Disney World (January 2015) – Part 1

In an effort to catch up with all of the major things that have happened in 2015 (and to try and satisfy my New Year’s resolution #4), I’m going all the way back to the beginning of the year to write about my trip to Orlando in January. I figured I really needed to finally document that trip before I head back there for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon at Walt Disney World next month!

My parents joined me in Orlando for the 2015 Disney World Marathon Weekend (1/7-1/11) when I was running the 10K and half marathon. We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort which turned out to be pretty nice. The room was basic enough, but all of the buildings are situated around a lake. We had a little bit of a walk to get breakfast at the food court every morning, but at least the lake made for a lovely route. And it was a bit chilly in Orlando that week which was both good and bad. The day before the 10K we went to the race expo at the Wide World of Sports complex and picked up my shirts and bibs for the two events. I was distressed to discover that the race pins I thought I’d ordered (and even had email receipts for) had gone awry during the registration process. Luckily I was able to buy them at the expo, but only after looking in three different places. We spent the afternoon wandering around Downtown Disney (which has been renamed to Disney Springs since then) and had dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s Grand CafĂ©. A nice pasta dinner before my first race.

The next day was my 36th birthday and we started the celebration by getting up at 2:30 AM to catch the bus to the 10K start line. Doesn’t that sound fun? Believe it or not, I was thrilled to be running a race on my birthday. And despite the fact that it was 45 deg that morning (we hunkered down in one of the event tents to stay warm before the race started), the experience was fantastic. Running through EPCOT was so much fun. My time was nothing to brag about, but I felt great. It was one of those runs that was almost effortless. That doesn’t happen to me very often so I was grateful for such a memorable run on my birthday. After I crossed the finish line my parents and I took the bus back to our hotel, showered and changed, and grabbed a late breakfast. To finish my birthday celebration we went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park since I’d never been there before. It was cold and there was a lot of construction going on at the park, but we still had a good time. The Expedition Everest ride is so awesome! I’d go back just for that. And we had a surprisingly good dinner at the Yak & Yeti restaurant. That night we were all tired from getting up way before the crack of dawn so we went to bed early – especially since we had to repeat the same process again the next morning for my second race.

To be continued!

Injury (part 2)

After hurting my knee during the Disney World half marathon on January 10th I was a little worried about the next couple of races I was signed up for. They weren’t too far in the future. I was flying back to LA on Monday and the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend was happening at Disneyland the following weekend. Yikes! Back in June when I registered for the Star Wars races I decided not to try to run the half marathon since it was only a week after the Disney World half marathon. As much as I really wanted to do it (and complete my Coast to Coast Challenge in record time), I figured it was just too ambitious for me at this point in my running career. And it’s a good thing I set those low expectations since my knee problems would have made a subsequent half marathon excruciating. As a consolation for skipping the half marathon, I registered for both the Star Wars 5K and 10K to still enjoy the weekend, just with less running. After my injury I was definitely concerned that I wouldn’t be healthy enough for the Star Wars races less than a week away, but I actually felt pretty good after resting and icing my knee for a few days. So on Friday morning when I crossed the start line of the Star Wars 5K I thought everything would be fine. It was just 3.1 miles, right? Too bad my knee was hurting so much after the first mile that I had to walk the rest of the race. I was so disappointed. To avoid further injury I ended up walking almost all of the 10K the next morning too. It was probably a mistake to even do that, but there was no way in hell I was going to miss getting the inaugural Star Wars 10K medal! Maybe that makes me materialistic, but I paid quite a bit of money for that race and it was going to take a lot more than a sore knee to keep me from participating. So despite the difficulties, I crossed both the 5K and 10K finish lines, but I felt awful. About a week later I decided I needed to do something about it.

To be concluded…

Injury (part 1)

This is hard for me to say, but I’m injured. It took me a long time to admit that to myself, but I am no longer in denial and now I’m facing the problem head on. It all started back in Orlando. On my birthday I ran the Disney World 10K and felt absolutely fantastic. It was one of those races that runners dream about. It was effortless. I kept waiting to feel like I was exerting myself at all! I believe that’s what they call a runner’s high. I’ve experienced it so few times myself that I’m unfamiliar with the sensation, though. I never thought it would actually happen to me during a race. In addition to the spectacle of running through Disney World (EPCOT Center, specifically), the runner’s high made the 10K completely magical. I couldn’t have asked for more on my birthday.

Fast forward 24 hours. I was standing in my corral before the Disney World half marathon and I knew something was wrong. My knee was hurting and I hadn’t even started running yet. I’d been having some pain on the outside of my left knee intermittently since October, but I hadn’t thought much about it. I always felt better after a little rest and reducing my mileage. No big deal. But something changed on January 10th. Due to the cold weather and lack of shelter prior to the half marathon, my parents and I spent about two hours in a tiny tent at the start line standing shoulder-to-shoulder with as many other people as could cram themselves in there. Everyone was just trying to stay warm! Unfortunately I think that was the tipping point for my knee problems. I knew I was in big trouble when it hurt before the race even started. After feeling amazing during the 10K the day before, I felt pretty awful during the half marathon. There were a few moments where I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish the race, but I kept running and still crossed the finish line in a respectable time (for me, at least). I spent the rest of my time in Orlando icing my knee several times a day (many thanks to my mom who thought to bring an ice bag with her!) and taking a lot of ibuprofen. I figured I’d rest for a few days and everything would be fine. Wrong.

To be continued…

Catching up (January edition)

Historically January is the month that I blog the most, but this year has been an exception. January can seem relatively quiet and dull after the excitement of the holidays is over. During this winter month I normally fill my extra free time with writing (specifically documenting how I spent my Christmas vacation). Not so much this month, but it’s been an unusually busy start to the year so far! Where do I even start? I’m planning to write more on all of this soon, but here’s a little recap for now.

After New Year’s I was back to work for a grand total of three days before I was on vacation again. My five days in Orlando were pretty great! On my birthday I ran the Walt Disney World 10K and felt fantastic. Then my parents and I spent the afternoon at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (and froze our butts off!). The next morning I ran the Disney World Half Marathon and crossed the finish line injured. That was really discouraging. On Sunday we went to Universal Studios to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which was amazing. I flew home on Monday and went back to work on Tuesday. Then on Thursday I went to the Disneyland Hotel for the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend expo. On Friday morning I started running the Star Wars 5K, but quickly discovered that my knee was still injured. Very disappointing. I still participated in the Star Wars 10K the next morning, but I walked the majority of the course. At least I got my medal!

Now it’s Sunday and I’m back at home preparing for a very busy week at work. I spent the afternoon roasting vegetables and putting together lunches for the week. It’s funny, but I think this is going to be my first normal week since the holidays. I still have a lot of things I need to do before I’m caught up with all of my usual chores, but I’m already starting to feel less stressed. Phew! I’m looking forward to having a little down time to get organized, gather my thoughts, and write about the crazy 2015 I’ve had so far. And the best thing is that I know there’s so much more awesome stuff to come this year!