princessbride6205
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 8, 2006
We spent the full week after the marathon in WDW, so I'm just getting back on the boards. I am proud to be officially Goofy (my 1st). And even more excited to have had a great marathon (my 2nd). I pretty much knew I would PR, since my first full was the WDW in 2013 - the year it was record heat and humidity and I mostly walked the race, resulting in a 6:53 finish. I knew I had a lot stronger and better training going into this year, but I was really nervous after completing the half. I had two small blisters and my right calf and both quads were a bit sore. As I started, some optimism pixie dust must have stuck in my brain, because I thought, "I'm going to do these miles whether I'm grunting through each annoyance (crowding, sore feet, rain) or smiling...might as well stay positive." I had a great race - stopped for my must-have photos, plus a few that had very short lines - and finished with negative splits and a PR of 5:56.
And what a great positive spin on your day, redefining it as "The Day I Did Not Quit." Kudos to you!
I was actually happy with the temps for the full. But I do better a few degrees too warm, rather than cold.
Love this whole post!I had a hard day, with some medical issues that I thought I had conquered in my training coming back to bite me. While I did not make my goal, I am happy to report that I finished the marathon. I am choosing to label this in my mind as "The Day I Did Not Quit," and to focus on the fact that I was able to get through even though things did not go as planned.
Overall, I think the course is really great. I am a strange one: I like WWOS. I enjoyed seeing the sports teams, having real bathrooms there, the lap around the track, and, especially, all the awesome spectators in the baseball stadium. I LOVED the Streetmosphere characters at the entrance to the Studios, and the run through MK was the highlight of my day. I also like the run from DHS all the way to the finish. I worried about slipping on the boardwalk because of the rain, but it was not a problem.
I was so grateful to all the volunteers, and hope to be one of them some time soon.
The only part of the course I really hated was the race track. That steep hill was brutal, especially since everybody around me stopped to walk it, and the lap around that track just seemed to go on forever. The car people were really nice, though.
One thing I wish Disney could do something about is all the people who buy up all the merchandise to sell it on EBay. For items like the Magic Bands, I wish they would do some kind of pre-order so that if travel plans prevent you arriving on Wednesday you can still get one.
One of my favorite things about Disney is that everybody is treated with equal care: start in A or start in P, and you get the same fireworks at the start, the same enthusiasm along the course, and the same food at the end. RunDisney is a great blow to the "running elitism" that you sometimes hear in the running world. (Runner's World posted a nasty, hateful article just today complaining about slow people like me who are "ruining" the marathon.) At Disney, each person's journey is respected, and I love that.
I hope all of you are doing ok with getting back to real life. Congratulations everybody! I hope you all met your personal goals and had a lot of fun, and if you did not meet your goals, I hope you are choosing to focus in all that you DID achieve on this long journey.
And what a great positive spin on your day, redefining it as "The Day I Did Not Quit." Kudos to you!
What the big Comic Cons do is have the limited items spread across each day. Only 100 available each day or something like that. I like your percentage idea as well. I was at the expo on Friday at 1pm and was disappointed at how little was left for Goofy.Disney needs to either make more merchandise or if not then just sell a certain percentage of things they know will sell out each day to at least give those coming in Friday and Saturday a shot to get their merchandise.They can still sell a bigger percentage on Wednesday and Thursday but hold some back,maybe 35% on Wednesday,30% on Thursday,20% Friday and 15% Saturday.Again it doesn't have to be for eberythimg, just the items they know are big sellers.I just paid $16 plus $5 shipping for a Goofy 39.3 car magnet online that was $9 at the expo,it was the only item I really wanted so I may have paid $30 if I had to but it shouldn't come down to that,I was at the expo Friday at 11am,I thought I would get it being there Friday at that time but it was already gone.
I broke my rule of wearing a new piece of clothing - and for a full marathon to boot! I bought a shirt at the expo after lots of agonizing over what to wear during the full (at least it was the same brand, size and style as one I already own).I had nobody to buy my goofy merch, so I took the chance and bought it beforehand, and shoved it to the bottom of a bag which I then hid in the corner of the room and did not acknowledge again til the race is done.
I broke a bigger rule though...I wore a race shirt before completing a race! The marathon shirt was the only long sleeve shirt I had that matched my costume, and I decided to take my chances with the superstition in favor of being warm! Thankfully, it all worked out in the end, but I hope to never be that desperate again haha
I was completing my packing on Thursday and I still didn't expect it to be as cold as it was on Saturday! I never warmed up the entire half. Granted, I walked most of it to save myself for the full, but man, it was rough. I think I had a little denial too about "Florida cold." I'm coming from negative temperatures, it can't be that bad! Mistake. But I also had my costume all planned and made, so I'm not sure what else I would have worn anyway.I wore mine under another shirt too so I tried to justify it that way as well. When I packed on Tuesday night (left for the airport early tues am), I swear the forecast wasn't showing it to be that cold on Saturday! I am glad that I had at least packed my coldgear running tights just in case...I was very glad to have those in the morning!
I was actually happy with the temps for the full. But I do better a few degrees too warm, rather than cold.