Sunday - The Marathon
The big day finally arrived. I programmed two alarms on my phone, two on my watch, and also the bedroom lights to turn on with my first alarm. Once again, I had set everything out the night before, including my husband's bag for our AK fuel swap. I'd also pinned my hair, did my face glitter, and applied KT tape the previous night, so all I had to do was brush my teeth and get dressed. I was out the door at 2:35 and got to Epcot in about 25 minutes. (My post-security Spaceship Earth picture is timestamped 3:08.) Got to the light pole and chatted for a bit, trying to calm my nerves. The cheerios helped. Then it was off for one last potty stop before settling into E corral. My initial goal was to start with the 5:45 pace group, and they were all the way at the front of the corral - NOT where I usually like to be. I tried to inch my way up there and eventually got close to them when we made our way to the start chute. I let out a little cheer when they announced the Dapper Dans were singing the national anthem, and it gave me all the feels. I tried to calm myself as we made our way to the start line and chatted with some of the other people joining the pace group. I wasn't sure if I could keep up with them for long, but I was going to try.
Garmin and my photo timestamps say I started at 5:01, so right in the middle of the field. The first few miles went by in a blur. I focused on keeping up with the pace group and settled into 30/30 intervals. It felt really crowded along the first road and all throughout Epcot. I don't know if that was true for everyone or just a result of running with the pace group. I ran ahead and went to the bathroom across from The Land, and was able to catch back up with the group while we were leaving Epcot. I had been checking our pace and we were slower than what we were supposed to be, so I figured they'd be making up time once we were on World Drive, and I was right. When they started speeding up (high 12 min miles), I knew I couldn't keep up with that level of heat and humidity, so I let the group go. Once I did, I actually started enjoying myself more. This is not to criticize the pace group, but I realized that I need some space when I run and I like the freedom of being able to stop when I need to. I refilled my water at the horrible GF water stop and poured in my second bag of Tailwind. I realized I hadn't taken my applesauce yet, and probably should have then, but kept forgetting.
Then we were into MK! Running down Main Street gave me all the feels, as usual. I stopped for a few selfies, and then got into the Jack and Barbossa line because it was shockingly not long at all. I only waited a few minutes. I also stopped for the Maleficent dragon float, castle pic, Mirabel and Bruno, and Stich's friends. I'd been texting with
@pluto377 and
@Herding_Cats and thought they would catch up to me in MK, but none of the lines ended up being long enough! I also stopped in the Storybook Circus bathrooms since I knew it would be awhile until we had another set of real bathrooms.
Outside of MK I experience the same thing I did at the last few races on this course - a mini panic attack that made me feel like I had to go to the bathroom. I took some calming breaths and walked a bit more, and tried to focus on counting steps to get out of my head. I stopped at a med tent and got some immodium, and I'm guessing that eventually worked because the stomach twinges went away. Will definitely be using that at my next race! I saw
@The Expert at the TTC and she gave me my fuel and a mini coke - bless her! The meandering TTC parking lot was BORING but I tried to get into a groove with my intervals. Finally we hit the half marathon mark and I assessed how I was feeling, and realized I was feeling much better than I had at the last marathon. Which was good because the worst was yet to come! I stopped for Doc McStuffins because she only had like 1 person in her line. I almost ran by Chip and Dale, then saw they were in baseball uniforms, so I doubled back for their line.
Then, it was time for Star Wars! I was actually underwhelmed with this part this year. Last year, it felt like the music went on longer, but this year there was a lot of dead space and it felt like such a slog. I waited for Vader, which was the longest character line by far even though it didn't have as many people in it. Perhaps Vader is just hard to photograph. I have pictures with him in the park, but because I was dressed as Grand Admiral Thrawn, I knew I needed a pic with him. I also stopped for Kylo Ren, because you can't actually meet him in the park.
I crossed Western Way and let my husband know I was getting closer to AK. I always underestimate how long it takes to get to the park along that back road. It's SO long. I stopped for the animals and got my picture with the skink. There were a lot more out than last year, but I wanted to keep moving. Around this time,
@AZMermaid called out to me, and we ran for a few minutes together. Always nice to see friendly faces on the course! My husband and friend had gotten a spot near Thirsty River right past the photopass photographers, so it was really easy to spot them. Got hugs, then did my fuel swap. (Yay for organization!) My husband got me my fountain coke as requested, and I took some migraine pills because my knee was starting to twinge. My KT tape was already falling off (despite having used spray adhesive - it was SO sweaty), but I just left it on. I chatted with them for a bit and then headed off into the abyss.
I stopped at the Nemo bathrooms and used the men's room because it was blocked off from day guests and I didn't want to wait in any more lines.
As we headed out of AK, there were people coming in, which made me relieved because last year there was no one and it was kind of disheartening. We passed the balloon ladies and that was the only time I saw them all day!
Once we got on Western Way I told myself that this was the worst part of the race by far, and once I got to the end, I was golden. I cued up "Happily Ever After" and made myself emotional. I stuck to my intervals, telling myself that it would get me to the end of the road faster. When we hit mile 20, I said, only 10k left! Then we got to the end of the road and I took a picture of me flipping off the Western Way road sign.
At some point I switched intervals to 15/30, and then 20/30, because my knee was bothering me, but I can't remember when. Also, it was HOT. I dumped water on myself at every single water stop and kept the sponge in my bra. But I kept going, and overall I felt better than the previous year. In Blizzard Beach,
@pluto377 caught up with me so we ran for a bit together. She broke off to see Pluto, while I ran off with the 6:30 pace group that had caught up to me. I knew the pacer from
instagram and said hey, I'm going to join you, and thank god I did. They kept me going for the next several miles. As we were passing the Western Way intersection, the course had been diverted so all those runners crowded it. It got really hard to maneuver so I just kept my eye on the flag. One foot in front of the other, and then we were through Hollywood Studios, on the Boardwalk, and into Epcot. My husband couldn't find a good place to stop, so he went to the finish line with the rest of his family. I got a much-needed hug and tissue from The Expert in Epcot, and then powered on to the end. I said thank you to the pacers before stopping for Jiminy Cricket, then we were on to the finish line! I spotted my family and cried at the finish line, as per usual. I trodded through the finish chute, got all my stuff, and waited for a paddle pic. I still dislike the new process, but I didn't have to wait long. Met up with my family, got some pictures, and then trodded off to the car. Thankfully I hadn't parked far.
My overall goal for this marathon was to finish feeling stronger than last marathon, and I did! I also PRed by 24 minutes, despite having stopped for 8 more minutes than last year. Considering the weather was way worse, I'm very happy with the results.
Next: evening recovery, DATW, and final thoughts.
The short story -my main goal was to finish the marathon feeling stronger than the last, and I accomplished that despite much hotter weather. Even better, I was 24 minutes faster than last year even though I stopped for 8 more minutes! I'm very happy and feel like I can take a year off without feeling like I need anything to prove. 
I also stopped at the Galloway booth and finally met Chris Twiggs, my running coach. We had a nice chat and took a selfie. The runDisney merch had no virtual queue at that point, so I went over there and got the marathon weekend shoes, which I've been wearing ever since. 
