Short version:
-Ran pretty good, a little slower than planned (chip 3:01:48, gun
3:04:55)
-Saw a few Penguins, Connectors, Deads :)
-Should have been a bit more organized before I left... *heh*
Longer version:
I left for this trip expecting to meet a whole bunch of people. I'm on
Penguin lists, the Disney Dead list, and Connector lists, and I thought
I was going to meet everybody. Unfortunately, I didn't plan well enough,
and I just don't think there was enough time anyway. I didn't print out
all of the directions/times (not to mention underestimated the time it
would take to get around via the Disney transportation system), so I was
late for some things and missed others. Live and learn. *chuckle*
On the morning of the race, I was already having pain in my right foot.
Not cool. A lot of people were standing, but I was sitting down,
massaging my foot and stretching. It was totally foggy. A lot of
people have complained about the humidity. That actually didn't bother
me much--the PROBLEM with it was that my glasses were continually fogged
up. Anyone wearing glasses was cursed, I think. ;) BTW, I was the
Clash Queen out there... if you saw noticed someone wearing a bunch of
stuff that didn't go together (pink hat, orange shirt, aqua shorts, red
fanny pack, dalmation cooltie), that was probably me. ;)
A big thanks to Holly for the cooltie, BTW!! :)
I wondered whether I was going to be able to finish, but I never really
worried about it much. It was weird. My training has been pathetic
lately, thanks to foot pain and chronic achilles tendonitis... AND I put
on 10 lbs since the last time (and only other time) I had done this
distance. But I just always figured I would finish it somehow. And
indeed, it went pretty well. The foot pain went away. I played tag
with a few people (including Dead Penguin Charles Cohn, who was
racewalking) for several miles. My Achilles never gave me any trouble.
There weren't many Deads in my neck of the woods *heh* but I did talk
with some Penguins and Connectors along the way. At mile 7 or so, I
hooked up with FL Connector Rhonda James, and we ran together (5 min
run/1 min walk) until the half marathon point (where she went on). She
kept me going during the last few miles. Usually I look forward to
running again after a walk break, but in the last few miles, I was
getting progressively more stiff. That transition from walking to
running was not going very well. LOL I also stopped for a few pictures
along the way (NO MICKEY!!! ARGH!!). Had I pushed a bit more (or skipped
those pictures), I'm sure that I could have finished in less than 3
hours. But what's a Disney race without some pictures??! :)
This was my first time ever to WDW, and I would have to agree with the
people that said a lot of it was boring. Going through the parks was
fun, but a lot of the run was on the highways. I was also hoping to run
into Hook for a picture, and instead had to be satisfied with a big Hook
balloon at the side of the road. *heh* I was not bored for long
though. This was my first OFFICIAL half marathon (I ran half of the TC
marathon), and so it was still exciting. Being part of such a big
group--and NOT being clear at the back for once--made it all
interesting. The "plan" is to do the whole thing next year. ;)
--
Suzanne Day ---> in Des Moines, Iowa!
