Marathon Weekend Weather

[JimB.]

I'm from right here in sunny, warm Florida (where IS that place, anyhow??), so ya' know how much cold weather experience I have.

On Saturday, I rode my bike as a Volunteer medic. I thought it was going to be a really bed day when I saw the freezing rain bouncing off of the ground at the start. I loaded up on the mylar blankets as a precaution, but, surprisingly, didn't have to give any out on the course.

As for my self, I made the most amazing discovery, that once the ice melts and turns into REALLY cold water, my front tire on my bike is just perfect for loading my shoes up with the previously mentioned water. Long story short - I took MYSELF off of the course and back to the medical tent when I lost all of the feeling in my feet. When I got my shoes/socks off, my feet were (literally) purple with a VERY slow cap refill time. But after about 1/2 hour of warm packs and rewarming, I was ok.

On the marathon I layered up real nicely and even had to shed 2 of the tyvek jackets I cannibalized off the road the day before. Was nice and cozy. Until the sun came up and the wind kicked up with it. Then the wind chill made me basically miserable for the rest of the course. I won't blame that for my lousy time, but it did not help.

The next time I wish for a cold weather race I'm gonna' poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick.

 

[chimera]

The next time I wish for a cold weather race I'm gonna' poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick.

Ohhhh...so it was you!

I'm right there with ya, Jim. That was the worst weather I've ever run in...ever...did I mention the worst ever????

I noticed the corrals were right across from OKW where we were staying. If the sleet had gotten any harder or we had been out there any longer, I'd have just walked back to the room. I easily wore more clothes than 2006. I did take off one pair of pants, not because I was warm, but they were a size too big and were bugging me. I kept my garbage bag on the whole race so the pictures should be truly fabulous! I hit a puddle around mile 9 which soaked my feet...that was the worst part until after the race. Standing around waiting for the bus seemed colder than the race start! It was just awful conditions so I'm thinking everyone that was out there, racing, volunteering or working is extremely HARDCORE!!!

 

[corinnak]

I am from Minnesota and while I've run in conditions like that a LOT, I NEVER have to stand around for an hour or two before getting started and never, ever have to wait 20 minutes in a bag check line soaking wet in a stiff wind. Agreeed, the bus line was rough also.

I must say, I am glad we spent so much time fretting about it on this thread. It was entirely justified, IMO, and meant that I had plenty of options along, and even had enough to share with a cold friend. The first few miles of the half were like a striptease - took off the wind pants before the start (GLAD I wore tights), took the coat off (YES, a whole coat) around mile 1. Hat and extra pair of gloves between mile 2 and 3. And I even tied my jacket around my waist so I had WISH colors showing through the Magic Kingdom!

Thank goodness it wasn't raining on Sunday, but it was definitely equally miserable conditions. I volunteered at Water Stop 7 and it is a miracle that everyone's fingers survived that and no runners fell at our stop.

Kudos to everyone who survived the weekend!

Jim - that is a truly alarming story about your feet. I'm so glad you got thawed out safely and even managed to run the next day! Thank you for volunteering!

 

[tiberius]

Kudos to everyone who survived the weekend!

I think that says it quite well, Corinna.

Now who is going to make the "I survived the Disney on Ice Marathon 2010 Weekend" clip art?

 

[JoanneNC]

I think that says it quite well, Corinna.

Now who is going to make the "I survived the Disney on Ice Marathon 2010 Weekend" clip art?

Love this

 

[corinnak]

I think that says it quite well, Corinna.

Now who is going to make the "I survived the Disney on Ice Marathon 2010 Weekend" clip art?

Oooh! Oooh! Pick me! Pick me! I'll do it!

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the gy saying "Welcome to Disney Alaska" on the way in to the Half Marathon staging area.

 

[JoanneNC]

Oooh! Oooh! Pick me! Pick me! I'll do it!

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the gy saying "Welcome to Disney Alaska" on the way in to the Half Marathon staging area.

I walked by him as well and laughed

 

[tiberius]

Oooh! Oooh! Pick me! Pick me! I'll do it!

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the gy saying "Welcome to Disney Alaska" on the way in to the Half Marathon staging area.

OK, you get the job! Go for it, Corinna.

 

[FFigawi]

I thought Saturday's weather was worst after the finish, while Sunday's was worse before the start. I ran both races with almost exactly the same gear - tights, shirt, jacket, hat, gloves. On Saturday, I was comfortable the entire race, took off my hat and gloves shortly after the accordion players, and didn't realize I was cold and wet until exiting the Goofy tent and waiting in line for food. On Sunday, I took off my hat before Magic Kingdom, the gloves at the same place as Saturday, and gave my jacket to my wife when she showed up to cheer me on at mile 19. Even after finishing on Sunday, I was much warmer than the day before. I give all credit for that to the sun.

I loved the "Disney Alaska" guy too.

 

[escape]

I have only read a few posts but I'm going to go ahead and poke my head into this conversation.

Although I wish the weather would have been a bit (OK, a lot) warmer at the start, I absolutely preferred this weather over the heat I ran in two years ago. Part of it's because I stayed at the Polynesian and I didn't have to get at the race start as early (got there around 5 - 5:15, thanks to the monorail). Getting back to the hotel was a snap as well.

For the half - definitely a rotten day. I actually preferred the sleet over the cold rain. Brrrrrr. The wet shoes and socks caused me to have a few blisters the next day.

For the full - Very cold. I started out with tights, capris, one thin tech shirt, a short-sleeved WISH shirt over that, my Nike windbreaker, long flannel shirt and a quilted vest with a hood as my out layer (thanks, Anne!). I shed the vest at the start, the flannel shirt at mile 3 and took off the windbreaker around mile 16 (?). I only had on the thin tech shirt and thin WISH shirt (on my upper body). I was fine. Had it been hot, I don't think I would have finished. Honestly. The cool weather definitely saved me.

Surely I'm not the only one who prefers the cooler weather. Of course, I would have liked a little warmer weather but I would still take what we had over 80ish with 100% humidity.

 

[corinnak]

Surely I'm not the only one who prefers the cooler weather. Of course, I would have liked a little warmer weather but I would still take what we had over 80ish with 100% humidity.

Susie, I am not sure it was clear from my previous post - I definitely prefer the cold weather as well, for running. I was fine before the start of the half and during the half as well, though the wet toes were a little unpleasant, overall, I was happy as a clam, sleet, rain and all. It was only after the race was over that I found it to be miserable. And that was mostly because of the long, long wait to get into the bag claim tent.

As for the Marathon, my experience of that was as a water stop volunteer, which was actually pretty tough going. We did our best, though, and I'm not sorry to have volunteered.

I was very glad to have had plenty of clothes along for before the Half and during the volunteering.

 

[escape]

Corrina - that's what I get for not reading all the posts! Sorry about that.

As for the volunteers - I KNOW we participants had it a lot easier. I admire you and all the others who volunteered under those conditions. Brrrrrrr. I CAN"T IMAGINE how tough it was to be out there with the PowerAde and/or water. I can't give you enough praise and thanks for supporting us. You guys ROCK!!!!!

And, thanks to all the WISHers who followed us around the World and/or cheered from the various sidelines in the freezing cold. Your support was GREATLY appreciated.

 

[MouseDogMom]

I'm with you, Susie. I would absolutely any day prefer to run in the cold than in the heat. That being said, however... waiting in the corrals for over an hour is not included in that statement. I prefer to RUN in the cold, not WAIT in the cold. And I absolutely do NOT like having to wait to get into baggage claim, and then wait again for FOUR buses to get back to my resort while I'm soaked and freezing. I know that Disney can't control the weather, but they certainly dropped the ball on post-race efficiency.

And Corinna, I think it was good that we discussed so much here just what we needed. In the end, it was the trash bag that saved me both days!

Another big thanks to all the volunteers, both those who manned water stops and those who appeared EVERYWHERE on the course to offer a smile, food, or any form of support. It means so much to see that WISH shirt and hear your name, especially when the conditions are less than desirable.

Jackie

 

[corinnak]

Not to worry, Susie! I really don't think it was clear from my previous post! This weekend's weather was like October-December and March-May in Minnesota. Prime running weather! The difference is a warm house to start from and finish at.

Volunteering was definitely tough, but I don't do it often enough to pay back all the water that volunteers handed to me. I wasn't actually even signed up until Friday at the Expo - I had tried to register, but apparently it didn't go through. So I knew what I was in for, weatherwise. And I knew that I was as well prepared to weather the weather as anybody else.

One of the best parts of my weekend was cheering outside of DHS on Sunday, handing out Twizzlers. People were appreciative of the water at the stop I was working at, but at whatever mile that was, over and over we WISHers out there had the experience of BEING hope for people out there. Their eyes would light up. They'd say they LOVED us. More than once I heard "Oh! That's my favorite!" Their eyes would light up and it felt like we had some kind of magic instead of a handful of really chewy candy. What an amazing experience.

 

[MomtoGKC]

Thanks for all of your suggestions on here - I was actually pretty warm Sunday morning! Let's see - I ended up with a long sleeve running shirt, a short sleeve running shirt, a fleece throw away hoodie, a mylar blanket (that I gave to a friend who lost hers after she checked her sweatshirt!) so then I changed to a trash bag. On the bottom I had triathlon shorts (I never thought I'd get that far, but I needed the pockets on them!), running pants, wind pants and throw away sweat pants. I also had 2 pairs of cheap gloves, 2 hand warmers, a headband (ear covering kind) and as running hat.

I looked ridiculous, but I wasn't that bad at the start! My toes were the only thing a bit cold but as long as I kept moving they didn't freeze. I shed layers little by little, slower than I thought. I still had on everything but the gloves in Magic Kingdom! I kept going back and forth with the ear warmer and the gloves.

Overall, it was freezing but I had a blast!