Barca33Runner's Journal: Thanks For Noticin' Me(Comments Welcome)

Half Marathon

At this point everyone knows what happened with the Half. When I heard the news I was somewhat disappointed; I'm a little obsessive over things being "complete" so not having an official Half does bother me in some ways. But really, I was more disappointed for others. I've done Dopey before and my legs felt great after the first two days. I knew we (my Sister and I) were going to go out and run a 2:30-2:45 half with a bunch of character stops and mostly taking it easy to conserve energy for Sunday and I was excited to be able to sleep on Saturday. If this had been my first Dopey, Goofy, Half or if I had been running the Half as my primary race I think my feelings would have been different. I think that if the 2012 Half (my first race) had been cancelled I would have gone home relieved that I didn't have to run, told myself I would have easily done it anyway, and slowly concocted a fish story over the years as I drifted further and further out of shape about my glory days of being prepared to run a Half Marathon in 2012. I'm glad I got to run my first race and really happy with the adventure it has started for me. I hope the cancellation hardened the resolve of those running their first race to continue on their journey rather than giving them an excuse to call it quits.

Disney Springs

Unfortunately I am not much of a photographer when it comes to my phone, so I don't have many pictures from our exploits at Disney Springs (I think there will just be one). I am a fan of Disney Springs. Primarily because I am a fan of food...and eating...and eating food. Over the course of our trip we made four visits to Disney Springs: Thursday after we arrived, Saturday-NYE, Wednesday before going to the Expo, and Saturday before the Marathon. Mainly we walk around and look in the shops for a while and find somewhere to eat (or set up ADRs since we were a large group). We tend not to buy a ton of things but it's fun to walk around. When we have stayed on-site we have also liked to head over and watch a movie or two as well (particularly when we didn't have AP's).

The first thing that hit me this trip was how much bigger DS had become. The last time I was at WDW was last year for Marathon Weekend and, well, things have changed. Since we were off-site parking was a concern, but the Orange and Lime parking garages made that a cinch. I was incredibly impressed by those structures and with the fact parking was free. I don't really know how to describe what was new, but I'd say everything that wasn't directly on the water was pretty much new to me. It's really amazing how far it has come in the last few years since we started visiting in 2012.

Anyway, the individual trips become a bit of a jumble so I think I'll just hit some of the highlights:

-My brother knew a reporter from ESPN who was covering the Under Armour All-American Game at WWoS, so that was the impetus for our first visit. My Brother, BiL, two nephews and I came over and watched one of the practice sessions. There were a few famous ESPN/NFL personalities conducting and observing the practices (Deion Sanders, Steve Mariucci, Mike Golic, and a few others) so it was kind of cool to see them. It was amazing how large some of these 17-18 year-olds were. We headed to DS afterward because it was a hot day and the kids were hungry (and were promised ice cream). It was beyond packed at ~1 PM when we arrived. One of the parking garages was already full. We were worried about finding a place to eat, but we passed Paradiso 37 and it had seating so we jumped on it. We'd never eaten there before. Food wasn't bad but not an instant favorite. We headed to Haagen Dazs for ice cream on the way out.

-The crowds on Thursday shaped our plan for DS for the rest of the trip. If we were going, it would be at 10 AM when it opened, we'd grab lunch and leave before it was overrun. The plan worked well.

-This happened Saturday:
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Yes, my 5-year-old niece loves to pose for pictures. My other niece doesn't look so enthused but she loved having her face painted (maybe just overwhelmed during pictures?)

-Saturday was a full family affair and we were incredibly lucky without an ADR to get a table at Raglan Road (one of our favorites). It was really cool because it was a gigantic booth that was basically a room unto itself which works really well for our group even in a restaurant that is generally loud and active. A good meal as always.

-The kids found Pokeball bath bombs at Basin and they became an obsession for the rest of the trip. They love Pokemon (I know, literally, nothing about it) and needed to take a "Pokebath" every night. There was even a moment of devastation when Nephew (5) returned late when my Brother's family had been visiting my SiL's friends and found out my other niece and nephew had already taken their Pokebath and gone to bed.

-Wednesday we had an ADR at Portobello at 12:15 and did some shopping before heading to the expo. Lunch was good. I had the Caprese Sandwich and I really liked it. We've eaten there a couple times and while it's nothing spectacular for the price it gets the job done.

-Saturday we made a quick stop in the rain before heading to the Expo so my sister could get the refunds for my niece and nephews Kid's Races entries. It was at this point that I wish we would have run the Half Marathon and that the Kid's Races weren't cancelled. I'm pretty sure we would have spent way less time getting into and out of the Expo after the Kid's Races than we did with all of the refund issues going on. Didn't have time to sit down for lunch at DS and we wanted to try the poutine stand so that's what we did. I got the Holiday Special (turkey, cheese curd, gravy and cranberry relish) and it was good. The fries themselves were the best part, so I guess that's half the battle. Not sure poutine (and later pizza) was the best choice before a marathon, but I wasn't trying to break any records.

-I'm a sucker for desserts so I had to check out Amorette's. I got a few of the small desserts to share with the group (Opera Cake, Signature Mickey Mousse, and Lemon Curd Cheesecake) early in our trip. The cheesecake was my choice for a post-marathon treat.

-Also on the dessert front, we have an obsession with character caramel apples. I think 25% of the impetus of going to DS each time was to pick up a couple more apples from the Candy Cauldron to share for dessert each night. I think over the course of the trip and to take home we were somewhere in the range of 15-20 apples. We have a problem.

I don't know whether I'll get to it later today or tomorrow, but the final post on the Marathon and end of the trip will be up sometime today or tomorrow.
 
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I totally agree with your thoughts on the DS parking garages - I thought they were so cool and was/am really surprised that it's free to park there.

Looking forward to your marathon report!
 
Agree about the new DS - starting with the parking and the face lift, and the new food choices. I swear by Ragland Road, but I confess that going forward our first ADRs at DS will now always be for Art Smith. Mmmmmm fried chicken and donuts....
 
We never managed to get over to Disney Springs this trip which was a bummer. Looking forward to seeing it the next time we go. Your niece posing for pictures is adorable and hilarious!
 


I guess the time had come to put the final touches on this fab trip to WDW. It's Marathon Sunday!

I still can't believe that this was my fifth marathon. In 2011, before I had even considered doing anything with running, I was someone who didn't like who I was or how I looked. I scoffed at the idea of running and would have gladly told anyone who asked that I could run a marathon if I really wanted to. Of course, that was total garbage, but I believed it. In a lot of ways, my first race was meant to be an affirmation of that thought process: "Look, I finished a Half Marathon and I'm a fat guy and barely trained." I'm so glad that first race kicked my *bleep* so thoroughly and really motivated to realize how stupid it was to have such a negative and self-defeating attitude.

It's still really hard to sleep the night before the marathon and even harder to wake up when the time comes. I don't know how long I actually slept and how long I was laying in bed or waking up after a paranoid dream, but I don't think it was much. At least I had the extra rest Saturday. It was just my sister and I (my mom, dad, aunt and cousin were coming later to spectate) and this was a strange year as everyone other than my mom and myself were leaving for the airport before 4 PM that afternoon. The extended vacation had necessitated that everyone be back for work/school on Monday and it kind of put a damper on the celebrations, but there are trade-offs that need to be made and it was a good one since everyone had been able to be there for a nice trip before the races.

I had set out my clothes the night before in anticipation of the cold morning. I was wearing knee-high compression socks, tights, shorts, a base layer compression shirt and a long sleeve running top. I doubled up on my headbands and wore them over my ears and wore gloves as well. The piece de resistance was a nice garbage bag over top for some marginal wind protection in the corrals. We started driving to Epcot at about 3:15 and we arrived at about 3:45. The drive was a little convoluted but we didn't really have any problems following the flow of traffic to the parking lot. We waited in the car until 4:30 and then figured it was time to face our fate.

My goal for next year and beyond is to become comfortable enough with the Marathon distance that I no longer get so nervous before this race. I think the anxiety contributes to my GI issues and, in general, makes the wait and first few miles mentally excruciating. We kept moving, hit the restroom, and continued to our corrals. I was in G and she was in F. As I've mentioned before, she is both faster than me and has a different running style so running together wasn't going to be happening today. When I got to the corral it was ~5:00, so I still had too long to wait. Nothing really exciting happened until things got started and our corral got moving.

My first few miles were by far the worst of the race. I had to go to the bathroom again almost immediately. Despite this, I had determined that I would take a water and Powerade at every water station. I stopped at the restrooms on the curve after entering the MK parking lot, then again at the ones shortly before mile marker 4. Things were not going well, I was averaging about 14:30 for my first four miles and I was still aware that I would need to make a stop at a real restroom after I entered MK. I soldiered through and put on my best smile for the pictures as I came through the castle but I scrapped plans for getting my photo taken in front of the castle knowing I would be stopping at the restrooms in Frontierland. Juxtapose my best castle shot with my sister's:
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Frontierland has been a godsend for me in the past and this race proved no different. So things started to sort themselves out for me after that. I was into a bit of a groove and while I was still taking some walk breaks (particularly through water stops) I was starting to throw down some 10:30 miles and feeling pretty good about myself. I made my one and only character stop just before everyone's favorite out and back before AK:
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I guess great minds think alike. We always stop at Ralph and Vanellope in the Half (It's my favorite Disney film), so we had to take our chance during the full.

I was in the best groove I've ever been in at this point of the Marathon. Still running, legs still feeling strong. I didn't mind the out and back because it was during my best stretch of running. I ran through AK for the first time ever and was starting to feel like I might have a negative split in me:
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I slowed down, as I had previously planned, for the highway section headed into WWoS. It's long, boring and has the overpasses which are generally unkind to my legs. I was still in good spirits about how things were going despite my slow start and was still running more than I was walking. Then, as I turned toward WWoS, I felt the grab in my right hamstring. I slowed down, walked for a little stretch, and started back up. Almost immediately, same grab in the hamstring. I've never had this happen before, didn't know what to do, still don't know what to do, but it pretty much ended my race and shot down any chance I had of sub-5:00 (which I honestly was starting to think was a good possibility).

I started walking about 80% of the time. I made a good show of it around the stadium, up the ramp with the Toy Story Army Guy, and through almost all of Hollywood Studios. I was giving it my best, but every time I thought I might have turned the corner that hamstring grabbed again and I had to slow down. I walked most of the path and Boardwalk on the way from HS to Epcot hoping to make a valiant effort to finish the race by running through Epcot. Unfortunately, I started running as I entered Epcot and as I came down the ramp into France had the worst grab yet. I think I almost caused a ten car pileup because I had to come to basically a dead stop to prevent what felt like it was going to be a catastrophe with the muscle. I walked the rest of the World Showcase:(>:(. As I headed into the final stretch I was determined to give the best finish I possibly could. I threw caution to the wind and ran the last quarter of a mile as hard as I was physically able:
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I think I was incredibly fortunate not to have had my hamstring grab again during that period. I probably would have torn the muscle, fallen flat on my face trying to stop, or torn the muscle and fallen flat on my face. But the race was in the books and although I was a little disappointed in 5:26:34, knowing what might have been, I was pretty excited in the possibilities for the future as well.

Here are our Dopey Finisher pictures:
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I guess holding four medals instead of three while still displaying our bib numbers was hard. It's a nice, slimming side view of my Goofy medal though.

I knew I was in worse shape headed into this Dopey than I had been for the first three and was apprehensive because of it. I began this journal with the goal of running this Dopey in under 7:11. After finishing, I've realized that while I was nowhere near achieving that goal this time around I will definitely get there in the future. I'm ready to make the changes needed to make that goal a reality.

Thanks to everyone who has followed along and/or commented. It has been really fun to write, so I hope it was entertaining.

I guess this'll be headed back to being a boring training journal now. Hopefully I'll have another trip report (and a new Half PR) after the Dark Side Weekend in April.
 
Ah man!! I have had the late-race issues pop up - during mile 25 of my first marathon (WDW of course) I suddenly had pretty intense piriformis pain for the first time ever. So frustrating when stuff like this just pops out of nowhere!

But it sounds like most of your race was great - you're gonna crush it in 2018! :)
 


Congratulations on the race. I loved your recap. so sorry that your hamstring decided to act up when you were having such a great race, but you still did a great job.
 
Great recaps & looks the whole family had lots of fun, adorable nieces/nephews! Great finish in the marathon with that pain, that's the worst, I always fill more robot/tinman like when something like that happens and running through it is rough so awesome job dealing with it & still smiling! Oh & the Eeyore & Tigger suits are just awesome, I admire anyone who can run in that, so fun!
 
If you figure out how not to feel nervous before a race, just let me know your secrets :)
You looked really strong in all of your pictures. And good choice stopping for Wreck it Ralph, I would have too.
Congrats!
 
I'm back.

Was really conflicted about whether to continue my journal or not (read: being lazy), but I like posting the trip reports and need the accountability so I'll try to find the time and discipline to get this going again.

Since I last posted I have registered for Dopey #5 and have been using my fancy @DopeyBadger training plan to get prepared for Dark Side in April. Training is going well, but I've got to start getting my diet under wraps. Current plan is to give up food for lent.

I've also been busy planning my April trip. I am flying in Thursday PM and leaving Tuesday AM so I've built in a couple days for fun and relaxation. This will be my first trip outside of Marathon Weekend and I'm really excited for it. It will be really strange heading down for a weekend where the specter of a full marathon isn't looming over everything. Yes, I am attempting a PR at the half distance, but it still feels much more comfortable than preparing for 48.6 and particularly the last 26.2.

I'll be staying at POR, despite thoughts that I should mix things up and go for something new. I just couldn't convince myself to spend more money when I love POR so much. I've got all my FP+ and ADRs set up and I'm excited for the offerings of the Flower and Garden Festival. I'll be alone Thursday after I fly in and set up late FP+ for MK. I've never seen Wishes, so I thought that might be a good opportunity with it being retired soon. My flight lands at 4:40, so there's also a good chance I might stay at the resort, eat, and get settled; I just wanted to have some aspirational plans to help motivate me to be less of a hermit.

My sister arrives around noon on Friday and we will be grabbing lunch, heading to the expo, and then on to AK. We are going to try Yak & Yeti for the first time and have a FP+ for Rivers of Light; so new experiences all around.

After the 10k on Saturday morning we are headed to MK for the day (FP+ for my first look at 7DMT) and have an early dinner ADR at Paddlefish ahead of the Half. It'll be cool to try another new place, but I'm pretty sure I'll dial consumption back in advance of the race.

Sunday is the big race. Afterward we are headed to Epcot to try all that the Flower and Garden Festival has to offer. To paraphrase a popular quote, "Epcot and chill" will be the order of the day. It will be our first time on Frozen as we didn't have FP+ in January and weren't brace enough for the line. Depending on what is available after our FP+ at Epcot, we may meander over to HS; im guessing we will do a modified DATW (I don't drink so it's more a snack around the world for me). We are ending her trip with an ADR at Boatwright's that evening.

Monday I'll be headed to HS after my sister boards DME. Plan to hit the big rides and see Indy. Might stick around for Fantasmic, but also may see if there is any type of meet up (DATW or otherwise) going on. Not sure how I'll handle the parks solo, but it will be interesting.

I have an early flight on Tuesday, so it will be bright and early leaving the magic behind, but there's a lot of fun to be had before that moment comes.

I plan to start posting a lot more. Accountability is key to my success, so I need to be honest with my failures here. Thanks for reading along and sorry for the giant info dump post after a long absence.


TL;DR-I'm back. Training is hard but fulfilling. I like food too much. Disney is fun and awesome and I'm excited to go back in April.
 
Sounds like some great plans for your trip in April. I read some reviews of Paddlefish and it looks pretty awesome!

We're looking forward to it. It's the night before the Half so I'll have to convince myself to eat like I'm going to run 13.1 miles in the morning. We were torn about trying someplace new in Epcot or Paddlefish that night. We figured it would be easier to convince ourselves to leave Disney Springs to go back for sleep than it would be to leave Epcot.
 
Here's to some great Darkside training, I'm so excited for it! I'm looking forward to Flower & Garden too, it's really neat with all the topiaries & I like it better than Food & Wine.
 
Well, it's been more than a month and a half since I announced my return...So, I guess that didn't work out quite so well.

I am stoked about heading down for the Dark Side Challenge later this week. I've dialed back my expectations on trying to run sub-2:00. My training has gone well, but I haven't modified my diet in the way that was necessary to get myself into the best shape possible. Also, it appears that it is going to be very hot and I would rather enjoy my race and my vacation than put those things at risk by going out too fast and trying to force a PR. (Plus, this gives me motivation to sign up for another POT race)

Bummer is that my sister may not be able to run. She has been having issues with her hip and ran the Paris Marathon a couple weeks ago, so it has not been getting the rest that it requires for her to fully recover. I'm sure she will want to run, but I'm not sure it's the wisest decision and I'm not sure how things will play out when we are there. It'll be fun either way, we don't run together (she's a little faster than me, but beyond that we don't really have the same tempo or style either) so my race experience won't be much different and the vacation will still be fun either way.

Will post a recap and some pictures afterward and will try to keep some updates throughout the week.
 
Working on getting some thoughts together and posting an abbreviated trip report in the next couple days. No nieces and nephews this time, so the pictures might be a bit more limited (I'm not as photogenic).

The event was great and I had a terrific time over the five days I was at WDW. No PRs, or anything close, but it was a good motivator moving forward.
 

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