Greetings folks! A bit late, yeah but I just got back from Orlando.
Spent a few days extra afterwards in order to enjoy the scenary and to
let my muscles rest a bit:) That and enjoy AirTran's wonderful service
of "Those people who are supposed to be on Flight 552 which was
cancelled and were put on Flight 216 which has been grounded are to now
return to Flight 552 which is back on again and you will miss your
flight and not get home until past midnight".
But what ya all wanted to hear, My Race Report. Being that it's late,
I'm gonna make it short. My goal for the marathon was two-fold -
Finish, and hopefully finish in 4:15.
Aside from freezing my arse off with everyone else at the start, scared
stiff (it was rather intimidating for a first time marathoner), and
worrying about my previous injuries (my bruised ankle that developed
the week before the marathon and the blister that formed on my toe
while walking through the parks the previous day), I had a blast. The
first 14 miles of the race, I was lucky enough to run with a gentleman
named Vic from Atlanta. Together we ran through the Magic Kingdom
(where I saw Steph who was a great sight for my weary eyes and body)
and nearly knocked out a photographer who decided to crouch behind the
wall by the castle.
I hit the 13 mile point at about 1:53 and shortly after that lost Vic
as I switched to my plan of "Run 9 minutes, Walk 1 minute". Glad I did
because I think it was the only thing that saved me. If I hit the Wall
anywhere, it was miles 20-24. My legs cramped up something fierce
though there was nothing mental about it. I had no doubts I'd finish
this marathon by that point. Once I got onto Boardwalk, I was running
a pretty good clip. I rounded that sidewalk towards Epcot. Dead ahead
of me was my Stephie, my friends Seth and Kassia who had traveled from
Iowa with us, and according to them, a bunch of other people that were
shouting "Go Matt!" Definetly the boost I needed but I didn't
concentrate on that long. About a milisecond after that, I saw that
big finish line. Most beautiful sight in the world.
I sprinted like mad, passed a few people, and heard tht lovely BEEP as
my chip crossed the pad. I stumbled forward a bit, allowed myself to
cry, smiled so widely that my chapped lips cracked and bled and picked
up my medal from a very enthuastic young man. Got wrapped up in that
mylar blanket (damn those things are hot!), grabbed a blueberry muffin
from volunteer, bit it in half and swallowed it whole (I'd regret that
later:P) and dared to look at my watch.
4:04:01 (My chip time would be 4:04:02).
That's all from Matt, the tired Iowan. I'm gonna go sleep with my
Mickey Medal now and call in sick to work tommorow. I need a vacation
from my vacation.
