We got over to Walt Disney World about 7:00 PM on Thursday to pick up our race packets at Wide World Of Sports. We were all surprised to see the number of people doing the same thing. It confirmed all I had heard about the popularity of Disney's Marathon Weekend. We picked up our packets without incident, and then headed over to the Swan hotel to get checked in. The Swan is very nice and our room was nice and conveniently located near the elevators and the ice machine (more on that later). After getting settled, we headed out to find some food. We walked over to the Dolphin hotel and found a little place called The Fountain. I have to say that the food wasn't that great, but it was convenient and at least the desserts were good!
With dinner behind us, we headed back to the room to watch a little of the NCAA National Championship game between Florida and Oklahoma. We managed to watch into the 3rd quarter (Florida was up 14-7) when we called it a night. We needed to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom at 5:45 AM, so I set the alarm for 4:30 and turned the lights out.
At about 2:00 AM the commotion began. People were laughing, talking, yelling in the hallway like they were in a bar. Nobody was quiet. The elevator was busy non-stop and the ice machine was working overtime. I tried to hear if I could figure out who won the game, but nobody was laughing, talking, or yelling about the game. This went on for over an hour. I think I got about an hour of sleep before the alarm went off at 4:30. Turns out Florida won the game, and I suspect what we heard was the aftermath of the victory. Go Gators!
We all slowly got going and made it downstairs for the bus right on time at 5:45 AM. It was still dark and pretty chilly (mid 40s). The bus made a few stops at other resorts and we made it to the drop off at Animal Kingdom right about 6:15 AM. You would think that the buses would be dropping people off close to where the start of the race would be, but you would be wrong. We had to walk about 3/4 mile to the start area in the dark and in the cold. That was a little annoying, but the walk probably helped us get our muscles loose.
I left M & M at the walkers area and went to check my backpack and hit the porta-potty. By the time I got back to the walker area, there were so many people I couldn't find M & M. We had agreed to meet at the porta-potties at the end of the race as a last resort, and I figured they would be OK in the crowd, so I headed up towards the starting line to find my starting place. The whole starting area was fenced off, so I started heading back towards the walkers area looking for the end of the fence so that I could get in the starting chute. I couldn't find the end of the fence! I gave up and headed back towards the starting line, found the place I wanted to start, and hopped over the fence! At this point we were about 10 minutes from the start of the race, so I stretched and took it all in. This was my biggest race by far, and the atmosphere was pretty awesome. Disney music playing over the loud speakers, Disney characters everywhere, a couple of commentators, and a helicopter overhead.
The countdown to the start of the race involved more loud music and fireworks, and then we were off. The sun was just starting to come up and it was pretty foggy. The first mile or so of the race was in the Animal Kingdom parking lot. I finished the first mile in 6:55. The next mile was up and down and all around inside the park. I was so focused on running, I don't really remember much of the surroundings. I was on a mission. I finished the first two miles in 14:11. I knew then I had a chance to reach my goal (22:45) if I could just keep it up. The third mile was more of the same and I tried to keep up the pace. Several people that I had been chasing from the start fell back, and I passed them. I hit mile three right around 21:00 (I can't remember the exact time) and I knew then that I had a chance to finish under 22:00. I ran that last 10th of a mile as fast as I could and finished the race in 21:49, a full 1:07 below my previous best 5K. After crossing the finish line, I got a nice Circle of Life 5K medal and a TSA medal. The TSA representative told me that I was the first from Team TSA to finish. I enjoyed some food and drink at the finish line and waited for M & M. They crossed the finish line some time later in 1:05. This was M & M's first 5K, and they were slowed down to take pictures and tie shoes. They have both expressed an interest in training with me for future races!Here is a link to my GPS data for the race. It looks like the GPS had a little trouble getting a good track on me at the start, so the overall distance came out to only 3.05 miles. The total time matched the race clock minus the few seconds it took me to get to the starting line. I started my watch as I crossed the starting line and not when the gun went off (seems only fair!). Since this race was considered a fun race, no official times will be posted. I'm hoping when the pictures are posted that Disney took they will have one that has me crossing the finish line that also shows the clock. I think the race clock said 21:52 as I went under it.
We had a really great time. We are all a little sore today, but I'm looking forward to next year already. Thanks again for your support.
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