Race Reports/Encouragement/Kudos - 8 - 10 January

[jeanneg]

Congrats everyone on persevering under such horrific conditions.

Maura: The WISHers were out there, but being so bundled up, it was hard to spot anyone. We saw you at water stop #7 and called your name, but you were in the "zone"!

Sandy: I cheered for you also. I was with my hubby beween the Poly and GF. (We went there because the viewing conditions at the Poly were not favorable.) I called you by name and probably flashed my WISH shirt. You were no where near the back of the pack at that point and were looking strong and happy.

 

[dsnyfan21]

Me: 40 year old racewalker/jogger (Chris -goofyinOhio reminded me that I am 32). First Half Marathon was 2007 WDW Half. First Half was 3hrs 17 minutes. Train usually by myself and with no music. Born and raised in Sunny Southeast Florida.

5K: Did this one because my mother and her friend Diane from Tallahassee were doing it. This was Diane's first race EVER. This for me was just for FUN!! I walked it mostly and enoyed being able to hang with D.K.!!! We had a great talk session and it made the time go by quickly. We decided to jog in the last tenth of a mile. Race was, as always, a nice 5K. Cute rubber medal with the Up! design on it. I am thinking this will be my last Disney 5K, I just don't see the cost of the race for what you get out of it.

Half Marathon: This was my TENTH Half Marathon. I was very excited ahead of time to have this be my 10th as it was my first. Weather forecasts were bothering me and being from South Florida I just have no concept of anything below 55 degrees.
Was up at 3:00am hoping to catch one of the last buses because I just didn't want to be out in the weather longer than I had to be. What to wear? This is what I started with:
Head band to cover the ears I bought at the expo, WISH hat, Champion L/S under tech, WISH s/s v-neck shirt, tube socks on the arms, white zip up hoody, jacket, fleece WISH scarf that I got from Sandy321, Long tights, Race Ready capris, sweat pants, socks and shoes and gloves.
Arrived at EPCOT around 4:10 and headed for the baggage claim tents and met a few WISHers standing near the area including MATT!! That was a great surprise. Put my jacket into the bag and took the rest with me.
One stop at the Port-a-potty and then headed off to corral G. Found Pat, Jim, John, Karen, Lily, Anne and the WISHers at the very front of the corral.
Pulled out the old mylar blanket I had from a previous race as I started to feel rain/freezing rain/snow. When it got close for our corral to move forward. I got rid of the sweat pants and mylar blanket and put on the long black garbage bag as there was still wetness coming out of the sky.
I left on the garbage bag for the first 3-4 miles. I thought at somepoint I may get rid of the hoodie, but as I thought I might I would get cold again. I would unzip it when I thought I might be overheating (or camera ops) but would zip it back up. Never got rid of my gloves. I felt like I was working just a bit harder than normal, maybe something to do with trying to stay warm? not sure.
I made it to Epcot before finally ditching the hoodie. I only took off the tube socks once I got to the photo area. Finished around 2:48:00 which is a Disney PR but not my best time, I was looking for a 2:45:00, but it's ok.
The food area was not in my radar as I was starting to get cold and the lines were LONG!! I put the mylar around me after I figured it wasn't unfolded all the way. The line for my baggage claim was RIDICULOUS!!! I waited at least 20 min to get my bag. Waiting just made me more cold.
When I finally left, I found Aloha Jeff out by the family reunion area. He was like an angel! I needed help opening my bag and getting my jacket on. He was very helpful with that and gave me some HOT coffee. Now, I don't drink coffee, but anything hot was wonderful. I was starting to shiver and said I just couldn't stay, so I got in a LINE for the POP bus, which we waited another 20 min or so for. I was shivering uncontrollably right before I got on the bus.
It was a Half Marathon I won't soon forget, but one I wish to not repeat. It took me, I believe, about 3 hours after that to feel somewhat normal in temp.

FULL: I signed up to volunteer at WS #7 way back when. Looking at the weather the night before I was not really looking forward to it, but knew my team needed me to be there. I was up earlier this day as I had to be over in the Pluto parking lot at the TTC by 4am. So on the first Marathon bus at 3am. Walked over to the Monorail station and took that to TTC, then another monorail to the Poly. I used the nice warm restrooms there and waited till the last minute to go outside to the check in tent. I met Corrina, Jean and Jean's DH at the check in. I just was not prepared for how cold it was going to be out on the open street. I thought I was dressed well and even had on the volunteer jacket over everything I had on. I kept on my gloves which had hand warmers in them along with the plastic gloves that we had to wear. We got our table set up with some trouble due to the wind and cold and then we were able to go sit on the warm bus for about 20 min before we had to go back out.
First runners/wheelchairs came through about 6:35, last racers were through at about 8:05. We were breaking/popping the ice layer on the top of the water before handing it out. I have to say I am not sure what the "elite" runners think when they drink then then just drop the cup with the fluid in it right straight down at there sides? It was kind of disturbing me. I mean throw the water off to the side and then throw the cup off to the side. It makes it difficult for those coming along behind you!!! The last hour I could not hold my arm out anymore or hold the cups as my fingers were not working anymore. I dropped a lot of cups on the ground when I just couldn't grip them. My toes and fingers were numb!!
After our shift was over, Corrina and I were going to head to EPCOT to cheer. When we got over to the TTC the line for the monorail was VERY LONG. We saw the bus pick up area for going to HS and there was hardly anyone there so we decided to go and I knew Mel would be there. We handed out Twizzlers and pretzels and cookies. I don't think I ever heard people say how much they loved me, that I rocked and all soo much in my life, but I loved every minute!!

All in all I enjoyed the weekend and seeing my racing family!!! I will have lots of stories to tell for a long time to come. I hope that the weather (rain/ice/sleet/wind) decides to NEVER happen again.

Sorry for the lengthy report!

-Racey Tracy

 

[ryley26]

I just wanted to say it was nice putting names with faces at the WISH meet.Augie it was nice to meet you sorry we didn't find one another in our coral. As for the race it was cold but being from the north nothing new. The hard part was waiting for an hour plus in the cold to start. It was hard to get the legs going. Ran a good race a PR for the half at 1:46.10 so wanted to get 145 but those last hills into EPCOT did me in. Thanks for all those who were cheering us on in the cold and Matt if that was you on the bridge by MGM I saw you and it was needed inspiration. Thanks again and can't wait to meet many of you next time Rich.

 

[TnTsParty]

4:37 for me for the marathon after scream teaming the half, and more importantly back to Pensacola safe at 5am CST this morning ready to nap for my 9am brief/flight.

We all know I do a million races, so I like to let others spam their long winded race reports instead of me for this one for me to enjoy.

I will post my race report later - maybe tomorrow. Just got home a little earlier today and I had to do laundry and back to work tomorrow - ugh. I just wanted to post and say how excited I was to see Matt 2 times during the half. I thought I had saw that you weren't going to make it Matt so I was glad you were able to get into town and were able to scream team for us. Again thanks for being on that overpass - gave me something to think about for awhile other then the cold and rain!! Brrrr

 

[FFigawi]

Here's my Reader's Digest version of my full. I'll try to get a longer one in later this week, but right now, I'm procrastinating on unpacking and getting ready for work tomorrow.

Cold walking to the start. I was wearing tights, shirt, jacket, hat and gloves, with throwaway sweats that I ditched in the corral. Got there just in time to have the fireworks go off over my head at the overpass. 6 minutes later, I was on my way. Hat went into the jacket pocket on the way to MK, gloves off at the corner with the accordion players, and jacket/hat/gloves given to my wife at mile 19.

Met up with a really fun woman and her husband who are friends of the woman I met and ran with on Saturday. They were doing Goofy too, and she and I ran the whole race together. He was doing a run/walk plan and ended up finishing about 1/2 mile behind us. The two of us had a really great race - no stops, no pain, no wall, no problems. We gradually increased our pace as we went along and finished in 4:45, almost exactly double the 2:20 I ran on Saturday. Amazing to me, I felt better finishing Goofy than I did running my 4-hour marathon last year. Slow and steady definitely has some advantages.

Thanks to everyone here for their advice and support since I joined this great group a few weeks ago. You guys are wonderful, and I look forward to getting to know you better this year.

 

[MouseDogMom]

Me: 47 year old doing Goofy for the first time. 2nd Disney full, 2nd Disney half. 3rd full, 4th half. Goals for 2010 include a 2:30 half and a 5:30 full. Use a Galloway run/walk interval. My secret goal for the weekend was to meet my full goal during the Goofy and not have to run another full marathon this year. My Galloway director had strongly recommended that this would be difficult to do at Disney because it was too warm , but if I were going to do it I would have to do the half really slow and the first half of the full at an easy pace.

Ran Saturday mostly by myself. Opted to do 2:00R/1:00W pretty much from the start. Wore long sleeve tech shirt, long sleeve WISH shirt, fleece vest, rain jacket, sweatshirt, tights, gloves, ear warmers, and cap, and at the last minute threw a garbage bag over the whole ensemble. Best decision I ever made. Abandoned the bag after a couple of miles, then tossed the sweatshirt after another mile. Once the sleet let up, I tied the rain jacket around my waist. Passed Wendy on Contemporary Hill, and was glad to have seen at least one WISHer on the course. A couple of miles later caught up to Mel and ran a few intervals with her since we were doing the same R/W. Saw Tracy at some point, but quickly realized that she was faster than I was and I wouldn't be able to keep up! Caught up to Debra and Richard around mile 8 or 9, and was glad they were doing more walk than run because I knew I desperately needed to slow down if Sunday was going to happen. Debra kept telling me to go on, but I refused since I knew if I were alone I would run too fast (keeping in mind that my definition of fast is 11:00 miles or below!) When we reached Epcot, I went ahead and was pleasantly surprised that I felt really strong. I left the walk breaks out and ran most of the entire final mile, and crossed the finish line with a big smile and still running strong. Time was 2:49:13, 16 seconds slower than my half marathon PR. So I know that Saturday could easily have been a PR, and now I'm potentially in trouble for Sunday!

Post race was ridiculous. Baggage claim lines were absurd. I stupidly handed my mylar blanket to my DH before I got in line for my picture, so I was in line with nothing. Thanks to Debra for handing me hers and saving me from hypothermia! I couldn't figure out why my hands hurt so bad - wasn't capable of comprehending that they were wet which was making them colder. Once I finally got my bag, I pulled on my dry sweatshirt, and DH told me to take off the gloves and pull my hands up into my sleeves. Instant relief! Then another 20 minute wait for a bus back to the resort. No ice bath for me - I'm already frozen. I stood in a hot shower for probably 30 minutes before I felt warm.

Sunday the plan was for DH to pace me to my 5:30. (He'd run his 2:03 on Saturday - that was his goal race.) I had the pace band from the expo, and we set out (with another garbage bag!) with enough clothes for an army. Again gave up the bag at mile 1.5, the sweatshirt before mile 3. Kept telling DH to slow the runs down - was pretty sure that 11:30 was as fast as we needed to run to keep our miles at 12:37. We crossed the 13.1 mark at 2:44:31, setting a half marathon PR for me, but I knew that probably was a bad sign. Took our first bathroom break around mile 14, and then at mile 17 I cramped. Thighs and feet. We walked. Recovered enough that we did mile 18 in 12:38. Then it fell apart. 3 miles of almost all walking. Completely incoherent. If DH didn't hand me water and/or powerade, I didn't drink it. I couldn't handle the effort required to take it from the volunteers. All I could do was put one foot in front of the other one. Miraculously, mile 25 was a 12:47, so I guess we were running again, but suddenly my body decided it absolutely had to make another bathroom stop, so I visited the very last portapotty on the course. We strolled through Epcot, and started running just as we reached the finish line. Crossed holding hands, smiling, at 5:59:56.

So much for the 5:30. I may or may not try another marathon this year. I really don't like doing 26.2 miles. I love 13.1. I think I can do the 2:30 half, but that 5:30...

Thanks to all of you for being out there and offering support. Being part of this team is why I'm still doing this!

Jackie

 

[syko]

I've tried to keep it short, sorry I rambled all over the place, I think I still have brain freeze.

5K. it was nice to see two other chairs, usual for the 5k’s I’m on my own. Nothing to report.

½. I wish Disney would provide chairs with support to get to the start line like other races do.
I had my Dh to help me and we where both shouting that I was coming through, despite this I had an accident with a lady. My Dh shouted and put his arm out to stop her, but she just kept going. She got in between my front foot rest and wheel and fell on to my chair. She was all right and I got Dh to check my wheel and all was ok, little did I know that she had broken my disk break cable!

At the start line it was great to see the team, I got from the tour manager and captain and then it was time to go.
I did my usual start, stay back, let everyone else cross the line first and then go, why get caught up in the fighting for the lead?

I did not realise that my break was broken until the castle and I could not make the turn. It took several back and forth to get around.

I had decided that if the other lady over took my I was going to quit, my head was hurting too much and I was not in racing condition to take on a fight, luckily she didn’t, infact she did not even finish the race.


The snow/ ice was hitting like a knife and the wind was strong, if it caught me from the side I was ok as I had blades on the back, but when it was head on I was down to 8 mph.

At the finish line our captain was waiting with our medals and I was interview by the host / starter.

After the race I was taken to one of the team cars to warm up and wait for my Dh to finish.

This weekend was my first Disney race where each chair did not have an escort; I knew we wouldn’t as there where too many chairs, but it still felt weird. I’m so glad that I had a light on my helmet.

As I headed back to Epcot I was surprised to see runners still leaving I shouted out that they could do this, but they probley did not like it as they could see that I was almost home. It was very dangerous trying to get back as there was so much cloths and trash bags on the road. I got a trash bag in my front wheel and skidded.

16 cranks started and 6 finished.

I was the first Goofy back to the tent for my next band.

I went and cheered at the finish line until I had to leave as my baby sitter had to get to work.

My Dh worked on my break as soon as we got home.

I was so cold during the half we went out to under armour and bought me another pair of cold gear trousers!!!!


Full. We parked at MK as that was where my medic friend had to be dropped off. Going through the parking lot I could see ice everywhere and knew it would be bad racing.

Had an easier time getting to the start as a CM let us go up a side road. It was disappointing not to see the team at the start line, but Disney would not let them enter the full. My Dh had to do some more work on my break, but he got it working in the end.

There where 6 cranks lined up and four push.

I was not as bothered with this race as I knew that I had only to finish and I would be the winner of the female crank Goofy……now if Disney would only give an award!!!!!

I had a guy draft me for the first 3 ½ miles and we where having a good chat, then suddenly at mile 4 I realised that he was no longer there. I do not know what happened, but he did not finish the race.

It was wired passing the start again, but I did get to see the fireworks, something I have never seen before!!! I thought about shouting to the runners, and then changed my mind, I thought that thy might not appreciate see me at mile 4 when they had not even crossed the line!

All went well until the Mk parking lot; I hit a patch of ice and crashed into the crash barrier. I hit my right hand, as it is tied to my bar and it is still swollen, apparently I have a hair line fracture in my knuckle.
Because of this crash the elite runners where able to get passed me.

I got going again and I managed to eventually catch 2 of the elites and over take.

My drinks froze at mile 16 and my chair froze over and the ice started to affect how it was running.

When I had finished I went and got my Goofy medal and I was the first person back again!!!

My next stop was medical as I knew I was in trouble with my feet, I got frost bite in /Columbus, and my feet where in a worse state now!!!!

I had hyperthomier; my temp was below 80 and my feet where purple / black. I could not feel the DR’s touching them at all.
Sever blankets, mylar and hot packs later I was allowed to leave.
3:30 hours I had been in there, which is why I was not at the finish line cheering as usual.

 

[wellesleyprincess]

4:20 and relieved to be alive.

More details below.
Miles 1-10 Feel Great! Loving the pacer! The world is at my feet! Pace about 3:20
Enter mile 10- Severe GI issues begin. Severe nausea and cramps. Bathroom stop at 12 miles and we're back on pace.
12-15 Feeling good slowed down to about an 8:30 pace.
Mile 15- stop in medical tent because nausea is back.
Mile 16-18 slow down to 9:15 pace
Mile 18ish Med stop number two. I can tell I'm dehydrated (slushie water does not help), but everything works out. (Even though the paramedics ask me about dropping out)
18-23.9 Very slow. Disney Frozen candy bad. Nausea back. Nausea stops after magical WISH twizzlers.
Then it happened mile 24.5 I fall on my own feet, hitting my head. Paramedics advise dropping out. A 1.7 miles out, not way! I limped in to a 4:20 finish.

Despite the drama it was the most fun I have ever had!

As I passed the Goofy tent I swore next year and when I got home on Monday I registered for it.

Now just to get a WISH shirt...

 

[Mark214]

Who:
Myself: I have run the Disney Half in 2007 and Disney Full in 2008. Going Goofy this year.
Daughter: A teenager running her first half marathon.
Hotel: Caribbean Beach Resort

Saturday:
Our wakeup call came at the early hour of 3:30am. By 3:50 we were at the Trinidad South bus stop and soon after on a bus heading for the start. It certainly was cold out, but not colder then our recent weather back in New York. Arriving at the drop-off point, we heard the announcer saying it was time to head for the corrals. There was no way, I was going to go to the corral at 4:15 in the morning given the current temperature. We walked over to the merchandise tent and managed to squeeze our way in. It was packed and pleasantly warm. About 5am, we left the tent and got out of our extra layers. After checking our bags, we were off to the corrals. Along the way, a nice fellow runner gave my daughter an extra garbage bag he was carrying. That was a very nice gesture on a freezing morning. Somehow, we missed the turn for Corral A and ended up in G. With only ten minutes to the start, it was a quick dash to get to our proper corral. We made it to our corral as the Star Spangled Banner began. The fireworks went off and we were quickly on our way. I tried to stay with my daughter, but knowing I have to run 26.2 miles tomorrow, I decided to stay with my own pace. The miles went by and I felt comfortable the entire way. The hand warmers I had in my gloves were very helpful. One complaint I have is the stretch before you reach the Grand Floridian. It was very dark with no lights illuminating the course. At one point, a chair racer came up on the right and was yelling for people to get out of his way. It really had the potential for a bad accident. Before I knew it, I was in Epcot and passing the inspirational Gospel Choir. I liked the muffins they were handing out this year. They seemed to be homemade instead of the prepackaged ones I remember from my past Disney races. After a quick trip through the baggage tent, I went over to the family reunion area and found my daughter. She had finished the half in 1:40, beating my by six minutes. We walked over to the buses and found the Caribbean Beach Resort bus waiting for us. It was a pleasure to sit down on a nice warm bus. By 8:30, we were back in our room.

Sunday:
Another 3:30am wake-up call. This time, I did not have my daughter for company. I found that it felt much colder today then yesterday. After arriving at the race staging area, I again headed for the poor mans race retreat tent (aka the merchandise tent). This time, the front of the tent was packed and there was no way in. I walked around to the back entrance and found there was plenty of room. I settled in and kept warm until 5am. This time, I made it to Corral A without incident. It was neat being right next to the firework stands when they went off at the start. I started off and could tell my quads were tired from yesterday’s race. I watched the 3:30 and 3:40 pace groups pass me by. When the 3:50 group came up, I decided to stay with them since my goal for the day was to keep my finish time under 4 hours. The pace of the 3:50 group was perfect through 17 miles. After that, the toll of running the half yesterday as well as less then perfect training took effect. After 18 miles I started to slow and the 3:50 group moved further into the distance. I stopped once to rub Biofreeze on my sore quads and neck muscles. Coming out of Hollywood Studios, my family called out to me and I said a quick hello before continuing on. At this point, it was a struggle to keep running. I ended up finishing in 3:58. It was a quick trip to get my medals, food and bag. I had thought about meeting my family at Hollywood Studios, but I was too exhausted to think about walking through Epcot. Instead, I got on the waiting Caribbean Beach Resort bus. I got off at the food court bulding and had some coffee along with the bagels and muffins I got after finishing the race. After eating and then a shower, I felt pretty good aside from my very sore quads.

Final Thoughts:
I met my goals of running the half in under 2 hours and the full in under 4 hours so I was very happy. I enjoyed being in the half with my daughter even though she ran ahead of me. The weather was not really a problem since it was no different then what I train in back home during the winter. Now, if I was not able to squeeze into the merchandise tent, I would have been very unhappy being out in the cold for an hour and half before the race started. As much as I love Disney, I think I am done with their races for the time being. They are on the pricey side; especially considering how little they give you in the way of extras. If my daughter wants to run the half or the full in the future, I will come back again or maybe for the 20th anniversary of the marathon.

 

[syko]

At one point, a chair racer came up on the right and was yelling for people to get out of his way. It really had the potential for a bad accident. QUOTE]

As a chair I can tell you it is no fun having to try to over take a runner.
Many times you shout "passing left" and the runner will then move to the left!!!! I was playing this game with one of the elites.

The only way this problem could be stopped would be for the chairs to be given more of a head start.......but I can't see that ever happening.

 

[Mark214]

I agree with you. Disney should really have let the chair racers start earlier. In addition, lighting in the portion of the course I mentioned is really needed. It also points to why running with headphones is not a great idea.

 

[syko]

We had a 2 min head start, the worse race start I have done gave us 30 secounds!!!!!

I had a light on my helmet as I knew that places of the course would be very dark.
I struggled to see in some places and would have loved a light, but more lights would mean more $$$$ entry fee.

There where chairs in the 1/2 who have never raced before, so slower than normal, and a lot of them did not make it to the finish.

 

[Mark214]

I thought that the stretch before the Grand Floridian was the most dangerous. Aside from not being lighted, it was narrow. Disney could certainly have brought over a few of those portable lights they had near the corral area.

 

[cewait]

The problem with letting the chairs go much earlier is that we have not cleared their return from Epcot if the gap is larger than about 5 minutes. That is unless the chairs are sent 15 -30 minutes early; but then you have a high risk of having a straggler charir still not making the loop in time. I reall think that the lane needs coned off tighter and better lit. Also, all chairs and elite groups should have a cycling escort for that stretch - someone to take the bullet if runners don't move on the first call to move.

Note that this is the first year in a while that I have been passed by chairs before hitting the mile turn.

Also, I can see where the GF stretch can be an issue on the half. Though as a 2:00 runner on most years it's light enough. I am just happy to see the stretch more tightly coned than in past years. I have always winced when a car pass going with the runner direction and wondering it Goober with his phones on high and on the wrong side of the cones would know that danger was headed their way.

 

[syko]

This is the first time Disney did not have cycle escorts for all the chairs, but the did have 3 of them for the elite group of 5 runners in the full!!!!!!

 

[mkymsehi]

We headed out to Florida on Christmas day. Had a great stay of 8 days at WDW, and then headed for a 4 night Bahamian Cruise on the Disney Wonder. Fabulous cruise, that I highly recommend to everyone.

I did put in miles onboard the ship around the deck and on a treadmill. We even ran on Castaway Cay.

We returned to WDW on Thursday, and headed straight to the Expo for packet pick up.

Goofy is 39.3 miles over two days. This was a race for the ages. 28 degree temps for both the half marathon and full marathon. Sleet on Saturday, black ice and frozen water and Poweraid both days.

I layered both days, and ended up shedding some t-shirts and sweatshirts along the way. Staying warm, but not overheating was a bit of a challenge. Fortunately I did pack the right gear for the weekend.

Without boring you all with my race details, I'll just share that I finished 2:01 and change for the half marathon, and 4:41 for the full marathon. Oh, and for fun I threw in a 5K on Friday before, and Monday after.

The best part of the trip was spending quality time with my family, and friends Marcia and her mom Kim. Additionally, spending time with my WISH, ROTE, and Disney Deads running groups were filled with lots of smiles and laughter. That's what always stands out when I reflect on a WDW race week.

See you all out on the roads and at the waterstops.

 

[Sandy321]

Jeff - you are goofy - "for fun you did a 5K"!!

per the chairs - and elite runners - Did having the race start at 5:40am a little earlier, have something to do with the darkness. . . combined with the cold, the dark.. it just wasnt fun... memorable tho!