On January 10th I ran my first marathon. I say first, because it is addicting. I am not going to say I loved all 26.2 miles (or 26.8 miles as my garmin measured) but within a day I was thinking of another one. And now I am pretty sure I am going to Disney again in 2018. And probably will train for real for Boston at some point after that. I need my kids to both be in school full-time for a time commitment like that! But it was amazing. And horrible for a few minutes. But mostly awesome. And now I can say I did a marathon which is pretty darn cool.
The Disney Marathon is not a race most people do for time. The course allows you 16 minute miles which means people can walk fast and complete it in the allotted time. My goal was to run it in 4:30 hours, slightly slower than a 10 minute pace. This is much slower than my half pace, but I knew it would be hotter and longer, and wanted to enjoy Disney the three days after. I missed my goal by 3 minutes. But I stopped for pictures, stopped twice to go to real bathrooms in the parks, and walked through every single water stop on the course (once a mile from mile 2 on) since it was about 70 degrees with 95% humidity. My legs were ready for the race. My foot/ankle felt pretty good throughout, despite having had issues for almost 18 months. But my body wasn't used to the heat and humidity even with our milder winter. My 21 mile training runs were done in the low 30's. Not quite the same. So I am happy with my time and confident I can do better. Much better if I train for speed.
The course was great.We started in the Epcot parking lot and ran towards the Magic Kingdom. The boring parts were the roads connecting parks but they had buses with
school bands and characters sprinkled without so there was some
entertainment at least every 1/2 mile or so. About 3 miles in you got to the ticket and transportation center where lots of people were waiting and cheering like crazy. Then you could see the castle! We ran through Magic Kingdom, going down main street, through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, before running through the castle and out through the park over by Big Thunder Mountain. We passed some of the resorts on our way to Animal Kingdom, and were over there (mostly behind the scenes) before running behind the Tree of Life and Everest and out to the parking lot. Next, we were on our way to the Wide World of Sports where we ran around the track, baseball diamond, and about every other field imaginable. At this point we were at mile 21, and I officially was the furthest I had ever run. The distance and heat were starting to get to me and I walked a small hill away from the stadiums, my only walk except for water during the race. Finally we were ready to enter Hollywood Studios and go past Tower of Terror and through the park, down the path to Boardwalk, past Beachclub, and in the back of Epcot. We looped World Showcase before heading out of the park right by the giant ball and out to the finish. It was an amazing time and I *may* have had tears in my eyes both running through the Castle and to the finish.
 |
| Melissa and I ready for the start! |
 |
| We made it to the castle! I am so glad they keep the Christmas icicles on for the race - it made running by/through so awesome! |
 |
| My kids still don't know who Mary Poppins is. I think I am failing them as a true Disney mom. |
 |
| The Wicked Witch wouldn't brew us up anything to help with the last 18 or so miles. |
 |
| I was too cool to cross my arms like Jafar. |
 |
| Donald around mile 20. Home stretch! |
I met a new friend running. Moms Run This Town is an international organization and I had connected with another member through the Disney facebook group that was planning on a similar pace. She is in most of my pictures and although we didn't finish together, the 23 miles we were together definitely helped me keep going. I am so thankful to my running group, for help with all the training (and just keeping me so motivated all the time!), for all the cheering from afar, and helping me connect with a running buddy from afar.
Prior to race day I took a super early flight to Florida, headed to Wide World of Sports for shirt and packet pick up, and then spent a few solo hours in the Magic Kingdom. I didn't want to walk around my normal 10-12 miles at Disney that day so rode a few rides, watched the parade and saw Philharmagic and the Carousel of Progress. I left the park a little before 5, carb loaded with some penne and meatballs for dinner at the Contemporary quick service, and then went over to our hotel, Old Key West, to meet up with Melissa who had also come down from Maryland to run, and get to bed early. Our 3 am wake up for the race came early!
 |
| Ready to face the Kingdom solo! |
 |
| Space Mountain. I silently hoped this guy's camcorder would be dropped in the dark abyss during the ride. It wasn't. And he filmed every last second. |
 |
| Mommy in the MK. My kids swear they still love me despite my solo trip. |
Post race, we headed to the hotel for showers and a little rest/icing before heading to Epcot for the day around lunch time. With a race start of 5:30 am, we were done early despite running for hours! I had learned the day before that everyone wore their medals and shirts to the park after the race so we wore ours proudly on Sunday afternoon/evening! We got some pictures, hit most rides, had some yummy food, and walked around the world. It was pretty cold that night (race morning was the end of their hot weather snap!) so we watched the start of Illuminations before our exhausted and cold bodies hit the bus for the hotel!
 |
| Marathoners! |
 |
| Hanging with Nemo and Friends |
 |
| Mickey was so proud we ran his race. |
 |
| Goofin' Around |
 |
| And we couldn't forget Minnie |
Monday we slept in. All the way to like 6:30. We agreed a shake out run was unnecessary after our 10 walking miles at Epcot post marathon, so we relaxed, got ready slowly, and then headed to Disney Springs to wander around in the shops for the morning. Melissa and I said goodbye before lunch and after I grabbed a quick sandwich, I rode over to Boardwalk and then took the boat to Hollywood Studios. I watched the stunt car show (yay, since we missed it on our last trip and it closes permanently in a few months!), saw the Muppet 3-D show, rode Star Wars, Tower of Terror, Toystory Midway Mania, and Rock and Roller Coaster, and had a carrot cake cookie (or part of one, it was huge!). I wanted to stay for the new Star Wars fireworks but my body was done from the two super early wake ups and the race.
Tuesday I had one last solo day at the Magic Kingdom before heading home on a 7 pm flight. The park was pretty uncrowded and I got there right after it opened so was able to do pretty much every ride in the park, some even more than once. Going through the parks solo was awesome, and a little lonely, but it was cool to make all the decisions and do what I wanted. I was on a strict budget - $86 for for my 4 days. And I pretty much nailed it. I actually had $2 left on my gift cards so bought a bottle of water while waiting for the magical express to take me back to the Orlando airport. And I ate well. Several ice creams and other treats along with my meals. The 4 bananas and post-race snack pack I used for breakfasts definitely got me through though. And thankfully my kids don't ask for or expect souvenirs when we travel without them.
So my first marathon was a success. My first trip without the family to Disney was fun. And I would do it all again. Next time, I am hoping even more friends jump on the crazy Disney 26.2 bandwagon and come and join the fun! January 2018, ladies!
