2011 Marathon weekend trip report - COMPLETE!! 4/5 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I was in AK right where the drummers were, just standing around for about 5 minutes waiting to meet up with my family - this was somewhere around 10-10:15 ish! How funny?!!!
I just checked my timestamp and we weren't there until after 10:20. By the time we got through AK, there was practically no one around! Funny to think we were so close to "running" into each other! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)
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Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 03-14-2011 at 07:02 PM..
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Great start Beth - I really enjoy reading about the marathons, we have done a few in the city and Jasmine really wants to do one at Disney next year. It looks like you are having a great time (even after running / walking 16 miles )
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Congratulations! I was cheering the racers on at AK (along the path from Africa to Asia and out by the park entrance). It was so much fun being there that day.
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Awesome report, Beth! I'm so impressed by all your hard work--and how cool that you got to share the experience with your husband . So cool that the characters are out in force! That would be really motivating.
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Read all about it in my TR, "Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!" Jill Phil. 4: 13
Awesome report, Beth! I'm so impressed by all your hard work--and how cool that you got to share the experience with your husband . So cool that the characters are out in force! That would be really motivating.
To me, the characters are one of the best parts. I can run anywhere to get a PR (personal record), but where else can you see all your favorite characters during a race? Yes, our finish time would have been much better without stopping for every character, but we wouldn't have had nearly as much fun!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Thanks for reading along, everybody! Shouldn't take too long to finish this up!
As we ran past EE, we noticed some CMs handing out Fast Passes. We kept running, thinking we really didn't have time to stop...but then debated briefly, changed our minds and decided to give it a shot. While it's a small world is my sentimental favorite, Everest is my very favorite attraction at WDW. We'd ridden it only once on Friday, and since our record is seven times in a row, this was not nearly enough for me!
We were a little ways past the attraction, so we turned around and headed back to look for the CM. We didn't see him right away, but as soon as we found him, we grabbed two FPs and headed for EE! We ran through the FP queue trying to figure out if we had enough time for this. There were only a few people ahead of us, and while it would have been nice for someone to say, "No, go ahead! You're in the middle of a marathon!", they didn't and we ended up having to wait for the next train. A nice family heard us trying to figure out if we were had time to ride this or not. The man patted us on the back and said, "You've got this!"
As we got into the tea train, I had the CM take our picture:
Can you see how excited we are?
Well, it was the best ride EVER and we were excited to have done it. However, as I look now as the time stamp from my photos, it took us 28 minutes to get from Mile 16 to Mile 17. We really had to get a move on! (Of course, we wouldn't know how much of a move on we needed to get until just a bit later...)
We took the time to get our photo with Miss Minnie (real name "Minerva"!) because there was no line.
The backside of Everest!
Not far backstage, I saw Mickey standing there with NO LINE and NO PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER! Don't they know that this is the big cheese? The Main Mouse? The Big Boss? I ran toward him, yelling, "Mickey! You have no idea what I've been through to see you!"
One funny thing I've forgotten to mention. I was so very excited to be running this race, and I probably exerted a bit too much energy throughout the first 18 miles. Every time we ran past a water stop, I would raise my arms and yell, "Woooo-hooooo!" to which most of the volunteers would smile and respond, "Wooo-hoooo!" It was about this time, after we'd gotten through Animal Kingdom, that I realized that I probably should have saved some of this energy to get me through the last 8 miles...
So I mentioned at the beginning that training did not go as we'd hoped. I'd only gotten to 13 miles a couple of times, but DH had only gotten to about 6. I'd done a 10K in June and the Detroit half in October, but DH had not run a race since April. He hadn't been able to train the way he should have, between traveling and illness, his own and his dad's. He goes to Japan twice a year (went to Tokyo Disneyland twice in 2010!) and every time he goes, he comes home sick. His dad had a lot of health issues this fall, and had spent the entire week before our trip in ICU after a procedure for his heart. There was a time we weren't even sure we'd be able to go on the trip.
All this is to say, DH wasn't really in any shape to run a marathon. He knew it, and his personal trainer agreed. His mother was sure he was going to drop dead on the course. She told both of us that he really had no business doing this race. (She is a worrier by nature, but still...)
He got a Garmin to keep track of his heartrate, and throughout the first part of the race, his heartrate was relatively consistent. After we got through Animal Kingdom, though, it started to measure erratically. Once it even got over 200. It started to be a big concern to both of us. We decided that we'd keep an eye on it, but would try to walk most of the race. If it settled down, we'd try to run a bit. I left it up to DH as to when we would run and walk.
Being the Type A Control Freak that I am, I didn't much care for this plan. I had trained with the 4/1 Galloway method, but found out on the way home from the airport that DH didn't train this way. He just ran until he got tired. I do not have the discipline to train that way. I am only able to run those four minutes because I know I'm getting a walk break at the end of it. If I had to run until I got tired, I would not be running much at all.
Now we've just gotten through Animal Kingdom and are going basically along the edge of the parking area to the right of the main entrance. Here is where we get the bad news: the sweepers are not far behind us! We were told by some other runners that they'd already been warned that the sweepers were about 300 yards behind us. That's about 3 football fields, but it was waaaaaayy to close for me. Not long after we had this discussion, the bikers started circling like vultures.
Our pace up to this point had been hovering around 15 minute miles. DH's Garmin let us know when we'd be approaching the next mile marker, so we pretty much knew what our pace was. We also had the results sent to us, but I didn't stop to check them during the race. I mostly had them sent so we could have a record of how we were doing. At 5 miles, we were at 14:47. At 10 miles, 14:35. At the half, 14:58. This was all while doing the run/walk (and stopping for every character and potty stop!). I started getting concerned that we'd never make it if we were going to walk the rest. I started re-thinking Everest, and all the character stops, and cursing our very tiny bladders! I started second guessing every single thing we'd done since we started the race. I started to worry that maybe his mother was right. In short, I started freaking out.
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Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 03-15-2011 at 04:17 PM..
If we were going to finish this thing and get that darned medal, we had to make some changes. No more mile marker stops. No more characters. No more stopping to take photos; just point and shoot and keep on moving. That's how I got the following shots:
This group of kids was particularly encouraging. They must have known how much we needed it!
I didn't even take a picture of Mile 18! It took us 28 minutes to get from mile 17 to mile 19. We were feeling the pressure!
We were walking as fast as we possibly could, and as we went along, I repeated two questions to DH: "How's your heartrate?" and "How are we doing?" Besides that, we didn't talk much. The fun was pretty much gone. Not even the course entertainment did much for us. We just put our heads down and kept plugging away. Every time we'd pass a new mile marker, I would think to myself, "Yes, but we have xx number of miles to go..."
All I wanted to see was Hollywood Studios. At last I got my wish.
Up next: will we get through the Studios? Will we make it through Epcot? Will we finish the race?
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Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 03-15-2011 at 04:19 PM..
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Great start! 
. So cool that the characters are out in force! That would be really motivating.
We were told by some other runners that they'd already been warned that the sweepers were about 300 yards behind us. That's about 3 football fields, but it was waaaaaayy to close for me. Not long after we had this discussion, the bikers started circling like vultures.
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