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January 20, 2012

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The Goofy Challenge 2012 - Part 3 (of 3), The Goofy

This last post I intend to touch on my overall view of the whole Goofy/runDisney experience.

From the moment we arrive onto Disney property everything was so well organised. This is now the 11th organised race I have participated in and the attention to detail in every aspect was just unreal… UNREAL!

We sauntered into the ESPN World Wide Sports complex and walked from our car. There were ‘Cast Members’ out in force to direct us, welcome us and just generally being helpful. We were fed through to the packet pickup straight away and for once there were no queues we simply walked up to the Goofy desk handed in our paperwork and ID’s and were given our bib’s, shirts and pin badges.

From there we were directed to the next building where the main expo was being held. I managed to find some body glide (which, just like Vegas I had forgotten to pack) which meant I didn’t have to ‘borrow’ any from Chris - good job we are friends!

From then on in everything was catered for - ok, ok so we stayed in a Disney hotel so we could get the bus to the start area - but really all we had to do was make sure we woke up on time, get ourselves dressed and make our way to the bus stand (oh yeah and the little thing of actually running).

Would I recommend this race to anyone else? Yes I would… This is a must add to your running resume. Whether it be the half, full or the Goofy. Running through the Magic Kingdom for 10 minutes really makes up for the 5+ hours of running on Disney highways.

So I’m sure you are all on the edge of your seats as to find out what my times were, but before we do that just remember that this was a 2 day event and was never going to be my fastest runs.

HALF:- 2:03

FULL:- 4:34

GOOFY:- 6:37

So now I sit in bed writing my final post about my Goofy adventure and it dawns on me that this is the first time in 16 months that I have no planned races, literally nothing in the diary to keep me focused or motivated to carry on pushing myself. To be honest with you it makes me a little nervous.

However this week I have been to Crossfit 3 times and also ran 6.6 miles on Tuesday so maybe I don’t need the expensive races or the thought of medals to keep pushing me further.

With the Crossfit Games 2012 started next month and a few local Crossfit competitions coming up I’m sure what ever happens this year, 2012 will be just as epic as 2011.

Tags: Goofy Goofy Challenge runDisney Disney Disney World walt disney marathon weekend disney half marathon disney marathon

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January 16, 2012

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The Goofy Challenge 2012 - Part 2 (of 3), The Full

So here we were again - 3am BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! This time I wasn’t already awake. My legs felt like lead after yesterdays 13.1 miles and the last thing I wanted to do was get up and run another 26.2. But thats what we were there to do and this was the main event.

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So the bus was there at 4am just like the day before. In fact everything was exactly the same as the day before except this time Mickey Mouse started the race.

The first 10 miles flew by, I don’t even remember anything until the sun came up I tend to zone out during my runs by putting on some music with a high BPM and let my feet get into a rhythm.

At mile 18 my world fell apart. I started to get really emotional which has never really happened before during a race and I knew something wasn’t quite right. Then it happened.

The only way I have been able to describe what I went through is this…

It felt like my Diaphragm just decided to stop working

I couldn’t catch my breath. NO I couldn’t breathe. Physically I could not get air into my lungs. It was if my entire respiratory system had decided to stop. This then brought on a panic attack of epic proportions. What was going on? Why can’t I get air into my lungs? As I gasped for air I wanted to reach out to someone to slap me on my back, find a medic or worse - GIVE UP!

Just as I was about to stop my stomach muscles tightened and I thought my abdomen was going to separate it self from my body. I seemed to have pulled my stomach muscles trying to breathe. The pain was extraordinary.

At that exact moment I felt the air streaming back into my lungs the relief, however, was over shadowed by what was going on with my stomach.

I kept going for as long as I could and by the time I got to mile 20 I had had enough of my music and actually put away the headphones. Just after this I got talking to an older woman for a mile or so. It was around this time I decided in my head to switch to a 10 minute run 1 minute walk strategy.

Without knowing how to set this up on my Garmin I settled for a 1 minute walk at every mile marker from then on in. seeing as I was keeping a 9:30 pace I thought this would be about right.

As I crossed the finish line I collected my marathon medal and then headed to the Goofy tent to get the medal I had been waiting for.

As I walked through the baggage tent and caught up with Chris I was surviving on pure adrenaline knowing that at that moment I was on my own and only I was able to carry myself through. As soon as I met up with him I pretty much fell apart, I would say I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Unfortunately Chris will testify to I pretty much collapsed in a heap as the burning returned to my stomach muscles as the cramp kicked in again. I told him what had happened and with that he managed to get me to some shade and made me drink the fluids that we had been given as we crossed the line.

It’s funny I have now run 5 full marathons and I’m amazed at how little I remember from this one - apart form the relief of finishing (and the 2 cute blondes that ran with me through miles 23-25 (if only I had a pen)). Maybe due to the heat, or the pain, or maybe just maybe it was because i was running 40 miles in one weekend.

I’m going to finish this little series with one final post, maybe tomorrow, as I have so much to comment on about the whole ‘Goofy’ experience.

Tags: Disney disney world disney marathon Goofy Goofy Challenge Goofy Race and a Half

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January 15, 2012

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The Goofy Challenge 2012 - Part 1 (of 3), The Half

A week ago I completed the final of my planned races since starting running last year. My first race (The Portsmouth Half) was on February 11th 2011 and since then I have participated in two 10k’s, four half marathons and five full marathons. Considering when I started my Tumblr I had never run further then the length of a Rugby field I feel I have come along way in 16 short months.

This is my race recap of the Goofy Challenge - one hell of a way to close out my running plans.

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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! -

My alarm, set for 3am, was blaring in my ear. Two seconds later BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! my roommate and ever there running partner Chris’ alarm started to go off. Neither of the alarms woke me up. I had already been awake since 2:30am and I was checking my dashboard and Facebook, excited and extremely nervous of what the next 36 hours would bring.

As Chris was stirring in his bed two feet from my very own, I jumped up and proclaimed that I was going to have a shower to help wake me up and get ready. All the preparation had been done the night before. Garmin’s and iPods were charged, fuel belts were stocked and last but not least, the most exciting part of racing, number bibs were pinned to T-Shirts.

We had no chance of getting any Breakfast as we had to be at the front of the hotel by 4am to guarantee a space on one of the hundreds of coaches that Disney was laying on for guests that were running that weekend. As we waited for our turn to board our bus it was fun to see so many people up at this early hour. Some were in full fancy dress, with lights and neon headbands obviously collected from a previous night at one of the nighttime Disney parades. Some were wrapped up from head to toe as if they were about to venture into the coldest depths of an Antarctic exploration. For Chris and myself we had just our running gear as we were impressed at how mild a Floridian January morning was.

We set off on our bus journey to the start village and were immediately greeted by a sea of tail lights as we passed over the first of many overpasses. We both looked at each other and grinned, our last minute decision to stay at a Disney Hotel had payed off. The busses were rushed through the traffic and we only spent about 5 minutes waiting to get into the car park. Being conveniently dropped off by the entrance to the start village.

From there we checked our bags in the baggage tents and walked through to the holding pen. We waited until 5am until the gates opened and we began what turned out to be a long, long walk to the corals. This was our first glimpse of getting to see the ‘behind the scenes’ areas of the Disney parks. As someone who has visited Disney World at least once a year since the age of 11 this, to me was really (REALLY!) interesting. Getting a chance to see behind all the smoke and mirrors to what life is really like in Walt Disney World.

It was about a mile or so from the holding pen to the Corals and the narrow service road that we, and 23,000 others walked along was littered with the remnants of old rides that had been abandoned at the side of the service roads. A graveyard of semi dismantled carts form the Hollywood Studios backlot tour all bleached from the Floridian sun.

The Start

At 5:30am the race was started with a countdown from Donald Duck and a Firework display that only Disney can do and we were off.

The first 4 miles were all highway as we made our way from Epcot to The Magic Kingdom, passing the seven seas lagoon and entering The Magic Kingdom at Tomorrow World before being directed through a stage door which lead through the backlot linking up with Main Street USA. This was the first time we had seen any crowds and they were 5-10 deep. The noise was intense, it was still dark but there were so many people.

Halfway long Main Street USA I saw in the distance an Orange sign with ‘Go Rob!, Go Chris! - The Internet Loves You’ I looked up and there was Holly. I was so glad to see her and immediately ran up to her and gave her a big old sweaty hug. Seeing someone you have never met before while running a race was a strange feeling but one I will never forget. Seeing her standing there with her homemade sign gave me a lump in my throat and really summed up what this, what Tumblr, is all about a group of people giving support to one another with a shared interest. The fact that Holly had got up at 3am and drove an hour and a half to see was, well it is still, hard to put into words.

We then got to run through Cinderella’s Castle before rejoining the highway to run back towards Epcot and the Finish line. There really isn’t a lot to write about for the second half of the race as it was all highway. Entering Epcot felt greg and again the crowds were huge. I saw Holly and the sign again and she managed to snap this picture of me (I think its actually one of my best race photos)