The upside this year, was that instead of waiting at the top of the mountain for 90 minutes freezing before the race started, we got on the last bus up the mountain and were dropped off five minutes before the start. This is because they have a REALLY bizarre way of organizing the bus pick-ups in that they don’t organize it at all. So you have to nomadically wander from bus group to bus group hoping that they can squeeze you onto the next bus that arrives. And when that doesn’t work, you try again.
Disney has started incorporating challenges into their runDisney events because running isn’t crazy enough. For instance, The Goofy Challenge, is a half marathon on Saturday and a marathon on Sunday. And if you think that sounds too easy then there’s The Dopey Challenge which is a 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, half marathon on Saturday, and marathon on Sunday.
You see? There ARE crazier people than me!
The Pixie Dust Challenge will sound essentially normal in comparison; it involves running a 10k on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday, which is nothing new for me. Knowing what it entailed should have made me wiser. It didn’t. This time Chad joined in on the challenge. Because I’m wearing him down, obviously.
Last year I ran six half marathons which is… a lot, especially for someone who hadn’t ever run a half marathon before. For 11 months I felt like I was constantly training for my next event. After my last event in November, I decided to slow down a little and wait until January 1st before actively training for the next race: the 2015 Salt Lake Half Marathon alllllll the way in April.
It was an insanely mild winter in SLC, so I was able to train outside most of the time. When we did have a little rain or lingering inversion, I did speed training on the treadmill. It was definitely different from having to commute to the Kearns Oval three times a week like last year… #contributingtotheinversion.
While we were waiting in line for a ride in Disney World – you know, right after running twice in 100% humidity, Chad and I got an email about the Inaugural Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon and I willingly committed to running another Disney event for 2014. Because, Disney.
Right after I came home from the Princess Half Marathon Weekend, my friend, Lindsey, asked me if I would be interested in running the Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon in Vancouver. This was different than the before-I-ran-a-half-marathon sign-up insanity. I had run TWO half marathons at this point, one in 100% humidity. I honestly don’t know why I said, “Yes.” Maybe a desire to see the beautiful Vancouver. Or to run a half marathon with my bestie. Or maybe the sunset festival sounded fun. Most likely it was the promise of yet another medal for my collection.
Regardless, I signed us up right when the registration opened and secured each of us a spot and we were well on our way to a fun ladies weekend that happened to involve running a half marathon along the shoreline of Vancouver, Canada.
Which is about where I saw a sign near a puddle that said, “No boating or swimming.” Ok, maybe it wasn’t a puddle. But it was practically a puddle you guys. It was in the middle of a residential/commercial area. It was smaller than your average backyard pond. If such a thing is actually average.
But then, the week of the half marathon, Chad talked me into staying with him for the run, rather than running separately like we’d done the past two races. The night before the race, I went to sleep thinking that there was a small chance that I might cross the finish line in under 2 hours – which had been my goal since Disneyland.
I don’t remember much, if anything, of the course. I just remember that I was unable to see more than 10 feet in front of me until the sun came up. At that point (it has since been explained to me) the sun burns off the humidity and you can see the air again.
Sarahpedia 