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

The Story Begins...It all Started as Pressure!

Thursday November 18, 2010 started as any normal Thursday, I got up... wait it really didn't. I was feeling rushed because I had waited to the last minute to get the new computer ready for our Santa Portrait shoot of the year (we help local animal rescues raise money for their animals). Things were not really going well, I couldn't get the computer or the monitor to cooperate with each other, and then Windows wanted to be difficult. Jim, my Santa and partner in the shoot, came by to help. He stayed for a bit then left. I was making enough progress that the computer would do what I needed it to do for the shoot.

At about 5:30pm I had my last cigarette. I felt horrible, like I was getting sick. I decided I didn't need to smoke anymore that evening so I was pretty much done with everything for the day. Then about 7:30pm my chest and back started to feel compressed with pressure. I had pressure across the front of my chest along the top of my breast area. The pressure in my back was at the bottom of my rib cage and it felt like it was under my ribs. I also had a pressure in my left shoulder. I thought, well, here I have talked myself into feeling like I am having a heart attack due to the stress of the computer malfunction and photo shoot. Also a friend from high school had passed away not a week before from a heart attack, so I just thought I was over reacting. At about 8:00pm I decided to go to bed, I lay there for an hour. About 9:00pm I could feel the pressure decrease so I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning at 3:00am I woke up and was surprised and a bit upset that the pressure was still there. Now I was starting to worry. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to get ready for the day. As I was making coffee and unloading the dishwasher, the pressure intensified. I needed to talk to someone who had experienced a panic-attack; I needed to talk to my brother, so I waited until 4:00am to call him. I called his house phone, but no one answered so I left a message, not knowing if they had a “real” answering machine or voicemail. I waited and called back, still no answer. I called his cell phone, because he kept it beside his bed as an alarm clock, but I knew he was having issues with it so I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t answer. So I called his wife’s cell phone, knowing again that she kept it beside her as an alarm clock. I thought to myself if she doesn’t answer I am calling my Mom. Now some of you might ask, why not call my Mom first, because I didn’t want to upset or scare her if this pressure turned out to be nothing.

So Melanie answered her phone, I asked to speak to Andy, she handed the phone to him. I asked him about his panic-attacks and what did they feel like? He told me the symptoms he had experienced were not what was going on with me. I then started to cry and said I think I am having a heart attack. Well actually I said “Oh, Crap!” Andy said “What is wrong?” I said “I think I am having a heart attack.”

At that point he told me to call 911, then he told Melanie to call 911, then I was so hysterical I couldn’t talk to him, I had to hang up. EMS tried to call me but they have an unpublished number, so my phone had an app on it that would pick up the call then hang up on the unknown number. This happened twice, by the time I got the app turned off, the police showed up to my house.

I had the dogs blocked off in the living room, and I had the side door open waiting on the EMS. The police officer came into the house, I sat down.

He asked “Are you OK?”

“NO!

“Are you being held against your will?”

“No?”

“Are you alone in the house?”

“Yes”

The whole time he is checking out the house. Then he asks why I didn’t answer my phone when EMS called me. I told him about the app on my phone. As I was explaining that, Fire Rescue/EMS pulled up to my house. The officer then yelled out to them “She wasn’t hanging up on you on purpose, it was her phone.” Someone yelled back “Yeah, there is an app for that”.

Then all 5 (which seemed like 25) EMS/Fire Rescue people came in my house, asking questions, writing down my meds, taking vitals; it was a mad house, the whole time the dogs are barking. Then the EMS lady hooked me up to an EKG machine to measure my heart and as she was doing that, she was trying to calm the dogs. “It’s OK puppies we are here to help, shhhsssshhh”, but they kept on barking. I said in a loud voice “OK, that’s enough!” They stopped and all the people turned and looked at me, I said “That’s right, they know.”

Then the EMS lady said “I am showing that you are not having a heart attack, but because of the pressure you need to go to the hospital to have it checked out.”

I said “So you show I am not having a heart attack, but you want me to go to the hospital to have my chest pressure checked?”

“Yes”

“OK, I will go, but I will have my brother take me, he is on his way now.”

“Uh, I don’t think that is a good idea, we should take you”

“According to your instrument, am I having a Heart Attack?”

“No”

“Then I will have my brother take me.”

Andy and Melanie arrived moments later, the EMS lady told them I needed to go to the hospital and all the EMS people left.

Andy put me in my car and off we went. As he pulled in front of the Emergency Room I got out and went inside I told them I might be having a heart attack, but I thought is was a panic-attack. They rushed me into the back and got me on another EKG; it was normal again. Now they were waiting to get blood and have the doctor talk to me, so they put me in a cubicle.

The on-call doctor said they were going to run some tests and then have the cardiologist come talk to me. They gave me 3 nitro pills (oh the pain of the headache) and took blood.

The on-call doctor said that my blood work showed some abnormalities but they didn’t think it was a heart attack. But they wanted to be safe so the cardiologist was coming to talk to me.

By this time we called Mom and let her know what was going on. She immediately came to the hospital. Mom had arrived by the time the cardiologist came to talk to us. He said that he thought it was indigestion and muscle fatigue (because I had worked out the day before). He gave me an indigestion cocktail and the pressure went away.

I thought, oh yeah, I am going home today.

Then he came in and said they wanted to keep me for observation and run some more blood work, so they moved me upstairs and drew blood.

So after the blood was drawn and I was moved, the cardiologist came in and shut the door and dropped his head, I knew I was in trouble then.

I thought, Oh Crap.

As it turned out, indeed there was a problem with my heart and they wanted to go in and see that problem. They would start with a Cardiac Catheterization to go in and view the heart, if the problem was small then they would put in a stent, if it was bigger than a stent then they would put in a balloon. If the problem was bigger than a balloon, then they would do bypass surgery. But they had to first get in and see what was going on.

So as I lay there contemplating my future and whether I actually had one, I started to pray.

Was I scared, of course I was. Did I trust my Lord and Savior, why yes I did! How did I feel about whatever the outcome would be of this procedure? I was happy with which of the two outcomes it was going to be. One, I would go on to be with my Savior and my loved ones (My Grandma and Grandpa), or two, I would live to see another day. If it was the latter, things were going to change. One, I would change, two, eating habits would change and, three, exercise would be done everyday.

As I lay on the table and the cardiologist put the catheter into my leg then my heart, they discovered 35% blockage, but it was blockage in my main artery on the front of my heart, the best place for a blockage to be, so they inserted a stent. Done and done… wait not done, as the stent was being put in place, they knocked some plaque loose and it went down a side artery causing me to have a second more painful (fire feeling) heart attack. It was not good, at that point anything bad that was causing me to go through this pain was on a list to be removed from my life. I never want to go back to the hospital to deal with that kind of pain or trauma again.

After 24 hours of painful fire in my chest the pressure and fire started to lift. I was ready to go home. I felt better than I had felt in 15 years. I was very weak but ready to make changes and get healthy.

Ten days after my heart attack I started working out again with my trainer; 5 weeks after my heart attack I started rehabilitation.  That got my heart rate up and me working out and sweating. I was losing weight and gaining health.

I walked into that heart attack, I knew I was at risk, but I kept saying I have time to turn it around, finally God said “No you don’t, WAKE UP!” and I did take the wake up call, it was scary but productive.

I started walking 3 miles a day and working out with my trainer twice a week.

Then on March 10, 2011 I was having dinner with my Sister-in-law, Marie and her husband, my Brother-in-law Reid. We were talking about walking and getting healthy, when all of a sudden Reid says to me, “You should walk the ½ marathon at Disney in January. You will be able to do it easy.”

I sat there in confusion and shock… “What are you crazy?”

“No there were a lot of people walking it this year.”

I laughed it off, but the more I thought about it, the more it niggled at my mind. So the next day as I walked, I went just a little bit faster. I wanted to see if I could get up to the 16 minute mile you have to maintain during the race. I couldn’t do it walking. But running might be an option. So I experimented with my knee and body to see if I could even run. I found that I could run, it didn’t hurt and I enjoyed the thrill of it.

So at that point I made the commitment to actually run the 1/2 marathon.  I started doing research on training. I backed off on my walking and started to run. Slowly and a short distance to begin with, it was like I was starting over. But I was committed at this point, and there was no turning back. There have been many things in my life I have failed at and just plain stopped doing. But this was a new me and new way of life. I was going to follow through even if it killed me.

I read as much material as I could get my hands on, I talked with other people, I got advice and I put it all too good use.

I was in training for a ½ marathon. Then all of a sudden, I felt a change, I was happier, I was losing weight easily, quickly, and I was sleeping better, my sleep apnea was fading as well. I was even craving good healthy food.

Everyday I got up early, I would get dressed, I would go out and run a little bit farther everyday. It was a struggle, but I had a goal, and the bigger clothes (my closet was getting cleaned everyday as I had to make a pile for Good Will), the smaller body, the better sleep was just a wonderful side effect. I tell everyone I keep leaving my ass on the asphalt. Well, the road can have it.

Slowly I built up to 4 miles a day, which was a long and hard process; I thought I would never get there. But once I hit that 4 mile mark, each mile after was easy, I started to do “long” runs weekly once I hit 4 miles a day. The first “long” run was 6.25 miles, I was so excited I couldn’t see straight. It was half of the ½ marathon, so I knew I could complete half of the race. Then over the next few weeks my distance increased weekly. I maintained a 5 to 6 mile daily run, and by the time I was a month out from the race I was running 12 miles and feeling good at the end.

Then it was time to go to Disney World…