Corssed off my bucket list!

I am by no means a runner, so when my boyfriend asked me to run the Goofy Challenge with him in Disney, I was very hesitant. Between asthma and loose joints, I had just given up. I had always wanted to finish a marathon, and I was presented with the option of completing a half and full back to back.
I finally agreed, and started training. This was no easy task. between kids and life, and my long distance relationship, I struggled with conditioning, but kept at it. I read the forums here, I read journals about running, I did what I could to get out and get miles in. Last Saturday started the half!





The buses picked us up at the resort at 3am which was just obnoxiously early! On very little sleep, we made our way to the corral. It was so cold. People were shivering under space blankets and doing what they could to stay warm. We took out sweat shirts off long enough for this pic in front of Goofy:






We set off at a really good pace. We took a few moments to take in the sites and snap quick pics with some of the characters. I really wanted to see Jack, but the line was forever long, so I settled for a selfie.



We made our way into the Magic Kingdom, wand it was crowded. There would be no running. We were shoulder to shoulder as we bottle necked our way through Cinderella's palace, and were greeted by a cheering crowd as we came out the other side. It was pretty cool seeing all the people there to cheer everyone on.



The rest of the half was smooth sailing, and a few of my friends were there to greet us at the end:



We decided that to keep moving we would get showered and head to Epcot. We took our time going on a few rides, and I enjoyed the relaxing with my man.


After supper, we went back to the resort and I crashed! Then, before I knew it, we were at it again. I was nervous. More nervous than I even wanted to admit to myself. The bottom of my feet were screaming at me from the day before. My muscles were stiff, but I knew I could work through that. We made our way to our corral, and my friend, Carrie, text me to let me know she was there. I knew I wouldn't be able to see her that early in the morning, but she was there and that was pretty freaking awesome!

As we made our start, I was feeling pretty good. I was able to get past the angry feet and stiff muscles and just enjoyed the sights and sounds around me. We passed by Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl. I love the Pirate movies, so I was giddy! Again, the lines were long to get a photo, so I snapped a quick one as we passed by.



Once again, we made our way into the Magic Kingdom, but this time it wasn't nearly as crowded. My friend Carrie was once again there for us, cheering and waving with her husband as we ran by. Seeing the smile on her face and the excitement she had for us was really something special. We got to the castle, and were greeted by the Frozen characters, and we even took a moment to stop so the photographers could take a photo of us in front of the castle. There were 6 lines open for this so it moved quickly!



I was happy with the progress we were making, glad that we didn't put too much pressure on ourselves so that we could have fun taking it all in. Running Disney is overwhelming at times, but very exciting! One of the coolest parts of the run was being able to run on the speedway!





After the speedway, we made our way to Animal Kingdom. This was a long and pretty boring route. We passed the villians, Mary Poppins, some of the animals that were rescued. We also passed by the water treatment plant. Let me just say....this was NOT a highlight. It smelled awful! There were also signs posted along the way as fun facts. All I'm saying is....when you know at the end of this you're going to want to take a long hot bath, you don't really want to know how many gallons of waste are recycled into the very water you will be soaking in.

While in Animal Kingdom, there were a few people stopping off to ride Everest. I really wish we would have done this! We had already ridden it during our visit, but the wait for runners was only 4 minutes. If you ever run Disney, take the chance to stop when you want to. This may not be a chance you'll ever get again.

Once we made it through we headed towards the Wide World Of Sports complex. This was the most boring leg of this run. This is also where I hit a wall. Mile 16, we were making our way up an overpass, and I just couldn't get my brain to communicate with my legs. I could walk, but I couldn't run. The pain in my feet started taking over and the doubt set in. I looked up and saw a sign that said "believe the voice that says you can!" I sucked it up and kept moving. Once inside the complex, it was time for a potty break. There was a gal in front of me who passed out. As everyone called the medic, I was thinking "at least I'm still upright!" It was a little scary to watch this happen in front of me, but she was ok and ended up back on track.

Apparently around mile 15 my tracker stopped working. My friends were worried and started to text me to keep going. Telling me they loved me. Telling me they were waiting for me. I text back telling them I was ok, I was just struggling and had slowed down a lot more than I had expected.

Outside the complex at mile 19 Carrie and her husband were once again there with warm smiles. At this point, I was just down right ready to get to the finish. Rich (My boyfriend) told me to go hug her, and when I did, I lost it. I bawled like a baby telling her I didn't know if I could do this. She hugged me tight, even though I must've stunk royally, and told me I could. She reminded me how far I had come. Told me everyone was waiting at the finish line. She asked what I needed "food, water, coffee, anything?" I told her I was good, and kept moving along. I don't think the tears really stopped from this point forward. I wasn't bawling, but the pain in my feet was hard to handle.

Somehow I still managed to keep smiling through parts of it. I work in a cemetery so stopping by the gravediggers made sense. We also stopped to pose with the monsters once we got to Hollywood Studios.





Once we made it to our last 2 miles, I was just overcome with emotion. I started bawling again telling myself I was going to make it! I couldn't believe what my guy and I had almost accomplished!

In the end, we got our 3 medals (half, full, and Goofy) and my family and friends were waiting with smiles, cheers, pride, and loads of love.




I have been friends with these 3 gals since we were 11 years old. I was so excited to have them there!


After showering and walking around Downtown Disney we all met up at Dave and Busters. There was about 16 of us in total. Then...this happened!!!



Did I say boyfriend?? I meant fiance!!!! I said yes!




I don't know if I will ever run a full marathon again. My man is a runner and I will happily be there to cheer him on. However, we are considering doing the half marathon in Disneyland so we can get the coast to coast medal. How cool would that be??

39.3 miles in 2 days. Finished a marathon and crossed that one off the list!