Here we go....
We arrived in Orlando on January 2nd. So plenty of time to get
adjusted before the marathon. We took it really easy that week. I
planned to ran every other day, but I did only twice. Both at great
locations…. Daytona Beach and Fort De Soto Beach. When Sunday got
closer I got more nervous. Of course I was aware that I didn't train
too well. My longest distance had been a half marathon and that's not
really the best preparation for the full.
Friday we went to the Expo to get my race number and to register the
Disney World chip I bought trough the internet. Didn't see any
penguins over there. Saturday night we were well in time for the
dinner at Chef Mickey. When I browsed through the Disney Store in the
hotel I noticed two ladies coming in. One of them was wearing a
bright pink hat with Tigger ears. I followed them from the corner of
my eyes. Didn't Terri mention that she was going to wear something
like that?? Well, I just asked the lady if she was Terri and of
course she was. So that's how I met Terri and Cheryl. We walked to
the restaurant where Lani was already waiting. She made all of us a
name tag and a cute penguin pin. Thanks Lani!!
The dinner was great. Lots of characters and we took lots of
pictures. Don't know yet how they will turn out. I can pick them up
coming Wednesday. We talked to lots of people and we had an
absolutely wonderful evening. Before returning to the hotel we went
to the Walmart to buy a little camera to take with me during the race
after all. Thanks Terri for arranging the dinner!! We LOVED it!
Before going to sleep I layed out all my race gear. I was still
hesitating what to wear, was it going to be cold?? I took some old
clothes from home with me which I could just throw away right before
the start. We left the hotel at 3 a.m. By this time I was really
nervous. We were expecting crowds and maybe even traffic jams at
Disney but it still was really quiet. We arrived before 3.30. I made
sure I had all my stuff and we walked to the P reunion tent. First
ones we met over here were Lani with her husband Alex. A little later
lots of penguins joined us. We talked a little bit and at 4.45 we
decided to walk to the corrals. I was in corral D together with Lani
and Alex. Frans was staying with Terri who drove him around for the
whole race. Thanks Terri, Frans had a great time!!! I was really glad
with the extra clothes I took with me. Otherwise I would have been so
cold. Time went by quickly and before I knew it fireworks went off. I
quickly got rid of the extra layers. This was it…. this was what I
had been training for last couple of months!! I started really slow
and felt pretty good. Unfortunately I couldn't see Frans and Terri
the first time we passed the crowds since we were on the other side
of the road. Frans asked me to run on the left side of the road, but
right now this was of no use since there was a whole group of ½
marthoners running between us. We entered the parking lot of Epcot.
It was kind of surreal to run over here in the dark with the lights
of Epcot welcoming us. I saw people standing at the parking lot
cheering us on. Frans and I hadn't talked about meeting over here,
but I was thinking that maybe Terri would know they could see us
here. And guess what… they were indeed standing there. I made a short
stop to talk and tell them I was feeling okay and having a lot of
fun!
Because of the long wait in the corral I had to go to the bathroom.
Now I knew that there were normal restrooms in Epcot so I ran to the
first ones I knew… I wasn't the only one. Together we three other
ladies I ended up in a restroom. It appeard to be one big bathroom
instead of a couple of smaller ones. We looked at each other. Now
what?? And when we saw we were all women one took down her pants and
sat down. It was hilarious!! Running through Epcot was so awesome.
When we passed the crowds again I was running on the left side of the
road paying attention if I could see Frans and Terri. Unfortunately I
missed them Next stop Magic Kingdom. Fortunately I had had a good
look on the course map so I knew that when I reached the
transportation center there were still 2 miles to go before entering
the MK. I was still running smoothly. No pains yet. The crowds
cheering us on were wonderful. Entering the MK was another highlight.
It was packed!!! Before I could worry how I could find Frans over
here I heard my name. Frans and Terri were standing right at the
beginning of Mainstreet. Again I stopped to talk a little while. This
was so awesome and I was still having a great time. This couldn't
last the whole race, right??!! Frans and Terri yelled at me: see you
at the castle! Does this mean they were able to see me again in the
MK? I run through Mainstreet while Frans was following me. I still
have to pinch myself because it feels so unbelievable!! Especially
running underneath the castle. I met Frans again on the other side.
We took some time to take some pictures and said goodbye again.
Not long after leaving the MK we passed the wedding chapel. There
were lots of Disney members over here dressed as brides and grooms.
Since we got married her ourselves about 6 years ago I had to stop
and had my picture taken.
Beforehand I was dreading the ½ marathon finish. I was really hoping
that I would still feel well enough to go on instead of finishing at
the half. Well, at the moment I passed the ½ finish I wasn't even
thinking of dropping out. I had made it this far and I was going to
run the whole race!! At mile 15 I felt a blister pop. That hurt! So I
paid a visit to the next medical station. They took well care of my
blisters and I could run on. Now my body started aching. I could
notice that this was the longest distance I ever run and my muscles
didn't like it too much. At the water stations I walked to get some
rest. Though it was harder to start running again. I was glad we
entered Animal Kingdom. My favorite character of all is Eeyore so of
course I had to stop and have my picture taken with him. Meanwhile I
already took lots of other pictures. I dreaded to miles from the
animal Kingdom to MGM. I heard these were a little bit boring and
especially hard since other racers were already running on the other
side of the road. Well, this part indeed wasn't easy for me. I walked
a couple of times. But by now I realised I was going to make it in
time! When I saw the Tower of Terror it felt like I was almost there.
Of course I knew I still had a long way to go, but from now on this
was going to be a fun part. My body was aching seriously right now
and especially going from walking to running and the other way around
was hard. But even though the sore muscles I was still having an
absolutely great time. By the time I entered Epcot I hardly couldn't
run at all anymore. I walked almost the whole way around the lake.
Gave me plenty of opportunity to prepare for the finish. I didn't
quite know what to expect. Was it going to be busy over there? Would
I see Frans and Terri again?
Well, when I left Epcot and rounded the corner to the finish I was
astonished. It was crowded and everybody was cheering. All of a
sudden I saw Frans and Terri. Right now I was so obsessed by
finishing that I never thought of stopping a little while. I high
fived the guy with the huge Mickey glove. Took a picture of the
finish and high fived Mickey. I did it!!! I finished my first
marathon. Two tears were silently rolling down my cheeks. Then I got
my medal. Frans followed me to the finish and when I saw him I
started crying out loud. I really did it!!
After switching into some dry clothes I mentioned that my feet were
really hurting. Frans took off my socks and could see what this was.
There were dozens of blisters on each foot. Now that I had lied down
I could hardly get up anymore. Frans dragged me to the medical tent.
They popped all my blisters and put some bandaids on them. Because of
this we couldn't go back to the finish and see some other penguins
finish. Sorry about that Terri and Cheryl!! We went to the P tent to
see if there were some there, but unfortunately no one was there
anymore. Well, maybe we would still see some of you at the
Adventurers Club later tonight.
We got at Pleasure Island at 9 p.m. but unfortunately we didn't see
anyone except for Linae. I was exhausted so we decided not to stay
very long and by 10 I was in bed!! This was one of the best days of
my life!! I absolutely didn't feel like I had accomplished something
special since I was having such a good time all day.
The realisation of accomplishment came a day later. I could hardly
move. My legs were hurting so much. Fortunately the hotel had a very
hot tub and that was a wonder for my muscles.
Frans asked me to say a special thanks to Terri!! He had lots of fun
and thanks to you he could take (hopefully) great pictures!! By the
way, Terri, I sent you an e-mail earlier off list from my other
emailaddress. Did you get that one?
Well, beforehand we didn't plan that this was going to be an annual
event for us. Frans isn't a runner at all, but after experiencing one
Mickey marathon he decided to start running. Right now we are hoping
to run the ½ next year and get our Donald. Also a great reason to
stay a member of this board right!?!
Thanks to all of you for the motivation and the good advice!! Hope to
see you again next year. Or maybe even sooner since I'm thinking
about running MCM this year. Anyone experience with that marathon?
Silvia
