The Goofy Challenge

Well I've been watching the count down for 4 months and now it has come and gone and I ran it and most importantly I finished it. It was the most amazing, yet painful experience of my life.

Each night I was there I wrote down what I did that day so I'm going to pull parts of that over into my blog, now if it is lengthy I'm sorry, you do not have to read it all, but if you do..enjoy! (pictures at the end)

Thursday night January 7th

"Well it is finally here and I cannot believe it. Over a year I heard about the Disney World 1/2 Marathon and it was immediately on my list of future races to run. It was not until 4 months ago that I found out through my aunt Donna, that they have what is called the Goofy Challenge. Which is running the Donald Duck 1/2 Marathon on Saturday then the Mickey Mouse full marathon the following day, a total of 39.3 miles. By doing both it is the GOOFY CHALLENGE and you receive not only the medals and shirts from both the races but a third medal and shirt of Goofy and I had to do it...

One more full day and it will begin. Wow can't wait!"

Friday night January 8th

"Today was quite the day. We woke up around 8:30 and decided to go to Universal Studios . . . We had a lot of fun, all together and seeing everything and going on the different rides. . . .I am so tired now and my feet and hips hurt which scares me a little bit because I have to run so far tomorrow and even farther on Sunday. Once we left the park we came back to the hotel and cooked pasta for dinner...carb load!!!! Then we figured out what we needed to do for tomorrow. I have to be there no later then 4:30am. Never in my life have I set my alarm clock for 3:40 to wake up and run. Now I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep so I can wake up and run 13.1 miles. One funny thing is that the people back in Utah who I've set up to receive updated text as I'm running will get them between 3:40 am and 5:40 am Whoops, sorry to everyone if I wake you up :) . . . Well, I'll update this tomorrow on the 1/2 marathon....wish me luck!"

Saturday night January 9th - The 1/2 Marathon

Well 1/3rd of what I have to do is done. I ran the Donald Duck 1/2 Marathon today and it was really good, but painful. . . first I'll put something in about the weather. It was absolutely freezing, literally. I hadn't prepared very well for the 1/2 as far as what I was wearing so I was really cold, once I started running I warmed up a little bit so that helped. But it was in the upper 20's when the race began and by the end it reached a whopping 33 degrees. While running it was raining for most of the 1/2 and it was not raining water drops it was raining little icicles drops. When running they were hitting me and it felt like little needles pricking my face . . . The Magic Kingdom, this park was around mile 5 and it was still dark outside when we got inside the park and ran down the main road. While running down this road there were a bunch of people and characters cheering. The park still had Christmas up and everything was lit. As I rounded the corner I saw a magical scene, way cheesy I know, but it really is the only way to describe what I saw. The road was lined with people and characters, along with beautiful garlands draped across the road all lit with lights and behind everything was the Magic Kingdom castle and it was glowing a purplish white and was incredible. My breath was taken away, we ran up the street to it then turned and ran around to the other side and ran through it, where they had men inside playing long horns, it was unreal. The entire race was worth it just for that. . . .After we left the park my right knee started to give me a lot of pain almost to the point of my eyes watering from it. I started running with a limp and continued that lovely stride until the end. . . . I crossed the finish line feeling good but cold. My dad was there cheering me on. . . My knee is still hurting and I limped all day. I'm really nervous about running on it and honestly don't know what to expect in the full marathon."

Sunday night January 10th - Full Marathon

"The marathon day . . . I did what I said, I woke up at 3:20 and started to get ready I put on my four layers of shirts and sweatshirts, my ipod, ear covers, neck warmer, my cute sticker tattoo on my face, then taped up my knee, then the knee brace over that, three layers of pants, my socks, shoes, and my gps watch along with my belt that was carrying my gu, camera, phone, and icy hot cream. My guess is that I had at least 10 pounds of extra weight on me. Again it was freezing cold weather at 26.2 degrees, exactly when the race started, ironic I know. Everyone got out and walked with me to the area, took some pictures then I decided to head to the start line. We said our goodbyes and "see ya in 6 hours" and they all went back to the warm car to sleep for a few hours. . . My adventure on the other hand was just starting. . . We counted down from ten to one then a bunch of fireworks went off and we started. . . . Mile 1 hurt, mile 26 hurt, and every mile in between. I started out the first mile running a little different then usual because of my right knee. To compensate for the pain I swung my right leg out to the right just a little in order to have my knee not bend as much, but by doing this, it threw everything off. My left leg got me through the marathon (thank you left leg!!). . . My plan was working and I was keeping a 10:30 mile pace which was faster then I probably should have done with my knee, but as time and miles passed my time slowed a little bit and I ended with an average 12 min. mile pace. I was hurting but I was working through the pain. . . . Then we came up to the Goofy area that had posters and a small statue of Goofy, this was my favorite part. This time around I was prepared and had my camera with me and got a few cute pictures. . . In my previous marathons there's a point that I think to myself, "Why? Why am I doing this to myself? I don't care if I finish and a I really don't want to." But it always passes. However in this race that thought never crossed my mind. What I thought to myself was, "What kind of condition am I going to be in when I cross that finish line?" How is my knee going to hold up for this long" and will I be hobbling over that finish line?" and those thoughts were scarier then the usual ones. . . . I kept running, drinking, eating gu, and one new thing I've never done, stopping at almost every medic station and getting cream to try to help with the pain. For some reason mile 16 started out pain free and it was the best feeling ever, not sure why but for about 4 minuets of mile 16 I did not hurt and believe me, I enjoy every second. . . We were out on the highway and heading for Disney's Universal Studios, we ran through that from mile 22-25 and that was great, there were hundreds of people in the park cheering us on and I knew I was getting close . . . But wow, the last 3 miles I honestly have never felt so much pain in my life. I don't know how to describe what I went through. Every step hurt more then the previous one. I hit mile 24 then 25 and finally the mile marker 26 which ment only .2 left to go. The last part was directly under the Epcot Ball and once around that I knew the finish line was right there. I ran through the crowds of people cheering all the runners on and that was really helpful. The second I saw the finish line I started to cry, but was trying to hold it back the entire time. . . . I heard Pat yelling my name and looked up to my left, in the set of stands just past the finish line. I then saw my parents, still trying to hold back the tears. . . .I did it, I just crossed the finish line!

I received my medallion which was amazing. . . I walked to the Goofy Challenge tent and received my Goofy Medallion. Which even though I had felt so much pain I was so proud and excited to receive it. . . .I then found Annie, Pat, Mom and Dad waiting and I lost it at that point. I could no longer hold back the tears and just started to cry. Then they all started to cry, yep we are all Robisons!! :) I told them it was the most painful, hardest thing that I had ever been through, yet I was so glad I did it. . . . I then hobbled to the car and we headed back to our hotel. Once I had settled down a bit I laid all my shirts and medallions out and looked at them for a minute.."Was it worth it??" I think so, It was and unforgettable experience, one that took a lot of preparation, discipline, self control, and an inner strength I didn't know I had. I don't know why or where that injury came from, I've never had anything like that happen before and I just kept thinking, "why of all races did it have to be this one". Maybe because this is the one race that I would never back out of, one that no matter what I was going to finish. . . I've never tried so hard, work so hard, and been in that much pain as I was in. Thinking about it now, do I wish that it would have been easier, painless, shorter, or even warmer? Our circumstances are typically not what we want or choose, but it is the attitude you have that makes the situations turn out good or bad. My experience would have been a lot different had I been in control of how I had envisioned this race, however with the experience I did have I learned so many new things about myself, mentally and physically. I will never regret running the goofy challenge, (lets just hope I didn't damage my knee forever--then regret might set in j/k, I'll be fine). Once the pain is gone it is hard to remember how much there was of it. . . . I'm now sitting on the airplane, two days later flying home and I've already forgotten some of the pain, (of course when I stand up and walk it all comes rushing back :) but the pain does pass and the good memories are what stick with you, that is how I've done so many other races. If I only remembered the bad and the pain then trust me I would not still be running, but I remember the good and the fun and the feeling of accomplishing something so hard, so even though it was hard and painful I loved it. . . .

"Like I said previously I'm sitting on the plane right now heading for Denver where our layover is and just thinking about the race and the fun that I had..again painful fun. I don't know how to explain it and I'm not sure why I enjoy doing it but I know that I do. I say that I put myself through the pain and the training for the shirts and the medallions but in reality that is not the reason. I love a challenge. I love the feeling I get when I've accomplished something so hard, the aches and pains are what make it worth it in the end. Like I've said before about running..if it was easy what would be the point."

To see pictures copy and paste this website. I hate loading pics on a blog, so just use this instead!

www.picasaweb.com/sostrong9