Coming Around “Full Dopey”

By Sarah Fedele

When it comes to running, the easy part is at the finish and the hard part is at the start,” declares Robin Brickey of Kernersville. “But, once you put one foot in front of the other, it is addictive!” Robin’s love of Donald Duck got her to say “yes” to her brother-in-law’s challenge of running the Walt Disney World® Half Marathon. However, it is her addiction to running that has taken her around “Full Dopey!”

Robin was at her heaviest at 326 pounds when she began working with a trainer and focusing on her health. One evening, she did not feel well. Around 7:30 p.m., she felt a large pressure across her chest and the back of her rib cage. Finally, the pressure lifted and Robin fell asleep. The pressure came back again even stronger around 3 a.m. that morning. Robin was taken to Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center where she suffered a second heart attack during her catheterization procedure.

Robin attended rehabilitation at the hospital and began working with her trainer again. It started with walking her dogs. Then, bit by bit, she began running. She would run further each day and walk less, increasing her running gradually with every workout.

That was just the beginning. Over the past six years, Robin has lost 100 pounds and her cardiologist has reduced her to yearly check-ups and taken her off every medication except a minimal amount for preventative measures. She ran her first half marathon at Disney World in 2012 and has not slowed down since.

After doing my first Half Marathon 13 months after my heart attacks, I made a commitment to do a Full Marathon in five years. Disney upped the ante and announced The Dopey (my second favorite character besides Donald Duck) which is a four-race event over four days in four parks challenge,” shares Robin. The first day is a 5K, the second day is a 10K, the third day is a Half Marathon, and the final day is a Full Marathon. Robin committed to this challenge two years ago, and has been training for a year.

Training was very hard, with lots of early nights to bed and early rises to get out on the road. I would go to bed by 7 or 8 p.m. and be up by 1:30 a.m. to get the miles in,” recalls Robin. “I ended up running 8 to 10 miles a day and running 13 to 15 miles for long runs on the weekends. It was exhausting, but knowing the end would be something no one could take from me kept me going.”

When it came time for The Dopey, she pounded the 5k. Demolished the 10K. The half was canceled due to weather, but with a day of rest she knew she could accomplish the Full Marathon. “By mile 20 my brain did not want to go anymore and by mile 22 my feet did not want to go anymore. Then with just two and a half miles left I got my second wind. With blisters on both feet and my whole body hurting, another runner and I pulled together to finish the last stretch. We decided we were not going to let the pain keep the glory from us,” says Robin. “I was full of energy and ran the rest of the way to mile 26.2. I accomplished a task that just six years ago was not on my radar or even in my vocabulary.”

The feeling of crossing that finish line was exhilarating and emotional. I asked God to give me angels that day. I know that my grandparents, who passed away years ago, were with me every step of the way during my first half marathon, and my two friends that passed on before their time, were all there with me when I crossed that finish line! It was one of the best moments of my life,” shares Robin.

February is American Heart Month and Friday, February 3 is National Wear Red Day. The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women program, locally sponsored in Forsyth County by Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, encourages women to prevent and fight heart disease and stroke. Cardiovascular diseases take one in every three women from our lives in the United States.

To follow Robin’s running journey, visit her blog at RunSkinny-GirlRun.blogspot.com. For a list of Go Red and Heart Month events during the month of February and heart disease warning signs and prevention information, visit www.NovantHealth.org/LifeIsWhy.

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