This weekend I participated in my 42nd and 43rd runDisney events, the Expedition Everest Challenge:Family Edition(EEC:FE) and the Expedition Everest Challenge(EEC).  As some of you may remember we participated in the 2012 Expedition Everest Challenge event with E and she had a blast.  Needless to say G was a bit jealous, so when runDisney introduced the Family Edition this year we decided to give it a try.

The weekend started with me logging out of work early and taking E with me to hit the packet pick up at Wide World of Sports(WWoS).  The packet pick-up for the events had a little bit of an upgrade this year with a couple vendors on hand.  They had Sweaty Bands, Raw Threads and New Balance to name a few.  Since I was picking up for both races and all family members I had a good stack of waivers in hand as we went down the line and scooped up everyone’s goodies.

The EEC:FE included a bib customized with your team name, a cotton t-shirt, and a finisher’s medallion for the $35 registration per individual fee.  Teams could have between 2 and 6 people and was open to ages 4 and up.  Our registered team consisted of me, G, E, Steve and Pop (my father).  As team No Way Jose we named ourselves after our favorite Disney ice cream treat at the Yacht Club’s Beaches and Cream.  We wore clothes that followed the theme: Mom wore white and brown to be our chocolate and vanilla ice cream, I was in a white shirt dyed with tea to look like Peanut Butter Sauce, Dad wore brown to be our hot fudge, E was in a white shirt with brown and beige spots to be our whipped cream with chocolate and peanut butter chips and G was in a red shirt with a cherry drawn on the front.

We weren’t entirely sure what to expect of the EEC:FE when we arrived at Wide World of Sports in the morning.  Steve unfortunately ended up having to work so our team was me, G, E, Grammy and Pop (my parents).  The weather for the entire week was iffy so we were hopeful walking into the WWoS complex that it would hold out long enough for our adventure.  Unfortunately it spent the entire morning switching between a heavy mist, a steady rain, and no rain at all.  We made our way back towards where the kids races were then we spotted the EEC:FE check in tent on one of the ball fields.  We headed up to check in where we were greeted by our friend and fellow ROTEr Kimberly.  A volunteer gave us our clue book and an adventure map that was not of the WWoS complex then Kimberly explained how things would work for the morning.

We were given 8 clues to solve and we needed all of those clues to help us figure out what action we needed to do as we crossed the finish line.  There were no winners in this event, but they did ask that we all keep our clue booklets sealed until the race officially started.  That was easier said than done in the weather since the dampness kept making our yellow label seal pop open, lol.  When the race was officially started I opened the booklet and read through the direction really quick as instructed.   We had 8 clues represented by various symbols that we needed to travel various place in WWoS to help get clues to solve.  I flipped to the map of the WWoS complex and decided we should start at the furthest away clue and make our way back to the clue closest to the finish line.

There adventure map we were given had 18 different locations on it and each had an action wrapped up into its name, so for some examples there was Hop-A-Long Hideaway, Jump Pass, and Cartwheel Crossing.  Each clue gave us a location on the map to circle.

The clues were not terribly difficult, so a later elementary school aged child could figure them out given time.  Some were easy to guess by looking at the map like the one in this picture that included the two words with three letters each.  Others were easy to guess just because of the letters you were given.  For instance only one location had a “Q” in its name.

I think the hardest clue for us, honestly, was the one where we needed to find the difference between the yeti pictures.  This clue had no location and in the end wasn’t needed to solve the final clue.  The final clue had us draw a line through the locations in a certain sequence based on the icons that represented those clues.  Where the lines we drew intersected gave us a location name whose action we had to perform to gain access to the track and the finish line.

When we gained access to the track the kids took off running and left me and my parents behind.  I felt safe with them on the Disney track though so I didn’t try to chase them down.  When we did arrive at the finish Kimberly was there again and gave me my medallion.  They had some snacks available including water, Powerade, mini Cliff bars, and bananas.  I had trouble trying to explain to the kids that as kids they didn’t really need the Cliff bars and in my opinion would not enjoy the taste at all.  Carra, another ROTEr, was volunteering in the food distribution and it was good to see her.  A big thank you to everyone that volunteered that morning!

When we were done we hit the Art of Animation food court for some lunch then headed home to rest up for the EEC later that evening.

I think in the end we all had fun.  E wanted to have more control over the book, but with the questionable weather we were having trouble with keeping the book dry so the umbrella had to stay with the book and she couldn’t hold both at the same time.  Also I was typically the first to solve the clues and I think that prevented the children from feeling as engaged as they could in finding a solution.  I tried to keep them as involved as I could in finding the clues and gathering information but with both of them wanting to help I kept ending up with more information than I needed, lol.  For the low price tag I think I would try this one again.  Hopefully next year Steve can join us.

It appears that as part of the effort by runDisney to alleviate crowding issues during their races they are making the pacing requirements for corrals a bit more strict. On the Registration tab for the WDW Marathon Weekend Disney has posted new information on what is required for not being placed into the last corral for the Half and Full Marathons. I think it has the capacity to be a positive change because it is requesting proof for anyone running under a 15 minute mile, but it will only be successful if Disney is able to follow through with checking the provided proof from runners. I really have my fingers crossed that it works out well because they are no longer allowing runners to change their corrals at the expo. So if mistakes are made there is no way to change them after the November 1, 2013 cut-off. So this is even further motivation for me to pull off some great running in September for the Dumbo Double Dare.

My good friend Megan at elbowglitter.com every Monday posts a post she titles, “Motivation Monday”. So I thought that today I would take a moment to talk about what is motivating me for the month of April.

When it comes to my health there are three components that I feel contribute to my success: diet, cross training and running. I have different motivators this month for each of these areas.

Diet – DietBet.com ROTE Challenge
Several of the folks over at ROTE started a challenge on DietBet.com. It is an interesting concept where everyone puts money into a pot and has a common goal and those that achieve their goal then split what is in the pot. So you aren’t out more than you initial bet and there is more than one winner. While I recognize that the 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks is not ideal for my current body weight I still find it motivating to help me stay on my best behavior.

ThroughHeathersLookingGlass.com Cross Train or Remain the Same Challenge Loop
This morning I joined a challenge on Challenge Loop put on by Heather of Through Heather’s Looking Glass. The goal of the challenge is to encourage folks that run to work Cross Training into their routines by completing at least 8 workouts this month. I have been working hard to increase my cross training with ChaLEAN Extreme, so this is the perfect motivation to help me keep those workouts up through the month of April.

My Training Plan for the Disneyland Dumbo Challenge
My next big race is not until September. I did that in purpose because I wanted to drop my mileage back and work on my base before building up for my next half marathon. I have two goals for the Dumbo Double Dare: PRing the 10K distance and doing my half marathon in sub-3 hour time. I know to do this I need to be consistent with my running and a training plan will help keep me on target. I took the Hal Higdon Intermediate Plan and modified it to make room for my ChaLEAN Extreme workouts. I know I won’t be able to stick to it 100%, but I figure it is a good guideline to keep me training safely and arrive to race day ready to make my goals.

While I know everyone is motivated by different things, races, plans and challenges help keep me moving. If you find something that keeps you moving embrace it and go with it.

Had me a blast…Summer Running Happened so fast…

Okay, so the Grease reference was lame. Moving on.

Now that summer is in full swing I find myself race-less until Labor Day, but I am far from being able to take it easy. My summer mission is to keep on top of my running and get myself to the Marine Corps Marathon properly trainined. Anyone that was around for my first round of Marathon training can probably remember that I showed up to the start line with nothing more than 16.5 miles under my belt and that was two months before the race. I am trying to train smarter for the MCM. My only goal for the race is to beat the bridge which means sub-14 min/miles through mile 20. This is completely doable if I just stay consistent through the summer. I do have two half marathons that I am using a training runs – RnR VB and the PDR. Both fall just over a month out from Marathon day and are sandwiched into a 20-miler Big Mac – 20 miler, half, 20 miler, half, 20 miler. I did pad my training plan with an extra 20 milers because I want to be able to build some flexibility into the plan.

So what else am I doing to help myself prepare for the MCM? I have started using the Galloway program for any runs 6 miles or over. I know this will help keep me fresh through the bridge at MCM and will probably be necessary to get me to the finish lines of the Goofy. So far I have run 2 long runs and a moderate run using the Galloway training with an interval of 2:1 minutes. My legs have felt great at the end and my soreness the next day on the long runs has been minimal. I am thinking it will also help me get those long runs in as the summer weather continues to heat up.
The only other thing I believe I need for the MCM recipe is to drop a few lbs. I am carrying all of my extra weight in my stomach, butt and thighs right now, which isn’t too much fun for a runner. So I am looking to be more accountable to myself.

That is the summer plan. I will try my best to keep my blog updated at least weekly since I won’t have any race reports to post. Oh and I STILL need to get a post up for the AOR. There is just so much to write there I don’t know where to start!

I have officially decided to give the Marine Corps Marathon a try.  I looked over the route and it seems like it is one that will keep my interest and hopefully help me “beat the bridge”.  That means you have to cross the bridge after mile 19 while maintaining 14 minute miles.  That means I need to ensure the quality of my training leading up to it.  That training will include running a 10 miler, 3 half marathons and the American Odyssey Relay.

I believe the marathon will give my confidence a much needed boost to keep me on target for finishing the Goofy next year.  I am still working out my overall training plan for between now and and Goofy.  I know it is far off, but I think I am going to spend most of the year in some form of training or another so I need to have a plan laid out to keep me on track.