Ladies and gentlemen, I AM A MARATHON FINISHER!
Today I'm sore, tired, and recovering, but extremely giddy and happy. I can't stop thinking about the marathon.
First of all, I don't know if y'all heard or not, but Florida has been in record low temps for the past few days now. I never expected to run my first marathon in sub-freezing temperatures, but apparently Mother Nature had other ideas in mind. the race officialy started at 5:40 a.m., but I was up at 2:40, and out the door by 3:10. The husband and I drove to Epcot, and there were already a line of cars waiting to park. Crazy traffic! Anyway, it was COLD! Good thing I was wearing my hat, gloves, and jacket. I'd had previously planned to run in just a tank top and running capris...damn weather. I said goodbye to the husband to go wait in my corral, but not before taking a picture with a GI Joe. How awesome is that?!
For the next hour and a half I froze my toosh off. My toes eventually just went numb, and I started to worry that that would affect my running. Nothing I could do, though. It was cold, and the race hadn't begun. What was funny, and I wish I would've snapped a picture of it, was the runners who had on these throwaway hazmat suits. At least that's what they looked like. Hey, whatever keeps them warm, right?
Just before the race started Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald came out (totally dressed in track outfits!!! *smiles*) to get things started. We counted down, the fireworks went off, and then off we went! The husband was fortunate to get this awesome pic of the start line. You can sort of see the start line in the bottom middle of the photo, just under the row of 5 fireworks. Click to enlarge.
I was so hyped up on adrenaline the first few miles flew by without a hitch. When I reached Mile 4 I realized I needed to pee, and I needed to pee BAD! Damn. I was hoping to run the marathon without stopping in the port-o-potty, but I just couldn't wait. Good thing I went, because it was the longest pee I've ever had. Or maybe it just felt like that. And let's not talk about how long I had to wait in line to go pee. I was antsy to get back out there to run. Every second in the port-o-potty was a second added to my overall time. In all, it probably took 3 minutes or so do my business (waiting in line included).
For the first few miles we wound our way around Epcot. It was still dark out, but the park was alive with light. It was def cool to run through the park, view the rides, see the sites, and see the Disney characters. It was a big distraction. I didn't even think about running, or feeling tired, or anything.
Miles 5 through 10 were on a stretch of highway in between Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. I felt great. My plan was to eat a GU every five miles, and I only carried two GUs with me (I was planning on meeting up with the husband at Mile 12-ish to grab some more GUs from him), so I ate GU at Mile 5 and Mile 10, and honestly, I had to remind myself to eat them. First, because I wasn't feeling tired, and second, the race was just so freaking awesome and there were so many things to see, that I wasn't paying attention to mileage.
Just after Mile 10 we entered the Magic Kingdom through Tomorrowland. I wanted to stop and take a picture with Buzz Lightyear, but the line was too long. I would've waited for at least 2 or 3 minutes, and I didn't want to wait that long for the picture. Oh well. I figured there would be more opportunities to take pics with the characters. After Tomorrowland we wound our way to Main Street USA and there were spectators galore! It. Was. Awesome. You could see Cinderella's Castle in the background, and I was most anxious about running through the castle. Just before I reached the castle I got in line to take a picture with the crew from Peter Pan. Wendy, Peter, Smee, and Hook...
Then I saw the castle. And, of course, i had to take a picture of people running through the castle. I felt like a princess! Minus the glass slippers and frilly dress...
I don't really remember much of Mile 11. The only thing I remember thinking was, "Geez, this is the farthest I've run without stopping to walk. Awesome! I bet I can make it until the halfway point before I stop for a walk break..."
At Mile 12 I was expecting to meet up with the husband so he could refuel my SPIbelt with 3 more GUs, give me a hug and words of encouragement, and send me on my way. But I didn't see him. Anywhere. I was on constant lookout, too. Once I reached the Mile 13 marker I started to panic. I didn't have any more GUs with me, and I really needed to see his face. Sometimes a runner just needs to see a familiar face, you know?! The next place we planned to meet up was the finish line, so....yeah. For a mile or so I was really upset about not seeing him. I NEEDED to see him, and I needed those GUs. I needed support. Physically and emotionally.
After Mile 14 I put Plan B into action. Since I didn't have any more GUs with me I started drinking the Powerade instead of water at the water stops. Which is something I never do, because Gatorade usually gives me an upset stomach when I run. I guess Powerade works, though! YAY! No upset stomach. And I decided to eat the food at the food stations. Originally I wasn't planning on eating during the race. I've NEVER eaten anything besides GUs while running, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I saw the bananas and immediately took one. Pretty sure I downed that thing in 30 seconds or less. I was worried how that would affect my stomach, but all the worry was for nothing. It tasted great, and it gave me energy.
Miles 12 through 16 were on another stretch of highway between Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom. I was startting to get a bit tired during this point, so at Mile 15 I stopped for a walk break. Fifteen miles...no walking!! Awesome. I also stopped a couple of times for some character pics. I figured, why not?!
Say hello to safari Donald and Daisy!
And my favorite character pic of all....it's Minnie!!
Running through the Animal Kingdom was pretty sweet. I think it was my favorite park to run through. We ran past Everest, and the dinosaurs, and the musicians were playing tribal music, and basically, it was just cool. It was a good distraction to how tired I felt. I was still a little sad that I didn't see my husband, but I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't see him until the end.
Then guess what?! Just after Mile 17 I look to my side and see my husband frantically trying to get my attention!! I was shocked. And relieved. I had to hold back tears of relief...I know, I was emotional! I ran over to him and said, "How did you get here?!" (As a side note, Disney is pretty strict about the places people can spectate. There are only a certain number of places that people without park passes can get to, and Mile 17 was only for Animal Kingdom park pass holders...my husband didn't have a pass.) He basically said he missed me at Mile 12 because the transportation for the spectators was insane and busy, and he didn't make it in time. Once he realized he missed me, he did everything he could to get to me before the finish. He knew I needed him. So he did what any loving husband would do and jumped on a bus to Animal Kingdom (I think it was a bus for volunteers and people with park passes), and made it to Mile 17 about 2 minutes before he spotted me. Just in the nick of time!! I said, "I thought I missed you! I was so sad." He said, "I know. Did you think I'd leave you stranded?" *heart flutters and melts* He gave me GUs, retied my left shoe (it was too tight), and gave me a huge hug and sent me on my way. Love him.
Miles 18 through 22 were hard. There were lots of hills (who knew?!) and it was just a boring stretch of highway. At Mile 20 I realized that every step after that point was farther than I'd ever run at one time before. In a way, every step was a milestone for me. I was starting to hurt. My feet felt like lead, and I started to have doubts about finishing. Pain. Aches. Ouch. Hills. Hurt. I needed to snap out of it, so I started envisioning the finish line. It worked. I just kept running. I came to the realization that I would finish the marathon. If I had to baby step, walk , or crawl myself to the finish line, I would do it.
At Mile 22 we reached Hollywood Studios. We ran by Mickey's giant sorcerer's hat, down Hollywood Blvd, and through the costuming department. SO COOL. I stopped to get this picture because I'm basically obsessed with The Incredibles. Love that movie.
I'm not going to lie and say Miles 22 to the finish were easy. They weren't. That last 10K was the hardest 6 miles I've ever run in my life. Every step took will power. Every step felt painful. I walked a few times. One foot in front of the other. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....."
At Mile 25 I was looking forward to running into one of my favorite blog buddies. She lives in Orlando, and had planned to be the official blogosphere spectator for the Disney Marathon. Shortly after the Mile 25 marker I saw the bright yellow poster, and knew it was her (even though I'd never met her before that moment!). The Redhead was there with Running Spike, and let me tell you, it made my day! It was just the boost I needed to finish strong. Thanks Morgan!!!
I had less than a mile to go, and I was happy. I turned off my iPod and just ran. The gospel choir was singing, and then I saw it. The finish line. THERE IT WAS!!! Almost done! I picked up my pace (as much as my tired legs could muster), held back tears, and crossed the finish line. I finished. I finished the marathon. The husband snapped a few pics as I was coming into the finish.
My stats?
Time: 4:49:54 (my goal was to finish under 5 hours...yay)
Overall place: 6578/16883
Gender place: 2315/8152
Division place: 489/1533
When I saw my husband at the end, I walked into his arms, and cried. Yup. I cried good, too. I was happy! I was in pain, but I finished. I DID IT!!
You better believe it. I gave my Mickey medal a big kiss on the lips!
It's hard to put into words how I felt about running my first marathon. There were so many good things about it. So many awesome and magical (hey! Disney will do that to you) moments. So many fantastic memories that I'll have forever. I've never felt such a personal sense of accomplishment like this in my life. It tops graduating from college and getting a real job. I've never done something that's required the amount of hard work, dedication, motivation, and will power to train for, and then run, a marathon. I know that sounds crazy, but I'm one of those people who gets an idea about something, tries it for a little while, and then quits when it doesn't work or gets too hard. Running was different for some reason. But I'm glad it was. I'm glad I stuck to it, finished what I started. Because guess what? I'm gonna do it again. I'm addicted. I WILL run another marathon. (Hopefully this year if all goes according to plan....)
