11 + 21 = 32…Miles.

Training for Goofy’s Challenge is HARD work. I already told my Coach, if I ever say I want to run this race again, please slap some sense into me!! If you haven’t seen it yet, check out my recent blog for Claim Your Journey, I’m Going Goofy.

At the beginning of last week, race programs for Marathon Weekend went live online….(and of course, I immediately printed out the course maps and highlighted my husband’s watch points!) :0)  It’s getting SO close, y’all!

Also, race waivers were made available. I’m not quite sure what happened but I’m in Corral E…which is strange. I’m going to see if they will possibly let me move up to Corral D at the Expo. There are others who turned in times that were slower than mine and they ended up in Corral C or D, so we’ll see what happens!

Running related, this past week broke my record for most miles in a week, ever….for a total of 38 miles! (I know that’s not a lot for some of you but for me, its!)

Tuesday – 3 miles with Madalynn
Wednesday – 3 miles on my own
Friday – 11 miles with Scott
Saturday – 21 miles with Heather & Kelli

Thankfully, Friday and Saturday’s runs were not as difficult as I thought they would be. I met up with a running group friend of mine (Scott) on Friday for an 11 mile run. He’s also running Goofy’s Challenge so it was nice to train with him!

The sunset at the lake on Friday night was beautiful!

We made it…and I think I  chatted his head off! Poor Scott!

It’s getting down to the wire with Marathon weekend so I decided to practice my “routine” of things to do when I am actually in Disney.

 

After the run I came home, put on compression tights, and drank chocolate milk.  Also, I’m a nerd, yes I know….I wore my 2010 WDW Half Marathon shirt on Friday for the 11 mile run and my 2011 WDW Full Marathon shirt on Saturday for the 21 mile run! :0) Good luck, right?

I woke up on Saturday morning less stiff than I thought I would be. Maybe those back to back runs really are helping!

On my way to meet my friends, I started to panic. You see, last year’s 21 mile training run (around this same time of year) was less than stellar. My knee had gone crazy on a 10 mile run just the week before (I wasn’t sure what was wrong at the time)…and needless to say, I only made it through 6 miles of last year’s 21 mile training run which resulted in bouts of crying ALL DAY LONG. Unfortunately, that was New Year’s Day. What a way to start out 2012. I am SO thankful I’ve come so far, but I think the stress and anxiety of what I was about to do was getting to me. I  told them that I had PTSD.

We decided before Saturday that we weren’t going to try to kill it for this 21 mile run…we took it slow and steady and we walked when we needed and that’s what I plan on doing for Disney.

As I ran, I was thankful for each step, grateful that I was given another chance, another opportunity to run. I’ve decided to look at my injury experience as a learning curve. I may not be able to run as fast as I’d like to right now, but at least I can run.

We finished our 21 mile run and I can’t tell you how excited I was. To have that  plastic medal around my neck made me feel like I had just accomplished the world! (I might have even worn it the rest of the day….) Kelli also ran her very first 21 mile run so I was very proud of her!! She’s a rock star!

32 miles in 2 days…yes, we are just plain Goofy!

After our run, we stopped by our favorite breakfast joint and I thoroughly enjoyed those beignets!! :0)

As soon as I made it home, I put on my compression tights again and kept them on the rest of the day. I also cleaned the house for a Christmas party on Saturday night, so I never really had the chance to sit down besides breakfast. Busy busy! Not sitting down helped me, I think….I wasn’t sore or stiff at all on Sunday! Yay!

After dealing with an awful knee injury (tendonitis/ITBS), a horrible New Years Day (2012), heartache at not being able to run the race I trained for (Houston Full 2012), and a year of foam rolling, stretching, and leg strengthening exercises, I’m proud to say I’M HERE! I’ve made it to the peak of my training for Goofy’s Challenge and I’m looking forward to finishing not one but two races (I’m keeping my fingers crossed and definitely saying my prayers)! It’s an amazing feeling and I can’t wait for January!! :0)