No One Knows How Far I’ll Go - Comments Welcome

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Wine & Dine Two-Course Challenge 10K - Saturday, November 2nd, 2024
And finally it was 10K day!



I felt completely prepared, but unfortunately K was not. Her training for her fall races (this 10K and then the half marathon during Marathon Weekend) was going well, but then she developed some severe back pain and, while compensating for that, she aggravated her knee. And, instead of actually going to the doctor and figuring out what was wrong, she tried to just rest it. (Insert pounding head against wall here). Predictably, that didn’t solve the problem. So she came into the weekend with a gimpy knee and having done almost no training in almost 6 weeks. K wound up one corral ahead of me, but she was still nervous about finishing. She kept saying that I should be able to catch up to her (like during the 2023 MW 10K), but I knew that the gap between the corrals was going to be too much.

K headed to the corrals as soon as we got there while I went to hang out with the RIse & Run group. Bob introduced me to a newbie who was doing her first runDisney race and we wound up hanging out together the entire time in the corrals, which was a lot of fun and made the time pass quickly.

I did around a 16 minute mile for the first three miles and then let the time wander upwards to 17 minute miles for the last three miles. I knew that I had the time on the balloon ladies and I wanted to enjoy the beauty of Epcot - and to save myself for the half.









One thing that I hadn’t done so far in this training cycle was any back to back runs (there just wasn’t any place in my calendar) so I was going with a very conservative strategy. (Side note: K walked the whole thing, but finished.)



Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to nap and recover before heading to Disney Springs to the Rise and Run meet-up. The meet-up was amazing as always, but Disney Springs itself was a zoo! As we were getting ready to leave, it started raining, which made finding a place to get dinner challenging. Then it was back to the hotel as K had to pack for her early morning flight home and I had to prepare for the next morning.

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Wine & Dine Two-Course Challenge Half-marathon - Sunday, November 3rd, 2024
Half marathon day started early as usual. I said good-bye - and happy birthday - to K before I left as she would be on her way to the airport before I got back. While I was at the Rise and Run pre-race meet-up, I found a friend, N, to hang out with at the after-party. I had been planning on winging it, maybe going solo, maybe meeting up with the larger R&R group later, but it was comforting to finally have solid plans.

I didn’t have any goals or really much of a strategy for the race. I knew that it was going to be stupid hot (throughout this weekend, I was regularly reminded why I don’t like this weekend), but unlike my first W&D, I was pretty confident in my ability to cope with the conditions. Since I had just done a marathon a month earlier, I knew that I had endurance to spare so I wasn’t afraid to go faster than I normally would for the first half of the course. I wanted to put some time between me and the balloon ladies and to take advantage of the cooler weather before the sun came up so I pushed my intervals a little bit. It felt pretty comfortable so I kept saying “I can do this for one more mile.” Unfortunately, that meant that I passed up most of the photo stops in Hollywood Studios, but I’d done that course a number of times at this point so I didn’t see anything that I felt that I had to do.



Shortly after Mile 6 - and about the same time that the course turned into the full sun - I decided to do the smart thing and scale it back. The conditions weren’t right for this to be a PR run and I didn’t want to be questioning my life choices by the end. I tried to stay closer to the 16 minute mile, but I started to think about going for my first runDisney legal half (i.e. one under 3:30). I couldn’t do the running math to figure out exactly what mile times I needed, but I knew that it would be close.





Then around Mile 11 (on the stretch before making the turn into Epcot), I saw Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip and I had to make a decision to make - either to go for time or to stop for my ultimate character stop. The line was fairly short, which sealed the decision for me, and I stopped.



But, since I wasn’t sure about the math, I thought that maybe I could still do both?

In the end, sadly, the answer was no. I wound up at 3:31:18, which was an over 9 minute Disney PR. Was the character stop worth it? Looking back, heck yeah! I’ve never seen Aurora on course before and Prince Phillip is kind of rare. I would have been kicking myself afterwards if I didn’t stop.

By the time I got to the finish line, my right hamstring (which had been sore on and off for a while) was chirping at me so I stopped at the medical area to get some ice. I also could tell that I was starting to overheat and needed to cool down and make sure that I was safe to drive back to the hotel.

Sidenote here: I want to interject an important reminder and something that I feel very passionately about here. Whenever we run, we are asking our bodies to work hard. If you don’t feel right (or you feel “odd” or “uncomfortable”), GO TO A MEDICAL TENT! It’s so easy to say “I’ll be okay in a minute.” And you might be. But what if you aren’t? Most runners have heard the stories of people having serious medical incidents (or worse) at races and a lot of the stories include the statement “something didn’t feel right, but I thought that it would go away.” Put your ego aside (actually it is an evolutionary instinct in play, but I don’t want to get too far off the topic) and at least talk to one of the medical people. A good medical person has that instinct that can gauge when something is seriously wrong better than the average person (and much, much better than the average runner). Okay, lecture over.

I spent the afternoon listening to the Bills-Dolphins game on my computer (I had expected this game to be the “local” TV game, but it wasn’t) in between naps. Before heading to Epcot, I needed to go back to the parks to buy a few things. The parks were super busy and my tolerance for people walking in front of me and then randomly stopping was D-O-N-E so I got in and out as quickly as possible. I tried to finish as much packing as possible (I needed to leave for the airport by 6 a.m. on Monday) and then headed to the after-party.



The after-party was okay. I had an amazing time hanging out with two other Customized runners and some assorted family members. We grabbed a table and ate (OMG, the cheddar soup from the Canada booth was AMAZING) while waiting for Luminous. It was neat to see the show, but I wasn’t very impressed by it. Then we walked around, looking for food and trying to find something to do that didn’t have a crazy line. We were successful on the food front, but not so successful on the ride front. We wound up doing Soarin’ and then N and I went on Spaceship Earth on our way out. I’m glad that I went as I feel like I made two new friends that night, but I just didn’t enjoy the park experience.

I was incredibly exhausted by the time that I got back to the hotel, having walked over 25 miles that day. I managed to get a few hours of sleep before having to get up and head to the airport. My flight home was uneventful and I was happy to get home so I could sleep the rest of the day away in my own bed.

Final thoughts - I enjoyed this trip and I’m glad that I did it, but it confirmed that I just don’t like Wine & Dine weekend. I really wish that I could find the love that everyone else has for W&D. But I’ve done it twice and had an okay-ish experience both times. I was tempted by the themes for 2025 (I mean, the fairies from Sleeping Beauty, how could I not?), but then the rational side of me took over and I decided to skip it. I already have a birthday trip planned at the end of November and then Marathon Weekend 2026 so I will definitely not be lacking for Florida time.

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - 129th Annual YMCA Buffalo Niagara Turkey Trot 8K - Buffalo, NY - Thursday, November 28th, 2024

One of these years, I’d like to run this race in perfect weather. But sadly, that wasn’t going to be this year. This year’s forecast was for it to be cold with some precipitation. At one point, it looked like it might be a light snow, which had me concerned about footing, but it turned out to just be rain. Not great, but better than the alternative, I suppose.

My mom volunteered to drop me off at the start line and pick me up at the finish again (she’s the BEST!), which made pre-race a dream. While waiting to start, I actually found someone that I had met at the Niagara Falls race in October. In a crowd of 14,000, that’s pretty remarkable. We talked about runDisney until it was time to start.

I always want to do well at this race. It’s the biggest local race of the year and it’s a perfect middle distance (not too long, not too short). I had added hills to my run in preparation for Boston and I had kept them on my schedule through this race, hoping that it would help me feel strong through the long uphill climb of the first 3-ish miles. I’ve also done this race enough times (5) that I was hoping that I finally had a good strategy for it.

And the race went really, really well. I felt good throughout, taking it easy through the first part of the course and then pushing hard through the downhill of the last two miles. As always, there was great crowd support with unauthorized hydration stops (some water, some not), a doughnut drop from an overpass, and an overall great time.





And I got a 3 minute 26 second PR!

Next up - Dopey!

 

[sandam1]

Just a small note - after the Jimmy Fund walk, I knew that I needed to do something about my sneakers. The blisters on my toes afterwards were UGLY and, by far, the hardest part of my post-race recovery. I just couldn’t take the chance of the same thing happening during the early races of Dopey. I tried a few more things and nothing was working. As much as I didn’t want to, I needed to break down and try to find a different pair of sneakers.

At bib pick-up for the Turkey Trot, they have a small Expo type event and the big vendor is one of our local running stores. They usually have some super discounted shoes so I figured that that would be a good place to start. Thankfully, they had one of their awesome salespeople there (ironically, the same person who suggested the shoes that I was currently wearing) and I was able to find a pair of shoes that I liked. (Mizuno Wave Inspire in case anyone is wondering)

I wasn’t foolish enough to wear them at the Turkey Trot the next day, but gradually started switching over and was in them full-time by my last Dopey simulation weekend. Then I was able to pick up another pair on sale after Christmas so I finally had my shoes set for Dopey.

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - Arrival and Expo Day - January 7-8, 2025

And then - finally - Dopey was here! This had been on my calendar for over a year. It was also the end (well, kind of) of a LONG training cycle. Because of the Jimmy Fund Walk, I had been “training” since the middle of June. I’m proud to say that I got through it without any serious injuries. I did have some muscle issues with my glutes at one point, but some trips to my awesome chiropractor solved that.

By the time I signed up for Dopey 2025, I knew that I wanted this experience to be different from my first Dopey. During that race weekend, I felt like I was running from the balloon ladies. This time I want to enjoy the journey and experience the process without the stress of wondering if I could finish. I knew that I was stronger and faster this time so I really thought that I could make this happen.

The day before we left for the trip I had to work all day. It was also my mom’s birthday so I had family stuff in the evening. Thankfully, I was able to get almost everything packed over the weekend. K arrived just after dinner.

We flew out on Tuesday morning without issue. We flew Jet Blue this time, which posed a problem as the forecasted temperatures kept getting colder and colder, as I didn’t have my two bags fly free like I’m used to. Thankfully, a friend who lives in Orlando said that I could send her a box with all of my throwaway gear.

We got checked into our hotel before heading out for some park time. We headed to the Studios side and we got quite a bit done that afternoon. Even through the crowds were low, there were still some unexpectedly long waits on some rides. For instance, the single rider line on Gringotts was at least a 30 minute wait (which we didn’t wait in, we saw the length of the line and bailed). This would be another recurring theme throughout our trip. It seemed like the parks were staffed to the bare minimum, resulting in longer wait times.

My main goal for that day was to get to see Cinesational (Universal’s new nighttime show). It wasn’t being done each of my previous two trips in August and October and I really wanted to see it. I knew that Tuesday night would be the one opportunity that we had to see it without having to either 1) be up stupid early the next morning or 2) have been up stupid early that morning (i.e. Sunday night). Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let-down. After the sun went down, it was cold,* I wound up next to an annoying person who was leaning into my line of vision with their phone recording large pieces to put up on TikTok, and Universal hadn’t been including the drone component since the drone accident in downtown Orlando, which made the whole show seem like it was missing something. This made me sad because Cinematic Celebration was my favorite show EVER.

*Let me just add a blanket statement here about this weekend’s weather - it was COLD. It was almost picture perfect running weather for me. But as far as the park time goes, not so much. There were many times where we did things and it was uncomfortable because it was so cold. We also had to adjust our plans at times because of the temperature.

When we got back to the hotel, we were able to completely unpack and settle into our home for the next week. Then we tucked in for an early bedtime.

Wednesday morning, we did early park entry. Unfortunately, Hagrids was on a delayed opening. Since neither K nor I go on Velocicoaster, that left Forbidden Journey as the only thing available (just to me, K can’t go on this ride either). I was just about to get on the ride when it went down. In a way, it was cool because I got to see them unload everyone off the ride, but this was supposed to be a quick ride. After I got off, I found a quiet place to sit while I checked in for our virtual queue. We got #58 with an original ETA of 11:00ish. We had hoped to take the Hogwarts Express to the other park when the whole park opened, but that was down as well which was frustrating. (This happened again on Monday, the only other day we did EE.) We pivoted, trying to do some other rides with varying degrees of success. It seemed like the cold had affected a lot of the rides and other rides didn’t open until later in the morning.

Mid-morning we headed back to our hotel to pick up our rental car at our hotel and head to the Expo.





We wound up killing some time, waiting for our VQ, which finally got called after 12:30. We were trying to be efficient as K was trying to limit the miles on her knee. I was disappointed in the merch, passing up both the Dopey finisher shirt and the weekend jacket (I almost picked this up, but I talked myself out of it at the last minute). Then we headed to get our bibs. I wasn’t impressed with the lines inside the building and the long walk around to the vendor building. But we got everything that we needed done and had a great time shopping and socializing in the vendor building. Somehow time seems to fly by at the Expo and we spent the bulk of the afternoon there.

On our way back to the hotel, we did a grocery stop and stocked up for the rest of our trip. Everything seemed to go perfectly that evening - we had eaten, I had everything laid out for the next morning, and I was going to get to bed at a reasonable hour. But then when I went to put something in the refrigerator, I noticed that it didn’t seem very cold. I played around with the controls and gave it a little bit. No change. Ugh! Not wanting to risk the $$$ that we had just spent on food, I texted the hotel (a really cool feature of the Universal hotels) and they said that they would send someone up. So much for getting to sleep early. The guy arrived about a half an hour later and quickly figured out that the fan needed to be cleaned, which he took care of. By then I was wide awake and had a hard time getting to sleep.

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 5K - January 9, 2025

Wake-up on Day #1 was relatively painless although it did take some additional time to figure out which layers to wear. For the 5K, we were puppies - aka part of the dalmatian crew from Rise & Run - so I wanted to get there in time for the group photo at 4 a.m. We wound up cutting it close as we had to make a detour to gear check to drop another layer of clothes for after the race.



We had decided (well, I decided and K agreed) to walk with the R&R group who dropped back to the last corral so everyone could start together. I was a little disappointed that our shirts were covered up most of the time because it was so cold, but oh, well, we still had a lot of fun. We took our time, going for a literal "walk in the park" and chatting with friends.



















After getting back to the hotel and warming up a bit, we went to the parks. I don’t remember exactly what we did that day, but I do remember that we dealt with a number of rides that were delayed. We ate in the parks late afternoon before heading back to the hotel. This trip just wasn’t conducive to a lot of park time or being particularly efficient with the time that we did have.

Soon it was time to get ready for Day #2 and then off to bed!

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 10K - January 10, 2025

Friday morning I was solo. With K trying to limit her walking/standing due to her knee issue and the limited spectating opportunities, we decided that her coming to the 10K wasn’t worth the time on her feet. Plus, at this point, I’ve done a bunch of races solo so it wasn’t an issue.

Oh, I forgot to include the timing chip fiasco in my last post. I was just getting ready to go to sleep on Thursday around 7:30 p.m. and I happened to check my email right before turning off my tablet for the night. And I saw the “Houston, we have a problem” email. My version of the email (as I quickly discovered, there were a number of variations) said that the timing chip on my bib may not be working and that if I wanted to ensure that I had a time for the 10K to find the line in the reunion area in the morning.

Okay, so here I need to roast runDisney on a few things:

1. What were they thinking, waiting until 7:30 p.m. to send this email out? A lot of runners were already asleep or not going to be checking their email at that time of night when the alarm clock is going off at 2 a.m. As I found out later from talking to someone in the corrals, they were aware of a potential issue at the finish line of the 5K that morning. Also, for me, for the second night in a row, my brain was going in a million different directions when I should have been winding down to go to sleep.
2. The lack of transparency was astounding. They knew precisely which bib numbers were impacted. One email should have been sent out to everyone, saying “if you have this number, do this. If you have this number, you’re fine” etc. I can’t believe that, to this day, they haven’t taken ownership of what happened and explained how they will ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

All of that said, I will give them credit - getting a new timing chip in the morning was remarkably simple. I got there very early, expecting the typical never-ending Disney line. I wanted to get a chip time primarily because I am terrible at remembering to start and stop my Garmin, but if the line was stupid, I was prepared to skip it. However, to my surprise and delight, there was only one person in front of me and most of the number ranges had no one waiting. It couldn’t have been easier.

I had a good corral placement for the 10K so I wasn’t as worried about getting to the corrals right away and I had time to socialize, which was nice.



This race was so much fun! I had a blast with this course. I took a bunch of photos, enjoying the beauty of Epcot in the dark and at sunrise.











I also stopped to get a photo with the 3 Fairies from Sleeping Beauty. I had seen them on course at one previous race (I’m blanking at which one) and that time I thought that the line was too long/I didn’t have the buffer to stop. This time I decided to go for it! I almost bailed as the line was longer than it first appeared, but I decided to wait - and I’m so glad that I did. I now have photos with all of the characters from Sleeping Beauty!



I got back to the hotel, just as K was getting up (lucky her!). After I ate, showered, and changed, we headed back to the Expo to the Customized meet-up. This was honestly one of the best parts of the weekend as these are my closest running peeps. We celebrate each other's wins and commiserate over our common struggles on a weekly basis, but getting to see everyone in person rather than on Zoom was a treat. Chris also used this opportunity to give us all a prep talk/some words of wisdom before setting us off to tackle the rest of the weekend.



Since we were already there, we decided to visit the vendor building again. I picked up one of the magnetic pouches to hold my headphones and sunglasses and then we got to see Jeff Galloway.



We didn’t get back to our hotel until mid-afternoon. The original plan was to head to City Walk to see Wicked, but the movie times changed that day and we couldn't make it work. We talked - very briefly - about heading to the parks, but we wisely decided to just chill at the hotel for the rest of the day. Boring, but smart!

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Half-Marathon - January 11, 2025

As we transition to the weekend, I want to start with a HUGE thank you to Billy (aka DopeyBadger). His generous offer to do the "running math" was instrumental to my success and enjoyment of the next two races. I cannot express how much I appreciated not having to figure things out and how much brain power it freed up to focus on other things. It literally made all of the difference at times.

Okay, onto race day! Let's start with the weather on Saturday morning. It was slightly warmer than the previous two days, but it was WET while waiting. My combination of rain poncho and Disney mylar blanket worked well enough, but I wound up standing for most of my time in the corral because I couldn't find a comfortable way to sit that allowed me to keep my feet dry. In hindsight, a cushion to sit on would have been helpful. Thankfully, it stopped raining just as we were heading towards the start line which was a very good thing. I brought a pair of dry socks with me (just in case), but I wound up not needing them so I turned them into makeshift gloves at the beginning of the race.

K and I were both placed in Corral F. She needed to get to the front of the corral so she headed that way as soon as we got there. I went to the Rise and Run meet-up and hung out for a little bit before heading to the corral. It was starting to rain by that point and I was able to get to where K was stationed at the front.

By starting in the first wave of Corral F, I figured that I had a decent buffer on the balloon ladies and was trying to expend as little energy as possible. I felt like I was doing well at staying on plan. The rain had added a layer of humidity to the air that hadn’t been there on previous days so I was careful to push the fluids. I felt that the course was kind of dark and kind of crowded around the Poly, but nothing remarkable.



I was doing okay until I got to the Magic Kingdom when I got a little overenthusiastic with taking photos, visiting with friends, and "playing" around.











By the time I came out of the castle, the balloon ladies were just entering Adventureland. I was like “Oops! Gotta go!” I wound up doing the back half of the course way harder than I wanted to, just to get a comfortable distance in front of them. I also ran into issues with the water stops. In every other Disney race that I’ve done, for the longer races, there was someone either at the beginning or end of the water tables to refill water bottles. By the time I left the Magic Kingdom, I needed to mix up some more Tailwind and there were only cups available. Here, Billy came to the rescue again, letting me know when to expect the next water stop. It seemed so wasteful to have to grab three cups just to fill my bottle, but that’s what I wound up doing.

When I hit miles 10-12, things got rough. There was just nowhere to run with walkers all of the way across. I wasn’t moving fast, but I did want to continue run-walking in an effort to save the time on my feet for the marathon. Finally, I got caught by the 3:20 pace group and I just tagged along with them, even though I didn't want to be running quite that hard at that point. Mark and his pacing partner were absolutely amazing at clearing a path to run. I finally let them go shortly before the turn towards Epcot and walked it in.



An update on K - her knee was really hurting before she even got to the start line. As hard as we tried to minimize her walking, the reality is that it isn’t entirely possible. Then we wound up standing in the corral due to the rain. She was resigned to the fact that she probably wasn’t going to finish the half, but she was hoping that she could at least get to do Main Street and the castle. Unfortunately, she only got to Mile 3 before she tapped out.

After the race, we went back to the hotel for an all-to-short nap and then I went to Disney Springs for the Rise & Run meet-up. K decided to stay at the hotel and get caught up on some work stuff that she needed to get done. Honestly, that was probably for the best because I really, really, REALLY needed that time with my R&R family. I was struggling mentally with how things went during the half marathon and was questioning what was going to happen the next day.

Going into Marathon Weekend, I had some conflicted feelings about the marathon. I knew that I was physically ready, but I also knew how hard it was going to be mentally and wasn't sure that I was ready for that. And the strategic error that I made by “playing” too much during the half shook me. I didn’t need advice or even really support as I just needed time with people who “got it.”



After the meet-up, I headed towards Gideon’s to see if I could get some cookies. They originally gave me a wait time of 45-60 minutes. There wasn’t a virtual queue, but I was okay with sitting on the wall while waiting. It turned out to be around 15 minutes and I passed the time talking with another runner that was in line behind me. I love that aspect - the wonderful random conversations with complete strangers - of runDisney weekends. Then it was back to the hotel to grab dinner and prep for stupid early wake-up #4.

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Marathon - January 12, 2025

I would be lying if I said that I felt confident when I woke up this morning. But at least my race morning routine was familiar at this point.

I didn’t socialize for too long as I wanted to get to the front of my corral.

There is a special energy and a lot of time to think on marathon morning as everyone waits - and waits and waits. Normally, I like talking to other runners and/or texting K while I wait, but prior to both marathons, I really needed to be alone with my thoughts. But surprisingly for me, I wasn’t overthinking things or panicking or even especially nervous. I finally found the calmness that I was looking for when I decided to trust the universe to send me what I needed when I needed it. I knew that I was among friends (both ones that I knew and ones that I hadn’t met yet) and that they would be there if/when things got hard.

And then I was off!



I learned from Friday’s 10K to ditch the mylar, but keep my blanket, which I ran with until almost mile 2. I was moving well to the Magic Kingdom and it was almost a relief to not have to measure my effort quite as much as I was during the half.

I was much smarter through the MK and kept moving while soaking everything in. Going into Marathon Weekend, I was fairly certain that this would be my last marathon and Dopey (more about that later) so I wanted to capture every piece of the experience. I felt like I rushed down Main Street on my first marathon and I didn’t want to make that mistake again.







As I was heading into the Magic Kingdom, I happened to say a quick hi to A, a friend from the R&R and Customized family. He got ahead of me when I was taking a photo and stopping to see K on Main Street. Then I caught back up to him when he stopped for a character photo. We ran together and talked for several minutes, which was a nice break, before splitting up as we were leaving the Magic Kingdom.

I felt comfortable enough to stop for a character photo with Woody and Jessie.



I was partway through the Magic Kingdom parking (Ugh! I hated that section of the course. Give me Blizzard Beach parking lot any day), when Billy let me know that the balloon ladies were ahead of pace. Seeing the "end of the line" while we snaked through the parking lot was concerning, but I trusted the math and just kept telling myself that anything less than a 16 minute mile was good.

I’m probably one of the few people that didn’t appreciate the Star Wars effects on Western Way. I needed a change of pace on my headphones and had just started the audiobook “My Best Race,” which I had a hard time hearing as I passed each set of speakers. I thought - briefly - about stopping for a SW character or two, but it wasn’t worth the potential discomfort of starting again. As I got closer to AK, I fell in with the 6:45 pace group and I used their momentum to carry me for a mile or two.

By the time I got to Animal Kingdom, I needed a bathroom stop, which is when I finally lost touch with the pace group. I was also looking forward to my Coke. The bathroom break took longer than I wanted and I simply could NOT find a place to sell me a bottle of Coke. The one place that I stopped only had cups, which I should have just taken, but I really thought that I could find a bottle. I wasn't happy leaving AK without one, but I knew that somewhere I'd figure out a Plan B.

Shortly after leaving AK, I saw A again. By now, I could see that he was having a rough time. He was just walking in that “death march” mode. And at that moment, I decided that we were going to do this together. At first, I asked him "hey, do you think you can run a 10 second interval?" He said "yes" so that's what we did for a while. Then we moved to a 15/30. I also encouraged (okay, maybe badgered) him into taking some water, Powerade and fuel, which I suspected he was lacking. It was a repeat of the mistake that I made back in 2023, which led me to a similar dark place. We also talked about every random subject that I could think of to help to pass the time. He probably heard way more whining about me missing my Coke than he ever dreamed possible.

This was where Billy probably started to get really concerned about me as my pace slowed down quite a bit. But I was okay with what I was doing. I felt really comfortable with this pace and I knew that I was banking a ton of energy, so I could easily stay with the last pace group if it became necessary. We had just passed the Coronado (and gotten two Rise and Run hugs!) when A said that he felt something “pop” in his leg and that he needed to stop and stretch. At that point, I knew that I had gotten him as far as I could (we had under 5K left) and I made the hard decision to keep going. (Side note: A wound up finishing with the balloon ladies, but he did finish.)

The last couple of miles were not easy, but I was still moving relatively well and felt strong. I finally got my Coke from a vending machine outside of Hollywood Studios and it gave me the last burst that I needed. I will tell you that, for everyone’s whining about the loss of the “victory lap” around World Showcase at the end of the marathon, I didn’t miss it in the slightest. I was thrilled with having just a quick dash across Epcot to the finish.





As we headed backstage to the finish, I was thrilled to see a fellow DIS boarder. This person read this blog and then messaged me, asking advice about whether she should register for Dopey. It was pretty special to have the opportunity to see her and give her a huge hug. I was so proud of her!



By far, the best part of the marathon was when I made the last turn and saw Jeff Galloway. At that point, I just lost it completely. At my first Dopey finish, I somehow missed Jeff (I don't know if he wasn't there or if I just didn't see him) and I always regretted that. To finally get that moment with Jeff was amazing, even if I was a sobbing mess.

And, of course, crossing the finish line was as amazing as always!



All things considered, I felt pretty good afterwards. We hung out with the Rise and Run crew for a little bit and then headed out. On the way back to the car, K asked if it was everything that I wanted it to be and I could say, without reservation, that it was. I felt good and strong throughout each race and there was absolutely nothing that I wished I had done differently. It was the perfect way to end my Dopey days.

Okay, now is probably the point to explain this declaration.

Going into the weekend, I had kind of decided that Dopey was going to be my last marathon (at least for the foreseeable future). When I first started saying this to other runners, everyone kept saying, “yeah, yeah, that’s what everyone says.” But I knew that this wasn’t just burn-out at the end of a really long training cycle. I had an ambivalence about the marathon going into the Jimmy Fund walk when I realized that I was more excited about the concept than I enjoyed actually doing it. I was already committed to doing Dopey so obviously I was going to do that, but I came to some fundamental realizations that cemented this decision:

1. I don’t like anything about the marathon distance. I don’t like the training runs (I know, I know, not many people do), but I also don’t like actually running the distance and I don’t like how I feel afterwards. I can do a half marathon, rest for a few hours, and be ready to go on with my life. After a marathon, I feel like crap. I feel slightly nauseous and I have to be cautious about what my stomach can tolerate. I’m exhausted, but I have trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep. I’m just generally miserable. Within a couple of days, I’m 100% recovered, but until then, it isn’t a lot of fun.
2. When I entered my “Dopey era,” I needed that goal in my life. My work place was incredibly toxic and running - specifically running at Disney - was both my stress outlet and my happy place. It truly kept me sane. Thankfully, things have changed significantly (toxic boss retired, new boss is awesome) and the role running plays in my life has shifted. I no longer need a 20 miler to keep my “never having killed anyone” streak alive.
3. I’ve been there, done that with the marathon and now I’m ready to move on to other things. I scaled back some other parts of my life for the past few years to make the time for marathon training and, at the time, I was okay with that. But now I want to rearrange my life to add them back in.
4. I realized that there was nothing wrong with not doing the marathon or Dopey. I could “just” do one or more of the shorter races and that would be fine. Plus, not doing the marathon meant that I could spectate and support my friends. Being a back of the packer, I have never seen most of them run before and being a spectator would allow me to do that. When that idea of watching was way more exciting than the thought of running the race myself, I knew that it was the right decision.

I’m not saying “never” for another marathon. After saying “one and done” for months leading up to my first Dopey completion, I’m going to be more careful with the absolutes this time. But I am saying “not for the foreseeable future.” I simply don’t have a “bucket list” marathon that makes me want to do the distance again.

Anyway, back to the race recap - the rest of Sunday was spent at our hotel, watching some football. I had hoped to get a nap, but I was too uncomfortable. But I did sleep very, very well that night.

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - Post-race - January 13-14, 2025

The plan for Monday was to get and do early entry and stay at the parks until lunchtime. We had tickets for the Disney After Hours at the Magic Kingdom that evening so it was going to be a very late night and I wanted to make sure that we had enough energy to last until the park closed at 1 a.m.

Unfortunately, I was still pretty wiped out and barely last a couple of hours. I finally told K that I was leaving and went back to the room for a wonderful multiple hour nap. That was exactly what I needed and I felt sooooo much better afterwards. We spent the rest of the afternoon packing up to go home and then had a quick dinner at the hotel.

My favorite thing at every park is the night shows and I was very excited about getting the opportunity to see two shows (Happily Ever After and Enchantment). Unfortunately, I misjudged our arrival time at the MK and HEA had just started as we were entering the park. We wound up watching from Main Street, which wasn’t ideal, but it worked. During both the half and full marathon, I had listened to Happily Ever After as I entered the Magic Kingdom and made the turn onto Main Street so this show had a lot of meaning for me. If these lyrics don’t epitomize the journey that runners go through, I don’t know what does.

The battles, the stories, the losses and all the glories
We're changed by the way we live every day
Just look up and reach to the sky
We all have the courage to fly

Happily Ever After - Jordan Fisher & Angie Keilhauer | Magic Kingdom

Yep, I was tearing up - again - while I watched this.

After we waded our way up Main Street, we headed to Tomorrowland. The plan was to spend the time before the party started with some lower-wait rides so we headed to Buzz Lightyear and then the People Mover. The waits immediately reminded how little patience I have for Disney lines.

Then we headed towards Fantasyland, doing the Mad Tea Party, Journey of the Little Mermaid, It’s a Small World, and the Haunted Mansion.



We had just enough time to grab some snacks (I really needed a Coke for some caffeine) before heading to the hub to watch Enchantment. It was really nice to be able to watch the show without the crowds, but IMHO the show is definitely not as impactful as HEA.







Then we headed to Mine Train, Little Mermaid, Small World, Pirates, Jungle Cruise before stopping for another snack. Last stop was Tron. Neither K nor I had ever ridden this ride so we weren’t sure what to expect. On the way in, we tried out the bikes and decided that since K’s knee was still pretty painful, the bench seat was a better idea. That meant a slightly longer wait, but I’m so glad that we did because even the bench was a little intense for my tastes.

We were just getting off Tron as the party ended at 1 a.m. Talk about timing that perfectly! We did almost everything that we wanted to and I really enjoyed the fact that there were virtually no lines other than a short wait on Mine Train and a slightly longer one for Tron. I wasn’t happy that Tiana’s wasn’t available (I didn’t realize that it wasn’t open during the party) and the fact that the Big Thunder refurb was announced after we bought our tickets, but we still had a great time.

It was almost 2 a.m. by the time we got back to our room, which made me chuckle as that was our wake-up time over the weekend.

We didn’t get a lot of rest because the alarm went off at 7 a.m. to get up for our flight. Thankfully, the trip went as planned and we were back in Buffalo by 1 p.m. I was exhausted and very glad to be home.

And that’s (finally) the end of my trip! Only 2+ months later.

To wrap up, I just want to include my Top 3 favorite memories from Marathon Weekend:

1. The energy that I got from all of the spectators! This time I made sure to look around and take it all in and it was amazing.

1. Pacing A for the marathon. It wasn’t something that we planned, but I also don’t think that it was an accident either. He might have needed me, but helping him was vital in keeping me out of my own head. After missing my chance to pick up a Coke in AK, I could have easily started to spiral like I did in 2023. But I knew that I couldn’t because A was depending on me. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that we got each other across that finish line.

1. Getting to see Jeff at the end of the marathon. It is very special to be able to thank the man that made this possible for me right before I headed across the finish line. I know that Jeff - and Chris - always say that I did the work. And in some ways, they are right. But I also know that Jeff opened the door to running for me and Chris believed that I could do this, even when I didn’t necessarily believe in myself, and I will never be able to thank them enough.

Now, onto the next race - the Princess half marathon!

 

[jmasgat]

I love your marathon recap--one of the best I have read. Happy that you found what you needed before and during the race (except for the delayed coke!). Great smiles with the castle pics. Also, the fact that you understand/are satisfied with what you needed to do then and what you need now re:running distance---don't underestimate how hard that is to do! It's one that many struggle with (myself included).

 

[sandam1]

I love your marathon recap--one of the best I have read.

Thank you! You made me blush.

Also, the fact that you understand/are satisfied with what you needed to do then and what you need now re:running distance---don't underestimate how hard that is to do! It's one that many struggle with (myself included).

I'm not going to say that it was easy to get to this place. But once I made the decision, it instantly just felt right.

 

[sandam1]

So I’m going to take a quick detour to look ahead as my calendar of races for the rest of the year (and into 2026) is starting to take shape.

Next up is the Flower City Challenge half-marathon in Rochester, NY on April 27th.

I had been looking for a spring half marathon to run for time. I also wanted one that was flat, well-organized, decent field size with good crowd support, and a reasonable shot at good (cool) weather. Originally, I was considering either the Pittsburgh (PA) half-marathon or the Georgina Spring Fling (Sutton, Ontario), but both of them would have required an overnight hotel stay and I didn’t really want to spend the money. Then I found Flower City and it checked all of the boxes. It’s about an hour drive so I’m going to have to leave early in the morning, but at least I can sleep in my own bed the night before.

I just did my last long run (17 miles since I am running for time) this past Sunday. In between Princess and this race, due to my schedule, I also wound up doing two 14 mile long runs. However, all of my short runs and weekday training were inconsistent at best. I lost a lot of my mojo after Princess and it was hard to get myself to run on a regular basis. I started feeling mentally better about two weeks ago, but right now, I’m going to be relying on the sporadic training that I did get in and whatever I have left of my Dopey training. We’ll see how it goes…

After Flower City, I’m going to - finally - take a break from serious race training. I’ve been going from race to race since the beginning of June (basically almost 11 months straight) and it’s passed time. While I got through it relatively healthy, I’m looking forward to scaling back and recharging. And finally (hopefully) getting back to some strength training!

I don’t have anything scheduled for the summer except, maybe, the Kinzua 5K again. I had a great time doing it last year and would love to do it again if I can find someone to run it with. My cousin has a schedule conflict this year and K still isn’t running so who knows if she’ll be ready for it. So that race is definitely a question mark.

But once I get to the fall, things start kicking into high gear again.

First up is the Mighty Niagara Half-Marathon on October 4th. I did this race two years ago and enjoyed it. It isn’t a huge race, but it had some decent support. Hopefully, this time I won’t have to go out too fast to stay ahead of the “end of the race.” (I’m definitely going to be in contact with the race director about this before entering.). The current plan is to run this for time.

Then I have the Niagara Falls 10K on October 26th. When the themes for Wine & Dine came out, I admit that the theme of the challenge - the Fairies from Sleeping Beauty - got my attention. But I remember that 1) I don’t like Wine & Dine, 2) I’m already going to Florida at the end of November and then again for Marathon Weekend, and 3) it’s just too expensive. The fact that this race is the same weekend as Wine & Dine made it a little easier to not jump in on W&D registration day.

The end of November is going to be pretty wild. Monday, December 1st is my 50th birthday and, for the first time in 25 years, I do NOT have to work the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving. In the past, at my job, these have always been the worst/most intense days of the year as we were preparing for a large event. But I have a new boss who completely redesigned this nightmare event to make it less staff intensive AND made it no longer my problem AND moved the set-up date earlier in the month. So all of that together means that I can be in FLORIDA for my birthday! to me!

For years, I’ve also wanted to do the Space Coast half-marathon, which takes place the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but couldn’t because of the above-mentioned nightmare days at work. But this year it will be my last half-marathon in my 40’s, taking place the day before I move into a new age group. However, to avoid astronomical airfare, we’ve decided to fly down ON Thanksgiving, which sounded like a good idea until I realized that that meant missing the Turkey Trot. (sad face) But then I saw that there is a mid-afternoon nonstop flight from Buffalo to Orlando which is actually cheaper than the early morning flight and would allow me to do the Turkey Trot as well. I checked with Coach Chris and got his permission to run the Turkey Trot for time and then party at the back for Space Coast. Perfection!

And then there is 2026 Marathon Weekend. My final decision for registration wound up being the 10K and half marathon for me and the 10K for K. When it came down to it, $120 was just too dang much for a 5K. I was able to get both of us registered fairly easily. I got one queue spot that moved at a decent pace while the rest stayed stubbornly at more than 1 hour.

The MW thread’s SAFD got me thinking about my goals for these races and wow, that turned out to be a much harder question than I expected. But I did figure it out. They are:

Goal #1 - Upon reflection, I realized that K has never run a Disney race completely prepared. Either she has been undertrained (or untrained) or dealing with an injury. I'd really love to see her be able to get to the start line well-trained and healthy this year.

Goal #2 - Have a good time being a cheerleader and “supply sherpa” for my friends running the marathon. I am sooooo excited about spectating for this race!

Goal #3 - For the half-marathon, I have a two-part goal.
3A. Coordinate with a DLS person and play "catch me if you can," seeing if I can get to the Magic Kingdom before they do. Obviously my success will depend a lot on my corral placement and the speed of the person that I pair up with, but it sounds like a fun "game" to try.

3B. After the 10K mark (which should be just around the time we leave MK if the course is similar to this year's), the goal is to see how many people I can pass in the second half of the race. I would like to do this as a charity fundraiser. I'm still working out whether it is possible to extract this number from the Disney data, but I'm hopeful.

This will give me the opportunity to take all the photos and soak up all of the atmosphere in the Magic Kingdom itself.

Goal #4 - Have an absolutely magnificent trip! MW is my favorite runDisney weekend and I love hanging out with my virtual friends. I'm hoping that I can enjoy it even more without the four early wake-ups and 48.6 miles of running. This will also be my K's first trip to Epic Universe (I’ll be going for the first time during my birthday trip) and I can't wait to spend as much time as possible exploring the new park.

And then, pending themes and registration, I have a tentative plan to do the Springtime Surprise challenge, but that’s way off in the future.

I’m really excited about each of my upcoming races. I’m not doing a lot of races, but each one of them is special in its own way.

 

[nancipants]

Space Coast is on my radar!

 

[sandam1]

Space Coast is on my radar!

I've always heard great things about this race!

 

[jmasgat]

December 1 is my birthday, too (but I have a few more years on you).

 

[The Expert]

we’ve decided to fly down ON Thanksgiving

As a million miler and VERY frequent flyer, THIS IS THE WAY. Always fly ON the holiday if you must do holiday travel.

Space Coast is on my radar!

Mine too!

 

[sandam1]

December 1 is my birthday, too (but I have a few more years on you).

What a coincidence!

 

[sandam1]

Mine too!

Woo-hoo, party at the back!!!!!

 

[The Expert]

Woo-hoo, party at the back!!!!!

We could all dress as "Florida Man" with mullets!