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Agony of d'Feet |
The Walt Disney World Marathon Relay will forever go down as one of THE best races I've ever participated in. I was able to experience the whole marathon vibe (while only having to run the second half), I got to have my best friend as my relay partner and I gained something that has been lacking in my running .... Confidence!
I woke up in the morning and put on
Without Limits as some last minute Prefontaine inspiration. Having never even run 1 mile the day after a half marathon, I was unaware of how I would feeling during this second half marathon in a row. But I was excited. So very excited!! We made it to the bus without any wait, and were again quickly at Epcot's busy parking lot. More shopping and running into friends. I love pre-race friend appearances! Before I knew it Brian and I were wishing each other luck and parting was - with him going to the Marathon start while Abby and I went to the relay buses. That was pretty cool - it was a quiet caravan of charter buses driving to the relay point - the ONLY cars on the road!
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The "hand off" |
At the relay point my time was pretty short. I was able to use the bathroom 100 times, get a photo with Chip and Dale and put on all of Brian's post-race clothes. Okay, so if I need to entertain myself it isn't always in the most conventional ways - but I had fun and I stayed warm! Before I knew it he was checking in at mile 4. Then, as I was shedding his clothes, giving them to bag check and finishing my last potty run I get THE call. The "I'm here" call. I had no idea where "here" was, but at that moment I took off to the little corrals we had at the relay point. Soon he came running around the corner and I had to dart out there to cheer him on (aka lure him with my non-ample bosom), give him a hug as he finished and then take off on a half mile run to my official starting point. Just that hand off alone made my day. It was so exciting being one of the first to start the relay since I partnered up with a speedy pants!
I hit the course with the marathon runners and was immediately in awe, terrified, overwhelmed and stiff. The funny thing of having the fast partner is now I was in the marathon with the A corral. I HAD to keep up my pace or get run over! Those first couple of miles hurt. I thought it was going to be a VERY long race for me. I kept on pushing and around the 5K mark it was like all the pain went away. I was finally in Animal Kingdom, my home, and feeling on top of the world! By mile 5 I was on fire. I couldn't believe these were MY legs that just kept trucking along. For the rest of the race I was doing intervals - but not any specific time. I mean basically I did toss my 4:1 out the window and just kept running until I needed a break. Then I'd walk a hair and pick it right back up. I even passed a guy with an Ironman tattoo going up a hill!!
Before the run I had no idea if I'd do the photo stop thing or not. I was going to play it by ear. I hit the first one (villains!!) and since I was so stiff I figured I would stop. Another bonus about running with the faster group is that they don't do photo stops! For the entire 13 miles I hit every single character stop. I had a rhythm. See the characters, turn on the camera, make eye contact with the greeter and start sticking my arm out so they'd know I was coming. I'd run up, get my photo, thank all of the characters and photographers, grab my camera and keep going. I had it down to a science! And I do not regret my stops at all. I had such a fan-freaking-tastic time that day! I really did have a smile on my face the whole 13.1 miles.
Running through the Studios was a rush. Oh my! Guests were in the park for the day, so we had extra cheerleaders sending us on our way. I had goose bumps all over my arms and thought my music was loud. Then I realized my music wasn't on - the loud noise was the roar of the crowd. That last 5K was incredible. So many emotions happened and I enjoyed soaking it all up. Hitting World Showcase I realized it was all almost over. I was excited and a little bummed because I had a lot more left in me. I wasn't ready to be done running! When I exited the park and hit the gospel choir I knew what was going to happen. My eyes welled up with tears and I was just overcome with emotion. I got a photo, took one of the 26 mile marker sign and then began my last stretch to the finish line.
After hamming it up for an on course photographer I heard a huge group of people yell my name. I looked over and there was Brian! That did it. Tears started forming, I got one last spring in my step and savored every last second to the finish line. I've never experienced a finish line like that one. I can't even put it into words! I crossed, got my medal and immediately started crying. I just finished 29.3 miles of racing! I've never done that in a week, let alone a weekend. I bought a bracelet the night before. It says, "Nothing is impossible if you believe." That motto carried me through to the end! Brian ran up and asked how I felt from the other side of the fence. I said, "I'm pretty much the most awesome person in the entire world right now!"
Post-race,
Agony of d'Feet (our relay team) stretched together, danced, took photos, had some pizza and just reveled in our overall feeling of badass-ness!
I'm not one for stats too much in my recaps, but here is why I felt so on top of the world. I hit every single photo stop. My finish time was still faster than 5 of my prior half marathons. My actual "moving" time, according to my Garmin, was only 5 minutes off of my half marathon PR. I was on fire!! Running such an awesome race, and doing it with my best friend ---- a fabulous, memorable, dare I say "magical"?? experience! Will Agony of d'Feet reunite again? Oh we'll see each other on race day for sure .... but we may be raising our own bar a little bit and going for more!! ºoº