For some odd reason, the Goofy Challenge never really scared me. My only real concern was to get to race day without reinjuring my knee. Which means that my training was seriously sub-par as I skipped several runs as soon as my knee would not feel 100%. Luckily, I had very low expectations, and my only goals were to have fun, finish before the cut-off time and take lots of pictures along the way.
As it got closer to flying down to Florida, I looked at weather forecasts in disbelief. I mean, would it really be that cold? I reluctantly packed my winter running gear, still hoping for a change in forecast. Well, the forecast got worse, and I was very thankful to have brought everything including my neckwarmer
Day One - Half-Marathon
It's 3am, and I have barely slept for 3 hours... this will be a long day. Race plan is to run at an easy pace with my friend Rachel, with a goal time of 2:45 to 3:00. While standing in our corral, it's cold but it feels warmer with everyone else around. 30 minutes before the race start, we get ice pellets... I did not come to Florida for this!!! Finally fireworks announce the start. not ours... Three sets of fireworks later, it's our turn to be on our way.
Two miles into the run, I notice a runner with an Army Run shirt. We start chatting. Bob, who it turns out is also from Ottawa, will run with us until the end. That’s great, me and Rachel won’t run out of conversation topics as quickly over the two races
Ice pellets turn into a cold drizzle as night turns into day. Ugh... I think I prefered the ice pellets... We don’t spot very many Disney characters along the way. They don’t seem to like the weather either. Most of those I see I can’t even name, and the few I recognize have huge line-ups for photo ops. I don’t want to stay still this long in this crappy weather, so the picture taking will have to be postponed to the next day. I’m a little disappointed...
We’ve been running for about two and a half hour when all of the sudden as I pass a runner, I get tackled from behind by a girl who seems to be a little too much in a hurry, then yelled at for blocking the way Mmmmm, what??? I switched “lane” five seconds ago after looking over my shoulder, there’s a large grassy area right beside me, and by the way, you’re not going to win at this point! But before I could tell her any of that, she was long gone, probably running over other unsuspecting runners... At least we get to laugh about it with the runners around us.
At last we can see Epcot in the distance. One last “hill” to go. Decide that there’s no point in running to the top, so we walk it. And before we know it, the three of us cross the finish line. But not before one last photo op.
Chip time: 2:52:30
Part one of the challenge is done! I get my Donald medal, then head to the Goofy challenge tent to exchange my silver bracelet for a blue one. I get cold very quickly, so we skip the food table. By the time we get back to the car, I’m shivering.
Months before the race, I ordered a red polka dot running skirt with the intent to dress up as Minnie Mouse. The cold weather was not going to stop me from wearing it, but silly me only packed a pink jacket, which clearly doesn't match the skirt... I have a marathon to run tomorrow, but who cares, I need to complete my outfit! So out I go shopping in the afternoon. I quickly find Minnie Mouse ears, and then go around looking for that elusive black jacket. Which appear to be an endangered species at the moment. Finally find one around 7pm. woohoo, mission accomplished! All that's left to do is worry some more about the weather before I go to bed. Which makes me almost forget that I have a marathon to run the next day...
Day Two – Marathon
3am comes too quickly again. I stress out again about how many layers to wear, and since I don’t know if I’ll be able to run the whole way, I err on the side of caution. We stay in the car a little bit too long, and barely have time for a portapotty break before heading to the last corral. Looks like there's no one behind us... At least it makes for a very encouraging start as we pass so many people!
It's cold, -4C cold... Sure, it's not the hypothermic half, but at least there they would know how to keep a water station from freezing. The first cup of water I take has about 1cm of ice all around. I have to break the ice on top in order to gain access to the water. Luckily, everyone seems to know that water freezes at that temperature, so no one discards their cup in the middle of the road. I'm very thankful for this since I didn't bring my yaktrax
At subsequent water stations, we are offered Powerade Slushies, which would have been awesome during the Winnipeg half-marathon last year, but not so much at this moment...The sun comes out, and it it a gorgeous day despite the wind. I’m glad I put on too many layers, feels like I will need them. I finally get rid of the hand warmers and throwaway gloves I had on top of my running gloves around the halfway mark. At least, we get to see many more Disney characters out today. I get to take a picture with Minnie and many others. But no sign of Goofy
Feels like I've been on the race course forever... at least for long enough that I start to refer to the start of the race as “yesterday”. Probably an illusion caused by the early start in the dark. or maybe I'm starting to lose my mind at this point. Legs are tired, the wind is getting even stronger, but at least the sun is shining and I'm happy. And all those happy back-of-the-packers surrounding us contribute to that.
We stop for a couple more photos at the final two mile markers. Wow, that mile took forever! I can finally hear the crowd at the finish line. I get a surge of energy, and I almost feel like I’m floating as I cross the finish line.
Chip time: 6:14:26, ran at a leisurely pace, and includes at least 20 minutes worth of portapotty breaks, plus many stops for photos
Time to congratulate my friend Rachel for completing her first marathon!!! As for me, this marks the completion of marathon number 2. I get my Mickey medal, then head over to get the coveted Goofy bling. Woohoo, mission accomplished
This experience was everything that I had envisioned, every bit as fun as I had hoped, and went according to plan despite the unexpected weather. However, for some strange reason, when it was all over, I didn’t feel like I had run a marathon. Sure it was a long day, and my legs did remind me afterwards that I had indeed run that far, but psychologically it still doesn’t quite click. Maybe I’ll have to push at least a tiny bit next time... because there will be a next time for sure in a few years, hopefully on a warmer week-end!
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Good job, and great race report!
