From 0 to 26.2 .... running the Disney marathon

[Dolce27]

I can’t stand to have anything wrapped around my waist when I run. It annoys me. The only thing that worked was what I spoke of in an earlier post. It was just large enough to hold my cliff blocks. And it may have worked only because it was so cold outside that morning and I had a lot of layers on to help support it. Had it been hot, and I removed the extra clothing layers, I may have noticed it more.

I run with one of the water bottles designed to wrap around your hand. During several training runs, I’d finish the bottle right at the end of my run. I never needed more than one bottle during a training run. Then, again, my high mile runs were in winter. Had this been summer, when I’d need more water intake, it could have been different story.

 

[Dolce27]

Dolce
How is therapy going?

It's going. Thanks for asking. I'm still not allowed to run. They’re working my core – as that is part of my problem and the reason that I stressed yoga and pilates earlier this thread. It’s important for a runner to have a strong core to help prevent injuries. I don’t have a strong core. (But ask me again in another month!)

And please note: I don’t fully understand my injury. When I spoke about it doing this/that – that was me, clueless, attempting to explain what it felt like to me. For example: my knee locked up during the race. It would lock up if I attempted to run. I tried to run again three different times after I had to stop going into mile 13. I described it as “inflammation” built up in the knee since my knee was so stiff it wouldn’t bend.

…ok. So, maybe no inflammation. While trying to explain all of this to the physical therapist – he just looked at me like I was nuts. I told him “I don’t know! You’re the expert.” So, I guess that my knee was just locking up due to extreme pain. And there was pain. But mentally, I was trying to make that knee bend. I was demanding that it bend so that I could run. It just wouldn’t.

So, my advice: Male or female/ young or old: do yoga. Several times/week. Try not to wind-up injured like me.

 

[eyor44]

Thank you for all the valuable information you have shared. You'll be running again soon. I know you will.

 

[Dolce27]

Thank you for all the valuable information you have shared. You'll be running again soon. I know you will.

Hey! Now that Sandy's been MIA confused3) we don't all get to chat much. I really hope to be running soon. I was cleared to do the recumbent bike for cardio exercise so I worked out for 60 min's yesterday ... and it irritated my IT band which has been paining me since. I'll bring it up to the therapist in the morning. It's been 5 weeks since I last ran on it ... I'm feeling very discouraged.

 

[eyor44]

It's been 5 weeks since I last ran on it ... I'm feeling very discouraged.

I think it is just the winter getting to all of us. I had stopped walking cause of my foot, then the weather was bad each day I tried to go out. (had enough of walking in cold rain for a while) and Sunday one of my thigh muscles starting hurting. My foot is finally better and now my leg hurts. Frustrated doesn't begin to describe it.

But.....that being said. We both just completed our respective races and now know what to expect next year. I'm trying to convince myself that the rest is doing us some good. We have plenty of time to get back to it. Get healthy and we will be fine.

 

[Pongo53]

Eyore, keep your spirits high, and winter will pass. You'll be able to do your full program soon, it only feels frustrating now, just coming off the excitement of all the preparation.

Dolce, keep working on that core! That's what they told me would help my ITB, and in the interim I am using the ITB straps. I wore them in the Austin Marathon on Valentine's Day, and did fine.

I promised an update after Austin, and even though I loved the Disney, I think I love Austin even more. For anyone close to Texas, I'm going to quote part of a review I wrote for Austin, which has not been published yet. I hope this is not out of place here, I just want to share a great experience:

"I'm new at this, having only run the Disney the month before, and when I previewed the Austin course on Saturday in the car, the hills were frightening. In the race, they proved to be perfectly 'do-able' even for a flatlander Houstonion. Do not let hills keep you from coming to this race. Come do this event for the great people. What sets this race apart from the others (the Disney and the 5ks I've done) is the crowds in Austin. I've never seen such friendly people who urge you on every step of the way. I lost count of how many people called my name, or of how many people provided snacks and refreshments along the way at their own expense. Orange slices, girl scout cookies, candies, beer and wine were among some of the things Austinites offered the runners. One fellow even offered 'Free drinks and puppies.' This was all in addition to the regular drink stations provided by the organizers. I will do this race again next year just because the people were so extra-nice.

As to the course, I was generally pleased. There was one section where the pavement was pretty bad, but it looked like the road was being repaired. It likely will be done by next race, and also likely that it had not been torn up when the course was laid out. I'm suggesting that this should not be held against the organizers, as it was something out of their control. It was nice that they listened to complaints about the narrow bit at Krebbs road, and extended the southern part of the course to the Ben White road which was plenty wide, even when we had to go around a wheelchair competitor who was struggling up the hill there. There were several points where the marathon route had to share intersections with cross traffic, but there were police directing at those, and I don't know if I was lucky or what, but I only got detained at one of them.

Even with the hills I had a PR going at the halfway point and feel like I would have done really well but for a problem involving Morton's Neuroma. I was able to finish out the event, and am happy with the whole experience. I'd like to commend all the runners I encountered, as every one of them was polite and was aware of their surroundings. Before the split where we lost the half marathoners, it was congested, but I never really felt like I was held up. People knew how to navigate and let faster runners have room.

I'll be happy to come back to Austin for this event every year from now on."

For those that have followed my previous posts, let me explain it was not my neuroma that flared up, it was my lovely Perdita's, and so when I saw that I'd caught her about mile six, I slowed and kept her in sight, following at a respectful distance. She normally outpaces me handily in our practice runs, and although I had the hills (at least 70 and a top to bottom elevation change of over 500 feet), I was "on a tear" and feeling great. I'd done most of my pre-Disney training injured in one way or another, but was mostly healthy for Austin. So anyway, she was keeping at it, though slowing, so I abandoned my race and followed her, just in case. I'm not saying I'd have finished strong, as I did not "do" the race, so I'll never know, at least until next year. She finished Disney with a toe injury and the beginnings of Morton's Neuroma, which were exacerbated by the downhill sections in Austin, and she reported each step was like "stepping on ground glass." I believer her as she is not a quitter. In fact she did finish, and was tenth in her age group. Next year, at 61, I think she can win it. For me, I just plan on trying to muddle through in the middle of my age division. We're going to try one more spring marathon in middlemarch, this time on a flat course near the coast in Seabrook, near Galveston. And in a little less that two weeks, Perdita attacks the Princess back in Disney. If her feet feel a bit better by then, the 13.1 should not cause her as much grief as the whole 26.2.

To anyone reading this who has considered running but is scared of the immensity of the distances, let me state that a year ago, I did not run at all, and when we started walking the three mile perimeter of a local college, we'd run for like ten seconds and walk for three minutes. alternating, and that was more than I wanted to do. We worked up to a few 5ks in the summer and fall, and then started increasing our distances working towards the Disney. It's not much more than half a year since it was an accomplishment to run one of the sides of the campus without stopping, then running the whole perimeter. To me that felt like a marathon, at the time! So if a 60 year old girl and a 57 year old guy can do it, so can you! Its fun, just keep at it, and keep it fun!

Now, this has rambled on forever, but if anyone has an interest, I may try to post a few pictures from our Disney run. If you can believe it, I carried a camera with me.

 

[acejka]

Thank you so much for posting this! And congrats on finishing it! I envy you so much, it was always my goal to run a marathon, but it is an unattainable goal for me so I have to live vicariously through yall! Maybe one day I will try a 5k though

 

[Pongo53]

Ace, thanks for the encouragement! And back at you: you can do it if I can. My sis is morbidly obese, and completed the Komen 5k Race for the Cure this autumn. She walked, but it was her personal challenge, and she did it for the cause and for herself. Just start small, don't stress, and enjoy the journey. You can build gradually to whatever level you wish. I ran/walked my first 5k, and got a little more running in each succeeding race.

I'm going to try posting some pictures to try to learn some new tricks (Pongo is an old dog, I'm afraid...) and to show how much fun it was!

Getting ready, about 2:00am after a short nap:

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But Eeyore decided to stay in bed:


And this is why: The temperature as indicated inside Tinkerbell (our car) after arriving at Epcot:


If all goes well, you should be able to click on these thumbnails for full size shots. I'm going to post now and see if it works, then revise my method if it doesn't. More to come (I hope)...

 

[Pongo53]

Well, the thumbnails seem to be a chore and open a new window. Let's try some at regular size. Sorry about that.

Here's the start, from our angle:

and Perdita getting away in the dark and cold:

Approaching the 270 degree downramp from Epcot to WDW:

Here's the Spaceship Earth balloon that confused me:

The wonderful volunteers, especially this well-insulated lady:

One of the many "narrows." And is this a hill?

The long-awaited Main Street USA:

Then, the approach to the castle from the back, with blurry heralds announcing us with their horns. (I'm not a great photographer in best of times, especially not when running)

A gentle curve on the way to AK: (that's "Animal Kingdom" not "Alaska")

A pretty view, a little shy of halfway:

Animal Kingdom: (was there supposed to be a Tree of Life here?)

Out of AK up towards the sports complex and the desolation of the hairpin or "out and back":

Mile 23+ and MGM! (Hollywood, whatever)

The Swan narrows:

Mile 25, EPCOT again! almost home! I don't even remember the international area. Amazing, I didn't even remember to look for the little trains near Germany.

Finish line in sight:

Done! Hot and freezing all at the same time. Can we do it again??? (maybe in a year or so?)

And if anyone remembers, I lost Tink in the parking lot. We recovered her, and here she is, safe back at the hotel:

And we lived to shop another day!

So, that's all for now from the happiest place on earth

 

[dismagiclover]

Great pictures Pongo! I can't wait for next January when I give the Full a try!

 

[Dolce27]

Look at me ignoring my own thread!

Pongo: thanks for the Austin info. Maybe next year I'll run it ... but coming off the Disney marathon maybe I'll just sign up for the Austin 1/2 instead of doing two fulls back to back like that. Kuddos to you for accomplishing it!

Thanks for adding your WDW marathon pics. I'm so eager to start running again (still out on injury ) and training for 2011. I really enjoyed the 2010 that much - despite the 20 degree weather and walking 1/2 of it injured. Seeing your pic's brings a smile to my face .


Except for...

that one! It drove me nuts until I was finally at an angle to see it from this side and realize that it wasn't the real Spaceship Earth. Plus, when I saw it, the sky was just beginning to lighten up so the darkness + distance helped it to look like the real mccoy.

 

[Pongo53]

I'm sorry to be so late posting the followup, but hope to make up for it by including a few pictures.

First, Dolce, I hope your recovery is coming along well. I know it must be killing you to have to lay off until things get better, but it will be for the best in the long run. I'm afraid I rushed it myself by taking on Austin, then Seabrook. If you are still having the itb problems next year, you may want to skip Seabrook: I ran it last week, and my knees were still not recovered from Austin, and couple that with the trail nature of the course, and I was in pain before mile six. Just before mile 20, I had the left it-band give notice, so I feel happy to have just made it to the finish. And while the temperatures at the Disney were attention getters, the 30mph winds that came up during the Seabrook, gusting to 40 and more, just added to the difficulty of the course. Still, it was fun. Oh, and by the way, Perdita, with problems of her own, managed to hang in there and record her first age division win!

And now to the real fun: The Princess Half!!!!!

We made the trip back to WDW just for the Princess: I drove all night and we got to the Expo just as it opened. Good timing! The weather was going to be cold again for the start, but after January, nothing could upset Perdita, and the following morning, we pulled into Epcot by 3:00 am, and she got to Corral A by 4:15 to get a spot near her correct pace. It was an entirely different race for her, as a result. She did not encounter a single walker, and she ran her own race, clean and clear. It resulted in a seventh place in her age division, and by age grade, she was 140 out of the over 13,000 entrants. I am so proud of her.

Here she is before the start, still at the parking area, with me:

After I watched the start of Corral A, I hurried to the monorail to try to get to Magic Kingdom for support and pictures. Stopped along the way to see the fireworks for a later corral:

And here's the destination for the Princesses, 13.1 miles in their future. At least for this race, they wouldn't see it every time they turned around like in the Disney Full.

So, after catching the second monorail, I got to the transportation center, and she got there so fast, I'd already missed her. Here are some of the others, running by:

So, i reasoned if I tried to get the monorail to Magic Kingdom, I'd miss her there and then not be able to get back in time for the finish, so I just went back to Epcot to wait. On the way back, I saw thousands still trying to get to the Magic Kingdom:

This was the finish line:

And this was the finish line with Perdita crossing it:

And my little Princess, proud finisher, this time without hypothermia:

And if you'll indulge me, one more shot, this time with a comforting wrap. I can't imagine Disney did not give out mylar blankets for this. It was still really cold for someone who had just run 13.1 miles and was wet. Still, I guess it gives husbands some reason to be there. That's my jacket. Or at least it used to be.

So that's about it from the happiest place on earth, Princess Marathon edition. I just wish I could have photographed it better. Its a great event, and in my opinion it should just be for the girls. I think the team challenge allowing husbands is a bad idea and should be abandoned. Let's just leave this one as intended: for the wonderful princesses we all love.

If anyone has any questions about the event, I'll be happy to try to answer them.

 

[dismagiclover]

Pongo
Thanks for the report on the Princess Half. It looks like a fun race! Hopefully I'll get down there to do it someday.

 

[Dolce27]

Thank you for coming back and posting about the Princess 1/2. That race and the Wine & Dine will be two that I’ll never run. I work for a CPA firm. Tax season is mid-February – April 15 & mid-August – October 15 with March 15 being a major corporation deadline and April 15 being individual deadline. Then September 15 for corporation extension deadline and October 15 for individual extension deadline. If only the Wine & Dine was after the Oct 15th deadline….

Perdita did great! I’m happy for her! And you were a good husband to hand over the jacket at the Finish Line. I briefly considered Seabrook, back before the Jan WDW marathon. I saw some info about it on active.com. I decided no because it’s too far and now I guess that’s a good thing: I’m still having serious problems with the IT band. I’ve been off running for over two months now, went to physical therapy for just over a month, and I’m still having problems. I plan to go out for a two mile run after work today. I went out last week to try a mile. I can’t believe how I’ve lost all of my conditioning! I just want to cry. I wasn’t trying to time my pace – just see how my leg would hold up. However, I did happen to glance at my watch as I stepped off and looked again as I finished only go get ticked off. I may currently be out of running shape but I knew that my time couldn’t have been that slow! So I walked what I just ran while using my phone’s GPS to track my route and discovered that it was really 1 1/2 miles that I ran. I felt a little bit better about my pace after seeing that. … just a little. I had no problems with the IT band during that first 1 1/2 mile run. But after walking the 1 1/2 miles I did start to feel a twinge – which made that the 3 mile point.

I have no idea what to do. I’ve been doing yoga and pilates like crazy the past couple of months. I also use a foam roller and ice the IT band. I just want to run! I have signed up for the 2011 WDW full marathon. I really want to be able to run a full marathon at least once in my life. Any advice?

 

[eyor44]

Dolce
I hate that you are still having problems. Perhaps now that the weather is warming up? Hang in there, you'll make it.

 

[dismagiclover]

I don't have any good advice just lots of sympathy I really hope you get this all worked out and are able to run in January. I need a bus buddy

 

[Dolce27]

I don't have any good advice just lots of sympathy I really hope you get this all worked out and are able to run in January. I need a bus buddy

Oh, I'm doing the full-marathon in January! That's not an option. I just don't know if I'll be walking or running it ... but I better be running it. (stupid leg!)