If Running Is Hard, Run More (Dopey Challenge 2018: 10k)

The 10k easily held the scariest moment of the entire Dopey Challenge. While sauntering around the course during the 5k, Tasha and I chatted about what characters we would stop for. Tasha had never stopped for a character during a RunDisney race, whereas I had stopped for a couple through Wine and Dine Weekend. We were in the last corral for Marathon Weekend, which stressed both of us out a little bit, especially for the half and the full marathon. We basically decided that we weren't going to stop for characters unless we both felt like we were maintaining a decent pace, far enough along in the race that we could make up time if we needed. My #1 character stop was Meeko, and hers was Robin Hood.

Lo and behold, just over a mile in to the 10k, we saw Meeko. The line wasn't too bad, so we hopped in and, of course, Meeko goes to take his break. I'm sure he was gone for only 2 minutes, tops, but it felt like an eternity. We got the picture and as we were walking away, we saw the balloon ladies (the unofficial pacers) and the sweeper bikes (the official pacers). Tasha shouted "RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!" at the same second I started running and honestly, I think it was the fastest either of us moved all weekend. Our 2018 Dopey Challenge Survival Plan of just walking (AGAIN) went right out the window, and I don't think either of us had any regrets.

We learned a lot during Marathon Weekend. But I think our biggest takeaway was probably the importance of Mylar blankets. On Thursday, we were doubters. There's no way that a piece of foil (essentially) was going to make us feel warmer.  On Friday, we tried it. And by Sunday, we were firmly pro-Mylar blankets. I don't understand how they work, and frankly, I don't care, but at a 28 degree windchill, it was basically a godsend.

And I felt like a burrito, which made me laugh harder than it should have.

Corral waiting-- with Mylar blankets this time. 

Besides the realization that Mylar blankets are a godsend and the Meeko fiasco, the 10k was pretty tame. The course was almost exactly the same as the 5k from the previous day, except they added three extra miles of running on the road at the beginning. Since I wasn't winded at all by the time we got into the World Showcase, I was able to FaceTime some of my friends who decided to take a road trip on the one weekend a year that I couldn't go.

Tasha and I spent many miles talking about how we should pose for photos, but then each time we saw the lime green PhotoPass tents, we just froze and fell back on the favorites-- arms up, thumbs up, mouths wide open. Throw in a couple of dance parties and the classic "I hate everything about this" face and you've got yourself a 10k.

If It Scares You, It Might Be a Good Thing To Try (Dopey Challenge 2018)

Have you ever had a great idea, commit to it, and then are like "WHAT IN THE WORLD HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?!"

That's how I felt about the RunDisney Dopey Challenge. Because it's just that-- dopey.

It's 48.6 miles over the course of four days throughout the Walt Disney World Property. It starts with a 5k on Thursday, then continues to a 10k on Friday, a half marathon on Saturday, and concludes with a full marathon on Sunday. And yes, it's every bit as daunting as it sounds.

But last January, when I saw that my friend, Tasha, had run her first RunDisney marathon and I was at the beginning stages of my running career AND I knew that I was going to be moving to Orlando over the summer, we started chatting about the races we've done and how we'd definitely have to do RunDisney races together. One thing led to another, and because a year is totally enough time to train, the next thing we knew we had both signed up to run the Dopey Challenge.

The four courses that would label was "officially Dopey"

I'd like to say that we were fully and properly trained and 100% prepared for these races. But we weren't. Not even a little bit. Our "2018 Dopey Challenge Survival Plan" included two things-- finish all the races and get all the medals. Timing wasn't even on our radar; we just had to finish.

There was the promise of these beauties waiting for us at each finish line. And honestly, for a couple of the races, knowing that a shiny medal was at the end was enough. 

From the first of the year until the Expo, which was the day before the 5k, I went back and forth between thinking "I HAVE SO MANY REGRETS" and "We'll be fine, we'll be so fine." Post Expo feelings were definitely "I have so many regrets and I might die, but I'm going to enjoy it for as long as I can."

Ready or not-- Dopey Challenge 2018 was finally here.

. . . . . .

And as a side note, or a PS, or whatever you would like to call it. I took this picture at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party in October, knowing that I would be completing the Dopey Challenge in just a couple of months.

"I think the Dopey Challenge should be renamed to the Seven Dwarves Challenge. Dopey because signing up was a dopey idea. Bashful because I don't even consider myself a runner, but I still signed up to do something so monumental. Sleepy because 2am wake up calls, four days in a row are the WORST. Grumpy due to sitting in our corrals for almost two hours in the freezing cold while we waited for the races to start. Sneezy due to the colds that have been going around. Doc because I learned so much about myself. And HAPPY because I did it!! (And now it's over!!)"

"Hello? Excuse Me, Is There a FastPass to the Finish Line?"

Despite endless complaining about how 13.1 miles is after running the 10th Meia Maratona das Cataratas in Foz do Iguaçu, I still signed up for another one. I know, I know. Worst.

Approximately three-ish years ago, I sent a Facebook message to a friend saying that we HAD to complete a race at Disney World during Princess Weekend. At the time, I had no idea that I would actually end up moving to Florida, so it kind of seemed like one of those "Oh, we should do this sometime in the future, whether it be near or distant." and kind of left it at that.

Little did I know, I would actually become a Florida resident and my RunDisney dreams could come to fruition.

RunDisney offers approximately four race weekends throughout the course of the year and the Wine and Dine weekend was the first race weekend that took place after moving here. As soon as I knew that I was officially moving to Florida, I signed up. And since I was CrossFitting and running a lot at the time, I figured I could handle running the Two Course Challenge-- a 10K on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday.

Much like my last half, I completed these races with very little training, which is a bad habit that I need to break. Honestly, the worst part wasn't even the running, not for the 10K anyways. The worst part was waking up at 2am to get ready, drive to Disney, and wait for a race that started at 5:30. But luckily this is Disney and there was plenty to do while we were waiting-- character meet and greets, a DJ, crowd interviews, lip sync competitions, etc.

I got into my corral and soon we were off! The first part of the 10K was just down the highway, so it could have been pretty boring. But again, this is Disney. There was a marching band out playing for us, big screens set up with video clips and music, DJs, and more character meet and greets.

It was all downhill once we got to Disney's Hollywood Studios, though. Not literally speaking, of course. Sunset Blvd was all decorated for Christmas and since it was still dark out, the lights were all on. It was so pretty! There was so much music and holiday cheer and we were so close to the end-- it was a lot of fun. So much fun that I called Pops at 6am and wheezed out how freakin' fantastic it was.

After a quick jaunt through Hollywood Studios and a trip around the Boardwalk, we entered Epcot and the finish line was near! It was still dark, so there was a cauldron of fire lit in front of each country and it was just beautiful. I may have teared up a little bit-- sorry not sorry.

I may have also teared up a little bit when I crossed the finish line because I'd finally done a RunDisney race and it was awesome. And the medal was awesome. And I didn't feel like I was going to die.

After just one 10K, I made the bold statement that 10Ks are my favorite distance. At the 5K point of the race, I definitely had enough energy to keep going (thank god!) and I was glad that the race wasn't over yet. 10Ks are just far enough that you have to work, but not far enough to seem impossible. Not too much work that I couldn't go to Magic Kingdom to watch the Hoston Astros World Series Champs parade or to Animal Kingdom for a showing of the Festival of the Lion King, but enough work that I felt like I accomplished something in the morning.

Up next-- Wine and Dine Half Marathon!