At the beginning of 2012, I caught the running bug. I was very excited to move to Florida and I also wanted to find a way to meet new friends. Enter RunDisney - I had watched the WDW Marathon weekend streaming live courtesy of my friend Lou Mongello of WDW Radio and everyone seemed to be having so much fun! I want to go to there...So, I signed up for the ToT 10 Miler. This was not only my first RunDisney event, it was my first running event...period. I had never done a 5k or even a 10k! I really like to set some high goals for myself :)
I began my training shortly after moving to Florida in April 2012. Having gained some weight back after my Disney Fairytale Wedding I was hoping to lose weight and get fit. Things didn't go exactly as I planned - my responsibilities at work changed drastically in May and I ended up going on a lot of business trips over the summer. The stress of traveling and being away from my husband coupled with a generous expense account did not set me up for success. I trained as much as I could and I averaged about 16 minutes per mile before the race. The longest training run I did was about 8.5 miles so I felt well prepared.
I went to the Expo at Wide World of Sports the day before the race to pick up my RunDisney swag bag. I was a bit disappointed that there weren't any free samples at the Expo, it was just a bunch of merch kiosks. But it was fun nonetheless!
I was very lucky it wasn't too busy when I got there and there were only 2 people ahead of me in line for the bags!
Yay my very first RunDisney swag bag! Number 9638 - that's ME!
I ordered the shirt in XL - I really could've gotten the Medium, this thing was HUGE! I didn't have time to exchange it, bummer.
I also bought the "I Did It!" shirt to wear at the after party. These were also cut pretty big - I generally wear an XL but I got the Large and it fit perfectly!
The back of the shirt - wow I had a long way to go!
On race day, I was sure to get lots of sleep and hydration to prepare me for the 10PM start time. I had a meet with my running team - Team Studios Central - beforehand so I left my house planning to park at the Boardwalk for ease of access after the race. Wrong! The Boardwalk was on to me and those like me and was only letting people park there for 3 hours. That would not work for me so I went and parked at Wide World of Sports instead. No parking was allowed at Hollywood Studios for this event, you had to park at Wide World of Sports and take a bus to Hollywood Studios. Luckily, I was there REALLY early so I didn't have to wait in line. The whole parking ordeal took me so long that I couldn't make the meet with my team but I texted folks to make sure we met up in the parking lot before the race. Meanwhile, I hung out with some of my friends!
My awesome friend Beatrice and her hubby Brian cheered me on from the start! Yeah I know my eyes are closed but this is still a cute photo of us :)
Even though I wasn't running with the WDW Radio Running Team, Lou Mongello still found it in his heart to take a photo with me!
My friend Bobby in an awesome Peter Pan outfit! I still can't believe that people run these races while they are down here on vacation - I could never do it!
Then finally Team Studios Central showed up!
Me and my friend Darolyn :)
Then it was time to get into our starting corrals! I was happy to hang around with my friend Yulady and her husband Carlos :)
Thanks again to Yulady for coming up with a parking suggestion for my husband Jason who wasn't arriving until after 10PM. We figured out that he wouldn't be able to park at Wide World of Sports because they were closing Osceola Parkway for the race at 8PM. Yulady suggested that he park at Downtown Disney, take a bus to the Boardwalk, and walk to the Studios - and it worked out perfectly! But seriously, these RunDisney events are obviously not geared towards locals. The after party didn't even begin until 10:30PM, why did everyone need to be there by 8PM? The parking situation for this event was pretty bad overall. More on that later...
Standing in my very first RunDisney starting corral, I was very moved by the Star Spangled Banner. This is one of my favorite renditions of this song!
And that's my last photo from the race course. Sadly, the hyenas took such a long time that I was all the way at the back of the pack. A staffer pointed out some ladies carrying balloons and said we needed to keep the pace with them. From everything I had heard and read, I thought that you could basically walk a 20 minute mile and still get to finish the race. So I ignored him and a few other warnings along the way. I lollygagged with some awesome ladies and we were laughing and having a good 'ol time. Then, at mile 8 we saw the sweeper bus and we were herded onto it. So unfortunately, I did not get to finish this race which really made me angrysadfrustrated because I really could've sprinted those last two miles. I had saved up all of my energy for the end but I never got to use it. People around me on the bus were stunned and they said they had run at a slower pace than this for the half marathon last year. That just goes to show you need to listen to the warnings and not the people.
The sweeper bus dropped us off right after the finish line so we merged in with the finishers. I could've totally lied and said I finished, no one would have known because I still got the medal and posed for the "Finisher" photo but of course I didn't buy it. I was feeling a mixture of emotions as I left the finishing area to meet my husband at the after party. We texted from the sweeper bus so he knew what was going on. I just wanted to bury my head in his shoulder and die. But, I put on a brave face and changed into my "I Did It!" shirt. I felt it was appropriate because the shirt didn't say "I Finished It!" hehe ;)
As my teammates showed up one by one for our after party picture, I told them what happened and they were all so supportive. I think they could tell by the expression on my face how I was feeling. I really appreciated the support but I didn't want to harsh anyone's buzz so Jason and I left the party after we took our group photo. I think you can tell I was crying a little bit in this picture.
When we left the party, we were not prepared for the craziness of trying to get back to Wide World of Sports to get my car. Our plan was to get my car first and then I would drop Jason off at his car at Downtown Disney. The lines for the busses back to Wide World of Sports were insane! Many people were blatently cutting in line and I saw a guy throw up while standing in line. It is really important to stay hydrated during a race, I am very proud of myself for not getting sick or injured!
We waited in line for at least a half hour if not more and I was feeling more than grumpy. Then, when we finally got back to our car, the traffic was so bad it took us another half hour to get to Downtown Disney! Ugh, I just wanted to get home!! Again, the parking at this event was horrible! I hope it was just because this was the first evening event, otherwise I will be forced to stay at a Disney resort for these races.
I'm really glad to have such a supportive husband because he really cheered me up. When we got home, I realized I didn't have a photo of me with my medals! We had to correct that.
It was very nice of my friend Aaron from Team Studios Central to get medals with our team's logo! Plus I still got the Tower of Terror 10 Miler medal that glows in the dark and the doors move up and down just like the ride!
Thanks again to all of my friends on my personal facebook account who were so supportive when I posted what happened with the race. I didn't get any nasty comments, only uplifting ones - and a LOT of them!
Overall, I am still disappointed by my performance at the Tower of Terror 10 Miler. But on the other hand, I did have a blast and I made it 8 miles! I did make it past a few sweeper busses, I believe they began around mile 6. Before this race, I signed up for the WDW Half Marathon in January 2013. That's 13.1 miles, folks. I can do it! I have already begun training this week and I'm now running a 14:30 mile. Don't worry, I'm going to take my anger at myself and use it for good, not evil! I'm lightside, not darkside :)
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