Countdown is Over - Disney Marathon Reveiw -

Walt Disney World Marathon – January 13, 2013. All my training led up to this.

This was my second marathon. I also ran the WDW marathon in 2011. You can read about that here.  Basically, when I ran in 2011 my goal was just to finish. And I did in 5:18:44 (a 12:09 min/mile average). During that race I also stopped to take about 67 pictures, so that significantly added to my time.

But this year, I was running to run. I knew I would PR (I mean, for heaven’s sake how could I not PR??), the only question was by how much. I had trained, running my 20+ mile runs at a 10:30 min/mile pace.  So my marathon goal time was 4:35:00. But my secret goal time was 4:30:00.

And here begins my cautionary tale of how NOT to run a marathon.

"It is hot. You will die"

The weather at Disney was unseasonably warm – highs in the upper 80s.  There were signs all over the expo warning people to CALM THE HECK DOWN and NOT TRY TO PR coz you would PROBABLY DIE, (in those exact words).

So what did I decide to do right then and there?  PR in both the Half and the Full.   Also, in a fit of complete insanity, with a little egging-on from my hubby and running friends, I decided I would attempt to run the first half of the marathon in under 2 hours, a feat I had never accomplished, even when just running a half-marathon, and definitely not in the middle of a full.

Looking back now, I see it probably wasn’t the greatest plan ever.

I got up at 3:15am in order to be in my corral by the required 5:00am. I packed as many calories in my body as I could stand (Boost drink, cheerios, bagel, cup of coffee) and headed off to my corral (C) where I chatted with new friends until the giant fireworks announced it was time to go.

Last non pain-filled smile of the day

I knew the 5:30am start time would give me a couple hours of running temps in the upper-60s, then the sun would come up and the world would burn to a crisp. So when I crossed that start line, I ran as fast as I absolutely could – which wasn’t always easy given the amount of people on the course.

My first 13.1 splits looked like this:

Mile 1 – 9:24 (get out of my way, people!)           

Mile 2 –  8:37                                                                      

Mile 3 –  8:40                                                                      

Mile 4 –  8:42                                                                      

Mile 5 –  8:52                                                                      

Mile 6 –  9: 12 (Magic Kingdom – crowds again)      

Mile 7 –  8:50

Mile 8 – 8:46

Mile 9 – 9:13

Mile 10 –8:59

Mile 11 – 9:08

Mile 12 – 9:28

Mile 13 – 8:57

So I basically kicked butt for the entire first half of the marathon. I ran faster than I ever had before. Seriously. I just kept thinking: keep it under 9:00, keep it under 9:00. I just wanted to make it to 13.1 under 2 hours.  And I did it! I left it all out there and I DID IT!!!

My half marathon time = 1:58:45 . Well under the 2 hours I was aiming for! It was awesome! It was wonderful! I was thrilled.

Then I realized I still had another 13.1 miles.

Laughing or sobbing? Hard to tell.

That was bad.

The sun had come up and the temperature was steadily climbing. I had already used up the greatest part of my mental and physical reserve.

Miles 14-18 were not pretty: 10:57, 10:14, 10:48, 11:17; 10:58

At Mile 19 I had total digestive system failure. I thank my lucky stars I was running through the Wide World of Sports complex at that time because I was able to duck into a *real* bathroom. But that mile ended up being 14:45.

Felt like death for Miles 20-25. Walk/ran the entire way: 11:20, 11:44, 11:11, 11:14, 12:15

At Mile 25, the craziest thing happened. Just when I felt sure I was doomed to walking the rest of the course and ending the race in utter failure, a guy ran by me, turned and saw my hat (my lucky cap from the Hampton Crawlin’ Crab Half)  and yelled to me, “C’mon Crawlin’ Crab, you’ve got one more mile in you! I’m not leaving anyone from Virginia behind. We’ll do it together!”

Sure enough, I picked up the pace and ran with him the entire last 1.2 miles at a 10:04 pace – a pace I hadn’t seen in 11 miles or more – with the guy yelling out encouragement and picking up stragglers the entire way.  We got separated near the end, and I looked for him after I crossed the finish line just to say thanks, but couldn’t find him. I’ll never forget him, though.  I hope I remember to pay that forward in a future race. Sometimes one sentence of encouragement can change someone's entire race.

Ice on calves after race

So my finish time was 4:31:25.  Didn’t quite break the 4:30, and I wonder if I had ran more conservatively in the first half if I would’ve been able to do it. I don’t know. Maybe next time. Although I swore there would not be a next time.  But we all knew I was lying.

Overall place: 3846/20679 (top 19%)
Gender place: 1275/10618 (top 12%)
Age Group (F 35-39): 261/1868 (top 14%)

Countdown to the Marathon - IT'S THIS SUNDAY!

This is it - the Disney Marathon I've been training for the last 22 weeks is this Sunday, January 13!

I was supposed to be in the midst of my tapering this past week, you know just running 2-3 miles here and there. But of course, I completely disregarded that.

Miles ran: 31 (3.5mi, 6.3mi, 7.8mi, 9.9mi, 3.1mi) Most of those were during the Ragnar Key West Relay race I participated in this past weekend.

Miles scheduled: 15 (Um...oooops)

Total miles run since training began: 520

Cross training: Does 8 hours of dancing on Duval Street in Key West count?

General notes: So this is it! I'm done with training. The only thing I can do to help myself now is make sure I remember to pack all my stuff as I head to Florida.

I'll definitely do a summary of the marathon, but for now I leave you with, all true stories:

THE TOP FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULD NEVER TRAIN FOR A MARATHON:

5) Your 80-something-year-old grandmother will post publicly on your Facebook wall that running is all fine and good but that "the Marathon was named after a Greek runner that dropped dead from running" and perhaps that should be a sign to you that it's not such a great idea...

4) At some point you will be 18 miles into a 20 mile run, going straight into a 22 mph headwind, with a Ke$ha song blaring in your ears. And you will make peace with the fact that this is a fitting metaphor for your life.
 
3) Someone -- you know, that someone who knows everything and is deeply enlightened, who you generally try to avoid talking to at all costs -- will corner you in the hallway or at Starbucks or in the parking lot. This person will come up to you, put their hands on your shoulders, look you in the eyes and say, "No one runs as many miles as you do for no reason. Tell me, my friend, what are you really running from?" And it will take all your willpower not to respond, "Dumb ass questions like that."

2) You'll hear your kids giggling outside the bathroom door as you release a blood-curdling scream in the shower because of the chafing you just discovered after your 20+ mile run.

1) Because no matter how much you run, this is always going to be true:

So yeah, there are lots of reasons not to train for and run a marathon. But ultimately I latched on to the one reason why I should:  

"You're never gonna know, if you never even try."

26.2 miles. Possibly the hardest thing I've ever done. 

Bring it.

Countdown to the Marathon - T Minus 2 Weeks

Another week of training for the Disney Marathon coming up on January 13, 2013. My training log for T - 2 weeks (Dec 26-Jan 1):

Miles ran:  27 (3.5 mi, 20mi, 3.5 miles)

Miles scheduled: 28

Cross training:  Misc cross training

Total miles run since training began: 489

General Notes:  I say the race is two weeks out, but really it's 11 days.
11 days!!!!

The good news is I have completed all my long training runs. I totaled four runs over 20 miles. I must admit my last 20 mile run on Sunday, although my speed was fine and everything was okay, did not leave me feeling like I was ready to confidently tackle a full 26.2. But ready or not, it's going to happen.

This weekend I run the Ragnar relay from Miami to Key West. 200 miles split between me and 11 other friends. Going to be a blast. My total scheduled mileage is 14.6 for the race, but I might try to pick up a couple more miles.

If you've never heard of Ragnar, please allow me to show you why I love these races:

It is always a good time. In a full-on stupid sort of way. And in my opinion, the perfect way to end my marathon training.

Countdown to the Marathon - T Minus 3 Weeks

Another week of training for the Disney Marathon coming up on January 13, 2013. My training log for T - 3 weeks (Dec 19-25):

Miles ran:  24 (4mi, 4mi, 16 miles)

Miles scheduled: 31

Cross training:  Misc cross training

Total miles run since training began: 461

General Notes: I knew this would be a light week since it was Christmas - I was glad I got in 20 miles while I was traveling. Juggling training around all the Christmas activities was a little tough, but I managed. This weekend will mark my last long training run (somewhere around 20 miles). I'll then have two weeks of tapering, with no long runs to "minimize accumulated fatigue". Hmmm... I wonder if I could taper from my kids during that time too. That would really help minimize accumulated fatigue.

I saw a card over the holidays, that I absolutely loved, and being in the heart of my marathon training, it fit me perfectly. Every single thing on the list.

You know you're a runner if:
1. You rotate your running shoes more often than your tires.
2. Running for less than an hour seems pointless.
3. You feel guilty because you only ran three times last week.
4. You have at least one black toenail.
5. Your social calendar is planned around race dates.
6. The majority of your wardrobe is running attire.
7. Your iPod has at least one running playlist.
8. You've run more of your local roads than you've driven.
9. When you hear "PR" you don't think "Public Relations."
10. Energy gels are an essential part of your diet.

 I guess it's official. I'm a runner. :-)

Countdown to the Marathon - T Minus 4 Weeks

Another week of training for the Disney Marathon coming up on January 13, 2013. My training log for T - 4 weeks (Dec 12-18):

Miles ran:  40 (5mi, 5.5 mi, 5.5mi, 23.5 miles)

Miles scheduled: 36

Cross training: Yoga x 1; misc cross training

Total miles run since training began: 437

General Notes: This week I did the longest training run I will do prior to the marathon. I have one more long run scheduled for the weekend of Dec 29-30, but that one will probably top out at 22 miles. Everybody knows long runs are an integral part of marathon training. Your body AND your mind has to be taught how to run that long. 

I always run alone, never with friends. Seriously. I’ve run over 2000 miles in the last three years and I can count on one hand the number of runs I’ve done with other people. Running is my time alone – where I don’t have to hear kids or students or husbands – and that’s the way I prefer it. 

Of course, this week as I ran 23.5 miles, I discovered I’m not really alone in my long runs: I have voices in my head. Literal voices. Of people I know.

If you have ever trained for a marathon, you know that long runs are just stupid hard. “The hard is what makes it great.” Whatever. The hard is what makes it HARD. There’s no way around that.

As I was coming up on 22-miles – nearly 4 hours into my long run this week – I was exhausted. Mentally, physically, emotionally. Exhausted. I joked about how I thought to myself “Why am I doing this again?” during those miles, but the truth was, I could hardly put a coherent thought together during that time. It was just: left, right, left, right, left, right.  

When you reach that point and you still have 2 or 3 or 5 miles left, it’s a terrible feeling. Basically you’re hitting the emotional wall. I hit it pretty hard this weekend but fortunately that’s when the voices came out.

I could hear my Ragnar peeps in my head yelling, “Run faster, B*tch! You got this!” with their infectious laughter.

And other running friends: “This is so dumb, isn’t it? But don’t you dare stop.”

I could hear my besties as if they were right next to me: “Come on, sister. One more mile. You’ve got that in you.”

 “You can do hard things.” An unexpected voice - my friend Beth from high school. A breast cancer survivor who knows way more about doing hard things and I, but still lent her encouragement.

When I was at my actual lowest, when I really didn’t think I could go any further and  was totally ready to quit, it was my parents’ voices I heard.  My parents, who have unfailingly encouraged me at every point in my life. Their love all boiled down into one sentence:

“You’re doing great, baby girl. Keep going.”

It became my mantra. And I did keep going. And I made it. And all the voices disappeared, but I know they’ll be there when I need them next time.

But more importantly, it reminded me that I want to make sure that I am a voice providing encouragement for someone else (especially my children). We all have marathons – most of them have nothing to do with running. We all need to hear encouraging voices at some point as we’re hitting the wall. 

May I learn to be the voice someone needs to hear.

Countdown to the Marathon - T Minus 11 Weeks

Another week of training for the Disney Marathon coming up on January 13, 2013. My training log for T Minus 11 weeks (Oct 24-31):

Miles ran:  21 (11mi, 3 mi, 7mi)

Miles scheduled:24

Cross training: Pilates x 1

Total miles run since training began: 244

Audiobook: Still reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Still making slow progress, but progress.

General Notes: Let me reach into my bag of excuses and pull one out. How about... sickness, no already used that.... too much work, wait, also used... how about: HURRICANE. That's it, I couldn't get all my miles this week in because there was a hurricane that hit the East Coast and we had three days straight of rain and wind.

Now, just because that's true, still doesn't negate the fact that I once again did not get my full miles in for the week (fifth week in a row, if I'm not mistaken).

When I first started running, I enjoyed it most because while I was out, I didn't have to cater to or worry about the needs of my children, my boss, my home, my hubby, my students.... Instead, running was a time where I let my imagination run free. To take my mind off the physical discomfort of distance running, I created grand scenes and stories in my head. At the time, I wasn't doing any writing, so it was a good exercising of my imagination.

But now... I need my imagination to work on command as I'm writing my book that is due at the end of November. So when I run, I'm trying not to let my imagination go hog wild (I want to save it for when I'm writing). That in turn, causes me to be much more aware of discomfort my body is in while running.

And overall, makes running not so much fun.

But enough with the whining. The good news in, the marathon is still a little over 10 weeks out. I still have time to quit crying and start working harder. That's the new plan.

Countdown to the Marathon - T Minus 14 Weeks

Training at T Minus 14 weeks (Oct 3-9)

Another week of training for the Disney Marathon coming up on January 13, 2013. My training log for T Minus 14 weeks (Oct 3-9):

Miles ran:  21.2 (6mi, 13.2mi, 3mi- hills)

Miles scheduled: 25

Cross training: Circuit Training x 1

Total miles run since training began: 190

My weight:  X-2 (weight seems to be staying the same; much to my dismay)

Running song o’ the week:  Pretty Girl Rock by Keri Hilson.

Audiobook: I’m about 1/10^th of the way through Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This is the first fiction book I’ve listened to while running. I’m enjoying it, but I find it doesn’t motivate me to run faster. Seems to be good for my long, slow runs. This is not the normal type of book I read (um, have you met me? I read/write/breathe romance), but expanding your mental boundaries is good, right? Right??

General Notes: So I totally kicked butt at the Crawlin’ Crab Half Marathon on Sunday (read about it here). Beat my half marathon PR by over 8 minutes!  Averaged a 9:15 min/mile pace, which I would’ve said was impossible for me, but evidently if I don’t listen to my brain tell me I’m tired then I can maintain a fast pace much longer than I thought.

All this PR stuff has me thinking about my goal time for the Disney Marathon.  In 2011 I ran it in a ridiculously slow time of 5:18:44 (12:09 min/mile pace average). But, that was my first marathon ever and mile goal was just to complete it. Goal accomplished. 

In January I plan to definitely PR. Barring some injury or other cataclysmic race event (like 90 degree weather or hailstorms), there is no reason why I shouldn’t have a faster time. I know I can trim at least 15 minutes off my time by not stopping to take pictures. Honestly, the amount of pictures I took in my last Disney marathon was ludicrous – some people take a week-long vacation and don’t take as many pictures as I did. I’ve included some (only some!) of them for your viewing pleasure here -- and yes, all of these were during my marathon.

The fear of public failure part of me wants to set a goal time of anything under 4:45:00. That would be an average pace of 10:52 min/mile. There should be no reason why I can’t do that. 

But a secret part of me wants to aim for under 4:30:00. That would be a pace of 10:17 min/mile. Significantly more difficult for me to maintain for 26.2 miles. Despite that I’m saying this in public blog, I find it very difficult for publicly announce this as my goal and begin to chase it. Maybe as I continue to train I’ll get more confident in my ability to reach this goal.

Or maybe I’ll just let it totally go and be happy with the 4:45:00 goal. Cuz I’m a coward.