The Running Paintbrush: Disney World 1/2 Marathon: Part 2

BEEEEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEP! 2:25am and its time to get ready to fly!

I'm not excited. Nope. Not in the least.

After quickly brushing my teeth and nudging the Turtle awake, I sent a quick text to my brother (don't believe the lies, revenge is sweet) and we were off to catch the race bus to Epcot.

I tried to keep my hyperness down to a reasonable level as we walked (skipped... :) ) to the baggage dropoff. It was pretty chilly at 45 degrees, and after standing around for a half hour, I started to uncontrollably shake, even with the Turtle wrapping his arms around me.

After downing my breakfast of Excedrin and 2 Shot Blocks, we started walking the 3/4 mile to the race corrals. I sent my Turtle off to Corral D and continued on to the front of the line to Corral A. I stretched and hammed it up for the Megatron camera (Turtle says he saw me on it twice!).

Unfortunately, I had sandwiched myself next to the 2 most annoying, Hills-wannabe girls in the world. What is this, MTV auditions? Hmm..how obvious would it look if I pushed past people to get away? Can we start this thing already before someone gets hurt?

At 5:35am, 5 minutes after the wheel chairs took off (and 20 minutes into a very deep and thought-provoking conversation of 'Like, OMG!' ), Corral A was released from our gate to the cheers of Mickey, Donald, Goofy and fireworks! (Can I start all my runs with fireworks?)

Mile 1 & 2: I booked it over the start line like I was on fire. What's that sound? Ahhh....just the sound of feet pounding, my iPod and NO 'whatEVERS'. "Every Tear is Waterfall" comes on as my 2nd song and I feel like crying I am soooo happy to be there! Feeling awesome, running past fun floats and giant balloons set up along the course

Mile 3 & 4: To the left, to the left! Under the bridge to the Contemporary, a wheelchair racer had a wipeout and we had to narrow down to get by. What's that I see up there? The Castle! Hurray! Time for my favorite part of the whole race!

Mile 5 & 6: There is nothing like running down Main Street of the Magic Kingdom, with people screaming and cowbelling you on, as you run toward the castle. After a little loop into Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, its thru the castle, past a million Brightroom photographers. I raise my hands up to make sure my bib number is not blocked from their lens, and.......throw myself off balance in the process and almost trip myself up. Slick Tink.

After, shouting at Jack Sparrow about where all the rum had gone, I was back on the road toward Epcot and the finish line. (There are characters lined up throughout the race and yes, people actually STOP to TAKE PICTURES with them DURING THE RACE!! I know a lot of people consider the Disney race one where you aren't concerned with your time because it can get so crowded, but I start twitching at the idea of wasting precious seconds from snapping a photo)

Mile 7 & 9: Is it raining? I swear I feel drops even though the sky is clear. I'm pass the run/walkers who are just starting their 13.1 and try to see if I can pick out the Turtle. No luck, but man, I am soo glad I'm on this side of the road then just starting out!

Mile 10 & 11: Do you run the 13th mile or just 12 in a half marathon? Oh my mind is gone. Where's my mylar blanket? I'm done!

Mile 12: Once I passed the Mile 12 marker into Epcot, I started checking my Garmin every 5 seconds to see when this would be over...even though I already knew where the finish line was and how much I had left, I couldn't stop checking! I made the turn around the Christmas Tree in Epcot and headed past Spaceship Earth toward the finish, ready to just flop over in a heap.

.1 to go: That .1 is just .1 too many! Somehow I managed to sprint the last .1 and DONE! 1:38:48!

Yes, that blubbering idiot leaning on the fence was me. I was so proud of myself! Going into this race with my new routine of 18 miles and 1 bike day a week and with the hip flexor issues, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was sure I'd get in under 2 hours, and was really hoping to get around 1:45. But to see that I made it in the same amount of time as the Air Force Half in September, when I'd had a whole summer of normal, pain-free running, I was beside myself. I've never felt more proud.

Clock time: 1:38:48 80th woman of 12,331 | 561 out of 22, 435 finishers | 16th place in my division