Hey Everyone,
Looks like most people are back. Mike, when I hear stories like yours and your wife's it makes me humble. I really have nothing to complain about.
Kathy,
Your in Syracuse right? i'll be up visiting relatives once the weather breaks. My son was stationed at Tripler for 4 years. It go "old" visiting hawaii every year. My poor wife had to go twice a year. The sacrafices that we make......
Chris, glad to see you made it home. I was thinking about you as the weather started to get cooler.
Here is my trip report that I posted elsewhere:
WOW is all I can say. What a great weekend. Signed up for the Goofy and added the 5K just to spend more time with my friends. Went up Thursday afternoon, hit the Expo and got my 2 packets and the packet for my friend AND went to runner relations to change my corral all in less than 20 minutes. We went early because last year they were out of all the items I wanted to buy by the time we got there on Friday. I saw one item that really interested me this year. It was the polo type shirt but there were no mediums by 4:30 on Thursday. Whats with that?
We stayed at the Pop Century as we always do and it was great meeting all sorts of DR/WISH folks walking around. Next year I need to get a new hat and shirt. Since I wore my hat for the half and the shirt for the full, I couldnt wear them at other times. At least you guys should be glad I didnt wear them at other times. I saw Chris many times throughout the weekend. Saw LSUfan on Sunday after the Marathon as well as others that I cannot remember (due to my not remembering names). I love the hat and shirt makes you instant friends.
5K Friday
I figured I would be taking the busses for the next 2 days so I drove myself over to the 5K. I actually sat in the car for a few minutes because it was so darn cold outside. I went over and mingled with the DR/WISH team for a little while before they herded us into the corrals. I went to the front where the sign was 9 min and under. There was no one up there. Finally it started filling in a bit, but not much. Heck, I started on the front row. A funny story, there was a kid about 12 or so in full race gear with his Garmin waiting for the start. Well we know they start the wheelchairs first. He didnt. They started the countdown and when they got to go he took off with the 2 wheelchairs. Someone said something about 100 yards up the road so he turned around and came jogging back. Yea he was embarrassed so I said something encouraging to him. Hopefully it helped.
I wasnt prepared to start out by going out into the parking lot but I guess they have to get the miles in somewhere. I started probably a little too fast but by the time we reached mile 1 I thought, what the heck, dont waste the good mile you already put in. So, I finished with a PR although I think the course is a little short, about .1 of a mile. Even with adding the distance I would have beat my old PR by 45 seconds. I didnt hang around very long although I should have. Great race and great course. I will try to get my wife to do it next year.
Day 2 - Half Marathon Saturday
My wife and I usually go to the races alone but this time it was a bit different. I had a guy from work stay with us on Friday night as he was running his first half. Talk about excited! He was bouncing off the walls. I also had the pleasure of running with Charles during the race, which was a lot of fun! It is amazing how fast the time goes by when you are running with someone. For this race I wore my WISH shirt and my DR hat. Wanted to recognize both teams that helped me get here.
Went to the bus around 3:45 and there was a line in the door. Not out the door as the line started outside and went back into the POP. Not too bad since it was kind of cold. It only took about 3 busses to get us on.
It was great meeting everyone at the R tent. Kind of like a reunion of sorts. Also met up with a few people from work that knew I would be at the R tent. After a quick prayer with Bob thanks Bob - it was off to the corrals.
Charles and I started in the first wave, but in the B corral. We didnt move up much, just hung out close to where you enter the corral. Should have moved up. We were caught right next to one of those large speakers. I still cant hear right . We both agreed that we wanted to run conservatively since we had a longer run the next day. Best laid plans.
The start was crowded. Thats all I can say. We had some pretty slow first couple of miles and were still passing people left and right. I dont remember the races being this crowded last year, but I only did the marathon and not the half. I think the highlight of the day was hitting Main Street while it was still dark out. All the lights were on and it was awesome. Charles ran around pumping the spectators up. He really got them going.
Around mile 8 or so my IT band started to hurt so I had to stop and put on my IT band strap. Oh oh, not a good sign for tomorrow.
Met up with Jerry and Stephanie around the Hess station and had the honor to run with them for a while. Overall it was a great experience. I finished at 2:05:07 with a clock time of 2:08:06. Ill tell you in those 3 minutes it took to get across there were a lot of people in front of us.
I love the picture Charles and I got taken at the finish.
Highlights
Main Street in the dark
Full Moon
Disney Running folks
Day 3 - Marathon - Sunday
Third day of getting up early I am getting a bit tired. Caught the bus again around 3:45 with no wait this time. Met up with everyone again. What a way to start the race. I know people talk about going right to the start from Old Key West or somewhere, but youd miss all the cool people!
I changed to the D corral, as I didnt want to start back in C. I was in B last year and wanted to start on the red course. Charles and I walked over to the start and walked up pretty close to the front of the D corral. Love it up there. It was pretty neat being so close to the front.
As I was taking off my Boston Marathon jacket, the girls behind me said You arent going to throw away the jacket are you? I turned and said sure, I get a new one every year. Of course Charles chimed in to help embellish the story. Should have seen their faces. I finally had to tell them that I got it at the Thrift Store for $3. It was nice jacket I cant see why anyone would have taken it to the thrift store. It was pretty funny if you were there
Today I put on my IT Band strap before we even started. Unfortunately my IT Band hurt from the first step. But it was bearable. We started out conservatively. Not that crowded as compared to the day before. The only thing I dont like about the course is that after you run 4 miles you are back at the start. Pretty depressing.
Around mile 6 my ex-boss comes running up from behind us. What are the odds? I knew he was going to be there, but didnt think we would actually see each other. It was a pleasant surprise.
One of my favorite parts of the course is the TTT. I love running through there as it is just so darn exciting with people packing both sides of the road yelling like crazy! I was spoiled from yesterday when Main Street was all lit up. It was nice today, but it was daylight and wasnt as magical. Charles and I stayed together through Fantasy Land then he dropped back for a minute. Something different this year (I think) was once you went through the castle they had a photographer off to the side and you could go off course a few steps and he would take your picture in front of the castle. I was already by before I noticed what they were doing. Great idea!
Stopped at the restroom in Frontierland to wash the Biofreeze off my hands and to clean my sunglasses then I was on my way. Hit the half mark in 2:17 which was pretty much right on pace, even with my stops for Biofreeze and the restroom. My knee hurt but I wasnt prepared for thing to come. Turned on my Ipod for the time.
I pulled over around mile 14 or so to get more Biofreeze then swung by a porta potty a little way up to wash the Biofreeze off my hands. I started back up and I couldnt bend my knee. It hurt like HE double hockey sticks! I panicked. I had no idea what to do. I certainly couldnt run and I couldnt walk. A couple of years ago I had this problem in training and my wife had to come pick me up. I was not sure what to do so I started walking. Now my leg is straight as an arrow so I am walking like Chester in Gunsmoke. You younger folks might need to look that up. I called my wife and told her I had no idea if and when I would finish. Id call her later with an update.
I have to admit that quitting came into my mind for about 10 seconds. Then I decided that even if I have to limp, I had built enough time that I could limp in and still beat the cut off. I only had about 12 miles to go.
I figured I would walk a little then figure out what to do. Ill tell you what, limping along really takes a lot out of the good leg. After about 2 miles I must have loosened it up a bit because I could walk. Actually felt OK as long as I was just walking. Tried to jog a few times no way. Around mile 17 or 18 I made a mistake and stopped again for Biofreeze or something. Unfortunately my leg locked up again. UGH! It took another mile or 2 for it to loosen up. Once it did, I swore I wasnt stopping until the finish. I was booking along with a 14:30 15:00 min pace.
I have nothing against walking a race. And what I say next is not to slight anyone or infer that running is better than walking. But I have to admit, I hated walking. There is nothing wrong with walking the race, but I was there to run the race. Seeing all these people pass me by was pretty hard to take. Walking through Animal Kingdom with the crowds yelling go runners was hard to take. The best part of the time was meeting all the DR/WISH runners. They were all great and very encouraging. I tried to jog a few times with no luck. I walked all the way to mile 23. I had 3 miles to go and I was at about 5 hours. I figured if I could run a bit, I could beat the 5:30 mark. Also I did not want to walk through the last few parks so I started jogging a quarter mile then walking bit. Jog a quarter mile then walk a bit.
I was actually feeling pretty good. Of course I had lots of energy left since I walked the last 8 or so miles. I met Kevin as we left HS. If you remember he said there was rarely a race where he doesnt have to help someone he is a doctor. So, I distanced myself from him, I didnt want to be the casualty
I continued on and was actually running pretty good, in spurts. Sure it hurt, but I could move it and thats all that mattered. Heck, it had hurt from mile 1 so a little pain was not so bad.
I called my wife from China and told her I was on my way. I pretty much ran the whole way in and was booking as I came out to the finish area. Sure surprised my wife as she thought I was limping along and here I was running past everyone at the finish.
So, I got my Goofy and Dopey. But it doesnt feel like I thought it would. I feel a bit unsatisfied. I was trained as well as I could be, I was on target
.. Not sure what I am going to do now. Heck, I figured Id be exhausted when I crossed and I really wasnt very tired. I didnt hang around very long. Talked to a few people then headed to the car. Iced he knee for a few hours then headed over to the Boardwalk. It still hurt like crazy on Monday. Couldnt move it unless I walked for a while to loosen it up. By Tuesday it was sore, but I could walk OK.
A special thanks to all the DR/WISH people I saw on the course today you really helped. And thanks to all of you that volunteered. You were great!
Overall I had a fabulous time. I left a bit unsatisfied/unfulfilled, not sure which. But Ill tell you, all these folks that try to find a way to short cut to the start and miss the opportunity to meet with the DR team are missing the whole spirit of the marathon. I wouldnt trade an hour of sleep for the opportunity to hang out with my friends in the beginning.
Think I am going back for TOT this year as I really like that race. 2010 Goofy or not, that is the question.
Enjoy,
Duane
Once a 
Congrats on your Goofy medal! 
I'm hoping Chris will continue to keep our numbers for us. Pretty please, Chris? 
It was so helpful for me to be accountable last year. A lot of times I got out there just because I wanted good numbers to report here. 
How is your IT band feeling now that the race is over? It is always disappointing when your race doesn't go the way you planned it. I'm amazed at your strength to keep going.
I do think the Challenge was a good idea in that it did motivate me at times to get some miles & minutes in for my team, but it also put a lot of pressure on me. Due to my lack of time, it just became one more thing that I couldn't keep up with. 
I will really miss being a part of the team, but in my heart I will always feel like a Buzzie. Good luck to all of you this year & I will try to drop in & say hi once in a while.
