My first 5K ever! warning- long
For Friday, I wasn’t nervous at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the expo. We hung around and heard some of the speakers, and were there for a couple of the Ladies Night speakers. I especially appreciated having vendors geared toward women!
I only woke up a couple of times in the night, but by 4 am I was pretty agitated. I couldn’t decide if I was nervous or excited. Probably a bit of both. By 5:20, I had fallen asleep again, only to be awakened by the phone & alarm. My DH, DD 11 and I met my DM & DF & Denise (pixie snake) at the front of POP to drive over to Downtown Disney. We left @ 6:15 am.
We got over to DD about 6:30. As we waited around and Denise walked to warm up her legs, I spotted a WISH shirt & went over to meet Eva (Minigirl). We chatted for a while, then went to take pics in front of the Minnie stuff. We also used the porta potties!
When they started the 1 mile @ 7:15, we went over to the front of the white flags. I saw a group of WISHers gathering, and “WISHed” they’d come up by the start of the white with us!! Ann (Maharae) finally did, and waved the rest of the group up. We met GeorgiaGirl, Minigirl, Leana’s mom (that had flew in from Jakarta) and several others!
Boy, did the time fly, then we heard them counting down. We were off! The start seemed pretty slow, but it only took 50 seconds to cross the mat. We weaved in and out of people, going through the West Side & Pleasure Island.
Denise & I never really talked about how we were planning on doing the race, so when she started into a run, I was surprised. We slowed down as we crossed a WET bridge (UGH!). We didn’t want to fall (as we had already seen someone fallen by the sidelines.
We passed the first water stop & then mile marker 1. I kept telling Denise to let me know when she could do an “interval” of running. We probably did 8-9 running intervals, 30-45 seconds long. We’d set a start point (sign, bushes) and up ahead plan a stop (bridge, etc). I only remember one incline on the course, over a bridge.
I also distracted Denise by talking to her about the scenery. Look, there’s the treehouses! Look, what kind of plant is that? I finally told her she could tell me shut up if she wanted, but she was very nice to me! Eventually, we saw Robert (ultramm) & his wife Linda.
I held the camera in my hand and took lots of pics of the course. I was really glad that I brought it along (thanks to all who encouraged me to bring it!).
I gave Denise a gummie bear and kept giving her instructions on how to eat it! (It was really funny hearing her tell the story later- Stacey kept telling me to chew, and not to choke on the gummie bear). We also had to be careful not to trip over the golf distance markers (have no idea what they’re called) on the sidewalk in one area.
When we saw the mile marker 3, we were doing an interval, so we slowed down, to have a little left for a strong finish. Little did I know how much Denise had left! When she saw the finish line, she took off!!! Literally!!! Honestly, I barely caught up to her, giving it all I had!
My DD wanted us to cross the finish line together, and all I could think of was- Yeah right, if I can catch Denise! I really pushed it, and for good reason, because our chip time was 39:59! I guess we shaved off the last second at the last second!
My family had barely made it back, as they went out for coffee. We had told them 45-48 minutes, and we finished under 40! They took pics, we got our medals & chips off, then we checked our time. We were elated to see our time, as Denise kept saying through the race, well, at least I’m not last.
After the finish, there was blue, red & yellow PowerAde & water. We grabbed some powerade, but I wasn’t hungry. I had drank water at all the water stops. I think there was oranges & bananas.
Final Comments: What a blast! I would do this again in a heartbeat! My DM wants to train and do this with us next year (she’s had 3 back surgeries!) I really appreciated the support of Denise, my parents, my hubby & DD. They were almost as excited as we were. I wish I would of taken more notice & pics of the finish line. (Of course, I was running all out at that point to catch Denise, so who could blame me!)
My First 15K Minnie Marathon! warning- long
Denise (pixie snake) had volunteered for the 15K, so my parents & I rode with her @ 4:15 am over to AK. My parents were staying for the start, so I was able to sit in the car for about an hour. I ate breakfast (3 granola bars & a Diet Coke) and used the porta potty 3X! (I was really nerved up).
I needed to get out with the others to get calm. We went & stood by the WISH team. I was able to talk awhile, which really helped! Then it was time to line up. I went to the start of the purple, but the rest of the WISH team was in green (or many that I could see). My DM encouraged me to go over there, so I did. I was really glad, as talking to Robert & Linda really calmed me down. (except for when I spilled my fanny pack - and for the second time of the morning spilled my Advil).
It seemed to drag to the start (compared with the 5K). Finally we heard the fireworks & count down. Then we were off! A teeny bit of jogging, then fast walking. It had taken me only 30 sec to cross the mat. The first mile around the AK parking lot seemed to take forever, but I did it in about 12:30. I had no idea if I could keep up that pace!
At about 1 ½ miles, I was alongside a race walker. She asked if I was walking the race too. I said yes. We started talking & the time FLEW by! Her name is Vicki. I won’t do an exact mile for mile, for the first 5, just some general observations. I went really fast past each DJ/music area, as it was so loud! But I was glad for the music. We passed a bus that looked like it was stuck (it was, I found out later from Denise). The hills didn’t seem bad at all (actually overpasses). I never saw the sweepers. I had Power Ade at each stop.
I found out that Vicki trains racewalkers, so we talked about that. She gave me many tips on form, which were very helpful. At about mile 4 (the onramp towards MGM), Denise was directing the racers. I rarely saw WISH shirts, she saw lots! I told her to call my parents (who went back to POP to pick up DD11 & DH) and tell them that I was ahead of my pace.
Pretty soon, we were in MGM. The sun started breaking through. I was enjoying greeting the volunteers & CM’s who were on the course. We were averaging 12:30-13:45 min miles. When we saw a mile @ 13:45, we picked up the pace!
I told Vicki she could go ahead if she needed to, but she said she enjoyed the conversation. I’m totally grateful, as I really don’t think I would of kept up such a pace! At MGM, the only characters we saw were princesses. Thinking there would be others, we kept going. It was neat going down the street towards the New York skyline, and hearing clearly the background noises. (cars, people) I started feeling a pinch where my shoe meets ankle, tried to fix it at a water stop, but it went right back the way it was and continued hurting!
Vicki also knew where the photographers were, so she would give me a heads up. The mile between MGM & EPCOT totally flew by. By mile 8, I was doing the math in my head (fuzzy @ best) thinking we might could make it under 2 hrs.
Right after Yacht Club, coming up to EPCOT, we could smell bacon. I don’t even like bacon, but boy did it smell great! Only complaint here, no music. Through EPCOT, the music (normal EPCOT music) was very relaxing to me, at a time I shouldn’t be relaxing! I got pics in most countries.
As we got up to the big ball, we saw someone hobbling in. It looked like her shin or something was bothering her. I felt bad for her, she was so close. Hopefully she finished! After going to the right next to the building (backstage) I knew we were close.
2 neat things happened here: As I rounded the corner, I saw my DH & DF- Power surge! Then a song was on that I had trained to. Another power surge & goose bumps! I was going ALL OUT! I really wanted to go in under 2 hrs! But, alas, that was all I had, as the final chip time was 2:00:31. Yes, I always wonder, could I of made up those 31 seconds somewhere? (Vicki wonders too, as she emailed me that if she knew we were that close, we would of pushed it more). I barely remember crossing the finish line (I didn’t learn from the 5K) & can’t even remember if I touched Minnie & Mickey! It was all a blur!
I do know that I couldn’t of done it without Vicki, as I would have been much kinder to myself. It was like having a coach or a pacer walk with me. I would race with her anytime! Vicki & I stayed together for a while, taking pics, got our medals, drank Powerade. I thanked her profusely for her help & tips. Boy did this race FLY by! What a blast! I totally want to do a half now!
What I learned: Better, more organized fanny pack (no Advil spills). Have a friend or meet a stranger to race with (preferably faster paced than you!) Push it a little, you’ll be glad you did! Do Disney races more often! Bring more Bandaids (the spot on my ankle was a blister, I needed bandaids for the next few days at the parks!)
I really enjoyed talking to the WISHer’s! I felt a lot less lost! Thank you to ALL! I’m glad I listened to whomever said take the camera. I took pics all the time. (I love that camera, easy on & off & good focus when moving!
Stacey Diehl
