Let me start by saying that I had a great time doing the Disney half. It was really fun and they do a great job of keeping you entertained throughout the entire run. They had gospel choirs, marching bands, DJs, and just about every Disney character you could think of to help cheer you on. The crowds were amazingly supportive and I really liked that they had your name printed above the race numbers. It was awesome to hear your name being called out and then to hear, "Good job! Keep it up!" I think that I'll start putting my name somewhere on my shirt for every run! I got to see my family twice during the race. Once as I was coming out of Cinderella's castle and then again about a half-mile from the finish line. I can't tell you how great it was to see their smiles and hear their cheers. Awesome!
The alarm went off at 3 am and I got up and dressed and was out the door in about ten minutes. They had buses from every Disney hotel to take runners the start line. It was nice not to have to think about where I was going to park. I had paid for the VIP tent so I didn't have to worry about getting breakfast. I got to the tent at about 3:40 and immediately starting eating. I think that if I do this run next year I will definitely pay for the VIP tent. The had hot coffee, fruit, clif bars and tons of other goodies to choose from. It was a really warm and humid morning so they had the tent air conditioned. The carpeted area was nice to stretch out on and I even manged to get a little bit of a nap before we were called to the starting area. It also rocked to have your bag being checked right there. The lines for the other baggage check were super long. We also had private porta-potties so they weren't as bad as some others I've had to use.
Runners were called to the starting area around 4:30. I was running with friends and we all decided to stick together, at least for the start. We started in the last wave, that's something that I will never do again in a race this big. The amount of weaving and passing to get through the walkers was way too stressful. Even if I have to lie about my finish time I think I would rather be in the first or second corral. It was a 20 minute walk to the start line and the fireworks went off at 6:30 for our wave. It was a very slow start. It did thin out around mile 2 and I was able to pick up the pace a great deal after that. It was overcast but it was still hot and humid. It ended up being about 10-15 degrees hotter than any of my long runs during training. The weather was more of a factor than I thought it would be.
I was having a great run and made it to the half-way point and breezed through Cinderella's Castle. I was heading through a back stage area when I went to pass someone and stepped off on some uneven pavement. I heard something pop around my hip area but didn't feel any immediate pain so I kept going. But by the time I got to mile 8/9 I knew something wasn't right. I stopped off at a medical tent and they told me that it looked like a pulled groin muscle and that I could continue the race if I walked the next couple of miles. I should have kept my mouth shut but since that's impossible for me, I asked, "What if I don't walk?" They told me that they couldn't risk me getting any more injured and if they saw me running they would pull me out of the race. I wasn't about to not finish so I walked about a half mile until I didn't see a medic and then I would run. Since they all had walkie-talkies they were on the look out. It was like a game really. See a medic, walk. Don't see a medic, run like hell to make up the time. It did help pass the time. Once I got into the gates of Epcot and I knew they wouldn't dare take me out, I kicked it up and finished strong.
Needless to say, my time was not what I wanted it to be due to all the walking. I finished almost 30 minutes slower than what I had wanted. (Don't go by the clock it's about 35/40 minutes off because I was in the last wave. My chip time was 3:03:37) But I did finish! The upside is that it will be easy to get a PB for the next half! All in all it was a good experience. I learned a lot and will definitely do some things different next time. I'll post pictures when I get them. My injury seems to be healing well and I'm looking forward to the 15K in February!
