Disney Marathon Part 2

So, the saga continues!


The Disney Marathon has been part of my yearly vacation ritual and I'm hoping that after I PCS we can still do this with ease. 


I usually book my timeshare and then the plan begins. This would be the second year I ran, but this time with one of my besties! She is becoming an ultra-athlete...I'm still pretty much a couch potato but I've been getting out more.


Anyway, the race is always the first weekend in January. YEP, right after New Year's! Can't beat that! What a way to start off the year!


So, the journey begins. I pack the car with my son and all our stuff...food, luggage, his homework, games and stuff to keep him busy and we drive south to meet up with my friend in North Carolina. Once we get there, we unload all our "stuff" and spend the night with her so we don't have to make the 12 hour trip in one shot!


The next morning...at the crack of dawn...before the birds are awake, we get up, get ready, pack her car with all our "stuff" and then off we go. Usually we stop to get coffee and water. We begin the 8 hour track south to Orlando full of excitement and anticipation. This is a great way for us to talk about life, love, disgust and anything else the moon and stars sets in sight for us to discuss.


Well, after 8 hours of driving...sometimes more with stopping and eating...we arrive to the Marriott Resort. We unpack..blah blah blah and then we of course eat!


This particular year added a little bit of misery to our trip when it came to the weather. It just so happened that when we arrived, it began to turn cold and then the cold factor multiplied times 10! It became miserable but we tried to have as much fun as we could. 


Saturday arrives and it's time to prep for the run in the morning making sure we had what we needed for several hours of pounding pavement.


Let's see what we had...hmm...

Appropriate clothes               Check

Gel Packs/Goo/shot rocks     Check

Number bib pinned on          Check

Hair ties and lip balm            Check

Socks and shoes ready          Check

Ok, so it looks like we are prepared for the run and to enjoy the scenery! Lovely! 

Well, we wake up in the morning and.....

...OH what a surprise we woke up to!!! 

It was 28 degrees Fahrenheit! BELOW FREEZING!!! In Orlando of all places! The mainland's version of swaying palm trees and 60 degree weather in the winter and it's BELOW FREEZING! How insane is that!


Not to mention that we woke up at 0300 to get our stuff together, get in the car and go to Epcot where the race begins. We have to get there early so that we can park and beat the other 20K runners that are running.


So, we arrive in the stillness of night and we begin walking around trying to find a way to stay warm. We realized there was a VIP tent! Would have been good to know that ahead of time, we could have gone in there to hang out, drink coffee, eat a small breakfast so we weren't famished by the noon finish! 


Nope, we didn't know, extra cost that doesn't bother us now! You have to pay to go inside and get treated like...well...like a little running princess! There are massage therapists in there (a little extra cost) there's coffee, water, bananas...the runners dream tent awaiting our arrival...ahhh but we didn't know about it until that dreadful cold weather we had.


Now, every year, we go ahead and save up a few extra dollars so we can enjoy all the comforts of a running princess prior to the start of the race. Makes getting up so early to get there a little more bearable!


But, I digress..


Well, we begin the run and what a sight! The race starts with an incredible firework display and the announcers are really entertaining! Off we go, we run through Epcot and under the "Ball" but before that, we pass the Christmas tree...it's enormous but left up for this occasion and it's really a beautiful sight.


Ok, we now continue to run around Space Mountain and then onto the next parks on the course. We get to run through all the parks and I think running through Animal Kingdom was the hardest because it's right after the trail of nothingness and toward the end of the run. After Animal Kingdom we hit the boardwalk which is a sight for sore legs at this point! It's the path the Epcot, the last 5 miles of the course! Of course this is the best part! After 5 plus hours of running, it's time to see the finish line!


So, we run and eventually we find the first water point but OOP, don't run through it, it's slick because the water on the ground has frozen to it and well, it's a serious runners hazard! One slip and you are potentially injured enough to be taken off the course and nope, not going to let that happen! Especially after the first year's episode with the previous running buddy! Nope, not happening!


So, the race is complete, we are freezing, it has only warmed up to 34 degrees. Not much more than freezing. 


We head to the tents for bananas and water then off we go. We find my Disney friend and my son. She has been kind enough to keep him while I run a couple times. She's such a cool friend.


We met up later that night for drinks and dinner but my li'l guy falls asleep and cuts the night short. It's always nice to see her and catch up.


So, after a few days of Disney and eating, we make the trek home with nostalgia of the week that is now behind us...funny thing, the day we leave the weather begins to warm up and 55 degrees feels like a sauna!


Stay tuned for part 3 of the Disney Marathon Saga!


Keep running!

Disney Destination Run Part 1

Oh how I have stories of running the Disney Marathon...this could take a few blogs to tell the story however; it's become a tradition with one of my besties and me!

So, grab some popcorn and your soda or whatever you like to eat or drink at the movies and sit back because I have the uncanniest ability to attract the most amazing.... karma and creatures! Not always in a good way either....

So, it's 2008 and my Disney running story begins...and let's just say, not on a good note either! I fly all the way to Orlando from Hawaii with my li'l man to meet up with a "friend" and a friend who was going to run with me. My "friend" was really cute and I had known him about a year and I thought we had a "connection" however, shortly after the meeting, I realized things weren't going so well because my other friend who was running the race with me was not the most fun person to be around. Let's just say she moped the whole time. 

So, my "friend" invited us to dinner with him and his little girl who was the cutest little girl. So we went to a really nice place in Orlando and my other friend killed the mood the whole night. Basically, she turned my "friend" off permanently. After that weekend he didn't want anything to do with me. 

So, Sunday rolls around and we (my friend and I) run the Marathon.  I felt good and I was ready to run but she didn't really feel well and she had an injury. We got to mile 19 and I crossed the line where I could have run the remainder of the race. She, moping behind me and in not so good health was not doing well. I decided to be the good friend and go back for her to pull her across the 19-mile mark. 

[Side note] if you don't cross the mile marker in a certain amount of time, they take you off the course and you don't finish the race...you see where this is going...

As I went back to get her she limped along and I thought, ok, if we just pass this line we can finish the marathon. So we met up and as I came back toward the 19-mile mark...for the second time, I was put on the bus! YEP, you guessed it, I went back for my friend with the hopes we'd cross but we didn't and I was thrown on the bus...I was LIVID you hear me! LIVID! If I were in her shoes I would have let me finish the race. But nope, I felt bad and didn't and she didn't care. It was then and there that I decided I would never do that to someone else, if I ever get injured or don't feel good on a race I will let my running buddy go ahead and finish. AND...I decided, I'd never run WITH anyone again unless they are healthy, fit and can finish the race...Mind you, I'm not fast at all! I keep about a 9-10 minute pace on my long runs. 

Anyway, you know I was mad. I eventually forgave her but it took a loooong time! I had the absolute worst vacation in Disney World that year...

But, I digress, let me finish the story of Disney year 1...

 So, my "friend" and his daughter met us at the end and it took 2 hours to find the car. Not only have I just got kicked off the course at the 19-mile mark but I had been running for 3:45:00 at that time with no food in my stomach with the exception of some power gels and some water or Gatorade. I was starving and I become a ravenous beast when I am hungry.

Add my extreme hunger to the fact that I'm angry that I didn't finish the race and you have something a little worse than the Tasmanian devil! I was so mad by the time we found the car.

Ok, so back to my "friend", he met us at the end and was mad to find out we didn't finish the race either...Oh, he had no idea the anger I felt, so of course his anger just added to mine and my friend that ran with me seemed not to really care about how we felt. After the race and that weekend, I never saw my "friend" again and he told me it was because he didn't like my friend and if she was any example of the rest of my friends he didn't want any part of that.... wow, I thought what a jerk! My friend may have had a rough time but after I got over my anger at not finishing the run I was ok and she's ok too.  

You know how when you go to races you get a medal at the end and you have a T-shirt that you get with your packet...well, I got my T-shirt and threw it away. Since I didn't get a medal...non-finishers don't get medals...I didn't want anything. I certainly didn't want anything to remind me of that race, that's for sure!

So, end of the story, I had the absolute worst run ever and the worst vacation too! The best part of my vacation was being able to see the smile on my little boy's face in Disney World!

                                                                                               

So, if you think this was a crappy story, wait till you hear Disney Year 3's story! You will think...how in the world can all this happen to one person...believe me folks, it can!

Until the next Disney episode.... keep running!

The history behind red faced runner

I began this post a long time ago but life got in the way and I didn't finish it...I deleted it and never returned...

Now, I've decided to start once again and tell the reason behind the name Red Faced Runner.
At 19, I joined the Army, began road marching and running...putting my body through things I never believed possible. I fractured my hips in 3 places and thought I'd never be able to really run again. Well, eventually, I healed and began to run...only for APFT's and never any farther than the 2 miles that were required.

Then 26 came around and I went to Officer Candidate School (OCS), once again, putting my body through some rigorous training that I never dreamed I'd do. Again, my hips fractured! Here, I really thought I'd never run again! I healed and at the end of OCS we had to run 5 miles for time! I ran, I ran fast and I never looked back. I ran that in 34 minutes. I think a combination of sheer determination and the fear of failure gave me enough adrenaline to make me faster than normal! A week prior to graduation, we ran 8 miles...the farthest I have ever run! That was the week of April 2002! I graduated! I maxed my APFT! I never ran any further again...

...That brings me to 2006, my second round in the desert! It was October, two months prior to the Honolulu shadow marathon. My friend came to me and said, you have to run this marathon with me. I thought to myself, is this girl on drugs! I'm not running 26.2 miles...that's just stupid, besides, I have not run more than 8 miles in 4 years...only because I had to, not because I wanted to! But...I relented and she convinced me. I joined her running group and before long I had hit 22 miles! I thought, wow, what an accomplishment for someone who was told she'd never run again! Then I was hooked! It was such a high, made me feel temporarily invinceable! So, I began running and realized it was the best thing I ever did for myself. It gave me a sense of clarity, a way to escape the pain. The pain of what you ask...the pain of what I though of as my life falling apart, the pain of divorce, the pain of loneliness, the pain of feeling unwanted. I escaped through every step I ran. Then I stopped....

Here we are, 2012 and I've only run 7 marathons, 4 1/2 marathons, the Army 10 Miler, a few 10K's, a few 5K's a Mud Run, the Metro Dash and hopefully in the future the Spartan Race! I love a challenge

So, you ask, where does "Red Faced Runner" come from? Well, let me explain...One day, I came home from a long run, stretched outside on my porch, drank some water and went inside to the bathroom to wash my face and have a recovery drink. When I looked up in the mirrior, all I could see plainly were the whites of my eyes! My face was beat red! Not that I had never noticed it before but for some reason, this day, I asked...why do I always look like a beet when I'm done running, I always return home "RED FACED" my next run I ran I was thinking about my face turning red and how it stays red for a while after my runs and I thought...I should write a blog about my running days and....my non running days and the motivation and non-motivation that I have experienced along the way.

So, every day I run, I end up with a red face...hence where "Red Faced Runner" comes from!

If you want, follow me on my journey as I run the streets I find around the world. I hope I can inspire you to run or at least make you laugh at my running rants along the way....

My journey begins today!