Skip to main content

Lace up those running shoes! It's time to begin.

 Today feels like a great day for a new adventure. And I’d like to take you along with me on this one.


It’s an adventure of truly Ironmom proportion. A fitness endeavor that will take months of preparation, facing fears and achieving lifelong dreams.


In 275 days I will toe the starting line of the first race in a seven race challenge. I’m not sure I will be able to do it. But I sure am going to try.


I’ve had the dream of doing a RunDisney live event since childhood. I would rip RunDisney ads out of magazines as inspiration to one day wear a costume and run through the park. Tinker Bell. Princesses. Mickey and the Gang. 


For years I have participated in Run Disney Virtual races from here in Kona, not having the time or priority to check this one off my bucket list. Not to mention how hard it is to even get into these races these days. For a while, the live races were suspended during the pandemic, which is why the Virtual races became so popular.


This year, both Orlando and Anaheim are hosting races on back to back weekends. And they’ve brought back the Coast to Coast Challenge, racing a 10 miler or longer on both the East and West coasts in the same year.


So…on January 4th, 2024 I will begin this Challenge.


Here’s the run down:


Jan 3rd: Fly to Orlando and check in for the Dopey Challenge, live in Walt Disney World, Florida

Jan 4th: Run the 5k

Jan 5th: Run the 10k

Jan 6th: Run the 13.1 Half Marathon

Jan 7th: Run the 26.2 Full Marathon earning both Goofy Race and a Half (Half + Full)and Dopey Challenge (5k+10k+Goofy) titles.


Then…


Fly home for two days to snuggle boys and hubby before heading to Cali.


Jan 10th fly to Aneheim overnight

Jan 11th check in for 5k and Dumbo Double Dare live in Disneyland, California 

Jan 12th Run the 5k

Jan 13th Run the 10k

Jan 14th Run the 13.1 Half Marathon earning the Dumbo Double Dare (10k+Half) title and Coast to Coast Challenge Award.


Now these races are SO HARD to get into. In fact, last year I tried and failed to secure a spot in the Dopey in Florida. That’s why I decided to MAKE the magic happy and spring for the PLATINUM membership of the Disney Run Club, of which I am a proud charter member.


AKA: two guaranteed spots in each race all year long. They have to let me in. I didn’t want to take any chances. But just because I can get in, I didn’t really think I could really go to Florida. I mean, I’ve never gone that far before, let alone to race. But now that my chance is here I’m going to push past all the fears and go for it. Next January I turn 40. Time to be bold.


I have already registered for the Anaheim 5k and Double Dare. Plus the plane tickets are secure. In two days (on my mom’s birthday-a good sign) my email should arrive giving me early access to register for any two events of my choosing for the Disney World Marathon Weekend.


I only need one. Dopey.


One thing’s for sure…I’m going to need all the help I can get to pull this one off. My virtual Dopey in 2021 nearly killed me. But I did do the marathon on the treadmill while watching a whole season of The Great British Bake Show.🤷🏻‍♀️


Hence my return to social media after a 5 month hiatus. A rest and recovery period if you will, to get back to the heart of what makes me me. More on that later.


I have to stick to my training. And there’s nothing like telling the world and asking for some accountability assistance!


Not only do I need help with accountability, but I want to take you along on this epic journey with me, just like when I did Ironman in 2017. It’s that big. Hopefully like before I can use this quest to aid in my mission of inspiring world fitness, one family at a time. 


So many of you told me after IM how much making my journey public helped inspire you to start exercising. Hopefully if you’re on the fence or have fallen off the wagon, this will help you get over to the healthy lifestyle side right now, too.


So hop in wherever you’re inspired…Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linked In, YouTube or right here in my blog.


I’m making it easy to find daily inspiration to move that body, in a big or small way, today. Yes, today. And everyday.


Will you join me?❤️


It’s Day 1…and I’ve begun. Today was Sunday Long Run Day. Anything over 6.2 miles. So 7.31 miles on Ane K in 2:08:29 (16’53” pace) in the books. Not fast…I’m the AverageIronmom. But magical!💕


See you soon,

😘 Kelsie

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moving Mountains with Mountain Movers

I love to go big or go home. But to be honest, my thirst for crazy fitness adventures has made way for a new kind of burning desire. Two things are on the forefront of my mind.  First, my personal training business Trunk Trainers is humming along smoothly, with Coach Caili and myself helping an almost full schedule of clients stick with their exercise routines. We’ve created the Treehouse, our online fitness community, to support our clients with online courses, challenges, resources and accountability. And have helped 13 fitness enthusiasts become NASM Certified Personal Trainers so far. We’re inspiring world fitness for sure! But I still feel like there’s one more area I’d like to pursue. Second, my baby boys are now 9 and 12. They’re going into 4th and 7th grade! And I feel like my husband and my presence in their lives right now are super important. We are definitely in the throes of tweendom and days go more smoothly when there’s time and attention for all the necessities plus...
Post a Comment
Read more

50 Half’s by 50 & a 1/2

 I’m planning my next adventure and I need your help. My next Go Big Goal is to run fifty half marathons in under two hours each by the time I’m 50 and a half. That would be 50 half marathons by July 31st, 2034. There are several reasons this is a Go Big Goal. First, I need to get fast. Although I have finished two half marathons in under two hours, that was before kids. Jason will be 13 on Sunday so it’s been a while! Speed training is going to be required to get me there and I’ve already added it to my training. It’s working! Not only do I want to be able to do a race under two hours because I think it’s a great challenge and a very cool thing to do, I also don’t have a lot of spare time to train. So getting my run time down will prove one of my Ironmom training mantras accurate: It’s not that you don’t have enough time to complete the workout. It’s that you’re not going fast enough. I will also up my Type II speed and power muscle fibers which decline with age if you neglect tra...
Post a Comment
Read more

Roller Coaster Run

 I was really looking forward to my long run today. It was set for 7 miles according the the Jeff Galloway Dopey Training Program and all indications looked as if it was going to be amazing. My body battery was charged up at 10. I've had at least 8 hours of sleep per night for 6 nights straight...including 9 1/2 last night (although it was going to be 8 1/2 so I could get out at 6am to run, but since I had all day and nothing else on the agenda but preparing for the week, I decided to indulge a little and sleep in.) Because I was getting a little later start, and it's Sunday, I decided to complete my 7 miles on the street in front of my house. It's a .1 mile strip with a cold-a-sac on one end. It's not ideal for a long run...better suited for hills and drills, but hey, I've done the Virtual Goofy Challenge on it (Half Marathon Saturday, Full Marathon Sunday) along with countless other runs so what's one more time. I am actually getting into more of a marathon tr...
Post a Comment
Read more