The race report - WDW Half Marathon, January 9th, 2010
The watch went off at 2:30am. Got up, threw on the running clothes, then in what seemed like a blink of the eye I was back in the hotel room having finished the half marathon. Roughly 7 hours, 2 of them running, went by so fast it's hard to comprehend. I'm going to try to timeline it out so I can remember everything that happened, starting with the event that I'll count as the kickoff to the half.
Wednesday, Jan 6th, 6pm-ish:
Stopped off at the Salvation Army to get some "disposable" warmup clothes. I landed a red hooded sweatshirt from the Gap that was in pretty decent shape, and a pair of 3XL ladies fleece sweatpants. Cost: $5.00 - who knew that Wednesdays were half-off at the Army? I'd later find out that Disney donates all the discarded clothing to charity (after they wash it of course) and that last year they donated 3500lbs of clothing.
Friday, Jan 8th, 4:00am:
Alarm goes off, get the kids up and head to Boston Logan for our 7am flight. Folks arrive at our house at 4:45 and we're on the road at 5. Get to the airport and check in, get to the gate about 10 min before they start boarding. Wheels up a little after 7 and we land on time. Get to the bus (bags are already on their way to the hotel - Disney magic). We get to the Boardwalk Villas and check in, but rooms wont be ready until around 4pm. After some lunch at the Brewery we head over to the Expo and packet pick-up area and I grab my bib# and schwag. The WWofSports complex is buzzing and there are TONS of people there wandering in from the rain to collect their stuff. I grab some essentials from the expo floor, pick up my gear and head out.
Get back to the hotel and make our way to the hotel room, but the adjoining room smells like someone left a steaming pile on the carpet, so we move to another spot a few floors away. Finally we're unpacked and after some quick dinner we head to bed.
Saturday, Jan 9th, 2:30am - Race Day
Alarm goes off, I get my gear on:
Saucony Omni 8s, wright socks, EMS techwick undershirt, maine half marathon long sleeve over that, Reebok running shorts with the back zip pocket filled with two Gu's (vanilla) and my room key, Asics storm shelter jacket and my TNT hat. Also sporting the nipguards and a generous application of body glide in all the right places. On top of all that is my throwaway ladies 3x sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt.
In my race bag I have a powerbar, my runners alley gloves, sunglasses (wouldn't need those), t-shirt and long sleeve thermal for after the race, down coat for after the race, half a bottle of poweraid, extra nipguards and my pre-race meal - a bagel with peanut butter to be consumed about 2 hours before the kickoff.
3:15am
Get on the bus. The hour is finally getting to me - it's early. We arrive at the Epcot parking lot and thankfully there's a nice cold breeze to keep me awake. It sucks. I'm wandering around to find a place to keep warm and right after I check my race bag I head over to the first aid tent where the massage therapists are getting setup. The race crew lets us hang out in there for a while before booting us at about 4:45am. As I exit the tent I see that it's started to sleet. Awesome.
5:10am
I separate from the mass of people that are gathered outside the first aid tent. It's cold out there on my own. I miss the collective body heat. I'm heading to the starting line - I didn't realize it was a 20 minute walk over there. People are pausing next to the large construction lights they have setup to line the walkway - they are huddled around the generator engines to try to snag some warmth. As I make my way to the starting corrals (I am in corral B - one bucket behind the lead corral) I stop off for one final pitstop at the porta potties. At this point the sleet/freezing rain is really coming down. The starting line has a stage setup next to it, and above that a jumbo-tron style screen. There are cameramen all around and one jackass decides it would be funny to film the ice bouncing off the asphalt and show it up on the screen. Thanks for reminding me that it's freezing you jerk. Up on the screen they are interviewing people, a wheelchair athlete, then a couple from Chicago to do some trivia, only it turns out he's actually proposing to his girlfriend. Sweet moment. A few final stretches and some pump up music and then they bring out Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Minnie to the stage to do the countdown. 5..4...3...2....1 fireworks, loud music and we're off.
5:40am
I cross the starting line. Shortly thereafter I ditch the hooded sweatshirt. It's surprisingly easy to run this early in the race. I'm used to having to dodge people on the narrow streets, but we're on a 3-4 lane highway and there is plenty of room to run.
5:50am
Roughly mile 1 - off go the sweatpants.
6:10am - ~mile 3
We run through the parking lot gates to the Magic Kingdom. It's pretty surreal.
6:30am - ~mile 5
Running past the Contemporary resort and down under the bridge that connects the two lakes. A few yards away from the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. We enter the park through a service gateway that goes under the railroad tracks. We come on to Main Street on the right side and make a sharp right turn to head up Main Street toward the castle. It's amazing. Really, really amazing. Right turn around the hub and we head into Tomorrowland - pass by a few characters then left turn through Fantasyland - Peter Pan and Wendy off to the right in an enviable spot (portable propane heater keeping them warm). Left turn before the Carousel and there it is - the Castle. Trumpeters to my left, Cinderella and her family to my right, and pounding pavement right through the castle gates. Right turn down the ramp and through Frontierland to exit the park.
7:20am - ~mile 10
Brutal onramp/cloverleaf from the main road onto the road that leads to Epcot and the finish line. It's pitched pretty hard so running almost feels like you're galloping. I'm thinking this is the only "hill" but it's the first of three. Left calf is starting to cramp up so I pause and try to warm it up with a quick massage. Feeling better I get back onto the run.
7:30am - ~mile 11
Descending the final overpass hits mile 11 and brings me closer to Epcot.
7:40am - ~mile 12
Entering Epcot for the final mile.1 toward the finish line. We enter to the right of Spaceship Earth, head toward world showcase then make a hairpin turn to come back toward the park entrance and off to the right to the finish line.
7:50am - ~mile 13
It's the final tenth of a mile to the finish and it is lined with people. Tons of them. It's almost hard to believe how many, and even harder to believe how over 2 hours could pass so quickly. I hit the finishing chute,
grab a couple mylar blankets and get my medal put on. Walking through the finishers I make my way to the photo queue to get my picture taken with my medal,
then on to the race bag checkin tent to grab my stuff. It's freezing and I'm starting to realize it.
8:15
I've collected my stuff. It's now raining and the most important thing is to get dry before I start to get the chills. I pop back into the first aid tent, ditch the wet clothes and toss on my t-shirt, long sleeve and coat - at this point I wish I had kept my ladies sweatpants.
I grab some of the food available and head to the Team in Training tent to check in and let them know I'm not passed out on the course. From there I make my way to the buses to get back to the hotel for a nice hot shower. The race is over, I made it, and I finished in 2:12:05. Not a bad time considering how undertrained I was, and how the farthest I had run in the 8 weeks leading up to the event was a pair of 6 milers the week before.
Got back to the hotel and the family just as they were about to leave for breakfast - probably around 9am.
After a shower and some relaxing we head to MK for our lunch reservations at the LTT - nothing helps you refuel better than some turkey, stuffing and gravy!
Even with the temp, freezing rain and injury filled training this was my favorite of the four half marathons I've run so far. I'm hoping at some point to run the full Disney marathon, but that will have to wait until our next trip...
The watch went off at 2:30am. Got up, threw on the running clothes, then in what seemed like a blink of the eye I was back in the hotel room having finished the half marathon. Roughly 7 hours, 2 of them running, went by so fast it's hard to comprehend. I'm going to try to timeline it out so I can remember everything that happened, starting with the event that I'll count as the kickoff to the half.
Wednesday, Jan 6th, 6pm-ish:
Stopped off at the Salvation Army to get some "disposable" warmup clothes. I landed a red hooded sweatshirt from the Gap that was in pretty decent shape, and a pair of 3XL ladies fleece sweatpants. Cost: $5.00 - who knew that Wednesdays were half-off at the Army? I'd later find out that Disney donates all the discarded clothing to charity (after they wash it of course) and that last year they donated 3500lbs of clothing.
Friday, Jan 8th, 4:00am:
Alarm goes off, get the kids up and head to Boston Logan for our 7am flight. Folks arrive at our house at 4:45 and we're on the road at 5. Get to the airport and check in, get to the gate about 10 min before they start boarding. Wheels up a little after 7 and we land on time. Get to the bus (bags are already on their way to the hotel - Disney magic). We get to the Boardwalk Villas and check in, but rooms wont be ready until around 4pm. After some lunch at the Brewery we head over to the Expo and packet pick-up area and I grab my bib# and schwag. The WWofSports complex is buzzing and there are TONS of people there wandering in from the rain to collect their stuff. I grab some essentials from the expo floor, pick up my gear and head out.
Get back to the hotel and make our way to the hotel room, but the adjoining room smells like someone left a steaming pile on the carpet, so we move to another spot a few floors away. Finally we're unpacked and after some quick dinner we head to bed.
Saturday, Jan 9th, 2:30am - Race Day
Alarm goes off, I get my gear on:
Saucony Omni 8s, wright socks, EMS techwick undershirt, maine half marathon long sleeve over that, Reebok running shorts with the back zip pocket filled with two Gu's (vanilla) and my room key, Asics storm shelter jacket and my TNT hat. Also sporting the nipguards and a generous application of body glide in all the right places. On top of all that is my throwaway ladies 3x sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt.
In my race bag I have a powerbar, my runners alley gloves, sunglasses (wouldn't need those), t-shirt and long sleeve thermal for after the race, down coat for after the race, half a bottle of poweraid, extra nipguards and my pre-race meal - a bagel with peanut butter to be consumed about 2 hours before the kickoff.
3:15am
Get on the bus. The hour is finally getting to me - it's early. We arrive at the Epcot parking lot and thankfully there's a nice cold breeze to keep me awake. It sucks. I'm wandering around to find a place to keep warm and right after I check my race bag I head over to the first aid tent where the massage therapists are getting setup. The race crew lets us hang out in there for a while before booting us at about 4:45am. As I exit the tent I see that it's started to sleet. Awesome.
5:10am
I separate from the mass of people that are gathered outside the first aid tent. It's cold out there on my own. I miss the collective body heat. I'm heading to the starting line - I didn't realize it was a 20 minute walk over there. People are pausing next to the large construction lights they have setup to line the walkway - they are huddled around the generator engines to try to snag some warmth. As I make my way to the starting corrals (I am in corral B - one bucket behind the lead corral) I stop off for one final pitstop at the porta potties. At this point the sleet/freezing rain is really coming down. The starting line has a stage setup next to it, and above that a jumbo-tron style screen. There are cameramen all around and one jackass decides it would be funny to film the ice bouncing off the asphalt and show it up on the screen. Thanks for reminding me that it's freezing you jerk. Up on the screen they are interviewing people, a wheelchair athlete, then a couple from Chicago to do some trivia, only it turns out he's actually proposing to his girlfriend. Sweet moment. A few final stretches and some pump up music and then they bring out Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Minnie to the stage to do the countdown. 5..4...3...2....1 fireworks, loud music and we're off.
5:40am
I cross the starting line. Shortly thereafter I ditch the hooded sweatshirt. It's surprisingly easy to run this early in the race. I'm used to having to dodge people on the narrow streets, but we're on a 3-4 lane highway and there is plenty of room to run.
5:50am
Roughly mile 1 - off go the sweatpants.
6:10am - ~mile 3
We run through the parking lot gates to the Magic Kingdom. It's pretty surreal.
6:30am - ~mile 5
Running past the Contemporary resort and down under the bridge that connects the two lakes. A few yards away from the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. We enter the park through a service gateway that goes under the railroad tracks. We come on to Main Street on the right side and make a sharp right turn to head up Main Street toward the castle. It's amazing. Really, really amazing. Right turn around the hub and we head into Tomorrowland - pass by a few characters then left turn through Fantasyland - Peter Pan and Wendy off to the right in an enviable spot (portable propane heater keeping them warm). Left turn before the Carousel and there it is - the Castle. Trumpeters to my left, Cinderella and her family to my right, and pounding pavement right through the castle gates. Right turn down the ramp and through Frontierland to exit the park.
7:20am - ~mile 10
Brutal onramp/cloverleaf from the main road onto the road that leads to Epcot and the finish line. It's pitched pretty hard so running almost feels like you're galloping. I'm thinking this is the only "hill" but it's the first of three. Left calf is starting to cramp up so I pause and try to warm it up with a quick massage. Feeling better I get back onto the run.
7:30am - ~mile 11
Descending the final overpass hits mile 11 and brings me closer to Epcot.
7:40am - ~mile 12
Entering Epcot for the final mile.1 toward the finish line. We enter to the right of Spaceship Earth, head toward world showcase then make a hairpin turn to come back toward the park entrance and off to the right to the finish line.
7:50am - ~mile 13
It's the final tenth of a mile to the finish and it is lined with people. Tons of them. It's almost hard to believe how many, and even harder to believe how over 2 hours could pass so quickly. I hit the finishing chute,
grab a couple mylar blankets and get my medal put on. Walking through the finishers I make my way to the photo queue to get my picture taken with my medal,
then on to the race bag checkin tent to grab my stuff. It's freezing and I'm starting to realize it.
8:15
I've collected my stuff. It's now raining and the most important thing is to get dry before I start to get the chills. I pop back into the first aid tent, ditch the wet clothes and toss on my t-shirt, long sleeve and coat - at this point I wish I had kept my ladies sweatpants.
I grab some of the food available and head to the Team in Training tent to check in and let them know I'm not passed out on the course. From there I make my way to the buses to get back to the hotel for a nice hot shower. The race is over, I made it, and I finished in 2:12:05. Not a bad time considering how undertrained I was, and how the farthest I had run in the 8 weeks leading up to the event was a pair of 6 milers the week before.
Got back to the hotel and the family just as they were about to leave for breakfast - probably around 9am.
After a shower and some relaxing we head to MK for our lunch reservations at the LTT - nothing helps you refuel better than some turkey, stuffing and gravy!
Even with the temp, freezing rain and injury filled training this was my favorite of the four half marathons I've run so far. I'm hoping at some point to run the full Disney marathon, but that will have to wait until our next trip...
THAT many! WOW! That is so cool! I biked the Hotter Than Hell in Texas last august and just 20,000 riders...very scary..people not putting their water bottles back right and falling out causing wrecks...we helped one guy after mile maker 35 that tangled up a hill with another, he took a header, split his helmet, had to have surgery on right orbit of eye...really bad..the last 70 miles went by ok after that...thank the Good Lord! Look into the small cameras that you can buy that we put on your bike or helmet! :wave:
