NitroStitch's WDW Marathon 2013 for GKTW

[NitroStitch]

I'll be raising money for Give Kids The World during the 2013 WDW marathon.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraise...y/FullMarathon

Thanks!

[NitroStitch]

I completed my last really long training run yesterday - 20 miles. We were lucky to get really chilly weather and only moderate winds, which made the run far more pleasant than my last really long local run that was way too hot by the last few hours. It took me just under 4 1/2 hours to complete the 20 miles, which was the time I expected it to take for the distance.

I didn't get to see any dolphins on this run (I live on the Gulf Coast and run over bridges), but I saw about 6 fish lying on the sidewalks over the duration of the run. Maybe sea birds were dropping their catches as they flew away from the water? Two rottweilers had treed a squirrel in one park, and they patiently and quietly waited at the base of the tree with their owner, all staring at the squirrel. As I passed her the second time, she said it was going to be a looooong day (for her and for the squirrel, I thought).

Near an aquarium, a little boy about 3 years old raced me at his grandfather's urging. Since my Garmin watch had just clicked over at the 14 mile mark and he's a little boy with boundless energy and fresh legs, he passed me easily but didn't want to stop running in the opposite direction of his family. They kept calling him back, but he kept running past me until I asked him how fast he could run back to his mom and he turned around.

The next two weekends, I only have to do 7 mile long runs, and I'm looking forward to the taper! It's also exciting to think of running through all four parks and seeing what surprises RunDisney has in store for us!

[NitroStitch]

It finally happened on my 7 mile run today. I managed to fall and scrape up my hands and knees and one shoulder is quite bruised already. The worst carnage was to my Garmin watch, which now has a chip out of the face. I'm not sure if that makes it dangerous to use or if it's going to fall apart soon with continued use, but at least it's continuing to function. Considering how much of a klutz I am, it's a miracle that I managed to run more than 1,000 miles before my first complete wipeout. Doesn't make it any more pleasant though.

Two weeks from today, I'll be finished with 26.2 miles of running at Walt Disney World!

[NitroStitch]

Time to head out for my last long run before the WDW Full Marathon. I think I'm a little nervous about running the route I did last weekend, and my bruises are still coming out from the fall last week. My replacement Garmin should arrive on Wednesday, just in time before I leave for the race weekend. I can't believe that after all these months of training, the race is only a week away from tomorrow morning!

[*NikkiBell*]

Congrats on all of your hard work!

There's still time to donate, everyone! Let's rally around our friend here and help GKTW at the same time!

[jlafunk]

Good luck to you on your run!
I'll be in the 1/2 Marathon (but no donations to any cool organizations like you).
You're gonna do great. I, on the other hand, have not trained very well for this so I'll be huffing and puffing but we'll both get our medals!

Good luck!!

[*NikkiBell*]

Good luck this weekend!!!!

[NitroStitch]

Thank you for the cheering! I finished the 5k and its time to rest up for the full on Sunday.