Dopey Challenge 2020 – Training is Over

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We’re finished! After many months of long runs, short runs, hill runs and tempo runs. Running in the dark, running in the heat, and running in the rain – it’s time to put all those training miles to the test. Joseph is confident! I’m nervous. I’ve run a marathon before and I know how painful it is. I’ve never, ever run a marathon after running a 5K, 10K, and half marathon first.

The Plan

We weren’t able to stick to the plan exactly, but we did our best. A few obstacles got in the way and we made every effort to work around them. To stay motivated, I sweet-talked Joseph into getting up at 4:30 am a couple of times a week to run with me.

These outings meant a break from the treadmill for me and in the cool (sometimes cold) morning air, the miles flew by. I listened to music and enjoyed the starry skies and pretty sunrises. I’m thinking Joseph didn’t get as much enjoyment from these times, but he’s a good sport anyway.

The Fuel

We tried a lot of new running foods and relied on old favorites. New items included Clif Bloks and Tailwind (drink mix). The old favorites we relied on were Sport Beans (watermelon is the best!), GU, and Honey Stinger Waffles. All were tested for energy provided, ease of consumption, and intestinal compatibility. We especially liked the fact that the Sport Beans and Tailwind we used had a bit of added caffeine. Now we know what to bring along with us to keep us going for those 48.6 miles.

The Gear

Here’s my biggest and best discovery: men’s running shorts. I borrowed a couple of pairs of Raymond’s for the Wine & Dine races and I’m never going back! I wish I’d known – the length is perfect (no thigh touching) and there are extra pockets! Plus the shorts Raymond lent me were lightweight and the waistbands hit me in just the right place – made them extra comfortable! Maybe they weren’t the most flattering, but I’ll take feeling good over looking good when I’ve got to cover those loooooong distances.

Joseph and I needed headlights and reflective vests for those dark early morning runs and I found both on Amazon. Economically priced and perfect for our needs, the Petzl headlamps and GoxRunx vests were just the ticket. We wanted to both see and be seen by motorists (and not be mistaken for deer by any hunters)!

Dopey Challenge 2020

It’s time to put it all to the test. One little short run between now and Thursday’s 5K is all we have left. Nervous, excited, and most of all ready – Joseph and I would welcome some friendly thoughts and any advice or words of encouragement you’d care to offer. Wish us luck! We’re gonna need it.

Walt Disney World Skyliner – Taking Flight!

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We didn’t know what to expect. For sure, I had my doubts. Would we even find Disney World’s newest form of transportation convenient? We hopped on the Skyliner and were surprised by what happened next!

Walt Disney World Skyliner – Taking Flight!

After the infamous Skyliner breakdown during its first week of operation, there was lots of chatter about Disney’s gondola system. Positives and negatives crowded social media as Walt Disney World guests took to the sky for the first time. According to many, fear of heights, motion-sickness, and concern about overheating were top reasons for avoiding the Skyliner. Raymond, Joseph and I weren’t worried about any of those things. We simply thought the Skyliner wouldn’t be a necessary option for us. We could travel between Epcot and the Studios by our customary Friendship Boat. The boats provide reliable, relaxing transport and we enjoy taking in the sights along the way.

When the time came for us to leave Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we exited the park and started walking towards the boat ramp. We noticed the Skyliner had absolutely no crowd. No wait at all! A number of signs provided instructions and other information about the gondola system. Curiosity got the best of us and we hopped right on!

Up, up and away!

What a fantastic experience! We (meaning mostly me) had fun checking out the huge variety of characters on many of the gondolas. I called out the character names as they went by (which I’m sure made Raymond and Joseph glad we had the gondolas to ourselves). We could see far in every direction as the Skyliner moved quickly along towards the transfer station. The gondolas were so well ventilated that my hair blew everywhere – swirling around my head the entire time. I promptly discovered #gondolahair and realized that if one wants to look presentable for a special dinner or other event, the Skyliner isn’t coif-friendly in any way.

We transferred gondolas to continue our trip to Epcot which was a quick and easy process. Before long we touched down outside the International Gateway and were headed for the World Showcase and those Food & Wine Festival booths. My hair may have been a bit messier than usual, but the Walt Disney World Skyliner was a pleasant surprise and a super fun mode of transportation. We can’t wait to ride it again.

Have you been on the Skyliner? What did you think about the ride? How was your hair?

runDisney Wine & Dine Half Marathon 2019

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The alarm went off at 3:00 am. Joseph and I, with that glorious Fall Back extra hour of sleep, woke up amazingly refreshed and ready to run. The weather was as good as we could have hoped for – temperature in the low 60’s and lower humidity than the day before.

Out the door in record time, we were in line for the bus just after 3:30. Like the previous day, the other runners were quiet in the early morning darkness. I looked at the different race bibs wondering where people were from. The people-watching is prime during these things! I spotted a few other runners who would be with us in corral C. I’d had Ratatouille-themed shirts printed for us to wear during these races and for the half marathon we chose the one that said, “Anyone can cook but I’m here to eat”. We didn’t have long to wait for a bus and soon we were loaded up and on our way again to the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

The excitement in the air was even more than it had been the day before. We made our way to our corral to wait for our turn to go (I swear this part feels like forever and Joseph’s face says it all). The National Anthem was especially good and once it was over, runners began moving up into groups aligned behind the starting line. Ready, set, go!

The best part about this half marathon is the course. We headed towards the first of three parks we’d visit: Animal Kingdom. Just after we passed the sleepy rhinos in their night barn, we found ourselves backstage behind Harambe Market. Joseph was excited to tell me about each building and what he did there during his stint in the Disney College Program last spring. We ran through Africa, Pandora, Asia, and Dinoland USA. When I spotted Kevin from Up! near the Tree of Life, I insisted we stop for a picture. I must say, Kevin was everything I’d hoped she’d be – absolutely adorable. She greeted every runner enthusiastically.

As we exited Animal Kingdom and headed towards Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I started feeling blah. Hoping it was just a blood sugar issue, I opened a pack of Clif Bloks and shared them with Joseph as we continued along. Between miles 8 and 9, I was dragging. We’d turned into the sunrise and it was blinding as the sun sat just above the horizon. Joseph felt sorry enough for me to offer a stop to meet Donald. Well, Donald did the trick! After that, we turned into a delightful breeze and I felt much better. By the time we’d zipped passed the Tower of Terror and headed towards Epcot, I was back to my usual self.

I can’t describe how great it is to run through World Showcase during these events. It’s not the same (or as emotional) as running through Magic Kingdom (hello, Cinderella Castle), but it has its own charm and brings on happy memories while passing each pavilion.

Backstage and out into the Epcot parking lot and we were finished! Raymond found us right away and we took some time to enjoy the post-race festivities – celebrating with our favorite recovery beverage…beer.

I’d skipped the runDisney post-race snack box the day before, but I snagged one after the half marathon. I love LOVE the chips and cheese dip in these boxes and thoughts of that cheese (pasteurized, processed liquid gold!) kept me going when I felt bad. Imagine my (and apparently hundreds, quite possible thousands, of others’) disappointment to find that the cheese had be replaced by some quite unpalatable hummus. This was the only truly disappointing thing about this race. I wanted that cheese, dadgummit! I’m confident runDisney received quite a bit of feedback about this glaring omission and hopefully for our next events this unacceptable situation will be rectified.

So…the Dopey Challenge is just days away. Anyone else going to be there?

runDisney Wine & Dine 10K 2019

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The first of the two-course challenge events held during the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, this year’s Wine & Dine 10K certainly had its pros and cons! Excited and pretty well-prepared, Joseph and I ended up with mixed feelings about our experience. If you’re considering a future Wine & Dine event, here’s our balanced feedback on the 10K.

runDisney Wine & Dine 10K 2019

We arrived at Walt Disney World early on Friday and after dropping off our luggage at Bay Lake Tower, we immediately headed to the race expo to pick up our bibs, shirts, and pin set I’d pre-ordered. The expo wasn’t nearly as crowded as we expected, so we managed to get in some shopping at several of the vendor booths there before heading to Epcot. We know from previous runDisney events that sleep deprivation can be a real obstacle to our vacation happiness, so after a tasty dinner at Via Napoli, we turned in early.

The weather at Disney World in November is one of the things we like most about visiting during this time. Not too hot, not too cool, little chance of rain. We found Saturday morning a bit warmer and more humid than we’d expected but there was no rain in the forecast and the early morning air was comfortable. After catching our bus from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom parking lot and getting situated in corral A to wait for the start, we had time to take in the extraordinary pre-race excitement of runDisney events. We managed to find my friend Karen (whose blog is one of my favorites!) – or I should say, Karen found us and she and I had a few minutes to catch up. Then it was time to move into place and we were OFF!

Into the Darkness for 6.2 miles

With runDisney events in Florida, you can count on the courses being flat. The only “hills” are overpasses and the pavement is almost always even and smooth. There were two big cons to this event. Total darkness 100% of the time and relative nothingness for the first four miles. The last two miles included a wonderful and peaceful trip around the World Showcase before a backstage trip to the finish line in Epcot’s parking lot. Don’t misunderstand me, there were characters and other entertainment along the entire course, but most of this race was on the road to Epcot.

As I’ve mentioned before, Joseph and I tend to skip most character meet-n-greets, preferring instead to get finished and get on with a day in the parks. We had a breakfast ADR for Tusker House waiting for us, so after crossing the finish line and collecting our medals, we headed for the bus. With the race starting and ending so early in the morning, we’d urged Raymond to wait for us at our resort instead of trying to meet us at the finish line. The best news of the day was that Daylight Savings Time would end overnight and we’d not only get an extra hour of sleep but also have a lot more daylight for Sunday’s half marathon.

Final thoughts

We had fun! We always enjoy runDisney events and this one was no exception. That being said, this was our least favorite course to date. Knowing we had 13.1 miles ahead of us the next morning, Joseph and I were pleased that we’d run the 10K at an easy pace. We felt good and had plenty of energy for our day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Up next – Wine and Dine Half Marathon Recap!