I did it! I successfully registered last Tuesday for the WDW Marathon weekend for the Dopey challenge. I’m currently in week 6 of the Galloway training, although I’m ahead of schedule since I like to train more aggressively than their schedule but I’m still making sure I’m putting in the time and mileage even if it’s more than the required times and distances set on the calendar. It’ll catch up to me later in the fall when the distances increase.

In the meantime, I’m thinking of backing off on the September marathon goal. For a few reasons. Honestly, I’m just not as excited about it as Disney ever since runDisney announced in person races were coming back so my training has slowed down. And honestly, as great as double training would be to give me experience, it would also be challenging as well as taxing on my body. I’m already going to do a number on them with the Dopey challenge so I might as well save all the training and mileage for the big one. My heart’s just not in it anymore to train for the September race if I’m being honest, and it is really hard to train in the summer with the weather and temps being as hot and humid as it is this year. I would prefer getting my long runs done in the fall when it’s much colder and more comfortable without the sun beating down on me and worrying about all the sunscreen I have to wear and long sleeves to avoid sun damage and my skin tanning and getting so damn dark. I also don't want to pay for two marathons. 😅 If I'm going to do it, I would like to spend it on the mouse because he does it better anyway.

I only set out on the September race because I was worried next year’s races weren’t happening and I just wanted to get a marathon over with already, but honestly, I don’t want my first marathon to be a non-Disney dinky one. The Disney races just hit different. The atmosphere is different, the audience is different, even the people cheering you on are different. I did a local 5k the winter before the pandemic happened and it was okay but it was nowhere near as fun and exciting as a Disney race. Crossing the finish line didn’t feel as good or spectacular as the roaring crowd at Disney. So as crazy as it is to have my first marathon also be my first Dopey, I think I’m finally ready to take this on. I think I can do it. And if I fail, I want to change my mindset to stop being afraid of failure. All it does is stop me from even trying things. I want to train myself into trying more things and using moments of setbacks into “what can I learn from this?” and “what can I do better next time?” I’m going to put in the time for the training and make sure I do the long runs but if I don’t make it through Dopey, instead of looking at it like DAMN I SUCKED, I want to look at it as “what do I need to improve on?” And at the same time, I need to stop thinking I’m going to fail and start looking at it the opposite way, cause honestly that’s probably more terrifying and what’s holding me back. Because seriously what happens if I complete this goal? What happens if I do great? What happens if I do make it?! The scary part is WHAT’S NEXT?!?! I say this because before I conquered my first half and then my first fairytale challenge, I kept saying to myself when I finished each race, that was it. I was only setting out for that goal to see if I could do it and then be done. But so far every time I conquered a goal, I continued on and looked for another mountain to climb. But a marathon itself is already hard with 26.2 miles. And in this case, my goal is set on a Dopey challenge, a whopping 48.6 miles. I really want to say once this is done, this is it. Cause come on, what is there beyond a Dopey that I would really want to do, when a Dopey is grueling enough. Dear body and ambitions, please stop here, lol.

I haven’t decided on race costumes just yet, but back in June, I was asked by Crowned Athletics to work on a project to photograph their new Mulan top. I love working with new companies, especially women-owned small businesses so I was really excited at the opportunity to connect with them and that they chose me to help represent their new Asian princess inspired top. Admittedly this style top is longer and more flowy than what I’m used to wearing for my workouts- I’m forever an IG hoe and prefer cropped and fitted looks, but I enjoyed styling it to look more me. And in doing so, I learned that their line of princess tops are great in that versatility factor; in the many ways you can style it to suit your own personal style. It’s funny because when I first started doing runDisney races years ago, I had to figure out how to put together my own looks for runDisney bounds, looking for various pieces from different brands and stores to bring a look together, trial and error, similar to how I had to do this when I first started cosplay. Now cosplay is so much easier, there are many people you can commission, as well as many ready-made costumes and made-to-order shops. Well, who knew that Disney race-bound costumes were expanding that same way as cosplay did in that nature? Now there’s a lot more Disney themed athleisure and casual cosplay pieces you can find on the internet. And they’re forever evolving and expanding their designs. I’m especially excited because after collaborating with Crowned Athletics on this project, I was asked recently to be a part of their next one! And I can’t wait because the new items coming are definitely something I can see myself racing in come next February for the runDisney Princess races. I’m shooting one of the new looks this weekend and I can’t wait for them all to be unveiled next week. And what’s more, the company is also working on designs for the WDW Marathon weekend so I can’t wait to see what those designs are since I have yet to even brainstorm what I’ll be wearing for the Dopey challenge races. There’s so much to do! And OMG! Only 154 days til it’s here. Sounds we better get a move on planning. Cheers to my double knee replacement!

Sound off below in the comments if you’re a runDisney addict, or even if you're new, let me know if you’ll be running any of the races in January or February or even if you’re running virtually. If you’re going to be there in person, hit me up! I’d love to meet other runners and grab pictures together! I met a fellow runner there last year and it was fun connecting and now we're always keeping tabs on each other, cheering each other on in both our professional lives since we're both in healthcare, as well as cheering each other on in our active lives through workouts, runs, and Blogilates. I met another family earlier this spring too and it's been really encouraging to have a group of cheerleaders rooting you on in your training. I'm so excited to shoot with them next year in January post races since they're also photographers! It’s really something connecting with friends in the RunDisney community. I'm hoping to finally meet a few more next year that I've been keeping in touch with throughout the pandemic. You guys keep me literally running, hahaha!