Back To Training

It was nice to get a week or so break in after the marathon, but my break wasn't going to last forever.  Especially with the Princess Half Marathon only a month or so away, I had to get back into running.

My knees were still tight and sore, but I'm beginning to think that my knees will ever be completely ok. With the help of some Aleve and Icy Hot, things are looking ok.  I'm not too worried about the Princess Half in all honesty.  I've never had the best race at Princess because I've either been nursing an injury (my ankle 2 years ago) or running with a friend and making sure she finished.  So I guess I should technically run this with something hurting since I'm not running with someone...

This year I've made a goal for myself to run over 600 miles, which is an average of 12 miles a week.  Even with a week and a half off, I'm only off right now by just under 4 miles.  I thought it was going to be a lot worse, but of course that marathon is technically worth more than two weeks.  Either way, not as far off my goal as I could be.

So now the count down is on till Princess.  Then maybe I'll give myself a bit more of a break before picking up the training again.  If anything, running the marathon has given my confidence in running quite the boost... one that I didn't realize I needed, but I'm definitely not complaining now.

2013 Disney World Marathon Part 2- The Finish

The first half marathon ended at Animal Kingdom and the second started as we headed off toward ESPN Zone.  This part was just like the Tower of Terror 10 Miler and the Wine and Dine Half Marathon.  It was long, there were "hills" and in all honesty probably the most boring part of the race.  There were some interesting characters on the course, like Launch Pad from Duck Tales...

At this point my knees and thighs were starting to hurt.  I stopped at my first medical tent ever for some BioFreeze and that definitely helped... What also helped was the fact that they had sponges soaking in cold water ready for runners at about mile 17.  It was right before we ran into the ESPN complex and I can tell you, those sponges were one of the best ideas ever!

Running through ESPN was interesting as usual.  Got to see a lot of the fields and track.  There were actually some track athletes running on the track which I thought was interesting considering we were all dying and yet they had these college level athletes training right there...  We did run around the baseball diamond just like Disneyland Half.  Disneyland is a tad bit better on this part because they get the boy scouts and girl scouts to fill the stadium while there were just a few people cheering from the seats at the marathon.

As we were leaving ESPN Wide World of Sports, we hit mile 20, which has a HUGE mile marker considering it was the race's 20th year.  They had Mickey, Minni, and Pluto there which was pretty cool and I won't lie, I got an awesome picture!

The course was pretty much exactly like the Wine and Dine Half, but they did make it safer.  At the half marathon there was a line of cones between the runners and cars... during the marathon there was an entire buffer lane with cops inside of it to make sure no one got hurt.  It definitely made me feel better.

Hollywood Studios was pretty normal with Wreck It Ralph as well as Mike and Sully out to take pictures.  I was actually taking pictures with Mike and Sully when I saw one of my friends pass.  After that I saw my Mom and decided to see who could make it back to the finish first.  

After DHS we ran by the Yacht and Beach Club, which have always been one of my favorite hotels.  The only thing that really annoyed me was the trio who decided to take up the entire path to walk and one of them was practically giving a tour to the other two about some of the hotels.  This was a RACE not a TOUR.  Sorry, that is one of my biggest pet peeves and I might not have been the kindest when I passed... blame it on my open water swimming past.

We were ushered backstage behind EPCOT only to emerge in the UK.  From there we ran through the World Showcase and I ran through most of it so I was pretty proud.  I did take a picture with Bell (who really needed to work on her makeup) as well as Mulan and Mushu.  Eventually I made it to the front of the park, around the corner, and hit the Mile 26 marker!

.2 miles left and I was able to finish!

I was alive, I was still moving, and I didn't throw up.  Overall, that was a huge accomplishment.  I started and finished without getting swept.  That medal around my neck has never felt better!  The marathon took me 6 hours and 4 minutes and I was more than proud of that.

My friend and I with our medals... Finished 2 minutes apart!

Will I do another one?  Probably considering I still want to do the Goofy, but I need to train better.  In the days after the race my knees have been acting up quite a bit so I need to do better for them.  Still, I was happy I was able to finish a marathon since it's something I never thought I'd be able to do.  

2013 Disney World Marathon Part 1- The Start

It has been a few days now since the marathon and I am pretty much back to normal.  The race overall went really well and I finished and received my medal so I am definitely calling it a success.  I had a lot of fun and I'm just super proud of myself for pushing through to the end.

I started in Corral G, the 2nd to last corral.  I've never really been that close to the back and the sweepers were already a worry for me so I decided I was going to just run the first few miles and put some distance between myself and the sweepers.  Yes, I have heard the sweepers aren't too strict at the runDisney races, but I didn't care to find out about that.  So I skipped some of the first few character stops.  That meant I missed my favorite, the Pirates, as well as Jack Skellington, who I really could care less about getting a picture of.   They also had this huge poster up which was really cool.

I took my first break (and only restroom break) at mile 4.  I was able to catch my breath and do a mental check over how I was feeling.  Overall, pretty well, definitely better than what I was expecting considering I really wasn't prepared for the race and hadn't been feeling well the days before the race.  

The race then headed to the Magic Kingdom when we came up to one of my favorite views of any of the runDisney races... running down Main Street.  The castle is just so pretty in the early morning, isn't it?  This was the first place I got to see my support crew, aka my Mom.  I still wasn't really stopping for character pictures, especially considering the princesses and royal Mickey and Minnie both had super long lines.  Luckily, I've already taken a few pictures with royal Mickey and Minnie and I'm not a huge fan of the princesses.  I did finally stop for a picture just outside of the Magic Kingdom with Mary Poppins and started stopping for more pictures.  Here are a few from the rest of the first half:

 One cool thing, was the Disney World Speedway, which hosts the Richard Petty Driving Experience.  For the race, the race track hosted close to a mile of the race as well as a car show.  Of course Tow Mater, Lightening McQueen, and Finn McMissile were all a part of it.  There were some super nice cars there ranging from the classics to the newest sports car.  It was definitely cool to see all of the cars out there.

The race then went to Disney's Animal Kingdom where they actually had some of the smaller petting zoo animals out.  Everything from a hawk and owl to a snake to sheep and goats.  I did spy one of our elephants in their night barn still even!  Of course they had some iconic characters out there... I bet you might recognize a few:

 

There was also another cool thing that I got to do before exiting Animal Kingdom... I got to ride Expedition Everest!  That's right, I totally rode a roller coaster in the middle of the marathon.  They had just opened the attraction as I was going by so I jumped on it and got a front car seat.  Only at the Disney World Marathon could you ride a roller coaster during the race!

After exiting Animal Kingdom, we headed towards the half way marker, as well as the ESPN Wide World of Sports facility... stay tuned for what happened in the second half of the race!

I Survived!

I think this summarizes my marathon experience:

I'll post a race report tomorrow or Tuesday.  Trust me, I got lots of pictures so it should be fun!

The Week Has Come...

The marathon is only 3 days out.  It's kind of hard to believe it's that close finally.   I won't say I'm ready, because I definitely could have trained better and be feeling better.  I have been getting a sore throat from the weather constantly changing out here and I haven't been feeling my best otherwise, but I think that comes from stress from work and the run.

Still, I'm going to get through this run.

Plus, I did go to the expo today and I bought a lot of stuff... and I mean A LOT.  Check out my haul:

So of course to wear this stuff and show it off proudly, I have to finish!  I also need to add a medal to the picture, but that's coming...  In the race bag I got- The race tech shirt, a 20th anniversary button, shoe laces, cliff bar, pre-bought pin, temporary tattoo and the race info.  Not much, but again, I'm happy not to have all the papers and random stuff that I never use.

At the expo, I obviously bought a few things.  For race merchandise, I bought the white champion's jacket, 20th anniversary mickey ears, limited edition pin at the event, a nice box collection pin, a Dooney and Burke 20th anniversary purse, and a smaller version of the poster.  The artist for the poster was at the event this morning and was signing them as she gave them out.

I also got the Captain Hook shirt I've been wanting since the Tower of Terror run.  It's supposed to glow in the dark, but I just wanted it because it's Captain Hook and awesome.  I don't think I'm going to run it though.  I think I'm going to wear the "I Thought They Said Rum?" shirt I've worn for most of the half marathons.

It was crazy seeing all the set up these last few days.  On Wednesday they were already setting up medical tents and water stops.  Then today there were DJ booths and other areas getting set up.  Traffic signs were up and warning drivers... it was nerve wrecking at the same time as exciting!

O yes, and before I left the race area I signed up for running alerts to be sent to my parents as well as to be posted on my Facebook.  In the same area you could get a race photo for free from HP.  They gave you a hard copy there and sent you an electronic copy, which is great for me to post here!

One more day of work and then it's race time!

2013 Is Officially Here

I've had my 2013 goals set for a while now.  Mainly to run over 600 miles this year and finish my first marathon.  One of those goals will hopefully be completed in under 2 weeks!

That's right, the marathon is now just a week and a half away.  I'm not in the "Why did I ever sign up for this?  I'm going to die..." mode, but I said I'd do it and so I will.  I did get some great news yesterday... my mom's going to fly out from California for the race.  She's going to help me drive around and be my support crew for the race.

I'm looking forward to 2013. I don't have any weight loss goals since I'm hapy where I'm at, but it's more of I just want to stay fit and active throughout the year.  It could be hard considering I'm interviewing for a position that's not exactly going to have a lot of time off, but we'll see how it goes...

Here's to 2013 and the adventures it'll bring!