Poor Unfortunate Soles: A 2013 Marathon Weekend (5K, Half and Full Marathon) Trip Report!

Another Marathon Weekend at Disney has come to a close. Let me tell you about it!

The cast includes me (Shannon, 28), my husband Will (27), my brother Craig (aka Princess Craiggy, 26), my mom, Kriss, my aunt Laurie, and my mom’s childhood best friend Barb. I got no photo of all 6 of us, and in fact have no photos at all of my mom, aunt or Barb (not my choice). Le sigh.

Anyhoo, as the title of this report suggests, this year I participated in the 5K, half marathon and full marathon (unofficially known as the Dopey Challenge) during Disney’s Marathon Weekend. Originally this trip was strictly for the Goofy Challenge (the half and full), but the idea of the 5K had been in the back of my mind for a while...eventually I pulled the trigger and signed up in August.

In my previous race reports (for the 2011 Princess Half and the 2012 WDW Full) I rambled on quite a bit about training. This time around I’m going to restrain myself. I actually did document my training on a different message board (not sure why I didn’t do it here…I guess I wanted it to be somewhere where I felt more “anonymous.” I’m weird), so if anyone is interested in reading about that, shoot me a PM and I’ll send you the link. Or if anyone wants the Cliff’s Notes version I can post that here too. I will say that I am extremely Type A and was very, very diligent when it came to preparing for these races. I should also warn you that you won’t find any speedy fast times here, but if you’re looking for a somewhat detailed play-by-play of all 3 races with lots of character pictures, you’ve come to the right place.

4 parks. 3 races. 42.4 miles. Let’s do this!

 

[TakeMeThere81]

So sorry about your frustrations with reserving for family! Next time just say you can't switch it! *shrug*. My mom went with us to Disneyland and I swear all she did was frigging complain. How can you be unhappy at Disney?!? There were some fun times of course, but I will never forget sitting down to eat at a difficult-to-obtain reservation at Carthay Circle and having her go on-quite loudly-about how it was too expensive, like it was a ripoff...and we were paying! Just the worst! Next time it will just be us, no parents.

Oooooo, you've started the marathon part-yippee!!

 

[Katherine]

I'm glad you mentioned the finisher certificate, I thought it was awesome. Did they do that last year too? If they did I totally missed it. The pic they used for the half was nice but the marathon one was a little awkward.

 

[Ariel484]

So sorry about your frustrations with reserving for family! Next time just say you can't switch it! *shrug*. My mom went with us to Disneyland and I swear all she did was frigging complain. How can you be unhappy at Disney?!? There were some fun times of course, but I will never forget sitting down to eat at a difficult-to-obtain reservation at Carthay Circle and having her go on-quite loudly-about how it was too expensive, like it was a ripoff...and we were paying! Just the worst! Next time it will just be us, no parents.

Oooooo, you've started the marathon part-yippee!!

You mom would probably get along with my aunt and my mom.... That's pretty annoying about Carthay Circle. I thought they'd complain about the price of 'Ohana but they didn't...however at Via Napoli when the bill came my aunt freaked out. And it was so hard for me to bite my tongue and not say, "Um...you are the one that picked out whatever you ordered and the prices are listed right there, sooooo.....???" Oy.

I'm glad you mentioned the finisher certificate, I thought it was awesome. Did they do that last year too? If they did I totally missed it. The pic they used for the half was nice but the marathon one was a little awkward.

Okay, so there's actually 2 things here. The screen shot is the finisher web page or something...the certificate is the thing you print from the results website at runDisney.com. They did do both of those things last year...I forget what mine looked like last year or if I had a screen shot of it, but for the Princess Half they used a picture of me and my brother with Phineas and Ferb in Epcot (mile 12.5ish)...not one I would have chosen. I don't watch P&F and in the picture I'm not even looking at the camera and my brother is hunched over looking like he's about to die. No idea how they choose what pictures to use. I bet they are getting lots of requests for changes.

 

[Ariel484]

Next up was the run past the Grand Floridian. Mary and Bert were out, but Will was not. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but I knew he didn't miss it on purpose. Plus I knew that once he realized he'd missed me he would be super mad and hard on himself...no point in my adding to it.

No more than 5 minutes after passing the Grand Floridian I got a text from Will that he'd overslept, and I told him that I'd just run by. He wasn't happy to say the least, and told me that he'd see me later on the course.

(Took more Gu chomps here.)

I passed up the Genie again and came up to the first new addition to the race course...a run around the WDW Speedway.

Getting in to the Speedway was pretty crappy. The entrance took us down one super steep hill and then up another. It was that kind of concrete that you know would get pretty slippery if it gets wet, so if we'd had any rain or spillage from the nearby water stop it could have been a problem.

This was probably pretty awesome for anyone that is a fan of racing and/or is really into cars. I am neither, so I can't say this really did much for me. I can definitely appreciate the fact that this cut out a bit of the back roads we would have run on otherwise, and it's certainly an area of WDW that I am sure I never would have seen had I not run this race. But when I first saw this addition to the course I didn't like it AT ALL. I assumed we'd be running on a slope the entire time and would have zero shade. Luckily I was wrong about the slope - maybe this just illustrates how little I know about car racing, but we ran on some flat area of the track - but the sun was getting kind of brutal by now and there was no way to escape it.

There were some Cars characters out, but I didn't stop. I did make a bathroom stop somewhere in here though...my only one of the entire race.

 

[Ariel484]

Mile Marker 9 was in here too.

A little over 6 minutes before I took this picture Adriano Bastos of Brazil won the marathon with a time of 2:21:16...the 8th time he's won this race. I bow down to you, sir!

We exited the Speedway and were now at one of the more boring areas of the course...the run down Bear Island Road. I remembered this part of the course from last year fondly though, because there are lots of trees...so lots of shade! It felt nice and cool after being out in the sun on the Speedway. Plus, once again, Disney put one of the best character meets I've ever seen here.

Last year:

This year:

Six villains in one picture, people! You can’t beat that.

After that awesomeness I continued down Bear Island Road, passed up some Country Bears, and reached Mile Marker 10.

My second split was sent out here...let's do a quick study and see what a 32-minute mile does to one's average pace, shall we?
5-mile split: 5 miles in 59:27, average pace of 11:53/mile. Estimated finish time of 5:11:41 (11:02AM).
10-mile split: 10 miles in 2:26:12, average pace of 14:37/mile. Estimated finish time of 6:23:17 (12:13PM).


And I distinctly remember seeing my pace creep close to 16 minutes/mile while waiting in the Mickey/Minnie line...so despite the fact that I'd made up for it somewhat I had still added over an hour to my estimated finish time. Yowza!

Oh well, I knew what I was getting in to. Just gotta keep chugging along.

This was an interesting meet...not sure I've ever seen these characters outside of the Christmas parade (except seeing the soldiers in MK):

Whenever I was in a photo line I'd shoot Will a text. He was getting my automatic updates and told me he was planning on heading to the Boardwalk to see me...yay! By now I was talking to my brother a bit too, and he was heading for Epcot.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Tammy!! I think you just secretly love running but won't allow yourself to admit it. You should totally do the Castaway Cay 5K in September...

I most definitely do not secretly love it! Lol! I will be cheering you on in September though!

That is an awesome picture you purchased. I love it! And the Mickey and Minnie picture? Worth any wait.

You're right, that villain stop is awesome!

 

[Ariel484]

Mile Marker 11 is right by the water treatment plant…mmm lovely.

(“You’re a rocket ship!” made me LOL.)

I stopped for a quick meet with Wendy and Peter (ate more Gu chomps while in line) just before Mile Marker 12...

And here, right before the halfway point, is where I remember starting to have problems that came on very suddenly. I'd been concerned about the heat but I seemed to be dealing with that just fine thanks to the sunscreen, well-stocked water stops, and (I assume) having drank so much in the days leading up to the races. However now my quads were starting to feel really sore...this always happens to me during long races, so I was expecting it but it still didn't feel great. (Any other runners out there know how to combat this??? )

But the biggest problem for me that day was my feet. All of a sudden it felt like both of them were cramping up, and it was so incredibly painful. I've had foot pain before from running, from the pounding I guess, but never this bad. I'd even done Goofy "dress rehearsals" during training (running back-to-back 9-/18-milers and 10-/16-milers, etc.) where this didn't happen...and now here it was, and it stuck with me throughout the rest of the race. With every step my feet BURNED. My best guess is that, among other things, now I was finally paying for not having stayed off of my feet in the days leading up to the races. And, ya know, last I checked feet are pretty important when it comes to running...so this was a problem.

After registering that I was definitely in some pain I also quickly figured out that walk breaks - and stopping - were bad ideas. Neither helped my feet all that much (though at least when I stopped I could alternate standing on one, then the other, to give them a break), but getting myself to run again was incredibly hard. My quads were now so sore that whenever I tried to get myself to start to run again after walking or stopping for a photo it felt like I couldn't actually bend my legs at first because they had quickly tightened up. It felt like I had to waddle for the first few steps until they loosened up enough so that I could run normally again. Sitting down for a break was also out of the question - who knew if I'd be able to get back up?

I went over all of this in my head very quickly and accepted that the only option was to just keep moving...I was going to need to limit any remaining walking/stopping. The thought of not taking many walk breaks for the remainder of the race totally freaked me out, but it really seemed like the best course of action, and as a result *SPOILER ALERT* I actually ended up negative-splitting the marathon (running the second half faster than the first half).

 

[Ariel484]

I most definitely do not secretly love it! Lol! I will be cheering you on in September though!

That is an awesome picture you purchased. I love it! And the Mickey and Minnie picture? Worth any wait.

You're right, that villain stop is awesome!

Sure Tammy, whatever you say...

They really did have some excellent character stops during the races...I was very pleased! Makes all the training and the pain worth it...

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Cool meet-up guys! I hope to be in one of those pictures one day! Maybe Goofy 2015!

LOVED your mainstream picture Shannon! That is a profile pic to boot! Love all of your character pics too, especially Mickey and Minnie! I totally LOLed at the running skirts not doing the courtsy(sp) thing...I have a picture just like that! And...it's with Alice too!

 

[Kristia]

Just a thought on your cramping...Dan and I brought some Endurolyte salt caps with us. We knew with the heat we would be sweating out alot of salt so we took 2 every hour or so. Depletion of electrolytes can cause cramping and this time we had no cramping. Great villian pic!

 

[Ariel484]

Cool meet-up guys! I hope to be in one of those pictures one day! Maybe Goofy 2015!

LOVED your mainstream picture Shannon! That is a profile pic to boot! Love all of your character pics too, especially Mickey and Minnie! I totally LOLed at the running skirts not doing the courtsy(sp) thing...I have a picture just like that! And...it's with Alice too!

The more I think about Goofy 2015, the more I want to do it. Just need to get the husband on board...

Haha, thanks. I like that one too...obviously since I paid for it. Ugh, those photo prices are ridiculous. I LOVE the Mickey and Minnie picture too, takes away some of the sting from missing them at the Princess Half (which I'm still bitter about...2 years later...I have issues).

I thought I was being so clever with the curtsy with Alice, but I'll have to think of something better for next time. You and I must be kindred running/posing with characters spirits!

Just a thought on your cramping...Dan and I brought some Endurolyte salt caps with us. We knew with the heat we would be sweating out alot of salt so we took 2 every hour or so. Depletion of electrolytes can cause cramping and this time we had no cramping. Great villian pic!

Thanks for the tip! I think I thought taking Powerade at every other aid station (and then at every station later in the race) would help that, but I know they dilute the stuff they give out. I'll definitely have to look into something better for Goofy 2015, assuming it happens.

 

[Katherine]

Okay, so there's actually 2 things here. The screen shot is the finisher web page or something...the certificate is the thing you print from the results website at runDisney.com. They did do both of those things last year...I forget what mine looked like last year or if I had a screen shot of it, but for the Princess Half they used a picture of me and my brother with Phineas and Ferb in Epcot (mile 12.5ish)...not one I would have chosen. I don't watch P&F and in the picture I'm not even looking at the camera and my brother is hunched over looking like he's about to die. No idea how they choose what pictures to use. I bet they are getting lots of requests for changes.

Yeah I had seen the finisher's certificate but I meant the website page. I think it's genius. I don't know how I missed it for the marathon and apparently the Princess last year Sorry to hear you started cramping and your feet got sore. My quads were also giving me issues during the marathon. Somewhere around WWoS (I think it was the overpass going in) they just started hurting (not to the extent you are describing) and it just felt like they weren't releasing. They were just constantly stiff and contracted, it was not fun. I tried lengthening my stride, swinging my legs more to shake them out, walking, and nothing seemed to help so I took some tylenol and soldiered on.

 

[LindsayLoves]

...at least you can come back and try again

May I see?

I give up on the photos. I went through the unclaimed ones 2-3 times and it's getting old...plus what if I ordered all of my digital images and then some new ones showed up a few days later? Boo MarathonFoto, Boo.

1.Oh I will be back to try it again there is NO doubt about that, the when on the other hand...

2. Yes! I will screen cap it tomorrow for you!

3. That is soooooo frustrating that you bought your pictures and then more showed up.

 

[Ariel484]

1.Oh I will be back to try it again there is NO doubt about that, the when on the other hand...

Same here. Goofy 2015 may be the earliest I do another Disney race.

2. Yes! I will screen cap it tomorrow for you!

Woohoo!

3. That is soooooo frustrating that you bought your pictures and then more showed up.

Oh, that didn't happen to me! I misspoke...that was purely a hypothetical. I'm sure if I bought all of my pictures when I first looked then yeah, I would have missed some that were added later. Which would have been infuriating. But luckily I just bought the one!

 

[Ariel484]

Yeah I had seen the finisher's certificate but I meant the website page. I think it's genius. I don't know how I missed it for the marathon and apparently the Princess last year Sorry to hear you started cramping and your feet got sore. My quads were also giving me issues during the marathon. Somewhere around WWoS (I think it was the overpass going in) they just started hurting (not to the extent you are describing) and it just felt like they weren't releasing. They were just constantly stiff and contracted, it was not fun. I tried lengthening my stride, swinging my legs more to shake them out, walking, and nothing seemed to help so I took some tylenol and soldiered on.

The website pages are very cool! I got an email that it was up this year and in past years...did you get the email? Maybe it went to your spam folder?

Yeah, your quad problems sound similar to what I had. Not good! I should have stopped for Tylenol, that never occurred to me. I wonder if it is a flexibility thing? I do strength training so I don't think it's just my legs begin weak (not that I'm totally ripped, obviously)...maybe I need to roll and stretch more to prevent that from happening again?

 

[TakeMeThere81]

I am not an expert just a nursing student/runner and Princess C probably knows more, but the sodium sounds like the culprit!

 

[Kristia]

Thanks for the tip! I think I thought taking Powerade at every other aid station (and then at every station later in the race) would help that, but I know they dilute the stuff they give out. I'll definitely have to look into something better for Goofy 2015, assuming it happens.

That stuff they had this year seemed more dilute than last time. It was pretty awful! We brought our own full strength Powerade that lasted a little while and then we pretty much kept to water, Chomps and the endurolyte stuff. Maybe try it during long training runs in the summer and see if it helps. Did you have any bananas during the run? They can help you get some potassium back too which when depleted can also cause cramping.

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

Thanks a lot for the cliff hanger! You got some great character photos during that 32 minute mile so you can't be too upset. That stinks that you started hurting so bad right at the halfway point. I don't know how you continued running. I would have sat down and cried! Hahaha I can't wait to see how the end of the race was.

 

[MKCP 1985]

That Christmas characters photo is epic! You should frame it or put it on an ornament for your tree! The villains shot is also awesome

 

[Ariel484]

I am not an expert just a nursing student/runner and Princess C probably knows more, but the sodium sounds like the culprit!

Thanks Melanee. I didn't actually get to talk to Princess C/Nurse-Man Craiggy about it, but I'll have to ask him what he thinks. But so far it sounds like I need to check out ways to keep my sodium up.

That stuff they had this year seemed more dilute than last time. It was pretty awful! We brought our own full strength Powerade that lasted a little while and then we pretty much kept to water, Chomps and the endurolyte stuff. Maybe try it during long training runs in the summer and see if it helps. Did you have any bananas during the run? They can help you get some potassium back too which when depleted can also cause cramping.

I thought it was pretty awful too, but I don't like the lemon-lime flavor anyway so it was never going to taste good to me. I did NOT have any bananas because I'm stupid. Last year I remember having a banana when I had a bad side cramp and it really helped a lot...not sure why I passed them by this year. I have some research to do before I attempt another Goofy, that's for sure.

Thanks a lot for the cliff hanger! You got some great character photos during that 32 minute mile so you can't be too upset. That stinks that you started hurting so bad right at the halfway point. I don't know how you continued running. I would have sat down and cried! Hahaha I can't wait to see how the end of the race was.

The 32-minute mile was totally worth it! I think it helped that I just expect the portion that goes through the Magic Kingdom to be super long after having done a couple of other races that go through the MK...otherwise I might have really panicked. And I am not lying when I say that if I had sat down there is a good chance I would still be sitting there! Just had to keep moving.

That Christmas characters photo is epic! You should frame it or put it on an ornament for your tree! The villains shot is also awesome

I LOVE the Christmas ornament idea! That's a great one...I am totally going to do that. I thought you'd like the villains shot!