Nemesis Challenge: No Pain, No Gain. A ½ Marathon 2013 NEW Updates 2/20 NEW

[declansdad]

Cool update, I can't wait to hear how the race unfolds.

 

[petals]

love the update. Those t-shirts are bright. You look tired more than excited in that pic though.

 

[jenseib]

I have heard how crazy the races can be. You would think Disney would have this down to an art by now.

 

[Woth2982]

Ive been following along, and finally got around to posting. Yay you made it to the race! Im impressed you were able to drink the day before AND have tomato based food! I get such heart burn from tomato sauce/anything tomato. Your faces say it all in that self portrait at 330 am! I signed up for the Disneyland Half (and hopefully the wine and dine half next month), and I am not looking forward to the waking up at 3 am part. I signed my sister up too, she is not very happy with me right now, but our dad said she can't do it so she is determined to prove him wrong lol.

 

[that's nice]

Ok, having read this, I just have one question... What the beverly was Melody doing up at 3:05 am??????

She just randomly woke up at 3. Maybe she couldn't wait for me to get out of there so she could take over the whole bed.

Moral of the story... take the first bus!

Was he trained on the streets of NYC?

I know it was the North East.

How excited can you be to be awake at 4:30 am and getting ready to run 13 miles?

Actually, we were really excited... can't you tell?

Won't there be any trees or bushes along the race route?

Plenty!

Wait a minute... wished each other luck?????

I know. Weird huh? I think it was so early we were delirious.

Welcome to the world of runners...only in this place will you hear something to the effect of, "I was really glad it was 2:50 a.m."

In my business, I'm usually going to bed about that time. Not waking up.

Sounds like suspicious nemesis activity to me.

I think you are right... it was too much of a coincidence to be a ummm coincidence.

I wonder if they have measures in place to stop you?

Maybe he was from NJ originally. That's the only place I know where cutting off is encouraged.

Good call! I think you are right!

Disney World is so magical!

Yes. Yes it is.. even when people are peeing all over the place!

Or castle walls?

Dang... this is probably the only time you could of did that and not get kicked out of the park.

 

[that's nice]

It was the last fast thing we'd see that day!

Not true... those wheelchair athletes were going pretty fast.

Funny how things work out...

Would you like to elaborate?

Yup. Standing outside you room, holding a boom box above my head.

Oh... BTW, thanks for letting me 'borrow' some pictures off your FB page.

That was insane. I've never seen that many buses letting that many people out in one place.

That part went quickly, they did have a good rhythm going, but it was nuts.

Crazy. All the instructions Disney gives you says the walk is 20 minutes. Before we got there, my thinking was "sure, we'll make it in 10." I really did take almost an hour!

20 minutes? Maybe to the end of that first row of port-o-lets.

They could at least make the race bibs softer and more absorbent.

I noticed after the race on the back of the bib, there was an area to fill out with our info incase of an emergency. I guess I shoulda filled that part out.

We were barely in it, too. After us, pretty much everyone else wanting to join B was spilling out along the side of the road next to the entrance.

B was a popular corral.

Dude, we were running a race, not getting married!

Yeahhhhh...."luck"....that's what we wished for.

What did we wish for? 30 degrees cooler? 2 hour later start time? The race to be over?

Actually, he was. I overheard him talking to a guy that just squeezed on to the bus and was sitting on the step right next to the driver.

You're right.

Thus far lots of similarities to my morning as I recall. Only difference is I was mostly alone and didn't meet up with my sisters until I got to corral C. Nobody checked my bib to see if I belonged there.

Oh really? They had a few people checking our bibs. Wasn't the morning crazy?

 

[that's nice]

It took me well over an hour to walk to my starting corral! I actually missed the start of corral C and ended up starting in D for the half. Craziness!

Amanda

Amanda!

That stinks! I'm sure you were fine in D though. I kept thinking there had to be a better way to get all those people to the starting corrals... but I can't figure out what 'way' would of been better.

I'm in! I plan to run the half in 2014 so I really like all the details you're including about the experience. I have no idea what to expect and this really helps!

Thanks for reading. I'm sure I'll have some tips. If you have any questions ask away. There are quite a few people posting here who ran it too.

So you got the late bus because of Chris? That guy sounds like a jerk.

No worries. We made it.

Cool update, I can't wait to hear how the race unfolds.

That part is coming up soon.

 

[that's nice]

love the update. Those t-shirts are bright. You look tired more than excited in that pic though.

It was Barry's idea for the bright tshirts so we could 'stand out' I think he accomplished that!

I have heard how crazy the races can be. You would think Disney would have this down to an art by now.

I think it was just the sheer number of people who where running in this race. Over 25,000 runners for the 1/2. Thinking back, it was impressive how they got all these people where they needed to be.

Ive been following along, and finally got around to posting. Yay you made it to the race! Im impressed you were able to drink the day before AND have tomato based food! I get such heart burn from tomato sauce/anything tomato. Your faces say it all in that self portrait at 330 am! I signed up for the Disneyland Half (and hopefully the wine and dine half next month), and I am not looking forward to the waking up at 3 am part. I signed my sister up too, she is not very happy with me right now, but our dad said she can't do it so she is determined to prove him wrong lol.

Hey Katie!

I eat sauce all the time and I don't have any problems. Good thing.

Good luck with your races! If you do the DL 1/2 and then a WDW 1/2 don't you get the coast to coast medal too?

 

[jmwest]

I think he meant more like this

Oh really? They had a few people checking our bibs. Wasn't the morning crazy?

Yes, yes it was. And it's all a blur now. Guess I'm going to have to do it again.

 

[eandesmom]

Oh my word. I can't believe the volume of people, the hour and the time it took to get not very far at all. That's a long morning already and you just started the run!

Thank you. This reminds me that I do not want to try to do one of these. I occasionally have delusional moments that it might be sorta, kinda, fun. Nope. Not my idea of fun. Ever.

Wow.

 

[that's nice]

The moment had arrived. We walked up to the starting line...

We put one foot in front of the other and started running. I have to admit, it was nice being placed in the correct corral. Surprisingly, there wasn't much dodging of people at the beginning and the flow of the runners was good. One thing though- it was HOT! I normally don't break a sweat till at least a mile and a half. I had sweat pouring down my face by the .5 mile point.

We hit the first mile and it felt good to be running. After all the months of training, not running for almost 4 weeks before the marathon was hard. My legs felt good too. There wasn't any pain. I told Barry I wanted to run to the castle, at least. I didn't know when the leg pain would start or when I would lose my stamina. We saw a few characters at the beginning but about mile 2 on World Drive we saw Jack Sparrow & Barbosa with the Black Pearl- the same one they use in the parade. It looked really cool. We thought about stopping but the line was probably 20 people deep. We didn't want to stop that early. We kept running.

We did stop for a quick picture before passing the MK toll gates.

Our 5K split.
Tim 34:35
Barry 34:36

It was shortly after this when I had to take a pit stop in the bushes....

We kept running passing the Speedway, through the MK parking lot, and back to the road. There were many volunteers and spectators cheering us on and holding signs... some which made me laugh out loud. It was around here where I saw someone running barefoot. Ummm no thanks.

We ran under the water bridge and could see the Contemporary in the distance. I think this is where I started really noticing the pain in my left leg. I could really feel the burn running up that little incline under the bridge. Even though the road narrowed to 1 lane, there was still plenty of room to run and you weren't on top of anybody. I know Barry and I had a few conversations while running, but I can't recall what they were. LOL

We past the Contemporary and took a sharp left and headed towards MK. We got closer and ran onto a back road and entrance to Main St. When we ran through the doors we could see thousands of people lining Main St. and cheering on the runners. It was still dark. We came around the corner and saw the castle all lit up with the icicle lights on. It was surreal.

This is what the castle looked like that morning.

As we were running up Main St. I was scanning the crowd looking for Bambi, Barry's wife and kids. We were in the hub and took a right over the bridge into Tomorrowland. We ran past the Speedway, up past the TeaCups, past Pooh, & past Cinderella's Carousel.

We ran up to and through the castle. The sky was just starting to brighten. At the opening on the other side, we were looking down Main St. towards the train station. We could see thousands of people cheering and runners still running up Main St. As we ran down the right side of the castle, we saw Bambi, her parents, and the kids cheering us, well mostly Barry. We stopped for a quick picture.

Madison, Barry's daughter, mentioned that if I couldn't make it she would carry me to the finish line. I asked her if she was ready to carry me... She laughed and said no. I'm not sure if she was tired or just scared of how I looked all sweaty and stuff.

We also got in a short line for the official marathon photo in front of the castle, which you can purchase for $35. After the pic we waved bye to his family and continued running. We ran out of a side door near Adventureland. We were running on a service road behind all the rides. It is weird seeing Disney from this view. It looks likes an industrial park or something.

10K split
Tim 1:11:14
Barry 1:11:16

It was around the 10K split where my leg was killing me. We stopped for a minute and I slapped a handful of biofreeze on my leg. I was losing stamina too. We walked for a minute then kept going. We ran out of MK running over the train tracks. They had one of the steam trains there with a conductor blasting the horn. That was cool. Barry and I continued running till about the 7 mile mark. That was it. The pain and the legs were done. Barry and I had a heart to heart. It went something like this:

Tim: Now... go, my son. Leave me.
Barry: No. You're coming with me. I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you.
Tim: You already... have, Barry. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right.

Well, it didn't go exactly like that. It was more like:

Tim: I'm done. My leg is done. Go do your thing, I'll see you later.
Barry: OK. Later Sucker!

(or something like that)

I started walking and I watched Barry run off into the distance. For a moment I felt like I failed. I should of been able to keep up with him but my leg would not allow it. I walked for 4-5 minutes then I started jogging again. I was listening to music so I ran for a song, then walked a song. I was trying to keep myself moving. There was no way I wasn't going to finish.

It just past mile 8 when I ran up to an old friend- Chris! He was walking and didn't look too good. He was having some stomach issues and wasn't feeling well. We walked together for a while. Both of us were hurting but we were fighting through it together. We did some walk/jog intervals. Melody texted me a few times telling me she was at Epcot and would be looking for me.

15K Split
Tim: 1:50:26
Barry 1:46:55

I wasn't that far behind Barry, although I had no idea where he was. We made it to the exit ramp from World Drive getting onto Epcot Center Drive. It was a steady incline. The army soldiers from toy story were there shouting words of encouragement to everyone. I did hear him say this was the last incline... which we found out wasn't totally true. There were a few more towards the finish. I could see Epcot in the distance. The road was a little hilly and there were a few more bridges to go over. At the end of the last bridge, I stopped for a picture with Phineas and Ferb.

We were in the Epcot parking lot- not much farther now.

The crowds were cheering and I was really close to Spaceship Earth. All of the sudden I saw Melody and she snapped a picture...

She told me she saw Barry running by not that long ago...

I gave her a sweaty kiss and kept moving. Chris and I ran into Epcot past S.E. and towards the World Showcase. Once we hit the lake the route doubled back toward S.E. We ran out of a side door and saw the 13 mile marker. There also was a full gospel choir singing as we past this point. That was really cool. We came around another corner and there it was- the FINISH LINE!!!!

Chris and I continued running under this:

Borrowed pic from the internet...

and were quickly handed one of these:

Finish
Tim: 2:42:18
Barry: 2:32:16

I was 10 minutes behind Barry. He took round 1 of the nemesis challenge.

I ended up in 11,782nd place out of 23,125 finishers.


Up next- the staging area & am I crazy for heading to a park?

 

[eandesmom]

Wow, 10 min behind with that kind of pain? You really powered through (and I hope didn't do major damage in the process). Man those shirts are BRIGHT in the still dark castle picture. Holy cats!

Pain aside it actually sounds...like there was some fun in there too!

Cool update and great job to BOTH of you.

 

[afwdwfan]

It was shortly after this when I had to take a pit stop in the bushes....

I knew it!

It was around here where I saw someone running barefoot. Ummm no thanks.

I don't even see how you could run on asphalt and concrete with those "barefoot" shoes.

I know Barry and I had a few conversations while running, but I can't recall what they were. LOL

He talked about cheese, you talked about rap, neither understood what the other was saying...

When we ran through the doors we could see thousands of people lining Main St. and cheering on the runners. It was still dark. We came around the corner and saw the castle all lit up with the icicle lights on. It was surreal.

Well that would give you a nice little adrenaline surge.

As we ran down the right side of the castle, we saw Bambi, her parents, and the kids cheering us, well mostly Barry. We stopped for a quick picture.

Were the kids holding their signs for you?

It just past mile 8 when I ran up to an old friend- Chris! He was walking and didn't look too good. He was having some stomach issues and wasn't feeling well. We walked together for a while. Both of us were hurting but we were fighting through it together.

That was nice. Not that both of you were miserable, but at least that you had someone to suffer through it with.

She told me she saw Barry running by not that long ago...

Why didn't she trip him?

I was 10 minutes behind Barry. He took round 1 of the nemesis challenge.

So what's it going to be? Best 2 out of 3? Best 3 out of 5? Best 4 out of 7? Best 51 of 100?

I ended up in 11,782nd place out of 23,125 finishers.

Not bad for a nearly broken leg.

Wow, 10 min behind with that kind of pain?

I know... Barry should be disappointed by himself. He only beat an injured Tim by 10 minutes. Round 2 is going to be all Tim.

 

[Goofy + 3]

We did stop for a quick picture before passing the MK toll gates.

Wow. You got someone to stop and take your picture? That guy sacrificed his chances at setting a personal best so you and Barry could have a photo. Truly magical. If only he received a public showing of gratitude...

Tim: Now... go, my son. Leave me.
Barry: No. You're coming with me. I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you.
Tim: You already... have, Barry. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right.

Well done.

It just past mile 8 when I ran up to an old friend- Chris! He was walking and didn't look too good. He was having some stomach issues and wasn't feeling well. We walked together for a while. Both of us were hurting but we were fighting through it together. We did some walk/jog intervals.

I think I saw the same guy. He was looking pretty rough. Actually, that's how he normally looks.

Finish
Tim: 2:42:18
Barry: 2:32:16

Chris: 2:42:17 (Go Team Barry)

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

It was shortly after this when I had to take a pit stop in the bushes....

Wait, that's not a bush, that's Eeyore!

There were many volunteers and spectators cheering us on and holding signs... some which made me laugh out loud.

I had a friend who ran the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. and he said the signs along the way were hilarious. I'm not sure I can repeat some of them here, though.

It was around here where I saw someone running barefoot. Ummm no thanks.

And here I thought it couldn't be more painful.

I know Barry and I had a few conversations while running, but I can't recall what they were. LOL

"Wow, Barry. (cough) This sucks."
"Yep. (gasp) Sure does."

It was still dark. We came around the corner and saw the castle all lit up with the icicle lights on. It was surreal.

This is what the castle looked like that morning.

Now that would definitely be inspiring.

We were in the hub and took a right over the bridge into Tomorrowland. We ran past the Speedway, up past the TeaCups, past Pooh, & past Cinderella's Carousel.

They didn't run you through the bakery?

Madison, Barry's daughter, mentioned that if I couldn't make it she would carry me to the finish line. I asked her if she was ready to carry me... She laughed and said no. I'm not sure if she was tired or just scared of how I looked all sweaty and stuff.

A little of column A, and a little of column B.

Barry and I had a heart to heart. It went something like this:

Tim: Now... go, my son. Leave me.
Barry: No. You're coming with me. I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you.
Tim: You already... have, Barry. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right.

Well, it didn't go exactly like that. It was more like:

Tim: I'm done. My leg is done. Go do your thing, I'll see you later.
Barry: OK. Later Sucker!

For a moment I felt like I failed. I should of been able to keep up with him but my leg would not allow it.

Injury is not failure.

It just past mile 8 when I ran up to an old friend- Chris! He was walking and didn't look too good. He was having some stomach issues and wasn't feeling well. We walked together for a while. Both of us were hurting but we were fighting through it together.

Well, I'm glad you had company. Not that you were both in misery, but it definitely helps to have someone there with you.

The army soldiers from toy story were there shouting words of encouragement to everyone. I did hear him say this was the last incline... which we found out wasn't totally true.

Green army men are liars. Got it.

We ran out of a side door and saw the 13 mile marker. There also was a full gospel choir singing as we past this point.

That sounds pretty awesome.

We came around another corner and there it was- the FINISH LINE!!!!

I was 10 minutes behind Barry. He took round 1 of the nemesis challenge.

But with an injury, that's an impressive finish. You did great, and finishing a race like that is quite an accomplishment. Nice work, Tim.

am I crazy for heading to a park? [/SIZE]

But hey, you're at Disney World!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Chris: 2:42:17 (Go Team Barry)

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

hmm, im thinking there will be more truth told over here.

 

[Goofy + 3]

I really turned it on those last 10 feet.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

This is what the castle looked like that morning.

im no expert in running, but i think riding a bike is cheating for a marathon...but then again, i bet his legs were not hurting at the end.

you should have knocked him off and taken his bike.




then you could have flown past barry and said burn dust and eat my rubber, road liver lips. (great movie)


kudos on the good run and finishing.

 

[petals]

Could you possibly have picked a brighter colour for the t-shirts. The one of yee in front of the castle actually hurts my eyes lol.. No seriously though well done on the run. I wouldn't have even made it to the starting line so fair play to you for going all the way with a busted leg as well.