Hellooooooo humans! It's another runDisney trip report!
The cast is a small one this time around...just my husband Will (28) and me, Shannon (29).
This runDisney trip was different from my other ones in a few ways, the biggest being that the primary motivation was not to run the half marathon (although I did sign up for the half...I can't pass up the opportunity to earn some runDisney bling
). No, the main reason we booked this trip was to run Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K...together! It was Will's first race at Disney...actually, his first race ever!
We originally had our sights set on May's Expedition Everest Challenge, but quickly realized that the race would more than likely fall during a big tennis tournament that Will coaches each year. It seemed stupid to sign up for such an expensive race ($210 for both of us to do the 5K!) with such a strong possibility that we wouldn't actually be able to participate, so that's when we switched gears and planned on the Wine & Dine weekend.
If any of you have read my other runDisney race reports you may be wondering what happened to my normal runDisney partner-in-crime, Princess Craiggy (my brother Craig, 27). Why didn't he come along and run the half with me? Apparently the idea of doing a night race really freaks him out for whatever reason. Plus, he's pretty busy - and broke - being a smarty-pants graduate student in a rigorous nursing program. (He IS still running though, and he's mentioned doing another runDisney race weekend more than once.) And finally, I sort of thought Will and I needed a little getaway, just the two of us.
The other big way that this trip was different was that it was the first time I've ever come into a runDisney race trip thinking there was a strong possibility that I'd either not start a race or drop out due to injury. My last long run during training was a 12-miler on November 3, the Sunday before the race. Out of nowhere I had weird knee pain at mile 9 and changed my stride to compensate for it. I felt okay once I was done, but as the night went on I increasingly felt like I had an intense cramp in my left foot. The next morning it felt like I had a serious strain, and I spent the rest of the week hobbling around work, popping ibuprofen like it was candy, icing my foot, and researching compression socks and taping methods that I hoped would help me quickly heal or at least successfully limp through the race. (My knee, the thing that had started this whole mess, felt perfectly fine.) Monday and Tuesday were the worst - I was in serious pain and wasn't even looking forward to the trip. What if I couldn’t start the races? What if I started and got pulled off the course? I know they give out medals to people even if they don't finish (no comment on that policy...
), what would I do with the medal? There's no way I'd keep it. What if I tore or ruptured something? Would I cause serious damage here? WHAT ABOUT MY TRIP REPORT?! Seriously though, it was a pretty miserable week.
On Wednesday I felt a little better and was starting to think that maybe I could make it through. By Thursday I was pretty sure I was going to at least try both races, knowing full well that due to my stubbornness (and, let's be honest, stupidity) there was no way I'd willingly leave the course once I started unless something serious happened.
It was just a really weird time...by far the least excited I've ever been for a Disney trip.
The cast is a small one this time around...just my husband Will (28) and me, Shannon (29).
This runDisney trip was different from my other ones in a few ways, the biggest being that the primary motivation was not to run the half marathon (although I did sign up for the half...I can't pass up the opportunity to earn some runDisney bling
). No, the main reason we booked this trip was to run Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K...together! It was Will's first race at Disney...actually, his first race ever!
We originally had our sights set on May's Expedition Everest Challenge, but quickly realized that the race would more than likely fall during a big tennis tournament that Will coaches each year. It seemed stupid to sign up for such an expensive race ($210 for both of us to do the 5K!
) with such a strong possibility that we wouldn't actually be able to participate, so that's when we switched gears and planned on the Wine & Dine weekend.If any of you have read my other runDisney race reports you may be wondering what happened to my normal runDisney partner-in-crime, Princess Craiggy (my brother Craig, 27). Why didn't he come along and run the half with me? Apparently the idea of doing a night race really freaks him out for whatever reason. Plus, he's pretty busy - and broke - being a smarty-pants graduate student in a rigorous nursing program. (He IS still running though, and he's mentioned doing another runDisney race weekend more than once.) And finally, I sort of thought Will and I needed a little getaway, just the two of us.
The other big way that this trip was different was that it was the first time I've ever come into a runDisney race trip thinking there was a strong possibility that I'd either not start a race or drop out due to injury.
My last long run during training was a 12-miler on November 3, the Sunday before the race. Out of nowhere I had weird knee pain at mile 9 and changed my stride to compensate for it. I felt okay once I was done, but as the night went on I increasingly felt like I had an intense cramp in my left foot. The next morning it felt like I had a serious strain, and I spent the rest of the week hobbling around work, popping ibuprofen like it was candy, icing my foot, and researching compression socks and taping methods that I hoped would help me quickly heal or at least successfully limp through the race. (My knee, the thing that had started this whole mess, felt perfectly fine.) Monday and Tuesday were the worst - I was in serious pain and wasn't even looking forward to the trip. What if I couldn’t start the races? What if I started and got pulled off the course? I know they give out medals to people even if they don't finish (no comment on that policy...), what would I do with the medal? There's no way I'd keep it. What if I tore or ruptured something? Would I cause serious damage here? WHAT ABOUT MY TRIP REPORT?! Seriously though, it was a pretty miserable week.On Wednesday I felt a little better and was starting to think that maybe I could make it through. By Thursday I was pretty sure I was going to at least try both races, knowing full well that due to my stubbornness (and, let's be honest, stupidity) there was no way I'd willingly leave the course once I started unless something serious happened.
It was just a really weird time...by far the least excited I've ever been for a Disney trip.
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Of the last 4 trips to WDW Will and I have taken together, 3 have been centered around runDisney events. 
And a Pluto 5K medallion for the 5K. 
