We got back from Florida on Wednesday afternoon, and I’ve been intending to blog over the past few days. But you know how it goes when you get back to work after being on vacation for several days. Emails, voicemails and meetings tend to take over your life as you play catch up from being out of the office.

All that to say…I finally have a few minutes to begin to sort through my thoughts about our trip to Florida last week. It was one of the most challenging, but rewarding, experiences of my life. Over the next week, I hope to share some of my thoughts about the WDW Marathon weekend, and specifically the Dopey Challenge. Just a reminder, the Dopey Challenge is when you run the 5K race on Thursday, 10K race on Friday, Half Marathon on Saturday and Full Marathon on Sunday, for a total of 48.6 miles. I trained for over 4 months (I had a pretty solid running base already), but nothing could prepare me for 4 early mornings (3:15 am wakeups) and 4 different weather days during the races.

I was super fortunate to have Rachel with me for the 10K on Friday and the Full Marathon on Sunday. While I was super excited to accomplish the Dopey Challenge, I was equally excited to experience Rachel’s first marathon with her. It was an amazing experience to cross the finish line together in what was very difficult running weather. I hope to have her share some of thoughts about her experience as well.

Tomorrow I will start by talking about the beginning of our trip (driving to Florida, staying with friends the first night, hitting up the race expo and getting ready for the 5K race). Each blog throughout this journey will take a closer look at each race as well as other fun stuff we did while at one of our favorite places…Disney!

Here are just a few pictures from the week. Can’t wait to share more with you!

5K Finisher Pic

10K Finisher Pic

Getting ready for the 10K

Tweedledee and Tweedledum

Half Marathon Finisher Pic

Castle during the marathon

Running through Epcot during the marathon (almost done!)

Picture with Mickey at the marathon finish line

Marathon (Dopey) Finisher Pic

Picture with the Dopey Medals in front of the castle

Picture with our medals in front of the castle

Dopey medals in front of the Magic Kingdom entrance

The crew. Photo Credit: #WeRunSocial

We Run Social Meet up

It wasn’t the easiest race but we finished! Looking forward to blogging more about our experience over the next few weeks. More to come.

Thought I would check in. After this morning’s half marathon, things are about to get serious with the full tomorrow. The 5K, 10K and Half all went very well. Rachel ran the 10K with me, so it was super helpful to have her company. She’s running the full with me tomorrow as well. While I’m super excited to complete the Dopey challenge, I’m just as excited for her to finish her first full! Here are a few pictures so far (all 5K and 10K pictures for now).

10K Finisher Pic

Getting ready for the 5K

5K Star

5K Finisher Pic

Getting ready for the 10K

The 10K Start

Running through the Boardwalk Beach Resort

Tweedledee and Tweedledum

Three races down…1 more to go!

Heading out in a few minutes for Florida. We are staying with some friends just north of Gainesville tonight before getting to Orlando in the morning.

Appreciate the thoughts and prayers for us as we travel and then run a bunch of miles! Not sure how much I’ll blog over the next week but remember….

48.6 miles over 4 days. That’s pretty much all that’s on my mind at the moment. As I finished up my 8 mile run earlier this morning, I found myself coming to the realization that my training is almost complete. I have a short 3-4 miler tomorrow, but then I’m done. It’s time to trust the training and run.

The Dopey Challenge will start this Thursday, January 6th. I will run 4 races over 4 days.

• Thursday, January 7 – 5K
• Friday, January 8 – 10K
• Saturday, January 9 – Half Marathon
• Sunday, January 10 – Full Marathon

Now I don’t have any specific time goals for the races next weekend. Running that many miles over 4 days, the goal is to finish upright with a smile on my face. Also, it’s Florida in January. The weather is so unpredictable that it could be warm and rainy, which can make it difficult to push it too much.

I am super excited that Rachel will be running her first full marathon with me on Sunday (she is also doing the 10K on Friday). This will be a personal record for her, since it’s her first (and she will say only) marathon!

We leave Tuesday afternoon and will drive to the Gainesville, Florida area to stay with friends before getting to Orlando the following morning. Probably won’t be able to blog very much during the trip, since we will be busy running, hanging at the parks and seeing friends.

Make sure to follow me on social media to stay up-to-date on all of my amazing adventures this weekend!

Instagram: @allenwhittaker
Twitter: @allenwhittaker
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allenwhittaker

New Year’s Resolutions. We’ve all made them…to work out regularly, to stick to a budget, to eat better. These are all great goals. And they can pay off if we stick to them. However, the thing about strict resolutions is that when we break them, we feel like we failed, and it becomes easy to ditch them altogether.

So this year I want to start with some small habits that can make a difference in my life—even if I don’t do the best job of always sticking with them. Here are a few resolutions I am making for myself this year.

• To Spend Less Time on My Phone

When I reflect back on 2016 this time next year, I probably won’t remember how many likes my Instagram picture got or how many Twitter followers I’ve gained. I believe we can all spend less time looking at screens, and more time enjoying the people and places around us. 

• To Spend Less Time Worrying

As author Corrie ten Boom said in The Hiding Place, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

•  To Complain Less and Do More

My first instinct is to vent about the world’s problems instead of thinking of ways I can help change it. Instead of complaining, I want to work on solutions that can actually fix the things that are broken.

• To Read More Good Books

There is potentially life-changing wisdom in the pages written by some of humanity’s great minds. All I have to do is take the time to read them.

• To Cut Myself Some Slack

Over the years I’ve tried to accomplish things but ended up falling short. This year, when I fall short, drop the ball or let down people I care about, I will do everything I can to make it right, and then move on and show myself grace.

Did you make any resolutions for the year?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson.