Full Marathon Report
Once again, I got carried away typing and this ended up longer than anticipated. I won’t feel bad if you guys stop reading half way through. It was just so exciting conjuring up all the thoughts and emotions of race day. Happy reading!
As I said in my half report, Krista and I got to bed around 9:00pm Saturday night. I felt calmer tonight than last night, or maybe just more tired. I was asleep within 15 minutes and didn’t wake up till the alarm went off at 3:00am. Two consecutive days of 3:00 wake up calls?? Even when it’s Mickey on the other end of that call, it’s still pushing the boundaries of insanity! It felt more like the “norm” getting dressed and ready to go this morning. Maybe it was because this was day two, or maybe it was because both Krista and I were getting ready at the same time, and we have done this for so many races before, it just felt comfortable. We were ready to go by 3:30, so we knocked on Krista’s parents door, and much to my surprise, they were all awake, too. Got some last minute pictures, and we were off. As we walked towards the lobby, I reassured Krista that it already felt better temperature and humidity-wise than it had on Saturday. Hopefully this was a good sign. We boarded the first bus to the start and made it to Epcot fairly quickly. I noticed several of the portable searchlights (same type they use at Pleasure Island) sweeping the sky this morning. I didn’t remember these from yesterday, but thought they were pretty cool. Went through the baggage claim tents again, but today the volunteer behind the table declared that bags were being checked by last name instead of first name. Whatever. I’m not walking all the way down to the F tent this morning. I checked my bag at the S tent and we walked through to the port-o-let oasis on the other side. We found the WISHers again fairly easily, probably because I knew this morning where everyone would be waiting. Yet another great time with everyone. I think we should meet on race morning every year, it really helps everyone to relax and pass the time. We chatted with Bill, Howard, Cam, Colleen, Carrie, Scott, Christa, MelR, Sunny, and a few others. Cam got some great pictures of us all in our pre-race attire (although due to the temps, our pre-race attire was pretty much our race attire, too. ).
A little before 5:00, we started moving towards the corrals, or should I say, we started the interstate trek to the corrals. I had forgotten how long the walk to the full start was. I thought the half seemed long yesterday, but the full start is all the way on the far left side of Epcot, actually on the “highway” that circles Epcot. We continued straight ahead at the split and we headed off towards corrals A, B, and C. Saw several people running into the bushes before we even got to the corral area, which, in retrospect, would not have been such a bad idea. About the time that we arrived at the corrals, Krista decided that she had to go to the bathroom one last time. The lines for the port-o-lets were waaaay long, so I told her that we could find an area along the banks that was secluded enough for her to use (trust me, this is NOT Krista’s style, but she finally agreed ). We should have waited in line instead. I went down over the side of the hill towards the tree line to find a desolate area, and I didn’t realize that the lowest spot of this embankment contained standing water. I stepped right in the middle of the water, and submerged my leg up to my ankle in water. Great. So 20 minutes before the marathon starts, and I’m sitting here with a totally drenched foot. After seeing this, Krista decided that she didn’t have to go to the bathroom so bad anymore, and said she’d wait till later on the course to go. I took my sock and shoe off while I stretched behind the C corral, hoping that they would dry out. Never did get completely dry, but oh well. With about 5 minutes to go, Krista and I moved up further in the C corral and we saw Cam and Rhonda—hi guys!. National anthem, then the wheelchair start—hmmmm, this all seems so much like yesterday. Then at 6:00am, we counted down with the characters and after the burst of fireworks (always cool every year), we were off. We shuffled forward towards the start line and actually started running a little before the start as it was thinning out. I asked Krista again if she was good to go, and told her I’d see her in a few hours. Let me add one side comment here—Krista and I are both ok with running our own races. We decided very early on in our training that our paces and intervals were different from each other, so we very rarely run together. We usually run at the same time and often at the same park/location, but not usually right together. Because of this, we always run our own races on race day. Unless one of us asks for the other to stay with them, we wish each other luck and meet at the finish. So this morning, as we crossed the start line, we gave each other one final look and kiss, squeezed hands and said, “See you at the finish line.” And then I quickly scurried off the course into the first port-o-lets I could find. Yep, after all that searching for the perfect bathroom spot for Krista, I was the one who ended up needing one last stop. After draining the bladder, I tried to find my rhythm and settle into a good pace. Problem was, I couldn’t find the perfect pace or rhythm. I had used a heart rate monitor during training, so I knew what my heart rate should be for long run pace, short run pace, etc. I usually tried to keep my heart rate below 150 for long runs, and already at mile 1, my heart rate was 152. I slowed the pace a bit, but couldn’t slow the heart rate. I finally realized that a lot of this was probably due to the heat, so I took Lynne’s advice (by the way, thanks Lynne!) and stopped watching the heart rate monitor and just went with what felt comfortable. Running through World Showcase was a blur, both figuratively and literally, as it was extremely foggy. We merged with the D through H corrals at mile 3.4, which seemed to work better this year. I was starting to worry a little bit about my knee. It had bothered me earlier this year during the spring, so I had been lifting weights and strengthening it all year to ward off injury. Well, it was starting to twinge a little, and I was nervous about doing another 23 miles on it. Regardless of how it felt, I had already told myself that I was going to finish, even if I had to hobble through several miles to do it. I just wasn’t happy about the prospect of actually having to deal with this issue for the rest of the race.
Then, out of nowhere, like angels sent from Heaven, I found them. Mel, Colleen, and Dave. I’m not sure if I heard Mel’s voice first (you ARE Miss Talk Radio, Mel ) or saw Dave’s WISH singlet first, but seeing them was such a breathe fresh air. I said hi and introduced myself to Dave since we had never met in person. Dave was already wearing his sunglasses, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how in the world he could see anything since it was still pretty dark. We chatted for a few minutes and I asked Colleen how she was feeling after yesterday’s half. So so, she said. Same here. I couldn’t figure out what I should do at this point. I had shyed away from hooking up with a pace group here on the boards because I realize that we all run different paces, intervals, stopping for water stops, gels, etc. I didn’t want to take away from someone’s race experience because I felt I needed to walk a little more or a little less, or slow down or speed up if need be. But I was having such a good time talking to these guys, I decided to try to hang with them for awhile. It was making the time go by much easier, and I had started to forget about my knee. This was definitely the best decision I made the entire race. We talked and laughed and goofed off for the next several miles. We were all stopping to walk through the water stops and taking gels/powerbars every 4 miles. Around mile 7, we spotted Scott and Carrie ahead a few hundred yards. We decided to try to catch them. Colleen asked what we thought about walking up Contemporary Hill when we would eventually get there, and Mel said, “Colleen, if we can catch Scott and Carrie, we’ll walk up Contemporary Hill.” Well, we caught up to them. Dave had never met them, so we decided he was the prime candidate to go up and “scare” them. They were surprised to see us, and we chatted and laughed for another mile or so. As we approached the TTC, I knew Carl, Carol and Jessica would be waiting for us to pass. Krista and I had given them our sunglasses, body glide, extra socks, etc in case we needed anything. I finally found them on the left hand side right after the TTC, said hi, grabbed my sunglasses and smiled for a picture, and I was off. Shoot! I forgot to get dry socks (remember the water sock issue?). Oh well, I figured I could get them at mile 13 when I was planning to see them again. We trekked on until Mile 9, when we came upon Dave’s wife along the course, just across from the Wilderness Lodge. We stopped and said hi, and she snapped a few pictures of us all. I took their camera and got a picture of Dave with his wife, and I think his wife was trying to figure out who in the world was stopping with her husband and taking their camera to snap pictures.
We continued on towards the Magic Kingdom and yes, we all walked up Contemporary Hill. We saw Jen cheering us on at the Contemporary, and that was a huge morale booster. As we approached the security gate for the MK, we caught up to Howard and his friend (Kevin?), Lynne, and a few other WISHers. They seemed to be doing good, but I think the heat and humidity was starting to take its toll on all of us. We wished them luck and continued on our way. I saw a few random people starting to really falter outside the MK, slowing their pace and hunching over, and I felt bad for them because we still had so far to go.
Running down Main Street was a blast as always. It was very crowded today, and some genius Cast Member decided it would be a good idea to position Mickey Mouse right on Main Street for marathoners to get their picture taken. Problem was, we only had about 15 feet width to run on anyway, and with Mickey on the side, it congested things to the extreme. I almost tripped over several people standing in line to get their picture. We made it through, though, and continued on to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Dave tried to get a high five from Beast (Beauty and the Beast) in Fantasyland, but someone jumped up there to get a picture with him right as Dave ran over to slap his hand. This same event with the picture takers happened about 36 more times on the rest of the course. I’m not sure if Dave ever did get to high-five a character the entire race! Ran through the castle again, and I made sure to get a clear view of the photographers for the oh-so-coveted castle picture. The next mile went by very quickly and we ended up getting separated from half our group. As we exited the MK, we ran backstage and through a water station and medical tent. Then as we left this area, we were dumped out onto Floridian way, which is very narrow. The 5:00 pace group was right behind us, so we were trying our best to stay ahead of them, both to beat their time and also to stay away from the congestion of a hundred or so runners following this pacer. At some point on Floridian Way, Dave and I turned around and looked to see Colleen and Mel, but we could not find them. We figured they had been swallowed by the 5:00 pace group since the lady with the pacing balloons was so close she could spit on us. We felt bad we couldn’t find them, but continued on anyway, feeling better that there were at least two of them together and we hadn’t dropped someone by themselves.
At mile 13, I could see Carl/Carol/Jessica watching for us. I stopped briefly to say hi and I remembered to ask for my dry pair of socks, which I put on at the next water stop. Ahhhh, dry socks. While I was stopped with them, I reapplied some Body Glide to my legs, much to the dismay of my sister-in-law (hey, she’s got to get used to those running abnormalities somehow, right??). And then I was off again. I caught back up to Dave, who had stopped at the water stop, and we continued on. I told him I remembered from last year that the stretch to AK was long and boring, so we should probably take it easy through this area. Amazingly, this stretch of road was great. It was getting pretty hot, but there was a decent amount of shade with the trees, and we just ran and talked—talked about everything from work to family to home to the Steelers. It seemed more like a training run with a good friend than a marathon in blistering heat. Before we knew it, we were at the AK. I couldn’t believe I had made it this far already and felt so good.
We ran through AK, and at some point, they distributed sponges soaked in water. Wow, I didn’t realize a wet sponge could be so refreshing. Unfortunately, when I squeezed it over my head, all the sunscreen I had applied 4 hours earlier came running down my face and into my mouth, which tasted like soap. I asked Dave if his sponge tasted like soap, too, and he said, “No, more like Vaseline.” Ok, I could live with the soap taste.
As we exited the AK, I knew what was ahead. This was by far the toughest stretch on the entire marathon—the road from AK to MGM. I told Dave the next few miles may get tough, but we both felt pretty good and decided to continue on with our current pace. Our pace, by the way, was just ahead of the 5:00 pace group. We had been keeping this group in our sights for the last 10 miles, and we were somehow managing to stay ahead of them. I was surprised to see how many people we were passing even though we simply maintained our pace. Everyone was starting to fade pretty quickly. Around Mile 19, Dave said he thought he’d add an extra walk break at the half mile mark. I was feeling pretty good at this point, and he told me to go ahead and keep whatever pace felt good to me. I didn’t want to split up as we had come so far together, but Dave insisted he was fine and that we’d meet up at the finish in an hour. When we got to the next water stop, I said goodbye and we told each other to finish strong. I kept going and pulled out my mp3 player, which I had planned to use on the long stretches between the parks in order to keep my mind focused, but I hadn’t needed yet because we had been running together. I turned on the music about mile 20 and zoned out. I saw the 5:00 pacing group behind me, and I decided to try to put some distance between them so that I wouldn’t have to look over my shoulder every minute. Big mistake. I picked up the pace, and at one point, I looked down and was running a 8:00 mile. Whoah, slow down there! I rounded the last cone on the out-and-back portion, and started back towards World Drive. I watched for Dave, as I knew he’d be coming this way soon. Sure enough, I saw him and we high fived and shouted words of encouragement as we passed. And then the wheels fell off. I had just stopped to get water at the Mile 21 aid station, and when I started to run again, my legs did not cooperate. I had never hit the wall in a race before, but it happened right then. I could not believe how quickly I had gone from feeling good—almost great—to dreadful. My mind and heart were still in it, but the legs were telling me they were finished. However, I was NOT going to let the 5:00 pace group pass me. Not that it would have been a big deal to slow down and let them go, but mentally, it was a challenge for me and I was not going to let it slip by. I reached deep down and thought about all the training runs this past year in the freezing temperatures and the blistering heat and the 4:00am workouts and countless ice baths and weightlifting. I thought about all my family back home who was tracking me and praying for me through this race. I thought about Krista and how strong she is and I wondered how she was feeling right now. Just 5 more miles. And then you’re done. And we’re going to Ohana tonight and you’re going to eat enough steak and shrimp to feed a small country. Funny how the mind works at Mile 21.
I continued on with a Run 3, Walk 1 pace. Problem was, I was having to run the 3 minutes faster than I wanted because I was still trying to maintain a sub-5:00 pace. The lady with the 5:00 pacing balloons was starting to grow horns and sporting a red cape. She was making me mad because she was not keeping even splits, and at one point, she was right beside me and I looked down at my Garmin and we were maintaining a 9:00 mile pace. She even had to stop at mile 23 and walk back about 200 yards on the course to let the rest of her pace group catch up with her. I decided that if she was beating me at the finish line, I was going to tackle her and run ahead while she was getting back up. I can just see the headlines now: “Man Assaults Clif Pacing Runner at Disney World Finish Line.”
Made it through MGM, and as Bill said, all the spectators who were trying to be helpful by telling us there was only a 5K left, were NOT helping. That’s another half hour of running! Exiting MGM, the one thought that was keeping me running strong was that there would be WISHers at the Yacht/Beach Club. As I passed the Boardwalk and ran by the Dolphin, I could already see the lime green up ahead. I saw Mel and her family first, and she was absolutely wonderful. She had a whole bag full of things for anyone who needed anything. She asked me if I was ok and if I needed anything. I assured her I was fine, thanked her and continued on. There were people with ice on trays at this point, and I thought about taking some ice to suck on, but I didn’t want to stop in case my legs decided they were beat and didn’t want to start again. Then I passed Judy and Charlie and a host of other WISHers at the Beach Club. I yelled “Go WISH!” and got some cheers back, but I don’t know if they recognized me since I didn’t have a WISH shirt on.
Epcot never seemed so big. We entered backstage before mile 25 in the UK, and looking across World Showcase lagoon and seeing Spaceship Earth made me realize exactly how far I had left to go. I started running through one country and walking through the next. Eventually, I passed Norway, then Mexico, then headed towards Spaceship Earth. I knew this stretch of course so well, we’ve only been to Epcot about a thousand times, but this time around, it was so much more difficult. I kept waiting for my second (or third or fourth) wind to kick in, but it wasn’t happening. I walked and ran through Future World and just as I got to Spaceship Earth, I felt great again. I saw Kathy and some other WISHers right before backstage at mile 26, which was uplifting. Passed the gospel choir, and they never looked so good. I couldn’t believe how much more tired I was today as opposed to when I passed them yesterday. Then it was out to the final stretch and past the grandstands. The crowds were great, cheering on runners the entire way. I looked for Krista’s parents, but couldn’t find them in the crowd. I kept running—faster and faster. I said goodbye to the 5:00 pace lady once and for all and left her in the dust. I crossed the line at 4:59:24 (chip time) and felt like I wanted to go to sleep right there. I high fived a bunch of total strangers as we walked to get our chips cut off our shoes. Grabbed my mylar blanket (you know, because it was so chilly out here today) and had the Mickey medal placed over my head. Ahhhh. Finished. I headed over to the Goofy tent, got my bracelet marked with a Sharpie, and then walked ahead for the moment I had been dreaming of for an entire year. I almost cried as they placed the Goofy medal over my head. Mission accomplished. I stopped to get an official picture, and I reached down to stretch as I was standing in line. My hamstrings cramped almost immediately. I figured I was dehydrated, so I grabbed a Powerade and headed off to the massage tent. They spent about 15 minutes massaging and stretching my legs, and I was surprised at how much I was cramping while they were stretching. They told me to take in some fluids as soon as my stomach could handle it. I went back to the finish line water/powerade tables and saw Mel and Colleen, who had just crossed the line. They both looked good and said they had a great second half to the race. I congratulated them both and said bye to Colleen, who had to check out of her hotel within the next hour.
After this, I walked through the baggage tent (yep, the bag was still there, under my FIRST name) and out to the WISH tent. Saw Mel and Phil out there, and a few others. I called Krista’s parents to ask if they had gotten updates on her progress, and they told me she had passed mile 20 and was on her way to the finish. I called my parents and family to let them know I was finished, and then walked back to the grandstands to meet Krista’s parents. About the time that I got back to them, they told me that Krista had just crossed the finish line. I was so excited and proud of her that I started to cry just hearing this news. We went back and met her outside the baggage tent and got some great group photos. I feel bad that we didn’t get to see more WISHers at the W tent. We didn’t stick around for too long after Krista finished because she wasn’t feeling too great and we wanted to get back to the room to get changed/ice baths/get some food, etc.
The rest of the evening went well. We went to a late seating at Ohana, and unfortunately, missed seeing Dave and his family there. I had really wanted to get a picture with him and let Krista get a chance to meet him.
Overall, it was a great weekend, one that I will remember forever. The races were way too hot and humid this year, but I guess that’s something you really can’t control. I guess the best thing to do is prepare for that, mentally and physically (if possible). I finished, was not unhappy with my overall times, and that’s really all I was shooting for.
Last thoughts on Goofy: Wow, what an experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I pushed myself harder than I thought possible this year, and I think I succeeded. Would I do it again? Probably not. Even though the overall weekly mileages were not too much more than a normal marathon training program, the back-to-back long runs on the weekends took a lot out of me and took up a lot of time, especially as the later fall/early winter wore on. I’m going to try for a faster overall time in the full marathon next January, so we’ll see how that goes (as we saw this past weekend, weather conditions can change your race day strategy completely).
Having said that, I would tell anyone contemplating the Goofy Challenge to think long and hard about it, but if you feel you can do it, go for it. You won’t regret it if you take the time to train. It’s an experience you’ll never forget. Especially with the support from the WISH training group. It goes without saying, but you guys are the best.
For anyone still reading (all two of you , hope you enjoyed the report.
Steve
