Marathon/Family Trip - Day 5 (Jan 11)

[disneygoofball]

January 11
Cast: Me and DH (Justin)

Since we were warned ahead of time about how long it takes to get to the start corrals with the influx of runners (half marathon and marathon had somewhere around 20,000-25,000 runners – don’t know the exact number), I set the wake-up call and alarms for extra early. We were up at 3:00 and out the door by 3:45. After a quick stop at the CH for coffee and a bagel, we jumped on the bus and headed towards Epcot. What a difference! The massive amounts of people made the 5K and 10K days seem like a small, family affair. I hung out with DH for a bit, but then headed through the gear check tent to start the half mile trek to my corral. It was humid and warmer than previous days, so I didn’t have to worry about getting chilly in the start area which was good, since I made it to my corral around 4:45 and had 45 minutes until corral A started. Thankfully, I was in corral I so we only waited about 35 extra minutes before we got to start. Those in corral P had over an hour wait, I think. Being in the middle of the pack of starters also worked in my favor since my game plan was to take it really easy – I didn’t want to die on marathon day. I tried to alternate walking and running, which was kind of difficult for me because I hadn’t trained with a walk/run system, but I think it worked well. I also stopped frequently for pictures. On the course I had my picture taken with Launchpad McQuack, Pooh, Prince Donald and Princess Daisy, Tigger, Stitch, Phineas and Ferb, and in front of the train in Frontierland. Waiting in those lines helped slow me down as well so I could conserve energy and not wear out my legs. Justin found me in MK, by the GF, and at Epcot. We had signed up for text alerts, so he would be notified when I passed certain mile markers, and it really helped him keep track of where I was so he could show up and snap pictures.

At the finish line, I collected my medal, my last wristband stating I finished, and the goodie box, and then we headed back to the resort. We took it really easy for the rest of the day hanging out by the hippy dippy pool for a bit and then heading over to AoA to check out the resort. Justin was super bummed that we weren’t staying in the Cars section of AoA – it was adorable. Both of us were a little surprised with the Lion King section, though. To us, it seemed like the imagineers either ran out of ideas or money because it was underwhelming when compared with the Nemo and Cars section. The Little Mermaid area was cute, but our favorites were Cars and Nemo. We ate dinner at the CH at Pop and then headed back to the room to relax and get to bed early. Wake up time for the next day would be the earliest yet!

[faline]

Congrats on finishingthe race! Nice, relaxed remainder of the day!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Thanks for the report

[yjgirl32]

Congrats on your races. Thanks for sharing.

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.

[hauntedmansiongirl]

Great job on the marathon! It sounds like a blast! Early days though!!!