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…

So without any further adieu, here goes!

• Have I mentioned lately that it’s FOOTBALL SEASON!!!???  Thank you Lord, and Hockey season is coming!
• I went to New Walk Church today – one of my favorites and several friends have been attending lately.  As always, great music, great speaking, and great to see so many old friends!
• After church Sid and I spent some time at Smokey Bones for lunch.  We had received some gift cards way back when, and finally got around to using them!  I *heart* good BBQ!
• We spent a few hours running SUPER SECRET errands…more on that MUCH later.
• It’s Sunday in Fall, so that means football and ANOTHER day of the Bucs sucking their way through a game…BUT my Dirty Birds (Falcons) pulled an upset in New Orleans! WOW!
• It’s Sunday and that ALSO means taping a nap with my lovely bride in the afternoon…  Ahhhhh life
• After we woke up it was time for our late night run: 3.1 miles at an 18 minute pace – not great, but better than a year ago.  (A year ago, I was a couch potato…so ANYTHING is better than last year, and NEXT year will be better than THIS year!)
• Got home and had a little dinner and Undercover Boss – INSPIRATIONAL!
• Heading to a really much needed sleep!

LOOKING AHEAD

• On Friday Mom and Jim come in for a few weeks in FLA (we’re spending 3 nights at Disney, which is AWESOME!)
• Saturday AM Mom, Sid, and myself will be running/walking in Mickey’s Halloween 5K and then in the late PM, Sid and I will be running in the Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon Relay!  Prayers are VERY welcome.
• Sunday night the whole family is attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in Magic Kingdom – very excited!!
• Sid starts working in Orlando on Wednesday – which will be great and nerve wracking all at once.  She’s commuting and starting a job custom made for her.  It’s truly a blessing.
• I hope to be blogging more…I have some topics to unpack, but it may be uncomfortable for me to write and for you to read.  We shall see…

Here’s the photo blog from Mickey’s 2nd tour around Florida with the Rick Scott Gubernatorial Campaign.

I’ve gotten a few emails about what’s been gong on in my world, and I do apologize that I have not been really consistent in posting…but I have been very busy.  In fact, even though I am unemployed, I have been the busiest I have ever been.

At the first part of July, I got a call from a company that wanted me to come shoot some video in Atlanta, so I was able to take Sid, drive up, and visit some family.  It was a very quick trip, but we did get some Taco Mac in!  The video shoot went awesome, and as soon as I can post the video, I will.

While we were in Atlanta, I got another call from a friend of mine who needed Sid and I to be a part of 2 van teams to travel across Florida with one of the gubernatorial candidates providing sound/lighting/staging for their many stops along the way.

Sid and I got to spend a lot of time together traveling across this beautiful state.  We met some amazing people, had some wild experiences.  And we even got to meet the Bellamy Brothers.  It was busy, crazy, and a total blast!

One night, we were in Orlando and got to attend the Aulani presentation for Disney Vacation Club.  I have never attended a Disney party – it was out of this world awesome!  There are lots of pictures, you can check them out here.

The week we got back, neither Sid, nor myself got much sleep.  She was doing some catch up work for a new client, and I was editing video and catching up with emails and web stuff.  For a while there, I thought that I was a vampire!

After all that, we slept for about a full day.  We were beat!  And then we got an email from an old friend who knew of  a company that was looking to hire 45 people for a new crew of people in Orlando to work at a major hotel in their A/V department.  So we jumped at the chance.  Emails were sent, calls were made, appointments were confirmed.

So along with all that, we’ve been working on the 13 for 13 Challenge; were running 13 miles for $13,000 to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  On October 2, Sid and I will be running a 1/2 marathon relay (at Disney, of course).  We’ve been training and trying to raise funds…and we can certainly use some help.

Last week, we went on the interviews and did pretty well, we should hear something first of next week, and took 2 days completely off and spent time at Walt Disney World.  A much needed and well deserved mini- vacation.

It was a whirlwind, and a lot of fun.  Rumor has it, Sid and I may be doing another Florida Bus tour and there is another rumor that we may be at the primary election party.

So now we’re trying to catch back up on life and the web.  This is not exhaustive, but it gets you caught back up quickly.  Sid will be posting some more detailed stories over at WDWParkhoppers.com (our newest site).

Thanks for reading, and I will be posting new pics tomorrow…it will show all his adventures in Georgia and Florida.