26.2--The Weekend

After a week, I figured it was probably time to post the highlights from last weekend--more so because I'll forget them eventually than any pressing societal need for me to share them with the world. So...all that said, here's a quick run-down of the WDW Marathon Weekend, as told by me...

Friday morning, Amy, Nate, Jeremy and I all convened at Chicago's lovely Midway airport to catch our flight to Orlando. Thankfully, Midway's somewhat renovation included the addition of a Starbucks kiosk in the Potbelly's--always helpful when one has been training with two crazy-addicted coffee-aholics and has also acquired said addiction. I think all 4 of us managed to sleep at least a little on the plane following a rough week--Jeremy had been out sick a couple of days and Nate and Amy stayed up to watch the entire 3 OT Penn State bowl game (go Lions)--no excuse for me other than I always seem to nod off on planes. When we got to Orlando, Jeremy, Nate, and Amy took off to pick up a rental car (the mighty Pacifica) and head to their hotel, while I headed to the terminal Starbucks to wait for Sue and Michele (and my ride to our hotel).

We went straight to the Expo at Disney's Wide World of Sports(after Michele unleashed the demons within on the state of Florida and the "no fault" laws--I've never seen her that passionate about a topic before and it was amusing). We picked up our race bibs and chips--which caused me to have a moment of panic about that fact that I was actually going to do a marathon--somehow my bib brought a level of reality to the situation that my alomst-600 miles of training had not yet. We cruised through the expo area and checked out the vendors--I picked up a new race number belt from Fuel Belt and a Disney Marathon running cap. Loved the shirt slogans from the One More Mile folks--stuff like "running is my Prozac", "will run for food", and "26.2 and still smiling"--but didn't pick any up. Also tried the new Clif blocks--sort of a gummy bear-type texture for gel/electrolyte-type stuff--pretty good stuff and I think I'll be purchasing some to try in training.

We checked into our hotel rooms and met for a quick 1.5 mile run around the resort--took it nice and slow, but it was a great way to stretch out a little and also to learn my way around the resort (which was way bigger than I expected). Downtown Disney was next--we met up with the rest of the group (including Nicole and Brian who arrived previously) for dinner and began the carbo-loading process. As most of the group had to be on a shuttle bus by 4 am Saturday, we made it an early night. I think I was in bed attempting to sleep by 9 pm EST--pretty crazy for a night owl, but at least I got a decent night's sleep.

Jeremy picked me up at 6 Saturday morning so we could cheer on the half-marathoners--neither of us really knew where we were going or where good viewing areas were, so we headed over to Epcot. We ended up taking the monorail to the ticket and transportation center, which was at about mile 4 on the half course. We got there in time to see Nate and Amy run by and hung around a little longer to see if we could catch Sue--we found out via text message updates that Sue was blowing her anticipated pace out of the water and was actually ahead of Nate and Amy. We hopped back on the monorail and got to the finish too late to see Nicole (who had an awesome 1:47 race) but just in time to see Michele finish, followed not too long after by Sue. As the two Goofy participants, they had thought they were going to take it easy on the half, but both felt great and had awesome runs. We caught up with Sue and Michele after they made it through the various post-race lines--they were both freezing (it was really cold--45-ish and windy), so we cranked up the heat in the mighty Pacifica and headed back to the resort.

My dad and sister arrived around noon, and we met Sue and Michele for lunch at the hotel. I knew the weekend would go well (it was the first time my dad and sister had met my friends and training buddies) when I got to the table and my dad was talking fishing with them. After lunch, Dad, Kristie and I headed back to Downtown Disney to hang out--we gave Dad grief about him taking his two 30-something daughters to Disney World. We bummed around the various shops, admired the incredible Lego exhibits, and grabbed some yummy coffee at Ghiradelli. I'm SO glad they were both able to come down for the weekend--it was great to have some quality father/daughter time!

We headed to Brio Tuscany in Orlando proper (actually in a really nice mall) with most of the gang for dinner--Nate and Amy's friend Mike joined us as well. Great pasta (no mushrooms in mine, though--no need for extra "rocket fuel" prior to the race) and good company...no wine, though, but we'll chalk that up to a temporary sacrifice. After a quick stop at Super Target for bananas, water, and Diet Coke (my pre-race necessities), we headed back to the resort. My dad and sister took off to find a bar to hang out for a while, and I attempted to sleep...sadly, I ended up watching the replay of the Texas/USC championship game instead as I couldn't get to sleep. I would estimate I maybe got 2 hours of sleep Saturday night--my brain just wouldn't stop.

The early morning hours of Sunday are detailed in an earlier post, so I won't go through that again. After the race, we all headed back to our respective locations. Following Sue's advice, Dad and I went to the "quiet pool" in my area of the resort and I sat in the cool water for a while to try to help my legs--the natives probably thought I was nuts as it was still only ~65 or so out, but the pool was heated and it was really quite nice. I then proceeded to take the longest, hottest shower of my life to get rid of the layer of salt that had accumulated from evaporated sweat--always a pleasant after-effect.

We met up with Sue, Michele, and Jeremy and headed over to the Boardwalk area for lunch--we originally had planned to hit the ESPN Zone there, but opted to go to the brewpub instead. The bartended graciously agreed to wait on us so we could be seated outside--at that point, I was starving, so I was thrilled. We ordered some celebratory beers and food and enjoyed the Florida sun. We tried to figure out the course route through the Boardwalk area--the four of us couldn't really agree. My recollection was crappy at best as that was the roughest part of the race for me...I could really only remember running on the wood sidewalks and didn't remember squat about anything else. We all started to fade after a couple of beers, so we headed back to our hotels for a quick nap before dinner (Michele also showed off by darting up and down the stairs at the Boardwalk--both Jeremy and I were bitter at that point).

After a solid hour nap, we headed back to Orlando proper for dinner--we had made reservations at Seasons 52, which features items under 475 calories and was very intriguing to Sue and me from a WW perspective. It was a great restaurant--fantastic wine list for a post-race toast and yummy food. The desserts are served in little shot glass-type glasses--hard to explain but absolutely delicious. We called it a night after that and headed back for some much-needed sleep.

After meeting Sue and Michele for breakfast, Dad, Kristie and I headed to the airport. My flight was about 2 hours after theirs, so I waited with them at the gate--talked with a person on their fight who had also run the marathon. After hugging them goodbye as they boarded, I went over to my gate area and ended up waiting in line (in good Southwest form) with four other marathoners--when we walked down the jetway to board the plane, we were all walking slowly and all laughed when one of the women behind me groaned in pain--we were all feeling it at that point. There were probably at least 10 people on my flight who ran either the half or the marathon--at least those with either race gear or visible medals.

It was a great weekend overall--I had a great time hanging out with the Kraft gang as always, and I'm glad my dad and sister were able to come as well. Apparently my dad hasn't stopped talking about the weekend (at least according to my mom, who "watched" the race by pacing back and forth by their computer), so it sounds like he had a good time, too--hopefully Kristie would agree as well. All in all--great first marathon, from start to finish (even with those crappy miles 22-24 thrown in the mix).

To everyone who sent emails, cards, text messages, voice mails, prayers, and happy thoughts my way--THANKS A TON!!! They helped me get through the rough spots during the race, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support! You all rock...nuff said.

More on my post-race recovery coming tomorrow...need sleep now...