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I woke up at 2:30 am in our room at the Wilderness Lodge. Luckily, the family with the screaming child next to us left during the day, so we didn't have to try to fall asleep with wailing next door. I still had a hard time sleeping, partly because I was excited, partly because I was nervous. My goal was to be at the front of the hotel at 3:00 to catch the first bus to the race. I made it, but then the bus waited for 20 minutes "to fill up" before heading out! I still got there in time, but felt a little more rushed.
I had a ticket to the Race Retreat along with one of my other friends, Shelly, so I headed in and relaxed. I ate a bagel with peanut butter and had coffee and water while I waited for her to arrive. The Retreat was nice--it had food and drinks, private porta-potties with water to wash up, a padded stretching area, and extra amenities for after the race. Shelly arrived, so we stretched, hit the potties, and headed out. Our third friend, Tammy, was already at the corral, so we headed there. I was placed in E corral, but I jumped back to be with my friends in the G corral. The amount of people was staggering. We walked for quite a while before even getting to the corral. Once there, we stood, talked, took photos, and watched the other corrals start. There was a chance of rain, but luckily, it didn't. It wasn't too cold, so I was ok without a jacket or pants. What a surprise, coming from this always cold girl! Each corral had the Fairy Godmother waving fairy dust over the crowd and fireworks at the start. It was quite exciting! Once we began, we moved to the left so we could have our picture taken and to run in front of the video camera.
The course was pretty crowded and became even more so when the course got smaller at different parts. Since it was humid, they had plenty of water and Powerade stops along the way. My two friends and I kept together pretty well, even though it was more difficult in the crowded sections. I knew there was going to be over 20,000 people, but imagining how the run would be with that many people and actually running it are two different things. We had to run at a slower pace than we had planned because we had to weave around slower runners and walkers. My friends truly should have started in a higher corral, but didn't have times to place them there.
Along the route there were several stops for taking your picture with characters, but all the stops had very long lines. We discussed it while running and decided that wasn't something we really had to do in this race. Disney also had large mile markers, and I took photos of mile 1, 2, & 3, but then I really didn't see the markers after that. I must have just been oblivious or something, because they were there! There was a timing pad at the 5K and 10K points that took our time as we crossed. At one point, the first couple of runners that were waaaaay ahead of us, passed on the opposite side of the road. You could hear the ripple of applause and cheers from the runners on my side of the road that became louder as it reached me. What an uplifting thing to see, hear, and experience. Runners who were at least an hour behind were happily cheering on the fast runners. It restored my faith in humanity a bit. And it really motivated me to be one of the cheering runners. I also hooted and hollered as they passed. I hooted and hollered when we were half way. I hooted and hollered when we reached the 10 mile point--"Only 3.1 miles left! WooHoo!" I hooted and hollered when we ran up the on-ramp uphill. Which, by the way, is pretty small compared to some of the hills in my neighborhood--yay!
My husband was a part of the "Chear" squad, and Disney had two locations where I could hopefully see him. He stayed and watched our corral start, then headed to the 5.3 or 5.7 mark. I kept waiting for the "Chear" squad to appear, and my friends asked what color shirt Chris was wearing so they could help look for him. I couldn't remember, and told them his jacket was bright orange, but knew he would take it off due to the heat. When we came out of the castle (a very cool moment by the way) I noticed the "Chear" squad and giggling, told my friends that he was wearing a blue "Chear" shirt....like the multitude of other "Chear" squad members congregated there! I frantically looked for him--the photographers actually got a great shot of me running with my eyes off in the distance---and caught sight of him as I was turning the corner. I smiled, blew him a kiss, and waved and trotted off to catch up with my friends. He is and always has been my greatest supporter. I am so glad he was there to cheer (um...chear) me on!
Shelly was in a little pain with her constantly aching knee. The three of us kept pace for the first half of the route. She said she was going to start walking at 8 miles, but we cheered her on and she ran to 8.7 where we got the Clif gels, then to the water station, but then she told us to run on without her at the 10 mile point. I really hated to leave her, but her running buddy Tammy said, "When she tells me three times, I know she means it." The two of us went on and actually the Shelly kept close behind us, catching up when we stopped at the BioFreeze table briefly.
The final miles of the run were the hardest. We had to weave in and out more (it seemed) than before. But, the worst was at the 12 mile point and after. We ran on a back lot road where there were characters in front of a sparkly castle float and then towards Epcot. I began to get chilled, which was unusual since it was close to 80 degrees if not warmer. It was also humid. I realized that I was probably hitting my limit and my body was beginning to protest. But I was not going to stop or slow down. Instead, I actually picked up my pace. Tammy told me later that I "took off". Luckily, she kept up with me. I started my iPod music so I would be motivated to continue. I remember hearing "Wagonwheel" by Darius Rucker; I just began smiling and singing. Turning the corner and seeing the actual finish line was an unbelievable sight. Months of pain, freezing runs, hot runs, sore muscles, breathing issues, and fun all brought me to this point. I was actually going to finish a half-marathon. Before I turned 50. Before I became a grandmother. Without a major injury. It was really happening!
Tammy and I began our journey to being healthy together over 30 years ago, and we finished this running journey together. Tears began to well up in my eyes as I neared the finish, and I turned to her and grabbed her hand. As we crossed, we raised our hands above our heads. We did it! Less than two minutes later, Shelly also crossed the finish. As I crossed the finish, we were told to move along, but there was a little commotion behind us. My friend turned and said, "Barb, you dropped your camera!" I checked my arm band (that had been zipped up, I thought) and sure enough, the camera was missing. We told the volunteer about it, and at that point a runner behind us dressed in yellow brought it to me. This wonderful person must have seen it fall from my outstretched arm, stopped at the finish line to pick it up, and brought it to me! I thanked her profusely and we headed on.
While Tammy and I were waiting in line for photos Shelly joined us, then we found my husband, Chris. Shelly and I headed into the Race Retreat since our tickets were for before and after the race. We were given a printed Princess towel, Princess flip flops, a drink ticket and then we sat down so she could ice her knee. I grabbed us both drinks and we had some breakfast and relaxed. When we headed out, we used one of the provided computers to check and print our final times. I finished under three hours, my secret goal! I didn't know my actual finish time until then since with my camera drama I forgot to stop my watch! The final goodies we received were a tube of hand lotion and energy bars to go with the boxed goodies all runners received.
I am so happy I committed to do this. I had a blast and am extremely proud of myself. I set a goal and achieved it.
Next up...Disneyland Half Marathon in September! And my husband is doing it with me!
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