Mother Pride
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
One year ago, Christina signed up for the runDisney Dopey Challenge. What is this, you ask? Well, the participant has to complete a 5K on Thursday, a 10K on Friday, a half-marathon on Saturday, and a marathon on Sunday. Say what? That's right-four days, four parks, 48.6 miles. I was very worried about this, but I knew that my role was to be supportive, encouraging, and confident.
Truly, however, I did not have to do much, because from the moment Christina signed up, she began training. She asked for motivational books, a Runner's journal, she continued with Heaven and Hell Boot Camp, joined Orange Theory, joined two CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association) groups in Darien and Palos and did speed training, races, and training runs, and she ran/walked her heart out be it hot, cold, or perfect weather conditions.
After a year of running in various races, completing many training runs, and strengthening herself, we were off to Disneyworld for this special event. Believe me, the walk/run is only part of the experience. Racers need to wake up around 2:30 am to catch the bus to the corrals-that's four mornings of early rising. With that a runner has to be very organized, and I was impressed with Christina's organization. She had each day's running gear in individual ziplock bags. She had certain shoes for different races. Also, because of all the practice runs, she knew what kind of nourishment she needed during each race and readied her running belt each night.
The 5K seemed to be fairly uneventful for her, and she seemed to enjoy meeting up with her Mickey Miler friends for photos. The 10K was more of a challenge, not due to the distance but rather due to weather as it rained the entire race. Christina returned cold and wet. She was quite tense this day, I believe not due to upcoming distances as much as worrying whether the next two races would be run in the same conditions. The half-marathon in Christina's words seemed to be the toughest race. beginning in the early fog, being humid, and maybe less mentally ready. However, she ran with a Mickey Miler friend. For me, the day and evening following the half was one of my favorites because Christina and I spent that time alone together. We went for a delicious dinner. We spent time rolling out her legs and back, and Christina spent lots of time mentally preparing by reading her exchanges with her many mentors and friends and probably thinking what her mantras will be during the tough times in the marathon. I found it very interesting to witness her preparation, and my pride continued to grow. Christina fell into a deep sleep early that evening and before we knew it, the
2:30 am alarm awoke us.
From the time Christina awakened, she seemed confident and determined. She prepped herself and was off to the 3:30 bus and her corral. Kathy, Nikki, Kathy Creely and I had our assigned spots for the marathon. Christina knew of some friends who would be at a couple of the earlier spots (like Laura, the chicken hat lady at Mile 17), so we were there for her during the last six miles. Her Aunt and Nikki were in Hollywood Studios with Christina's necessary nourishment--oranges and SLAM. Before Christina arrived at the Hollywood Studios the text messages among all of us waiting for her were fun and a good distraction for this nervous mother. Nikki was amazing as a cheerleader at Hollywood Studios for all the runners, but when Christina finally arrived, Nikki was exuberant. She sent me a text that said Christina stopped for 15 seconds the most, drank her SLAM, ate her oranges, gave Nikki a hug, and off she went. Nikki said that Christina looked great but that she had said that she felt like sh--. Despite that, I knew when she had reached the Giancolas that she was going to finish. She was too competitive to give up. Christina later confirmed that actually once she had reached the ESPN zone, she felt like she was going to make it.
Next stop was to Kathy Creely in Epcot Mexico where a margarita in salted cup would be waiting for her. That was the longest wait for me, but when the text came in that she had left Kathy C, I knew she was home free. I was the last and final stop at the finish line, and I could not wait.
What a feeling to see Christina cross that finish line. I actually started crying and had a hard time shooting any pictures. Now I wish I had forgotten about pictures and just jumped up and down and screamed a lot. Christina had reached her goal!!! Her first marathon and a Dopey Challenge-OMG!!! I could not believe it. So proud of her. I had to make my way to the family reunion site and there she sat on the ground with five medals around her neck and looking amazingly good. It was one the best days ever. Unfortunately, I don't feel we celebrated enough, because I think we were all amazed--but I can tell
you that we were all excited and so proud.
Besides Christina's success, Nikki ran her personal best half marathon, cutting four minutes off her time, capping a great week.
I would be remiss not to speak of the great Disney experience in the parks and favorite restaurants with our travel group-my sister and niece, my daughter, and Kathy C. Christina and Nikki are whizzes at Fast Passes for the most popular attractions, and despite the age of the group members, it did not stop any from chasing down their favorite Disney characters for a photo op. Eating in our favorite French restaurant and the Coral Reef in Epcot, and Cinderella's castle and Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom were relaxing, tasty experiences.
So while I am still having trouble coming down from this high, our runDisney experience is now one for the books--or in this case, one for the blog.
One year ago, Christina signed up for the runDisney Dopey Challenge. What is this, you ask? Well, the participant has to complete a 5K on Thursday, a 10K on Friday, a half-marathon on Saturday, and a marathon on Sunday. Say what? That's right-four days, four parks, 48.6 miles. I was very worried about this, but I knew that my role was to be supportive, encouraging, and confident.Truly, however, I did not have to do much, because from the moment Christina signed up, she began training. She asked for motivational books, a Runner's journal, she continued with Heaven and Hell Boot Camp, joined Orange Theory, joined two CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association) groups in Darien and Palos and did speed training, races, and training runs, and she ran/walked her heart out be it hot, cold, or perfect weather conditions.
After a year of running in various races, completing many training runs, and strengthening herself, we were off to Disneyworld for this special event. Believe me, the walk/run is only part of the experience. Racers need to wake up around 2:30 am to catch the bus to the corrals-that's four mornings of early rising. With that a runner has to be very organized, and I was impressed with Christina's organization. She had each day's running gear in individual ziplock bags. She had certain shoes for different races. Also, because of all the practice runs, she knew what kind of nourishment she needed during each race and readied her running belt each night.
The 5K seemed to be fairly uneventful for her, and she seemed to enjoy meeting up with her Mickey Miler friends for photos. The 10K was more of a challenge, not due to the distance but rather due to weather as it rained the entire race. Christina returned cold and wet. She was quite tense this day, I believe not due to upcoming distances as much as worrying whether the next two races would be run in the same conditions. The half-marathon in Christina's words seemed to be the toughest race. beginning in the early fog, being humid, and maybe less mentally ready. However, she ran with a Mickey Miler friend. For me, the day and evening following the half was one of my favorites because Christina and I spent that time alone together. We went for a delicious dinner. We spent time rolling out her legs and back, and Christina spent lots of time mentally preparing by reading her exchanges with her many mentors and friends and probably thinking what her mantras will be during the tough times in the marathon. I found it very interesting to witness her preparation, and my pride continued to grow. Christina fell into a deep sleep early that evening and before we knew it, the
2:30 am alarm awoke us.
From the time Christina awakened, she seemed confident and determined. She prepped herself and was off to the 3:30 bus and her corral. Kathy, Nikki, Kathy Creely and I had our assigned spots for the marathon. Christina knew of some friends who would be at a couple of the earlier spots (like Laura, the chicken hat lady at Mile 17), so we were there for her during the last six miles. Her Aunt and Nikki were in Hollywood Studios with Christina's necessary nourishment--oranges and SLAM. Before Christina arrived at the Hollywood Studios the text messages among all of us waiting for her were fun and a good distraction for this nervous mother. Nikki was amazing as a cheerleader at Hollywood Studios for all the runners, but when Christina finally arrived, Nikki was exuberant. She sent me a text that said Christina stopped for 15 seconds the most, drank her SLAM, ate her oranges, gave Nikki a hug, and off she went. Nikki said that Christina looked great but that she had said that she felt like sh--. Despite that, I knew when she had reached the Giancolas that she was going to finish. She was too competitive to give up. Christina later confirmed that actually once she had reached the ESPN zone, she felt like she was going to make it.
Next stop was to Kathy Creely in Epcot Mexico where a margarita in salted cup would be waiting for her. That was the longest wait for me, but when the text came in that she had left Kathy C, I knew she was home free. I was the last and final stop at the finish line, and I could not wait.
What a feeling to see Christina cross that finish line. I actually started crying and had a hard time shooting any pictures. Now I wish I had forgotten about pictures and just jumped up and down and screamed a lot. Christina had reached her goal!!! Her first marathon and a Dopey Challenge-OMG!!! I could not believe it. So proud of her. I had to make my way to the family reunion site and there she sat on the ground with five medals around her neck and looking amazingly good. It was one the best days ever. Unfortunately, I don't feel we celebrated enough, because I think we were all amazed--but I can tellyou that we were all excited and so proud.
Besides Christina's success, Nikki ran her personal best half marathon, cutting four minutes off her time, capping a great week.I would be remiss not to speak of the great Disney experience in the parks and favorite restaurants with our travel group-my sister and niece, my daughter, and Kathy C. Christina and Nikki are whizzes at Fast Passes for the most popular attractions, and despite the age of the group members, it did not stop any from chasing down their favorite Disney characters for a photo op. Eating in our favorite French restaurant and the Coral Reef in Epcot, and Cinderella's castle and Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom were relaxing, tasty experiences.
So while I am still having trouble coming down from this high, our runDisney experience is now one for the books--or in this case, one for the blog.
What a weekend! We were all so proud of Christina. Great memories captured here...so glad you're doing this blog.
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