"I'm going to Disney World!" part 2

My cell phone alarm was going off signaling that it was 2:45 am (1:45 my time). I bolted up and jumped out of bed in the middle-of-night darkness usually reserved for overnight bathroom trips. Trying to be considerate to my hotel roommates and Team Raegan members Jennie and Bridget, I crept into the bathroom and put on a pair of capri tights, a pair of long tights, a pair of sweatpants, a long-sleeved shirt, my Raegan race shirt, a long-sleeved "throwaway" shirt, a pair of gloves, a headband that I skillfully arranged over my ears, a pair of gloves and a tastefully-fashionable garbage bag. I grabbed my breakfast bar and a some Powerade and headed out to meet Runner Wendy and Dan to make our 3:45 bus to the start line of the marathon. Temperature: 20ish degrees. The "good" news was that it was expected to rise to 27 degrees by race time.
We had to be at the corral area 2 hours before race time - I'm still not sure why. The frigid temperatures, combined with the Florida humidity, made for the coldest 20 degree morning I've ever experienced. All around the corral area, runners were congregating in groups in front of tents in an effort to block the wind. No one was paying any attention to the poor DJ who was trying to pump us up for the race. That morning was the first, and likely last, time I ever looked forward to using the porta-potty because it was marginally warmer in there. Side note: have you ever tried using a porta-potty while you were wearing 4 layers of clothing? It ain't easy.

Finally, it was time to make our way to the actual starting line. Little did we know that it was a 32-mile walk from the corral area to the start line. Well, it was actually more like a half-mile, but I still think it should have counted towards our 26.2 miles. The good thing about the trek was that we were finally moving and getting marginally warmer. By the time we got to our assigned area of the start line, I felt like I could ditch my "throwaway" outer layer (and the garbage bag, as attractive as it was). I had slipped 2 activated handwarmer packets into my gloves and they now rested in my palms. They stayed there for 19 miles. (Thanks Colleen!!)

Runner Wendy, Dan and I found a spot to stand for the final minutes and took some pictures. We were starting to feel the excitement. This was Dan's first marathon and Runner Wendy and I had dreamed about running the Disney Marathon for years. Soon we witnessed the fireworks that signaled the start of the race for the first wave of runners. The marathon was underway!! I forgot about my nagging cough and how cold it was and enjoyed the magical moment. Nobody does magic like Disney. Another round of fireworks for our wave and now we were off!

It was still dark, and would be for the first several miles, but we could make out people along road cheering us on. It was very cool. Really cool - after all it was only 27 degrees. We entered Epcot around mile 3, and just before we entered I heard my parents. I spotted them all bundled up waving and yelling for us. That gave me a little burst of energy as we entered the park. We were soon rewarded with the sight of the dark and nearly empty Epcot. How cool! As we ran through the World Showcase, runners around me starting saying hello and goodbye in the language of whichever "country" we were in at the time.

After leaving Epcot, Runner Wendy and I settled into our race pace. We had told Dan to go ahead with his pace a couple miles earlier. The miles between parks were fairly boring. There were bands, cheerleaders and other types of entertainment during these stretches but they couldn't compare with the coolness factor of the miles run in the parks. When we got to our first water stop, Runner Wendy and I both grabbed cups and were surprised to find that what was in the cups was more of a slush than liquid. It had frozen since the time it was poured! As water stops went by, the other danger forming was that the spilled cups of water and Powerade were leaving a coating of ice on the ground surrounding the stops. The heroic race volunteers were busy spreading whatever sand they could find to give us some traction.

Mile 10 1/2 had to be one of my favorite parts of the entire race. At this point, we found ourselves running into the Magic Kingdom. As we were running down Mainstreet, USA, Cinderella's Castle magically rose up in front of us and Disney Cast Members lined the course cheering and clapping for us. Our smiles were huge. We decided we had to pull off to the side and take some pictures.The miles between 11, when we left Magic Kingdom, and 16, when we entered Animal Kingdom, seemed really long. At this point my back started aching. My guess is that the 2 pre-dawn hours standing in a frigid parking lot before the race was now starting to effect my often-fragile back. At the next water stop, I took an additional 2 ibuprofen to add to ones I took before the race. We saw my parents again at mile 12.5 and I really needed the boost they gave me.

Soon after, Runner Wendy and I spotted Mickey Mouse on a golf course so we stopped and got in line to get a picture. We had both said that even if we got no other picture than that of us with Mickey, we'd be happy. We got within about 5 people of the front of the line when we saw Minnie and Goofy coming from over the hill. They were replacing Mickey! Sadly, we didn't make the cut. Sad, discouraged me still nursing a sore back, we trudged on through miles 13, 14 (at which point we needed to do a porta-potty stop - arrgh!) and 15 before we finally arrived at Animal Kingdom.

Entering another park perked us up as we were greeted with more Disney Cast Members and some fun park-themed music. We stopped for picture in front of "Everest" during our trek through the park and I started to feel a little boost of enthusiasm. Even more so when I spotted a medical tent and slathered some Biofreeze on my back. But the best news were yet to come. After we exited the park around mile 18, we spotted Mickey again! We quickly got in line again. We had one person left in front of us when Mickey's handler said they were cutting off the line there because Mickey needed a break. Runner Wendy and I about collapsed right there. We begged the handler not to do this to us again. We must have sounded really pathetic because he looked at us and said, "See that trailer right there? He's just going in for about 60 seconds to get a drink. He'll be back." Relieved and a little embarrassed, Runner Wendy and I sheepishly waited for our turn with the Mouse. Getting that picture fueled our run for another couple miles.
We were well over half done now and we had our photo with Mickey. The next park was we- didn't-know-how-many-miles away. I wasn't sure how Runner Wendy was faring, but the next couple of miles were probably the most boring of all for me. I suspected she wasn't feeling too great because she was suggesting a walk break a bit more frequently than she had earlier in the race. Not that I didn't take her up on the suggestions. At mile 20 I said to Runner Wendy, "We've only 6 miles to go. You'd think we'd need to enter another park soon." The next park was only about 2 miles away but it felt like about 50. Shortly before we hit the next park, Runner Wendy needed another porta-potty stop. Since I was stopping with her, I got in line too and for the 3rd time that morning, peeled away 3 layers of clothing in a smelly box and peed into a hole in the ground.

We entered Disney's Hollywood Studios around mile 22 and it was a welcome sight! By now the parks were open so we were greeted with guests along both sides of the marathon route. They were clapping, cheering, waving hand-made signs and telling us we "could do it." My absolute favorite spectator sign that we spotted that morning said, "If it was easy, we'd be running too." At mile 23, Runner Wendy and I stopped to get a picture with Mike Wysowski from Monsters, Inc. It was a welcome, albeit brief, stop. Soon after Wendy told me to go on without her. Not wanting to leave her, I stuck back a while longer before she told me that I needed to leave her to run my own race at that point.

Running through the remainder of Hollywood Studios, I tried to take in all the atmosphere: the Sorcerer Mickey hat, the "New York" skyline and the growing crowd of people. From there, we went straight to the Boardwalk area. Running around the man-made lake and through the Atlantic City replica was a beautiful and welcome distraction to the growing discomfort in my lower back that had began to creep back into my consciousness. People on both sides of the course saw that I was beginning to struggle and cheered for me by name as they read my shirt.

Luckily we ran straight from the Boardwalk back into Epcot. The boring "between parks" miles were behind us now. As I entered Epcot, I knew I was almost done. Soon, I heard excited voices yelling my name and realized they were coming from Team Raegan members Bridget and Jennie. They had both been sick and I thought they would sleep through the entire race and I couldn't blame them. But they were there! Seeing them gave me the burst of energy I needed to make it through the last mile. As I was finishing mile 26 and in the final stretch, I turned the corner and was greeted by an awesome gospel choir, outfitted in flowing white robes. There was a brief consideration that the frigid race had killed me and I had actually died and gone to heaven. But I came back to reality in time to see the finish line and Mickey waiting for me there.

I managed to find the energy to raise my arms in victory as I crossed the finish line (A picture of which I can purchase for $16.95). We were herded through the finish line area where I received my coveted Mickey Medal. We were then ushered through the photo area where you were photographed with your newly-earned hardware, then through the food tent where I grabbed some fruit and drinks in an attempt replenish some of the 3,895 calories I burned during the race.

My parents greeted me right after exiting the food tent and we proceeded to the family reunion area to wait for Wendy and meet up with Dan, Bridget and Jennie. Everyone found us easily and we chatted in the same cold parking lot where I'd started my day. Before grabbing a bus back to the hotel, we took some photos.
I'd been dreaming of running the Disney Marathon for 8 years and planning for it for almost a year. For 4 months, training for the Disney Marathon had been my life. In that time, I'd lost a lot of sleep, a little weight and a toenail, but I gained one of the best experiences of my life. A lot of times I complained about the early mornings, the long runs and the cold weather but it was all worth it. I learned that I could accomplish my goals, no matter how crazy people tell me they are.

I could not have done this alone. Thanks to my family for their support and encouragement and following me down to Florida in record-breaking cold weather. Thanks to Wendy for joining me on the this adventure (Dan too!). Thanks to Bridget and Jennie for being part of Traveling Team Raegan and providing that needed burst of energy to get me through the last mile and also for helping me celebrate Mickey-style afterward at Disney World. Thanks to Janet and Pam for letting us come in to the office later on some mornings in order to get a 10-mile run in before work. Thanks to Anjanel for designing kick-ass t-shirts that lots of folks in Florida commented on. Thanks to all Team Raegan members for letting me run to your house, for offering me drinks along the way, or for just offering me encouragement when I had so far to go. This would not have been nearly as much fun without you.

And now because we didn't think to do this at the finish line, here's something I just have to add.
Announcer-type Team Raegan person: "Raegan, you've just run a marathon. What are you going to do now?"
Me: "I'm going to Disney World!"

And after eating a piece of tye-dye cheesecake back at the hotel, that's just what I did.

"I'm going to Disney World!" part 1

When I signed up for the Disney Marathon to be held in Florida during January, I expected several things. I expected to put in a lot of hard work. I did. I expected my friends to motivate me when my own motivation was running low. They did. I expected it to be warm on race day in Florida. It wasn't. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Marathon week started with me still nursing a nasty cough and becoming very anxious that I wouldn't be better by race day. Last runs were cut short and done on a treadmill, but they got done. Wednesday night, we had a pre-marathon pasta party at a local restaurant. A lot of my friends that formed Team Raegan were there to see me and Runner Wendy off. My friend Colleen, having seen the frigid race day forecast for Florida, thoughtfully brought me a couple packets of hand-warmers. Little did I know then how much a part of the marathon these would become.

After the pasta party, I re-thought my race day outfit for the 34th time. On the way home, we stopped by Wal-Mart to buy a pair of throw-away sweat pants and gloves. On the optimistic off-chance that it would be warm enough to stick to my original race day plan, I packed my capri tights. I also packed a pair of full-length tights and added the newly-purchased sweat pants. In addition to my Raegan t-shirt, I added a long sleeve shirt to go underneath and threw in the 2 new pairs of gloves.

Packing complete, I closed my suitcase and looked outside to see the snow coming down. My new worry was that my flight would not take off the next morning. Needless to say, sleep did not come easy that night. The next morning, my parents and I dug out their truck and headed out to a hearty breakfast before heading to the airport. Still anxious that we wouldn't be able to leave, I was fidgety all morning. Most schools and some colleges in the area were closed due to weather.

Luckily, our flight did take off. I think we were the last one to leave that day. Someone was definitely looking out fo me that morning. The flight was uneventful and I actually fell asleep on the plane. Unfortunately, I was rudely and jarringly woken up during our descent by the feeling that someone was jabbing knives in my ears. Still having a head cold, the air pressure made it so painful that I actually considering beating my head against the seat until I was unconscious. I think the landing took roughly 11 hours. Once on the ground, I could barely hear anything the rest of the day. Everything sounded as if I was underwater. Add that to my stubborn cough and the fact that Florida was experiencing record low temperatures, I was having serious doubts about running 26.2 miles by the end of the week.

So here I was in Florida with 3 days until the marathon and I had a cough that wouldn't quit, ears that wouldn't pop, and Flordia weather that wouldn't get above 40 degrees. I had been working toward this for 4 months and planning for it for almost a year. How was I going to get this done?

Last Steps

I did my last training run this morning! Due to cold temperatures and the fact that I'm still nursing this cold, I did 2 1/2 miles on the treadmill. I feel I must add here that I cannot emphasize how mind-numbingly boring it is for me to run on a treadmill. Ugh. But it's done and by now I have run approximately 430 miles in my pursuit of the Mickey medal

I feel like the first 17 weeks of training have gone pretty well but this last week, I've experienced several hurdles. First I got sick a week before the race, now there's 5-7 inches of snow forecast for right about when my flight is supposed to leave, Florida is experiencing a freak cold snap causing race temperatures are going to be at least 20 degrees colder than normal (which wrecks havoc with running ensemble I planned months ago). And...some terrorist idiot tried to bomb a plane 2 weeks ago so now security checks at airports are going to be even more obnoxious than they already were. Sigh...

All the recent stressors are probably the cause of my marathon nightmare last night. I dreamed that I never got the commemorative pin I ordered a year ago, there were no Disney Marathon items to buy at the expo, and worst of all, I didn't finish the race. I, for some inexplicable reason, quit at mile 23 and was so disappointed in myself and the fact I didn't get my Mickey medal. I woke up profoundly sad until I realized that it was a dream. Then I was just freaked out and it inspired me to get out of bed before my alarm went off to do my last run.

So now my preparation is done, my bags are packed and I'm looking forward to a pre-marathon pasta party with friends tonight. Barring any weather disasters, my flight leaves tomorrow morning and I'll be in warm, er, sunny, er, peninsula-shaped Florida.

At least I'm still in possession of all my toenails.

6 days, 11 hours...

One week. That is all that's left until the event that I've been working towards for over 4 months. I am supposed to run only 9 miles this coming week. That's less than half the distance of my longest single run. This week is supposed to be fun. Unfortunately, I've spent most of the last 2 days in bed with a nasty cough and lingering cold. I did manage to get to the gym today but only managed to run/walk 2 miles on the treadmill and do another 3 on the recumbent bike. That's a far cry short of the 8 mile run I was supposed to get in yesterday. I'm really, REALLY hoping I get my strength back quickly, like yesterday, in order to do this marathon in the way that my training would indicate I'm capable of.

Thinking good, Supergirl thoughts...

Now? Seriously?

For the last several weeks, I've been saying that I fear 2 things: illness and injury. I managed to experience both this week. After sacrificing sleep. working my butt off and nearly going broke preparing for this marathon, I want to be in top form for the actual race. A trip to visit my family over the holidays didn't seem dangerous but apparently it was.

Both my young nieces, my sister-in-law and my father all had nagging colds on Christmas day. I walked around half the day with a bottle of anti-bacterial gel, repeatedly bathing my hands in wonder product. However, winter weather kept us all trapped inside a germy haven all day. Added to that, my niece Lily was especially cute after having seen Princess and the Frog. Every once in a while, she would inexplicably drop to the floor on all fours, which I was told meant that she had become a frog. She'd hop over to me and await her kiss to turn her back into a princess. The preciousness of it made me temporarily forget about her germiness. Needless to say, I have spent almost a week with sniffles and now a nasty cough.


Ironically, the snow and ice did not contribute to my injury. Instead the stairs in my parents' house was to blame. While walking down the stairs on my way to grab some running clothes out of the laundry room, my feet shot out from under me and I tumbled down about 5 stairs. I was lucky though - I only had some soreness on my butt and left arm. I'm not sure how I didn't break a bone or royally mess up my back.


So while I constantly have been thinking this timing kind of sucks, it could be worse so I need to choose to be positivie and grateful for small miracles. If anyone is looking for me, I'll just be over here drowning my cells in vitamin C.