Disney Marathon

Warning: This post is looooonnnnngggg like 26.2 miles.

I know I am skipping around a little here but I wanted to get this weekend out while it was fresh on my mind and maybe while there was still someone who knows me who is not sick of hearing marathon talk. Yes, I have been talking non-stop for months about this marathon and anyone who lives in my house is probably sick of hearing and experiencing everything that goes on with marathon running and training. (Steve compared it to some raid in WOW, pretty sure it is not the same thing but everyone has their priorities).

I will post more about the entire weekend soon but this one is devoted solely to the race I have been so devoted to for the past four months. To me, this was the perfect place to run a marathon. I have been a Disney fanatic since I was born. There was no better place for me than the most magical place on Earth!

We woke up in the middle of the night, 3AM, to ride the monorail from our hotel to Epcot. We met for the monorail at 4:15AM and the race started at 5AM. Once we got there the walk to the race start was about a mileish, or that is what it felt like. We were crowded together and herded in like cattle. There were men running off to the side of the rode to use the bathroom, I mean a line of them. I found this very amusing. At a point you split off into corrals (see what I mean?) by what your estimated finish time will be. We were in corral a since we planned on finishing in under 4 hours. It was still dark but there was a buzz of excitement around us. There were interviews from the start line and Mickey and Minnie were there! On the way we discussed which Disney Princesses we thought could run a marathon. Belle was a definite and Jasmine too, we thought Ariel would be more of a triathlon girl.

When we got in place we were all getting a little nervous and my running buddies, Margaret, Caitlin and I said a little prayer. There was cheering, there were fireworks and we were off! The three of us started together and somwhere around mile 3-4 we lost Margaret. Along the side of the race there were characters and peole talking, singing or playing music. Caitlin and I were feeling great, we were "dancing" with our arms to the music and whoohooing to all the people we saw. We decided to think of it as different destinations in our mind, Epcot was first, then our hotel, The Contemporary, the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studious and finishing in Epcot again. I think this helped in alwasy having a small goal to accomplish and not just the big 26.2 monster.

We breezed through the first Epcot and on to the Contemporary and Magic Kingdom. When we were getting there the sun was coming up so the sky was really beautiful. I was like a little kid running down Main Street Magic Kingdom. It was like seeing it again for the first time but this time there were people on the sidelines cheering for you! I have to admit that the first 14 miles were pretty easy. It's after 15 that I started to get a little tired. We were drinking plenty of water and I had plenty of shot bloks (black cherry and strawberry flavored electrolite and caffeine chews) so the feuling was going well. Caitlin and I were talking and cheering each other on and really just having a great time. I think it was around mile 18 where my body started getting tired. I wasn't at the, " I want to cry and just be done with this" point but I could feel my legs getting heavier and my butt was plain ole hurtting. We trucked it to mile 20 and I started to feel really tired, I slowed down a bit and lost Caitlin. We still had an hour to finish which is exactly where we wanted to be in our pre-planning. They had a big screen on mile 20.6 where you saw youself running and the guy announcing said we were in the top 1500 and there were 12,000 people behind us. I think this gave me a second wind because miles 21-23 were not bad at all.

Somewhere between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios they had Frozone from The Incredibles and right past him was a house with a bunch of balloons coming from the top fro UP. These are Cian's favorite two movies and they were right next to each other. When I saw them I just teared up and started thanking God for putting my bebop right there on the course with me even if he couldn't really be there to see me finish. I needed that boost so close to the end. When we go to mile 23 I said out loud, this is just a 5k now. And thought to myself, I can do this in my sleep. The guy running next to me said, "I can do this in my sleep."

The 3:50 pacer caught up to me and they were really motivating people and keeping everyone going for the last three miles. I was running a....lot.......slo...ww...eer than normal. I really think it was adrenaline and Jesus that pushed me to the finish line. I was just thinking to myself and thanking God that he got me this far in the race. When we got into Epcot and ran back through the countries and one of the guys pointed out the "big silver golf ball" that is the big silver thing and said we didn't have far to go, just over there. It couldn't have been more than a mile away but it looked like it was a million miles away! When it was finally close we rounded a corner and lo and behold, there was the finish line. Thank you Jesus! I ran across and I think I was in total shock. I walked through and got my medal and got my photo taken. Then I went on and got a water, a real coke, a powerade and some muffins. I didn't start crying until I came out and saw Caitlin. We ran/hobble over and hugged each other and yelled and cried. It was so awesome to run for Special Kids and to push my body to it's limits like some of the kids there have to every day. This training took effort and they give that kind of effort all the time. I am so glad God has given me this group and the group of running friends I have met through Special Kids. Without them I would never have been able to finish a marathon!

Caitin and I about to cry after that race

I just saw that the winner of the marathon said she was "drinking around the world" after the race. That is just what I did!

This time all smiles

Caitlin, me and Margaret after the race

Now, them moment you have all been waiting for: My results:

Distance	MAR
Clock Time	3:54:05
Chip Time	3:52:59
Overall Place	1620 / 13529
Gender Place	337 / 6269
Division Place	87 / 1083
Age Grade	58.1%
5 Mile	44:21
10 Mile	1:27:34
Half Split	1:54:40
20 Mile	2:55:11