YOU GUYS!!! I made a vow that I wouldn't do another marathon, and you are
already testing my resolve!
I guess I should write a race report from Disney, since I never got around to
doing that. Basically, the weekend was fantastic, and my race sucked. That's
the short version.
Longer version: Drove down to Orlando on Friday after seeing the orthopedic
surgeon to schedule surgery on my toe. Asked myself if this was really a good
idea, since I had been having more symptoms in the previous two weeks. Asked
myself why the heck I did an ultra on December 14, less than a month before
Disney. Decided that I have no brain. Continued on to Disney.
Got to my hotel and then hit the expo for my race packet. Couldn't manage to
find El from Brooklyn or Peggy Harper at the expo, but we left each other
numerous phone messages, most of them saying we'd meet up at the room. Most of
that night is a blur. I do know that Linae spent the night with us, and Cheryl
spent a great part of the night with us, and it had something to do with the
bottles of wine that I brought from Tallahassee. Other than that, I just can't
say what happened.....I know it, but I can't say it.
Next day, had a minimal breakfast and coffee, sat around talking to El and
Linae, and then went to the expo again. It was crowded and hard to get around.
Then I walked to the pool with Steve and Peggy Harper and their kids and El.
Met up with the pool penguins, and enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new
ones. I was pretty amazed at Larry in the boa, but I knew when I saw his pink
bandana that he would look HOT in a boa! Did anyone ask Cheryl if she had a
headache at the pool? Fast forward to the dinner. It was great! Met more
penguins, and am only sorry that I didn't get to chat with everybody. As in
many other penguin encounters I've been part of, people just felt like old
friends, even if they had never met. Oh, thanks to Terri for organizing the
dinner, which we all appreciate.
So, we went back to the hotel, got ourselves organized, and started doing our
pre-race agenda. I usually don't share a room at marathons, so it was weird
having to use half the room instead of spreading my clothes and stuff all over
the place. I also had problems with strange things that never bothered me
before. When attaching the chip to my shoe, I somehow got the little plastic
thing stuck through my shoelace, and it wouldn't move. I fiddled with that for
about ten minutes, which is probably a good indication of the fact that I was
feeling a little anxiety. We turned off the light early, maybe 9 pm or so, and
immediately fell asleep. I don't know about El, but I slept like the proverbial
log.
Alarm rang and I wondered why anyone in their right mind would sign up for a
race that requires getting up at 3 a.m. Are we NUTS?! Yes. Okay, got our
clothes on, ate a banana and drank a cup of coffe, brought PowerBar and water to
start of race. The bus trip to the start took about seven years, another
indication of my anxiety. I'm the most laid-back person I know, so it must be
my DNF at Disney two years ago that was bugging me. So, we got to the start,
met some new penguins and greeted old ones. Gave Charles Cohn a big hug....I
have a crush on Charles Cohn (and his wife Maggie too). Milled around in the
cold, then finally moved to the corrals. Another delay, and then finally the
race started.
It took me ten minutes to get to the start line. I was walking the entire
race--in deference to my stupid toes--and was aiming for an average of 15 minute
miles. First mile was about 13 minutes, second was about 14, and in the third
mile, my foot starting nagging. Then whining. Then screaming. I stopped at
mile 4 for a potty break and took my shoe and sock off, hoping that I could
magically fix the toe by exposing it to air. That didn't work. Put my shoe and
sock back on. Got up, kept going. It hurt. It hurt really bad. At some
point, I just blocked off the pain and kept on trucking. Every part of my body
felt great except my right foot, so I pretended my right foot wasn't attached to
me. I guess it was about mile 7 that I realized I wasn't going to do the full
marathon. That was good, because it gave me six more miles to make sure I had
made the right decision. There was really no other decision for me. I saw
Marcie at mile 12 or so, and told her I was bagging it at the half. I felt bad
that I wasn't more positive, since she was having a bad day also. Just at the
cut-off for the half, I saw Harriet and her friend Shoshanna. I heard Harriet
making a plan for how they could get to the marathon finish before the official
cut-off, and I was tempted to tag along, but common sense took over. Just about
ten feet before the half-marathon course cut off (I was already on the left of
the cones), I heard a TNT person behind me saying, "I will NOT give up. I will
NOT give up." And I had a foolish thought that maybe I could do it....until
common sense took over again. I came over the finish line, got my medal, walked
to the P-for-Penguin tent, sat down on the ground and took my shoe and sock off,
and just cried from the pain. It was the worst race finish I've ever had....and
yet, that day, it was the only finish I could find. Some days are just like
that.
Anyway, I got back to the room and took a pain pill and told El that I was going
to sleep, nothing she could do would wake me up. YES, I crawled my dirty stank
Penguin self into bed and went to sleep. El decided that she was going to go to
sleep too, and we slept until 5 pm. We got up, showered, went downstairs and
had foods-we-never-eat-in-real-life (including an ice cream sundae), and went
back to bed at 9 p.m. Sorry we missed the post-race festivities, but the sleep
was wonderful.
So, that's it for Disney for me. Not my most stellar race, but it was an honest
effort. When I was driving home, I told my husband on the phone that even
though I only did the half, it was still my Last Marathon. But now I'm
wondering....I always have coveted the Mickey medal. And it seems like I should
get a do-over, since I was injured. And I am going to learn to racewalk after
my foot surgery. What do you guys think?
Kathy in Tallahassee
*proud owner of TWO Donald Duck medals"
