Disney Race Report by Beach Runners – Diane

Hi Steve!

Don and I did Disney for the second time. I was nervous this year – didn’t sleep well the night before and couldn’t eat. I’ve always been afraid of running in heat and while we’ve been training on some hot days with the Beach Runner’s, I knew Monday was going to be super hot and beyond anything I had experienced. I thought about you and tried to re-focus my thoughts into positive ones. By the time we started the race, it was already 76 degrees out, but I was pumped and ready to go! We both felt great the whole race. Yeah, it was hot, hot, hot, but to be honest with you, we didn’t notice or at least didn’t dwell on it. Kind of strange after spending so much energy worrying about it the night before. Good lesson learned right there. Instead, I should have had faith in what you’ve always told us to do – focus on form, do body sensing and focus your thoughts on something positive and wonderful (“cool tropical breezes!”), – in other words – run smart and have fun!

We came in at 2:35:21, 8 minutes slower than last year, but we probably should have slowed down a bit more to adjust for the heat. While I probably will never boast a finish in the top three, I can at least claim that in my women’s 50 – 54 age group, I finished in the top 20 percent – 105th out of 430. I know I can do better!

Finishing this race was an important one, at least for me. After years of telling myself that I couldn’t run in the heat, I proved that I could – and I did it for 13 miles and felt great. Amazing. That is one of the things I love about running. It’s the learning about yourself and the control and power you have over your mind, body and spirit. Thank you Steve and Gary for being an important part of this journey with us. I know I couldn’t have done it without you.

Namaste,

Diane

September 10, 2007 | Filed Under Steve's Posts 

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