3 months of nutrition and physical training, reading several books and blog posts, lots of discussions with experts, and many prayers culminated on March 6, 2010, when I ran the Disney Princess and the Frog Royal Family 5K.
I have never been very athletic, but I have always had an affinity to being a runner. I don’t have a “runner’s body,” but I do posses that passion to become a real runner. My dream is to one day run a full marathon, and the first step was to complete a 5K race.
5K equates to 3.1 miles, not a long distance, but when you’ve spent most of your adult life fairly inactive, 3.1 miles can be a VERY daunting number. But as the fortune cookie states: Journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step. So step, I did.
My lovely wife, Sarah-Irene [Sid], helped me train by running as many consecutive days as possible, eating a much more healthy diet, and educating ourselves to proper running etiquette. We spent many early mornings at the YMCA and started to build up our endurance. She really has been an inspiration and a driving force behind our success.
Saturday, March 6 – 5:00 AM
Sid and I woke up at the All-Star Movie Resort, got dressed and headed out to EPCOT. Our arrival time was 6:00-6:15, we didn’t want to be late, plus we had no idea what to expect, so we played it really safe, and arrived at 5:45.
It was almost a carnival atmosphere: there were lights, a DJ jamming out upbeat music, people everywhere, and a Disney fixture: a queue line. The line was for runners to meet Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, or Louis. It was outrageous!
6:45 – Loading the Chute
The announcement was made for all runners to load the chute, a narrow runway that launches them through the Start/Finish line. It felt a little like herding cattle, but the jokes, laughing, music, and excitement about the 5K was infectious and the nervousness I had started to fade to excitement and expectation.
Fear
When I started this process, I was 345 pounds and seriously needed to lose weight. So, starting in January of 2010, I radically changed my diet, lost 20 pounds, and started to train for this 5K. But I couldn’t run more than 1 minute without being completely out of breath. And standing in the chute, the reality of my NEVER having run 3.1 miles without stopping was weighing very heavily on me.
Another cause for anxiety was the 16 minute mile pace that Disney imposed on the race. I could easily walk 3.1 miles non-stop. I could even jog/walk 3.1 miles, but to keep the 16 minute mile pace was too much for me. Up until that day, I had only kept an 18 minute mile pace, to say that I was scared of NOT finishing would be an understatement.
Ready – Set – GO!!
We were off!! It was awesome, the music was playing, people were cheering, and we were running! Well, actually walking… There were SO many people in the chute, many of whom had running strollers, it was impossible to run, so my anxiety about the 16 minute mile pace was even more exaggerated.
But I had nothing to fear. Disney places characters throughout the course for people to take pictures with, so the 16 minute pace would be really difficult, unless you ran FAST from character to character, which many people did.
The coolest part for me was being allowed in the mythical “backstage” area of EPCOT. We were privy to some sights that very few “guests” get to view.
Finishing the Race
After leaving the parking lot, moving backstage, continuing through World Showcase, and progressing through Future World, I could actually SEE the finish line. And, when I looked behind me, I could see LOTS of people, not only was I going to finish, I was going to finish well!
I had made a promise to Sarah: I walked most of this 5K. I had developed some severe pains in my shins (not shin splints). So I was a little concerned about trying to pound out the entire 5K. So I walked (very quickly) most of it…but I promised Sid that I would run the last .1 of a mile. So as I saw the 3 mile marker, I picked up my pace and ran it out.
And finished….at 53:27 (which is about 17 minutes per mile) not great, but better than I had been doing in the week prior.
Moving Forward
I’ve started training again for the Expedition Everest Challenge, a 5K + Obstacle Course + Scavenger Hunt in June. It will be a challenge because I have set the goal to RUN the entire 5K. Sid and I have also added some close friends into our running team. I’ve even bought my first pair of ‘high end’ running shoes… I said it best the other day… “I’m a runner’.
