The Dopey Challenge 1/9/2014-1/12/2014
In an effort to actually write more, I'm going to try to post more. That's writing, right?
Last weekend, I ran The Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The challenge consisted of a 5k on Thursday morning, a 10k on Friday morning, a half marathon on Saturday morning and a full marathon on Sunday morning. 48.6 miles over 4 days.
The running part was fun. I did the 5k too fast. I was hoping for something around an 11-12 minute per mile pace and ended up with a 10:23 pace. The race started at 6:15 and I was on my way back to the hotel before 7 -- it would have been earlier, but you had to get a wristband at the Dopey tent to prove you'd run the race(s) and the line was huge and it took a while to move.
The 10k started at 5:30 and I was better at pacing. I ran it in about a 11:25 pace. Which was closer to what I was looking for. I didn't want to trash myself on these early races. Again, I was on my way back to the hotel by 7am. The collection of the wristband was much faster the second day.
The morning of the half marathon was brutally humid. I am not a good humid weather runner. I'm much better in hot and dry than cool and humid. It was in the 60s at the start, and I was drenched by the first mile. This was my slowest half ever. I was not a happy camper for this race. And worse, I was dreading the full the next day.
But as it turned out, a front came through and the weather was in the 50s to start the marathon. The humidity wasn't bad, and it dropped during the race. The weather could not have been better. Well, okay, maybe if it were cloudy. But there was a cool breeze for the whole race.
I also felt great. I was still planning a slow pace -- 12:00 minutes miles for the whole thing. I didn't let myself start too fast and I walked all the water stops. I was actually 2 minutes under an overall 12 minute pace at mile 21, but there was an overpass into Hollywood Studios and I hit the wall on the hill. My legs were dead. I walked for a while and finally started to do run/walk intervals to the finish. I was pretty happy with my performance. It was my second best Disney marathon.
The full marathon runs through all 4 Disney parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios and Epcot, as well as the Disney Speedway and the ESPN Sports Complex. There are tons of characters on the course, too. You run backstage and get to see things you don't normally see in the parks. It's a lot of fun and very entertaining.
Add to that, 6 really cool Disney medals, and I call it all a total win.
That said, I don't think I'll do this again. It was fun to do the inaugural challenge, but getting up at 3 am for 4 days in a row was harder than I thought it would be. I was conscious of the next race coming the following morning. I didn't want to do too much walking -- which let out going to the parks. Mostly, I hung around my hotel room and read, or sat in the hot tub.
Next year, I think I'm just going to run the Goofy -- which is the half on Saturday and the full on Sunday and that will be good enough.
Last weekend, I ran The Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The challenge consisted of a 5k on Thursday morning, a 10k on Friday morning, a half marathon on Saturday morning and a full marathon on Sunday morning. 48.6 miles over 4 days.
The running part was fun. I did the 5k too fast. I was hoping for something around an 11-12 minute per mile pace and ended up with a 10:23 pace. The race started at 6:15 and I was on my way back to the hotel before 7 -- it would have been earlier, but you had to get a wristband at the Dopey tent to prove you'd run the race(s) and the line was huge and it took a while to move.
The 10k started at 5:30 and I was better at pacing. I ran it in about a 11:25 pace. Which was closer to what I was looking for. I didn't want to trash myself on these early races. Again, I was on my way back to the hotel by 7am. The collection of the wristband was much faster the second day.
The morning of the half marathon was brutally humid. I am not a good humid weather runner. I'm much better in hot and dry than cool and humid. It was in the 60s at the start, and I was drenched by the first mile. This was my slowest half ever. I was not a happy camper for this race. And worse, I was dreading the full the next day.
But as it turned out, a front came through and the weather was in the 50s to start the marathon. The humidity wasn't bad, and it dropped during the race. The weather could not have been better. Well, okay, maybe if it were cloudy. But there was a cool breeze for the whole race.
I also felt great. I was still planning a slow pace -- 12:00 minutes miles for the whole thing. I didn't let myself start too fast and I walked all the water stops. I was actually 2 minutes under an overall 12 minute pace at mile 21, but there was an overpass into Hollywood Studios and I hit the wall on the hill. My legs were dead. I walked for a while and finally started to do run/walk intervals to the finish. I was pretty happy with my performance. It was my second best Disney marathon.
The full marathon runs through all 4 Disney parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios and Epcot, as well as the Disney Speedway and the ESPN Sports Complex. There are tons of characters on the course, too. You run backstage and get to see things you don't normally see in the parks. It's a lot of fun and very entertaining.
Add to that, 6 really cool Disney medals, and I call it all a total win.
That said, I don't think I'll do this again. It was fun to do the inaugural challenge, but getting up at 3 am for 4 days in a row was harder than I thought it would be. I was conscious of the next race coming the following morning. I didn't want to do too much walking -- which let out going to the parks. Mostly, I hung around my hotel room and read, or sat in the hot tub.
Next year, I think I'm just going to run the Goofy -- which is the half on Saturday and the full on Sunday and that will be good enough.