Disney

Disney was amazing. The course support was amazing. The course, itself, was amazing. The people who ran it were amazing. The whole experience, despite having to get up at 2:45 in the morning, was amazing. The whole weekend was so super fabulous, I am sad it had to come to an end.

We awoke before 3:00 am to get organized and in the car by 3:15 am. We picked up Dr. Marshall, Amy's daddy, in visiting from Atlanta to run the marathon. This was his idea in the first place when we first discussed it back in June at Rock N Roll. I am so glad he stayed on me to sign up back then, because it sold out before summer was over and Marc and I got in, thankfully. It was worth the sticker price and all the headache of orchestrating my mom getting here to watch the kids, and coordinating with Amy and her family to come here from San Diego, and all the other details. It was amazing...did I say that already?

We got to Epcot just after 4:00 am and sat in the car with Marshall, eating bananas and sipping bad coffee. Around 5, we began the long walk to the corrals (as many as A-H and then I stopped keeping track) with the thousands of other people who ran the race. Apparently, the organizers used to do both the marathon and the half on the same day, but it was such a zoo, they have since run the half on Saturday, the marathon on Sunday and the Goofy's challenge of people doing both races on consecutive days in recent years. I wish we would have gotten wind of the Goofy's Challenge before that was sold out, because I think that would have been a cool experience.

Anyway, we began at some parking lot in the dark. We took off under a fireworks display and some major lights and fanfare. They ran us to Epcot, and all around the park in various places, which was so cool because we got to see it all lit up in its glory, with no crowds and the place looking all sparkly clean and serene. It was so different to see all the rides rolling with no one on them, the monorail running with no people inside, and the castles lit and lovely with no one competing for a princess' signature. On that note, when they did eventually open the park, it was fun to see all the people cheering for us and their reactions to the various costumes that runners were in. I am not just talking about all the people who dressed up as Snow White or Buzz Lightyear, but the men I saw in simply their underwear....really, tighty little (and I mean little in the sense of the material they were wearing) whitey underwear. I could tell from the crowd's reaction what was coming up behind me based on how they were yelling and cheering.

I am not even one of those weird Disney Cult-like people, but I could appreciate all of the characters who came out along the way. You know, the people Disney actually hires to walk around the campus and meet and greet the guests? Well, I felt sorry for those poor fools who had to put their arms around all of the disgusting sweaty marathoners who actually stopped for the photo option with them. Yep. Did I mention there were more gay men out on this course than I have ever run with before? I know this because I am a magnet for them, not sure why, but we always hook up and run together for a while and this day was no different. This in addition to my Ironman buddy I ran with between miles 20-26, I had lots of company and companionship the whole way. Marc and I bumped into George in corral A at the start, so he and I ran a bit together. I kind of ran in his long shadow for a while, until I decided he was having a good day and I was not feeling 100 percent still. With a head full of snot and a chest full of gunk, I am still not feeling very well following another bout with some bronchial virus. Basically, I decided to run the best I could for as long as I could, which was about 17 miles. Around mile 18, I began to feel my humanity and the body wanted to shut down.

The support was unbelievable on this course, and they handed out every kind of nutrition one could possibly dream of. I ate some banana (something I never do) around miles 14, 19, and then 24. The last stretch was just hard. There is no other word to describe how I felt, than dead. My little (he was actually very tall) Ironman buddy carried me to the end, as we encouraged each other back and forth to tow the line. Along with a woman who had tattoos all up and down her arms, I had people to pace with to the finish and I was just so happy to have arrived in 3:45 and change. Not a great time, but one minute faster than Atlanta (where I also was sick!Ugg!) so I guess that is okay. If only I could figure out how to avoid the GI issues and still give some fuel to my dying legs after mile 18. This has always plagued me and kills me in the end. Either I eat and have new legs, but a stomach in knots and vomit in the end, or I starve with no stomach problems but run out of gas. It is a dilemma.

Marc did great, though his plantar was killing him with all of the concrete on the course. He ran 6:30 pace until he blew up around mile 22 and finished with his first ever marathon over 3 hours, 3:06, poor baby. I hate when I run that slowly, too. He enjoyed the course and support, but cursed the course makeup, longing for more blacktop or grass or dirt. We both agreed that it was cool to see a lot of backstage scenery and costuming and sets for Disney. We saw so much of the behind the scenes and back country of Disney World we would not have otherwise seen. This race is a Disney geek's dream, so I highly recommend it to anyone out there who is looking for that venue. When I got into the car with Marc (who had ample time to recover before he saw me finish, of course), I could not even talk, I felt so ill. I reclined the seat and layed back, unable to recount any of these stories with him for fear I would vomit at any second. Marc began telling me his account of the day and said he needed an ice cream. Even after he got back in the car from 7-11 and was munching on a Haagen Daaz bar, I could not bear the sound of him crunching it. I really felt as though I might vomit if I continued to imagine him eating anything, so I tried to put my mind in a happy place. I thought about shoes. I thought about the kids. I thought about the people I had seen out on the course. He said to me, "Why do we do this to ourselves over and over?" I couldn't respond, but I was thinking to myself, "Because we love it. We love the marathon."

We went to Disney World today with Amy and her clan and that, too, was so fun. The kids were not disappointed to miss school and instead eat garbage and ride endless rides. It was such a fun day, and Marc kept making fun of all the race geeks who wore their shirts and medals to the park. It was pretty obvious who ran even without the gear, because of the way many of the athletes were walking today, especially around Tom Sawyer's Island, hobbling down the steps and gingerly crossing the rope bridges with tired quads. My legs feel a little beat up, too, but nowhere near like they did after the hills in Atlanta. Next project is Team in Training Triathlon Team that begins next week. I recruited (read:begged) my running buddy, Craig, to take on the bike element so that I am freed up to only give the run and swim workouts on Saturdays. I am so glad he is a sucker and could not say no. Hope that we have a successful and great season the next 12 or so weeks. Go Team.