1st ,, Thanks, to my Wife - who has put up with this nonsense for over 20 years - and Family that came down, stood in the freezin cold, and rain for hours to cheer me on,,, It means a lot more than you know ,,that there are folks waiting for me !
PreRace,,,, Package pick up went smoothly , once I figured out that the Goofy Packets were on the 2nd level of the Milk House at the Wide World of Sports ,,, I did get worried initially that they had no Name and number on their sheet for either race ! Ok, once upstairs, I go the Packet,,, 3 Long sleeve microfiber shirts, the Donald 1/2, the Mickey for the Full, and the Dark Blue one for the Goofy Challenge,,,, a bunch of sign-ups for other marathons, an Orange beaded necklace with Goofy on it,, and sneaker laces for the Marathon,,, ok, and they then affix a Silver wrist band on you that you need to exchange for a BLUE GOOFY Wristband at the end of the 1/2 Marathon. Bought a few pairs of Shorts, hey $10 each ,,,
Saturday, 1/2 Marathon day, 13.1 miles,, Weather a factor,, Major Cold front moved in,,, its Record low - 26 Degrees - and it starts to rain at about 4:30am,,, you need to be at EPCOT parking lot and walk - near 1/2 mile to the Start by the Start time of 5:40AM,,, - I am in Corral "C" - not a bad starting spot,, I can easliy see the stage, and the opening Ceremony, by race time its Sleeting, and SNOWING in Florida ! I am one of the few with shorts on,, and I have my 50 gallon size Heafty Bag to keep me out of the wind, and dry,,, I notice that the guy next to me in the Corral, has dropped a pair of Seriously large WINTER gloves - that I snatch up,,,I only have my light running gloves,, I kept these WINTER ones the entire 1/2, and at least ten miles into the Full Marathon on Sunday... with Cannon blasts, and fireworks, the 1/2 starts right at 5:40AM,,, I am feeling fine with the slow pace,, and actually have to force myself to slow down,,, I want to finish in 2hrs, 30 minutes,,, it rains and sleets, and snows essentially the entire run. There are enough Bands, Chearleaders, water stops, and Characters to keep us entertained the whole run,,, It remains dark till after 7am,,, and by then we are out of the Magic Kingdom, and headed Back to EPCOT,, the 1/2 only goes to the 2 parks,,, It seems to me a real easy pace,,, and I am in good shape,, except being wet,, as I discarded the Heafty bag at 7 miles,,,I was starting to Sweat alot inside the bag & was concerned that I would be more cold,,Finished up in good shape at 2hrs, 29 minutes, and 56 Seconds ,, hows that for hittin the Target.. I see the Family right at the end cheering me on,,,very nice... I get my finishers medal and skip right by the long lines for photos, and Snacks, to get my Dry stuff that's in the baggage tent... I trade my silver wrist band for a blue one that I will trade tomorrow for my Goofy Medal ! My teeth are chattering , and limbs shaking at this point,, its cold and wet !! I cannot wait to get on the Bus , and get warm,,,
Saturday post race is a nice Breakfast,, Bagel, Cereal, and , oh boy,, an ICE BATH for the LEGS !!
Sunday ,,, Pre-race is Same routine as Saturday,,, You can't - or I can't think of running 26 miles,,, its just to much,,, I mentally break it down to a 13,,,a 5 mile to get to 18, another 5 to 23,, and a 3 miler to finish,,
On the Bus and to EPCOT by 4:30am,. no rain,, but still cold,,, I am ready , with the Garbage bag, and Those Borrowed gloves,.. Corral "D" this time,,, even closer to the Start line,,, Musta drank tooooo Much coffee or somehting,,, as I have to stop about 4 times in the 1st tem miles,,, plus a run into the Mens room in Fantasy land to get warm for a second,,, The Full marathon is going great till mile 20 or so,, there are bands, and cheerleaders, and lots more people in Epoct, and MK,,, the Main street is Packed with folks,,, the MK is still near the 1/2 way point,, 'cept this time thats 12 miles,,, not 6,,, I am ahead of the Fam that tries to see me at mile 12,,, and i pass the 13.1 mile mark before they get there ! Warming up a bit and I discard my garbage bag at mile 8... nearly toss the hat and gloves, but i tuck them into the waist band,, good things, as we come out of the Animal Kingdom at mile 18 right into a cold wind,,, I put the hat and gloves back on ! I start to cramp my hip flexors, and Groin muscle about here, and end up really slow, and walking at some parts of 20, and 21,,, and there goes the 5 hour Marathon,,but by the end of 22 headed to 23, and Hollywood Studios,,, the muscle cramps end,,, I thought what ever tightened up must have torn,,, as I now feel better,,, I can't wait to get to the Studios, and the Tables of chocolate bars, and Had Candy ! here I come for my sugar boost !! There are just what seem like hundreds of people walking or pulling up at this point,,, at least I am passing them at my slow pace.... Thanks to the Oriental lady who rubbed the Bio Freeze gel on my Calves at mile 24 ,, she saw I could not bend over to do it !! Everyone around me can taste it now,, I am past the mental stage where you think maybe you can't make it,,, and know at 24,, its just 2.2 miles to go,,, across the bridge to the Beach Clab resort, down that path past the Yacht Club,,, in a service entrance to EPCOT near Canada, and England,, up over the bridge to France, Morrocco, then Japan, and you can see Space ship Earth off to the left .... around World Showcase Lagoon, and remembering that I was here 5 or so hours ago ! make right and head right for the BALL.,... really close now,,, the park is open , and the course lined with Spectators,,, veer right behind Guest Services, and onto the Service road, it mile 26 ! and I can see my family straight ahead,,,, screaming.... I change side of the road so I can High FIVE ,,, Mickey, and Minne who are right before the finish line,,,, I cross, Marathon #6 done !
Thanks again for all the Volunteers, and the support for the Marathon, and a Half !
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