Well that sucked!

Hope and I are back from our four day Disney extravaganza - here are some of the highlights and low lights:

Thursday Night: Andy had a complete meltdown -- crying, screaming, sobbing, "I don't want you to go!!!" We finally get him somewhat settled -- both boys were in bed and we were about to walk out the door when Teddy calls for Hope. "Go say goodnight one last time" I say foolishly. The next thing I hear is Hope saying "I need help up here!" Teddy is projectile vomiting like a frat boy after a toga party! After much distress, we decide that I will go as planned and Hope will "see what happens."

I arrive at the "lovely" Days Inn in Saugus, Mass with John and Gretchen around 11. Our non-smoking room smells like a cross between the green room on the Morton Downey Jr. Show and the monkey house at the Central Park Zoo.

Friday: I wake up with a nice sore throat and some post-nasal drip - sweet! We met up with Anne and Aaron and took the shuttle to the airport. At some point Friday morning, we got a call from Hope - she had arranged to change her flight to Saturday morning (arriving early Saturday afternoon) - at least she would be there for the race. Just before we boarded our plane, Hope called again and said that she was going to take a flight later that day and would be arriving around midnight. Things are looking up.

We landed in Orlando (local temperature 80 degrees!) and took a bus to our hotel. It only took about 45 minutes!!! to check in. We dropped our bags in our rooms and headed to the Marathon Expo to pick up our race numbers - a task that should take about 15 minutes, but on Disney time it somehow stretches to 2 hours!

After I ruined a nice romantic dinner for John and Gretchen (can you say "Third Wheel"?) I settled in with a good dose of Nyquil. I vaguely remember Hope arriving at 11:30 and our first day at Disney was complete.

Saturday: Saturday was the only day that we were going to be able to do anything. So we did our best to get to EPCOT as early as possible. The only problem was that all the busses to EPCOT were full. After 45 minutes or so, we finally got an EPCOT bus and away we went. John, Gretchen, and Hope went to scope out food options as I went to get some FastPasses (which allow you to skip ahead of the line at a designated time) for Test Track and Mission Space. We had a really greasy breakfast (think Dunkin Donuts' Egg, Sausage and Bagel Sandwich plus a can of Crisco) and headed off to the rides. There was no line at Test Track and it was a nice ride. We had a 45 minute (plus) line at Mission Space - just long enough for Hope and Gretchen to start worrying about the incessant warnings about "spinning" and "enclosed dark spaces." They eventually ignored the warnings and we all went on the ride, which nearly killed me -- it was a fantastic and (I presume) fairly realistic space-type ride.

We then went to the Team in Training Pasta Party, which was a very emotional and inspiring event. If there was ever any doubt about finishing the race, this lunch put an end to that doubt - we had to finish. After the lunch, John and I returned to the hotel for some rest while Gretchen and Hope stayed at EPCOT. We had a nice dinner at the California Grill on top of the Contemporary Hotel and watched the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom.

Sunday (Race Day): Wake up call - 2:30 AM! Got dressed and met everyone at the hotel's food court. Got on a bus at 3 AM and arrived at EPCOT soon thereafter. There was a lot of milling around for a long time. We eventually made our way 0.6 miles to the start, where we wanted some more. By the time the gun went off (and tons of fireworks) at 6 AM, I had been up for 3.5 hours and had been standing for most of that time. I ran the first 8 miles with Andie (a fellow Maine TNT'er I have run with for the past five months) but just before the magic Kingdom, we separated and she cruised on ahead. Ran through the Magic Kingdom - which was very cool. The park was closed but all of the employees were out cheering. There were also a few costumed characters around. A few miles after leaving the Magic Kingdom, the half marathoners split off and FINISHED! Ohh the temptation! Turn left and be done! Turn left and be done! Too late. I kept running straight. My ankle was really hurting, but the rest of my body was fine. I was able to keep my normal (slow) pace of 12 minute miles.

I can identify the exact location of "the Wall" - it was on a clover leaf turn between mile 17 and 18. I had previously run an 18 mile run and a 20 mile run - but on Sunday my ankle was really hurting and it got really hot really quickly (i.e., the 80s). Starting at about mile 18 I started to walk through the water stops. Soon thereafter, I would run some and then walk some. At mile 20 a blister on the bottom of my pinky toe popped - are we having a magical day now? I struggled through MGM Studios and the Boardwalk complex before entering EPCOT for the second time that day. I ran (at a pretty good clip) the last 2 miles or so through some serious pain in my ankle, calves, and thighs. Mistakenly thinking that I had a chance to win in the "fat franco male" division I picked it up another notch at the finish line. Boy did it feel good to stop running! I got my medal, a picture for proof, some water (not enough water) and starting to look for Hope. Somehow we finally met up and we caught a bus back to the hotel. Did you ever notice how steep bus steps are? Very steep! It's inhumane really. After an ice bath; a quick rest; a walk to keep my legs from falling off; and lunch, I took a much needed nap. We all tried to go out Sunday night, but we basically just got dinner and some Haagen Daz -- lots of limping!

Monday: Limping was getting better. We grabbed some breakfast and I took a quick dip in the pool before we began the long trek home. We got back at around 9:30 and went right to bed. The boys were up at 4:30, although we were able to coax them back to bed until 6.

Sorry for the length of the email - but I am physically unable to get up from my chair! Could someone call for help?

Thanks again for all of your support. And fear not - I will NOT be hitting you up for donations to the 2006 Disney World Marathon -- this was a one time deal!