Never Tell Me the Odds--Chasing a Sub-Four Marathon

FawnJD

DATW Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 15, 2019
Hello!

I am a mother of two, the wife of a sports junkie, an attorney, a Disney College Program alum, a Floridian, and--as of this past Sunday--a three-time marathoner.

My first two marathons (both Disney) were completed nearly a decade ago, so I'm not entirely certain how relevant they are. As far as my recent running history, I started in February of 2019, barely able to complete a mile. I ran the Venice, FL half-marathon (which I really enjoyed and HIGHLY recommend!) in September 2019 for Proof of Time for the 2020 WDW Marathon, and finished with a time of 2:16. The race was brutally hot and humid, and my best guess is that, under better conditions, I could have run a 2:09. So, that's what I took as my baseline.

Following the half-marathon, I embarked on a 16-week marathon training plan. I missed one long run due to travel around Thanksgiving, but completed nearly every run.

I feel I ran a successful 2020 WDW Marathon [which I will detail in a following post] under less than ideal conditions.

On February 8, 2020, I will run my first non-Disney marathon: The Hilton Head Island Marathon. I'm....honestly very nervous. I feel like Disney races have offered me a certain "safety net"--if I felt I had to stop, I could always justify doing so for a character picture or other fun distraction. On the HHI course, it's just running. And there are hills.

My goal is to set a PR and create a new baseline for my training in 2020. My ultimate goal is to run a marathon in under 4 hours, but I have no idea how far in the future that is.

It's my goal to document my training journey here, and hopefully to gain some good insight and advice from those of you who have travelled this road before--or just to talk to people who don't think I'm crazy for motivating myself by saying things like, "This is only as long as the run from Epcot to the TTC!"


Here's a quick run-down on my relevant Disney favorites, to give you a baseline appreciation of who I am:

Favorite Park: Animal Kingdom
Favorite Attraction: Splash Mountain
Favorite Movie: Alice in Wonderland
Favorite Soundtrack: Princess and the Frog
Favorite Character: Chirrut Imwe (If we're counting Star Wars), Elsa
Favorite Song: Ma Belle Evangeline (This was our wedding song. :lovestruc)
Favorite Deluxe Resort: Grand Floridian
Favorite Moderate Resort: Port Orleans Riverside
Favorite Value Resort: Pop Century
Favorite Restaurant: Spice Road Table
Favorite Lounge: Tie between Nomad Lounge and Enchanted Rose
Favorite Bar: Dawa Bar
Favorite Snack: Popcorn
Favorite Drink: Lapu Lapu


Cheers!

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WDW Marathon 2020

This is the race that got me back into running, and I'd been looking forward to it for nearly a year.

Although we only live about 30 minutes from the Epcot parking lot, my husband and I decided to stay at a hotel on 192 both in order to allow me some extra sleep before the race and to cut down on travel time for such an early morning.


My parents were planning on watching the kids on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but a horrible stomach flu ripped through the family starting on Friday night. We ended up watching the kids until about 7pm on Saturday, and then heading home early Monday to watch them again. Ah, well. We'll get our mini-vacation some other time!


I woke up at 2:00am on Sunday. As soon as I was up, I started nibbling on some peanut butter crackers and sipping some Gatorade Zero. I wanted some food in my stomach in order to take a couple ibuprofen. I'd had some soreness in my right knee earlier in the week, and I wanted to hedge my bets as much as I could.

I got my Rapunzel outfit on and did my hair.


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Having a BA in Theatre may seem "pointless", but if you want cool hair? I'm your girl.

We were on the road by 2:45, we were listening to our favorite classic rock station, and I was commenting on the great music choices. I asked my husband if he thought they were playing super upbeat music because of the marathon. He looked at me like I was VERY clueless and said, "Hon. It's 3 am on a Sunday--people are just leaving the bars--this music is for people who are GOING to bed, not for people who just woke up."

Duh. I felt about 200 years old.

In any event, we were soon stuck in an endless line trying to get to Epcot. I was trying my best to be calm, but I just kept watching the minutes tick away, and had to remind myself that there was nothing I could do about it and that I was FAR from the only one who was having trouble getting to the start of the race.

We finally made it and parked. By this time, I knew trying to get to the DIS meet-up would be cutting it too close, so I sadly decided to check my bag, hit the bathroom, and make my way to Corral D for the start.

My husband met up with his cousin, as his wife was running Dopey, and they planned to spectate together for the Marathon. They also apparently got huge breakfasts at Casey's, according to our credit card statement and my husband's Facebook posts.
:confused3

After the VERY long walk to Corral D, I took my place at the right side, unfortunately far further back than I'd wanted to be. I would end up in the second wave.

Then we waited. And waited. Due to the congestion, they held the start of the race. I can't blame them--there were still tons of runners waiting to arrive. It still made me nervous, though--every minute of delay was another minute of running in the full sun.

They continued to give warnings about the conditions and started telling people, flatly, "Don't try for a PR." I mean, I get it, but...it was kind of a bummer.
:rotfl:

And then we were off!

Mile 1. It was Mile 1. I mostly spent time trying to be gracious to other runners and avoid any collisions. At this point, I was just thrilled to be off and running after the delay.

Mile 2. So, around Mile 2, it became abundantly clear to me that this was going to be a tough race. I was already drenched to the point that it looked and felt like I’d run through a sprinkler. It was pretty crowded (although nowhere near the what the later corrals would face…).

I kept my music turned down low, as I typically do for the first 5K of any race. Not only do I like to just let the feel of the race wash over me for a few miles, I find that the start is usually crowded enough that I want to be able to hear and be aware of the other runners around me.

Remember that I’m not listening to my phone at this point. This will come back to haunt me later!

Miles 3-5 were pretty fantastic. It was humid, but I was feeling comfortable and running smoothly. Right before Mile 5, I decide it’s time to crank some tunes. I turn up my headphones, some Beastie Boys gets going, and I wait to hear my Mile 5 update from my Nike Run Club app. And I wait. And I wait.

I figure that the course mileage signs and my app might not be quite synced up, and maybe I missed it somehow. I decide not to worry about it until Mile 6.

I hit the mile 6 ramp at the exact same time at the 4:45 pace group. I briefly consider trying to stay close to them, but the narrowness of the course at that point and their walk/run pattern made that impossible. I pick up my pace a bit in order to get a decent cushion ahead of them, just because there’s not really room to share the road with them at that point. They were following great etiquette and I have no issue with them—just a reality of that portion of road.


And I was feeling GOOD. I had the speed in my legs to push harder for about a minute to earn myself some room on the road.

It’s worth mentioning that Miles 6-12 are usually my sweet spot, both in training and racing. That’s when I fall into a rhythm and before any sign of tiredness sets in. My little mental mantra over these miles is usually something like, “This feels great!” or “I love to run!”.

So, this is around the time that I realize that I didn’t get a Mile 6 update from my app either. I contort myself to see my phone screen and press the button to wake it up. And, for some reason, it never started.


Well…crap.


At this point, I had a decision to make. Start it up from there, knowing I’d still only capture ¾ of the race, or just run? I’d already decided I wasn’t going to push to my limits for this marathon (Ha! Conditions had other ideas on that one…), so I decided to just run by feel.

This was incredibly freeing and I had a real, “Use the Force, Luke,” moment with myself right there on World Drive.


Past Mile 8 and into the parking lot. I high-fived the Rapunzel parking lot sign. I might have been getting a little loopy.


Mile 9. TTC. I see someone holding a sign that says, “What do we say to the God of Death?”, and I scream out “NOT TODAY” like some sort of purple-clad barbarian and start to tear up because, for a moment, I’m as brave as Arya. This gets a big cheer from the crowd, and I’m just so happy to be who I am, where I am.



Prior to hitting Mile 10, we run through the viaduct underpass by the Contemporary. I remember being so nervous about that “hill” while training for my first WDW Marathon. Now it seems far less daunting, and my mind only focuses on my fear of the inclines I’ll be facing in my next marathon.


Into the MK, and I hear my husband call out my name somewhere towards the hub. I give a big smile and wave in the general direction of where I heard him, and hope I’m somewhat accurate. Turns out he was a pretty popular guy that morning, acting as restroom guru for a lot of first-time spectators. Sounds about right.



In Tomorrowland, I fall into pace next to a man I’ll call “Neon Green Guy”, because he was wearing a bright green shirt and matching green Nikes. He’s friendly and encouraging, but not chatty enough to ever get annoying, and we will end up leap-frogging each other for the rest of the race. Then, we end up in line next to each other grabbing post-race photos. So, if you’re out there, Neon Green Guy? Great race, and thanks for the support!

I’d seen Rapunzel and Flynn out for the Marathon in the MK in previous years, so I was hoping to see them again. That pair, Robin Hood, and Sports Pluto were my must-stops for characters if I saw them. Turns out, only Pluto would be on the course this year. Le sigh.


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Between Mile 12 and Mile 13, I encountered a flock of female turkeys with one BIG male turkey all puffed out and protecting his ladies against the horde of runners. It was pretty funny.

Also, around Mile 12, I realized that I was going to have to make a bathroom stop at some point. But I had a feeling I was going a little faster than I wanted to be and would have to slow down soon to preserve some energy for the finish. I decided that I was close enough to 13.1 that I would wait both to stop AND to slow down until after that point so that I could get a “decent” half-marathon time.

Why? I don’t know. I guess my competitive side is a little harder to reign in than I thought. But it seemed like a good plan, and so I committed.

Right around the turn onto Bear Island, I started feeling tired. This was also about the time that the sun was fully in the sky, and I’m pretty certain the two are linked. This is when I started playing “wait ‘til the next port-a-potties”. I would motivate myself by saying that I just had to run to the next set, then I’d break to go to the bathroom. Then, I’d find that once I got to the next set, I had enough energy to try and make it to the next one. Silly, but it worked. Around here I also started to take Powerade in addition to water when I stopped for hydration.

Right before hitting the Western Way intersection, it hit me that I was feeling pretty good again and that I was actually going to do this. While I never seriously doubted by ability to finish, there’s always that chance when you line up for a marathon, and we all know that. The knowledge that I was going to make it brought with it a sort of euphoria, and I got a second wind. I told myself to remember this feeling—that a little over a mile ago, I was starting to feel defeated, and now I felt like I could run all day. I wanted to be able to use it as motivation that any urge I had to stop was a momentary feeling and that it would pass if I could just keep going.

Football Goofy was out, and I decided not to stop. I regret this.

Miles 16-19. Animal Kingdom. In my preparation for this race, I was thrilled that these miles would be in a park. 17-19 are usually the very hardest miles for me, and I just KNEW that running through AK, one of my favorite places, would carry me through with no pain and no strife.

To this I say: Oh, my Sweet Summer Child.

Turns out? Miles 16-19 are kinda awful no matter where you’re running them. In my memory, this area was a blur. Not even seeing the Adventurer’s Club made it feel any lighter. I started playing my port-a-potty game again.

Miles 19-20 weren’t actually all that hard for me. Mostly because I developed a really weird cramp in a muscle just behind and on the left side of my left ankle. It was a sensation I’d never felt before, and it did a really good job distracting me. It slowed me down a bit, but I focused on rolling my foot from the heel through the toe with every strike, just trusting that it would work itself out if I kept going. It did, for the most part, and I promised I’d make myself eat a banana at the next opportunity for the potassium to keep it from cramping again.

Then Mile 21 hit like a ton of bricks.

Oh. My. God.

That Blizzard Beach parking lot that looked so small on the course map? It seemed to stretch out into eternity. Running into the entrance and realizing I had to turn the corner and run the perimeter of the lot felt like absolute torture. I kept repeating what I call my “desperation mantra”—the one that only comes out when I’m really digging deep—“Never say die”. It is, in fact, a shortening of the phrase, “Goonies Never Say Die,” and it made its way into my husband and my wedding vows.


Children of the 80s, what can I say?

Heading in, I saw that both bananas and port-a-potties were available at the exit from BB, and I knew that was where I would have to make my stop. That got me through the REAL torture of having to see all that nice, cool water and Olaf Fake Snow inside the park.

I didn't stop for Olaf. I should have.

My stomach allowed me to finish about half of the banana. Then I took my bathroom break. Getting that sweat-soaked running skirt off and on felt exactly like trying to get a wet bathing suit back on my toddler. I might have said a lot of bad words. #SorryNotSorry

Mile 22 was kind of delirious. I had slowed myself down because the heat and humidity were really starting to get to me. The crowds by Coronado Springs were far away from us and kinda quiet, which made me feel self-conscious in a weird way? My mind started to wander to how great water was and how maybe I should quit my current job and devote myself to making certain that everyone in the world has potable water. Definitely a noble cause, but maybe not the kind of decision anyone should be making at Mile 22 of a Marathon.



Mile 23 and 24 were just plain hard. There were Hershey Kisses prior to entering DHS, but I swear to you that I didn’t take any because I 100% knew I wouldn’t have the energy or mental ability to open them. I missed the Toy Story fruit snacks from 2014. I think I saw some DIS people cheering on the walkway between DHS and the Boardwalk? I was too spent to try and figure it out, though. I was just dragging myself to Pluto.

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Please note my sponge--THANK YOU to whichever DISer reminded us to keep them!! Bless.

ESPN Zone! There was Pluto! I’d imagined the elation I would feel getting this picture, knowing I was almost done and I’d have this incredible photo with super-cool Sports Pluto!

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Ugh, epic fail! We look like we’re on a bad date and the angle makes it just look like regular Pluto!

Onto Epcot! I took my time walking through the last water station, knowing I wanted the energy to finish strong. I nearly started crying thanking the volunteers. They had been so amazing the entire race. I can’t say enough good things about them. I took my earbuds out; I wanted to soak it all in.

The first thing I noticed was that the torches were still lit. I liked it, even though the heat made it look kind of absurd. There was Belle! Hi, Belle! I should have stopped. I didn’t. I wasn’t certain my legs would start running again if I stopped at that point.

I ended up pretty much alone at a stretch with a PhotoPass photographer on each side. I hammed it up for both of them, felt momentary shame that maybe they would think I was a camera hog, and then convinced myself I didn’t care. I like the result.

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I’ve walked the stretch between Germany and China about 25 times in the last year, each time telling myself to remember how short it actually was and how quickly I’d be able to run it. That was no help to me on Marathon Sunday. It felt like miles. Lol

“Seize the Day” from Newsies started playing, and it gave me a boost. Almost there. I could keep running.

Then the post-Epcot portion of the race seemed far too long. And some well-meaning cast member told me I only had a half-mile left. And I just stopped running. It was one of the weirdest sensations I’ve ever felt. My mind was screaming, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! KEEP RUNNING!” and the message just wasn’t getting to my legs. They didn’t feel tingly or like jelly or even really hurt at all. They kept walking, they just refused to run.

I figure I probably walked about 3/10 of a mile at that point, to just before the Mile 26 marker. Then I gave myself permission to walk. I said, “You’re amazing. Even if you can’t run another step, you’ve run an incredible race today, and you have nothing more to prove to yourself or anyone else.”

And it was like something clicked and I started running again. I still have no idea what happened.

Marathons, man. They’re really weird.

I saw that the finish line clock was about 20 seconds away from 5:00:00, and I dashed for the finish line.

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And then it was over. I’d done it. And, more than that, I’d done it WELL. I was proud.


I got my medal and filled my plastic bag with water, powerade, and food (THANK YOU to whichever DISer suggested this. It was such a great idea).


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And met up with my husband for a looooooonnnng session of stretching in the parking lot and trying to get my stomach to settle enough to enjoy my Parking Lot Mich Ultra (from the RunDisney cup that I got at the Expo and absolutely packed in my gEAR check bag so that I could get a di$count). I looked at my unofficial results and realized I’d likely missed a PR by a lousy 10 seconds. That was pretty disheartening and I felt kind of foolish for the walking I’d done in the last mile.

At this point, the area was starting to become chaotic. There had been some indication while I was on the course that people were struggling, but, for some reason, I hadn’t realized how much. Now, in the reunion area, the recent finishers were starting to go down. Hard. My husband saw someone collapse and ran over to help. It wasn’t the gradual stagger than often happens when someone faints, it was upright one second and hitting the pavement the next. It was about this time that we started hearing that the race had been red-flagged and they were cutting off the course.

Suddenly knowing how bad the conditions were, all of my disappointment about my race time evaporated and I felt truly lucky and grateful to have finished and not had any real issues. I felt worried and heartbroken for those still out on the course.

We walked back over to the car and I changed into some non-sweaty clothes. Then we slowly made our way into Epcot to cheer on the rest of the runners. I was shocked when I saw the absolute elbow-to-elbow wall of runners making their way around the World Showcase. My husband and I got a spot by China just past the drawbridge, and I cheered myself hoarse. There was some courageous racing going on in those last few miles—those of you who were either running or getting to witness it know exactly what I mean. :cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

There were also a lot of celebratory grey goose slushes, and I saluted each of those as well. :drinking1

One moment of true heartbreak came when one runner’s Mickey Bar melted and slipped off of the stick! There was audible heartbreak from the spectators and we started yelling for someone to get her another one. I hope someone down the line came through!

We made our way to Germany and cheered on the last of the runners, and I got my picture with my girl, Snow White.

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We met up with friends, and I managed a half of a piece of red pepper pizza (my favorite!) and a Peroni at Via Napoli, and then I was spent. I had planned to stay in the WS for the afternoon, but I needed a shower and to put some antibiotic ointment on my poor, poor right big toenail that looked as though I’d taken a hammer to it.

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(Don't mind the left one--that's old news!)
Once we were back in the hotel room and showered, I crunched the numbers based on my results:

Miles 1-5: Average of 10:36/mile
Miles 5-10: Average of 10:12/mile
Miles 10-13.1: Average of 10:38/mile
Miles 13.1-20: Average 10:59/mile
Miles 20-26.2: Average 12:42/mile

This REALLY made me happy. Not only had I managed to keep myself pretty well paced without an electronic crutch, if it weren’t for the extended banana/bathroom break and the weird wall I hit in Mile 26, my race went exactly as I wanted.

We watched TV for several hours in our hotel room, then met up with my husband’s cousin and his wife (who ran Dopey and got a PR because she’s amazing) who wanted to go to CityWalk to celebrate at Margaritaville and Toothsome. Fine by me!

I got a mango margarita at the outside bar at Margaritaville that I will never get again because it literally tasted like drinking a melted popsicle. Bleh. But then I got an AMAZING burger and a lush glass of zinfandel at Toothsome that were juuuuust what the doctor ordered. We relaxed, shared marathon war stories, caught up on family gossip, and generally had a great time, and I’m pretty sure I agreed to run the Bourbon Chase next year…hmmm….


That night, I slept the sleep that only comes after a race. Hard and dreamless.

On Monday morning, I got a call that our youngest had come down with the flu, so we decided to cut our mini-vacation short and decided to amend our previous plans of attending DATW. :sick:

I snagged two fast passes for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and we headed to the MK to ride that, Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain.

Then we rode the monorail over to Epcot for one quick trip around the World Showcase before heading home. I saw the Dis group and had momentary FOMO, but I drowned it in a margarita.

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My husband said he'd like to train to run one of the races himself next year...

Another great Race Weekend in the books!

Cheers!
 
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Great recap! Congrats on your race.

Love the hair. Did you do it on some sort of band or are they all in there individually?
 


Congrats on your race. I’m gonna need you to do my hair for all my Disney races now. I pay in Margaritas. Thanks :rotfl2:
 
That last stretch as you come off WS did seem to go on for days. Congratulations on a great race!
 
Great recap! Congrats on your race.

Love the hair. Did you do it on some sort of band or are they all in there individually?

Thank you! They are each in individually, with the stems tucked into clear poly bands and bobby pins for the big ones.

Congratulations on a great race and good luck in Hilton Head. It was great meeting you at Hurricane Hannah's.

Thank you! I had such a great time--I wish I could have stayed longer!

Congrats on your race. I’m gonna need you to do my hair for all my Disney races now. I pay in Margaritas. Thanks :rotfl2:

Thanks! Luckily, that's my preferred currency. ;-)

That last stretch as you come off WS did seem to go on for days. Congratulations on a great race!

Thank you! I'm glad I didn't know the gospel choir wasn't going to be there--I'm sure that would have made it even more difficult.
 


Congrats on the marathon and wonderful recap! I can visualize the whole race through your eyes. Well done!
 
WDW Marathon 2020

This is the race that got me back into running, and I'd been looking forward to it for nearly a year.

Although we only live about 30 minutes from the Epcot parking lot, my husband and I decided to stay at a hotel on 192 both in order to allow me some extra sleep before the race and to cut down on travel time for such an early morning.


My parents were planning on watching the kids on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, but a horrible stomach flu ripped through the family starting on Friday night. We ended up watching the kids until about 7pm on Saturday, and then heading home early Monday to watch them again. Ah, well. We'll get our mini-vacation some other time!


I woke up at 2:00am on Sunday. As soon as I was up, I started nibbling on some peanut butter crackers and sipping some Gatorade Zero. I wanted some food in my stomach in order to take a couple ibuprofen. I'd had some soreness in my right knee earlier in the week, and I wanted to hedge my bets as much as I could.

I got my Rapunzel outfit on and did my hair.


View attachment 466019

Having a BA in Theatre may seem "pointless", but if you want cool hair? I'm your girl.

We were on the road by 2:45, we were listening to our favorite classic rock station, and I was commenting on the great music choices. I asked my husband if he thought they were playing super upbeat music because of the marathon. He looked at me like I was VERY clueless and said, "Hon. It's 3 am on a Sunday--people are just leaving the bars--this music is for people who are GOING to bed, not for people who just woke up."

Duh. I felt about 200 years old.

In any event, we were soon stuck in an endless line trying to get to Epcot. I was trying my best to be calm, but I just kept watching the minutes tick away, and had to remind myself that there was nothing I could do about it and that I was FAR from the only one who was having trouble getting to the start of the race.

We finally made it and parked. By this time, I knew trying to get to the DIS meet-up would be cutting it too close, so I sadly decided to check my bag, hit the bathroom, and make my way to Corral D for the start.

My husband met up with his cousin, as his wife was running Dopey, and they planned to spectate together for the Marathon. They also apparently got huge breakfasts at Casey's, according to our credit card statement and my husband's Facebook posts.
:confused3

After the VERY long walk to Corral D, I took my place at the right side, unfortunately far further back than I'd wanted to be. I would end up in the second wave.

Then we waited. And waited. Due to the congestion, they held the start of the race. I can't blame them--there were still tons of runners waiting to arrive. It still made me nervous, though--every minute of delay was another minute of running in the full sun.

They continued to give warnings about the conditions and started telling people, flatly, "Don't try for a PR." I mean, I get it, but...it was kind of a bummer.
:rotfl:

And then we were off!

Mile 1. It was Mile 1. I mostly spent time trying to be gracious to other runners and avoid any collisions. At this point, I was just thrilled to be off and running after the delay.

Mile 2. So, around Mile 2, it became abundantly clear to me that this was going to be a tough race. I was already drenched to the point that it looked and felt like I’d run through a sprinkler. It was pretty crowded (although nowhere near the what the later corrals would face…).

I kept my music turned down low, as I typically do for the first 5K of any race. Not only do I like to just let the feel of the race wash over me for a few miles, I find that the start is usually crowded enough that I want to be able to hear and be aware of the other runners around me.

Remember that I’m not listening to my phone at this point. This will come back to haunt me later!

Miles 3-5 were pretty fantastic. It was humid, but I was feeling comfortable and running smoothly. Right before Mile 5, I decide it’s time to crank some tunes. I turn up my headphones, some Beastie Boys gets going, and I wait to hear my Mile 5 update from my Nike Run Club app. And I wait. And I wait.

I figure that the course mileage signs and my app might not be quite synced up, and maybe I missed it somehow. I decide not to worry about it until Mile 6.

I hit the mile 6 ramp at the exact same time at the 4:45 pace group. I briefly consider trying to stay close to them, but the narrowness of the course at that point and their walk/run pattern made that impossible. I pick up my pace a bit in order to get a decent cushion ahead of them, just because there’s not really room to share the road with them at that point. They were following great etiquette and I have no issue with them—just a reality of that portion of road.


And I was feeling GOOD. I had the speed in my legs to push harder for about a minute to earn myself some room on the road.

It’s worth mentioning that Miles 6-12 are usually my sweet spot, both in training and racing. That’s when I fall into a rhythm and before any sign of tiredness sets in. My little mental mantra over these miles is usually something like, “This feels great!” or “I love to run!”.

So, this is around the time that I realize that I didn’t get a Mile 6 update from my app either. I contort myself to see my phone screen and press the button to wake it up. And, for some reason, it never started.


Well…crap.


At this point, I had a decision to make. Start it up from there, knowing I’d still only capture ¾ of the race, or just run? I’d already decided I wasn’t going to push to my limits for this marathon (Ha! Conditions had other ideas on that one…), so I decided to just run by feel.

This was incredibly freeing and I had a real, “Use the Force, Luke,” moment with myself right there on World Drive.


Past Mile 8 and into the parking lot. I high-fived the Rapunzel parking lot sign. I might have been getting a little loopy.


Mile 9. TTC. I see someone holding a sign that says, “What do we say to the God of Death?”, and I scream out “NOT TODAY” like some sort of purple-clad barbarian and start to tear up because, for a moment, I’m as brave as Arya. This gets a big cheer from the crowd, and I’m just so happy to be who I am, where I am.



Prior to hitting Mile 10, we run through the viaduct underpass by the Contemporary. I remember being so nervous about that “hill” while training for my first WDW Marathon. Now it seems far less daunting, and my mind only focuses on my fear of the inclines I’ll be facing in my next marathon.


Into the MK, and I hear my husband call out my name somewhere towards the hub. I give a big smile and wave in the general direction of where I heard him, and hope I’m somewhat accurate. Turns out he was a pretty popular guy that morning, acting as restroom guru for a lot of first-time spectators. Sounds about right.



In Tomorrowland, I fall into pace next to a man I’ll call “Neon Green Guy”, because he was wearing a bright green shirt and matching green Nikes. He’s friendly and encouraging, but not chatty enough to ever get annoying, and we will end up leap-frogging each other for the rest of the race. Then, we end up in line next to each other grabbing post-race photos. So, if you’re out there, Neon Green Guy? Great race, and thanks for the support!

I’d seen Rapunzel and Flynn out for the Marathon in the MK in previous years, so I was hoping to see them again. That pair, Robin Hood, and Sports Pluto were my must-stops for characters if I saw them. Turns out, only Pluto would be on the course this year. Le sigh.


View attachment 466030

Between Mile 12 and Mile 13, I encountered a flock of female turkeys with one BIG male turkey all puffed out and protecting his ladies against the horde of runners. It was pretty funny.

Also, around Mile 12, I realized that I was going to have to make a bathroom stop at some point. But I had a feeling I was going a little faster than I wanted to be and would have to slow down soon to preserve some energy for the finish. I decided that I was close enough to 13.1 that I would wait both to stop AND to slow down until after that point so that I could get a “decent” half-marathon time.

Why? I don’t know. I guess my competitive side is a little harder to reign in than I thought. But it seemed like a good plan, and so I committed.

Right around the turn onto Bear Island, I started feeling tired. This was also about the time that the sun was fully in the sky, and I’m pretty certain the two are linked. This is when I started playing “wait ‘til the next port-a-potties”. I would motivate myself by saying that I just had to run to the next set, then I’d break to go to the bathroom. Then, I’d find that once I got to the next set, I had enough energy to try and make it to the next one. Silly, but it worked. Around here I also started to take Powerade in addition to water when I stopped for hydration.

Right before hitting the Western Way intersection, it hit me that I was feeling pretty good again and that I was actually going to do this. While I never seriously doubted by ability to finish, there’s always that chance when you line up for a marathon, and we all know that. The knowledge that I was going to make it brought with it a sort of euphoria, and I got a second wind. I told myself to remember this feeling—that a little over a mile ago, I was starting to feel defeated, and now I felt like I could run all day. I wanted to be able to use it as motivation that any urge I had to stop was a momentary feeling and that it would pass if I could just keep going.

Football Goofy was out, and I decided not to stop. I regret this.

Miles 16-19. Animal Kingdom. In my preparation for this race, I was thrilled that these miles would be in a park. 17-19 are usually the very hardest miles for me, and I just KNEW that running through AK, one of my favorite places, would carry me through with no pain and no strife.

To this I say: Oh, my Sweet Summer Child.

Turns out? Miles 16-19 are kinda awful no matter where you’re running them. In my memory, this area was a blur. Not even seeing the Adventurer’s Club made it feel any lighter. I started playing my port-a-potty game again.

Miles 19-20 weren’t actually all that hard for me. Mostly because I developed a really weird cramp in a muscle just behind and on the left side of my left ankle. It was a sensation I’d never felt before, and it did a really good job distracting me. It slowed me down a bit, but I focused on rolling my foot from the heel through the toe with every strike, just trusting that it would work itself out if I kept going. It did, for the most part, and I promised I’d make myself eat a banana at the next opportunity for the potassium to keep it from cramping again.

Then Mile 21 hit like a ton of bricks.

Oh. My. God.

That Blizzard Beach parking lot that looked so small on the course map? It seemed to stretch out into eternity. Running into the entrance and realizing I had to turn the corner and run the perimeter of the lot felt like absolute torture. I kept repeating what I call my “desperation mantra”—the one that only comes out when I’m really digging deep—“Never say die”. It is, in fact, a shortening of the phrase, “Goonies Never Say Die,” and it made its way into my husband and my wedding vows.


Children of the 80s, what can I say?

Heading in, I saw that both bananas and port-a-potties were available at the exit from BB, and I knew that was where I would have to make my stop. That got me through the REAL torture of having to see all that nice, cool water and Olaf Fake Snow inside the park.

I didn't stop for Olaf. I should have.

My stomach allowed me to finish about half of the banana. Then I took my bathroom break. Getting that sweat-soaked running skirt off and on felt exactly like trying to get a wet bathing suit back on my toddler. I might have said a lot of bad words. #SorryNotSorry

Mile 22 was kind of delirious. I had slowed myself down because the heat and humidity were really starting to get to me. The crowds by Coronado Springs were far away from us and kinda quiet, which made me feel self-conscious in a weird way? My mind started to wander to how great water was and how maybe I should quit my current job and devote myself to making certain that everyone in the world has potable water. Definitely a noble cause, but maybe not the kind of decision anyone should be making at Mile 22 of a Marathon.



Mile 23 and 24 were just plain hard. There were Hershey Kisses prior to entering DHS, but I swear to you that I didn’t take any because I 100% knew I wouldn’t have the energy or mental ability to open them. I missed the Toy Story fruit snacks from 2014. I think I saw some DIS people cheering on the walkway between DHS and the Boardwalk? I was too spent to try and figure it out, though. I was just dragging myself to Pluto.

View attachment 466033

Please note my sponge--THANK YOU to whichever DISer reminded us to keep them!! Bless.

ESPN Zone! There was Pluto! I’d imagined the elation I would feel getting this picture, knowing I was almost done and I’d have this incredible photo with super-cool Sports Pluto!

View attachment 466034

Ugh, epic fail! We look like we’re on a bad date and the angle makes it just look like regular Pluto!

Onto Epcot! I took my time walking through the last water station, knowing I wanted the energy to finish strong. I nearly started crying thanking the volunteers. They had been so amazing the entire race. I can’t say enough good things about them. I took my earbuds out; I wanted to soak it all in.

The first thing I noticed was that the torches were still lit. I liked it, even though the heat made it look kind of absurd. There was Belle! Hi, Belle! I should have stopped. I didn’t. I wasn’t certain my legs would start running again if I stopped at that point.

I ended up pretty much alone at a stretch with a PhotoPass photographer on each side. I hammed it up for both of them, felt momentary shame that maybe they would think I was a camera hog, and then convinced myself I didn’t care. I like the result.

View attachment 466035

I’ve walked the stretch between Germany and China about 25 times in the last year, each time telling myself to remember how short it actually was and how quickly I’d be able to run it. That was no help to me on Marathon Sunday. It felt like miles. Lol

“Seize the Day” from Newsies started playing, and it gave me a boost. Almost there. I could keep running.

Then the post-Epcot portion of the race seemed far too long. And some well-meaning cast member told me I only had a half-mile left. And I just stopped running. It was one of the weirdest sensations I’ve ever felt. My mind was screaming, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! KEEP RUNNING!” and the message just wasn’t getting to my legs. They didn’t feel tingly or like jelly or even really hurt at all. They kept walking, they just refused to run.

I figure I probably walked about 3/10 of a mile at that point, to just before the Mile 26 marker. Then I gave myself permission to walk. I said, “You’re amazing. Even if you can’t run another step, you’ve run an incredible race today, and you have nothing more to prove to yourself or anyone else.”

And it was like something clicked and I started running again. I still have no idea what happened.

Marathons, man. They’re really weird.

I saw that the finish line clock was about 20 seconds away from 5:00:00, and I dashed for the finish line.

View attachment 466037


And then it was over. I’d done it. And, more than that, I’d done it WELL. I was proud.


I got my medal and filled my plastic bag with water, powerade, and food (THANK YOU to whichever DISer suggested this. It was such a great idea).


View attachment 466038


And met up with my husband for a looooooonnnng session of stretching in the parking lot and trying to get my stomach to settle enough to enjoy my Parking Lot Mich Ultra (from the RunDisney cup that I got at the Expo and absolutely packed in my gEAR check bag so that I could get a di$count). I looked at my unofficial results and realized I’d likely missed a PR by a lousy 10 seconds. That was pretty disheartening and I felt kind of foolish for the walking I’d done in the last mile.

At this point, the area was starting to become chaotic. There had been some indication while I was on the course that people were struggling, but, for some reason, I hadn’t realized how much. Now, in the reunion area, the recent finishers were starting to go down. Hard. My husband saw someone collapse and ran over to help. It wasn’t the gradual stagger than often happens when someone faints, it was upright one second and hitting the pavement the next. It was about this time that we started hearing that the race had been red-flagged and they were cutting off the course.

Suddenly knowing how bad the conditions were, all of my disappointment about my race time evaporated and I felt truly lucky and grateful to have finished and not had any real issues. I felt worried and heartbroken for those still out on the course.

We walked back over to the car and I changed into some non-sweaty clothes. Then we slowly made our way into Epcot to cheer on the rest of the runners. I was shocked when I saw the absolute elbow-to-elbow wall of runners making their way around the World Showcase. My husband and I got a spot by China just past the drawbridge, and I cheered myself hoarse. There was some courageous racing going on in those last few miles—those of you who were either running or getting to witness it know exactly what I mean. :cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

There were also a lot of celebratory grey goose slushes, and I saluted each of those as well. :drinking1

One moment of true heartbreak came when one runner’s Mickey Bar melted and slipped off of the stick! There was audible heartbreak from the spectators and we started yelling for someone to get her another one. I hope someone down the line came through!

We made our way to Germany and cheered on the last of the runners, and I got my picture with my girl, Snow White.

View attachment 466041


We met up with friends, and I managed a half of a piece of red pepper pizza (my favorite!) and a Peroni at Via Napoli, and then I was spent. I had planned to stay in the WS for the afternoon, but I needed a shower and to put some antibiotic ointment on my poor, poor right big toenail that looked as though I’d taken a hammer to it.

View attachment 466042



(Don't mind the left one--that's old news!)
Once we were back in the hotel room and showered, I crunched the numbers based on my results:

Miles 1-5: Average of 10:36/mile
Miles 5-10: Average of 10:12/mile
Miles 10-13.1: Average of 10:38/mile
Miles 13.1-20: Average 10:59/mile
Miles 20-26.2: Average 12:42/mile

This REALLY made me happy. Not only had I managed to keep myself pretty well paced without an electronic crutch, if it weren’t for the extended banana/bathroom break and the weird wall I hit in Mile 26, my race went exactly as I wanted.

We watched TV for several hours in our hotel room, then met up with my husband’s cousin and his wife (who ran Dopey and got a PR because she’s amazing) who wanted to go to CityWalk to celebrate at Margaritaville and Toothsome. Fine by me!

I got a mango margarita at the outside bar at Margaritaville that I will never get again because it literally tasted like drinking a melted popsicle. Bleh. But then I got an AMAZING burger and a lush glass of zinfandel at Toothsome that were juuuuust what the doctor ordered. We relaxed, shared marathon war stories, caught up on family gossip, and generally had a great time, and I’m pretty sure I agreed to run the Bourbon Chase next year…hmmm….


That night, I slept the sleep that only comes after a race. Hard and dreamless.

On Monday morning, I got a call that our youngest had come down with the flu, so we decided to cut our mini-vacation short and decided to amend our previous plans of attending DATW. :sick:

I snagged two fast passes for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and we headed to the MK to ride that, Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain.

Then we rode the monorail over to Epcot for one quick trip around the World Showcase before heading home. I saw the Dis group and had momentary FOMO, but I drowned it in a margarita.

View attachment 466052


My husband said he'd like to train to run one of the races himself next year...

Another great Race Weekend in the books!

Cheers!

Congratulations on a great race! You did awesome hanging in there with that heat!
 
Great recap and glad your race went well! I was one of those people people who was thisclose to dropping in the parking lot. So hot! Very impressed at how fresh you looked in your late race pics!
 
Congrats on the marathon and wonderful recap! I can visualize the whole race through your eyes. Well done!

Thank you so much! It was fun to try to "relive" it by writing it all down. I received a running journal for Christmas, so I've been trying to be more mindful about my runs.

Congratulations on a great race! You did awesome hanging in there with that heat!

Thanks! Seeing as how I trained for and ran a half-marathon in the Floridian summer, I wasn't expecting it to be as difficult as it was...but it definitely got to me.

Great recap and glad your race went well! I was one of those people people who was thisclose to dropping in the parking lot. So hot! Very impressed at how fresh you looked in your late race pics!

Thanks you and congrats on hanging in there--it was no easy task. I've pointedly avoided posting any close-up pictures, because I look decidedly rougher in them than the long-range shots! lol
 
"To this I say: Oh, my Sweet Summer Child."

I can't remember if it was the full or the half but someone at the TTC was holding a sign that said "What do we say to the God of Death?" I didn't shout my reply but definitely said "not today!" as I went by!

Congratulations on the marathon! That was such a brutal race. We can all say we lived through something really tough that day.
 
"To this I say: Oh, my Sweet Summer Child."

I can't remember if it was the full or the half but someone at the TTC was holding a sign that said "What do we say to the God of Death?" I didn't shout my reply but definitely said "not today!" as I went by!

Congratulations on the marathon! That was such a brutal race. We can all say we lived through something really tough that day.

I saw it at the full, and it definitely gave me a boost!

Yeah, I have a feeling I will remember this Marathon for a looonnng time due to the extreme circumstances.
 
My goal was to start running again on Monday after a week off and do three weeks of training leading up to HHI on 2/8. Unfortunately, I came down with the flu and have been pretty much flat on my back for the past three days. :sick:

So...now I have to figure out how best to approach this. I'm sick enough at the moment that I'm going to err on the side of caution and not plan to run until Friday--the worst possible thing to have happen would be to push myself too hard and miss even MORE prep time.

This was the original plan:

1/20-1/26
Monday: 3 Miles Easy
Tuesday: 1 Mile WU/10k Easy/1Mile CD
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 6 Miles Easy
Friday: 5 Miles Easy
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 12 Miles Easy

1/27-2/2
Monday: 5 Miles Easy
Tuesday: 1 Mile WU/5 Miles Hill Intervals/1 Mile CD
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 5 Miles Easy
Friday: 5 Miles Easy
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 14 Miles with Final 8 Miles MP

2/3-2/8
Monday: 3 Miles Easy
Tuesday: 1 Mile WU/2 Miles MP/1Mile CD
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 2 Miles Easy
Friday: Off
Saturday: Race

(Easy Runs at 11:00, Marathon Pace at 10:25)

Should I just pick up on Friday with the 5 Miles? Thoughts?
 
My approach is always equal time off to equal time return. So if you took off one week, then you'd need at least one week of completely easy running in return. If you end up having to take off 12 days (Marathon Sunday to Friday 1/24 return), then you're looking at an equal 12 days of exclusively easy running. This takes you out to 2/4 and essentially race day at that point. This approach is almost always the same regardless of what caused the time off (in this case it was a combination of a marathon and sickness).

I would be VERY hesitant to do a 22 mile run (14+8MP) the weekend prior to the marathon if I had any real tangible goals for the M. That 22 miler's effects will probably linger for a few days at least. Especially since it takes about 14 days for the mitochondria to go through a life cycle. I'd imagine a run like that would be fairly damaging to them. Conventional wisdom is that it takes about 7-10 days to reap the physical benefits of the run. And building fitness takes about 6 weeks. So I feel like the benefits of the 22 miler will not be realized by race day, but the recovery/harmful effects are likely to be there. Just my two cents.

What was the original taper design in the plan you were following (Disney marathon not withstanding)?
 
My approach is always equal time off to equal time return. So if you took off one week, then you'd need at least one week of completely easy running in return. If you end up having to take off 12 days (Marathon Sunday to Friday 1/24 return), then you're looking at an equal 12 days of exclusively easy running. This takes you out to 2/4 and essentially race day at that point. This approach is almost always the same regardless of what caused the time off (in this case it was a combination of a marathon and sickness).

I would be VERY hesitant to do a 22 mile run (14+8MP) the weekend prior to the marathon if I had any real tangible goals for the M. That 22 miler's effects will probably linger for a few days at least. Especially since it takes about 14 days for the mitochondria to go through a life cycle. I'd imagine a run like that would be fairly damaging to them. Conventional wisdom is that it takes about 7-10 days to reap the physical benefits of the run. And building fitness takes about 6 weeks. So I feel like the benefits of the 22 miler will not be realized by race day, but the recovery/harmful effects are likely to be there. Just my two cents.

What was the original taper design in the plan you were following (Disney marathon not withstanding)?

Thank you so much for weighing in!

I should have been clearer--the 8 miles at MRP are PART of the 14 miles, not in addition to them. So, 14 miles total. Unless there's a medal or a great race shirt at the end of it, I REALLY have to be forced to run anything over 20 Miles. Honestly, anything over 18 Miles is a real chore. :rotfl:

My Plan had been to do a condensed version of Weeks 13, 14, and 16 of this.

At the time, it sounded doable, but now that I'm facing it down, that 14 looks awfully far. I think partly because Disney took more out of me than I'd expected.

Do you feel that anything substantial would be gained by putting in any "hard" running at this point?
 
I should have been clearer--the 8 miles at MRP are PART of the 14 miles, not in addition to them. So, 14 miles total. Unless there's a medal or a great race shirt at the end of it, I REALLY have to be forced to run anything over 20 Miles. Honestly, anything over 18 Miles is a real chore. :rotfl:

Ahh, that makes more sense. Now I remember our conversation from earlier.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-running-thread-2020.3784001/post-61404998
It looks like with the time off you shifted the Week 13 from the plan from the week of 1/20 to 1/27. Essentially, moving that 14 miler with 8 at MP from 14 days out to 7 days out. If you run the 8 miles at MP (1:23 hrs) and 6 miles at Easy (1:06 hrs), you're looking at a 2.5 hr run. Even though it's still only 14 miles with 8 at MP, a 2.5 hr run 7 days out is still fairly aggressive. In the original plan, you'd be looking at 8-10 miles at LR which equates to 1:28-1:50 hrs. I think that's a fairly sizeable difference and makes the 14 miler just way too aggressive.

I think partly because Disney took more out of me than I'd expected.

I think this is a key part. Originally you went into Disney with the mindset that it was going to be the last long training run for HHI at 26.2 miles. But I think physically it ended up harder than a standard last long training run. So I definitely think a shift in philosophy is warranted. Whether we like it or not, that Disney run is probably going to have a negative impact on the HHI marathon. So I think it's warranted to err on the side of less rather than more. I get the feeling of wanting to do one last long run, but it's probably going to do more harm than good at this point. So maybe a middle ground of sorts.

Start running again tomorrow (if the flu effects are gone/tolerable). Stick with runs in the 45-60 min range as that appears to be your standard mid-week distances. Then consider maybe 1-2 hard runs total prior to the HHI marathon. Maybe something like:

Screen Shot 2020-01-23 at 8.33.33 AM.png

EA, EB and LR are all your easy pace of 11 min/mile (or slower, and I think slower will be better).
M Tempo is 10:25, HM Tempo is 10:00, CV is 9:30, and 5k is 9:10.

The first five days are all easy and slower than an 11 min/mile is preferable. You may feel sluggish after the 12 days off, so don't worry about trying to hit a certain pace. Give it a few days to get back in form. The first workout on that Friday is a modified M Tempo workout. The duration is less (1:42 vs 2:30) and the M Tempo portion is broken up making it less demanding overall. This balances allowing you some M Tempo workout prior to the race (to get a feel for it again), but makes it overall easier with the interval style. The other workout on Tuesday is a primer. A nice and easy start, and then one 9 min interval starting at HM Tempo, then CV, then 5k pace for a very short period of time. The only purpose is to help reinvigorate the muscles, saying "Hey, we're racing soon. Wake up!".

I'd call this plan moderately aggressive. It's not as aggressive as what you laid out above. But it's probably more aggressive than the time off (12 days) would suggest you should be doing. A middle ground. Thoughts?
 
@DopeyBadger, I think this sounds extremely doable--thank you so much for taking the time to put it together.

I'll probably shift some of the days around to accommodate schedule demands (I'm taking the girls to Epcot to celebrate Chinese New Year on Saturday, and I just don't know what that day looks like yet!).

I need to keep reminding myself that, while I intend to PR this race, the real goal is to get across the finish line. Completing a non-Disney marathon is, mentally, somehow a big deal for me. It feels like a graduation of sorts...like, " I CAN do this without the possibility of stopping for Daisy Duck part way through!"
 
I need to keep reminding myself that, while I intend to PR this race, the real goal is to get across the finish line. Completing a non-Disney marathon is, mentally, somehow a big deal for me. It feels like a graduation of sorts...like, " I CAN do this without the possibility of stopping for Daisy Duck part way through!"

You can do this! I'd suggest being very very conservative to start. Start out in the >11s at something that feels ridiculously easy. If your body will allow a faster pace, then it'll happen for you in the later stages of the race. But I think if you're overly aggressive to start, it's going to make the day much much tougher given the recent marathon experience and flu-bug.
 
Training Update 1/24/2020-2/5/2020

So, this is the account of my training between the WDW Marathon on 1/12/2020 and the Hilton Head Island Marathon on 2/8/2020. Not a huge turnaround, and it was shortened even further when I came down with the flu (legit influenza) about a week after the WDW Marathon.

Now, as a person with Lupus, I’m not stranger to feeling under the weather or even downright lousy. But I will admit that I haven’t feel as bad as I did with this bout of the flu since my last severe Lupus flare. It was seriously a chore to flip my pillow from one side to the other. At one point, I had the chills so badly that three layers of clothes and an electric blanket were no help.

Needless to say, it’s not the ideal way to begin a mini training cycle between two marathons!

But, I made the best of it, and I’m actually really pleased with how I’m running right now and excited (if, also, very, very nervous) about Saturday.


I will typically be more fun/descriptive in my training re-caps, but the lingering sickness and catching up at work has left me short on time, so these will be brief!



[NB: Every run typically has a ½ mile warm-up and cool down on either end, but I don’t usually record it]



1/24/2020
3.22 Miles--11’16”/mile

51 Degrees, Pre-Sunrise


Definite soreness in my knees and quads. Felt weak, but not tired. Attempted to slow my pace down, but my breathing got out of sync and caused a stitch in my side that only eased up at a slightly faster pace, no matter how I tried to control my breath.



1/25/2020
4.52 Miles—11’17”/mile

57 Degrees, Sunny


Felt very hard for the first mile, but incredibly comfortable by mile two. Lingering soreness in my quads.



1/26/2020
3.1 Miles—10’39/mile

65 Degrees, Sunny


Took some effort, but not as much as the previous day. Intentionally trying to pick routes with hills.



1/27/2020
3.56 Miles—11’20”/mile

53 Degrees, Pre-Sunrise


Definitely felt the urge to go faster, but intentionally held back.



1/29/2020
4.7 Miles—11’10”/mile

44 Degrees, Pre-Sunrise


This run felt GREAT. I could have easily gone faster and farther. It’s like my body remembered how to run. Finished feeling very optimistic, particularly about the potential of racing in cooler weather.



1/31/2020
5.2 Miles—11’11”/mile

49 Degrees, Pre-Sunrise


Again, this felt strong and natural. My stride was fluid and my breathing was easy. Any lingering soreness was gone. I’m REALLY starting to love the Ghost 11’s, even though I was uncertain about them previously. I had to experiment with how I was lacing them—I have an extremely high instep and very narrow heels—but I think I have it down and they’re really adding a little zip when I push off.



2/1/2020
8.06 Miles—[1 Mile 11’30”, 6 Miles 10’25”, 1 Mile 11’32”]

62 Degrees, Rainy


One of those runs you wish you could just make last forever. There was a misty drizzle the entire time, my Billy Idol Pandora station was on point, and I was just so happy to be healthy and running again. Definitely feeling some fear about whether I can keep it going for 26.2, but I tried to push it down and just enjoy the moment.



2/2/2020
5.09 Miles
Mile 1: 10’20”
Mile 2: 10’11”
Mile 3: 10’08”
Mile 4: 9’47”
Mile 5: 9’40”

52 Degrees, Sunny


This is the first time I’d tried this particular progression and I really enjoyed it. Definitely something I’ll be repeating. A huge confidence booster.



2/4/2020
4.25 Miles
Mile 1: 10’40”
Mile 2: 9’40”
Mile 2.25: 9’00”
Miles 3 & 4: 10’30”

48 Degrees, Pre-Sunrise


Felt hard, but not too hard. Tried to get my body to remember the difference in the feeling between 9’00” and 10’30” and to shoot for the latter. I’m anxious for the race, which makes me happy. I was worried I would feel too burnt out to even want to go that far so soon. I think limiting my mileage in between the two marathons definitely has me in the right headspace…we’ll see how it does for my body!



2/5/2020
4.33 Miles—[1 Mile 11’05”, 2 Miles 9’35”, 1 Mile 11’10”]


55 Degrees, Pre-Sunrise

Nice, normal run. This is about the weather I'm anticipating for the marathon, so I spent some time trying to figure out what I should wear. I always stress about over or under dressing. I suppose that was a positive about Crazy Hot WDW 2020--I knew for certain I wanted to wear as little as possible!
 

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