On Sunday, January 8th, 2011, at around 11:30 pm, I was in Magic Kingdom. I had been at Walt Disney World for 3 days and was solely functioning on Advil Cold and Sinus, coffee, and Mickey-shaped ice cream bars. I had been up for almost 24 hours at that point, having woken up at 1:30 am to get the Team in Training walkers and runners I worked with onto busses; found myself heading to Epcot around 3am to catch the monorail; caught a short catnap in the lobby of the Polynesian around 4:30 am; and stood on an access road near Magic Kingdom by 6 am wearing a winter hat and shaking a cowbell like it was my job. (It was, actually.)
Delirious was an understatement.
Because I was sleep-deprived and sugar-rushed, the magic (yup, I said it) of Magic Kingdom hit me HARD. I was hanging out with our coach and some of the most inspiring people I know - friends who had raised thousands and thousands of dollars for blood cancer research, walked or ran 13.1 or 26.2 miles, and then agreed wholeheartedly to go ride Space Mountain with me at 11pm on the same day. I was moved, I was tired, I was mildly functioning, and I loudly declared to them: "next year... next year, I will run this marathon!"
Yeahh... that didn't happen.
I moved 3,010 miles, got a new job, had to learn how to cook - basically, life got in the way. It's totally not an excuse and it bothered me all the time. I made a promise on the alter of the House of Mouse! Re-negging on that declaration would be tantamount to Disney execs turning Space Mountain into a Star Wars-themed ride (aka blasphemous) so I knew I had to do it someday.
Finally, two weeks ago, I signed up to run the Disneyland Half Marathon.
(I get it - its not the FULL Walt Disney World marathon, but cut me some slack! I haven't run in MONTHS. Baby steps, okay?)
Most importantly, I signed up to train with Team In Training. Maybe I'm a little biased, but there is no organization I would rather train with and run for. Why? Because I've witnessed their success. I've worked with patients and survivors who are still here because of the research that LLS conducts BECAUSE of the funds that TNT participants raise. LLS recieves no federal funding, so everything they're able to do - every patient they support, every research grant they provide, every cure they are that much closer to - is all because of generous donations from YOU.
My first official training run is Saturday, May 17th. I've got a long way to go until August 31st and I hope you'll support and join me along the way.
Lets get running.
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