Walt Disney World Marathon
-
No new posts
Walt Disney World Marathon - RunMarathon
View Member's Race Log View other race reports
![]() Run
Comments: I read many, many race reports about this and other marathons and the common thread among those that bonked was that they didn't stick to the "plan". Almost always this led to disaster. My job was to stick to our plan...the "Upright and Ambulatory" Plan. We had NO time goals and to finish healthy was our only focus...that was my job to get us BOTH there. It worked perfectly. Miles 1-10 went by easily and we were using a run/walk split of 4/1. The weather was nice and cool but not cold. At about mile 12 we picked up a 3rd to our party (Cathy) who was having some ITB issues and wanted to run/walk with someone...this worked out GREAT. This allowed us to keep a focus on something besides ourselves and our pain and was a very positive distraction. We went to 3/1 about mile 14 and maintained that through mile 18. Mile 19 was tough for the good Dr. and Cathy so I dropped the pace to 2/1 for a while so that Cathy could ease up a bit and Dr. GH could deal with some GI issues. The Dr. had gotten friends and family to pick a mile to think about her and those miles that were not picked she "assigned" a friend. She put these on a list and had them with her. At each mile marker I would ask her "who is next"? She would check the list and begin thinking about that person and this helped a GREAT DEAL to get us through the miles. At mile 24 Cathy said she was going to walk on in so we went on at about a 2/2 pace and we were able to finish VERY STRONG. Crossed the line and got our medal and felt awesome. I have been very fortunate to have done some very neat things in my 56 years on this earth but outside of the Fire Department stuff and getting married/having kids things....this tops them all. Not just the race but the entire process of the training and the responsibility to get someone else trained and across the finish line. I am so proud of this accomplishment, especially at this stage in my life. And thank you to all of the BT folks that helped me get there mentally and emotionally. What would you do differently?: I don't believe I would do anything differently for my first race. This was about BOTH Dr. GH and I finishing...nothing more...and we accomplished that. ![]() Post race
Warm down: Walked around and put some ice on the lower back that had tightened up a LOT around mile 10. It is so amazing how much pain adrenalin will mask. Ate some fruit, drank some Coke and had pictures takes. What limited your ability to perform faster: Nothing besides being old and slow. But who cares. I will do another one of these and will train and shoot for a time goal. When that happens I will worry about limiters and try to train for then to be minimized...but for this race...not a factor. Event comments: It is frickin DISNEY. They can put on a show. I would HIGHLY recommend this as a first marathon for anyone. Great destination, great course, great weather and organization...what more can you ask for for a Virgin Mary ;) Several people were talking in our coral about this race being so HUGE...22,000. We do the Peachtree RR in Atlanta on July 4th with 55,000 close friends so this was big but not overcrowded. Last updated: 2008-09-29 12:00 AM
|
|
{postbutton}
![]() |
|
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
|
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
|
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
{postbutton}
United States
Disney
55F / 13C
Sunny
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Let the fun begin.
Got to bed later than I wanted...around 9:30, then woke up every 20 minutes until 12:00 when I stayed awake. A car alarm went off at 1:00...got up to make sure it was not ours and couldn't go back to sleep. Alarm goes off at 1:45.
Plan A--We leave at 2:15 and go to McDonalds...Speaker Head says "we don't serve breakfast until 3:00".
Plan B-- (I always have a Plan B)...Go to Denny's. Seated at 2:35....chirp...chirp....get up and leave at 2:55 ...(really there was only 1 other family there and 3 servers but they NEVER came to the TABLE...WTF)
Plan C--(Usually have a Plan C)...Go to another McDonalds...since it is 3:00 they will serve breakfast, right?....not so fast. Speaker Head says...and I quote.."we can't serve you now"...I ask why...he replys "WE ARE CLOSED FOR 20 MINUTED...PLEASE LEAVE NOW"...OK really...WTF
Plan D--(I don't usually have a need for a Plan D)...Decide to take a gamble and stop in a store to see what they might have...SCORE. Buy some bagles, peanut butter, water and fruit. Who knew that the next big pre-race breakfast HOT Spot is.......wait for it......Walgreens Drug Store.
Head to the park to get into the traffic line (that we were told would be at LEAST 1 hour)....we are in the parking space eating a bagle in 18 minutes. Cool. Dr. GoodHands sleeps while I go scope out the area and we head to the porta potties about 5:00 and walk to the starting line and are in place by 5;30 for a 5:50 start.
Walked the .6 miles from the group lot to the starting line