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!

The Hardest Part of the Holidays...

... Is coming back to real life...

I spent my holidays split with my parents at Disney World and at work.  I was able to run a little bit around the Epcot resorts, which is something I always look forward to doing on my parent's visits.  The running was a bit tough because I was still a tad bit sore from the 13 miler last week and my stomach was more than full from all of the wonderful food we were eating.  I swear, I could almost start another blog all about the great food we were eating.

This morning was my return to "real" life and while it's my day off from work, I knew I had to get some kind of run in.  It took my almost an hour to convince myself to get out of bed and out onto the road, but I eventually did... well, after a quick change of clothes because it was a lot colder than expecting.

Todays run felt pretty good and it always seems that my best runs are the runs that I really don't want to do.  I didn't want to run at all before the 13 miler last week and it was a great run... I didn't want to run today, but I felt really good.  Still, I'm trying to relax a bit and then get a few medium runs in before the marathon.  I do have just about 2.5 weeks left!

So now I have a few holiday pounds to loose again, but it should be easier now that I'm cooking for myself again.  I might be dreaming about some of the dishes we had though for a while...

The More I Run...

My goal this week was to get over 11 miles done.  If I was able to do that, great.  If I was able to do more, even better!  If I was able to get to 18-20 miles, perfect!

So I might not have gotten to the 18-20 mile mark, but I did run more than 11.  I was able to get in 13.18 miles... just over the half marathon mark.  The best part, it felt better for longer.  Almost to mile 9 I was feeling pretty good with only a few small annoyances.  That's what I've decided most of my aches and pains are... annoyances.

The picture above came to mind during my run.  I was so impressed with how good I felt and how strong I was feeling.  I was so proud of myself, partially because the night before I was so tired and sick of running I wasn't even sure if I was going to get out there and do any of these longer runs.  The night before my run I was at one of my lowest lows about my feelings toward running... kind of like a runner's depression, but I got outside and I was able to run 13 miles!  So, so proud of myself.

I've realized my biggest issue is the lack of true strength training.  It's going to be on my focuses, I think, for next year and my next (shall I really say it?) marathon.  If anyone has any favorite circuits or routines for strength training for runners, I would love to hear them!

In other news, another reason I had to run yesterday... Christmas party!  I hosted my work's cookie exchange and white elephant.  The hard part was that I was on my feet for a majority of the day AFTER my run, but I did get to eat all these yummy cookies.  My red velvet cookies were a big hit and considering how addicting they are, I'm stopping by work today just to get them out of my house!

1 Month To Go- Will I Ever Be Ready?

I've decided that I will probably never be ready for this marathon.  I had my so called long run today and ended up running 11 miles.  I could have run more, but I don't want to risk anymore injuries or knee issues.  I actually felt pretty decent on the run.  Tired and sore, definitely, but no major aches or pains.

My knee did start to hurt around mile 10, but then calmed down a short time later.  It's kind of like I hit my wall and my knee hits its own wall and it's all about over coming both of them.  I did push through some of the tiredness, but I couldn't beat it all...

I kept repeating this mantra in my head towards the end of my run and I'm sure it's going to become my anthem during the marathon.  It's going to be part of my mental plan to keep me going.  That whole 80% mental 20% physical saying... it's completely and utterly true.

The closer this marathon gets, the more and more nervous I get.  I do have a few friends running the race as well and one is having even worse knee problems and than me.  I figure that at the least, we'll pull each other across the finish line if it comes to it.

I was thinking for a little bit today while I was icing my knees and I realized... this is pretty similar to how I felt right before my first half marathon.  I was just as nervous, just as worried... Now about 2.5 years later, I love half's and while they will always be a challenge, I'm totally and utterly addicted.  Maybe that will happen with this marathon?  One can always think positive...