After my painful 9.3 miles at the end of February, I knew I had to up my training and recovery for the Springtime Surprise Challenge at the beginning of April. I only had a month to add another 10 miles! The Springtime Surprise Challenge was a 5k scavenger hunt on Thursday night, an off day on Friday, a 10k on Saturday, and a 10 miler on Sunday. This was a great chance to up the challenge, but again, with distances I felt comfortable completing. This weekend, I spent a few days with Katie’s parents before she arrived, and I ran the 10 miler with Katie and her Dad.
The 5k had a threat of bad weather all evening, so they cut the course short a little bit and canceled the scavenger hunt. I didn’t mind, as it was humid, late, the part they cut was an out and back on a road outside the park, and I easily walked the missing distance to and from the busses to the race. I sorta held true to my “Walk the 5k” lesson from February. I ran/walked the parking lots. I walked in Animal Kingdom and took selfies, had a bathroom break in a real restroom, and stood in a long line for pictures at the Tree of Life and Expedition Everest. It started pouring just minutes after I got back to my hotel room, so I timed it perfectly.
Friday was a great recovery day. No parks, but light walking around Disney Springs. Saturday was the 10K, and I felt amazing! I loved my Dory outfit, I felt rested, and I finished the 10K 22 minutes faster than I did in February! I even had enough energy for a "jump shot!"
Sunday’s 10 miler was a little bit of a different story. Mr. Bob, Katie, and I went as “2 Belles and a Beast,” but I was tired. I was mindful of how much walking I did in MGM (fine, Hollywood Studios) on Saturday, and didn’t stay too late, but my feet still were really sore when I woke up. The first 5 or so miles were entertaining in the parks – Storm Troopers telling us to “Move along,” and Toy Story character stops. But after we got out of the parks, miles 5-8 on long stretches of highway were tough. I stopped in a medical tent for Tylenol. I walked backwards a bit to stretch out muscles. I calculated the timing of the balloon ladies. At mile 9, I realized I was going to finish. I snapped a selfie and texted it to Dad, “Don’t let the smile fool you. I hurt. But I'm gonna finish.”
Lessons Learned:
Train more! I had a steep training plan in a month and could have built up for it a bit longer and a bit slower.
Early bed times. I had 2 days of 2:30 alarms for this trip, and I’m training for 4. My Garmin has a “Body Battery” where it calculates how restful your sleep was and how much energy you’re starting the day with. It ranges from 5 to 100. I typically go to bed between 5-20 and wake up between 70-90, so I'm gaining a good 50+ points overnight. Saturday I gained 18 points, and Sunday was only 11. I started the 10-miler day at an 18 body battery. Rough. Sleep, sleep, sleep.
Just keep swimming, one foot in front of the others. Adrenaline will keep you going at the end!
But, somehow I did it! (Almost) 3.1 miles as Moana, 6.2 miles as Dory, and 10 miles as yellow Belle!
Next up is Wine and Dine weekend in November – 5k, 10k, and half marathon on 3 consecutive mornings. It’ll be as close as I get to a Dopey simulation, and I’m planning to do better with all my training, recovery strategies, and lessons learned!
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