connie96

[connie96]

Ooh… I like the public aspect too! Thanks, Steve!

[connie96]

My Virtual Series medals have arrived! Much nicer presentation than previous years. I didn’t take issue with the previous packaging which was just plastic wrapped medals stacked on top of one another in a small box maybe 4x4x3 inches but it has definitely been upgraded this time around.

I really need to make a home for all my medals. I have collected so many over the past couple years and they’re currently all just hanging together on three coat hooks by the door to the garage. I have some ideas but need to finish working it out.

+1

[connie96]

starbee wrote:

I’m sorry that does sound like they are held up somewhere. I hope you get an answer from runDisney because they owe you some medals! Was that during the bad weather? I know I ordered something (not from Disney) around that time and I got an email from the retailer saying a label had been created but they would not be dropping off packages until the weather had passed, which I appreciated, because UPS was having delays.

I did actually get an email yesterday afternoon in response to the question I sent. It said that my package has been shipped and should arrive by 9/30. Since some retailers send you a “shipped” email when the label is created, I wondered if that meant anything other than “we see the label in our system” but, I checked UPS this morning and, sure enough, it’s on its way now. Not sure if that would have happened on its own or if sending the question helped get it going. Who knows? Either way, I’m glad to see progress.

I have to say, I really preferred receiving the medals in June in previous years so that I could present them to myself one at a time after each 5k that I did. Receiving the lot of them a month after the fact kinda loses something in the way of motivation and excitement. But, I’m still glad I did it. Nobody offers races around here in the summer so, it’s good to have something to keep me hitting the road.

[connie96]

Did anyone else participate in the Disney’s Virtual Series this summer? (The Lion King 5Ks?)

If so, did you ever receive your medals. I can see in the UPS app were a label was created on 8/16 (from CCG in NJ where previous medals were shipped from) but, as yet, UPS still has not received the package. I have sent a question thru the runDisney website but, no answer (or even acknowledgement) yet.

[connie96]

I’ll be at WDW Coronado Springs 9/22-9/26 for a conference and some Disney fun with friends!

[connie96]

I’ll give it a try.

[connie96]

I didn’t say this above but, if Mya and I decide to go forward with a virtual Dopey or Mickey, we would make it a priority to do all of the long training runs together. We may be just nuts enough to consider doing this but, we’re not quite crazy enough to attempt THAT many miles alone.

[connie96]

@eeyorepoohfan I totally hear you and have no trouble believing ALL of what you’re saying. As far as possibly “not feeling like I really did the Dopey”, I’m not sure that’s a deterrent for me because I’ve never done an in-person Disney race so I don’t actually know what that would “feel” like anyway. Of course, at this point in the time of COVID, I think we are all painfully aware of the difference between a real race and a virtual race and we all know that real is better in all possible ways. I will say that, even if I did attempt and conquer this virtually, I still wouldn’t hold it up next to your accomplishment or starbee’s or anyone else who’s done it “for real”. Basically, I would always put an asterisk next to mine.

I should add that if I did this, I would NOT be doing it alone. My niece (Mya, 19yo) and I have trained together and separately (she’s a couple hours drive away at college) for the past several weeks for a virtual half which we will be running together on Thanksgiving morning. We always have such a good visit during our runs that the miles just fly right by. Obviously, we would need to get well beyond 13.1 to see just how well the miles continue to fly by when they get to be twice as long… Whether or not to attempt Dopey (or even “just” a Mickey Marathon), I’m sure will be one of the main topics of conversation while we complete our miles next Thursday. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and this will definitely be part of the discussion.

[connie96]

Thank you, @starbee. I appreciate your input. I swear, if I decide to go for it, I will try to be as true to the real thing as possible – even if on a different date since the January dates are simply not even close to feasible for me at this stage of training.

[connie96]

I need some help. I am currently training for my second ever half marathon race. My first was 10 years ago and this one is virtual, planned for Thanksgiving morning, 13 days from now. My longest training run ever is 14 miles and I have never even considered a full marathon. Also, I know that I will most likely never run an actual race at Disney. Between being too expensive (entry fees, travel, etc) and the fact that if I was at Disney, I’d want to be playing more than I’d want to be running and, then there’s the fact that my family would not be into it at all. So… since marathon weekend is Virtual this year, this may be my chance. And, of course, if I do it, I want ALL THE MEDALS which means DOPEY. I’m assuming that even the Dopey would be on the honor system (like the Summer Virtual 5k races which I have done before) so, there might be just enough leeway in how and when the races are run for me to be able to get them done. To me, the big advantage of doing this virtual would be that I could do the full marathon as slow as I needed to since there are no balloon ladies in my virtual race. Of course, I don’t want to disrespect anyone’s REAL Dopey finish so, I feel like I need to stick as close to the REAL race parameters as I can. So, I’d definitely do the four distances in four days. My only issue is that, to build my mileage from half to full in a reasonably responsible way (an abbreviated but mostly faithful take on https://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon-training/) I think the best I could hope for would be to run my Dopey February 11-14. My plan would be to continue training toward the full at 30/30 intervals and then, for the four races, drop back to 15/30 to lighten the load across the whole four days so that maybe I’ll survive through and beyond the final finish.

Here are my questions for you:
1) As a runner, do you think that this is pushing too hard too fast – going from a single half to a full Dopey Challenge (including a first ever full marathon) in 11 weeks?
2) I haven’t seen any hard restrictions but, do you know of any Disney virtual race rules that would require me to run the races on actual marathon weekend January 7-10 versus February 11-14?
3) If you’ve done the real Dopey before, do you feel that my approach is reasonable and responsible?
4) Also, if you’ve done the real thing, am I being in any way disloyal to the spirit of the Dopey by putting it off for a month?

I literally have not decided if I want someone to talk me into this or out of it. Talking me out of it would save me about $250 and many long hours of training so, don’t be shy. Talking me into it… well, it definitely keeps me running and training beyond my half on Thanksgiving and, of course, I’d be really happy to earn the medals. I really can’t decide so I’m counting on your help.

[connie96]

Received my Disney Virtual Shorts medals yesterday. I *LOVE* the park theme so much more than movie themes. ❤️❤️❤️

[connie96]

Congratulations Stephen and best of luck as you “keep moving forward” into your future!

[connie96]

I registered for the challenge this morning, too! Can’t wait to see the medals in person.

[connie96]

Moving right along…

[connie96]

@nascfan @missingWDW Thanks, y’all. I’m still only signed up for the one at this point. I’m going to wait and see how I feel about the other as it gets closer.

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