Duanerice
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2001
- Messages
- 1,045
The majority of this was written the day after the marathon while sitting in my room. I have edited a few parts as my attitude about certain things has changed specifically running another marathon.
Wow is the best I can say. What a great time. This was my first marathon and I have to tell you it was the toughest thing I have done physically; at least that I can remember. Am I glad I did it? You betcha! Would I do it again? Not sure as I am writing this but who knows. (Edited to say I just signed up for the Goofy) I am so glad that I did it though. If you are reading this and debating if you are going to run a marathon, I say go for it, give it a shot.
My goal was 5 hours and I finished with time to spare. OK, 1 min 53 sec to spare but hey, I could have walked across the line. Official time was 4:58:07. I couldnt have done it without all the support that the WISH team and others had on the course. Thanks guys, it was awesome to see a WISH shirt on the sidelines. When someone yells your name and you have no idea who it is, it just makes you feel good!
How or why did I decide to do this? I started running about a year ago to lose weight. The couple of miles I used to do on the treadmill werent cutting it so I started running outside. Actually I ran my first 5K eleven months ago and was worried that I might not be able to run a 5K. I was in decent shape, just not a runner. Then I heard about the Disney Race and thought Id do1/2 marathon. After further consideration I thought what the heck, if I am going to do it why not go for the full. So I signed up.
I hooked up with the WISH team on Disboads.com. What a great group of people. I really need to give them a lot of credit to them for being there. They helped a lot sharing experiences and giving tips and hope. I also hooked up with Roberts site, Disneyrunning.com. Another great group of people. I received more training tips and running information from his site. Whereas the Disboards site offers encouragement first and racing second, Roberts site offers more race and training help. They are both great!
Fast forward to race weekend. We stayed at Pop Century and it worked out great. We stay there a lot actually so we are pretty used to the place. We met up with a bunch of the Wish team Friday afternoon at Pop Century. It was a great to see folks again and to meet some new people. Cant wait to see the team photo. Oh yea, we got a cool backpack from John and Karen Thanks! We tried to get into the EXPO Friday night but met some people in the parking lot that said it was the worst they have ever seen it so I decided to come back on Saturday. Friday night was pasta night at the Olive Garden for me followed by a visit to Downtown Disney. Got a good nights sleep since I had to get up so early on Sunday.
We went to the EXPO on Saturday and it was pretty cool. We returned Saturday and I was 6th in my line. We were in and out of the registration, including hitting the Runners Relations booth in about 10 minutes. There was a nice shirt at the EXPO that I wanted but they didnt have my size by Saturday. That was the only bad thing about the EXPO. Once it started getting crowded, we split and went to a movie in Downtown Disney.
Sunday morning I got up right around 3:00 a.m. Actually it wasnt too bad since I was pretty excited. I brought my own coffee since Disney coffee is probably the worst stuff Ive ever tasted. Packed my gear and headed out to the bus. I was impressed, at 3:30 a.m. there were 4 buses lined up for us. No waiting. The bus let us off about 10 miles from the gathering area. OK, it just seemed like 10 miles. I went to the R tent and hung out with the DisneyRunning crew. Around 5:00 I went to start my port a potty merry go round. Id go then wait a few minutes and jump into line again. I looked for the WISH team but couldnt find them.
Met up with Paul from Clearwater and we walked over to the B corral on the Blue course. By the time we started, we were just behind the A corral (a little too close up front for me). I really couldnt hear so see a lot of what was going on at the start. A suggestion for Disney would be to add a few more video screens towards the back. Once the fireworks went off it was go time! I crossed the mat in a little over 1 minute so it as easy to know my real time which was good because my Garmin stopped twice during the first 5 miles. It stayed on after that so the mileage was OK but the time was way off.
It was pretty neat looking over seeing the Red group. There were thousands and thousands. It was a little discouraging when we passed the 4 mile marker not more than ½ mile into the race. It just meant that wed be back. Now here is where my memory starts to fade a bit.
I know we went around EPCOT and through the back then around the countries. The countries look so great all lit up. Just beautiful! We met up with the Red course around mile 3.4 in the back area of EPCOT. I was feeling pretty good and nothing hurt at this point. We ran and ran and ran and then we were on our way up to Magic Kingdom. Nothing spectacular happened along this route expect for a few areas where the course narrows quite a bit. That proved a challenge getting around people. I think it is around here that you go up an overpass and loop back under the same overpass. It was so cool watching all the other runners.
Anyway, this is the reason you run Disney is for the parks and none are any bigger than the Magic Kingdom. You cant help but getting pumped when you round the corner and head down Main Street. The fans are awesome. Castle in view, thousands of people lining the street. Man it was great. We ran through Tomorrowland Over to Fantasyland then thorough the Castle. Ill tell you, they had characters everywhere. I think I got good picture around the Castle, well see. We continued past the Hall of Presidents then though Frontierland and out the back gates next to Splash Mountain.
Right around the Contemporary, my IT band started acting up. Its been fine for most of my training until my 22 mile run where it started hurting the last mile. Well it started hurting pretty bad around MK. I knew the med tent was just outside the park so I kept on until I hit the tent. By this time I was limping pretty significantly. I stopped to slather my leg in Bio Freeze put on a brace (band) that I brought just for this reason. This ended up being a problem the entire race and I spent a lot of time hitting every medical tent along the way. It slowed me up quite a bit as I was limp running (is there such a thing) for quite a while. Even worse is now I have Bio freeze all over my hand so I cant even wipe the sweat out of my eyes. After each med tent I duck into the nearest bathroom to wash my hands.
Continuing down to the Grand Floridian and past the Polynesian I was surprised how many people were out cheering. Thats a long stretch from MK to the Animal Kingdom so it was good to see some people along the way. Animal Kingdom was great although my leg was hurting pretty bad by now. They had a lot of characters out and about. It is a lot more fun running through the parks than on that long lonesome road. I know, how can a road be lonesome with a thousand other people around.
Once out of Animal Kingdom and into the parking lot you can see where you have to run. I hate this part of the run when you look across the parking lot and see all the people way out there and you know thats where you need to go. I have to admit I was getting a little tired out here, but I think this is where we hit mile 17 or so. That means just single digit miles left. YAHOO! But, we are off to the long run out and back Osceola Parkway. Ill tell you, I didnt know how many hills there are here. I know that they are basically overpasses, but they are still hills to me. They were brutal after 17 miles. I admit, I walked up at least part of the hills.
The last 3 or 4 miles were tough. Here is where things get a little blurry. I hit the wall around mile 23. The sun came out and the humidity was pretty high. I knew I was going to finish, but it was a struggle. I really didnt enjoy MGM (as it used to be called) too much because I was getting pretty tired and my leg was aching. Besides I ran through MGM for the RFTT and the TOT race so I was just surviving. It was pretty cool running down the street that looks like New York. Very cool actually. I was just there a few weeks ago for the Osborne lightshow and felt a lot better that night.
Never thought wed get out of MGM then it was over to the Yacht and Beach Club area. A lot of WISH team cheers were coming from this area. Thanks a lot, it made a difference. By now I had to walk for about 30 seconds every half a mile. I just wanted it over by this time. The run from MGM to EPCOT was at least 8 miles. At least it felt like 8 miles but was probably less than 1. I could have just started walking and would have been fine but I was still pretty close to the 5 hour mark. Im thinking that I put in a good 23 miles and I didnt want them to go to waste. I can manage the last 3 and finish under 5 hours. When we entered EPCOT and went up the hill over to France (I walked up) you could look to the left and see where you had to go. It was depressing. It never looked that far when you are walking through the park. But, it is only a little over 1 mile.
I walked I think 4 times in the last mile. Actually I dont think I walked, I actually had to stop and bend over to catch my breath. Walking took too much effort. It was actually easier to run than walk at this point. I just didnt have anything left. The last time I walked was right before the 26 mile mark. Even running the last .2 was a killer but heck; I had to do it since there were so many people cheering us on. I think I got a good picture here too, well see.
My wife was at the finish and I was cognizant enough to see my wife at the finish. It was great seeing her and just awesome knowing I was going to do it. A lot of work went into this race. Many lonely nights and early Saturday runs.
As soon as I crossed the finish I saw some wheelchairs for people that were having medical issues. Well I stopped and sat in one as I was beat. I told them I was just tired, nothing else wrong and they let me sit there. After about 3 minutes I was up and on my way out. I think it was blanket, chip removal then the super secret medal. I must say the medal is really cool. Better than I expected. But darn it was heavy
After the medal it was water and Power Aid then they actually had cold diet coke followed by all sorts of food choices. Everything was still just a blur.
I was going to sit down and rest, but I remembered the massage tent so I thought Id go sign in there first. I went straight to the massage tent and walked right in. I chose the 10 minute massage because my wife was waiting for me. Wow, was it great! Best $10 I ever spent. I went to get my bag and went to the wrong bag claim. Seems like I didnt even know my alphabet by this time.
My wife was waiting for me on the other side of the claim tent and then I knew I was finished. My day was complete. We didnt hang around very long but did get to see a couple of Wishers that had already finished. I wish I had stayed around, but I was physically worn out. I even forgot about getting my picture taken with Mickey. I was asking who thought this was a good idea and I will never do this again, yada, yada, yada. The next day on the drive home I started thinking, hmmm the Goofy sounds interesting.
I didnt dare take my shoes off yet as we had a ½ mile walk to the car but boy my feet were hurting me. We headed back to the room but getting there was a chore since so many of the roads were closed. We ended up going out to I4 then coming back in on Osceola Parkway. Came back and took the infamous ice bath. That was really cold this time.
My wife went and got me something to eat while I soaked. After about 30 minutes or so I was feeling OK. I showered and went out walking around a bit. Unfortunately my wife got sick on what she ate and we did not make it to Pleasure Island.
Couple of observations:
I took my IPod and probably used it maybe for 15 minutes max since there was so much going on.
This race was awesome! Disney sure knows how to put on a race. I am now spoiled. I cant say enough good things about the race and the organization.
An extra half hour of sleep really doesnt make a difference. I wasnt tired and enjoyed the company of the other runners before the start. (well see next year as I do the Goofy and will try to add the 5K also)
It was humid. Luckily it was overcast, but I was soaked within the first hour. I used my sunglasses for about 10 minutes and that was it. I was too tired at the end to take them out.
Was it just me or were we running on the side of a hill most of the time? I tried to stay in the middle of the road, but I had a hard time finding a flat surface unless we were in a parking lot. Having a bum IT band I tend to notice these things.
Many people calling out my name on the course. Awesome! They dont know me but they took the time to read my bib and call out my name. Thanks!
Overall it was a great weekend and I look forward to doing it again.
Thanks to everyone here - you all helped me through this.
Duane
Wow is the best I can say. What a great time. This was my first marathon and I have to tell you it was the toughest thing I have done physically; at least that I can remember. Am I glad I did it? You betcha! Would I do it again? Not sure as I am writing this but who knows. (Edited to say I just signed up for the Goofy) I am so glad that I did it though. If you are reading this and debating if you are going to run a marathon, I say go for it, give it a shot.
My goal was 5 hours and I finished with time to spare. OK, 1 min 53 sec to spare but hey, I could have walked across the line. Official time was 4:58:07. I couldnt have done it without all the support that the WISH team and others had on the course. Thanks guys, it was awesome to see a WISH shirt on the sidelines. When someone yells your name and you have no idea who it is, it just makes you feel good!
How or why did I decide to do this? I started running about a year ago to lose weight. The couple of miles I used to do on the treadmill werent cutting it so I started running outside. Actually I ran my first 5K eleven months ago and was worried that I might not be able to run a 5K. I was in decent shape, just not a runner. Then I heard about the Disney Race and thought Id do1/2 marathon. After further consideration I thought what the heck, if I am going to do it why not go for the full. So I signed up.
I hooked up with the WISH team on Disboads.com. What a great group of people. I really need to give them a lot of credit to them for being there. They helped a lot sharing experiences and giving tips and hope. I also hooked up with Roberts site, Disneyrunning.com. Another great group of people. I received more training tips and running information from his site. Whereas the Disboards site offers encouragement first and racing second, Roberts site offers more race and training help. They are both great!
Fast forward to race weekend. We stayed at Pop Century and it worked out great. We stay there a lot actually so we are pretty used to the place. We met up with a bunch of the Wish team Friday afternoon at Pop Century. It was a great to see folks again and to meet some new people. Cant wait to see the team photo. Oh yea, we got a cool backpack from John and Karen Thanks! We tried to get into the EXPO Friday night but met some people in the parking lot that said it was the worst they have ever seen it so I decided to come back on Saturday. Friday night was pasta night at the Olive Garden for me followed by a visit to Downtown Disney. Got a good nights sleep since I had to get up so early on Sunday.
We went to the EXPO on Saturday and it was pretty cool. We returned Saturday and I was 6th in my line. We were in and out of the registration, including hitting the Runners Relations booth in about 10 minutes. There was a nice shirt at the EXPO that I wanted but they didnt have my size by Saturday. That was the only bad thing about the EXPO. Once it started getting crowded, we split and went to a movie in Downtown Disney.
Sunday morning I got up right around 3:00 a.m. Actually it wasnt too bad since I was pretty excited. I brought my own coffee since Disney coffee is probably the worst stuff Ive ever tasted. Packed my gear and headed out to the bus. I was impressed, at 3:30 a.m. there were 4 buses lined up for us. No waiting. The bus let us off about 10 miles from the gathering area. OK, it just seemed like 10 miles. I went to the R tent and hung out with the DisneyRunning crew. Around 5:00 I went to start my port a potty merry go round. Id go then wait a few minutes and jump into line again. I looked for the WISH team but couldnt find them.
Met up with Paul from Clearwater and we walked over to the B corral on the Blue course. By the time we started, we were just behind the A corral (a little too close up front for me). I really couldnt hear so see a lot of what was going on at the start. A suggestion for Disney would be to add a few more video screens towards the back. Once the fireworks went off it was go time! I crossed the mat in a little over 1 minute so it as easy to know my real time which was good because my Garmin stopped twice during the first 5 miles. It stayed on after that so the mileage was OK but the time was way off.
It was pretty neat looking over seeing the Red group. There were thousands and thousands. It was a little discouraging when we passed the 4 mile marker not more than ½ mile into the race. It just meant that wed be back. Now here is where my memory starts to fade a bit.
I know we went around EPCOT and through the back then around the countries. The countries look so great all lit up. Just beautiful! We met up with the Red course around mile 3.4 in the back area of EPCOT. I was feeling pretty good and nothing hurt at this point. We ran and ran and ran and then we were on our way up to Magic Kingdom. Nothing spectacular happened along this route expect for a few areas where the course narrows quite a bit. That proved a challenge getting around people. I think it is around here that you go up an overpass and loop back under the same overpass. It was so cool watching all the other runners.
Anyway, this is the reason you run Disney is for the parks and none are any bigger than the Magic Kingdom. You cant help but getting pumped when you round the corner and head down Main Street. The fans are awesome. Castle in view, thousands of people lining the street. Man it was great. We ran through Tomorrowland Over to Fantasyland then thorough the Castle. Ill tell you, they had characters everywhere. I think I got good picture around the Castle, well see. We continued past the Hall of Presidents then though Frontierland and out the back gates next to Splash Mountain.
Right around the Contemporary, my IT band started acting up. Its been fine for most of my training until my 22 mile run where it started hurting the last mile. Well it started hurting pretty bad around MK. I knew the med tent was just outside the park so I kept on until I hit the tent. By this time I was limping pretty significantly. I stopped to slather my leg in Bio Freeze put on a brace (band) that I brought just for this reason. This ended up being a problem the entire race and I spent a lot of time hitting every medical tent along the way. It slowed me up quite a bit as I was limp running (is there such a thing) for quite a while. Even worse is now I have Bio freeze all over my hand so I cant even wipe the sweat out of my eyes. After each med tent I duck into the nearest bathroom to wash my hands.
Continuing down to the Grand Floridian and past the Polynesian I was surprised how many people were out cheering. Thats a long stretch from MK to the Animal Kingdom so it was good to see some people along the way. Animal Kingdom was great although my leg was hurting pretty bad by now. They had a lot of characters out and about. It is a lot more fun running through the parks than on that long lonesome road. I know, how can a road be lonesome with a thousand other people around.
Once out of Animal Kingdom and into the parking lot you can see where you have to run. I hate this part of the run when you look across the parking lot and see all the people way out there and you know thats where you need to go. I have to admit I was getting a little tired out here, but I think this is where we hit mile 17 or so. That means just single digit miles left. YAHOO! But, we are off to the long run out and back Osceola Parkway. Ill tell you, I didnt know how many hills there are here. I know that they are basically overpasses, but they are still hills to me. They were brutal after 17 miles. I admit, I walked up at least part of the hills.
The last 3 or 4 miles were tough. Here is where things get a little blurry. I hit the wall around mile 23. The sun came out and the humidity was pretty high. I knew I was going to finish, but it was a struggle. I really didnt enjoy MGM (as it used to be called) too much because I was getting pretty tired and my leg was aching. Besides I ran through MGM for the RFTT and the TOT race so I was just surviving. It was pretty cool running down the street that looks like New York. Very cool actually. I was just there a few weeks ago for the Osborne lightshow and felt a lot better that night.
Never thought wed get out of MGM then it was over to the Yacht and Beach Club area. A lot of WISH team cheers were coming from this area. Thanks a lot, it made a difference. By now I had to walk for about 30 seconds every half a mile. I just wanted it over by this time. The run from MGM to EPCOT was at least 8 miles. At least it felt like 8 miles but was probably less than 1. I could have just started walking and would have been fine but I was still pretty close to the 5 hour mark. Im thinking that I put in a good 23 miles and I didnt want them to go to waste. I can manage the last 3 and finish under 5 hours. When we entered EPCOT and went up the hill over to France (I walked up) you could look to the left and see where you had to go. It was depressing. It never looked that far when you are walking through the park. But, it is only a little over 1 mile.
I walked I think 4 times in the last mile. Actually I dont think I walked, I actually had to stop and bend over to catch my breath. Walking took too much effort. It was actually easier to run than walk at this point. I just didnt have anything left. The last time I walked was right before the 26 mile mark. Even running the last .2 was a killer but heck; I had to do it since there were so many people cheering us on. I think I got a good picture here too, well see.
My wife was at the finish and I was cognizant enough to see my wife at the finish. It was great seeing her and just awesome knowing I was going to do it. A lot of work went into this race. Many lonely nights and early Saturday runs.
As soon as I crossed the finish I saw some wheelchairs for people that were having medical issues. Well I stopped and sat in one as I was beat. I told them I was just tired, nothing else wrong and they let me sit there. After about 3 minutes I was up and on my way out. I think it was blanket, chip removal then the super secret medal. I must say the medal is really cool. Better than I expected. But darn it was heavy
After the medal it was water and Power Aid then they actually had cold diet coke followed by all sorts of food choices. Everything was still just a blur. I was going to sit down and rest, but I remembered the massage tent so I thought Id go sign in there first. I went straight to the massage tent and walked right in. I chose the 10 minute massage because my wife was waiting for me. Wow, was it great! Best $10 I ever spent. I went to get my bag and went to the wrong bag claim. Seems like I didnt even know my alphabet by this time.
My wife was waiting for me on the other side of the claim tent and then I knew I was finished. My day was complete. We didnt hang around very long but did get to see a couple of Wishers that had already finished. I wish I had stayed around, but I was physically worn out. I even forgot about getting my picture taken with Mickey. I was asking who thought this was a good idea and I will never do this again, yada, yada, yada. The next day on the drive home I started thinking, hmmm the Goofy sounds interesting.
I didnt dare take my shoes off yet as we had a ½ mile walk to the car but boy my feet were hurting me. We headed back to the room but getting there was a chore since so many of the roads were closed. We ended up going out to I4 then coming back in on Osceola Parkway. Came back and took the infamous ice bath. That was really cold this time.
My wife went and got me something to eat while I soaked. After about 30 minutes or so I was feeling OK. I showered and went out walking around a bit. Unfortunately my wife got sick on what she ate and we did not make it to Pleasure Island.
Couple of observations:
I took my IPod and probably used it maybe for 15 minutes max since there was so much going on.
This race was awesome! Disney sure knows how to put on a race. I am now spoiled. I cant say enough good things about the race and the organization.
An extra half hour of sleep really doesnt make a difference. I wasnt tired and enjoyed the company of the other runners before the start. (well see next year as I do the Goofy and will try to add the 5K also)
It was humid. Luckily it was overcast, but I was soaked within the first hour. I used my sunglasses for about 10 minutes and that was it. I was too tired at the end to take them out.
Was it just me or were we running on the side of a hill most of the time? I tried to stay in the middle of the road, but I had a hard time finding a flat surface unless we were in a parking lot. Having a bum IT band I tend to notice these things.
Many people calling out my name on the course. Awesome! They dont know me but they took the time to read my bib and call out my name. Thanks!
Overall it was a great weekend and I look forward to doing it again.
Thanks to everyone here - you all helped me through this.
Duane
