We're not slow. We're just enjoying the course. A 2014 Marathon TR - Completed!

[momabaarjo]

Following along! I love the title of your TR!

 

[chiefdragon]

Loving your report. This is one of my bucket list items to do. Someday in the future.

 

[disneyhorselover]

Joining!

I just finished my first runDisney race (PHM) and got bit by the runDisney bug....now I REALLY want to do the full!

Love the pictures, the title, and the shirts that you had made!

Also, congrats on both finishing two full marathons while beating cancer...that is amazing!!

 

[ZellyB]

Following along! I love the title of your TR!

Thank you! Glad you are here.

Loving your report. This is one of my bucket list items to do. Someday in the future.

I highly recommend it. One marathon was on my bucket list too, and now I've done two and planning for a third.

Joining!

I just finished my first runDisney race (PHM) and got bit by the runDisney bug....now I REALLY want to do the full!

Love the pictures, the title, and the shirts that you had made!

Also, congrats on both finishing two full marathons while beating cancer...that is amazing!!

Thank you. It's amazing how these Disney races hook you. I'm already trying to figure out how to run Wine and Dine and I'd love to do the Glass Slipper Challenge sometime.

 

[momabaarjo]

What an inspiration you are! I can't imagine all that you have gone through and then to do a marathon! WOW, simply amazing!

Another sparkleskirt princess! I too am totally in love with the pocket capacity of these skirts!

Your shirts are so fun...and I love your saying on the back! It is important to enjoy! I love how the 4 of you did this together!

Loving the pictures at each mile marker...note to self that I need to do a better job at that on my next race.

 

[rteetz]

I'm am locked in I'm loving this trip report!

My goal for next year is to run the half marathon and I love reading these trip reports on marathon weekend.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[ZellyB]

What an inspiration you are! I can't imagine all that you have gone through and then to do a marathon! WOW, simply amazing!

Another sparkleskirt princess! I too am totally in love with the pocket capacity of these skirts!

Your shirts are so fun...and I love your saying on the back! It is important to enjoy! I love how the 4 of you did this together!

Loving the pictures at each mile marker...note to self that I need to do a better job at that on my next race.

Thank you. It was a difficult year, but the determination to run Disney really was something that helped me with my recovery. Having a goal and something to work toward was very important for me.

Those sparkleskirts just can't be beat for hauling cargo. Plus they are cute. Last year I wore a pink Minnnie one, but didn't want to wear it again this year. Any excuse to buy a new one.

It was really special to do the race with my BIL and SIL. It was after watching them finish a half marathon together that I got inspired to start running with my husband, so really they played a huge role in my becoming a runner.

It's funny on the mile markers because when we started I wanted to get as many as I could and as the race went on I became obsessed with making sure I got every one. So, I'm glad you are enjoying them because there are many more to come.

I'm am locked in I'm loving this trip report!

My goal for next year is to run the half marathon and I love reading these trip reports on marathon weekend.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Thanks for joining. We are planning on doing Goofy next year, so that will be my first time running the half-marathon course at Disney. Just watch out, once you run your first endurance distance, it's easy to get hooked!

 

[ZellyB]

Now that we had left Magic Kingdom, some of the early fatigue was starting to hit Sandra. She was having a very hard time as we approached the mile 8 marker.



A little tough to see with that sun in the position it was in. Last year, it was about this time that the temps really started to climb and the heat started taking a toll. This year, though, it was just beautiful. The sky was so clear and the temps so pleasant. I was so thankful for that.

We just kept encouraging her that this wasn't a very fun part of the race, but that before too long we'd be going into Animal Kingdom and that would give her a boost. She's a tough woman, so there was never any question that she would give up, but I was still feeling good at this point and hated that she was having a hard time.

Shortly after passing mile 8 comes the entry into the speedway. It's horrible for runners. There is a narrow chute that you have to squeeze through and then you go down a steep incline, back up and then a sharp turn to the right to get on the track. UGG! And, while last year I really liked this part of the course, it was a bit of a letdown this year. Last year, they had the cars from Cars sitting out for pictures but they were not there this year. There were still a lot of classic cars sitting out and the owners sitting next to them, but this year I didn't get the same excitement as last year. Oh well, still we were doing well and moving along and passing mile 9.



You can see there were still huge crowds of people around us, but Chris looked back at this point toward the entrance to the speedway and proceeded to scare the crap out of me. He said, "Look back there. Isn't that the end of the runners?" WHAT??? I knew we were going slow, but didn't think there was any way the end of the corrals could have caught us already. Sure enough, when I looked it was just a gap in the crowds most likely because the awkward entry into the speedway forced the crowds down to smaller numbers. I could have killed him. I think that took a few years off my life.

After I stopped panicking, we headed back out of the speedway and along some back roads. I'm not sure what roads these are, but I enjoy this part of the course. It's nice and wide and lots of trees and, not to mention, my favorite character photo of the entire race.



Villains!!! When we first got in line, I was excited because Maleficent was there and she wasn't in it last year. But, as we waited, The Evil Queen came out to relieve her. Both of them stood there for a few photos, so I was hoping we'd get both of them, but about 3 people before we got there, Maleficent left. Oh well, still love the shot. Still only two villains where I think last year we had four in there.

Here is where I complain a little bit about the photo ops. It felt like we had seen fewer character opportunities on this race. It might have been my imagination, but it just seemed like there wasn't as many pictures or other entertainment in this section of the race. It's still far more than any other race out there, but I admit to being a bit disappointed. It also seemed like we saw fewer of the official race photographers and sure enough when we got the link to buy race photos, there were far fewer than we saw in year's past. So, I skipped buying any of them this year.

Anyway, enough complaining! I was running a race in Disney. That is still a million times better than any other place to run a marathon.

On we ran and then we were in double digits.



I got our second run tracker update here. 10 mile in 2:34:58. Pace 15:30. So, we had improved our pace some from the last split and I felt a little better, but still worried about staying ahead of the sweepers.

As we moved on there were a series of signs lined up along the road. They said things like, "Are your paws tired?" "Are your dogs barking yet?" And then another line appeared. We decided not to stop because we were still paranoid about time, but I did snap a quick shot as we went by.



As we were going past, another runner yelled out, "Squirrel!" Which caused Pluto to look over. It was cute. I sort of wished we had stopped since I really love Bolt, but oh well.

And then there was 11 and 12





And the entrance into Animal Kingdom. I'm sorry to say I didn't manage any pictures in AK. I'm not sure what was going on with me during this part of the race. I know we stopped for another bathroom break in a real bathroom and somehow I just never took a picture in here. I also didn't see any character photos in here. Last year, they had Daisy and Minnie set up in the park, but I didn't see anyone this year.

Still, it's a pretty park to run through and there is always the allure of Expedition Everest. It was open and running by the time we went through, but I again passed it by. But, I was so tempted to stop off and ride but that time paranoia was still strong, so I moved on.

Anyway, far too quickly we were exiting Animal Kingdom and I knew this signaled a long stretch of tough miles ahead, but there was a huge boost when we saw this...



Halfway there and feeling happy!!

Next up, the long, long, long highway and the maze that is WWoS.

 

[momabaarjo]

The Cars would have been so cool so see! Sorry they did not have them this year. The Disney Dog photo stop...so cute...and yes I think my paws would have been hurting. You are doing such an amazing job . Cool that you got to see the Evil Queen. I wonder why the entertainment was lacking this year...you sure have to have something to keep you going! I so want to run through AK...

 

[disneyhorselover]

The villains stop is so cool! I am OBSESSED with Scar and he is nowhere to be found in any of the parks (hardly any artwork or merchandise even!). That was not the villain backdrop for the PHM or we definitely would have stopped.

The dogs are super cute too, I don't think I could have resisted a picture with them either....just another reason to bite the bullet and sign up for the full I guess! How long were the lines for some of the characters you skipped? Totally understand about watching time, just curious because we encountered very short lines at the PHM.

 

[ZellyB]

The Cars would have been so cool so see! Sorry they did not have them this year. The Disney Dog photo stop...so cute...and yes I think my paws would have been hurting. You are doing such an amazing job . Cool that you got to see the Evil Queen. I wonder why the entertainment was lacking this year...you sure have to have something to keep you going! I so want to run through AK...

I actually love running through AK, so I'm upset with myself that I didn't manage to get any pictures. The Evil Queen is awesome. Her poses are the best!

The villains stop is so cool! I am OBSESSED with Scar and he is nowhere to be found in any of the parks (hardly any artwork or merchandise even!). That was not the villain backdrop for the PHM or we definitely would have stopped.

The dogs are super cute too, I don't think I could have resisted a picture with them either....just another reason to bite the bullet and sign up for the full I guess! How long were the lines for some of the characters you skipped? Totally understand about watching time, just curious because we encountered very short lines at the PHM.

I wonder why they have a different villain backdrop at PHM versus the marathon? It was the same backdrop they had last year, so Scar was there both times. The lines weren't terrible except for Royal Mickey and Minnie. I'd say that line would have easily been 10 minutes. I'd guess that the dogs was probably only about 5 minutes or so. We probably waited only 5 minutes or so for both Rapunzel and the villains, although I have a hard time trying to remember how long it was. I should time it sometime so I really know what it costs me to stop.

 

[ZellyB]

Well, we had made it to the halfway point and all doing well. Sandra was pepping up again and we were ready to tackle the second half of the course. Chris and I, unfortunately, knew that the next several miles would be some of the most difficult. We got our RunTracker update for our half split and our average pace was still at 15:30. So, holding steady on pace and staying ahead of those sweepers.

After AK, there is a long stretch of running on Osceola Parkway and then the loop through WWoS followed by another shorter stretch back on Osceola. Basically about 9 miles before you hit your next park.





Again, not many interesting pictures here, sorry to say. Along this stretch in the median are the undertakers. Lots of people stopped to lay down in the grass and get their pictures taken with them, but no way did we want to lay down in the grass. We could also see the people who had already gone through WWoS an were headed up the overpass toward mile 22. I was so jealous of them.



Shortly after Mile 16, you make the turn into WWoS. This is also where you come out and is shortly after the 20 mile mark. They had some music playing here at that intersection and as we went by, "I'm walkin' on Sunshine" was blaring out over the speakers. Chris started dancing as we were walking and did a nice job of entertaining everyone around us as we made the turn.


In between Miles 17 and 18 is the spot where they were handing out cold, wet sponges last year. Some spot this year, but cold, wet wash cloths instead. The temps were so much better this year that I really didn't feel like I needed them that badly, but I took them anyway.



There was a big highschool band playing somewhere along here and they were a welcome, if brief, distraction. We stopped for another bathroom break in here at the restrooms. Short wait this time, but strange that we still needed to stop. I think we had actually overhydrated a bit. Anyway, you do a quick run around a track and then head over to run around the stadium complex. There were some spectators in there, but in general, nothing too exciting. After we left the stadium, we were running along this fence and suddenly saw this...



It was freaky. This snake was probably 5 feet off the ground weaving his way through the fence. Yikes!! He was really big too.

Anyway, on past mile 19 and we were all getting really tired.



As we headed toward mile 20, we were dragging a bit, so I told them about this TED talk I had seen about using powerful body language to impact your brain into thinking you are strong and powerful. That if you hold your body in a large, powerful posture, your brain will believe you are powerful. So, I started telling them to throw back their shoulders, expand their chests and "run large." Silly, but it distracted us and kept us going.

If you have time and want to watch it, you can see it here. It really is a great and empowering talk.

http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are

Up ahead was the 20 mile marker and we were joking with Aaron about how he was ready to kill Sandra about now for talking him into a marathon, so we thought it was time for some silly photo taking



We were cracking ourselves up. Marathon psychosis, I think. I got the next update from RunTracker. 20 miles with a pace of 15:39. So, slowing down a bit, but still okay. We were ready to make the final push toward the finish!!

 

[momabaarjo]

You guys are doing an amazing job...there are so many mental hurdles you have to work through at each different distance. My hard place right now is mile 4-7 for a half. I cant imagine what it would be like doing a full...but you are inspiring me.

OH MY I THINK I WOULD HAVE RUN REALLY FAST HAD I SEEN THAT SNAKE!

 

[ZellyB]

You guys are doing an amazing job...there are so many mental hurdles you have to work through at each different distance. My hard place right now is mile 4-7 for a half. I cant imagine what it would be like doing a full...but you are inspiring me.

OH MY I THINK I WOULD HAVE RUN REALLY FAST HAD I SEEN THAT SNAKE!

I so agree! A huge part of long distance running is getting over those mental blocks. Jeff Galloway calls it your "left brain." That part of your brain that starts talking to you and telling you, "What the heck are you doing? You don't need to do this. Just stop and rest." And that voice can be really persuasive. But, really, if you can do a half, you can do a full. It's a matter of time and training. As long as you commit to a training program and stick with it, there's no reason you couldn't complete a full marathon. And what better one to do than Disney?

 

[ZellyB]

With the big 20 behind us, we were ready to finish out this run. I was feeling pretty good still although definitely feeling the fatigue setting in. I was mentally feeling good though because of how much better I felt compared to last year. In the marathon last year, it was the run through WWoS that really did me in. I had been doing well and then we hit that stretch and the wheels just came off. We primarily walked the rest of the distance after mile 18 or so, so the fact that we were still running our intervals and that my spirits were high encouraged me greatly. I know the nearly 20 degree difference in temperature was a huge part of that. After turning back on Osceola, we crossed on to mile 21.



Around here were green Army guys from Toy Story, but we weren't interested much in stopping at this point. We moved on along the course and saw mile 22 up ahead.



We were all getting pretty tired here, but again I was just so relieved to be feeling reasonably good. Mile 22 last year marked the spot where I nearly passed out from the heat. Thankfully the Med Tent right past here had ice and a bag of that on my neck and head was enough to cool me off and finish the race. This year, no ice needed. Phew. The fatigue though was starting to cause me to struggle running through our entire interval, so while we were still running regularly, our walk breaks were getting longer. Somewhere around here we decided that we would switch up our intervals and so we were running 1 minute and walking 2 1/2. I still took the fact that I was running at all as a victory over last year though.

A little distance after the mile 22 marker and we entered the backside of Hollywood Studios. Along here were workers handing out Hershey miniature chocolate bars. I think I took 4. I was really hungry!! They tasted delicious. And, then we saw our favorite ride...



Someone offered to take it for us, so no horrible selfie this time. As we were getting ready to start out again, a woman stopped and told us that she'd been behind us since Magic Kingdom and that she had enjoyed running behind us. She said we were her "favorite family." I thought it was really sweet and gave me a needed boost. So, on we charged into Hollywood studios. A quick run through the costume sewing tunnel and then around the corner. Here I very nearly missed the next mile marker. It was tucked in behind some trams. I'd managed all the mile markers so far this run and now was determined to get them all.



We ran on through Hollywood Studios and then headed back out and on toward the Boardwalk. Along here, there was a gentleman standing by the side cheering runners on and he was saying, "Hollywood Studios, Boardwalk, Epcot and Home." It reminded me of something cewait "Coach" said here on the Dis, so I thought maybe it was him. Turns out it wasn't, but it still gave me a great push. The run along the boardwalk is great. It's pretty and has good crowd support, so it's a good place to keep motivated to move on. Next up, Mile 24.


Shortly after Mile 24 was the last Med Tent and they were doling out BioFreeze, so I decided to try some of it on my tired legs. I'd never used it before, but WOW, it's some pretty great stuff. It felt so good on my tired legs.

And right after the med tent, we found ourselves entering Epcot. YAHOO!! The end was near.


Only a little over 1 mile left. It feels so good to see that sign!



As you can see, the park is open and there were plenty of park goers around. Right after this sign was a character greet and there was a line of park goers waiting. The CM though was asking runners if they wanted a picture and they were letting us slip in with no wait. Most people didn't take her up on it (because honestly, you just want to get done at this point), but we didn't want to pass her by.




I felt kinda bad for her when she put her arms around us. We were stinky and sweaty at this point. Not something a princess needs to be exposed to.

On we went running through Epcot. I was so happy that I could actually enjoy this part of the course this year. Last year I was so exhausted and tired, I couldn't appreciate this part of the race. But, this year, though very tired and ready to be done, I could really just take it all in and it was great. We ran on past Spaceship Earth and made a turn onto a back pathway and up ahead was the gospel choir.



I should have waited until I was closer to snap this shot, but I was just so excited to see them. And right across from them was this...



What a welcome sight!! Nearly there!!! A quick turn to the right and you find yourself facing the finish line. There are lots of spectators here and announcers who are encouraging you on to the end. We all ran together toward the finish line and crossed together, holding hands and arms upraised. It's such a great feeling to finish and Sandra choked up a bit over the accomplishment.

Right after the finish line, were that beautiful bling we were waiting for.









Once we had our medals, we moved through to the post race area. We were all really exhausted and just wanted to get back to the condo, so we made the looooooooong walk back to the car and headed back to get cleaned up and eat!!

Next up: Epcot and the afterglow.

 

[disneyhorselover]

Congrats on a great race!

I like how the last 6 miles are filled with good scenery, I would think that would help make it a little easier!

 

[Ariel484]

WOOHOO! Marathon #2 in the books, congrats!! Sounds like a much better experience this time around. I'm glad you were able to take it all in and enjoy it a little more this time.

You know, somehow I didn't realize that it's 9 miles after AK until the next park. Ugh! That is such a tough part of the course.

Congrats on getting your second beautiful Mickey medal!!

 

[momabaarjo]

I think I would have dove head first into the chocolate at DHS, by that time it would me a much welcomed treat over any kind of energy stuff!

Poor Aurora...smelly, stinky runners...I bet she wished she stayed in bed! LOL. How great was it that CMs were letting you cut the line! I bet it was fun to run through Epcot with guests cheering you on and watching you! That is one of the things I liked best about ToT was the cheering!

I am choking up right there with the 4 of you! Amazing accomplishment! I think I would have broken down and cried like a baby...the gospel choir, the last mile marker, and the medal...those are the things that happy tears are made of! Congrats!

 

[ZellyB]

WOOHOO! Marathon #2 in the books, congrats!! Sounds like a much better experience this time around. I'm glad you were able to take it all in and enjoy it a little more this time.

You know, somehow I didn't realize that it's 9 miles after AK until the next park. Ugh! That is such a tough part of the course.

Congrats on getting your second beautiful Mickey medal!!

Thank you. I still can't believe I've run two marathons and training for a third (and a Goofy no less). It's crazy to me that just 2 years ago I started running.

And, yeah, 9 miles between parks. That is tough after all the excitement and distractions of the early miles. But, still more interesting than most other marathon courses out there.

I think I would have dove head first into the chocolate at DHS, by that time it would me a much welcomed treat over any kind of energy stuff!

Poor Aurora...smelly, stinky runners...I bet she wished she stayed in bed! LOL. How great was it that CMs were letting you cut the line! I bet it was fun to run through Epcot with guests cheering you on and watching you! That is one of the things I liked best about ToT was the cheering!

I am choking up right there with the 4 of you! Amazing accomplishment! I think I would have broken down and cried like a baby...the gospel choir, the last mile marker, and the medal...those are the things that happy tears are made of! Congrats!

Thank you!! I can't tell you how much I love that gospel choir. There's something both hilarious and poignant about having them at mile 26.

I was so happy to sneak in another character picture that late in the race. I was worried that some of the guests who were lined up would be upset about our cutting in line, but nobody seemed to mind. And, really, I didn't see many runners stopping for her.

The run through Epcot is really great. Even though I was so tired and so ready to be done, it was such a great way to spend the last mile of the race.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Congratulations!!! It was so great to see another report from you and the differences between last year and this year!