Movie Monday

It's old, but one of my all time favorites

Guilty?

Not really

I haven't run since the marathon. Run time starts this week, bad weather or not.

Race Schedule <----

Planning 2007

I'm definitely doing another marathon this year. Not sure which one yet. Erie is on the schedule for now, but I reserve the right to change my mind until I register, which will probably be sooner than later. I want to do more 5Ks this year...just because they are fun.

Well, it's fun to think about anyway. For now, I'm going to run just for fun.

Movie Monday

I missed a week and it's Thursday...sue me.

Pause at 54 seconds and enjoy that awesome running form (Grey shirt, red shorts). Congratulations Elizabeth!

(How crazy is it that I found this on YouTube?)

Race Report

My 1st Marathon

Where do I start? 2:45am? Ok. Yes, that's right 2:45am. In the morning. THE. MORNING.

2:45am
dshtriathlete (my brother) and I got up and started the preparations. Body Glide goes anywhere you think skin might rub something, anything. Again, yes, everywhere. The one spot I missed: between my toes. Apologies if this is too much information, but most people who have talked to me about running in the past few months already knows more than that about what I do to prepare for running a long distance. Duck Tape goes on the nipples, yes, the nipples. You would think that would hurt when the time comes to take it off, but it actually isn't that bad, and the pain of ripping duck tape off of your nipples is far less than the pain of them bleeding all over because they rubbed against your shirt for 10+ miles of running. Just trust me.

3:20am
Brother and I are in the lobby of the hotel waiting for his friends who will be splitting a cab with us to Epcot. Brother realizes that he has forgotten all of his Clif Bars in the room so he heads back up to get them.

3:30am
Brothers friends show up, I introduce myself, and we wait for cab and Holmes (my brother) to arrive, which they do. My brother's friends were really great, and really funny which helped ease any tension or anxiety I was feeling. I actually wasn't real nervous, just ready to get my run on, and see how the day would go for me.

4:00am
Cabby pulls into the Epcot drop off area, and informs us that the 5-6 mile ride he just gave us is going to cost $30.00. Unbelievable.

4:00am - 5:50am
This was actually not as painful as it sounded when I first learned that we were to show up to the race 2 hours before the start. as we walked in to The race setup area, we were lucky to arrive at a long line of butt huts that were not terribly busy. We all decided to go ahead and give it a "go", I guess because it is better now than later. We arrived in the first "holding area" which was an area where family and non-runners could hang out for a little while before we were herded into holding area #2. Again, long lines of butt huts, but these ones had just as long of lines of runners waiting outside of them. We took a seat on the ground and chatted and relaxed, stretched, people watched. It was nice, and Disney had a live band playing all the while, some real good, pump you up, get you ready to go music. Eventually we all get herded into the 2nd holding area, again butt huts as far as the eye can see, and lines waiting. We all decided to get in line even though no one really needed to, simply because the lines were so long, you had to figure by the time you got to the front, you'd be glad you did. And that worked out well. Finally we begin a .6 mile walk to the starting corrals. Where as you might have guessed, there were more butt huts. Again I got in line (because I really had to go this time). Aren't you glad you've read this far? Off to the corral. Holmes and I are in corral C, which I don't understand and can't explain how they chose what corral to put us in, other than based on our predicted times, they didn't want us getting trampled, so they put us near the back. Here we met our Clif Bar pace leader Sharon and the other runners who would be attempting a 5:30 marathon. Sharon explained her strategies, and tried to loosen us up a bit by doing some cadence calls and other silly things, which was kind of funny but I think me and Holmes both were feeling a bit more serious than that at the time.



5:50 - 6:00am
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald arrive to the cheers and adulation of the crowd Someone sang a really nice rendition of the Star Spangled Banner which included rockets red glare and bombs bursting in the air fireworks. A short time later, fireworks go off all around us and the race has begun. The temperature at the start of the race was a very very muggy 54 degrees.



6:07 - 7:10am Miles 1 Through 5
Miles 1 through 5 are run mostly through Epcot and the parking lots and roads around the park. Click Here for a map of the course. Not a whole lot of exciting things going on as it is still dark and some pretty crowded running for the most part. The crowd support along the highway was really good. Running through the park was neat, and there were very few staff in there at this point. Our pace leader had us taking a 1 minute walk break every half mile, which made those miles pretty easy. At one point we were running up an upgrade and the pace leader was chanting something about how hills suck, to which I replied "These are not hills" (more to myself than anyone else). I've seen hills and they are not in Florida.

7:10 - 8:12am Miles 5 through 10
This is where things start getting interesting for me. Miles 5 - 10 are entirely highway and some of Magic Kingdom's parking lots, also the roads around the Contemporary Resort. Somewhere around mile 5 I made some decisions. I had been trying to run with my brother, but it was proving difficult as most areas were crowded, and we kept getting separated. I would look around for him and couldn't find him, and then every so often we would meet back up. We had sort of made a promise to each other, that as much as we would like to run with each other, if it didn't work out that way, it just didn't work out that way. Everyone has to run their own race (More on this later). Anyway, I made a decision. I decided to go. I felt good and thought that I could run a slightly faster pace than what were doing at the time, so I took off. Was it a mistake? Possibly, but that is part of what it is all about. It's as much a mental game as it is physical. I felt like taking the chance. Might I have finished better if I hadn't taken off? Maybe, maybe not. I had noticed while running with the pace group that the road was much clearer and more room to run just in front of the group, so that was where it started. I also made a decision to stop taking the half mile walk breaks, and just run run run ninja run. My very favorite part of the marathon came right around mile 9. Approaching one of the parking lots I could hear Journey - Don't Stop Believing and something else playing. Disney had set up loud speakers in the middle of the parking lot with signs at the beginning that said "Choose Your Groove - 80's to the right, 70's to the left". 2 sets of speakers playing different songs were aimed away from each other in the middle, so depending on which route you took, you could choose which "groove" you would run to. Obviously I choose the right path and was grooving to Journey through that section.

Photo is from Mile 6 where runners are crossing over an overpass while others are running underneath.

8:12 - 8:52am Half Way
Around Mile 10 I entered into Magic Kingdom through a side entrance and was really blown away by the amount of people cheering along the course, it really made for a fun time and it really does help when your name is printed on your bib and people are actually calling out your name and encouraging you. This portion also included a run right through the castle (photo courtesy of my brother). This was probably my second favorite part of the race (next to the last mile and finishing), because the crowds were really good especially once you got out of the park and started down past the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Resorts. By this point the sun was well out and around mile 13 was right in my face. I had sunglasses with me but had been wearing them on top of my head, and at this point they were pretty grunged up with sweat, and I didn't have a dry spot on my shirt to even try to clean them up. I considered asking one of the spectators to clean them for me, but felt that would have been rude to say "Hey, do mind wiping some of this nasty on your shirt for me, thanks!"



8:52 - 10:09am Miles 13.1 Through 20
Luckily around mile 13.5 there was a turn onto another road and a first aid tent. I ran in yelling that I could not see through my glasses, mostly because I wanted to make sure they knew I wasn't having problems and was not an emergency. Someone grabbed some paper towels and handed them to me and I was off again. That turned out to be the only time in the whole race that I actually stopped forward progress. This was also the first food table, if I remember correctly, and I was ready for anything. I grabbed an orange and half a banana. Never one to turn down food. Shortly after that food and water stop I came up on Disney's sewage treatment facility. I had read about this, so it wasn't a surprise, but it was kind of gross for a short while, having to smell that place. Struck up a quick conversation with a couple running together from Filthadelphia there. She was running her first marathon also and doing great. He was very proud of her and rightfully so. We talked for a bit about Coach Cowher retiring and then separated. Running through Animal Kingdom was funny. Most of the people there were not there to cheer us on but were there to see the park, and it was obvious on some of their faces that the 1,000's of people running through the park was a major inconvenience to them. Someone yelled "Go Runners!" and the girl next to me said to me, "Wow, now we know how the animals feel! We have names!". Out at the entrance to Animal Kingdom, the staff was holding back the crowds from walking to the front gate and crossing over the marathon path, again I heard someone saying "I wish they would warn us when they are going to do things like this!". I giggled and kept running. I had read that many people would not have a clue what was going on right in front of them. Mile 18 through 20 was grueling. All on the Osceola Parkway and blazing sun. I was walking at one point when I guy walked next to me and said "how are you doing? How is your energy?" I told him I felt good but I simply had no energy left. He pulled a pack of sports beans out of his pocket and handed them to me and said to go ahead and take them, he wouldn't use them. They were basically super sugary jelly beans. Once again, I had read about things like this, where runners are just helping each other make it through around this point. It was tough, but it was about to get tougher.

10:09 - 11:43am Miles 20 Through Finish Line (26.2)
This is the parts of the marathon where things get blurry and I can not remember many details. Up to this point I was having a good day. I had some aches, but I had not felt pain....yet. Around mile 21 I happily accepted a couple of Tylenol from a volunteer at an aid station. I didn't have any water to take them with, like I normally require, but at this point I didn't care. I swallowed them easily. Mile 21 also brought a feeling that I had never felt before but had heard about: my quads started locking up on me. It was really a crazy sensation, my legs wanted to buckle and my mind was screaming to stop and work it out. I knew if I stopped, that would probably be the end for me so I walked through it. Surprisingly, it only took about 5 minutes to work the problem out and I could resume running.

The Tower of Terror - Are the screams coming from there or the marathon course?

At mile 22 the 5:30 pace group caught me. I wasn't disappointed by that, it actually encouraged me to pick up the pace some, and I was able to run with them the entire way through MGM Studios which got me almost to mile 24. Only 2.2 miles to go. I let the pace group slip away. I knew I would be close to my goal time of 5:30, but I was going to be over. I had no problems at all with that. The last 2 miles involved a lot of walking and a lot of conversations with others who were walking also. I talked to a guy from Seattle, who offered a lot of encouragement, and told me that I would be very close to my goal time (I had it written on my back). The crowds were pretty good through the resorts even though there was not a whole lot of viewing areas (that I remember anyway - very fuzzy). I remember seeing a couple sitting on a sandy beach along the course and I remember wanting badly to sit in their beach chair. Fun times I tell ya. Speaking of writing on my back here is a photo of my message to all the other runners that I had written on my back bib. I received a lot of nice pats on the back and people saying "Thank you - I'm remembering".



One of the things that really carried me through this race was the amazing amount of people that had amazing reasons to be running. Many people had pictures of loved ones pinned to their backs that they were running in honor of, or raising money for charities for. So many pictures nearly move you to tears. SO many people out there running that one might look at and say they would never expect them to be out there. But so many of these people have the best reasons in the world to be going through this crazy test of physical, emotional and mental endurance. I have said to my wife all along that this first run will be for myself, and the rest will all be for charity (More on this later). I'd like to say thank you to all the people that were out there running with their reasons pinned on their backs, you helped pull me through to the end.



There were so many distractions along the course, that I forget most of them. The one I will never forget is the last one: A huge Gospel Choir right at mile 26. They were singing Everyday by Hillsong United:

What to say, Lord? It's
You who gave me life and I
Can't explain just how
Much You mean to me now
That You have saved me, Lord
I give all that I am to You
That everyday I can
Be a light that shines Your name

Everyday, Lord, I'll
Learn to stand upon Your word
And I pray that I
That I might come to know You more
That You would guide me with every single step I take, that
Everyday I can
Be Your light unto the world

Everyday, it's You I live for
Everyday, I'll follow after You
Everyday, I'll walk with You, my Lord

Everyday, Lord, I'll
Learn to stand upon Your word
And I pray that I
That I might come to know You more
That You would guide me with every single step I take, that
Everyday I can
Be Your light unto the world

Everyday, it's You I live for
Everyday, I'll follow after You
Everyday, I'll walk with You, my Lord

It's You I live for, everyday
It's You I live for, everyday
It's You I live for, everyday
It's You I live for, everyday

Everyday, it's You I live for
Everyday, I'll follow after You
Everyday, I'll walk with You, my Lord

Everyday, it's You I live for
Everyday, I'll follow after You
Everyday, I'll walk with You, my Lord

Again, I had read about this and wasn't surprised to see them, but I was really surprised at the flood of emotion that they caused and how happy I was to see them. 300+ yards to go, and the madness is over. Official Time: 5:34:28. after crossing the finish line I had my medal placed around my neck, got a mylar blanket and some guy handed me a banana, an orange, a blueberry muffin and a Clif Bar. I already had water in my hand. I would have looked like a greedy somebody trying to carry all that stuff and keep my blanket from blowing away if everyone else wasn't doing the same thing. I ate just about everything as quick as I could because I wanted to get through the tents and find SWMBO and the kiddos. Got a quick picture taken and as I went though the bag pick up tent and out the other side. SWMBO was waiting there and gave me a great big hug and told me how proud she was. You know someone loves you when they have no problem at all hugging you when you are completely drenched in nasty sweat. We went and found my MIL and the kiddos, and got hugs from all of them also.

Look at the ears on that Mickey Mouse!

A long way back in this post I was talking about my brother and said I'd have more to say about him. Back in February and March of 2006 I talked my older brother into trying this with me. He agreed and signed up less than a week after I did. He has done more for me over the last 9-10 months than even he knows. He has been supporting me and training with me and I'm very thankful for everything. At mile 5 when I decided to go ahead, I was worried about him. I had a feeling he was having a rough day, because he had mentioned the heat was bothering him a little before that. I had no idea where he was, and when I got to my wife after the finish line, she informed me that he was around an hour behind me, had blisters and having a very rough time. I was really surprised. Doing the math as quickly as I could I was really worried that he was not going to make the 7 hour cutoff. He made it with 5 minutes to spare. It might be hard or harder for someone who hasn't run a marathon to understand, but there comes a point when time just does not matter. I am so proud of him for fighting and battling through the problems he had to make it across that finish line. I don't know that I could have done what he did, had I experienced the problems he experienced. Thank you Holmes for everything you did. I might not have even done this if I didn't know you were there keeping me accountable.

Marathon Eve

Nervous? Nah. Skurrred? Maybe. Confident? Uhhhh huh. Stupid? The one thing I'm sure of.

This post coming from the 9th floor of the Hilton at Downtown Disney. Getting ready to TRY to get some sleep. Going to watch Epcot's fireworks display out the window in about 15 minutes and then lights out. The wife and kids are over at Downtown Disney, shopping and riding rides, playing in the water. I've got all my stuff set out, and have come to the conclusion that there is not much more I can do at this point. Either you are ready or you are not.

26.2. Bring It.

Resolutions

Hmmmm...

Gonna keep this simple. I've never really been one to make resolutions, or stick to the ones I made real well. But...I logged 577 miles last year, which is probably far from impressive, but it was my first year of serious running. I haven't crunched the numbers yet, but I think 1,000 is not too much to ask. I'm really not even thinking about it at this point. I just want to get through Sunday. But I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about it a little bit. Assuming I enjoy everything on Sunday, I really would like to do more marathons. I have a short list of marathons I am considering: St. Jude Marathon, Erie, Delaware, or The MCM. Or some combination of a few of those. More on this in about a month.

Movie Monday

Happy 2007

I'm a sucker for these animated Christmas lights.