Winter has not so suddenly arrived around here. Hard to believe a couple of weeks ago this time it was 70 F with folks moaning about the hot weather. Last night it was 18 F and is so supposed to be around 10 F tonight. Now people are moaning about the cold. I figure God would have said Himself a lot of whining if He made us humans impervious to the weather. Of course, we'd surely find something else to complain about. Probably that the weather never changes. And some ambulance chaser somewhere would probably offer to file suit on behalf of the humankind. And then the smiting would begin.
Or people would be forced to run marathons, which reminds me...
So after a not terribly hectic, but still quite fun, morning and early afternoon in the Magic Kingdom, we called it a day and headed back to the room for the remainder of the day. Since my annual pass was still valid, it wasn't really much of a financial loss for me. It was a personal loss, however. Nothing like leaving the happiest place on Earth shortly after lunch to spend the rest of the day lying around a hotel room.
Stacy, the inescapable, ever perky, always-on-the-go guide to the top 7 must-see attractions at WDW tried to keep me entertained visually. Her's is a noble quest that I always enjoy checking in on. However, since WDW hasn't updated her channel in 3 years I know she's still going to find those "pretzels und bier" in Germany and that she really gets a hold of that shot on the 12th tee. Noteworthy, perhaps, is that the reference to free water-powered wedgies at Typhoon Lagoon (her comment after finishing Summit Plummit in previous versions) has been removed.
Guess they charge for those now as well.
Andy would say they charge for everything else.
Being as the marathon started at 6 am, we needed to be on the monorail a little after 4 am. All of which meant we had to wake up a little after 3 am. A time in which I rarely am awake and if am, not really eager to hit the trail for a easy 26.2. But duty called, and I was a bit surprised at how ready I was to get up and go. By the time the monorail arrived at Epcot, I had completely forgotten it was the middle of the night.
Of course, they had the parking lot lit with enough flood lights to land an air force squadron, huge video screens blaring all manner of stuff that no one seemed to be paying any attention to and a sound system whose bass could be heard before we exited the monorail. I suppose it's all designed to WAKE YOU UP!!!
Even though this was my third marathon and I knew what to expect before, during and after, I'd be lying if I said as the monorail glided into the station I wasn't wondering just what the hell am I doing? With all the training, motivation and excitement there was really no need for worry. Still, whenever I get there it's hard not to consider, however briefly, that I probably should have spent the previous months pounding my shins with a hammer and then I wouldn't be in this mess. Thankfully, that always quickly subsides, and I was on the verrrrrrrrrry long walk to the starting line before I knew it.
Although the official start of the marathon is at Epcot, it's actually at the far end of its parking lot so there's about a 1/2 mile walk to the actual starting line. The logic being that if one's about to go 26 miles what's another 1/2 mile; plus, it's actually a good way to get warmed up and loose. For once, I was actually timing the start right so I only had about 5 minutes to stand around doing that stupid looking hop/bounce/jiggle folks do when they're trying to look like their serious athletes. That usually goes into a few stretches that probably do more harm than good and then before you know it, out comes the big 4 (Mickey,Minnie,Goofy & Donald) to tell us that this is there property and get off it immediately.
And with a countdown, a couple blasts of fire and some fireworks, we're off. Perhaps fittingly, if not accurately, Deep Purple's incredibly rocking "Speed King" comes on my headphones just as I get underway.
In previous years, I've been in the middle of start which meant spending the first couple of miles dodging walkers and those who forgot a marathon was longer than a 100 yard dash. Not that I'm a speedster or a smart runner by any means but I do go faster than a walk and try to pace myself. However poorly.
The big deal about running Disney, aside from the fact that one is running a marathon, is the course takes runners through all four parks. The drawback, for some, is that there's some plain old boring road in between. It's not that big of a deal to me since I run out in the country on plain old boring roads. I figure that if I can make it 20 miles with just me and my music, I can certainly keep away the boredom when there's throngs cheering me on and I'm always surrounded by fellow runners. The way the race is set up, there's a park about every 5 or 6 miles so there's always the thought that if I can make it to the next one, I know I can make it further. Runners are in each park for about a mile which, needless to say, makes that mile seem a breeze. Or so I'd like to think.
But first up is Epcot. Since it's well before the park opens and still very much dark, aside from a few cast members and some characters there's really no one cheering us on. It's early enough in the run that this doesn't really make much of a difference. If you're in trouble in mile 2 or 3 of a marathon it's going to be a long day. Nevertheless, every little bit of encouragement helps and I always wonder if Disney politely 'suggests' their workers be there to cheer us on. The course takes us up past Spaceship Earth (the giant golf ball to neophytes) and to the edges of World Showcase before Mulan tells us to get out of China before the government arrests us for being freedom loving folk. I can only imagine what the reds will think about the dude several minutes behind me carrying old glory. Yes, really.
And after Epcot, there's really not a whole lot save for some water stops and marching bands. And a group of wacky folk dressed wackily (I don't know how else to put it) blaring Who Let the Dogs Out. A song, I have never had the desire to hear. Especially now. Thankfully, Deep Purple drowned them out.
The big moment of the whole marathon is the run through the Magic Kingdom which is around mile 10. We come up Main Street U.S.A., turn left into Tomorrowland, swing around the Mad Hatter's Tea Party where Alice, Tweetle Dum and Tweetle Dee give a wave and suddenly we're in Fantasyland. As with Epcot, the park is still closed so aside from cast members and characters, there's no one there. Even though I don't really have to think about such things, it's still pretty odd to see a place that in only a couple of hours will be packed with throngs of people and activity, more or less empty and dead.
In previous years this had been where I'd started to sag a little, but I was at full strength this time. Zooming through Cinderella Castle then through Frontierland, we're backstage before we even know it. This is the part of the course that gets the most complaints because it's just a two lane road for several miles and no spectators are aloud back there, but again, for me it's like running at home. I would prefer if the course didn't take us past the water treatment area around mile 16, but even that didn't get to me this year.
Around mile 17, the course heads into Animal Kingdom and even though they try to liven things up with characters and such, the fact that one has been running for the better part of 20 miles begins to take effect. I no longer care if Donald is wishing me good luck or screaming at me for being an idiot. I just know he's in my way and my excitement over taking pictures long ago subsided. After running by Mt. Everest and into Dinoland we're backstage again headed towards the parking lot. By this time, I admit I was starting to sag and even though the weather wasn't warm, the cold sponges passed out at the water stop was a godsend. Particularly since it was warming up and the next 5 miles is, for me, the most difficult and wide open.
To be continued...
1 year ago
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