September 4th 2011
The day started off cool with the race starting at 600 am. The start time was nice for us because "our" time was an hour later, and we were staying at the
Disneyland Hotel which was a short walk from the start line. So, we actually slept in a little.
We used the port o pots one last time and headed over to our corrals. I was in B, Liz in C. They had a large screen set up at the start where we could see the announcers, similar to the WDW races. They announced that Drew Carrey was running with us and briefly showed him. The temp was around 60 and I was kind of chilly in my short sleeve WISH shirt. I fellow WISHER Jeff from Hawaii before the race, but no one else.
After the National Anthem the race started on time and we were off. The first mile and a half had us running down Disneyland Drive and turning left onto Katella Ave. Then another left onto Harbor Blvd and briefly into the CA park. At mile two we were crossing the area between the two parks and headed into Disneyland. I remember a guy jumping up and tapping the archway into the park as we went under it.
I felt good about this race from before it started. It had the usual great level of Disney organization and a positive feel for me. I did well in the Chicago Rock and roll half and wanted to do better here. My goal was to break 2:07 and set new PR. Plus, Lizzie was running the race with me, which always makes me feel good.
As I settled into a nice pace of around 9:30, I felt a pit stop coming on. I came across an open restroom near Fantasy land and saw a guy ahead of me duck into it. I figured, now is the time if I'm going and there goes my PR. I usually don't have to stop during a race. Having to undo my bib, fuel belt and have my drawstring get stuck on my shorts was a little frustrating. So, I figured I lost about four minutes and was way behind. This was at about the 5k mark and I knew I had a long way to go, so no giving up now.
By mile 3.5 we were out on the streets again and turned onto Ball Rd and heading onto the overpass over interstate 5, just as the sun was coming up. I was glad I had my shades on right then.
My pace dropped down to about 9:10 and I was starting to make time up. I had worn a timing bracelet for the first time so I knew where my time was at compared to my miles.
It started getting warm and I was glad to have my fuel belt full of water. Miles 5 - 9 didn't have alot of Disney feel to them as we ran the streets and through some industrial area. We passed school bands, cheerleaders, a Hawaiian dance group, and a group of Mexican dancers who were more interested in taking their own pictures.
We soon reached the Angel's baseball stadium and got to run on the warning track around the field with a ton of people cheering us on. I was getting tired by this point, but it gave me the motivation to keep it moving.
By mile 12 we were heading though the backside of DCA and I was getting frustated looking for the finish line. I ran the last mile in about 8 minutes and kept looking for the last turn to the finish. I finally crossed in a full on run and knew I had made a PR, but forgot to stop my watch.
After crossing into the family meeting area, I headed off to get my medal engraved. They have up to to minute results and I finished in 2:04:44!! I was very happy that even with a pitstop, I did it! I also collected my first Coast to Coast medal!
I came across Scott and Lynn and hung out with them for a while. Jeff showed up, and Craig (Greg?) was there with a broken foot he suffered during the race. It was good to see more WISHERS, which added to the good vibes! I later went in search of Liz and found her, hobbling along with and ice pack taped to her knee. It had flared up, but she finished in about 2:30. We went back to talk with Scott and Lynn for awhile and headed over to the hotel to clean up. We took it easy the rest of the day and spent some time at Traders Sam's bar in the hotel. (Great place!)
I'm sure most of you have seen the medal from the half, but until I had mine, I didn't realize it was so huge! Oh, and Drew Carrey beat me! Overall the race was a good time, but with alot less Disney to it compared to WDW races. So far, for next year, I have tenative plans to share a room with Rick and go for another PR!
Later in the week, we hit Newport beach and froze our butts off, and went to Universal on a day when it hit 105 inland. Both trips have their own stories to them, but I'll spare you the details!
Next up: The Fort2Base 10NM race
-Mike
to Liz for her injury.
I had some lovely oozing blisters on Saturday but they are now dried out and the swelling has gone down enough to put on my shoe. Since I missed my long run do I increase my mileage on my short runs this week? I hope to be back to running by tomorrow if the swelling continues to decrease.
WTG on your run and I'm glad to hear that you're continuing to run as well! The ankle is really annoying - I can deal with the knee pain but for some reason I feel like I have to be extra careful with the ankle for some reason. It's tough to know when to go to the physio - sometimes the pain goes away by itself and then you're fine. Other times...
I still have a ticket and time booked off so I could go for fun ... but if I'm going to go next year, I might want to save the ticket.
I think I'm going to start walking the miles even if I can't run them. I changed my intervals from 10/1 to 3/2 and that seemed to work better but walking for 2 minutes seems like an eternity 
