Marathon Weekend!!!
Thursday, January 4
Our flight from Chicago O'Hare to Orlando, FL left at about 11am. On the way to the gate, we met a couple of other Team In Training folks. The flight was uneventful,except for a screaming child sitting next to Matt. ;-) Poor guy. His ears still may be ringing.
We arrived in Orlando at about 2:30pm EST and the whole group of TNT folks went down to catch the Disney Magical Express bus to the resort. All of the Illinois TNT people were staying at the same resort - Port Orleans Riverside Resort. We all got on the bus and off we went. Matt and I were checked in by a very nice man named Julio, who was from Puerto Rico. He gave us both buttons to wear that said "1st Visit", even though it wasn't technically our first visit to Disney. It was just our first visit in a long, long time. :)
The resort was absolutely beautiful. It was situated along a canal (thus, the name Riverside), with lots of trees and birds. It was a very relaxing and peaceful place. We dropped our stuff off in our room, and then headed back to the lobby to get on the bus for the Health & Fitness Expo. The Expo was really crowded and there was a really long line for packet pick-up. The line moved fast, thankfully, and I got my packet and t-shirt, and we left. It was too crowded to stay and look around, and we were both really hungry. We got some dinner and headed to bed.
Friday, January 5
We got up fairly early and grabbed some breakfast at the hotel before catching the bus to the Magic Kingdom. We spent all morning in the MK - the lines for the rides were super-short, so we got to do a lot in just a few hours. It was pretty fun, but the food selections in MK are pretty poor - it's not vegetarian-friendly at all. I had a big soft pretzel for a snack. You know, the kind covered with heaps and heaps of those huge salt crystals. I retain water just thinking about it. ;-)
In the early afternoon, we headed over to Epcot, by way of the monorail system. It was time for the Team In Training Pasta Party. What an amazing experience that was! The room was absolutely enormous and there were thousands of TNTers and their families/friends. The pasta was delicious, and we were entertained with a hilarious and motivating talk from John "The Penguin" Bingham. John Bingham is the idol of slow runners everywhere, and a regular columnist in Runner's World magazine. We also listened to an inspirational story from a woman who had been diagnosed with lymphoma just one year earlier, and she was about to walk a marathon. Amazing!
Saturday, January 6
Since I was going to need to save my feet and my energy for the race on Sunday, I knew that I would need to take it easy on Saturday. We got up early and went to the finish line area of the half marathon. We were able to see my 2 teammates from the Peoria team.... as well as hundreds of other runners and walkers.
The rest of the day, we hung out at our resort - lounging around by the pool, and watching tv in our room. In the evening, we met up with the rest of the Illinois team to head to Downtown Disney for another pasta dinner. As soon as we got back to the resort, we went right to bed. I tried to sleep as best I could, despite the hoards of butterflies taking up residence in my stomach! The next morning would be a very early morning...
Sunday, January 7 - The Big Day
It was finally here - marathon day! The alarm went off at 2:30am and we both got up and got dressed. Matt didn't have to get up so early - he could have come to the starting line later. But he wanted to come with me, and wouldn't have it any other way. What a trooper! We met up with the Illinois team in the lobby at 3:15, and boarded the bus to the start area. The bus dropped us off approximately 14 miles from the starting line. Seriously, it was about 1 - 1.5 miles, but they should include the walk from the bus to the start line in the marathon distance. It sure felt like 14 miles at 4:00 in the morning! I had to leave Matt and proceed to the start corrals. I used the port-o-potty one last time and took my spot in Corral F. It was still dark out, and the air was not hot, but it was very humid and foggy. I sat down on the pavement and just waited. There was great music blasting (maybe they were trying to keep us from falling asleep in our corals?) and before I knew it, they were starting the wheelchair marathon. In just a couple minutes, it would be my turn. YIKES! I alternated between feelings of intense excitement, and incredible self-doubt. Could I really do this? This weather was nothing like what I had trained in. It was warm and muggy. Well, I was going to find out soon enough if I would be able to make it. After a beautiful rendition of the national anthem, the race started with fireworks and pyrotechnics. We were off!!!
I crossed the start line about 3 minutes after the gun went off... and then the running started.
Miles 0-4 Epcot
It was very humid, and I wasn't sure how I would do with the humidity, so I went out very slow for the first few miles (and being crowded by the thousands of other runners also helped slow me down). I felt alright though and was just excited to finally be there, running my marathon. At around Mile 2, we ran past some actual restrooms in Epcot, where lots of people were stopping. I had to take advantage of the opportunity to wash my hands with real soap and running water. Yes, I actually stopped running so that I could wash my hands. It felt WONDERFUL! Amazingly, this was my only bathroom stop for the entire marathon. There was a great crowd through Epcot and along the highway outside of Epcot - bless them for being out there in the dark at 6am cheering us on!
Miles 4-10 From Epcot to the Magic Kingdom
These were open road miles, and were actually rather long and boring, due to lack of entertainment. But, it's much better to have boring miles at the beginning of a race than at the end, when you're already tired. There were a couple of marching bands playing, a couple cheerleading squads, and a few other random groups and DJs playing music and wearing strange costumes. The sun was coming up and the fog was starting to lift. Between Miles 9 and 10, there was a brief 2-lane split, with a sign that read "Choose Your Decade". The left lane was playing 70's music and the right lane was playing 80's music. I chose 80's - they were playing Der Kommissar. :) When I reached Mile 10, I was feeling pretty groovy and having a generally good time.
Miles 10-11 The Magic Kingdom
This was my most favoritest part of the marathon (other than finishing) - I wish it had lasted more than 1 mile! It was in the Magic Kingdom that I met Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Woody, Jessie and Bullseye! The crowd on Main Street was oustanding and the atmosphere was totally energizing. I even got to run through Cinderella's Castle.
Miles 11-16 From Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom
More open road mileage. It was getting very hot and humid, and the sun was out in full force, beating down on me. There were very few shady spots. I was starting to get fatigued and hot. I was still able to maintain my 9-to-1 run/walk ratio, but it was getting harder. At Mile 14, there was a DJ playing music and yelling "You're almost there! Just go around this corner and go just 12 more miles!" I wanted to punch him. I feared I was starting to enter the "Bite Me Zone" that John Bingham had warned us about on Friday. At Mile 15, they were handing out orange slices and bananas. I took both and gobbled them up. Some much-needed refreshment. Somewhere in these miles, we also ran past the Disney water treatment and recycling facility, which was rather smelly. I really appreciate, however, Disney's commitment to the environment and recycling.
Miles 16-18 Animal Kingdom
These miles are very much a blur to me. This is when I started to really feel the affects of the heat. Just before we entered the park, there were several park employees situated on the side of the road holding some very interesting animals - like some large birds of prey, and what looked like a baby crocodile, among other things. The Animal Kingdom park seemed very nice, from what I saw of it. All I could think about at the time was how nice the shade from the trees was. It didn't last long, though. We exited the park and ran through the huge parking lot and were back onto open road again...
Miles 18-22 From Animal Kingdom to MGM Studios
More open road. This was hands down the hardest part of the marathon for me. It was VERY hot, and there was absolutely no relief from the sun. And it did not help when several of the water stops had run completely out of water. When I got to the 2nd water stop that was out of water, I began to seriously doubt if I would actually finish. I thought that it would be over for me. How could they be out of water? I'm sure Disney will be getting a lot of nasty letters about that (from me included). Fortunately for myself and many other runners, there were a lot of very generous spectators out there willing to pour out every drop of water they had with them to help us keep going. I was doing a lot more walking on these miles in order to conserve any fluids and energy I had left. At Mile 20, there was a super-cool Beatles tribute band who actually sounded pretty darn good - they were singing Help, which was appropriate given my mental state. And at Mile 22, I came to the realization that I could walk the rest of the marathon if I needed to, and still finish within the allowed 7 hours. That was my "I'm really going to do this" moment.
Miles 22-24 MGM Studios
This was a neat park that I wish I had gotten a chance to see more of. They had some really cool characters on the sidelines for entertainment. My favorite were the guys dressed as green, plastic toy Army men. They were painted in head-to-toe green and barking out orders to all the runners to "Keep Running and Finish Strong!" and whatnot. And running (er, I mean, walking) through the costuming area was oh-so-nice because it was a long tunnel - SHADE! Yes, at this time, I was pretty much exclusively walking. Not a casual stroll, mind you - I was speedwalking as fast as I could, and it was quite painful for my feet. I could feel the balls of my feet being rubbed raw - they were not used to this mode of exercise. Looking back, I think it probably would have been easier to run at that point, but the brain isn't so capable of that kind of logic after running 22 miles.
Miles 24-25 Disney Boardwalk
The boardwalk was very nice, with good support from the crowds. But the boardwalk itself was kind of narrow in places, which caused people to slow down. Some folks were handing out ice cubes and I gladly took a handful and rubbed them on my neck and even stuck a couple down my sports bra. That felt great!
Miles 25-26.2 Back at Epcot
And before I knew it, I was back at Epcot, inching closer to my personal victory. I saw the Illinois TNT coach at about Mile 25.7, and he so generously let me drink some of his Gatorade - it was much needed. He gave me a pep talk (also much needed), told me that the finish line was just around the corner, literally, and told me to try and run the rest. And I did. I was overcome with emotion, knowing that was soon going to finish my first marathon. I fought back tears as I picked up my pace. I ran with all the strength I had left, and the crowds were cheering for me - for ME! I kept running, past the incredible church choir, around the corner, up a slight hill, and there it was - the Finish Line. I was almost there. I put my arms up, as if breaking an invisible tape, and crossed the finish. I did it. I finished a marathon. A nice young woman placed the medal around my neck and told me that it was an incredible accomplishment. I was a marathoner. Not a very fast one, mind you. ;-) But a marathoner all the same.
The marathon was the hardest thing I have ever done - it is incredibly demanding in both a physical and mental sense. It is, however, also incredibly rewarding. What a sense of accomplishment!
I used my Nike+ iPod system during the marathon and this is my chart. Each dot corresponds to a Mile, so you can see which miles I was feeling great and which miles I was really dragging. And you can also see my relatively strong finish. I'm pretty proud of that. :)
If you want to see my pictures from the marathon, click here.
The evening of the marathon was the TNT Victory Celebration. I didn't really feel like partying - I was super-tired and not really hungry at all, but I figured I should make an appearance. So we went, and I found that after having a few bites of food, my appetite started to return. And I even found the energy to dance for a couple of songs. But we still left pretty early and I was in bed by 8:30 that night. I slept for nearly 10 hours and it was wonderful!
Monday, January 8
Our last day in Orlando... kinda of sad. :( We spent the morning at Epcot, where we were fortunate to be able to ride Soarin'. We loved this ride - it was super-cool! We also took a relaxing boat ride called Living With the Land, which was actually very interesting! We learned some really cool stuff about agriculture and some of the research Disney is doing on efficient and natural ways of producing various crops. We went to Italy for lunch, and by the time we were done with lunch, it was time to head back to the resort and catch the Magical Express bus to the airport.
The flight back to Illinois was also uneventful, aside from some choppy turbulence. When we got off the plane in Chicago, it was a pretty rude awakening - it was so cold compared to Orlando! We got our baggage and started on our 2 1/2 drive to Metamora.
We made it home safe and sound, and it's definitely good to be home. But, Matt and I agree that our trip to Disney was absolutely wonderful and we can't wait to go back again (perhaps when there are no marathons to run) and spend more time in the parks.
And as for whether there will be any more marathons in my future... well, when I crossed the finish line at Disney, I said to Matt "I am NEVER doing that again!". But I am already starting to reconsider. So... never say never. ;-)
Our flight from Chicago O'Hare to Orlando, FL left at about 11am. On the way to the gate, we met a couple of other Team In Training folks. The flight was uneventful,except for a screaming child sitting next to Matt. ;-) Poor guy. His ears still may be ringing.
We arrived in Orlando at about 2:30pm EST and the whole group of TNT folks went down to catch the Disney Magical Express bus to the resort. All of the Illinois TNT people were staying at the same resort - Port Orleans Riverside Resort. We all got on the bus and off we went. Matt and I were checked in by a very nice man named Julio, who was from Puerto Rico. He gave us both buttons to wear that said "1st Visit", even though it wasn't technically our first visit to Disney. It was just our first visit in a long, long time. :)
The resort was absolutely beautiful. It was situated along a canal (thus, the name Riverside), with lots of trees and birds. It was a very relaxing and peaceful place. We dropped our stuff off in our room, and then headed back to the lobby to get on the bus for the Health & Fitness Expo. The Expo was really crowded and there was a really long line for packet pick-up. The line moved fast, thankfully, and I got my packet and t-shirt, and we left. It was too crowded to stay and look around, and we were both really hungry. We got some dinner and headed to bed.
Friday, January 5
We got up fairly early and grabbed some breakfast at the hotel before catching the bus to the Magic Kingdom. We spent all morning in the MK - the lines for the rides were super-short, so we got to do a lot in just a few hours. It was pretty fun, but the food selections in MK are pretty poor - it's not vegetarian-friendly at all. I had a big soft pretzel for a snack. You know, the kind covered with heaps and heaps of those huge salt crystals. I retain water just thinking about it. ;-)
In the early afternoon, we headed over to Epcot, by way of the monorail system. It was time for the Team In Training Pasta Party. What an amazing experience that was! The room was absolutely enormous and there were thousands of TNTers and their families/friends. The pasta was delicious, and we were entertained with a hilarious and motivating talk from John "The Penguin" Bingham. John Bingham is the idol of slow runners everywhere, and a regular columnist in Runner's World magazine. We also listened to an inspirational story from a woman who had been diagnosed with lymphoma just one year earlier, and she was about to walk a marathon. Amazing!
Saturday, January 6
Since I was going to need to save my feet and my energy for the race on Sunday, I knew that I would need to take it easy on Saturday. We got up early and went to the finish line area of the half marathon. We were able to see my 2 teammates from the Peoria team.... as well as hundreds of other runners and walkers.
The rest of the day, we hung out at our resort - lounging around by the pool, and watching tv in our room. In the evening, we met up with the rest of the Illinois team to head to Downtown Disney for another pasta dinner. As soon as we got back to the resort, we went right to bed. I tried to sleep as best I could, despite the hoards of butterflies taking up residence in my stomach! The next morning would be a very early morning...
Sunday, January 7 - The Big Day
It was finally here - marathon day! The alarm went off at 2:30am and we both got up and got dressed. Matt didn't have to get up so early - he could have come to the starting line later. But he wanted to come with me, and wouldn't have it any other way. What a trooper! We met up with the Illinois team in the lobby at 3:15, and boarded the bus to the start area. The bus dropped us off approximately 14 miles from the starting line. Seriously, it was about 1 - 1.5 miles, but they should include the walk from the bus to the start line in the marathon distance. It sure felt like 14 miles at 4:00 in the morning! I had to leave Matt and proceed to the start corrals. I used the port-o-potty one last time and took my spot in Corral F. It was still dark out, and the air was not hot, but it was very humid and foggy. I sat down on the pavement and just waited. There was great music blasting (maybe they were trying to keep us from falling asleep in our corals?) and before I knew it, they were starting the wheelchair marathon. In just a couple minutes, it would be my turn. YIKES! I alternated between feelings of intense excitement, and incredible self-doubt. Could I really do this? This weather was nothing like what I had trained in. It was warm and muggy. Well, I was going to find out soon enough if I would be able to make it. After a beautiful rendition of the national anthem, the race started with fireworks and pyrotechnics. We were off!!!
I crossed the start line about 3 minutes after the gun went off... and then the running started.
Miles 0-4 Epcot
It was very humid, and I wasn't sure how I would do with the humidity, so I went out very slow for the first few miles (and being crowded by the thousands of other runners also helped slow me down). I felt alright though and was just excited to finally be there, running my marathon. At around Mile 2, we ran past some actual restrooms in Epcot, where lots of people were stopping. I had to take advantage of the opportunity to wash my hands with real soap and running water. Yes, I actually stopped running so that I could wash my hands. It felt WONDERFUL! Amazingly, this was my only bathroom stop for the entire marathon. There was a great crowd through Epcot and along the highway outside of Epcot - bless them for being out there in the dark at 6am cheering us on!
Miles 4-10 From Epcot to the Magic Kingdom
These were open road miles, and were actually rather long and boring, due to lack of entertainment. But, it's much better to have boring miles at the beginning of a race than at the end, when you're already tired. There were a couple of marching bands playing, a couple cheerleading squads, and a few other random groups and DJs playing music and wearing strange costumes. The sun was coming up and the fog was starting to lift. Between Miles 9 and 10, there was a brief 2-lane split, with a sign that read "Choose Your Decade". The left lane was playing 70's music and the right lane was playing 80's music. I chose 80's - they were playing Der Kommissar. :) When I reached Mile 10, I was feeling pretty groovy and having a generally good time.
Miles 10-11 The Magic Kingdom
This was my most favoritest part of the marathon (other than finishing) - I wish it had lasted more than 1 mile! It was in the Magic Kingdom that I met Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Woody, Jessie and Bullseye! The crowd on Main Street was oustanding and the atmosphere was totally energizing. I even got to run through Cinderella's Castle.
Miles 11-16 From Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom
More open road mileage. It was getting very hot and humid, and the sun was out in full force, beating down on me. There were very few shady spots. I was starting to get fatigued and hot. I was still able to maintain my 9-to-1 run/walk ratio, but it was getting harder. At Mile 14, there was a DJ playing music and yelling "You're almost there! Just go around this corner and go just 12 more miles!" I wanted to punch him. I feared I was starting to enter the "Bite Me Zone" that John Bingham had warned us about on Friday. At Mile 15, they were handing out orange slices and bananas. I took both and gobbled them up. Some much-needed refreshment. Somewhere in these miles, we also ran past the Disney water treatment and recycling facility, which was rather smelly. I really appreciate, however, Disney's commitment to the environment and recycling.
Miles 16-18 Animal Kingdom
These miles are very much a blur to me. This is when I started to really feel the affects of the heat. Just before we entered the park, there were several park employees situated on the side of the road holding some very interesting animals - like some large birds of prey, and what looked like a baby crocodile, among other things. The Animal Kingdom park seemed very nice, from what I saw of it. All I could think about at the time was how nice the shade from the trees was. It didn't last long, though. We exited the park and ran through the huge parking lot and were back onto open road again...
Miles 18-22 From Animal Kingdom to MGM Studios
More open road. This was hands down the hardest part of the marathon for me. It was VERY hot, and there was absolutely no relief from the sun. And it did not help when several of the water stops had run completely out of water. When I got to the 2nd water stop that was out of water, I began to seriously doubt if I would actually finish. I thought that it would be over for me. How could they be out of water? I'm sure Disney will be getting a lot of nasty letters about that (from me included). Fortunately for myself and many other runners, there were a lot of very generous spectators out there willing to pour out every drop of water they had with them to help us keep going. I was doing a lot more walking on these miles in order to conserve any fluids and energy I had left. At Mile 20, there was a super-cool Beatles tribute band who actually sounded pretty darn good - they were singing Help, which was appropriate given my mental state. And at Mile 22, I came to the realization that I could walk the rest of the marathon if I needed to, and still finish within the allowed 7 hours. That was my "I'm really going to do this" moment.
Miles 22-24 MGM Studios
This was a neat park that I wish I had gotten a chance to see more of. They had some really cool characters on the sidelines for entertainment. My favorite were the guys dressed as green, plastic toy Army men. They were painted in head-to-toe green and barking out orders to all the runners to "Keep Running and Finish Strong!" and whatnot. And running (er, I mean, walking) through the costuming area was oh-so-nice because it was a long tunnel - SHADE! Yes, at this time, I was pretty much exclusively walking. Not a casual stroll, mind you - I was speedwalking as fast as I could, and it was quite painful for my feet. I could feel the balls of my feet being rubbed raw - they were not used to this mode of exercise. Looking back, I think it probably would have been easier to run at that point, but the brain isn't so capable of that kind of logic after running 22 miles.
Miles 24-25 Disney Boardwalk
The boardwalk was very nice, with good support from the crowds. But the boardwalk itself was kind of narrow in places, which caused people to slow down. Some folks were handing out ice cubes and I gladly took a handful and rubbed them on my neck and even stuck a couple down my sports bra. That felt great!
Miles 25-26.2 Back at Epcot
And before I knew it, I was back at Epcot, inching closer to my personal victory. I saw the Illinois TNT coach at about Mile 25.7, and he so generously let me drink some of his Gatorade - it was much needed. He gave me a pep talk (also much needed), told me that the finish line was just around the corner, literally, and told me to try and run the rest. And I did. I was overcome with emotion, knowing that was soon going to finish my first marathon. I fought back tears as I picked up my pace. I ran with all the strength I had left, and the crowds were cheering for me - for ME! I kept running, past the incredible church choir, around the corner, up a slight hill, and there it was - the Finish Line. I was almost there. I put my arms up, as if breaking an invisible tape, and crossed the finish. I did it. I finished a marathon. A nice young woman placed the medal around my neck and told me that it was an incredible accomplishment. I was a marathoner. Not a very fast one, mind you. ;-) But a marathoner all the same.
The marathon was the hardest thing I have ever done - it is incredibly demanding in both a physical and mental sense. It is, however, also incredibly rewarding. What a sense of accomplishment!
I used my Nike+ iPod system during the marathon and this is my chart. Each dot corresponds to a Mile, so you can see which miles I was feeling great and which miles I was really dragging. And you can also see my relatively strong finish. I'm pretty proud of that. :)
If you want to see my pictures from the marathon, click here.
The evening of the marathon was the TNT Victory Celebration. I didn't really feel like partying - I was super-tired and not really hungry at all, but I figured I should make an appearance. So we went, and I found that after having a few bites of food, my appetite started to return. And I even found the energy to dance for a couple of songs. But we still left pretty early and I was in bed by 8:30 that night. I slept for nearly 10 hours and it was wonderful!
Monday, January 8
Our last day in Orlando... kinda of sad. :( We spent the morning at Epcot, where we were fortunate to be able to ride Soarin'. We loved this ride - it was super-cool! We also took a relaxing boat ride called Living With the Land, which was actually very interesting! We learned some really cool stuff about agriculture and some of the research Disney is doing on efficient and natural ways of producing various crops. We went to Italy for lunch, and by the time we were done with lunch, it was time to head back to the resort and catch the Magical Express bus to the airport.
The flight back to Illinois was also uneventful, aside from some choppy turbulence. When we got off the plane in Chicago, it was a pretty rude awakening - it was so cold compared to Orlando! We got our baggage and started on our 2 1/2 drive to Metamora.
We made it home safe and sound, and it's definitely good to be home. But, Matt and I agree that our trip to Disney was absolutely wonderful and we can't wait to go back again (perhaps when there are no marathons to run) and spend more time in the parks.
And as for whether there will be any more marathons in my future... well, when I crossed the finish line at Disney, I said to Matt "I am NEVER doing that again!". But I am already starting to reconsider. So... never say never. ;-)
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