Walt Disney World Marathon - Race Report Part 2

For the first part of the race click here.  Although I got a little ahead of my self.  Let me jump back a couple miles before my mother called.

As I said, I felt the call of nature while sitting in the coral, but when I got my first porta-potty opportunity it was evident that I wasn't the only one.  At about the mile and a half mark, there were a dozen or so toilets, but there was also a line.  Figuring that I'd held it that long, I could wait a while longer. 

My patience paid off, as we ran through Epcot (mile 3ish) and there were some real, non-portable toilets open for runners to use.  I even got to wash my hands in a real sink!

Okay so around mile 5 or 6 my parents called to check in.   Along the way we had marching bands encouraging us, as well as Disney workers (through Epcot) cheering us on.  Personally I'd be pissed if some stupid runner made me have to go into work at 4AM, but they were very good spirited about it.

Bari, called me near the Magic Kingdom section and chatted with me for a bit.   My legs were still cold, even though I'd been racing for 2 hours or so, but to that point it was my only complaint.  As I approached Cinderella's castle, I asked her to call me back in 30 minutes.  I stopped (because I don't know the settings on my camera well enough to get a good "in motion" shot) and took a picture of the castle.

I was disappointed that my favorite princess wasn't around her home, but I was glad that race photographers and Disney staff were there to take pictures of racers in front of the castle.  I got in the short-ish line and posed a couple times.

While in the Magic Kingdom I also had my picture taken with the Little Man's favorite character, Buzz Lightyear.  LM says "to infity an yond."

The highway sections of the race weren't nearly as interesting.  In fact, the hardest part of the race for me was between miles 17-20.  My sister had called me a couple times after the Magic Kingdom and I confessed to her that I was starting to get discouraged.  My pace was off what I was hoping for. 

She, BIL, the Princess, and the LM all spoke to me on the phone to help me along the way.  The Princess was disinterested in the run, but the Disney talk had her wanting to play Princess so she dressed her baby brother up in feather trimmed shoes and a lipstick.

Around mile 19, I saw a couple in front of me hold hands.  "Aww, how sweet.  They are doing the race together."  The closer I got it, I noticed that the woman had on wings and a pink tutu.  It was Christie O and hubby.  I snapped a picture of them (hopefully it turned out well) and continued on.

They caught up with me around mile 20 and we crossed over the check point within a few seconds of one another.  :Leading up to the race miles 20.1 through 26.2 had me worried.  Instead of being scared as I tackled them, they made me confident.  With each step, I knew I was traveling further and further still than I ever had before.

Right before the 21 mile marker, Viva Las Vegas came on my IPod.  I had chosen that song because its one of our favorites to compete on the Wii "Just Dance 2" game.  It made me smile thinking about how much fun we had playing that game (and me winning consistently) over Christmas.  It pepped me up and I had to break out the finger guns.  (Those of you who've played will understand why.)

Earlier in the day, I overheard someone say "oh...she's on the phone" as if they thought I was crazy and talking to myself.  Those crazy confirmations were really confirmed when i was shooting my pistols instead of hitting reported wall.

Also around miles 21-22?  My ass started hurting.  More specifically my tail bone.  I debated in my head the merits of stopping, sitting down, and cracking my back, or just continuing on.  The fear, of course, was that after sitting I wouldn't be able to stand.  I chose to risk it, not thinking I could bear the discomfort for the rest of the race.

TO BE CONTINUED
(Click here to continue to part 3)