Disney Marathon Recap 1/8/2012
Disney is a place where "Dreams come true". Certainly on Sunday morning my dreams came true as I made my way from park to park during the Disney Marathon.
Going into Disney, my expectations were quite low. Having finished OBX running basically on one leg didn't exactly inspire confidence for the future. Then, Holiday ½ stepped on the last of my confidence. Add in, most of my runs were at a dismally slow pace and only doing a couple of long runs, Disney was looking whole lot like a hard uphill climb. Think tougher than The Bear hard.
Saturday afternoon, we arrived at the expo at ESPN's Wide World of Sports for my packet pick-up. The parking lot was full so we had to circle for about 10 to 15 minutes before finding a parking spot. Then, we followed the flow of signs and people directing as we made our from building to building and through the expo. All toll, we were probably at the expo for 2 ½ hours. I could have spent even more time looking at the stuff, but my legs were starting to feel dead. I didn't want to make push them too much.
The hotel was having a 10 oz. penne pasta dinner offering so I took them up on it. This was about 4pm. The dinner didn't leave me feeling full, but strangely, I wasn't hungry either.
The Disney marathon starts at 5:30 AM so rise and shine time was going to be 3 AM. I tried hitting the bed about 8pm but could not get to sleep. The hours were crawling by first 9, then 10, 11, 1, and 2. I would drift off to sleep and then wake up.
Finally, the clock clicked over to 3 and I was up. I felt like I hadn't slept at all. May be it was excitement or may be just being scared of going into a race so under prepared. I don't know which one it was.
My plan heading into the weekend was to drive from the hotel over to Epcot for the start but at the last minute, I changed my mind and took the bus. I figured worst case; Disney would have the buses running even if the runners couldn't get their cars out of the parking lot after the race.
My bus was warm and I didn't really want to get off when we pulled into the Epcot parking lot. There we joined the other runners making their way to the runner waiting area. I txted Mike and he was taking the bus over as well.
We met up in the parking area and chatted for a minutes. Soon it was time to drop off our bags, make a last minute pit stop, and then head for the starting line. Disney must hoard all of the porta-jons in Orlando for the weekend.
Disney is all about walking and distraction. We have to walk probably a half mile to the runner's waiting area from the buses. From the runner's waiting area, there is a good 20 minute walk to the start line.
There was barely enough light to see and I even stumbled over a cone in the middle of the road. Runners were walking ever so slowly as we were all packed together. Mike was anxious to get to the starting line. I could tell. He kept dropping my along the way. Finally, he let me know that he was going to run ahead.
Both Mike and I scored "Elite" starting corral bibs so we had the longest walk – all the way to the front of the field.
There was more space than runners in the elite corral so I started doing my dynamic stretching exercises and eyed the other runners in the corral.
First off were the wheel chair athletes and two minutes later we were off. Mickey Mouse counted us down.
During the first mile, Mike was running just ahead of me but then slowly he disappeared into the darkness. This mile was really hard for me. My legs felt stiff and tight. They simply did not want to turn over.
When we hit the first mile, I realized that I missed something. My Garmin hadn't been set with the alert to light up so while I knew I hit the mile point, I had no idea what the pace was. Fortunately, Disney had ample clocks along the course.
Miles two, three, four, five passed by. Coming to the Epcot toll booths a recorded voice warned us of a road hump ahead. In my opinion it was more like a line in the road then a hump. The ones over by the Magic Kingdom were worse because they were hidden by the nighttime shadows and only when I stumble over them did I realize what it was. Yes, some of the roads around the Magic Kingdom are dark at 6AM.
This was when I took notice of one of the female elite runners. I heard someone yell that she was the fifth place runner. We were back and forth until we entered the Magic Kingdom. She dropped off the pace or maybe I was just better at handling the slick surface. They wash down the surface in the Magic Kingdom each night so my racing flats tend to slip on the surface.
After Magic Kingdom and the 10 mile point, I didn't think that I could run any harder, but I actually didn't feel too bad.
Miles 11, 12, and 13 passed by and the sun began to give us some light. For the first time, I could see a line of runners at head of me. They were strung out in a single file line.
This is the point where I caught up to another the 4th place female runner. She was running with another guy and I can only assume they were together since they had similar singlets.
We were all running about the same pace so I attempted to make a little conversation. May we could work together and pick off some of the guys ahead of us. I am not sure why but they spurn all of my attempts, so when we headed into Animal Kingdom, I decide to go it alone.
My strategy was simple. Run hard, and catch the guy in front of me. Recovery until I felt good. Pass and repeat the process.
Coming out of Animal Kingdom it was working like a charm. Until, these guys started passing me. I mean, they just blew right by me. My first thought, I was crashing, but at the next mile, no I was right on pace. Actually, I was a little ahead.
The next time, I got passed; I took the time to look over. These guys were running the relay so no wonder they were flying by me.
I knew when we got near the ESPN Wide World of Sports section; we had a little out and back to do. Turning on to this section, I kept an eye out for Mike. No luck, Mike had cleared this section. I thought he must be having a great race.
My legs didn't feel like they could go any faster, but they were not slowing down. Each mile passed by and I seemed to be holding the same pace.
We took a right and headed for Hollywood Studio Park. There was a small hill where they had this green army soldier outfit (think toy solder green) standing and yelling charge this hill. I took him at his order and passed two guys going up it.
We made the turn and entered Hollywood Studios. We ran down the back street next to Toy Story Mania. We ran around by where the stunt show is put on. We ran though the NY city lights. We ran over and down Main Street.
This is where something strange happened. I pass this guy and he passes me back. Okay, we can both play that game. I pass him again with more authority this time. This is where it gets a little hazy. I am front of him and said something really "smart" to me and then starts clipping the backs of my shoes.
Early in a crowded race, I would take something like this in stride. Those things happen. 24 miles into a marathon with two guys on an open road, I am not in the mood. I look back and say "not again". I guess he got a message because he dropped a way. There's a video of us running through Hollywood Studio Main Street available on BrightRoom.
Mile 25 was along the Disney Board Walk and the final mile was around the world in Epcot. I was never so happy to see that great big ball in my life. A quick glance at my watch told me that I was going to be well under my 3 hour goal.
My splits were:
33:17 for 5 miles
66:15 for 10 miles
1:26:56 for ½ marathon
2:12:22 for 20 miles
2:53:26 for 26.2 miles
My Garmin measured that course at 26.6 miles which doesn't surprise me. I am usually pretty good at running tangents, but the Disney marathon has a gazillion turns. I am sure more than one wasn't run along the shortest path.
At the finish, I wanted the moment to last forever. I had run faster than I had expected on nearly no marathon training. My time was 4 minutes faster than OBX and I felt a whole lot better.
But I did move on and found by Mike and Michael C. in the drop bag area. We talked for a few minutes before heading off in our own directions. Me, I had places to go and miles to walk the rest of the day.
What Disney did give me was a feeling that the future looks promising once I get this leg (hamstring in particular) back to full strength.
Sharing one thought at a time,
The Cool Down Runner
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