Boy! Talk about feeling like I have accomplished something. I ran my first half marathon on February 27th, 2011 at Walt Disney World. It was the most amazing thing I have ever done, including graduating from grad school, second behind getting married mind you. I never thought that I would feel like a super star, wanting to laugh, cry, and shout from the roof tops after running any amount a miles not even counting 13! The feeling was amazing. So here is how it went!
The week before the race, every piece of writing on running I have read says carb up, hydrate, and don’t run the week of the race. So I listened. Especially the hydrate hydrate hydrate! The night before, JR and I drove down to Orlando and stayed at the beautiful Gaylord Palms hotel. Carbed up, and went to bed getting a full night’s rest the night before.
I laid out my running outfit, including my studded headband (the biggest tiara type accessory I could stand while running). I can’t begin to tell you how nervous I felt, and how excited all at the same time.
I woke up and true to form I was nervous and my stomach was letting me know. I ate a small breakfast and drank water. And headed out the door.
When we arrived to Epcot the place was full of excited “princesses” of all shapes, sizes, and genders J. The costumes were amazing! And ages…there were young princesses, and princesses who were in their 70s. Amazing! There were huge screens set up, DJ’s everywhere, and the organization of it all was phenomenal!
We had to be in our corrals at 5am, an hour before the race even started. So I parted ways with JR, who got up at 230 with me to come watch me race even though he had to work that after noon. I began my lone walk to the corrals (about a half a mile I believe). This is where doing a race like this with someone would be handy. There is a long time between walking to the corrals, and the start of the race. So do this with a buddy! Once you get to the corral, there is a long time to wait. You have people talking, taking pictures, singing, stretching, and some running to warm up. I took a seat for a few minutes, and then started to do some gentle yoga stretching. As we start getting closer to the start of the race, there are Olympic runners speaking, some celebrities, and DJ’s siking everyone up for the race! “Who’s running their first half?” “Who is from out of state?” And the crowd gets to know each other a little better, you make some friends…and the nerves start to go away.
As they count down to your start…the fireworks start, the fires are set off and its amazing! You start of with so much energy that you can’t help but run! JR and I had planed for me to run close to the left edge close to the spectators so he could see me. I saw him as I ran passed and go on my way. I had planned to run the first 5K, without stopping. I got through the 5K by picking a couple in front of me to pace with. I get to the 5K, and just still had the energy and excitement to keep going. So I did. I kept going. I get to mile 4 coming into the Magic Kingdom, and there is my honey cheering me on! A few mintues down the way and all of a sudden you are surrounded by cast members on either side of you, cheering you on (store clerks, Mickey Mouse, everyone!) and encouraging you to keep going. You run down Main street, where in front of you is Cinderella’s castle…how amazing! The path goes through tomorrow land, back around FantasyLand, and then through the castle…THROUGH the castle! How awesome! During this time you feel no pain, nothing but excitement! Now throughout the race you can stop and take pictures almost every single mile. The mile markers were books with a different Disney theme (i.e. Beauty and the Beast, so Belle and the Beast were there to take pictures), so you stay entertained while you keep going. There are DJ’s, cast members, fire fighters, choirs, health information…plenty to keep you distacted from what types of pain you have. Every so 1.5 miles or so there is water/powerade to keep you hydrated. There are also stops around mile 8 or 9 where they have power gels (which I highly recommend both on race day and any time you run long runs. After Magic Kingdom is a long way to the end starts about mile 8, so you have to dig deep because there aren’t a whole lot of distractions, and you have to keep going. About mile 10 is where I started to feel some pains in my right foot, right on top, and my left upper thigh. I changed up my run/walk intervals for a half a mile or so from 5:1, to 4:2 to give my body a chance to rest and build up for the end. This is also about the time my iPod was running low on batteries and I had to turn it off. As I started to run again, here came a hill! Leave it to Disney to leave the hills for the very end! As I came back into Epcot is when my foot and thigh began to pulse! I thought, “how am I going to finish this strong with so much pain?” My lungs felt good, I felt good…but those two spots hurt! I walked a little more, and as I had the last mile and a half to go…I just went for it. Boy could the choir from a near by church come at any better time? Because it took all of me, and an answered prayer for me to keep running!
Then you see the thousands of spectators round the corner, the DJ saying how close you really are, and then the finish line…crossing the finish line on my feet and running…there are no words. With tears (literally) in my eyes, and a smile on my face thinking..”what did you just do?” I crossed the finish line at 2:29:58 (16 minutes below my goal)! I kept walking, received my medal, grabbed my food, took my picture, and reunited with my husband (who had a shirt “I did it”! made for me).
To see the thousands of men and women running for better health, running for a cause, running for people who couldn’t run was an amazing event for me. To see people taking care of themselves, making huge strides in their lives was motivating! How spectacular. The sight of a sea of runners over an overpass, through a castle, and hugging at the end was like nothing I’d seen in my life before.
I encourage anyone, young, older, skinny, over weight, new/old exerciser, to sign up for a Disney run and be inspired. Start from day one, run a minute, walk a minute, until you can get to 30 straight minutes running. Buy the shoes, running gear, and take control of your health.
I cannot begin to thank the people who supported me during this adventure. Jenn, who started the whole thing. Who inspired me to even think about doing something like this. JR, who hates running, for starting running with me so I was not alone. For all my friends and family who kept asking how the running was going….that kept me running!
What’s next? A full of course! I begin training for my full soon, I’d like to run 2-3 more half marathons, before the Disney Full Marathon in January of 2011. So anyone who wants to set a goal, there are a few Disney runs that should be amazing…5K, half, or fulls! I will run with you!
XOXO everyone!
