Sunday, January 7th – Marathon: Part 1
Everything had been building to this morning. The goal was to give the best effort for the marathon and whatever it equaled it equaled. My wife thought maybe a BQ but I thought that was probably a tad too ambitious. I would be content with a PR of any kind and a healthy finish. Funny enough this is a complete copy and paste from the Dopey 2017 recap, but yet still completely applicable.
I was up at 1:55am and ready to go. When I got up I could tell I was sore. The 10k and HM had taken a lot out of me and I wasn’t sure what the body had left. I got showered, dressed and ready to go. I had my last drink of water at 2:20am, and ate a banana and PB/honey bagel. I was wearing so many layers. I was wearing shorts, one pair of pants, two pairs of gloves, long sleeve, ear warmers, two hooded sweatshirts, and my sock arm warmers. In addition, I took my winter jacket and winter hat/gloves for gear check.
I was on the first bus at 3:00am and headed to EPCOT to the starting line. This time we went to Sarasota Springs again. Why??? We ended up as the 3rd bus in a line of buses. They were loading bus 1, so we were going to sit around with a half-filled bus. Whose idea was this? Our bus driver seemed frustrated again and just passed the other buses instead. I arrived at 3:45am. I walked through security with way more people than normal and headed over to gear check. I dropped off my gear check bag with sweatpants, sweatshirt, compression calf sleeves, chocolate milk, blanket, and also checked my winter gear. I headed over to the pre-meeting spot and started to see some familiar faces at the DIS meeting. I got to meet
@rteetz,
@MommaoffherRocker,
@camaker,
@mrsgoofy, ,
@Dis5150,
@LikelyLynae, @BeastPrince,
@cburnett11,
@SheHulk,
@Sailormoon2, @Waitingtogoback,
@michigandergirl, and
@jAcKs_x0 (from memory so apologies if I’m forgetting someone). It was nice to put faces to usernames and chat with some friendly people prior to the race.
Once the corrals opened at 4:15am, I wished everyone well and made my way to the corrals with
@jAcKs_x0. The day prior I had guessed her HM performance at 1:45-1:50 and she ran a 1:49. But, she was concerned about the feelings she had at the end of the race. We tried to come to some conclusions and a strategy for the marathon. We parted ways and I took my last bathroom break and made my way into corral A. It was a really long walk and there were no additional potties near the front. So, I was thankful that everything worked out well from a timing standpoint.
I found some empty space in corral A and started my dynamic warm-up. Since it was within 60 minutes of the race starting the warmup would have the desired effect, but since it was not within 15 minutes it wouldn’t really add any additional fatigue. The goal was to do a light warm-up jog and then do a few strides to prime the muscles for a M. My body was screaming at me. Yesterday’s HM set me back quite a bit as my hamstrings were so ridiculously tight, even more so than the day prior. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen because I could only manage an 11 min/mile in the WU. Never felt comfortable and relegated myself to whatever happens happens. The goal was a PR of under 3:14, but who knows what would happen given how the legs were feeling.
I saw Graham from WI again. He looked ready and locked in. I had my E-Gel and RunGum at 5:15am and started removing all of the layers. I tried to go colder this time, so I went without the thermal beanie and sock arm warmers. So just shorts, singlet, and gloves. I also went without any water bottles which was the first marathon without hydration since my first one back in 2012. I was going to focus on getting hydration from the 19 aid stations.
Before the start, I got to see the leading male runner (Costa) and female runner (Martins). They both looked super ready. I was never able to find
@BrianFromIreland who was also starting in corral A and had a similar time goal of around 3:15-3:25. I was about 5-6 people back from the starting line this time. A lot less jockeying for position since the start is right onto the highway and lots of open road. And before I knew it, it was 5:30am! Ready… Set… Go!!!
I made the local news video of the start! I pass by at 27 seconds in an orange top and black shorts.
http://www.wftv.com/video?videoId=678534394&videoVersion=1.0
Wind chill of 38, 8-10 mph wind, and the sun didn’t rise until about mile 14-15.
Last year’s Dopey marathon – 3:20:52 (*No HM the day before last year’s Disney Marathon)
Marathon PR to beat – 3:14:05
*As a reminder, all mile splits provided are for the purpose of reading. During the actual race, I attempted to remain blinded to my pace and run purely by effort.
MILE – SPLIT (PREDICTED TIME)
Mile 1 – 7:40 (3:22:29)
It didn’t take long before a runner came up beside me and said “are you from Wisconsin?” Are you Billy/Dopeybadger? It was
@BrianFromIreland! Pretty awesome that he was able to find me in the crowd like that. So, we started running in lock step next to each other. We both knew we had a similar goal time, so we were likely to be seeing a lot of each other over the course of the race. The first mile felt tight and super slow. I decided after the first mile I was going to look at my watch. Unlike other races where it was a game of holding back or hitting a certain pace, there was nothing I could do for this race. I was running hard and this was the only pace I could go whatever the watch said. I decided to look at the watch splits after each mile, but I didn’t pay any attention mid-mile. Just stay consistent.
Mile 2 – 7:06 (3:15:00)
Brian and I stayed together through the first mile and rounded the corner towards Magic Kingdom. As the wind picked up from the North, Brian got ahead of me and served as a great drafting tool for me. After some time, I pulled even with him in order to give him a drafting reprieve. He didn’t necessarily seem interested in me taking the lead and just said that as long as the tangents are good then just keep chugging along. He was doing a great job with the tangents, so I just hung back. I could definitely tell the pace was picking up during this mile. It wasn’t a bad thing, but it was just on the edge of what I was willing to maintain at this point in the race.
Mile 3 – 7:12 (3:13:23)
By the time we got to Mile 3, Brian and I were close but not together as much. For the first two miles, I was right behind him, but I wasn’t sure I could maintain his pace. So, I hung back just a touch more. If I lost him, then I lost him. No worries. I’ve got my own 23 additional miles to worry about. It definitely seemed more crowded at this point in the race then yesterday’s HM. Were people actually just going that much faster? It wasn’t crowded by any stretch of the imagination, just more people around me.
Mile 4 – 7:05 (3:11:48)
By mile 4, we were entering and exiting TTC. I was losing touch with Brian and had relegated myself to not trying to hold his pace. Maybe I’d see him in the future, but he was certainly pulling ahead of me.
Mile 5 – 7:14 (3:11:39
I ate my second E-Gel right as we were hitting the aid station outside TTC. Hit the down and up of the contemporary underwater running portion and finally lost Brian. He was too far ahead of me to see anymore. Still way more people than before.
Mile 6 – 7:11 (3:11:20)
Entered Magic Kingdom through the main gate entrance again. A few more people around me and no more solo MK running like the HM. Things still felt ok, but not great. I was happy that to this point the splits were relatively consistent in the low 7s. I didn’t expect to see the pace to drop anymore and was expecting things just to hold steady from here.
Mile 7 – 7:13 (3:11:13)
Exited MK and entered cone alley. At this point I had hit a few aid stations and was consistently getting one or two cups of water while not breaking stride. I was able to drink about ½ to ¾ of each cup by folding the top over and making a spout. Entered the cone alley happy with the performance thus far.
Mile 8 – 7:20 (3:11:32)
Ouch! All of the sudden not too long after hitting mile 8, my ankle told me I was done. It started to feel like it was swelling and throbbing and I had suffered an injury. I was like ummm where did you come from? Patience… Trust your instincts… I hadn’t done anything to suggest this was real, so I just kept telling myself to maintain and maybe this would fade away. Thankfully after about a mile of feeling completely awkward, the feeling faded and the ankle felt normal again. It was also reassuring to look at the mile split and see that it was relatively the same as the others prior. Maybe a little fade starting, but I was expecting some variation.
Mile 9 – 7:21 (3:11:49)
Feeling good. Well I was until all of the sudden my right shin was like hey girl hey. Don’t you remember shin splints in your left leg from October 2016. Yea, you’ve got that again. Guess it’s time to slow down and stop this race. I was all like hey girl hey – shut up. Your shin is fine. Keep running and it will soon fade as well. Oh, and to any of the other nagging phantom injuries – shut up. I’m not believing you. The shin resolved within a 0.5 mile and things started to calm down again. I was just doing my best to hold my tangent lines and get ready for the out and back hairpin turn. Maybe I’d see some DIS’ers! Maybe I’d see Brian again.
Mile 10 – 7:18 (3:11:55)
Feeling good. Nice to see after the little bump up in pacing and that things were staying consistent. I had my second dose of RunGum at this point to help sharpen the mind. The HM was the first time I had done two doses and felt like I had no ill effects. So, another two doses down (in total 200mg caffeine since the start). I didn’t feel any immediate surge of energy, but it was nice to chew on the gum and focus on something else for a while.
Mile 11 – 7:19 (3:12:02
Entered the out and back. I kept my eyes peeled for
@BrianFromIreland. I actually saw PlantfedRunner (Matt B) from Strava. It was too late to say anything by the time I realized it. Kept looking for Brian though. We passed a sound system/video screen about halfway down the run and it was EXTREMELY LOUD. Like it hurt so much to run by it, it was so loud. I could see the female runner next to me wincing because it was so awful. By the time I reached the hairpin turn, I had realized I never saw Brian. Was he really that far ahead of me? He must have been crushing it? Then I made my way back down the road back down the back portion. About 200m up the road, there was Brian was on the other side. He was behind me. Well how did that happen? I certainly didn’t remember passing him at any point. Kept moving along. I also saw the other “Brian” whom they interviewed on the video screen prior to the race. He had “Brian” written across his chest so I gave him a shout out as well. Hit up the next aid station and had my next E-Gel.
Mile 12 – 7:12 (3:11:53)
Getting close to Animal Kingdom. Don’t really remember much. This is the portion by the waste treatment center which is always a treat for sure…
Mile 13 – 7:08 (3:11:36)
Entered Animal Kingdom’s back entrance still feeling strong. Saw the party animals out on the course. I remembered this was my fastest mile from the 2017 Disney Marathon and was expecting much of the same. I’m not a fan of running through Animal Kingdom because of the intentionally uneven roads and pitted streets. Just not my style as I prefer a flat even surface. It didn’t seem to bother me as much this year as year’s prior.
Mile 14 – 7:09 (3:11:25)
Finished out Animal Kingdom feeling strong. I saw the clock at the HM station around 1:35:xx and knew I was doing a great job. I was at 1:33:xx at Lakefront and suffered a slow down on the back end. So if I could just squeeze out a good effort from here to the finish, then I could go sub 3:14 like I wanted. At this point, a girl in the red marathon long sleeve pulled up next to me. She seemed to be holding a good pace and felt like a good runner to attach to. She seemed to agree because she never seemed to want to pass me, but rather we were in lock step together.
Mile 15 – 7:10 (3:11:16)
Red shirt and I were still together and we made our way towards Animal Kingdom. Still happy with the pacing. If anything, I was in great shape seeing consistent low 7s still at this point in the race.
Mile 16 – 7:13 (3:11:13)
The double overpasses had started and the sun was starting to peak out. Life was getting tougher. But I was just trying to hold on. I was about even in terms of passing people or being passed which is a good sign towards the latter half of the race. Red shirt and I were still together.
Mile 17 – 7:18 (3:11:19)
Made our way over the second overpass and red shirt started to pull away from me. Never a spoken word between us, but we did quite well serving as pacers for each other for the last 3-4 miles. At this point, I could see the other portion of the course as it headed back towards Hollywood Studios. I didn’t see a soul on the other side which I took as a good sign since there weren’t any other runners that far ahead of me. And then I saw at the aid station right before 35k, a single runner. It was Costa. He was walking through the aid station. Was this intentional? A strategy? Was he hurt or tired? So many thoughts immediately crossed my mind. No one ahead (at least I didn’t see any), so is he in first still? I did eventually see another runner but they were a good 0.25 miles behind Costa. Still pretty bare on the other side.
Mile 18 – 7:11 (3:11:14)
As I made the turn towards the hill of WWOS, I saw an Asian runner on the other side. I guessed it was probably Ryosuke Saito. He’s always crushing it at Marathon Weekend in my age division since we’re the same age. He’s run all five years I have, but at first he did Dopey and then switched to Goofy. He usually comes in first or second in the division and is usually a top finisher overall. I can’t be sure it was him, but based on his positioning and the lack of people around him, I’m guessing it was indeed him. He ended up finishing in 6th overall at 2:40:58. Beast! I was really starting to feel it entering WWOS and was wondering when I should go for the last E-Gel and RunGum.
Mile 19 – 7:19 (3:11:20)
WWOS always coincides with my slow down. It’s another portion of the course I’m not a huge fan of. I like the straight line running. So, all of the twists and turns really give me grief. I decided as we entered WWOS that I would have my last E-Gel. I’d take the RunGum after the next aid station which would be right before the WWOS Stadium.
Mile 20 – 7:35 (3:11:47)
Really feeling it now. Hit the aid station and took the RunGum. I was in a complete fog and struggled for a good 30-60 seconds trying to get the gum out of the package. I finally got it out and gave it a good chew. I’d never had 300mg caffeine (or a 3rd package) but I was willing to give it a try and see if I could get that past pick-me up to the finish line. We entered WWOS stadium and I ran around the track. As I was about to exit the track, I saw
@BrianFromIreland on the big screen. He was right behind me (maybe 200-400m back at most). It was nice to see he was still chugging along at a good clip too. Whatever happened to him anyways? I saw the mile 20 clock: 2:24:00 flat. That makes the math super easy. I just need to run 6.22 miles in 50 minutes. I can do that and I’ve got my sub-3:14 PR. That’s roughly an 8 min/mile (48 min for 6 miles and 0.22 in 2 minutes). Not easy, but definitely doable at this point. So, the goal of every split from this point forward was just under 8 and we’ve got it.
Mile 21 – 7:38 (3:12:15)
Exited WWOS and headed back down the road. Looked for DIS’ers but didn’t recognize anyone. I was absolutely hurting at this point and completely fatigued. One foot in front of the other. Head up. Just keep moving. I had no desire to walk, but I couldn’t move my legs any faster.
Mile 22 – 7:44 (3:12:48)
Hit the aid station that Costa was at earlier and then up Sarge’s hill. It was all a blur at this time. I was having a hard time focusing on anything expect stay under 8. Stay under 8. You’re going to PR. I had just run a 7:38 and then 7:44. The clock at Mile 21 seemed to suggest some other timing, but I couldn’t make out the numbers because of the sun. Still good I’m sure.
Mile 23 – 7:47 (3:13:21)
Made the turn into Hollywood Studios. People cheering. Do they have candy? Can’t tell. Keep moving. Hey the park is open. Those people are cheering. Keep moving. Almost done with DHS. There’s the path to Boardwalk. Don’t run into the trees.
Mile 24 – 8:01 (3:14:07)
Run the path. That’s a DJ. Does he have water? Nope, he’s a DJ. Just keep moving. Stay under 8. You’re doing great. I’m so tired. Just keep moving. Those people are cheering.
Mile 25 – 8:09 (3:14:58)
Almost done. I think that’s
@Dis-Yoda. Give a smile. Can’t tell. Just keep moving. Stay under 8. I don’t think I actually looked at the last mile. Oh, an 8:01. Perfect. You’ve got this. Hey, there’s the mile 25 spectacular. It’s spectacular?
Mile 26 – 7:56 (3:15:31)
Only 1.22 miles to go. The clock read 3:05:00. I’ve got 9 minutes to run 1.22 miles. Hey wait? Where did the time go? I feel like I lost some time there? I stayed under 8? Alright, just run a 7 min/mile and two one min sprints and you got this. Surge of energy. I’m running that sub-7 pace again. You got this. You’re going to do it. You’ve done it. The Sextuple PR Dopey Challenge is yours. The marathon PR is going to happen?!?! See the crowd waiting to be let into EPCOT just under Spaceship Earth (Hi
@wisblue and
@*DisneyDreamer!)
Mile 26.44 – 3:20 (3:15:59)
Turn the corner after Spaceship Earth and there is the clock. It reads 3:14:00…. Wait…. What…. No…. But how…. I was so close… The finish line is literally right around the corner…. But how……… I just…. I can’t…. I didn’t…. Just make it to the finish. Turned the corner and saw the finish line. It’s almost over. The end of an era…
Final Time – 3:15:59
Official PRs: 1
Marathon – 3:15:59
Unofficial PRs: 0
Overall Standing: 125th
Gender Standing: 109th
Division Standing: 25th
Number of Finishers: 20025
Final Dopey time (5k + 10k + HM + M) – 5:46:34
Overall Standing: 20th
Gender Standing: unk
Division Standing: unk
Number of Finishers: ~7500
FINAL Perfect Dopey OVERALL Standing: 2nd
I crossed the line with so many emotions. I just started crying. It felt like a cathartic experience. I was crying because I had missed the PR. I was crying because I was in so much fatigue/pain. I was crying because it was the end of the Perfect Dopey streak. I took a few steps past the finish line and a medical volunteer came up and asked if I was ok. I was fine. Just crying. Then another volunteer in a red jacket came up. She said to me, can I hug you? We just stood there feet from the finish line in an embrace. She said to me, you did great. We parted ways and I made my way down the finisher’s chute.
Next Post:
Sunday, January 7th – Marathon: Part 2
