race & post race report .. LONG!!

we started at Animal Kingdom's parking lot. I placed myself at the
front of the 13:01-15:00 min mile pace group. the last official
'racing' group. behind that were the walkers. even though I would
mostly walk, I didnt want to be in the LAST group.. easier to get
swept up for not keeping pace. the requirement was a 15:00 minute mile.

there was 1 wheelchair racer. it was actually quite sad. they
introduced her and said that she basically hopes to just be alive when
the Princess 1/2 marathon comes up in March... :( she started about
5 minutes earlier than the rest of us.

then the guest of honor came out (minnie mouse) and counted down from
10, each number getting a firework... it was pretty cool.

then we were off! :) mile 1 was pretty congested and I didnt even
cross the starting line until about 2-3 minutes past the official start.

mile 1 was at the end of the parking lot, pretty boring... OK - very
boring.. but I had my nervous energy and had a great average pace of
under 14:00/mile.

mile 2 came down the road and I got a snapshot of the mile marker. my
initial intention was to take a pic of every mile marker, but 1st came
up on me & I didnt want to completely stop and break pace. mile 2 was
just along the road to animal kingdom. they closed the road for us
which was pretty cool. there was a slight hill here I think. I
sprinted about 4 times this mile, one being down hill ;) i did take a few more pictures of the mile markers, but most i did not cause i didnt want to stop and break pace.

now comes mile 3... after going up and down some overpasses (2 of them - two too
many IMO) it was the boring, lonely stretch of the race. mile 3-4 is
basically a very long U... go down one side then up the other.. so
you see the people ahead of you basically coming back at you.. really
difficult
to explain, sorry... this was probably the toughest part of the race
for me, it just seemed never-ending... *ugh*

this is where I met my pace buddy.. we had been passing each other
the entire time so far.. she came up behind me and said she knew if
she could keep up with me she'd be fine... that felt pretty good... ;)

miles 4-5 was up a slight hill ('on ramp') leading to Hollywood
Studios.. we basically started in the 'backstage' area and went
through 'costuming' (Garmin lost signal there - it was really dark in
there so I didnt wanna run anyway)... after the Costuming tunnel, it
was mile 6... yay!

mile 6, inside Hollywood Studios park.. I've never been there so I
dunno what its like, but we were in New York.. I saw delis and a
subway stop, pretty cool, but I wasn't paying too much attention, I
just wanted to keep going and finish. we exited HS and went to the
resort lake.

mile 6 seemed to be a LONG stretch. at least it was pretty. :)
there were people at the resorts just waking up and on their decks
cheering us on, it was really cool... I had about 1.5 handfulls of
jelly beans for a sugar boost here.. really the only thing i consumed
all race.. I had a little water here and there, but didnt want to
have to stop to pee. mostly just grabbed a water, rinsed out my mouth
and spit the water out..

we finally hit mile 7. this part was really tough on my feet. a
portion of it was 'the Boardwalk' resort and it had a wooden deck...
VERY hard on the toes and ankles, but I knew that mile 8 was Epcot and that would
only be about a mile after that...

we entered Epcot through a private cast member entrance and were
backstage for awhile - probably 1/4 to 1/2 mile then through the gates
and good god I was in England ... 8 mile market came up ... up a
stupid bridge, down the wonderful ;) bridge, up a slight hill and I
see the Eiffel Tower.. I took about 5-6 pics cause I wasn't sure I
was getting it and didnt want to stop & check... my pace had actually
slowed quite a bit towards the end and I didnt want it getting
slower. I saw the 'ball' across the lake and started to believe I can
actually do it. holy crap I'm gunna finish this (yup, I had doubts)..

pass other countries - Japan, Germany, USA, etc... took a few
pics... holy crap, Mexico, last country... zipped (HA!!) to a
backstage area and saw where they board dogs (NO idea why this stuck in my mind)
.... everyone kept
telling me almost there... last person said almost there I told her
I've been hearing that for the past 3 miles, she grinned and said just
around the corner.. REALLY???! ...really..

holy shit - I see the finish line.. to be honest, when I hit Epcot
and realized I can so do it, I did get a tad teary - eyed.... now
seeing the finish line... whoa! walking very briskly... finally
break into a sprint and cross the finish line.. see DH & DD...
YAY!!!!!

bawling now - a happy bawling... :) I get the medal and have my pic
taken.. grab a banana which my DD eats 1/2 of, and walk to the car -
great - more walking....

get ready to go to hotel, DH makes a wrong turn (darn) and we end up
near a Starbucks... venti iced Chai latte skim milk no ice
please... YUMMMMMMMM

we go to hotel after, rest a bit. I shower and change then back to
Epcot for food & shopping.

what a great day..

thoughts:
- the support was AMAZING. there were cast members all thru the race
encouraging us.. that was awsome...

- I was expecting more characters ... seriously. I saw 3 not
including minnie at the start.

- I didnt even see minnie at the end .. a tad bummed about that, but
oh well... I'm going to magic kingdom tomorrow with my medal... ;)

- the 'Princess' half marathon... WHY! is it scheduled in March - only
2 months after the other Disney marathons???! grrrrr.

- fabulous time... it truly was amazing. very challenging, but I did
it... I f'ing did it!

sent from my iPhone ;)