Dopey Challenge: The Half Marathon

On to a recap of the Walt Disney World Half Marathon! Just in case you missed my previous Dopey Challenge recaps, you can find them here: expo, 5K, and 10K.

By the morning of the half marathon, I was pretty tired. And sore. Not so much from the races, but from walking the parks all day AFTER the races. You see, I know I should have taken it easy, but when I’m at Disney World, I have a really hard time resisting my usual urge to tour the parks commando-style…and we really were spending the entire day in the parks.

What saved me? I made sure to plan for an 8-8:30 bedtime in our itinerary (yes, I had a park-touring itinerary) for the nights before the half and full marathons, combined with several other strategies for surviving back-to-back races in one piece (which I’ll talk about in a separate post)!

What also helped is that I typically decide to shell out the money for a rental car when I’m on Disney property for the convenience of not having to rely on bus transportation — and during a race weekend, it pays off because I could “sleep in” (HA!) just a little bit later. Of course, I didn’t want an episode like the previous morning, where I almost missed the start of the race, so I made sure we got to Epcot in plenty of time…and Todd, hilarious as he is, made sure to make a big production out of laying out my bib and safety pins the night before. ;)

The half marathon was going to be extra special because I wouldn’t be running alone. It was going to be Todd’s very first runDisney experience, and of course, I coerced him into dressing in matching costumes, with the promise that they consist of actual running clothes that wouldn’t be uncomfortable for a 13.1-mile run — which I thought was more than fair.

And what better character to channel on our first runDisney experience together than everyone’s favorite duck? And his girlfriend? :) Screen shot 2014-01-21 at 1.34.23 PM

I was ridiculously excited to share the magic of running through Disney parks with him…honestly, having him run with me on this trip was (almost) as exciting as conquering the Dopey Challenge in general, not gonna lie. :)

We got ready and were out the door a little after 4am to make the drive over to Epcot, where we were greeted with the usual DJ music and various other excitement — including, THANK GOD, a snack stand where I could caffeinate myself. I didn’t get a chance to drink any coffee before the 5K or 10K, and ended up with a splitting migraine after both races. (Withdrawal, much?)

We then began the slow walk to Narnia to find our corrals. RunDisney isn’t kidding when they warn you about a 20-minute walk to the starting line! Though we submitted almost identical half marathon proofs of time (2:02 and 2:03), Todd was just running the half, so he was placed in E, whereas I was in G, so he joined me so we could start together.

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We waited impatiently for each corral to be released (just a minute or two of each other), until it was our turn for the fireworks!

And then we were off. We had previously discussed my need to keep a slower-than-usual pace to conserve energy for the marathon and, of course, my penchant for collecting character photos, so this was definitely not a race we were running for time. Plus, as Todd said, his legs weren’t exactly feeling “fresh” after walking all over Disney property every day since landing in Florida on Tuesday morning.

Unfortunately, that morning was also brutally humid, and I was, once again, practically drenched in sweat by the end of the first mile. Gross.

Still, we were keeping a very comfortable, easy 11:30 pace, and after stopping for a potty break at the TTC, I was anxious to make our way to the Magic Kingdom!

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We did pass up photos with a few characters along the way, like Jack and Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas (never got into the one), and the pirates because a.) I’ve already taken my picture with them and b.) neither of us are huge fans to begin with.

Truth be told, I was already a little disappointed by the lack of characters in general…I kept thinking back to my first half marathon, the Princess Half in 2014, and just how many more characters there were (and hoopla in general).

However, running down Main Street is still pretty much the most exciting thing in the world to me, so by the time we had entered our first park that’s all I was thinking about!Screen shot 2014-01-21 at 1.42.20 PM

So…you know I had to stop for some photos. Please ignore my pit stains. And various other sweat stains.

(I told you it was HOT!)

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My other favorite part? Actually running THROUGH the castle!

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Of course, before we did that, I once again had the joy of running through Magic Kingdom. My favorite place in the world. Honestly, that one mile we’re in the park makes the entire experience worth it for me, as cheesy and ridiculous as that sounds.

We ran through Tomorrowland and grabbed a picture with Buzz.

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As we ventured into Fantasyland, I had to stop for Pooh…since I heart him.

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And then, given our costumes, we HAD to get in the ridiculously long line behind the castle for — you guessed it — Donald and Daisy Duck.

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After waiting several minutes for our turn, we were finally next in line…and Donald decided it was time to go on his break. OF COURSE!

Very much wanting a picture of Todd and I dressed as the ducks actually posing with the ducks, I asked the cast member if we could step off to the side to wait for Donald to return…and then pretty much everyone and their mother followed suit.

The line became non-existent for Daisy Duck — so much so that the cast member had to continually call out to see if anyone wanted a picture with “just Daisy”…and nobody budged. Haha.

Donald finally returned, and we got our picture (which came out kind of crappy on my camera, and I can’t for the life of me find it on Marathonfoto and am getting absolutely no help from them…but that’s another story for another time).

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After running through the castle, we stopped for a few more photos.

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We also saw Woody (ANOTHER missing picture…not happy about that, either), and then made our way back out of the Magic Kingdom. We headed out to what I knew would be my least favorite part of the course.

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It’s tight, it’s crowded, it’s boring…and you really have to make a concentrated effort to weave around the walls of walkers. Granted, I realize that because we stop so often, it’s my own fault for getting trapped behind those running at a slower pace than I normally do, but it’s still not the safest thing in the world to have thousands of runners with absolutely nowhere to run.

Fortunately, I spotted some of my other favorites along the way to help keep me distracted.

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And there were some parts of the next several miles that were more scenic than others, like the golf course, which is always nice.

It was within the last couple of miles that I felt myself starting to struggle a little bit for the first time since starting the Dopey Challenge. The 5K and 10K were pretty much a breeze for me, but that morning’s humidity and my third early wake-up call and consecutive day of running were starting to take their toll.

My feet hurt and I was hot and drained and I was looking forward to that finish line…and, truth be told, starting to worry how I’d feel the following morning when it was time to take on my first full marathon.

Fortunately, once we made our way back to Epcot, I forgot all about any discomfort I was in. Funny how that happens.

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We were still keeping a pretty consistent pace, and I was excited to run through another park!

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I tried to focus on savoring the last mile or two of the race and not let my fears about what the next day might bring ruin it for me. Because believe you me…I was enjoying this moment!

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Before I knew it, I saw the mile 13 marker…and it seemed more than appropriate to stop for one last photo.

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And, yes, you are reading that time correctly. We were released about 20 minutes after the official start of the race, so our finish time hovered in the 3:25 area, when we’re both pretty solid 2-hour half marathon runners (in fact, one of us…not me…has already broken 2 hours).

But I couldn’t care less about our finish time. I run every other race for time, and there was no way I was passing up a picture with Donald and Daisy or various pictures of us in front of the castle. I had an amazing time “running Disney” with Todd for the first time, and have absolutely no regrets about just how long that actually took. :)

After collecting our medals, we posed for just a few more photos. Surprise, surprise!

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And then hopped in — believe it or not! — yet another long line for Chip and Dale.

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We headed straight back into Epcot, cleaned ourselves up (I swear, Shower Pill wipes are the best invention EVER) and enjoyed everything that we had missed on our visit after the expo, including a yummy dinner at Biergarten.

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(Oh, and, yes…we did wear the ridiculous duck hats for the rest of the day).

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We skipped Illuminations since we had already seen it on Wednesday, and headed back to the room by 7pm.

I had been stressing out about my first marathon for months. The night before my first half marathon, I couldn’t sleep. At ALL.

I fully expected yet another restless night of staring at the ceiling, wondering if I had already done too much harm to my legs and feet, wondering if I had trained enough, wondering if I was ready, wondering if I would ever see that marvelous 26-mile marker.

But then my head hit the pillow…and I was OUT. :)

Next up…FINALLY…a recap of my first full marathon and the conclusion of the Dopey Challenge!

Comments

  1. Congrats! Those are Super Cute outfits. You got some really great photos during this race. You can really tell how much fun you guys are having from the smiles on your faces! That is too funny that a cast member actually had to ask people if they wanted a picture with Daisy! That doesn’t happen often at WDW!

    • Aw, thanks! Yes, it was definitely a blast, no matter what!

      It was really funny. Nobody wanted to step out of the separate line for Donald. I guess since this WAS the “Donald” half marathon? Haha. Like you said…definitely not something you see very often at WDW. :-D

  2. LOVE the costumes! That weather was brutal, couldn’t wait for that race to be over! Great job!

  3. I don’t know if the humidity caused my sausage fingers, but the weather was brutal. If I hadn’t decided to walk this due to injury, I would’ve walked it due to the weather. Of course the weather cleared up for time in the parks.

  4. You two look GREAT in your matching outfits! So cute!

    I am getting so excited for the Princess Half, my first runDisney race!!

    • Thanks, Kristina! You are going to LOOOOOVE Princess! Maybe I’ll see you there! Will you be dressing in costume?

  5. Love this recap! And I LOVE your costumes right down to the yellow tights. Perfect. You guys got so many cute pictures. You are not the only one missing photos from MarathonFoto. I’ve called them twice and gotten nowhere. I’ve got tons of character photos missing. Jealous you got a picture with Pooh! he wasn’t out when I went by.

  6. LOVE the Daisy costume ;) great minds!

    I might need to pick your brain about renting a car for Disney. Although, it’s not that feasible for NYCers without insurance (it’s never worth the cost from what I’ve seen). . . but a girl can dream!

    • Totally! :)

      Glad to share! I always book with Alamo because I have a WDW annual pass and get a little bit of a discount, and also you can combine coupons on their website (via Entertainment book, etc.), so I can usually find a decent deal.

  7. LOVE the costumes, and all the pics!! And who cares about time when you’re doing the Dopey Challenge, right?! :0) That is so great you got to run with Todd for this race – he looks like he had a blast as well! Do you think you’ll be at the WDW Marathon weekend in 2015 at all??

    • Thanks, Lauren! My thoughts EXACTLY. We both definitely had an awesome time!

      You know what…I really, really, REALLY want to come back for Marathon Weekend next year. I’m not quite sure if I can make it happen, but if I can, I would DEFINITELY do it again! :)

  8. Your costumes are great and I especially love the picture you guys got WITH Donald and Daisy, it’s awesome! (And I hope you’re getting it blown up to poster size to hang in your house!)

    Glad to hear you managed to get to the race start with out falling on your face this time! (I only joke because that’s TOTALLY something I would do! I fell down the icy stairs at my house a few days before Dopey RIGHT after my husband said “be careful on the stairs”!)

    • Thank you! That was one photo opp I was definitely waiting for!

      HAHAHA, tell me about it! Nope, no further incidents where I fell flat on my face for the rest of the trip. Like you, this kind of stuff happens to me all the time, I swear!

  9. Congrats girl! You’re recap sounds a lot like mine! Lots of stops for pictures…the LONGEST half marathon you’ve ever done…but it was all worth it!

Mentioned Elsewhere:

  1. [...] Of course, if you missed my previous Dopey Challenge recaps, here they are: expo, 5K, 10K, half marathon. [...]

  2. [...] probably read Jen’s half marathon recap already, so I won’t go into more particulars about the race. But I’ll highlight a few [...]

  3. [...] time and I was already familiar with the course (especially since it’s ALSO the same as the WDW Half Marathon course and I had JUST run it 6 weeks prior!), I made it a point to just relax and enjoy the [...]

  4. [...] we spotted a VERY EXCITING photo opportunity with none other than The Thee Caballeros. Ever since we dressed up as Donald and Daisy for the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, the ducks have become sort of our relationship mascot…including our my re-decorating of the [...]

  5. [...] colors of Sparkle Athletic skirts, Pro Compression socks, and, of course, the orange pants I purchased for my Daisy Duck costume but decided were “too orange”…and as soon as I saw a sparkly Reese’s shirt [...]

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