Walt Disney World's Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Part 3

If you missed part 1 here, and then onto part 2 here.

Part 3 and I promise the last one.

The lovely thunderstorms that canceled the half Saturday morning brought a nasty cold front through central Florida on Saturday afternoon. The forecasted temperature for start time Sunday morning was 36 with wind chill in the 20s. I grew up in Missouri, but I lost all that toughness when I moved to the South. E and I decided to find a Wal Mart Saturday morning to stock up on hand warmers, gloves, hats, and ponchos. We woke up at 3:15 Sunday morning, grabbed our stuff, and dashed to the car to head to the race. I am so glad we drove to the race instead of staying on property and taking the shuttle buses. We sat in the warm car as long as possible. Plus we parked right next to the staging area. It was sweet. Finally around 4 we made our way out of the car. The race didn't start until 5:30, and our corral wasn't scheduled to start until close to 6, but I had to pee. We still had to make our way through security, meet with a few people, and then hit the bathrooms before the long walk to the corrals. Disney advises to give 20 minutes to walk to the corrals from the staging area. I don't think it took that long, but it is still a pretty long walk. After we met with some friends, and hit the bathrooms, we took our place in the corral. It was on the long walk that E realized he lost his watch. He had it in his hydration vest, but it was gone when he went to put it on. Luckily, he didn't plan on using intervals so he decided to run by feel. He likes doing math while running so calculation his pace every mile helped him pass the time.

We were in corral H so we had a bit of a wait before our start, and I was so happy when we finally started running. It meant that I could try to warm up a bit. I had decided to use :90/:30 intervals for the race. Disney races are very popular with run/walkers so it can get crowded in spots when a group of friends or a pace group is near you. I ran in the grass a lot the first few miles. With such short intervals, I was afraid to venture to the middle too much so I stuck to the edges so I could move over during the walk break. So many people would just stop in the middle for their walk break, and it would cause such a bottleneck. I was feeling pretty good that day even with the frigid temperatures. I have always had an issue with fuel and nutrition for a marathon. I decided to suck it up and wear my hydration vest filled with Tailwind. I had tried it on short runs and knew it didn't bother me, but I had never tried it on long runs. I hate wearing my vest because it rubs my neck, but I was tired of vomiting during marathons. Let me tell you, the Tailwind was amazing. I would sip it whenever I was thirsty, and trying to make sure to take a big gulp every mile marker. I didn't use any gels or chews. I ate 2 bananas that were given on the course, and would take some water the second half of the race to balance out the Tailwind. I never felt sick. I was thrilled. I found myself running the miles a bit faster than I planned. At about the halfway point I decided to go for it. I was going to attempt my ultimate goal for a marathon which I had never achieved. Running through the parks is so exhilarating that I never felt tired during those parts.

How can you be unhappy when running down Main Street?

He had no line so I jumped right in

I crapped out a bit around mile 18, but I realized if I hustled I could still make my goal. I kicked it into gear, then had a mental breakdown at mile 20, kicked it up again, and then lost it at 22. By mile 22 I was spent. I switched my intervals to :60/:30 and that helped. I was able to get some energy again as I went through Hollywood Studios, but I wasn't moving as fast as before. I lost a minute per mile for the last 4 miles. Plus I had a 5 minute bathroom break at the halfway point in Animal Kingdom. (Thanks to Mother Nature for giving me that lovely time of the month issue the day before a race.) I was still really tired those last miles, but I kept going. I didn't stop running during my run intervals. I was shuffling at times, but I was still moving.

Nothing like giving Mickey a high 5 at the finish line

Despite my best effort I didn't make my goal time. I missed it by 7 minutes. If you take out my bathroom break it was only 2 minutes. I hate that I have to count that time, but it is what it is. This was a PR for me. It was my third marathon in eleven months. From my first to this one, I took 35 minutes off my time. I took 12 minutes off from my MCM time. I was pretty proud of myself. It is easy to run and have fun at Disney. The crowd support is great. The signs were funny, and people were giving away food along the course. I really had a great time. I have said this would be my last marathon, and it will be for now. With everything that is going on this year, training for one would be difficult. I have told myself to take a year off from that distance and consider it again for 2018. I really want to get my half time to under 2 hours which will be my goal for 2017-2018. Oh yeah, and run healthy again.