Why I decided not to run Disney Dopey Challenge

Well, I am slightly sad to say my husband and I decided not to go to Disney World next week for the Dopey Challenge. Back in April when it was time to sign up for WDW Marathon weekend, a group from my community was planning the trip. The main couple planning had to drop out due to surgeries. I didn’t have a roommate and the two people I knew who were going were planning on leaving next Tuesday. My daughter has a soccer game scheduled for Tuesday on the same field I actually played soccer at in high school! I could not miss that game. I make it a point to schedule any race around my children’s activities. My family is my top priority and I don’t want to miss a thing. I think I’ve only missed two of her games in 9 years! My husband said he would take me to Disney on Wednesday and we would come home Sunday. This fall has been one of the hardest training cycles. I did not get to train like I should because of how busy we are plus we moved into a new house! Moving is stressful and we still have to sell our other home. I have trained for a marathon before in 2015, but never made it to the 20 mile long run due to injury. I really wanted to train for this Challenge the right way, but ran out of time. 

After getting sick last week, I decided that it was a sign not to make the trip down to Orlando. I can’t imagine the 9 hour drive and all those 2:30 AM wake up calls. I ran Princess in February so I am familiar with how everything works at Disney races. We just went to Disney for our family trip in November too. I made the decision and asked my husband if we could just stay home. He was very happy not to have to go! We do lose the race fees, but ultimately we will save a lot of money staying home. I have learned a great lesson through all of this and now realize that even though I have BIG dreams to run marathons, it’s just not my time yet. There will be time to train and make those dreams come true later in my life. Right now, I am going to stick with half marathons and shorter distances. It’s been a great relief not to have to pack my bags and leave my kids to back to Disney. I will plan on going back for Princess weekend in 2018. It was so much fun and my family will hopefully get to go with me then! 2016 has been a year of learning what I am capable of and what I need to let go of. 

Have you ever had to put things on hold due to a busy season of life? I am very excited to think about the races I will be able to run next year. It won’t be many, but I hope to run a few half marathons I’ve never run before! Have you ever signed up for a big race and later regretted it? Would love to hear your thoughts! Happy Friday!