Goals are very easy to set, but often hard to achieve. They take work, dedication, and focus to achieve. And when you are over weight and 40 years old…achieving a goal like a 5K can be downright impossible! This past Saturday, not only did I have a goal, but I had done the work to achieve it..and do it pretty solidly!
5:00 am on a Saturday morning and it is very hard to get out of bed, especially to run 3.1 miles. However running around Disney’s Hollywood Studios made it a WEE bit easier. Sid and I both got up early on THIS Saturday to compete in the Champion’s 5K at Disney’s ESPN the Weekend. Sarah and I had worked hard for the past 2 weeks to be able to really excel at this race, and we were nervously excited to get to the park, warm up, and get running!
We donned our running apparel, drove over to DHS, and joined a couple thousand other crazed runners to compete for the coveted finisher medal and the bragging rights of finishing a 5K at Disney.
The scene as considerably smaller than the previous week’s “Royal Family 5K,” due to the smaller number of runners. The Royal Family 5K had SEVERAL thousand runners/walkers/strollers/??? all participating, so the crowd was huge. In contrast, the Champion’s 5K had under 2,000 people so the pre-race area was much smaller and subdued.
After warming up and watching the opening festivities, it was time to get at it. Sarah was trying to beat her time from the week before, so she took off, I was just trying to keep up and not get swept. But I did have a game plan: run 25 seconds, walk 35 seconds, for the entire course. I got the idea from runDisney‘s Jeff Galloway. He says it’s how marathoners conquer running for 26 miles, and I thought that it would help me out tremendously! And it paid off, BIG TIME!
MILE #1
The first mile of this course was along the driveway in to the Studios and the scenery left a LOT to be desired. Basically we were running down one side of the road, making a U-turn, and running right back. Passing all the faster runners, it was hard to stay motivated when I realized how far back I truly was…and how slow. But I kept to plan and ran/walked along.
And then I saw the 1 Mile sign..and it looked really odd. It said 16:17…knowing that I started about a minute or 2 after the official race clock started (due to the crowd of runners in the chute), that meant that I had completed the first mile in UNDER 15 minutes??!! Wait, what? I checked my personal timer, and I really WAS keeping up at a 15 minute mile pace. #Winning!
MILE #2
So, crossing the first mile marker, we were inside the park. We entered near the Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show and we even got to run across the stage and be on the big screen! Truly awesome! And then we were backstage near the Back Lot Tour and got to run around some of the tour. It would have rocked to run in Catastrophe Canyon, but you can’t always get what you want..right?
Along the way I met Michelle, she was over-weight, like me, and working really hard. We started to talk and got to know each other, and I decided to walk with her… It turned out to be a great decision! We continued through the Streets of America and headed to the front of the park, passing the Tatooine Traders, Indiana Jones Stunt Show, and the Great Movie Ride. And then it was Mile Maker #2!! My timer said that I was running/walking in the 17 minute per mile range. I was slowing down.
MILE #3
Disney had Mulch, Seat, and Shears playing some killer music (as always) under the Sorcerer Mickey Hat that was really awesome, and that made the home stretch seem within reach. I knew I was getting tired and slowing down, but I had not started to panic. And then I turn up Sunset Blvd. heading towards the Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster, and I almost stopped in my tracks.
The runners were coming at me from behind the coaster and tower…in other words, we had to go outside the park beside the roller coaster, and back in via the Fantasmic! theater… That’s a LONG way. But I had to keep moving. Michelle and I just kept walking and encouraging each other. I ventured a look back over my shoulders and saw at least 50+ people, so as far as being swept, I knew that could make it. But those thoughts quickly fled away when I saw the hill behind the Tower… And I knew that I had to run UP that hill, or I wasn’t going to make it at all.
So I kicked on the afterburners and ran up the biggest hill on the planet. OK, it’s not really THAT big of a hill, but after 2 miles, a speed bump can kill you! We continued through the the theater and back out onto Sunset Blvd. and I looked back over my shoulder again, and was terrified. There were only about 25 of us left. Somewhere between the tower and the roller coaster, half the pack got lost… or stopped and gave up. The sweep van was behind me. I did what any other person would do. I ran as hard as I could, which I know for MOST people really isn’t all that fast, but hey, I was NOT getting swept again!
And as I turned the corner headed to the very from of the park, I saw the most beautiful sight…all the Cast Members were lined up on the street and clapping and cheering for us… the slow pokes… the fat kids…. the losers…the ones never chosen… They were CHEERING for us! And it rocked! And at the front was a sign…
MILE #3
I had done it! The only thing between me and that medal was 1/10 of a mile. I could do that! I could even RUN that! And I did. I convinced Michelle to run as well…and there was Sarah. She had somehow gotten BACK onto the course to cheer me on and bring me home! I loved her more then than I ever had! She was awesome!
Two more turns and I was home free… There was Mickey and Minnie…and the finish line! I crossed it running, high-five’s all around! I was the 2nd to last guy to cross the finish line that day, but it felt like I had won the whole thing! I didn’t get swept, run a 15 minute mile, and even helped someone else finish well. It was a good day!
THE AFTERMATH
A couple hours later the official race times were posted, and I got another shock. Sarah had finished her race in 36:47! She had beat her time from last week by a full 4 minutes! She is amazing! But my time was 52:47…. The last race I really ran, I came in at 56 minutes. 52:47 is not pace with the race, but it is SO MUCH better than my last run… I had gotten BETTER!!
SO WHAT’S NEXT?
Sarah and I are continuing our training for the next race (next month…a 10K, no less). And we are looking at running a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles!!!!) in October. I’m about to start my next major goal… To complete a 12 week eating/working out/health course to try and drop 40-50 pounds. We’ll see if I achieve that goal as well…
What goals have you set and achieved?
I’d love for you to leave a comment and let me know!
It’s been a LONG time since I did a Sunday Night Decompress…and it’s been a while since I darkened the door of a church. And since I went to church this morning, I thought I might as well drop a little decompress on you! Sometimes you don’t have ANYTHING to say, and sometimes you have STUFF to say…today is that day…
