This past weekend was a family trip for me, but maybe next year when I'm going "solo" I'll get a chance to visit with some of you!
We drove down on Thursday, and with a slighter later start than I hoped for I was worried that we'd miss our reservation at Rain Forest Cafe (just outside Animal Kingdom). It was my son's choice for dinner. Not only did we arrive in time for dinner, we were able to go to the expo and get our packages for the 5K the next morning. Dinner was noisy but great fun. We shared a volcano for dessert - a huge brownie-ice cream-fudge sauce-caramel sauce concoction! On our way out, we stopped at the shop and picked up a pair of pirate Mickey ears for my husband to wear in the 5K. (I had my pirate Goofy ears from Disneyland and my son planned to use a pirate hat I picked up for Halloween.) Then it was back to the expo where I got my Goofy stuff and my husband got his half marathon stuff. A quick trip to the official merchandise, where I got my Goofy pin AND found a Goofy lanyard!
I've wanted a special lanyard for my Disney race pins, and now I had one!
My weekend was already a success!
We had a room at the Dolphin for two nights, and when we took a look at the view (from the 10th floor) I got a huge hug from my 13-year-old son! As those of you with teenagers know, that is quite an accomplishment!
Friday morning we donned our pirate gear. My husband added a clip-on gold earring for his "costume" and I wore a frilly white shirt. My son had his "dead men tell no tales" shirt I got him at Disneyland, so we were a real pirate family. At the race start, I heard my name and there was Rachael, a gal I coached with TNT who would be doing the marathon on Sunday. Rachael was dressed like Cinderella - blond hair, neck ribbon, blue dress - she looked awesome! And her friend, Amanda, was fully decked out in pirate gear. When we lined up for the start I noticed a woman behind us with pirate costume, and she smiled broadly at me. I smiled back, but for some reason didn't say anything, which is quite unlike me. As you know, it was our own Wendy Sibley!
My son and husband hadn't done any training, so we thought we'd just walk along and I'd take pictures. About half a mile into the race, I could tell Joe was ready to run. So we did. Jim (husband) kept up with us and eventually he and Joe were just ahead of me. I kept them in sight and when they started walking at about 2.5 miles, I caught up and we finished together. I hope there is a good picture of us!
The rest of the day was spent in the parks. It is a bit of a blur, but I know we started at Animal Kingdom hoping to ride Everest. No luck, so we headed over to MGM and took in a few things we hadn't seen before. There wasn't any rushing about - just wandering and enjoying the atmosphere and each other's company. I loved the fact that my son was so talkative.
Usually he's the quiet type, especially to mom and dad, but this weekend he was effusive! I loved every minute!
Dinner on Friday was at Alfredo's in Italy (EPCOT). Rachael had strongly recommended the lasagne, and it was wonderful. Joe was a bit harder to please, as the menu items were a little too exotic for his tastes. And Jim was feeling a bit poorly as well. I had reservations at San Angel Inn
(Mexico) for Saturday night, and decided to check the menu to see if there was any reason to use it. After viewing the menu, we all agreed that we'd just find something else for Saturday. Back at the hotel Jim and I laid out our half marathon gear, and called it a night.
The next morning I popped right out of bed and quickly dressed. Then I saw Jim just sitting on the bed, very quiet. He decided that doing a half marathon wasn't a good idea, so he crawled back into bed and I went downstairs to catch the bus. I found my TNT folks in the staging area. I had three people doing the half, and it was great to see them! I was in wave A-2, so I bid them farewell and headed to the start, where I passed the time talking to Kathy from Atlanta.
My race was actually quite good. I used my heartrate monitor to keep under control, and managed to get faster as the race went along, with my fastest mile being number 13. Of course, I had motivation, as two female racewalkers were threatening to pass me and I decided I wasn't going to let it happen. At least not easily! My time of 2:45 was about 8 minutes faster than last year!
Back at the hotel I cleaned up and we checked out, because the next two nights were at All Star Music. When we arrive at ASMusic our room was ready, so we were able to unload the car. Another day of wandering the parks. Mostly we were in Magic Kingdom, making sure to visit the pirates ride. I had seen the new one at Disneyland, but Jim and Joe had not. We also rode Stitch's escape, which I absolutely loved! A bit like "honey I shrunk the audience" and everyone was shrieking and laughing. For dinner we went to EPCOT and got fish and chips, listened to the British band, and then found excellent standing area for the fireworks. Time for bed, and a short night's sleep for me to the marathon.
Unfortunately my five hours of sleep were interrupted. Poor Joe must have overloaded his stomach, because he was up and sick in the sink. It must be a mother thing - I was up in a flash while Jim barely stirred! However, it was a short lived episode and we were both back in bed, with me starting every time Joe shifted in the night. But never mind, I can do a race on pure adrenaline! right?
Another 3:00 alarm and I was out the door by 3:20. Our plan was for them to go to the parks early, and I would call when I got back to the room. No point in sitting and waiting when they could be enjoying their park hopper passes. My marathon was quite wonderful. Again using my heart monitor to good purpose, I never felt drained all day long. I was a bit miffed when the 5:30 pace group decided to take a break and fill the ENTIRE narrow path we were on, but eventually they pulled ahead enough not to interfere with my pace. About mile 8 a guy caught up with me, and introduced himself as a national level racewalk judge and said he wanted to tell me that I had really good form. You know that kept me focused for the rest of the race - not wanting to waste the compliment!
I was amazed and a bit concerned at how early some runners seemed to enter the "death march" mode. Many of them must have gone too fast, because by mile 11-12 they were all around me. Just before we entered Animal Kingdom, I spotted a TNT participant who seemed to be a bit droopy. I decided to slow down and say hello, and when I asked how she was the tears started.
She had been running okay, but then her knee gave out. I abandoned my pace and held her hand for a bit, encouraging her to walk with me and see how it went. Her name was Darreisha and she was from Delaware. We walked along, and I gave her some tips about walking form and technique. I spent not quite two miles with her, but I still wanted to get in under 6 hours so I told her to keep smiling and using the tips I'd given her. I picked up my pace and the miles just rolled along.
About mile 21, a gal walked past me and said she had been watching me for a while. As she moved on ahead, I was hoping to keep her in sight. Then I was catching her, and we ended up walking the rest of the race together.
She was Jeanie Clausen, and hadn't racewalked in many years, though she had won the Long Beach Marathon in 4:20! I felt outclassed a bit, but we walked and talked and our only concern was finishing in less than 6 hours. I don't know where she started, but the clock read 5:57 when we went under it, for a chip time for me of 5:56! Hurrah! And once again, this was faster than my time of last year (5:59).
Jeanie lives in Atlanta, so I got her phone number and we made plans to meet at the ING Marathon at the end of March. At the hotel, I called my husband and arranged a place and time to meet. He had taken my pass with him and got fastpass tickets for Soarin'. What a good idea that was! And we got the front row, which from my experience at DL I think is the best one to be in. The afternoon was more wandering, some at EPCOT and some at Magic Kingdom.
The crowning event of our weekend was dinner at the Royal Table at Cinderella's castle. We gathered with the other folks for our seating, and got our picture with Cinderella. Inside there was wonderful food and a "floor show" of two mice and the fairy godmother. We left the castle a few minute before 8:00 - and were directed out the front as the fireworks were about to begin. As we exited, my husband waved to the huge crowd gathered out front, and some people actually cheered! We don't know if it was for him or if something else was happening just then, but it was extremely funny! There was a small area right up front, so we sat down and watched the show. Another perk of the dinner, I guess.
Then it was time for sleep. The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and then drove home. I was thinking how things looked a bit dreary when my husband actually said that it was strange being back home.
I wondered if I really wanted to do Goofy next year, and intended to sleep on it when I got home. However, I started to worry that it might close while I slept, so before I went to bed on Monday night I got online and spent my money to do number 3. Apparently I was just fast enough that there was water and Powerade at every stop. Some of them were pouring water when I arrived, but I got some. I could tell it was going to be bad for those behind me, and I knew people were using a lot more fluids than usual because of the weather.
All in all - a fantastic weekend for me! Races were good, parks were good, dining was memorable. Number 3, here I come!
Vicki Sue
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
