Goofy, Dumbo, and Dopey?

So I'm sure by now you've heard... there is yet another challenge in the runDisney world... the Dopey Challenge.  The same weekend you can be completing the Goofy Challenge, you can also be attempting the Dopey Challenge.  Andy yes, you really must be dopey to compete in this challenge.

The dopey is not just 2 races... not just 3 races... but 4 races!  A 5k on Thursday, a 10k on Friday, the Half Marathon on Saturday, and the Full Marathon on Sunday.  That's 48.6 miles of running in 1 either very magical or very difficult (or probably both so magically difficult) weekend.

Now the challenge intrigues me and some who know me are already expecting me to give in and sign up on April 9th... or April 2nd for the Runner's World Challenge.  I probably won't do the challenge... it depends on how much the race itself is, but considering the challenge doesn't even offer rooms this time... For more information on the run (and the Runner's World Challenge) visit the runDisney blog and their article on the announcement here.

I will definitely need to get some real help with my knees and ankles if I do decide to take on this challenge, but that's also something that has been a long time coming in all honesty.  But if I train right (and find the time to train) this should be fine.  I still have a few weeks to decide so we shall see...

I'm definitely taking on Dumbo... but Goofy and Dopey too?  This should be interesting...

More Races!

I have been meaning to sign up for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon for a while now.  I just haven't since there were still some major questions pertaining to my future.  Well, yesterday I got some great news, my future became a bit more secure, and now I've signed up for the Dine and Wine Half Marathon.

I'm super excited for this race because it provides a few new experiences.  The course is different, which is nice because I've been repeating the same course for Princess and Disneyland for two years now (Not saying those courses are bad, quite the opposite actually).  It's a night race.  I know, after all my complaining about running at night, I'm now running a race at night.  Who knows, this could permanently change my opinion of training in the evening.  Third, there's the after party which sounds like a ton of fun, but I should probably make sure I'm not working the next day.  Finally, it's just a new race for me!  That's always exciting!

Well, signing up for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon isn't my only exciting news...

I've also signed up for the 20th anniversary of the Disney World Full Marathon.  Yes, you read correctly, a full marathon.

Now, those who grew up with me and know me pretty well are probably surprised I'm doing a full marathon.  Heck, when I was a swimmer, I swore I would never run.  Then I started doing triathlons and eventually half marathons.  Still, even after my first half marathon I told my parents that I would never do a full marathon.  Well.... SURPRISE!

So, I have a few months to train for the full and I'm sure I can do it.  I have great supporters surrounding me and it will be a huge success when I'm able to finish.  So I guess there's something new to follow me on my blog for... to see if I survive the full marathon!

And you never know... if I survive the full marathon... maybe the Goofy Challenge will be in my future???

Let's Get Lost

I've been moving around a lot recently.  My internship ended just over a week ago and I'm in temporary housing as my house gets built.  Due to the transient lifestyle, I've been finding new routes.

Yesterday, I checked out the map for the area where I'm staying and found what I thought would be a nice route to run.  I had no clue how far it would be or how long it would take me to get everywhere.  There were a lot of walking paths that intersected and deviated from each other so I knew it was going to be interesting.

This morning I got ready for my run and rechecked my map.  Again, I knew it was going to somewhat of a challenge to stay on a route.  After all, this is a new area for me.  So I figured out a few landmarks from the map and decided that it was time to get lost.

Ok, I didn't get lost in the conventional sense of the word.  I knew where I was, sorta, and I was able to find my way back to my room.  All in all, it was a great run.  It ended up being just over 5 miles and I got to explore the area where I'm staying which was fun.

In my opinion, one of the great things about running is that you can just go off and get lost on a run.  You can stop thinking about life and where you are and just let loose.  You never know what you might stumble upon or what great routes you might find.  On today's run I found a route I'm going to try tomorrow morning and I'll admit I'm anxious to get out there and explore again.  As for the things I stumbled upon... check out this cute gazebo they had, but it was designed like a carousel:

In other news, I've decided to set up a few new goals.  

First, I WILL be doing the full marathon in 2013.  It'll be good for my health and I think it's just a great goal overall.  

Second, I MIGHT be doing the Goofy in 2014... I have 2 years to train for that, I think I can do it... 

Third, I want to run 400-500 miles in 2012.  I haven't decided on an exact number, but I want over 1 mile a day so anything better than 365 miles is good for me.  Right now, I'm behind with that goal since I've only run just over 8 miles, but I'm ready to tackle that goal and beat it!