Venture outside your comfort zone: the rewards are worth it! KSellers88’s Journal (Comments Welcome)

[KSellers88]

You absolutely did the right thing!

Thank you! Everyone has said that, which makes me feel better about my decision.

 

[KSellers88]

2017 Recap:
Last year was my strongest running year yet, after about two years of running. My goal was 1,500 miles and with the help of @DopeyBadger's plan I hit that goal and more. I am super excited to see what 2018 in store!

Stats:
1,822 Miles
9:41 Average Pace
156 Average Heart Rate


Races:
One Full Marathon
Nine 5Ks
One Five Miler
One Spartan Race
One Tough Mudder
One Run Across Georgia (260 miles with a team of 12 runners)



PRs:
5K – 23:04
Full Marathon – 4:27:48

 

[KSellers88]

I think I can, I think I can…
Three more runs of marathon training left and I am definitely ready for the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve technically been “marathon training” since June, and I am ready for a break. So here we go with this week’s update.

What Actually Happened?
12/28: I already posted the update for this day. Creepers cut my 10 mile tempo down to a 3.76 mile tempo.

12/29: Due to the creepers, I took Friday’s run to the treadmill. 6 miles @ 10:02 average pace.

12/30: First run ever in North Carolina! It’s a lot hillier there than Alabama, and COLDER. 6 miles @ 9:20 average pace.

12/31: Another cold North Carolina run! 6 miles @ 10:05 average pace.

1/1: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! After a 7 hour car ride home, I hit the treadmill for this run…6 miles @ 10:13 average pace.

1/2: Soooo the weather has been what I consider arctic tundra temperatures around here since Sunday, with lows in the teens and highs in the upper 30s. I know that is not cold for most of you, but for this Southern girl that is a big fat NOPE. 7 miles on the treadmill @ 9:28 average pace.

Upcoming schedule:
Thursday, 1/4/2018: 4 miles @ EA (10:12)
Friday, 1/5/2018: 3 miles @ EA (10:12)
Saturday, 1/6/2018: 2 miles @ EB (9:32) & Strides
Sunday, 1/7/2017: 26.2 magical miles at the WDW MARATHON!

We leave Friday for Disney and return on Monday. I am so excited and hope the weather cooperates! Good luck to everyone running Dopey and all the other races this weekend! I cannot wait to meet some of you

 

[xjillianpaige]

Joining in on your journal! Good luck at your race this weekend!

 

[KSellers88]

Joining in on your journal! Good luck at your race this weekend!

Thanks for joining in and for the well wishes!

 

[roxymama]

Happy travel day and best of luck on Sunday!!! Awesome 2017 and super inspiring. Your 5k and marathon PRs are #goals

 

[KSellers88]

Happy travel day and best of luck on Sunday!!! Awesome 2017 and super inspiring. Your 5k and marathon PRs are #goals

Thank you! Patiently (yeah, right) waiting on my mom to get off work! LOL.

I have no doubt you can run those same times, probably even faster! You're crushing your recent training plans and races!

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm so glad I found this journal. I love your 2018 goals (one half a month is ambitious but awesome) and your overall goals!

I can't wait to hear how the marathon went! I saw your post-race picture on Instagram, and you certainly look happy! (Also ... I love those Mickey ears. So jealous that they gave those out to the runners!)

 

[FredtheDuck]

Looking forward to your update, but in the meantime wanted to say how much I LOVE your picto-year in review.

 

[KSellers88]

I'm so glad I found this journal. I love your 2018 goals (one half a month is ambitious but awesome) and your overall goals!

I can't wait to hear how the marathon went! I saw your post-race picture on Instagram, and you certainly look happy! (Also ... I love those Mickey ears. So jealous that they gave those out to the runners!)

Thank you! Those ears are the best! I am tentatively planning to have my update posted tomorrow, work is getting in the way today

Looking forward to your update, but in the meantime wanted to say how much I LOVE your picto-year in review.

Thank you so much! You're too sweet!

 

[KSellers88]

Race Recap: WDW Marathon
​

I signed up for the Disney marathon a few weeks before finishing my first marathon in November of last year. A little bit crazy, yes, but I just could not say no to that 25th Anniversary medal! Four days after completing the Savannah RNR Marathon I started my @DopeyBadger training plan for Disney. Training went relatively well, I missed some important runs (like my 16 miler) due to user error and being unable to correctly remember what my plan said, but I still felt strong from my training that had begun in June of 2017.

My mom and I left for Disney Friday evening after getting off work and arrived at Bay Lake Tower around 10 that night. She originally thought we were staying at All Star Movies, but I was able to score a last minute BLT reservation (literally got the reservation on Thursday before we left). We’ve never stayed at BLT before, and it was an amazing experience. Being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom every day was worth every penny! Plus the monorail to and from the race was fantastic and never crowded.

Saturday morning we got up and headed straight to the expo. Traffic was an absolute disaster and we ended up sitting at the Contemporary for almost 1.5 hours waiting on a bus to take us to the expo. Roads were still closed due to the half which caused a massive traffic jam apparently. The expo was not very crowded at all and we were able to get in, get my bib, grab a few souvenirs, take some pictures and head back to BLT within about 30-45 minutes. The rest of the day was spent at Magic Kingdom with some carb loading at Tony’s.

I woke up at 2:15 on Sunday morning, ate my two pieces of peanut butter toast, got dressed and headed for the monorail around 3:15. We arrived at Epcot around 3:45ish if my memory is accurate. I never check a bag, so I headed to try and find the DIS meetup. This ended up not being accomplished because I am horrible at finding Easter eggs, playing hide and seek and following a map apparently. After wandering around for about 20 minutes, the corrals were open so I decided to just head that way. I was in corral C and wanted to make sure I had enough time to use the restroom one last time and shed all my outer layers.

According to my Garmin, I crossed the start line at 5:44 AM. The first 16 miles were great, but a little crowded. I managed to keep a pretty steady 9:45-10:00 pace, with the exception of mile 5 where I took a porta potty pit stop. Everything was going great, the weather was wonderful and the crowds were so supportive until about mile 16. I’ve had IT band issues before, and apparently missing some of those training runs and not sticking to my stretching and strength training was a really bad idea. From then on I kind of ran, walked and hobbled to the finish but was still able to maintain paces from 10-12 minutes. One major improvement from my first marathon was my mental state, I never felt that I hit the dreaded wall, and I did not have nearly as many negative thoughts this time around even though I was in some pain.​

​

Unfortunately I did not stop for any characters because I was afraid that standing still for that long would cause me to be unable to finish. I still crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face, while getting a high-five from Chip (or maybe it was Dale?) in 4:37:12…only 10 minutes slower than my previous marathon! I got all my goodies at the finish, including the adorable anniversary Mickey ears!

The course was absolutely amazing and I definitely plan to be back for the 30th anniversary. I do wish there was a way that the course could go around more areas with crowd support and cut out some of the highway portions, but I do not know how that would be feasible. Looking at results, somehow I still managed to place in the top 200 out of 1,600 in my age group and that’s perfectly fine with me!

We spent the rest of Sunday and Monday morning in the Magic Kingdom before heading back to the real world on Monday afternoon. I loved seeing everyone with their medals and people make you feel like a rock star by congratulating you everywhere you go.​

​

What’s Next?
I’m taking most of this week off of running and have started back to cross training, strength training and stretching. I have a 5K this weekend, but will not be running it fast. My first half marathon of my twelve month journey is in two weeks and I want to make sure my IT band has recovered completely before then. I am back to feeling normal, so I think I’m headed in the right direction.

Thank you all for your support this weekend and I hate that I didn’t get to meet those of you who were there in person! Congrats to everyone who finished, especially to those Dopey finishers, y’all are amazing!​

 

[SarahDisney]

Congrats!
Great job not hitting a wall and keeping a positive attitude despite the ITB issues - that's really incredible!

 

[KSellers88]

Congrats!
Great job not hitting a wall and keeping a positive attitude despite the ITB issues - that's really incredible!

Thank you! I hope to never have that problem again!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Marathon bling, rose gold minnie ears, ice cream sundaes.... Love it all! Congrats on a great race despite the nagging ITB!

 

[TeeterTots]

Daaaaaang girl......You better go ahead with your bad self!!! March 1 will be my two year anniversary of running and you're an inspiration! Great pics! Congrats on all the bling! Your marathon recap sounds nearly identical to mine (but you're quite a bit faster). First 5 were good, but crowded, potty break at around mile 6. Crazy ITB pain between 14-16 (idk AK-WWOS) for the duration of the race. I never broke stride as I was afraid I wouldn't be able to restart! Looking forward to my next marathon and improving my time with no pain!

 

[michigandergirl]

Great pics! Congrats! Good luck on the rest of your races this year!

 

[garneska]

Looks like you have a lot of half’s planned in atlanta. I did area 13.1 last year. Wear a headlamp and the course is short. My garmin had it at 12.6. I asked around and people said it was typical.

 

[roxymama]

Awesome recap and amazing finish time! Especially considering you were fighting some pain.

Also bonus points for rose gold ears + mickey pants Sundae + actual mickey all in one collage!

I loved BLT the one time our family stayed there. So fun you got that last minute booking!!!

 

[GollyGadget]

Congrats on finishing your second marathon! That is no small feat.

I still crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face, while getting a high-five from Chip (or maybe it was Dale?)

This is exactly how I finished as well! I LOVE the chipmunks and was a little bummed I didn't see them in WWoS. Then I turned the corner toward the finish and there they were! I was too excited about seeing them and the finish to actually pay attention to which one I high-fived... Whoever it was, it was the one in the right. Anyone know?

One more thing, best of luck on your goals! One half a month is very ambitious! Especially in the hot sunny summer months.

 

[KSellers88]

Marathon bling, rose gold minnie ears, ice cream sundaes.... Love it all! Congrats on a great race despite the nagging ITB!

YESSSS! Why run long distances if you can't eat all the ice cream?? Thanks so much!