The Marathon. THE Marathon. Wow. I don’t even know where to begin, but I want to put ALL of it down so I can remember it forever.
I want to start of by thanking my AWESOME husband, who is WAY faster than me, for struggling thru an entire marathon in the “middle of the pack”. It was so amazing to accomplish this with him by my side – the entire 26.2 (ahem, 26.82) miles. He ran the Goofy Challenge – for those that don’t know, that’s the Walt Disney World ½ Marathon on Saturday morning and the full Marathon on Sunday morning. He ran the ½ in 1:46:17 ( a mere 1:05 short of a PR for him) and he was supposed to be taking it “easy”.
Saturday after we returned from a fun day at Sea World, we spent some time laying out our race gear. It turned out it was going to be colder than originally anticipated (YAY!!!) I was more worried about heat than cold. I decided on a long sleeve tech shirt with loose sleeves that I could push up, my UA compression shorts and my fab striped knee socks and my Nike running gloves. I added a 26.2 Mickey Bondi Band I got at the expo to round out my outfit. Oh yeah, and my diddly-bobbers. I don’t know what other people call them, but that is what I call them. Todd said the water stops were frequent and plentiful, so I opted against my fuel belt and just stuffed some Motrin (smart girl), a marathon energy bar, 2 sleeves of shot bloks and my MP3 into my SpiBelt. Todd packed his fuel belt with the camera, 2 containers of water and 3 pouches of Honey Stingers. I figured between the 2 of us, we’d have plenty of food and water.
We set the alarm for 3 am. Todd said transportation was a BREEZE on Saturday morning, so I was a bit more relaxed than normal. Race logistics make me freak out a little. I slept better than I thought I would, but not all that great. When our alarm went off I jolted out of bed.
“Today is the day. I can’t believe it.” We got dressed, took some Motrin and slathered
ourselves with Body Glide. We grabbed our breakfast (PB sandwiches and bananas and bottled water), our gear and mylar blankets (Todd snagged an extra after the ½) and headed out. The lobby was buzzing and full of runners. We walked right out and hopped on a bus. It was probably 3:30 and the last time I’d know what time it was until noon.
We arrived at Epcot and walked to the runner’s staging area and bag check. We had a bag with us, but it was full of gear we were going to put on or eat, so no back check for us. We hit the portapotties and decided to start on the march to the starting line. As I was walking, I saw a man and I thought “Hey, he looks like David – from the Knoxville Marathon Team from last year” and about a ½ second later I put the math together that he was who my good friend, Kim, was with. Then I realized she was standing RIGHT THERE!! 17,000 people and I found her! I gave her a big hug and we chatted with Kim, David and Kelly for a bit. It was time to start heading towards the start. It was SO CROWDED and we plodded along. We arrived at the corrals and wished the other Knoxville Folks good luck and Todd and I headed to the portapotty again. We made it up to Corral C and waited for the start. I don’t think we waited too long – maybe 20 minutes? I have to say, it was cold out – maybe mid 40s – but that mylar blanket was WARM wrapped around my legs!
5:30 came with the wheelchair start and 5:35 the first wave was off. We were crammed kind of in the back of our corral. We started moving forward as the fireworks went off again sending off the 2nd corral. Before I knew it, the 3rd set of fireworks went off and it was OUR TURN to start. Todd snapped a few pictures and away we went.
The first mile to mile and a half were tough. It was packed and very slow going. Kind of made me wish we’d pushed our way up to the front of the corral. Ah well, there were going to be PLENTY of chances to pass people. My diddly-bobbers were making me crazy, so I threw them off about a mile into the race. Todd was wearing a Goofy hat and he kept getting lots of comments “Hey Goof!!” and I got several comments on my fab socks. I have to say I was SHOCKED at the number of people cheering at the start. There must have been a ½ mile of spectators out there in the dark cheering. Totally awesome. Todd snuck off to the woods about mile 2 so he could use the bathroom. Lots of men saved the portapotties for the women. LOL
About mile 2.5 and we were headed into Epcot amid spectators and cheering. We stopped and snapped a picture of each other with the “golf ball” behind us and then ran under it and around the big Christmas tree before heading towards the World Showcase. We stopped again to get our pic with Chip and Dale and once in front of the World Showcase. We cruised on thru Epcot and back out the other side. I knew it’d be a few miles before we made it to the Kingdom.
I was VERY pleased to see that the water/poweraid stops were HUGE! And the cups were big. Probably 8 oz cups and they were ½ full, allowing for plenty of water at each stop. We split a sleeve of shot bloks at mile 4 (my plan was every 4 miles, regardless of time/pace).
Along the stretch towards the Magic Kingdom the sun began to come up. We stopped to get our picture with Eeyore and Tigger and we both darted towards the trees to use the bathroom. (It became a bit of a theme for the day. HAHA) I snuck behind a bush and was able to have privacy, in spite of thousands running by. The only problem was I got a lot of sand in my shoes while doing this and I could feel the sand for the next 20 miles.
We cruised towards the Kingdom and thru the transportation center amid thousands of spectators. I cannot get over the crowds. It was amazing. We entered the Magic Kingdom by Space Mountain and we stopped for more pictures. We headed along a service road and came out again to the right side (next to the hat shop) of Main Street USA and made the right turn – Main Street was PACKED and there were so many people cheering. I got a bit teary as we headed up towards Cinderella’s castle. Then off to the right and thru Tomorrowland. We saw Stitch, but didn’t stop and then Todd darted into a bathroom (again – this is his third potty stop – I couldn’t help but giggle at him – thank goodness we weren’t running for time) I snapped a few pics of the runners coming by and then we were off again to visit with the Mad Hatter and Alice by the teacups and on thru Fantasyland, then we made a left turn and THERE IT WAS.
I know the layout of the park reasonably well, but I just wasn’t really thinking – it was a total surprise that Cinderella’s Castle was RIGHT THERE and it was time to run thru it – the highlight of the entire marathon (other than the finish). We had our picture taken and then we posed with the “Royal Family” – the step sisters, step mother and prince charming. Then we ran thru the castle – total “OMG moment” and everyone was whooping and yelling going thru. We stopped to take more pictures on the other side (this was a really SLOW mile for us. LOL). The cheering spectators were amazing. Down to the right we went and then posed one more time for a professional picture in front of the castle. Then away we went towards Frontierland.
Pictures with Jessie and Woody (which we had to do since our 5 year old LOST IT and had a meltdown last year when we made him get his picture taken with them) and then on towards Adventureland and the Pirates of the Caribbean. Another water stop after that and away we went again. Somewhere in there was mile 8 and another sleeve of shot bloks for the two of us.
Out the other side of the Magic Kingdom and time for another “boring stretch” along the roads outside the park. Even then they kept it fun – bands, characters, cheerleaders, TONS of fun every step of the way. We passed Jeff Galloway posing for pictures (but didn’t stop) and we split a marathon energy bar at mile 12-13 (give or take) we hit the ½ distance about 2:33 on the clock (we were 7 minutes behind the clock due to being in the 3rd wave). I knew there’d be more stops and pictures the first ½, so I anticipated our first ½ taking quite a bit of time.
We were still having a ton of fun and it was surprising that we passed the ½ way point and I thought “Wow, we already ran a ½ and it seems like we just got started. This is going to end way too quickly.”
This stretch did seem to get a bit long – we headed into the Animal Kingdom about mile 16.5 or 17 – the Animal Kingdom went QUICKLY. But it was still cool – I love this park. We posed with Rafiki and Minnie Mouse (not together! LOL) and in front of the tree of life. An awesome band was playing in Africa and having a blast. Somewhere along the way we passed Captain Castro – who spoke before the start – with his guide. Capt. Castro was Army Special Forces and had been blinded in Iraq during the war. He was running the Goofy Challenge – 39.3 miles – with no sight. He was running with his guide and EVERY SINGLE PERSON that passed them (or were passed by them) thanked him. It was incredible.
Before we knew it we were out the front of the Animal Kingdom and thru the parking lot. We stopped and used the portapotties at the mile 18 sign and posed for another picture. I knew it’d be 4-5 miles until we were in the final stretch and into Hollywood Studios and towards the finish. This was going to be the tough stretch. I kept thinking “I wonder how long until “the wall”. When is it going to really SUCK?” I was still having fun at mile 18. Then I looked down at my Garmin at 18.9 and thought – this SUCKS. I’m not having fun. I’m tired. I want to stop. I realized it was time to eat something and wanted to nip the ugly feelings in the bud and stop this moment from becoming the wall.
Physically I was still doing okay – not hurting too much and pressing on at a good pace. I looked and noticed we were at about an 8:38 pace. While it didn’t hurt at the moment, I knew I couldn’t maintain it for long. And while I was already on the edge of coming apart, I knew we had to slow up. I told Todd and we dropped back to about 9:40 or so. We trudged along – even on this stretch of highway, there was so much to see – trampolinists, marching bands and stilt walkers. Todd could tell I was starting to struggle, so he started goofing off to distract me. Only it was starting to irritate the crap out of me. LOL I was in the “this sucks, I want it to be over, don’t talk to me, just let me run” point of the marathon.
We made it over the 2 rolling hills and by the turn around and made the turn towards Hollywood Studios. We went up the last hill about mile 22 and stopped to pose with Sarge (from Toy Story). I was feeling a bit more positive – we were off the “last long boring stretch” and we’d have fun until the finish. I ate a banana at a food stop and we continued on. Finally, into Hollywood Studios. We stopped to get our picture with Frozone. I was a bit disappointed to see that he was the only character out in HS. I was hoping they’d have the Storm Troopers out, but no luck.
By now the parks were open and there were TONS of people cheering along the entire course. Out of Hollywood Studios and along the lake by the Swan and Dolphin and towards the Boardwalk. Over the boardwalk and back towards Epcot. Into Epcot and we saw the Mile 25 marker. Thru the world showcase again. We didn’t stop at any of the character stops – all princesses. And thankfully, as the mom of boys, I don’t have to worry about princesses. LOL
Towards the big golf ball and then a right turn. We passed the 26 mile marker – and at this point I DID NOT want to pose to get my picture taken with it. We headed out of the park and into the parking lot towards the finish chute. Thousands of people – thousands. Big bleachers. So much noise. We rounded the corner and there it was – the finish line. I completely lost it. Sobbing. It was SO NOT ATTRACTIVE! Todd grabbed my hand and we held our hands over our heads and crossed the finish line together.
As soon as it was over, a medal was around my neck and a mylar blanket was wrapped around me. I couldn’t believe it. I just ran a MARATHON!!
We used both of our Garmins for the marathon – Todd’s had the auto pause feature on, allowing the Garmin to stop running every time we stopped for the bathroom or pictures. Mine ran the entire time. I’m really, really glad we did this. While my goal was to have fun and soak up the entire experience and do everything there was to do, I still wanted to keep time in the back of my mind. We were able to have fun and finish at 4:52:04. According to Todd’s Garmin – the marathon took us 4:33:59. So, while my goal was to never run for time, I’m glad I was also able to see our “non Disney” time. So even though I faltered during the last miles, I was able to maintain my pace – or close to it. That makes me really, really happy.
It encourages me to run another full marathon for time. And while about mile 25 I said I’d never run again, now I’m considering running the full in Savannah in November. It’s a sickness, really. LOL
What I learned about this experience……….
Running a marathon is like having a baby.
It takes months to prepare and plan for it.
When the day arrives, you’re scared out of your mind and anxious about what’s going to happen, how it’s going to go down and how much it is going to hurt.
And then you’re doing it – and you wonder “when is the bad part going to come” because you know eventually it will. And unlike having a baby, they don’t give epidurals during marathons (damn it!).
And then it is over. And you are in awe and wonder over what your body was able to do. And while it hurt and it was a bit crazy at times, it was 1000% worth every second of it.
The good news? Even though they don’t give out epidurals? No sleepless nights after this one! LOL
Here are the stats/splits from my Garmin – It recorded a moving time of 4:37.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/63103170
I can’t get Todd’s Garmin to load, so here are the splits:
10:56; 10:20; 10:59; 10:30; 10:14; 9:59; 10:20; 9:42; 10:44; 10:15; 11:22; 10:19; 10:17; 10:06; 10:04; 10:09; 10:14; 10:11; 9:45; 10:46; 10:03; 10:02; 10:50; 10:42; 10:50; 10:08; 9:13
His Garmin showed a distance of 26.46 and an average pace of 10:20. That makes me very happy. The time goal in the back of my head was to run a 10:15-10:30 paced race. I’d say we did that – even walking all of the water stops (but never any other time) and the last 7 miles getting difficult for me.
momandrunningit 