Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare Challenge

After the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, I knew I had to do another Disney event (mainly to get my Coast to Coast medal). I loved my Dopey experience earlier this year. So I signed up for the Dumbo Challenge (a 10k and a half marathon). Totally doable. I didn't really train well for this, and figured since I did the SeaWheeze a couple weeks ago, I'd be okay.

Expo
I didn't make it to the Expo the day it opened since we arrived in LA at the time it was closing down for the day. We made it first thing the next morning. It was organized really well... if it's one thing that Disney excels at... it's lining people up. The only thing that I really wanted was the Dumbo Double Dare magnet, but it was sold out. Bah. I was able to get the "I did it" magnet, but it wasn't my top choice. We then went to Disneyland and walked all day. Smart!

10k
A 5:30 am race start isn't so bad when it's Pacific time! Our hotel was pretty close to Disneyland, so we were able to catch the ART bus to the Disney Esplanade. It was really convenient, even though it was a pretty good walk to the race start. For some reason I was in corral B. I told myself to run the first 2-ish miles since we'd be out of the park and it would be pretty boring... and then enjoy myself once we got into the park.

My first mile was a 9:04 pace... which is way too fast for my training (and with no back-to-back training runs). Second mile was a 9:24. We got to California Adventures and this was my first time here. The park was so awesome, especially in the dark. I was a bit surprised that there were no lines at the character stops. This was so not like my experience at WDW 10k. I didn't stop at any of the characters, but I did take my time around the park to take in the sights. We then entered Disneyland, and although it's basically a smaller version of Magical Kingdom, I still loved it.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
I finished with an official time of 1:03:28. I placed 1316 out of 9007. Obviously not a PR, but these races are meant to be fun and not speedy.

Half Marathon
I talked Josh into running this race with me, so I was pretty excited to have the company. My legs were pretty sore from the 10k (and from visiting the park and riding bikes...). The game plan was to walk through every water stop, and then after Angel Stadium (10ish-miles) do what we need to do to finish.

Running Main Street.
The first four miles are so much fun! You almost forget that you're running. Then you exit the park and it gets so tough. The streets of Anaheim are, well, kind of boring. But I kept looking forward to Angel Stadium and that Dumbo medal, so that kept me going. There wasn't the same level of entertainment on those boring stretches like there is at WDW. I loved running Angel Stadium though!! They should really do that here in St. Louis. Why don't we do that???

Angel Stadium. 
After Angel Stadium, the overcast started to clear, so it got warmer and harder. But, I only had three miles left so that made me happy. It turned into a walk/run. We finished with an official time of 2:26:06. Why is my half marathon getting so slow? It's so depressing. We did take a potty break, so that probably added a good minute or two, but still...  I just feel like I suck at running.

Half Marathon Finish!
Anyways, I'm still chasing that sub 2-hour half marathon... ugh. I'm not signed up for any races at the moment, but I'm hoping to do one out in Moab, Grand Tetons, or Yellowstone... those are the ones on my bucket list. I'd also love to do one in Las Vegas or New Orleans. 

I loved running Disney, but it's too costly to do every year. If I were to do another Disney race, I'd definitely go back to Orlando before I went back to Anaheim. I hear the Wine and Dine one is pretty awesome... Okay, I might have to do that one at some point.