Walt Disney World Half Marathon Race Report

Of the 25,000 participants in the half marathon, 10,000 of them were Goofy challengers. This seems like a weirdly high proportion. But I guess it is extra revenue for Disney, so it shouldn't surprise me! So we weren't the only people in our corral to be taking it easy on the first day. Our race plan was just to walk at a relaxed pace -- one that would keep us well ahead of the sweepers of course, but not one that would hurt the next day.

I was wearing my pink PureCadence, a purple EZ v-neck shirt, yellow tights, white compression shorts, and a white tutu pinned to be flat in front, full in back. Oh, and a vintage Daisy Duck hat to top it all off! Wil wore and orange shirt and blue shorts, and a vintage Donald Duck hat. We looked awesome!

The race was fine - a few pinch points in the crowd, but nothing too awkward. We ran up to the ticket and transportation center before heading into the Magic Kingdom. It was still pretty dark when we ran up Main Street, and the road seemed so weirdly narrow. We think they may have not had effective covers for the trolley tracks, so didn't want anyone running on them? But they had spectators roped more than halfway across the street, leaving the runners with only a narrow chute. Still, we grabbed a cute castle pic as we headed up the street before turning right to Tomorrowland.

We caught our first glimpse of the new Fantasyland, including the Beast's castle, and we swung back around to Sleeping Beauty castle. Again, no one on the carousel (Disneyland does that better) but they did have characters next to the castle and trumpeters on the balcony.

Then through the castle, the usual crush of people trying to get THAT photo, and off to Frontierland. We glimpsed Tiana and a few other characters before running in front of the train (always weird) and exiting the park.

The miles back to Epcot and the finish line are always a little bleak. Sure, they had marching bands and cheer squads and characters, but it is always pretty boring. The on-course support, however, was great - plenty of well stocked and well-staffed water stops all along the course.

Finally we got to Epcot, made a little out and back past Spaceship Earth, past the gospel choir, and to the finish. Nice and gentle 13.1 mile, 3 hour, 5 minute walk.

After the race, we picked up our medals (cuter in person than in pictures!), got a bottle of water and a bottle of Powerade, and then picked up a banana and what can only be described as a snack box: a pre-packed box of treats. Simple, efficient, and no one picked up more than their share. Great! Plus, the box allowed for Run Disney branding, far fewer volunteers, and much less post-race frustration.

We cooled off a little, and we're then heading over to the buses when we saw that Daisy -- DAISY!!! -- was out for pictures. It was really important for me to get a picture with Daisy while in the costume, so we jumped in the line to wait. Yeah, okay, it took 15 or 20 minutes to get to the front, but it was worth it! Daisy saw me and froze, looking me up and down, pointing to me and then back to her. I did my weird little excited dance, which she did too. Then she hugged me and made lots of kissy noises. :) I know that "Daisy's friend" probably doesn't see a lot of Daisy fans, so I hope she also got a bit of a thrill.

We took a bunch of pictures, and then headed for the buses - relatively efficient, though I do have that slight "participants should board before family members" feeling. At least it was a nice hot sunny day, so we weren't shivering in our race clothes waiting while families boarded.

A few random memories of the race: the two women dressed in matching Donald costumes, one of whom was dawdling and chatting loudly with everyone, while the other kept shouting at her to "RUN, Donald!!!". I almost wondered if they were on-course comic relief. A woman complaining about not hearing "Sweet Caroline". Giant Mickey hands at the overpass. The poor woman the much-too-small running skirt -- I bet her post-race shower was excruciating! Seeing the first wheeler closely followed by the first male and the first female -- before we even reached the Richard Petty track.... and then wondering if those were indeed Hansons-Brooks singlets streaking past (they were!). High-fiving Donald at the finish line. And enjoying a post-race pint at the Tusker House at Animal Kingdom in the early afternoon. Bliss.

With Daisy after the race

Castle Pic!

Goofy Challenge Pre-Race(s) Report

towel art!

Got to Orlando only a little behind schedule, but the quality time spent with the rent-a-car folks meant we wouldn't be able to make it to the race expo on Thursday night. No matter; we went to the grocery store, got checked in, and spent a little time exploring pretty Art of Animation.

Thursday morning we put the top down on the Mustang (woot!) and drove over to the expo. It was a gorgeous, if possibly too warm morning. We lined up in about the same spot as last time. After the doors opened, however, Goofy challengers went to a different spot to pick up bibs. Because Wil and I had consecutive numbers on our bibs, at least we were in the same short line. (Usually Wil is in the only long line at an expo. Heaven knows why...). But we got our bibs, upgraded to Corral C based on our previous finishes, and then went to collect the merch.

We picked up our pre-ordered pins and necklaces (hello, charm bracelet!) and then looked at the stuff. First priority for me was to get all of the "medal" pins -- check. Then the pint glasses. We decided to just get a pair of the Goofy glasses, rather than the full and the half as well. Then we looked at shirts. The designs were actually pretty cute this year, but nothing came in black. Besides, the last thing I need is another technical top, right? The last thing we picked up was a pair of Run Disney vinylmation figures -- along with tiny medals for the figures. Typical marketing genius on Disney's part, here: the figures had only Run Disney and 2013 branding on them, and the box had a graphic the looked like the marathon medal, but wasn't. So they could mass-produce the figure for all of their races this year, AND sell the tiny add-on medals to go with the figures. I fully expect to see the figures and tiny Tinkerbell medals - at the expo in Anaheim.

bib!

Merch secured, we then went over to pick up our shirts - three different bright colors this year, which seems nicer than the same-old white or gray. Yellow for the half, blue for the full, and orange for the Goofy. By the time we picked up the shirts and made our way back through the merch area, it was chaos... So we just pretty much walked to the exit at the expo. Easy peasy.

We spent the rest of Friday hanging out in the parks, but I didn't want to go to the Magic Kingdom.. I always like seeing that for the first time during the race. So we went to Epcot first, and then over to the Animal Kingdom. But we knew that the 3 a.m. alarm was going to be painful, so we didn't stay out too late.

Race day was weirdly warm, even at 3 a.m., but I still put on a set of "disposable clothes" over my costume. Heck, I didn't want to fly them back home... And I figured it would still be nice to have some extra warmth on my knees in the corrals.

We got on a shuttle quickly -- so efficient! -- and we're soon dropped off at Epcot. We sat for a little while, but then were encouraged to make our way through to check bags. We went through the "no bags" line (again, so efficient) but then hit a wall of people. At first we thought we were just trapped behind people waiting for porta potties.... Or perhaps waiting a minute or two before the walkway opened to the corrals. Still not sure, frankly. It was a weird situation. The announcements kept telling runners to head to their corrals but we were trapped. Uncharacteristic failure of crowd control - one of many things that Disney does super well. (i should point out that the next morning they had sorted things out much better, only calling corrals by letter rather than all runners...)

on the way to the corrals

the loooooooong march (ha ha)

Eventually the crush eased and we moved out to the corrals. Lots of whining about how far it was to the start (wah) and how dark it was.... But we quickly got to our corral and settled in to wait. Various running world legends were interviewed, music was played, and then fireworks were set off. Wheelers, then elites, then corrals A and B. then the race "conducktor" (Donald, of course!) counted down the start for corral C and we took off.

Ducky

Interestingly, the autocorrect for "ducky" is "sucky".

Ear We Are

Marathon flight

As we waited for our row to be called, standing in that "we are trying to stand out of the way and yet still be in position to surge forward when our row is called" sort of way, I started looking at my fellow passengers. A pair of Nordic walking poles.... a pair of Vibrams... a couple of track jackets... several copies of Runner's World... and at least three Goofy shirts. Ah, yes, the traveling community of runners!

I think everyone had the same revelation I did, so suddenly people started chatting. Vibrams lady answered some questions about her shoes ("oh, no, I don't run in them. I wear SuperFeet and proper shoes for that,,,"); some walkers cheerfully wished each other well; Goofy folks smiled and nodded like elder statesmen. (yeah, us too...)

One woman looked at one of the Goofy shirts and said, "you are already wearing yours -- that's not fair!" He said, "no, this is the 2011 shirt", which made her a bit chagrined. She said she was attempting her first, and was feeling a little nervous. Her friend was also going to try for the Goofy, even though she had never run a full. Ballsy.

Once on the plane, the chatter grew... Or perhaps, we were just more crammed in, so we could hear more folks! Lots of talk about medals, shoes, previous races, etc. I looked over at Wil and said, "it's all of my favorite things all together -- you, travel, Disney, running, runners, medals... It's awesome!!!"

I spent the first couple of hours FINALLY reading John Bingham's book, "The Accidental Athlete". In turns hilarious, sad, and inspirational, I laughed out loud a couple of times... and got weepy a few others. One of my favorite pieces was his description of a motorcycle trip, and the realization during a night ride on a 2-lane highway that the only things that mattered were in the glow of his headlight. He talked about trying to remember to "live in the light". It made me think back to my Mount Rainier attempt, climbing at night up the cleaver, and only being able to see the sparks coming off the crampons of the climber ahead of me when they hit rocks, and the small circle of light cast by my headlamp. It was strangely soothing - I didn't feel too frightened when it was dark when the sun came up, it was another matter... The task seemed too great, and I was worried that I would not be able to make it down. So at one of the breaks... after watching someone take his glove off, set it down next to him, and it took off at a ridiculous speed down the side of the mountain... I decided to turn back. I sometimes wonder if more of the climb had been in the dark, I would have climbed higher.

I think I could try to work on improving the time I spend "living in the light". Look, another goal for 2013!

One week!

Hard to believe that in one week I'll be starting my attempt to earn those beauties. Well, actually, I had better be done with the half marathon by this time next Saturday! I'm feeling calmly confident -- and not just because I figured out my race outfits. (Ha!) 

Today we're spending the day tidying the house (can't let poor Andrew live in squalor and filth!), getting some of the packing done, and just realizing. Wil's got a terrible cold, so his job is just to get better a.s.a.p.

In other news, feeling no ill effects from yesterdays space-age treadmill run. Phew!

Alter'd states

Last year I bought a Groupon for something I had been wanting to do for a long time: run on an anti-gravity treadmill.

I am not really sure why the folks at the Washington Foot and Ankle Clinic were offering the deal, but 10 30-minute sessions on an Alter-G treadmill was impossible to pass up.

Of course, me being me, I didn't use it until it nearly ended. But I made an appointment for the orientation session and turned up tonight.

I filled out a bunch of forms and was brought to a small room in the back of the office... where I met the Alter-G.

A very sweet (and Very Young) lad handed me a ridiculous pair of shorts. Tight neoprene shorts with a funny rubber / vinyl flap all the way around, and edged with a zipper. I pulled them on over my capris, and then stepped into the machine.

I pulled the handles up, set the height. (13, actually), and zipped into the cover. Then I stood there while the machine calibrated my weight and started to pressurize to 80% of my weight.

Let me tell you, that is a very very weird feeling. It felt as if I was being lifted off my feet.

Then I was left to my own devices, as I walked for a bit to get used to the feeling, and then I started running. I was able to speed up to 7-minute miles -- pretty crazy. I also got really hot - neoprene shorts and a pressurized cover made for some very hot legs.

I ran for three and a quarter miles before I needed to cool down. As I did, I also increased my weight gradually to 90%. Figured that would help keep me from feeling too "heavy" afterward.

I have nine more sessions - though I am thinking I might want to wait until after the marathon. No sense doing something stupid on a treadmill!!!

2012 running wrap-up

What a year! I feel like I really rebounded after a disappointing 2011. A large part of the success has to be Wil's 40@40 project that has kept us running even when we didn't feel like it. So while I didn't quite hit my goal of 600 miles this year, I did run 574.38 miles -- which is my all-time best.

In addition, I reached nearly all of my other goals. The one other one I didn't make -- to run a million inches -- will be pretty easy to complete this year. And fun to do, I think.

But oh, what great goals I hit! I added not just five, but seven new states to my 50 states project -- fantastic! I also ran 21 official races -- not the 12 I was aiming for. Another great success.

Perhaps my proudest achievement was to complete the stretchiest of stretch goals -- I ran a new PR in a half marathon -- not just once, but twice. Sure, the PRs came in pretty much perfect races -- flat and fast as they come -- but they're still PRs, baby!

I haven't really thought through goals for 2013. I'd like to get another five states done -- and would very, very much like to run the Center of the Nation series in September. When else am I going to be able to get North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, and Wyoming all at once? Besides, what a great excuse for a good old-fashioned road trip? I may also be able to pick up a state or two if I get to travel again for work -- we'll see.

What else -- it might be nice to try and get a half marathon in every month. I'd also like to run a race or two I have never run -- like maybe the Windermere Half in Spokane in May. And let's set the mileage goal to 600 miles again. Why not? I just need to run more regularly -- maybe not ALWAYS half marathons (ha ha).

Here's a stretch goal -- set a PR in a 5K. It means trying to run faster, and actually practicing that. We'll see.

An obvious goal is to complete both the Goofy Challenge and the Tinker Bell Half -- three races, five medals, boo yah.

Finally, our offices move to the University District in March. If I run down to the Fred Meyer and along the Burke-Gilman Trail to the U-District, it's 4.87 miles each way. I'm not gonna lie -- that's a bit far for me for twice-a-day workouts. But I do think I could run one way and take the bus the other. And when we move to the glorious new building, well, it's a nice pleasant 5K each way. That's totally doable.... even if that's a long way off.

And, of course, I want to finish out the 40@40 project. It's up to Wil to figure out if he has a new project for next year, too.

I'm looking forward to a great 2013!

********

For posterity, here is my "2012 Goals" tracker!


Better late than never, but here's my list of running goals in 2012.

1. Add five new states to my list. -- DONE!

This may be the biggest challenge of all -- I've already done all the close and convenient states, and we have a bunch of non-running related travel planned this year. (Yeah, funny, that.) But I do have a few work trips lined up -- two or three conferences, and I should be able to get a race in somewhere. I'm angling for St. Louis or Savannah.

Current: 5 new states

- 5 -

0 states 

5 states

2. Run 12 half marathons in 2012. -- DONE!

At first I thought trying to do a marathon a month was a great idea.... but I know that it's not really going to work out like that. But I think that if I stay reasonably healthy I'll be able to get 12 races in before the end of the year. Of course, with Wil's 40@40 project, this will be cake. But I'm going to try for RACES -- you know, where I get a freakin' medal!

Current: 12 races

12 out of 12

0 half marathons 

12 half marathons

3. Run at least 600 miles -- so close!

I don't think I can call this one "easy" -- I've struggled with mileage in previous years. But we'll see how it goes. I'm going to try and run 50 miles per month. I'm a little behind, but seem to be picking up more miles now.

Current: 570.18 miles as of 12/31

95.03%

0 miles 

600 miles!

4. Run 1,000,000 inches.

This would have pretty easy -- if we had been able to attend the Million Inch Run on February 11. A million inches is 15.87 miles -- which I never managed to knock out this year. Hoping to run it in 2013.

5. Set a PR in either the 5K or half marathon. -- DONE!

This is the stretch goal. I seem to get slower year by year, but I will work on getting a little bit faster. Interestingly enough, we have run three of our five fastest half marathons this year... including our second fastest ever this past weekend. So maybe if I stay healthy...

09/09 update -- today Wil and I ran a PR in the Skagit Flats Half Marathon. Official results haven't yet been posted, but... WOW! So thrilled to have not just an age-group PR, but a proper PR!!!

12/02 update -- today I ran a PR in the Runner's Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon -- 3:13:06! Awesome!