I've neglected this blog... I really have. I also neglected running until the three days before my marathon. I spent too much time focusing on work, my bar application, and everything else to really focus on running. Before I knew it, my marathon was already upon me, and I was down the registration fee.
The best advice I ever received: "Respect the distance."
I knew going into the marathon that it would be a very difficult feat for me. There have got to be people that think they can just run a marathon - no big deal. While a lot of it is mental, there is a very heavy physical aspect. You'll read more about that towards mile 21.
I remembered what happened on my first half marathon, but luckily for me, they no longer use D-tags, but they rather use B-tags. It stays on your bib, so it's easier to remember. I pinned it onto my shorts. After all, how could I forget my shorts at home? This time around I used compression socks, a running headband I bought at the expo, long sleeved cotton shirt, white t-shirt, Thorlo socks, and my Saucony shoes. I went to bed by 9:30 P.M. after a nice dinner with my parents, fiancee, and sorority little sister.
3:30 A.M.: Wake up. It wasn't that bad. I was used to waking up at 4:00 to go to work, so the extra half hour wasn't too bad. I had all my stuff in a pile. The cats were either (a) excited to see me up so early; or (b) curious as to what was going on. Probably both. Ate a banana with two spoonfuls of peanut butter. Yum. (I couldn't eat anything more than that.)
4:00 A.M.: Leave the house.
4:45 A.M.: Arrive at Epcot. There was plenty of race traffic. It closed off a portion of World Drive, but luckily, the parking didn't take forever. We were there with plenty of time to spare. (Race tip: If you're parking at a big race like this, make sure you remember where you left your car. We forgot to look at where we parked and we had to explore the Explore lot at Epcot. I think we eventually found it in Discover. But after a full marathon, the last thing we wanted to do was spend extra walking trying to find it.
5:00 A.M.: Headed to the corral. I felt so nervous. It was like an additional mile walking to the start corral from backstage Epcot. (Make sure to factor this in. I didn't think about it because the Wine & Dine started at Wide World of Sports, which didn't require much walking.)
5:15 A.M.: Situated in Corral. Made friends with people around us. Tried to jump around to stay warm. What a fail.
5:30 A.M.: Race officially starts. Only half an hour more for our corral.
5:55 A.M.: My journey officially begins. My sorority little sister took off, which I expected, but I was averaging a 12 minute mile. The first half was amazing. We looped around and went back into Epcot through the toll plaza, saw the beautifully lit geo-sphere that one of our kitties is named after, and continued on through the World Showcase. I think we exited through a door before China, which took us on some path to test track.
A lot of this race was spent thinking about the different places around Disney: who I was with, what memories it brought back, and that stuff. It really helped. I got a few text messages and Facebook messages also along the way, which pushed me forward. From now on, I'll use miles because I just can't remember what time I passed by everything.
Mile 4: Exited Epcot and went back on World Drive. Looped around and went on an overpass heading towards the Magic Kingdom. There was a hot air balloon in the middle of the road, along with some characters. I wish I took more pictures with characters, but I just wanted to keep going. I felt amazing, so I thought it was best to keep that way.
Mile 9: After passing through mile 9 at the Transportation and Ticket Center, we hit the Contemporary Hill... I didn't think it was so bad, but they put so many volunteers there. It was really narrow, which I didn't like. I guess they couldn't help it though. As I saw the Contemporary, I thought about Joe and I's awesome stay there, took a photo, and moved on.
Mile 10: Heading into the Magic Kingdom through the access road that's normally blocked off. We backstage and saw where they had some wheelchairs... I thought I might need one when the race was over, but I proved myself wrong. There were some interested cast members watching, but it wasn't until we got onto Main Street that we saw family members and support. They were holding up all sorts of signs.
I remembered what happened on my first half marathon, but luckily for me, they no longer use D-tags, but they rather use B-tags. It stays on your bib, so it's easier to remember. I pinned it onto my shorts. After all, how could I forget my shorts at home? This time around I used compression socks, a running headband I bought at the expo, long sleeved cotton shirt, white t-shirt, Thorlo socks, and my Saucony shoes. I went to bed by 9:30 P.M. after a nice dinner with my parents, fiancee, and sorority little sister.
3:30 A.M.: Wake up. It wasn't that bad. I was used to waking up at 4:00 to go to work, so the extra half hour wasn't too bad. I had all my stuff in a pile. The cats were either (a) excited to see me up so early; or (b) curious as to what was going on. Probably both. Ate a banana with two spoonfuls of peanut butter. Yum. (I couldn't eat anything more than that.)
4:00 A.M.: Leave the house.
4:45 A.M.: Arrive at Epcot. There was plenty of race traffic. It closed off a portion of World Drive, but luckily, the parking didn't take forever. We were there with plenty of time to spare. (Race tip: If you're parking at a big race like this, make sure you remember where you left your car. We forgot to look at where we parked and we had to explore the Explore lot at Epcot. I think we eventually found it in Discover. But after a full marathon, the last thing we wanted to do was spend extra walking trying to find it.
5:00 A.M.: Headed to the corral. I felt so nervous. It was like an additional mile walking to the start corral from backstage Epcot. (Make sure to factor this in. I didn't think about it because the Wine & Dine started at Wide World of Sports, which didn't require much walking.)
5:15 A.M.: Situated in Corral. Made friends with people around us. Tried to jump around to stay warm. What a fail.
5:30 A.M.: Race officially starts. Only half an hour more for our corral.
5:55 A.M.: My journey officially begins. My sorority little sister took off, which I expected, but I was averaging a 12 minute mile. The first half was amazing. We looped around and went back into Epcot through the toll plaza, saw the beautifully lit geo-sphere that one of our kitties is named after, and continued on through the World Showcase. I think we exited through a door before China, which took us on some path to test track.
A lot of this race was spent thinking about the different places around Disney: who I was with, what memories it brought back, and that stuff. It really helped. I got a few text messages and Facebook messages also along the way, which pushed me forward. From now on, I'll use miles because I just can't remember what time I passed by everything.
Mile 4: Exited Epcot and went back on World Drive. Looped around and went on an overpass heading towards the Magic Kingdom. There was a hot air balloon in the middle of the road, along with some characters. I wish I took more pictures with characters, but I just wanted to keep going. I felt amazing, so I thought it was best to keep that way.
Mile 9: After passing through mile 9 at the Transportation and Ticket Center, we hit the Contemporary Hill... I didn't think it was so bad, but they put so many volunteers there. It was really narrow, which I didn't like. I guess they couldn't help it though. As I saw the Contemporary, I thought about Joe and I's awesome stay there, took a photo, and moved on.
Mile 10: Heading into the Magic Kingdom through the access road that's normally blocked off. We backstage and saw where they had some wheelchairs... I thought I might need one when the race was over, but I proved myself wrong. There were some interested cast members watching, but it wasn't until we got onto Main Street that we saw family members and support. They were holding up all sorts of signs.
"Just keep running."
"You're almost half way there."
"Go _________! You're my hero!"
"You're almost half way there."
"Go _________! You're my hero!"
Even though the signs weren't for me, I couldn't help but feel more motivated to actually finish. I mean it was my goal, but I couldn't factor in not training as well as potential injuries.
Magic Kingdom: The feeling of running up Main Street USA with spectators was great. They weren't just volunteers, but they probably had friends, family, loved ones running the race. I love seeing Cinderella Castle in the morning, and it was just a beautiful day that I couldn't help but feeling so lucky. We rounded through Tomorrowland and back through the castle. Yes - we went through it. Usually, they don't let you cut through the castle anymore because of the show that takes place in front of it. We ran through Frontierland and out through a backstage gate.
Mile 13: It was just about the halfway mark. I still felt good.
Mile 15: This was the longest and most BORING stretch of the race. Somewhere between here and Mile 20, we had to smell some really awful stench coming from some facility. They could have used some more "stuff" around here. Maybe some volunteers. Or ChEAR team members? It was the low point of the race for me. I'm not a big fan of running through Animal Kingdom, but we encountered some rude guests that just tried to cut the rest of us runners that were waiting in line to use the restrooms. Really? We're wearing bibs and running gear, sweating, and you think you can cut in front of us? OH NO YOU DIDN'T. (Don't mess with us. We're delirious. Some of us are just plain "Goofy.")
Mile 21: I hit the wall. Then I reminded myself... only 5.2 miles left.
Mile 23: Ouch. Front muscles of my legs were all tense. Being in Hollywood Studios didn't even help. There were "crosswalks" for guests to cross in the marathon path, but some guests just went whenever they felt like it. I watched some runners almost get run over/tripped by a stroller. Talk about bad news for racers that are just exhausted by now.
Mile 25: The last mile really stunk. We were running back around the World Showcase - from near Canada through America and then up to the Epcot Geosphere. (Deja vu: weren't we just here 4 hours ago?) Anyway, we finally made it out through a side gate and then we were hit with the big Mile 26!
A cast member was nice enough to ask me whether I wanted to take my picture with the signs. Thank you, cast member. Really. No other cast members or volunteers offered to take my picture with the mileage signs.
Yes. I was still smiling - in pain but smiling. The last .2 miles were difficult. I saw the finish line... and while it seemed to keep coming closer, it seemed further away at that point. I wanted to run. I really did, but I was spending the time to savor the feeling... As soon as I stepped across the finish line, I literally got tears in my eyes. My lower back hurt. I had such sore muscles. But I was a marathoner.
Post Race: Iced, bio-freezed, tylenol, and food... lots of food... GOLDEN CORRAL. And that, ladies and gentlemen, not that I am bragging at all, but is how you finish a marathon without much training at all. Would I do it again? Yes. The race, I mean. But running without training? Definitely not. But one thing - it is amazing to see what the human body can do.
See you around for the next race - Disney's Princess Half Marathon, which I'm running with several sorority sisters.
Magic Kingdom: The feeling of running up Main Street USA with spectators was great. They weren't just volunteers, but they probably had friends, family, loved ones running the race. I love seeing Cinderella Castle in the morning, and it was just a beautiful day that I couldn't help but feeling so lucky. We rounded through Tomorrowland and back through the castle. Yes - we went through it. Usually, they don't let you cut through the castle anymore because of the show that takes place in front of it. We ran through Frontierland and out through a backstage gate.
Mile 13: It was just about the halfway mark. I still felt good.
Mile 15: This was the longest and most BORING stretch of the race. Somewhere between here and Mile 20, we had to smell some really awful stench coming from some facility. They could have used some more "stuff" around here. Maybe some volunteers. Or ChEAR team members? It was the low point of the race for me. I'm not a big fan of running through Animal Kingdom, but we encountered some rude guests that just tried to cut the rest of us runners that were waiting in line to use the restrooms. Really? We're wearing bibs and running gear, sweating, and you think you can cut in front of us? OH NO YOU DIDN'T. (Don't mess with us. We're delirious. Some of us are just plain "Goofy.")
Mile 21: I hit the wall. Then I reminded myself... only 5.2 miles left.
Mile 23: Ouch. Front muscles of my legs were all tense. Being in Hollywood Studios didn't even help. There were "crosswalks" for guests to cross in the marathon path, but some guests just went whenever they felt like it. I watched some runners almost get run over/tripped by a stroller. Talk about bad news for racers that are just exhausted by now.
Mile 25: The last mile really stunk. We were running back around the World Showcase - from near Canada through America and then up to the Epcot Geosphere. (Deja vu: weren't we just here 4 hours ago?) Anyway, we finally made it out through a side gate and then we were hit with the big Mile 26!
A cast member was nice enough to ask me whether I wanted to take my picture with the signs. Thank you, cast member. Really. No other cast members or volunteers offered to take my picture with the mileage signs.
Yes. I was still smiling - in pain but smiling. The last .2 miles were difficult. I saw the finish line... and while it seemed to keep coming closer, it seemed further away at that point. I wanted to run. I really did, but I was spending the time to savor the feeling... As soon as I stepped across the finish line, I literally got tears in my eyes. My lower back hurt. I had such sore muscles. But I was a marathoner.
Post Race: Iced, bio-freezed, tylenol, and food... lots of food... GOLDEN CORRAL. And that, ladies and gentlemen, not that I am bragging at all, but is how you finish a marathon without much training at all. Would I do it again? Yes. The race, I mean. But running without training? Definitely not. But one thing - it is amazing to see what the human body can do.
See you around for the next race - Disney's Princess Half Marathon, which I'm running with several sorority sisters.
