So it took me about a week, but I finally caught up with this thread. Dopey #2 is in the books and I'm coming to terms with the fact that it might wind up being my final marathon and marathon weekend. Leaving the office for this long in January is challenging and I'm dealing with that now. As much as I may want to come back for Marathon Weekend 2021, I think it's not going to work out. And that's okay. I'm grateful that I was able to experience marathon weekend twice and run Dopey twice.
I took the 5K easy. The only photo stop was for Chip and Dale. I considered the Beast, but that 20-25 minute wait was not something that really interested me at all.
I also took the 10K easy. Spent the entire race chatting with a nice lady named Rochelle who was doing her first Dopey. I hope she finished. No photo stops aside from mile markers for me because I was in the last corral and the hustle and bustle in the corral had me starting barely ahead of the balloon ladies. For me that wasn't a huge deal because I know that my pace is sufficient to keep up with them if necessary and healthy. For anyone who ran Dopey or the 5K, I did see the lady who survived a hippo attack out with her dogs cheering runners on.
In what is a trend, I also took the half easy. But starting in Corral F gave me more cushion to stop for characters which I did. It was awesome to see Barbossa at the pirate stop so that was cool. Even though it was light by the time I got to the Magic Kingdom, it was still early enough that I could see the lights on the castle. It truly looks beautiful. Even as a firm
Disneyland is the best theme park in the world person, I may love running up Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom more than running through Main Street USA in Disneyland. It probably helps that Disney World allows spectators at that point which is a real energy boost. I ran my second slowest half marathon ever, which was fine with me. For a variety of reasons that I never fully figured out, I felt very worried heading into the marathon this year even though my training remained consistent. Those fears began to subside near the end of the half because I felt similar to how I did last year at the half. While the heat and humidity had me ready to be done, I could also tell that I was feeling plenty strong for the marathon.
And now to the marathon. That was a beast. From reading up on previous hot weather marathons including my first last year I told myself that it couldn't possibly be worse. Well, I was wrong. It was worse. Nevertheless, I still felt pretty strong. I took it easy and watched as pace groups passed me. I stayed with the 6:15 group for a mile or two, but was starting to feel it and decided that because of the heat and humidity, that was not the day to see just how long I could stay with them. So I continued to do my own thing, stopping for photos and characters if I felt like it. Speaking of characters, I strongly recommend to anyone who wants to make character stops during the races to sign up for
@croach character text threads. In addition to being quite funny at times (loved the seven chipmunks from 2019) it also proved invaluable to a slower runner such as myself. It helped me evaluate what stops I could make in comparison with what characters were further along the course.
I stopped for a Sam Eagle selfie in Liberty Square. I had to buy the Sam Eagle runners are all weirdos shirt from Raw Threads, so that has to rank as one of my favorite race photo stops ever. As a huge fan of Sleeping Beauty, I had to stop for the Maleficent dragon float backstage in the Magic Kingdom. That was amazing and I'm very happy that Disney had a photographer there. While it may be resolved for most runners now as I'm a week or so late, I noticed that it took quite a few days for my character and castle photos to make it to PhotoPass. They did get there though. Around mile 13, I decided to go for the ice bag on my head trick that served me so well during the last 6 miles or so of last year's marathon. I don't know if I
needed the ice bag on my head at that point, but it wound up working spectacularly. I feel like it helped me stay cooler and possibly delayed hitting the wall. I always run with a visor so that helps immensely.
I considered Everest in Animal Kingdom, but not knowing if they would let runners go through FastPass and wanting to possibly use time in my favor to get a photo with Belle (Beauty and the Beast is my second favorite animated movie) in Epcot, I made the decision to pass. And then shortly after mile 17, my knee went wonky. I don't know what exactly happened, but I felt something. I could tell immediately that this could become a major problem during the race if I did not manage it correctly. At this point, l just decided to continue doing my own thing, but taking more walk breaks if need be. Sometimes I would run from light post to light post and then walk to the next light post. Other times I walked longer. I just made sure to go slower on inclines or cambers and especially make sure I stepped on even pavement whenever possible. I just kept going. Along the way, I saw one of the military veterans running on titanium legs. Such a powerful and inspiring sight to see. Really puts things in perspective.
And then the course cut happened. Since I'm not very familiar with Disney World roads, I did not know that we had skipped Blizzard Beach until I heard people around me say that they had cut the course short. For a few minutes, this discouraged me. I wasn't worried about not collecting challenge medals if I held on to finish, but rather struggled with what meaning this held, if any. A couple things helped me make peace with it. First off, I realized that between the walk to the corral and then from corral F to the start, I had put in the miles to reach 26.2. Then my Star Wars brain decided that this was kind of like making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs even though a parsec is a measure of distance. So I called it my Kessel Run Marathon and didn't worry about anything else. Anyone who says I didn't finish the marathon this year can say that. Maybe they're right, but the conditions were brutal out there. After talking with a lady in line for the finisher medal photo, my own FitBit showed 24.89 and I turned it off immediately after crossing the finish line. I didn't think to let it keep running until it actually hit 26.2, but since I couldn't see what distance it showed anyways it doesn't matter. I know that given what they shortened the course by and all the walking to the corrals and after the race, I have no doubt that I hit 26.2. I just did it slightly differently because of the heat.
I somehow managed to miss seeing people dropping like flies or in bad shape, but I did see an ambulance with sirens blaring on the way to Blizzard Beach shortly after I learned they cut the course. I do not fault runDisney. I think they made the best out a difficult situation and I truly wonder if part of the decision to cut the course where they did was influenced by the walk to the corral. In other words, did they cut the course at that point because they knew that anyone who finished would still reach 26.2 because of the extra walking?
But enough of that. I loved seeing all the Star Wars signs in DHS. The Boardwalk is always nice with the crowds and cheering people. We all know what Epcot means. This year I certainly felt less tired than last year. I'm sure some of it stems from cutting the course short. I also think that
@DopeyBadger decision to reduce my mileage in training helped me feel fresher on race day. Because in spite of that heat, I hit the wall much later this year. Unlike WWOS last year, there was never a point this year that made me question my sanity. I found that my in reserve race mantras were not necessary this year. Once in Epcot, I was interested to see if Belle was still there. Knowing that World Showcase would be open to everyone, I understood that it may not happen. When I got to France, I saw that Belle was not there. But even better for me, Aurora was. I really could not believe it. And then it got even better when Belle came in, possibly to switch places with Aurora, but I got my picture with both of them. So I remain very excited and almost beside myself to know that I have a photo with my favorite title characters together from from 2 favorite animated movies.
Unlike last year, I did not need to stop for any non alcoholic smoothie in Morocco. I continued on knowing I would be finished soon and this whole experience would be in the books.
For a variety of reasons, I have decided that I only want to run a marathon at Walt Disney World. I would someday love to see what it feels like when it's not blazing hot and very humid. I also accept that because of the difficulties of taking that much time off work in January, I may well have run my final marathon. I simply do not know right now. But if that winds up to be the case, I can say that I got to have the experience twice. And I'm grateful for that. No one can ever take away from me the feeling of being able to get out there and finish Dopey two years in a row. Those conditions were difficult, and I want to say that I'm especially proud of any runner who made a difficult decision to either not start or withdraw from the race in order to be back for another day. This is a lot of fun, but not to the point of injury. And I'm also proud of anyone who did finish that day. This one will go be remembered for years to come. And we did it. One way or another.
Final note: I really enjoyed DATW. I do not drink alcohol. I was a bit concerned that might be awkward for me, but I wanted to meet fellow DISers so I showed up at DATW. And I found that you people are as great in person as you are here on the boards. I appreciate being welcomed into the Goof Troop and never being made to feel out of place for not imbibing. I enjoyed meeting
@lhermiston ,
@Bree ,
@jennamfeo ,
@rteetz ,
@Keels ,
@neoncactus and anyone else who I can't remember right now or may not have mentioned earlier in this lengthy post.
About 18 months ago, I wondered if I was even capable of finishing a marathon. This community helped encourage, reassure, teach, and help me to cross that finish line.