I just want to start off by saying that I did not have the best experience at this race, but it was by no means Disney's fault! They once again put on a spectacular race. People complained about the course being too crowded or too boring, but come on what do you expect?! You know there are going to be thousands of people running before you sign up, so if you don't like that then don't register! And for the people who complained about it being boring- we ran through Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and ended in Epcot. They also had characters set up along side of the road and DJ's in various spots, I don't know what more these people want?! Rant over.
 |
| At the Expo the day before the race! |
I've ran at night a lot of times before this, but never this far of a distance. I was very nervous about fueling before the race because I didn't want to fuel too much or too little. I ended up having whole wheat pasta for lunch, and a bagel with peanut butter and a banana about 3 hours before the race. You have to be on the buses that take you to the start of the race super early so I couldn't eat much later than that. I did bring a Clif bar with me just in case, but I ended up throwing it away. I was too nervous and knew I wouldn't eat it.
So many people!! I don't know why I got so nervous before this race, it was supposed to be fun! I think I cared about my time way too much. Now I'm a slow runner, I've accepted that for now. I hope one day I can speed up, but for now I'm okay with doing slow but far distances. My first half (the Disney Princess Half) I finished in 2:40. I was perfectly fine with that, I was just happy I survived. I was hoping for a 2:20 this time or to at least beat 2:40... more on that later.
Some before pictures of the group! I ran it with my mom, my uncle, my cousin, and Jen. I went with a 101 Dalmatians theme, it was my favorite Disney movie growing up! Jen's shirt says "To 13.1 and Beyond" clever right?! Obviously she was Buzz Lightyear. My mom went with a Wine/Minnie theme, I think she looked adorable!
And then we went to our corrals to wait... and wait...
There were corrals A-L. I was put in G, my mom, cousin, and uncle were in H, and Jen was in J. You're allowed to move down in corrals, but not up so I moved back with Jen. This means we got to watch 10 corrals start before us which made me even more anxious. One thing I love about Disney races is that they set off fireworks for the start of every corral.
Jen and I decided to start off slow for the first half and pick up speed in the second half. We started off slower than we had anticipated (about an 11 minute pace) due to so many people at the start. We picked it up to about a 10:15 pace for miles 3-6. The only thing that slowed us down was the water stops, I have not mastered the art of drinking while running yet. We caught up to my mom around mile 5. She was walking by then due to her asthma, but I'm still so proud of her for doing it! Around mile 7 we caught up with my uncle and he ran with us until mile 8 and had to stop. He has a hole the size of a quarter in his femur and also has a lot of knee problems. The doctor told him to stop running so he decided to have this be his last race. I'm so glad I got to do it with him!
Jen and I did not train very hard for this race so when we got to mile 8 and both still felt awesome we took off. I think this was my mistake because at mile 11 I hit the wall HARD.
All at once everything just hurt. My feet, my quads, my back, and even my arms. Jen was still going strong so I told her to keep going, and I would see her at the finish. I could feel an injury coming on so I decided to walk for a bit, but I think that made it worse because all of my muscles tightened up, I just wanted to give up and cry but I was so close to the finish I had to keep going! I walked for about a quarter of a mile and then pretty much sprinted to the finish because I just wanted to be done.
My finishing time was 2:44:24- a 12:33 pace. I was very upset. When I finished the Disney Princess Half I cried because I was so happy. This time I was holding back tears of frustration and pain. I still managed to look kinda happy in pictures though...
I also felt like I was going to pass out when I finished which I'm sure was from lack of fueling... Never again. I didn't even get to enjoy the after party in Epcot. That night I wouldn't even talk to anyone I just wanted to shower and go to bed.
I don't have the exact times for everyone else I ran with, but my cousin ran it in about 2:20, Jen was 2:37, then I was 2:44, then my uncle who was around 2:55, and my mom who came in at about 3:05. So proud of everyone!!
The next day I woke up and was sooo sore I could barely move. I quickly took some advil because we were headed to Magic Kingdom that day. I was also in a much better mood. I realized that even though I did not get the time I wanted I still finished a half marathon which is pretty amazing!
I'm over all of my frustration now, but I'm also ready to start training for another half and hopefully do better! When I'm healed of course (I forgot to mention that I have a stress fracture in my foot). Soo after I am all healed I'm going to work on my speed and also my fueling during runs. This was a learning experience for sure!
Wow if you read all of that I am impressed... I'm sure I forgot to mention some key points, but there is so much going through my brain right now!
Have you ever set a goal for yourself and beat yourself up over it, when you did not reach it?
Has anyone else ever had a learning experience during a race?
Any fueling tips?
