The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway, a 2017 Marathon Weekend TR

[Disneyhayes]

Love the pictures! I remember taking my kids when they were that young and their starstruckness. It was so sweet

 

[lhermiston]

Amazing photos. My wife just got her first DSLR, and is hoping to get more into amateur photography, especially now that we have a son.

Thanks!

I've had my DSLR for about four years now, I think. I took a few photography classes through my local community college. That helped tremendously.

What is your wife shooting with?

 

[lhermiston]

Love the pictures! I remember taking my kids when they were that young and their starstruckness. It was so sweet

DD told me very specifically before the trip that she wanted to meet princesses, she would not talk to them and they would sign her "princess book."

 

[surfde22]

Thanks!

I've had my DSLR for about four years now, I think. I took a few photography classes through my local community college. That helped tremendously.

What is your wife shooting with?

She's watched a few YouTube videos so far and may take a class or two if she gets more serious. She's shooting with a Canon EOS 6D.

 

[lhermiston]

She's watched a few YouTube videos so far and may take a class or two if she gets more serious. She's shooting with a Canon EOS 6D.

YouTube videos are helpful and there are some good books out there, too. Tom Bricker has a list on his his Disney Tourist Blog website. I found the community college classes to be extremely helpful since I'm a visual learner and it allowed me to ask questions and get feedback on the lessons. It's also a nice way to make some friends.

 

[lhermiston]

DAY 3, Part 1 - Pre-Race (no photos in this post but I promise to make up for it!)

I set two alarms for the morning of the race, but got up promptly at 2:45. I figure I got 4-5 hours of sleep, which isn't too bad.

My intended race uniform had my UA Captain America shirt, shorts and some American flag socks. As the forecast continued to show lower temperatures, I threw a long sleeve shirt into my suitcase and, at the last minute, another long sleeve shirt, tights and my cold weather running hat and gloves. This would prove to be the best decision of my training - aside from signing up for the race in the first place!

Ultimately, my racing gear consisted of compression shorts, a long sleeve running shirt, tights, the America socks and my Captain America shirt. I wore my phone on an arm band, but did not use headphones. I threw on my old high school track sweatshirt, which I intended to ditch at the start of the race.

I also wore a hydration belt with a pouch containing a few supplies:
- A small Body Glide
- Two packs of Energy Beans (jelly beans with caffeine)
- One package of energy chews, Clif brand, I believe
- Six extra strength Tylenol

The Tylenol was meant to help me address lingering knee pain I had been experiencing since a 14-mile training run in November. The pain would get to be fairly unbearable toward the end of subsequent runs, but I found that I could manage it with some Tylenol. A sports medicine doctor diagnosed me with an IT band injury, but I declined a Cortisone shot prior to the race.

Anyway, with DD and DW sound asleep, I stepped out into the cold around 3:15 a.m. I've lived in Iowa all of my life and did 90 percent of my training outdoors, including my 20-mile run in snow and about 18 degree temperatures. I knew I could withstand the cold, but I would end up being fairly miserable prior to the race starting.

I met a woman from Las Vegas on the way to the bus and we chatted all the way to Epcot. She had flown in for the half and decided to do as much of the full as she could.

I'm not entirely sure what time we got dropped off at Epcot, but I made the trek with everyone else to the finisher's area. There, I tried in vain to find the Disboards meet up group (sorry gang), as well as my wife's cousin and her husband who were also running the half. I then made the walk to the starting area. I was in the D corral.

I went to the bathroom and tried unsuccessfully to stay warm with some stretches and light jogging. Close to starting time, I struck up a conversation with a guy from South Carolina and we talked about some of the races he'd done and he gave me some advice (watch out for the reflectors on the road!). I also ate one packet of the jelly beans so I wasn't running on a completely empty stomach and had a little energy to start the race with.

The pre-race festivities finally began and it was really amazing. I wish I had a camera for some of these moments, but the only way to carry my phone (and thereby track my run) was to wear my phone on my arm. But, I loved the fireworks that went off with each corral.

Finally, at about 5:40 a.m., it was my turn to go...

 

[lhermiston]

Day 3, Part 2 - The Race

I felt really good once I started running. The cold didn't bother me (Hey! Title!) and I tried my best to settle into a pace I felt comfortable with. Without my headphones, I was running based on feel rather than shooting for a specific time, which is what I wanted.

That said, I did have a few goals for the race:

- Finish
- Finish under 5 hours
- Finish closer to 4 hours

The first few miles were a breeze and, despite not much by way of scenery, really fun. I saw a few characters and some runners dressed as the Dapper Dans, which was hilarious. But, I think it was really fueled by my desire to get to the Magic Kingdom, which I had been really looking forward to.

As we got to the TTC, I heard someone shout "Ranger!" I turned around and saw my friend and fantasy baseball colleague, Josh. I knew he was down to see his wife run, but I wasn't sure if I'd see him on the course. I pointed and shouted, "Padre!" (The Lone Rangers and Who's Your Padre? are our fantasy baseball team names.) It gave me a huge boost and was one of my favorite moments of the race.

After the TTC, we ran up through the service entrance and into the Magic Kingdom. Words simply do not do it justice. The park was still decorated for the holidays and there were dozens, if not hundreds, of people cheering us on. I got the first of many "Go, Cap!" cheers I would hear during the race.

I am not an overly emotional guy, but running down Main Street, USA, with the castle ahead of us and so many people cheering for us had me on the verge of choking up. Main Street, USA is "home" for me, despite only a handful of trips to WDW, and this felt like an incredible homecoming.

We zipped through Tommorowland and Fantasyland. At the castle, I saw Anna, Elsa and Kristoph talking with a runner. Anna made a joke about the man - in a bright yellow vest - being a yellow snowman.

I ran through the castle. Another memorable moment. What do you think, was I having fun?



From the castle, the course continued through Liberty Square, Frontierland and out the the park. The backstage area was really cool. You could pose with the Maleficent dragon float and I also saw the riverboat, which was under refurbishment.

Around Mile 6, just outside of MK, I decided to take a couple of my extra strength Tylenol. I would later find I was running a sub-9 minute mile pace at this point, but my knee pain was starting to creep up. The plan had been Tylenol at Miles 6, 12 and 18.

I pressed on, though this part of the course was fairly uneventful. I had taken off my hat and when the sun came up, I rolled up my sleeves on my long-sleeve short. I kept my gloves on. We passed a point on the course where several retired ride vehicles (Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) were on display. That was pretty cool.

I had been grabbing water at every stop at this point, occasionally grabbing a cup of Gatorade. My energy level and hydration were good, but the knee pain was really flaring up. I could tell from the pain there would be some walking on this run - which I was OK with - but I really wanted to hold off until I made it to the halfway point. Finally, at the out and back around Mile 11, I walked a few steps, maybe 20 second or so, before continuing on. I took two more Tylenol. For the rest of the race, I would have to walk sporadically to save my knee. But, my running app tells me I bounced back from a 9:34 Mile 11 to have a 8:52 Mile 12. There was definitely gas in the tank.

From here we went through Animal Kingdom. Lots of people stop for Expedition Everest. I had weighed the entire trip doing rides and stopping for characters versus just going for the race. I decided for my first marathon, I wanted the race to be the focus.

Animal Kingdom, a little less smiley, but I swear I was happy to be there!



The next few miles were fairly tame. I had a rough Mile 15 (11:16) and I took the rest of my Tylenol and ate half of my Clif chews while I walked for maybe a minute. I bounced back with a 9:19 mile on 16, though that would be my fastest mile for the rest of the run. No negative splits for me!

Around Mile 17 or so, we entered the ESPN World of Sports complex. This place would prove to be the bane of my existence the entire trip and during the race. It's a perfectly nice area and, at this point, it was pretty warm, but you just wind around sports fields and tracks and it (in my opinion) starts to feel terribly long and tedious.

At some point, we entered a baseball field and I started to feel a little dizzy. I suspect it was all of the sugar and caffeine (I don't typically consume any caffeine). Despite being dizzy or maybe because of it, I'm regained my HMF - Happy Marathon Face - for a photo along the warning track.

Delirium never looked so good.



After the baseball field and upon exiting ESPN, a few things happened: I started drinking more water, I stopped feeling dizzy (though I did briefly have a cramp in my calf - another first!) and I came upon the 4:15 Galloway pace group. I have not done the Galloway run-walk-run training, but I fell in with them and it worked out pretty well.

I continued with the pace group into Disney Hollywood Studios, but lost them going up a quick incline. Looking at my splits, It's pretty clear Miles 24-26 are when I hit the wall. I still felt good - aside from my knee - but I struggled to maintain any sort of pace. It was mostly walking with spurts of running. Still, I got lots of cheers, but that's kind of the double-edged sword of running as Cap - you get lots of support, but it's tough not to feel a little bad when people see Captain America walking. Oh well...



Still mugging for the camera, though!



The last few miles were the Boardwalk resort - which is BEAUTIFUL - and Epcot. I had told DW that the entrance into the World Showcase would probably the best spot for her and DD to see me, but as I ran in, I never saw them. I worried a bit about where they were. DW hasn't had much experience navigating WDW on her own, let alone on race day.

Nonetheless, I trekked on, happy to be close to the finish line. I had read there is a choir just past Spaceship Earth and I expected to have another emotional moment as I passed them and knew I was so close to completing my goal, but ... nah. I think I was just too drained at this point.

Mustering up what little energy I had left, I ran on toward the finish line.



Official time 4:22:25. I had accomplished all of my goals!

Just after crossing the finish line and getting my medal, I heard someone call my name. I looked to my left and saw DW, DD and DW's cousin waving. I blew my wife and daughter a kiss and continued on to the finishers area, where I was given a box of food and a Powerade. I tore into the food box so quickly that I ate the tortilla chips without even realizing there was a cheese dip in there, too! I ate the Oreos and then was reunited with my wife and daughter.

My original pre-race plan had been to have a beer in the finishers area then head to Epcot for a margarita in Mexico. However, it was still pretty chilly and I was losing body heat fast, so instead I downed a cheeseburger before we got on the bus back to Pop.

I was a Marathoner.

Next...Post-Race (and more photos!)

 

[jhorstma]

Day 3, Part 2 - The Race

...

The first few miles were a breeze ...

Yes. Yes they were.


Way to go!!! It's hard not to get choked up going thru MK, especially with it all lit up in the pre-dawn darkness.

 

[lhermiston]

Yes. Yes they were.


Way to go!!! It's hard not to get choked up going thru MK, especially with it all lit up in the pre-dawn darkness.

I'm sure when I look back on this race 10, 20 years from now, that's the moment I'll remember most vividly.

 

[rteetz]

Congrats! Looks like you had an awesome time. Being from Wisconsin the pre-race was a little cold for me too. I don't mind running in that weather it's just the standing around for two hours before the race.

Running through the castle is something that will never get old and is the highlight to Disney races.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Amazing photos! Awesome job with your first marathon! I hope to be able to do that someday

 

[lhermiston]

Congrats! Looks like you had an awesome time. Being from Wisconsin the pre-race was a little cold for me too. I don't mind running in that weather it's just the standing around for two hours before the race.

That's exactly it. It's not the cold, it's not moving in the cold.

 

[lhermiston]

Amazing photos! Awesome job with your first marathon! I hope to be able to do that someday

You can absolutely do it!

In addition to a great support system, I give a lot of credit to a book I read, The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. It was written by some University of Northern Iowa professors who run a marathon class. Obviously, there's a physical portion to it and the book includes a 16-week training plan designed to help you simply FINISH a marathon. No time goals. But they also talk about the psychological aspects of training and running a marathon, which I found to be extremely helpful.

I highly recommend checking out the book.

 

[ZellyB]

Way to go, Marathoner!! Great race and great recap. That first time running down Main Street is something you never forget.

 

[lhermiston]

Way to go, Marathoner!! Great race and great recap. That first time running down Main Street is something you never forget.

That's for sure!

How many times have you made that trek?

 

[angryduck71]

My IT band hurt in empathy reading this (I'm going to to TRY to do a 5K and MAYBE 10K in 2018 -- I usually only run if I'm chasing a fuzzy yellow tennis ball). A marathon is unbelievable to me. Many, many years ago, I was engaged to a marathon-runner who now owns a running store in Florida (we're still friends. I was always amazed anyone would want to do this. But, it'd be fun at Disney! Good job!

 

[lhermiston]

My IT band hurt in empathy reading this (I'm going to to TRY to do a 5K and MAYBE 10K in 2018 -- I usually only run if I'm chasing a fuzzy yellow tennis ball). A marathon is unbelievable to me. Many, many years ago, I was engaged to a marathon-runner who now owns a running store in Florida (we're still friends. I was always amazed anyone would want to do this. But, it'd be fun at Disney! Good job!

If you asked me about running a marathon three years ago, I would have scoffed and said, "No way." I probably would have said a half was doubtful.

But, in 2015 I set my sights on a 7-miler in July. When I finished that, I thought, "Hey, maybe I could do a half" and I ran my first half in October. Then it was like, "Well, let's see how far I can go."

I chose the Disney marathon because I figured if I was one-and-done, I wanted a really memorable experience. That's exactly what I got and I couldn't be any happier with my decision.

My point is, don't sell yourself short. What might seem impossible today could become reality in the future.

 

[ZellyB]

That's for sure!

How many times have you made that trek?

This year was the 4th marathon for us at WDW. We also got to experience Main Street on the half during Goofy 2015. It never gets old!

 

[lhermiston]

This year was the 4th marathon for us at WDW. We also got to experience Main Street on the half during Goofy 2015. It never gets old!

I'm sure!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Congratulations Marathoner!!!! You got some sensational photos! I really like the move to Photopass photography, it seems to be capturing some great shots!! Really too bad about your knee, I hope now that you've completed your rave you'll look into "fixing" it more throughly.