Now that I've had a week to reflect on the race, here's how the race went for me:
I lined up in Corral C right around 5:15. I was surprised at how many people were already lined up or at least getting to their corrals. After navigating through the crowds, I was able to make it to my corral in a fair amount of time. For next year, I think I'll start lining up at 5:00. It'll be early but at least I won't have to fight through the crowds and it'll give me enough time to calm my nerves, stretch, eat a Power Bar, etc...
The race started well. In fact, I felt that I went out too fast of a pace for the first 7 miles...but I felt really good! Miles 8-10 were just moving along and not feeling any pain or fatigue but by mile 11, I hit the wall (hard!) and I was in survival mode. During those last couple of miles, I felt my running pace was more like a slow stroll. I definitely did more walking those last couple of miles than I did running. Maybe that's a common thing for these longer distance races but they were tough! Making that last right hand turn from the Paradise Pier for the finishing straight gave me just what I needed! Seeing the large crowds cheering you on and seeing my friends and family doing the same, I got my 2nd wind! I didn't have much of a finishing kick but I definitely wasn't walking either. At the finishline, it was a combination of joy and happiness of completing my 6th DL 1/2 Marathon. While I never thought that I would have done 6 of these races, I was just happy that it was all over!
I agree with others that while running through business parks and boarded up shops is not my cup of tea, Disney probably couldn't do much better in terms of logistics of shutting down more visually-appealing streets all the while affecting traffic. I will certainly let them know that but I don't think they can do much about it. Running through the parks is always a nice perk! Seeing the cast members and characters is always a nice touch. I don't stop for photos but it's nice to see them cheer us on. I would also have liked to see more characters out on the parks...I don't think it'll take too much effort for a CM to don a Goofy costume, would it?
Running through Angel Stadium is another nice treat, too! Seeing myself on the jumbotron (or whatever it's called) is pretty cool to see. Plus, seeing the huge crowds in the stadium gives me yet another boost to keep running!
On that note, seeing the cheerleaders, dance troupes, bands, etc... out there really makes this race unique...especially running through those business parks. It helps pass the time away and forget where I'm running through. So thank you for all of you out there....it was much needed!
Lastly, thanks to all of the voluntears! You guys have a lot to do with dispensing drinks, cleaning up cups, guiding runners to where they should be, etc... In addition, you offer words of encouragement to all of us with a smile on your face! For that, thank you for what you do because for me, it helped out a lot!
So, is this a perfect race? Well, no but close to it but there will be always room for improvement but seeing this race has been in existence for only 6 years and it's gotten this big and organized as it is now, I think they've made huge strides! Will I be back next year? You bet! Since I'm a legacy runner, I want to see how long I can keep this going! Thanks for reading and sorry for the rambling...
