WDW Marathon (Goofy Challenge, Part 2) - Race Recap

Sunday, January 13

Orlando, FL

Marathon #18

Weather - Most humid and hot EVER

Saturday, Continued:

We went back to the hotel and showered. Then we set out for our very important objective of LUNCH. We took a ferry to the Polynesian where we had delicious grilled cheese, and then we set out for objective two - the cupcake tour! Don't worry, we split these all three ways.

Chocolate Beer

S'mores

Pineapple Rum & Red Velvet

We headed back to the expo since Heather hadn't been, and also because we really didn't have anything else to do. We finally got back to the hotel, and there was a surprise waiting for me! I had forgotten to stop by Lynn's hotel to get the bow... and guess what was waiting for me in my room??

I vaguely remember having dinner... we were full enough from the cupcakes that we had mac n' cheese kids meals at the hotel. Made sure to pack a variety of fuel for the marathon:

Lights out was even earlier, and the alarm was set a whole EIGHT minutes later.

Sunday:

Alarm goes off at 3:11. We seem to be moving even MORE slowly than the day before. We magically get on the bus at 3:59. Close call, the last bus is at 4:00. Everything seemed more crowded than the day before. We hung out in the starting area to meet our Twitter friend (@DeeFSU) who gave us cooling towels (that probably saved our lives). We had to wait a bit longer for the bathrooms, and we did not have nearly as much time to kill in the corrals before the start.

Like the half the day before, no real goals other than to not die or get swept. We had decided to not do any repeat character pictures and to get as much running done as possible while it was still dark. I was not feeling great. My IT band started nagging a bit and the bottoms of my feet hurt. I've been giving the PureFlows another chance. I am not sure if it is the general lack of training or the shoes, or the fact that I have not worn them for longer than a half. Anyway, I was tired.

Once there were new characters, I had a new lease on life! Definitely revived and ready to break up the monotony of running. We were REALLY looking forward to Animal Kingdom - and I happily got to pet a pig and saw a goat in a coat :D

Country Bears = THE WEIRDEST EVER

Heather doesn't like Nutcrackers???

This stop took a while since we waited for Meeko to use the bathroom

The pig - Emmy Lou

A GOAT IN A COAT!!

Then, the best part, hands down, was we got to ride Expedition Everest. All we had to do was show our bibs, and the ride attendant let us fast pass. We probably waited less than 3-4 minutes. The roller coaster was AMAZING. So fun! The wind cooled me down a bit. We bought soda and kept on running. We ran into Little Fruit Fly, got some pictures and headed on. Probably about mile 14 or 15 is when I started to give up. It was SO hot and I was SO tired, and my feet/IT band/hip were just not feeling right.

Yep. We are ON Expedition Everest.

We were dying to rest

Once we left the characters and headed into the most boring 4 miles of the course (ESPN was the LAMEST), I was having trouble staying motivated. L and Heather were running ahead of me and I was sort of dejectedly "chasing" them. I can't remember when I started walking, but I got tired of weaving in and out of all the walkers (all of our photo stops - 20 total on the course, plus the ride, had put us WAY IN THE BACK again). I'm guessing the walking started sometime in ESPN. 

 

ESP-Lame

I was really looking forward to the Mile 20 "Spectacular." It WAS spectacular, and I'm annoyed I didn't get any pictures of it. We did wait and get a good picture with Goofy, Mickey and Donald.

The rest of the course was a struggle. I enjoyed the "Neil Diamond" mile around mile 21? 22? And then we got into Hollywood Studios, and there were some more pictures. Headed onto the boardwalk, a jaunt through Epcot, and then, suddenly, we were heading toward the finish line.

After feeling drained all day, I was actually able to "sprint" to the finish. Wahooooo! Heather claims we were running just over an 8 minute pace? I find it hard to believe I still had that in me. I was dying from The Hot.

Official Time - 6:45:58
Official 5 Mile - 1:06:43
Official 10 Mile - 2:27:45
Official 1/2 - 3:29:19
Official 20 Mile - 5:17:37
Overall Place - 17614/20679
Gender Place - 8595/10618

Marathon Medal

Goofy Challenge Medal 

Collected medal number one, then headed to the Goofy tent to get our second medal. CLANKETY, CLANKETY.

• Like I said, I love Disney races. I like that I can get excited about pictures with cartoon characters.
• Again, running with L and Heather is the FUNNEST.
• Aid stations, well stocked, but again, the first (of two) Clif stations was out of gel. BRING YOUR OWN GEL.
• ESPN was the lamest of the lame. Why were there no characters there? Narrow and boring. These miles were NOT magical.
• I don't know why there was a Neil Diamond "Sweet Caroline" mile, but I loved it.
• Listening to "You're the One That I Want" while running through Animal Kingdom was also great.
• If you plan on having ALL OF THE FUN, also plan on having ALL OF THE FRUSTRATION if you choose to actually run at the end of the race. The field of this race is HUGE and the course gets pretty narrow at points. There was a LOT of weaving and it was really hard to get around people. Many people walked in packs - like across the entire width of the course. So annoying.
• EXPEDITION EVEREST IS THE BEST. IF YOU RUN THIS MARATHON YOU MUST RIDE IT, THE END.

The only MAJOR disappointment is that we apparently missed the "bacon challenge" at mile 24. Eat three pieces of bacon and earn a medal with Three Little Pigs that said "I run Disney so I can eat Disney." Three pieces of bacon is not even a challenge, and the medal is the cutest ever. SO BUMMED.

Heather's parents live near-ish Orlando and came down to get her, so after she left, L and I went to get burgers (and a pumpkin muffin and carrot cake) for lunch.

We decided to relax and watch tv for a bit. Apparently I fell asleep in the middle of a "Snapped" marathon. Woke up after 6 pm!

Dinner was pizza again, and a key lime pie. I think we were in bed again before 9.

Monday:

Had to get up at 5 am to head to the airport. After having leftover pizza for breakfast, the magical express got us there just before 7. We stopped and got a donut at Krispy Kreme (seriously, I cannot figure out where those extra 10 pounds came from!) and then at 7 am on the dot we went to Build-a-Bear to get the girls special "EXCLUSIVE" animals. L's daughter got an alligator, and I got A this flamingo:

Security was the longest and most annoying EVER and by the time we got through, we were boarding. Our flight left early, I watched 4 hours of tv, and we landed early. Uneventful. (SHOCKING).

Verdict: This was a pricey race in terms of registration - $320? We got an amazing deal on airfare, just under $200 each way. With three of us sharing a room, it was about $140 each for three nights. And then, of course, food every day was a bit pricey. We did not go to any parks though, so I guess we "saved" money there. But, if you are traveling from out of state, be sure to budget that all in, most meals were in the $10+ range. However, it was SUPER fun, and I recommend, especially if you you have Disney crazy friends to share the experience with!

Disney Princess Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, February 27
State #22/50
Half Marathon #23
Weather - Hot. Humid. Blah.

2:59 came super early. Shuttles from the hotel stopped running by 4:00 am. The resort offers a babysitting service, and she was scheduled to arrive by 3:30 am. We got dressed, and the sitter arrived a bit early - around 3:20 am. We were out the door by 3:35 and walked over to the lobby to catch the shuttle. There was a jillion people in line, but luckily they provided quite a few buses and we didn't have to wait that long. Checked the weather on the bus. Oy.

The bus dropped us off at the finish line, which was about a mile from the start line. We didn't have any bags to drop, but I did want to meet up with the Half Fanatics for the group picture. By the time we sorta figured out where we needed to be, it was already 4:30.

Princess Snow White

The picture was supposed to be at 4:45 in front of the stage. I kept wandering around trying to find it... Luckily Dave is pretty easy to spot. We did a quick group shot - I actually look normal!

We were getting yelled at by volunteers to get to the start line. We were thinking... how long could it possibly take? The info said 15-20 minute walk. Well... there were a jillion people. And we were all trying to get one place at one time. Giraffy says it was a mile walk, and it took close to a half hour.

Quick stop at the bathroom. By now it was 5:15. Then we still had to get to our corral which took another 5-10 minutes. We lined up in the back of Corral B. As we were standing there waiting for the race to start, L told me the girl next to us looked familiar and thought she had seen her in Bermuda. She asked her, and sure enough... she was. Small world.

Me and L

The start line was absolutely INSANE. Our corral was due to have a 5:53 start time.

People everywhere!

Fireworks went off, and we were on our way. Well. Sort of. This race is a perfect example of what I don't like when I run. I don't like getting "stuck" at someone else's pace because I can't get around people running slower than I want to pace. The first miles was trying my best to dodge around people and get to a comfortable pace. Didn't really work. The first mile was about a minute slower than I normally run. My goal was to get done as soon as possible before it got super hot. As you can tell, my outfit is SUPER awesome. However... it is also made out of polyester and I was boiling in it.

One good thing about this course is that there were NINE aid stations. AWESOME! I knew it was going to be hot, and I like walking the water stations. The first one was actually right before the first mile marker.

Now keep in mind, we started racing before the sun was up. The first few miles were in the dark, so I really felt like I had to be aware of my surroundings. I kept trying to run in the grass next to the road to pass people but it was hard to run on and was hilly, so I had to just suck it up and run slower.

Mile 3 - Princess Ariel

The next aid station was at about mile 3.5 and I needed it. Bad. I was sooo tired and dehydrated and hot already. I was starting to get concerned. At least in a race like this, walking wouldn't be the WORST thing in the world (but it would be close). I really wasn't feeling well, and by about mile 4 I had to stop at the bathroom. Next aid station was about mile 4.5. It was about that point that I decided that I would go ahead and stop to have my picture taken with the characters. I mean, why not. If nothing else I could stop for a few seconds and catch my breath. (Have I mentioned I was absolutely MELTING in my stupid polyester costume??)

Princess Tiana

Woody and Bullseye

Cinderella's Carriage

Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming

The stops seemed to help, and I started to feel a little better. Even with the stops, I still was moving at an ok pace. Once we got out of the Magic Kingdom, we got back on a narrow road. Ran past the firefighters for Disney, and then back out on the open road. Just before mile 8, I spotted the other L, and I tried to speed up a bit to catch up with her to say hi. She and her friend, B (ironic, right??) are also running 50 half marathons in 50 states!

Pocahontas

I'll call this "Disney Dudes"

Pirates of the Caribbean

I don't normally run with anyone, but L was struggling a bit too, and between talking with her and doing the pictures, a few miles of the course actually went by decently fast.

Pain & Panic

Around mile 11.5, L said she was going to walk for a bit, and I was on my own. There was an aid station just ahead and I was sure it was going to be the last one on the course. I walked a bit longer than usual and then headed up the overpass headed into Epcot. I was pretty happy when less than a mile later there was another aid station. Man, I can't ever remember being so exhausted in a race!

Phineus & Ferb

Once I was inside Epcot I really tried to kick it up a notch, but I was just so hot and tired I really had nothing left in me. Then the lady announced - "only a quarter mile to go!" What??? I showed that we should almost be done :(

I don't know if it was all my weaving in an out of people or what, but the course measure LONG for me. The race ended the same place as the 5K did, and I have not been this happy to see a finish line in a long time. I find L almost immediately, and she was impressed I hadn't burst into flames and ripped the costume off mid race. She really expected me to cross the line in my bra and compression shorts. LOL.

Official Time - 2:13:36
5K Split - 29:28
10K Split - 1:04:06
15K Split - 1:35:45
Overall Place - 2105/13091
Division Place - 351/2113
Garmin Time - 2:13:37
Garmin Distance - 13.29 miles (!!!!)
Mile 1 - 9:43
Mile 2 - 9:22
Mile 3 - 9:09
Mile 4 - 9:41
Mile 5 - 10:46
Mile 6 - 10:49
Mile 7 - 11:05
Mile 8 - 10:38
Mile 9 - 9:30
Mile 10 - 10:49
Mile 11 - 9:48
Mile 12 - 9:48
Mile 13 - 9:35
Miel 13.1(ish) - 8:17

After the race we grabbed our goodie bags (Luna protein bars!!) and headed to catch the shuttle back to the hotel. We arrived just before 9:00 and the sitter said A had been very good and had only been up since about 7:30. We took quick showers and then took A to the pool for about an hour. Just as we were leaving the pool area, we ran into Giraffy who was SUPER PSYCHED about her first half marathon finish.

Somehow we were all able to be out by 11:00 (we were not able to get a late check out). Giraffy still had a day left on her pass so she was headed to Epcot. We were starving and headed to get food. We figured that we would have more options if we went to Downtown Disney. We found this cool place with dinosaurs and decided to eat there.

So. This place is called "T-Rex Cafe." They call it family oriented and "interactive." Well. What I call it is loud and not the place to take someone prone to seizures. The service was slow, it was chaotic, and we had to endure three "meteor showers." But the burger? FREAKIN FANTASTIC:

After we finished eating we had about an hour to kill before we needed to head to the airport, so we walked around Downtown Disney. This dragon is made completely out of Legos!

A finally got the face painting that she had been begging for (and it was WAY cheaper than what we were quoted at Disney).

We headed to the airport just after 2:00 and dropped off the rental car. Our flight left at 5:00 and was pretty uneventful.

I had an awesome trip with A and it was great to see Giraffy again!

State #22? Complete.