Season has arrived

Well, this summer has come and gone. As a teacher, the year is measured by the start and end of the summer. As always, I spent most of this summer on my favorite beach. Just check my twitter or instagram for dozens of pictures of paradise on the island.

Also, this was a pretty amazing summer for training. With a fairly oppressive summer, once the weather stopped cooperating for lengthy runs, I switched to biking, my new joy. Although I will get to that in later posts, I will just say that not once did I have heart rate spikes that were plaguing me in any run longer than 16 miles.

While on that topic, I made a deal with myself that any long run I did this summer would be over 15 miles and kept it right up until the last week in July, with my last 21 mile run. None of them were particularly fast, but in the heat and humidity here in Florida, I felt just happy to finish at all. With squishy shoes, saturated clothes, and dead phone bluetooth headset batteries, I did require at least on rescue from my wonderful wife.

Now I'm faced with a new season of runs. Last year I ran every race I could afford, but in many cases was just showing up and not really pushing myself. This lead to some disappinting times, but lots of medals. This year, I am trying to up my mileage and have signed up for two marathons (including the immortal WDW Goofy Race and a Half Challenge!) and am going to try for an ultra (50 miler) in April. Although I'm very nervous since my first marathon was emotionally difficult, I have gotten pretty strong this summer and feel that the mileage won't be as daunting as it was the first time. In fact, this summer I was able to run several 20 mile runs, in the heat, unsupported (except for refilling my water bottle) and although my pace slowed considerable after the 16 mile mark, I didn't feel completely wiped. In fact, I often loaded the kayaks on the car and headed to the beach.

As the weather cools, I am looking forward to some real run and some real advancements in my times.

Never thought this would be who I am, but here we are....

Is Finishing Enough?

So I have recently read several of Dean Karnazes' books, and last week was checking out his online profile (web page, Runner's World blog etc.) when I came upon his March 11th entry where he discusses the record setting time for the Marine Corps Marathon to fill to capacity. Coincidentally, this was going to be the first marathon to which I was going to commit to traveling.

If I may here is the quote that most got my attention:

....The “Oprah Effect,” as it’s been called, has drawn leagues of mid-packers into marathoning just to add another achievement to their mantel. They’re not real runners, it's been said......Is the fact that more and more people are running marathons, but at a slower pace, a bad thing?

I have had the fortune of running in many half marathon or longer races and have, over the past year, kept myself registered for a race continuously. By being registered, I always felt there was a larger reason to maintain my running schedule apart from my own well being. I figured, if I put money down on a race, I was going to be holding the medal and wearing the shirt the day after as a badge of achievement. In fact, over the past couple of months, I tried to compete in as many races as I could before the weather turned. In two of the races I got my worst times ever, while in two I earned back to back PR's. So I was feeling like this was the way to go. Although I no longer worry about not finishing, I don't always give my best effort (or my best effort isn't always very good).

So coming across Dean's statment gave me reason to pause. Am I just a mid packer who is keeping competative athletes from getting into races? I would have dismissed this very idea if it hadn't been for a kind person who was working a water table at the last race I entered. She and I were talking after I finished and she was amazed at the number of people who entered the race just to walk to the finish. She was a competative runner. She wasn't there to finish or PR, she was there to win. She believed that there was no reason to enter unless you planned on winning at least your bracket.

Now, I have only been running a short time, but I have never entered a race with the intention of not finishing, but I also held no illusion that I would win bracket or otherwise. In fact, as I have increased in age and moved from one bracket to another, I have found myself more outpaced by others in my new age group. I can only assume that as you get older, fewer people enter the sport and more drop out.

After this year, I was considering how I wanted to continue to approach running. I felt very motivated to try and push farther and harder. Reading Dean Karnazes' book continued this feeling, but at the same time I felt very content to finish. But now I'm feeling that I must be part of this mid-packers' syndrome trying to get a new medal for my mantle. Unlike Karnazes, I like my medals and am proud of them all, even the PW's I earned while recovering. Each one feels like a testament to my hard work, dedication, and lonely time on the trail. I was considering pushing onward to more marathon length races, and am considering an ultra or a tri. I am currently cycling to work 20 miles a day three days a week in the hopes that I could get conditioned for a sprint tri or longer.

Although I can't be sure, I don't believe I've ever entered an event where my being there has prevented someone else from running, but if the Marine Corps Marathon is an indicator, selling out in 2:41 is an unbelievable speed. Even if I wanted to run in it, I never would have gotten a slot, and how many competitors are now kicked out of the competition becuase they couldn't get registered. In fact, I look at running local races as a way of helping to support local communitites of runners and know that they have never closed due to capacity.

Should I be content to just run? I got into longer distances becuase I wanted to see what my body could do and I get excited by the prospect of running a race, even if I have no chance of winning. Should I change my mindset to get away from simply getting a PR and focus on moving up in the pack to win my bracket? Entering the sport, so late in my 30's does have its disadvantages. I think I'm gonna keep getting medals, maybe be slightly more selective, and keep plucking away at my PR's. Maybe I will get those low enough where the PR's are in line with the front of the pack instead of the middle or back. Who knows.

St. Pete Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

Long over due, but here is my experience during the St. Petersburg Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. Leading up to the race my daughter had dancing competition in Lakeland, so I was going to be driving a truck with all the props back from Lakeland at 11:00 PM the night before. Although I had known this ahead of time, I didn't realize the impact this would have on my performance.

As the race approached, the event planners released parking details which required us all to pay $10 to park and then an additional $5 for vouchers for a bus ride from the finish to the parking area. We were welcome to park off site (and pay local rates) but you could be walking a mile or two to get to the start and back from the finish. Although this seemed extreme and there was a lot of discussion about this leading up to the race, it was no more than what was going on across the Bay over at the Gasparilla preparations. The one irritation was that you also had to pay $10 to park to attend the expo where you would get your packet pick-up. They did not allow anyone to do pick up in your place, and did no on site pickup the morning of the race. This meant you had to make two trips and potentially pay $20 worth of parking fees. I was able to park on the street to attend the Expo and pick up my materials early enough to avoid the fees.

The Expo was ok. Not nearly as big as Disney and not as big as Gasparilla. There was nice Brooks running gear with the Rock 'n' Roll logo (all sized very small) so I didn't buy anything. Packet pickup was quick and easy and the t-shirts were nice.

 

As explained, I was driving a truck back from Lakeland (about an hour) the evening before, but I also had to pick up the truck and take it to Lakeland that morning at 7:00 AM. So all told, the day before started at 5:30 and ended when got to bed around 1:00 AM. I knew I would be out most of the day, so I had made my preparations for the run the day before so I could come home and collapse. The race started at 7:00 AM so I planned on being at the parking lot at 6:00 AMor so. But, the parking was backed up all the way onto the interstate, and it took me 30 minutes to get parked. As always, I did my normal prep for the race and was waiting in line to use the portapotties, and by the time I made it to the front, they were singing the national anthem. I was running to bag check to find out it was closed and ran another half mile back to my car to drop my bag and deal thhe the repercussions at the finish. I thoughfully grabbed my bus voucher so I wouldn't be stranded at the finish.

By the time I made it to the start, my wave had long since been started as did the pace group with which I was hoping to run. I jumped in and started. I had already been running, and I hadn't really had a chance to get myself mentally prepared. I was frantic and tired. Not to mention it was cold! (Well cold for me, it was in the 40's). I had finally bought some running gloves, and wore a jacket. I was glad to have the goves, but I wish the jacket would have disappeared. I didn't have time to find a disposable jacket, so I wore one I wanted to keep. I tied it around my waist and kept going. The course was nice enough (downtown St. Petersburg), but I found the water stations to be manned by lots of kids who were not always in tuned to what they were doing. Also, we were told that any discared clothes would be picked up and given to a shelther. What they didn't tell us was that our clothes were being snatched up off the ground nearly as fast as they came off. It was a little creepy.

The bands were nearly every mile and were a great mix of blues and rock. There was some great entertainment, and the course was nice and flat. The beginning of the course was all downtown, and the end was all near the pier and park. I enjoyed the run, but got an asthma attack at the end. I made it the last couple of miles at a decent clip, but it didn't make up for the time I spent going slow and I paid for the increased pace with a demoralizing finish where I found a patch of grass and collapsed to the sweet rocking sounds of Flo Rida. Thats right, I finished just in time to see the headliner. Unfortunately our race was scheduled the same day as the Grammy's, and all major acts had to be in California for the show. This meant that many people didn't get to see the beginning of the show since he went on at 10:00 AM.

Generally, I had a great time but the punishing weekend events the day before took their toll and I walked away with a pretty poor time. Not quite my worst, but for such a cool day and with no shin pain, I should have done better. I do have my Inagural medal, but I was not very competative, even with myself.

 

Rock On!

 

 

How much longer......

I want to say that I am one of those people who loves to run. I love it when I'm done. I like it when I'm getting ready. I like it when I first start. I tolerate it when I'm 4 miles in and have more to go to meet my goals.

But when I've been running for 8 miles or more, and I'm getting tired sometimes I just want to be done. I seldom stop, but sometimes I just want to quit and be done-maybe forever.

One such time, none of my montras were working. However, I had noticed that during a particular part of my music playlist, I would finish a mile almost every three songs. So once I reached that part, I would count the songs to know how far I was going. (Once I got a sports watch this all kinda stopped).

One time I was particularly unmotivated and tired. I actually started to say, only four more songs and I will be back at the car. Well, if it's only four more songs, can I just advance it to the next song and then it will be three. In fact, if I advance it two songs, I will only have two songs left. In fact if I advance it all four songs I will be done. I actually started reaching for my ipod and was advancing it when I realized I would be no closer to the end.

Ummmmm.....Duh?

Magic Kingdom

Well, on our most recent trip to Magic Kingdom, my wishes were finally received. I've been complaining, to anyone who'd listen, that Magic Kingdom, and the other parks at Walt Disney World were being neglected as Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure were expanding and adding great attractions. In fact, the entire Cars' Land coming to DCA looks absolutely amazing, and I can watch World of Color videos over and over again. Then there are times when I sit and watch Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios and long for the days of sitting around Frontierland watching it transform for the Fantasmic at Disneyland. And then there is the bain of Magic Kingdom, Mickey's Toon Town Fair, and week attempt to capture the spectacular Toon Town from Disneyland.

So when it was announced that we would be getting a well earned expansion of the park, I was excited. I know that we won't see Mr. Toad's again, nor will we ever get any of the storybook rides that make Disneyland so charming, but a major expansion was just what was needed for the park. Over the past year as the fences went up and the construction began, I was giddy with excitement to get on Dumbo (a ride I never wait for any longer) just so I could get a peek over the fences.

But it hasn't just been an expansion. All over the park the tarps have gone up over the buildings as one by one Main Street was brought back to glowing splendor. Further, Big Thunder will be going down for long term refurbishment hopefully to repair the effects that make it so spectacular. Maybe I could look past the disappointment that was Space Mountain's refurb for the hope that some real investment is going into the park to make them sparkle.

Of course that means that currently walking around the park can be tough. There is definitely a hint of work in nearly every corner that you look. So if you plan on visiting make sure you are aware that many attractions are down during these next months and some of the parades will be restricted or even cancelled. You may wish to spend more of your time in other parks rather than at Magic Kingdom.

And, finally, we had a chance to go back to the Tiki Room which has been restored to its original show after the fire in the ceiling and I can't help but wonder if this is just a stop gap plan until a true update to the show can be employed. The old show was charming, but it is no longer entertaining. My children, who love all things Disney and can tolerate going on most attractions over and over, were definitely not enjoying the "new" show. I hope that something new is in the wings.

I never knew I could do that....frostbite

I'm going to start a new series on things that happened during my training that either made me discover something about myself or things I did to myself during my training that I never considered or perhaps I never knew were possible.

I gave myself frostbite. This wouldn't be a big deal if I lived in Canada, but I live in Florida. So how in the world did I give myself frostbite. Well, I froze my skin. Since my injury, I would either lie in an ice bath, place my legs in a cooler of ice, or in the evening elevate and ice my ankles and shins. Well, I found that the area around the injury was very sensitive to pressure and would often hurt if the ice poked it.

Lamenting this to a concerned family member (my mom), she made me ice slushy bags. These were ziplocks filled with water and rubbing alcohol. (You chemistry folks should be able to see where this is going.) The first time I used them, they were great. I was in a cold bath and I placed them on both shins. They conformed perfectly. The bath began to warm and I simply elevated my leg and iced the shins. Of course, after a little while I stood up and showered not thinking about it.

Later that day, my skin on the left leg was a little irritated. I figured some alcohol was on the outside of the bag and had caused a little reaction with my skin.

The next time I used them, they were solid (4 degrees F or so). I placed them on the other shin and after a while (notice I used the word 'while' several times here. I don't know how long I had them on, and they cold felt so much better than the pain I kinda stopped paying attention to how long the ice was on.)

After removing the bag, I thought some of the condensation had left some ice on my skin. So I went to brush it off when I realized, my skin was hard. I panicked a little and rubbed them gently until it was no longer frozen. As I watched, the area that was hard, turned a bright pink like the irritation on the other leg from the day before. It was then that I realized I had given myself frostbite on both legs. I never really felt a thing, but this was now three weeks from my first marathon and I was worried I had done some tissue damage.

It has been four weeks since I froze my skin, and I will take and post some pictures soon, but just know that I am definitely going to have some scaring. The skin has been healing from the inside out and the best I can describe is that the damaged tissues is slowly making it to the surface like dry ashen colored skin. So no matter how much I think I've gotten this running thing down, something knew is always around the corner!

My Marathon Playlist

I've been running to the same playlist since I started training for a half marathon in 2010. I would add songs to make it longer and take songs away that didn't work for me. Once and a while I would reorganize the list but really it is the same list as always. Well, after the marathon, I decided its time for something new so here is my old list for everyone to see and critique and now I'm going to start building new.

Name	Artist
For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)	ACDC
Fuel	Metallica
Savior	Rise Against
Smells Like Teen Spirit	Nirvana
Gone Daddy Gone	Gnarls Barkley
Moves Like Jagger	Maroon 5
Vertigo	U2
What Do You Want From Me?	Alice Cooper
Rock & Roll	Motörhead
Shake That Bush Again	The Mooney Suzuki
Whiskey in the Jar	Metallica
Banditos	Refreshments
(It) Feels So Good	Steven Tyler
Make Some Noise	Beastie Boys
Crazy	Gnarls Barkley
Take It Off	The Donnas
Chinese Democracy	Guns N' Roses
This Is Gonna Hurt	Sixx:A.M.
Learn To Fly	Foo Fighters
All the small things	Blink-182
Pain	Jimmy Eat World
A Favor House Atlantic	Coheed And Cambria
Welcome To The Jungle	Guns N' Roses
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs	Fall Out Boy
Weightless	All Time Low
Saccharine Smile	Donots
What I Like About You	The Romantics
End Love	OK Go
Major Tom (Coming Home)	Peter Schilling
Hot Night Crash	Sahara Hotnights
A Little Less Conversation	Elvis Presley
The Best Damn Thing	Avril Lavigne
Memory	Sugarcult
Makin' a Mess	Skid Row
Long Way Down	Goo Goo Dolls
Alive & Amplified	The Mooney Suzuki
Whole Lotta Rosie	ACDC
Kickstart My Heart	Mötley Crüe
The Middle	Jimmy Eat World
Girlfriend	Avril Lavigne
Rock Zone	Scorpions
That's The Way I Wanna Rock n Roll	ACDC
Chicken Fried	Zac Brown
Are You Gonna Be My Girl	Jet
(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To	Weezer
Crazy Bitch	Buckcherry
Here I Am	The Explosion
Shake Your Blood	Motörhead
mOBSCENE	Marilyn Manson
Baby I'm a Star	Prince & The Revolution
All Night Long	Buckcherry
Makin' Magic	Tesla
Molly's Chambers	Kings of Leon
Stone Cold Crazy	Metallica
Humans Being	Van Halen
Only the Good Die Young	Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Use Me	Hinder
Die With Your Boots On	Iron Maiden
Tick Tick Boom	The Hives
Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)	Rob Zombie
Let Me Hear You Scream	Ozzy Osbourne
Higher Ground	Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Distance	Cake
Got the Time	Anthrax
Ace of Spades	Motörhead
Weekend Warrior	Iron Maiden
Coming of Age	Damn Yankees
Make a Sound	Autopilot Off
Everyone Alive	Local H
Beast and the Harlot	Avenged Sevenfold
Walk This Way	Aerosmith
Takin' Care of Business	Bachman-Turner Overdrive
You And Me And The Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)	Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Pump It	Black Eyed Peas
It's My Life	Bon Jovi
Fortunate Son	CCR
Don't Stop	Fleetwood Mac
Don't Stop Believin'	Journey
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough	Michael Jackson
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'	Michael Jackson

Marathoners still change the cat box

Well, its been a week since I ran my first marathon at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. After a quick trip back home to the reality of everyday life, I've had some time to reflect and get a little distance from this accomplishment. No, I didn't finish in the 4:30 time that I wanted, and yes, during the run I was hating it, really hating it.

But I've had a chance to reflect upon this accomplishment in the reality of everyday life. I always believed that I could run a marathon if I tried hard. In fact, I believe that anyone can run a marathon if they really apply themselves to their training. But here's the thing, people don't. Some don't aspire to run a marathon. Some aspire but never get serious, and then there are some that take it serious and apply themselves, but either can't see it through to the end or won't see it through to the end. Injuries, illnesses, and the pressures of life, can all sideline a perfectly planned path to a marathon.

It's those of us that not only commit, but see it through to the end, toe the line at the start, and push their body around all 26.2 miles, that can say they did it. I've read dozens of blogs of people who have trained and prepared. I've read how they kept their pace straight on through to the end of the race.  I've felt that they were just more committed or perhaps were more determined. Somehow, I got it in my head that my time wasn't good enough to put me in the club. But now, with some perspective, I can say that's simply ludicrous.

I trained hard, pushed through an injury, put myself on the road rain or shine and made sure that at the end of the day, I did everything I could to prepare for the finish. In the end, I'm holding the picture of me crossing the finish line. (Actually, Brightroom is holding the pictures, but I'll buy them eventually). I'm in the club.

I'm never going to be a 4 hour marathoner. With each passing year, I'm going to be getting farther and farther away from the young body that could have made a real go a time like that. I had my chance to be a runner when I was in my twenties and didn't seize the chance then. Now that I'm on the other side of 40, I know that exercise and health will be harder and harder to maintain. This is why I need to not see this marathon as the end of a long training, but the opening of a door and the start of my new life as a marathon runner.

The everyday pressure of maintaining a home, taking care of kids, cleaning up after the pets, and going to work can't change the fact that I can run a marathon. Moreover, I've shown that my life can accommodate the time needed to pursue running not only as a training plan, but as a lifestyle.
Next week I'll run the Clearwater Halfathon for the second time and be able to stand there with the other athletes comparing this run to last year. I'll take some extra pictures to help me remember where I've been and with faith, I'll cross the finish and collect my medal and a little more pride.

As the weeks continue to stretch out in front of me, and as the registration opens for next years WDW Marathon Weekend I'll eye that next prize, maybe a Goofy is in my future. Not to mention, I've always wanted to go to New York and I hear they might have a marathon too :) (hehe). Who knows, maybe I'll see the shores of Hawaii from the soles of my running shoes as well.

I'm a marathoner, now I just need to get that tattoo I promised myself.

Marathon - The Gear

 I was asked about my gear for the run, so I will write a quick list of what I used on the marathon course and eventually come back with pictures of the stuff as well.

Lets talk first about clothing. I have learned to run with gear you have worn before. No surprises on the course is my motto, so I wore an Adidas vented running shirt. I find these types of shirts to channel the heat away by making a clear path for warm air and wick away sweat. I like them too because they tend to stay in place. I also wore a pair of compression shorts under my regular shorts. 

I wore a Nike running hat. I have found that it not only helps keep sweat out of your eyes but is necessary for keeping the sun off your face. I also wore a pair of injinj toe socks under a pair of regular socks. This was a mistake as my feet felt cramped. I should have just worn a single pair of socks. But I had some problems with rubbing on a couple of runs and didn't want blisters. 

For shoes, regular readers know that I have had some trouble with my shins. I had trained last year on a pair of Nike Pegasus 26s, but had switched to Brooks Glycerines just before the Wine and Dine. Although I think I will go back to the Brooks eventually, I had decided the Brooks were the problem and bought a pair of Nike Pegasus 27s to train in. I also picked up a clearance pair of Pegasus 26s at half price so I ran in all three from time to time and had tried some inserts as well. But for the marathon, I went with a safe choice and wore my Nike Pegasus 27s and my shin compression socks. 

Of course regular readers and friends know I buy nipguards by the gross, and regularly use and anti-chafing bar. They failed during the run, so next time its duct tape.

I used an ArmPocket 10 to hold my id, money, iPhone, and extra nipguards, but might pick up a ArmPocket 20 for the extra room. I also wore a water resistant Spibelt for my gels. 

For electronics, I wore my Garmin 610, but didn't wear the heart monitor (no need). It is way too much watch for me. A 210 would have been fine, but being a gadget junkie, I decided to keep myself in debt and go deep. I like it, but it is too much watch. I kept up a three zone screen with Current Pace, Total Distance, and Total Time. 

I use an iPhone for my runs both for music and to keep track of my distances and normally I use the Nike+ GPS app, but to send out regular alerts I switched to RunMeter. Although I still have to fiddle with this app a bit, I really like how it fed me Twitter and Facebook replies right into my headphones. If I could get it to send bulletins through text and read incoming texts it would be perfect. I had it set to send regular updates on Twitter and Facebook at 2 mile and 20 minute intervals respectively. I also had switched to bluetooth headphones earlier in the year. Although they are not the best choice and are somewhat more than comparable wired headphones, they are out of the way if you want to remove a layer or shirt. Also, they allow me to answer calls (not that I would on a marathon, but on training runs it has happened). They are a little heavy and you have to remember to charge them. 

Since my iPhone would be using its GPS receiver, 3G radio for bulletins, bluetooth radio, and playing music while keeping the screen lit, I had found long ago thats its battery would not last all 26 miles. So I used a backup battery sleeve made by Mophie to keep the phone alive. By the end of the race, the phone battery pack was depleted and the phone had 46% juice left. 

Well, thats all the stuff I dragged around except for perhaps a extra 20 or 30 pounds of me. I don't know if the music helped that much. I'm going to start doing more runs with just me and the air and less with music. 

On the trip, the Garmin eventually was reporting I'd run a half mile farther than I had. My phone did as well. As I look at the map, most of this is due to a loss of signal around the course and some irregularities in placement. It was a little disheartening though.

Marathon, What was I thinking!

 If you have read this blog at all, and it must have been a pretty slow week to make it to this lonely corner of the Internet, then you know that I am new to running and had been in training to run my first Marathon, January 8th 2012. As the date was months away, and then weeks, and then days, I found myself blogging less and less about what was coming.

Many of you know that I started having a lot of pain in my shins. What I thought might have been a developing stress fracture in my left tibula, turned out to be shin splints, that ended up across both legs, but more severe in the left. After MRI confirmation and clearance from my doctor, the rule was if I could endure the pain, I could continue to run. This sounded great in sitting on the couch under ice, but was much more difficult in practice. However, I did make it to my longest run, 22 miles, and then began the great taper. I missed several of my mid week runs, but always made it out for my long runs. A combination of the holidays, family obligations, and tired sore legs reduced my ability to continue all of the mid week runs.

Yet through all of the that the trip was here. The Monday before, I went out for my final long run, 8 miles. The weather was cold and windy (for Tampa anyways) and although I was cold I made it through, wheezing. Unfortunately, a cold was upon me. Using Zicam, hot tea and rest, I did what I could to be well for race day. My family was running in many of the events. My daughters were in the 5K, my wife the half, and I the full. Sleeping in was not an option. Also, we were at Disney World, we couldn't sit in the room and not tour the parks, so Epcot, Magic Kingdom all got some of our time. 

On my race morning I woke at 2:30 AM, my cold symptoms almost completely gone. Although I had a slight cough the day before, nothing was going to stop me from toeing the line today. I had prepared my fueling and breakfast the night before. All my gear was laid out and I had considered several different clothing options. I had purchased a new set of the same type of shoes a month earlier, but went with my older more broke in shoes. I was not going to change too much. I actually ran in my shorter, older running pants from the year before simply because I knew they were effective and easy on the legs. 

My plan was to consume a gel every 4 miles. That was how I prepared during my training. I had 5 for the run and one extra. I brought a Gatoraid prime with me to the start as well as my foil of PopTarts (it started as a real way to add calories and a suggestion from a friend and now I bring them mostly out of habit). I consumed a peanut butter and banana sandwich before I left the room and realized I should have put it in the bag and brought it with me. I had lots of waiting around and I could have used the calories later in the race.

I was placed in coral C, but I should have moved back a ways, I was not going to be able to keep up with these runners, but the course is long and I wanted to see the start so I stayed. The beginning of the race was fairly easy but also dull. The loop back through Epcot wasn't too challenging but I knew i wasn't running my own race, I was pacing with the people around me and was averaging 30 seconds to a minute faster per mile than I should have. Still, I figured I felt good and was maintaining well. 

My hands were cold and I should have worn gloves. I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt but the cool air and the condensation and sweat on my hands made them uncomfortable. By the time we reached Magic Kingdom the feeling in my hands was easy to ignore and I knew we were approaching the halfway point. It was here that the 4:30 pace group came up behind me while running through the TTA parking lot. I realized that I couldn't keep up with them and after a mile of trying I saw them slowly drift away. 

It was then that I came to grips with the idea that I had pushed the first 8 miles too hard and needed to more realistic pace if I was going to make it to the end. It was probably around this time that I lost my left nipguard as well. Unfortunately I had not worn them on my last run and I was a little raw already so I didn't feel the loss of protection and my first indication there was a problem was around mile 16 when I happened to look down and see the red stripe down my bright green shirt. I was instantly embarrassed but also knew there was nothing I could do and I would never get another nipguard to stick. In the past I have found once you are soaking you can't get them to stay.

So it was here where my mental focus just broke down. I had taken a bunch of pictures that were now ruined (not really but when you are having a pity party everything looks down) and was starting to doubt my entrance in this madness. The course was boring and the smell from the compositing facility just highlighted my desire to quit. I knew my family would be waiting for me around Animal Kingdom, so I just kept holding onto that thought. My legs were cramping both quads and my right hamstring. My shins felt great, no pain at all. 

The first banana station helped immensely. I walked while eating the banana and it was heavenly going down and gave me a great boost. I only wished I'd grabbed two. As we continued it seemed the water stations were getting very close together, but all I wanted to do was get through Animal Kingdom to see my family. When I saw them in the parking lot, my heart leapt. They don't know it but without them there, I don't know if I would have finished. 

I did all of my training alone. I do not belong to a running group and although my wife runs, she was unable to train with me, so I'm very accustomed to running on my own. Part of the reason is that running has been deeply personal and I'm very self conscious. My friends don't run so I would have to run with a stranger and I would always feel inadequate. I fear having to constantly ask someone to slow down or stop. I'm also not confident in my abilities and don't really know my own body very well so I sometimes reach my limits sooner than I am prepared to admit.

So seeing my family on the course was overwhelming. They don't know this, but after I passed them I was so emotional I couldn't catch my breath, like my throat closed up and I wasn't able to pull in anything. Luckily there was a picture stop with Mickey so I used that chance to stop for a minute and let the feeling wash over me.

As we left Animal Kingdom the course really became a challenge. From the 19th mile through to the end, I'm not sure what kept me going. I was too self conscious of my bloody shirt to stop to take pictures and I had to resort to a run walk run strategy just to make sure I would keep moving. My music was playing, but I hadn't heard any of it in a while and looking back on the course there are parts where I was so deep in condemning myself that I don't remember passing certain landmarks. I started saying some pretty mean things to myself especially as we traveled North along Buena Vista Drive over several passes, but it was worse a mile before that when we had to loop back through the course on Osceola Parkway near the big jumbotron.

I don't want to run, I don't need this, I can't do it, Why did you think you could, Why are you so fat, Why did you think you could do this, You'll never do this again, You never have to do this again, My legs hurt, My feet hurt, you wore the wrong socks, Every one is grossed out by your shirt, You look like an idiot, You'll get the medal but you don't deserve it. 

All my training and practice for this one event, and all I did was spend the last few miles trashing myself. I couldn't find it in me to build my self up. I tried saying prayers, I tried thinking of how great getting the medal could feel, but every time I came up with something positive, the old me would come out and bitch-slap me. Seeing my family helped, and the hope that they might be somewhere on the course also helped. They were at the finish and I saw them as I turned down the last stretch. It was late by then and I knew I wasn't going to be near any of the time goals I had set for myself. The 5 hour pace group had passed me a while ago, and like a fool, I had decided to post my time for good or bad from @RunMeter all over Twitter, Facebook, and email. There was no hiding from it. 

My legs had been cramping for a while, and although I had dealt with cramps before what do you do when both your quad and ham cramp at the same time? My stomach and arms hurt. I had consumed food on the course and stayed on my eating and drinking regiment, but I was feeling sick. I had to keep drinking though, but I started to lay off the Poweraid thinking I had brought in too much salt. 

As I passed through the finish, I could hardly find it in me to wave or smile. I just wanted to be done with the whole mess. Take off the shoes and throw them away. I found some tarmac to lay on; it hurt under my hands as I desperately tried to lower myself down gently as my muscles contracted on their own painfully. I texted my family where I was and told them I didn't think I could get back up to meet them. I ate quietly and tried to keep down the food. I was checking my clock to make sure we could get checked out of the room on time, what a stupid thing to worry about. As my family found me and my senses started to return, I started to feel some pride, but it was oddly bittersweet. Although I will discuss this in a later post, I had worked so hard for this, but I hadn't felt a real sense of accomplishment as I had with the half a year earlier. All I knew was that I had done it, for better or worse, it was over. 

As I saw people around me with their Goofy medals around their neck, I knew that there was more I could do, but I believed I was at the absolute limits of what was left for me. I was helped up and we made our way to the bus. Later on, I would lay on the bed of our room after a well earned shower and watch as the things of the weekend were packed away. Safely stored in the van we went to Hollywood Studios where I had been just a few hours before suffering, returning now to the accolades of the cast members. 

It was done, and I have finished this journey. I want to be proud of myself, but there something elusive in this victory. I'm oddly embarrassed about my finish time of 5:19, when people ask I say around 5 hours. There is an itch somewhere in my brain that I can't scratch. I don't know if I will put myself in the position to do this again, put my family through this again, put myself through this again. Its a couple of days past, and my shin hurts, I have to get back to the gym and likely will head there tonight (its only been 3 days). 

The glimmer of hope isn't me at all, its my wife. She's been there supporting me the whole time. The one that knew I could do it, that still shows pride at what I've done. She finished the half the day earlier and when I asked her how she felt later that day she said, " Like I can do anything! " I knew exactly how she felt from my experience a year before. I felt the same way and her enthusiasm to get back out and do it again, to get the family involved and put on costumes for next year, to realize that she could do this again and again if she wanted is the reason that I will overcome this momentary lapse in optimism, set a new goal and run towards it, even if it requires a run walk run pace.

Others have asked me about the experience and I have a canned answer to them. I tell them it was the hardest thing I have ever done (not a lie) that I'm glad I did it (might be a lie don't know yet) and that I can scratch it off the list (hmmmmm). If your training for a marathon, people around you who haven't done it don't understand. The people you meet on Twitter are faceless, so you don't really know where they are in their own journey. You meet the zealots who have the DNA for 2:30 hour finishes, the aspiring runners who are just starting themselves but are 20 years younger, but you don't meet to many 40 year olds choosing this as their midlife crisis. I've come to grips with the idea that I won't have the money for a true midlife crisis, so this will have to do. One thing is for sure, it can feel like a crisis.

 

 

2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - part 5 - Odds and Ends

 If you've made it this far, or if you've skipped the first four articles, then you should know my family and I attended the 2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend for the second time, but attended nearly all of the races as participants and spectators. The races and expo have been discussed in the previous articles, but I had a few things that didn't fit in other places that I thought I was add here.

Spectatoring 

Although not a word, it could be a sport in itself. Spectators play a major part in supporting their runner. I didn't know how much until I made it to the 18th mile of the marathon to see my family waiting for me. The day before, however, I was supporting my wife be getting the kids to see her at various spots along the course. 

Disney has a great tool for helping you as a spectator, but they don't tell you everything you need to know to be absolutely awesome at it. Here are some tips of what you can do to get right there in the action and enjoy the race as a spectator. Although I'm going to focus on the marathons, but aware, that at the 5K, you are a spectator by just being in the stands, the race is short and your runners are sure to see you as they round the bend towards the finish line. 

First, track your runner! You need to find a way to track your runner's progress. There are a number of ways you can do this. 

Disney and Cigna provide a text message service that will alert whomever you wish of your progress through the course. The half marathon sends alerts at the start, 5K, 10K, 15K, and finish while the marathon sends out text alerts at the start, 5 mile, 10 mile, 15 mile, 20 mile, and finish. The messages only contain a little information, current chip time, average pace, and anticipated time of finish. This provides quite a bit of information for you to plan on where you wish to be when your runner arrives. You can access runner tracking only when it becomes available a week or so before the race from the Spectator Resources site.

Disney also provides a tool on their website that will help you plan on how to see your runner at various points throughout the course. The Spectator Planning Tool will help you figure out how much time you will need to allow to make it from one location to another. However, this tool assumes you are either joining your athlete at Epcot at the start of the race (that's quite early if you have children in tow) or are staying at a Magic Kingdom resort.  If you are staying anywhere else, it is a good tool to get you started, but you need more. You can get to the tool through the RunDisney Spectator Resources site. 

For us, this wasn't enough, I wanted details. Also, since my girls were running unaccompanied through Epcot, I wanted to know where they were more frequently. For this we used a phone app. There are a variety of them out there, but we settled on @RunMeter for the iPhone. They have a Twitter account and you can find them by searching for RunMeter at the Apple iPhone App store. The app is very configurable, but ultimately, it lets you send out Twitters, Facebook updates, DailyMiles updates, and emails under a variety of triggers. These include anytime a run is started, stopped, any time interval you choose, any mile interval you choose, and when you hit done. The message that is sent can contain a almost any information you can imagine. Of course Twitter updates are limited to 140 characters, and the app will help you shape a tweet size update. Further, it sends out GPS map links through Google Maps to provide your location at the time of the update. Runmeter can send any and all of these updates as long as the app is running. (We could not get this to work properly on an iPhone 3G, so I would recommend a 3GS or higher).

Second have a transportation plan! Here is where preplanning is important, perhaps the most important. 

We found out that Disney really supports this process even through they don't always advertise the fact. Normally, there are no busses between the parks, only from resorts to the parks. So if you want to take a bus from Animal Kingdom to Epcot, lets say, you need to go from Animal Kingdom to a resort (pick one in the middle like Coronado Springs) then get on another bus headed to Epcot. However, we found out, quite by accident that they run busses between the parks that have major viewing locations, so be ready. There are dozens of available viewing locations, and we found that spectatoring, is a sport on its own.

Since this was our first time, I drove the kids (busses stop when the race begins and don't resume until 7 am) to Magic Kingdom. I know a back way from Riverside to the TTA and it happened to be the detour that Disney put in place during the marathons. Although we missed our runner when she passed on her way to the Magic Kingdom, we were able to run fast all the way across the Poly to the viewing location set up for their return trip from the Magic Kingdom. From there we grabbed the monorail to be at the finish line, but it was crowded, and you will have to assume you aren't going to get on the first, or even the second train. 

 We arrived at Epcot and immediately ran over to the bus loading and unloading area. The half marathon cuts through this area and lets you get right along the running path. We were able to great our runner as she made her way into Epcot. We then hustled across the parking lot to be at the finish.

My wife did something similar chasing me down. She however, used nothing but Disney transportation, and it was much smoother. She was able to make it over to Animal Kingdom to meet me in the parking lot as I left the park and headed out to HS. 

Be Easy to Spot! Every girl wears pink, lots of runners are in white, and many people wear the shirt given to them by the event. You need to stand out so that your spectators can find you. Bright green, orange, and costumes can all help you get seen. Use that to your advantage.

Be heard! IF you haven't made prior arrangements or if you are planning on surprising your runner, then it might be in your best interest to get noticed from the side. Be loud, go crazy, make noise, and most importantly be enthusiastic! You are only going to be there long enough for your runner to pass by, maybe stop to pick up fuel, get a picture, and hopefully a hug. After that you are going to take off for your next spot. So go ahead and annoy those around you! Anything to supercharge your runner!

Carbloading and Fueling

Disney does provide the Pasta in the Park party, but at a hefty price. Its made even more so when you have little kids to think about. Consider alternatives. Disney is not known for how reasonable their food prices are, but they do have some bargains if you look closely at the menus. There are dozens of sites dedicated to reporting on the menus available at the restaurants, but don't neglect the one in your resort. Some even offer special deals just around this weekend to help you fuel.

Don't plan on buying your fuel and food at the expo or surrounding stores. Nearly thirty thousand runners are planning on participating that weekend and many are buying things on site. You are better served by bringing the fuel you are going to need and having it available in your hotel room. This also saves you time on site that you can use to relax, enjoy a park, or make your plans.

Commemorate your event

You may only do this once. Or you may do this for the rest of your life, but you get to run your first Disney marathon once. After that you will be a pro, so try and find a way to record the event. Bring your camera, on your run. There are dozens of cast members around all of the photo ops there to do one thing, hold your camera and take your picture. Use them. Stop and get those pictures. You are going to see things that aren't in the parks often, get those pictures when you can. Also, it might be that the picture you take there is the one that really makes your memory! If you don't think you can carry the camera with you, then consider stopping for pictures with a Brightroom photographer. They are at every major themed area of the track. At worst, your phone probably has a camera, consider using it.

Go to a park after the event. You might be tired or drained, and if this trip is on a tight budget, you may not want to spend the money for a park entrance for a day where half of it was wrapped up in running. But if you have an Annual Pass, or a flex pass with an extra day, plan on going to the park with your shirt on and your medal around your neck. The other runners are going to be there and cast members are there to cheer and congratulate you. It might be the one time where the theme parks are more like the commercials than the everyday reality. 

We found that Saturday had the largest turnout of runners celebrating in the park. Sunday the parks seemed sparse. This is likely due to large numbers of runners needing to return home to work. We were no different, hitting the road around 4 PM to make our way back home for work on Monday. However, if you can stop somewhere visible and memorable in the park and stage a picture surrounded by Disney, family and friends with your huge chuck of pride swinging around your neck!

Conclusion

My family and I had a wonderful time. We are already making plans for next year where all five of us are going to run the 5K together in costume. We are debating the costume choices now, but it should be fun. If you are a runner, or if you are new to the sport, I encourage you to consider making Disney World one of your runs. Its an expensive course, so it might not be a early trip. Also, do not treat this trip as a chance to tour the parks. The races require an early return to your room to prepare for getting up on time. Moreover, eating is never inexpensive at the parks, and if you are on a budget like me, you have to strongly consider how you wish to spend your resources. On the other hand, I can't think of a better and healthier way to connect with my family at a destination I simply adore.

2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - Part 4 - The Marathon

Since much of the staging of the race is similar to the half marathon, I will only discuss the things that were different. Also, this will not be about my particular experience running my first marathon, that will be in a later post. This is simply a review of the event. 

The staging for the Marathon is the Wonder parking lot of Epcot, and like the half marathon, you are going to want to get there quite early for the 5:35 AM start. My wife had left for the bus at 3:30 AM the day before and barely made it to her corral before they started advancing the corrals into place. So I woke up at 2:30 AM and boarded a bus by 3:00 AM. When I arrived there were already plenty of runners arriving and it was a continuous stream of runners coming into the staging area. It was set up similar to the half marathon so after arriving, I didn't hurry to check my bag as I had brought some more to eat and a couple of water bottles. I made the mistake of eating my breakfast in the room and not brining it with me. With the race still being an hour and a half away, I should have waited to eat until I was on site. I think I lost some of my endurance for that reason alone. At 4:15 they began making the announcements that they were opening the corrals and for runners to proceed through bag check, into the holding area. This was very premature since they didn't actually open the holding area for another half hour. Had I known, I would not have passed through into the holding area. 

As I've said before, get hydrated but remember you've got some waiting to do so don't forget to give yourself ample time to use the portalets, because you will have to wait. The corrals are lively and being over zealous when I registered I was placed in corral C offering a great view of the start and the festivities. The start procedures were the same as the half marathon so within a few minutes I was up to the front and ready for my fireworks. Mickey counted it down, the sparks hit the sky and I was off. 

The Marathon course, although similar to the half, does have a much better view of the theme parks, starting with Epcot. Instead of shooting right off towards World Drive, we loop back through Epcot and run right down the center of the parking lot where we encountered our first water stop and then entered Epcot through the front gates. The course splits around Spaceship Earth and heads right down the center of Future World towards World Showcase where we ran around Mexico and exited between the Norway and China pavilions. Backstage we passed the waste treatment area (lovely) and headed back out towards Epcot Center Drive to retrace our steps from the start. By the time I made it there (about 4 miles) all the runners had been started and workers were busy packing everything up. The next part of the course was similar to the half marathon with just subtle differences through Magic Kingdom (see my previous post about the half marathon course for details). Most all of the same bits of eye candy were available along the way. 

On our way back from Magic Kingdom, and back towards the parking lot at the TTA, the course split so that those running the relay could meet up with their partners and reenter the course. The course however instead of running back along World Drive headed into the deep dark recesses of the Disney World property's back-backstage areas. Although this was a long run towards Animal Kingdom, there were still theme stops along the way including this Villains stop that I checked out for some fun!

We were treated to the waste management and composting facility which had erected dozens of motivational  and interesting signs along the road. Yet, overall, getting to Animal Kingdom seemed to take forever, and although I am avoiding talking about my personal adventure during the course, I think I speak for many of the runners when I ask that Disney consider something more along this part of the course. 

Entering the backstage area of Animal Kingdom we were treated to animal handlers with OMG Ponies! and goats and owls and all sorts of creatures. We came into the park around Africa and turned towards Asia. The park was open to guests and you could see them in the park, but since we were running along the main path between Africa and Asia, they must have had much of the park closed off. The course was slightly different than our trek through the park during the Wine and Dine, but we ran through Asia, past Everest, next to Dinotopia and exited the park just past Dinosaur. Once out we ran around a very pleasant lake with the sun climbing past the horizon. It was quite tranquil. We turned and made our way back around the outside edge of the park to trace a path through the parking lot that had us come right to the park's gates and then back out near the bus ramps. Throughout this entire area spectators had assembled to cheer on the runners. One surprise was finding Mickey in his Explorer costume waiting to great us next to a parade float as we left the parking lot and headed out to the the Osceola Parkway.

At this point we are approaching the 19th mile and still had quite a bit to go, but the Osceola Parkway is a challenging part of the run. It is very sparse with only a few themed areas, including a quite entertaining "Rest Stop" cemetary haunted by the grave diggers from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. If I had thought I could get up, I would have laid down for a great picture with the headstones. Still, this part of the course was tough. There were several overpasses, including running over World Drive where traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see, yikes! We continued past World Drive only to loop back and turn north on one of the side portions of World Drive up to Buena Vista Drive. 

Here the day was starting to produce more and more street traffic as we approached the backstage enterance to Hollywood Studios, which by now was in full operation and we were running through the middle of the park. Our path through the park brought us in behind the Tower of Terror and we then ran through a portion of the Backlot Tour including the textile mill which was all dark and not in operation. We ran down the Streets of America and left past the SciFi through Commisary Lane. Passing the Sorcerer's Hat, right down Hollywood Blvd we ran until we reached the gates and passed around a cast memeber area to exit the park by taking the path connecting Hollywood Stuios to Epcot through the resorts. 

This was the home stretch with only 2 miles left to go. At this point I'll pause to let you know that like the half marathon, there were ample water and poweraide stations. In fact, I found in some places they were so close together I really could have had something to drink at every other station, but I wanted to stay hydrated and needed an excuse to walk again so I always got something to drink. Also, starting around mile 14, the course began to offer food as well. There were two Cliff stations providing gels and two stations providing bananas. There was also a cold sponge station which had I been smart I would have taken one and shoved it under my hat for later. The volunteers were always cheerful, helpful and encouraging. In fact, I was so appreciative for their service they have inspired me to make sure I work a race or two each season. Again, there are no aid stations in any park so make sure you get something before entering a park. You can always hit a bathroom or waterfoutain in a park.

As we made our way towards the resorts along the Hollywood Studios parking lot, the crowds had gathered along this part of the route and would continue all the way to Epcot. Here runners were having some trouble. The course was narrowing as we all were slowing, and like me many people were doing some walking and some running. However, during this time I also saw some trips and almost falls. With some quick ramp descents and ascents, the course could be tricky. And since the course was narrow, a spill left other runners very little room to move or recover. 

We went backstage just ahead of the International Gateway and traveled through an aid station to enter the park at the UK paviolion. Here we turned to make a tour of the entire World Showcase. Although it was beautifully lit up in the morning, by the time I made it here the sun was fully in the sky. The torches were still lit (I think, I was getting tired at this point) and there were many princesses and princes, perhaps a beast as well, lurking throught he park. It didn't appear that anyone was getting pictures taken. I think we all had a shared desire to just be done, and any stop might mean you wouldn't get started again. Although Epcot was open, the World Showcase doesn't open until later in the day so there were no guests or spectators. We exited to backstage just past Spaceship Earth at the same place the half marathon exited the day before to be greated by the choir, Alleluia! The finish line was close and soon I would be across and getting my medal. If you were competing in the Goofy Challenge a tent was set up to collect your medal, or to collect your Coast-to-Coast medal.

Seventeen thousand finishers completed the marathon and as I got my picture taken and ambled back towards the food and bag pickup, throngs of people surrounded me. I found a nice quite place on the tarmac with my aluminum foil blanket providing me some cusion with the ground. I tore into some food and massaged my sore cramped muscles while toweling off waiting for my family to join me.

Like the half marathon, there was music and entertainment, lots still to see and do, but it seemed that fewer people were hanging out as I'd imagined most were leaving that day to board planes and head back home. My family and I left shortly thereafter on a bus, still the fastest way out of the mess of the staging area. 

I don't have the same gripes about not seeing the parks, as I did with the half. The marathon provides a real opportunity to tour the parks, but be aware its only 4 of the 26 miles. There are definitely long stretches of little to see. The cool weather in the morining made many people wear more layers that they shed as they ran. Disney collects the clothes and donates them, so anything left on the course is a give away. Many runners hit a second hand clothing store for some casting off during the run. I didn't run with goves, but should have. Although not cold, some of the course is in wooded areas where the combination of morning fog and mist kept the temperature artificially low and the condensation and sweat on my body froze and swelled my hands. 

This is not a flat and fast course. The overpasses and loop backs, especially since they were concentrated at the end, are treacherous. Although I don't have another marathon upon which to compare my experience, this excursion provided an enourmous challenge. After hearing about the horror stories of the San Antonio Marathon where lack of aid stations and hotter than normal temperatures lead to several trajedies, or the Las Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon where aid stations ran out of water and resorted to fire hydrants that caused illnesses, the Disney World Marathon presents a well organized and safe course with ample protections afforded by overwhelming numbers of cast members, volunteers, aid workers, and medical staff who are all ready to help and assist in any way. I always knew if I got into trouble, help would be within a mile. Even during the longer, less populated tracks, medical and aid stations were plentiful. You pay for it, but compared to New York or Chicago, I believe you get an excellent experience. I know I did!

 

Next: Odds and Ends!

 

2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Part 3 - Half Marathon

 The 2012 Walt Disney World Half Marathon hosted over 22,000 finishers in this years event. Having been sold out for weeks, Disney World is very well prepared for the crowds it received. The race is always scheduled to begin at 5:35 AM and runners are to report to their corrals by 5:00 AM to be in place for the start of the race. The staging area includes several concessions stands, a large jumbotron screen with a DJ and MC generating entertainment for the crowds, meet and greets with characters before the race waters stations, several runner retreat tents, and of course, every portapotty in the city of Orlando. 

The staging area is the Wonder parking lot at Epcot which is quite out of the way of the main lot at Epcot. Due to the absolutely huge number of participants you are encouraged to take Disney provided transportation to the staging area. Disney begins bussing from the resorts at 3:00 AM. We got on the bus at 3:30 AM and bus stops and the busses were very full at this time. Although they run nonstop to the staging area, there are quite a lot of people to move. There are also lots of drivers, and Disney does not charge for parking until 7:00 AM, but be prepared to wait in a long back up as people try to enter and get parked. 

Once there, bag check is efficient, but make sure you leave time to wait for a portalet before your walk to the corrals. The walk to the corrals is through a sad backstage area approximately one mile from the staging area. You should plan on adding 20 minutes to walk to the corrals. Although there are portalets along the way, there will be lines at them all as people try to get themselves situated before the start (this does not keep eager men from running to the trees for a bit of relief). 

The corrals are located along Epcot Center Drive and are managed by volunteers who help steer you towards your goal. All the while an MC and DJ keep the music pumping and the conversation generally light and fun. The atmosphere bristles with anticipation and most runners are eagerly stretching or bouncing around to keep their muscles loose and ready. There are plenty of trashcans for last minute drinks and fuel to be consumed while waiting in your corral. 

The race is started in stages with each corral being launched while the corral behind moves up into position. Although the official clock time begins at 5:35 AM minutes after the wheelchairs are started and the National Anthem is sung, there is a 5 to 10 minute delay between corrals being started. So your corral may start nearly an hour after the official start time. If your hydrating and trying to fuel up for the race, you need to consider within which corral you are going to be placed and add an appropriate delay to preparing. Further, once in your corral, it could be quite a long walk back to a portalet. 

Each corral is treated to its own spectacular start with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all dressed up for the affair. (By the way, these are new fur characters with articulated faces, very cool). The starting line is treated to fireworks and bursts of flames as you start your race. 

The 13.1 mile officially measured course winds its way from Epcot Center Drive to World Drive, where you run straight up to the Magic Kingdom parking gates. Once there you are shunted around the Richard Petty Driving Experience and through the Transportation and Ticket center parking lot right through the parking tram entrance. You then rejoin World Drive for a scenic run past the Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower. A quick sidestep backstage and you burst onto Mainstreet USA between the Confectionery and Exposition Hall. 

At this point you have covered nearly six miles and there has been plenty to look at along the way. Disney prepares the route with popular and sometimes obscure Disney characters and gives them marvelous backdrops from parade floats to hot air balloons. They even invite groups from the community to sponsor a section of the course. One of my favorites is a classic car club that lines the parking lot of the Transportation and Ticket Authority with classic automobiles while playing 50's diner music! 

Spectators line several places along this first half of the course but its Mainstreet where the you really get close to the crowds as half of the street is dedicated to spectators all encouraging you along your way. Seeing the castle at dawn as you make your way to the top of street is marvelous. You take a bridge towards Tomorrowland and up and round to Fantasyland. Due to the construction there several pinch points as you make your way around towards the back of the castle. A quick run through the castle has you looking out along Mainstreet all lit up and decorated; its a great sight and lets you know you are coming to the halfway point. 

You exit into Fronteirland through Liberty Square and then out of the park next to Splash Mountain where Casey Jr. is tooting his horn as you go backstage. The park is populated with lots of characters and opportunities to take pictures. You must be on the look out for other runners. Many will stop abruptly to take a picture and I witnessed several other runners get tangled up trying to avoid them. Further, the bathrooms within the parks are all open, so this is an excellent place to use the facilities if needed. 

Up until this point water and poweraide are available nearly every two miles and first aid stations are plentiful handing out iceyheat for tired cramped muscles and vaseline on a stick for other, errrr, problems. If you are need help there are plenty of people to provide assistance. One note though, there are no water stations within any park. This is probably to make clean up easier, but also the park thoroughfares are tight and don't have much room.

A quick note about the water stations. I planned to walk through the aid stations and I'm glad I did. These can be pretty tough places. With hundreds perhaps thousands of runners coming through the stations ahead of you and with you, they are littered with cups and are slick and wet. Be prepared to go slowly through the stations regardless of your hydration plan to insure you don't have an accident. 

Exiting the Magic Kingdom marks the beginning of what ends up being a less scenic and somewhat tedious return towards Epcot. You make your way past the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian, but your vantage point does not offer much of a view of either. There is little entertainment along this part of the route and due to pedestrian and guest automobile traffic, the path is somewhat narrow until you return to World Drive. Once back on World Drive, you have seen all of the entertainment the first time on your way up so it doesn't provide much variety. These are the hard miles and what awaits you are two overpasses as you transition from World Drive to Epcot Center Drive and then into Epcot. Yet again, there are colorful characters from the Disney lore for you to interact with and plenty of aid stations to keep you hydrated and energized. Around mile 9, there is a food station sponsored by Cliff providing food gels of various flavors. Be aware, if you are towards the back of the pack either due to a later start corral or a slower pace, you may not have many choices of flavor, but considering what they taste like anyways you may not care that much. (Take the gu it helps!)

You enter Epcot at the resort bus drop off area and pass through a backstage area into Future World. Here you run past Spaceship Earth and towards the World Showcase, only to turn around and head back towards the entrance. Before you reach it you are diverted backstage where you are treated to a full choir at mile 13! A quick couple of turns and the finish line is right there waiting for you!

The grandstands are packed and the energy is palpable as you pass through the finish and receive your medal. After passing through the standard picture area you return to the staging area to get some well deserved nutrition and if needed a thermal blanket. There is a wide variety of food to eat, but its all open. It would be nice if more bags were available for you to gather what you wish to eat so you could find a nice place to relax and wait for your family. There have been some concerns that people will take too much refreshment and leave little for later finishers.

Make sure you have a plan to be reunited with your family and friends or it could be difficult. There are thousands of people all milling about and it can be very daunting. When you are ready to leave, be happy you took the bus. The bus transportation back to the resorts is very fast and I was happy to be on one as opposed to be driving through all of that mess. 

As a final note, there are photographers all along the course. The cost for the photos is pretty high through Brightroom, but often they have the best vantage points to get pictures. You may find that if you don't position yourself to get a picture from a photographer, then you might not have any taken except at the finish. People will jump in front of photographers to get their picture taken and will sometimes be aggressive. Don't be thwarted at getting a picture from a photographer. They want to take as many as possible and it only takes a moment to line yourself up with one and either give them a smile or stop for a pose.

The course provides more than ample water and poweraide so don't worry about taking your own. You may wish to bring your own gels or food as there is only one food station on the course and this might not be sufficient. If you are going to stop for pictures with characters be prepared to wait. Although the lines move very fast, there are seldom any places where you will not have a wait. If you are not setting a record, then stop for a picture. The fees are high for a reason, so get something from the trip. You can always go for a record time at one of your local half marathon courses. I stopped for several but wish I had stopped for more once it was done. Although I did not actually run the half in 2012, I did run it in 2011 and these notes come from discussing the course with my wife who ran it this year. 

Having run the Walt Disney World Wine and Dine Half Marathon and the Half Marathon during Marathon Weekend in 2011, there are a few things I'm disappointed about for the half marathon. First, you are only running through two theme parks and of these you are only going to be in them for approximately 2 miles of the 13. The Wine and Dine takes you through 2 theme parks as well (Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios) but also takes you between Hollywood Studios and Epcot through the boardwalk past the Swan and Dolphin Resorts, past the Beach and Yacht Club Resorts and across from the Boardwalk Resort. People want to run through Magic Kingdom. Its on all the posters and advertisements, so this run can't be without a trip up to MK. Further, there is no getting around the fact that from Epcot you have to cover 5 miles to get to the Magic Kingdom, but doing so means there is very little to see. Your trip into Epcot seems all too brief and most runners are pretty tired by then anyways. 

Now onward towards the 2012 Marathon

 

2012 Walt Disney Marathon Weekend - Family Fiesta 5K Featuring the Three Caballeros

 First a brief overview. The Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend actually houses many events across the property. A 5K (3.1 mile) run on Epcot's property, a children's 1 Miler run held at the Wide World of Sports, a 13.1 mile Half Marathon across Epcot and the Magic Kingdom, a 26.2 mile full Marathon across all of the four major theme parks on the property, and new this year, a marathon relay. There are also a few social events including the Pasta in the Park party at Epcot, the organized and tiered Cheer Squad, various guest speakers and a runner's retreat.

This years 5K featured the Three Caballeros and was held at Epcot. The event brought nearly nine thousand runners and a virtual stampede of strollers. Held in the early morning hours on Friday, January 6th, the run begins in the parking lot, loops through the park and returns to the parking area, where grandstands have been set up for a fun and festive finish. The starting line was located behind the grandstands, and the area between the grandstands and the starting corral was used as a holding area for participants. 

The race begins at 6:30 AM and racers self sort themselves into separate waves based on their anticipated pace. Due to the early start time Disney provides transportation to the park as early as 4:00 AM. The pre-race guide provided by Disney requires runners to be at their corral by 6:00 AM and at the staging area by 5:30 AM. We drove ourselves (a very short drive from Port Orleans Riverside where we were staying), and left our hotel at 5:00 AM. We arrived very shortly thereafter, around 5:15 AM and parked almost immediately. 

It was clear that being here this early was unnecessary. Although there were quite a lot of family members and runners, the event was easy to access and there was only one corral that you enter when your wave (pace group) is preparing to be started, and until that time you are simply waiting around until your time to run. Getting there over an hour early for the start meant that we had ample time to get bored. Luckily we were all very excited and the music and banter of the hosts kept the pace quick and light. 

My daughters entered the corral and were started with their group. We watched them head into the parking lot on a very safe and organized course. There are no other viewing areas aside from the grandstands, but the race is short and there wouldn't really be time to get to see your runners until they made it to the finish. The lead runners were heading there within 15 minutes, and we settled into the grandstands which were not full, to see our kids make their way up the finish. I had sent them with an app to track their progress so we were alerted to when they would be getting close so we could head down to the fence to cheer them on. 

They sped down the towards the finish line which has a separate viewing grandstand for Cheer Squad participants and onward towards the receiving line for their medals. After receiving their medals and posing for pictures Disney provided ample food and drink for the athletes and had a nice and wide open area for meeting up with family. Here might be a good time for you to have made arrangements on a place to meet up with your family, but it wasn't so crowded that a quick phone call couldn't take care of this as well. 

The kids had a great time. Most participants were there to have fun as the name implies and there were many festive and often comical costumes. We intend to join our kids next year and dress together in costumes as a family. It looked like too much fun to sit in the stands and not be running with them. 

We did not feel worried about letting our children run in the event by themselves, but our kids are very familiar with the park. If you are concerned about security of the event, you are probably justified. Although it would be very difficult for your child to stray from the course, the race does start in the dark and there are times when the course travels backstage to areas not as well paved and lit as the main park itself. However, there are quite a few cast members and volunteers all along the course to help guide participants towards their finish.

As per the course itself, it begins in the parking lot of Epcot and after winding around a backstage cast area enters the park between Norway and China after passing by a particularly stinky waste treatment area. It then winds around the World Showcase with several opportunities to take pictures with the characters you would expect to see (and some surprises) that inhabit Epcot. For example, Snow White and Dopey are together as usual, but are joined by the Huntsman and Prince in Germany. The path exits the park at the International Gateway and travels behind the UK, to reenter the park between Canada and the UK pavilion. The path then takes the runners down the middle of Future World towards Spaceship Earth, around the front gates and then backstage. The runners then return to the parking lot from a backstage area to a spectacular grandstand finish with lots of music and celebrations. Water and Poweraide are provided at two stops along the route and food of all types are provided at the finish.

Overall this is a fun and fantastic way to bring the family together for a unique event at one of our favorite parks. The runners receive colorful soft rubber medals of the featured character.

Next: The Half Marathon

 

2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - page 1- Check In

I never posted a review of the 2011 Marathon weekend of which I participated in the half marathon and my wife and children participated in the 5K for two important reasons. First, I had nothing in which to compare the experience except for my previous recreational stays at the park, and second, I was too caught up in the emotion of the experience to actually provide a review. Although this experience was just as emotional and exciting, I believe I can also provide a balanced view of the races and the experience. 

Since I am long winded, this post will be broken up into 5 posts: Check-In and Expo, The Family Fiesta 5K, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, The Walt Disney World Marathon, and Post Thoughts.

This year my children ran the 5K, my wife ran the half, and I ran the full. I had paid for my race early, back when the event opened and I had my $10 discount for having participated in the 2011 event. I signed my wife up in November and the children  early in December. Aside from confirmation emails from active.com I received very little information over email about the upcoming event until a single email let me know it was time to print out my waivers. Of course, on the website there were updates made that included posting the course for each event, the event guide, and reminders of when the last day to change or transfer your registration were approaching. Why can't they send out email blasts? Other races tend to help psych you up by getting you caught up in the excitement of the experience. If you follow RunDisney on Facebook or Twitter you get some of this experience but for the high cost of this event compared with others and the relatively low cost of email reminders and bulletins, this would have been nice. 

Check in And Expo

 We arrived at Disney's ESPN Wide Worlds of Sports Complex for packet pickup at 11:00 AM on Thursday January 4th (the first day of packet pickup), since we had 5K runners. As always the HP Field House was well organized and picking up the 5K goodie bags, shirts, and bibs was quick and efficient. The same was true for picking up bibs for the half and full marathon. This is only true if you came prepared with your waiver printed out and signed. If you had to print a waiver or worse, wait in line at the information booth, you were going to be there a long time. Of course, marathon shirts and goodie bags are located at the Expo, but we'll come to that in a minute. 

Also, as always, since there is no need for 5Ker's to go to the Expo (unless they want to of course) Disney sets up a RunDisney store on the floor of the HP Field House between the marathon and half marathon check in. The store was so crowded that the line to pay wrapped around the store twice. This is unnecessary. Although he same merchandise is sold at the Expo, the management of the crowd at the store made the store completely inaccessible. Last year when we arrived at 4:00 pm for check in, the store was manageable. So off to the Expo.

The Expo is housed at the Josten's Center a short walk from the HP Field House. The floor of the Expo was very cramped this year. We had been looking forward to casually walking the Expo and to pick up some odds and ends so we walked around to pick up our goodie bags and our shirts, and then to the Disney store for some merchandise. This part was very smooth and quick. Although the RunDisney merchandise store was crowded, it was about what you'd expect in any Disney store in the parks on a crowded day. My wife and I both felt that the options were some what weak, but we still picked up a couple of items. Overpriced, definitely. Be aware, they do take Annual Passholder discounts (both premium and regular) at the Disney merchandise store. 

We then headed to the rest of the Expo. Here is where the story gets less fun. The Expo was not just crowded but impossible to navigate. The aisles were close and tight and the people were not patient. It seemed that everyone was oddly insistent about getting their way or to their destination no matter what it took. Although there were some deals, for the most part, the merchandise was full price, but you get to see some things that they don't often carry at the local running stores.  We were looking for a couple of stickers, a Spibelt, and a headband. Yet even with that short list, we were on the floor for an hour, and not because we were casually looking, but because that was how long it took to move around the floor. Either expand the floor space or feature fewer vendors. 

At last years event, the floor felt crowded, but you could still navigate the event and enjoy being there. In fact, the Wine and Dine Half Marathon held in October, had a great Expo that even reserved floor space for some of the speakers with an expanded seating area and several refreshment booths. I never realized how much the Expo got me excited for the run until this year. The vendors themselves were a mixed bag. In most cases the vendors were informative and energetic about their products. In fact, I was almost brazen enough to sign up for a couple out of the way events purely on the excitement of the staff working the booths. At the same time, some of the other guests made enjoying a both almost impossible. Many seemed tense, arrogant, and unfriendly. This was very different from my past experiences and was somewhat discouraging. 

Both my wife and felt that being there early was of no help, and maybe made it worse. Next year we will reevaluate how we are going to spend our time at check in. 

We headed to the hotel to check in and dump our stuff. We had some running around to do afterwards and still had to pick up our kids, but stopped briefly to look in the goodie bags. They were definitely not as full as last year and suffered from less goodies and more paper. Bad economy? I don't know, with the tens of thousands of participants, I would have hoped for more goodies. Ohh well. 

The marathon and half marathon featured high quality long sleeve tech shirts with colorful logos minimal advertising. These were similar to last year and are thicker than most other shirts you get from these types of events. The 5K shirts were short sleeved cotton T's with a very colorful print on the front. 

Next...... Day 1..... The Three Caballeros Family Fun Fest 5K....