Run for Boston

I love the Boston marathon.  Even though I've never run it, mostly likely never will due to my pace, and look at those who have with utter awe, my heart was shattered by the news yesterday.  While at work, I received a call that I couldn't take followed by a text message from my sister letting me know what happened.  I tried so hard to keep it together in front of my student, but by the time my next student came, I couldn't hold back tears.  I teared up and apologized for crying and when the 8 year old asked why, I had to tell him a bad person hurt some of my running friends.  When he asked why I had to say I'm not sure...

Those people in the picture above at the 2012 WDW Half Marathon finish line, I've never met them.  I've never met those spectators and I don't know any of those runners, but they are my family.  I've found such acceptance and camaraderie with this group of runners and those who support us.  They encourage me, they get the crazy desires to push my body and mind, the understand the thrill of victory, agony of defeat and they know the comfort of that a cup of water held out by a compassionate stranger.

These people who cheer us on, businesses with signs, people with banners, noise-makers, who try to yell your name, they are stepping stones that help get me to the finish of every race.  Even those who cheer me on by tweets and texts.  It all counts.

The girl above, while her sign is PG-13, it's so true.  They spur us on to do just that.

When I saw the sign above at this year's WDW Marathon, I knew.  I knew I could finish.  Because when you're on the road, sometimes your mind tells you to doubt.  That you're weak, you're out of shape, you're not good enough and that you should just quit.  But then, these strangers tell you that no,  "YOU CAN DO IT!"

That someone would decide to harm us, or the volunteers or spectators is so unthinkable.  So many of those who watch are children.  The little boy who died had just wanted to cheer on some runners with his family.  His family is in my prayers and my heart and more prayers go to those countless others affected by this.  Families around the world were watching this international event and immediately were concerned about safety for their loved ones.

I've read so many inspiring things about runners, volunteers, spectators all rushing to help whether it was at the finish line or once the race was cancelled and the remaining runners were trying to figure out what happened.  It's all so heart-warming and mind-numbing.  I think what gets me through it is knowing most people involved in this sport will only be bolstered by these events.  We don't scare easily.  We take on mileage weekly like it's nothing.  The people who cheer us on have often times, cheered us on for months beforehand.  The others come out to see feats of human determination, and a great show.  Going forward, I hope those people will continue to come out because without them, racing isn't the same.

I think the most moving thing I've read is from Dimity McDowell of Another Mother Runner.  Her post here describes my feelings exactly, but this part in particular speaks to me:

My favorite race photos are the one when we runners look like one colorful, unstoppable ribbon; despite varied paces, politics, personalities, we move as a whole.

A much better view of Boston.

Today will certainly change the flavor of future races, of race logistics, of spectator participation. But when the race goes off, we will still move as a whole.

And that, thankfully, can never be undone.

So, my photo below is dedicated to the sea of racers.  And to my fellow runners in the "unstoppable ribbon": let's run for Boston.  To the spectators and volunteers, as well as everyone affected by these events, I dedicate this post.  You're in my heart with gratitude, prayer and love.

WDW Marathon Race Recap!

I'm back! AND I'm a marathoner!  I did it.  Against probably better judgement, I ran 26.2 miles on Sunday.  January 13, 2012, I became a "marathoner" and completed the 2013 20th Anniversary Walt Disney World Marathon!

My marathon Swag!

Admittedly, my training was sparse.  It consisted of one long run a week and that's it.  It's not ideal, but I knew I could cover the distance, but I was sure I'd be walking at least the last 4 miles once I hit my "wall".  My longest training run had gone to 17 miles and I walked the last 2 later that afternoon for a total of 19 miles, so I assumed my wall would hit at mile 21/22.

Well, as the days ticked by and the race neared, the forecast was really warm.  REALLY warm, forecasted highs of 80 degrees.  They were right.  Once I saw the temperatures, my goal was to finish, no time frame in mind, just finish and get that beautiful 20th anniversary medal.

Cheering for the Half Marathoners

So, on Saturday, after cheering for my friends in the WDW Half Marathon, and a quick trip to Epcot, we went back to the room so I could rest my feet.  A nice warm soak in the sun on the Caribbean Beach's hammocks was great too.  Then, my favorite pre-race dinner at PF Chang's (I love the Singapore Street Noodles).

Feet up resting before the race!

My fortune and empty plate at PF Chang's :)

Then, I went back to the room and tried to sleep (I was so nervous it took over an hour to fall asleep).

Sunday morning came and I was up, ready and on the second bus out of the resort by 3:13 AM.  Traffic was negligible and I was ready to just get the race over with!  Unfortunately, you have to wait, wait, wait for the start at 5:30, THEN wait for your corral to go.  I was in corral F (for fantastic, or more likely, for FINISH haha) so I had a while to wait.

Walking the red carpet into the runner's pre-race area

Pre-race photo-op. See below for my after :)

I had to take a photo with Walt, he started all this for me! "Keep Moving Forward"!

In case you're wondering, here's what I had with me for race day:  sunglasses, I had on 70spf Nuetrogena Sport suncscreen, raisins (fuel) in my Nathan handheld waterbottle holder along with half water/half lemon-lime Gatorade, my iPhone, my Yurbuds, my Canon Powershot point and shoot camera in my new Spibelt and my Frogg Togg Chilly Pad around my neck.

Thankfully, I met up with some friends to help kill the time before we hit the course!  My friends Deanna & Neil and Katie were there, as few as some others that I unfortunately didn't get photos of!

Deanna & Neil/Deanna, me & Katie pre-race

Once they called our corral, I walked over to the starting line with my race buddies Deanna & Katie.  It was all our first full marathon and we were questioning our sanity in the impending heat and horrible humidity.  We all told each other we'd help each other crawl across the finish if need be!  Once we got to the starting line and our corral, we met up with James, Mary Jo (finally got to meet her after she's been so helpful & sweet!) and Marc.

At the starting line!

Also, Katie, Deanna and I all were wishing we could be little miss blue sports bra in that picture... maybe one day...

Anyways, we all hugged and we were off!  I had lost my battery backup for my phone so I knew I wouldn't be able to use my iSmoothRun App the whole race.  I planned on using it until I hit 5K, then I'd check my pace and adjust accordingly.  I knew I could check my tweeted times based on my bib race checkpoints.  I was hoping to keep between a 13-14 minute mile for the first few miles then just finish once the heat got to me.

So, I started my run/walk routine of run 1:30 minutes and walk 0:30 seconds. We were off and headed towards our first park: Magic Kingdom

Knocking back miles, Saw Jack & Sally (lower right) and a HUGE runDisney banner, it was like 40+ feet tall guys!)

I was feeling ok, just hot and sticky from the humidity and it wasn't even daylight yet.  Gross.  We passed the 5k banner and I realized there was no Chrono B Tag race checkpoint there.  I had turned off my iSmoothRun app to conserve battery at mile 2 so from that point on, I was flying solo when it came to pacing.  (Insert thought here, I NEED A GARMIN.)  As we passed Jack & Sally we got into the Ticket & Transportation Center.  I saw my photographer friend Katie Marino (I had cheered for her in the half the day before!)& her brother cheering, then I saw Jason at his first designated cheering spot!

I really needed to potty, so I knew the TTC bathrooms would be clean options.   Unfortunately there was a line, but a girl runner told me to go in the men's room (Umm, what?!) but after I followed her advice, I realized the Cast Member women's bathroom was in the hallway there and it was no line! TOTAL SCORE!

Back to running!  TTC was right at mile 4 so from here it was the regular course to Magic Kingdom. The sun was coming up and I was making sure to hydrate with both water and powerade or my watered down gatorade and also eat my fuel (raisins).  We made our way onto the road in front of the Contemporary (the underpass is always a favorite spot since they have a DJ there) and then into Magic Kingdom!

Pic with the castle, the Contemporary underpass and slowly ticking off more miles!

At the mile 5 marker above, we hit our first tag-timer.  I checked my tweet and my pace was 13:33.  That was ideal, but I knew in the heat it wouldn't last.  Once we got onto Main Street, I saw the WDW Radio group in their usual spot as well as recognized Jill, one of my running buddy Katie's friends.  I also saw Deanna's mom & grandma as well!  We ran into tomorrowland, then fantasyland, then through the castle and into frontierland at mile 6.  After that, we ran backstage and to another water stop where I poured my first water over the head.

After we left Magic Kingdom, around mile 7 I think is when Mary Jo and Marc (I think they were together, it's a blur!) passed by. I also caught up to my friend Susan just after that, right between the Grand Floridian and Polynesian resorts.  She had hurt her hip during a snowy Canadian run a few weeks earlier and it was giving her problems.  She had changed her run/walk ratio and said the pain was going to her knee.  I was able to stay with her for awhile then she told me to go on and I decided to keep going to try to keep whatever "speed" (HA!) I could.  Just after that, I saw Deanna's boyfriend Neil, as well as Katie Marino again, and then Jason as well!  Having friends running as well as friends cheering is the best thing ever!  I was also starting to get a lot of texts and tweets from friends at this point and they were all SO helpful!

More miles, along with- Lower left: Hot air balloons! Lower right: cars on the speedway! Center: my favorite sign on the course, "You made it to the start you WILL make it to the finish!"

By this point, the heat was getting pretty gross but this part of the course was somewhat shaded so that was really great.  I never get to run in shade on my route at home so it was a nice reprieve! Right before mile 8, the green sign above was being held by an awesome spectator!  I really needed that sign as I was starting to question not even being halfway at that point!  The speedway was FULL of cars, both old and new and it was a nice way to cover over a mile of course.  There were some really cool cars out there!  Wish I'd taken more photos of them!  I was starting to walk more at this point.  I remember the medical tent after the Speedway is the first time I got Biofreeze for my back.  That's a new development.  My back hurt at Wine & Dine around mile 9 as well, so I'm not sure if it's a form problem or what (I've gotten new shoes since then) but I'm hoping the new strength exercises I'm about to start will help my back/core and my running as well.

Miles, miles, and more miles...

Moving on, there were lots of people beginning to walk more at this point.  The heat was yucky.  I could feel my face was starting to burn.  I'm pretty sure I either had sweated off my sunscreen or wiped it off with my Frogg Togg trying to refresh my face.  At mile 10 we hit another tag timer mat.  I checked my pace on my tweets, and it was now 13:52.  I knew I was slowing down, I could feel it, but I was still in the 13-14 mm cushion I wanted before I started walking.

Before we got into the waste water treatment area (STINKY!) I saw an internet runner friend that I had met back in Disneyland for the half in August.  We snapped a quick picture (I'm sure I look like absolute death warmed over) and I kept on.  We went into Animal Kingdom, I took a potty break near the Kali River Rapids and I got to pet a lamb!  I was so excited to see fuzzy things!  They had goats, lambs, snakes and some other creatures out for the race, I loved that!!!  I knew Jason was waiting ahead at the entrance to Animal Kingdom with more raisins for me and to cheer me on some more! I fought back tears as he handed me the raisins and he asked me how I felt and I said I can't say or I might just stop!  Knowing that I still had to run ANOTHER half marathon made me feel like a crazy person!  After we left Animal Kingdom, I checked my halfway split tweet pace, it was now 14:26.  Ruh roh.  Heat was starting to win at this point.

Much needed inspirational words around mile 15

Around mile 15, I felt the need to stop on the side of the road and stretch a bit, I was starting to feel a lot of stiffness in my thighs.  Looking back, I now know it's because I was walking more than I normally would due to the heat.  When I stopped on the overpass where I took the center picture, I realized my thigh were so SO tight.  They felt like rock solid concrete and it was painful to flex them near my chest.  I also couldn't rotate them to the side.  Ruh roh again... I realized, I was going to need to slow down and hoped that walking some more would maybe work it out (again, looking back, if walking CAUSED it, walking probably wouldn't help it but I wasn't thinking straight).  So, I decided to start walking and run when I felt I could.

Hey, it's more miles and the overpass that signalled my slow-down

Right after I left the overpass, I came upon Jindy, a friend I was able to meet at the Disneyland runDisney Half Marathon meetup.  She was running the Goofy (Run the half marathon on Saturday THEN then full marathon on Sunday as well!) and she was walking due to the heat.  I'm so glad I saw her, because we briskly walked the next few miles together.  If I had been by myself at that point I would've been so much more likely to want to quit.  We mall-walked our way into Wide World of Sports and passed the much-welcomed SPONGE STATION!  Bless them for handing out wet sponges, that was amazing!  We took a potty break before we hit the track, then right before we made it to the baseball diamond, I felt I needed to speed up a bit.  I went ahead of Jindy and I saw Neil again and he said Deanna was close behind me.

From mile 19-20 was runDisney's much hyped "20 mile spectacular".   The beginning of mile 20, just after the 19th mile marker, was nothing "spectacular" so I tweeted that it was "craptastic".  Then, I turned the corner and saw all of this:

The mile 20 "MILE MARKER" spectacular

They had these cool parade characters out (someone told me later that they're from the original World of Color parade in California?), which were also out during Wine and Dine, and a huge mile 20 structure that you can see above, as well as Goofy, Mickey and Donald (they cycled the friends throughout the race from what I've seen).  But most importantly, they were playing "Go the Distance" from Hercules and "Dig a Little Deeper" from one of my favorite movies Princess and the Frog.  Both of those songs are on my run playlist and are so inspirational!  I started crying, I just couldn't help it!  I realized, this is the farthest I've ever gone in my life!  I knew I was so close!!!

As I made my way out of WWoS I saw the sweepers.  I knew they were 3 miles behind me so as long as I kept my current walking pace, I'd make it to the end without getting "swept" off the course.  At this point, I had to concentrate on just "Keeping Moving Forward".  Around then I tried to pull up by tag timer from my tweets and facebook but something happened and I couldn't pull them up on either.  For some reason it wasn't tweeted or facebooked.  I was starting to freak out.  I thought maybe I broke my B-tag when I went to the bathroom at WWoS so I realized my finish time might not be recorded!  I started freaking out a LOT more then.  At this point, I was just so ready to be done and then I saw Deanna about halfway to mile the 21 marker.  She came from behind me and we were both hot and ready to be done!  I told her I couldn't pull up my time and she said they seemed to be having problems.  She went on, and that girl is a boss, still running at mile 21 and beyond :)

I was nearing Hollywood Studios where I knew Jason would be waiting to give me the last needed boost of encouragement before the home stretch to Epcot.  The last photo I took was at mile 21.  At that point, I had to focus on finishing.  I was seriously on the verge of tears every time I saw someone cheering on the side of the road.  It was so hot, I was sunburnt, I was going farther than I ever had in my life, and I was SO CLOSE to being a marathoner.  Guys, I'm getting choked up just thinking about all the things running through my mind.  Amazingly, quitting never crossed my mind as an option, but the fact that I was crazy for attempting this, definitely did.

I got to Hollywood Studios and backstage, by the sweet love of Jesus, they were handing out CHOCOLATE!! Sweet mercy that was amazing.  Then, I rounded the corner onto the street in Hollywood Studios and the cheering cast members were starting to make me cry.  Then, I rounded the corner and saw Jason and I LOST IT.  Blubbering like a BABY.  I knew I'd finish at this point so I handed him my yurbuds and my camera.  I just wanted to get rid of anything that wasn't essential.  He walked alongside me for a few yards and encouraged me to do this and said that he was so proud of me.  He hopped on the bus to the finish and I started the walk of the last 2.5 miles.

Those last few miles were such a mental thing.  If you've ever run a full marathon, you may know.  It's not the same with a half marathon.  PLEASE don't mis-read that, the half is a huge feat, don't get me wrong, but pushing your body to 26.2 is a BEAST.  Whether it's running, walking, crawling, just covering that distance is such a mental game.  At around mile 24.5, my life flashed before my eyes.  Not like death, but just how far I've come in 18 months.  Having never been athletic, starting running, then amazingly running a half marathon, and now a year later, being almost done with TWENTY SIX POINT FREAKING TWO MILES.  I also thought about all of the personal stuff I've gone through the past few years and how far I've come.

Then, mile marker 25 came and I knew it was happening.  I was doing this.  I made my way onto World Showcase and I knew I'd done it.  The people who were walking by us probably had NO idea what this was meaning to me.  I just couldn't look at them without wanting to yell "I'M DOING IT! I DON'T CARE HOW SLOW, I"M FREAKING DOING IT AND I'M FINISHING!!!".  I kind of felt like some of them were judging me too, but they didn't have medals on their necks, so they don't know.  If they did know, they'd be cheering.

Then, I rounded the corner by the gospel choir.  They were singing and I was trying so hard not to cry. I knew Jason was in the stands at the finish.  I knew the medal was just around the corner.  I knew the crowd would be cheering.  So I did it.  I walked and even ran a little bit to the finish line.  I did it guys.  I finished a marathon in 7:01:27.  I starting crying so hard after I crossed the line, I was sucking air line I was hyperventilating.  I just couldn't hold it in.  I was so amazed and happy and tired and overcome with emotion.

I got my medal and it was glorious.  I wanted to hug everyone in sight.  Instead I took a photo with my medal, then got my water and food and picked up my bag.  I was worried that my finish hadn't been tweeted since my bib was broken, but lo and behold, I started getting congratulations tweets!  Apparently, the finish tweet went out, but mile 20 just disappeared?! I have no idea what happened,  but I know I crossed the mat at mile 20, I have a picture of the darn thing!  Either way, it got my finish and that's what I cared about most, my pace overall came to 16:04 which considering I walked the last 7+ miles, I'm totally happy with that.

I picked up my bag, and Neil and Deanna were outside the tent!  I hugged her and she said that Susan had finished not long after her as well!  I'm so proud of all of my friends for toughing out the heat and finishing the race!  Then I saw Jason and got another big hug and congratulations from him!  He is so great for cheering me on!  He is the best!!!  He told me that he had seen my friend Amanda while cheering and that he also saw Deanna and Susan as well!  SO glad all of my finished and he got to see them too!

Here's me post-race with my medal.  As soon as I was able to drink and eat some and see my friends, I felt SO much better.  It's amazing what having that medal around your neck can do for your outlook too!  And here's a closeup view of both sides of the medal:

One side says: "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." The other says: "I hope we don't lose sight of one thing, it was all started by a mouse." Both from Walt Disney

So, that's it folks, I'm a marathoner now. I know, God-willing that I want to run another one, but I know that I need to train better.  I want to beat that time, but I want to attempt it with better training.  I don't know when that will be, but hopefully not too long!  I'll leave you with some fun shots of me with my newest bling this past week while we were at WDW!

Bling shots!

Thanks for reading!