Walt Disney Marathon
Marathon’s 4 Missions - Race Report
What a weekend January 7th & 8th turned out to be. Last year the snow and ice really caused some troubles for all of the runners, this year we had just about perfect weather! A tad warmer would have been nice, but don’t get me wrong it was very nice.
Saturday’s Half Marathon – 13.1 Miles run with Sarah.
First let me say I am so proud of Sarah. She ran the entire half marathon without stopping and without complaining. The weather was gorgeous in the mid 40’s I believe…It was VERY nice to run a race with my wife and not worry about time, pace, hydration, turnover rate, strides, or any other really technical stuff, we just enjoyed the morning.
Sarah you allowed me to run with you, and really ENJOY the run for what it was, an AWESOME and FUN time, thank you!
Sunday’s Marathon – 26.2
My mind had been playing tricks on me all week as to what pace I wanted to push, I knew I could run at 7:15 for at least a half marathon, and knew that running the whole at that pace would be tough but that it was still possible. One thing that no one but Sarah really knows is that I have been battling a bit of a cold over the last five days! Not a serious one, just a dry cough and a little congestion. Friday I felt horrible, I ached all over…it just wasn’t a good day! Saturdays half really loosened me up and I felt like I was really ready to fly on Sunday.
Mile 0: I lined up behind the 3:10 marathon group…basically there is a dude that carries balloons or a sign that states 3:10, which also happens to be a very popular, but not so successful group. 3:10 is the time required for anyone under the age of 35 has to run in order to register to run the Boston Marathon.
The Race...
0-5: Around Epcot – Very easy miles, legs felt great and while it was dark it was an exciting start to what I knew was going to be a long few hours! Felt like the pace was easy…even contemplated going out a bit ahead of the pace group (VERY GLAD I DID NOT!)
6 – 10: Very uneventful…boring miles! I still felt good and was excited when we hit the ticket and transportation center. I still felt very strong running through here and got very excited when we passed the contemporary and I was still with my 3:10 pace group, I could have popped the balloons at this point!
10 – 12: Magic Kingdom miles, felt so AWESOME! I remember thinking we are almost half way there and I am not sure why but these were very mental miles…for the first time I really started to doubt that I was going to be able to sustain the pace, thinking I STILL HAVE OVER HALF WAY TO GO!?!?!?! Once doubt sneaks in it is very hard to defeat it. Maybe because mile 11 was my fastest mile of the entire race 6:47! Perhaps I gassed it a bit too hard and lost it mentally?
I don’t believe you can ruin a Disney Marathon though, because it was also at this point that I made a decision that no matter what happened I was going to enjoy the rest of the race! I started taking everything in, the entertainment, even interacting with the fuel station attendants…I really started enjoying myself!
Funny because this happened right after I saw my wife Sarah who handed me some Clif Shot Blocks (energy chews) and I said, “Pray for me!” At that point I still thought 3:10 was a reality, but almost immediately after seeing her was the point that I made the decision that this race was going to be enjoyable no matter what the outcome.
Half Marathon Time 1:35:35
Miles 13 – 16: we headed out a back road towards Animal Kingdom, while this could be a boring stretch of uneventful monotony; this is a Disney race people! Characters, and crazy entertainers lined the way. This is also the part of the race that they give you your first banana, something I was REALLY REALLY looking forward to!
16 – 17: Animal Kingdom is and has always been my favorite park…however, I never remember ANYTHING about running through Animal Kingdom. This year my mind was really drifting and I started thinking back to the previous year when Terry, Eileen, and Kailyn where waiting for me to exit the park! This year I kept telling myself they were going to be there, and it seemed to work as my mind drifted…
18-20: The DEAD SPOTS…they say this is the worst part of the race. I think it is pretty exciting. You know your nearing the 20 mile mark, and there is an entire team of trampoline bouncers. One person at a time is bouncing up and down, really really high I might add. Funny here I am almost done with a marathon and at this point I had been running for roughly 2 hours and 23 minutes and all I could think of was those dudes are going to be TIRED when this day is done! At the turn around they are feeding you bananas and gels, I grabbed a few gels but skipped on the banana this time because the last one was hard to handle…MISTAKE!!!
Cramps! Well in my upper hamstrings I was cramping! I decided to stretch out for a second…ok maybe more like a minutes, you can see the difference in my pace if you check out my garmin link. @ GARMIN LINK
20 – 26.2: I am convinced that this is the best 10k finish to any marathon…although it is the only full marathon I have done, how do you top running through Disney Studios, the back lot, the International Gateway (by boardwalk, yacht and beach club…you know the place where the boats go and the walkway from Epcot to Disney Studios) and then finish by going AROUND THE WORLD and running out of Epcot to a massive crowd of cheering supporters? It is funny because this year I was close enough to see the fireworks for both the men’s and women’s champions. Just think I finished in 487th place overall out of 13,529 FINISHERS, and I STILL FINISHED over 1 hour behind the victor! That is just insane.
Below are my mile split times if your interested in these things:
Mile Split Time
1) 7:30 - 7:30
2) 7:00 - 14:30
3) 7:30 - 22:00
4) 7:25 - 29:25
5) 7:12 - 36:38
6) 6:50 - 43:28
7) 7:18 - 50:46
8) 7:14 - 58:00
9) 6:50 - 1:04:50
10) 7:28 - 1:12:18
11) 6:47 - 1:19:05
12) 7:55 - 1:27:00
13) 7:25 - 1:34:25
14) 7:52 - 1:42:17
15) 8:00 - 1:50:17
16) 7:56 - 1:58:13
17) 8:21 - 2:06:34
18) 8:12 - 2:14:46
19) 8:14 - 2:23:00
20) 9:14 - 2:32:14
21) 7:46 - 2:40:00
22) 9:33 - 2:49:33
23) 8:52 - 2:58:25
24) 9:13 - 3:07:38
25) 8:56 - 3:16:34
26) 8:54 - 3:25:28
Finish ----3:27:50
Thanks to everyone that helped by sponsoring the run to help with the production of Fire Bibles for Kids! Also, thanks to those who encouraged me...each of you in some way had something to do with this race I am sure. I thought of you all and prayed during most of the race!
Disney Marathon 13.1 + 26.2 = Goofy 39.3 +13.1 = 52.4
