Walt Disney World Marathon - RunMarathon


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Orlando, Florida
United States
Disney
28F / -2C
Overcast
Total Time = 5h 10m 55s
Overall Rank = 8617/16883
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 1009/1531
Pre-race routine:

Shuttled to the venue at 4am, huddled in the Race Retreat 'til 5:10, then walked the mile to the start.

The Race Retreat was the best $80 I've ever spent for a race. It was seriously cold outside.
Event warmup:

Shivered.
Run
  • 5h 10m 55s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 11m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

This was the slowest marathon I've ever done.

Based on how I did the day before in the half-marathon, I thought this one would tick off just as well. However, this run kicked my ass. I kept my pace until mile 21.5, and then the calfs cramped up and I felt like I was going to vomit. I was whipped.

I walked through Disney's Hollywood Studio park, a/k/a NYC, which was cool. It was also -- literally -- freezing. The wind chill dipped the temp to 21, which just iced up the sweat on my back.

As I approached the Flat Iron building, I looked up the side street to my right and saw San Fran's Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge.

I totally thought my race was over and contemplated abandoning the course. But then chocolate saved the day! Some folks were handing out Hershey's miniatures, and a few dark chocolates and Mr. Goodbars seemed to settle the tum and invigorate the legs. Once I got about 20 slow strides in, I felt the legs awaken and I finished the race.

It was just cold cold miserably freaking cold. Who goes to Florida for a winter marathon to run in the same temps you have at home?

What would you do differently?:

Carry a pace/time chart. At about mile 12, my brain fogged up and I just could not do the math in my head to calculate if I was on pace. I blame the weather, but it would have been so easy to have a cheat sheet on my wrist with the miles and my anticipated times listed along side them.

Carry my own gels. I ran out, and despite what I read in the race packet, I never came across another gel until mile 16. I have to carry my own gear so I can stick to my plan.

Pay attention to what I drink. Again, I relied on the race, and while there were water stops at every mile, I lost track of when/what I drank.

Eat more in the morning. I had just a Cliff bar, and I should have packed the oatmeal for my traditional pre-race/long run breakfast.

Figure out when I really have to listen to the bladder. For whatever reason, it kept telling me to stop, but there just wasn't much reason for it.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Thinking it would be easy. I have to train for longer days. While my legs were fine from Saturday, once I got off pace, I started to realize that I had never been out on a course for this long. Which then got the mind thinking that the body was done. Which then got the body thinking it was done, too. Had I done more "exhaustion" training, I would have appreciated the feelings but would have had the confidence to keep pushing.

Event comments:

I want a rematch.

Interestingly, the body feels great. There's a little tightness in the legs, but nothing is sore, and I'm not hobbling around.

I'd love to do this Goofy challenge again when the temp is in the 60s and I can wear the shorts and t-shirt I had anticipated. I wonder if I got into trouble because of training errors, or if it was just the obscenely cold temperatures.




Last updated: 2009-04-01 12:00 AM
Running
05:10:55 | 26.2 miles | 11m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 1009/1531
Overall: 1531/16883
Performance: Bad
Course: Through the whole park. Sounds romantic, but most of the course is actually on the connecting roadways and "behind" the park on Disney access roads. The Disney team was out in force. I stopped for just one photo, with Jack Sparrow and his crew, but then realized that none of us had a camera. But it was a nice 45-second respite.
Keeping cool Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Below average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4