Running Disney

Well, I did not actually run the Disney Marathon, or any race associated with it. And I was in Disney the week after the marathon, but I was still able to run in Disney! Sort of.

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, which is an incredibly nice resort. It is a very short distance from Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The lodge had a nice path that winded its way through the woods and to a campsite known as Wilderness Resort. I followed that through and then back up to a dirt path along a lake and back to the start for a total of two miles. That was my first run of the week.

During that run I spotted six deer. All of them no further than twenty or so yards away. It was amazing because a few were so close to the path I could probably run up and grab them... not that I would. I even had a close call with a huge buck.

I did not see him in the trees to my left, but he noticed me as I ran up. He must have been startled by my presence because he jumped up and shot across the path pretty quickly. Lucky for me he was quick about it, because if he would have waited a second or two before darting across he would have ran right into me. My heart rate shot way up and I stopped in my tracks. I saw those huge antlers and all I could think was I forgot to wear my RoadID.

For my second run I needed to use the treadmill at the health club. I really wanted to run the path again, but it was unusually cold outside, and of course I did not bring any cold gear with me thinking that Florida's weather would be nice enough to run in.

I never ran on a treadmill before, and I found out I do not like it at all. I of course had to get my "sea legs". I am not used to running in place and it took me about a half mile to keep myself steady. My plan was to do three miles, but I could not do it. I stopped at a mile and a half, walked another half mile and then vowed to come back that night to do another mile. I, of course, did not get back to do that mile.

I really wanted to run some more that week. I got up early to run Saturday morning, but we were leaving that day and I really felt worn out so I went back to sleep and did not get the run in.

Walking around all the parks and checking out the sights was fun. My brother and I could not help but talk about running a marathon through all those parks and how much fun it must be. He is talking about running it next year, but I do not know if I can do it next year or if I will have to wait another year, financially speaking.

Hopefully next year.

Road ID

I have been tossing around the idea of buying the Road ID for some time, and I finally broke down and did it last week. I usually ran with nothing, but sometimes would put my drivers license in my pocket and hope that it did not fall out.

With this it is much easier. I strap it on my wrist and have nothing to worry about. I got the yellow one, because I like to be noticed. It straps pretty snug on your wrist with Velcro. It is very comfortable, but I would like it to fit loose like a bracelet rather than snug like a watch and I am thinking about ordering the larger size band for it. The metal tag is removable and compatible with the other Road ID products.

I think that this is a pretty smart piece of equipment to have, considering you never know what is going to happen. I have had a couple close calls in my short time of running, and it makes me think "what if?"

Hopefully I never have to rely on this thing, but I am glad that I have it.