We arrive to Disney Tuesday night prior to the start of race week, so that we can hit the expo bright and early Wednesday morning. My cousin is doing Dopey with me and my sister (who has a 3 week old) deferred to 2016, we are all in tow with our husbands. My sister's husband will be running his first half also.
Expo experience is always hectic/frantic... More in my head than anything.. I want to see, touch, and buy it all, along with getting in the NB shoe queue.... We pick up our bibs and get our shirts and do a little shopping. I might add when we travel with my sister we always do the deluxe dining plan, which adds the "we've got to make our reservations factor to every day.
Our Post expo ritual was Hollywood Studios and SciFi Drive in for Lunch!
and of course we had to get our final "hat" pictures in since they were about to start removing it!
We learned from last year, that napping and going to bed early and not trying to do all the parks is essential to survive the early mornings. So we we had dinner about 8 and returned to the room to prep for the 5k and go to bed early.
5K Thursday.... So temperatures dropped and instead of warm and humid like last year it was BRUTALLY cold... as in FREEZING. I used my long sleeve race shirt to layer under my costume and thankfully I packed long running pants... but we also had to add Jackets, skullies and black garbage bags to our layers.... THAT COLD.
I would like to say that when I planned my costume my sister was supposed to be Tweedle Dee and I was Tweedle Dum... and then she deferred and left me Just plain Dum! I wore Raw Threads Tank, and Sparkle skirt and leg sleeves. My cousin dressed as the Cheshire Cat, however once at the race you couldn't see costumes because it was so cold! I honestly wanted to stay in the Port a potty at the race to stay out of the wind (gross) but that shows how cold it really was!
Race went off without a hitch, we stayed under the 15 minute mile cut off with only one brief Balloon lady sighting (at the 1 mile marker when you make a turn back on the highway... it was at that point we could see the Balloon ladies pulling up the rear... I had to pee but pushed on because of FOBL (Fear of Balloon Ladies) set in!
We went back to the room and napped and then went to Magic Kingdom for the Day. Again, we had dinner by 8 and back at the room for bed by 9!
10K... Still FREEEEZZING...
Had hoped for a warm up, but alas it did not!
Another race without Character photos... my goal was to finish under the 16 minute mile cut off and not get swept!
2 down, 2 to go... We went back to the room and napped for a couple hours and headed to Epcot for the day. Lunch at Napoli (yum)
Friday Night is always team dinner since I was running on The Autism Speaks Marathon Team
For a second year in a row I was the Top fundraiser for the team! We had a lovely Pasta dinner at the Sea exhibit (Nemo) in Epcot.
Photo Bombed by a Sting Ray! : )
Back to the room for a roll out and rub down and asleep before 10 for the half!
Saturday and my second attempt at an Official Half marathon!
Still cold... like makes your bones hurt to stand in cold... we all were huddled together like Penguins shielding the wind with our backs! I was nervous and tired!
My cousin, an experienced half marathoner, was my coach and cheerleader the entire time... she called out every interval with an "okay go" and then "okay stop" I had told myself I wasn't going to complain or say "I can't" not once the entire race! It helped that we maintained a 15:45 interval the entire time. At mile 10ish they were out of fuel for the back of the pack runners... that really sucked. And it was about there that the miles seemed to get longer and boring.... at mile 12 my cousin said "whats it feel like to be finishing your first half?" And I'm pretty sure I said "SHHHHH don't jinx me... I could fall or something and not finish" but my thoughts were I'm pretty sure my feet are twice the size they should be....
BUT I FINISHED.
It was shortly after I began to wobble... my feet felt like balloons...when I got in the car to head back to the hotel I knew something wasn't right. My hands were HUGE and my feet were so swolled that the ball of my foot split. I iced bath, put on compression socks, elevated and took a nap. I slept the most of the day... I was in and out, hearing my husband come and go from the room.. he went and washed my running clothes because I was having to rewear layers... I kept thinking to myself "How the hell am I gonna do 26 miles tomorrow.. i can't even walk." I had already defeated myself mentally and my body was fighting me tooth and nail.... Here's the thing... if you have an inflammatory auto immune disorder you can't always count on your body doing what you want to and if you tack on the side effects of a prescription pill you shouldn't be running while taking, well stuff seems to fall apart.
So I was retaining WAAAAAAY too much fluid in my hands and feet and dumping all the fluids from my kidneys... like had to pee every 3 minutes. If you've ever had a kidney infection it was like that, now try to run with that feeling, it aint happening.
So I told my husband in bed that night that I couldn't do the marathon... I said things like "I completed my first half, so i'm proud of myself." and "I was the top fundraiser and that's the real reason I ran." and "I've done more than I've ever done before so I'm okay with this."
He encouraged me to get up and at least start the marathon... said I'd never forgive myself for not at least trying... said to do the best I could and then i'd have no reason to be disappointed... so I tried.
Sunday, Marathon, where Dopey became a Nopey.
I woke up and forced my feet into my shoes... I kinda hobbled instead of walked.. but I hobbled my ass to the start line... You can see in the pics , my face, I already looked defeated. I already knew I wasn't going to make it far.. I encouraged my cousin to move up to her corral so she'd have a better chance of finishing... and I sat in my corral alone. I was cold, sad and all alone and it sucked! I did manage to find Nicole my running buddy from home and the friend she had met, so I started the race with her... within 10 feet of the start I had to pee and kept my sights on the first port a potty... Nicole offered to hold back and wait for me but I told her I was walking as far as I could and encouraged her to run on... and she did... I watched her run a head and disappear in the crowd... I knew she'd finish, cause she was a badass!
As I walked I'd hear the corrals behind me start (fireworks) and then moments later the crowd would run past me... I counted through the corrals and knew when the last one past me. There was a since of peace and relief as the crowds passed and I was walking all alone. As I got to water stations they were already breaking them down and cleaning up. I walked on. As I crossed under the gate into the Magic Kingdom parking lot the Cast members were still there cheering, just like they did for the first runners.... reading my bib they said "You've got this Elizabeth" "You're doing great!" "keep going!" I laughed and looked around and said "Thanks, but you realize, I'm last right?" As I walked on I took selfies and joked about how people on all the FB running groups bitched about crowded areas and how hard it was to pass in parts of the race... I was like "I don't see the problem.. I've got ALL this room back here... I could do cartwheels if I wanted too!.... The back of a Disney race IS the loneliest place in the world... as the Balloon Ladies PASSED me.. the bicycle paramedics pulled up along side me and said "You okay?" I said "yes" and she said "You do know those are the balloon ladies, right?" I laughed and said "yes" and explained that my feet were split and I was only in it for as long as I could walk it... which was 4 miles!
I was put on a sweeper bus with another gentleman who had a knee injury... they seem to put Cast Member/Councilors in there with you along with the driver to make sure you aren't going to kill yourself on Disney property... I was fine.. I was relieved and happy at this point, but I could see the disappointment and sadness in the others we picked up along the way. It was really depressing when you pull up along the character ops and Jack Skeleton comes to the van all sad looking and waves at you... it was like a sad reversed Disney parade. : ( I text my husband and told him I was taking the ride of Shame to the tent of shame and that he could pick me up there... He told me how proud he was of me for trying and for the first time I got a little teary eyed.
In the tent they gave me my medal, which I pocketed and refused to put on... I was disappointed in myself, my body, but think I did the best I could in the moment.
We returned back to the hotel and slept until time came for my cousin to cross the finish line!
I was SO proud and slightly jealous... I wanted to be there on the other side of the fence... I wanted to be at mile 26 of 26.2, we had planned on doing it together and I let myself down. The longer we were in Disney the more disappointed I became with myself... I had medal envy, seeing all the runners in the parks with all their medals... I knew I was the only reason I didn't complete the challenge and I knew it wouldn't happen again!!!
My sister decorated our rooms and made awesome signs...
and upon failing the challenge I modified my sign! : )
I returned home and made a promise to myself I would no longer make excuses... that Fibromyalgia might be the reason I hurt.. but it would never again keep me from achieving my goals, and the mind games and lies I told myself were done... No excuses... I was gonna complete Dopey in 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment