Hello Cousins!
It's great to be back and to have beaten the storm back to NE yesterday afternoon. I'm happy to continue with Team Ohana, you guys rock! I'm cross-posting my race report (with apologies to
Corinna and Rose )...this was written for the Princess BL thread, where there are many who have never raced before -- so forgive the over-explanation, please!
I'm not much one for race reports, but here it is -- I woke up at 3am Saturday, and I just knew it was going to go well
. I felt healthy, relatively rested, and I had all my gear laid out and ready to go, d-tag (for timing) already on my shoe. Dennis walked me out to the buses (he was doing the Full the next day), and I was off! My bus took the same route as the regular traffic (this was new to me), so we got there a little later than I would have liked. I went out to the bus just before 4, I'll be heading out 20min earlier for Princess. I barely had time to stand through the Port-a-Potty line and then walk down to the race. I was so excited because I had moved up two corrals for my start, which was also making me think this could be a very good day. I should preface all of this by saying I am not a fast runner. My best time at that point was 3:11. I lined up about 6 rows from the start of my corral (F), and in the very front I saw the 3 hr pace team. I really, really wanted to break 3 hours, so I knew that if I could get past them and never see them again, I would do it.
I finally started in Wave 6. I headed out feeling ok, but I was surprised at the number of people I was passing. The first mile is always rough because you're packed almost like sardines, and it's hard to find your space. Anyway, I couldn't see the clock when I started, but I knew I was theoretically about half an hour behind the first Wave. I made it a point to eat my second set of Clif bloks at Mile 2 (I eat a couple before I start), and as usual, I completely missed Mile 4. I know it's there, but I never see it! Anyway, by Mile 5 it was starting to get light and I was close to the MK. I saw some WISHers cheering, and that always gives you a little extra boost. Running right down the middle of Main Street USA is also a big pick me up, not to mention running through the castle! I really didn't think I needed to hit the restrooms, so I skipped it. If you do think you might have to go, I think it's worth making the stop in the MK. But I digress -- I saw plenty of characters on the way to and in the MK, and as you leave Capt. Jack Sparrow is also available for photos...he had quite a line, though!
After MK the entertainment slows down some, but I was happy I was still feeling good. I was having 13 and 14 mile splits, so I could live with that. I also passed one of my Ohana cousins
Debra!, which was a big boost for me. She was Goofy last year, and taking it easy this year, and it boosted me to see her since I knew she had started in the corral ahead of me. I kept moving even when I could feel myself slowing, and got my usual boost from seeing
ThunderMatt on top of the over pass after Mile 10, waving to everyone and encouraging the WISHers.
I got myself up the overpass (definitely my least favorite part of the race), and made past Mile11. Then this guy wanted me to stop so he could take a picture of the back of my WISH shirt. I told him I wasn't stopping, but he could take a picture. He did, so hopefully it turned out for him. As I was running down the hill, my Ohana cousin
Debra! caught up with me to give me last minute encouragement about reaching my goal. Then I ran around the bend and up the last overpass, and then down toward Mile12. I saw my cousin's husband
Mark! (who I suspect finished at well under 2 hours), and then kept going into Epcot. I made the loop in Epcot, then I was headed for the finish! I crossed the line, got my Donald medal (as I was waiting for my medal I heard the announcer say, "Here comes the 3 hour pace team" so I knew I made my goal!
), ate an orange, and had a massage. Then it was time to board a bus back to the WL resort.
Here's the part that's not so great. I don't know how this happened, but apparently my d-tag did not record at the 15K split, or the finish, so I don't have an official time. I'm trying to see what I can do about it -- I realize I may not be able to get an official time (although I certainly should show up in the photos at the finish), but I'd like to at least know unofficially how I did so I know what to shoot for to improve even by a couple minutes for Princess. I also want to know how this could have happened, so I can avoid it in the future. I was pretty upset when I went to look up my results online and I don't have a finish time, but I do have a medal and I know I did it....It's really frustrating since this is literally the best race of my life, and I have nothing to prove it.
One of my BL buddies was tracking me, and says at the 10K split I was on target to finish in 2:54, so that is some comfort.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to doing it again next month and figuring out how to have it count! I ran 2M this morning, and I feel really good. Now I want to take off some weight (I think I'm looking at a 3 lb gain after my week in WDW, which I can definitely live with), and do whatever I can to improve. It is clear I need to do more crosstraining, so I'm going to make a real effort to get that going.
DS is home from school today and DH is out blowing away the endless snow which is still falling pretty heavily, so I'm going to go make lunch for my fellas. I will catch up with this and other threads later -- this is my second stop on the DIS!
Now -- DS is also going to be home tomorrow, so that will hinder my posting. I plan to run 3M and catch up on
I hope you are all set for a great day tomorrow!
Maria
Thankfully, he jumped in when he saw me!
I hope they can figure it out for you and get you an "official" time, but either way, you know you had a great time. Good luck at the Princess!
And besides, we're still pouting about them changing the date for the Princess. We were all ready to make that our family trip for the year, but no. DD's spring break is the following week, the ORIGINAL date for the Princess, the one on the postcard we picked up at the Indy half. No hard feelings here. Not at all.
