Goofy Challenge 6-7 January 2007
Executive summary:
Ran the half on Saturday and finished in 1:49 and ran the marathon on Sunday in 3:56. Weather was hot and humid both days and while it did influence my times it was not as bad as I anticipated. For some reason none of my times showed up and am trying to get a hold of the race folks to get it straightened out so not happy about that. Registered for Goofy Challenge 2008 on Monday.
Long version:
I arrived in Orlando on Thursday night and grabbed some chow and just enjoyed being at Disney World and looking forward to the race weekend. On Friday morning I headed over to the expo to get my packet and see what they had for sale. Either the selection for the Goofy Challenge was slim to begin with or by the time I arrived the good stuff had been sold, either way I walked out of the expo not spending a single penny. I would have like to get a hat but was not really happy with the ones available. Spent the rest of the day at Animal Kingdom riding Everest and drinking water and enjoying a beautiful day in the parks. Had dinner at Whispering Canyons and then upstairs to bed in preparation for an early wake up call.
On Saturday I woke up at 2:15, gathered up my gear and headed out to the bus. Just sitting on the bench and waiting I was warm so I knew the weather would play a role in my finish time. Fortunately I would finish about the time the sun was breaking over the horizon so the race was on to beat the sun. The bus arrived promptly at 3:00 and we were off to EPCOT. After checking my gear to change into after the race I hung out in the staging area and watched the people flow in. The music and bands were not bad but I seem to remember that in the past at least one time they had the soldiers from toy story walking around and providing motivation did not see them this time. I brought a towel with me so I laid down and kept off my feet and kept drinking fluids. Right as they made the announcement to start moving toward the start line I ate my yogurt and drank my . Thanks to whomever it was on the Disney deads site a few years ago who mentioned that was a good pre-race drink full of carbs. I have made that part of my routine ever since. While I was standing in the A1 corral I thought I spotted Tom Laux and Dave Lawrence talking to each other but I was not sure and soon after the gun went off so I never got a chance to say hello.
I did like the new start and felt it was a little less congested. My pace was ok but was slower right from the start and I knew I would not be able to push it much beyond where I was. So I settled in and started knocking out a slow but steady 8:20 pace. A couple things I did notice which were missing from last year’s race were, No exchange folks standing out in front of their respective countries in EPCOT, the Disney Cruise Line people set up in the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom, and all the wedding Chapel employees out in front of the chapel with their Mickey bride and groom hats. I also remember from last year’s half there are many more on/off ramps in the short 13.1 mile distance. I finished with a respectable but slow time of 1:49.
After gathering up my Donald Medal and mylar blanket I made my way over to the Goofy tent and exchanged my orange bracelet for my blue one. I gathered up my post race gear from the tent, changed and headed over to the buses to take me back to the hotel. I don’t know how it is as it gets later in the race but as soon as I reached the Wilderness Lodge bus an boarded they left, and I was the only one on board. I guess they don’t waste time. The traffic was pretty brutal but my driver knew a back route to the hotel and had me home in no time.
I linked up with the family and had a quick breakfast and shower then off to the parks. Today was Magic Kingdom. I did notice by the afternoon my quads were starting to ache a little. I do remember this same thing happening last year after the ½. I do think this is from all the on/off ramps we run during the race. Because I am from the Virginia Beach area hills are foreign to me I figure I am paying for my lack of hill work. After a full day of walking through the Magic Kingdom it was time to head over to the Boardwalk and grab some pasta at Spoodles. As always it was a great meal and more than hit the spot. Now it was time to hit the hay in preparation for another early wake up.
Sunday morning arrives and it is Groundhog Day all over again. Up early catch the bus, store the post race gear and wait for the start. I am not sure but the morning temp did not feel quite as bad as Saturday, either that or the humidity was less, or maybe I was just dreaming. My quads were still tight and a little sore so I concentrated on stretching them as best I could while waiting in the corral.
I was once again in the A corral so my chip time and gun time were about 10-15 seconds apart. I started out with a conservative pace for the first three miles trying to stay at around a 9:10 pace. For the second year in a row I saw the mile one marker but missed miles two and three. Did anyone else see them or am I just blind? By mile four I was cruising at right around 9:00 minutes and felt comfortable, even my quads were starting to loosen up.
Around mile six I had picked up a fellow runner who was looking for someone to talk to and keep her distracted. We talked for about two miles and without knowing it I had picked up the pace and was now running around 8:30. When I realized this I decided to let her go and slowed my pace a little not wanting to have problems later in the race. Even though this is my sixth Disney marathon I never tire of running through the Magic Kingdom and feeding off the adrenaline of the spectators and the aura of the park. This is definitely in stark contrast to exiting through Frontierland and into what I call the quiet stretch up until the Grand Floridian. The transition comes quick and I did notice some of the people around me were feeling the let down and starting to walk. I hit the ½ marathon point at 1:56 and felt pretty good considering the heat and humidity. For some reason I did not dread the Bear Country Road stretch of the race and just embraced it knowing the Animal Kingdom was just ahead.
Once we left the Animal Kingdom grounds I really started to feel the heat and just had to gut it out through the 21 mile mark. As we made the turn around I knew the last over pass was coming near MGM and dreaded that because my quads let me know they were not happy. I survived the stretch and felt re-energized as we entered MGM. I do like running through the park and enjoyed the portion where we ran through the tunnel of the sew shop and props, a good stretch which got us out of the sun even if for a few minutes.
After exiting MGM I could feel the end and headed toward the Boardwalk. I really enjoy all the spectator support along this portion of the route and it really helped to pull me along. Once I entered EPCOT I just relaxed looking at my watch knowing my goal of a 3:45 was gone but also knowing I would break 4 hours. I hit the finish line at 3:56 and considering the weather was content with my result. I collected my Mickey Medal and headed to the Goofy tent and got the medal I really have come to like and then linked up with the family. This time I took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom and then boat to the Wilderness Lodge, and that seemed to be very quick and a little less hassle than the bus.
On Monday I noticed neither my ½ or full times showed up in the results so I wrote Disney to see what I can do to rectify this but have yet to hear from them. I really want to get this resolved because right now I feel like I have not done the race and wont feel complete until my results are posted.
Thanks for reading and looking forward to Goofy 2008.
