How I Became One With Pheidippides

Walt Disney World Marathon
January 11, 2009

Short Version
Overall Time: 4:07:56 (9:28 m/m)
Placing: 2518/14940 OA, 644/7139 F, 110/1166 AG (30-34)

Splits:
1M - 9:16
2M - 9:44/19:00
3M - 8:55/27:55
4M - 8:56/36:13
5M - 9:03/45:16
6M - 8:58/54:14
7M - 9:10/1:03:23
8M - 8:52/1:12:15
9M - 9:04/1:21:20
10M- 9:02/1:30:23
11M - 8:57/1:39:19
12M - 8:55/1:48:14
13M - 9:04/1:57:18
14M - 9:03/2:06:21
15M - 9:12/2:15:33
16M - 9:08/2:24:41
17M - 9:15/2:33:56
18M - 9:19/2:43:15
19M - 9:23/2:52:38
20M - 9:36/3:02:13
21M - 9:43/3:11:56
22M - 10:07/3:22:03
23M - 10:13/3:32:16
24M - 10:02/3:42:18
25M - 10:21/3:52:39
26M - 10:21/4:03:00
Finish - 4:56/4:07:56 (Garmin distance was 26.53)

Fashion Report: Black Marathon Girl skirt, Team Red Lizard singlet, maple leaf socks, LIT visor, Mizuno Wave Inspire 4
Breakfast Report: Cinnamon Roll oatmeal w/ dried cranberries, coffee, banana, Gatorade, water
Race Nutrition: 2 Raspberry Hammer Gels, 3 Vanilla Bean Gus, Gatorade, Water
Post Race Libation: Sam Adams Winter Ale

Goals
1. Run hard, have fun, and finish my first marathon smiling
2. Official Time Goal: 3:59:30, Stretch Goal: 3:55:00, Happy Goal: 4:15:00

The Long Version

What a ride! All the highs, all the lows, sheer emotion. The marathon is a different bird, a different bird indeed. A distance to be respected but once that mutual respect is established, a distance that forces you to go inside yourself and really figure out who you are, where your dark corners lurk, and where your happy place is. This race was all that and more. I shed blood. I shed sweat. I shed tears. I came out of the experience with more than I had going in. If the marathon was this transcendental, I can only imagine what an Ironman is like, but I digress.


We arrived in Orlando on Thursday evening and got packet pick up out of the way before dinner after which I had a small GI scare. A full day of eating junk tied my stomach up in knots and I left dinner in the toilet shortly after returning to our hotel. Let's hope this was just an incident where I overdid the dairy and not full-on food poisoning. Friday dawned and my tummy was feeling better. Thank god!!! After a quick breakfast, we went back to the expo so Nathan could run his 200 m dash. Sandbagger, just like his parents. His wave went off and he lollygagged in the MOP. When Chad jumped in, the little bugger took off like a shot and brought it home. His first race with a real bib and he got another medal. He was so proud. We spent a few hours in the Magic Kingdom. Fun until Nathan got stung by a bee just outside Winnie the Pooh's ride so we cut the day short right there. We met Grandma and Grandpa for dinner and turned in early so Chad could rest up for the half. Unfortunately, Nathan and I did not get to see his blistering race. Nathan was so tired that I decided sleep would be better for him versus dragging him all around the Disney compound before sunrise. We had no other plans save for lounging by the pool before the grandparents took Nathan for the night. Chad and I had an early dinner in Epcot's Italy and were in bed by 6:30, steeling ourselves for that 2 AM wake-up call.


Morning came way too early and we spent an hour choking down a breakfast of oatmeal and getting all our stuff together before boarding the bus that took us to the start for a whole lot of waiting followed by a transfer to the staging area followed by more waiting followed by a transfer to the corrals and then more waiting. For some inexplicable reason, I found myself in Corral A. I don't know how. I don't know why but there I was. It must have been some aggressive gender grading on Disney's part. We lined up in the back, got rid of all our extra clothes, and we were finally off into the predawn darkness. The race plan was to go out at even splits of 9:00, Gu up every 45 minutes or so, and Gatorade in between. Have I mentioned how much Chad did to pull me through this besides pacing me? Since the on-course drink was Powerade, he agreed to be my Gatorade sherpa. He carried an Amphipod filled with 40 oz of Gatorade just for me and drank Powerade himself. I just needed to manage my gels. Have I told you how much I love that guy?

The initial route wound through Epcot's backlots before entering the World Showcase around France. We passed France, the US, Italy, and Germany before exiting the park and rejoining the other waves. Energy levels were still high and the pace was comfortable so I tossed out a "Buon Giorno" in Italy and a "Guten Tag" to Dopey and Snow White in Germany. We wound back through the backlot and joined up with the main road to the Magic Kingdom. As I warmed up, the humidity just began to feel oppressive. As the sun rose, I started to see how bad the humidity was since the low lying areas were shrouded in mist. We entered the parking lot and cast areas of the Magic Kingdom as we wound closer to the entrance just off of Main Street. I turned the corner after entering the park and nearly hyperventilated. A narrow pathway for the runners with hundreds of people on each side just made an enormous wall of noise. When taken with the colors of Main Street and Cinderella's Castle in the background, it was sensory overload. My brain didn't know how to process it and my breathing started to get uneven and ragged. I could not take a proper breath. Training took over as I marshaled my focus back to the task at hand. It took running through Tomorrow Land and Fantasy Land to get my breathing back in control. I vaguely remember Chad peeling off to get a picture with Pooh. Once I ran through the castle, all was right with the lungs again and I settled back in. I was still feeling strong and in control as I marched towards the halfway point. The good news was the sun was up and burning away the heavy humidity. The bad news was that there was not a cloud in the sky so the full strength of the sun was beating down and reflecting up from the road. I hit 13.1 miles still feeling good and slightly ahead of pace. A quick body inventory told me I was getting tired but it was manageable so I focused on good form and staying strong.


I hit the lowest of the low between miles 17 and 21. We ran through the Animal Kingdom but I honestly can't remember much of what I saw. It started to get really warm so I kept hydrating, kept taking gels when I needed to, kept running even through aid stations. I knew if I cracked and started walking through aid stations, that it would have been the beginning of the end. I can't race when my rhythm starts getting broken like that. Training took over once again and it was left-right-repeat as I soldiered on. I was in auto-pilot as my brain reached out and tried to recollect all my wits. I purposely kept tunnel vision as I ran down the road a mile from our hotel. I knew this was coming and I was prepared. I remember Chad handing me cups of water to pour over my head, forcing me into the somewhat shaded areas of the course, and I remember getting mad and snapping the poor man's head off as he tried to fan me with his hat.

By mile 20, Chad asked me if I had it in me to lay down a 55 minute 10K. After taking stock of the body, the answer was no. I bade farewell to my official goal, and went for my "happy" goal, set by the formula that your first marathon will usually end up being at the goal pace you trained for plus 15 minutes. I wanted to come in under that 15 minute overrun. I know I slowed so the plan was to hold a steady pace for the remainder of the race. I had also pulled enough of my wits together but they stayed under my mental shield. I was totally within myself from that point on and only remember bits and pieces of the remainder of the race: the weird looking green soldiers from Toy Story, Sulley and Mike from Monsters Inc., cool costumes in the Disney Hollywood backlot, the fanciful Times Square replica, another circuit of Epcot's World Showcase. My HR stayed at 168 and nothing I could do would get it higher. I was going as fast as I could possibly go. With 0.2 miles to go, Chad grabbed my hand and urged me to dig deep and find that extra gear so I stayed at 4:07: xx. I found it. I don't know where but I found it. He pulled me along to the finish counting seconds all the way. As I crossed, this wave of emotion washed over me and I burst into tears. It wasn't until I was getting my chip taken off that I noticed blood on my right shoe...my toe was the victim of a couple of sharp toenails. Pain that went unnoticed among the pain in my muscles and the sheer emotion that comes from completing your first marathon. Pain that was more than worth it in the end.


I didn't hit my official goal but you know what? It doesn't matter. This race was a celebration of so much more than the time it took me to run it. I dedicated miles to people: my family, my aunt who recently passed got the section through Times Square, my friends. It was a journey and I'm still in awe of what the human body is capable of doing. Even though I'm in my two week post-race blackout period, I can definitely see myself stepping up to the line of another. After all, I need that 3: xx : xx.


And no offense to y'all in the South, but my next one will likely be north of the Mason-Dixon line. You've got some wicked heat and humidity down here, even in winter.

For more photos, here are the official Race pictures.

Chad's Half Marathon: Some ripped legs in a few of the photos
My Marathon: I'm definitely hurting in some of the photos. I like our finish shot and me coming out of the castle.
Chad's Marathon: Fresh as a damned daisy.