Race Report: Goofy Challenge Part 1 - The Expo

OK, for those that don't follow me on Twitter, I successfully survived the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge! It was both an amazing and super fun experience. As well as a freakishly cold one!!!

And I hate to leave you all in suspense, but I'm not going to get to the actual race reports just yet in this post. I'm sorry!

First, I will hit on the expo which I attended Friday morning. It was at Disney's Wide World of Sports and it was huge! I love the Disney expo. When I ran the full in 2008, I wasn't able to spend much time there because my whole family was with me and waiting so I had to speed up the browsing. This time, I checked it out solo so I took my sweet old time.

After I picked up my two race bibs and got the Goofy wristband slapped on my wrist, I hit the expo which was in a different building (different from 2008 when it was all in the same place). I then got a cute little mesh bag filled with my three awesome race shirts. That's right - THREE!!! I love the Goofy Challenge.

First, we got a navy blue long sleeve tech shirt for the Goofy Challenge - the 5 is because it's the 5th anniversary of the race.



And then we also got two long sleeve white tech shirts - one for the full (with Mickey) and one for the half (with Donald). Notice how they list the parks from the respective courses on the sleeves of the shirts.



I really love these shirts and I think they fit better than my 2008 shirt (which ran a little big).

Now time for shopping!



I already had an idea of things I wanted to pick up based on tweets I had seen from other Goofy runners. I first hit the "official race merchandise" section and although there were lots of cute stuff, I didn't really see anything that I loved. (And when a T-shirt is $35, I better love it, you know?) I was hoping to get a track jacket like the one I got in 2008, but guess what? They were already sold out of all of their track jackets! Keep in mind, the expo opened Thursday afternoon and ended Saturday evening. And they were already sold out of merchandise by Friday morning? Poor planning, Disney. But that's OK, I probably didn't need the jacket since I hardly wear my 2008 one. And hello, I just got three awesome race shirts! So I didn't really feel a need to add more to my collection, especially since I was running out of room to store all my running gear at home, anyway.

But I still felt a need to get at least one additional souvenir, so I settled on a Goofy race hat which I am proudly modeling here (taken after the races were run, of course!)



Next, I bought some yurbuds - definitely because I heard about them on Twitter. These things are great. I am constantly having problems with keeping my earbuds in and even experimented with different styles but they would always slip out. Well I got "fitted" for a pair of these while at the expo and they felt nice and snug. A little pricey at $20 but hey since they work, I can't complain.



I also heard about my next purchase on Twitter - the iFitness belt. I didn't really need this product as I already have a running belt to hold crap but this one had more bells and whistles so I figured why not! The iFitness guy said the one I bought was brand new which must be the case because I can't seem to find it on their website. It's like a super version of their neoprene mini-sport belt but this one comes with six external slots on the elastic band for gels (three on each side) and little lace lock thingies to hold your race bib. I got this for $28.



My final expo purchase is something I've always eyed at expos - The Stick! I never felt the need for one since I've got my trusty foam roller at home. However, that thing is not exactly travel-friendly. (Although, believe it or not, I did pack it in my suitcase for the 2007 Chicago marathon!) And since I wanted to make sure I was in tip top shape for the marathon, I got the stick to help work/stretch my leg muscles after the half-marathon. I think this one was around $35.



And as long as I'm discussing running products, there is one other thing I purchased right before I left for Disney. I decided to get a new hydration belt. I had been using the Fuel Belt Helium 4 which hold two bottles in front and two in the back. Well, I never wear bottles in the front because I feel like my arm always bump into them plus I don't like carrying that much liquid on me. I decided to just get a new fuel belt that only has bottle holders in the back so I got the Nathan Speed 2 belt.



I'm so glad I got this as I like it a lot better!

OK, that's it for the product reviews... up next is the WDW Half Marathon race report!

2010 Race Targets

OK, so now it's time to talk about my 2010 race targets.

January 9-10th: Goofy Race and a Half Challenge
A half and a full in one weekend? In freezing cold temps? (again) Sounds fun to me! No, seriously, I'm actually looking forward to heading to Florida this weekend for the ultimate running challenge!

April 11th: Cherry Blossom 10 miler (DC)
I've always heard great things about this race. It's tough to get in but luckily I got selected in the lottery (a first!) What's even more special is that my brother and sister-in-law are walking the 5K that day as well.

September 5th: Disneyland Half
I ran this in 2008 and it's fun but really the only reason I'm running it this year is to get the Coast-to-Coast medal which you get for running both the WDW full and Disneyland half the same year.

October 17th: Nike Women's Half Marathon (if I get in)
It's tradition for me now and I really love the course. Also a lottery but as long as I continue running with the Nike Club Run SF, I should be able to earn a spot.

November 7th: NYC Marathon (if I get in)
Right now, this is the only other marathon I want to run! I would love to run NYC :) I've been entering the lottery for awhile so if it doesn't happen this year, I should be locked in for 2011.

Finally, some kind of biking event - I've been neglecting Gigi for too long. Maybe a century??? That would be something new for me!

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I'm sure I will squeeze in other races here and there but for now, this is all I have planned for now. Wow, I just realized most of these are destination races. Yay for my pocketbook! :)

Let me know if you have any of these on your race calendar!

A Review of 2009 in Pictures!

I thought it would be fun to do a little recap of the races I did in 2009. It was definitely a fun mix!

1) Mermaid Run 10K: First race of the year! I love Mermaid events - a wonderful supportive all-women crowd plus you get a nice necklace and a pancake breakfast!



2) Big Sur Mud Run: Oh boy, what a crazy, hilarious race! I joined four other lovely ladies to be the "Dirty Divas" for a 5 mile trail race that included obstacles and mud pits. It was a fun experience but if I ever do this race again (and that's a big IF), I think I'm better off finding a team that doesn't include BQ qualifiers. :P



3) Cinderella Classic: My longest bike ride to date - a metric century (i.e. 65miles/100km). It was so much fun to ride in a massive bike ride with women all dressed up in costumes. Highly recommend this to any female road biker in the bay area, no matter what your skill level is!



4) Rite Aid Cleveland Half Marathon: Hometown race - cheered on by mom and dad :)



5) Muddy Buddy - San Jose: I guess Julianne and I were itching to get muddy again! This time we combined running AND mountain biking AND costumes! Team "Tutu Hot to Handle" got down and dirty. Again. :)



6) Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon: Friends, running, wine... need I say more?



7) Nike Women's Half Marathon: Still my all-time favorite half despite having the hardest course. This year was special because I ran with my cuz.



8) Dean Karnazes Silicon Valley Half Marathon: Nothing too special here but it was nice to run a local race even if the course was not too exciting for me.



9) Cleveland 5Mi Turkey Trot: Third time running this race. I love running races on days you know you're going to eat a lot. Makes the eating much more enjoyable!



10) California International Marathon: Well in case you missed the news, 2009 wasn't all about having fun and getting muddy (ha). That's right, I finally PR'd. In the MARATHON! Woot woot for hitting sub-5:00 :)



All in all, I had some very memorable races in 2009. And with the Goofy Challenge just around the corner, I know 2010 will be just as awesome!