Goofy Challenge 2011 - Part II

There's not much to report about Friday. We slept in, had a late lunch, and made our way back to Disneyworld to check in at our hotel. After the crowds and long bus lines at All Star last year, we stepped up a level and stayed at Caribbean Beach this year. What a smart choice on our part. There was no line to check in, due in part to Disney letting you check in online in advance, and when we got to our building, the parking lot was practically deserted. No screaming kids running around, no one tromping past our room all the time, and a bus stop right across the lot - it's a perfect place to stay for a weekend like this. I imagine it's quite a bit busier during the summer being a beach resort and all.

Friday night, we drove over to Downtown Disney to have dinner at Portofino with Heather's parents. Just like last year, the place was packed. Even with our reservation, we had to wait 15-20 minutes before getting a table. If you didn't have reservations, you didn't stand a chance. They wouldn't even put your name on a list unless you were willing to come back in two or three hours. Needless to say, there were more than a few people stalking the lucky ones with seats at the bar. Kind of reminded me of the parking lot at the mall the week before Christmas. While we were waiting for our table, I was able to meet up with Eva to give her shirt to her. She and her husband Steve were even smarter about dinner than we were - they skipped Disney altogether and went out to Uno's instead. Next year, I think we'll do the same.

After dinner, we went back to our room, where I started putting everything together for Saturday's race. I still can't believe they put me in corral A. I assume they took my 4-hour marathon seed time, used some pace prediction calculator, and figured I'd run a sub-2 half. That makes sense if I was only running the half, but not as the first third of Goofy. 

Unlike last year, I didn't have to stress over the weather and try to decide what to do about long sleeves or tights. With the start temperature expected to be in the high 40s, shorts and short-sleeves are all that I needed. I did set out my throw-away clothes (courtesy of the sale rack at Sports Authority) since I figured I'd be chilly just sitting around the corrals before the start. The hardest part of getting ready was putting my costume in order. My wig had been stuffed into a plastic bag after the half at Disneyland, and it looked about as you'd expect when I pulled it out. Heather said I looked like I'd had a rough night in a dark alley. I'm not sure if she felt sorry for me or was concerned about me actually going out with such a mess on my head, but either way, she spent the next ten minutes trying to comb some semblance of neatness into the wig. When she was done, it looked pretty good, but I knew there was no way I'd be wearing it again after the half. A cheap wig can only handle so much sweat before it gets too sticky and gross to be worn. The tutu was in great shape, though. Tulle is pretty indestructible, especially the cheap kind.

The 330am alarm came way too early on Saturday. After delaying as much as I could in the room, I geared up, donned my wig, grabbed my bag and my Powerade, and walked off to the bus stop. There were only five or six other people there, and a nearly empty bus came by to get us within a few minutes. I sat down in the back for what I thought would be a short ride up to Epcot. Boy was I wrong. The traffic on Buena Vista Drive heading towards World Drive to get to Epcot was at a standstill. We crawled along slowly, moving a few feet every few minutes. I was supposed to meet my friends at the T bag check tent at 430. Before too long, I realized that wasn't going to happen. I sent them texts letting them know I was running late, and Eva said she'd stay behind and wait for me. Corinna told me she'd wait for me in corral C so we could run together. So as not to keep Eva waiting any longer than she was already going to, I took off my fleece sweats and stuffed them into my bag. It was warm enough on the bus that I didn't need them anyway, and changing in advance would save a few minutes at bag check.

Those of us on the bus could tell some people were panicking over making the start as we watched two of them run past the bus and head for Epcot on foot. It was only 450 at the time, and with a whole line of buses behind us, we knew we'd be fine. I think Disney puts the "you must be in your corral at 5am" line in the race program to prevent all 27,000 people from getting there together at the last minute. As it turns out, having everyone else get there early worked out perfectly for us late arrivals. I stepped off the bus, walked across the parking lot, and found Maddy, Eva, and Steve waiting at bag check. They weren't hard to find because there wasn't anyone else there. There wasn't even a line at any of the porta-potties on our way to the corrals. I made a mental note to not leave the bag check area until 5 on Sunday too. 

We made our way to the corrals pretty easily, I put on the rest of my costume, we said our good-byes, and I went off to find Corinna. She was supposed to be waiting for me at the entrance to corral C, but when I got there, she was nowhere to be found. I hoped she would be keeping an eye out for me (a guy with blue hair and a pink tutu should not be hard to spot) and started walking towards the front of the corral. About halfway to the front, I found Jenn, her husband, and some others in their lime-green WISH shirts, but no Corinna. I hopped the fence to hang out with them, sent Corinna a text letting her know where I was, and hoped for the best. Sure enough, she showed up about five minutes later, having seen my hair as I was walking past the corral. Next thing we knew, it was time to start. The fireworks went off and we were on our way.

Corinna was kind enough to run with me for a while to help keep me from going too fast. At least that was her story. In reality, I was the one slowing her down since she was hoping for a 2:10 and I wanted nothing faster than 2:20. Still, we had a great time together. The first few miles are in the dark and along the road with nothing much to see, so we told each other stories and chatted about whatever came to mind. As we approached the Transportation Center, we finally saw something worth looking at. A classic car group had set up a dozen or so old cars from the 50s and 60s, dressed up in poodle skirts, and were playing sock-hop music. Finally, some entertainment. The TC is also where I saw Maddy and her sign. 

After that, it was on to Magic Kingdom. To me, the best part of the half is running through Magic Kingdom in the dark. It's so much more peaceful and serene all lit up than it is during the daylight. These people didn't think it was all that serene, though. The woman on the left is doing everything she can to get away from me. She's probably just trying to be polite and get out of the picture, but it sure looks like she's appalled by my outfit.

Once we left Magic Kingdom and were on our way past the Grand Floridian, Corinna decided it was time for her to speed up and go run her own race. I wished her well and continued on my way. I thought I wouldn't see her until the finish, so I was quite surprised to see her standing in line to get a picture with some of the characters. I stopped to join her, and we got a great one. Check out how Chip is puzzled as to why a man would be dressed like me, and how Dale is checking out Corinna and is happy he got to stand next to the hot chick.

The rest of the half is pretty dull. You run on a road back to Epcot with only a few characters and bands and cheerleaders along the way. There were certainly more this year than last, not surprising given the weather, but it's still a pretty tedious slog. Somewhere around mile 11, I crossed paths with the 2:15 pace group. The lead pacer was a woman who was doing her best to keep everyone motivated and excited about the race and how close they were to finishing it. "Two miles! Only two miles! That's eight laps of a track! You guys can all run eight laps of a track!" I appreciate what she's trying to do and realize that's her personality coming through, but I'd go nuts if I had to run an entire half marathon listening to her. I didn't even think I could make it for two miles, so I stopped off for one last character picture. The poor ladies were freezing cold, but that didn't stop them from smiling and chatting with everyone who stopped.

One last trip across the parking lot, around the huge Epcot Christmas tree, past the choir, and the race was over. My Garmin said my running time was 2:16, not counting picture stops. A bit faster than I planned, but with stops, I was out there for 2:20, so it's all good.

I hung around at the finish for a little while to eat and drink some before heading back to the hotel. As I was leaning against a post changing out of my costume, I felt this guy tap me on the shoulder as he said, "it takes a real man to wear pink during a race." I turned around to see a guy and his running buddy both dressed in pink-and-white running skirts. Too funny, and probably a lot more comfortable than a wig and a tutu. Speaking of the wig, it was given a proper burial in a trash can in the parking lot. Two races of having its cheap polyester hair get sweaty and stick to my face and mouth was enough. I'll need something better the next time I wear a costume while running.

Getting back to the hotel was a breeze compared to last year. I walked right on to the Caribbean Beach bus without waiting in line, and the bus took off within five minutes of my sitting down. A few minutes later, I was back in the room having an ice bath and a nap while Heather went shopping at the outlet mall. To keep from being totally bored while I rested up for Sunday, Saturday afternoon we went to the movies to see Black Swan. We still ended up with some time to kill before dinner, but thankfully we didn't have to spend all day in the hotel room.