DL Half Race Reports!

[thndrmatt]

I figured I'd start this thread off so we don't fill up the weekly training thread with massive posts.

What a great event! By some crazy luck I managed to snag corral A, which meant I was able to elbow my way all the way up to the front about ten yards behind the actual start line. I'll give the start details since I guess I was the only one up that close.

One of the first things they announced was that the field was 62% female, which brought out a big cheer! Unfortunatley they chose to have the start only on the northbound side of Disneyland Drive, heading south. This meant it was only two lanes wide, or about twenty feet. According to the results some people have chip vs clock time differences of over 17 minutes! And some clock times of finishers are over 3:50... Shortly before race time the announcer called Mickey and Minnie up on stage, who were wearing these great blue running outfits, very spiffy. After some one way chat (go figure) he asked them where all their friends they were supposed to bring were, and after some playful searching the horizon, suddenly spotlights lit up the sky where they had just brought in the monorail and parked it right over the start where it crossed the road! At least a dozen characters were all hanging out the windows waving and cheering! Eventually the time had finally come and they began a 10 second countdown. There was a huge arch over the 2 lane road (way too skinny to try to squash 12,500 people through) and bright lights started out at the outside edge and started moving towards the middle as the seconds ticked down.

3... 2... 1.... GO! If you've ever seen the DL fireworks show where they set off flames on the castle, you'll recognize what happened next. Something like 10-15 foot flames came blasting out of the top of the arch, and as far as I know lasted quite some time although I was already past them within several seconds. You could feel the heat as it was only about 15 feet above your head when you ran under. At the same time, they had lined the road with these black boxes, which they constantly warned us to stay away from, and it turned out those blasted tons of confetti and streamers into the air at the same time. I happened to be on the edge so I took some of it in the ear but that just fed my adrenaline.

Official clock vs chip time says it only took me 9 seconds to cross the start line, so I missed out on anything that happened back in the other corrals, (there were 5, A-E). I'll let others who took pictures and weren't spazzing about beating a certain time fill you in on the rest of the course.

I had a pretty good race overall. The good news is no injury, and no specific pain in any muscle other than general soreness in joints today. Hoping I'll be able to get back at it in a couple days, and start training for RftC and RftT which I'm now going to officially register for. And of course the final goal is the DW Full.

So did I go out too fast? Probably... I beat my PR for 10k, cutting over a minute off my time from that hilly course on labor day. I then smashed my PR for 10 miles, cutting over 3 and a half minutes off that!

Unfortunately the race wasn't 10 miles, and I hit the infamous wall right after the stadium. I really hope there weren't any photogs after that point, because I probably looked like the walking dead. My splits (avg was supposed to be 9:10):

8:26, 9:01, 8:40, 8:46, 9:00, 9:07, 9:12, 9:25, 9:40, 9:25, 10:39, 11:12, 12:30, 0:56.

Total time: 2:05:59, 9:36mpm

So no breaking two hours, but a PR by about 80 seconds. How bout that last 5k though eh? Was supposed to be about 28:25, and it was 35:17! I bet we have some full walkers who could have kept up. Congrats to April, looks like she led all WISHers across the finish with a great last 5k, I was ahead of her by like 5 minutes at the stadium and she blew by me and finished 3 minutes ahead. Also congrats to Howard, who as we discovered crossed within a minute or two of myself. And of course congrats to EVERYONE who is sporting some crazy gold bling! (got a ton of questions on the flights home...)

Overall place: 1968, although of the 12,500 runners I have no idea how many finished (edit: looks like 9395 or so according to the official results page). Gender place 1249, and 89th in my division.

 

[keenercam]

Hi, everyone!
There is so much I want to tell you, but alas, time is limited as I have been dealing with work issues since 5 am California time. Sneaking on here for a few minutes to say hello.

Matt -- Congratulations on your great race! It was wonderful meeting you and Howard and I look forward to seeing you and DW in January.

I started in corral D. I am not sure how long it took to reach the start line because I was pretty out of it. Less than 3.5 hours in bed and less than 1 hour of sleep. I didn't realize how out of it I was and that I was going on pure adrenaline until I remembered to turn on my Garmin somewhere over the start line. Some observations. We saw NOTHING of the starting festivities. No big screens. Poor sound system for the people wayyyy back. Very very congested start.

The time in the parks was all too brief and the time on the Anaheim city streets way too long. The bands and cheerleaders along the streets were awesome though and the volunteers were beyond amazing and generous and "UP!!!!" LOVED that aspect! You could tell they all wanted to be there and were having a great time even by the time those of us at the back of the pack reached them.

Not sure how my time compared to January, but it may have been about 5 minutes better. Will have to check on that.

Some highlights of the weekend:
-- getting to chat with John Bingham and Coach Jenny at length and getting autographs and pix with them with NO crowds.
-- seeing Anne and Bob at the Expo and having dinner together at Goofy's
-- the WISH meet on Saturday -- awesome smiles all around. WISHers are the BEST people on the face of the earth.
-- hanging out with Tiffany and her mom, Brenda on Saturday and at the start Sunday
-- seeing Terri on the course and getting support and high fives
-- dear, sweet Kristi stayed with me for some very difficult miles, helping me maintain a reasonable pace that was so obviously slower than hers would have been otherwise
-- seeing WISHers everywhere and sharing hugs and smiles and support.

I'll do a picture/trip report later, but really just wanted to thank everyone for their support, congratulate all our finishers and tell you I miss you all.

Hugs!

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

This is great! I'm so glad I found this thread, and am really enjoying reading about the race. I soooooo WISH I could have been there. I'm living vicariously through all of you! Congratulations ALL! Cam, I want to hear more about your meeting and conversation with John Bingham and Coach Jenny.

 

[TEK224]

Hi Everyone!

Just back home from the DL 1/2. This trip was crazy from the start. So many good things and some not so good things. Okay here goes!

The good things first:

- I survived and just LOVE my castle medal!
- No shin splints or blisters this time!
- I was able to do the 4w/r2 up through approx. the 6 1/2 mile point. I felt pretty good with that, too. After that I pretty much walked the rest of the way, with a few short jogs at times when I felt I could. Hopefully I can improve on that for the Goofy.
- My chip time was 3:15 (which is 9 minutes better than I did at WDW. Cool, a new PR )
- A great time finally meeting all the WISHers. It was relly cool to finally put names and faces together.
- Got so many compliments about our WISH shirts (everybody who passed me commented how much they liked them)
- I thought the weather was great. Not too hot, not too cold. For me, it was just right!
- I walked in to see the GC hotel. Awesome! Next time, I'm staying there!


Now the not so good:

- My flight was an hour late leaving Philly, so by the time I got to my hotel, it was almost 4 PM on Fri. Severly cut into my park time.
- Next time, I'm staying at the GC hotel. I stayed across the street at the Ramada. It was clean, close and cheap. But after walking back & forth to DtD a few times, I wished I stayed closer.
- Got about 1 1/2 hours sleep Sat. night. I just couldn't fall asleep.
- Sat. night I laid out everything I needed for the race so I wouldn't forget anything. Clothes, Garmin, iPod, waist pack: check. Got to my corral (D) at 4:45am on race morning (about 30 people there already). Sat down to stretch and meditate. Looked at my shoe and freaked! I forgot my chip! Talk about the adrenaline pumping. I hustled all the way back to the hotel, hooked my chip on and hustled back to the corral (which now held thousands) by 5:35am I think I did about 3 miles before the race even started
- Didn't see anything of the start. It was very congested.
- I also thought the finish area where you could take a photo with your medal and the DL 1/2 backdrop was very congested. It was just past the point where people were getting their medals and the lines extended far back. It just seemed way to crowded,
- Unless I missed it, they also didn't have characters to take pics with the medals like they did at WDW.
- Again unless I missed it or misread, wasn't there supposed to be a nutrition station around mile 9. I could have used a cliff bar or powerbar or something, but didn't see anything.
- I've got some soreness today. Totally different that after WDW. My quads are stiff and feet hurt (both are tender in the area just to the side of my achilles and the left is also sore just at the blade of the foot)
- After the race I was too tired to walk back to the hotel, so I went directly to ESPNZone to watch my Eagles totally blow the game

All in all, I did have a nice trip. However, I think from now on, any race trips are going to be 5-6 days. These weekend trips are too tiring. I'm beat this morning. And I slept on the plane the whole ride home. In fact I was out cold before we ever took off. I woke up when I heard the 15 minutes to landing announcement.

Terri

 

[TEK224]

One thing I forgot. I took my iPod with me, but thought I'd try to do the race without it. Just to try to take everything in. But I was worried, because I always use my iPod for training to pass the time.
But I did it. 13.1 miles and did not listen to the iPod once. I kept it in my waist pack, just in case, but never took it out! And really, I didn't miss it. So I guess I'll just use it for training purposes now!

Terri

 

[thndrmatt]

Just a quick answer for ya, the Clif Shot stop was just after coming off the river path, before you headed over to run under the big Angels "A". About mile 9.25 maybe. I've never tried them, and they say you shouldn't experiment on race day, so I didn't... doubt I would have digested enough to give me a kick for the last 3 miles anyway?

Edit: I updated the Gmaps satellite image as well in case people are curious for next year.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=429377
As far as I can tell that's the most exact representation of the course. It says 13.25, and some people's garmins said up to 13.4 and 13.5 because of the zigzagging they had to do, but think I'll pretend the course was long. The earlier mile markers are within 100 yards, but after the stadium 11-13 seem a ways off.

 

[lap3]

Great time, Matt! Congratulations on a personal best!!!

Here's my brief report on race day...

The night before any race is always tough for me to go to bed. I always find myself doing something that night whether it's cleaning up, getting my race stuff ready, checking email, or just checking out what's new on the DIS boards Ultimately, I went to bed just before 12:00AM and woke up at 3:15AM. Not enough sleep, I know. But, that's how I am... I got to the start at 4:30 AM and you could just feel the energy and excitement! You can tell that regardless of what time anyone finished, they're just glad to be there...and so was I! I was in Corral C and got to talk with a few other runners but didn't get to see any other DISers around me. The start was @ 6:00AM but I didn't cross the start line until 8 minutes later. The first 3 miles was really cool running through DCA. They went by in a blink of an eye. In fact, if the race was to stay within DL/DCA, I would have had a great finishing time! However, the next few miles running through a business district seemed to last a lifetime. I just couldn't stay focused. But it helped having all of the spectators, bands, and dancers on the side of the road cheering us on...it helped me immensely...thank you!!! All I kept thinking..."when is Angel Stadium was coming up?" I was so anxious to run through the field where the pros play baseball. It was also cool to see yourself on the big screen as you're running through the stadium. It's time like this that I wished I brought my camera with me!

My goal was to manage a 10:30 pace...boy, was I way off! My average is 12:05. I hit also hit the wall right after leaving Angel Stadium and just couldn't recover for anything that resembled a finishing kick at the end. At this point, all I wanted to do was just finish and get that medal!!! My most happiest moment was running that last 1/2 mile through DTD and seeing my DS, DD, and DW cheering me on the side. That gave me the extra boost I needed to finish. It was amazing see hundreds and hundreds of people on the side near the finish. It gave me goose bumps to hear the cheers! Since this is my first real long distance running event, I was going for a 2'30" finishing time. Unfortunately, I came in 8 minutes later! Yes, I'm bummed that I didn't finish at my goal but, hey, I've had great memories of this event that I'll remember longer than what my time was. Being the competitor I am, I will try a couple of things differently next year...IE, consult with a Sports Nutritionist, different training regiment(intervals, cross training, etc...), and NOT go to the parks the day before the race(that's why I couldn't meet up with any DISers the day before at Napolini). I couldn't help myself! My family wanted to go and, truthfully, so did I! Maybe this could have contributed to my fatigue but I'm not making any excuses.

Now, here are my dissappointments...only 1...I didn't get to meet up with any DISers at all this weekend. Everything else was just a terrific weekend! We're home now and we wish we weren't.

BTW, I spoke with a few other runners and they said next year, the event planners are thinking of having this race again next year but on Labor Day weekend. I don't know how they got this information but if it's true, expect a busy weekend...more so than usual. For those considering doing it next year, my recommendation is to stay at a DL property resort. Yeah, it's expensive but it's worth it especially after running for a couple of hours where the last thing you want to do is either drive to your hotel or, even worse, walk back to your hotel. We stayed at the DLH and, although my DW was against it, she was thankful because of the convenience.

Well, that's it for now. I had a great time this weekend and I'm counting the days until next year...

 

[pigletliz]

This was my first marathon, so I really didn't know what to expect. I volunteered on the first day of the expo, so that was a lot of fun. I ended up running into three people that I knew. Reunited a couple of "lost" parents and received a nifty polo shift. On Sunday, the bus from the hotel seemed like it was running a little late, so everyone decided to walk. That turned out to be a great idea because it took away some of the anxiety. I was in the "D" corral, so as already mentioned, we couldn't see anything. Porta-pottie was just a little too far away once we were in the corrals, so I had to take a break at mile 6. The surface streets seemed like they would never end. Thank goodness a running Mr. Incredible and a ninja Micky brightened up the mood Felt my energy hit a low that I really couldn't shake while I was running in the parking lot of the big "A", but I finished and learned a lot. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.

For those asking about the 2007 DL half, the brochure does say Labor Day Weekend, 8/31 - 9/2 Registration opens 11/15. I clipped it to my fridge.


Clock time: 2:55:11 Chip Time 2:40:31


Highlights:

The people - race staff, volunteers, other runner/walkers.
Starting
Gospel band (Really needed them at mile 8, mile 10, mile 11...
Finishing
Big medal. (My daughter called it "runner's bling")
Random high fives from strangers in the park.
Fireworks from my hotel room (HOJOs)

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Oh Yeah! thanks so much for the reports! I am thinking that like a junkie and couldn't wait to get here to see if anyone had started to post. (Unfortunately I had to wait to get a break to do so.)

Again, Congratulations to ALL of our WISH Team.

Thank you for sharing your adventures!

 

[monte]

Sounds like everyone had a great time.....keep those reports coming and once again congratulations to all!

 

[WDWFAN9]

Hi All!

DH and I just got home from our day of traveling back from CA......our results: we walked with RachaelQ and finished in 3:28:26, which is a whopping whole minute faster than my finish at WDW in January!

A couple of random thoughts.....

the expo had some great stuff, but the official Disney merchandise area was way too small for the crowd. We were there when it opened at 10AM Thursday and pretty soon there was a line to get INTO the area to shop for your items, and then a very long line to pay that extended way, way out of the area.

the WISH meet at Napolini's was great. It was so cool to see "old" friends from WDW in January and to meet new teammates in person! The excitement was contagious!

spending close to two weeks prior to the race either visiting Vegas, tramping through national parks (Bryce and Zion in Utah and Kings Canyon and Sequoia in CA), or getting acquainted with DL and DCA is probably not a great race strategy. Waking up at 12:50AM and not being able to get back to sleep before the alarm went off at 3AM wasn't helpful either. Walking from the Candy Cane Inn with fellow WISHers Howard and Cam, and Tiffany and her Mom to the starting area was fun and kept DH and I from getting too nervous.

DH and I were toward the front of corral D and didn't get to see much of the starting festivities, but it was cool to go through the parks and Angels Stadium was a blast, with our pictures shown on the big center field screen as we walked past! DH and I walked with RachaelQ and we had a good time. We knew we were ahead of the sweepers and we just kept plugging away. We even sprinted the last few yards, finishing in 3:28:26!

Our shirts were very popular, we got numerous comments!

The castle medal is gorgeous!! Wow! It truly is amazing!! And thanks to our WISH teammates who stuck around waiting for us penguins to finally make it to the finish.

All in all, it was another amazing experience.

Got to go...laundry is calling my name!!

 

[wnissen]

First off, congratulations to everyone who started!
We drove in from our off-site hotel starting around 4:40, and that part worked smoothly. We got to the corrals in time to use the port-a-potties, and also to see the Toy Story Army men being absolutely hilarious. There were long lines, and the guys in green were walking up and down, shouting "We want to motivate you!" to the closed doors. Dear me, I wish I had gotten it on video. The mass of people was amazing, and at that point there weren't even that many spectators. I was amazed to notice that the countdown to the start was accurate to the second. I was watching on my GPS, which is synchronized to the atomic clocks, and I'll be darned if the countdown didn't finish at 6:00:00. I stayed at the start to cheer on the WISH folks, then after everyone had passed rode on my unicycle to the overpass on Disneyland Dr, just pass the 4 mile mark. There were now quite a few folks cheering, including from the parking structure. I doubled back to check out the finish line. The bleachers were already getting crowded,
so I headed around the west side of Disneyland, south on Walnut and then East on Katella to join up with the race at the 12 mile mark. After I saw my wife April again, I was hoping to race to the start, but she was too fast! I can only go about a 7 minute mile on my unicycle, and with weaving around people I didn't make it to the finish line in time. I took a number of pictures, tomorrow I should have time to post them here. Special congratulations to all those folks with medals around their necks, you don't need me to tell you how special it is.

Walt

 

[andromedaslove]

Congratulations to everyone who was racing at DL this weekend. I was so glad to be able to meet everyone!! I was there at the beginning of the race with Michael and got some pictures of some of you guys, along with a running banana, capt Jack Sparrow, and some evil Queens. Unfortunately, there were ALOT of Green Shirts. I really should have taken you guys up on the flag cause there was no way I was going to catch everyone!! Bad news was that I didn't get to cheer everyone on at the 12 mile area. My DH called me because the baby got sick and I had to make a dash back to the hotel to help. I will share my pics as soon as I can.



p.s. I got some GOOD NEWS!!! After seeing the DL half... DH has decided that we will find a way to run WDW this year!!

 

[goingthedistance]

WARNING - long - SORRY

We FINISHED! Yay us!

My race report will begin at the expo. I had reported an estimated finish time of about 2:10 (I think). My brother and wife estimated 3 hours. We get to the expo at about 11:00 Friday and get in line to get our bib and check in. Rather, I get in line, and my brother and wife go directly to the person who checked them in. There was one counter that had a line, and it was mine! Got my race bib...I AM ASSIGNED CORRAL A!!! I decided before we even got on the plane that I would run with my wife and brother, so I didn't actually go to corral A, but more on that later. We get our chips and check them, then go to get the goody bag. We begin to walk around the expo and decide to get in line to buy the offical merchandise. We got in two lines actually...my wife got in the line to PAY for stuff while my brother and I were in line to get into the shop. It was that crowded for merchandise. We all entered the shop at about the same time, and then it was speed shopping. I got my stuff...a fleece, a jacket, and the tech running shirt. Then I took my wife's spot in line while she got what she wanted. The speed shopping made us buy more than we really needed...talk about impule buying! But I think we made it out of there ok. Bought 3 sets of the pins. Might see what they are worth on Ebay. Don't know for sure yet. The rest of the expo was pretty standard. It looked smaller than the WDW expo, and the only crowded part was the store. We left before the speakers, because my in-laws were still at DL with my 2-year old. Had to get back to them.

Fast forward to sunday morning. In the meantime, we missed all of the WISH meets because of other family events. But I met a bunch of WISHers at the staging area and on the course. If I was able to inspire and help anyone along the way, I am honored to have helped. I know that I was helped out on the course by seeing all of the WISH shirts around me. Having a few in front and a few behind me helped assure me that I was still on pace. I was well hydrated, and did the whole "use the porta-potty, get back in line for the porta-potty" drill.

We go to the corrals, and no one checks our bib for the appropriate placement. I saw C's & E's in corral D with us. That is the corral my wife and my brother were assigned to. About 5 minutes before the start, I needed to go and use the porta-let again. (Think I was too hydrated?) Didn't have time to get out of the corrals, go, and find my wife and brother in the sea of humanity. So I thought I would just go at the first one on the course. At WDW, they had porta-potties at about the 1/2 mile mark, so I thought I would be ok. I get to mile one, barely able to run, and still no porta-potties anywhere. When you gotta go, you gotta go . I found a secluded spot behind a building an took care of business. Thank goodness I'm a guy. My brother and wife continued on. I ran to catch up with them, and about 1/4 mile later, there was a row of maybe 10 porta-potties at the first water station. The lines were long! We stayed in line for about 2 minutes, and then saw some other people duck behind some trees. Good enough for us! I played guard because I was fine at this point. Ran through California Adventure and DL. Lots of people and it was slow-going at some points. I think I missed out on some pictures because of the amount of people around us. The characters were not always accessible either. For example, Jack Sparrow was on a bridge about 5 feet above the runners. After DL, it became a road race. By the time we got to mile 9, they were out of food and gu's. Thank goodness I was carrying my own. My wife was struggling some, but I didn't let her quit. We wound up walking more than running by a lot, but we kept moving forward and finished, which was the goal for this race. And we got the medals!!

BTW, people loved the shirt!! I lost track of the comments people made.

Some comparisons between WDW and DL 1/2:

DL 1/2 was very congested pretty much the whole way through. WDW races thinned out over the course. This made for a rough and crowded patch at the castle at DL, while WDW is pretty smooth sailing. Another bottleneck was entering and exiting the baseball stadium.

DL needed more porta-potties before mile 1. There were plenty at the staging area and the corrals, but precious few on the course.

I liked that I could walk to the start of DL instead of having to take a bus by 3:30-4:00 am.

Characters were more accessible and spread out at WDW. More bands and such at WDW, but DL had its memorable bands too. I particularly liked the gospel singers and the mariachis.

DL had more selections of merchandise at the expo than WDW. I was (and still am) upset that WDW sold completely out of Goofy gear before I even got to the expo this past January. I made sure that was not going to happen to me this time.

It seemed to me that more people wear thier medals to the park at WDW. At DL, it was few and far between to see people with medals on. At WDW, it was much more noticeable.

I liked the corrals at DL more. Even though they were not checking bibs closely, it seemed like there was not the big corral crunch that you have at the other races.

I did not participate in the 5k or the kids races, but I have to give the edge to DL. I spoke to a family that did both, and they loved the DL 5k and kids races. They started on time and were completely in the parks. That is an advantage over WDW that has the kids races in the PARKING LOT!

All in all, it was an enjoyable race. I am glad that I finished, and that my wife and brother were along with me. I am looking forward even more to Goofy in 2007. I think I will do the DL race again, because it is closer to me than WDW. I think I will do the 5k too next year.

Congrats to all of the WISHers who participated and got their medals. It was nice to meet some of you, and I hope to see more WISHers at WDW in January!

Paul

 

[TXBelle]

No time for a trip report yet. Short summary: The race was fantastic! I had a blast. I took 50 photos during the race. Here's the link: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?a=67b0de21b320f18de4b7&sid=0AbuGbli1aM2Lio

Will I do it again? Probably not. DL is just not the same as WDW. I do love my castle medal though!

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Hey! The reports and pics so far are fantastic.

 

[DianeL]

A few add ons to the previous posters...

Clif Shot stop - I never saw it either. But thankfully it didn't really matter for me since I carry my own but that too surprised me, I figured with body heat and heat of the day it would hve thinned out the shot and it was as thick and hard to get out as ever! When I have it in it's packets it seems to take on the body heat and thin it a bit. Might be switching to another goo for WDW.

The CORRALS - I was prepared to hate them. They looked horribly confusing to me and being in Corral E scared the daylights out of me for fear of not knowing what they were going to do or if THEY knew what they were going to do. I was extrememly suprised at how seamlessly we were lead in behind D after they passed. I was at the front at the gate of E and the guys were right there to grab those gates and pull back as fast as they could. Before I knew it I was from my corral to the start line and even though my starting clock time shows about a minute or so faster than the WDW start for me crossing it "SEEMED" faster to cross. Different but pretty interesting fix they had for such a compacted space.

Terri - I left my iPod in the room this race but my phone has mp3 on it. I tried to listen to it but they decided to start piping in the sound from the staging area when I turned it on. Instead since DH was 3 hours ahead I texted him since it was my 1st time in a corral by myself. Susan was at the the front of corral D so we could see each other and wave but that was it. Anyways, thank goodness for those bands and cheerleaders to distract us from the voices in our heads LOL Sure mine stayed positive the entire way but I needed a break from myself every so often I can't train without it because that voice in my head isn't so positive in training.

PAT!!!! What was your clock time finish???? I think it was you I was yelling at just before Mile 13. That or I was annoying some other poor tired WISHER LOL

WALT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I saw you before the start. I was sitting down with my back to the walk way between A/B and C/D and glanced over my shoulder to see this guy with a unicycle walking along B. I jumped up and grabbed my phone and took a blurry picture. Sadly I didn't see you again if that was you but it was very very kewl. I was feeling quite alone in the front of my corral. No green shirts or bracelets

PAUL!!!! You were an A!!!! I thank you from the bottom of my heart for you walking with your wife and brother. It meant a ton to me to be with another WISHER during miles 9 thru what was just before 11? You guys ROCK!!! Thanks for the support and the friendly faces.

Heather!!! Thanks for posting the pictures so fast! They are awesome! It was very very kewl seeing you before and during the race and Ann was right you are very speedy! LOL Excellent finish!

ANN!!!!! Thank you for your support and just everything!!!! I kept you in view for a long time and I'm not sure when I lost sight but I think it was around or just before Mile 9 but I had spotted Mr Goofy Paul and Rebecca and kept them in sight and had the pleasure of entering Angels Stadium with them and going thru the bases.

It was great seeing all the WISHERs on the course and yes those shirts totally ROCK! otherwise I wouldn't have seen Ann or Paul and everyone. It really helped even when Ann pulled away I could still see her with her bright green shirt and orange cap and knew I wasn't alone out there. It meant the world to me.

ACK!!! I totally forgot her name I think it's DebBill or something? She did the 5K in Jan and her DH did the Goofy. He did the DL 1/2 and she was sitting outside the registeration waiting for him. I hope you see this but it was very kewl to come across someone we had spoke to in January and gotten such excellent tips on blister prevention and to cross paths again in Sept. Very very kewl. This entire trip was more like a reunion than a race LOL

HELEN!!!! How's the foot??? Does anyone have any information on how our New Zealand friend did? It was very kewl talking with you before the Expo.

Tiff!!! Susan spotted you before we were seated at Goofys so I figured I'd see you while we were grabbing food but never did. We were seated in the back along the windows by the door the Characters were coming in. To the left of the main courses. It was great see meeting you at the Expo and catching you out and about so often.

I hope I'm not forgetting anyone but if I left off a name here or there it's only because it's a blur. We shoved so much into this short trip.

My shorten trip report...

Friday we checked into the DL Hotel from the PP. We were on EST and were at the DL Hotel by 7:30 am and the Expo wasn't until 10 LOL. We had muffins and water while waiting. they have excellent Blueberry muffins in case anyone needs to know LOL Friday we did C.A. and had a blast! I LOVE Grizzly!!!! But after getting soaked we turned in early and walked to PCH Grill for dinner. Which we probably scared every dinner there that night we were laughing and giggling so hard.

Saturday morning found Susan and I up at like 3:30 am or something. We had to be at the Volunteer check in by 4:30 am and our shift started at 5 am. We were moved to the refreshment tables after the 5K and kids races. It was amazing! Gave me a new respect for the volunteers. I think we were at our station at 5 am. Everything was still on pallets and we had to tear the plastic wrap off and located everything as the CMs set up the tables. We had to mix the powerade ourselves. Tear about the bananas so runners could grab and go. The oranges were all cut I believe it was 6:30 am when they finally located the knives and cutting boards because they had not been delivered to our area. So some quick cutting and we had those done. The other volunteers were amazing and great!!! I talked to a few but only recall 2 of them doing the 1/2 the next day with us. Just before the kids races ended Susan went back for Barb and Cathy as she wanted to get off her feet as she has had trouble this past year with them.

Barb (my Mom) and Cathy both finished the 5K and we had the pleasure to see Cathy running past us as she came into C.A. Now Cathy never runs on training days with us and she ran most of the course which was amazing and great. She was tired and abit sore after but from what I could tell nothing more than just that she had done a race sort of sore/tired. I think the pace Susan figured out was under a 15 minute mile for her which was excellent. I'm not sure what Barb did, I heard she sprinted out of the start with Cathy yelling at her to pace herself. She was ahead of Cathy for a bit but then Cathy keeping on a steady pace passed her and finished before her. I stayed until I think it was 9 when they released us from the station and the CMs were coming in to clean it up. I will say this though and if it can be passed on.... WATER, FOOD, POWERADE IS FOR THE RACERS. I had oooo many grandmas and spectators coming up trying and actually getting bottles before I could throw myself on the table. I swore to Susan I was probably going to be known as the Water nazi (ala Seinfels Soup dude LOL) I was literally protecting my stuff. We had Zbars for the kids races and I had adults trying to get them, I just kept telling them that they were formulated for children athletes (which they are!). Fast forward to the 1/2 Marathon.... i didn't get a THING! I snagged a warm water bottled off a pallet. Mom and Cathy were volunteers at the finish line food tables and they said runners and spectators were taking what they could and that some were actually making a pouch out of their finish line foils to put food into. Thank goodness Mom had her apple left from the breakfast they give the volunteers or I would have been completely without food at the end. I was a bit ticked about seeing that at the 5K and feeling results of it first hand at the 1/2. So please pass the knews... FOOD, WATER BOTTLES are for RACERS ONLY. I can understand maybe needing more for some of the racers as I'm sure they exerted more running as fast (Mom & Cathy said some came in literally dripping) but taking enough to have breakast in the room for some left others without.

After the 5K we headed over to the DL Park and were amazed at the lines. Cathy was hit with Happy Birthday from everyone. We had her pinned for the race with a special Pirated Birthday button and made sure to embarass her throughout the trip only giving up on Monday LOL We had a great time doing the Walk in Walt's Footsteps and I would do it again preferrably on a quieter park day if that is a possible thing LOL After that we headed back to the room so we were in the room by 7:30 pm and resting by 9:30 pm. I think asleep by 10 pm which amazing! I know I had more sleep/rest before this race than the one in January.

2:45 am came quickly. We had made up peanut butter bagels the night before so dressed quickly and grabbed our breakfast and left the room just after 3 am. We were probably in the 1st 50 racers to arrive at staging. We watched the video a few times. I liked how they had the merchandise booth open before the race sadly I left my race bag for checking in the room along with money LOL maybe a good thing LOL

We got bored sitting there so moved out to see where the corrals were after confirming it was ok to do this and to get directions to them. So we watched them set up my corral (E) and when they moved the trucks out of the way walked to the center to see how they were set up and asked there what the plan was to release each corral so we had a heads up on that. We then moved to our separate corrals to await the finish. I wish they had a big screen set up back by the hub where all the corrals met so we could have seen the front. I vaguley recall the start but didn't have a clue the monorail was there until we were on the straight away to the start.

Susan sadly had to drop off after mile 2 between the 2 parks. She was at the front of corral D and I caught her just about Mile 1-1/2 and she told me was already experencing problems with her foot and told me to go on. Now it became even more important that I finish because our team was not going home empty handed. The thing I love about Susan is that we train together but run our own races with no problems if the other is ahead. She had finished many times ahead of me and me a few times before her and her finishes are my finishes and vice versus. So she had the courage to know that if she continued she was not racing in WDW so she dropped and stayed on the side lines to cheer on the runners. She said she had a great time and even got to see the winner come back thru.

Susan being the bestest friend a person can ask for raced back to our room and redressed my Pal Mickey in a shirt I had iron-on'ed a DL 1/2 logo and he had his own Golden 50th Ears and she met me just before mile 13 to hand him off so for those that said I should bring him alone Susan surprised me and YES my finishline photos are of me holding my Pal Mickey so if you see a zombie crossing the finish line holding a Pal Mickey that would be me. I can't imaging another Pal Mickey crossed the finish line

I had a bit of a time at Mile 12. Felt a bit off and i'm paranoid and decided I was dizzy. I felt better entering the C.A. but had decided that after getting my medal I would pay a visit to the medical tent just to confirm all was in working order. They gave me ice for my neck. Sugar water to sip (and some regular) and watched my blood pressue and pulse which was a bit high but came down nicely as I relaxed. She didn't seem to think it was all that bad but it made me feel more secure.

I stood in line for what seems like forever! to get my photo with the official Inagural backdrop (with my Pal!) and another with the other backdrop.

when I finished this I saw Mom and Cathy and they told me there was no food and I figured everyone was gone from the WISH team as the place was starting to look deserted so I headed to the room. We left quickly and I grabbed a grilled cheese as it was the only thing that sounded like I could get down. The powerade was still upsetting my stomach.

We stayed out till 10 that night YIKES! and considering the race, the walking that night and the next day I am injury free. I have a bit of remaining soreness that just keeps getting better and better.

Here are my stats...

5K: 1:03:05
Mile 10: 2:50:23
Finish: 3:25:32
Clock: 3:40:21
Pace: 15:40
currenly place is: 8892 but I think this will change as they adjust the list which they did with January's.


ETA on 9/21... I was going thru my email and the alerts they sent my email as I passed the 5K mark said my time was 00:48:15 and my time at the 10 Mile mark was 02:35:34 so actually my times for those 2 marks were even better than what is being shown on the results page unless the alerts are wrong but considering I had a sub-15 minute mile for mile 1 and thought I had a 15 Minute-ish for the other 2 I'm learning towards the alers LOL

BIB 10159

It was a better time for me as my pace for January was 15:53 with a finish of 3:28:16 which makes me wonder had it been the WDW course which I think is flatter how much better my time would have been. I wanted a better time for this race but am pleased i shaved off minutes considering the course that I wasn't expecting. I feel more positive now with my 2nd finish and my pace with this race to go into January and hope to have a 3:20 or dare I say 3:15 finish. I am feeling good and with today off from work figure will shake the rest of the stiffness today.

1 QUESTION: the balls of my feet though not horribly painful sure felt like they had been used and to wiggle my toes caused a bit of stiffness and soreness (not horribly painful but never had that before!) Anyone else? Thoughts on if it was due to the hillier terrain? (from my flat training park those ramps are hilly! LOL)

ANN!!! Can't wait to see you photos!!!!

Everyone thanks for the support from those that had to stay home and from those that were there. It was great knowing you were all out there with me. Now before I start to cry again and ruin my computer I'll sign off. HUGS to everyone!!!!! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!


Editing to ask:

Has anyone heard if we will get a CD like we do for WDW? I seem to recall seeing video camers but never heard. Wasn't sure if they said something at the Party afterwards (slept thru it).

also Mom told me they have photos on that laughing site of the race. WOW did the 5K people have a kewl starting line or what! Neither of our racers mentioned it. Very kewl with draping on the sides.

 

[AprilN]

I haven't written up my report yet, but here are some pictures; you can click through to a print-quality version of each picture if interested:

http://www.nissens.net/images/DLHalf2006/index.html

 

[DianeL]

April those photos ROCK!!! How awesome your personal photographer (who did an AMAZING job!) was able to catch you in the middle of the race like that. Waaaay kewl!!!!

Congrats and Thanks for sharing the pics!!!!

 

[WDWFAN9]

Awesome pics AprilN!! I love seeing everyone's pictures and hearing about their experiences!!