I'll try to keep this report short but sweet. This year was my 3rd Disney marathon and I was really going to try for a PR. But the weekend before the marathon I got a really bad cold and cough. Sunday before I was on the couch all day with the chills and sweats and tried to run but only had the energy to run 30 min and couldn't take a deep breath without coughing up a lung. I was hoping the cough would go away by the marathon and tried everything.
We got to Orlando on Thursday. It was me, my husband Steve, Mike (Happy2tri), our friends Chuck and Laureen. The weather was HOT! Probably in the high 70's and that was the predicted temp for Sunday's marathon. Being from Boston and training in 20 degree weather I knew my body wouldn't like the heat. We ran into Lauri (Elkid) and her husband Chris at our hotel. On Friday morning we did a short run and I was still coughing about every 3 minutes. I just couldn't get the phlegm up and out. If I could just clear it out I would have felt so much better.
Saturday morning after breakfast I was in the shower. My husband thought the steam would help and suggested I try really hard to get the phlegm up. It didn't work and I ended up throwing up all my breakfast. Ugh! I know how important the food is the day before the race is so I had to eat a bagel and banana to replace what I lost. Then we went to the expo for our numbers ate lunch and spent the rest of the day at the hotel by the pool in the shade relaxing. We were in bed and I fell asleep around 8pm.
I was awake about every hour and around 1:30 I stared at the clock until it was time to get out of bed at 3:00am. Got up, ate, got dressed and got on the bus around 4am. Still coughing a bunch. They said the start was around 55 degrees. That I could handle. If it could just stay that cool. We walked to the start and waited in corral A. I love the start of Disney. 6am, Mickey, Minney, Donald and Daisy start us off with fireworks. This year Deena Kastor was there and said a few words. And we were off.
The first few miles separate the 1/2 from the full. You do a loop and come back thru Epcot then the two merge around mile 4. I was really having a hard time finding a groove. I couldn't pace myself well and couldn't take a deep breath without coughing. I got to mile 6 and did a gu. Maybe the gu would help give me some energy. Saw the sun rise around mile 7. At mile 7 I was at 1:01. Just what I needed for a BQ but I knew I couldn't hold that pace. Mile 8 my legs felt like junk and I felt like I already ran a marathon. I slowed down my pace a little. The gu never kicked in. Around mile 10 you enter Magic Kingdom (the crowds are awesome at the entrance and exit) and go thru Cindarella's Castle. I love that part. Then you head out to Animal kingdom. It was starting to get hot. I was drenched. About mile 11 I started having a strange sensation in my knees. Not really a pain but more of a strain. I couldn't tell if it was internal or the sensation of the sweat dripping down my legs mixed with the humidity. I was starting to fight with myself. Should I stop at the 1/2? I had a really hard time breathing and had to stop a few times to cough. They separate the 1/2 from the full with cones. The 1/2 on the left and the full on the right. I actually ran on the left side of the cones. I had no energy in my legs. (Actually felt better at the IM than this.) But I decided I didn't want to throw my training down the drain and didn't want to have to tell Happy that I cut it short and I went with the full. I stopped at the people who had the biofreeze and had them slather it all over my legs and knees. That felt so good! We entered Animal kingdom and the sun was starting to get hot. After Animal kingdom is the worse part of this marathon. It's about 4 miles of concrete highway with no shade. Pure torture! This year there were more people out cheering us on which was nice. But I had a really hard time with this part. I was miserable. Felt like I left a lung around mile 20. That is when I started having the firing pains in my muscles. For the rest of the marathon it was in my calves and hamstrings. I was waiting for my friend Laureen to pass me. I knew she wasn't far behind. We entered MGM on a red carpet with crowds on the left and right. We had our names on our numbers and they kept on cheering us on by name. At this point I cried. I was miserable but when people were cheering me on by name it touched me and I thought it was awesome. After we left MGM we went around the boardwalk. Then the last mile is in Epcot around the world. Seemed like it took forever. The big Epcot ball is over your left shoulder when you start going around the world. I knew how far it was and knew I shouldn't look over my shoulder. But I did. It was so far away. I knew the finish line was just beyond the Epcot ball. I couldn't wait to finish. I shuffled and hacked around Epcot. Got to the finish and was glad it was over. I was so disappointed with my time but proud that I stuck with the marathon. I finished 4:41 (the same marathon time I had at my first IM). My 1/2 split was around 2:04. I was so exhausted from coughing and the heat. My friend Laureen was only 7 min behind me. She did awesome. My hubby finished around 3:37. (He has a BQ from last year that is good for 2 years).
(After the marathon we did the Ice Bath. If you haven't tried this I do recommend it to all. I really helps in the muscle healing process. We did it right this year. Filled the tub with cold water, got in, then dumped in the ice. We stayed in it for 10 minutes. Cold but oh so helpful. )
I find after I have a really bad experience I have to look really hard at the positives. It's so easy to focus on the negatives. I wasn't feeling 100% and I still pushed to the finish and managed a smile at the finish. The crowd support was great. I was worried I would end up doing some damage to my knees but I only have the usual soreness. There are so many people out there who can't run for one reason or another and I have the ability to do what I enjoy and I have a husband and friends who I enjoy doing it with. There will be other marathons and I won't let this one get me down.
