Disney Winter Racing Part Three - WDW Minnie Mouse 10k

Friday morning came way too early, earlier then Thursday, as the rest of the races started at 5:30am.  Today would be another short race, the Minnie Mouse 10k.  While the weather looked better, it would still be around 40F after wind chill, and my Flash costume would not keep me warm while we waited.  I left to hotel a bit earlier then for the 5k, and I skipped breakfast to allow me to sleep a bit longer.  Once I got to Epcot, I grabbed another bag and headed for the staging area.  This time, I found a different tent that was heated.  Several members of the Dopey Challenge Facebook group also found refuge in this tent, and we had a chat. 

One of these members, Mark Foley, had an issue of nipple protection for the coming races.  Specifically, he forgot his NipGuards, and he had inquired from the group how he could solve that problem.  While I offered my extras to him, ultimately he declined, going for body glide.  Since this was such a short race, chest protection would not be a problem until tomorrow.  While I did not see them in the tent, I did run into Karen Chu and Amanda Mavrakis, just outside the tent.   

Both of these runners are amazing costumers, who put in a large amount of their time creating unique costumes for each race that they run.  I don’t know of a race Karen has failed to dress up for.  At the 5k race, she dressed up as the Splash Mountain Ride "After Picture", and today she was Princess Lea.  While she will be running the following week in Disneyland for the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend, she chose this race to debut such an amazing costume.  Here is the link for those who are curious on how she wove in a sports bra to the Lea top to allow support while running.

Now it was time to head to the corrals, and unlike yesterday, this march was much more leisurely and roomier, as the wind was limited today.  Again I warmed up by doing loops in the corral and stretching (always dynamic stretches!) and headed off to the starting line.   

The 10k course starts off by leaving Epcot through the front park vehicle entrance, wrapped around to the highway, and then back to the park.  As we reached the vehicle entrance/exit for Epcot, we ran under a bridge, where they had setup Elsa and Anna.  While the setup was interesting, the cool part about this first setup was the fact that they made it snow as you went under the bridge.

At this point, we entered the back stage of Epcot, and we were back running the 5k course again.  We went off course again as we reached France, at the World Showcase.  Instead of heading to the UK, we took a left towards the Boardwalk and did a mile loop there.  This is an interesting part of the course, as it was the only place where the runners cross the same path.  Here is also where we saw the first set of people cheating.  Some runners, who were either looking for a better time or trying to reduce a run they thought they could handle, jumped the cones and turned back onto the course, skipping the mile loop around the Boardwalk.  One runner actually caused a placement issue, as she took 2^nd place, with suspicious split times of 27 minutes for the first 5k, and 17 minutes for the second.

Disney's Boardwalk

One of the concerns I have about this part of the race is the wood on the Boardwalk.  Last year it had rained a bit before the race, making this section slippery and treacherous.  Luckily it was nice and dry, with a large amount of characters hanging out for pictures.  Obviously I had to stop and get a few!

We left the Boardwalk and reentered Epcot.  At this point, we took the final few miles of the 5k course and finished across the same finish line.  Just before the end, they had two puppets from Monsters, Inc, including Mikey, so I stopped to grab a photo. 

 

Since I was in my Flash costume, I turned to the two Disney employees watching me take the photos, smiled and pronounced that I had given everyone who I was running next to a big enough lead, and it was time to pass them before the finish line.  Seeing them smile, I bolted (full sprint) the last quarter of a mile to the finish, catching the majority of them, and passing Mark, who had been near me most of the race.  We greeted each other after getting medals, talked a bit and then headed out.  

Because it wasn’t as cold as yesterday, I decided to get my photos with Dopey and Minnie.  Here I was reminded of the wonder of the running community.  Standing in line for Dopey, I met a nice woman from Maryland who was doing the Dopey for the second time.  During our conversation, the Minnie Mouse line became quite long, as it was her race.  She stated it was good to have friends, and pointed to her friend in that line, holding a spot for them both.  When I stated I was there alone, she offered to let me join her, which I did.  That led to finding out that she had minor hypothermia waiting for the bus during the 5k, having to be warmed by two runners and then getting very sick.  While she is telling both her friend and I this, you could see her getting cold, so we got her through the lines quickly and off to her bus. 

 

 At this point it was time to head back to the hotel for a shower, food, and work, until Sallie, my wife, arrived.  She was doing her first Marathon this weekend, and I wanted to make sure her stress level stayed as low as possible.  It did not help that her flight was delayed to a point in which she missed the expo for today, but after picking her up, getting some food, and making sure she got as much rest as possible, she was on her way to an amazing weekend.  Now it was time for sleep and a silent escape to the half marathon while Sallie slept.

Disney Winter Racing Part Two - WDW Pluto Family Fun Run 5k

This part of my race series will focus on the Dopey Challenge.  This challenge contains four races in four days, a 5k, 10k, half marathon, and then a full marathon.  Each race has a unique aspect and feel, with this year’s series adding a special kind of weather to the mix.  Each Disney race starts very early in the morning.  This is due to the fact that they would like to start opening up the roads to support the guests that will be attending the parks.  I initially intended to cover the first three races in this post, but after I completed the initial write-up, I decided that there was more to talk about in each race.  In order to show some of the fun, I needed to expand the race reports.  For better or for worse, here is the first of the race reports.

The Zen of Pacing

My goal for these four races would be to continue learning to feel a race pace and to feel how I am doing throughout the races and recovery.  I have relied on my watch far too much over the few years that I have been running, without understanding how a pace translates to my body’s state at that time.  Over the last month, I have been trying to only use my watch for the final finishing time, and to update myself on what pace I am running to compare with how I feel.  This also means that I will have to learn to resist the urge to speed up or slow down if the pace I see is not what I expect or think I want.  If I burn out too soon, I learn a lesson from how I feel leading up to it.  If I feel like I still had something in the tank, I will again have a good reference to understand how to use everything while on the course.  With two weekends of races, each set back to back, this would be a good challenge to that method of pacing.
 

Pluto Family Fun Run 5k

The first of these races, the Pluto Family Fun 5k, starts at  the latest time, 6:15am.  This is the start of the Dopey race challenge, and is only timed for those running the Dopey races.  As Thursday morning arrives, at a very early 4am, I start putting together my clothes for the race.  Today would be the traditional 5k clothes set; a Hulk Under Armor compression t-shirt, normal running shorts, and standard running socks.  This is Florida, so this combination should be perfect, and it was, until I looked at the weather.  The weather for 6am Thursday had an expected temperature of 38F, with high winds, bringing the wind chill to 31.  

This is where last night’s purchase will come into play.  While not very stylish, trash bags should keep in enough heat to stop me from shivering.  I had posted earlier to the Dopey Challenge Facebook group that I would bring extra trash bags for anyone lacking the right clothing, so I grabbed the box of trash bags, a single GU, and off I went.  The drive to the race, which started at Epcot, was uneventful.  With only 12k runners, in which 7k being Dopey runners, the traffic was expected to be light.  Once I got there, I grabbed a few bags, and opened one to put on.  It would seem that I got the smaller ones, as they only went down to my waist.  Hopefully this will do, as I didn't have much choice in the matter.

I headed to the check-in point and then to the corrals, as we had 45 minutes before the race, and it was really cold.  The wind was much stronger then I thought, so I added a trash bag skirt to my wardrobe, adding to my trashy style.  Once through the security check, I found out that the corrals would not open up until 6am, so the idea of mass warmth in the corral was out.  

Looking around the empty staging area, I saw many tents for bag check, a future finishers store, and storage. A number of runners were using these tents to keep out of the wind, so I joined them.

While waiting for the corrals to open, I ran into a group of runners from Alexandria, all in the same bag check area.  We chatted about routes and training, and I handed more bags out to people that looked worse off than me.  Eventually they kicked us out of the tent and the march of the penguins to the corrals commenced.   

Once I got to the corrals, I started my warm up by running loops inside the corral, while keeping my arms and hands inside the bag.  After a few minutes of cold stretching, we were released to the starting line.  I started in corral A, so we were the first group to the line.  This meant that we would be waiting through the initial announcements, the National Anthem, fireworks, and the release of the wheelchair heat.

Waiting until the last minute to remove my bags, I tore them off like bandages and headed off for a quick 5k.  The race travels through Epcot, using some back lots, the World Showcase, and the area around Starship:Earth as the course.  The course is quick and flat, with only a few points where it becomes tight.  Throughout the course they have many characters to get pictures with, and since I started in corral A, there were no lines.  

Half way through the course, I Passed Chip and Dale.  I had to stop and get a quick photo, they were far too awesome to miss.  One of the highlights of running through Epcot at night is the lights Disney displays throughout the World Showcase and around Starship: Earth.  There was too much beauty to ignore, so I grabbed a few photos of the lights across the lake.

The final part of the race circled under Startship:Earth, through a back road, and up to the finish.  This same path would be used for all four races, and would become a trigger point for my kicks to the end.  As you would expect, on this final stretch, I sprinted to the finish line.  For most short races, I attempt to jump across the finish line and hit the actual finish line sign.  This race would be no different, or so I thought.

As I crossed the finish line, I went to do my normal leap, except I didn’t.  I timed the leap in such a poor way, that I almost tripped over myself, and thus just went through the finish looking awkward.  Unlike most 5ks, this race offered a medal for finishing the race.  It was a rubber medal of Pluto, and a nice prize for all of the kids and their families running this race. 

On the path back to the finishing area, I ran into a group of runners with some Tron themed costumes.  They were hanging out in the bag check tent, trying to keep warm after the race.

While there were characters in the finisher area for photos, it was way too cold to hang around without another set of trash bags, or a jacket.  I jogged back to my car and headed back to the room to warm up and get some work done.

The rest of the day would be relatively relaxing, beyond work activities.  I had one more race related activity for the day, as I had signed up for Pasta in the Park.  This party would start at 6:30pm, with a waiting line in Epcot.  The food and activities would be held in the World Showcase Center, and would open up at 7pm.  Once they let us in, we were offered dinner, dessert, dancing, and photos with several character.

The buffet of pasta, salad, bread, all great food

The room was huge, with ample room for all the runners.  The stage had a DJ

They had stacks of bananas on each table for snacks and the next days races

In between eating pasta and figuring out where the dessert was, I got in line for each of the characters.  If you timed it well enough, the line was short and each character would give you a bit of their time versus a quick lineup and photo.  I missed Minnie Mouse and Chip and Dale.

 After the party, all the runners had the option to stay and watch Epcot's Illuminations light show.  They stated in the pamphlet that it would start at 8:30, and that we would have private seating to watch the show.  While we did have great seats, at around 8:45pm, they announced that it would start in 15 minutes.  Since I had a very early start tomorrow, I decided that getting back to the room before 9:30pm was the best idea.  I could see the show once my wife Sallie arrived.  After putting out my gear for tomorrow, I headed off to bed.  On to the 10k!

 

Disney Winter Racing Part One - WDW Marathon Expo

I have previously talked about keeping running fun.  Training and racing can eventually burn a runner out, so we must sprinkle in a little fun during our training and racing to keep it fresh.  Things like obstacle course races, relays, and trail runs can help, as will cross-training.  While I do all of those to break up the training, I also like doing back to back races, or challenges.  Unlike a normal race, the goal is to get an overall time versus a single race time.  This is a different way to race and can lead to injuries due to the stress on the body.  If you train properly for them, the risk becomes much smaller, but it is great fun!.  We call it an ultra with sleep breaks.

When it comes to fun, no one can really beat Disney.  Their races are focused on theme and having fun, versus beating a time, since their inception.  Some elitist runners will even tell you these marathons are not real races and shouldn't count as a real marathon.  To these runners, I laugh at you.  The distance is the distance, no matter how much fun you're having.

Disney has had, for ten years, a weekend challenge during there Marathon Weekend, called The Goofy Race and a Half Challenge.  It includes the Donald Half Marathon on Saturday and Mikey Marathon on Sunday.  Since these distances can be too much for the little kids, they also had a family focused 5k on the Friday leading up to the half.  It was a fun race and was not timed. 

2014 changed all of that.  Disney added a fourth race, mainly for money, to help those that wanted to race, but saw the weekends races as too long, and the 5k as too kid friendly.  Thus the Minnie 10k was born.  Disney couldn't just leave well enough alone, so they decided to add a second challenge, that contained all four raced.  They even named it after the unofficial name runners were using for the challenge of running the original three races.

Thus the Dopey Challenge was born.  In 2014, 7000 racers signed up, and around 6145 finished all four raced successfully.  This year there were 7700 racers, and since the racing started on Thursday, every one of us needed to be in Orlando and at the Expo on Wednesday.

Flying in late Tuesday night, I headed to the hotel, knowing that I had to be up early to get in line for the Expo.  While I needed to get my bib, I wanted to hit the merchandise sections to make sure I got what I and my two soon to be first time marathon finishers wanted.

One of the problems with Disney races is that Disney collectors tend to show up on day 1 and grab a large amount of the gear to keep and/or sell.  This means that if you fail to reach the official Disney merchandise area of the Expo by noon or 1pm, the new or unique stuff will be gone.  This year was no different.  By 1pm, the Dopey section was ransacked, as was the Goofy section, since it was the 10th anniversary of that race, and the gear reflected it.  Collectors on Ebay and other sites were grabbing $7k+ worth of gear just to sell later that day to runners (and collectors) that failed to get to the Expo at a very early time.

I spent a good amount of time in this section, reviewing and grabbing what I thought I would want, as well as gathering the gear on my list for Sallie Gibbs and Jenna Johnson.  They wouldn't be arriving until Friday night, and I did not want them to miss out on the gear they really wanted.  The most popular item this year was the Dopey jacket, due to the unique saying on the back.

I grabbed several more shirts, another jacket and some pins.  Once I was done with the section I wandered around to the rest of the Expo.

I had left most of my GU at home for Sallie to use/choose from for her marathon preparation.  This meant that I would need to purchase my GU here.  This is one of the first things we teach new runners not to do, as you can never assume that an Expo will have the type or flavor of nutritionals that you need for the race.  Having been to previous WDW marathon Expos, I new they should have what I use and took the risk.

I also grabbed a small foam roller to help recover between each day.  Nothing else really inspired me, so I wandered into the New Balance booth to see the new shoes, which had the original Minnie and Steamboat Willie characters on them.  I liked the feel and fit of the men's version and made a mental note to head back here Friday to grab a pair if they still had them.  On my way out, I ran into Sean Astin's first presentation of the weekend.  Sean decided to do the Dopey Challenge this year, in addition to the Marine Corp Marathon he just finished.  Much of his talk was about his love for running and his running campaign #run3rd.

Now it was time to get my bib and head back to the hotel to do work.  The bib line wasn't long, and they had a special section for the Goofy and Dopey runners.  We would be getting two bibs; one for the 5k and 10k races, and one for the Half and Full marathon.  We then grabbed a large bag of stuff that had a shirt for each race, plus a shirt for each challenge.  Last, we had to get our photos taken with our bib (either one).  This was to help reduce the amount of cheating and assure runDisney that the person picking up the bibs would be the person finishing each race.  At this point I was done, or so I thought, and headed back to my hotel room to knock out some work.

I spent the rest of the day deep in spreadsheets and e-mail, only coming up to breath for Lunch and Dinner.  At the dinner mark, around 6pm, I was reviewing everything I needed for the 5k the next day.  It would be colder then expected and my compression t-shirt and shorts may not be enough.  I wandered out after dinner to solve this issue, which ended up being trash bags.  While searching for cheap throwaway clothes, I realized I had forgotten something at the Expo.  Specifically, I did not pick up my Race Retreat wrist bands.

 The Race Retreat is a tent for those who purchase the service, that stays warm, has food, private bathrooms, and a changing room.  I needed these for the Half and Full, but was unsure if I could pick them up tomorrow.  Off I ran (well, drove quickly) back to the Expo to grab the bands, as I had 30 minutes left before it closed at 8pm.  Finally sure that I had everything, I headed back to the hotel, via Publix, and off to bed.

With everything for tomorrow placed out on the desk, it was time for some sleep, as the first race was at 6:15, I was in Corral A, and I needed to be there much earlier.

Next up, the Frozen 5k!