Hey everyone! I am finally sitting down to write about my marathon. It's taken me a while, with work and everything, and I knew it'd be a monumental sized entry too, so I needed a good chunk of time.
To start things off, Andrew and Chris flew down to Orlando the flight before mine because it was cheaper. So, I was a teensy bit nervous about flying "alone" (even though I wasn't really alone) but it was ok. I flew down with the MA & NH Team In Training group, and we took up quite a few rows. It was really exciting to even be at the airport because it felt like "it" was finally there - "it" being the marathon.
Once we got into Orlando, we took a bus to our hotel, Port Orleans Riverside. It was nice, as I'm sure all the Disney hotels are, and I was VERY excited to see that our room was on the ground floor so that meant I wouldn't have to go up or down stairs after the run :)
That was Thursday night, so Friday morning I went with the girls from my team to the race expo at the Wide World of Sports complex to pick up our race packets. Even THAT was exciting. We got our race numbers and timing chips, and then took a while and walked around all the vendors that were there. What I really liked was they had special red and white wine made for the marathon in special bottles, and if I wasn't walking around with my family right afterwards I would have bought some.
Anyway, I left there and went through just about every obstacle I could to get to the fam. First I had to take a bus to a hotel, because the buses didn't run from the expo to the parks. So I hopped on the first one leaving, going to one of the AllStart resorts. And I am such a good bus picker that I picked the one that did not have working AC yesssss. Then, as we are driving into the hotel complex, the driver didn't wait long enough for the arm that raises to let buses pass to raise, so she HIT IT with the bus as it was going up. So we had to stop right there and wait for who knows what. In the meantime I can see the stupid hotel. So I just asked if I could get out and walk, which she let me do. So THEN I waited for an epcot bus to come, and finally got on one, met Drew at the ticket counter, picked up our tickets, and proceeded to walk to the entirely opposite side of Epcot. We got my parents and Drew's parents in, which was excited because this was my parents first time at Disney. So what'd we do first - of course we went right to Norway! It was pretty fun, and my dad was really excited so it was nice to see my parents having a good time.
So we walked around Epcot a little bit until the Team in Training pasta party at 2pm. It stinks because our group was at the earlier time, and my race wasn't until Sunday, but they had to hold it on Friday to include the people running the half marathon as well. It was in Epcot between two countries, and we're walking in and it was the best entrance ever. We turned the corner and all of a sudden you see people lined on both sides of the walkway going into the convention center just SCREAMING and cheering and banging bells and making noise - all for the TNT participants. I had no idea that was going to happen, and it was a little freaking walking through it, but it totally got me all psyched up and excited to run the race. The great thing about the pasta party were the speakers. First we had John "The Penguin" Bingham, who is an author and columnist for Runners World, and then a woman who told her story about having and beating cancer who was walking in the half marathon. It was so inspiring and motivational, and I'm a big sissy but I totally squirted a few during her speach :)
Saturday we did two other parks, and went to eat at the HoopDeeDoo Review in Fort Wilderness. Everyone loved it so I'm glad we went. But immediately afterwards this feeling of panic hit me! I realized that the next morning I would be running the marathon and it just totally freaked me out. I got all nervous and quiet. It just hit me how much time I've spent running and preparing and fundraising and just THINKING about the marathon, and it was finally here... like in hours. And everyone was saying how nervous we would be, and that I wouldn't get any sleep, etc etc. So I got all my stuff together and went to bed around 10pm.
My alarm went off at 2:15am...TWO IN THE MORNING. The last bus taking us to the start was leaving at 3:30, so we were all meeting in the lobby at 3am. I really appreciated Andrew being up too... ironically I did get 4hrs of sleep but he didn't get much sleep at all. Anyway, he helped me get all my stuff on and get prepared, and put on sunscreen. I left him in the room and went to the lobby to meet everyone. I was pretty set in eating exactly what I was used to eating before long runs, so thankfully my parents were able to go to a grocery store before hand to get me chocolate soy milk and stawberry-banana yogurt :) I had that with me, and a bagel with peanut butter, so I felt a lot better.
We boarded the bus, which took us to this big huge parking lot to wait in. We sat there for a bit, made a few trips to the portapotties. Everything I read had said to pack warm stuff to wear before the start that you didn't care about tossing. So I had brought an old hoodie and sweat pants, and gloves because I thought it'd be so cold. Well, I didn't need any of it! I was in my racing singlet and my shorts and totally comfortable. Which didn't bode well for the actual race, because it was already a bit humid and warm at like 4am... uh oh. My parents, Drew, and his mom actually got up early too, and surprised me by somehow finding us in the parking lot. I'm not really sure what time it was when me, Kari, and Aly left them and walked to the start. Kari and I were in one corral, and Aly was in another one. Before going in, we decided to pee... again! The lines were very long though, so we joined the ranks of everyone else that didn't want to wait and peed in the woods at Disney haha. It was like some sort of weird runner initiation or something.
Kari and I stretched a bit, and then went into our corral. It was weird but we did sort of feel like cattle:) We might have been in there for 45 min or so, it is all a blur really. All I remember is all of a sudden the announcement of 10 minutes until start! What was nice was they had people with mics walking around talking to runners and it was displayed up on a view big screens at the start line. When it got to be 5 min to go, Mickey and Donald and Minnie and Goofy all were up there to send us off. Thats when the adrenaline really hit me. It was so hard to sit still, and I really had peed like 5 times in an hour and a half but I still could have peed, mostly nervous pee though I'm sure. So the countdown started and when it reached zero, fireworks went up in the air and we were off! It took a bit to get moving as we were farther in the back, but it was like "this is it I'm actually running it!!"
We ran for a few minutes, and I realized right off that all the things people say about disney marathoners was true. There was a guy carrying the American flag the whole way, and another guy using crutches to run. A lot of people had pictures of loved ones they were running in memory off on their backs, which was really inspriring too. People were in Disney costumes, and had shirts made and all this stuff. About 20 min in though, I still had to pee. And I knew I'd be so uncomfortable, so I did stop at the portapotties around mile 2 or 3. Kari kept on, so that was the last I saw her the whole race. It was killing me to watch all these people run by, however long I was in line, but it felt like an eternity. So after peeing I was off, and I picked up my pace a lot so I could gain back some of the time I had lost being in line.
It was so humid to start off and my skin was pretty damp right at the start. I remember thinking that it wasn't going to be pretty once the sun came up haha. Along the way there was music playing at points, and a high school marching band or two. Then we came to Epcot. Thats when we ran into our first group of spectators, people cheeing us on. What was nice was there were Disney employees out too at the empty parts cheering you on too. It was really cool to run through Epcot because all the lights and things were on, but it was still dark and kind of foggy so it made everything look surreal. We did run by a country or two I think before turning out of Epcot.
Miles 5-9 were just highway really, which wasn't too bad yet because the sun wasn't fully up. I remember we reached a parking lot we had to run through, and they had two long lines of speakers set up, and if you ran on one side of the speakers you could listen to 70s music, and the other side was 80s. I picked 70s, not really sure why!
Anyway, after mile 10 is where we got into Magic Kingdom. I knew my family was going to be there, I just wasn't really sure where. I finally saw them on Main Street, and stopped for hugs. That was such a boost, although I wasn't really needing it that bad yet, it was nice to see them after running for a while. It was sad to leave, though, because I realized I wouldn't see them until close to the end - 16 miles away!! We got to run up and around and come down through Cinderella's Castle though which was pretty awesome. We left Magic Kingdom, so it was on to the next park.
You don't go into Animal Kingdom area until around mile 15-16, so miles 11-16 were not too exciting. The sun was out by then, so it got really hot. I knew right at the start that my goal of finishing under 5 hours wasn't really going to happen. It just wasn't possible with the heat (i HATE running in the heat) and plus with it being so hot, I knew I'd have to stop and every water/powerade stop to stay hydrated. So once it got hot, I developed this routine of drinking powerade first, using some water to take a gel if I needed, and then dumping the rest on my head. My knees down to my ankles had started to hurt too, so I would stop at the aid station and put globs of BioFreeze on my legs... that stuff is a godsend. My shoes got pretty nasty very quickly though. Anyway, one major downfall to the Disney course is you run by their sewage treatment facility. AWESOME. Especially in the heat. Mmmm mmm who doesn't love the smell of raw sewage at mile 14 of their marathon in Florida.
Somewhere after Magic Kingdom, I saw Coach Dave, one of the TnT coaches from New Hampshire that we flew down with. He ran with me for a while, and it was just what I needed. It was getting hot and the course was getting boring, and my legs were hurting. He ran with me through the hardest part, asking me how I was doing and all that. At one point when it was windy he had me run behind him so he could break the wind and it wouldn't be so hard. Somewhere in Animal Kingdom park he left me to help other TnT runners through, but I was so grateful that he was there. The professional photographers taking our pictures throughout the coarse got a nice picture of me and him, I'll post it when I get it. What was nice about running through Animal Kingdom is at one point I had to pee, so I got to use an actual bathroom with a working toilet and a sink to wash my hands with. I was pretty excited about that. Disney also had some Animal Kingdom workers on our way into the park that had animals with them, birds and owls and stuff like that.
Miles 18-22 we left Animal Kingdom and ran along highway on the way to MGM. The Hash House Harries (a drinking club with a running problem) were at mile 20 or 22 handing out beer to the runners. I might have vomited if I had some, but I did take a picture of the sign and chalk marks for my friend Axel, who runs with the Hash here in Boston. I think it was around this point that I took a picture with these dancing guys. Apparently they show up every year, but they are this group of older folks that dress up in tye dye shirts and grass skirts and goofy hats, and dance in their funny way along side of the road to "Who let the dogs out" and "Hammertime." Stuff like that can really keep your spirits up during a marathon I've discovered. I saw them maybe 3 times along the way. So, the 3rd time I stopped and took a picture with one of them. (I was carrying a disposable camera the whole time, to take pictures of monumental things like my least favorite part of the course, me with Disney characters, and the mile 26 marker!)
After mile 22 we entered into Disney-MGM studios. That was pretty cool because we got to run through the Great Movie Ride set. If you've been on it you'll know, but there is a part they drive you through a tunnel with windows and both sides where they make and repair costumes for disney movies. Well we ran through that tunnel, so that was pretty cool. People that we at the parks at the time were really good about cheering us on. I was also very psyched to get my picture taken with the characters from Disney's Robin Hood, which was my absolute favorite movie when I was little.
After leaving MGM, mile 24-25 was running around the Disney Boardwalk area, where the Yacht and Beach Club and Swan and Dolphin Resorts are. It seemed to take forever to get around that stupid lake! You could see Epcot off in the distance and it was just like UGH when will I ever finish.
Mile 25 you enter back into Epcot, and run alllllll the way around the backside of the lake going past all the countries. I don't remember really hurting at that point, because I knew I was so close to the finish and it was just so exciting. I took a picture of the mile 26 marker, and everything happend so fast after that.
I knew it was only a matter of minutes until the finish line. I turned the corner and I almost ran past my family! I actually was pretty mad at the time they wanted me to stop for a picture. I mean, think of it from a marathoner's perspective, running for about FIVE HOURS the last thing you want to do is stop. But I was just in the "bite me" phase I think, as John Bingham explaied at the pasta party.
Turning the corner after leaving my family so amazing, because there was this huge choir in gold chrous gowns singing for us!! It probably seems not so great to you, but to someone finishing their first marathon everything is just amazing. Knowing that all the hard work and training I put in was finally coming to its end was a lot to handle. Someone said once that "the finish line is for you, but the race is for them." It is so true too. The battle and the journey of running, even when I was hot or nauseous and had to walk for a minute, knowing I was doing it for all the people out there dealing with cancer kept me going. However, there is nothing quite like the finish line. Seeing it is believing, because even as you're running you know its there at the end somewhere, but finally seeing it is unexplainable. I took a picture of course, because I knew I'd want to remember it forever as my first marathon finish line. They had bleachers set up, and everyone is cheering for you, and it was nice because runners were a lot more spread out at the end, so it was like crossing your own finish line by yourself. I could hear the announcer saying everyones names, I'm not sure if he said mine I really don't remember! All I remember is crossing and hyperventilating a teensy bit haha. If you would have asked me or Drew before the race if I was going to cry, I would have said yes definately. But somehow I didn't, which is strange because I cry at like Hallmark commercials. But for some reason I didn't. I think if I had seen my family I would have for sure.
But, you go through the stations, they take the timing thing off your shoe, and then gave me my MUCH awaited space blanket YESSSSSSSS I love that thing. Not that I needed it because it was like 80 degrees out but I put it around my shoulders anyway, dammit. And then they put the medal around your neck and after that it's like walking around in a fog. I remember the powerade table so I grabbed some of that, then I think I forgot I had the powerade and saw some coke which sounded good so I grabbed one of those too.
I ended up sitting down on the ground in front of the Team In Training tent on my space blanket just waiting for someone to find me. I didn't see any of my teammates, and I couldn't really get in touch with my fam at all, so I just waited. Eventually Andrew and Chris found me, so I wasn't a poor lost soul anymore.
Afterwards, we took the shuttle back to the hotel, and I attempted to do an ice bath. Except it didn't go so well because the stupid tub in the bathroom wouldn't get below lukewarm water temperature. In the past, the ice bath has really helped my soreness the next day, so needless to say since I couldn't do it properly, I was very very sore. I walked to the hotel lobby to get some food, and nearly died when I tripped on the way and almost didn't catch myself. I'm actually surprised I was able to. I took a 2hr nap and then we got up and went to the Victory Party at Coronado Springs.
It took me about a day to realize that I wanted to do it again. During the marathon I remember thinking no way, this sucks, why would anyone want to do this more than once. But on the plane ride back, wearing my medal, I realized I wanted to do it again next year as a mentor for Team In Training, and run the Disney marathon again.... maybe even do the Goofy Challenge - where you run the half marathon Saturday, and then the full marathon Sunday.
All in all my first marathon experience couldn't have been better.... well except for the heat. But even so, training the TNT I was prepared for it, even if it sucked I knew what I had to do to finish. The crowd at Disney was great. I think there were about 16,000 runners; 4,000 of which were Team In Training from all over the place. It was so nice that people would cheer for you just because you had the purple jersey on. All the other TNT coaches were there for you, asking you how you were and if you needed anything. I'm so glad i got my name put on the front of my jersey too - all throughout the race people would cheer for me by name, it kept a smile on my face even if I didn't feel so happy.
So, maybe next year I'll have better luck with the weather, and be able to come in under 5 hours. Next year is a special year for the race, its the 15th anniversary of holding it, so they are making a special medal that no one will see what it looks like until they drape it around your neck at the finish. DEFINATELY have to do it.
So, I hope you all enjoyed my super long recollection of race day memories. If anyone wants to do it next year with me, I'd love the company. It really does change your life :)
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