Sleepless Knight
Jedi Knight Seeking His Jedi Princess
- Joined
- May 15, 2008
Congratulations on finishing the marathon Sarah! That was a hot day and provided plenty of challenges.
Life After Marathons: A Running/barre3/Coffee/Life Journal
- Thread starter SarahDisney
- Start date
-
- Tags
- rundisney running journal
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
I'm back! Back in NYC, back at work ... back to the daily grind.
Being away from all the various kinds of magic, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the trip and share some quick (or not-so-quick) thoughts.
The Beach Club
I walked up to the Beach Club, gave my name to the CM outside, and he responded "You're staying on our Club Level." That was a shocker. But honestly, it's the best thing that could have happened to me this trip.
The room was perfectly nice, although there was only one chair and had Beth been with me, that would have been a problem. The balcony was awesome - I went out there and drank some tea and read one morning. One race mornings I went out there to check the temperature. Being able to walk to Epcot and walk or boat to DHS was fantastic. I also liked that I was able to walk over to Boardwalk for coffee with @stacy~**. Being able to walk through Epcot post-marathon to keep my legs moving was perfect. Super convenient location.
As for Club Level ... free coffee. I couldn't eat most of the food, but I had some fruit and some ice cream (and some OJ one morning). Lots of tea. Having people to say hi as I'm walking in and out (btw, all of the club level concierges were super wonderful people). Knowing that there's someone whose job it is to help me with stuff is even better. And on Shabbos morning it was a game changer - I went to the lounge for coffee, OJ, and cereal, read my book there while I ate, got myself some water to make tea (I don't use tea bags on Shabbos but I had pre-made tea that I mixed with hot water ... weird religious stuff), and then had someone let me back into my room. Previous years I just stayed in my room on Shabbos. I would absolutely stay club level again for Shabbos. Knowing that there was someone there if I needed something gave me a huge amount of peace of mind.
The Races
The Expo: The setup was not bad. I didn't find anything to be too crowded. Although I really was not in the mood to browse, and this is when I started missing Beth really badly. So there's that. Also, I almost forgot about the official merchandise, and only remembered when I was about to leave WWOS and saw people going into a building. So maybe that setup wasn't great. But in the building everything was good. I picked up my pre-ordered merch (which I had also forgotten about) and bought a wine glass (which I knew I was gonna get) and a keychain (which I've never seen them have before, and I collect keychains, so yay!). I looked at the jackets and wanted to get one, but I just wasn't impressed by them. After Thursday's cold 5K, I almost went back to get the puffy vest for Friday, but decided not to.
The Fit2Run booth was my favorite exhibitor, because they had the Mocha Clif Shot Gels, which I haven't been able to buy up here in like a year. So I bought a few. I also bought a vanilla, which I can only occasionally get here, and used that for the marathon (on Coach's advice I didn't use the mocha for the race, because they have less caffeine than the chocolate cherry I was training with and had brought with me, but I trained using the vanilla, so I was fine using that for the race).
5K: I was not prepared for the character lines to be what they were. I waited 7-8 minutes for the first character, at 0.7ish miles. This was about 7-8 minutes after I started. I was in the third wave of corral A. So 15 minutes into the race, the line was that long. Kinda crazy. I stopped for every character, and by the end I could barely run because I was entirely behind walkers. That said ... I still love this race, and next time I'd go in with more realistic expectations and I think I'd be all good. I was coughing for some of the race, but really, it wasn't too bad. I had cough drops and I used them.
10K: I'm a little torn on this one. I love the second half of the course, but I hate the first half of the course. I was also fully sick by this one, so I felt like absolute garbage as I was running down World Drive (or whatever that highway was). Didn't help that I had woken up sneezing at 12:45am, started panicking when I realized I didn't have my water bottle for the marathon (I run with my regular every day water bottle, so I didn't think to pack it separately because I figured I'd bring it for the parks, but I ended up bringing a smaller water bottle for the parks and forgot that I needed the big one for the race), and had not been able to fall back asleep, so I was basically running on 3 hours of sleep. But once we got into Epcot, I felt so much better. I didn't stop for all the characters in this one, only a few, and the only characters I regret skipping were Chip 'n' Dale, who I love, but their line was stupid long and I was already pissed at an annoying Wreck It Ralph line (but that one was a must-do). But this was really good because it taught me that I can skip characters and be okay with that (which is something I had never done before, so I was nervous). Running this and skipping a few stops is what really gave me the confidence to believe that I would finish the marathon.
Marathon: Honestly, the distance wasn't a problem for me. I skipped the first few character stops (although I probably should have stopped for Duck Tales, but the line was long and I didn't think I'd have the patience for that long of a line), and finally stopped for Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps (although I ended up getting a picture with only my girl Judy because honestly, she's more important and it let me skip the line of people waiting for Nick to come back). Loved running through MK. Kept stopping for characters and never regretted it. Highways were brutal, between the heat and the lack of things keeping me interested (although I kept reminding myself - running through the parks is easy. This is the part I trained for). Rode Expedition Everest, which wasn't even a thought until shortly before race day (although it is something Beth and I discussed in our Saturday night strategy call). At one point I saw pom poms, so I sprinted up to say hi to @jennamfeo ... and discovered that @Bree was with her, so I got to see two friends! I saw them again later in the race too. But didn't stick with them for long either time. My original ambitious goal was 2 characters per hour (for a total of 14 in 7 hours), and I think I actually did that - 13 characters in ~6.5 hours, plus castle and giant golf ball picture. So ... I hit my goal! A few weeks ago that seemed almost impossible. Kinda impressed that I did it. Go me! Overall, it was a fun experience, but there just wasn't enough to keep me entertained on the highways, so I'm not interested in doing it again.
The Parks
I wanted to see how I did the parks when left to my own devices. Turns out ... I do things exactly the same as I do with Beth. I tried some new things (like Jungle Cruise ... which was even stupider than I thought it would be), but mostly did the same things we usually do and used the same FP+ strategy ("tap then app" - as soon as you use one FP+, open the app to get a new one). It was definitely hard to be on the same trip I usually take with Beth just without her.
Once I got sick on Thursday, I ended up not doing the parks as much as planned, and I was fine with that, honestly. It kinda forced me to not overdo it and made it a little easier.
Although ... other guests and CMs pissed me off a little with the strange looks and asking "oh, where are your friends/family?" That's kind of an offensive question. What if I didn't have any family? I certainly don't have any friends, so I couldn't have travelled with friends. If you want to know why someone is solo, there are less hurtful ways to ask. For example, "Oh, what made you decide to come solo?" works better ... that way the person can either explain where their family/friends are or just say that they prefer traveling solo. You're not hurting anyone by implying that something's wrong if they're on their own.
(I found Universal to be a little better at the solo, just because most things have single rider lines, so team members are expecting solo riders)
Oh, and possibly unpopular opinion: I was not wowed by nighttime Slinky Dog Dash. I love that ride, but I didn't particularly find nighttime to be better than daytime.
The People
I got to meet some awesome people this trip! I'm not even going to try to list everyone, because I know I'll forget people, but it really was nice to put faces to some names and to get a chance to chat in-person with people with whom I normally only communicate online.
In terms of meetups ... originally I wasn't planning to go to any of the meetups. But after having some good conversations with people earlier in the trip, and since I wasn't at the parks anyway, I decided to make an appearance at Hurricane Hannah's. It went badly. I was overwhelmed, I didn't know who to talk to, I was too nervous to even go to the bar to get a drink, and while I ended up talking to a few awesome people, I didn't talk to a lot of people that I wanted to talk to (including @ZellyB, @run.minnie.miles, and @jennamfeo), and I just overall felt super uncomfortable.
DATW was much better. I think because I did kinda come and go, but also because I knew more people by that point. Huge thanks to @Keels for giving me a medal even though I wasn't formally participating and only had two drinks (and of course for organizing both of the big weekend meetups).
One other thing about people. When I was first planning this trip, I was invited to join a group of DISers who were traveling solo or adults-only for some group meals. My original plan was to join some of those meals, and I was part of a big group conversation about it. But as I was going through some stuff, I found myself arguing with everyone about stupid stuff and getting annoyed at other people for no good reason, so I left the conversation and didn't end up joining them for meals. That may or may not have been the right decision for this trip, but for the future, I think I would join meals if I was invited to do so again. Yes, people will always say or do things that bother me. Sometimes I'll even pick fights with people over the things they say or do. But at the end of the day, this is a group of people who I enjoy talking to and would probably enjoy sharing a meal with. I just have to learn to put the things that upset me aside and focus on the reasons why I enjoy hanging out with awesome internet friends.
Universal
I really liked Universal. The Harry Potter stuff was amazing, and so were some of the other things in the park. I think Incredible Hulk Coaster was my favorite non-HP attraction. I did Rip Ride Rockit and I liked it (I chose "Rollin'" by Limp Bizkit as my song, but I also didn't go through all the choices), but I had to close my eyes at the beginning when it went straight up. That part was too much for me.
And of course, the Harry Potter stuff was amazing. I loved Forbidden Journey and did it like 6-7 times. I also liked Escape from Gringotts. I thought some of the stores were cute, but I wish they had more non-shopping experiences. I bought an interactive wand, but didn't do much with it because I just wasn't feeling it. Oh, and I loved the "wand experience" - I did it like 4 times, mostly hoping that I'd get chosen to have a wand choose me (I didn't
), but also because I thought it was super cute.
Also ... I didn't think that two partial days was enough. Next time I'd either do one of them as a full day or go for three days. There really is a lot to do, especially if you're gonna re-ride things.
I also really liked that so many things had single rider lines - made my wait times so much shorter and allowed me to get a lot done. Plus, less of the "solo person" stigma, which was nice.
One negative thing. I had heard that Universal Team Members are great and some people think they're friendlier and more helpful than Disney CMs. I did not find that to be the case at all. It seemed like they mostly ignored me in favor of talking to their fellow TMs. They also didn't seem to have enough of them in places where they were needed, like in ride queues and the locker area. The staff at the hotel was also not great. But whatever.
What's Next
As it currently stands, the next race on my calendar is the United Airlines NYC Half on March 17th. That will be my next "A" race, but I may just take it easy anyway. PRs are nice, but I think just taking races easy is more fun for me. I have a radical training idea, so I gotta talk to Coach about it. Assuming I remember what it is by the time I get around to talking to Billy.
I'm signed up for a challenge where I have to run 13.1 miles at least once per month. Some of those will be races, but some may be training runs. I'm looking at running a half on February 24th ... most likely a local one (actually the same race that was my first half back in 2017), but Princess is also a very remote possibility if all of the cards happen to fall into place. That would actually be great because it gives me the one course I didn't do this weekend (although ... lots more highways). I'm certainly not counting on doing Princess, though.
Next marathon will probably be NYC in November (although I haven't claimed my guaranteed entry yet). That was originally going to be the race where I went for time, but honestly, I don't know that I want to. We'll see when it gets closer.
Pictures from everything may or may not come later. Depends on how crazy busy this weekend is with laundry and whatnot.
Being away from all the various kinds of magic, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the trip and share some quick (or not-so-quick) thoughts.
The Beach Club
I walked up to the Beach Club, gave my name to the CM outside, and he responded "You're staying on our Club Level." That was a shocker. But honestly, it's the best thing that could have happened to me this trip.
The room was perfectly nice, although there was only one chair and had Beth been with me, that would have been a problem. The balcony was awesome - I went out there and drank some tea and read one morning. One race mornings I went out there to check the temperature. Being able to walk to Epcot and walk or boat to DHS was fantastic. I also liked that I was able to walk over to Boardwalk for coffee with @stacy~**. Being able to walk through Epcot post-marathon to keep my legs moving was perfect. Super convenient location.
As for Club Level ... free coffee. I couldn't eat most of the food, but I had some fruit and some ice cream (and some OJ one morning). Lots of tea. Having people to say hi as I'm walking in and out (btw, all of the club level concierges were super wonderful people). Knowing that there's someone whose job it is to help me with stuff is even better. And on Shabbos morning it was a game changer - I went to the lounge for coffee, OJ, and cereal, read my book there while I ate, got myself some water to make tea (I don't use tea bags on Shabbos but I had pre-made tea that I mixed with hot water ... weird religious stuff), and then had someone let me back into my room. Previous years I just stayed in my room on Shabbos. I would absolutely stay club level again for Shabbos. Knowing that there was someone there if I needed something gave me a huge amount of peace of mind.
The Races
The Expo: The setup was not bad. I didn't find anything to be too crowded. Although I really was not in the mood to browse, and this is when I started missing Beth really badly. So there's that. Also, I almost forgot about the official merchandise, and only remembered when I was about to leave WWOS and saw people going into a building. So maybe that setup wasn't great. But in the building everything was good. I picked up my pre-ordered merch (which I had also forgotten about) and bought a wine glass (which I knew I was gonna get) and a keychain (which I've never seen them have before, and I collect keychains, so yay!). I looked at the jackets and wanted to get one, but I just wasn't impressed by them. After Thursday's cold 5K, I almost went back to get the puffy vest for Friday, but decided not to.
The Fit2Run booth was my favorite exhibitor, because they had the Mocha Clif Shot Gels, which I haven't been able to buy up here in like a year. So I bought a few. I also bought a vanilla, which I can only occasionally get here, and used that for the marathon (on Coach's advice I didn't use the mocha for the race, because they have less caffeine than the chocolate cherry I was training with and had brought with me, but I trained using the vanilla, so I was fine using that for the race).
5K: I was not prepared for the character lines to be what they were. I waited 7-8 minutes for the first character, at 0.7ish miles. This was about 7-8 minutes after I started. I was in the third wave of corral A. So 15 minutes into the race, the line was that long. Kinda crazy. I stopped for every character, and by the end I could barely run because I was entirely behind walkers. That said ... I still love this race, and next time I'd go in with more realistic expectations and I think I'd be all good. I was coughing for some of the race, but really, it wasn't too bad. I had cough drops and I used them.
10K: I'm a little torn on this one. I love the second half of the course, but I hate the first half of the course. I was also fully sick by this one, so I felt like absolute garbage as I was running down World Drive (or whatever that highway was). Didn't help that I had woken up sneezing at 12:45am, started panicking when I realized I didn't have my water bottle for the marathon (I run with my regular every day water bottle, so I didn't think to pack it separately because I figured I'd bring it for the parks, but I ended up bringing a smaller water bottle for the parks and forgot that I needed the big one for the race), and had not been able to fall back asleep, so I was basically running on 3 hours of sleep. But once we got into Epcot, I felt so much better. I didn't stop for all the characters in this one, only a few, and the only characters I regret skipping were Chip 'n' Dale, who I love, but their line was stupid long and I was already pissed at an annoying Wreck It Ralph line (but that one was a must-do). But this was really good because it taught me that I can skip characters and be okay with that (which is something I had never done before, so I was nervous). Running this and skipping a few stops is what really gave me the confidence to believe that I would finish the marathon.
Marathon: Honestly, the distance wasn't a problem for me. I skipped the first few character stops (although I probably should have stopped for Duck Tales, but the line was long and I didn't think I'd have the patience for that long of a line), and finally stopped for Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps (although I ended up getting a picture with only my girl Judy because honestly, she's more important and it let me skip the line of people waiting for Nick to come back). Loved running through MK. Kept stopping for characters and never regretted it. Highways were brutal, between the heat and the lack of things keeping me interested (although I kept reminding myself - running through the parks is easy. This is the part I trained for). Rode Expedition Everest, which wasn't even a thought until shortly before race day (although it is something Beth and I discussed in our Saturday night strategy call). At one point I saw pom poms, so I sprinted up to say hi to @jennamfeo ... and discovered that @Bree was with her, so I got to see two friends! I saw them again later in the race too. But didn't stick with them for long either time. My original ambitious goal was 2 characters per hour (for a total of 14 in 7 hours), and I think I actually did that - 13 characters in ~6.5 hours, plus castle and giant golf ball picture. So ... I hit my goal! A few weeks ago that seemed almost impossible. Kinda impressed that I did it. Go me! Overall, it was a fun experience, but there just wasn't enough to keep me entertained on the highways, so I'm not interested in doing it again.
The Parks
I wanted to see how I did the parks when left to my own devices. Turns out ... I do things exactly the same as I do with Beth. I tried some new things (like Jungle Cruise ... which was even stupider than I thought it would be), but mostly did the same things we usually do and used the same FP+ strategy ("tap then app" - as soon as you use one FP+, open the app to get a new one). It was definitely hard to be on the same trip I usually take with Beth just without her.
Once I got sick on Thursday, I ended up not doing the parks as much as planned, and I was fine with that, honestly. It kinda forced me to not overdo it and made it a little easier.
Although ... other guests and CMs pissed me off a little with the strange looks and asking "oh, where are your friends/family?" That's kind of an offensive question. What if I didn't have any family? I certainly don't have any friends, so I couldn't have travelled with friends. If you want to know why someone is solo, there are less hurtful ways to ask. For example, "Oh, what made you decide to come solo?" works better ... that way the person can either explain where their family/friends are or just say that they prefer traveling solo. You're not hurting anyone by implying that something's wrong if they're on their own.
(I found Universal to be a little better at the solo, just because most things have single rider lines, so team members are expecting solo riders)
Oh, and possibly unpopular opinion: I was not wowed by nighttime Slinky Dog Dash. I love that ride, but I didn't particularly find nighttime to be better than daytime.
The People
I got to meet some awesome people this trip! I'm not even going to try to list everyone, because I know I'll forget people, but it really was nice to put faces to some names and to get a chance to chat in-person with people with whom I normally only communicate online.
In terms of meetups ... originally I wasn't planning to go to any of the meetups. But after having some good conversations with people earlier in the trip, and since I wasn't at the parks anyway, I decided to make an appearance at Hurricane Hannah's. It went badly. I was overwhelmed, I didn't know who to talk to, I was too nervous to even go to the bar to get a drink, and while I ended up talking to a few awesome people, I didn't talk to a lot of people that I wanted to talk to (including @ZellyB, @run.minnie.miles, and @jennamfeo), and I just overall felt super uncomfortable.
DATW was much better. I think because I did kinda come and go, but also because I knew more people by that point. Huge thanks to @Keels for giving me a medal even though I wasn't formally participating and only had two drinks (and of course for organizing both of the big weekend meetups).
One other thing about people. When I was first planning this trip, I was invited to join a group of DISers who were traveling solo or adults-only for some group meals. My original plan was to join some of those meals, and I was part of a big group conversation about it. But as I was going through some stuff, I found myself arguing with everyone about stupid stuff and getting annoyed at other people for no good reason, so I left the conversation and didn't end up joining them for meals. That may or may not have been the right decision for this trip, but for the future, I think I would join meals if I was invited to do so again. Yes, people will always say or do things that bother me. Sometimes I'll even pick fights with people over the things they say or do. But at the end of the day, this is a group of people who I enjoy talking to and would probably enjoy sharing a meal with. I just have to learn to put the things that upset me aside and focus on the reasons why I enjoy hanging out with awesome internet friends.
Universal
I really liked Universal. The Harry Potter stuff was amazing, and so were some of the other things in the park. I think Incredible Hulk Coaster was my favorite non-HP attraction. I did Rip Ride Rockit and I liked it (I chose "Rollin'" by Limp Bizkit as my song, but I also didn't go through all the choices), but I had to close my eyes at the beginning when it went straight up. That part was too much for me.
And of course, the Harry Potter stuff was amazing. I loved Forbidden Journey and did it like 6-7 times. I also liked Escape from Gringotts. I thought some of the stores were cute, but I wish they had more non-shopping experiences. I bought an interactive wand, but didn't do much with it because I just wasn't feeling it. Oh, and I loved the "wand experience" - I did it like 4 times, mostly hoping that I'd get chosen to have a wand choose me (I didn't
), but also because I thought it was super cute.Also ... I didn't think that two partial days was enough. Next time I'd either do one of them as a full day or go for three days. There really is a lot to do, especially if you're gonna re-ride things.
I also really liked that so many things had single rider lines - made my wait times so much shorter and allowed me to get a lot done. Plus, less of the "solo person" stigma, which was nice.
One negative thing. I had heard that Universal Team Members are great and some people think they're friendlier and more helpful than Disney CMs. I did not find that to be the case at all. It seemed like they mostly ignored me in favor of talking to their fellow TMs. They also didn't seem to have enough of them in places where they were needed, like in ride queues and the locker area. The staff at the hotel was also not great. But whatever.
What's Next
As it currently stands, the next race on my calendar is the United Airlines NYC Half on March 17th. That will be my next "A" race, but I may just take it easy anyway. PRs are nice, but I think just taking races easy is more fun for me. I have a radical training idea, so I gotta talk to Coach about it. Assuming I remember what it is by the time I get around to talking to Billy.
I'm signed up for a challenge where I have to run 13.1 miles at least once per month. Some of those will be races, but some may be training runs. I'm looking at running a half on February 24th ... most likely a local one (actually the same race that was my first half back in 2017), but Princess is also a very remote possibility if all of the cards happen to fall into place. That would actually be great because it gives me the one course I didn't do this weekend (although ... lots more highways
). I'm certainly not counting on doing Princess, though.Next marathon will probably be NYC in November (although I haven't claimed my guaranteed entry yet). That was originally going to be the race where I went for time, but honestly, I don't know that I want to. We'll see when it gets closer.
Pictures from everything may or may not come later. Depends on how crazy busy this weekend is with laundry and whatnot.
ZellyB
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2010
Great write-up. I'm sorry that the HH meetup felt so awkward for you, but I was so happy that you came to DATW anyway and we had the chance to visit some then. Sorry I didn't get up to come visit with you (and others) at HH. I felt a little awkward too at times, but that's normal when meeting people from your computer. 
It gets easier each time and there really are some amazing people on this board.
It sounds like all your races went really well and awesome that you got so many character shots. And, how about that upgrade to club level? WOW!! I'm so glad it proved helpful to you during Shabbos too.
I hope you get the opportunity to post some pictures!
It gets easier each time and there really are some amazing people on this board.It sounds like all your races went really well and awesome that you got so many character shots. And, how about that upgrade to club level? WOW!! I'm so glad it proved helpful to you during Shabbos too.
I hope you get the opportunity to post some pictures!
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run.minnie.miles
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2016
So cool that you got to stay at club level! Sounds like a great room situation.
I meant to talk to you more at the meet-up, but then you disappeared! Bummer!
HP is seriously the coolest- I love Disney the most, but HP world is wonderful!
I meant to talk to you more at the meet-up, but then you disappeared! Bummer!
HP is seriously the coolest- I love Disney the most, but HP world is wonderful!
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Solid recap all around. Looks like you had pretty much an awesome experience. And anytime someone says, "Marathon: Honestly, the distance wasn't a problem for me." is a true victory in my book. Well done!
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
Great write-up. I'm sorry that the HH meetup felt so awkward for you, but I was so happy that you came to DATW anyway and we had the chance to visit some then. Sorry I didn't get up to come visit with you (and others) at HH. I felt a little awkward too at times, but that's normal when meeting people from your computer.
Thanks! It was definitely more awkward than I expected ... but DATW was easier, and hopefully the next one will be even easier.
I was definitely happy with how the races went. And yeah, that upgrade ... I'm basically spoiled and don't know that I can ever stay in a regular hotel again.
Hopefully I will!
Yep, the room situation was perfect!
I'm really sad that I didn't get a chance to talk to you, but I was just super uncomfortable. You'll just have to apply for the lottery for the NYC marathon and hopefully you'll get in and we can chat then!
Yes! I loved Wizarding World so much!!
Thank you! And thanks so much for saying hi - it was really great to meet you! Congrats on Goofy!
Thanks! It was nice seeing you too, Panda! Congrats on yet another Dopey.
Thanks!
Well, that's what good coaching gets you
Thanks! It was great seeing you guys too - you looked great! And it was nice chatting with you on Friday, too.
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
Oh, and ...
Officially claimed my guaranteed entry for NYC. Has everyone put in for the lottery yet??
Officially claimed my guaranteed entry for NYC. Has everyone put in for the lottery yet??
michigandergirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
Yay!!! I was hoping you were going to do it! I'm doing Chicago this year, so I didn't enter the lottery for NY, but I will next year.
Jules76126
Practically Perfect in Every Way
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2006
Congrats on the marathon and your entry in NYC! So exciting.
MissLiss279
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2015
My name’s in the lottery. We’ll see what happens...
run.minnie.miles
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2016
So cool! I am glad your first marathon didn’t deter you from running a 2nd 
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
Yay! I hope you get in! It would be great to see you again!
They're a month apart, you can do both!
Thank you!
My name’s in the lottery. We’ll see what happens...
Yes! I hope you get in!
So cool! I am glad your first marathon didn’t deter you from running a 2nd
I was pretty sure pretty early on that there would be another marathon. Just not at Disney.
So when are you planning to run your next marathon??
michigandergirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
I could, but really it's more about the hit on my bank account and vacation days...
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
I could, but really it's more about the hit on my bank account and vacation days...
Understandable. That's kinda what's keeping me away from more destination races too. It would be really awesome if destination races were free (with hotel and airfare included) and didn't count against your vacation days.
That's not happening any time soon, though.
Sleepless Knight
Jedi Knight Seeking His Jedi Princess
- Joined
- May 15, 2008
The best thing to happen to me for characters at runDisney races was almost being swept, but still having time to spare at the 2017 Dark Side 10K. That liberated me to stop for characters if I wanted to even if the line was long. Such as Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers during the 10K. I didn't have a lot of character stops planned so that was an easy decision for me, but knowing how the sweep works meant I didn't fear that line. And it was long.
Some CMs handle the solo guests better than others. I've gotten some strange looks, but I've also had people respond with "oh a solo day. Those are the best." And speaking solely for myself, it doesn't bother one iota if a CM refers to me as Han Solo when I'm by myself even if I'm not currently wearing any Star Wars apparel so there may not be evidence that I'm a Star Wars fan.
So exciting!
I may yet run another marathon. My challenge is that I need a slower pace such as the one offered by runDisney since I'm not very fast. I'd love to run the WDW Marathon again, but that may not happen again. But if it doesn't and I only get to run one marathon in my life, I got to run one. And I finished it. I found that I enjoyed the distance more than I anticipated. Although I think huge credit there goes to @DopeyBadger for creating a plan that kept me feeling fresh and not burned out when race day hit.
SarahDisney
So ... Yeah
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2014
I think knowing how the sweep works can be super helpful. I saw the balloon ladies going into ESPN when I was coming out during the marathon, and seeing them there made me feel a lot more confident because I knew that I had a decent buffer. I can definitely understand where being close to being swept can help give you confidence in the future to stop because you know when you're in danger.
Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers are the only characters I regret skipping. I didn't see Chip n Dale at all this trip. I kinda failed at life.
Man, I would have loved it if people called me Han Solo! He's my favorite! (Well, him and Chewie)
It's definitely hard to find the marathons that are slow pace friendly, but they're out there. I hope you find another one that works for you. But even if you don't, you're officially a marathon finisher, and that's something that nobody can ever take away from you.
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Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
