Disney's Princess 1/2 Marathon, 2010 - The Expo

My first running experience at Disney was the Princess 1/2 Marathon on March 7, 2010.

My husband and I had been on vacation and flew into Orlando on Saturday afternoon, March 6th. I met my friend Sharon at the expo as soon as I could get there. We had a great time shopping and picking up freebies. I bought a sweatshirt, keychain, and running skirt. We got free pens, running magazines, and snacks. We were sprinkled by pixie dust for good luck. The expo had been going on all day Friday and Saturday, so we were only there for the very final 2 or 3 hours. In hind sight, a lot of things were all gone by the time we arrived. Some of the shelves were empty. The apple lady had no apples left to give out. However, there was still lots going on. Lesson Learned: Get to the expo as early as you can, although you will have a blast (and spend some cash) regardless of when you arrive.

PS. - Sharon and I did not buy the hats we model in the photo above. We took a photo of another group of runners and then they took a photo of us! I don't think I could run 13.1 miles with that hat on, but I was surprised how many ladies actually wore them or tiaras in the race!

Training Schedule For July 10-16th

The actual Goofy training doesn't begin until September, as long as I keep my base miles up. I am planning on running a 10 K this weekend, and a half marathon in the fall. The main difference between Goofy training and marathon training is that I have to run two days back to back, with medium milage on Saturday, and the long,slow run on Sunday. I follow John Stanton's plans, from his book Running Room's Book on Running. It is an excellent book for beginners and experienced runners alike.

Here is my perscribed training schedule for this week:

Sunday 10 miles, easy
Monday off
Tuesday 4 miles, fast
Wednesday 4 miles, fast
Thursday 2 miles, steady
Friday off
Saturday 10 K race!

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

I've registered for the Goofy!

I am excited to be running the Goofy at Disney World in January 2012. I will run the half marathon on Saturday morning, and the full marathon on Sunday morning, for a total of 39.3 miles!

I have been running regularly for two years now. I've completed several 10k races, half-marathons (PR 2:01), and two full marathons (PR 4:43). My last full marathon was in January 2011 at Disney. I loved every minute of it! However, the Goofy challengers were treated with a little more awe. I was slightly jealous of the additional attention they received. I wondered if I could complete such a challenge.

In April, I received a coupon for $20 off the registration fee for either the Disney Marathon or Goofy Challenge. I discussed the situation with my husband. With his support, I signed up for the Goofy. I charged the $309.31 entry fee (Thank goodness for the coupon!) and have been excited ever since!