*WARNING....THIS IS A VERY LONG POST*
Last Thursday I arrived in Orlando after a LONG day of travel & officially started my "marathon weekend". As most of you know, no one from my family was able to come along with me so I had to have a roommate during my stay. I was really nervous about the roommate situation, because I knew it was going to be someone I didn't know & had probably never met. As it turns out, I had a very pleasant roommate that was very busy with her family most of the time we were there, so it was almost like I DID have a private room. The first few days were a little slower pace, so it was nice to have some "alone time" for the first time in.....oh, 5 years!! The down time was great, but I quickly found myself anxious to "get on with things". The three days of waiting for the marathon day to come seemed like the three longest days of my life!
But....I used my time wisely-LOL!
I won't bore you all to death with the "little" details anymore....I'll move on to the "main event" details now :-).
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*Finally, after three day's of waiting my alarm went off at 2:00 a.m Sunday morning! Yep....you read that right...2:00 AM! I quickly bounced out of bed with nervous anticipation. I had tossed and turned all night long & watched the hours click by until I drove myself nutty. I think I got maybe 1-2 hours of sleep....maybe. I had placed all of my race gear out with meticulous care the night before (because I'm a nerd), so there wasn't a whole lot to do to get ready.
My anal-retentive side comes to life!
We boarded the buses at 3:00 a.m & we were finally on our way to the marathon start line! WOOOHOO!
This is my mentor Jodi :-)
Jen and I waiting.....and waiting.....
Once we got to the start line area we got to wait...and then wait some more! We arrived at the "holding area" about 3:30 & they actually had a live band playing & I began to get REALLY excited at that point. So much so, that my "nervous bladder syndrome" kicked in about three times (yes, I was WELL hydrated). We went from one holding area to our final "coral" (another holding area) where we were lined up about a mile from the start line(just about LOL!)...and then we waited some more!
By this point I was sure all the waiting was going to KILL me! I can't explain the sweet relief I felt when the fireworks went off at 6:00 am & the race was FINALLY underway! At 6:07 my foot hit the start mat & I was officially running my first marathon! The music, fireworks, and spectators were amazing at the start! I wish I would have taken some pictures of that, but I was way too excited to remember to do that:-).
Up to this point I haven't said anything about the HUMIDITY...but as you can see it was as thick as a blanket that morning. NO...it was NOT raining (the lens on my camera just didn't like the humidity). We were all soaked with sweat within the first five minutes of our run. So much for looking cute at the beginning!
Jodi and I....about mile 6 or so.
The sea of runners....and endless fog! This was a "WOW" moment for me when I got a good idea of enormity of this race. We shut down the highway for a few hours!
Heading toward Cinderella's castle!
In the Magic Kingdom, getting ready to run through the castle! *That's me on the left...it's kinda hard to tell in this picture.
The best part of doing the Disney Marathon is getting your picture taken with the characters! My kids think I'm SOOO cool now :-)
That's my coach running next to me (left). This was about mile 14 & I was telling him that I felt like I was going to have a asthma attack! At this point the heat and humidity really started to get to me.
Mile 17 (or so). Animal Kingdom was a nice "break"...so many fun things to look at. The sun was up & I could finally breathe a little better! Donald was too cute in the safari outfit...so I HAD to snap a picture :-)
"The Gang"...getting close to mile 19 (I think).
After the mile 22 "refreshment stop" I heard MOVE IT...MOVE IT....MOVE IT...PICK THOSE FEET UP SOLDIER...and I knew this was a picture worthy moment (even though my mouth was full).
Mile 23 was my first big "victory" of the day because up to that point the longest training run I had completed was only 22 miles! Yay! Only 3.2 to go!!
Mile 24...like my hat?
**To view my finish line photos you will have to click on
THIS link. *You will have to click on the "Walt Disney World Marathon" (January 7th) My Bib # was 9918 :-)
Jodi, Me, and Susan (Left to Right) at the Finish Line. Can you tell we are all just a
little happy.
Getting my finisher's medal
YAY!!!!!!
* I wish I could accurately express what the finish line felt like....but anything I could write would seem to fall short of the emotion that I felt at that point in time. It wasn't just about finishing 26.2 miles....it was the completion of a journey for me. This was more than just about running a race and finishing. This race was very near and dear to my heart, because it was something I felt like I HAD to do. Why? I'm not sure I can really answer that question in a satisfactory way to most people. All I know is that I felt an enormous "pull" to do this marathon, and I'm sure glad I followed through with that desire.
The end result has been profound. I see myself a little differently now. I see a much stronger person than I thought was possible. I've discovered that it really is OK to do something for myself, even though the majority of my life is dedicated to serving other people (something I am honored to be able to do). It's made me believe in myself. It's made me confident in my ability to rise above difficult circumstances, and still find a way to succeed. It's made me see "setbacks" as just a temporary circumstance, not a life-sentence.
I wasn't in this to prove that I'm some sort of great athlete (I laugh at the thought of being called a "runner"...I still don't feel like I can call myself that). I didn't spend 5 months training and fundraising because I had "nothing better to do". No... it wasn't at all about the 26 miles. It was about believing that the finish line is really just a beginning.
* I want to add a special "Thank You" to my mentor Jodi, who told me EVERY WEEK that I could do it! She ran right next to me through every long training run & assured me that all my strange aches and pains were completely normal-LOL! She made the long runs seem "do-able" when I didn't think I could run another step. I really felt like part of a "team" because of her :-).
**The biggest "Thank You" of all I owe to my sweet hubby! He supported me all the way & even
willingly volunteered to watch the kids
EVERY SATURDAY for almost 5 months. This marathon was as much of a sacrifice for him as it was for me. He understood how much I wanted this & made it his mission to see this thing through with me. Now that's love!
