All,
This is my first posting to the list. I have been reading along with
everyone since I found the list in December. Disney was my first
marathon, but it won't be my last. Although I will probably not
attend next year I also anticipate more Disney Full and Half Marathons
in the future. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences, so I
thought I would share my race report. For everyone's reference you
can check out my running profile at:
http://interwovendesign.com/kick/userdisplay.php3?username=lcharnley
And now .. without further ado ... the race report (WARNING - long and
rambling!!!)
Well - here is my attempt to recall the goings on surrounding my
Disney Marathon experience. This was my first full marathon having
completed 2 half-marathons. My training consisted of mostly the
"Daniels Formula" book, with some small modifications added from "Road
Racing for Serious Runners" by Pfitzinger/Douglas.
I will start-out with a count-down like a rocket launch!! (T -10 Days
= T-Minus 10 Days etc).
T -10 Days: Obsessively watch the weather in Orlando, change race goal
from sub-4:00 to 4:10 area as the forecast gets warmer and warmer.
T -5 Days (Wed): Finish last run before the marathon (4mi/Easy).
Finish loading up car and head from home (Charlotte, NC) to Savannah,
GA where we will stay overnight. Try to remember to hydrate
consistently. Stay in Cocoa Beach the next two days - no running.
T -18 Hours: Arrive in Orlando and meet up with my brother-in-law who
is also running in the marathon. We load up and head over to the Expo
to get our numbers. Given the number of runners, Disney once more
proves that they *know* how to move people. We were parked in the lot
in about 5 minutes, and in the expo in another 5. Once inside I would
have had my number and been done in less than 5 minutes if were not
for one mistake. I forgot to send finish time proof. I brought it
with me, and in another 10 minutes had my corral changed from F to B
(By the time you get to the end of this report you may be wondering
why I bothered - I know I did!) :)
T -16 Hours: Schlep over to Wilderness Lodge with my Wife, and check
in. Fortunately the room was ready early since check in was supposed
to be a 4pm. Get all the stuff up to the room, head back over to
Brother-in-law's pad off-property.
T-12 Hours: Brother-in-law and I cook a simple pasta dinner Rotini,
Olive Oil & Parmesan Cheese) which I wolf down. Time to head back to
my pad for final preparations.
T-11 Hours: Get back to the Wilderness Lodge and spread out all the
running stuff I have to make final decisions as to what I will use.
Unbeknownst to me at this point, 2 of these decisions will form the
basis of my undoing on the run. See if you can guess which 2 before I
tell you later. Here is a quick summary:
1) I decide to take my fuel belt. I pack all 4 bottles with
Gatorade (I know, I know - but I used gatorade during training and did
not want to switch to poweraid all of a sudden). Pack 2 AccelGels,
and 2 Endurolyte Electrolyte tablets.
2) I select my Wright socks over my other socks that I used more
frequently during training (Double layered socks, guaranteed against
blisters).
3) I choose my Mizuno Singlet and Shorts (my "good luck" racing outfit).
T -9.5 Hours: Crawl into bed with the normal nervous excitement.
Don't have too much trouble falling asleep. Sleep better than
expected with a 2:15am wake-up.
T -3.75 Hours: Took my ritual pre-race shower and shave, ate my ritual
banana, and started hydrating with water.
T -3 Hours: Meet brother-in-law in front of Wilderness Lodge for
shuttle to staging area. Was pleased that bus was ready, and did not
have to wait long to head off to staging area.
T -2.5 Hours: Make use of porta-potties a couple of times, watch all
the other people dealing with the waiting in their own ways. Spotted
a couple people dressed in costumes for the run. I think to myself
"they are going to die in this heat". Discuss race strategy with
brother-in-law for the last time(s). We decide that we will let the
first mile unfold however the crowds will allow, and then try to stay
on pace for about a 4:10 finish (about 9:30/mi). We were both feeling
foolishly optimistic that it might stay nice and cool for the whole 4
hours. What we did not realize at that point, or even at any point,
was that the humidity was at/near 100% and would stay within a few
points of that the WHOLE MORNING!! For both of us this would turn out
to be a bigger factor than just the temperature.
T -1.25 Hours: Join the shuffle to race start. Amused ourselves
observing men & women alike darting into the bushes. Amuse ourselves
even more by doing the same when we see the porta-potty lines near the
start.
T -30 Mins: Enter Corral B and choose a place to stand near the back.
This was a mistake. There were a lot of people sitting on the ground
up through the front. These "sitting" people caused a real log-jam
near the back because the entrance to the corral was near the back,
and people entering the corral could not move forward. Note-to-self,
if entering a corral in a huge race early, pick a spot near the front,
regardless of what I think my pace will be relative to the rest of the
corral.
T -2 Mins: Shed the new Wal-mart cotton sweat top and pants that I
didn't really need since it was so warm. Start compressing with the
corral towards the front.
T -0: Boom! Fireworks. Cheers. Shuffle.
T +3.5 mins: Cross the start line - I am off on my first full marathon.
Mile 1: Crowded, as expected - but no worse than the Rock-n-Roll 1/2
marathons I have been in. I make my first critical tactical error: I
try and keep on pace, I weave and dodge. I wore my Garmin Forerunner,
and at the end it had shown I had run 26.8 miles. Discounting the
margin for error, I figure the weaving during the first 13 miles
probably added an additional .25-.50 miles to my marathon! After this
experience I am going to try and avoid weaving and dodging. If I
added just .25mi this would cost me 2.25 minutes ANYWAY. In the
future I will try to find as straight a path as possible and stick to
it. Of course I felt GREAT during the first mile - even with the
weaving and doging. Finished first mile right on target pace.
Miles 2-8: Right on pace for a 4:10 finish. However, the course is
now starting to heat up. Feels very muggy. Make a point of
alternating my gatorade with water at the water stops. Take one of my
AccelGels around mile 8. Still feel alright, but I am already feeling
like I am not staying cool enough. I am totally drenched with sweat
by this point. Also - remember earlier that I said there were 2
decisions that would come back to haunt me ... my expensive "Wright
Socks" were overwhelmed with the sweat, and bunching under the balls
on both feet. I can feel the hot spots starting now over a wide area
on both feet. I know that blisters are on the way. I had not a
single blister in training or any of my half-marathons.
Miles 9-13.1: Still on pace through the half. It is well and truly
hot now, and the sweat is pouring off my hamstrings like a faucet.
See all of my folks just before the half - nice surprise. I didn't
really expect they would find a spot on the course to watch and that I
would see them at the end. My Brother-in-law and I have been running
together up to this point. The heat is starting to get to him, and he
is having problems with his stomach. We walk for a minute or two
right after we cross the timing mats at the half-marathon split.
Mile 14: About a quarter mile through mile 14 and I drop my
brother-in-law. He is starting to do battle with his stomach and
fatigue, so I press on. I know I only have a few more miles before
the heat gets me too.
Miles 15-17: Stay pretty much on pace until mile 17. Still wondering
about the 2nd mistake I made during my pre-race prep? It was a major
mistake to pack the gatorade and use the fuel belt, and not use the
powerade on the course. Although my gels had some electrolytes, and I
had 2 salt tabs, this was NOWHERE near enough electrolyte replacement
given my sweat rate and water ingestion. If I had left the fuel belt
at the Lodge, and just drank powerade instead of water at every stop,
and used the PowerGel instead of the AccelGel, I might have averted
what is getting ready to happen to me on...
Miles 18-26.2: I enter my "Pain Cave" on mile 18, and start
alternating running with walking. This is heartbreaking to me.
Although I have certainly done some walking during long training runs
- it was always by choice. Worse yet, on the last 21 mile training
run I ran the last 6 miles near Marathon Pace - and still had a little
gas left in the tank at the end of the run. Miles 18-23 I manage to
mostly run with some walking but by mile 24 I am walking with small
spurts (200 yards) of jogging. See my folks cheering about 100 yards
from the finish line, and fortunately I had starting jogging again
just before turning the corner where they could see me. Finish with a
chip time of 4:40:42 and blisters on the balls of both feet. Once
across the line I move over to the side and sit down to wait for my
brother-in-law. At this point one volunteer comes over to make sure I
am okay. My brother-in-law comes in a few minutes later, and we get
our medals and start pounding back Powerade. My face, arms, neck,
back and legs are covered with salt - more than I have ever seen in
training or races. I feel a strange mixture of happiness at
completing my first marathon, and disappointment that I was so far off
of any of my goals. I know that it was the heat & humidity - but
there is still that small part of me that wonders if my training was
just not adequate (sigh).
T +12 Hours: Dinner at the Wilderness Lodge with all the relatives.
Strangely, although I am hungry - I do not feel like the
"All-you-Can-Eat" skillet. I manage to down 2 shakes, chicken wings
and a plate of nachos.
T +1 Day: Spend the whole day at Epoct ... legs feel hateful!
T +2 Days: Stay at the room in the morning. Get a deep tissue massage
at about 11am for my quads, hams & ITB. Go to Epcot to celebrate my
Mom's birthday at the German Pavilion restaurant. This turned out to
be a GREAT choice (buffet!) - and I made up for the previous night's
loss of appetite in a BIG way. Legs at peak hatefulness!
T +3 Days: Magic Kingdom all day. Legs not hateful - but perhaps a
bit spiteful.
T +4 Days: MGM all day. Legs almost feel OK. Just sore like the day
after a hard training run.
T +5 Days: Raining. Uggh. Epcot in morning, Magic Kingdom in the
evening. Legs pretty much okay. Would have done a brief run if it
was not raining in the morning when I woke up.
T +6 Days: Go for an easy 2mi run on the nature trail .. feels pretty
good. No real soreness left, felt nice and relaxed. Pack .. and
leave for Charlotte!
