Disney Kids Race Recap

I’ll get to my recap of the Dopey Challenge Full Marathon soon, but I didn’t want to move on without writing about something else we took part in during the Disney Marathon Weekend.  In addition to the 5k, 10k, 13.1, and 26.2, they also had kids races.  And our just turned 5 year old participated.

His heel kick left the back of his shirt dirty!

It was his 3rd time doing the runDisney Kids race.  Last year he even won his heat of the 100 meter race!  But this year he’s in a new age group.  And the distance doubled to 200 meters.

Last year’s race. I wish I had that form!

I learned form years past to let the pushy over-eager parents take their kids in the first couple heats.  I planned to do the same this year.  The emcees said there would be 4 heats.  I decided we’d wait till the last one.  But after the first 2, they decided to lump everyone still waiting into just one giant (3rd) heat.  This was not a welcome last minute change.  Because of this, we were several people back from the starting line.  It was a mob scene.  And yes, the parents run with the kids, so it was doubly crowded.

Fighting through the crowds (and his oversized sweatpants).

So he was pretty boxed in at the start.  Bummer.  But once he found an opening…he.was.GONE!  You can see it unfold in the video I took:

I was boxed in behind him, so the only way to catch him was to cut through the infield.  It’s shaky, but I think it’s kind of funny.  I caught up to him right as he high-fived Mickey at the finish line!

High Five Mickey!

Oh, and BTW, if he looks sleepy, it’s because he WAS.  He was ready for a nap.  And he had gotten something in his eye, so he kept rubbing it, which made them kind of puffy.  But he’s a trooper.

Post high five.

In the end, he had a good time, and added another medal to his young collection!

Bringin home the hardware (or software, as it is rubber).

And I was happy that he got to be part of this weekend of family running!  Hopefully he’ll continue to race as he keeps reaching new age groups!

Post race with the boy!

And get this, for Christmas he was given a Disney gift card.  And he decided to use it at the Expo to buy a running Mickey doll (with it’s own medal of course).

Medals for everyone!

What do you think about kids races – ever been to one?  Should I add the distance of this race to my 48.6 Dopey total? 

Running: Back on (the) Track!

So I’m driving home the other day and I pass a middle school track where I sometimes go to do track workouts (coincidentally enough).  But this day, I had already done my workouts, so no need to stop.  But then I noticed a friend of mine flying down the straight-a-way.  His name is Bob Smeby, he’s fast.  Here’s his Athlinks page.  Notice all the first place finishes.  He’s in his mid 50’s but still runs around a 6 minute mile.  Like I said, he’s fast…probably because he practices getting faster by doing track workouts.  Funny how that works – put in the time and effort, get the results.

The next day I messaged him to say I saw him on the track, and he invited me to run with him next time out.  I agreed.  I hadn’t been on the track since the fall, but I do enjoy it.  Training for long races like marathons can involve some loooong slow runs.  That’s why I like doing track workouts – it’s a chance to go a short distance, and go it fastly!  Plus, I was a 4 year letter winner in high school track.  So obviously, it’s something I’ve always enjoyed.

Smokin’ fools in the 400 in high school.

If you’re a runner and  you don’t do track workouts, you’re missing out.  They usually involve going almost all out for a determined distance, then “recovering” with a short jog.  Repeat.  Are they hard?  Yes, yes they are.  But they really can help increase your per mile pace. Not only that, but doing that sort of explosive burst interval work is the number one way to burn fat.  And who doesn’t want to burn fat?  Besides Manny Yarbrough, that is.

Smokin’ fools at a recent track workout. *Thanks Runner Girl Chels for the pic!

But then the day arrived for my first track workout in months.  I realized that I’m going to be running alone with a really fast person.  I didn’t want to be the only one puking on the infield, so I invited some other peeps.  Granted I didn’t give them much notice, but nobody else was able to make it.  My one friend even said, “Are you CRAZY?!?!  You’re doing a track workout with Smeby?!?!”

But it was all good.  We did a mile or so warm up, then Bob changed into his spikes…yes, he brought spikes!  We did 10 x 200 with a 200 jog in between.  If he hadn’t been there, I would’ve quit after 8…or 6.  Another advantage to running with others – accountability!  And our pace was pretty good too!  Bob had me start a little ahead of him and told me not to let him catch me.  He spent the whole workout trying to chase me down and I spent it trying to hold him off.  We both got a great workout.

Next time out, we hope to have some more peeps out there for a mid week fat burn/speed increase.  I don’t know what our workout will be, but it doesn’t matter cause I know it will be hard, but fun!

Holla if you want to come run in circles sometime!