A One-Time Only Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Trip Report

Hey everyone! I am back from a trip to WDW to partake in Marathon Weekend and more specifically to take on the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge! This trip did not go entirely how I thought it would but it is over now and its time for a recap. My pictures especially for the races are a little lacking from my last marathon report. I just wasn't feeling it this trip. Cast of characters is just me (Kristy) and husband Dan.

Here is a link to my pre-trip report if you are interested in the backround - http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/goofy-challenge-pre-trip-report.857764/


The days leading up to this trip were very stressful. The Thursday before we left our gas furnace died. Luckily we have a fireplace and were able to keep warm with that and space heaters. We needed to get estimates and have it installed in less than a week. I didn't want my friend who was staying to take care of our animals to have to worry about keeping a fire going. Funds are stretched here already and a new furnace was not in the budget. Ugh. We had the new furnace installed on Wednesday and we left on Thursday morning. Talk about cutting it close! Along with having a furnace installed, my husband calls me on Wed while I am at work and tells me that our one horse is sick again. He had an issue in the past, which we thought had been dealt with and it resurfaced the day before we leave. STRESS, STRESS, STRESS! Call in to the vet but it is after hours by now. It is not a life-threatening issue but one that I don't want to be unattended to while we are gone. Needless to say, I was having second thoughts about this trip with all the problems we have been having.

We left our house around 3:45 am and arrived at our off-site airport parking about an hour later. We had a 6:30 flight out of Philly. We found a great parking service that will take you to the airport in your own car, drop you off and then pick you up in your own car when you come back. For an extra fee, at pickup, you can leave straight from the airport and they will get a ride back to the lot. Very convenient!

We finally arrived for the flight and there were a lot of other runners on this flight as well. We were all pretty quiet due to the early hour I think. In no time, we were boarding and then waiting to taxi.

I was still pretty stressed having not heard from the vet yet. I just didn't have the normal Disney excitement. I tried to sit back and enjoy the ride. We did have a beautiful sunrise!

Soon we were passing over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel system. Looks neat from the air.

Starting to descend into the Orlando area, I see the Port Canaveral area! Kind of need another cruise! (at least I think it might be Port Canaveral)

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh my! Okay. So you telling your experience, y'all keeping each other going, etc. as you struggled towards the end then you posted this picture....there's WATER leaking out of my eyes!!! It's the little gifts you get in a picture that truly capture a moment sometimes. That couple is adorable. Your story and the little bit we get of theirs really does touch me. Such a reflection of life with your bestest friend. How blessed are we? Another reason it touches me so is because Tracey keeps saying he wants to run and he tries so hard. Just a few nights ago we got out on the running track behind our building and went for a run/walk for the first time in months. What stopped him last time was the shins and it got him again a few nights ago. We've just got to find a way for him to overcome the issues with his shins. I suggested he just walk until he can do the 30 minutes without pain. Then he could step up to doing the run intervals as a brisk walk and try that until he can do it without pain. THEN bump up to beginning the run intervals slowly, maybe doing every other one until he can do that 30 minutes without pain. There's just got to be a way for him to overcome the shins. Me? I'm just lazy. But I'm ashamed, really, because I can go out there and push thru the irritation of aching legs & keeping my breath if I want to. It's not that easy for others including my beloved.

Y'alls finish was as glorious as I've ever read and I so want to hug you both! I love that you did it together. And I especially love that you're willing to try again to achieve a goal you set for yourself. That's so incredible! You do us gals proud!

So, okay, having read through the race stuff I would love to do a runDisney event but from what I've read I'm leary of the crowds. That's very concerning and prob'ly the one reason I wouldn't do one. The way you are so crowded up so that you can't really run at your own pace early on is scary to me. That could potentially kill the whole thing for me. I dunno. I've never run more than a 5k, though. I could be wrong.

Then reading all the comments after....gosh....wouldn't running a half marathon or a marathon be the best way for me to bring in my 40th in 2014??? Talk about spittin' in ol' Mother Nature's eye! That's soooo me! Problem is, there ain't no stinkin' way I'm running anything like that in the south in June! I'll have to look around and see what I can find for running events. Now that we're in the Houston area there's bound to be plenty for me to try.

Thanks for such an awesome journey and for the inspiration! Now, let's see if y'all made it to LeCellier.....

 

[Sumrdog]

I know what it feels like to be disappointed in your time after all the training. But I think you have nothing to be ashamed about you ran a half marathon the day before and you felt crummy! I think you did an excellent job! I loved reading your posts and following along. Its getting me really excited for the Princess Half in two weeks!!!

 

[Kristia]

So proud you were both able to push yourself for the under 7 hour finish! We all know you really deserve and earned that Goofy medal.

Are you thinking of doing the Philly marathon this year? I was seriously just checking it out yesterday because its pretty reasonably priced AND its on my birthday. I have sadly come to the point in my life that I would want to celebrate my birthday by running 26.2.

Thank you! I am glad that we at least finished within 7 hours even though that is WAY to long!! I have been looking at the Philly stuff too and I am pretty sure that I am going to do it. We did the Rock'n'Roll half there last year and it is a really great place to run with great spectators and great scenery. I like the fact that that I would be training in the same weather conditions that I am running in for the event and it isn't too far from home! Keep me posted if you decide to do it!

 

[Kristia]

Oh my! Okay. So you telling your experience, y'all keeping each other going, etc. as you struggled towards the end then you posted this picture....there's WATER leaking out of my eyes!!! It's the little gifts you get in a picture that truly capture a moment sometimes. That couple is adorable. Your story and the little bit we get of theirs really does touch me. Such a reflection of life with your bestest friend. How blessed are we? Another reason it touches me so is because Tracey keeps saying he wants to run and he tries so hard. Just a few nights ago we got out on the running track behind our building and went for a run/walk for the first time in months. What stopped him last time was the shins and it got him again a few nights ago. We've just got to find a way for him to overcome the issues with his shins. I suggested he just walk until he can do the 30 minutes without pain. Then he could step up to doing the run intervals as a brisk walk and try that until he can do it without pain. THEN bump up to beginning the run intervals slowly, maybe doing every other one until he can do that 30 minutes without pain. There's just got to be a way for him to overcome the shins. Me? I'm just lazy. But I'm ashamed, really, because I can go out there and push thru the irritation of aching legs & keeping my breath if I want to. It's not that easy for others including my beloved.

Y'alls finish was as glorious as I've ever read and I so want to hug you both! I love that you did it together. And I especially love that you're willing to try again to achieve a goal you set for yourself. That's so incredible! You do us gals proud!

So, okay, having read through the race stuff I would love to do a runDisney event but from what I've read I'm leary of the crowds. That's very concerning and prob'ly the one reason I wouldn't do one. The way you are so crowded up so that you can't really run at your own pace early on is scary to me. That could potentially kill the whole thing for me. I dunno. I've never run more than a 5k, though. I could be wrong.

Then reading all the comments after....gosh....wouldn't running a half marathon or a marathon be the best way for me to bring in my 40th in 2014??? Talk about spittin' in ol' Mother Nature's eye! That's soooo me! Problem is, there ain't no stinkin' way I'm running anything like that in the south in June! I'll have to look around and see what I can find for running events. Now that we're in the Houston area there's bound to be plenty for me to try.

Thanks for such an awesome journey and for the inspiration! Now, let's see if y'all made it to LeCellier.....

It is so great to run with Dan, he is always encouraging and the whole marathon when I was feeling crappy, he kept telling me how proud he was of me for hanging in there. He has always been the athlete between the two of us so it pushes me to do better. During short races, we let each other go our own paces and he is usually ahead of me. Just makes me work to catch him which ultimately makes me better!

I used to have horrible problems with my shins. The best thing I did for that was got fitted for running shoes. If he really wants to run, go to a store that specializes in running. They will watch you run and tell you what shoes will work best for you. I overpronate and need a stability shoe to compensate for that. I also got Superfeet inserts. Both of these things did wonders. I rarely have shin pain now. There are also stretches to help the loosen the shin muscles. Helps to have a hubbie who is a PT! I am LAZY as well! Sometimes I find it so hard to train. My solution...I am also cheap. I always have at least one race that I have registered and paid for which makes me go out and train because I don't want to waste my registration fee! Even if it is only a 5k. I so don't want to be last either, so I keep training. Today we had registered for a 4 miler trail/road run. We had the snow storm last night and this morning, Dan was hinting he didn't want to go. The roads weren't too bad and I made him go lol! He was glad he did though. The woods were beautiful and snowy this morning!

If you are looking for a good race, the rock and roll series are great and I think they have one in Houston but I'm not sure. They are fun, have a great expo with lots of freebies, and usually have bands on the course. We did the Philly one and it was so fun! The crowds at Disney are a bummer but what can you do? Its Disney and I guess we just have to deal with them because we know they aren't going to downsize. Alot of the bigger races have crowd issues at the beginning but it eventually spaces out. Disney races seem to be kind of crowded in spurts because the course narrows at various times.

Thanks for the virtual hugs!! We were so happy we finished! I am glad that I am doing gals proud! I try! I've done halfs outside Disney and I really like that distance. Doing a full marathon outside of Disney without all the Disney distractions will definitely be a challenge!! Hope to do some more writing tomorrow.

 

[Kristia]

I know what it feels like to be disappointed in your time after all the training. But I think you have nothing to be ashamed about you ran a half marathon the day before and you felt crummy! I think you did an excellent job! I loved reading your posts and following along. Its getting me really excited for the Princess Half in two weeks!!!

Thanks! I know I did my best and I can only do better next time right? Good luck at the Princess Half!! You will have a blast! I know race reports kept me sane while waiting for Marathon Weekend! I know @Ariel484 has a link to her Princess Half trip report if you haven't read it yet. I also have my previous marathon trip report linked in my sig if you need more to keep you busy till your race! I felt much better during that run!

 

[fractal]

Congrats on finishing the marathon, especially while feeling ill.
What an incredible accomplishment!

Thanks for a great report!

 

[Kristia]

Congrats on finishing the marathon, especially while feel ill.
What an incredible accomplishment!

Thanks for a great report!

Thanks fractal! I hope I don't have to do another race in that condition again!

 

[Sumrdog]

Thanks! I know I did my best and I can only do better next time right? Good luck at the Princess Half!! You will have a blast! I know race reports kept me sane while waiting for Marathon Weekend! I know @Ariel484 has a link to her Princess Half trip report if you haven't read it yet. I also have my previous marathon trip report linked in my sig if you need more to keep you busy till your race! I felt much better during that run!

Thanks! I read @Ariel484 Princess Marathon report and your cruise report. I will check out your marathon one! My kids keep leaning over the computer asking me "who are those people your looking at?" Its kind of funny. They totally don't get why I am glued to the vacation photos of strangers. But it is really making me so super excited !

 

[Kristia]

Thanks! I read @Ariel484 Princess Marathon report and your cruise report. I will check out your marathon one! My kids keep leaning over the computer asking me "who are those people your looking at?" Its kind of funny. They totally don't get why I am glued to the vacation photos of strangers. But it is really making me so super excited !

Haha! I know, I don't think my husband totally understands it either but he likes to look on occasion too!

 

[Kristia]

So after we took our showers, we decided it would be a good idea to try and make our reservations at Le Cellier. We had a ressie at 2:45 for a late lunch. The worst thing you can do after a race like a half marathon or marathon is rest. You need to get up and get those muscles working to expel the buildup of lactic acid from your muscles. The worst problem that I was having was my feet were so sore and cramped up. My wonderful hubby gave me a major foot massage before we left. That helped soooooo much! His hamstrings were giving him trouble, so I obliged him with a painful massage using "The Stick". The Stick is a thin long kind of rolling pin type thing that you roll over the muscles to massage out any cramps. It is painful but it works!

We hobbled out of the hotel and made our way to Epcot. We gave ourselves an hour to get there. One of the best parts of running these races at Disney is the comradery you have with the other runners. Everyone congratulates each other on their accomplishments and lots of people will strike up conversations with you about your race experiences.

I didn't take my camera with me as I just wanted to relax and not be bothered carrying anything other than my aching body. We actually made it to Le Cellier with time to spare. We checked in and luckily there were some seats available so we made ourselves comfortable. I am always amazed at how many people come in and try to get a seat and act surprised that they are totally booked. We chatted with the host about the race. He was planning to do the Princess Half with some of his friends and was really excited about doing it. There was another couple who came in with their kids. The mom had done the marathon and they chatted with us a bit too. The medals are definitely a conversation starter! I actually had a person ask me where he could get my Goofy medal. When I told them that there was a race that day, they laughed and said they saw people with them and they thought people were buying them. The guy was incredulous that there were races that weekend. The night after my half, a CM asked me about it. He must have been new. I thought he was joking when he asked me about the Donald medal. He had no idea that a half marathon had been run that day!

Anyway, we were seated right about the time of our ADR. I got the Chef's Selection where you pick an app, an entree and a dessert from a select menu for one price. I chose the cheddar cheese soup, the cheeseburger, and the creme brulee. Dan ordered off the ala carte menu. As an app he chose a sausage dish and for an entree he got the NY strip. Shortly after we ordered, the CM came back and said they were all out of sausage. Bummer. He got a tomato salad instead. I ordered a Coke and it tasted soooo good. I was so thirsty and that really hit the spot. Our apps came in no time. Dan liked his salad and my soup was good too. It was a little spicier than I remember though and after having been so hot during the race, I am not sure it was the best choice. By the time my burger came, I was getting pretty full. The burger was so huge! It was a little on the dry side though so I have had better which was a little disappointing. Dan said his steak was good to but again...he has had better. Come on Le Cellier! You are slipping! I only ate about half my burger and took the rest to go. I also didn't think I could stomach dessert. Since it was included in the price of my meal, I took it to go also. The creme brulee isn't available for takeout so we each got a chocolate mousse. After our meal we ambled back to our room and rested the rest of the evening.

I had made a breakfast reservation for the following morning at Cape May Cafe. We briefly thought about cancelling that in favor of sleeping in, but eventually decided to keep it since it was too late to cancel without penalty and it didn't involve traveling to get to the restaurant.

On Monday morning, we headed to our 9:00 am reservation to Cape May Cafe. I was looking forward to getting some character pictures with our medals. We got our first plate and waited for characters to make their way to our table. It was about 20 min before Donald came over.

Shortly after Donald, Minnie stopped for a visit.

We got another plate of food and waited for Goofy. I have to say that I was not very hungry this morning. The food was just meh and I wasn't sure if it was just my lack of appetite or if it was truly meh. While we were waiting for Goofy, Dan mentioned that the food was not that great. They definitely do a better job with dinner here. The fruit was the best part of the meal. We finally saw Goofy approaching our table. Just before our table, he took a break. Grrrr. The CM with Goofy asked us if we had seen him yet (I think she knew we were waiting) and told us he would be back in a couple minutes. We were done eating by now but we waited. Goofy came out about 10 minutes later and came right to our table.

He loved our medals but we told him NEVER again! Guess we lied lol! He laughed and then was off to the next table. Finally we could be on our way. I thought Mickey was at this breakfast too, but it seemed only Goofy, Donald and Minnie were there that morning. I think in the future, we will skip Cape May Cafe for breakfast. At nearly $30 each for breakfast, it was not great.

 

[Kristia]

After breakfast, we decided to walk (yes...walk ) to DHS. We were not really feeling to bad soreness wise which was great. Sure we were a little sore and stiff, but overall not bad at all. It was a beautiful morning so walking it is!

A couple pics of the Yacht Club as we walk to DHS.

Hello Studios!

We knew that one ride we definitely wanted to do was TSMM. I was doubtful that there would be any fastpasses left as it was close to 11 am now. Sure enough as we approached the queue, we could see the fastpasses were all gone. The standby wait was 45 min. Lots of times, I have read that they overestimate the wait time for this ride so we decided to get in line. We weren't going park commando this trip, so if it took 45 min, that was ok too. We rarely see this queue since we always do fastpass, so I was able to snap some pics while we waited.

Ahhhh....so many games from my childhood!

 

[Kristia]

It was exactly 45 min before we got to ride. Guess they were accurate this time! As usual, Dan beat me big time!

I knew Dan wanted to ride RNRC. I wasn't feeling quite up to that today. I still had my cold from yesterday which was getting a bit worse. I have to be in tiptop condition to take that wild ride! I suggested we head that way to get him a fastpass. We passed by GMR which was a walk-on so we took advantage.

We got the gangster scene with a woman gangster. Like other people, I just can't get into the woman gangster thing. Meh.

I think Dan was hoping that I would want to do RNRC later because he suggested we go to Star Tours next. He is a huge Star Wars fan, so it is one of his favorites. It had a 30 min wait, so we decided to get fastpasses and go to Muppets while we waited for our return time.

 

[Kristia]

I really wish the Muppet section of the store was bigger. There has got to be more Muppet merchandise they could fill the store with!

It was now time for Star Tours. I snapped some shots before we left the Streets of America.

This store was closed.

I love the old-time window displays in this area although the ice cream soda painitn in this picture looks...ahem...a little weird.

Time for a trip to Hoth!

It was starting to get dark.

Dan decided to finally take a walk over to RNRC to see if there were any fastpasses. Nope...all gone.

I guess a trip to see Aerosmith in concert was just not meant to be on this trip. Stand by was 45 min and he didn't want to wait that long. We decided to do a little shopping or more like browsing lol. We didn't buy a lot of souvenirs this trip.

We had a photopass shot done.

While shopping, I kind of wanted to buy a Villains vinylmation. I couldn't bring myself to spend the $13 on the thing. Were they always that expensive? I really wanted either the Si and Am one from Lady and the Tramp or Chernabog.

As we left one of the stores, a couple women came up to us and said congrats on the race and made a little small talk. She then asked us if we wanted a 2 fastpasses good for anything at anytime. Awesome! Now Dan could ride RNRC! This was the 2nd time this trip that someone had given us fastpasses. I still didn't want to ride so he was going to look for a solo rider to pass on our good fortune. He ended up giving it to a girl in line with him. She was touring DHS by herself. She and her father had been doing the marathon together but he had to drop out early and was resting at the hotel this evening.

I, of course, busied myself with taking photos while I waited.

 

[LindsayLoves]

Glad you made it your lunch at Le Cellier! Having a reservation is a good plan for after the race to motivate you out of the hotel.

Also yay for people passing off Fastpasses! In my experience it always comes at the best time, there was an hour long standby wait for ToT and a guy just walked up and gave us Fast Passes that were currently valid because his family decided that they didn't want to ride again after going through standby.

I loved chatting with other runners the whole weekend, it made standing in lines fly by with some interesting conversation.

 

[Fievel]

We received our 20 mile split times: 5:23:09 - pace 16:09.

We headed down Victory Way and back towards Osceola Parkway. This is the point were we could see people coming out of mile 20 as we went into the sports complex. I was kind of curious to see how many people were behind us. Utoh, there was nobody going in. We were at the near back of the pack. Thank goodness we had started in C because if we had stayed in G like we were originally assigned, we may have been swept off the course. This was a little disheartening. Probably about now, I had another thought. I had heard to earn your Goofy medal that you had to finish both the half and the full within the required time pace. If we weren't able to speed up, would they really not give me a Goofy medal? I hadn't voiced my concern to Dan yet but I tried to speed up the pace a bit.

We had the same realization - uh oh - there is nobody going in. Your mind is playing tricks on you anyway at this point in the race, and those little seeds of doubt are just given room to grow when you can no longer see the back of the pack. I had to remind myself that there was over 3 miles between the point where you entered and exited the WWoS. Even so, every sweep bus we passed scared me a little bit.

 

[Ariel484]

HOORAY for The Stick! It hurts so good.

Congrats on getting out the door and making it to your ADR! That's so funny about the medals...last year I was in line to meet Goofy and the girl in front of me asked where I got my Mickey medal. I told her I'd run the marathon and she looked at me like I was absolutely crazy...haha! Your Le Cellier review is very timely - we haven't been there since 2011 (right before it went Signature - we decided that we probably weren't going back once it made the switch) and last night Will was wondering out loud whether it was any good...and then I read about your meal. Sounds like we'll keep avoiding it.

I had a reservation for breakfast at Cape May last year and canceled it ahead of time...sounds like it's a good thing I did! I'm sorry it wasn't very good for you guys.

BEAUTIFUL Yacht Club pictures! Love the colors.

I'm right there with you on RNRC...I can barely handle that thing on a good day. Love that TSMM queue. That's awesome that you guys got some fastpasses this time around! Can't beat that.

 

[fractal]

You ran a marathon then walked to DHS from EPCOT? Impressive!

Awesome that you got those fastpasses. Nice way to cap off the day.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

Congratulations on finishing! Especially with your not being at your best, that's such a great accomplishment. Y'all are amazing!

 

[Tiggerish]

Congrats on toughing it out and finishing. I can't even imagine that.

Of course, I may have to "imagine" running from now on, as I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago with lower back pain, which was occasionally excruciating, and he diagnosed early stages of arthritis and "cannot recommend" continuing to run, since the constant pounding could make it worse. Suggested I take up cycling.

 

[Ariel484]

Of course, I may have to "imagine" running from now on, as I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago with lower back pain, which was occasionally excruciating, and he diagnosed early stages of arthritis and "cannot recommend" continuing to run, since the constant pounding could make it worse. Suggested I take up cycling.

DISLIKE. I'm sorry you're having back pain, Siobhan. I've been there before (not arthritis, but it comes and goes) and it's no fun.