Warning LONG weekend re-cap! Proceed at your own risk!
A bit of background:
So I've been struggling with plantar fasciitis since March. I'd rest. It would get a little better. I'd start to run again and it would get worse. As Dopey got closer, I finally went to see my physical therapist at the end of August - who gave me that "did you wait so long?" look - and he promptly grounded me. No weight bearing exercise - running, walking or elliptical - period! The only thing that I could do is biking. I finally got the okay to start limited running in October. At which point both
@DopeyBadger (who wrote a great training plan considering the limited time available) and my physical therapist (also a runner) warned me that I simply may not have enough time. To say that I went into this weekend undertrained is a bit of an understatement.
To recap my weekend:
- Monday evening (leaving Wednesday morning) - Have an absolute meltdown about everything (pandemic, possible flight delays, weather at home) and got while a hair of cancelling the whole trip. Thankfully, my mom and best friend/travel partner talked me down, but I basically wasted the entire night of getting things done. Also, saw my physical therapist during the day for a last check-in. Words were "good luck and be smart!"
- Tuesday - Come home from work and dive into packing. Finish packing and overpacking late so it was a short night - not a good thing with the early morning wake-ups to come.
- Wednesday - Both my flights and my travel partner's got in. Most of the day was spent doing logistical things (getting rental car, picking up bibs, shopping at Disney - what was with the lack of merchandise?, going to the grocery store, checking in to hotel, etc.)
- Thursday - 5K was good. My best friend and I walked it entirely (she didn't train for it at all). The only bad thing was that I decided that I didn't need my running belt and managed to lose my driver's license either in the corrals or mile 1 of the race while pulling my phone out of my pocket. Thankfully, I have a NEXUS pass so I wasn't freaked about flying home, but it still was on my mind. Filed a lost and found report.
- Friday - Holy humid, Batman! I was struggling to get enough water (I was only carrying one bottle since it was "only" the 10K) and I finished pretty dehydrated - pounding two water bottles at the finish. I really like this distance and I was a fan of the new course. My intervals were strong and I was even able to add extra run time to what I had done in training. I was feeling good at this point.
- Saturday - And here's where the wheels came off. I never got into a good rhythm with my intervals (mistake #1 - I tried to stay with the aggressive pace of that I did during the 10K, I should have moved back to what I did in training) and I kept missing the run interval. Also, I got in my own mind thinking about the marathon and forgot that I had to finish the half first. Leaving the Magic Kingdom, I caught sight of the balloon ladies and got the warning that they were only 30 seconds behind. If I didn't get serious about this race - quick - I was going to be in serious trouble. I latched on to the 3:30 pace group and Steve and his partner (whose name I cannot remember for the life of me right now) were extraordinary. I stayed with them all of the way to the mile 10ish cloverleaf as we made the turn towards Epcot. Without a doubt, this group got me through. But the pace along with climb got to me and I had to let them go. Making the last climb up the final bridge to Epcot and I was even with the balloon ladies (who were fabulous and sooooo encouraging). Everyone kept saying "make it to Epcot before them and you're going to finish." Well, I kicked it in and entered about 2 seconds ahead of them. At which point I was DONE. I walked the last mile with a lot of support from the Disney folks and a team couch (again, I wish I could remember her name). But I finished!
Even before I finished, I knew that the marathon wasn't going to happen. If I had gotten into that much pace trouble with the half, there was no way that I could complete the whole. But I hung on to the hope that I could at least get the Magic Kingdom. As soon as I finished, however, my feet seized up and the walk to the parking lot was one of the most painful things that I've done. And as big of a mess as I was, we still had to head to Disney Springs to pick up my driver's license from Thursday. I did a number of treatments (meds, ice, heat, elevation, TENS unit), but everything gave me minimal relief and I knew that the Magic Kingdom was out of the question. Trying was only going to get me hurt. I decided that I was going to start and either a) pull at the one mile medical tent or b) try to make it to mile 3.8 so I could at least say that I did a 26.2 miles total.
Sunday - The feet were not nearly as tender when I woke up, but they were still rough. Live to run again was my theme for today. I talked to the medical staff and got my options for where and when to pull. I had two different runners try to talk me into "just trying it and see what you can do." Note to everyone for future reference - if someone tells you that they aren't going to complete a race, please don't try to talk them into it. Doing the smart thing is VERY difficult decision and you don't know what is going on in their body (or their mind). By the time I got halfway to the corral, I was pretty sure that 3.8 miles wasn't going to happen. I started, ran one interval, and my feet told me a big fat NO. So one mile it was. I got two character photos (which I hadn't allowed myself in any of the other races), got my one mile photo), and bordered a van for the slow ride back to start.
Even with a DNF today, all in all, I am very happy with this weekend. I completed three races in a row including my third half marathon. I learned a lot from each race - including what not to do during the half. I don't feel like a novice distance runner any more and I am comfortable with both the 10K and half distances and with the training needed. I look forward to my 10-day post-race check-in with my PT and not getting the "what did you do?" head shake from him. Tonight my feet are recovering well (gimpy when I first stand up, but able to do some light park time this evening) so I'm fairly confident that I didn't delay my complete recovery from PF too much. Will I try Dopey again next year? I don't know. But I do know that I was scrolling the runDisney website this afternoon and noticed that the Princess half and the Springtime Surprise 10-miler were both open.
Congrats to all of the finishers as well as to all of those who decided to live to run another day. Everyone is a winner in my book!
