We arrived on Wednesday, spent 1 night at Pop Century before moving into
Boardwalk for the rest of the week. Golfed on Thursday, then met the rest of the
family at the Expo. Saw Bart there. Later went to dinner with the family and
Bart at the Yacht Club.
Friday got up and took my parents to the Expo where they were volunteering.
Went in early with them and avoided waiting in line to get my numbers. It was
cool to see Kyle Petty in there getting his number before it opened as well.
Then I headed to Animal Kingdom to meet up with Eileen, Ellen, Bart, Stan and
Sheila. I met them after they came off the safari and we went on a few
things. After lunch, we headed to the Kali River Rapids. WARNING TO ALL DEADS:
Never trust Bart on this ride no matter how much he assures you you are in a
dry seat! Got a little wet, did a few other things, then went back to the room
to get ready for the encounter at Dixie Landings. It was good to see the
people I already knew and to also put faces to others I knew from online only.
Went back to the room and got my stuff ready for the half the next day.
Eileen and Ellen got me up and I showered and had a little breakfast. We
were giving my friend from college's dad a ride to the start so we left the
Boardwalk at 4:30, a little early for me. Got there in no time since there was
little traffic and put on my garbage bag and went to the D tent to meet the other
Deads. Took the long walk to the start line. I was in corral F as was
Ellen. Eileen, Julie, and Diane were all in corral E so Ellen and I tried to get
in with them. Ellen somehow did but I didn't. I walked in again and one of
the volunteers came into the corral after me and shall we say, forcefully
removed me from the corral. All I can say is the guy was lucky I had a garbage bag
over me with no arm holes in it because had my arms been free and he did that,
it wouldn't have been so easy to get me out of there. I understand the whole
corral thing, but the F corral was literally 2 feet from where I was at in
the E corral so it wasn't like it made a big difference. So I went off to F by
myself and had the same cramped start as everyone else. It took me 15 minutes
to cross the start line. My plan was to walk the entire half no matter what
and finish under the time limit. As I only had on shorts and a long sleeve
shirt, I kept my garbage bag on until around the race track when the sun was
coming up. Met up with Eileen just after exiting the Magic Kingdom and walked
with her the rest of the way. I was surprisingly feeling really good at this
point of the race, but we were content to do 15 minute miles in. I finished the
half in 3:13:59. Collected my Donald medal, found my parents at the finish
line, got some stuff to eat and drink, and went back to the car to warm up
before the Fun Run. My parents, Eileen, and Ellen left the car earlier than me
but I stayed to keep warm. I went looking for them at the start of the Fun Run
but managed to find Stan and Sheila instead. This was great because Adam
mentioned the night before at the encounter that the EPCOT countries would be open
(and thus serving beer) during the Fun Run. Stan, Sheila, and I were ready
to test this out. We did a very slow 1st mile and then picked up the pace to
get to Mexico. No luck, not serving there. We figured they would have beer in
Germany so we took off. Once again, no luck there. Finally, we found a cart
in Italy where they would serve us, after initially saying no beer for
runners. It was just what we needed. We entertained the idea of finishing those
and getting a Guinness in England but stuck to only 1 beer. Next year our goal
expands to 2 during the Fun Run. The 3 of us crossed the line and collected
our 2nd medal of the day. Went back, slept, watched football, had some dinner,
then went to bed early.
Got up, showered, and ate a little again. Eileen, Ellen, and I drove to the
start again but we left later today since it was just the 3 of us. Got there
with just enough time to head to the start and not have a long wait before the
start of the race. Eileen and I had the same corral today while Ellen was in
the other start. Eileen and I planned on staying together and doing 15
minute miles again. We were off and both Eileen and I thought we were going out
too quick. However at the 1st mile marker, we had a time of 15:38. Not good.
I was in charge of keeping the pace since my normal stride is about a 15
minute mile but I picked it up so that we could get back the time we lost and also
start banking some time each mile in case we needed it later. At mile 4,
Eileen had to stop for the bathroom so I told her I was going to keep going.
Today I also had those Jelly Belly sport beans with me since Eileen had gotten
them for me for Christmas so I started taking them since I had 10 packs. They
are actually pretty good tasting I think for anyone that isn't a big fan of Gu
or Power Gel. I once again kept my garbage bag on until around the race track
again. The strange thing is I felt great once again. However I still had a
long way to go so I just kept walking. I was turning 14:00-14:30 minute miles
through the half. I was hoping Eileen would catch up with me at some point.
Got through the back road to Animal Kingdom and through the park. I
absolutely hate the stretch after leaving Animal Kingdom to the turnaround at the
Wide World of Sports. I was feeling pretty good though still at this point and
decided why not try some running as well. So I mixed in some running with my
walking and made that horrible stretch go by quicker. Grabbed a cup of beer from
the Hashers. Luckily there was some left when I got there since Stan told me
SOMEONE that was with him took 3 cups from them on her way through! Headed
for the dreaded turnaround at the Wide World of Sports and saw Stan and Sheila
on their way back. Crossing the timing mat, I knew I had made it past the
last cutoff point so it was all up to me to finish, Disney was not going to sweep
me and I still felt good. On my way back, saw Eileen heading up to the
turnaround so I knew she was close. Hit the red carpet at MGM and decided that for
once I was going to enjoy myself these last few miles through MGM and EPCOT.
So I slowed the pace down and hoped Eileen would catch up. Seeing the
Lawrence's at the Boardwalk was great and propelled me to EPCOT. Took a nice
leisurely stroll around the countries, through Future World, and past the choir.
Decided as I have in all past races to finish strong as run across the finish
line crossing in 6:18:55. Eileen ended up being less than a minute behind me.
Got my Mickey medal, which I too really wasn't thinking about at that point.
Kept looking for the Goofy tent and had to finally ask where it was to make
sure I hadn't missed it. What a surprise it was to see my parents handing out
medals there since they were supposed to be finish line escorts, not medals.
So I got a picture of my mom putting my Goofy medal around my neck. Eileen and
I got massages while waiting for Ellen to finish. Went back to the room,
rested, showered and got ready for the Bragathon. Had a good time there and then
went to dinner with the family and my friend's parents at Artist Point. Then
went back and slept.
Got up on Monday and got Bart at the All Star MUSIC, after I mistakenly went
to the MOVIES and met the others for the Monday morning walk/jog/crawl around
the lake. Had some breakfast, got ready and went to EPCOT and went on Soarin'
before meeting the gang at England to begin the 1st Annual WDWDW. Definitely
a good time, especially the boat rides in Mexico and Norway with Capts. Bart
and Alvaro steering the course. It was also pretty funny to see a bunch of
adults running to the Kid Stations in every country to have our passports
stamped and have the local expression for "Cheers" written down for us. We
were lucky enough to make our way back to England and get a few tables to sit and
watch Illuminations.
The rest of the week we took to the parks and were lucky enough to meet up
with The Lawrences, Stan, Sheila, and Bart. All too soon, it was Thursday and
time to head back north.
Congratulations to all who achieved their goals. I keep thinking what I
could do if I trained. I am breaking my rule this year and adding the Disneyland
Half in September along with the half (at least) next year at Disney World. I
achieved my goal, 5 awards (Donald, Fun Run, Mickey, Goofy medals, and WDWDW
shot glass) for the weekend. It was great to see you all.
Mark Druckenmiller
