Arrival: I arrived into Orlando right on time and right into the arms of
I'wa Chicks Anne and Marce. We had time to chat and catch up while waiting
for Larry's flight to arrive. Once Larry arrived we headed off to Disney.
Larry and I made plans to meet up in the morning to go to the Expo. When I
went to my room, Patti was already there. We stayed up late talking before
finally falling into a deep sleep.
Expo: Patti and I met Larry in the morning and we headed over to the Expo.
This was the best expo I have been to in quite a while. It was well
organized and there we plenty of booths to visit. We saw John B. sans
moustache at the RW booth. We then went to the pool but we must have been
too early because no one was there. Bummer. We had a snack and played on
the swings, but still no Penguins.
Chef Mickey's: We met Larry, sporting his new pink boa, for the trip to
Chef Mickey's. Kathy Flippo offered to drive. We laughed the whole way at
the Kathy and El Show! What a hoot!!! Those two are funny together! Dinner
was great. Lani made very cute name tags for everyone. It was fun hanging
out with Penguins old and new. We posed for lots of pictures with all the
Disney characters. I really enjoyed meeting Silvia and her husband from the
Netherlands…I've always thought the Dutch were the coolest people on earth
and these two are no exception. Big THANKS to Terri for doing all the work
of setting this up. After dinner I really wanted to watch football, but
with a 2:30 a.m. wake up call I knew I needed to get to sleep.
Race Day - 2:30 a.m.: It is just WRONG to make people get up at that
hour!!! I'm not sure which Disney villain dreamed that one up but it is
just wrong!!!
Race Day - 3:15 a.m.: Patti and I headed over to Larry's. There were lots
of runners walking around in trash bags. I was sure I'm having a bad dream.
Race Day – 3:30 a.m.: We met Larry who looked smashing in his pink boa even
if it was 3 o'clock in the morning! Kathy and El showed up and we all
boarded the bus to the start and I tried to catch a few z's.
Race Day – 4:00 a.m.: Patti and I dropped off our bags and went to the P
tent. There was a flock of Penguins but I was in no mood to chat. I found
a nice spot to sit and eat my pb&j. Saw Kitty and she looked way too good
for it to be that early! But then again when doesn't Kitty look great! The
I'wa chicks arrived and I could not believe Anne was there even though she
wasn't running. What a trooper! Anne is going to be the perfect crew
person for my ultra!
Race Day – sometime between 4:00 and 5:30 a.m.: We walked with Marce to the
corrals. I felt like I was in a dream…we are walking along a path in the
dark with thousands of people wearing trash bags and we are all going to
have to run a long way to get a golden Mickey Mouse….I was sure it had to be
a dream. We found our corral and then waited for the race to begin. Peggy
from Indiana was sitting near us and introduced herself. I was still too
asleep to be social...my apologies Peggy.
The Race Begins: Mickey and Minnie, Donald and Daisy showed up to start the
race. There were a few puny fireworks and we were off. It took about 5
minutes to get to the start line. It was extremely crowded but in the early
miles this is a good thing, it makes it impossible to go out too fast. By
mile 2 Patti and I were warmed up enough to shed our throw-away shirts. We
could not have asked for better weather. It was sunny and cool all day,
simply perfect!
Epcot: We entered Epcot at sunrise and it was beautiful. We had to stop
and take a few pictures of all the colored lights. The crowds were still
outrageous but it was a delight to be in the park.
The early miles: We saw Anne scream teaming, and Terri & Co. scream teaming
at somewhere after Epcot. It is always a real pick-me-up to see friendly
faces in the crowds. I think we saw Silvia's husband too. The crowds all
day were never big, but always enthusiastic! Ken and Ellen caught up to us
and ran with them for a few minutes. And yes, Ken was smiling!!!
The Magic Kingdom: Wow! I felt like a kid again. Patti and I were running
5/1 but when we got to Cinderella's castle we were so excited that we found
ourselves running on a walk break! We stopped to take a lot of pictures.
We played leap-frog with John a few times too.
The Half: My watch read 2:46. I could not believe it. I knew we weren't
breaking any speed records but we have never run a half this slow before.
We were feeling good and the crowd was thinning out, so we picked it up a
little after this.
Animal Kingdom: The employees and crowds at Animal Kingdom were some of the
best of the day! It was really fun running thru this park.
The later miles: The stretches between parks were long and boring but
Disney had lots of music and entertainers out there for us. We took some
salt about mile 16 or 17 and it made us both feel better. We saw Erin with
the cool Penguin socks somewhere. But by mile 19 I could tell that Patti
was entering the BMZ; she started having leg cramps, and she told me that
this was harder than having kids. Patti is NOT a complainer so I knew she
was hurting. About mile 22 or 23 I saw workers at a medical tent rubbing
runner's legs down with Bio Freeze. I suggested that we stop and get
rubbed. Ah! Heaven!
MGM/ Boardwalk/ Epcot: After having my legs rubbed I caught a second wind
and I was completely jazzed all the way thru MGM, the Boardwalk and Epcot.
Then about mile 25 we saw Julia and Joe and stopped for hugs. It was a real
treat to see them there! I noticed Patti perk up after that. Then there it
was…the finish line! We did it!!!
The Finish: Patti and I hung the Mickey on each other and shared a great
hug! Then it was time for pictures with Goofy. We found some goomies and
got our bags before heading back to the finish line to watch the final
finishers. What a treat that was to watch! It was simply amazing to watch
the pain on faces melt away into pride as they ran, walked, stumbled, and
sprinted those final steps! We saw Ken and Ellen finish but sadly we must
have just missed Harriet and Marce.
Later: After some food, caffeine, shower, and nap we felt decent enough
that evening to go to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping. We talked to
Larry and Marce on the phone and shared stories. It was a wonderful,
magical day!
This was my 13th marathon and one of the most fun ones I've run! If it
wasn't for the early start time I'd consider going back for a Donald. I'm
treating myself to some recovery time now, but soon it will be time to start
training for Boston. I'm looking forward to it!
Recovering in freezing St. Louis,
Kecia
