It's been just over a week since the Disney World marathon, and I haven't started running again. That's not to say I didn't have an enjoyable race, because I did, I've been enjoying a little time away from running to do other physical activities.
What you really want to read about is the marathon and my experience...so here goes. First of all the expo was the largest expo I've ever been to, and we got all kinds of free snacks which came in handy when we visited the parks in the days after the race, and more importantly we picked up our number and timing chips!
Race morning we got up at 2:30 am, and yes you read that correctly 2:30 am, since we had to leave the hotel room at about 3:30 am to catch the shuttle to the starting area. Mickey, Goofy, and Donald Duck counted down the starting of each corral of runners and set off fireworks. The starting was full of excitement and energy.
The race was along the highway bordering Disney and through all of the disney parks. It was a great way to preview the parks. During the race I had a simple strategy....have fun. I've heard about how fun this race is, and I wanted to experience it. So, I took it easy (which was also just in case my hip pain was a stress fracture, I'm pretty sure it's not) and just enjoyed my surroundings.
In an effort to show the runners how green the Disney parks are, we ran through the water processing area and composting facilities.....that was a bad idea. There were several miles that were retched for breathing, especially if you need to take deep breathes if you are doing something like oh I don't know...running.
Smelliness aside, the race was very fun and I finished in 5:14 with a smile on my face. I felt great afterwards since I took advantage of the free area after the finish to ice your sore joints, and we visited the magic kingdom later that day and walked for a few more hours to keep my legs loose.
Disney knows how to put on a race, I really hope I can experience another Disney race in the future.
