TPR 039a: Goofy Challenge Recap – The 13.1

Entrance to the Magic Kingdom...

The 2012 Goofy Challenge.

The journey here was long and tougher than I expected.

A little background: I did the 2009 Goofy Challenge. I swore I would never do it again. The my cousin said he wanted to do the 2012 Goofy Challenge and asked me if I would run it with him.

Being a person who has Alzheimer's running through his family, I of course forgot every promise I ever made to my legs and said, "SURE!"

RACE PREP

I started training for Goofy right after finishing the Augusta Ironman 70.3. I made a strategic error in not giving myself enough time to rest and recoup -- not necessarily physically, but mentally. I was drained for most of the fall and thought I hurt my foot in December, so I didn't have the mileage I hoped going into the race.

I also had the lingering worried that my foot was still injured. (Which runner hasn't had a pain in the foot and didn't freak out about a stress fracture?)

Ah, Scrooge McDuck!

With all of that behind me, I arrived in Orlando for the race. My cousin trained hard and we were both rarin' to go.

But this is a story about what happens when your race plan gets tossed out the window.

We ate our pre-race meal at Wolfgang Puck's dining room at Downtown Disney. I had a great meal and turned in at a decent time (10 p.m.) for whatever sleep I could get. I don't mean to make light of the half marathon, but I've done enough of them that I don't lose sleep the night before any more.

Got up at 4:15 a.m. and rolled to the hotel lobby to wait for my cousin to come and drive us to the start line (it's SO much easier than taking the Disney buses at 3 a.m.).

My cousin had food poisoning. He would not be running. He would not be getting out of bed.

THE START

Now, the ONLY reason I was running this dumb race was because of him. I thought about dropping out. I thought about going back to bed and enjoying Disney World. I thought about resting my potentially injured foot. Then, my wife stepped in.

"You've trained for this. Your foot is fine. Go out and run this race. You'll do great!"

Green Army Men!

My wife, 7 months pregnant and unable to run the Disney half this year, got me back in the race, albeit unwillingly. I stood at the start line thinking, "Well, I can do the half and be fine. Bag out of the marathon tomorrow. Jeff won't be running anyway, that's for sure." It made sense.

And the fireworks signaled the start of the race. My strategy had been to run with my cousin - a 6-hour marathoner. Take it easy, "run" a 13-14 minute mile average pace. Save myself for Sunday. Running by myself was not part of the plan.

The start of the race was packed, as it always is. Disney is good because it starts on a wide, three-lane road. But about mile 2, it narrows to a one-lane off-ramp. I hit the first 5K in 33:30 (10:47/mile).  I was happy with the time and took it easy. I felt good. My foot didn't hurt. None of the nagging aches and pains from the Augusta 70.3 were hurting.

The course winds through the Disney roads to the Magic Kingdom. I missed my wife at the 4-mile meeting area and went through the Magic Kingdom. My time suffered a little as I stopped for a few pictures along the route which slowed me down.

10K: 1:08:37 (11:03/mile)

After the race...

The Second Half

I saw my wife at the Grand Floridian hotel and rolled back on to the roads back to EPCOT Center. I was feeling very strong and decided to pick up my pace a little. I wanted to run a 2:20 half, which would be faster than my previous Goofy time, but more than 30 minutes off my half-marathon PR. After the 10K mark, I was at a 2:24:51 pace.

So I picked it up and started running a 9:30 +/- pace. I still walked through the water stops, as was my plan, but I started moving a little faster. I had the "runner's high" kick in. I realized that I could hold a 10:00 pace all day. I wasn't winded. I wasn't getting fatigued.

I hit the 15K point of the race in 1:39:49 (10:43.mile). The pace was getting better and I was getting back on track. I was now on a 2:20:29 pace.

The final few miles were very uneventful. I missed not running with my cousin since that was the entire plan. I kept the easy pace up and made even more time back. I cruised to the finish in 2:17:17 and I ended with an average 10:28/mile.  It was a good race that ended up right on plan, despite being completely thrown off at the beginning.

I got my medal, went back to the hotel, and took the miserable ice bath. My quads were sore (I blame picking up the pace in the second half). The only mistake I might have made was that we went to Hollywood Studios for several hours afterward. Loved the rides and had a blast, but about 3 p.m. I wanted to get back to the hotel, where I dunked my feet in the pool and sat in the hot tub for a while.

I never had any real pain in my foot (any more than you ever have during a race). I also never really had much of a problem with my left hamstring, which flared up near the end of my 70.3 training and never really went away. Had dinner, still without my cousin, at our normal Italian restaurant. I had the potato gnocchi and lots of bread.

Then, I hit the bed for Sunday's marathon and prepared myself to run with my cousin's wife and her sister who were doing the Chip and Dale marathon relay. But the surprises weren't behind me...

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