Marathon report - or Confessions of a Humbled Galloway Runner
by Chris Swanson
Abstract-
This runner found the Disney Marathon (WDWM) to be a phenomenal event -
extremely well run, high percentage of water, food, health and pee services
and great crowds. Other runners were extremely enjoyable to run with and the
tracks through the parks were fantastic.
Note - the rest of this marathon report should be read with tongue firmly in
cheek.
Going In-
I make it a habit of spacing marathons 5-6 yrs apart, so this is only my
third. My goals, as I stated to anyone who would listen, were to finish and
not to throw up after I did so. If I finished under 5 hrs and could walk th
parks the following days with my kids, I said I would be satisfied.
Secretly, I harbored more ambitious demands. Orlando would be fast and flat
the weather report was for excellent cool racing, and I was in better shape
then either of my past two marathons. Most important I had read, memorized,
and followed Jeff Galloway's book "Marathon." With that extra arsenal I was
sure to break 4 hrs.
Those who may have read "Marathon" realize this line of thought is entirely
contrary to Galloway's preaching. Time goals were for the serious and not
for 38 yr old part time runners. I, of course, glossed over those sections.
I agonized over my walk/run ratio beforehand and finally settled on 7 min
runs with 1 min walk breaks. I hoped to reduce the amount of walking after
mile 19/20, assuming I felt good.
Marathon morning-
3:00 am - Can't sleep anymore so why bother. Weather channel says 36F and
I'm excited. Training runs were in 18 degree cold and I've got the right
gear, so 30s at the start seems balmy. Good luck kiss from Heidi and I'm off.
3:45am - Monorail drops me off at Epcot. I walk in circles for about 15
minutes trying to figure out where the hell 18,000 other runners could hide.
Jeez - Epcot is a lot bigger than I imagined. Finally I head towards the
really bright spotlights, finding other wayward runners going that way.
The Disney Corral-
The sight of thousands of shivering runners milling about a cold parking lot
in the dark is pretty funny - not unlike Penguins bumping into each other on
an iceberg. I'm smiling and chatty, but most of my comrades are searching
for warm spots to hide for 2 hours. A generous woman shares her Vaseline to
cover my partially frostbitten cheeks and nose.
The runners-only holding pen is empty at this time, so I stake out a spot by
a fence and do some yoga stretches to warm up. During this period the guy o
the PA system is patiently explaining to nervous runners the same
instructions over and over. Someone breaks out a pack of the mylar finish
line blankets and is immediately stampeded by frozen marathoners in shorts
and t-shirts. I wrap the towel I had been sitting on about some guy who
wasn't fast enough to grab a blanket. His teeth chatter a gracious "thank
you" in Morse code.
The Starting Line-
Boom -Fireworks explode and we're off.
Actually pre-race has a few more stories such as: shuffling C2BE mile to the
start, watching runners sitting on exhaust manifolds of the portable power
generators to unfreeze, and of course watering the nearby vegetation from our
overly hydrated bladders.
Unlike the NYM, runners can actually start to RUN once they go across the
starting line. The hoots and hollers and joy of moving is infectious. You
can really understand the reason for marathoning at the start much more then
the finish. We're a group of nuts who've been training for months in rain,
snow, injuries and sickness. We are all a big giddy pack, laughing at
ourselves and enjoying the feeling of pumping our legs forward, together now
and hopefully brought closer together when, and if, we finish.
Early Miles-
The first couple of miles surrounding Epcot are astounding. Lights
surrounding the mini-countries along the boardwalk guide our way and a
handful of park employees cheer us on. You try to soak in the memories,
desperate to hold onto this euphoric beginning. When you pass Epcot's big
ball around mile four, you promise to return - "See you in a few hours"
someone shouts.
My first concern was feeling self-conscious walking in the early miles, but I
was happy to see a number of other Galloway walk/runners off to the side. At
the end of each 7 minute stretch, I judiciously moved off to the side and
stored up energy for later. I knew from training that this method really did
work, and resisted the temptation to skip some early walks.
What I didn't realize in training was the huge amount of people that would
progressively be moving in front of me each time I stopped to walk. After
mile 4, I realized that the pace group that I was running with was slower
than I was used to. I knew from past races not to expend a lot of energy
dodging around others, so I contended myself with the easier pace.
Hah!, I said silently to myself during each walk. 'Go ahead and pass me! You
guys didn't read GallowayE280A6 you weren't saving your running muscles like I
was. Wait till the later stages of the race, I'll be the one passing
everyone.' Such ridiculous mantras kept me to my walk/run program early in
the race.
I decided to strike up a conversation with another Galloway runner whom I
kept passing on our divergent breaks. She and her husband were running their
first marathon and were keeping a 5 minute run/ 1 minute walk pace. This of
course confused me immensely as my 7/1 should have put me way in front of
them. Maybe they were just keeping up a faster pace that worked better for
them. Doubts started entering my mind as to the efficiency of my battle plan.
Galloway says that's my analytical left brain starting to take over. I knew
not to listen to any left brained ideas and promptly diverted my attention
with creative right brained schemes such as - How many people could I annoy
by singing the wrong lyrics to popular songs? Fortunately the throng was
spared my awful singing.
Approaching The Magic Kingdom-
One of the smartest gadgets I had with me was our family talkabout
walkie-talkie. Around mile 8, I was able to get in touch with Heidi and the
kids and warned them about the late start. They in turn told me where to look
for them. Just by the Polynesian I found them eagerly cheering for the
crowd. We had some fun chatting for a few seconds before I bounded off with
renewed vigor.
At this point I was on cruise control and was beginning to really enjoy the
run. We burst into the Magic Kingdom and had a blast. People were in the
park cheering and many runners were stopping to get their pics taken with
characters. I high-fived a number of different characters and shouted with
glee passing under Cinderella's castle. It was almost more fun passing
through the back lots and seeing the deflated floats for the parade. I hope
no runners could say they were disappointed with the Magic Kingdom.
Heidi had to rush their breakfast, but she did make it out to catch me at
mile 12.5. This was fortuitous as I dropped off the walkie-talkie. Didn't
need the extra weight for my super fast second half of the marathon.
Half Marathon-
It was strange seeing a bunch of fellow runners departing for the half way
finish, almost as if they were abandoning the rest of us. We all waved and
plodded on towards Animal Kingdom. Some misguided spectator shouted that we
were 'half way there!" I'm pretty sure I hated him at that point - everyone
knows the REAL half way point of the marathon is 20 miles.
The middle miles until reaching Animal Kingdom weren't as exciting as the
parks, but hell we ARE running 26 miles. Its better to have high points to
look forward to anyway. The themed water stops were really cool however,
particularly those who got more into the cheering. I forget which theme was
at mile 14, but I voted them the most energetic group. I also got a kick out
of Pocohontas' "Just around the River Bend."
Feet are feeling quite hot and a funny ache keeps popping up on my right
foot. Stop those left brained thoughts!!
My friend with the 5/1 pace shows up again. We have a number of enjoyable
brief conversations between our different walk breaks. She tells me her
husband hates to talk while running, so our talks pass the time nicely.
Somehow I lose them before hitting Animal Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom grants another adrenal surge. A fellow runner and I have som
e
fun crashing into the cushions Disney has posted entering Dinoland. I've
gotten a ton of hive fives from characters, but none from all of the kids
watching. Coming out of the kingdom, I start soliciting hive-fives from
waiting kids and they love it! Looking back, I see a group of spectators has
caught on and is sending high fives to runners behind me.
The Wall
Somewhere between mile 19 and 20, the wall hits me by complete surprise. The
old nausea pangs I remember all too well in the first two marathons pop back
up with humbling vigor. As I was trudging along that open stretch, watching
runners way ahead of me, my confused mind tried to grasp where I went wrong
in training. I mean, I memorized Galloway, this is the part where I was
supposed to be rocking.
I guess I finally realized that regardless of training or experience, the
wall is something you just have to grit your teeth and work through. I curse
myself for failing to put my name on my shirt. It is so cool hearing the
spectators cheering on fellow runners. If only someone would yell out "Hey,
You there in the red shorts, striped shirt and the green face- GO!"
My personal gratitude goes to that saintly runner standing about mile twenty
three with the Mickey Medal. I felt as if his exonerations to keep going
were exactly what I needed at that stage. I saw he had a low race number
(#135?) and knew he came back a long way to cheer us on hours after his
finish. Way to go Mr. Mickey Medal Guy- YOU are the Real American Hero!!!
MGM was a bit of a blur, but some of the smarties handed out by kind
volunteers helped my lurching stomach. Even better was the cool breeze
coming off the lakes by the boardwalk before entering Epcot. I could see the
Epcot ball in the distance - it looked like a long way off, so I immediately
stopped looking at it.
The final two miles were about as great a finish as you can expect. The
villas around the boardwalk and the people cheering us on helped divert
attention from any body aches. After mile 24, I decided to stop any walk
breaks and even picked up the pace for the final mile. I was glad to have
enough left to add some push for the final mile.
Somewhere about mile 25 I heard someone shouting "Go Chris! Go Chris!" It
never even occurred that they could be shouting for me until I saw my kids
and my wife waving frantically from the side. I didn't think I'd see them
until the finish, so I was pleasantly surprised. Hey, somebody does love me!
Just after mile 26 with the last Queen Victoria's curse to go, I looked to my
left and held out my hand to some guy who was running with me. "Nice race,"
I shouted to him. He grabbed my hand and pumped it with the same enthusiasm.
"Great race," he shouted back and we both held our arms high for the finish
line. Somehow, this seemed a fitting ending to our ordeal.
Post Race
I forget them name of the volunteer who awarded me my Mickey, but I'm pretty
sure I thanked him by name at the time. It felt great wobbling out to the
family meeting area, but my stomach was deciding NOT to cooperate with my
goals. I was too stubborn to let it win out. I was not going to get sick
this time.
A great volunteer named Yvette recognized my nausea predicament and showed me
some exercises to put pressure on my stomach. Eventually I made a trip to
the Med. tent where a running Doc recognized I was missing electrolytes.
During the race, I had really pushed the water and avoided Powerade. He had
me sip on some Powerade until my stomach settled down.
Two hours after finishing, my kids and I took the monorail back to the
Polynesian where I got a much relieving shower. They headed out to Typhoon
Lagoon (crazy) while I relaxed with the two yr old munching what was left of
my favorite post race snack - Cool Ranch Doritios (even crazier).
In the end, I accomplished my rational goals. My finish time was 4:50, I
never did throw up and I recovered enough to hang out at Epcot that evening
with the kids. For the next three days we enjoyed sparse lines at the parks
and walked all over Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
Galloway's Marathon method did exactly what was promised. My recovery was
much MUCH faster then either previous two marathons, even if my time was
slower. I may never break the elusive goal of a four hour marathon.
However, the pleasure of walking all over Disney with that huge Mickey Medal
strung about my neck for three days is worth much more than my silly time
goal. My ego was humbled, but my body was much happier.
Don't know when my next marathon will be, but I know there's another Mickey
Medal in my future.
All the best to the Disney Deads! Hope to meet you in future races!!
Chris
