It all started one cold and windy morning ......
The alarm went off at 3:00 AM. I hate large marathons. Pulled this old
body out of bed. The phone rang .... The Disney wake up call. Let me tell
you -- that mouse is just too happy. As I'm taking the shower I'll give you
a bit of background. Last June as we were touring Disneyland, after a nice
jog at San Diego Rock 'n Roll, Lizbeth, aka number one fan, commented we
have never been to Disneyworld. As scenes of winter Portland weather, cold,
wet, windy, dark vs. Orlando weather, warm, dry, sunny it took about oh 16
seconds in my carbo depleted brain to sign on for the January 6, 2002
Disneyworld marathon.
Well, now is the time to pay the piper. Here I am in All-Sports Hotel - the
surfs up section - with a very large three story shark fin in front. The
rules say I got to be at the staging area at 4:30 AM. My plan is to catch
the last bus from my hotel at 4. Did I mention its 34 degrees dark and
windy. Out of the shower, down the stairs across the pool area , I and
number one fan jump on the bus to the staging area. All-Sports Hotel is
about a 15 or so min drive to the Epcot staging ground. Picture this 18,000
or so runners with another 30,000 or so supporters converging. The noise
was amazing. Let me bring to your attention it warmed up to 35 degrees with
a touch of wind here and there, by the way it's still dark. Lizbeth and I
found a spot in the crowd on the asphalt to settle down. It's 4:53 AM, the
start is 6:00 AM. I faked a sleeping look as I curled into a small ball to
keep warm. At some point around 5:20 we, the runners, both half and full
marathoners walked to the start. It was a nice warm-up. I guess the walk
was about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. I was seeded in corral A just behind the
elite folk. At my speed I don't usually get this close to the front. With
three minutes to go Mickey and Donald (mickey mouse and donald duck) came
out, on their trucks, to pump us up and start the run. With a count down of
fire works we were off on the nose at 6:00 AM.
My plan (I love plans) was to run this by feel. I'd see how I felt at 10k
then make a plan at that point. We run by the Grand Floridian then thought
Epcot. I pass one mile at 9:02. A bit slow but I'm feeling great. I plan
to hit the 13 miles in 1h 45 min. I pick up the pace. A light breeze hits
us from the side. It's a bit crowded but not bad. I settle into a good
pace. One theme park down four to go. Mile 2, 3, 4 and 5 are just your
standard road running. We go out Epcot Center Dr. to the 6 mile mark. I
pull thru 10k at 55 minutes or so. We turn right on World Dr. I'm on pace
and feel great. It's cold and a bit windy just like a long run back home.
Mile 6,7, and 8 more road running. At mile 9 we turn into Topiary Ln. We
wave under the monorail past the Contemporary Resort. At mile 10 we run
into Magic Kingdom. In, out and around we pop out at mile 11. Two theme
parks down three to go. Down Floridian Way past mile 12. I pull by mile 13
at 1h 48 min hmmm three min off the pace. We lose the half runners at this
point. The crowd really becomes thinner. Now I have allot of running room.
We move to Bear Island Rd. thru mile 14, 15 and 16. We come in the back
side of Animal Kingdom. Run thru theme park number three. Mile 18, 19,
and 20 more road running along Osceola Parkway. At mile 20 we turn into
Wild World of Sports complex. Do a small out and back loop to mile 21. Ah a
nice mist meets us on the out back loop. The wind seems to be picking up
also. Back down Osceola Parkway turn right on World Dr. The wind with
mist is in my face. I get thru mile 22 start up a long up ramp when a
bucket, no make that a fire hose of cold water hits. From a warm body to a
ice cold shower in less then a second. From head to toe, yes toe, I was
running in water. I run thru Disney-MGM Studios in a blur. I was wet,
cold, and tried. We crossed Buena Vista Dr run past down around Boardwalk
Inn. By the way I'm now using the word run as what my brain thinks I'm
doing. My legs may look more like a cross between walking and running but
my brain is thinking run. I feel water squashing out of my shoes as I
'run.' A race walker passes me .... nope I'm not letting a walker pass me
grrrrr. The RW and I have this duel. I keep ahead of him thru mile 23 he
pulls ahead at 24. Then I see her. Yup just what this old gray muzzle
needed. With a burst of energy I drop the race walker hit mile 25 convince
her see needs me to pace her in. We drive the last mile together like we
are wining the Boston Marathon. We cross the finish line at 4:08:14 gun
time.
Official stats overall 1490/7950 age group 49/224 gun time 4:08:14 chip
time 4:07:35
glen
gald to be home - at least rain, cold, and wind is no suprise
