Final Thoughts: 2018 WDW Marathon Weekend

Now that we are almost a full two months post-WDW Marathon Weekend, I feel like I can adequately sum up my thoughts about the weekend now that some time has passed.

I try not to write about a race weekend immediately after because I'm usually still so pumped up on endorphins that I can't objectively think about the experience to adequately review it.

There were things I absolutely loved about this year's Marathon Weekend and some things that made me second guess doing this race weekend again.

In no particular order, here are my final thoughts on 2018 WDW Marathon Weekend!

Absolutely Awesome Things

Seeing friends is always the highlight of any runDisney weekend but this year, it felt like we got to spend a lot of time with several of our friends that we only get to see a few times a year. It was really such a highlight of the weekend.

Breakfast at Floatworks with friends is the very best way to recover from a marathon.

Some of us are way excited to be running 26.2 miles.

Running down Main Street USA and through the castle is magical. Running down Main Street USA and through the castle twice in two days is super magical. I really loved all of the course changes this year that took us through the front gates of Magic Kingdom and I especially liked how much more time we spent in MK during the full.

Good morning, MK!

Exploring Pandora was definitely a cool part of the weekend. We also got to ride both new rides at AK and discovered a favorite new bar, Nomad Lounge.

Mugs and matching magic bands are mandatory in Pandora.

Y'all already know I love Altra running shoes, but WDW Marathon Weekend proved to me how vital having the right shoes can be. I wore two different pairs of the Paradigm for the half and full and in between the races I wore the HIIT XT (cross-trainers). I credit my Altras with helping me make it through the weekend with strong, pain-free feet.

So many of my favorite things in one photo.

Less Awesome Things

Y'all. These courses were so crowded. There were times during the full when I felt like we were running in wall-to-wall people. At one point, I stopped at a medical tent to get some biofreeze and was nearly bowled over by all the folks crowding around the table. I don't know if there were more runners on the marathon course this year or if I'm just getting too old for this crap, but it felt really, really crowded throughout much of the race.

And....we've got walkers, five across. UGH.

That expo was not a great experience. Long lines everywhere, confusion on where to go, multiple buildings for merchandise, bibs, etc. Matthew and I had such a bad taste in our mouth from this expo; it made us reconsider the entire weekend.

No merch is worth waiting hours for.

The weather in Florida in the winter can be unpredictable but this year's was exceptionally crappy. With temps in the 30's and a real feel in the 20's, we might as well had just stayed in Pennsylvania and ran with all our winter weather gear! This is the second year in a row it's been cold- we're due for a weekend of good running weather.

You should never have to wear a hat in FLORIDA. 

So... will be back for WDW Marathon Weekend in 2019?

Already dreaming of 2019 bling.

Maybe... probably. :-)

There are a few things up in the air for us personally (which I'll detail in another post soon!) so we can't quite say yet what January 2019 will look like.

But in all likelihood, we'll be back for another WDW Marathon Weekend- at least we want to. During the marathon this year, I had a strong feeling that I wanted to run another marathon, and run it for time. It's been almost three years since I PR'd in that distance and I can feel it in my heart- I've got one more 'fast' marathon in me. Will it be the WDW full next year?

We'll just have to wait and see!


Did you run during WDW Marathon Weekend? What was your experience like?

WDW Marathon Weekend 2018 Recap: Part II

This recap will cover the WDW 5k, WDW 10k, and the Cigna Blogger Event. Stay tuned for recaps of  the WDW Half Marathon and the WDW Marathon!

Recap Part I

We woke up on Thursday morning to absolutely freezing temperatures. 

Now, before we go any further, yes, I know that there are several places around the world that are colder than 29 degrees. However, it's rarely 29 degrees in Florida and because it's so damn humid, all the water in the air makes it feel so much colder!

Anyway, back to Thursday morning: Matthew put on his planned 5k outfit and then added a bunch of layers. 

I wore thermal pants/shirt, leggings, jeans, two long-sleeved shirts, an Under Armour sweatshirt, a neck gaiter, two pairs of gloves, hot hands, a hat, and a bathrobe (that I brought as a throw-away for the marathon). And I was still absolutely frigid when we left our room at 3:30 am to catch a bus to the race start. 

Matthew loves 4 am pictures!

We met up with our running ohana and huddled together for a while until the runners had to go into the corral. This was Matthew's first race of the Dopey Challenge and he planned to take it easy- so I knew I'd have about an hour from the time the race started to see him finish- he was in corral D so we figured he'd start the race about 20 minutes after it started.

Frozen ohana.

After Matthew and all the other 5k-ers went to the corrals, the remaining spectators (probably about 200 people total) all huddled around the heaters that runDisney had brought in to try and help folks stay warm. I jumped into the line for Mickey (they had characters out before the race) and got a blurry picture with my favorite mouse while wearing a bathrobe. 

Hello, Mickey!

Though I never really warmed up while huddled around the heater, I did talk to some cool people about Altras (spotted two guys wearing them), chatted with a family that had come from Australia to run the races, and helped calm the nerves of a woman who was running her first marathon later that weekend. One of the things I love about runDisney races is the general camaraderie of the folks that run them- it's easy to make new friends at marathon weekend!

After chatting with my new friends, I headed towards the finish line to see Matthew complete part one of the Dopey Challenge. Once he finished the race, we went back to French Quarter to get cleaned up and start our day at Magic Kingdom- we had a breakfast reservation for Be Our Guest and fast passes for the Na'vi River Journey in Animal Kingdom in the afternoon. :-)

WDW 5k finisher.

A cold day in the Magic Kingdom is still a day in the Magic Kingdom.

Pandora: where the walls are as green as the beer.

After a successful half-day of park-hopping, we repeated the events of the night before and were all tucked into bed by 7 pm with an alarm ready for 2:30 am. 

Friday morning I woke up and immediately knew something was wrong- my throat was sore and scratchy and I felt horrible. I started to get dressed, took another Airborne (we'd been on a steady diet of Emergen-C every day for the previous week to avoid getting sick), and tried to assess how I felt and if I really wanted to stand out in the cold for another few hours that morning. 

Matthew took one look at me and told me to get back in bed. Reluctantly, I put my pajamas back on and climbed back in bed. There may have been a few tears when I realized I was going to miss his race- but I knew I needed to rest. Matthew headed off to the 10k and I went back to sleep. 

Chilly ohana.

I finally woke up when Matthew came in from the race- he had a great time and really loved the whole experience- he said everything went smoothly and he never felt too crowded along the course. He was pretty tired so he took a shower, climbed back into bed, and we both fell back asleep for another few hours. 

When I woke up later that morning I felt much better. The Cigna Blogger Event was scheduled for 12:30 at the Atlantic Dance Hall so I got up, made a hot tea, dressed in layers for the chilly temps, and then Matthew and I made our way over to Disney's Boardwalk. Our friends Steff and Joe had a car so they picked us up at French Quarter and drove us over- while Steff and I were at the blogger event, Joe, Matthew, and our other friend Nathan had plans to check out the Big River Grille and Brewing Works- we blog, they drink beer- sounds about right! :-)

Photo courtesy of Cigna.

Once we arrived at the Atlantic Dance Hall, we got a name tag and a character sticker. The sticker let us know our assignment- I was on Team Minnie! This blogger event was going to be based on "minute to win it" games and we knew we'd be competing against other bloggers in teams, similar to last year's event.

All Minnie, all day.

Cigna had a beautiful buffet lunch set up for us so I spent some time eating and meeting other bloggers. I was able to meet the team from Joyful Miles in person and got to see more runDisney friends: Justin, Gelcys, Emelia, Dani, Katherine, and Kristin. 

Yakking it up with the Joyful Miles crew! Photo courtesy of Cigna.

Eating and taking selfies: two of my top skills. Photo courtesy of Cigna.

Welcome Bloggers! Photo courtesy of Cigna.

After lunch, we split into teams based on our characters and played a ton of "minute to win it" games. They all had some connection to overall health and "knowing your numbers" and I honestly learned a lot about nutrition and healthy guidelines while we were trying (and failing!) to score points at the games. 

This game was HARD! Photo courtesy of Cigna.

The Dance Hall was set up into multiple stations/games. Photo courtesy of Cigna.

Just seconds before all these blocks fell- it's no wonder we didn't win! Ha! Photo courtesy of Cigna.

Team Minnie trying to control a bunch of ping-pong balls into shot glasses. Unsuccessfully, of course! 

Also, Scott from Team Donald was totally cheating and messing with Team Minnie's blocks! :-)

In between two rounds of the "minute to win it" games, we played a round of health-related trivia. Surprisingly, for a group of fitness/running bloggers, we didn't get all the answers right! We had a blast guessing though!

And the correct answer is...?

The last round of the game was a kind of lyrics contest. Each team was given a buzzer and the DJ would start playing a song and then stop it at a particular place. If we knew the next song lyric we had to buzz in and then we had to actually sing it in front of everyone! Team Minnie totally dominated this part of the contest! 

High-fives after another right answer! Photo courtesy of Cigna.

We weren't having any fun. Nope, none at all. :-)  Photo courtesy of Cigna.

Unfortunately, our tremendous singing ability wasn't enough for us to place in the top three once all the points were counted. But, we still got a sweet surprise- photo opportunities with Minnie and Mickey- as doctors! 

Bloggers + Mickey + Minnie= All smiles. Photo courtesy of Cigna.

Two doctors and a runner. Photo courtesy of Cigna.

The Cigna Blogger Event this year was so much fun- I laughed the whole time and had a blast getting to know other bloggers. The games were challenging and exciting and I know I'm not the only blogger who learned a lot about nutrition and good health guidelines during the trivia rounds. Thank you, Cigna, for a great afternoon!

Once we left the event, we grabbed a few drinks with some friends/bloggers and then headed over to Disney's Beach Club for another running ohana meet-up. Spending time with friends (who live all over the country- and globe!) is one of the very best parts of a runDisney race weekend.

These people ❤

By the end of the afternoon, I was fading fast- Matthew and I jumped in a cab and headed back to French Quarter to make our 7 pm bed time. We had 13.1 magical miles waiting for us in the morning- my road to unofficial Goofy was about to begin!

Coming up next, WDW half marathon and WDW marathon recaps!

Disclosure: Cigna invited me to be part of their blogger program for 2018. I received lunch and a Disney gift card for attending the Cigna Blogger Event. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Word[less] Wednesday: 1/17/2018

Good afternoon, friends!

Since I haven't done one of these in a while (and because my WDW Marathon Weekend recaps aren't quite ready just yet), here's a few pictures of what's been going on in my world the last few weeks!

Still riding the high from marathon #4.

Pandora at Disney's Animal Kingdom is STUNNING. The rides were cool, too :-) 

I had TONS of fun at the Cigna Blogger Event! Stay tuned to find out exactly what's happening here :-)

I will never tire of showing my medals to Princesses.

Ever.

Epcot International Festival of the Arts was pretty neat- they had some excellent craft beers on tap.

Still our favorites.

Will run for fancy doughnuts.

We came back from Disney to TONS of snow- no problem for my Yaktrax Pros and Altra Paradigms :-) 

Lots of Disney recaps coming soon- promise!

What's been going on in your world these last few weeks?!

Official Unofficial Race Plans: 2018

Good morning, friends!

There's so much to fill you in on- I don't even know where to start!

If you follow me on instagram, then you know I ran the Hot Cider Hustle this past Sunday morning (3 miles) and then ran 14 miles that afternoon for a total of 17 miles.

14 solo training miles with the most BEAUTIFUL fall colors and negative-ish splits. November, I have a feeling you are going to be awesome. 🍁🍃🍂

A post shared by Sarah (@sparklyrunner) on Nov 5, 2017 at 1:06pm PST

Now, why in the hell would I run 17 miles randomly? I'm not training for a marathon...

...I'm training for the Unofficial Goofy Challenge 😁

Marathon #4.

As you may know, I signed up for the Walt Disney World Half Marathon back in February. I debated for a long time about what to sign up for in 2018- marathon or no marathon? Goofy or Dopey? Just the half marathon or maybe the half and the 10k? Ultimately, I settled for the half and Matthew signed up for his third Dopey Challenge.

However, the full marathon was still open months after we'd registered and I kept feeling like I wanted to sign up for it. So, I used Runner's World Half & Festival as a mini-test; depending on how I felt after the 3 days of racing, I would either sign up for the full (in addition to the half) or just be satisfied with the half marathon. Still high on endorphins from an awesome and unforgettable weekend in Bethlehem, I registered for the full last week.

The Goofy Challenge (half + full) was already sold out by the time I registered for the full, so it looks like I'll be training for the "Unofficial" Goofy Challenge for the next eight weeks! I'm equal parts scared and thrilled but I'm really looking forward to this next training journey. Since I'm already trained up to the halfway point (13.1 miles), I'll be following a modified training plan for advanced runners (having run more than one full marathon). Expect to see more here about training in the weeks to come.

Most definitely.

Speaking of unofficial races, Matthew and I also decided last week that we wouldn't be getting our traditional castle picture with all our medals in 2018 after all...

2014 Dopey Challenge Finisher.

...because we'll be sailing on the Disney Dream right after the WDW Marathon as part of the Castaway Cay Challenge!... well, sort of...

By the time we decided we were going to do the cruise (like last week), the Castaway Cay Challenge was also sold out. So we decided that we'll just run the "regular" Castaway Cay 5k (which happens after the Challenge 5k) and complete our own "Unofficial" Castaway Cay Challenge. Bonuses of this approach: 1. Less money spent on race registrations means more money for beach side Pina Coladas. 2. We get to sleep in as the second "regular" 5k starts quite a bit later than the one associated with the challenge.

Island 5ks are our favorite.

We took this cruise in 2017 and completed the official Castaway Cay Challenge. Again, we'd debated about doing this again for 2018 and decided we weren't going to. But then we both had insanely busy and stressful fall semesters and ultimately decided that we wanted to take some time off and cruise again directly after WDW Marathon Weekend. So we're making it happen, just a little spontaneously 😉

Is it weird to be running the half and full marathon and not be considered part of the Goofy Challenge? Is it totally nuts to sail on the Castaway Cay Challenge cruise after WDW Marathon Weekend but not be part of the official challenge? I don't know. But after years of "extras" - shirts, medals, and race fees- I think Matthew and I will be ok.

2018 is going to be officially awesome, even if I get there in an unofficial way. 😜


What goals/races do you have planned for 2018?