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| Guess now it's official! |
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| Crossing the line |
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| I got the Mickey bling! |
So, this post is ONLY 8 months late, but hey, I'm lazy and got so focused on the race I just didn't want to write anymore.
But for my one fans, here's what happened from last post (11/12/11. 20-miler) to race (1/8/12):
During the month of November, I got injured. Badly. The "shin splints" turned out to be something more, but I still to this day don't know what the problem was. I was still running, albeit painfully, taping my legs and wearing my compression socks for stability. I started doing physical therapy for my knee, which somewhat helped, but not enough where I wasn't nervous every day about the race creeping up on me. I can't remember what little runs I did in the meantime. I'm sure it was like a 10 miler, 12 miler, and some 5-ers during the week. Too long ago, man!
Thanksgiving 2011
I ran the Dana Point Turkey Trot 10k! Super fun. I went pretty all-out, averaging 8-min miles (what's unbelievable? My high school times were between 7-7:30-min miles. Good grief).
| Overall: | 840 out of 3632 |
| Women: | 235 out of 1932 |
| F 25-29: | 41 out of 293 |
| Age/Grade: | 60.89% Place: 881 |
| Finish: | 49:50 Pace: 8:02 |
| Tag Time: | 49:50 |
| Gun Time: | 58:32 |
Not bad, if I do say so myself. I remember feeling really good the first 3 miles (my first two miles were UNDER 8-min pace!), but my injury popped up during the last 3 miles. It was a good way to gauge the limit of my mile times. Plus, my parents ran the 5k and it was a fun morning for everyone.
December 3, 2011
This was the worst run I have ever done. I ran my longest training run - 22 miles - on the Santa Ana Trail. Santa Ana Trail was perfect since I could start at the 12 mile mark, run to the 1 mile mark (11 miles) and turn around and head back. Easy peasy? Not so much.
I started really strong. First 11 miles were no sweat - I felt strong and confident, legs and knee only a slight twinge of pain. Then I turned around. It got a bit more difficult. My mile times were slowing down substantially. I hit rock bottom 5 miles from the finish - mile 17. My leg was hurting and my lungs were just exhausted. I kept telling myself to just go slower, keep running. When I hit 3 miles left, I was like, "Come on... only a 5k! You can do this!" Pretty sure tears started at that point. My final 3 miles were about 11-min miles. When I finally crossed the mark, I cried and cried... and cried some more. I walked hunched over for about a half-mile back to my car. I took 30 minutes to cool down and recover. I was so proud of myself for doing it, but very disappointed about how I finished. If I could barely handle 22 miles, how could I possibly add 4 more??? I felt like it was an impossible task and I set myself up for failure.
At home, I tortured myself with every runner's favorite remedy... ICE BATH!
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| Brrrrrr... clearly the ice had already melted |
December 2011
The rest of the month was spent doing runs less than 10 miles. I planned on taking the week before the race off completely, since my legs were still very injured. It was at the point where I had to force myself out on the pavement and just run through the pain because I knew I didn't have a choice - I was running on Jan 8!!
The rest DID help a bit. By the time it was flying day, I was a bit more confident with my injury.
January 8, 2012 - RACE DAY!!!
What an insane morning. I only got about 4-5 hours of sleep. I tried to fall asleep by 8pm but my head was spinning with nerves (obviously). I had everything laid out ready to go in the order I needed it so when the alarm went off at 2:10 am (true story), I was like a machine.Sports bra, check. Shorts, check. Tank top, check. KS Tape, check. Sport tape whole bottom leg, check. Compression socks, check. Sweats, check. Backpack with after-race crap, check. I toasted my whole-wheat toast and grabbed my peanut butter (my go-to pre-run breakfast) and headed out to the bus. When we got to Epcot, I headed into the special tent for the race retreat people (totally worth it for the separate bathrooms!). They said you had to be at the line by 5:00 am (gun goes off for elite at 5:30), so here's what I remember about all that:
- Gave Mum and Precious a goodbye/good luck hug about an hour before I started running. Ate my toast, took off my sweats, packed my Sharkies, iPod, and lip balm, and gave them my stuff. At this point, adrenaline had started. "Holy shit, I'm actually running 26.2 miles today."
- I hit the bathrooms at the main area and saw a guy drink an entire glass bottle of pickle juice. Hope that worked for him.
- The route to the starting line was seriously like 2 miles away. I walked for at least 30 minutes. We were like cattle. It was torture. "Just get me there, I'm so nervous and excited, come on!!!"
- I hit every single porta-potty stop on the trek. I wasn't taking ANY chances. I think final tally was 4 bathroom stops from when I arrived at Epcot to the starting line.
- I remember trying to find corral C. It was far up from where you end up after the trek. I think elite had just gone off by the time I found a spot in C.
- Counting down the minutes was crazy. 4 minutes til C! 2 minutes! Holy shit!
It would be impossible to write what I was feeling the entire race (and not just because I waited 8 months to write about it). Here are HIGHLIGHTS!
- Miles 1-3 were slow and tight. So. Many. People. The first 4 miles ran through Epcot.
- My strongest miles were 5-12. Pace was very good and I felt amazing.
- My top highlight (other than finishing) was seeing my family around mile 10 through the Magic Kingdom on Main Street. Coming into MK at mile 9, I knew I had to look out for them. I still can't believe I found them immediately. Scott filmed me and I was able to say hi. That pushed me through the next 3 miles, easy.
- Oh man... Mile 13. Ugh. Aren't you supposed to hit the wall at mile 20? This was the beginning of the end. I felt it come on between 13 and 16. These 3 miles took us in the backwoods of the WDW area. No real scenery, no parks, just sunshine, heat, and a never-ending road. I vividly remember yelling out loud at Mile 16, "ONLY 10 MILES LEFT!!!!!!"
- Miles 17-19 went around Animal Kingdom, which was a quick pick-me-up. It was shadier and I loved running past Expedition Everest thinking, "Yes, I will ride you later."
Still able to mug at Mile 18 - Everest in background - Here's where the wall really hit me. Mile 20. There was a horrible part where you ran for like a mile straight only to turn around and come right back the same way. You're looking at all these people ahead of you running on by and all I could think was, "No fair! I wanna be where you are!" After the out-and-back, you head into Hollywood Studios. It was VERY hot by this point - no shade on the road up to the park.
- I remember running the pathway from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. There were lots of spectators and cheerleaders so it wasn't so bad. Those were miles 23-24. I knew as soon as I headed in Epcot it was SO CLOSE to being over.
- The last major thing I remember is seeing the sign for Mile 26. That came right after running backstage before you hit Mexico.You turn a corner and there is the throng of spectators - the bleachers, the long straightaway, and the FINISH banner. Pretty amazing feeling.
So, even though I was 13 minutes over my goal time of 4:15:00, I finished with my other 3 goals still in tact: No Stopping, No Walking, Finish in under 4:30:00. :)
And yes, I probably WILL run another one. Who wants to do the Goofy Race-and-a-Half Challenge with me? Half Marathon Saturday, Full Marathon Sunday? Come one, people! And by people, I mean Lisa. It's the top bragging right of the WDW Marathon weekend!
Next Up: Disneyland Half Marathon, Sept 2, 2012.
Damn, I better start training.
But my legs hurt...
