I just went to look in my spam folder and there were all sort of encouraging messages from my college friends! Viagra ads and get rich quick schemes can get through my filter, but not my friends?! Anyway, thank you!
Some of you wanted to know about WISH since I ramble about it so much. It's an on-line training group with a common goal of running Disney races. It's part of disboards.com. It's a really nice group- some people are super fast, some are slower walkers; everyone is encouraging. I don't know why, but if you tell a group of internet strangers that you are running a certain number of miles at your next workout, you tend to do it. At the same time, if you are freaking out because LTO or WTO (life takes over or work takes over) or you have a cold, there is someone out there to tell you it's ok.
WISH stands for "We're Inspired to Stay Healthy." The WISH slogan is DLF>DNF>DNS. It means "dead last finish" is better than "did not finish" which greatly trumps "did not start." Something like that is on the back of our shirts. I actually hear people reading the shirts and saying "yeah, that's right, girl!" to their friends in races. It cracks me up everytime. Right after I started reading the WISH boards, I ran my first 5k at home. These people are ridiculously fast. I finished right at 30 minutes and was dead last finish. I really think if I hadn't found my WISHers, I would have given up right then utterly humiliated. Instead, I laughed it off and just said better than not finishing or starting!
So that's the story of how I've joined a Disney running cult. LOL
I'm thinking ahead to my next races because I've got a bit of the post-marathon blues. I'm leaning towards running the Disney half and cheering for the full. My mother is thinking about joining me. Any others out there? Seriously, it's not that bad to train and you get to eat more!
Later kids.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The full marathon! Part two of Goofy--
The wake up call comes at 3:00 a.m. Are you kidding me? I'm so tired I just beat on whatever it is making that horrible noise. Then the realization hits me- time to get ready to run a marathon. What was I thinking?!
Same basic routine as the day before. My eyes are beady and bloodshot, even after a shower. I eat a PB and honey sandwich. I get most of it down, but let's just say, it doesn't stay down. Great. So my nutrition plan is not going well.
I gather my ridiculous amount of stuff and go find a bus. Hmmm... there are two different types of people on the bus: those who can't stop the nervous chatter, and those silently glaring at the chatty ones. I'm pretty sure I know which group is doing the Goofy! One woman gets on the bus and starts yelling at the driver as she's boarding that "a lot of us are nauseous and we need air conditioning!" I find this incredibly irritating- who is she to be yelling at my driver, who is up for a second day in a row (I know because he drove me both days)?! And how dare she speak for all of us?! Uh oh, I think I'm approaching the BMZ (Bite Me Zone) and I'm not even running yet.
I get to the staging area after the long deja vu hike from the bus. It's hot and it's HUMID. Perfect. I find out later it's 100% humidity. I can't find WISHers- since when have all these other people started wearing shirts in our color? That's totally unacceptable. Hmmm... me thinks it's time to stop everything and buy my now customary 4 a.m. Diet Coke. Then I can begin a proper WISH search, preferably far away from the blaring 80s videos.
I find one WISHer- ok, that's better. Another leads us to the rest of our clan. Ah, security at last. The Goofy people are looking pretty strong. Tired, a bit sore, but basically ok. My friend Helen is eating her cereal again- who has the presence of mind to pack cereal, milk, a plastic bowl, and a spoon? She did it two days in a row- I'm so impressed. I drink my Diet Coke.
All is well for about ten minutes- then the Disney people open up a path to the corrals. Great, we're sitting in the path. We all scatter. I walk with Lily towards the corrals. As we chat, I'm feeling better. A woman is walking with us talking about how she wants to move from Corral B to Corral A with the fast people. Of course I hate her. It's not a rational thought, I'm just in that kind of mood. Lily on the other hand is totally patient and chats with her. By the end, I kind of like the woman- she's just nervous like the rest of us. So thank you Lily for humanizing the speedy woman!
I'm sitting there watching the TV screens and trying to understand what force in the universe always leads me to a blaring speaker, when my friend Becky appears. Oh good! Becky is another Goofy WISHer. She and I have seen each other at the Minnie and Tower of Terror races. We laugh because she can't sit- she's wearing her running skirt and doesn't want it to snag. I take off my throw away sweats and we sit on them and wait... for about 1 minute before we are forced to move. I dump the sweats and we stand together waiting.
Becky, you owe me, because this is cute of you and not of me.
The announcer counts down from 15 instead of 10 (in honor of the 15th anniversary), the National Anthem is sung, there's fireworks, yada yada. I'm really tired. We finally meander across the start line. Becky thinks I'm going to be fast so she sends me off. Ironic since I really am not in a running mood. I remember asking her if my left leg should already hurt...
I weave through people for the first mile. Same mile marker as yesterday. Miles 2 and 3 are just more weaving. It's so humid. Yesterday was much better. My left IT band is officially hurting. I ran with a hurt IT band once in training- within 2 miles it went from a dull pain to absolute daggers. I'm a little concerned that I have something like a million miles to go.
So, here's a picture of mile 1. Yep, looks just like mile 1 from yesterday. So do the people I'm weaving through. I'm a wee bit bored. The novelty is gone.
We're heading towards Epcot. Hey- I pass some WISHers! Sometimes I remember to take pictures, sometimes I don't. I try to wave to all of them.
Here's Wendy, our WISHer who seems to be racing at least 2 days out of every week. Seriously, the woman never stops moving! She posted that she drank a Diet Coke while on the course. My hero.
And here's Helen, our Australian cereal-eating WISHer.
Look- the flamingos are back. Deja vu! They're looking a little rough too. One guy seems to have lost some feathers...
Here comes Epcot.
We're in Epcot, heading towards China. Somehow I've missed the first three water stops. Yesterday I had a Powerade and water at almost every water stop so I'm panicking that my hydration strategy is going downhill (along with my time). Oh, and would you believe I'm getting hungry?
I stop and take a picture with Mulan. I'm wearing my fancy new hat I bought in Germany (in Epcot).
I'm still hot, my leg still hurts, and now I'm hungry and thirsty. I'm having an attitudinal problem. Then it happens- spectators! Look at the bright WISHer. Now I'm feeling better! I wave like crazy.
An overpass- people to watch! I'm looking over the bridge for WISHers! Things are perking up.
It's blurry, but look at how reflective we runners are.
Now we are where the runners go under the overpass. I'm studying the bridge like crazy. Yes! I see a WISHer! We wave and take pictures. (Why didn't I stop to focus my camera?!)
Here's right past a water stop. Check out all the cups everywhere.
Oh look, here comes Magic Kingdom. Guess what, not really. I'm not amused. I did this yesterday, thank you very much, so I know the Magic Kingdom is really not that close. I hear two girls from Team in Training talking about beating Katie Holmes' time. Seeing that I've just passed them and I'm moving incredibly slow, I'm thinking it's not going to happen for them today. I keep it to myself- if delusions of beating Katie get them to the finish line, more power to them.
Somewhere in this horrible leg-hurting stretch I meet Cecilia. She's another WISHer, but she's running as a mentor for Team in Training. She sees my shirt and we start talking. She has two girls with her. They both have on leg straps. Are these girls tough or what?! I only realized I was injured when I started the race; these girls knew they were hurt before they started and did it anway. Serious guts!
Here's a funny fact about Cecilia. We made tentative plans over the internet to run the half together. We both thought we needed someone to make sure we kept a slow pace and didn't get hurt. We were planning on finishing in about 2:30. In all the chaos, we didn't find each other. Turns out we both finished at 2:13, although she beat me by a few seconds. Obviously we needed each other since neither of us was capable of sticking to our 2:30 plan alone!
I run a little further and meet Bree. She's a WISHer too. I'm glad I have on my shirt- she isn't wearing a WISH shirt, so she finds me first. We chat awhile. She's thinking this is not going to be one of her better days. She wants to walk a bit outside the Magic Kingdom because her stomach is churning. I think it's the best idea I've heard yet! We walk, we run, we chat. Somewhere by the Transportation Center a WISHer hands me a Twizzler. I'm still hungry, so this makes me really happy. Bree and I pick up the pace as we enter the backstage of Magic Kingdom.
Whoo hoo! It's Main Street. It can't compare to yesterday, but it's still fabulous. (Wait- that's not fair to Main Street. It's not Main Street that can't compare to yesterday; it's me that can't compare.)
Heading towards the Castle.
And now Tomorrowland.
I see Chip and Dale. Bree keeps going while I stop for a picture. Cecilia and her crew line up behind me. We hang together through the Castle and Frontierland.
Cecilia stops at the medical tent. Brilliant idea! I get some Biofreeze squeezed into my hand. I try to put it on my leg, but it all just slides down. Nasty! Oh well, maybe it will numb the pain a bit. Poor Cecilia is trying to keep an eye on all three of her injured chicks now! My leg hurts, but I'm really just scared it's going to hurt more; Cecilia's crew looks like they've already reached that point.
We reach mile 12. It's finally starting to be a bit different. Somewhere in this vicinity, Bree finds me at a water stop. Obviously it's meant to be. We stick together the rest of the race.
Check out this running club. I think this was the fourth time I'd seen them dancing around in two days. I love them! Bree and I talk about how much fun it would be if the WISH team could have a spot where we could do the same thing next year.
Mile 13. I amuse myself by thinking I'm not halfway through the Mickey, I'm two-thirds through the Goofy. Still seems kind of, you know, far...
We head towards the Animal Kingdom. I take a picture of the Disney nursery for Ted, our family horticulturalist. I'm pleased that I still have enough wits about me that I can remember to take this picture, even though it doesn't show anything interesting (I want Disney topiaries, people!)
Oh look, we're near the Animal Kingdom. Here's some furry animal.
Here's a less furry animal. I pass on getting in that picture.
I make Bree get in the picture with the parrot. As we wait, the parrot says "Hello." Being polite people, we both answer "Hello." We don't talk about it afterwards. How did it not strike us as strange that we just had a conversation with a bird?! Things are getting a little fuzzy.
I get more Biofreeze at a medical tent- this time it doesn't just run down my leg, it lands on my shoe in a big glob. I hope my shoe is happy now because my leg still hurts. Bree gives me an Advil. I take it. Dry. Bree's stomach and hip flexors are bothering her. We're quite the pair! Surprisingly we are fairly upbeat, considering that we are having some physical issues.
Back to people watching. These girls look cute. Hot, but cute.
Animal Kingdom- there's Expedition Everest!
And that was it for the Animal Kingdom. But here's Minnie Mouse!
I don't know where they got their energy, but the Incredibles came out of nowhere- this is a picture of them blazing away. (Bree said something like, "oh look, it's the Incredibles" but being somewhat slow, I almost missed them. I think I was looking for characters, not runners.)
Mile 18. How far can you run on sheer stubbornness? I think I'm about to find out. Just when it feels like it will never end, I look up and see WISHers! I see Becky's sister, Jen, waving and screaming. We go a little further and Bree's family is waiting. Her little boy is with her husband and mom- too cute.
We take a picture with Mickey. We're starting to pay a high price for these pictures. Starting back up is a killer. Still, have to take the Mickey picture.
Oh look. Miles of asphalt. Pocahantas and John Smith are standing on the side of the road. Yet another picture.
Mile 19. They're all blurring together. We've had so much Powerade and water. There's a lot of sloshing going on now. We are both wishing we could find a Diet Coke soon. In theory Diet Coke would slosh too, but it still sounds good.
Peter Pan and Wendy are standing by an RV. Peter is talking about making wishes. I want to slap him. How about a little pixie dust, Peter? Cause guess what- I'm not flying!
WISHers with wet washclothes. Best idea ever.
Mile 21. Whatever.
Finally we head to MGM. Bree tells me they used to put out a red carpet, but it's not there this year. But around the corner are Butterfingers. I grab one. Poor Bree can't eat anything. I'm probably totally grossing her out. What can I say- I have an iron stomach! The only thing better than my washcloth is my Butterfinger.
There's the Tower of Terror.
What the heck, another picture.
Mile 23. Can we just get there already?
Kim Possible. Look at Bree being all sassy and posing while I'm clueless.
We deem the Queen not worthy of the horrible pain of starting to run again from a stop. Later! We see WISHer Martha running. We ask her how she's doing- she says not good. This bothers me a lot. Martha trained so well for this one- I don't think she missed any runs. I find out a few days later that she was having IT band pain in both legs. Ow! She pushed through it- you go, girl!
We leave MGM and head down the path to the Boardwalk. More WISHers! Hey, another Twizzler! Bree doesn't seem to want one. She missed out!
We're almost at the Beach Club. For the last 6 miles, I've been talking about how my family and WISHers are going to be there. I see my family, I get all excited, and I take a blurry picture. I can't stop because of that whole leg thing, but I do get to high five Emma.
WISHers- even in my delirious state, I hear the cowbells!
Is it possible we are back at Epcot?!
Mile 25. Bree and I talk about how we've done this loop tons of times with our families (or maybe I say it to myself). We push through. Bree starts twitching around Germany because of the bratwurst smell wafting our way. We press on. I see a kid wearing what looks like a giant lanyard. I don't think much about it, but then I see a man clapping and he has the same giant lanyard. Ah ha! It's the medal- and it's pretty sweet!
Push past Spaceship Earth. There's the choir again.
It's the finish line! Bree tells me to run on ahead. As if. I high five Chip or Dale- I don't have time to look at the nose to tell the difference. We run across the finish.
We get our chips cut off, and I grab a Mylar blanket that immediately sticks to me. Then it's off to the Mickey Medal. Now this would be a fun volunteer job.
Here's Bree getting her medal. It's her fourth full at Disney!
Bree takes a picture of me getting my Goofy medal. We get separated to take our official pictures- I have to be in a different Goofy line. I take my picture and go pick up my bag. I turn around to find Bree, and she's gone! Quite possibly she turned around to see me and I had disappeared into the checked bag area. How funny is that?! It shows how delirious you are at the end of the race!
I call my mom and Ted, chat very briefly with some gathered WISHers- I hope I didn't seem rude, but I couldn't stop moving for fear I'd never start again.
I start on the eternal trek back through Epcot to our hotel. Along the way, I get to cheer on runners. I fully intended to cheer in front of the Beach Club with the WISHers who so kindly cheered for me, but again, I was scared to stop. I did get a few pictures of WISHers both on the course and scream teaming along the way.
Right before the hotel I saw the last finishers. There was a man with a woman in a Team in Training shirt. There were a bunch of the bike medics right behind them. I cheered for them, and then went up the truly dreadful hill to the hotel. Did I say "up" the dreadful hill? Down the hill was worse. I finally made it to the room and took this lovely picture.
That's it. We went out to Epcot that afternoon with Harry. I was limping everywhere. I exchanged a few knowing smiles and words with my fellow limping marathoners. I did have a Napoleon in honor of our WISH teammates who were not able to be at Disney in person, but were with us in spirit.
I also had a beer, for those teammates who aren't big fans of sugar. I know... it was a sacrifice.
Nothing says classy like pushing the stroller with your sleeping baby through the rain with a beer!
Finally a picture with Goofy!
We ran into Cecilia in Epcot. She said her girls made it. She looked great. I was a little jealous that she was walking like a normal human being!
My mother called me- she and her friend Betsy took Emma to the Magic Kingdom. They ended up touring the parks with a man and his two kids. One of his children was too small to go on the bigger rides and my mother doesn't like fast rides, so they teamed up. He had some sort of super-secret fastpass that let them on every ride. They rode everything over and over and had a fabulous time. I was so grateful not to be there... I'd already been to the Magic Kingdom twice in one weekend anyway.
Last but not least, our time was 5:42:xx. Not speedy, but considering the heat, humidity, and that whole Goofy madness, I was happy. Besides, I had a ton of fun. If I want to run a fast marathon, I'll do it somewhere boring where all I want to do is get to the end fast! (Did I mention I dragged my iPod with me for two days and never once turned it on?!)
Special shout out to WISH spectators, WISH runners, Becky, Cecilia, my family, all the other friendly runners/spectators along the way, and of course, my running buddy, Bree!
By the way, in case you're curious, I'm still limping... on Wednesday.
The wake up call comes at 3:00 a.m. Are you kidding me? I'm so tired I just beat on whatever it is making that horrible noise. Then the realization hits me- time to get ready to run a marathon. What was I thinking?!
Same basic routine as the day before. My eyes are beady and bloodshot, even after a shower. I eat a PB and honey sandwich. I get most of it down, but let's just say, it doesn't stay down. Great. So my nutrition plan is not going well.
I gather my ridiculous amount of stuff and go find a bus. Hmmm... there are two different types of people on the bus: those who can't stop the nervous chatter, and those silently glaring at the chatty ones. I'm pretty sure I know which group is doing the Goofy! One woman gets on the bus and starts yelling at the driver as she's boarding that "a lot of us are nauseous and we need air conditioning!" I find this incredibly irritating- who is she to be yelling at my driver, who is up for a second day in a row (I know because he drove me both days)?! And how dare she speak for all of us?! Uh oh, I think I'm approaching the BMZ (Bite Me Zone) and I'm not even running yet.
I get to the staging area after the long deja vu hike from the bus. It's hot and it's HUMID. Perfect. I find out later it's 100% humidity. I can't find WISHers- since when have all these other people started wearing shirts in our color? That's totally unacceptable. Hmmm... me thinks it's time to stop everything and buy my now customary 4 a.m. Diet Coke. Then I can begin a proper WISH search, preferably far away from the blaring 80s videos.
I find one WISHer- ok, that's better. Another leads us to the rest of our clan. Ah, security at last. The Goofy people are looking pretty strong. Tired, a bit sore, but basically ok. My friend Helen is eating her cereal again- who has the presence of mind to pack cereal, milk, a plastic bowl, and a spoon? She did it two days in a row- I'm so impressed. I drink my Diet Coke.
All is well for about ten minutes- then the Disney people open up a path to the corrals. Great, we're sitting in the path. We all scatter. I walk with Lily towards the corrals. As we chat, I'm feeling better. A woman is walking with us talking about how she wants to move from Corral B to Corral A with the fast people. Of course I hate her. It's not a rational thought, I'm just in that kind of mood. Lily on the other hand is totally patient and chats with her. By the end, I kind of like the woman- she's just nervous like the rest of us. So thank you Lily for humanizing the speedy woman!
I'm sitting there watching the TV screens and trying to understand what force in the universe always leads me to a blaring speaker, when my friend Becky appears. Oh good! Becky is another Goofy WISHer. She and I have seen each other at the Minnie and Tower of Terror races. We laugh because she can't sit- she's wearing her running skirt and doesn't want it to snag. I take off my throw away sweats and we sit on them and wait... for about 1 minute before we are forced to move. I dump the sweats and we stand together waiting.
Becky, you owe me, because this is cute of you and not of me.
The announcer counts down from 15 instead of 10 (in honor of the 15th anniversary), the National Anthem is sung, there's fireworks, yada yada. I'm really tired. We finally meander across the start line. Becky thinks I'm going to be fast so she sends me off. Ironic since I really am not in a running mood. I remember asking her if my left leg should already hurt...
I weave through people for the first mile. Same mile marker as yesterday. Miles 2 and 3 are just more weaving. It's so humid. Yesterday was much better. My left IT band is officially hurting. I ran with a hurt IT band once in training- within 2 miles it went from a dull pain to absolute daggers. I'm a little concerned that I have something like a million miles to go.
So, here's a picture of mile 1. Yep, looks just like mile 1 from yesterday. So do the people I'm weaving through. I'm a wee bit bored. The novelty is gone.
We're heading towards Epcot. Hey- I pass some WISHers! Sometimes I remember to take pictures, sometimes I don't. I try to wave to all of them.
Here's Wendy, our WISHer who seems to be racing at least 2 days out of every week. Seriously, the woman never stops moving! She posted that she drank a Diet Coke while on the course. My hero.
And here's Helen, our Australian cereal-eating WISHer.
Look- the flamingos are back. Deja vu! They're looking a little rough too. One guy seems to have lost some feathers...
Here comes Epcot.
We're in Epcot, heading towards China. Somehow I've missed the first three water stops. Yesterday I had a Powerade and water at almost every water stop so I'm panicking that my hydration strategy is going downhill (along with my time). Oh, and would you believe I'm getting hungry?
I stop and take a picture with Mulan. I'm wearing my fancy new hat I bought in Germany (in Epcot).
I'm still hot, my leg still hurts, and now I'm hungry and thirsty. I'm having an attitudinal problem. Then it happens- spectators! Look at the bright WISHer. Now I'm feeling better! I wave like crazy.
An overpass- people to watch! I'm looking over the bridge for WISHers! Things are perking up.
It's blurry, but look at how reflective we runners are.
Now we are where the runners go under the overpass. I'm studying the bridge like crazy. Yes! I see a WISHer! We wave and take pictures. (Why didn't I stop to focus my camera?!)
Here's right past a water stop. Check out all the cups everywhere.
Oh look, here comes Magic Kingdom. Guess what, not really. I'm not amused. I did this yesterday, thank you very much, so I know the Magic Kingdom is really not that close. I hear two girls from Team in Training talking about beating Katie Holmes' time. Seeing that I've just passed them and I'm moving incredibly slow, I'm thinking it's not going to happen for them today. I keep it to myself- if delusions of beating Katie get them to the finish line, more power to them.
Somewhere in this horrible leg-hurting stretch I meet Cecilia. She's another WISHer, but she's running as a mentor for Team in Training. She sees my shirt and we start talking. She has two girls with her. They both have on leg straps. Are these girls tough or what?! I only realized I was injured when I started the race; these girls knew they were hurt before they started and did it anway. Serious guts!
Here's a funny fact about Cecilia. We made tentative plans over the internet to run the half together. We both thought we needed someone to make sure we kept a slow pace and didn't get hurt. We were planning on finishing in about 2:30. In all the chaos, we didn't find each other. Turns out we both finished at 2:13, although she beat me by a few seconds. Obviously we needed each other since neither of us was capable of sticking to our 2:30 plan alone!
I run a little further and meet Bree. She's a WISHer too. I'm glad I have on my shirt- she isn't wearing a WISH shirt, so she finds me first. We chat awhile. She's thinking this is not going to be one of her better days. She wants to walk a bit outside the Magic Kingdom because her stomach is churning. I think it's the best idea I've heard yet! We walk, we run, we chat. Somewhere by the Transportation Center a WISHer hands me a Twizzler. I'm still hungry, so this makes me really happy. Bree and I pick up the pace as we enter the backstage of Magic Kingdom.
Whoo hoo! It's Main Street. It can't compare to yesterday, but it's still fabulous. (Wait- that's not fair to Main Street. It's not Main Street that can't compare to yesterday; it's me that can't compare.)
Heading towards the Castle.
And now Tomorrowland.
I see Chip and Dale. Bree keeps going while I stop for a picture. Cecilia and her crew line up behind me. We hang together through the Castle and Frontierland.
Cecilia stops at the medical tent. Brilliant idea! I get some Biofreeze squeezed into my hand. I try to put it on my leg, but it all just slides down. Nasty! Oh well, maybe it will numb the pain a bit. Poor Cecilia is trying to keep an eye on all three of her injured chicks now! My leg hurts, but I'm really just scared it's going to hurt more; Cecilia's crew looks like they've already reached that point.
We reach mile 12. It's finally starting to be a bit different. Somewhere in this vicinity, Bree finds me at a water stop. Obviously it's meant to be. We stick together the rest of the race.
Check out this running club. I think this was the fourth time I'd seen them dancing around in two days. I love them! Bree and I talk about how much fun it would be if the WISH team could have a spot where we could do the same thing next year.
Mile 13. I amuse myself by thinking I'm not halfway through the Mickey, I'm two-thirds through the Goofy. Still seems kind of, you know, far...
We head towards the Animal Kingdom. I take a picture of the Disney nursery for Ted, our family horticulturalist. I'm pleased that I still have enough wits about me that I can remember to take this picture, even though it doesn't show anything interesting (I want Disney topiaries, people!)
Oh look, we're near the Animal Kingdom. Here's some furry animal.
Here's a less furry animal. I pass on getting in that picture.
I make Bree get in the picture with the parrot. As we wait, the parrot says "Hello." Being polite people, we both answer "Hello." We don't talk about it afterwards. How did it not strike us as strange that we just had a conversation with a bird?! Things are getting a little fuzzy.
I get more Biofreeze at a medical tent- this time it doesn't just run down my leg, it lands on my shoe in a big glob. I hope my shoe is happy now because my leg still hurts. Bree gives me an Advil. I take it. Dry. Bree's stomach and hip flexors are bothering her. We're quite the pair! Surprisingly we are fairly upbeat, considering that we are having some physical issues.
Back to people watching. These girls look cute. Hot, but cute.
Animal Kingdom- there's Expedition Everest!
And that was it for the Animal Kingdom. But here's Minnie Mouse!
I don't know where they got their energy, but the Incredibles came out of nowhere- this is a picture of them blazing away. (Bree said something like, "oh look, it's the Incredibles" but being somewhat slow, I almost missed them. I think I was looking for characters, not runners.)
Mile 18. How far can you run on sheer stubbornness? I think I'm about to find out. Just when it feels like it will never end, I look up and see WISHers! I see Becky's sister, Jen, waving and screaming. We go a little further and Bree's family is waiting. Her little boy is with her husband and mom- too cute.
We take a picture with Mickey. We're starting to pay a high price for these pictures. Starting back up is a killer. Still, have to take the Mickey picture.
Oh look. Miles of asphalt. Pocahantas and John Smith are standing on the side of the road. Yet another picture.
Mile 19. They're all blurring together. We've had so much Powerade and water. There's a lot of sloshing going on now. We are both wishing we could find a Diet Coke soon. In theory Diet Coke would slosh too, but it still sounds good.
Peter Pan and Wendy are standing by an RV. Peter is talking about making wishes. I want to slap him. How about a little pixie dust, Peter? Cause guess what- I'm not flying!
WISHers with wet washclothes. Best idea ever.
Mile 21. Whatever.
Finally we head to MGM. Bree tells me they used to put out a red carpet, but it's not there this year. But around the corner are Butterfingers. I grab one. Poor Bree can't eat anything. I'm probably totally grossing her out. What can I say- I have an iron stomach! The only thing better than my washcloth is my Butterfinger.
There's the Tower of Terror.
What the heck, another picture.
Mile 23. Can we just get there already?
Kim Possible. Look at Bree being all sassy and posing while I'm clueless.
We deem the Queen not worthy of the horrible pain of starting to run again from a stop. Later! We see WISHer Martha running. We ask her how she's doing- she says not good. This bothers me a lot. Martha trained so well for this one- I don't think she missed any runs. I find out a few days later that she was having IT band pain in both legs. Ow! She pushed through it- you go, girl!
We leave MGM and head down the path to the Boardwalk. More WISHers! Hey, another Twizzler! Bree doesn't seem to want one. She missed out!
We're almost at the Beach Club. For the last 6 miles, I've been talking about how my family and WISHers are going to be there. I see my family, I get all excited, and I take a blurry picture. I can't stop because of that whole leg thing, but I do get to high five Emma.
WISHers- even in my delirious state, I hear the cowbells!
Is it possible we are back at Epcot?!
Mile 25. Bree and I talk about how we've done this loop tons of times with our families (or maybe I say it to myself). We push through. Bree starts twitching around Germany because of the bratwurst smell wafting our way. We press on. I see a kid wearing what looks like a giant lanyard. I don't think much about it, but then I see a man clapping and he has the same giant lanyard. Ah ha! It's the medal- and it's pretty sweet!
Push past Spaceship Earth. There's the choir again.
It's the finish line! Bree tells me to run on ahead. As if. I high five Chip or Dale- I don't have time to look at the nose to tell the difference. We run across the finish.
We get our chips cut off, and I grab a Mylar blanket that immediately sticks to me. Then it's off to the Mickey Medal. Now this would be a fun volunteer job.
Here's Bree getting her medal. It's her fourth full at Disney!
Bree takes a picture of me getting my Goofy medal. We get separated to take our official pictures- I have to be in a different Goofy line. I take my picture and go pick up my bag. I turn around to find Bree, and she's gone! Quite possibly she turned around to see me and I had disappeared into the checked bag area. How funny is that?! It shows how delirious you are at the end of the race!
I call my mom and Ted, chat very briefly with some gathered WISHers- I hope I didn't seem rude, but I couldn't stop moving for fear I'd never start again.
I start on the eternal trek back through Epcot to our hotel. Along the way, I get to cheer on runners. I fully intended to cheer in front of the Beach Club with the WISHers who so kindly cheered for me, but again, I was scared to stop. I did get a few pictures of WISHers both on the course and scream teaming along the way.
Right before the hotel I saw the last finishers. There was a man with a woman in a Team in Training shirt. There were a bunch of the bike medics right behind them. I cheered for them, and then went up the truly dreadful hill to the hotel. Did I say "up" the dreadful hill? Down the hill was worse. I finally made it to the room and took this lovely picture.
That's it. We went out to Epcot that afternoon with Harry. I was limping everywhere. I exchanged a few knowing smiles and words with my fellow limping marathoners. I did have a Napoleon in honor of our WISH teammates who were not able to be at Disney in person, but were with us in spirit.
I also had a beer, for those teammates who aren't big fans of sugar. I know... it was a sacrifice.
Nothing says classy like pushing the stroller with your sleeping baby through the rain with a beer!
Finally a picture with Goofy!
We ran into Cecilia in Epcot. She said her girls made it. She looked great. I was a little jealous that she was walking like a normal human being!
My mother called me- she and her friend Betsy took Emma to the Magic Kingdom. They ended up touring the parks with a man and his two kids. One of his children was too small to go on the bigger rides and my mother doesn't like fast rides, so they teamed up. He had some sort of super-secret fastpass that let them on every ride. They rode everything over and over and had a fabulous time. I was so grateful not to be there... I'd already been to the Magic Kingdom twice in one weekend anyway.
Last but not least, our time was 5:42:xx. Not speedy, but considering the heat, humidity, and that whole Goofy madness, I was happy. Besides, I had a ton of fun. If I want to run a fast marathon, I'll do it somewhere boring where all I want to do is get to the end fast! (Did I mention I dragged my iPod with me for two days and never once turned it on?!)
Special shout out to WISH spectators, WISH runners, Becky, Cecilia, my family, all the other friendly runners/spectators along the way, and of course, my running buddy, Bree!
By the way, in case you're curious, I'm still limping... on Wednesday.
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