What I learned from this last race weekend

[WaDiWo]

I learned - submit your proof of time, on time!

By not submitting my proof of time from a previous race, I was one of thousands, yes thousands, in the very last corral, corral P.

We crossed the start line for both the half and the full at about 6:36-6:37, over an hour after the official start.

There were definite areas of mass congestion (narrow parts, main st, castle, etc), that werent that congested, if at all, in some of the smaller and faster front corrals based on my family members who were up there (corrals A and D).

not a complaint, though, just my mistake in not submitting a proof of time. still an awesome awesome race!!!

 

[belle2211]

Two bitter bits of advice (and this is strictly all my own fault)

1) if you wear a belt, watch where it's sitting. Don't let it creep up to cover the first half of your bib number. And not notice it until the photographer taking your picture at the end with your medal asks if it's okay to move your belt down because she can't see your number. And so when you go to MarathonFoto, you only have that one photo of you from the end.

2) Wear bright colors, preferably the same color shirt, skirt, and compression socks. That way when you are going through the thousands of unidentified photos, it's easy to spot yourself in the 3 pictures you can find

(sigh. I don't know how this happened. I HATE things high up on my stomach and am constantly pulling my belt way down on my hips. I won't even buy a fan-favorite skirt brand because it sits too high. So how did I not notice that my belt was over my bib?????)

 

[WalkingintheFog]

-- Remember to use your body glide in all potential hot spots before you leave your htl room.
-- Remember to bring your body glide!!!!
And bring your adhesive tape!

Those are 3 things I always do... but forgot for the marathon!
And by the time that wee mole under my arm reminded me, it was too late!
I had an emergency strip of tape on my fuel bottle, but my arm was slick w/ sweat so it came off, and vaseline doesn't really work for me as body glide does.

Another thing I learned is I really had gotten used to having hugs at the finish of a race, so be sure to have people you know, or at least can hug after such a huge milestone!
It was an emotional finish, and I really needed a hug.
Ran w/ a friend from home the entire Half & up to the last 10k of the Full (lost him & couldn't decide if he was ahead or behind me) but then didn't manage to connect until Tues AM. I was lonelier Sunday evening & Monday than I think I've ever been!

I also learned I really don't need music at a Disney Run event! It still surprises me that I did not use my ipod shuffle during any of the runs!

CROSSTRAINING really makes an huge difference to your ability to complete and recover quickly from such a big distance.
And those SQUATS?! yeah, I celebrated the strength they gave me eerytime I needed to use a groddy port-o-pottie!

And the biggest thing I learned?
Marathon running is AWESOME!!!!!! I will do another in the fall, and I am so excited at the thought! It's a whole new high! I remember at one point, somewhere before AK, I turned to my friend, as said "at this moment, I think I can run forever!

 

[goofeygirl]

I actually enjoyed running the full marathon this year than the half..sounds nuts...I think because the weather was nicer and the route was more interesting..obviously because we had more ground to cover. Plus the pace group helped and as someone else mentioned...I hardly used my music player at all! This surprised me.