This weekend, Matthew and I snuck away for a quick trip to Walt Disney World to celebrate our first wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been an entire year since we got married- that flew by!
When we got home yesterday, we ran a quick little 5k to commemorate our actual anniversary and then ate Chinese food, drank a bottle of wine, and ate year-old wedding cake. It was actually pretty tasty!
Oh, Goofy! You're such a flirt! PS- This photo has no relation to training this week- I just needed an excuse to share it! :-)
Best Run
We ran on Thursday afternoon when we arrived in Disney- and although it was the slowest and hottest run of the week, we got to explore all the ins and outs of Disney's Port Orleans Resorts- Riverside and French Quarter.
Thanks for the map, New Balance!
Bravo Moment
After basically eating all weekend at the International Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot, I was determined to "reset" my habits last night when we got home from vacation. That included not eating the extra Ferrero Rocher chocolates I had in the kitchen. It was a three-hour mental battle, but I did not eat those damn chocolates. Who knew you could think about a piece of candy for three hours?! 😂
Quote of the Week
This week's quote is from the brand spankin' new fireworks show at WDW: "Happily Ever After." Spoiler alert- it is amazing! I laughed, I cried, my jaw dropped at some of the visual effects. I never thought a show could be better than "Wishes" but this one knocked it out of the park! And it was fitting that we watched it while celebrating our first anniversary- "It's just beginning; feel your heart beat faster! Reach out and find your happily ever after!" Appropriate for love- or marathon training! 😜
After cheering all day at the "Pop Art" Half Marathon, Matthew and I met up with his cousin and her husband for dinner and a Wal-Mart run. The weather for the marathon was predicted to be in the 30-40 degree range with a severe wind warning. So glad we went all the way to Florida just to run in winter weather! <insert eye roll here> We grabbed some extra layers from the clearance section in the largest Wal-Mart I've ever seen (seriously!) and then prepared for the race the next day.
As you might know from this post, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to run the race. In fact, I'd been debating that entire week if I should try to run or just cheer for Matthew or try to jump in at mile 20 and run the last six miles with him. After lots of conversation with Matthew, and some soul searching, I decided that I was going to start the race and run as far as I could. With that race plan in place, we set our alarms for 3:00 AM (ugh) and settled in for a fitful night of anxious sleep.
Layers on layers on layers. Also, not sure Matthew is awake yet.
Just like my first marathon recap, we're gonna run through this one with the help of some Disney songs. 😄
To set the mood for a "Frozen" marathon morning...
🎶 Do you want to build a snowman?
Come on let's go and play!
I never see you anymore, come out the door,
it's like you've gone away... 🎶
It. Was. Freezing. I am so glad we grabbed extra throwaway clothes to wear at the start. We packed up our post-race bag (complete with external phone charger, pants, sweatshirts, other warm clothes, etc.), got dressed, and caught an early bus to the race start at Epcot. We met up with our running Ohana in our usual place and all huddled to keep warm. Shout out to Amy's friend for helping us tie our heat sheets around us so they'd stay on! We also met up with our friends Matt (from Hokeyblog) and his wonderful photographer wife Kim and grabbed a few pictures.
The crew, minus Lauren, Sara, and Kelsey who were warm and cozy in Race Retreat. Totally not jealous.
Matt and his magical wrap thing. Again, not jealous at all.
As we walked back the half mile walk to the corral, I pulled out my YakTrax hand warmers and put them in my gloves, in the palms of my hands. Let me tell you, they were so warm! I ended up keeping them until around mile eight. I grabbed them while I was packing on a whim, not really thinking I'd need them in Florida where the weather was supposed to be in the 50-60 degree range. But I digress...
Matthew and I were in corral I which was the 5:30- 6:00 hour pace corral. The last time we did the marathon together, we were back in L so it was pretty cool to be so much closer this year. We found a place to sit down but weren't sitting long- they had us moving right after the race started. Somehow in the crowd of people I managed to find Jess, a fellow ENELL ambassador who lives near my hometown- we see each other at a lot of Baltimore-area races.
We were truly frozen.
There's a few ENELLs hiding under there, promise!
The view from I corral as we approached the start line.
About 30 minutes after the race start, it was our turn to start the race. We started off with our 30:30 interval, 30 seconds running, 30 seconds walking. We had planned to keep our pace hovering around 14:30- 15:30 minutes per mile, just slowly and steadily working our way to the finish. As I was coming off not running for a month and Matthew had just run almost 23 miles in the last three days, we knew slow and steady was the best possible option for finishing.
The first few miles of the race were pretty uneventful as we made our way towards Magic Kingdom. I felt great- a little rusty, but pretty good. We passed under the Magic Kingdom entrance sign (which is misleading because we had at least another mile before we made that right turn onto Main Street USA), through the Ticket and Transportation Center, and then under the bridge with the awesome DJ.
"Caution runners, speed bumps ahead."
Many runDisney enthusiasts will tell you that running through Cinderella's Castle is magical. And it is, to a point. However, I think the most magical part of this race is turning onto Main Street USA and seeing hundreds of cheering people, hearing "When You Wish Upon a Star" playing as you run down the middle of the road, and seeing the castle lit up in thousands of lights. It is so absolutely magical that I cry each and every time I make that right-hand turn.
🎶 When you wish upon a star,
makes no difference who you are,
anything your heart desires
will come to you.
If your heart is in your dreams,
no request is too extreme.
When you wish upon a star like dreamers do. 🎶
There she is. 💗
Kim (Matt's wife) saw us and managed to grab a few pictures of us in awe of the castle. We made another right into Tomorrowland, stopped to use a real bathroom in Fantasyland, ran through the castle, grabbed a quick picture with a colonial man (and Sam the Eagle!) in Liberty Square and then headed out behind the park towards the Grand Floridian.
Still wearing the clothes we planned to throw away at the start. Shout out to Kim for getting these gems.
Can you spot Sam?!
From MK, we traveled in the direction of Animal Kingdom with a quick trip through the Water Treatment Plant. Kudos to Disney for making this rather boring part of the race semi-fun by including all kinds of trivia along the race course. I finally took off my fleece men's pajama pants at mile 10 when the temps had warmed up to the mid-40's.
🎶 "The more you know" 🎶
We entered Animal Kingdom through a back entrance and headed towards the front of the park through Asia and DinoLand USA. We briefly considered stopping to ride Everest (a long-time goal of mine) but the line was 25 minutes long. We were averaging around 14:30/15 minute miles so we didn't have the time to waste. One day, Everest, one day.
This part of the race had the best on-course music for sure; Matthew and I rocked out to "Son of Man" from Tarzan:
🎶 On this journey that you're making,
there'll be answers that you'll seek. And it's you who'll climb the mountain, It's you who'll reach the peak. Son of Man, look to the sky, lift your spirit, set it free. Some day you'll walk tall with pride, Son of Man, a man in time you'll be 🎶
Hello AK performers!
After we'd exited Animal Kingdom- and randomly ran into my friend/fellow ENELL ambassador Julie who was cheering!- we officially hit the halfway mark of the race. Surprisingly, we still felt pretty great. My right foot had been aching since the walk to the corral but by this point, my left foot had caught up so both were hurting equally. Ha!
Somewhere around mile 15, I stopped feeling great. My lack of training in December was catching up to me- everything started to hurt. My quads, my calves, my hamstrings- hell, even my arms and back were aching! I really started to question if I was going to make it to the end of the race. I started thinking about how long we still had to go, over 11 miles, and got into an incredibly negative head space. All the doubts I had about myself, all the "I can't do this" thoughts started getting louder and louder in my head. But I remembered what a wise dude (Matthew, aka, the best running partner/husband) once told me, "Run the mile you're in. Focus on how far you've gone, not how far you have to go."
So, I set my sights on the finish line, focused on each step and breath, and reminded myself that I'd already run 15 miles with a cranky foot; there was no stopping me now. Who knew "How Far I'd Go" if I could just keep moving forward?
🎶 See the light where the sky meets the sea, it calls me, no one knows how far it goes. If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me, one day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go. 🎶
The hardest part of this race is miles 15- 21. We ran from AK to ESPN's Wide World of Sports and every step felt like a death march. Part of the reason it sucks is that almost all of miles 16 and 17 are spent running towards WWOS as thousands of runners are running out of WWOS, about four miles in front of you. It just messes with your brain!
On a positive note, we got a cute picture with Donald, Chip, and Dale dressed as referees and we ran into several of our friends! It never ceases to amaze me that out of 25,000+ runners, we somehow end up seeing our friends out on the course. We saw Dave around mile 19 and walked a few minutes with him. This dude is Perfectly Goofy and Perfectly Dopey meaning he's done every single Goofy and Dopey challenge since their inception. Bad. Ass.
Perfectly Bad Ass Dave.
Can these guys referee the next Ravens/Steelers football game?
As we were running around Champion Stadium, they were announcing some of the runners names as they crossed the timing mat. Matthew heard them say our friend Kelsey's name (she was running with Lauren and first-time marathoner Sara) but we couldn't figure out if they were in front of us or behind us. So we kept running and we kept our eyes peeled for our friends.
Hi, race photographer!
Sure enough, right after we left the stadium, we ran into Lauren, Kelsey, and Sara! We hugged, we squealed, we shared our candy (Matthew and I brought Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids with us), and took a selfie. I can't explain how uplifting it was to see familiar faces during these difficult miles. To see people who say "You've Got a Friend in Me" at just the right time? Pure magic! 🎶 You've got a friend in me, you've got a friend in me. When the road looks rough ahead and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed. You just remember what your old pal said, Boy, you've got a friend in me. Yeah, you've got a friend in me. 🎶
Smiles at mile 20? With friends like these, no doubt.
Off they go!
We finally made it through WWOS and hit mile 21 on the way to Hollywood Studios. Some awesome spectator was handing out freaking donut holes on the course and they were the best damn donut holes I've ever tasted.
Hollywood Studios is another one of my favorite parts of this race for two reasons: 1. You're almost done! 2. They hand out chocolate at mile 23. This year, they were handing out full-size M&M's and fun-size snickers. So delicious when you're only three miles from the finish. I'm pretty sure I'd have eaten anything at this point. 😂
Selfies with Tower of Terror or it didn't happen, right?
This enthusiasm is only like 50% fake.
After we left DHS, we started the short (but feels like forever long) trip around the boardwalk and into Epcot. Every part of my body hurt and I was just praying for the end so I could sit the hell down. Our feet hit the planks of the boardwalk and I started bawling- once you get to the planks, there's no way you'll get swept. We'd almost made it- just a few more miles and we'd be marathoner finishers again! This part of the race reminded me that "I Am Moana [a Marathoner]:"
🎶 Sometimes the world seems against you, the journey may leave a scar. But scars can heal and reveal just where you are.
The people you love will change you. The things you have learned will guide you. And nothing on Earth can silence the quiet voice still inside you. And when that voice starts to whisper, Moana, you've come so far. Moana, listen, do you know who you are? 🎶
We entered Epcot near the UK pavilion and turned left to do one lap around World Showcase. The park was already open but there was one lane carved out for runners with cones. Because it was so late in the race, not many runners were stopping for pictures with the Princesses they had out in their respective countries. We met Belle in France and then got a quick picture with Snow White in Germany. There we made the best decision we'd made all day- we got in line for a Shofferhoffer beer at the kiosk outside the Germany pavilion. A few people in line noticed we were still running so they let us cut in line and get a beer to go. It was one of the best beers I've ever had. Another benefit to running through Disney- booze on the course.
We're still not sure where Matthew is looking.
...and we're still not sure where Snow White is looking either.
Don't ask why we're prom posing with the beer.
After 25 miles, nothing makes sense.
Just taking a walk break and sipping on a beer in Epcot. NBD.
We finished our beer, lapped the rest of the countries, and ran towards the big golf ball and the finish. By our estimates, we knew this would not be a PR race for either of us. My current marathon PR is 5:55:09 and back when training for this race started, I'd envisioned a 5:45 or lower finish time. But it just wasn't meant to be.
We ran past the golf ball, delighted in the mile 26 gospel choir, linked hands and ran on to finish the 2017 Walt Disney World Marathon in 6:48:01.
This enthusiasm isn't faked; the finish line is moments away!
Oh, the finish is right there? Well, there's always time for pics with the main mice!
We. Are. Finished!
A little creative editing and we have a complete finisher picture 😆
The marathon is an absolutely incredible experience. And to do it with your husband and friends through the happiest place on Earth ? Magical.
After the race, we finally sat down (!!!!), met up with friends, ate all the goodies from our runDisney finisher boxes, and enjoyed our medals. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon after running 26.2 miles through all four parks.
2017 bling.
#EmbraceTheClank
Dopey finishers.
The most comfortable I'd been all day!
As you can see from our clothing, it was still pretty chilly by Florida standards. I think it warmed up to the low-50's by late afternoon. After resting for a while, we said goodbye to our friends and then headed back to the resort to shower and meet up with Matthew's cousin and her husband at Disney Springs for a celebratory dinner (and Guinness!) at Raglan Road.
Disney Springs was all about runDisney.
Marathon number three wasn't the race I'd planned; it ended up being so much more. A reminder of who I am, how far I've come, and how the people I've surrounded myself with lift me up at the exact moment I need it. It might sound cliche, but I truly feel blessed. And I am so crazy grateful for all the experiences- and people- life has brought me thus far.
Will we be back at WDW Marathon Weekend for 2018? Of course. There's simply too much magic that we don't want to miss. 😉
See ya real soon!
4 parks, 1 day, no ticket. WDW Marathon, you are awesome.
I've thought about writing this post every day since we've been home from Disney. It's proved harder than I thought it would be to try and sum up this day and this experience with a traditional blog post. Sure, I could just give you all the play-by-play of what happened and when, but somehow that wouldn't do this race or this day justice.
Being injured has changed so much of my life these past few months. It's given me heartache, envy, depression. However, it has also given me a new appreciation for my health, my strong spirit, and the people in my life who have lifted me up during the darkest days.
Without those people in my life, I don't know how I would have handled being injured. Without the texts, emails, messages, phone calls, pep talks- I would have just wallowed in my misery and been a terrible person to be around.
But I wasn't. Because of some awesome and inspiring people. And some of these same awesome and inspiring people were running the Walt Disney World Marathon; my two biggest cheerleaders included: Matthew and my Dad.
I remember just sobbing to my Dad when I got the diagnosis. I remember repeatedly apologizing. This was supposed to be our race. We were supposed to train together and cross the finish line together. I sobbed to Matthew. Apologized to him, too. I knew all the long runs would fall to him; he would have to coach my Dad through his first marathon. I felt like I was letting both of them down. I felt like a failure.
But neither of them saw it that way. They both said, "It's ok. We'll figure it out." We adjusted the long runs; they ran, I biked. Matthew and I spent hours showing Dad youtube clips of the course, preparing him for what was to come. We sent him articles about running, training, nutrition. We adapted.
After training for close to a year, the day had finally come. Dad was going to run his first marathon. Matthew was running his eighth full marathon and fifth Goofy Challenge. We got everything ready, developed a plan of where I'd see them during the race, and then I watched Matthew and Dad walk back to the corrals.
I waited for them in the Magic Kingdom, just after mile five. I got to see so many of those awesome and inspiring people I mentioned earlier: Coach Jeff, Nathan, Patrick, Donna, Mandy, Matt, Kathleen, Lee. I got to see other twitter/ig friends- Krissy, Megan, Carlee, Bill, Angela, Julie, Scott. So many people came up to say hello that the woman beside me asked me if I was a local :-) Matthew texted me often, letting me know where they were and how they were doing. He also sent a ton of pictures.
A MUST when you run at Disney.
Before too long, I saw them running down Main Street. Kim (Matt's amazing wife) was there again and grabbed some phenomenal pictures. They looked amazing. So strong. So far, so good. We chatted for a few minutes and then they headed off to run the next part of the race. I hung out for a while and then headed out to Wide World of Sports where I'd see them next.
So much joy. So much love.
My heart is about to burst. Thank you, Kim, for these pictures.
Selfies with Donna!
My usual spot. Thanks, Mandy, for the picture!
Me and Coach Jeff- another awesome moment captured by Kim.
Me and Matt, aka Hokeyboy
Mandy, with a halo :-)
I jumped on a bus to WWOS and chatted with fellow spectators. Once there, I set up in the stadium and cheered for the runners- they were just six short miles from conquering the marathon. I kept getting texts from Matthew updating me on their progress. They kept running into our friends- it always amazes me that out of thousands and thousands of people, we can find our running family. They also bumped into Lori- a blog reader from Minnesota who recognized Matthew and Dad on the course. Funny story- as she was going back through her pictures, she found me in her castle selfie! How cool is that?! Matthew and Dad also ran into Artney from My Pretty Brown Blog and Matt from Hokeyblog. Yay for friendship!
Matthew's got great selfie skills. Artney, Matt, and Lori.
Lori's castle selfie with a grumpy sign holder in the background.
I'm having fun, I swear. Thanks, Lori, for the photo!
Matthew texted and let me know they were close to the stadium. I walked out of the stadium and got onto the road that leads them out of WWOS- just before the mile 20 marker. Soon enough, I saw them coming my way. When they got to me, I jumped in with them. Yes, you are reading that correctly, I jumped onto the course with them.
Let's rewind for a minute.
Right after I got injured, as I was sobbing to my PT about how I'd be missing Dad's first marathon, he offered a suggestion- "You'll still have your bib, right? What if you ran six or so miles with them? You should be trained up to that mileage by early January." So we thought about it. And we talked about it with Dad. He thought it was a good idea. He asked me if I would help him get from mile 20 to mile 26.2 by running with him; by finishing what we'd started a year earlier. With a request like that, how could I refuse?
Together with my PT, we decided that the final decision would be made the morning of the marathon- it all rested on how my foot felt that day. Had my foot been cranky, I wouldn't have risked it. But it felt great.
Now before I go any farther, let me put a few things out there- yes, I was registered for the race. Yes, I paid for the race and obtained my bib legally. Yes, I was disqualified because I didn't have any timing information for the first 20 miles of the race. I did not take anything that I didn't pay for and I didn't take anything from any other runner.
So, the three of us ran the last few miles together. And took tons of pictures. Kim (Matt's wife) saw us in Epcot and grabbed a few more pictures.
Dad wanted to stop for the "babe."
Matthew just LOVES Duffy.
Almost there!
Another awesome shot from Kim.
And then just like that, Dad was a marathoner. Matthew was an 8-time marathoner and 5-time Goofy Challenge finisher. I could not have been prouder. Two of my most favorite people had just ROCKED 26.2 miles. How awesome is that?
My finishers.
After the marathon, Dad thanked me for getting him through those last tough miles. I thanked Matthew for staying by his side for the first 20 and all the other hundreds of miles he ran to get Dad to this finish line. Words can't describe the pride and love I felt that day, in those moments after the race, watching Matthew and Dad hug and congratulate each other, big smiles lighting up their faces. It was a once-in-a-lifetime kinda feeling. This my friends, is true magic. The purest kind there is. And I'm so glad I got to share a little piece of it with them :-)
Be on the lookout for a final recap later this week with all the fun Disney stuff we did post-marathon!
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