The first race of the Dopey challenge finally arrived! I realized the night before that the 5K began later than the rest of the races during the weekend, so I was lucky enough to sleep a little later Thursday morning. The weather forecast was calling for cold temperatures in the morning so instead of my original costume, I had to improvise and add layers and still try to keep a costume-look intact. This was the first time I was driving myself to a race so I had to make sure I allowed myself enough time to drive to Epcot and get to the parking lot. I left my hotel around 3:30 and got there very early. So I ended up sitting in my car for close to an hour just to keep warm. I was in touch with Diana and planned to meet her near the corrals. The wind was howling and the temperatures were in the low 40’s. With the windchill it felt like the high 20’s. No joke.
I finally got out of my car and headed towards Diana in the corral area. I packed space blankets for every morning of the races. Smart move. I used my blanket while waiting behind a sign and in an area where everyone was huddling together to stay out of the wind and also close together for warmth. It was crazy! Christina and Chip met us in the same area and we waited there until it was time to move to the corrals.
While waiting in the corrals, everyone huddled close together again to try to keep each other warm. When the wheelchair corrals went off, then we had to wait about 5 minutes between each corral until it was finally our time to take off. We were in Corral D for the 5K and the 10K. Once we started running it was still cold so I held onto my space blanket for a bit until we got into Epcot.
We stopped for a character stop on the way into Epcot. Then once we were in Epcot we didn’t stop for photos. We were so cold we just wanted to finish the race and get warm again. I enjoyed the 5K course. It ran through Epcot for most of the course which was entertaining. On the way into Epcot I saw a runner who had two blades as prosthetics. He was getting up off of a bench and everyone was cheering him on to get him pumped up to start running again. That was powerful to see. The 5K course went by quickly, but I enjoyed it. Next year my entire family will be participating in this race and they will enjoy the course for sure. the waiting time prior to the race and the early wake up call may not be so ideal; but hopefully some time in the pool will help them forget about the pain of getting up early.
After the race, I went back to my hotel, made some tea and took a shower. After getting dressed I planned to meet Diana and Christina at the expo. I love going the expo. There’s a vibe that happens there. I visited Jeff Galloway to check in with my race recap and to talk strategy for the weekend. On the way out of the expo I ran into my friend Joe Pardo! I was so glad to see him! We talked for a bit and then I had to head out to meet Christina and Diana for lunch at Beaches and Cream.
I was HUNGRY and we had a great lunch of grilled cheese and soup for a chilly day and then Christina wanted to get her first Kitchen Sink ice cream extravaganza. It was also my first experience with a kitchen sink. That’s a LOT of ice cream; but it’s fun to experience the event of getting a kitchen sink.
After lunch I had plans to drive out to Merritt Island to visit my good friend Shannon. I was so glad to have the ability to drive to her house and hang out with her, go pick up her son from school and play with her kids outside for a bit. I got to see what her life is like in Florida, cats chasing squirrels, kids popping firecracker poppers with their feet and hands! We also played a few games of hot and cold where I hid a coin in their playroom or the house and they had to find it. They thought that was the greatest game. It was a lot of fun to hang out with her and her family for a few hours.
It was getting late and I knew I was going to have to eat and hit the sack early so I made the drive back (stopped at Target on the way back for a few supplies), then had a dinner of Raisin Bran again before getting to sleep before 10 p.m.
I was enjoying the pace I was taking between races and having the freedom to come and go wherever and whenever I wanted. I didn’t even feel the need to head into the parks at this point. I knew once my family arrived I would be seeing the parks with them. I got my race items ready for the 10K and was asleep quickly. I knew I could set my alarm for 3:30 the next day since the drive to Epcot was quick and I didn’t have to meet Kim, Gail and Becca until 4:30 so I had a little less stress knowing I wasn’t waking up at 2 a.m.