Hahahha! You are at my blog, and let's be honest there are few times I am quiet about something. But in all honesty my two races that made up the Goofy at Disney World was really just a small part of an amazing family vacation, in what I consider the happiest/most magical place on the United States.
The Monday before the race was my first day back at school after our holiday break. We had no students, so we spent half of the day sitting in the cafeteria on small round stools in a meeting. When I came home with some lower back pain I figured it was just from sitting on those stools. The next day was our first "weather" day, as the temps dropped to below zero. So we didn't have school. While at home I couldn't get comfortable. The pain in my back was throbbing. I did take some Tylenol, which I NEVER do. By Wednesday I was standing in front of my class and I was sweating from the pain. I couldn't bend over. I had a hard time raising my arm over my head. I expressed my race concerns to some of my co-workers.
We left for Disney early Thursday morning. The pain actually felt a little better, as it was now just a constant warming sensation. My mom was concerned that I actually had pinched a nerve in my lower back. I still had trouble bending over, or looking side to side. I would love to write about Disney, but I can't. It was amazing. I actually have trouble coming up with the words to express what that trip meant. So just know, we did up the parks, had a ton of fun, and enjoyed close family time!
Saturday, Jan. 11 was the Donald Duck 1/2 Marathon. I did exactly what I had trained to do. I did 4 minutes running, 1 minute walking, and I didn't push it. I fueled with chocolate gels every 4 miles. I felt that the race was crowded. And that is coming from someone who has run the PeachTree 10K, and previous Disney races. I was in a lot of pain the entire race. Any amount of downhill was extremely painful. I was kinda glad there were so many people, as that didn't give me any wide open spaces to take off. The race was very humid. I rarely sweat, and I was sweating by mile 2, which was around 6:30 in the morning. I remembered while running this race, why I don't like to race alone. I just enjoy racing with people so much more! I finished the race. I didn't feel amazing, but it was a half marathon. For the first time in any race I went to medical after the race. Finish: 2:46:30
Sunday, January 12 was the Mickey Full Marathon. This was my sister's first marathon! It was super exciting on so many levels! The weather was perfect! It had rained the night before, so all of the humidity was gone. I haven't raced in that perfect of weather before. Trisha had been battling a foot injury, so even though we had trained to do 4 minutes running, 1 minute walking I was worried that would put too much pressure on Trisha, and I wanted her the freedom to walk more if she wanted. My back was still in a lot of pain, but slow jogging didn't seem to bother it anymore than standing around. Trisha was amazing! She was mentally strong,
The cheering/entertainment is top notch at Disney. It is those elements that keep me paying those high prices to do more races there. As we wound around the ESPN area, somewhere in the high teens for mileage, my back suddenly stopped hurting. I have no idea what happened. My back felt better than it had after I finished the half marathon. It was such a relief! Only by then my legs were tired, so there was no way to quicken the pace. I would say we probably walked a mile or less total. We did some sort of shuffle/jog almost the entire marathon. Finishing was bitter sweet. So happy to finish this race, but sad that it was over. Trisha is a marathoner! Finish: 6:32:58
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