I am home! We had an early flight this morning but it was uneventful!
I had such a a great time in the marathon. Recap- this was my first and I missed most of October with tendinitis in my ankle. I trained up to 16 but was cautiously optimistic.
I was in corral D which helped some anxieties. I hung out in the back along the fence until about 4:15 and then made my way into the group. I moved up some but not obnoxiously so. It wasn’t too long at all till the Dapper Dans were singing and then we were on our way! I was in wave 2 of D and started at 4:49AM.
I started with a 60/30 to try to get through some traffic and that worked well. At about 1.5 miles I switched to 30/30 and did that much of the race. I didnt want to wait too long to switch but was feeling good. During mile 2 I decided my shoes was too loose so I pulled to the side to retie them. I also stopped to see Genie even though he was shirtless- haha! Thanks to
@KCO5988 for the heads up. I did see it in time but decided to stop anyway. I also stopped for the restroom in UK which was easy and great. But this made for a 20 min mile so I decided I wasnt stopping until at least Tigger at mile 5ish. I needed to get in a groove!
This worked well. When I got to Tigger, it was just Pooh so I kept going. Considered stopping for Goofy at 6.5ish but I was feeling good and trucking well. My watch glitched so Im not exactly sure what my pace was through here, but I averaged low 14s until mile 16ish.
I hit the porta potties outside MK. I could Have made it but wanted to enjoy the moment and not be looking for a bathroom once I hit MK. The line wasn’t terrible- 3 minutes or so. I got to Main Street and it was electric! I ran the whole thing and was verklempt for sure. I videoed the very beginning and then took it in.
I was still trucking along and doing well. I had laminated a note card with the balloon ladies estimated times and knew I was about 40 min ahead during this whole stretch. I saw
@The Expert at the TTC and also did the Macarena! The TTC lot wasn’t terrible and then we were on our way to AK.
This stretch was long but fine. I saw Doc McStuffins with no line and got her pic. Star Wars was cool- got my pics with Kylo. I ran into
@nancipants outside of AK and we ran together for a bit. Thanks for slowing down for me! AK was fun- got my pic outside of Everest. It was 9:30ish when I went by so I didn’t ride, that ended up being a good choice. I’m now in the highest miles I’ve ever run.
Around mile 16 my knee started yelling at me. Not terrible… just like hey, I’m here. Don’t ignore me. I stopped a few times and biofreezed it but it got progressively worse. I saw the balloon ladies going into AK at the gate right when I was coming out. I tried to do some math but felt secure that they were at least two miles behind me- probably 2.5- so still in that 40 min ballpark.
Around 18 my knee was really hurting but I listened to all you all and ran the mile I was in. I texted with my husband a bit and asked him to text me when I needed to fuel next. I was fueling every 25-30 minutes but was getting more off as I went. I told him “I’m doing good. Hurting but still doing 30/30 as long as I can.”
At some point we got the sponges and I remembered your advice to keep them. Thank you!! I got Ice a few times too. I was still going and reminded myself that forward is a pace. At 21 my knee was very over it and I walked a bit. But I convinced myself to at least turn on 15/30 and see how it went. So that was my new interval. Blizzard beach was fine. I didn’t hate it. There was stuff to look at and after all the long straight miles, it was different. I got my pic with Pluto.
As I came out and turned onto the road that led into BB, I noticed the end of people coming down it. Huh. That’s like a mile behind me, but I’m pretty sure I’m further ahead than that. I look more. No balloons. Huh. Luckily I read enough disboards to know the course must have been cut. Sure enough, I het back to the main road and we were merged into the other runners. I didn’t see the balloons but the course was more crowded for the next mile as basically two groups had joined. I’m still doing my 15/30 but also kinda laughing at how slow my run pace is at this point.
I turn into DHS and in my head before I wasn't taking the chocolate. I don’t love chocolate and the thought of a dry cookie seemed meh. Well let me tell you- I gobbled that thing right up! I was so sick of gels and gummies! In and out, skyliner bathroom and on the home stretch!
I tired to 15/30 to Epcot but the course was too narrow at times. The crowd support was amazing. I tried to thank people the best I could. It was really helpful. There was also a runner near me dressed like Donald Duck who told people all race how string they looked. I told him I really appreciated him too. Went through Epcot, got a pic with Jiminy Cricket and heard the choir singing “Almost There!”
I turned down the finisher chute and that verklempt feeling was back! I did it! I completed my first marathon in 7 hours 22 minutes! I was hoping to be under 7:00 to be under pace, but I’m not unhappy about it. The balloons ended up only 12 minutes behind me. If I’d have stopped for Everest, I’d probably have been in the BB cut.
I really had a great time. My quads are still killing me and I was so hobbly around the park yesterday. But I never felt at any time like I wasn’t gonna make it or I couldn’t do it. I had to just keep moving. I don't think I can swing every year, but I’ll be back! For sure. But first
Disneyland in 2.5 weeks! I’ll be solo so I can come to more meet ups. Thank you to everyone here for being such a positive place!
I guess it’s just an excuse to join the morning meet ups next time!
