snack. After the finish line, I stopped paying attention and my right foot went straight into a puddle! At least my flip-flops were waiting for me. Instead of medals, the race team is giving our medal finisher cups. I thought this was clever.

Famous Toastery hosted a delicious breakfast with quiche, fruit, and coffee which hit the spot after a run. Even though it was 9:30 am, Wicked Weed was there with beer that we could take home – classic Charlotte race move. While I was waiting in line for breakfast, a man saw my runDisney hat. We started chatting, and I felt like I was meeting a celebrity! He was perfect marathon, Dopey, and Princess! For those of you who don’t know about runDisney, that is crazy! 2023 is the 30th anniversary of the marathon – that means he has done every Disney marathon weekend for the last 29 years. He hasn’t missed one. On top of that, he has done all of the Dopeys (9) and Princess weekends (around 20?). That is such an awesome commitment. I told him I was planning on doing Dopey in 2023, so hopefully, I would see him around in the future. Kudos to him!

I really had fun at this event, and I can’t wait for the series’s next race in May – Hit the Brixx 10K, which I have done before.

Race Recap: 2022 Corporate Cup

March 10, 2022 / therosywanderer / 0 Comments

The 2022 Truist Corporate Cup was held on March 5. The race includes a half marathon and 5K. My understanding is that it is advertised to many of the large corporations in Charlotte for their employees to do. I had never done it but decided to sign up when they partnered with the Around the Crown 10K, which I will do on Labor Day weekend.

There weren’t as many people there as I expected, and many of them were doing the 5K. The race started at Truist Stadium, which was nice because it was open to use the restrooms. There was also free parking at several of the parking garages Uptown for the race.

My allergies were awful that morning. Instead of racing, I told myself to take it easy and just get in the miles. I had run the Fairy Tale Challenge the previous weekend, too. If I wanted to walk a lot, then I could do that. Despite not being able to breathe, I did a lot better than I thought I would. I finished the Corporate Cup 5K in 33:32, which is just 47 seconds off my PR time.

Getting Ready

The Course

Pre-Race Party

The Race

The Finish

Post-Race Party

Post Race – Hollywood Studios

Getting Ready

The Course

Pre-Race Party

The Race

The Finish

Post Race – Animal Kingdom

What is the Dopey Challenge?

How to Prepare for the Dopey Challenge

Physically

Mentally

Travel to Disney World

My Itinerary

Lessons Learned

Logistics

Packet Pickup

Parking

The Course

The Race

The Start

Miles 1 – 8

Miles 8 – 22

Mile 23 – Finish

The Finish

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Overview

The Course

The Race

The Finish

Looking Forward

Overview

The Course

The Race

Fueling

The Finish

Race Background

The Course

The Race

The Finish

Takeaways

The Course

The Race

Final Mile

The Finish

Results

The Race

The Finish

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