The Third of 4 Races of The Dopey Challenge

Donald’s Half Marathon

As we were enjoying The Magic Kingdom, there were weather updates that a storm was heading our way and that is may delay or cancel the half marathon. I was certain the race would go on and I was not worried about cancelation. As the day wore on more and more emails came in with updates that RunDisney was monitoring the weather and would update us to how they would handle the race and if they would cancel. I went to bed, I woke through the night a couple of times to thunder and lightening. As my alarm went off I checked to see if it was raining I couldn’t tell so I got dressed. As I was about to drink my coffee, I checked my phone and it was blown up with text messages, emails and Facebook messages. RunDisney had canceled the race due to two weather fronts moving through the area and they wanted to keep the volunteers and the runners safe. As I sat on the couch fully dressed to run 13.1 miles I was disappointed and heart broken. I took a deep breath and started to pray and I heard, “Fear not I am in full control.” I knew God had given me a chance to rest my feet so I could complete my first Marathon the next day. 

I rested, iced and kept my feet elevated all day. I wanted to be ready for the next 26.2 miles.

NEXT: The Longest Race of my Life: Mickey’s Marathon 

The Second of 4 Races for The Dopey Challenge

Minnie’s 10K

When I crossed the finished line of Pluto’s 5K and met up with my wife, we walked to the car, I said I think I need tape for my feet, they were hurting but I felt if I wrapped them they would be ok. So we headed to Walgreens to find some tape for feet. I knew there was tape for other parts of the body, not knowing that there was a specific tape for athletes for the entire body, we found KT Tape. We looked on YouTube for videos on how to tape the feet for my particular soreness. It was magical, the pain was gone and I could walk normally again. We headed out to the Animal Kingdom park for a day of fun.

When the day was over and I was ready to go to bed, we didn’t realize I should have worn socks over the tape to keep it from rolling. So the next morning we had to replace some pieces. Once we got that fixed I got my running socks on and my shoes, my feet felt good. 

Amy drove me over to the runner drop off, she then went to the parking lot and slept in the car until race time so she would have a parking place and not have to worry about getting back into Epcot parking lot. 

I met some really awesome people as we walked to the entrance staging area. I met group of Dopey runners from the UK, this was the second Dopey and the Lady I was speaking with she had foot surgery just 8 months prior. She had pain in her foot before last year’s Dopey, her doctor said it was not so bad she couldn’t tape it and run, but after she would need the surgery. She had it and recovered well then trained and came across the pond for this year’s Dopey. She gave me hope that I could finish this race with the pain in my feet by taping them. As we approached the entrance, I said Goodbye and Good luck to them, they had bags to check, I did not, they wished me Good Luck as well. 

I entered the start area and continued on to the corrals, I was ready and I wanted to warm up. I was more calm this day than the day before. My nervous bladder was gone, I used the Porter-Potty only twice this day, once when I arrived and once right before the first corral left to go run. I warmed up, I stayed calm and my feet felt really good. Then our corral started to move towards the start line. I tried to take in all the wonderful costumes the runners were wearing, their creativity in how they put them together was really interesting. 

Then we arrived at the start and we were off, I remained calmed this run and started off slow and steady, I didn’t rush or run to fast, I was going to keep a steady pace the entire race.

Spaceship Earth was our destination for the finish, but with 3 extra miles to add on to Epcot we had to run down the road, turn and go up an on ramp (a long incline UGGGGG!) to come around behind Epcot so we could enter on the back side to go around to Disney’s Boardwalk resort then reenter into Epcot for the finish. This was interested because the Boardwalk was wet and slippery, we had to be very carefully running as not to slip and bust our butts. 

As we were finishing the Boardwalk run and about to enter back into Epcot I saw her, it was like a life like doll had come to life. As I passed this runner I was taken aback, her costume was awesome, I stopped and went back to talk to her. She was The Little Mermaid! She had the red hair, the purple shells, and green scale leggings. I gushed over her outfit and asked for a selfie with her. She was gracious and agreed to the pics, but when we looked at them, she was not pleased. She said, “Oh NO! We must do that again and get my Purple Boob Shells in the picture”. So we did another selfie and got the shot. She was so sweet and that made the race for me. I love these races for this reason, the people are nice and have fun with their costumes. I continued on, leaving Ariel and her running partner (Eric, he wasn’t please to be in costume) as I passed costumed runners I complimented them on their hard work putting the costumes together. My feet forgotten, I was taking in all I could during this run, I was enjoying it to the fullest. As we came into view of Spaceship Earth there was a picture station to have your photo in front of Spaceship Earth, the line was short so I stopped. I was going to do as many race photos as I could to commemorate this achievement I had trained a year for. If I could find character photos where the lines were not long I would stop for those too, but that did not happen during the Minnie. 

After my Spaceship Earth photo, I continued on to the finish, I was running on air and happiness this was my race to finish, this was my goal to accomplish, two down and two to go. I was on my runner’s high and I was loving every minute of it. As I came into the final stretch to the finish I had worries or concerns I just ran to cross the finish line. What a feeling, it was only 6.2 miles, but for me it was months of going to bed early, getting up early and running when everyone else was asleep. Not going out with friends, not spending quality time with my understanding and supportive wife. Giving up certain foods, feeling like I couldn’t have “fun”. But I know now and I did at the time it was for a greater good. I feel better, I am healthier and I have energy I didn’t have a year prior. I learned a lot about myself during this training season and that’s something no one can take away from me. I love running.

NEXT: Donald's Half & God's Gift to my Feet

The First of 4 Races for The Dopey Challenge

Pluto’s 5K

The morning of this race was a little nerve racking, I hadn't done a race in over a year, my feet were tender and this was the start of a 48.6 mile journey. I got up at 1:30 am, dressed, made my coffee, drank my water, and waited until it was time to go to the bus stop for a ride to the start area and corrals. We had to be on the bus no later than 4:30 am. This race started 30 minutes later than the others due to it being a 5K. We left the resort, drove a mile to the next resort and Amy dropped me off at the bus stop and I hopped on the next bus to go to the start area. At this point I was getting excited and was happy to be on the bus and moving… I said Hello to the fellow runners, but they seemed sleepy or nervous, because not many responded. I found a seat, several more runners boarded and then we were off.  As I exited the bus, I felt it and needed to find the port-a-potties, my bladder was full. I walked over to the bathroom area they had set up, got in line, did my business and then found a seat to wait until it was time to go to the corrals. I tried not to think about the race or my bladder or anything that would make me more nervous. I was trying to calm myself down and it worked for a while. I then had to pee again, when I was done I decided to go to the corrals and wait there. Over the course of 45 minutes I used the port-a-potty about another 3 times. I didn’t want to dehydrate myself so I drank enough water that I felt would replenish my nervous bladder. I knew I was going to the bathroom so much because I was nervous. I kept saying calm down, it’s just race one, it’s just 3.1 miles, easy peasy, you got this. I seemed to settle at that point and my corral started to move forward towards the start line.  

As we slowly advanced, Amy texted me that the first person had just crossed the finish line…. We were only 16 minutes into the freaking race… the woman next me just gapped at me, when I told her. We were slowly getting closer to the start line, I could feel my heart rate increase, I immediately told myself to calm down. As we approached the start line, I got my phone ready (I had to set my Road ID to let Amy know where I was on the course). I got my watch ready to track my time and distance, then they set the fireworks and we were off. 

I started off to fast and was running an awesome 11:30 per mile pace. I felt really good until I realized I had a lot of more miles to go over the next 4 days and I didn’t want to over do it or injury anything. I slowed down to a 12:45 - 13:30 per mile pace, I felt much better and more comfortable at this speed. I settled in and enjoyed the run with all the sites, it was Disney World’s Epcot center and the staff put on a show for us. I didn’t stop for any pictures with characters but I did stop to do a couple of selfies and took pics of some Characters. Then just like that it was over, there was the 3 mile marker, then the run to the finish, I made sure I was enthusiastic when I crossed that line, I was going to have fun and enjoy these runs and look good in my race photos. 

NEXT: KT Tape and Minnie’s 10K

Training for & Running a Marathon…

Oh, wait not just one race,

but 4 races in 4 days,

which is Totally Dopey.

5 years ago, a year after my heart attack, I completed The Donald, the half marathon race that happens every first weekend after New Years in Disney World. I decided that I loved racing and half marathons were the perfect distance. But I needed a bigger goal, I decided to get my body ready to run a marathon in five years and I would run The Mickey, a full marathon, 26.2 miles. The first race was magical why not make this bigger race magical too. Then the next year Disney announced a brand new challenge and a new race distance they had not offered before. 4 races over 4 days through all 4 of the theme parks, they named it The Dopey. They already had the 5k race and renamed it The Pluto 5K. They added a 10K distance and named it The Minnie. They had the half marathon named The Donald and the marathon named The Mickey with a challenge of it’s own The Goofy. If you run Donald and Mickey you accomplish The Goofy Challenge. The Dopey would not replace The Goofy it would be in addition to The Goofy allowing the participant to earn a total of 6 race medals. One medal for each race, then one medal for each challenge. 

I am a huge Donald Duck fan and that is why I chose that race to be my first half marathon. Dopey is one of my second favorites behind Donald and as I read the new challenge and what it entailed, I was sucked in. I decided I had 4 years, I could train and do those 4 races in 4 days including my first marathon ever. 

So I trained, kinda of, I started pursuing training December of 2015, but that kinda of flopped cause I injured myself. I took time off until my injury healed and I kept putting off training until about May of 2016. I started to get scared and determined, cause I had purchased a treadmill for when outdoor running wasn’t an option, I had spent $600 dollars and signed up for the race and I had made a commitment on local TV that I was doing it. I was running 4 to 6 miles a day and I was cross training, then summer heat hit and I couldn’t be in the heat anymore due to my heart and the increasing of my pace. I took to the A/C and the treadmill for July, August and part of September. I used my time wisely and increased my pace and speed, but I needed to get outside on the asphalt to really train for a road race. 

In the middle of September I finally got back outside and was very happy with my results, I was faster, my stride was better and I could breathe well when I ran, I wasn’t huffing and puffing through my runs. 

I started to increase my distance and every single time when I would do my long runs I would hit a wall. I would do 9 miles going for 13 and I once I got to 9 I couldn’t go anything further. I knew it was more mental than physical. I had to work on my mind accepting this goal as well as conditioning my body and increasing my endurance. 

Every day I would say you are going to do this, you can do this, this marathon is in the bag, and the miles started to pile on. I increased my daily runs from 6 miles to 8, then after about 2 weeks I increased my 8 mile daily runs to 10 miles. Some days I would only get 5 miles, but most days I would get the 10. 

Pace, speed and endurance increased. The long runs on the weekend became easier and longer, I hit 16 miles and I was ecstatic. The longest distance I have ever run and I felt great after. Then I had a weekend where I was going for 20 miles, I didn’t make it, I was running against a head wind and exhausted myself by mile 14. I was not happy, I was 3 weeks away from a major race and I hadn’t even hit 20 miles running. So the next weekend was Christmas and I caught a break, I would be off two days in a row. I took to the streets on Christmas Eve and ran. It rained and the people in cars were mean and splashed and drenched me, but I made 22.5 miles. I was happy I knew I was only 4.5 miles away from a marathon. 

I rested the next day and then decided to take advantage of New Years Day too and get more miles in the next week. I did 23 miles and I was ready to go to Orlando. I wanted to get at least one more run before we left, but my feet started to ache some so I rested for 3 days until the big race was to start. 

I wasn’t to concerned with my feet hurting but it was new pain and it was a bit irritating. I pushed it aside and didn’t dwell on it. 

NEXT: Disney World and the Pluto’s 5K

Water...It's what's good for you! Warning contains language about bathrooms visits.

We have all heard it... 8 glasses of 8 oz of water a day. Well I agreed to a point, drink enough until you don't feel dehydrated, Wrong, actually drink until you pee clear (this amount is different for everyone) this keeps you well hydrated and all your systems work correctly.

As a runner I knew I needed enough to sustain me while I ran so I wouldn't dehydrate and get the runner's trots, (see previous post). I was drinking about 16 to 20 oz of water day. It was enough to keep the trots away and keep me hydrated. But I was still dealing with my stomach issues in the morning before I ran (see previous post).

Then I started to do my morning exercises and I got thirsty, I increased my water to about 48 oz of water a day. I had to pee all the time, then something happened after about a week and a half, my bathroom breaks started to become fewer and I felt like I peed like a normal person, I wasn't going to the bathroom like a pregnant woman in her 9th month. My skin was not as harsh, cracked or dry. And then the most amazing "side effect" of consuming so much water per day, my poop was normal. I didn't have bad poops or runny poops. I started to poop later in the day and not early in the morning. I could get a whole run in and not have to worry about pooping until later. I was so excited, I had solved my poop problem (see previous post) by just increasing my water intake therefore helping my body and organs to function correctly. 

Water: It's What's Good For You! 

Skinny Girl - Fat Girl - Skinny Girl

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. Please forgive me for this lapse, I decided to go off on my own from my personal trainer and didn't realize that I need to work my body beyond running. Running is my staple, my peace and my maintenance, however, to lose weight and to keep it off, I must work my body beyond just running. I actually think this applies to most people, cause running even though I do a lot of it,  4 to 6 miles everyday, on an off week less, my body adapts and the muscles don't work to burn off the fat.

That being said, I but on weight and for the past year, I have been embarrassed and disappointed in myself. Then I realized I made a mistake and I must learn from that mistake, to change and grow from it. So now I have added to my morning/daily routine of working out and running. 

Arms: push ups, triceps dips, biceps curls and triceps extension with free weights. 

Sides and Hips: Side crunches with free weights and obliques turns with weights. 

Abs: exercise ball sit ups, floor crunches, floor leg lifts and floor glut crunches.

Legs: Thighs and gluts with squats, then inner thighs with Pilate squats. 

I change up the counts and reps to keep my muscles changing so they are always working and not relying on memory. Since I started this routine, 5 days a week, I rest on Saturday and Sunday, I have lost weight in my arms and my shirt sleeves fit again (underarm jiggle is less).

My pants are fitting again correctly in the waist and the thighs. 

I also watch my food intake more closely when I have a day that I can't workout or run verses the food intake when I do workout and run. It all works together, food intake (the quality and the quantity) with exercise working the whole body as individual muscles groups and then running, getting the heart rate up as to burn calories/fat.

I have learned that it is a constant battle to lose, tone and maintain our optimal body weight and shape. Don't get discouraged with weight gain or if you get off track for a while, we are all human and we make mistakes. What matters and makes us triumph against this war is when we learn and grow and change from our mistakes.

So from a Fat Girl to a Skinny Girl Running to a Fat Girl Running and back down to a Skinny Girl Running... I have lost, gained and lost again... I will reach my goal.  

Go Red for Forsyth County to Fight and Beat Heart Disease in Women! Part 4!

 This week’s spot light is on Sonja Wallace (One of the Ladies of The Fab Five for The Forsyth County Go Red Campaign), I met her right after we were picked for the Go Red Campaign and we were having our pictures done for the campaign and billboard. Sonja was full of life and fun right off the bat. Then it hit me at the Go Red Breakfast, we knew each other, we went to the same gym, Sonja was the feisty Personal Trainer I saw running around the gym. I wanted to get to know her better and hear her story so here it is:

Sonja is defying her family history of heart disease with lifestyle changes.

"Every woman in my family has died from some form of heart disease. My great grandmother died from congestive heart failure. My grandmother died of a heart attack. My mother has congestive heart failure and my sisters are showing signs of following in the same direction. Women in my family start showing signs pretty early in life, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high % of body fat. So far I am beating the odds of my genetic history and hope that my hard work pays off."

Sonja is a personal trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, Zumba Instructor, Road Cyclist, Mountain Biker and a wanna be quilter. Sonja is also a fighter, she is fighting to have a heart healthy life, despite her family history, and she fights to help other woman and men change their lives to be healthier and happier.

I am happy to say that Sonja and I have formed an awesome friendship, we are even going to do a relay Triathlon in August. God has given this woman motivation to help those around her, all the while keeping herself in shape and healthy.

I got the opportunity to sit down with Sonja and ask her some questions about being involved with The Go Red Campaign for this year.

How did you hear about The Go Red Campaign?

Sarah Fedele called me about the campaign, she had remembered me from a health fair a few years earlier. God was asking me to step out and I said to her, "Let me pray about it and I will call you back." I did call her back and she nominated me.

What's your goal while serving as a Forsyth Go Red Woman?

To educate, but to have fun while getting healthy. To show you can have the joy of life while taken care of yourself.

How are you maintaining your health?

Since my mother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, I have started to eat more organic and eat less preservatives. I like to change up my workouts too.

Where do you want The Go Red Campaign to lead you?

I want this opportunity to hopefully help and affect my family, my mom, sisters and my children.

"It's all about the heart that is all about the heart"

Sonja you rock, it's people like you that make a difference in this world.

As Joyce Meyer says, God will use you even if you are cracked: "Many people feel that God can't use them because they’re not perfect—this is a lie. God (the Potter) uses cracked pots (that's us) to do His work. As Christians, we are containers that God wants to fill with His goodness and light. Then we’re to carry that goodness and light to a dark world, sharing it with people everywhere we go."

Thank you Sonja, for being a cracked pot and showing the love and light of God to the world.