It's official! I will be "Goofy Challenged" at the WDW Marathon Weekend 2013

Yes, I will be Goofy (Dopey actually) in 2013 as I challenge myself to complete a Half Marathon on one day and a Full Marathon the very next day. Disney calls this their "Goofy Race and a Half". This will be my big milestone for 2013 at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in January 2013. I am really excited about this, as I saw so many of my fellow WISHers complete this same "Challenge" four months ago.

I have been thinking about my next Disney running events ever since completing my first Half Marathon at Disney back in January 2012. I knew I wanted to run a Full Marathon next time (it is the 20th Anniversary of the Disney Full Marathon). But as I celebrated the accomplishment of my teammates when they finished both the Full and the Half, I began wondering if I could do the same.

The idea of doing the "Goofy", or even doing the "Dopey" (an unofficial label for those who run the 5K in addition to the Goofy), really started to grow on me. So much so, that I started working on training plans and figuring out how I could prepare myself while still keeping to my current race schedule.

Then two things happened. First, I started increasing my weekly mileage between my running and my walking. In the last three weeks, I have gotten my weekly mileage up into the 30s without any leg or foot difficulties or being unusually tired. This is a big thing for me. I never thought I could do that much in a week. But I just finished 41 miles last week and I feel great!

The second thing was that Disney offered a discount last week, taking $30 off the price for the Goofy. So, I decided to GO FOR IT! I registered myself for the Goofy Challenge. I even have my hotel reservations in place for the five-day trip. Tomorrow, I will register for the 5K race and officially be in for the "Dopey."

And so it begins! I am excited and nervous! But I know it will be an awesome experience, and I am ready for the journey to begin!

A short note to say "I survived!"

I know I have been silent since getting on a plane and flying to Orlando for the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. Sorry about that. I have been having too much fun to sit down and blog! But because I am so excited, I am posting this while laying in bed at 5:15am after sending 'good luck' texts to my friends who at this very moment are preparing to start either their Full Marathon, Marathon Relay, or the second part of their Goofy (that's 39.3 miles -- 13.1 of which they ran yesterday).

I am SO EXCITED to announce that I finished my two races this weekend! First, my son and I ran the Fiesta 5K on Friday morning at 6:30am through Epcot. This was my son's first race ever and he did very well! I am so proud of him! And, my cousins Doug and his daughter Ciara also ran it with us. It was a blast!

And the next day, I competed in the Half Marathon through the Magic Kingdom and Epcot! Oh my gosh!! What an amazing experience! I will post a more reflective article later about it. But the important thing is: I finished the race!!! I am now officially an endurance runner and Half Marathoner! My official finish time was 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 1 second. I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing it felt crossing that finish line!

To everyone who have been praying for me and encouraging me, I give many thanks. What an awesome ride this has been! Now I will get dressed and head over for my Sports Massage (oh yeah, the feet, legs, and knees are very achy right now) which I definitely deserve. Then I will head to Epcot to cheer on my friends Beth, Mike, Vicky, Eva, Dave, and all my WISH racing teammates!