WDW Marathon Recap {race day}

I was obviously going so fast this picture came out blurry. Or I knew I wasn’t going fast enough and couldn’t stop! lol.
I was getting pumped up about running through Magic Kingdom. I mean we got to run through Cinderella’s Castle! Not to mention there were crowds of spectators cheering us on. That was awesome. And just like the map said… Just after mile 10 we rounded the corner to Main St USA and there it was…And I got closer…

And closer….

And went right on thru it. YAY! That was such a rush. I had a huge smile on my face and was feeling pretty good about myself. I still didn’t know what kind of time I was actually making… which could have been good or bad. Good because I actually took the time to enjoy the surroundings and have fun, bad because I didn’t know if I was going too slow for disney pace regulations. I stopped for another potty break after mile 11 and then I ran into Jessie the Cowgirl!

We ran out of Magic Kingdom and through some back roads. We passed the half-marathon mark and I felt a huge sense of accomplishment along with a stinging jealousy of those relay racers who were going into the chutes to tag off to their partner. It was getting hotter and hotter and being done was sounding pretty good, but I was still determined to finish.

As we headed into Animal Kingdom I was starting to feel the fatigue. I had been having problems with a “tailor’s bunion” on my left foot and it was bothering me off and on. I still felt strong mentally though, so I kept truckin along.

I found good ole’ Jiminy Cricket in Animal Kingdom. They also had real animals out to greet us. We ran past Expedition Everest and as we were nearing the end of Animal Kingdom I found Minnie!

Just after leaving Animal Kingdom I also found Minnie’s Main Man, Mickey!

 (please excuse my ugly face, I was trying to mask the exhaustion with silliness and clearly failed)

As I continued on the miles seemed to be getting longer and longer. My feet were aching. I was exhausted and feeling parched and sunburnt. I got some encouraging texts from my friend Jenny who had run the Half Marathon the day before telling me she was waiting for me closer to the finish. I also got texts from Chris encouraging me. I told him I was feeling beat but still felt like I could finish… maybe not in the 6 hours I wanted, but I was going to finish.

Coming up on mile 20 they were playing the Rocky song. It was just what I needed to hear. Getting into the 20’s felt so good! I knew from here it was going to be just 6.2 miles and after 20, 6.2 sounded easy!

My pace had slowed considerably at this point. I was in direct sunlight and my body seemed to be in shock. Keep in mind I trained in the Midwest. In the Winter. My long runs were done in the 30’s and 40’s and it was pressin 80 out there in the sun.

As we rounded a corner I could see the sign for mile 21. I kept telling myself 5 more miles once you get to that sign… but as I turned around on the out and back my heart dropped.

I saw several white vans and pacers on bikes with orange flags.

and I knew just what that meant.

They were calling time.

I got to Mile marker 21 with about 15 seconds to spare according to one of the pacers. I tried to make my legs go faster but felt like I was in slow motion. I ripped through a water station gulping down one sip without stopping and tossing the cup to the side. With tears in my eyes , from a combination of pain and fear of failure, I rounded the corner to the on-ramp that led to Hollywood Studios. There was one guy a few feet in front of me and a few handfuls of people behind me. Just before making the turn a wall of people stopped us.

The guy in front of my bolted around them into the bushes and refused to stop.

I don’t blame him, I contemplated the same thing.

They said they had to re-open the road and we couldn’t finish.

and it was over.

(ha. I thought I was over it, but even as I write this the tears are falling.)

6 months of hours and miles, sweat and tears.

and it was over just like that.

I felt robbed. by the guy on the bike with the orange flag.

if I was literally 10 seconds faster they would have let me finish.

I’ve replayed it in my head a million times. I shouldn’t have taken so many walking breaks. shouldn’t have stopped to use the bathroom. should have pushed just a little harder.

because sometimes 10 seconds make all the difference in the world.

They put us on a bus and took our names, ya know, to make sure we didn’t try to jump back in the race and finish once we got to the end of the race (not that I thought of that at all…)

Looking at my split times you can see that between the half marathon marker and the 20 mile marker my body just wasn’t performing well, despite my mental determination to finish.

They still gave us a medal. I call it my pity medal.

It took me awhile to come to terms with the fact that while I can say I have run in a marathon… I can’t say I’ve finished a marathon. Next to my name on that roster is a big fat DNF (did not finish).

I’m still proud that I tried.

and that I made it over 21 miles.

“The Miracle isn’t that I finished. The Miracle is that I had the courage to start” – John Bingham

I learned a lot that day. Some deep philosphical lessons. and Some practical lessons.

I’ll share them with you Thursday, so stay tuned.

What is something that you have been looking for the courage to start?