·:[ The Healthy Mom ]:·
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What can I say? The biggest race of my life.

PRE-RACE
We had a long day of traveling, and it started off kind of nerve racking. After the plane landed, we got our rental car, then went to Wal-Mart to pick up some essentials. The original plan was to check in and then I could get my race packet as the guys settled in.

We went to check in after 4:30 PM and the lines were horrendous. In 15 minutes I didn’t move up at all. We needed a new plan.

We decided that we would all go to the Disney Wide World of Sports and I would run in and pick up my packet. Which meant that I would have no time to browse the expo floor at all. That would be a big bummer, but what can you do?

Doug and the boys dropped me off and I went in. The complex is huge. And the Milk something or other where I picked up my packet was very large, too. I found the pick up place, and there was just one person in front of me in line. I was surprised to see that so many packets (100s, maybe 1000s) had not yet been picked up at such a late time. Who would pay $90 to register and then not show up?

Once I had my packet in hand, I started to feel the reality of the race that much more. A veteran racer gave me some words of encouragement. I went over and had my timing chip tested, and then took a quick walkthough of the expo floor, which I had to cross to get back out of the building.

I picked up a shirt for post-race “26.2 miles. Been there, ran that.” I also ran into someone wearing a Colorado Running Company t-shirt from Colorado Springs.

Doug called as I was leaving the floor, and I went out to meet them. We checked in to our villa(!) with a shorter wait time this time.

We unpacked, and got settled in. I started laying out my clothes for the race, and definitely started with the pre-race jitters. As I got ready to lay down, Doug asked, ” Did you call your ride for the race?”

Crap.

It was 8 PM, and I was sure she would be in bed by now. I called. No answer. I left a message.

I set my alarm for 3:05 AM. UGH. I slept fitfully, of course. I think I woke up every couple of hours.

RACE MORNING
I got up and got dressed just before 3 AM, of course. I sat around and waited until 3:35 AM to call my ride again. Still no answer. I left her a message that I would just call a cab. Which I did.

Shortly before 4 AM, the cab arrived. It was a nice ride, and since I was in a cab and did not have to park, I got there fairly quickly and my fare was just over $20. I tipped him well and got out. It was cool, but not really cold. I just wore my shorts, sports bra and sports tank. Others were in sweats, but i figured they didn’t just come from 20 degree weather.

I followed the crowd to the pre-race place. I found my baggage check in tent and dropped off my after race bag. Then I wandered around. At the concession stand, I picked up a disposable camera. While waiting in line, I met two guys who flew in from Columbia for the race. The cashier was this slow flaky woman who the woman in front of me and line and I mocked and rolled our eyes at.

I headed back over the the P-Sm tent and just hung around. Then someone came up to me and asked if I was part of the DisneyRunning.com group. Turns out there were a bunch of them right near where I was! We did some quick intros and just started chatting as familiarly as we did online. That was nice. I tagged along with another woman runner for the walk towards the start line. The LONG walk towards the start line. We chatted about football - she was a HUGE Packers fan, and we discussed whether or not he would stay on another season. She was in Corral B, and I was in Corral E, so we split up when those corrals went different directions. I stood in line at the port a potties near the start and chatted up the girl in front of me, and the couple behind me.

Then I went over to my corral and worked my way to the middle of the pack. There were emcees and so forth chatting and being generally emcee-ish with the banter. There was lots of fun energizing music playing on the speakers, so that helped pass the time. Another girl asked me if I would take her photo, and then she took one of me. Then we chatted a bit about the race and our goals. It was her first marathon as well.

Someone sang the National Anthem, and I started feeling overwhelmed with emotion during that song, and just before that when they did a tribute thanks for the troops. Then they introduced Mickey Mouse, who was starting the race.

THE RACE
Then there was a big countdown, lots of fire/torch type effects and then the start of the race. Our corral shuffled along until we crossed the Start Line - lots of beeping as the timing chips were recognized.

About 200 yards in, there was a steel drum band playing. That was really cool.

Good God, the humidity. It was sticky. I was drenched in sweat after half a mile.

Close to mile one, a DJ. Very energetic for 6 - something AM.

But the humidity. Unbelievable. And it was very warm.

Throughout the course, there were so many things to distract me. The sheer number of runners. Everyone’s t-shirt slogans. The costumes. The spectators and their signs. The first 5 miles were a loop, so we passed by the same drum band, the same DJ again.

After a while, I noticed that my Nike+ iPod was off - my pace and mileage didn’t match the mile markers. So my gait here was very different, somehow.

And I also noticed that my pace was right on with the race clock. Which was odd because my start time was a few minutes AFTER the race clock started. Which meant that I was going too fast. But it didn’t feel too fast. I wasn’t really pushing myself any more than I thought I should. I chalked it up to the extra oxygen and kept going. I tried listening to the iPod, but my one speaker was all crackly, and I kept taking it out so I could hear what was going on around me with all the bands and the djs and speakers and whatnot.

One thing that was SO noticeable to me was hearing other people running. The ones that shuffled (pick up your feet!). The ones that stomped (Tread lightly - don’t use so much energy). The ones that chatted incessantly about themselves to some other random runner who looked like they didn’t care (shut up). The weird breathers.

Unlike the Ascent, I didn’t feel the need to talk to too many people. the pace was different. I was actually running, instead of briskly hiking.

I really wish I had spelled my name phonetically on my bib, though. I could see spectators looking at my bib and not wanting to chance a mispronounciation. But of the 5 people who actually attempted to say my name, 3 out of those 5 actually pronounced it correctly. It’s MY-da, not MAY-da, in case you didn’t know. I particularly remember a cute little blonde high school cheerleader in purple who said my name correctly very early in the race, and that gave me a little boost.

Finally we reached a park - the Magic Kingdom! Seeing the castle was so exciting! A spectator was happy to take my photo (twice) in front of the castle. Then a quick photo of chip and Dale in Tomorrowland before I took a photo just before I entered the castle itself.

Then another photo with Woody in Frontierland, and some penguins as I left the park.

The miles went by and I felt pretty good. When we went through the Animal Park, I got a lot of photos with characters. Rafiki. Minnie, Donald and Daisy (blurred by vasoline on the lens), Mickey…

I know that they say never to try anything new on race day, but I did. First, Bodyglide, which I used one other time (The Ascent) but not for my regular running. second, Biofreeze. On race day.

I think after mile 12, I used BioFreeze at every medical tent after that. On my calves at first. Then my lower back. And quads. And my right shoulder. Biofreeze became my brand new friend.

Right after mile marker 16 I got a text message from Candy. Yay! That was motivational for a mile or two.

Around mile 19 I hit a wall. I seriously wanted to just quit running. I was calculating in my head how much longer it would take me if I just walked the rest of the marathon.

I have to admit, between miles 19-22, I was ready to throw in the towel and just walk the rest of the way. I walked a lot through those miles. More than I thought I would.

When we hit the Disney/MGM Studios, that perked me up a bit. I ran through there, but also took photos with Leo from Little Einsteins, Tow Mater from Cars and Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc. Around that time, there was an aid station with chocolate bars. I took one bite of the fun size Butterfinger and chucked the rest.

When I saw the traffic coming into Disney, I called Doug and told him to get in the car now. We were only 10 minutes from Disney on a good day, but that traffic! About Mile 24.5, I knew they weren’t going to be in the park for the finish. Which made me feel like I should just walk the rest of the way just so they could see my finish.

This is also when the 5:30 pace group caught up with me, and I snapped out of it. No way was I going to let them pass me. So I ran. And kept running.

About this time is when I caught a glimpse of the secret medal. An earlier finisher had come back along the course and I noticed it, all shiny and big. I kind of wish I hadn’t, I really wanted to be surprised at the finish, but I was running at the time, so I didn’t see it in detail.

I think I walked a bit, checked the clock, and ran some more. There was a gospel choir singing. I ran past them and then through the finish line.

I actually choked up a bit as I crossed the finish line. My heart was in my throat, and I half sobbed with relief. I was FINISHED!

POST RACE
After crossing the finish line, there was a young boy who was looking for someone to cut the chip cord off of. Of course, I had woven my chip in my laces, so first I had to untie, then have the zipcord cut. I had trouble getting back up again, and a very nice volunteer tied my shoe for me so I wouldn’t have to bend back down.

I was handed one of those solar blanket dealies (too hot for me to put it on), and then finally, the coveted special secret medal was hung around my neck.

I headed for the goodies tent. A beeline to the lady handing out Diet Coke! Yes! Then I was given more than a handful of goodies from the treats tent. Mini Power Bars, banana, orange, some kind of muffin. Then an Tentire bottle of Powerade.

Then I put it all down so I could have my picture taken with my medal. I thought about going to the massage tent, but there was a line, so I headed over to claim my sweats bag - of course, it was too hot and I was in too much pain to change clothes.

I walked over to the family reunion tent (which was the same tent I was hanging out by before the race) and hung out, looking for Doug and the boys. Finally I called them. They were behind the grandstand by the finish line, and no one was able to tell them where the family reunion tents were.

So… after some lengthy descriptions of landmarks, we were able to determine a place to meet. I walked along the tree line and then saw the friendly faces of my family. We took photos, and headed back to the villa so I could get into a cold bath and rest before we hit the Disney parks.