January 9, 2010 Disney World Half Marathon
13.1 miles in the most magical place in the world with 27,000 running partners!
Time: 2:04:10 ouch!
Pace: 9:28 ha!
Ran With: My wife Jenny and Terri Ward.
Well, first of all I want to say that this was an amazing place to run! The course was wonderful. The weather on the other hand was terrible. We showed up at about 4:45 am to start the journey and it was a whopping 32 degrees out with a mix of sleet and snow...... yes you read that correct SLEET AND SNOW! I mean really were are in Orlando right? Go figure the day that we have to run a marathon is the first time snow has happened since like I was two years old back in 1977. I don't remember the snow of 1977 (besides seeing it in pictures), but this snow will definitely be one that I will remember forever.
Now, for the actual race: I finally got to the official start line 50 minutes after the race started and began my run. I actually trained for an 8:30 pace for this half marathon, but realized quickly that this pace, or any consistent pace was not going to happen. After running the first three miles on the grass and weaving in and out of hundreds of people just to keep a 9:00 pace i decided that I would "go with the flow" and enjoy the scenery. We ran through the Magic Kingdom and saw a lot of Disney characters at about miles 5 and 6. This was a lot of fun, and lasted much longer in this Magic Kingdom than it did in the California Magic Kingdom. In the Magic Kingdom we went down Main Street took a right into tomorrow land, ran past the tea cups, past the carousel, through the castle, down to the right into frontier land, past splash mountain and out some back lot area back into the streets. After a few miles on the main road we made our way up a few steep ramps and into the front gates of Epcot Center. In Epcot we ran past spaceship earth (the big ball), down to the entrance of the world (where all of the different countries are) and back out in front of spaceship earth. The views in these two parks were amazing. I have been going to Disney World since I was born. Probably been there thousands of times, but this time was more special than any other time that I have been there!
Thanks Disney World for yet another Magical Experience! You definitely lived up to my expectations!
It is truly magical isn't? I have run the full 2 times, and both of my years were HOT which does NOT work for me. I would much rather our current temps than hot and humid. Anyway, even with the unexpected temps. both years, I really enjoyed it. I would love to attempt the Goofy one year. I had the same issues with the crowds. In the full, both years, it took me 4 miles to get "on pace." Now, if I am trying to pr, I go to small, flat and fast races. Congrats for going and enjoying the experience.
ReplyDeleteGinny, I actually was telling Jenny and Terri today that I would like to try the Goofy. If you ever want someone to train with for that one please let me know. I really want to do it someday.
ReplyDeleteRead your post on the Pacers web site. Welcome to the blogger world fellow Pacer! Looks like you had a great time at Disney! Congrats on a well run race! Cheers!
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