Goofy, Part II

After waking up from my nap on Saturday afternoon, I checked the weather again for what had to be the hundredth time during the weekend. My forecast from Weather Underground was different than Heather’s from the Weather Channel, so I kept vacillating on what to wear for the race on Sunday. Deep down, I really wanted to wear shorts and short sleeves for most of the race. Tights and long sleeves and jackets in Orlando make me feel all bundled up, like I should be out skiing or snow shoeing instead of running. Unfortunately for me, neither of the forecasts was really pointing towards me doing that. An overnight low of 26 coupled with wind in the mid-teens for most of the race didn’t sound like shorts weather. Thankfully, we had reservations for dinner and couldn’t spend any more time obsessing over it.

We went to dinner at the Flying Fish Cafe. It’s one of Disney’s nicer seafood restaurants and was surprisingly good. Overpriced, as all things Disney are, but still quite good. To some, a seafood place might not sound like the ideal pre-marathon food, I just couldn’t handle a second night in a row of Italian. They had two runner-focused dishes that came with pasta or risotto - my swordfish and shrimp came with polenta - so I got my carbs in. Our waiter was hysterical. Heather, not running the next day, was enjoying her martini and moved on to a champagne flight. He asked me if I wanted anything, so I asked for a water flight. He brought me a glass of tap water and then presented me with a fine bottle of the Dasani 2009. A little while later, he fussed at me for mixing my waters and placed a beautiful wine glass on the table for the Dasani. Too funny!

More weather obsessing took place after dinner, much to Heather’s chagrin. I just couldn’t decide between possible combinations of long sleeves and jacket, short sleeves and vest, or both. She finally got exasperated enough that when I asked her to pin on my bib for me, she informed me that I wasn’t allowed to change it once she did. I ended up with the long sleeves and the jacket, and I’m glad I did. Thanks to the wind, it was much cooler during the race than it otherwise would have been. I had my jacket on for most of the race and was glad I did.

Just like Saturday, the alarm went off way too early. I followed the same routine as the day before - check weather, brush teeth, check email, put in contacts, put on clothes, leave. Even the line for the bus was at the same place when I got there at the same time. So how come I ended up getting to Epcot 20 minutes earlier? That was definitely not in the plan and meant I had all kinds of time to kill once I dropped off my bag, and that’s not really a good thing when it’s below freezing and the wind is blowing. I hunkered down behind a concrete pillar used to hold up one of the bag check tents and did my best to stay warm and conserve energy. After 45+ minutes of that, it was time to head off to the start with the rest of the masses. Here’s a shot of the corrals when I got there. I managed to get to my corral right when the fireworks went off on the overpass behind me. Talk about startling the shit out of me. Very cool to watch though.

And then we were off! The marathon starts with two waves and two different courses. I was on the blue course in the first wave, but none of us were very happy about that as we logged the first mile. As we were going up a highway overpass, the red course was running down an offramp and circling back underneath us. That kept everyone talking for a while and just when we were convinced they had the better route, we entered Epcot. They went in and around some of the back lots and underneath the Test Track ride; we got to run around the lake past most of the countries. We definitely got the better end of that deal. As sweet as the Magic Kingdom had been all lit up on Saturday, Epcot under the lights is a thousand times more spectacular. It’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Absolutely amazing. The whole area is lit by gas torches, the globe in the middle is lit up with colors, and the big ball is bathed in light in the background. Throw in the music playing the Olympic theme, the Epcot theme, and all kinds of other cool music, and it’s one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever been immersed in. Not sure which dwarf that is in the picture. It’s only here because it’s the only one I took all weekend with one of the characters. I was having such a good time running and talking that I didn’t want to stop and wait in line. The line for most of the characters was 5-20 people long. That’s a lengthy stop during a race, especially a cold one.

Anyway, I’m really glad I ended up on the blue course. I was going to try to get into a corral on the red one because some guy in line at the porta-potties told me it was a nicer run. That idea ended when I realized a) those corrals were more crowded than the blue ones, and b) the corral I would have gone to started in the second wave 10 minutes later. No way I was waiting any longer than necessary out in that cold to get started.

In some sort of strange coincidence, right around mile 4, I ran into another two people wearing the same shirt that Kathy was wearing on Saturday. They are all part of the same running club and invited me to run with them for the rest of the race. Nicole and her husband Jim were as much fun as Kathy was, if not more. Poor Jim lost a glove at one of the water stops, so we spent the next hour helping him “shop” along the way for a replacement. Jim ended up dropping back behind us after a while so he could do his run/walk plan, so it was just Nicole and I for most of the race. We had a great time, never stopped talking or joking or enjoying all the sights around us. Here’s the only other picture taken along the way. The sun was just starting to make its way over the trees but it hadn’t gotten much warmer yet.

It didn’t really start to get warm until we were halfway to Animal Kingdom. That’s about the point at which I finally stuffed my gloves into my pocket. The cold weather up to that point made it one of the more unusual races I’ve ever been in. The Powerade was frozen at all the water stops, as was the water. The spillage of both caused black ice to form on the road, making it slick and dangerous. To help keep it safe, the volunteers resorted to spreading the Powerade powder on the ground to provide traction. Pretty ingenious, I think.

Other points of note along the course: Heather came out to see me at mile 19. I wasn’t sure she’d make it, but I sure was glad to see her. Nicole was too since we had spent the previous two miles talking about her Ironman relay, my ultra, and how Heather had been the one that got us into the ultra. She had all kinds of questions for Heather and was also happy to meet the woman I’d been yakking about for the past 20 minutes. I gave Heather my jacket because I didn’t think I’d need it again. Boy was I wrong. Once we turned onto World Drive to head to Hollywood Studios, the wind was in front of us, the shade on us, and I was cold. It was a long two miles to get into the park and sun and out of the wind.

The marathon course is a lot more fun and interesting than the half. Not only do you hit all four parks, you don’t spend as much time on the major roads. There is that really dull 4-mile stretch between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, true, but the other road parts are at least through the golf course and undeveloped areas. And once you get to Hollywood Studios, you’re never on the road again. The entire rest of the course is through the park, around the pathways in front of the nice resorts on the Boardwalk, and then back into Epcot for another lap around the countries. Plus, on Sunday, the famous gospel choir at mile 26 was there performing live. Nothing like the sound of beautiful voices in harmony to get you excited about the last two turns. I was so focused on getting to the finish line that I completely missed hearing Heather yelling and screaming for me from next to the bleachers. I didn’t realize she was at the finish until I heard her yelling at me again as I was waiting in line to get my picture taken after getting my Goofy medal. Getting that medal was awesome! The volunteers were all extremely excited for us, and we were even more so. We were all whooping it up and hugging and carrying on with the biggest grins and smiles you can imagine. As they say, it’s all about the bling. :)

This was one of the best races and weekends I’ve ever had. I felt great during both runs the whole way - no knee problems, no aching feet, no nothing. The only injury I have is one toenail on my right foot that got pushed up against the front of my shoe on Sunday. They’re half a size too big, which isn’t much of a problem when it’s warm and my feet swell. Note to self: feet don’t swell as much when it’s cold. I think one of the reasons I felt so well is that I ran a whole lot slower than I normally do. I was only focused on having fun, keeping an easy and steady pace (although I negative split both days), and making the most of the experience that Disney has to offer. I was so excited about my Goofy experience that the first thing I told Heather when she asked after the finish me how I felt was “It was awesome! I feel great! I can’t wait to do it again!”

So who’s with me? Anyone want to go Goofy in 2011? I’m signing up this weekend. I think I’m going to go medal collecting and sign up for the Disneyland Half in September too. Turns out you get a really cool Coast-to-Coast medal if you run both the Disney Half and the Disneyland Half in the same year.