Hi, guys! As I write this I can BARELY keep my eyes open. What a week! I got
back to Philadelphia with two very tired kids at midnight on Tuesday, and
all three of us hit the ground running on Wednesday and it's finally Friday
and they are in bed... I am heading there soon!
I guess the thing I first and foremost want to say is how grateful I am that
I was able to even DO Disney 2001. As many of you know, I thought when my
husband announced he was leaving in March of last year, that I would NEVER
do another marathon, let alone go back to Disney. I'm happy to report that
on Sunday, I finished my 4th marathon in 363 days, after having just started
running a little more than 2 years ago. So there, Jeff (the ex)!
Short version: 5:21:57, NOT a PR (Philly was 4 mins faster), but I was happy
with it... considering mitigating life factors (an 8-beer New Year's Eve,
late nights with a folksinger, being a single mom) and having run Philly
just 7 weeks before.
Slightly longer version: I got to Florida Friday night w/my kids VERY late,
thanks to ice and snow in Philly. They ran the kids' run on Saturday
morning... and it sure was fun to watch them run AND see Wendy Sibley
striding into the 5k Fun Run finish. Yaaay, Wendy. And of course, the pasta
dinner was a treat... I only wish I could have talked to more people. I
realized I'd missed Laura Jensen... she was just a table away! But it was
fun to catch up with Tom and Colleen and Gary and Jan!
I was WAY paranoid about getting up Sunday, because my alarm had failed to
go off Saturday morning... so I set my mom's alarm, my watch, and put in a
wake-up call, all for 3 a.m. I needn't have bothered.
At 2:45 a.m., I was awakened out of a sound sleep by ringing. I was SO
groggy that it took me 3 full rings before I realized it was my cellphone.
Another ring before i could find the damn thing. Turned out to be my
folksinger, just returning home from a gig in Newark, DE and deciding to
give me a good-luck/go-get-em phone call. I stood outside in the cold in my
PJs rather than wake my sleeping kids and mom. I had no sooner gotten my
clothes on than the phone rang again! And it was (surprise surprise!) Mindy
Magee, fellow Dead, having just put her newborn down to sleep! THANK YOU
Mindy!
Anyway, met up with my friend Bob Beeman, marathon newbie, in the staging
area... ran into Wendy again there. Caught up with Adreth (sp?), fellow
Disney Dead... in the corrals and met her! Was anybody else incredibly
irritated by the amount of time we spent in the staging area? I could have
used that time to PEE! (Time I lost at mile 2 because I couldn't hold it any
longer!) Anyway, found myself crying like a damn fool at the beginning
AGAIN. Only at Disney.
I'm not going to do the mile by mile recap because it's not that exciting. I
went out very fast by my marathon standards... managing 11 min miles for the
first 13... but then, as the sun came up, it became very apparent I'd been
pushing WAY too hard... I told my friend Bob (who had been running with me)
to go on ahead, because I knew I couldn't maintain that pace. Saw my kids
and my mom outside Animal Kingdom just beyond mile 17... what a treat... it
bolstered me incredibly for that ugly stretch between there and MGM. It was
the BEST part of the race... having them there.
Oh, wait, I forgot! I got a phone call from Kris Kozuch just past mile 8!
yaaay, what a treat! Then from my marathoning buddy Rebecca at mile 11.
Then, again, from Kris at mile 23. I could have talked to her at mile 25 if
I'd had the strength to pick up the phone. LOL. Oh, and I called Adam at
mile 20 because he had been pestering me about breaking 5 hours. He picked
up and I said, between gasps, "would you settle for a PR?" After I explained
what a PR is (who knew a folksinger wouldn't know that?), he said, "Sure,
that's terrific." Then asked, "What can I do for you? Are you hurting?" All
I could do was laugh. "Ummm, talk me out of running another one of these
damn things?"
Anyway, I slowed down considerably in the last 6 miles, which disappointed
me, but other than a brief walk after mile 25 (to gather enough strength to
run across the finish!), I ran it, at least. AND, I'm proud to announce that
I ran the entire length of that damn entrance/exit ramp at mile 22! It was a
mental battle and I BEAT it!
Of course, the finish was sweet... and my kids and mom were there cheering
me on! Tears and a medal and a hug from my first-time marathoner friend, Bob
(who beat me by about 10 mins). I didn't get much time to rest, because as I
was sitting on the ground in the family reunion tent... my son said, "OK,
Mom, get up. You have to get a shower so we can go to the Magic Kingdom."
Ugh. So yes, Tom Laux, when you saw me, I WAS thinking, "What the hell am I
doing here?"
We spent Monday recovering by walking around Universal Studios with Gary and
Jan Stearns and Bob and Lisa Beeman... what fun! Now I'm back to real life,
with some nasty deadlines at work and the folksinger going out on the road
... I'm tired and depressed, BUT I am so so so happy and proud and excited
by all that I was able to do, even in the face of this past year.
I'm already (foolishly?) planning my marathon schedule... tentatively
looking at the Shamrockfest one in VA Beach on March 17, then the San
Francisco Chronicle Marathon on July 8, then NYC if I get in OR the Niagara
Falls Marathon (yaaay, Kris Kozuch!) on October 22.
And yes, even though I swore I wouldn't do it again, i will probably see
y'all in 2002. Thanks everyone! you guys are the best! This has been a great
place to be!!!!!!
Beth
