Grammy at Disneyland, California
Grammy and Dave at Disney World, Florida
The Disney Coast to Coast Challenge started on January 9, 2010 when Dave and I, along with son, Dave, and his wife Karen, traveled to Disney World in Orlando, FL for the Disney Marathon Weekend.
Dave and I actually left Erie on December 30th and traveled to Marblehead, OH to visit Mikaele, Aidan, Logan and Justin at their new home. We took everyone to breakfast at Diane’s and then continued on our way down south.
We spent the first night on the road in Tennessee and then continued on down to Dave’s Mom’s condo in Panama City Beach, FL. As Mom was spending New Year’s Eve with friends, we had dinner at TGIF’s and went to bed early. We met Mom and Debbie for breakfast on New Year’s Day. In keeping with the theme of a New Year and a New You, Debbie wants 2010 to be a healthy year, Mom wants the same, Dave wants to keep me happy and I want to make every day count! About 1 pm, we headed down to Fort Myers.
For the next several days we viewed the Fort Myers area with our hosts, Jack Battaglia and Gerri. Jack showed us around the area and took us to Cosco for lunch–we visited all the food giveaway booths and had all kinds of snacks. The weather was cold, cold, and cold as the temperature was in the 30′s the entire time we were there.
On January 7, we drove north to Orlando and stopped to have breakfast with Cheryl Stark just outside Orlando. We checked into the Disney Yacht and Beach Club where the temperature remained in the low 30′s. Dave and Karen met us and we visited the Marathon exhibits and had dinner at the Yacht Steak House. As it was too cold to be outdoors, we visited various Disney properties formulating travel plans for our 45th anniversary trip. As food is extremely expensive on site (peanut butter and jelly sandwich is $4.50 without any extras; dinner averages about $30 per person; breakfast is about $15, etc.), we are not sure we want Disney to be the destination for the big family anniversary trip.
It rained all of January 8th with the temperature lowering into the high 20′s. Dave completed the 5k fun run on Friday morning at 6 a.m. There were 5,000 runners.
The 1/2 marathon race day started at 3:30 a.m. when we boarded the bus to take us to the start area. It was 28 degrees and sleeting. Dave had purchased a Starting package for us so we got to wait for the race start in a heated tent. At 5 a.m., we walked the 1/2 mile to the race start. There were 26,000 runners. The starting fireworks went off at 5:45 a.m. and I crossed the start line to begin my race at 6:20 a.m. It was at mile 8 before I could spread out my arms without hitting another runner. The race wound through Fantasy Land with a run through Cinderella’s Castle. We also ran through Tomorrow Land and Epcot Center. All the Disney characters were in costume and cheered us along the way. Runners were encouraged to stop and have their picture taken with the characters–Disney even provided a disposable camera in our race bags for this purpose.
When we finished the Donald Duck race, as the 1/2 marathon was called, we received a huge Donald Duck finisher medal. We spent the remainder of the day indoors as it continued to rain and stay in the 20′s.
Dave ran the Mickey Mouse Marathon on Sunday, January 10th. He, again, met the bus at 3:30 a.m. and proceeded to the start at 5:45 a.m. Dave and 24,000 runners completed the marathon in 28 degree temperatures with light rain and heavy winds. As Dave completed both the 1/2 Marathon and the full Marathon, he was awarded the 5k medal, the Donald Duck medal, the Mickey Mouse medal as well as a Goofy medal for completing the Goofy Challenge. 7,500 runners ran both races.
Immediately after the race, we dropped Karen and Dave off at the Orlando airport and started the drive home. We spent the evening of January 10th at the Hampton Inn just north of Columbia, South Carolina. We heard that ice and snow waited for us as we headed north but made it home with no trouble about 7 p.m. on January 11th.
Delilah was picked up at the Best Friend Pet Care kennel on January 12th and was excited to be home–it was her first time in a kennel (I only called home four times to check on her).
Travel distance: 3,088 miles
The last part of the Disney Coast-to-Coast Challenge took place in Disneyland, California. I began my trip on Thursday, September 2 as I boarded a 5:25 a.m. flight to Philadelphia, then Philadelphia to Los Angeles, arriving at 11:15 a.m. Note: USAir only serves soda, water and coffee at no charge. Anything else, including pretzels or peanuts, can be purchased for $3. Blankets and pillows rent for $5. As the flight was long, 5 1/2 hours, I was prepared with water and light snacks.
When I landed, I was greeted with temperatures in the low 80′s, clear skies and palm trees. As I did carry-on luggage, I was on the Disney bus within 15 minutes of landing (although some passengers who boarded the bus with me had been waiting 45 minutes). I stayed at the Pier Hotel, on the Disney property.
As the 1/2 Marathon Weekend started on Friday, I had all Thursday afternoon to wander through Downtown Disney which was just across the street from the hotel. I immediately noticed that the park and properties are much smaller than Disney World. Downtown Disney consisted of high end retail stores and restaurants which Disney describes as “hippest trends collide with Disney couture”. The Disney items sold at these stores were more for adults and included sterling silver jewelry stores, skateboarding shop, Rainforest restaruant, Lego Imagination Center, Sephora, upscale mexican restaurant, Anne Geddes, Basin, a New Orleans style restaurant, purse store with Dooney & Bourke bags starting at $150, and even Studio Disney which does makeovers for little girls starting at $50! I browsed for about 2 hours (bought nothing) and returned to the hotel for an early night.
On Friday morning, Ann Marie Occhipinti stopped by for a late brunch and told me all about her business, Bhuya Yoga. It was very interesting. We had a great time and even had our picture taken with Mickey. Later, I walked to the Race Fitness Expo and browsed the vendors and had several meetings with possible corporate sponsors for Race With Grammy.
At the Expo, I met Jeff Galloway. It was worth the whole trip just to meet him. Jeff is the Official Training Consultant for the Disney Endurance Events. ”An Olmpian, Jeff ran with Steve Prefontaine, Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter and Amby Burfoot when the U. S. was a leading power in marathoning. He has become the nation’s leading running author (over one million books sold), leading coach (over 250,000 runners), and has a monthly page in the world’s leading running publication Runner’s World. Galloway training programs are in more than 80 cities, and Jeff individually advises an average of 100 runners/walkers a day.”
Jeff made presentations on several topics during the Marathon weekend, and I attended them all. He gave us advice and how to eat, drink and think before, during and after a race; proven techniques on pacing and motivation and how adding the right amount of exercise can enhance your life in many ways. But the best presentation was his talk on his run-walk-run method. After asking Jeff some questions, I decided to try his technique in the race on Sunday–I will run for 30 seconds, then walk for 30 seconds, then run for 30 seconds and keep repeating. Yes; I have a timer that beeps and vibrates and can be set to go off in 30 second intervals. This will keep me from staring at my watch while running. Jeff suggested I try this for several miles and then revert to my race walking to finish the race. I told Jeff that if I jog even a little, my knee swells from arthritis. He assured me that this technique would prevent this. We’ll see on Sunday.
On Saturday, I attended Jeff’s presentations and then headed to Disneyland. The park is much smaller than Disney World but I really liked it better. The main attractions all had lines with 45 minute to 60 minute waits as this was Labor Day weekend. However, I took in a couple of rides such as the Mark Twain paddleboard ride and the house of the future. I also visited the newest park, California. All during the day, I followed Jeff Galloway’s eating plan for pre-race day: eat a good breakfast, then snack, snack, snack (on protein bars, healthy foods) all day and drink plenty of water. I went to bed at 8 p.m.
The morning of the race, I set my alarm for 4:15 a.m. I left the hotel for the start line at 5:45 a.m. for a 6 a.m. start. This is a luxury as the start line was 3 blocks from my hotel and I could walk to it instead of taking a bus!! There were 14,000 runners registered. I was assigned to Coral D (there were Corals A through G). My usual finish time, race walking, is about 3 hours for the 13.1 miles. The race started at exactly 6 a.m. and I crossed the start line about 6:20.
I started out walking as it was too crowded to do anything else. As the racers moved out, I started the run-walk-run method (alternating every 30 seconds) at about the quarter mile mark. I have not jogged for 3 years! It felt fine so I continued this method until Mile 10! This was a surprise to me because there was no knee swelling, no shortness of breath, and no side pain. I returned to race walking for the last 3.1 miles although I could have continued on. I was concerned that there may be problems after the race and I had planes to catch and sit on for hours. I didn’t want any injuries.
The race route was fun. Naturally, we ran through Disneyland, Cinderella’s castle, Tomorrow Land, California Park, down Main Street and through Downtown Disney. We also ran around Anaheim and through the Angel’s Stadium, right over home plate. Everywhere we ran, there were the Disney characters, Anaheim organizations such as church groups, scouts, chamber of commerce volunteers, etc. cheering us on. A very friendly and fun atmosphere.
I completed the race with no problems and my finish time was 2 hours and 51 minutes. Not my best time ever, but with all the runners, it was difficult to move, especially in the beginning of the race. Also, I did stop along the way and take pictures. Yes; my race technique will now be run-walk-run and I will start training on it as soon as I go back to LECOM. Of the 14,000 runners, 12, 358 finished (4,504 males and 7,854 females). I am noticing that more and more women are running the 1/2 marathons and in the nine races I have completed so far, women outnumber the men. I placed 16th out of 41 in my age category (65 – 69) and most of the women who finished ahead of me only did so by 3 to 5 minutes.
I walked back to the hotel, showered in very cold then warm water to soothe the leg muscles, had lunch and then caught the Disney bus to the airport. I left plenty early, 1 pm for a 7 pm flight, but I would rather wait at the airport than chance long lines at airport check-in and security. The Disney bus went approximately 5 miles and broke down! Another bus picked us up about 20 minutes later and we continued on our way.
The Los Angeles airport is big compared to our Erie airport but there was no one in the USAir check-in and no waiting to go through airport security. I was at my gate by 2:30 pm. After a long wait at the airport, I flew to Las Vegas where I waited for the 11:50 p.m. flight to Philadelphia. The Philadelphia flight was completely booked, every seat taken, and the airline personnel made sure that all passengers only carried one carry-on along with a purse, briefcase, laptop, etc. The carry-on bags had to meet their strict requirements or be checked for a fee of $25 per bag. Even though I had an aisle seat, it was very crowded and real sleep was impossible. Once we reached cruising altitude, all cabin lights were turned off and most of us tried to doze a little. Note: there is absolutely nothing served to passengers on this flight–not even a glass of water. Come prepared.
About 30 minutes into the flight, there was an announcement asking for a doctor, nurse or emergency technician to report to a flight attendant. We had a passenger on board who was having a heart attack. There was a doctor and two nurses who went to his aid. All lights were turned back on and we waited to see if we would be making an emergency landing. The medical personnel decided that we could continue for the last 3 hours of our flight as the passenger wanted to get home to Philadelphia and his condition was not life threatening. When we landed in Philadelphia at 5 a.m., everyone stayed on board while an ambulance crew transported the passenger.
After a wait of 2 1/2 hours in Philadelphia, I boarded my flight to Erie, arriving at 11:16 a.m. on Labor Day. Dave met me with the grocery list in hand and we stopped at Wegman’s before returning home. I picked up Delilah at 4 p.m. along with her brothers, Jack and Max, who were also at the kennel as Erin, Rob and the kids were in Marbelhead, OH visiting Mikaele, Justin, Aidan and Logan.
By 6 p.m., everyone, including the dogs, were home. Great trip, great race, met some great people and received great training but the flying schedule was not great!
Travel distance: 4,903 miles
Grammy with Jeff Galloway
