Apparently, I am not the only person trying to plan their race calendar for the 2010 season. I had confidently listed a triathlon in June on my race schedule, only to find out while I was out of town this weekend that it was already full. After a minor fit, I got myself together and decided I better get serious about what races were important to me and get myself registered. My credit card is a little tired.

The first order of business was to sign up for the Disney Half Marathon 2011. Mike wants to do the Goofy Challenge again and it fills up quickly. With my heart set on running the NYC Marathon 2010, doing the full marathon at Disney two months later is not feasible for me. Running the half marathon will give me some motivation through the holidays. After running half of the marathon in 2009 and not getting a medal, the Donald Duck Medal will be a welcome reward. I still have getting that Mickey Medal on my to-do list, but it’s going to have to wait until 2012 or later.

Next, I did some homework and found a replacement for my now-full June Triathlon as well as a sprint tri for July. For June, I signed up for the Lake Waconia Triathlon on June 27th. With a .5 mile swim, 20 mile bike, and 4 mile run it is longer than a typical sprint race. It will be good incentive to get the tri training in early in the season. I’ve been in the pool a little bit, but I haven’t had any time on the bike. I better load it up on the trainer and get going.

The other races on my list are either not open for registration yet or I’ve already signed up. I can’t believe it’s only mid-January and I’ve already had to figure out what races I’m committed to. I’m sure I’ll add some smaller road races along the way. I had wanted to try another Olympic distance triathlon this summer, but with training for a fall marathon I’m going to hold off. If everything is going well and I can sneak one in, then I will. For right now, though, I want to leave my schedule light enough to concentrate on getting the miles in for the marathon.

Besides freaking out about my race schedule during the weekend, Mike and I did get in some lovely skiing as well as a beautiful snowshoe hike. Here I am with our friend Cyndi on our last day of skiing. Cyndi just ran the Disney Half Marathon which was her first half marathon. Yeah, Cyndi! I’m hoping that I sufficiently nagged her into doing it again next year.

This is Mike and I at the start of our snowshoe hike:

I took a little pit stop with Marie and Buddy. Buddy is in the middle in case you couldn’t figure it out.

It was a wonderful weekend in the mountains with a great group. Now that the holidays and our ski trip are over, it’s time to settle down and get to work to get ready for the season. The Frozen Half Marathon is still on my schedule for this weekend. The temperatures look promising but the forecast is calling for freezing rain. I don’t mind running in the cold or in snow, but I may have to draw the line at freezing rain. I’ve decided to wait until race day and make the call as to whether I’m going to go over for the race.

The Races on My Schedule List looks long over on the right side. I can’t wait to start checking them off of my list. I’m hoping to meet up with a lot of friends along the way and have a lot of laughs and smiles. I’m sure there will be some aches and pains as well as some disappointment as well, but running has taken me on a great ride so far. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

A couple of blogger friends, Brian Flash and Marlene, are getting ready to run the Goofy in a couple weeks. This consists of running the Disney Half Marathon on Saturday and the Disney Marathon on Sunday. I started this blog just two weeks after Disney 2009, so I haven’t forced my Disney story on you yet.

The Goofy fills up quickly, so Mike and I registered for the 2009 events as soon as registration opened in 2008. Mike signed up for the Goofy and I signed up for the Marathon. I was in the early stages of training for my first Fargo Marathon and I had also already registered for the Twin Cities 2008 Marathon. Before running farther than 15 miles, I had committed to running three marathons in 9 months. You can see where this is going.

By the time Disney rolled around in early January, I was dealing with shin splints and decided that I would just run half of the marathon. The actual Half Marathon was full and they wouldn’t let me transfer to that race, so on marathon day I crossed the timing mat at the half marathon mark and walked off the course. After a short walk, I boarded the monorail and rode it back to Epcot to the finish area to wait for Mike.

While I was waiting, I figured I would go to the medical tent at the finish and get some ice for my shins. The medical tent was huge with probably 100 cots and at least 2 medical people standing by each cot. As I walked in, every person in the tent looked up and started applauding. I was the first woman racer they had seen that day and I’m sure they thought I was one of the elite females if not the female winner. I had to yell to the whole tent that, no, I was injured and had taken the monorail. Of course, once they came to their senses and really looked at me, I’m sure they would have figured out on their own that something was up.

So that is my goofy Disney story. I didn’t get a medal and I can’t wear the t-shirt, but I did get a standing ovation from the medical tent. Not finishing that race was a tough decision to make, one that I made with my head and not my heart. In retrospect, I think it was a smart choice. I ran Fargo 2009 well and with no serious pain. I think I will have to revisit the Magic Kingdom at some point and get that medal, even if there is no applause.