Skip to main content

Goofy: Day 1

There was to be a Half Marathon completed the day before the Marathon, and then all three golden medals would be ours. THE GOOFY CHALLENGE 2011. 
39.3 Miles

We spent the week prior to Marathon weekend in Orlando doing Disney, swimming, laying in the sun, and avoiding alligators and large snakes. On Thursday we visited ESPN Wide World of Sports to hit up the race expo. 
Angie texting, live from the Wide World of Sports
overstimulation.

Friday we stayed off our feet and loaded up on the carbs. I took one more dip in the pool and then layed out our supplies to ration for the weekend. 
gu, gu, and more gu.
And then here we are at Saturday morning. 2:45 am, actually, because the cab is coming about 3, and traffic is supposed to be backed up and horrible, and if you're not in your corral by 5 YOU CAN'T RUN.

We got there. We got a cup of coffee and tried to loosen up despite the chilly early morning. At about 4:30 they opened the gate and 27,000 of us marched a quarter mile to the start with 13.1 miles ahead of us to run. Energetic announcers were playing music to pump us up. It was dark, five in the morning cold, and everyone around me was singing Don't Stop Believin'. AWESOME.
Oh yeah, and Al Roker and Meredith Viera were running. 
The National Anthem was played and then there were giant beautiful fireworks, and the first group took off. We were the second to last group, so by the time we started, the first finishers were coming in as we approached the first mile. Normally in a race you don't get to see the finish, but we actually got to clap and cheer for them as they ran past us in the opposite direction. 
The first 4 or 5 miles led into the Magic Kingdom as the sun was coming up. We were running a relaxed pace and sandwiched in with everyone else, so it was pretty easy going. 
And then I learned that my sister likes racecars a lot?

And then I saw MY dream car...
Entering the Magic Kingdom, the course was packed with people. We turned the corner onto Main Street and the castle was directly in front of us.
We veered to the right around the side of the castle, and look who we found!!
 And then here's me, clearly ecstatic. 
Before I knew it, we were heading out of the park and along a beautiful golf course with the sun blazing in front of us. There were people and music and more water/food/medical stations along the way than I've seen in any other race. It seemed like it was over too quickly. We finished around two and a half hours. I had to keep reminding myself about the next day. The BIG next day. 
At the finish we wrapped ourselves in foil and a very nice guy wrapped both of my knees with ice. We got our medals and people gave us bananas and diet coke. Somebody took our picture, and then we made our way to the taxis. The thing about running a race at Disney is...it's the happiest race on Earth. Everyone is there to help you along the way, cheer for you, and take care of you at the end. 

13.1 down....26.2 to go.




Labels:

Comments

  1. KT80February 24, 2011 at 7:22 PM

    Way to go! I was there too, but for the 5k. Would you run another big race at Disney?

    ReplyDelete
  2. LiaFebruary 25, 2011 at 8:03 PM

    I definitely would! It was a great first marathon, because every moment of it was a grand experience, and with all that's going on, it feels like it goes by really fast.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Year's One Day 12 Hour (Uh, 7 Hour) Race Report

Here's the idea: You pay actual money to run around in a circle for either 6, 12, or 24 hours. This is how you choose to spend your New Year's Eve.  That's it. That's the course. Just keep turning right until midnight.  Each time you complete a lap, you pass under the finish arch, that is never actually the finish line, and over a timing mat that tracks the number of laps you've done and displays it on a screen. This should actually say, "KEEP GOING FOR MORE HOURS" You're looking at the same people lap after lap. It's the Golden Gate Bridge over and over again. You're not actually getting anywhere.  What is the point of what we are doing. That question is exactly why I love this race.  Here are hundreds of people, lap after lap, living entirely inside their own heads for hours and hours, each with a different answer to that question.  Last year I ran because I just wanted to find out if I could do it. I wan...
10 comments
Read more

Skyline to the Sea 50k, I lived.

To say the week preceding the race was an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement. What I didn't know, was that it would be nothing compared to my experience out on the trail. I had said going in my goal was a sub 6 hour finish, and, unknowingly foreshadowing my race, I added, "but you never know what can happen out there." My decision to run ultras came long before my actual ability to run them, so after collecting a couple years of trail running under my belt I finally felt ready to take the plunge. Skyline to the Sea came at just the right time providing a net downhill course with just over 3,000 ft of elevation gain. If you're not aware of the on again off again drama that ensued surrounding this race, refer to my previous post  here . Race morning, standing at the trail head with over 200 other runners, a collective feeling of gratitude hung in the warm air as Wendell counted us down to start. Spectators lined the street above us, and the runners e...
10 comments
Read more

Skyline to the Sea 50k. Here's what happened.

Five days before the fifth annual Skyline to the Sea 50k, entrants received an email from race director Sarah Spelt that knocked the wind out of us all: I am beyond sorry to announce that I am forced to close the doors at PCTR, effective immediately... It's been no secret to the Northern California trail running community that Pacific Coast Trail Runs has experienced quite a bit of turbulence, especially in the last year, resulting in some cancelled races and even a no show. 2012 boasted a handful of successful races, the most recent being the Diablo Marathon and 60k just three days prior. Things seemed to be on the upswing, especially with the upcoming Skyline to the Sea Marathon and 50k being completely sold out. I'd been through the disappointment over previously cancelled races, but this time was different. I'd carefully chosen this race to be my first ultra. I was brokenhearted and angry, but it didn't take long for a runner coming from Illinois specifically for t...
8 comments
Read more