Monday, May 5, 2014

We Conquered the Challenge! (and mostly enjoyed it)

Posted by CheapRunnerMichelle

Happy Monday friends! I am happy to report that after a loooong travel day yesterday, K and I made it home safe and sound after racing the RunDisney Everest Challenge!  We woke up race morning to...rain.  We held off a bit before heading to the expo for our packet pick-up, knowing that the expo was going to be outside. Around 10am...we made our way over...that was until we got 750m from the entrance...then...we sat in traffic for 50min...just to be able to park...ugh. There was some cheer competition going on at ESPN that morning, and apparently everyone decided to head there at the same time as us.

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Once we arrived at the Expo we quickly received our bibs and shirts and then got a chance to wander around and check out the "booths". Now for those of you that have been to a RunDisney Expo before...you know just how large the booths and how many various vendors there are...well...this one...not so much. There were literally 6 10x10 tents outside and then New Balance also had a little booth...so literally within 5min of arriving...we were ready to head out...but not before we stopped for a photo-op

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....and then we signed the mural they had displayed (kinda a cool idea!)

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The race started at 10pm...so we arrived at Animal Kingdom about 8:30 and although it was a little chilly out (60 degrees), it was tolerable...that was until the rain started....at first that was no biggie either since we headed straight for the dance party

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The DJ as always did a stellar job keeping everyone moving and having a good time...he even taught us some shweet moves!

We got to check out some killer costumes (RunDisney race participants come up with the most creative costumes e.v.e.r.)

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Just after 9:30...we headed to our corral. This is when the misery began. We weren't dancing around anymore and the rain just kept pouring down

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The race started for corral A right on time. It was a little disappointing that there were no fireworks to signal the start of each coral (something I've come to love at each RunDisney race). They separated each coral start by 5min...we were in coral H...the timing ended up being a bit off between corals so it was about 10:45pm before we actually got to start (which meant that some of those in coral A were already completely done the challenge before we even ever began).

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We were finally off, the rain had stopped, which meant that we were finally able to warm up a bit too. Just after mile 1 was the first obstacle...bale hay hurdles. I tried to get a pic of K jumping the bales, but girlfriend was way too quick and she was finished the obstacle before I was even able to get my phone ready to take a pic...lol. Then we started our way into the park. It started to get a little congested since people who were already done the 5k run portion were also in the park running around doing the "challenge" portion of the race. "Sides" were clearly marked though and there were oodles of cast members to direct everyone. When we were just about into Africa K announced that she had to pee, so we jumped off the course and headed to the restrooms. After our short intermission...we were back on course. On our way out of the back way of the park we stopped for a photo-op with Minnie

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We passed mile 2 feeling good and then came obstacle 2...high knees through the tires...again K flied through this obstacle. We continued down the path to our turnaround, at which point K was really starting to tire (from the already late night) I'm sure she started to hate me a little at this point, but I started to push her...we had less then 1k to go...and I knew she had a little gas left in the tank to push...just before the finish line came obstacle 3...the under the net crawl...thank-you for the sore knees now BTW. Our official 5k time was 41:55 A few weeks ago K ran her fastest 5k in 40:55....so I'd say she did pretty stellar...since this finishing time included a bathroom stop, 3 obstacles and a photo stop! I am so proud of her...she really rocked this race, and was such a trooper.

I'm feeling long winded...and we are only 1/2 way through this challenge...so I think I'll stop here and break this into a 2 park re-cap...later this week, I'll share with ya'll the part that I was most nervous about...having to solve the "clues".

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Anyone else race this weekend? How was it?

Have you ever had to race in the cold rain?...did you hate it?

19 comments:

  1. This sounds like a lot of fun, despite the rain!! I love the Thriller dance :-) Glad you ladies had a marvelous time!

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  2. I ran a half on Sunday, but it was not in DISNEY! Looks like a fun race:) Sorry you had some rain!!

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  3. Way to go girls! Kennedy, you're such a rock star...great job sweetie!!

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  4. Great job to K!!! Sounds like fun minus the rain - I'm not a huge fan of cold rain!

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  5. Heidi @ www.idlehide.comMay 5, 2014 at 4:49 PM

    Looks like a fun time, besides the cold rain! What a fun opportunity to go on a trip + run with your daughter:)

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  6. Great job Michelle + K!! I love seeing families workout together. What a great way to spend some Q time together.

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  7. Sugar Coated SheridanMay 5, 2014 at 10:37 PM

    Looks like so much fun, despite the rain...Looking forward to part 2 :)

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  8. No complaints here - we had a great time...but seriously - how could you not. We were at the Happiest Place on Earth!

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  9. The rain won't stop us girls! The race was sooo fun, and always a great even put on by RunDisney

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  10. Yeah - she did soooo good! Thanks Kim

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  11. It was so fun to get away for a little girl time, at one our favourite places

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  12. Thanks Beth - we had a fab weekend together

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  13. How can you not have a great time at Disney - rain and all!

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  14. I was there, too -- in the very LAST coral, "J". I was happy with my personal accomplishment, but sitting in the cold rain for a full hour longer than the first participants really took it out of me. Everyone had said how much fun EEC was, but it was more a test of physical/cold/rain endurance than a test of running or puzzle solving ability. I for sure wouldn't do it again, but glad for the experience I guess, and the medal is cool. :)

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  15. Yeah - the weather totally sucked. And it was sooo depressing seeing that others had already finished, and we're still standing there shivering...and it made it a much later start time for all of us...boo (I mean I understand why they do it that way though). The medal rocks...for sure...one if the coolest ones in my collection!

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  16. Such an awesome mother daughter thing to do together, so cute! Bummer about the cold rain but glad you were able to make the most of it!

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  17. Amy @ fitnessmeetsfrosting.comMay 9, 2014 at 8:35 PM

    Gahhhh I LOVE this!!! So much fun and what a great mother-daughter bonding activity! I have done a half in the rain and it was miserable...

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