larry's girl
Dead last finish is better than did not finish, wh
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2003
- Messages
- 675
My sister, Stacie (postesf) tells me that I should post this here, so I had to - she twisted my arm!! Here it is, entitled:
My First 5K (or, alternatively, Susan, Are You Alright???)
We were scheduled to leave from metro Atlanta in the wee hours of Friday morning, May 2, so I had a lot to do on Thursday. Work was absolutely insane, as it usually is these days, and everyone wanted me to get EVERYTHING finished before I left. So I didn't have time for lunch (I don't even think I went to the bathroom more than once all day), but I managed to get everybody's stuff done and get out the door at 5:00 p.m. I was so exhausted all I wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for two days, but that wasn't happening - I had TONS to do to get ready for the trip. So in between laundry and packing, I prepared food for Tara to have while we were away and cleaned up the kitchen. Yes, I know she is 20 years old and is capable of feeding herself, but I also know that if I don't make something decent for her to eat in my absence, she will resort to Chinese take-out, frozen food and sandwiches because she doesn't like to cook. She might be okay with that for a whole week, but I'm not - I am her mother, after all!!! So I made a casserole for her and Larry made her a big pot of his gluten-free chicken noodle soup (which is to die for, by the way). I made sure she was all set for the week, got the last load of clothes dried and folded and finished packing about 10:00 p.m. I went to bed then and tried to sleep, but I was so exhausted and yet so keyed up about the trip that it was difficult to relax enough to drift off. I think I finally managed it after about an hour, so I slept from approximately 11:00 to 2:00 a.m. when Larry woke me up coming home from work (he had gone in early the night before so he could finish up early and we could get on the road). It took me about 30 minutes to make myself get up and get in the shower, then I had to pack up the cosmetic case and my CPAP machine, THEN we had to pack up the van and stop for gas. So we didn't leave home until close to 4:00 a.m. Of course Larry was tired from working all night, so I told him he could sleep while I drove. The only problem was that I was so tired, I was afraid I would fall asleep and make us wreck. So my solution was to turn the radio up and roll the window down. It was cold going down the highway - REALLY cold! Larry brought a blanket to wrap up in, but he was still cold. At one point, he told me that we needed to stop at a Wal-Mart so he could buy a coat! He went on to elaborate that he was in imminent danger of losing his male appendages from frostbite, and I told him he could choose between getting to WDW male appendage-less or dead from wrecking when I fell asleep!!! He said neither choice was appealing
so when we made our first bathroom stop, I rolled the window up about half-way to try to save his manhood. Then he complained it was too hot, and I told him to stop complaining!! He was only joking, anyway, and soon fell asleep while I continued to drive. He took over when we got to the Florida Turnpike, and we were at Saratoga Springs soon thereafter.
When we were unpacking the luggage, it hit me that we were missing a seat in our van. It is a Dodge Caravan that has the two captain's seats in the front and two bench seats in the middle and rear. The rear seat can be removed, and when we travel with the three of us, Tara likes that space in the back to stretch out and nap or read in comfort. We had forgotten to put the third seat back in when we were getting ready to drive down!!! How we PACKED the luggage and didn't notice this is beyond me. My only excuse is that I was so tired I wasn't focusing on anything but getting everything thrown in the van and getting on the road. So now we had a problem - where was everyone going to sit? My parents and Stacie and Matt were flying in from NC, so we were the only ones with a car. We drove the van so there would be room for everyone to ride in it. And now we don't have our third seat!!! So once the rest of the family got there, I explained the situation to them and it was decided that Stacie and Matt would sit in the back on the floor while the rest of us sat in the front and middle of the van. When we got where we were going, we would pop open the back of the van and they would crawl out. First class all the way, when you travel with us!!! Anyway, I still feel horrible that this happened, but there was nothing we could do about it, so we just made the best of it.
After resolving the van dilemma, we headed over to Fulton's for lunch. The food was good, but I was terribly disappointed in the service. We won't be going back for a while, that's for sure. When we went over to pick up our race packets, I got to meet Scott and Amy for the first time - it was way cool to be able to meet these guys in person after they have been encouraging me on my journal for so long! Then we made a grocery store/drug store stop and headed back to the room for dinner and early bedtimes.
I tried to sleep, but I was nervous about the race and it was the first night of our trip away from home (when I notoriously don't sleep well, anyway), so I didn't rest well at all. When you combine that with working my butt off all day non-stop on Thursday and then getting three hours of sleep before driving for hours the day before, getting up at 4:30 on Saturday morning for the race was brutal. I was more tired than I have been in quite a while. By the time we got to the starting area for the race, I was questioning myself. I had not been able to train as I wanted to - I had not been able to do a 3-mile stint at home - so how did I think I could do one here when I was so exhausted I couldn't think straight? I almost backed out a couple of times - the only reason I didn't is that Larry was by my side and I knew he would be with me no matter what, so I just decided to do the best I could and be happy with that effort. We all had our bib numbers on, and I noticed that some of the folks there who looked like they were SERIOUS runners (as in, they were there to get qualifying times for later, bigger races) would give me a double take as they walked by, and I was sure they were thinking "Why is SHE here??" To be honest, I was thinking the same thing. As the crowd began to build, I looked around and saw NO ONE who looked as heavy and out of shape as I am. I was BY FAR the largest person I saw there, and that was very intimidating. Of course, it helped that there was a large contingent of WISH'ers there who were SO supportive and encouraging. It was cool to meet them (Stacy, really glad to meet you after chatting all these months!!) and I was glad for their presence, but when we lined up at the starting corral, I was thinking, "I do not belong here. Why am I doing this? No one would have looked down on me if I had said I wasn't ready to do this and that's what I should have done. This is going to be impossible." When the race started and I began to walk, I realized I was bone-tired and my low back and legs were hurting from standing around for an hour before the race. I truly didn't know how far I was going to get, but I was determined to do my best.
It quickly became apparent that I was going to be in the back of the pack, which was perfectly okay with me. Larry started out walking slightly behind me, and he stayed in that position for most of the race. (If you saw the pictures on Stacie's journal, you can see him walking behind me when I am almost at the finish line.) He didn't say so, but I know that one reason he did this was so I wouldn't be the last person to finish (or get swept). That truly would not have bothered me at all, but he was determined to stay behind me even though he could have gone faster if he had wanted to. The other reason he stayed behind me will become apparent later. As we got to Mile 1, I was thinking "It's only Mile 1?? How am I going to get through the rest of this?" And at that point it became about putting one foot in front of another - that was it. I decided to just put one foot in front of another for as long as I could. I was moving flat out for the whole race - just as fast as I could go for that whole hour - because I wanted to get as far as I could before I was swept. If I had looked at the entire race from Mile 1, as bad as I felt physically at that point, I never would have made it. So I just put one foot in front of another.
As I walked, I noticed that people pushing others in wheelchairs were passing me. People that were limping passed me. People passed me, made bathroom stops, and then passed me again. Before it was over, passing me became something almost everyone in that race did, but it was okay! I was still putting one foot in front of another. At Mile 2, I looked around and realized it was a LONG way back to the front of Epcot where the finish line was, and I also realized that this was as far as I had gotten in my training efforts. I had never walked past two miles, and my body was letting me know it. I started to slow down, and Larry saw it from his position behind me. So he walked up beside me and started talking to me, saying "Baby, we're two-thirds of the way there. We only have ONE MORE MILE to go. You know you want to finish this and see everybody at the finish line cheering for you. We can do this!" And he gave me the oomph to keep going. I said, "You're right. I'm going to make it!" And when he realized I had gotten back to my original pace, he dropped back behind me again. And that was his second reason for staying in that position - to make sure I had the encouragement I needed not to quit.
When I started up the hill between France and the UK, I looked over my shoulder and saw no one but Larry - I thought we were totally alone back there. It became obvious to me about then, though, that they weren't going to sweep us - and it was even more obvious when the volunteers went by me on a golf cart and waved! They were done before I was, but they were going to let me finish! The CM standing by the pin cart in front of the fountain started jumping up and down, clapping and yelling "Way to go! Good job! You're almost there!" Bless her heart - I guess I must have looked like I was about to collapse and fall over at her feet and she was trying to encourage me! When I rounded the corner and headed for the finish line, Matt was the first person I saw. He was standing there with a camera, took my picture and then fell into step beside me. He told me that he was very proud of me and that I had a medal waiting for me. My response was "Uh-huh" - I was pretty near complete exhaustion at this point. He asked me if I liked walking the race course, and I said "No!" which made him laugh. I just wanted it to be over by then. I saw the finish line and my legs went weak. I think my body was about to give up, but I decided that I was going to cross that finish line if I had to crawl to do it. Then I saw Stacie and my parents and heard them yelling at me - "You got it! You did it! Go, Susan!" and there was no way I was going to stop then. The next group I saw was the WISH'ers, many of whom I did not know, cheering their hearts out for me! What a great boost! I recognized Scott and Amy, having met them the day before and talked with them again that morning, and I heard them yelling my name. I looked at Amy and said "I did it!" and honestly, when I went across that finish line, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I can't adequately express what it meant to me, coming from such a long, sick and pain-filled road, to be able to complete this race. My heart was so full, and I was SO EXHAUSTED - it was a strange combination of feelings. And I knew Larry was right behind me, and he had to be tired since he hadn't had much sleep in the last two days, either, and he hadn't trained for this. But he was there, supporting me, just like he does in everything else!
So after I finished, I went over to the railing and sort of draped myself across it. There was nowhere to sit, and I knew if I got down on the ground I'd never get up, so I just leaned against the rail and put my head down on my arms. Stacie got to me first, saying "You did it!" I hugged her and then put my head back down. My mom got to me next, saying "Susan, are you okay? Here, drink some water." This is me: pant, pant, wheeze, splutter, pant pant. My mom: "Are you okay? Here, drink some more water." Me: pant, pant, wheeze, splutter, pant, pant. My mom: "Susan, are you alright??? Yes, Mama, I'm alright. I can't breathe, but I'm alright.
Once I recovered a little bit of my breathing capacity, I went over to get my medal. When they handed it to me and I put it around my neck, I was overcome with emotion and burst into tears. And I'm not talking a few, discreet tears. Oh, no, not me. I'm talking big, huge, boo-hoo sobs, like my heart was being torn out of my chest. I couldn't help it. It was too much to take in without some kind of emotional release, and that was mine. I heard my mom start to cry, and she said "Are you crying because you're hurting or are you crying because you're happy?" And I shook my head yes, to indicate I was crying because I was happy, because I wasn't capable of speech at that moment. So she reports to my family, and I hear my dad say, "Oh, good, she's crying because she's happy!" and then he kissed the top of my head (that was all he could reach because I had my face buried in my hands). I think they were both worried that I was injured or otherwise in medical trouble there for a minute, but I wasn't - I was just overcome for a bit. Just about the time I started to pull myself together, Scott and Amy walked up and gave me big hugs, and I started bawling again. I told them that I never could have finished it without Larry (which was absolutely true) and that now I've done this, I proved I can do it, and I never have to do it again! And that was how I felt at that moment. It was the toughest thing I've ever done physically, except for childbirth without pain medicine, and that was 20 years ago when I was younger and healthier than I am now. I have never before done 3 miles of walking as hard as I could go for a solid hour, and would never have believed I could do such a thing until I actually did it. It was an amazing accomplishment for me and it has totally changed how I see myself in terms of physical activity. I can do so much more than I thought I could - it's truly amazing to me!
We walked over to the awards area to get pictures and see the times. My dad said if they were giving out awards for courage, I would get one.
I was so drained by that point, I just wanted to go back to the room and eventually we did. We hit the pool for a while, then I showered and went to bed. I still couldn't sleep because I was hurting a lot by now (I went through two bottles of Advil in the next four days), but at least I rested a bit and recuperated somewhat. Larry and I went to Flying Fish for dinner that night (our all time favorite restaurant at WDW) and I got to show Bob (our favorite server there) my medal. We split a gluten-free crab cake, the arugula salad, and the seafood panache (which was grilled salmon, shrimp and scallops and was TO DIE FOR - SO GOOD!!!) - we had a great time there, as always, and enjoyed ourselves very much.
The next day, my parents and I went over to the same finish line to watch Matt and Stacie finish the 15K. They did great, and we were all SUPER proud of them! When they were running towards the finish, my parents took off running with them (which I thought was very cute), but I couldn't have run if my life depended on it, so I just walked behind them and brought up the rear. Then I managed to get us back to Saratoga Springs without ending up back in Georgia, which is a feat in and of itself - I am the most directionally challenged person you will ever meet, so I was pretty proud of myself for that! My folks, Larry and I spent the rest of the day at Animal Kingdom, while Matt and Stacie did pool time and recovered a bit from their exertions of the last two days! We grilled at the room for dinner that night and it was GREAT! Lots of folks commented on how good it smelled when Larry and Daddy were cooking!
The next day we went to Hollywood Studios, where our folks rode Tower of Terror (which they said was okay) and I convinced my mom to ride Rock 'n Roller Coaster (which she hated - I felt really bad, because I thought she would like it, but sometimes you don't know until you try something). Matt and I rode a second time on RnRC, and when we came out to meet the others, Larry was having dizzy spells. I got worried about him and we ended up in First Aid. The nurse was concerned enough to call the medics, who examined him and said he was dehydrated. He had not been drinking enough water, before the race, after the race, or since the race, and his body was letting him know it. So we got some water into him, waited until he felt a bit better, and then headed over to Epcot for lunch at Marrakesh in Morocco. We were meeting Dan Murphy there, a long-time DIS'er and a friend of ours who was traveling solo for this trip, and we enjoyed seeing him again and introducing him to the rest of the family. He hung with us for a bit after lunch, and we rode the new Spaceship Earth together (which we all enjoyed a lot). Then we said our goodbyes and called it a day.
Stacie and Matt went to Narcoosee's for their anniversary dinner that night, so Larry and I took my parents to Turf Club at Saratoga Springs. We all enjoyed our dinner very much and we really liked the atmosphere, too - quiet, relaxed and a pretty view over the water.
The next day Matt, Stacie and I went to Typhoon Lagoon. I love water parks, but haven't been to one in many years, and no one in my family is interested (Tara doesn't like the water and Larry has no interest in water slides), so I was excited to do this with Matt and Stacie. We started out on Crush 'n Gusher and had an interesting experience there. There are two-person and three-person rafts available to use on this slide, but I was afraid if all three of us got in the three-person raft it would be too heavy to have a good ride (or to ride at all), so I told Matt and Stacie to ride a two-person raft together and I would ride a two-person raft by myself. When we got to the top of the slide (lots of steps, folks, but I did it), Matt and Stacie went down the slide with no problem, but the CM said I had to ride a different slide (there were three to choose from on Crush n' Gusher) because one person couldn't ride that particular slide safely. So I got in a different line (they didn't make me go through the line again, just moved me to the front of a different one) and I went down by myself on a different slide from Matt and Stacie. It was great fun and I had a blast! When we got to the bottom, they wanted to know why I came out of a different slide instead of behind them, so I explained what had happened. Matt asked if I wanted to ride with him so I could experience the slide they had just done because it was really cool, so I said "Sure!" Stacie didn't want to ride by herself, so she waited for us at the bottom. So we went up all those steps again, got to the top, got on the raft and started down the slide. We were about halfway down when we got flipped like an omelet. One minute we were yelling and screaming with glee, the next we flipped and got dropped on our heads. My face was squashed up against the side of the water slide with the raft on top of me. I couldn't see Matt, but I had to assume he was in a similar position. As we went barreling through the water slide UNDER the raft, I heard him say "Susan, are you okay?" Me: Glub, gulp, cough, sputter. Matt: "Susan, are you okay?" Me: Glub, gulp, cough, sputter, choke. Matt: "Susan, are you alright???? Yes, Matt, I'm alright. I just swallowed a ton of water and my head hurts like a son of a gun, but I'm alright. Matt also landed on his head, so he had a headache as well, plus he acted as a buffer for me because he was the first one out of the water slide, so I think he probably got the worst end of the deal between the two of us. Thanks for cushioning the blow, Matt-man! When we got down to the bottom, I realized that my prescription sunglasses were missing one lens. So Matt asked if someone could look for it, which they did and found not only my lens, but someone else's as well. Makes me think more than one person has wiped out on that water slide. That was it for Crush 'n Gusher for that day. I just didn't think I could deal with another trip down that sucker on my face.
We went on to do a couple more raft slides, which I really enjoyed (lost my sunglasses again, but another very nice CM retrieved them with Matt's help), and Matt did a couple of body slides. By then it was time for lunch, and I had an Itzakadoozie popsicle (which was wonderful - I will be getting more of these on my future WDW trips) and a turkey leg. Great gluten-free counter service food! My memory is fuzzy about what we did for the rest of that day - I am thinking we just hung out at the room and relaxed.
The next day we went to Epcot to ride Soarin' (my parents' favorite ride in all of WDW) and a couple of other things. We had lunch in Mexico, which was okay but not as good as the last time I was there. We were all getting tired by this point, so we went back to the room to rest that afternoon. Daddy treated all of us to dinner at California Grill that night as an anniversary present (Larry and I celebrated our 24th anniversary on April 21, and Matt and Stacie had their 7th on May 5). This was a lovely surprise and an awesome dinner! We were able to see the fireworks from the observation deck, which always makes me sentimental (When You Wish Upon a Star is something I sang to my daughter almost every night when she was little). It was a wonderful evening!
The next day, the guys went fishing (and apparently had a blast - they caught a lot of nice size fish and were all pretty jazzed about it that evening). The girls went on the Backstage Magic tour, which is a 7-hour tour that takes you behind the scenes through three parks: Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. We all thoroughly enjoyed this tour, which included lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe (where they made me my very own gluten and dairy-free skillet AND dessert), and at the end of the day, the tour guide pulled me aside as I was getting off the bus. She asked if I had ever considered working for Disney, which I truly hadn't (it's always been my happy place and my escape from the world, but never really thought seriously about working there). She said that I should think about it, because I would make an awesome tour guide! I did know a lot of what she told us on the tour (not all of it, by any means, but more than most people there) and she said it was obvious how much I love Disney - that I don't even have to say anything, it just shines from my face! I was very flattered that she took ME aside out of all those Disney fans in that tour - that was VERY cool!
We had dinner at Spoodles, where we met up with the guys and exchanged stories about our day. I think everyone enjoyed the Mediterranean fare, and all too soon it was time to go back to the room and pack up to go home.
That night we talked to Tara (we had spoken with her a couple of times through the week) and she said she had gotten sick that day at work, so I was a bit concerned about her. Larry and I had entertained the idea of staying a bit after breakfast on Friday to ride one or two more rides before going home, but decided we needed to head out right after breakfast to check on her and make sure she was okay. This would prove to be a good decision for a totally different reason.
We got up Friday, loaded our stuff in the van and drove over to Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge for breakfast. This was excellent - the Jungle Juice is delicious - and I had the best gluten-free pancakes I ever tasted, which the chef made just for me.
It was hard to say goodbye and leave everybody to go home. I am very close to my family and I always have a hard time parting from them, but this time it was especially difficult because we had such a good time and did so many new things together. Still, it had to be done, so we gassed the van up and started off about 10:30 a.m. I was driving and Larry promptly fell asleep (which is what usually happens to him when I drive). About two hours later, I was driving along I-75 without a care in the world when all of a sudden I hear this big BANG, felt the van swerve and realized something was very, very wrong. I managed to get it over on the side of the road without wrecking, but it was scary and the noise woke Larry from a sound sleep. He saw I was rattled and said, "Susan, are you alright??? Yes, Larry, I'm alright. My nerves are shot and I'm wondering what the deal is with this van, but I'm alright. Turns out we blew a tire - the right rear passenger side one - and when it tore up, it ripped the plastic part of the rear bumper completely off. We had a spare, but it wasn't designed to go 300 miles (which is how far we still had to get home), so we called AAA and they sent a tow truck to get us to the nearest tire store. We bought a new tire and were again on our way. Cost us two hours and some $$$, but could have been much worse, so we were happy. We finally got home about 7:30 and were both VERY glad to see our daughter (who was feeling a little better by the time we got home). So another great trip comes to an end. The next day, Larry is looking at the race pictures others have posted on the Events board, and he says to me, "Next time, we'll be faster."
Next time?
NEXT TIME????
What is this next time of which you speak, Kemosabe?
I'm not sure I want a next time!
But then, after I thought about it a bit, I realized that what I don't want is to do another race and be as unprepared for it as I was for this one. If I can manage to drop a little weight, keep walking and increase my stamina, and build up my immune system so I don't battle so much illness, there might be a next time. Stay tuned!
There are many people who helped me so much in my journey to get to this race. To my sister, Stacie, who started all this back last fall and who has supported me from the beginning - you rock, girl! Thank you for helping me not to give up when I was training and for supporting me so tirelessly. I am SO proud of you and Matt and I know you will be able to accomplish ANYTHING you decide you want to do from here on! To Scott, Amy, and all the other WISH'ers who supported and encouraged me so much, both on my journal and at the race - you are all heroes in my book. You give of your time and energy so unselfishly so that someone like me can benefit from increased physical activity and feel such a great sense of accomplishment in what is a small achievement in the grand scheme of running events. Thanks to ALL of you for your help - you are a special group of people.
And to my husband, Larry, without whom I would never have been able to make it to the point of training for this race, much less actually completing it - your support and love is what I lean on EVERY DAY to get through the challenges life presents. Without your giving heart and generous spirit, I wouldn't have had the courage to try and ultimately succeed at this event. And I know that we will continue to do more of them together, the way we do everything else. I love you with all of my heart and soul, and that is why my DIS name is so appropriate - I will always be Larry's girl.
I hope you guys enjoy my take on the first 5K I have ever done (but maybe not my last)! Thanks again for all of your support and encouragement!
Susan
My First 5K (or, alternatively, Susan, Are You Alright???)
We were scheduled to leave from metro Atlanta in the wee hours of Friday morning, May 2, so I had a lot to do on Thursday. Work was absolutely insane, as it usually is these days, and everyone wanted me to get EVERYTHING finished before I left. So I didn't have time for lunch (I don't even think I went to the bathroom more than once all day), but I managed to get everybody's stuff done and get out the door at 5:00 p.m. I was so exhausted all I wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for two days, but that wasn't happening - I had TONS to do to get ready for the trip. So in between laundry and packing, I prepared food for Tara to have while we were away and cleaned up the kitchen. Yes, I know she is 20 years old and is capable of feeding herself, but I also know that if I don't make something decent for her to eat in my absence, she will resort to Chinese take-out, frozen food and sandwiches because she doesn't like to cook. She might be okay with that for a whole week, but I'm not - I am her mother, after all!!! So I made a casserole for her and Larry made her a big pot of his gluten-free chicken noodle soup (which is to die for, by the way). I made sure she was all set for the week, got the last load of clothes dried and folded and finished packing about 10:00 p.m. I went to bed then and tried to sleep, but I was so exhausted and yet so keyed up about the trip that it was difficult to relax enough to drift off. I think I finally managed it after about an hour, so I slept from approximately 11:00 to 2:00 a.m. when Larry woke me up coming home from work (he had gone in early the night before so he could finish up early and we could get on the road). It took me about 30 minutes to make myself get up and get in the shower, then I had to pack up the cosmetic case and my CPAP machine, THEN we had to pack up the van and stop for gas. So we didn't leave home until close to 4:00 a.m. Of course Larry was tired from working all night, so I told him he could sleep while I drove. The only problem was that I was so tired, I was afraid I would fall asleep and make us wreck. So my solution was to turn the radio up and roll the window down. It was cold going down the highway - REALLY cold! Larry brought a blanket to wrap up in, but he was still cold. At one point, he told me that we needed to stop at a Wal-Mart so he could buy a coat! He went on to elaborate that he was in imminent danger of losing his male appendages from frostbite, and I told him he could choose between getting to WDW male appendage-less or dead from wrecking when I fell asleep!!! He said neither choice was appealing
so when we made our first bathroom stop, I rolled the window up about half-way to try to save his manhood. Then he complained it was too hot, and I told him to stop complaining!! He was only joking, anyway, and soon fell asleep while I continued to drive. He took over when we got to the Florida Turnpike, and we were at Saratoga Springs soon thereafter.When we were unpacking the luggage, it hit me that we were missing a seat in our van. It is a Dodge Caravan that has the two captain's seats in the front and two bench seats in the middle and rear. The rear seat can be removed, and when we travel with the three of us, Tara likes that space in the back to stretch out and nap or read in comfort. We had forgotten to put the third seat back in when we were getting ready to drive down!!! How we PACKED the luggage and didn't notice this is beyond me. My only excuse is that I was so tired I wasn't focusing on anything but getting everything thrown in the van and getting on the road. So now we had a problem - where was everyone going to sit? My parents and Stacie and Matt were flying in from NC, so we were the only ones with a car. We drove the van so there would be room for everyone to ride in it. And now we don't have our third seat!!! So once the rest of the family got there, I explained the situation to them and it was decided that Stacie and Matt would sit in the back on the floor while the rest of us sat in the front and middle of the van. When we got where we were going, we would pop open the back of the van and they would crawl out. First class all the way, when you travel with us!!! Anyway, I still feel horrible that this happened, but there was nothing we could do about it, so we just made the best of it.
After resolving the van dilemma, we headed over to Fulton's for lunch. The food was good, but I was terribly disappointed in the service. We won't be going back for a while, that's for sure. When we went over to pick up our race packets, I got to meet Scott and Amy for the first time - it was way cool to be able to meet these guys in person after they have been encouraging me on my journal for so long! Then we made a grocery store/drug store stop and headed back to the room for dinner and early bedtimes.
I tried to sleep, but I was nervous about the race and it was the first night of our trip away from home (when I notoriously don't sleep well, anyway), so I didn't rest well at all. When you combine that with working my butt off all day non-stop on Thursday and then getting three hours of sleep before driving for hours the day before, getting up at 4:30 on Saturday morning for the race was brutal. I was more tired than I have been in quite a while. By the time we got to the starting area for the race, I was questioning myself. I had not been able to train as I wanted to - I had not been able to do a 3-mile stint at home - so how did I think I could do one here when I was so exhausted I couldn't think straight? I almost backed out a couple of times - the only reason I didn't is that Larry was by my side and I knew he would be with me no matter what, so I just decided to do the best I could and be happy with that effort. We all had our bib numbers on, and I noticed that some of the folks there who looked like they were SERIOUS runners (as in, they were there to get qualifying times for later, bigger races) would give me a double take as they walked by, and I was sure they were thinking "Why is SHE here??" To be honest, I was thinking the same thing. As the crowd began to build, I looked around and saw NO ONE who looked as heavy and out of shape as I am. I was BY FAR the largest person I saw there, and that was very intimidating. Of course, it helped that there was a large contingent of WISH'ers there who were SO supportive and encouraging. It was cool to meet them (Stacy, really glad to meet you after chatting all these months!!) and I was glad for their presence, but when we lined up at the starting corral, I was thinking, "I do not belong here. Why am I doing this? No one would have looked down on me if I had said I wasn't ready to do this and that's what I should have done. This is going to be impossible." When the race started and I began to walk, I realized I was bone-tired and my low back and legs were hurting from standing around for an hour before the race. I truly didn't know how far I was going to get, but I was determined to do my best.
It quickly became apparent that I was going to be in the back of the pack, which was perfectly okay with me. Larry started out walking slightly behind me, and he stayed in that position for most of the race. (If you saw the pictures on Stacie's journal, you can see him walking behind me when I am almost at the finish line.) He didn't say so, but I know that one reason he did this was so I wouldn't be the last person to finish (or get swept). That truly would not have bothered me at all, but he was determined to stay behind me even though he could have gone faster if he had wanted to. The other reason he stayed behind me will become apparent later. As we got to Mile 1, I was thinking "It's only Mile 1?? How am I going to get through the rest of this?" And at that point it became about putting one foot in front of another - that was it. I decided to just put one foot in front of another for as long as I could. I was moving flat out for the whole race - just as fast as I could go for that whole hour - because I wanted to get as far as I could before I was swept. If I had looked at the entire race from Mile 1, as bad as I felt physically at that point, I never would have made it. So I just put one foot in front of another.
As I walked, I noticed that people pushing others in wheelchairs were passing me. People that were limping passed me. People passed me, made bathroom stops, and then passed me again. Before it was over, passing me became something almost everyone in that race did, but it was okay! I was still putting one foot in front of another. At Mile 2, I looked around and realized it was a LONG way back to the front of Epcot where the finish line was, and I also realized that this was as far as I had gotten in my training efforts. I had never walked past two miles, and my body was letting me know it. I started to slow down, and Larry saw it from his position behind me. So he walked up beside me and started talking to me, saying "Baby, we're two-thirds of the way there. We only have ONE MORE MILE to go. You know you want to finish this and see everybody at the finish line cheering for you. We can do this!" And he gave me the oomph to keep going. I said, "You're right. I'm going to make it!" And when he realized I had gotten back to my original pace, he dropped back behind me again. And that was his second reason for staying in that position - to make sure I had the encouragement I needed not to quit.
When I started up the hill between France and the UK, I looked over my shoulder and saw no one but Larry - I thought we were totally alone back there. It became obvious to me about then, though, that they weren't going to sweep us - and it was even more obvious when the volunteers went by me on a golf cart and waved! They were done before I was, but they were going to let me finish! The CM standing by the pin cart in front of the fountain started jumping up and down, clapping and yelling "Way to go! Good job! You're almost there!" Bless her heart - I guess I must have looked like I was about to collapse and fall over at her feet and she was trying to encourage me! When I rounded the corner and headed for the finish line, Matt was the first person I saw. He was standing there with a camera, took my picture and then fell into step beside me. He told me that he was very proud of me and that I had a medal waiting for me. My response was "Uh-huh" - I was pretty near complete exhaustion at this point. He asked me if I liked walking the race course, and I said "No!" which made him laugh. I just wanted it to be over by then. I saw the finish line and my legs went weak. I think my body was about to give up, but I decided that I was going to cross that finish line if I had to crawl to do it. Then I saw Stacie and my parents and heard them yelling at me - "You got it! You did it! Go, Susan!" and there was no way I was going to stop then. The next group I saw was the WISH'ers, many of whom I did not know, cheering their hearts out for me! What a great boost! I recognized Scott and Amy, having met them the day before and talked with them again that morning, and I heard them yelling my name. I looked at Amy and said "I did it!" and honestly, when I went across that finish line, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I can't adequately express what it meant to me, coming from such a long, sick and pain-filled road, to be able to complete this race. My heart was so full, and I was SO EXHAUSTED - it was a strange combination of feelings. And I knew Larry was right behind me, and he had to be tired since he hadn't had much sleep in the last two days, either, and he hadn't trained for this. But he was there, supporting me, just like he does in everything else!
So after I finished, I went over to the railing and sort of draped myself across it. There was nowhere to sit, and I knew if I got down on the ground I'd never get up, so I just leaned against the rail and put my head down on my arms. Stacie got to me first, saying "You did it!" I hugged her and then put my head back down. My mom got to me next, saying "Susan, are you okay? Here, drink some water." This is me: pant, pant, wheeze, splutter, pant pant. My mom: "Are you okay? Here, drink some more water." Me: pant, pant, wheeze, splutter, pant, pant. My mom: "Susan, are you alright??? Yes, Mama, I'm alright. I can't breathe, but I'm alright.
Once I recovered a little bit of my breathing capacity, I went over to get my medal. When they handed it to me and I put it around my neck, I was overcome with emotion and burst into tears. And I'm not talking a few, discreet tears. Oh, no, not me. I'm talking big, huge, boo-hoo sobs, like my heart was being torn out of my chest. I couldn't help it. It was too much to take in without some kind of emotional release, and that was mine. I heard my mom start to cry, and she said "Are you crying because you're hurting or are you crying because you're happy?" And I shook my head yes, to indicate I was crying because I was happy, because I wasn't capable of speech at that moment. So she reports to my family, and I hear my dad say, "Oh, good, she's crying because she's happy!" and then he kissed the top of my head (that was all he could reach because I had my face buried in my hands). I think they were both worried that I was injured or otherwise in medical trouble there for a minute, but I wasn't - I was just overcome for a bit. Just about the time I started to pull myself together, Scott and Amy walked up and gave me big hugs, and I started bawling again. I told them that I never could have finished it without Larry (which was absolutely true) and that now I've done this, I proved I can do it, and I never have to do it again! And that was how I felt at that moment. It was the toughest thing I've ever done physically, except for childbirth without pain medicine, and that was 20 years ago when I was younger and healthier than I am now. I have never before done 3 miles of walking as hard as I could go for a solid hour, and would never have believed I could do such a thing until I actually did it. It was an amazing accomplishment for me and it has totally changed how I see myself in terms of physical activity. I can do so much more than I thought I could - it's truly amazing to me!
We walked over to the awards area to get pictures and see the times. My dad said if they were giving out awards for courage, I would get one.
I was so drained by that point, I just wanted to go back to the room and eventually we did. We hit the pool for a while, then I showered and went to bed. I still couldn't sleep because I was hurting a lot by now (I went through two bottles of Advil in the next four days), but at least I rested a bit and recuperated somewhat. Larry and I went to Flying Fish for dinner that night (our all time favorite restaurant at WDW) and I got to show Bob (our favorite server there) my medal. We split a gluten-free crab cake, the arugula salad, and the seafood panache (which was grilled salmon, shrimp and scallops and was TO DIE FOR - SO GOOD!!!) - we had a great time there, as always, and enjoyed ourselves very much.The next day, my parents and I went over to the same finish line to watch Matt and Stacie finish the 15K. They did great, and we were all SUPER proud of them! When they were running towards the finish, my parents took off running with them (which I thought was very cute), but I couldn't have run if my life depended on it, so I just walked behind them and brought up the rear. Then I managed to get us back to Saratoga Springs without ending up back in Georgia, which is a feat in and of itself - I am the most directionally challenged person you will ever meet, so I was pretty proud of myself for that! My folks, Larry and I spent the rest of the day at Animal Kingdom, while Matt and Stacie did pool time and recovered a bit from their exertions of the last two days! We grilled at the room for dinner that night and it was GREAT! Lots of folks commented on how good it smelled when Larry and Daddy were cooking!
The next day we went to Hollywood Studios, where our folks rode Tower of Terror (which they said was okay) and I convinced my mom to ride Rock 'n Roller Coaster (which she hated - I felt really bad, because I thought she would like it, but sometimes you don't know until you try something). Matt and I rode a second time on RnRC, and when we came out to meet the others, Larry was having dizzy spells. I got worried about him and we ended up in First Aid. The nurse was concerned enough to call the medics, who examined him and said he was dehydrated. He had not been drinking enough water, before the race, after the race, or since the race, and his body was letting him know it. So we got some water into him, waited until he felt a bit better, and then headed over to Epcot for lunch at Marrakesh in Morocco. We were meeting Dan Murphy there, a long-time DIS'er and a friend of ours who was traveling solo for this trip, and we enjoyed seeing him again and introducing him to the rest of the family. He hung with us for a bit after lunch, and we rode the new Spaceship Earth together (which we all enjoyed a lot). Then we said our goodbyes and called it a day.
Stacie and Matt went to Narcoosee's for their anniversary dinner that night, so Larry and I took my parents to Turf Club at Saratoga Springs. We all enjoyed our dinner very much and we really liked the atmosphere, too - quiet, relaxed and a pretty view over the water.
The next day Matt, Stacie and I went to Typhoon Lagoon. I love water parks, but haven't been to one in many years, and no one in my family is interested (Tara doesn't like the water and Larry has no interest in water slides), so I was excited to do this with Matt and Stacie. We started out on Crush 'n Gusher and had an interesting experience there. There are two-person and three-person rafts available to use on this slide, but I was afraid if all three of us got in the three-person raft it would be too heavy to have a good ride (or to ride at all), so I told Matt and Stacie to ride a two-person raft together and I would ride a two-person raft by myself. When we got to the top of the slide (lots of steps, folks, but I did it), Matt and Stacie went down the slide with no problem, but the CM said I had to ride a different slide (there were three to choose from on Crush n' Gusher) because one person couldn't ride that particular slide safely. So I got in a different line (they didn't make me go through the line again, just moved me to the front of a different one) and I went down by myself on a different slide from Matt and Stacie. It was great fun and I had a blast! When we got to the bottom, they wanted to know why I came out of a different slide instead of behind them, so I explained what had happened. Matt asked if I wanted to ride with him so I could experience the slide they had just done because it was really cool, so I said "Sure!" Stacie didn't want to ride by herself, so she waited for us at the bottom. So we went up all those steps again, got to the top, got on the raft and started down the slide. We were about halfway down when we got flipped like an omelet. One minute we were yelling and screaming with glee, the next we flipped and got dropped on our heads. My face was squashed up against the side of the water slide with the raft on top of me. I couldn't see Matt, but I had to assume he was in a similar position. As we went barreling through the water slide UNDER the raft, I heard him say "Susan, are you okay?" Me: Glub, gulp, cough, sputter. Matt: "Susan, are you okay?" Me: Glub, gulp, cough, sputter, choke. Matt: "Susan, are you alright???? Yes, Matt, I'm alright. I just swallowed a ton of water and my head hurts like a son of a gun, but I'm alright. Matt also landed on his head, so he had a headache as well, plus he acted as a buffer for me because he was the first one out of the water slide, so I think he probably got the worst end of the deal between the two of us. Thanks for cushioning the blow, Matt-man! When we got down to the bottom, I realized that my prescription sunglasses were missing one lens. So Matt asked if someone could look for it, which they did and found not only my lens, but someone else's as well. Makes me think more than one person has wiped out on that water slide. That was it for Crush 'n Gusher for that day. I just didn't think I could deal with another trip down that sucker on my face.
We went on to do a couple more raft slides, which I really enjoyed (lost my sunglasses again, but another very nice CM retrieved them with Matt's help), and Matt did a couple of body slides. By then it was time for lunch, and I had an Itzakadoozie popsicle (which was wonderful - I will be getting more of these on my future WDW trips) and a turkey leg. Great gluten-free counter service food! My memory is fuzzy about what we did for the rest of that day - I am thinking we just hung out at the room and relaxed.
The next day we went to Epcot to ride Soarin' (my parents' favorite ride in all of WDW) and a couple of other things. We had lunch in Mexico, which was okay but not as good as the last time I was there. We were all getting tired by this point, so we went back to the room to rest that afternoon. Daddy treated all of us to dinner at California Grill that night as an anniversary present (Larry and I celebrated our 24th anniversary on April 21, and Matt and Stacie had their 7th on May 5). This was a lovely surprise and an awesome dinner! We were able to see the fireworks from the observation deck, which always makes me sentimental (When You Wish Upon a Star is something I sang to my daughter almost every night when she was little). It was a wonderful evening!
The next day, the guys went fishing (and apparently had a blast - they caught a lot of nice size fish and were all pretty jazzed about it that evening). The girls went on the Backstage Magic tour, which is a 7-hour tour that takes you behind the scenes through three parks: Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. We all thoroughly enjoyed this tour, which included lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe (where they made me my very own gluten and dairy-free skillet AND dessert), and at the end of the day, the tour guide pulled me aside as I was getting off the bus. She asked if I had ever considered working for Disney, which I truly hadn't (it's always been my happy place and my escape from the world, but never really thought seriously about working there). She said that I should think about it, because I would make an awesome tour guide! I did know a lot of what she told us on the tour (not all of it, by any means, but more than most people there) and she said it was obvious how much I love Disney - that I don't even have to say anything, it just shines from my face! I was very flattered that she took ME aside out of all those Disney fans in that tour - that was VERY cool!
We had dinner at Spoodles, where we met up with the guys and exchanged stories about our day. I think everyone enjoyed the Mediterranean fare, and all too soon it was time to go back to the room and pack up to go home.
That night we talked to Tara (we had spoken with her a couple of times through the week) and she said she had gotten sick that day at work, so I was a bit concerned about her. Larry and I had entertained the idea of staying a bit after breakfast on Friday to ride one or two more rides before going home, but decided we needed to head out right after breakfast to check on her and make sure she was okay. This would prove to be a good decision for a totally different reason.
We got up Friday, loaded our stuff in the van and drove over to Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge for breakfast. This was excellent - the Jungle Juice is delicious - and I had the best gluten-free pancakes I ever tasted, which the chef made just for me.
It was hard to say goodbye and leave everybody to go home. I am very close to my family and I always have a hard time parting from them, but this time it was especially difficult because we had such a good time and did so many new things together. Still, it had to be done, so we gassed the van up and started off about 10:30 a.m. I was driving and Larry promptly fell asleep (which is what usually happens to him when I drive). About two hours later, I was driving along I-75 without a care in the world when all of a sudden I hear this big BANG, felt the van swerve and realized something was very, very wrong. I managed to get it over on the side of the road without wrecking, but it was scary and the noise woke Larry from a sound sleep. He saw I was rattled and said, "Susan, are you alright??? Yes, Larry, I'm alright. My nerves are shot and I'm wondering what the deal is with this van, but I'm alright. Turns out we blew a tire - the right rear passenger side one - and when it tore up, it ripped the plastic part of the rear bumper completely off. We had a spare, but it wasn't designed to go 300 miles (which is how far we still had to get home), so we called AAA and they sent a tow truck to get us to the nearest tire store. We bought a new tire and were again on our way. Cost us two hours and some $$$, but could have been much worse, so we were happy. We finally got home about 7:30 and were both VERY glad to see our daughter (who was feeling a little better by the time we got home). So another great trip comes to an end. The next day, Larry is looking at the race pictures others have posted on the Events board, and he says to me, "Next time, we'll be faster."Next time?
NEXT TIME????
What is this next time of which you speak, Kemosabe?
I'm not sure I want a next time!
But then, after I thought about it a bit, I realized that what I don't want is to do another race and be as unprepared for it as I was for this one. If I can manage to drop a little weight, keep walking and increase my stamina, and build up my immune system so I don't battle so much illness, there might be a next time. Stay tuned!
There are many people who helped me so much in my journey to get to this race. To my sister, Stacie, who started all this back last fall and who has supported me from the beginning - you rock, girl! Thank you for helping me not to give up when I was training and for supporting me so tirelessly. I am SO proud of you and Matt and I know you will be able to accomplish ANYTHING you decide you want to do from here on! To Scott, Amy, and all the other WISH'ers who supported and encouraged me so much, both on my journal and at the race - you are all heroes in my book. You give of your time and energy so unselfishly so that someone like me can benefit from increased physical activity and feel such a great sense of accomplishment in what is a small achievement in the grand scheme of running events. Thanks to ALL of you for your help - you are a special group of people.
And to my husband, Larry, without whom I would never have been able to make it to the point of training for this race, much less actually completing it - your support and love is what I lean on EVERY DAY to get through the challenges life presents. Without your giving heart and generous spirit, I wouldn't have had the courage to try and ultimately succeed at this event. And I know that we will continue to do more of them together, the way we do everything else. I love you with all of my heart and soul, and that is why my DIS name is so appropriate - I will always be Larry's girl.
I hope you guys enjoy my take on the first 5K I have ever done (but maybe not my last)! Thanks again for all of your support and encouragement!
Susan
Oh, adn teh seats thing is so something I woudl do!
Your story brought me to tears. Literally. I am so happy that you got to feel those feelings of immense pride and accomplishment. 
What a guy!
