Thursday, January 9 (After the Family Fun Run 5K)
After finishing up the 5K with Michelle and Mary, we went back to the hotel, got cleaned up, had breakfast with Roger and Mary, and decided for an "easy" day (half day) at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. In fact, after hitting some of our favorite rides (Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest) and having an early afternoon lunch, Roger and I were ready to get off our feet and head back to the hotel. We did, however, find time to get yelled at by some DINOSAURs on the way out of the park...
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| Dinosaurs first...and then some Rest! |
After getting back to the hotel for some rest, my sister Sandy and her family arrived, and to keep things simple, we had a pretty casual dinner that night at Port Orleans - Riverside.
Friday, January 10
After the expo, we made our way to EPCOT for another "easy" partial day in the park, as well as our big pre-race(s) meal, a late afternoon lunch/dinner at Italy's Via Napoli in the World Showcase, which turned out to be a great idea (if I may say so myself). After taking on a few of EPCOT's "must do" rides (Spaceship Earth, Soarin', Test Track), we make our way to Italy and enjoyed our meal (I think we all had our own pizzas), and it was nice having some relaxation time before the whirlwind of the weekend's big races. I certainly recommend Via Napoli to anyone visiting Disney, but just be sure to make reservations in advance and be prepared to spend a little more on pizza than you are typically accustomed.
Following the meal, the half marathoners were getting a little antsy, so we decided to head back to the hotel for some R&R (2:30 wake up calls and alarms would come quickly). Before our exit, though, we had to get the one group picture...
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| Front - Mary, Roger, Mary Back - Anna, Sandy, Aidan, Goofball, Michelle, Mike |
After returning to the hotel, I decided that in order to get onto a sleep schedule that would help me the night before the marathon, I was going to get up Saturday morning to be a half marathon spectator (with Roger). As such, the competitors, Roger, and I decided to meet at 3:15 Saturday morning to catch the bus to the Starting Line...so by the time 8:00pm rolled around, we all went to bed.
Saturday, January 11
Knowing that the bus schedules and Start and Finish Line locations were the same for the half as the full, I have to admit that I was seeing most of the activity Saturday with an eye on Sunday's marathon. From catching the bus at around 3:30 to familiarizing myself with the pre-race starting areas, I kept saying to myself that "this is where I'll need to be at this time tomorrow morning."
After Sandy, Mike, and Mary made their way to the runners-only corrals, Roger and I decided to take the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom to catch them running through the Park. One guy on the monorail - who was going to watch for his wife at the Ticket and Transportation Center - insisted that we wouldn't be able to get into the park without a ticket, but I had done enough research to know that this wasn't the case...so although I was unable to convince this gentleman (and I use that term very loosely), Roger and I continued on to the Magic Kingdom...and no tickets were required! How about that!
Roger and I found a spot on Main Street USA, struck up a few conversations with fellow spectators, and the next thing we knew, the wheelchair and elite athletes were rounding the corner toward Cinderella's Castle. After watching for a while, we did get a glimpse of Sandy and Mike as they made their way into the park. Mary started a few corrals behind them, though, so we headed back out to the Transportation and Ticket Center to catch Mary. Since things were a little bunched up, though, it was taking a little while, so Roger and I split up so that he could wait for Mary while I headed back to the Finish Line at EPCOT to see Sandy and Mike....and - amazingly - on the way back, I ran into Michelle, (my) Mary, Anna, and Aidan at the monorail station. As such, we all had the chance to see Sandy and Mike finish the race....and I had a chance to snap this picture after they did it!
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| They Did It! Sandy's First Half Marathon! Oh - And Nice Glasses, Mike! |
Following the race, the people not running the marathon went over to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon, but Roger, Mike, and I all decided that resting up for Sunday's race would serve us better...so we all retreated to our hotel rooms for the rest we were seeking. And from there, except for a brief casual dinner, I pretty much stayed off my feet the rest of the day.
Once Saturday afternoon rolled around, keeping any thought in my head was getting difficult. I was experiencing all types of emotions - from nervous anticipation to genuine excitement. After prepping my running clothes at around 8:00pm, calling for a 2:15am wake up call, setting the alarm on my phone for 2:15am, and setting the second alarm on my phone for 2:20am, checking the alarms multiple times, I was off to "attempted sleep" land. I think I did finally fall asleep around 10:00pm, but it's easy to estimate that I woke up a handful of times before the simultaneous wake up call and phone alarm a few hours later.
The time had finally arrived. No more waiting. The day of my first marathon was here.
But let me write about it in my next post.
Until then, enjoy your journey...
I love spectating at Disney. We had a great time watching mom run the marathon last year and we didn't even go into MK! Can't wait for the next post. :) -C
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it, too, but admittedly I was very focused on the following day. That said, it did get me pretty fired up for that next day!
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