Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The final countdown...


In 48 hours I will be rolling up to the Expo to pick up my race packets for the Goofy Challenge. I completed my last 30 minute run this morning; my next run will be the 5k on Friday morning. It is hard to believe the race is almost here. The last couple of days I have felt like a kid counting the days before Christmas. Pure excitement! Time creeping so slowly that it seems like you might die before it actually gets here. Weather.com certainly has had a surge in web traffic thanks to me obsessively looking at the 10 day forecast in hopes for the “perfect” running weather. Dare I say, the weather is looking pretty darn good!

Admittedly, I am a little nervous. I keep trying to remind myself that I ran this mileage 2 weeks ago with no issues. I shouldn’t have any thing to worry about it; however, in the rearview mirror those long distance runs now seem ages ago.

Disney holds a special place in my heart. It was my first marathon in 2009. It happened to fall on my 40th birthday that year. It was meant to be. :) From a running perspective, I did not have a spectacular race. I bonked out a little after mile 18 and fought back tears hobbling to the finish line. I made the mistake of doing all the Disney vacation activities prior to the race, walked each and every park and enjoyed my weekend. It was still the best race ever! Loads of characters lining the roads, so many photo ops it was pure blogger heaven. Even with the death march from mile 18, I loved every minute of the race (including the biofreeze given away by the bucketful).

This weekend will mark my 10th half marathon and 4th marathon. This time, the plan is to take it easy until I get past the races. I intend on getting my money’s worth on Marathon Monday with my free park admission! (Thank you Disney for adding the free ticket this year…). Until then, I have laundry to wash and things to pack! See you when I get to Disney :)

14 comments:

Ewa said...

Have fun. Take pictures. Report. Have more fun.

KovasP said...

Have fun! When I lived in FL I always thought of doing this.

Jennifer said...

Good Luck Karen!!!! Go kick some Goofy boo-tay!!!

Amanda said...

See you at the races! I'll be at the expo on Thurs and then all the races. I'm excited and nervous for sure, but you're going to do great.

That Pink Girl said...

Yaaaay! So excited for you!!!! You are going to have great races, I just know it!

Stacey said...

ooooh I am so jealous! I love Disney! Have a fantastic time!

ajh said...

Also jealous! Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

Pahla said...

Can't wait to hear all about it - good luck!!!

Happy Feet 26.2 said...

Very exciting! I love Disney too. I'm jealous you are doing the Goofy challenge. I ran the full 2 years, but haven't attempted the Goofy yet. One day maybe!

Hope you have some great racing weather, and most of all, I hope you finish the race the way you dream.

Lindsay said...

Aww goofy! Disney is an awesome race. Havefun and good luck!

Free park tickets now? What the heck!? I think I should get one to make up for not getting one in 09...

Null said...

You're insane. I mean that in the nicest way course :) Aren't most runners?

Best of luck this weekend! I can't wait to read your report.

Lisa (bakebikeblog) said...

HOW WONDERFUL!!! I cant wait to hear all about it :) Good luck!!!

Jill said...

Have a great time - that challenge has always sounded like a blast! Can't wait to see how you do!

Lesley Looper said...

Good luck at Goofy, and have fun!