So I'm late in checking in. I had a great time at Marathon Weekend, but this one also felt different. I think all the continuing pandemic related professional stress knowing that I'm right back in it now that I'm back home weighed me down. I kept saying to myself "This Will All Make Sense When I am Older" which made me laugh and brighten my mood.
Random observations. My sister had a work meeting in the afternoon, so we decided to hit the Expo first thing in the morning. This meant that we were able to get just about everything we wanted. The only thing I didn't see was a Dopey I did it pin which I may have missed. The spirit jerseys were almost sold out entirely by the time we got into the Expo floor around 10:30 or 11:00am. Neither of us wanted one, so not a big deal for us. I did see a mouse ear race weekend ornament, but no shoe ornaments this year. Given that I was not expecting much because of the supply chain issues I can't complain.
I finally broke my rule of early bedtime before a race. The posted 115 minute wait for Rise of the Resistance around 5:00pm turned out to be a 50 minute wait, so I got right back in that line two more times on Wednesday. I did make it to bed by 11:00pm before the 5K. No regrets. Random note: I achieved my step goal for the day in the Millennium Falcon so it was fun to see my Star Wars Garmin give me that notice inside the Falcon.
In the last corral, I think the character lines that mildly interested me were closed already. No big deal. This also means that I easily have my fastest runDisney 5K ever. I don't remember the time though. My plan for Dopey is too always take the 5K super easy, the 10K pretty easy, the half easy enough to finish, and save everything for the marathon.
I enjoyed the parks, but definitely did not have any sort of plan or agenda for this trip. In hindsight I think that was a mistake. I just kind of wandered and didn't do a lot of rides. Crowds also played a part and I didn't feel like springing for
Genie+. Even if I don't do Genie+ I think I need a plan next time.
A lot is a blur right now. I did some character photos during the 10K though so that was nice.
My favorite part of the half was seeing the sunrise over Cinderella Castle as I entered the Magic Kingdom. Absolutely beautiful. It was special to be among the first runners to experience Main Street again after everything we've all been through to varying degrees. I also rather enjoyed singing along for the entire Elvis mile during the half. I loved that.
The full went great. Instead of my usual pace by feel, I actually tried intervals for the marathon. I used 80/30 run walk split. It felt just enough on race day. I also appreciated that split because between my character stops and such I got caught up in the 6:45 pacing group a few times. Course congestion made it impossible to break away from them at some points especially in Animal Kingdom, so I once I finally pulled out ahead of them my different split enabled me to stay ahead of them for the rest of the race. So that was good. I didn't really hit the wall until maybe mile 24 or so. At which point I just kept my intervals and powered through. Finish time was under 6 hours and 49 minutes, which chopped off 10 minutes or so off my 2019 official PR. I have no idea what 2020 would have been with the course cut short. So a PR and I'm happy. There were moments during the full when I wondered if 3 marathons was enough, but those thoughts have mostly subsided.
I couldn't stay long at DATW, but it was nice to catch up with people for a few minutes. I hope to spend more time with you wonderful folks next time. Speaking of which, I will miss
@lhermiston but I guess I'll need to follow his adventures on Twitter.
All in all, it was a memorable weekend with many moments that I will never forget. I'm a huge proponent of wearing medal(s) to the parks after the races and this time was no different. Some great character moments with the medals even at a distance.
Right now I'm hoping to be back for next year. With an anniversary for the full and Dopey, that's tempting. But if I'm being honest, I've also given thought to dropping down to Goofy and adding the first 2 days of a Dopey trip onto the back end so I can enjoy WDW more after the race. We shall see.
Congratulations to anyone who toed the line at marathon weekend and to any finishers of their first race whatever the distance. You worked hard for the moment. And to anyone who fought through difficult times either in training or during the races, I'm proud of you too. And for those who made the difficult decision to cut a race or races short or drop out to preserve health and/or prevent injury, I'm especially proud of you too. Sometimes choosing to fight another day is truly the best course of action even if it's a heartbreaking one.