I have to say that I did a lot of research during this entire process from choosing this race, training methods, details regarding the race itself, procedures for the night before and the morning of and even details on spectators and anything else regarding this particular race. I also have to say that knowledge is power, that is my personal philosophy of life and in this case it truly paid off!
It was obvious that a lot of runners were indeed staying there. Of course, with tens of thousands of people converging on Disney that one weekend, runners were everywhere! We got in our room with two things on the agenda: when to eat the "final dinner" and finalizing details on how my family would get to the spectator sight and when. My husband began to get his plan together. I really didn't have a stream of thought left to do that with him and I was uptight they would have to get up so early and stand and wait hours. He finally got a final confirmation that buses would run around 7 am to the finish area. That seemed good...SEEMED being a key word to emphasize!
It felt so odd that my family was all together at Disney and we weren't going to go DO DISNEY! We opted for a walk on the "Boardwalk" and a possible little boat ride around the lagoon that is surrounded by the boardwalk and hotels in that area. I was giddy yet too focused with the looming race on my mind to totally enjoy it. But it was sweet.
It felt so odd that my family was all together at Disney and we weren't going to go DO DISNEY! We opted for a walk on the "Boardwalk" and a possible little boat ride around the lagoon that is surrounded by the boardwalk and hotels in that area. I was giddy yet too focused with the looming race on my mind to totally enjoy it. But it was sweet.
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| I highly recommend the Dolphin or Swan Hotel for the Marathon Weekend! |
We couldn't all agree on a restaurant on the Boardwalk area so we went back to the Dolphin to eat there. I was determined to not eat junky and thought for sure I could get some pasta or something energy storing. We sat down in a crowded cafe-like place in the Dolphin as the clock now ticked toward my bedtime preparation. The menu had NOTHING Marathon worthy and definitely no pasta. FAIL! I ordered the best thing I could find and justified this epic fail of the sacred last meal by recalling how dedicated I had been in the weeks before to fueling my body. Certainly one meal wasn't going to cripple my entire training efforts besides I had lots of energy snacks!
As we sat there my racing buddy, Lisa and her hubby, walked in. They joined us and I cringed as they looked the menu over. I had now led her into my delinquency of proper last meal nutrition! After the meal we headed to our prospective rooms agreeing to meet at "the fountain" in the lobby at 3:30 am. I could let out a 13 year old girl scream right now thinking about it!
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| A good pre-race meal: carbs like pasta |
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| What I ended up having: falafel balls... |
As we sat there my racing buddy, Lisa and her hubby, walked in. They joined us and I cringed as they looked the menu over. I had now led her into my delinquency of proper last meal nutrition! After the meal we headed to our prospective rooms agreeing to meet at "the fountain" in the lobby at 3:30 am. I could let out a 13 year old girl scream right now thinking about it!
This is when the swirl and haze of the weekend took over. As soon as I got back in the room I laid out all of my race gear on the credenza. I made a last minute final decision of wearing my hair in pig tails for the race. I was going for a whimsical - not pimped out in Disney Costume (aka tutu) - I'm a runner but fashionably so! I tried everything on to trouble shoot any anticipated needs. There would be NO TIME for indecision in the morning! Fortunately the weather was going to be cool to mild, so I wouldn't be struggling with heavy clothing and my decision was pretty concluded on how to handle the cool to mild transition as the sun came up by simply taking my lightweight jacket off and wrapping it around my waist. (Other people would be wearing old stuff and throwing to the ground as the morning progress. This isn't littering, it is actually a part of a clothing charity Disney does. They picked up several tons of clothes and donate it to local charities! I didn't have anything I wanted to throw away... is that bad?!)
I then made sure that I had access to every important thing I would need while running for almost three hours. (I was hoping more like 2:30).
- On top- my sport bra, duh! Hot pink Cami, my new "runGIRLrun" shirt from the venue, and a very lightweight running jacket with convenient pockets inside and out and thin enough to wrap around my waist when I got warm which I knew would be my mile two. On the bottom - Capri running pants with running shorts over them - I hate running pants and cellulite - just not right.
-My Nike hat and sunglasses. (I never wore the hat and it irritated me to have it in my jacket pocket the entire time.)
- My race belt with my number attached with two attached Velcro pockets with as many protein bites I could stuff in one and a small ipod in the other for no other purpose but to take video.
- In my running pants hidden zipper pocket I put an extra mini cliff bar and in my shorts hidden pocket two segments of toilet paper. (I was alerted to the possible need for this in the porta-potties...I never needed it)
-My iPhone & earbuds in my armband which would be giving me the run/walk interval prompts. (Unbelievably my sacred Gymboss Interval Timer broke the night before we left for Orlando! )
-Lipgloss. Yeah that's right - I am a running DIVA! I struggled with a place for it during the race- in my sports bra, in my protein bite pack, in my hand, my jacket pocket and finally squeezed with Ipod. But my lips remained moist and shiny!
I then set out my breakfast for in the morning. I had brought from home a packet of oatmeal, a plastic spoon and a paper bowl. This was one of my smartest strategies. My hubby got me a banana and some milk from hotel store. I knew that I would do best with some breakfast and coffee since we would be boarding the bus at 3:30 am and not cross the start line until almost 6 am.
So about 9:30 pm, which was right on cue, with my hair in my pig tails, and my running clothes on, minus the belt, jacket and shoes, I got in bed!
It was a little struggle but I finally fell into a light sleep at an unknown time while worrying the bizarre occurrence of my alarm not going off happening. I woke up intermittently and even woke myself up once talking. I obviously was not going to get a good night's sleep and I knew that all along. I only sleep well in the best of circumstances. I knew this night would be hard this being part of the pushing through. I was just too geared up and excited. I think I got into a deep sleep about 2:30 am because when I heard the faint sound of my alarm at 3 am I was grasping at consciousness.
The rest is a story of its own! To be continued in part 3- THE RACE!
I then made sure that I had access to every important thing I would need while running for almost three hours. (I was hoping more like 2:30).
- On top- my sport bra, duh! Hot pink Cami, my new "runGIRLrun" shirt from the venue, and a very lightweight running jacket with convenient pockets inside and out and thin enough to wrap around my waist when I got warm which I knew would be my mile two. On the bottom - Capri running pants with running shorts over them - I hate running pants and cellulite - just not right.
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| The back of my runGIRLrun top. Love their line of clothes! |
-My Nike hat and sunglasses. (I never wore the hat and it irritated me to have it in my jacket pocket the entire time.)
- My race belt with my number attached with two attached Velcro pockets with as many protein bites I could stuff in one and a small ipod in the other for no other purpose but to take video.
- In my running pants hidden zipper pocket I put an extra mini cliff bar and in my shorts hidden pocket two segments of toilet paper. (I was alerted to the possible need for this in the porta-potties...I never needed it)
-My iPhone & earbuds in my armband which would be giving me the run/walk interval prompts. (Unbelievably my sacred Gymboss Interval Timer broke the night before we left for Orlando! )
-Lipgloss. Yeah that's right - I am a running DIVA! I struggled with a place for it during the race- in my sports bra, in my protein bite pack, in my hand, my jacket pocket and finally squeezed with Ipod. But my lips remained moist and shiny!
I then set out my breakfast for in the morning. I had brought from home a packet of oatmeal, a plastic spoon and a paper bowl. This was one of my smartest strategies. My hubby got me a banana and some milk from hotel store. I knew that I would do best with some breakfast and coffee since we would be boarding the bus at 3:30 am and not cross the start line until almost 6 am.
So about 9:30 pm, which was right on cue, with my hair in my pig tails, and my running clothes on, minus the belt, jacket and shoes, I got in bed!
It was a little struggle but I finally fell into a light sleep at an unknown time while worrying the bizarre occurrence of my alarm not going off happening. I woke up intermittently and even woke myself up once talking. I obviously was not going to get a good night's sleep and I knew that all along. I only sleep well in the best of circumstances. I knew this night would be hard this being part of the pushing through. I was just too geared up and excited. I think I got into a deep sleep about 2:30 am because when I heard the faint sound of my alarm at 3 am I was grasping at consciousness.
The rest is a story of its own! To be continued in part 3- THE RACE!
YES!!!! Anxiously awaiting PART 3!!!
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