A Few Pictures To Share

I am closing in on the end of my "Running Exile" It was been almost a full month since I last ran any miles and I definitely miss it. You might think that this would be the perfect time for a break from running, the middle of winter in Wisconsin. I would normally agree with you (and to some parts I still do) but this has been the oddest winter in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin. Hardly any snow and when it does snow, it is gone right away. Temp have been very mild in the 30's and even in the 40's. There is no ice on the roads so the chances of slipping and falling are not big this year. But you play the hand you are dealt and look for the positives. Hopefully in early March, I can run pain free and my running life will be back to good.



We did have an Icebreaker wrap up/Heatbreaker meeting yesterday. That went well and plans for the inaugural Heatbreaker Half Marathon are going good. I haven't decided if I am going to run one of the half marathon heats yet or not, I am leaning toward doing one right now or maybe the relay. We'll see.



Since the Pinewood Derby is done and we have been back from Disney for over 4 weeks now, I thought I would share a few pictures from each.

Disney World

After all the races, Melissa and I needed to make sure we had our picture taken with our Medals in front of Cinderella Castle.

The latest Princess, Rapunzel, was a big hit in the Magic Kingdom, and a big line too!

Tinkerbell did make an appearance to the surprise and delight of my girls.

Darth Maul also showed up, but Young Padawan Megan was ready to use her newly acquired Jedi Skills and the Force to make sure the galaxy was safe once again.


The girls didn't always behave on the trip. They had to be locked up for awhile.

While it was very sad to leave and no one wanted to, we did have to say Good-Bye. We will be back someday (Just not for the Marathon).

Pinewood Derby

Katelynn's 'car' was a Radio Flyer Wagon. It may not look too aerodynamic but did end up talking 3rd place out of 18 girl cars.

Melissa made a Perry the Platypus 'car' that she named "Agent P" Perry is from the Disney Channel cartoon "Phineas & Ferb", a funny show I might add. She ended up taking 6th place, coincidentally 1 place ahead of another Perry the Platypus.

Megan created the colorful and stylish "Megan-mobile" It may not look like it has a lot to it, but it screamed down the track to a 2nd place overall place.



Megan with her 2nd place trophy. She was happier than she looks.

Keep on Running!!!

Race Report - Disney World Marathon (Goofy Challenge)

I finished the Goofy Challenge at Disney World a week and a half ago. That is the good news about the race - that I finished, not much else to say good about my race as it was a disaster for me. Not a crash & burn disaster, no, it was an injury disaster. One that makes this the worst marathon (by far) that I ever ran - I take that back - that I ever completed, I didn't run a lot of it. Here is the story:

The race started awfully early in the morning once again. This time I was able to get about 6 hours of sleep before I woke us a little before 3AM. And after another day of walking the parks, I needed some rest. I was a little more awake this time and did not fall asleep on the bus like I did the day before. I got to the starting area a little earlier and after dropping off my bad at the bag check area, I took my time getting to the start area. I had plenty of time to get to my corral and settle in.

The start was pretty cool the same as the day before. It is really dark out still so they start with a lot of fireworks and flame balls over the start line for each corral start. It is really a cool site to see! Instead of going directly to the Magic Kingdom as the Half Marathon does, this race begins with a loop around the Epcot parking lot on the highway, then through the front of Epcot and leaving to go right past the start line again at about mile 4. This race isn't as crowded as the half marathon which is better. Instead of 22,000+ finishers, the full marathon had only 13,467 finishers, still way too many if you ask me, but 9000 less is better.

I start pretty slow as I knew I spent it all the day before in the half. I was just going to run and have fun along the way. I expected a time somewhere near 4:30 and my pace for the first 5 miles was right there. Legs were tired but loosening up and ready to go. By mile 7, my right knee was starting to hurt some. I have had tendinitis in that knee for quite some time so i decided at mile 8 to take some Tylenol supplied by the medical tent and expecting it to go away a mile or so later.

By mile 10, the race enters the Magic Kingdom and we run the same route we did in the half marathon the day before. This time though, it is lighter out and we can see better. My knee still hurts so I decide to take some pictures with some characters in the park. I stopped by Rapunzel and Flynn Rider (aka Eugene Fitzherbert) and also by Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, and Louis (the alligator). Then out of the Magic Kingdom past the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Resort before turning off toward the Animal Kingdom. By the half marathon mark on the course, I knew it was going to be a very long day as the Tylenol was doing absolutely nothing to help my knee. It wasn't the tendinitis flaring up, I can run through that, it was something else this time and getting worse with each step. I went through the half around 2:23, much slower than i really wanted to.

In the Magic Kingdom, I stopped to see Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

When I got to mile 14, I had to stop and walk. I decided to try to see if a half mile walk would maybe help the knee out. I tried running again only to find out a few hundered feet later that it was as painful as before, if not more. By this time, I knew I was in a ton of trouble for the race. It was sunny and warm out and walking was all I could do and DNF was not an option in my mind so walking was what I needed to do.

Near Mile 14 was Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa. Barbossa wanted to meet with me after the race for some Rum. At this point in time, I was all for that!

After walking through the Animal Kingdom and just past mile 18, I stopped at a Medical Tent and had them tape my knee up to see if maybe that would help. It actually did, at least for about a quarter mile. The problem was that the tape was way too tight on my tendons behind my knee so that didn't work. I resigned myself to the fact that if I was going to finish this thing, it would have to be with a ton more of walking, so walking I did.

I met these cemetery guys near mile 19. I felt like this so I thin the picture serves itself well.

Every once in awhile, I would try to run to see if by some miracle, my knee would let me. And each time I did, the same result, pain and deep pain. I felt odd while walking as I was beginning to be with more and more walkers as I stopped at a few more medical tents and more and more runners past me. The biggest issue with my mind was that I knew that I could probably run as fast as 9:00 pace if it weren't for my knee. After already walking 6 miles and 6 more to go, I felt great everywhere else.

At mile 23, the course enters Hollywood Studios and by this time of day, the park is already open so there are lots of people cheering us on. All I could do was walk. This continued part Hollywood Studios, through the Boardwalk/Yacht Club Resorts and into Epcot for the final mile of the race. Epcot was also open. People would say stuff like "You can do it" and "You are doing great". I appreciate all the cheering and I know a lot of the runners near me were doing really good, but I wasn't so it was kind of like a sting each time I heard it. I would just smile and maybe wave a bit and move along.

I made the decision somewhere along the way that I would do everything I could to "run" across the finish line so with 200 meters to go, I started running and was able to run/limp across the finish line and then lean against the fence and clutch my knee. I was able to get the the medical tent one more time and wrap my knee with ice.

Here I am running the last 200 meters of the race. You can see on my face how my knee really feels. I have horrible form and just want to stop.

I am so happy to finally be done. Now where is that ICE?

The funny thing is that as much as my knee hurt to run, it didn't hurt at all to walk. I did officially finish in a time of 5:44:35, only 13 seconds less that 4 hours more than my half marathon the day before. I did get my Mickey Medal and my Goofy Medal. In some aspects, I feel that I didn't deserve it as much as I thought I should and in other aspects, I felt I earned it more than before. I did finish 42.4 miles over the 3 days of races so that is cool.

I didn't feel like hanging around after the race. Besides not knowing anyone, I wasn't in much of a festive mood. So I ended up walking over to the entrance to Epcot with knee wrapped in ice and met my family inside who were already in line for pictures with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. I was in a better mood by this time and made sure I got my picture with Goofy still with my race number on.

This was my second Goofy Challenge that I completed and my third Disney Marathon. there are a lot of aspects to these races that are a lot of fun. The course entertainment is second to none of the previous 37 marathons I have completed. The Medals you receive are also second to none. the 3 I received for the Goof this year are even a ton better than the ones I received 5 years ago when i did my first Goof. But I will not be doing the Disney Marathon or Goofy Challenge again. Too many runners! Too early of a start time and even earlier wake up time to get there. Been there, Done that is my attitude for Disney now. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE DISNEY WORLD, I am a Disney freak for the parks and fun, i just don't want to do the marathons again. I would consider doing the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon or the Disneyland Half Marathon, but not this one (or the Princess Half Marathon either, see an earlier post for my reasons on that one).

About my knee 1 week and a half later. On Monday, I went on a run with Mike to see how it would feel. I made it 2 1/2 miles before the pain started to come back. I finished 3 miles and called it a day. Today I went to see my Doctor and have it check out. As I suspected (and most of you probably already suspected as well) it is my IT Band. Of course rest is the best thing I can do but I have a dilemma. The Icebreaker Marathon is this weekend and I have run everyone of them and REALLY want to run again. I have been given the OK to try to run if I want to and have started taking a lot of Ibuprofen at meals to try to get the inflammation down as much as possible in case I do decide to attempt the Icebreaker. My Doctor also said he would play the "Bad Guy" if I decided not to run and I could blame him. I have not made a decision yet and most likely won't until Saturday. I just plan on watching a few friends run the half marathons and the marathon relays on Saturday and see how I feel after that. The full marathon is Sunday morning and I know if I do run, I most likely can expect a lot of walking again, unless the Ibu does its job.

Either way, after the Icebreaker, I will be taking some time off of running which is going to totally SUCK!!! Perhaps this will be a good thing as I really haven't had a longer break from running in quite a few years. Maybe some recovery is needed in other parts of me and I can come back stronger. I will return to run again!

Keep on Running!!! (I will again soon!)

Race Report - Disney World Half Marathon

Day 2 brought us the Disney World Half Marathon. After the 5K on Friday, we all went to the parks for the day and evening and got in late. When all was said and done, I think I got 4 hours sleep. I woke up a little before 3AM to get ready and was at the bus by 4. Once on the bus, I sat in the back and closed my eyes on the way to the starting area. Traffic was congested so it took awhile to get there.

Once we got there, a lady tapped me on the shoulder and said it was time to get off. The bus was already empty. Apparently I fell asleep on the bus. There was only 40 minutes until the start so I had to hurry to the bag check, get my shoes on, hit the portolets and then try to make it the 1 mile to the start line. I took this time 1 mile to try to warm up with some light jogging where I could. It was so crowded though that I could only go a little ways before I had to walk and go around people in the wet grass. I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't get to my starting corral on time but did find an open lane in the road median and got to my spot with about 5 minutes to spare.

I was in corral B so corral A and the Elites where ahead of me. The first wave set off and about 2 minutes later, our corral was moving to the start line. I am not sure how this happened, most likely since I was on the edge of the corral, but I found myself a head of the group before the line. I decided to take this opportunity and go a bit before the B corral started and I am glad I did. I had about a mile of open roads where there were stragglers from corral A until i met with the crowds from A.

By a mile and a half, the roads were narrow and the crowds were dense. I kept asking myself what these other runners were doing in corral A when they were doing a lot of walking and very slow running already. I found it very difficult to keep a pace that I wanted to run which was 8:00 even for the first 5 miles or so. There were times the road was wide enough to run smooth but all I could do was maintain about an 8:10 pace for the first 5 miles.

It was quite dark out for most of the race. Too dark in many places if you ask me. I almost tripped multiple times on other runners that were hard to see in the darkness. Disney needs to do a much better job in lighting some of the areas.

As I run through Cinderella Castle at about mile 5 or 6, you can see how dark it still is.

After I left the Magic Kingdom and was on the back roads near The Grand Floridian, I wanted to increase my pace to try for the best time I could get. This road was also very dark and crowded so it again was difficult. I was passing people from the very beginning of the race and all the way to the end as well. At mile 10, I was still only at 8:10 pace and knew I really needed to pick it up if I wanted to even break 1:45 even though I really wanted to run near 1:40. I guess 3 days in the parks and a 5K the day before wasn't going to allow me to get a fast time.

I began pushing up the hills and running faster. Mile 11 was a bit uphill but I managed to run a 7:59. I saw a young lady in front of me that caught my eye as she has the same slight leg swing to the side that I had. I struck up a brief conversation with her and found out she was running a good time for her so I told her to keep with me as I pushed ahead. Amy gladly came along as we passed runner after runner. It was beginning to become a ton of fun passing so many runner yet frustrating having to weave in and out to do so.

Mile 12 was a 7:26 even with all the weaving and I was feeling pretty good. I knew I had to run pretty fast if I wanted to break 1:45 so I pushed it even harder hoping Amy was still there. We entered Epcot and made a short run to the beginning of World Showcase before turning around for the fine half mile to the finish line.

With a half mile to go, I kept the pace fast! Still not very light out.

I knew it would be close so I pushed harder. I kept looking down at my time to see if I would still make it. Mile 13 was 6:59 and I saw the finish line and took it as hard as I could. I ended up crossing the finish line in a net time of 1:44:48 and I was happy with that time. This was good for 988th place overall out of 22,421 finishers. Cool, top 1000. Not too bad for 22,000+ runners. Sure I could have run faster if I didn't go to the parks 3 straight days before hand, or if I didn't run the 5K the day before, or if I got a bit more sleep, but that wasn't the goal of the race. A good time was a goal, just not the ultimate goal.

Right as I am crossing the finish line, a high five from Goofy was a must.

So I got my Donald Duck medal and was done with 2 of the 3 races for the weekend. Only the Full Marathon to go the next morning. I knew by running hard in the half that the full would be a long day and I was OK with that. I did not expect a fast time at all for the full. But then again, I didn't expect what would eventually happen in the full either. More on that in the next post.

After the race, I was surprised to not see Donald Duck around for pictures. Pluto took up the slack for Donald Fauntleroy Duck.

After the race, I walked around, congratulated other runners, took some pictures with some characters, did a little dancing in the parking lot with other runners and then headed back to the room to clean up before heading out to Hollywood Studios for another day full of fun.

So what was good and what was bad. The good is that Disney puts on a very good course with a lot of entertainment along the way. The course is just challenging enough for a faster time without too many hills to kill you. The medal is very cool. The best half marathon medal I have ever seen. The bad is that you have to wake up way too early and it is way way way way WAY too crowded of a race. I mean 22,000+ runners for a half marathon!!!! Seriously??? Too many runners!!! Too dark in many spots to run comfortably. And too narrow in many spots for a good runner flow.

My next post will be my report on the marathon, the second and final race of the Goofy Challenge.

In the mean time...

Keep on Running!!!

Being Goofy Again

Yesterday, I signed up for the 2012 Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge (aka The Goof). I know most of you know what the Goofy Challenge is, but for those of you who do not here is what it is. On Saturday, January 7, I will be running the Disney World Half Marathon. Then on Sunday, January 8th, I will be running the Disney World Marathon. Crazy? Maybe. Nutty? Possibly. Goofy? Absolutely!


I ran this race(s) back in 2007 so I am not a Goofy virgin. I have also run quite a few "double races" over the past few years so I am not worried about finishing though I know fast times are just not going to happen.

I saw this picture on the net and had to share it. Why? Because as of right now, the Goofy Challenge is not the only running I plan on doing down at Disney World. Even though my oldest daughter has no idea we are planning to go to Disney World (Don't tell her, it is a secret), I know she will want to run the Disney World 5K that takes place the day before the Half Marathon. I will run this one with her and I know she will have a blast.

So that will make it 42.4 miles at Disney World. Sounds like a good plan to me. Goofy? Absolutely!!!

Keep on Running!!!

The Single Looper

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement for the Kids Marathon. I hope it goes as well as I see it in my mind.

This morning I met up with Mike at his place for a "Single Looper" run. It is a pretty hilly run but we planned on going easy. Mike has had an injury to his knee since the Goof so he didn't know if he would be able to go the entire way but he was going to try. It was a nice crisp 28 F with the sun just coming up so it was great weather. We both wore shorts which I know must make people driving by just shake their heads, but it was warm enough for us and we knew it would get a little warmer as we went along.

We started out easy for the first 6 miles averaging 8:46. I had planted some water for us by a sign so we stopped for a bit and drank up. After we got going again, we decided to pick it up a little. The pace is still really easy for Mike since he can run a marathon in under 3 hours but he wanted to go easy on his knee. The pace dropped for the next few miles to 8:25 pace up and down some hills. At mile 10, Mike tells me his knee is starting to twinge some but to keep it going. We drop that mile to 8:07. Now Mike tells me his knee is hurting and he is going to stop when we get to the stop sign about 1/3 mile from his house. I decide to pick it up and try to finish fast. I also tell Mike I am going to do a lap around his neighborhood to make the run an even 12 miles. I really wanted to make that last mile a sub 8:00 as well. Good News, it was a 7:22 so all was good.

After the run, we talk with his wife and kids while he shows me their picture book from their trip to Disney. It really made me want to go back again. i am sort of a big Disney fan and love going to Disney World. Their book was really cool. It is made by Disney and looks like a scrap book. You pick some pictures they take with the FotoPass, add some of your own pictures, add some notes and they print it up and send it to you in a few days. They even emboss the cover of the book with your names and date of trip. They added some pages to the usual version so the cost was a little higher but really not bad considering what you get without the time invested in scrapping. I know some of you like to do scrap books, and they did one the last time they went and it was really cool, but this is a really cool book for those of you who don't scrap and don't have the time.