Race Reports for 5/3, 5, 6 and Encouragement/Kudos!

[princessmomma]

There were cowbells ringing. Unfortunately, there were only cows to ring them.

Clock time read 3:41 and some blurry seconds. Chip time should end up just about 3:40!

Congratulations! Great time!

I want more cowbell!

 

[thndrmatt]

I know everyone is going to spam away with their Minnie reports and since I post reports from other races all the time I'll just hit the highlights.

-Finishing 26th out of 1108 runners in the 5k
-Kicking off my timing chip during the final sprint with 20 yards to go, looking puzzled and having to go back and get it
-Carrying my timing chip in my hand across the finish line, which unfortunately is too far from the mat for it to log the time, and thus not showing up in the results
-Setting a new PR (including going back for my chip) of 24:30 (estimated, I'll never know the exact since I wasn't at the front at the start)
-Still getting beat by an 11, 12, and 13 year old all in the top 25
-Watching DW finish in 33:35

-Having our bus driver get lost from Epcot to AK for the 15k due to road closures, and ending up east of I4
-Not getting to the start area until the national anthem was playing
-Having to then basically sprint over, and skid into the corrals with about 5 seconds to go in the countdown as they started a couple minutes early
-Realizing in the first 1.5 miles it was not going to be a good day, having not stretched or warmed up and being extremely sore from previous workouts and the PR the day before
-Waiting at the first set of portopotties and cheering on all the WISHers who passed by
-Running the rest of the race with DW, and beaming as she runs the entire thing without walking outside the water stops
-Making a fool of myself in the median of the out and back cheering on dozens of WISHers
-Finishing hand in hand at 1:53:05, and high fiving Mickey and Minnie together

-Giving and receiving mad green WISH love all weekend!

Apologies for not spending more time with the WISHers as DW's sister also graduated from UF this weekend so we were having to split our time between races and her family. Although you can blame the bus driver for missing out on the pre-race festivities on Sunday.

So hey, when's the next race? And 5k+15k is really close to HM+M right? No problem!

 

[katerkat]

Well, my race was pretty cool for the experience (my first) but I'm disappointed with the way I ran. I still had a decent pace, but I really lost the momentum at the end (like, from mile 5.5-7.5) and the hills absolutely killed me. It doesn't help that my place to run is, well, the West Plains and the location of two major airports - in other words, flat flat flat!! So I've got a ways to go on the training portion - but I finished a 12K!

 

[KelNottAt]

Mike - Great Job! 3:41 is amazing!!! And, you're right the wind was fierce! My face is red and I can't decide if it's wind burn or sun burn.

My report - moved over from the weekly thread...
Just back from the Frederick (Md.) Half Marathon. (This is the same race as Optimator.)

My time was 2:37:29 for appox a 12:02 pace. (bib #2000) I was so so so afraid of being swept (14:00 min minimum) that I ended up wogging a bit. (According to my Garmin, I was about 10 miles at a walk, 3 miles at a slow run.)

Now I'm paying for it. Very stiff. In 17 months of training and 2 prior halves, I have never ever ever done anything above a swift walk. What was I thinking? I've never even read-up on what it takes to run.

Guess I have homework to do. I like the feeling of coming in around 12:00. Might have to work a little running into my routine.

I'm very tired, didn't sleep well last night at all. Need a nap. Then I must pack as I'm going to Chicago for work tomorrow. I'll do some recovery exercising walking up and down the Magnificent Mile shopping in the evenings. A litte retail therapy would be nice. As such, I won't be back on the Dis much this week.

Have a great week everyone!

Oh, one bad thing: I lost my Wish bracelet. It came off as I was shedding one of my layers. I'm heartbroken and will PM Mel to see if she has any spares when I return from Chicago.

 

[DianeL]

Steve after doing the 10K and driving back to Michigan I can agree I do not know how our 1/2 Marathoners at the PIG did driving home. Seeing those hills, doing those bridges I'm in awe that anyone can move after all that let alone drive! Way to go team! I did a quick look knowing what states Dave, Erica and Wendy were from and saw they had finished and I hope they were happy with their times because I was very impressed! I wasn't sure on how to check the results for the rest so am very happy to hear of you, Krista, Dave and Denny finishing strong. Cincinnati did an amazing job in the 10K & 5K and the Expo was grand! BTW, where any of you sitting in the lecture when we snuck thru after the morning races? LMBO We were trying to get a short cut out of the Expo after returning for a quick shopping trip still dressed from the races and Susan finds a way to the exit but it was thru the lecture area. There we are 4 women dressed in bright yellow tip toeing thru hoping no one would notice LMBO Yeah, the shirts are kinda bad in one way, you get noticed even when you don't want to be

Scott... 28 minutes even after doing the warm up! Excellent time!!!!

Krista!!! Congrats on your time!!!! That rocks!!!! Hope the IT band recovers quickly and the Half is such a nice distance. Are you signed up for January? We're doing the Full to give it a try, it actually was already on our plate before they announced the medal but that just cemented it for us LOL I really really like the Disney half and can see myself returning to it, unless I surprise myself with training this year LOL Keep up the excellent work!!!

MIKE! All I can say after that report is OMG! and you sooo deserved that beer bummer about losing the ticket. Excellent job on the time and the push to finish it when it sounds like the weather and the road designers were all against you LOL A cruise ship? LOL Our team members never cease to amaze me at what they go up against and conquer!

Lisa: congrats!!!! each minute we take off is amazing! each second! LOL Keep up the great work!!! Good to know the shirts glow in the dark too LOL As our shirts say.... DLF trumps DNF & DNS so to go on and PR even DLF totally ROCKS!!!! Besides, we're the interesting ones in the back

KaterKat: Glad to hear you had a kewl experience! I'm sure you did great, I know we are all hard on ourselves time to time. We don't have hills here in Michigan either Was it your 1st race or your 1st 12K?

Denny and Anne what a kewl call! See! That is why I just love this group! The support comes from states away even when the supporters are doing a race too!

MATT! LOL over your post! WOoOHOOO!!! on the 26th place! and LMBO over the kids beating you LOL Watching the kiddies in the Pig's 5K take off is amazing! They have such energy that I wish it could be bottled Excellent job to you and your DW!!!!!

Kelley I know we're suppose to stay in the pace we train for but OMG! A 12 MINUTE MILE PACE! I'm sure your sore but Way to GO!!!! Hope the soreness leaves quickly and that the retail therapy helps

I posted my recap over under the Flying Pig weekend but wanted to say Thanks for the wishes, we had left on Friday to drive down by 7:30 am so never had a chance to see the thread and by the time we got home last night all I wanted was some food and a shower. We were exhausted! Today we had to bowl and I would have rather been in Cincinnati cheering But at least the bowling season is now done and we can concentrate on training only. I did not post my chip time so here it is for us 3. Mine was 1:39:19 with a 15:59 pace although I like my Garmin better because it says a 15:53 pace but then again it says I went 6.32 miles LOL Susan did it in 1:42:44 and Cathy (drum roll) 1:35:18. This was her 1st 10K We're still quite happy considering we have ant hills compared to Cincinnati An excellent time was had by all. I still have to post photos but will do so under the Flying Pig thread eventually but you'll have to keep an eye open for it to see the paint job Susan and Cathy did on the car. Drove it from the Detroit area all the way to Cincinnati with it decorated for the Flying Pig and boy did we get some looks and even a thumbs up here and there. As we were leaving the hotel on Saturday to come home we saw one person taking a picture of our car LMBO we were in the car LOL

Congrats too all the other racers this weekend!!!! Sorry it's soo long. Hope I didn't miss anyone

 

[skfulkers]

Ok, I’ve had time to clean up, get something to eat, and relax a little. I’ll try to catch up with everyone.

Lisa—great job on the race! How cool that you got to start in the middle of the baseball game!

Scott—nice job on the 3.5 miler. Or actually, the 8 miler. Too funny about your spring back to the start!

Mike—way to go on the marathon! What an amazing finishing time! We were talking about you today at the Pig and wondering how your race went. Amazing how wind never seems to work in your favor, huh? I’ll have to take some pointers from you on training to run a sub-4 hour marathon. I’d LOVE to do that sometime.

Matt—great job to you and DW on the Minnie!

Katerkat—congrats on your first race! You’ll always remember that first one. How was it running with 45,000 people? That’s amazing!

Kelley—way to go on the half! You guys must have had some crazy wind out there today. Sounds like you need a good night’s sleep. Good luck on your busy week.

Ok, so did I mention that the Flying Pig weekend was absolutely great? What a good time with all the WISHers. We didn’t get a chance to see Susan, Cathy, Wendy, Diane or Barb (sorry, guys!), but we did see a lot of others. We had dinner Saturday night with Dave (windwalker), Erica, Denny, M’Lisse, and Dave (mouse skywalker). Good food and a great chat with everyone. I think none of us wanted to leave, but after almost three hours at the restaurant, we knew we had to get back to get ready for the next morning.

We were up at 4:00am this morning and were down to the starting line around 5:30. I’m so glad that Dave is as big of a coffee drinker as I am. We all met near the start and got a couple of great WISH pictures. Once again, we talked and mingled too long and almost didn’t make it down to the start line on time. When we did end up getting down there, there were already 14,000 other people crammed into a small area, so we ended up stuck behind a side fence barrier when the cannon went off at 6:30. Needless to say, it took us a few minutes to get through the swarm of people crowding the side of the start line. I gave Krista a good luck kiss and we were all off. Dave (mouse skywalker) and I had decided we were going to run together for the race, and we were aiming for a sub- 2 hour time, so Dave suggested we try to hang with the 4:00 full marathon pace group (same Clif pace groups as Disney). Problem was, with our little mishap at the start, we had a long way to go to catch up with the 4:00 group. We could see their balloons about a quarter mile ahead, but it took us almost a mile and a half to actually catch them. The crowds were crazy at the start, way more people than I remembered form last year. We were both getting winded by the time we actually caught the pace group. We did catch Denny at about the one mile point (he had gotten through the side fences a little quicker than we did at the start). Funny thing happened—both Dave and Denny were wearing their WISH shirts, so when we all caught each other, a guy running next to us noticed the bright shirts and said, “Hey, how did you guys ever find each other in this crowd?”

I won’t go into too many details of the race course. The spectators and the entertainment were great, and the water stations were superb. I was very impressed with the overall organization of the race this year. There were several hills on the course between miles 5-9 that really kicked our butts. You don’t really realize how much of an elevation change there is until you get to the top at Eden park and you can look out over the entire city and the skyline. At mile 9, Dave looked down at his Garmin and said, “Hey, we’re doing pretty good on pace and we’ve only got a 5K to go.” I reminded him that 13.1 minus 9 is 4.1 miles, not 3.1. Great job on the math, Dave. Around mile 10, the course starts dropping back into the city, and the downhill is quite a relief at this point. Around mile 11, I thought my bladder was going to explode, so I saw an open port-o-let and told Dave I’d be right back out. I told him to keep going and I’d catch up to him. So the whole time I’m in the port-o-let, I’m watching my watch and trying to figure out how fast I’d actually have to run to catch him in any reasonable distance. I knew we were moving along at about an 8:30 pace on the downhills, so with my 45 second bathroom break, I figured it would take me about 16 miles to catch back up to him if he didn’t slow down (hey, I didn’t say my math was any better!). I finally caught back up, and we passed Dave (windwalker) and Erica around mile 11.5 as they were on their way up the massive hill to Eden park.

At mile 12, we did some more quick math (ok, no comments here) and figured we could keep an even 9:00 pace till the finish and still break 2 hours. We picked up the pace as we got closer to the finish, and both sprinted to the finish line to cross at 1:58:37. Nice job, Dave! Amazingly enough, I wasn’t too extremely tired. We stretched and within a few minutes caught up with Denny who had just finished, too. Krista came across a couple of minutes later, and I was really surprised when I saw her so soon as I wasn’t expecting to see her for another 10 or 15 minutes (great job, honey!).

We all chatted some more after the race and got a couple of more great photos, then we all said good bye and parted ways for home. We didn’t get to see Dave (windwalker) or Erica after the race, and I didn’t get a chance to see Wendy at all (although, Wendy, we just watched the coverage of the Pig on tv and we saw you cross the finish line. Way to go!).

Overall, it was a great race and an awesome time with the WISHers. Great job, guys, and can’t wait to run another race with all you again.

M’Lisse—you did sign up for the Disney half already, right? Good luck to you in training, I know you’ll do great!

Dave—when’s the next race?

Hope the Minnie went well for all of you this weekend. Hope no one got arrested in the aftermath of the post-race “celebration.” Great job to everyone racing this weekend!

Steve

 

[chimera]

Sat May 5, 2007

We arrived at WDW about 12:30pm and checked in at BWV. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we went down to Boardwalk Bakery for lunch. It was already pretty hot and humid in Orlando...made me a bit nervous about what was to come for the race on Sunday. My mom had spent the day before at NASA with her 5th graders and wasn't up to parkhopping. We just waited around after lunch until our room was ready about 3:45.

After we got settled, we headed out to EOS for the WISH meet. It was sooo cool to see everyone again It wasn't until I saw the group that I realized how many of us were there, representing for WISH! We even got to meet Timmy, Bill and Lynnda's new baby! Got a great group photo (posted on the weekly thread) then we all dispersed!

I did go to bed around 8:30, planning to get up at 3:45. I didn't really settle in until after the EPCOT/Phantasmic fireworks finished, so got to sleep around 10. And then was absolutely wide awake at 1am. I have not slept well before any WDW race. I tossed and turned until about 3 when I start getting excited because I could legitimately get up in 30 min. Got up, got ready, then got DD14 up about 4am.

We got down to the lobby by 4:25 to meet Robert and Linda who were riding over with us to EPCOT. We also brought a possible new WISHer, Jennifer, since she was looking for a cab to share. BW is totally empty at that time of morning...no one even working the front desk Anyway, over to EPCOT, wandered aimlessly about the parking lot, then got to the bus. Bill was already there, then Angie and Jennifer also got on the bus. We didn't have any driver problems this year. Our driver seemed to know the way, unlike last year (and apparently, Matt's driver this year ) and we got to AK in fine time.

Got to AK parking lot and looked for the WISH shirts. We found Cam, Rhonda, Judy, Carrie, and Martha already stretching. I ate my breakfast of champions and stretched. I developed a new ankle problem this week and have been a little worried about the race. I have a really tender spot right in front of my right ankle that came up on Thurs, so I never had a chance to run with it and didn't know if I could. I tried a run to the trash which felt fine...actually hurts more to walk on it than run, but I felt hugely relieved as I'd had visions (around 2 am) of having to DNF becuase of this new thing. More teammates assembled as the morning progressed. I think we had the largest team presence there this year. One of the official photographers came over to take our picture so we'll be looking for it on the website. We got some other shots then eventually started self-corraling for the race.

I lined up green (9 to 12 min) which was probably a little ambitious, but consistent with my 8 mile LR pace. We listened to the announcers, one who needs to be replaced. Rhonda can be more specific, but she made some comment about how inspiring it was that you didn't have to be fit to do these races Anyway, we got the Star Spangled Banner, then some fireworks and off!

I would guess the weather was very similar to Jan, probably a couple degrees warmer with a couple extra humidity percentage points DD14 took off ahead of me as I stayed in my regular intervals, W1/R4. It was a bit crowded the first couple miles...and I think it's fair to say, by mile 1, the humidity was life-altering. Love the Nike visor though! Kept the sweat out of my eyes, but did nothing for the back of my neck

I did pretty well. Usually takes me about a mile to settle in. My pace was a little slow the first couple of miles because of crowds. I didn't take the shuffle just in case we're really not allowed headphones for the full this year...didn't miss it at all. I had my camera but I haven't really taken pictures during any races since the first year.

The first 4.5 to 5 miles is kinda dry. I took an Accel gel at mile 3 for entertainment. The most interesting part is the turnaround going to the ramp to MGM. I saw Stephanie on her way, then Carrie and Martha. After I made the round, I saw DD14 BEHIND me, then started checking out all the WISHers...it was cool waving to everyone!

Finally got to MGM...I love the part where you come around to New York Street...it's early, it's not crowded...kinda seems more real. We continued through MGM...Mulan, Wendy and Megara were near the hat. I finally found an official photographer, but I don't think he took my picture there. Kept going out and around.

Somewhere around mile 7, I hit the invisible wall. Did well with the intervals, felt good until about 1:35, then my feet started bothering me. I had taken another gel at mile 6, but forgot one at mile 8...not sure if it would've made a difference. I think I tend to slow down when we get to the parks 'cause it's kinda neat to be there when it's not crowded. I did glance longingly at the bathroom in Morocco, but was afraid I'd never get going again if I stopped.

Kept muddling through...darn near took a detour through the kid's fountain in Future World. I was pretty sure I'd be in under 2 hours (my goal...last year was 2:06:49). Best thing I saw was the volunteer at mile marker 9...almost there!

Came around to the finish area. There was a group ahead of me that got to slap Mickey and Minnie's hands and amazingly, then there was just me...running toward Mickey and Minnie...all by myself! I got to slap hands with both of them so I'm really looking forward to the official photos! I remembered to turn off the Garmin, then went to get chip off and medal on.

Okay...I knew I was ahead of DD14, but didn't feel great about it. She ended up about 2 minutes behind me. With all of her knee problems this year, I was more worried about having her behind me than ahead of me. I think I feel better knowing that she's ahead and if she has any problems she can just drop back until she finds me. She did end up with a headache about mile 4 so we went to the medical tent to get some Tylenol, I made her hydrate and eat more oranges (really fun with her new retainers ) then went back to watch everyone else finish!

I think watching is half the fun. We saw a 79 yo lady finish who had done a half Ironman a week or so ago. Then an 83 yo lady came in shortly before the end. And it's always cool to see WISH team members as they come through the finish!!!! The group of us stayed until the last lady finished...it's kinda cool to be DLF in this race...Mickey and Minnie run across the finish line with you!

Vital stats: Chip time 1:57:06 Garmin time 1:57:10 with total mileage of 9.38. DD14 and I were the 36th mother/daughter team to finish out of 76! I feel like I had a good race...conditions were yucky, but overall a good race! Can't wait until the next WISH team event!

 

[chimera]

Lisa...great job on your 2 miles! congrats!

Scott...that's hardcore...running a whole extra race before your race Congrats on your excellent finish!

Matt...sorry about your troubles this weekend, but sounds like things ended up okay!

Mike...wtg dude! That is some spectacular finish!

Krista...congrats on your finish...sub 2:30 is my next half goal! I really like the half distance...seems much friendlier than a full and not such a life commitment to train.

Steve...wow...congrats to you and Dave! Fabulous time...even with a potty break! Math skills may improve after a gel or two during a race

Congratulations to all our WISH runners this weekend! I was proud and grateful to be a member of the team!

 

[MouseDogMom]

Lisa - Great job on your race. Terrific that you took 2 minutes off your time!

Scott - Amazing that you were able to do the course twice, get lost, and still have a PR! And hey, I'd love to add a sweatshirt to the collection of tshirts.

Krista - Way to go! Come do the Half with us in January (well, unless other things happen before then...)

Mike - Great job on your first marathon! I'm only doing the half because I'm afraid that 26.2 miles is a LONG way! Totally unfair that you didn't get the free beer.

Matt - Great report. Can't believe your luck - the chip comes off, AND the driver gets lost?

Katerkat - You finished. That's a huge accomplishment. Don't worry about the time yet!

Kelley - Congratulations on your half. Have fun in Chicago.

Diane - Great job on your 10K.

Steve - Way to go! You and Dave ROCKED!

Mel - Great time! Glad the ankle held up.

Can't wait to hear from the rest of the Minnie racers!

Jackie

 

[sap1227]

First off, I am sorry I did not have the chance to meet up with any WISHers this weekend. Since we were there less than 24 hours it was very busy.

I am OK with how I did in the race. I finished in 1:56:16 clock time and 1:56:02 Chip time. I was really struggling with the humidity early on and it just never felt "easy" (last week I felt GREAT for the first 6 miles I did and I really think it was the humidity that made a difference).

Right after the 5 Mile Marker I heard my ankle POP from then I just ran while it felt OK and walked when it didn't. I am happy to say it feel pretty good now, we will see how it feels in the morning!!

I totally agree about the announcer--there were a couple of times I could not believe what she was saying!!! It seemed like this years race was very light on characters

My boys were staying home with my DH this weekend and he called me last night to see if I could get my parents to watch them because he was called to go fight the fires in Flager County for the next 2 or 3 days . That was something I was not planning on dealing with last night, so I was a little more stressed than I planned on being last night, but it did keep my mind off the race of a couple of hours.

Overall I had a great time! I think I was about 20 mins faster than I was at last years Minnie and that is something to be proud of (side note, does anyone know where we can see last years result?)!! I am sure I will be there next year! I can not wait to hear everyone else's reports (from all the races this weekend!!)

Congrats WISHERS!!!!!

 

[DianeL]

Thanks Jackie! I did the 10K AND the 5K Finished the 10K and 20 minutes later the gun went off for the 5K thankfully since I was doing it with my mom (twisted her arm LOL) I was able to do the 5K at a comfy 17 mpm pace LOL But still 9 miles later I was a wee tired and looking forward to getting off my feet. Cathy asked why I didn't just sign up for the 1/2 and be done with it. Those hills and only 1 medal. Puhlease! I have 2 medals to show for my 9 miles Besides I'm thinking I'm not GOOFY enough to go Goofy nor take on the hills of Cincinnati. I'll leave that to the pros of the Team They are far braver than I

Just finished looking at the 15K photos and I've already told DH and Susan that I don't care I'm going to Disney next May to do the Minnie! LOL Our members have so much fun doing it that I just can't stand not doing it another year so I'll be glue to the Sports site watching for 2008's registration to open up

 

[Sir Bouncealot]

Awesome job everyone! Sounds like everyone had, for the most part, a great race weekend!

 

[Dennyha]

We're still slowing unpacking, and as soon as we come across my camera, I'll post pics and a race report. I just looked, and my official time was 2:13:29. This is my longest time for a 1/2 marathon that I ran (of which my extensive history includes 3 ), but this was clearly the most difficult course of the bunch. I'll let my pictures do the talking.

P.S. It was tons of fun meeting with all of the WISH team's North Division. I heard it was pretty hot for the WISH Team-South Division, but everything went well. Congratulations.

 

[Big Vic]

To all of the racers this weekend -

Ya done good!!

 

[disnutt]

These reports have been so inspiring!

Denny, Steve, Krista- The Flying Pig WISH delegation sounds like they had a great time despite the hills! Congratulations!

Katerkat- I had no idea that many people could run in such a small area!

Russ, Kelly, Scott, Lisa- Congratulations!

Mike- Glad your had a great time at the Expo. Any place that wants to appeal to kids just needs to put out cheetos! WTG on battling the wind and cows!

Matt-So sorry about the timing chip but thanks for the info on how far we away from the mat they need to be! I know now to slide across the finish line if I ever have to carry my chip!

Mel- Good to know it is possible to run w/o the headphones! Congrats to you and DD!

Christy- to DH for a safe couple of days fighting fires. I'm so glad we have people like him to help when we need them!

Diane- I agree that I HAVE to do Minnie next year. Those pictures are just too good!

Sorry if I missed anyone! What a great weekend for W.I.S.H. Racing!

 

[hoosmi]

Minnie 15k report

DH, DD (7), DS (1), and I hit MK bright and early Saturday morning, went on every ride possible, took the monorail to Epcot, walked the countries a bunch, more rides, etc. Got to the hotel at 9:30 p.m. So much for taking it easy the day before a race!

I organized and re-organized all my stuff again at 10:30 p.m. I finally went to bed, but I think I looked at the clock every ten minutes. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but still not much sleep. I got up at 4:00 a.m., got dressed, and ran to the lobby to catch a ride with Angie. (Thanks again, Angie!)

I had on my WISH shirt and felt a little silly because I haven't been in the group long. But, when we wandered over to the start area and found a sea of shiny shirts, I have never been so happy. We all hung out together at the start- I think it was Lily who told me to take the baggage claim off my bib so I didn't become one of those "unknowns" in the pictures and who helped me get my water bottle on my belt. Thanks! It was really nice being able to hang out with people and laugh about when to line up for the porta-potties and where to start and all. Thanks for helping me out, Vicki!

OK, what was up with the announcers? I thought I was just being sensitive, but I heard the woman basically say that anybody could run these races not just great athletes-- I'm sure she meant well, but I heard "hey, even chubba-wubbas like you can run at Disney!"

Minnie and fireworks started the race. I had my phone in one hand, my iPod in the other, and my camera in my belt. Next time I know I need to either consolidate (I KNEW I needed a newer, smaller iPod!) or get a bigger belt! We start off slowly. I had two thoughts while running the first mile-- "hey, I'm running at Disney!" and "is this first mile all parking lot?" The first mile was basically dull. The second was a long stretch of boring road. The third mile, you guessed it, was a long stretch of boring road. I did listen to my iPod, but turned down low. On the treadmill I am completely dependent on it, but I really had it on more out of habit than necessity.

Finally, around mile 3 when you could see the faster runners headed towards you it got interesting. You could, and I did, wave like crazy at the other WISHers. Since people watching and reading T-shirts had lost some novelty after 2 miles, the waving thing was very cool. When you round the bend and have to go back the same way, it's even more fun to wave to the WISHers! That helped a ton. I was laughing too, because I could hear people reading my shirt out loud to friends and complimenting it.

OK, mile 5 is sort of better. I'd been pretty consistently running. I'd walk for water breaks, and anything that remotely looked like a hill. Still, my pace was about 11 minutes. Then we entered MGM and I decided that I was not going to carry my camera all that way without taking pictures! Well, once I got started... if anyone can tell me how to send them to Robert, I will.

We ran through the costuming tunnel thing and then popped out by the hat. Some characters were there, so of course I had to take a picture. Running through MGM was great fun. I loved running down the main street with all the stores and even maybe smiled for the official photographer, who yelled "Go WISH!"

After MGM you head over to the Epcot resort area. You pass the Boardwalk Hotel, Beach Club, etc. It gets narrow so feels more crowded, but it wasn't bad. Plus, I was so busy taking pictures I didn't care about time. Hello mile 7!You head into Epcot through those doors on the left of the International Gateway. It's some sort of cast entrance. I tried not to let the sight of a big ice cooler thing like you'd see at a convenience store kill my image of the UK as we rounded the corner into the World Showcase. The mile 8 marker distracted me as we headed up the bridge to France.

I couldn't decide- do you run fast because it's almost the end, or do you enjoy the moment and drag it out? Who am I kidding? Of course, I dragged it out- heck, there was almost no one in the World Showcase and pictures had to be taken! Finally I was headed towards Spaceship Earth (mile 9!) and then down the cast entrance to the parking lot. There were some people with medals lined up in the road cheering-- loved that!

I could see the finish- there were families lined up and Mickey and Minnie. I made it through to have my chip cut off. My time was 1:54 something. I didn't even pay attention! I grabbed my water and went to stand in what else, the picture line.

While in line, I looked at my phone and saw a missed call from DH. I called him back, and through the noise and commotion around me, heard him say he was throwing up!! He sounded truly pathetic. So after waiting in line for the picture with my medal (in fairness, I assumed Minnie would be in the picture so it would be extra special), I hopped on a bus to AK to get my bus to Riverside. (One of the drivers told me that was the plan- I probably would have been smarter to get a bus from Epcot or even a cab). I felt crazy with all these families wandering into the parks, and me there in bright yellow, with my medal and bib, and a layer of sweat! A driver found me looking pathetic and called in that he was taking me to Port Orleans-- I had my own bus, and when he dropped me off, he left without picking up people- so it really was my own bus. I love that man!

I got to the room- my 7 year old daughter was trying to round up the 1 year old baby who was racing around the room in just a diaper, while DH was lying in bed whimpering. After a really quick shower, I took the kids to the pool, then grabbed a cinammon roll. I did get late check out (thanks Cam!). I loaded up the car while DH was having significant health issues- yuck! We left around noon. I drove while DH slept. After driving straight four hours, I almost fell out of the car! How funny that when I am training, I stretch and try to eat within twenty minutes, and I don't feel sore; but after the race everything went out the window and I was limping!

All is better today. DH is well, and the Tylenol has kicked in so I am fine. My only regret is that I couldn't stick around for the WISH picture and for the first time all day, I couldn't find one of us to explain that I had to leave early. Poor DH really was sick as a dog, so I'm glad I went back early. Ironic though that I, picture girl, didn't get a picture with WISH or Minnie!

I had a wonderful time, and know it was a much better experience since I didn't have to go it alone! Go WISH!

Jen in GA

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Greetings Everyone - I'm copying my posts from the weekly training thead to here, in case people miss them.

Good Morning Team:

I don't have a lot of time to post because I have to get to work. Steve- posted a race report on the report thread. In sum, the Flying Pig Half was great, tons of fun. Steve and I ran together the whole way, and we met our time goal of a sub-2 hour half marathon. We finished in 1:58.37. I thought I would post some pictures of our weekend here.

Here are photos from the Flying Pig Expo

Entrance to the Expo

Flying Pigs Everywhere

Myself, Steve, and Krista with the finish line Pig

Steve getting his Lime Green Flying Pig Jacket

How this cat could sleep at the Expo, I'll never know

 

[blueroses]

Hello WISHers!

First of all, I feel like a complete dork. I saw the group at the Minnie and didn't say hi because I've been out of the loop for a few months and not really spending any time on the WISH board.

The race was really fun, though I totally agree about the announcer (I think she was trying to say something nice, but "not in shape" wasn't really what I wanted to hear) and about the lack of characters. There was Mulan, Wendy Darling, and someone wearing purple (was it Jasmine?) at MGM and then Minnie and Mickey at the finish line - was that it?

So I ran the race having not run since February. I mean that literally. Work happened, but mostly laziness happened. So that was a little dumb My chip time was 1:43. It was the kick in the pants I need to really start training for the Goofy. Not because it was that slow, but because my legs are pretty sore.

My morning started by rousing my husband just long enough to point out the bag I wanted him to bring me at the finish line, telling him I'd call when we got to MGM, and explaining that I would be very disappointed if he didn't answer when I called.

Then I caught a cab to AK, did some warm up jogs, and lined up when the green flags. Who knew it was a mile just to get out of the AK parking lot?! That road from AK, to Wide World of Sports, to MGM was so boring. It makes me worry about the marathon course. Then I got to MGM and called Mr. blueroses, explaining once again that I would be very disappointed if he wasn't there at the finish line. You see, he has a habit of falling back asleep when you try to talk to him before he's awake. Then on through Epcot, heading to Spaceship Earth, wondering exactly where the finish line is. At one point, the spectators were shouting, "keep going, it's just around the corner." Those people were lying. However, eventually I saw the finish line and made it across. And there was Mr. blueroses with my bag containing a fresh shirt and sandals. Yay!

Final thoughts: my Garmin was pretty close to the mileage posted on the course for the first few (up to 4 or 5) miles, but when I finished it gave a total distance of 9.81 miles. That half mile was really p***ing me off when I was hoping to see the finish line any second. Also, training is good. I forgot to wear my heartrate monitor, but never really felt out of breath. My legs started feeling pretty heavy around mile 5 though. Lesson learned. And finally, equipment. I still love my Garmin. I used my ipod shuffle instead of my nano +NIke for music and that worked well. And I used a Camelback hydration belt that also carried my ID, phone, some jellybeans, and various painkillers. Even though I have run with that before, this time it felt really heavy, probably because I hadn't been training.

It felt really good to finish. I can't wait to do it again next year.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Buca di Beppa for WISH Team mini-meet carbo load dinner

Denny, M'lisse, Steve

Krista and Denny

Dave (Windwalker), Erica, and M'lisse

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Krista and Steve

Myself, Steve, and Krista

That's all I got because my batteries then ran out on the camera. That made the decision easy about whether I would run with it or not. OK, I have to get to work.