Goin' Goofy: So It Begins

This past January, as a Team in Training Team Leader, I finished the Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday the 12th, and then the Full Marathon on Sunday the 13th. On any given SANE day, I would say that I don't do marathons. But, the team needed an extra runner on the course that weekend, so I did it. Wow! If you actually complete both of those events, Disney calls it "Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge." I didn't register that way, so I didn't get the medal or the shirt, but I did get the right to say "39.3 is the new 26.2!" Well, our friend Richard (who we unexpectedly and tragically lost one week after the Disney Marathon) wanted those rights. He said as we finished this year, that all he wanted to do next year was The Goofy. So, in his honor a LARGE, really large group of us Team Tally runners have legitimately registered as Goofy Participants. We won't be able to change the fact that Richard isn't physically there with us, but we will be able to say that he carried us all 39.3 miles of the weekend plus the hundreds of miles (all 800+ of them) of training of the journey to that Goofy Finish Line. A shiny medal awaits him there.

It will be a challenge to get through all of this training without the flood of memories and without the "Live out loud" personality we all got so accustomed to having near us as we ran. We will live to run and run to live so that we do Richard's memory and wish the honor it deserves. The link below is a slide show of Richard's "Larger than Life" way of living. Thank you, Robin! Again ...

This weeks puts the Team Tally Goofy Group 23 weeks out from Disney if you count backwards, and put Sunday the 11th as the first day of Zero Week. I am running on a modified Hal Higdon plan for multiple marathons. I am training, although I'm not sure why since I have transferred my entry, for the Marine Corps Marathon on October 26th. I suppose it's so I can keep the group company on their long runs. Or, maybe it's because the run is on my birthday and I'll run that far anyway, just on my own. Who knows. Anyway, with that in mind my schedule for this week and next looks like this:

8.3.2008 - Rest (Area I-IV Swim Meet
8.4.2008 - 4+ mile run
8.5.2008 - 6+ mile run
8.6.2008 - 5K run
8.7.2008 - Morning Run with
8.8.2008 - Rest ... The Olympics start today!
8.9.2008 - 15 miles (maybe) with MCM

8.10.2008 - Rest
8.11.2008 - Ride
8.12.2008 - 4+ mile run
8.13.2008 - 6+ mile run
8.14.2008 - 4+ mile run (or run with MCM Girls
8.15.2008 - Rest
8.16.2008 - Run with MCM Group

Most of these, if not every single one, will begin VERY early in the morning. I usually put feet to the pavement no later than 6 a.m. And once school starts, I'm going by about 5:30 a.m. especially during the week. Weekend runs will be dependent on the group and location. However, if you wanna come along, let me know so I have enough of "whatever" for you.