Walt Disney World's Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Part 1

I am breaking this into a few parts since it was a crazy weekend.

Many months ago I registered for Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. For those not familiar with RunDisney, it is a challenge where you run the half marathon on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday. 39.3 miles over 2 days. It used to be the only challenge for the weekend until they introduced the Dopey Challenge a few years ago that includes running the 5K, 10K, half and marathon over 4 days. 48.6 miles for those dopey people. I didn't think it would be that bad until I started my back to back long runs in November. It took a bigger toll on my body than I realized. My legs were already sore after coming off MCM training. Then I throw in back to back long runs, and my legs were pissed. I have been suffering from shin splints since July, and then I developed some odd foot pain that I can't diagnose. I was completing my runs, but much slower than I anticipated. I knew I would finish the challenge, but it was probably going to be my slowest half marathon and marathon to date. After I finished MCM I said that Goofy would be my last marathon so I was going into it looking to have fun. My plan was to use run/walk intervals to save my legs for the marathon. During the half I was going to use a :60/:60 ratio and take all the pictures I could. For the marathon I planned to use 2/:30 because I didn't want to be out there forever. I had my plan in place, and now it was time to use it.

We went down Thursday afternoon so we could hit the expo and pick up all our stuff. The girls were running the kids' races Friday and we didn't want to be rushed in the morning. My brother and niece were flying in from Kansas City to vacation with us and watch the girls while we ran. Their flight was supposed to arrive at 11pm, but thanks to delays did not arrive until 3am. It was a short night of sleep for them. Thankfully they were troopers the next day, and we didn't have to get up too early Friday morning. Our plan was to hit the kids' races and then head to Hollywood Studios for a bit. E and I wanted to get to bed early Friday night since we would be waking up at 3am Saturday morning for the race. Plus everyone was tired from the delayed flight fiasco. The girls had awesome races. Meeghan ran the 200 meter race, and Hannah ran the 1 mile.

 Yes, they had matching outfits except for the skirts. I wish I looked as good as them when I run.

After our afternoon at Hollywood Studios, we went back to the condo to enjoy some pizza and prepare to run 13.1 miles the next morning. As we would find out just an hour after eating dinner, our plans would change dramatically.

To be continued...