welovedis
Disneyland here we come!
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2000
- Messages
- 3,440
Here's the last of my reports on our family's first trip to WDW for marathon weekend. I reported before on the pre-trip marathon info, the expo and the 5K & kids races. Now the 1/2 marathon is what I came here for!
Woke up dark and early on Sunday morning at 3am. DH & DS still sleeping I attempt to put on my contacts in the dark-doesn't work! I managed to get ready to go and put on bib number before saying good bye to the guys and heading down the bus at the conference center at BWI. It was really cold that morning--I read reports of somewhere between 32-37 degree with some wind that cut right through me. We waited just inside the conference center area with about 20-25 others runners before boarding a nice, warm shuttle bus to the Epcot parking lot. This area had some concessions, lots of port a potties, a place selling race merchandise and other various tents-some sponsors. There were buses lined up to accept pre-race baggage. To do this you detached a portion of your bib number to a clear plastic bag they gave out at the expo and you could claim your items at the race finish. I opted to layer with some "disposable" clothing as many others do.
At 4:45 there was an organized prayer session and after that I headed over to get some water and some Tylenol 8 hour, use the potty and head over the corral. It was a little over a 1/2 mile walk to the starting corrals, then I found my spot and stayed put. 1/2 marathoners were seperated from those doing the full so each person crossed the start in the right corral. Corral K for anyone who was there! I could see the start line in the distance and had a really tall guy snap some pics of the crowd ahead of me. I got to talk to some nice people before the race start and it was neat sharing stories.
The race started off at about 6AM and there was short burst of fireworks and confetti. I think I crossed the start line after only 3-4 minutes, but I never checked my watch *duh* so I am not sure. We walked along some of the Epcot roads, through parts of Epcot-both behind the scenes and though the park. It was cool to see the Illuminations earth lit up with runners faces! The route was long and very cold. Here and there were areas with port a potties and some runners chose to use the restrooms right in the park-i didn't as it seemed to take more time that the port a potties.
There were water stations (some also had Powerade) along the route. Just had to be careful of the cups on the road in those areas. Along the way it was amazing to see the amount of trash thrown to side in the form of discarded clothing, hats, gloves, pants and even garbage bags that people used to keep warm.
I was doing great (10 minute mile pace-great for me at least!) until shortly before mile 4--I got a terrible nosebleed! It bled and bled-luckily I have purchased a throwaway (Tyvex material) jacket to keep me warm, so I took it off and kept going-although I could not run, just walked. My nose bled for over 4 miles (over an hour) and luckily it stopped right before mile 9-yeah! Thanks to the volunteers who helped by giving me a roll of paper towels and a trash bag for my mess!
I made it to the Magic Kingdom portion and got very emotional when I saw my DH & DS standing there on Main Street waiting to see me go by. To say that tears were flowing would be an understatement. My son was so thrilled that I didn't get swept up by the sweeper! We hugged and kissed and I just couldn't stop crying, neither could they, but I said-see you at the finish line & kept going down Main Street toward the castle. It gave me the push I needed to finish it! We went up in the MK and through the castle and then back behind the scenes and out on another road.
The finish was in the Pluto parking lot of the MK and when I crossed the finish line, it was terrific! I stopped right away for the volunteers to remove the chip, which timed my run, and then got my Donald medal and a thermal blanket from the volunteers there too. I waited in line to take a posed picture with my medal and then headed over to the food tables. They had Dasani water, Powerade, oranges whole & in slices, bananas and some type of muffin or something. I grabbed some Powerade, oranges and headed over to the family reunion area (based on the alphabet) to meet my family.
We saw each other and started crying again and they made me so happy to be finished. It was great to see them and know I accomplished what I set out to do. We talked for a bit and had some others take our picture together before we headed over to the shuttle buses. That was a bit of a mess since they shuttled us over to the regular Bus area of Epcot. Unfortunately BWI doesn't have a regular Epcot bus so we had to walk to the other end of the Epcot parking lot to catch a bus to BWI. Hard to walk that far in the cold when you just walked 13 miles! But I can't complain --the volunteers wre so friendly and nice to deal with--I appreciated their help!
After the marathon I crashed in the hotel and slept off and on for about 3-4 hours while my DH & DS went to DQ. They came back and we had some dinner, then I headed up to Muscles & Bustles health club for my 50 minute massage-well worth it!
I was pretty sore the next day, less on Tuesday and was pretty much back to normal on Wednesday. However, I did slack off on my training at the end so if I had stuck to my training runs, I'm sure I would have done even better. We toured the parks lots during the week after the marathon and I am ready to get back to my running this week.
If you are thinking about during the 1/2 or full I say-GO FOR IT! You will be amazed at your own ability to continue once you start and will be encouraged by those around you. I was so proud for the 89 year old marathoner that passed me and for the woman with the artificial running leg that I saw near the race end. The stamina and endurance of everyone there was amazing and something that really cannot be described. Kudos to everyone who crossed the start for dreaming they could do it!
I look forward to crossing the finish line next year holding my husband's hand high in the air!
Woke up dark and early on Sunday morning at 3am. DH & DS still sleeping I attempt to put on my contacts in the dark-doesn't work! I managed to get ready to go and put on bib number before saying good bye to the guys and heading down the bus at the conference center at BWI. It was really cold that morning--I read reports of somewhere between 32-37 degree with some wind that cut right through me. We waited just inside the conference center area with about 20-25 others runners before boarding a nice, warm shuttle bus to the Epcot parking lot. This area had some concessions, lots of port a potties, a place selling race merchandise and other various tents-some sponsors. There were buses lined up to accept pre-race baggage. To do this you detached a portion of your bib number to a clear plastic bag they gave out at the expo and you could claim your items at the race finish. I opted to layer with some "disposable" clothing as many others do.
At 4:45 there was an organized prayer session and after that I headed over to get some water and some Tylenol 8 hour, use the potty and head over the corral. It was a little over a 1/2 mile walk to the starting corrals, then I found my spot and stayed put. 1/2 marathoners were seperated from those doing the full so each person crossed the start in the right corral. Corral K for anyone who was there! I could see the start line in the distance and had a really tall guy snap some pics of the crowd ahead of me. I got to talk to some nice people before the race start and it was neat sharing stories.
The race started off at about 6AM and there was short burst of fireworks and confetti. I think I crossed the start line after only 3-4 minutes, but I never checked my watch *duh* so I am not sure. We walked along some of the Epcot roads, through parts of Epcot-both behind the scenes and though the park. It was cool to see the Illuminations earth lit up with runners faces! The route was long and very cold. Here and there were areas with port a potties and some runners chose to use the restrooms right in the park-i didn't as it seemed to take more time that the port a potties.
There were water stations (some also had Powerade) along the route. Just had to be careful of the cups on the road in those areas. Along the way it was amazing to see the amount of trash thrown to side in the form of discarded clothing, hats, gloves, pants and even garbage bags that people used to keep warm.
I was doing great (10 minute mile pace-great for me at least!) until shortly before mile 4--I got a terrible nosebleed! It bled and bled-luckily I have purchased a throwaway (Tyvex material) jacket to keep me warm, so I took it off and kept going-although I could not run, just walked. My nose bled for over 4 miles (over an hour) and luckily it stopped right before mile 9-yeah! Thanks to the volunteers who helped by giving me a roll of paper towels and a trash bag for my mess!
I made it to the Magic Kingdom portion and got very emotional when I saw my DH & DS standing there on Main Street waiting to see me go by. To say that tears were flowing would be an understatement. My son was so thrilled that I didn't get swept up by the sweeper! We hugged and kissed and I just couldn't stop crying, neither could they, but I said-see you at the finish line & kept going down Main Street toward the castle. It gave me the push I needed to finish it! We went up in the MK and through the castle and then back behind the scenes and out on another road.
The finish was in the Pluto parking lot of the MK and when I crossed the finish line, it was terrific! I stopped right away for the volunteers to remove the chip, which timed my run, and then got my Donald medal and a thermal blanket from the volunteers there too. I waited in line to take a posed picture with my medal and then headed over to the food tables. They had Dasani water, Powerade, oranges whole & in slices, bananas and some type of muffin or something. I grabbed some Powerade, oranges and headed over to the family reunion area (based on the alphabet) to meet my family.
We saw each other and started crying again and they made me so happy to be finished. It was great to see them and know I accomplished what I set out to do. We talked for a bit and had some others take our picture together before we headed over to the shuttle buses. That was a bit of a mess since they shuttled us over to the regular Bus area of Epcot. Unfortunately BWI doesn't have a regular Epcot bus so we had to walk to the other end of the Epcot parking lot to catch a bus to BWI. Hard to walk that far in the cold when you just walked 13 miles! But I can't complain --the volunteers wre so friendly and nice to deal with--I appreciated their help!
After the marathon I crashed in the hotel and slept off and on for about 3-4 hours while my DH & DS went to DQ. They came back and we had some dinner, then I headed up to Muscles & Bustles health club for my 50 minute massage-well worth it!
I was pretty sore the next day, less on Tuesday and was pretty much back to normal on Wednesday. However, I did slack off on my training at the end so if I had stuck to my training runs, I'm sure I would have done even better. We toured the parks lots during the week after the marathon and I am ready to get back to my running this week.
If you are thinking about during the 1/2 or full I say-GO FOR IT! You will be amazed at your own ability to continue once you start and will be encouraged by those around you. I was so proud for the 89 year old marathoner that passed me and for the woman with the artificial running leg that I saw near the race end. The stamina and endurance of everyone there was amazing and something that really cannot be described. Kudos to everyone who crossed the start for dreaming they could do it!
I look forward to crossing the finish line next year holding my husband's hand high in the air!
Thanks so much for sharing.
