Race Reports/Encouragement/Kudos - 24 and 25 October
- Thread starter Big Vic
- Start date
thndrmatt
Real Life Mickey Wannabe!
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2005
- Messages
- 799
One more WDW race for the road... will let others report on the details, but needless to say Cheryl and I had a blast!
I had a real solid race, almost identical in pace to what I avg'd in the RFTT over a shorter distance. A very interesting "parabola" shape to my splits, and a big time negative split last mile while enjoying Hollywood Studios! And although there was no prize, I was the first finisher representing the Air Force!
8.1 miles - 1:06:15 - 8:08/mile
7:55, 8:05, 8:13, 8:18, 8:26, 8:18, 8:07, 7:40, 1:08 (.19)
Overall 264 / 3247
Gender 220 / 1385
Division 29 / 166
Military 10 / 71
Air Force 1 / 23!!!
I had a real solid race, almost identical in pace to what I avg'd in the RFTT over a shorter distance. A very interesting "parabola" shape to my splits, and a big time negative split last mile while enjoying Hollywood Studios! And although there was no prize, I was the first finisher representing the Air Force!
8.1 miles - 1:06:15 - 8:08/mile
7:55, 8:05, 8:13, 8:18, 8:26, 8:18, 8:07, 7:40, 1:08 (.19)
Overall 264 / 3247
Gender 220 / 1385
Division 29 / 166
Military 10 / 71
Air Force 1 / 23!!!
K80K
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2009
- Messages
- 594
I my race report this morning since I couldn't sleep. Because it is so long I am just going to link to it rather than copy and paste: http://k80k.zosis.com/?p=823
FireDancer
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2008
- Messages
- 13,255
I'm going to come back and insert some pics later but here is the trip/race report:
I decided in the spring that this fall was going to be the fall to finally do a full marathon. Luckily I have a friend from High School that also runs and likes to travel to do so which makes these trips less boring and more affordable. We looked at our calendars and decided we would do an October race that was flat. The original plan was to do Baltimore on 10/10 but I had a wedding so we switched it to the Niagara International on 10/25. Plus with the exchange rate it would be a less expensive race.
We both left work at Noon on Friday and drove up along with my friend's girlfriend. It is a simple drive from Cleveland to Niagara which was nice because an 8 hour drive after a full would have been torture. Because the full started in the U.S. and finished in Canada we had to bring our passports to the expo on Saturday and have Canadian border control clear us. We thought this was so we didn't need the passports on race day...we thought wrong, but more on that later. Since Troy and I have done a few of these trips we have some traditions that kind of started accidentally. The first is that if we are in a town more than a day before the race we find sushi...so Friday night was some exploring and sushi.
Saturday we woke up and went to the expo. It was not very big, especially compared to a Disney or Rock and Roll expo. It was about the size of the Phily Distance Run expo. There were a lot of different race with booths there including the Quebec City marathon, which might be our fall run next year, though it would probably be a half. They also had an interesting looking Caribbean cruise called Cruise To Run. We got our packets which included a gym bag instead of a race shirt. It is a nice brooks bag and since I already have a bunch of shirts and need a new bag it was a welcomed alternative.
Then we headed up to Niagara On The Lake which is a cool European style small town to kill some time. As with most people we try to find an Italian restaurant the night before a race and we found one in a winery just outside of Niagara On The Lake. We went back to the hotel and got ready for the next morning.
Race morning. The start time was a little late for a marathon, 10:00am but we were taking a shuttle to the start in Buffalo. The shuttles ran from 7:00am until 7:45 and we wanted to get there early just in case there were issues so we got there at about 6:50. We found out that you needed your passports to go to the start, which we didn't bring. Luckily Troy's girl friend was up since she drove us to the drop off and we had her bring the passports. Had we been there alone it would have been a taxi trip back to the hotel for them, which would have been annoying. We got them at about 7:30 so we had plenty of time to get to the start. Disaster averted.
The start was at Alright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo and they had the gallery open so we could stretch out and keep warm. We were in the corrals at 9:45 and the race started. It was a very flat race with the only real hill being peace bridge at mile 4.5. Since we have a lot of races downtown running a bridge isn't really anything new and the bridge crests very early close to the American side. It was a short steep climb followed by a long gradual decent which is what I prefer. From the bridge we ran along Lake Erie for a little over a mile before turning around and running back to the Niagara parkway. We got on the parkway around mile 9 and stayed on it until the end. It was completely flat and well paved so we weren't dodging pot holes. The last mile was pretty bad road wise which doesn't feel pleasant but it wasn't terrible.
I felt great for the first half and was going pretty well until about mile 16. At that point the legs started to hurt a bit. Fatigue wise I felt great. I never hit the wall or felt like I didn't have enough energy but the inside of the ankles started taking a pounding and I had to do something I have never done in a race, take a walk break. They were short, about 15 seconds, but I ended up taking probably 6 or 7 of them before the end. To keep the ankles from hurting too bad I shortened my stride which slowed me down further. The water stops were very well run, mostly by schools, and every stop except the first one had water and Gatorade. I didn't get a good idea of all my splits because there were a couple of miles missing and most of the water stops were right at the mile markers so I forgot to hit the lap button while I was taking on water.
That last 10 miles was brutal and both physically and mentally the hardest thing I have done, including college. I think my concentration on the weekly long run sometimes at the detriment of my total weekly miles was a mistake. I would go out and do a 15 miler but end up with only 25 miles for the week. Before my next full I will make sure my weekly miles are up in the 30's, even if that means more middle distance runs instead of long runs. I think the legs inability to take the pounding was a result of the lower weekly miles. Playing fall ball also didn't help. I would have been better off on tempo runs many of those nights instead of doing sprints, which is what you do as an outfielder and hitter in softball. I held myself back at the start and went about minute a mile slower than my half pace. I probably could have slowed a little at the start but since the slowing factor was soreness instead of fatigue I don't know if that would have bought me enough time at the end to make up for the slower start.
The finish area had bags with bananas and energy bars and coolers filled with cottage cheese and fruit mixes. It was a small area but easy to find anything you needed and the baggage check (which had all of our passports) was right there. They didn't have anyone taking pictures with the medals though, which was odd. We headed back to the hotel (Falls Plaza Hotel on Stanley Ave) which normally has a noon checkout but were very nice and let us stay until 4 at no charge. We showered up and headed home. We did what we always do on the way home from a race and made sure to eat lunch at Cracker Barrel.
I am glad I can now call myself a marathoner but definitely prefer the half distance. I have 2 spring halves scheduled (The National in March and Indy in May) and will try to get in at least one fall half (Maybe Chicago or Quebec City) but am hoping my next full (or fool, depending on how you look at it
)is the 2011 WDW Marathon.
My final time was 3:44:55. I ran the first half in 1:37:32 and the second in 2:07:45. I obviously have to work on the second half.
Here are some pics from the race. I assure you those smiles are fake at this point.
I decided in the spring that this fall was going to be the fall to finally do a full marathon. Luckily I have a friend from High School that also runs and likes to travel to do so which makes these trips less boring and more affordable. We looked at our calendars and decided we would do an October race that was flat. The original plan was to do Baltimore on 10/10 but I had a wedding so we switched it to the Niagara International on 10/25. Plus with the exchange rate it would be a less expensive race.
We both left work at Noon on Friday and drove up along with my friend's girlfriend. It is a simple drive from Cleveland to Niagara which was nice because an 8 hour drive after a full would have been torture. Because the full started in the U.S. and finished in Canada we had to bring our passports to the expo on Saturday and have Canadian border control clear us. We thought this was so we didn't need the passports on race day...we thought wrong, but more on that later. Since Troy and I have done a few of these trips we have some traditions that kind of started accidentally. The first is that if we are in a town more than a day before the race we find sushi...so Friday night was some exploring and sushi.
Saturday we woke up and went to the expo. It was not very big, especially compared to a Disney or Rock and Roll expo. It was about the size of the Phily Distance Run expo. There were a lot of different race with booths there including the Quebec City marathon, which might be our fall run next year, though it would probably be a half. They also had an interesting looking Caribbean cruise called Cruise To Run. We got our packets which included a gym bag instead of a race shirt. It is a nice brooks bag and since I already have a bunch of shirts and need a new bag it was a welcomed alternative.
Then we headed up to Niagara On The Lake which is a cool European style small town to kill some time. As with most people we try to find an Italian restaurant the night before a race and we found one in a winery just outside of Niagara On The Lake. We went back to the hotel and got ready for the next morning.
Race morning. The start time was a little late for a marathon, 10:00am but we were taking a shuttle to the start in Buffalo. The shuttles ran from 7:00am until 7:45 and we wanted to get there early just in case there were issues so we got there at about 6:50. We found out that you needed your passports to go to the start, which we didn't bring. Luckily Troy's girl friend was up since she drove us to the drop off and we had her bring the passports. Had we been there alone it would have been a taxi trip back to the hotel for them, which would have been annoying. We got them at about 7:30 so we had plenty of time to get to the start. Disaster averted.
The start was at Alright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo and they had the gallery open so we could stretch out and keep warm. We were in the corrals at 9:45 and the race started. It was a very flat race with the only real hill being peace bridge at mile 4.5. Since we have a lot of races downtown running a bridge isn't really anything new and the bridge crests very early close to the American side. It was a short steep climb followed by a long gradual decent which is what I prefer. From the bridge we ran along Lake Erie for a little over a mile before turning around and running back to the Niagara parkway. We got on the parkway around mile 9 and stayed on it until the end. It was completely flat and well paved so we weren't dodging pot holes. The last mile was pretty bad road wise which doesn't feel pleasant but it wasn't terrible.
I felt great for the first half and was going pretty well until about mile 16. At that point the legs started to hurt a bit. Fatigue wise I felt great. I never hit the wall or felt like I didn't have enough energy but the inside of the ankles started taking a pounding and I had to do something I have never done in a race, take a walk break. They were short, about 15 seconds, but I ended up taking probably 6 or 7 of them before the end. To keep the ankles from hurting too bad I shortened my stride which slowed me down further. The water stops were very well run, mostly by schools, and every stop except the first one had water and Gatorade. I didn't get a good idea of all my splits because there were a couple of miles missing and most of the water stops were right at the mile markers so I forgot to hit the lap button while I was taking on water.
That last 10 miles was brutal and both physically and mentally the hardest thing I have done, including college. I think my concentration on the weekly long run sometimes at the detriment of my total weekly miles was a mistake. I would go out and do a 15 miler but end up with only 25 miles for the week. Before my next full I will make sure my weekly miles are up in the 30's, even if that means more middle distance runs instead of long runs. I think the legs inability to take the pounding was a result of the lower weekly miles. Playing fall ball also didn't help. I would have been better off on tempo runs many of those nights instead of doing sprints, which is what you do as an outfielder and hitter in softball. I held myself back at the start and went about minute a mile slower than my half pace. I probably could have slowed a little at the start but since the slowing factor was soreness instead of fatigue I don't know if that would have bought me enough time at the end to make up for the slower start.
The finish area had bags with bananas and energy bars and coolers filled with cottage cheese and fruit mixes. It was a small area but easy to find anything you needed and the baggage check (which had all of our passports) was right there. They didn't have anyone taking pictures with the medals though, which was odd. We headed back to the hotel (Falls Plaza Hotel on Stanley Ave) which normally has a noon checkout but were very nice and let us stay until 4 at no charge. We showered up and headed home. We did what we always do on the way home from a race and made sure to eat lunch at Cracker Barrel.
I am glad I can now call myself a marathoner but definitely prefer the half distance. I have 2 spring halves scheduled (The National in March and Indy in May) and will try to get in at least one fall half (Maybe Chicago or Quebec City) but am hoping my next full (or fool, depending on how you look at it
)is the 2011 WDW Marathon.My final time was 3:44:55. I ran the first half in 1:37:32 and the second in 2:07:45. I obviously have to work on the second half.
Here are some pics from the race. I assure you those smiles are fake at this point.
jmasgat
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2006
- Messages
- 5,328
Jennifer Great time. Your speed curve has been pretty steep. Good luck with your half this weekend.
Susie Congrats on your race and to DH--always nice to be in the prizes.
Jim That's a great time for TOT.
Matt You are zooming along! WTG on that great result.
Katie Congrats on your MCM finish and a great race report.
Frank WTG on your first marathon. Amazing first half split!
Maura
Susie Congrats on your race and to DH--always nice to be in the prizes.
Jim That's a great time for TOT.
Matt You are zooming along! WTG on that great result.
Katie Congrats on your MCM finish and a great race report.
Frank WTG on your first marathon. Amazing first half split!
Maura
Jim and Matt, those are good times! My time was 1:09:something, according to the sheet that was posted, but it said unofficial, and did not have all of the split times that you have there, Matt. Where did you find all of those? This was my first race over a 5K, so was not sure what kind of time I would run.
And congrats on the 1st for the AF, Matt! I am an old AF guy.
And congrats on the 1st for the AF, Matt! I am an old AF guy.
FireDancer
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2008
- Messages
- 13,255
Matt- Congratulations on the Air Force finish. I am in the process of doing all the big Ohio halves and have 2 more to go, one of them being the Air Force (along with the Flying Pig). What did you think of the course?
bounceliketigger
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2005
- Messages
- 667
Hi BouncelikeTigger!
Good luck in the ToT Race!!!
For future races you can let BigVic know the date/location/race name on this thread...
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2032237
It kinda bounces (much like Tigger!) so if you don't see that thread you can also find a link to it by going to the "Welcome to the WISH Team" which is a sticky thread at the top of the Events sub-forum. It's a bit down, maybe a 1/4 way down?
Be sure to check it out, you never know if another team member might be doing your race! It's not limited to Disney races. You might find someone doing a 5K at your local Zoo or say Jeff who I just noticed is doing another Triathalon at the end of this month in Hawaii! So don't be shy drop a post on Vic's Calender thread then you might want to give a shout out to others if you are doing a race other members are signed up for. Chris and I have done a Turkey Trot. It was freezing and we were bundled up so it came down to which hat are you wearing and jacket color to find each other in the frozen crowd.
Don't be shy!!! And with Disney races be sure to see if there are meets beyond the race start. And after there usually is a location they might gather after the finishline.
Have fun this weekend!!!! And say Hi! They typically don't bite.
Thanks Diane!
What a GREAT race it was! Met a few WISHers beforehand, but it was alot of fun cheering on those green shirts around me. Will definitely keep up w/ Vic's thread. After the TOT, I'm HOOKED! It was my 1st race aside from 2 5Ks locally. I wanted to finish as close to 90 min. as possible & came in at 88 min., in at 1522 overall, 600 something out of 1800+ women, 126th in my age group out of 300+. So, I'm happy with that for a 1st time. Can't wait to do the next one. Not sure what it'll be locally, but I'm absolutely in for the Princess 1/2. Tried some months ago to sign up for the Disney 1/2 marathon in Jan.2010, but it was full so I had to settle for the 5k.
Thanks again..can't wait to get my WISH team shirt!
tiberius
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2002
- Messages
- 3,930
I'm sorry it got so long, and this is even the "trimmed down" version of my Longhorn 70.3 Half Ironman race report.
Sunday came early at 3:15, but I got up about 5 minutes later and got dressed. I ate a bit of oatmeal and an energy/protein bar and packed up for the trip to check in. We actually got to the arena a bit before they opened up. We turned in our "special needs" bags at an area where we could access as we started each loop of the 3 loop run. We caught the buses to the swim site and waited for body marking, after which we were allowed to set up our T1 area.
Then we waited for 2 hours until the race stared by talking, rechecking the transition area, visiting a memorial to an athlete who was killed recently with his wife while on a bike ride together, and warming up...in other words, we kept ourselves occupied. Around 7:30 the first wave went off, and I excitedly waited for my wave (10 of 16) to begin.
Swim: Being a slower swimmer, I started in the back of my wave and pretty much stayed there. The lake was a good temperature and I swam without a wetsuit. I found myself veering out to the right several times on the counterclockwise loop, which is unusual because I usually drift to the left more than the right. Del passed me on the swim at a turn buoy and called out a supporting word to me (he started in the wave after mine). In the end I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 56:27, which I felt pretty good about since my goal was 55:00 minutes but I also figure I must have swam an extra couple hundred yards with my misdirected swimming.
T1: I took my time to get going right out of transition and exited in 5:56. My goal was 5:00 minutes, but I took the time to make sure I was good before I left.
Bike: This was without a doubt my favorite part of the race, even though I had some unusual troubles. I had a plan drink a 24 ounce bottle of Gatorade and eat an energy bar every hour, and that pretty much served me well. I think I actually drank between 4 and 4.5 bottles during my ride, which is greater than my plan, but I think I needed that extra nutrition and I felt good with that. I had no problems with the bottle hand outs as I rode by the aid station and thought those areas were generally well run by the volunteers. I tried to make a point to say a word of thanks to a number of the volunteers as I rode by them. While riding I found the time to slow down a bit on occasion and enjoy the scenery, seeing cows, horses, people, scenic hills, pastures... I really enjoyed this. Since I was unfamiliar with riding real hills like the ones I was experiencing, I experimented with trying several riding strategies for climbing the hills. Around mile 20 I had my first problem,I noticed a sharp sting on my upper left chest area and I noticed that I had flown into a bee and gotten stung. I shooed away the bee and moved on, not a major problem. After mile 30 my bike computer seemed to be reading incorrectly, I figured the sensor moved out of position a short bit ago at a bump in the road or the train tracks I had recently gone over, In either case I chose to ride on and not stop just to fix it. I knew I was riding at a pace that would put me about 25 minutes ahead of my planned rate, but since I did not want to overdo it too early I slowed down after mile 40, although it's hard to say exactly how fast I went. I was averaging about 15.8 mph through the first 30 miles and I finished at a 15.3 mph pace, so I figure that I averaged about 14.2 mph over the last 16 miles. I may have been better off stopping so I could reset my sensor to keep track of my pacing, but in the end I was fine. Late in the ride around mile 51 or so I had a couple of moments where I started to question my ability to continue to move the pedals, but I gathered myself and pushed on past that point. I finished the bike in 3:39:11, well ahead of my goal time of 3:55:00.
T2: Given my satisfaction with my bike ride, I took my time to situate myself (including putting on my Garmin GPS and heart rate monitor strap) and somehow spent a leisurely 7:40 (goal was 5:00 minutes) in the second transition zone, although quite a few people actually took longer than that! Running out of transition 2 and heading into the run took us into the middle of the arena and out to the run course. As I ran through I could see some of the faster early starters already finishing.
Run: The weather had been cooler earlier, and then it was cloudy, but now it was staring to get warm, but that doesn't really bother me, although I am now glad that I did stop and apply some sunscreen before leaving T2. The run was a great set up on a 3 loop course with a fantastic support base of multiple volunteer booths over an extended area at both the near end and far end of the loop from the arena. I reminded myself that my main goals were to finish and to enjoy myself, so I decided on a pace to run 1 minute then walk 1 minute, plus walking all uphills and running all downhills to keep my heart rate down and my attitude positive. I enjoyed interacting with the various volunteers and other racers. I also got to see the familiar faces of Heather and Del several times as we approached each other while going opposite directions on the loop. I was a bit surprised that I kept my upbeat attitude all the way to the end of the run as the last half loop got really tough, although I was more surprised that I averaged a 14:27 pace on a modified 1 minute run/1 minute walk plan. I finished the run in 3:09:22, where my original goal was an even 3 hours. I knew that I could have gone faster on this part, but I certainly would not have enjoyed it as much as I did!
Final Time: 7:58:38, My real goal was just to complete the event, but I am so happy to have met my personal time goal of 8:00:00 as well.
Overall, it was a very difficult experience but a very rewarding one as well. I am already considering my next 70.3 Half Ironman event for next year. However that will have to wait, for now I look forward to returning to my training after an appropriate rest period over the next few days. I still have a couple half marathons to finish before year's end with another PR goal to go after...
Sunday came early at 3:15, but I got up about 5 minutes later and got dressed. I ate a bit of oatmeal and an energy/protein bar and packed up for the trip to check in. We actually got to the arena a bit before they opened up. We turned in our "special needs" bags at an area where we could access as we started each loop of the 3 loop run. We caught the buses to the swim site and waited for body marking, after which we were allowed to set up our T1 area.
Then we waited for 2 hours until the race stared by talking, rechecking the transition area, visiting a memorial to an athlete who was killed recently with his wife while on a bike ride together, and warming up...in other words, we kept ourselves occupied. Around 7:30 the first wave went off, and I excitedly waited for my wave (10 of 16) to begin.
Swim: Being a slower swimmer, I started in the back of my wave and pretty much stayed there. The lake was a good temperature and I swam without a wetsuit. I found myself veering out to the right several times on the counterclockwise loop, which is unusual because I usually drift to the left more than the right. Del passed me on the swim at a turn buoy and called out a supporting word to me (he started in the wave after mine). In the end I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 56:27, which I felt pretty good about since my goal was 55:00 minutes but I also figure I must have swam an extra couple hundred yards with my misdirected swimming.
T1: I took my time to get going right out of transition and exited in 5:56. My goal was 5:00 minutes, but I took the time to make sure I was good before I left.
Bike: This was without a doubt my favorite part of the race, even though I had some unusual troubles. I had a plan drink a 24 ounce bottle of Gatorade and eat an energy bar every hour, and that pretty much served me well. I think I actually drank between 4 and 4.5 bottles during my ride, which is greater than my plan, but I think I needed that extra nutrition and I felt good with that. I had no problems with the bottle hand outs as I rode by the aid station and thought those areas were generally well run by the volunteers. I tried to make a point to say a word of thanks to a number of the volunteers as I rode by them. While riding I found the time to slow down a bit on occasion and enjoy the scenery, seeing cows, horses, people, scenic hills, pastures... I really enjoyed this. Since I was unfamiliar with riding real hills like the ones I was experiencing, I experimented with trying several riding strategies for climbing the hills. Around mile 20 I had my first problem,I noticed a sharp sting on my upper left chest area and I noticed that I had flown into a bee and gotten stung. I shooed away the bee and moved on, not a major problem. After mile 30 my bike computer seemed to be reading incorrectly, I figured the sensor moved out of position a short bit ago at a bump in the road or the train tracks I had recently gone over, In either case I chose to ride on and not stop just to fix it. I knew I was riding at a pace that would put me about 25 minutes ahead of my planned rate, but since I did not want to overdo it too early I slowed down after mile 40, although it's hard to say exactly how fast I went. I was averaging about 15.8 mph through the first 30 miles and I finished at a 15.3 mph pace, so I figure that I averaged about 14.2 mph over the last 16 miles. I may have been better off stopping so I could reset my sensor to keep track of my pacing, but in the end I was fine. Late in the ride around mile 51 or so I had a couple of moments where I started to question my ability to continue to move the pedals, but I gathered myself and pushed on past that point. I finished the bike in 3:39:11, well ahead of my goal time of 3:55:00.
T2: Given my satisfaction with my bike ride, I took my time to situate myself (including putting on my Garmin GPS and heart rate monitor strap) and somehow spent a leisurely 7:40 (goal was 5:00 minutes) in the second transition zone, although quite a few people actually took longer than that! Running out of transition 2 and heading into the run took us into the middle of the arena and out to the run course. As I ran through I could see some of the faster early starters already finishing.
Run: The weather had been cooler earlier, and then it was cloudy, but now it was staring to get warm, but that doesn't really bother me, although I am now glad that I did stop and apply some sunscreen before leaving T2. The run was a great set up on a 3 loop course with a fantastic support base of multiple volunteer booths over an extended area at both the near end and far end of the loop from the arena. I reminded myself that my main goals were to finish and to enjoy myself, so I decided on a pace to run 1 minute then walk 1 minute, plus walking all uphills and running all downhills to keep my heart rate down and my attitude positive. I enjoyed interacting with the various volunteers and other racers. I also got to see the familiar faces of Heather and Del several times as we approached each other while going opposite directions on the loop. I was a bit surprised that I kept my upbeat attitude all the way to the end of the run as the last half loop got really tough, although I was more surprised that I averaged a 14:27 pace on a modified 1 minute run/1 minute walk plan. I finished the run in 3:09:22, where my original goal was an even 3 hours. I knew that I could have gone faster on this part, but I certainly would not have enjoyed it as much as I did!
Final Time: 7:58:38, My real goal was just to complete the event, but I am so happy to have met my personal time goal of 8:00:00 as well.
Overall, it was a very difficult experience but a very rewarding one as well. I am already considering my next 70.3 Half Ironman event for next year. However that will have to wait, for now I look forward to returning to my training after an appropriate rest period over the next few days. I still have a couple half marathons to finish before year's end with another PR goal to go after...
Tiger Lily 03
Moderator W.I.S.H.
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2003
- Messages
- 9,672
Congratulations WISH Team! You did it!
Ditto Maura.
BLT, great job on your event too!
Richard
Wow! You amaze me that's for sure! Great report.We were meant to leave for MCM on Thursday night, but after a call from HED to say that my wheels were on their way we decided to wait for them.
FedEx were meant to have them here by 10:30, they turned up at 3:05!!!
I then had to get them to the bike shop to have the tires put on, by the time that was done and several phone calls had been made as the hub was the wrong size!!!
We got home to finally pack the car. We did not leave until 2am Saturday morning.
We arrived in Arlington at 6pm, luckily for me the team had already picked up my bibs I did not need to go to the expo. We went straight to whole foods to get something to eat and then to the holiday inn. I went straight to bed while my dh started to get my chair ready, he also went to meet the team captain to get my bib and goodie bag as they were still out at dinner when we arrived. I had missed all the team activities, and did not see anyone until the morning.
We set the alarm for 5am as we had to meet down stairs for a 6:45 depart. We set off a mass of red shirts taking over the roads in Arlington. The hotel was a mile away from the start line and a couple of times we stopped so that we could arrive together. Just before the start line we stopped, got everyone together so that we could enter as a team. I looked up and I saw the balloon arch start with a row of Marines stood under it. As we approached they started cheering and clapping and moved to the sides, It felt like we were super stars!!! I did not realise it at the time, but we had a private start, the other wheelchair start was on the other side of the road!!! I was interviewed for the local news, because of Tinkerbell.
I was next to a marine who was in his 12 marathon and he told me how bad the hills were and how that going down hill I would be between 40 – 50 mph.
It was a very humbling experience to be a part of the Freedom team, these men and women have lost parts of their body during active service.
We had Montel Williams a forma marine and disabled through MS as our starter. There was a fly over by two plains that are both a helicopter and plane!! And then the huge cannon was fired and we were off. I would have been happier in the back row, as I am slow, but we had to stay in the positions we arrived in, but I did not have to worry the fast ones soon got by me!!
The first 3 miles were all up hill, I was staying with a small pack of team and my chain fell off, one came over to see if he could help, luckily I remembered what my mechanic at the shop had said and that if the chain was not off completely to pull backwards and it might go back on, well I did this and it worked.
I said I was ok and the guy went off. I asked someone how much longer the hill would go on for and I was told not much longer, then you cross the bridge and start climbing hills again. The guy I asked went off and I did not see him again until the “wall”
The hills were hard, very hard, but the team got me through them, once we were across the bridge into the second set of hills, I saw one of the team walking pulling his chair. When I say walking this guy lost both of his legs and has metal ones now, he usual uses crutches but of course did not have them. I went over to ask what happened, he had 2 punchers and only one small repair kit. I do not carry a kit with me so I could not help him, as I turned the corner there was a medical team who saw him and started cycling towards him, I pulled over and told them that he had 2 flats and went on my way. The down hills where scary, my new wheels are awesome they make a noise once they get to a certain speed, it sounds like the noise of “airwolf” an 80’s TV show, so we are now calling my chair “crankerwolf” when my racing wheels are on and “cranks” when off.
Some of the team over took me down hill, it must be their military training as they were fearless shouting oo-rah as they went. I was trying to pump both my breaks as I was not comfortable going that fast I was thinking about my crash, but I had to be very carful as I had the wrong hub size and was told that if I hit the break too hard the wheel would fall off. Once out of the hills, around mile 9? It levelled out so I could start getting some torque, and overtaking my team mates. I was passed by the lead runner and was determined to over take him, I did this twice and then kept in front of him for the rest of the race.
The support from the marines and spectators on the course was fantastic, there was only a few places where there was not many people and they were quite lonely as this was my first race without an escort and there were no competitors around either. As I went along the river I saw an aeroplane flying very low over the river I though it was going to crash into the river, but there was no one around to tell, good job really as it was coming in to land. I did not realise that the airport was right next to the river!!!!!
One of the team was in front of me and he had run out of water so was having to use the water stops, I could not believe what I saw, he indicated that he needed a drink and slowed down a little, a Marine started running to match his speed and hand over the cup, it was like watching a relay race, and they did not spill any!!!! There was a part along the river where it started going up hill again and there was a runner on the side walk who started running with me and shouting encouragement to get me up the hill, he was great, just a passer by who wanted to help, once at the top I thanked him and he ran back down to help the next chair through.
As we started heading towards the bridge back to Arlington there was no one around except the marines at their check points and the police at the road closing points, it was lonely. As I came across the bridge there was a man sat on the side of the road and he was there to cheer us all on, I think he must have ran this race before as he knew just where you would need to see someone cheering for you.
Once in Arlington I got to the out and back and saw some of my fast team mates on the loop back, I could not believe that I had been able to catch them up. I did not manage to over take them, but finished within 2 mins of them.
As I came around the final corner and saw the “wall” I was saying out loud no, and I can’t when a marine said just up there is the finish!! As I looked up I saw a team mate stuck on the hill, he could not move, and he was using the brand new, top of the range chair, I had not seen him since mile 3 and I thought that if he could not get up there in that chair how was I going to do it in mine.
I saw that he had 2 marines trying to talk him up the hill and in the end they had to give him a push, while this was going on a marine came over to me, he bent down to my level and started telling my to pull, he was so kind, I had heard horror stories about how the marines shout at you on this last hill, but he was kind. He kept telling my to pull and that I could do it, he came with me all the way up that hill, if it had not been for him I know I wouldn’t have made it.
As I approached the finish line there was a green van stopped under the balloon arch, there was no way for me to get past, so as I got there I shouted “move that truck” and too my surprise so did the marines and spectors. The van moved and I finished. 2:28:47
I was met by the VP of Achilles and she told me that I was the third woman home and that I had done really well. I went off and met my DH and Tinkerbell did her test. I went over to first aid as I needed ice for my elbows and my DH was pushing me in cranks and my DD in wheels and Tinkerbell!! A marine saw us and came over to help; he pushed DD and took Tinker bell’s lead. He got us 2 food bags and my USAA coin and asked us where we were staying. We told him the holiday inn, which was a mile away and he said lets go!!! For a little bit of the way we followed some of the team, but they were too fast and we lost sight of them, so we asked an Officer and he sent us the wrong way up a hill,
the marine asked my DH if he wanted to swap as he was struggling to push me up the hill and he told him No as he was already doing to much to help us. Once up the top of the hill we asked some locals were the hotel was and they told us to go down the hill and turn left, so back down we went again. The marine took us right into the hotel car park, the way in for the chair and thanked me for taking park in the race…..he was thanking me!!!! I thanked him for the help and his service to the country and he left for the mile walk back.
At the hotel we had a lunch provided by Quzino’s nothing I could eat so my DH had mine. I asked about the guy with the punchers and they did not know that anyone had punchers, just a broken chain. As I was saying where is he I saw him and paramedic came in saying that they had one of our team and that he needed his crutches, it was the guy that I had seen, he had not been able to get repairs and had to pull out of the race.
I thanked the team organiser for allowing me to race with the “freedom team” and she asked me what races I would like to do. I was not expected to finish so fast, and I think I impressed them. There are some races in FL next year that they are coming to and I will be racing as a team member with them for those. The team is also coming to WDW for the half marathon, they wanted to do the full, but Disney told them that it was too dangerous!!!!!
I had a nice hot bath and we had to pack and check out as we had to get our DD back to ballet on Monday. We left around 4pm and got home at 12:00 midday on Monday, time for a shower quick snooze and off to class.
While I was out on the course working my butt off my DH, DD & Tinkerbell where sat in the VIP tent, complete with laptops, large screen TV and waiters serving breakfast!!!! He missed out on the cooked lunch as I got back 1:30 before I was expected too. At the start of the race a guy came around and wrote down all our bib numbers, I did not know why until my DH told me that they had GPS tracking on us and that in the tent they could see our bib numbers on the course map in live time!!!
The organisation and kindness of the marines was amazing I do not think that any race will ever come close to the standard set by the MCM.
I can’t wait until next years!!!!!!
FedEx were meant to have them here by 10:30, they turned up at 3:05!!! I then had to get them to the bike shop to have the tires put on, by the time that was done and several phone calls had been made as the hub was the wrong size!!! We got home to finally pack the car. We did not leave until 2am Saturday morning.We arrived in Arlington at 6pm, luckily for me the team had already picked up my bibs I did not need to go to the expo. We went straight to whole foods to get something to eat and then to the holiday inn. I went straight to bed while my dh started to get my chair ready, he also went to meet the team captain to get my bib and goodie bag as they were still out at dinner when we arrived. I had missed all the team activities, and did not see anyone until the morning.
We set the alarm for 5am as we had to meet down stairs for a 6:45 depart. We set off a mass of red shirts taking over the roads in Arlington. The hotel was a mile away from the start line and a couple of times we stopped so that we could arrive together. Just before the start line we stopped, got everyone together so that we could enter as a team. I looked up and I saw the balloon arch start with a row of Marines stood under it. As we approached they started cheering and clapping and moved to the sides, It felt like we were super stars!!! I did not realise it at the time, but we had a private start, the other wheelchair start was on the other side of the road!!! I was interviewed for the local news, because of Tinkerbell.
I was next to a marine who was in his 12 marathon and he told me how bad the hills were and how that going down hill I would be between 40 – 50 mph.
It was a very humbling experience to be a part of the Freedom team, these men and women have lost parts of their body during active service.
We had Montel Williams a forma marine and disabled through MS as our starter. There was a fly over by two plains that are both a helicopter and plane!! And then the huge cannon was fired and we were off. I would have been happier in the back row, as I am slow, but we had to stay in the positions we arrived in, but I did not have to worry the fast ones soon got by me!!
The first 3 miles were all up hill, I was staying with a small pack of team and my chain fell off, one came over to see if he could help, luckily I remembered what my mechanic at the shop had said and that if the chain was not off completely to pull backwards and it might go back on, well I did this and it worked.
I said I was ok and the guy went off. I asked someone how much longer the hill would go on for and I was told not much longer, then you cross the bridge and start climbing hills again. The guy I asked went off and I did not see him again until the “wall”The hills were hard, very hard, but the team got me through them, once we were across the bridge into the second set of hills, I saw one of the team walking pulling his chair. When I say walking this guy lost both of his legs and has metal ones now, he usual uses crutches but of course did not have them. I went over to ask what happened, he had 2 punchers and only one small repair kit. I do not carry a kit with me so I could not help him, as I turned the corner there was a medical team who saw him and started cycling towards him, I pulled over and told them that he had 2 flats and went on my way. The down hills where scary, my new wheels are awesome they make a noise once they get to a certain speed, it sounds like the noise of “airwolf” an 80’s TV show, so we are now calling my chair “crankerwolf” when my racing wheels are on and “cranks” when off.
Some of the team over took me down hill, it must be their military training as they were fearless shouting oo-rah as they went.
I was trying to pump both my breaks as I was not comfortable going that fast I was thinking about my crash, but I had to be very carful as I had the wrong hub size and was told that if I hit the break too hard the wheel would fall off. Once out of the hills, around mile 9? It levelled out so I could start getting some torque, and overtaking my team mates. I was passed by the lead runner and was determined to over take him, I did this twice and then kept in front of him for the rest of the race.The support from the marines and spectators on the course was fantastic, there was only a few places where there was not many people and they were quite lonely as this was my first race without an escort and there were no competitors around either. As I went along the river I saw an aeroplane flying very low over the river I though it was going to crash into the river, but there was no one around to tell, good job really as it was coming in to land. I did not realise that the airport was right next to the river!!!!!
One of the team was in front of me and he had run out of water so was having to use the water stops, I could not believe what I saw, he indicated that he needed a drink and slowed down a little, a Marine started running to match his speed and hand over the cup, it was like watching a relay race, and they did not spill any!!!!
There was a part along the river where it started going up hill again and there was a runner on the side walk who started running with me and shouting encouragement to get me up the hill, he was great, just a passer by who wanted to help, once at the top I thanked him and he ran back down to help the next chair through.As we started heading towards the bridge back to Arlington there was no one around except the marines at their check points and the police at the road closing points, it was lonely. As I came across the bridge there was a man sat on the side of the road and he was there to cheer us all on, I think he must have ran this race before as he knew just where you would need to see someone cheering for you.
Once in Arlington I got to the out and back and saw some of my fast team mates on the loop back, I could not believe that I had been able to catch them up. I did not manage to over take them, but finished within 2 mins of them.
As I came around the final corner and saw the “wall” I was saying out loud no, and I can’t when a marine said just up there is the finish!! As I looked up I saw a team mate stuck on the hill, he could not move, and he was using the brand new, top of the range chair, I had not seen him since mile 3 and I thought that if he could not get up there in that chair how was I going to do it in mine.
I saw that he had 2 marines trying to talk him up the hill and in the end they had to give him a push, while this was going on a marine came over to me, he bent down to my level and started telling my to pull, he was so kind, I had heard horror stories about how the marines shout at you on this last hill, but he was kind. He kept telling my to pull and that I could do it, he came with me all the way up that hill, if it had not been for him I know I wouldn’t have made it. As I approached the finish line there was a green van stopped under the balloon arch, there was no way for me to get past, so as I got there I shouted “move that truck” and too my surprise so did the marines and spectors. The van moved and I finished. 2:28:47I was met by the VP of Achilles and she told me that I was the third woman home and that I had done really well. I went off and met my DH and Tinkerbell did her test. I went over to first aid as I needed ice for my elbows and my DH was pushing me in cranks and my DD in wheels and Tinkerbell!! A marine saw us and came over to help; he pushed DD and took Tinker bell’s lead. He got us 2 food bags and my USAA coin and asked us where we were staying. We told him the holiday inn, which was a mile away and he said lets go!!! For a little bit of the way we followed some of the team, but they were too fast and we lost sight of them, so we asked an Officer and he sent us the wrong way up a hill,
the marine asked my DH if he wanted to swap as he was struggling to push me up the hill and he told him No as he was already doing to much to help us. Once up the top of the hill we asked some locals were the hotel was and they told us to go down the hill and turn left, so back down we went again. The marine took us right into the hotel car park, the way in for the chair and thanked me for taking park in the race…..he was thanking me!!!! I thanked him for the help and his service to the country and he left for the mile walk back.At the hotel we had a lunch provided by Quzino’s nothing I could eat so my DH had mine. I asked about the guy with the punchers and they did not know that anyone had punchers, just a broken chain. As I was saying where is he I saw him and paramedic came in saying that they had one of our team and that he needed his crutches, it was the guy that I had seen, he had not been able to get repairs and had to pull out of the race.
I thanked the team organiser for allowing me to race with the “freedom team” and she asked me what races I would like to do. I was not expected to finish so fast, and I think I impressed them. There are some races in FL next year that they are coming to and I will be racing as a team member with them for those. The team is also coming to WDW for the half marathon, they wanted to do the full, but Disney told them that it was too dangerous!!!!!
I had a nice hot bath and we had to pack and check out as we had to get our DD back to ballet on Monday. We left around 4pm and got home at 12:00 midday on Monday, time for a shower quick snooze and off to class.
While I was out on the course working my butt off my DH, DD & Tinkerbell where sat in the VIP tent, complete with laptops, large screen TV and waiters serving breakfast!!!! He missed out on the cooked lunch as I got back 1:30 before I was expected too. At the start of the race a guy came around and wrote down all our bib numbers, I did not know why until my DH told me that they had GPS tracking on us and that in the tent they could see our bib numbers on the course map in live time!!!
The organisation and kindness of the marines was amazing I do not think that any race will ever come close to the standard set by the MCM.
I can’t wait until next years!!!!!!
Honeibee
<font color=darkgreen>Lives in Fear of Sweeps<br><
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2005
- Messages
- 3,080
OMG everyone did SO WELL this past weekend! I am so proud to be a WISHer!
I LOVED LOVED LOVED MCM10K! I had a great time! 1:19:23 I'm happy with it! I fully intend to do it again next year. I had such a blast!
Syko - That last hill was tough,wasn't it? Holy moly! But what can you do but your best when you have a dozen or so handsome Marines shouting encouragement! Well, if you can call GET UP THAT HILL NOOOOOWW! encouragement! I was too scared not too! Say, we stayed at the Holiday Inn and saw the Achilles team staging on the lower floor early race day morning. They are totally awesome!
I LOVED LOVED LOVED MCM10K! I had a great time! 1:19:23 I'm happy with it!
I fully intend to do it again next year. I had such a blast!Syko - That last hill was tough,wasn't it? Holy moly! But what can you do but your best when you have a dozen or so handsome Marines shouting encouragement! Well, if you can call GET UP THAT HILL NOOOOOWW! encouragement!
I was too scared not too! Say, we stayed at the Holiday Inn and saw the Achilles team staging on the lower floor early race day morning. They are totally awesome! 
K80K
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2009
- Messages
- 594
Haha, that is awesome syko. 
I had several friends ask me to bring them some marines. I had picked a few out but knew that I didn't have the strength at the end to carry my own weight, so there was no way I was going to make it far with them over my shoulders.
I had several friends ask me to bring them some marines. I had picked a few out but knew that I didn't have the strength at the end to carry my own weight, so there was no way I was going to make it far with them over my shoulders.
lenshanem
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2002
- Messages
- 8,930
Hey WISHers! Sorry I haven't been on since my TOT 13K trip. I came back to BUSY! 
DH and I had a great time. We drove down for just two nights. We went to MNSSHP Friday night, went to the WDW Radio meet Saturday morning, over to F&W for lunch, back to POP for a quick nap and early dinner, then ran the TOT 13K! (Yes, we did eat and DRINK at F&W that same day!) Sunday morning we went and had breakfast at Kona for some Tonga Toast, took the monorail around for a loop, then drove back home in time to get the kids ready for bed. I get tired just thinking about it!
I'm so sorry to see this race go. We had such a blast. We got there early and they had all the suspects out. They were a hoot! I got some great pics. I've been struggling with a slower pace for awhile now, but I managed an 11:21 pace. I was very happy with that, I just wanted to be under 12:00. We got to ride TSM and TOT after the race, but the lines were longer than I had hoped for. Odd things about the race were having to cross traffic to go to the porta potties and the chute being directly beside them. UH? And the course was very congested and narrow at times.
Overall, it was a fun, quick trip.
Congrats to everyone on all their races! WISHers rock!
DH and I had a great time. We drove down for just two nights. We went to MNSSHP Friday night, went to the WDW Radio meet Saturday morning, over to F&W for lunch, back to POP for a quick nap and early dinner, then ran the TOT 13K! (Yes, we did eat and DRINK at F&W that same day!) Sunday morning we went and had breakfast at Kona for some Tonga Toast, took the monorail around for a loop, then drove back home in time to get the kids ready for bed. I get tired just thinking about it!
I'm so sorry to see this race go. We had such a blast. We got there early and they had all the suspects out. They were a hoot! I got some great pics. I've been struggling with a slower pace for awhile now, but I managed an 11:21 pace. I was very happy with that, I just wanted to be under 12:00. We got to ride TSM and TOT after the race, but the lines were longer than I had hoped for. Odd things about the race were having to cross traffic to go to the porta potties and the chute being directly beside them. UH? And the course was very congested and narrow at times.
Overall, it was a fun, quick trip.
Congrats to everyone on all their races! WISHers rock!
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