Goofy Challenge Part 1- Half marathon

My very first half marathon was the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland in 2013. It was there at the expo that I first heard of the Goofy Challenge- a half marathon on a Saturday, followed by a Marathon on Sunday. At that stage in my life, 13.1 miles sounded daunting enough- how on earth could anyone do 39.3 miles in two days? That was 3 half marathons back to back! I researched it in and was in awe of the amount of people who attempted this feat. After reading more and more about it, the sense of accomplishment people felt, the respect I had for these runners, I became determined- I was going to master this challenge someday.

In April 2015, After losing 60Ibs, I signed for the challenge. At that point, I was excited! I had lost enough weight where the challenge sounded hard, but doable- I had put in a lot of work to lose the pounds I had, and knew with proper training I could do this.

July started the training. The first few weeks were fairly easy, as it was similar to the half marathon training plans I had completed. Then, in October, my brother and I began the back to back trainings- 7 miles Saturday followed by 14 on Sunday, 8 and 17.5, 10 and 20, 11 and 23, 12 and 26. We followed Jeff Galloway's run/walk plan for the challenge (listed on the RunDisney website) and it really paid off! I was mostly injury free and didnt miss a single long run (although a few maintenance runs were missed due to being sick)

As January drew closer, however, I felt my nerves start to set in- had I trained hard enough? What if my legs gave out during the marathon? What if I was injured? I had already completed 14+ half marathons, but it would be my first full marathon, and I wasnt sure what to expect.

Before I knew it, the day of the half marathon was here, and I had to trust that all the training I put in would pay off.  Since my dad and Uncle live about 30 minutes from the park, I skipped the hotel fees and stayed with them. I flew in on a Thursday night and woke up early Friday morning (5am Florida time, 2am back home in California), in hopes that I could fall asleep easy Friday night before the half. It worked like a charm and by 8pm Friday night EST I was out.

The alarm went off at 2:45am. I kept having nightmares of getting swept, so Im not sure how well I slept, but at least my body rested even if my mind wouldnt.  I got dressed, had my bagel, peanut butter and banana, and my dad and uncle dropped me off at the runner drop off area in Epcot. I was relieved that the weather was dry and cool- similar running conditions I had been training under. I mentally crossed my fingers that it would be the same for tomorrow (spoiler: it wasnt, but thats in the next post!).

I warmed up, got into my assigned corral and sat down, focusing on breathing and calming my nerves. Today is just a half marathon I told myself When did you ever think you would say something like that? 13.1 today, that's it. Dont think about tomorrow. You do half marathons all the time. 

Before I knew it, my time to line up at the starting line had arrived.

Here we go! Photo Credit: Run Disney

During miles 1-4; it was pretty empty- very few characters, a lot of road, and the sound of other runners hitting the pavement. I was focused on saving my legs for the next day (run/walk 30 seconds/1 minute) and enjoying the half. I didnt end up bringing my music with me for this race- and I'm glad I didnt- it was nice to not block out the sound of my surroundings, and enjoy the feeling of being a runner.

A little before mile 5, we came across this beautiful sign:

Photo Credit- RunDisney

Mile 5 came quickly, and we were in Magic Kingdom! The Castle is done so beautifully in Disney World, it was gorgeous.

Pretty!

The unfortunate part of this race course is that Disney World property is SO big, you get limited time in the park. We were only in Magic Kingdom for about a mile and then we were back on the road towards Epcot. I continued to feel great, and around mile 10 switched to a 1 minute run/walk. I was ready to be done with 1/3 of the challenge!

Duck face for Donald and a Picture with Goofy!

I crossed the finish line at 3:08, got my awesome Donald Duck medal, and headed to the family reunion area to meet my Dad. It was hard to go so slow for the half (my usual pace puts me just under a 2:45), but I knew Id be grateful for it tomorrow. After shower and food, we took it easy the rest of the day, alternating between stretching, sitting, and standing. I took my dad and Uncle to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we ate dinner and I had my usual pre race meal of a club sandwich and french fries (yum!), then off to bed for day 2 and final day of the challenge: The marathon.

Did you do any of the events at WDW Marathon this year? If so, which ones? What were your thoughts? Comment below!