We're back home, and this was an amazing weekend for so many reasons. My report:
Expo: I purchased race retreat, so the early expo access was wonderful. Easy, quick and entirely uncrowded. Very worth the cost for me and particularly for
@mateojr. Easily exchanged my raw threads shirt, purchased a runDisney plush mickey for mateojr and picked up bibs and shirts with no waits. I love the marathon shirt in particular, and I'm super happy about the color, design and fit. Wish one of the shirts in the bunch was red, but the designs and fit are all great.
5K: Ran with our youngest,
@mateojr, who was sick literally hours before the race but woke up at 3:30am on Thursday ready to run. Great to meet
@DopeyBadger from across the corral barriers and mateojr really loved his encouraging words before the start of the race! Great first mile with mateojr, but as I mentioned earlier, it fell apart from there. On two separate occasions, I actually picked him up and carried him while running - an aspect of the Dopey Challenge I did not expect!
He finished the 5K 18 minutes slower than his 27 minute 5K PR and was really disappointed, crossing the finish line exclaiming "worst time ever!" But I told him all we needed to do that morning was cross the finish line and we did! He spent the remainder of the day resting (but we were able to "make up" his scheduled MK day with the rest of the family yesterday, so all is well!)
10K: I just loved this race. I promised my husband I would not attempt a PR or anything close to it. So I took it easy, love the part through world showcase, and didn't even look at the clock when I crossed the finish line. Later, I found out that I finished way over my PR, but still under an hour, so it went as planned. Highlight was when I saw my husband on the boardwalk and he yelled, "Too slow!" I said, "I'm taking it easy, just like I promised!" Turns out, he was actually talking about the camera on his phone - it wasn't fast enough and he didn't get a photo! Ha!
Half: After they cancelled, I pretty quickly decided I was going to run 13.1 anyway. Initial plan was to run around Crescent Lake, but I saw lightning when I was ready to start 5:30am, so I decided to retreat to the BWI fitness center treadmills. Waited 45 minutes for a treadmill and completed my 13.1. While I'm disappointed about the cancellation, I understand it and I feel great about completing the mileage. I also feel great about the positive attitude and enthusiasm all around following the announcement - whether runners decided to save it for the marathon, complete the 13.1 or just be happy and sleep like our 17-year-old - it was really inspiring to see so much positive energy.
Full: Wow. I think this was my favorite race ever. I was really happy with all the silly layers I chose - I guess there are some advantages to ending up living in a cold climate! I looked ridiculous in all my layers. I stuck to my "no time goal" pledge. For the second time ever (10K was the first) I didn't look at the clock when I crossed the finish line. (Turns out it was a PR at 4:26, which I'm super happy about in my mid-40s after kids!) I was comfortable and happy for every single mile. I felt great physically and mentally. It was my longest stretch of running zen ever. There was no point at which I wished that it was over. I loved the Big Bad Wolf - the rap music playing in the background was hilarious. Course support was incredible as always. Volunteers were truly amazing. I love the girl handing out swedish fish around mile 15 or 16. I actually like out and back portions of the course because it's fun to see so many runners passing by. Immediately after the marathon, my husband asked me to identify the best and worst parts of the race and I could not think of a worst other than, "probably wind." And now, I'll add "my race photos" to that - terrible, but whatever!
Pre and post marathon: Transportation went smoothly. I was SO happy about my decision to purchase race retreat, even though I didn't eat much of the food offered. Just loved the warm, the pre-race stretching area, the bag check and the short bathroom lines. After the marathon, I felt great. I went back to BWI to shower and then spent the day with my family in Epcot to celebrate mateojr's birthday!!! Didn't need a nap, stomach felt great (lunch at Cantina and birthday dinner at Via) legs felt fine and went to sleep around 10:30pm after the celebrations. Monday morning, we made up mateojr's missed MK time with the whole family before our 1:30pm Magical Express bus. Our older boys have busy high school schedules and are heading off to college in 2018 and 2019, so it was particularly special to have everyone together at MK for a bit.
As I mentioned earlier, Dopey demands a lot of my family and particularly my husband so I'm not likely to repeat for a while. I'm so grateful for this experience, for the amazing support of my family and for the wonderful camaraderie on these boards. I enjoyed the marathon so much that I've changed my mind about going back to half marathons only. I think I'm ready to sign up for the Lakefront marathon this fall and I'm planning to run Surf City in 2018 as a full instead of a half. Meanwhile, I'll keep running all the half marathons I love - First Call half marathon is just a few months away! Looking forward to seeing
@DopeyBadger,
@rteetz (woo hoo new marathoner!)
@roxymama and more of our local friends at local races!
