The first runDisney event that I participated in was the Expedition Everest 5k in 2014. Even though I have a hate/like, but mostly hate relationship with running, that race was so fun and it motivated me to keep up my Galloway method Run/Walk/Running and participate in other runDisney events. I ended up training for and completing the Princess Half Marathon in 2015 and then attempted the same half marathon in both 2016 and 2017 but I got swept and didn’t complete the last two races. Then I did the Princess 5k in 2018.

After the Princess Half Marathon that I completed in 2015, I was gung ho about doing it again the next year. I really do dislike running, but once I get done with a run I feel so good. Plus, since I have depression and anxiety, regular exercise really helps me keep them in control and I’ve discovered that running really knocks out my depression and anxiety almost completely when I’m doing it 3-4 times a week. After I struggled to complete the 2016 and 2017 half marathons, I ended up going to a doctor for an unrelated issue and figured out that I had a herniated disc in my lower back.

I ended up having surgery on my back in 2017 and I was told to lose weight to prevent further back issues and also wait about 6 months to try to run again. Unfortunately, I didn’t lose weight after my surgery. In fact, I gained a lot more weight so when the 6 month mark rolled around and I started walking and tried to slowly add my running intervals again, it made my back hurt. I didn’t want to have a repeat of my low back issues and sciatica again, so I just stopped trying to run and planned to lose weight. But by now I was working from home full time and found that it was a great excuse to eat snacks as I sat at my desk all day. I continued to gain more weight.

So when I did the Princess 5k in 2018 with my sister and my twin nieces, I just walked it but ended up with knee and Achilles tendon pain because of my weight. I think I pretty much wrote off doing runDisney again at that point (instead of being logical and deciding to buckle down and lose weight ).

Last year I decided to try to get back to the running and I signed up with my cousin for a 10k during the Star Wars race weekend. I had only begun exercising and walking to begin my training for that in January and had decided I’d just walk the 10k so that I wouldn’t hurt myself. Of course, that race weekend was canceled because of the pandemic. Around the same time, my youngest son was preparing to graduate from high school and he decided he wanted to do a runDisney 5k with me after graduation. I had us registered for the Wine and Dine 5k which has now been changed into a virtual race and my son decided he wanted to wait until he was able to actually do the race at Disney World.

I cancelled our entries for the Wine and Dine 5k and realized that I am really missing the fun of doing a race at Disney World. I have never done local races at all because I very specifically started running in order to do runDisney. I don’t feel motivated to run unless I’m going to get to go through part of a Disney World park! I’m feeling motivated to exercise more and lose weight so that I can run again and be ready for a runDisney race whenever it’s safe for them to have the races at Walt Disney World again.

I don’t mind exercising so I think the hardest part for me will be changing my eating habits. I just need help staying on track so I’m going to be looking for someone to help me stay accountable and keep on track. I plan to start vlogging my weight loss and exercise experience so hopefully I can post the first video next week, so stay tuned for that! In the meantime, if anyone wants to join me, feel free to let me know! °O°