The Race Report

You know, sometimes the best way to wake up on time isn’t a clock alarm. It’s the internal one telling your body it’s time to pee! Just as I was heading for the bathroom, Melanie’s I-phone alarm goes off. Perfect timing! With a good night’s sleep and a better attitude, I was set. All of the stress and anxiety running through my veins had disappeared, and was replaced with excitement. OK – I had some butterflies in the ole’ stomach, but nothing like the past couple of days. We were out the door by 3:45 AM, on the bus by 4, and arrived at the entrance gate shortly thereafter for the 20 minute walk to our corral. The weather was slightly chilly. Melanie and I had debated for days whether or not to wear two shirts or just a jacket because it was predicted to be in the mid 40’s. Surprisingly fifteen more degrees were added to the morning’s low. No additional clothing needed. As we approached our corral, I panicked. How in the world did we manage to get so close to the start line? Yikes! Since there would be two different start lines, the corrals were not very crowded. A huge screen displaying music videos and live interviews kept us runners distracted from the approaching start time. Melanie and I even made it on the big screen displaying our “Mileskeeter” shirts. They were showing clips of the crowd during some of the videos, so they had us ready to go when it was our turn. Melanie had her back turned to the camera to reveal the back of our shirts: “Blood, Sweat, and Ears”. I faced the camera, but kept looking at the screen for the big moment. When it arrived, I was so startled at the sight of myself that I froze. The frustrated camera man kept motioning for me to wave, but I had turned into a statue. LOL! I was definitely not meant for the big screen.

Next thing I realize is the crowd quickly merging closer together. Stunned about the sudden change, it then hits me that the race is about to start. After singing the national anthem, we counted down for the wheelchair start. The next countdown was for everyone else, and it was promptly started at 6 AM. Last year for the half marathon it took fifteen minutes to reach the start line. This year – only two. Can you see why I was freaking out?! With two different starting places, one group took the blue route, then other the red, and we all met at mile four. What a huge difference to be in a higher corral! Last year we were in the next to last one. Our entire 13.1 adventure was spent passing walkers, some locked in at five to seven wide. It was so frustrating, especially when you would say “passing on the left” or “excuse me”, and the walkers would not budge. Most of the time we were running in the grass. This year we were right where we were supposed to be. It was such a comforting sight to see some of the same runners from the corral throughout the entire race. Melanie got a wonderful idea from a coolrunning group member about dedicating each mile to someone. Our first three miles were “tithed” – to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As each mile marker appeared in sight, we were checking our list while sharing with each other how much this person or group of people meant to us. It is so amazing how just sharing stories about important people in one’s life empower us to strive to do our best. Since it was my friend’s birthday on Sunday (Cherry Dotson), we both sang “Happy Birthday” in honor of her. Little things like that truly helped take our mind off of the pain.

Two hours and 48 minutes into the race, we had reached the half way mark. Without the bathroom breaks, it could have been ten minutes faster, but hey – when else would I have time to facebook my status? LOL! Before I go any further, I have to commend my cousin for running such an amazing race with a prior injury. Her last long run was around Thanksgiving. To ensure no more surprise aches and pains, she took a sabbatical up until race day. I thought for sure she was going to punch me in the arm if I asked her one more time if she was OK. In fact, I was banking on her to walk more than she did. As the pain screaming throughout my legs by mile 21, I kept thinking – “OK, Mel, whenever you want to rest and walk… anytime now”. And of course, how could I say what I was thinking. I’m not the one with an injury. She was amazing! Mel, I’m so proud of you! The inevitable wall emerged at mile 22. We both agreed to run the entire mile without stopping. My mile was dedicated to the love of my life – Scott. It had to be done. Once I saw the hill I knew true love better step in to help hurdle me over this obstacle. By mile 24, the mental breakdown began. Emotions and frustrations started to well up in the form of tears. At that very moment, a vision of hope and encouragement filled my soul. It was Bill and the kids – Melanie’s family. This was the first race where family members were along the race course. So excited to see them, I actually sped up my pace and kept running, and then realized – hey – run back! Just those couple of minutes was so uplifting, we actually had a spring in our step. With renewed spirit, we journeyed on to the finish line. The last mile plus .2 we ran with all our heart and soul. I almost left Melanie behind as we ran by the Gospel Choir singing “We Worship You!” Any time along the course when I heard music, my pace increased. Early on at one point we had the choice between running down a section listening to disco or classic rock. We chose to “headbang” all the way with a song from Van Halen! I can’t compliment Disney enough for the numerous water, medical and music stations along the way. They even had a chocolate station at Mile 22.

The second half of the marathon was a bit slower than the first half. The 80 degree weather took the energy right out of us. Mile 25 felt like it took hours to complete. But as I mentioned previously, as soon as we knew it was the last mile, all distractions and obstacles were erased and we both sprinted (as best we could) to the finish line. Melanie immediately saw Scott in the stands once we crossed. This was also the first time for a Disney race I had family to greet us at the finish line. Mason and Morgan had made posters saying “Go, Mommy, Go!” Scott even had one saying how proud he was of me. It was so emotional between seeing my family and completing 26.2 miles, I started to cry due to shear happiness. I had finally earned my golden Mickey ears!