{WDW Marathon: Part1}

How exactly do I begin?

There is so much that I’d like to share about our BIG marathon weekend. I will do my best to stay on track.

The trip to Florida was by far one of the BEST experiences of my life! I never in a million years would have imagined myself walking away from this event with more passion in my heart than before. I never in million years would have thought that I would have formed new friendships. I never understood the bonds that are created between couples and families over one simple meal. I never fully understood encouragement, inspiration, and motivation until I shook hands with people like Sid Busch and the others who sat with us in front of the fireplace at Shades of Green. Nothing can compare to these little moments!

My nerves kicked in before we left home. I was beyond excited about our trip but unfortunately, I was battling my own fears. I was very worried that my foot injury was going to prevent me from finishing a race that I had dreamed about running for over two years. I was really scared that I would hurt myself worse than before. The last thing I wanted to do was end up confined to the big ugly black boot again or even worse a cast!

I questioned whether or not I could endure two days of long runs. Before my foot injury, my longest run had been 14 miles. I never had the chance to attempt 15 miles or 20 miles so how exactly was I going to run 26.2? How exactly was I going to run a full marathon after running a half marathon?

Although I spent hours reading anything and everything I could find about marathon training, I had no idea how to fuel my body. I had no clue how to hydrate for this type of run. I didn’t have the opportunity to see what would work for me and what wouldn’t.

I will admit, I was the runner who over packed!! I didn’t know what to pack so, I packed everything! I was prepared for winter, summer, spring, and fall. I’m pretty sure I had enough GU and chews to fuel a small army. 

Garmin (check) 

I-pod (check) 

2 pairs of shoes (check) 

Cute Accessories (check) 

Body Glide (check) 

Epsom Salt (double check)

I even packed the black boot. Call me superstitious but I needed to feel safe rather than sorry!!!

Jason and I talked a lot about what we hoped to accomplish. Before my injury, I had set some pretty high goals for myself. Jason went into this race without any training (DON’T EVER TAKE THIS APPROACH) and I was semi-broken. We were quite the running duo! Needless to say, our hope was simply to be able to finish.

We spent our first day exploring Hollywood Studios. This was the first time EVER at Disney World that we were able to bypass the really long “kiddie” lines and take on the big kid rides without having to get a parent pass!!! 

Rockin’ Roller Coaster! 

Tower of Terror! 

Star Tours...party of...2!!

   

Thursday January 5th:

Expo Day/Pasta in the Park

Attending a running expo is one of my favorite things to do. The excitement in the air is absolutely unreal. This is really the first time you get to meet and greet other runners. You get to hear stories and ask questions. You get to listen to guest speakers and best of all you get to go shopping!

Words of encouragement are exchanged. Positive vibes are shared. 

The expo is the moment where everything becomes real! For the first time, you get to hold YOUR race number!!!

This is also the first time you get to rip open your goody bag!!! Disney has the BEST!!!

If you runDisney then you get to show your support for your running partner in a really fun way!

If you are REALLY lucky, then you get the chance to experience Pasta in the Park. A night full of carbs and characters. 

Friday was our day to take it easy. We spent a few hours roaming the realms of Animal Kingdom. We just had to visit the new baby elephant, and the giraffes, and the hippos, and yes even the crocodiles.

Saturday January 7th:

Donald’s 1/2 Marathon

Wake up time: 2:45 AM

After a quick breakfast, gearing up, and extra tape around my foot, we headed outside to brave the winter like temperatures to load the bus that would take us to Epcot.

Over 25,000 runners shuffled their way to the starting line. Jason and I were in corral G, which meant that we were the seventh wave of runners to flow forward. 

The 5:30 am race started with wheelchair racers and then moved onto the elite runners. 45 minutes later, our countdown began and we were off!

My endorphins kicked in and my injury was forgotten as soon as I crossed over the starting line. I can’t exactly say that was a great thing but the smile on my face was pretty dang BIG!!!

Jason and I managed to stay together for the first leg of the race. We lost sight of each other for a while but somehow managed to find each other again when we were inside Magic Kingdom. I made a few stops along the way for some pictures. 

As soon as I had my picture taken with experiment 626,

I looked up and saw Jason turning the corner that leads from Tomorrowland into Fantasyland. I bolted my way through the crowd of runners to catch up to him, which was well worth it because...

WE GOT TO RUN THROUGH CINDERELLA’S CASTLE TOGETHER!!!!

We lost each other again but then he found me standing in line patiently waiting to meet the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious gang

I didn't find Donald on day one but I did find his favorite grouchy uncle.

Almost there!

  

Mile 13

 Gateway to the 

FINISH LINE!

Official Chip Times:

Shannon: 2:44:56

Jason: 3:03:00

Not our best times but most definitely one of the best running experiences EVER!

       

The "15th Anniversary Bling" was pretty impressive!!!

Full marathon details coming soon!