WE DID IT!
Now, I don't want to get ahead of myself here so we will back up to the day before the race.
Saturday, February 25:
Saturday was packet pick up day as well as the Expo they had going on at the ESPN World Wide Sports Center. Going there was something the boys could be excited about because c'mon. It's ESPN.
I wasn't sure what to expect with the Expo. I knew it would basically be like a tradeshow but was overwhelmed by the amount of people. We first had to go check in and pick up or bib numbers and instruction booklets. After that, we were sent on our way to the Josten's Center to the actual expo where we would received our shirts and "goodie" bag.
Yeah, and that was only part of it.
Mom and I had a ton of fun looking at all of the great running gear, cute running accessories, getting free samples of drinks/food and just watching all of the people around us. The atmosphere was amazing. Everyone was so pumped about the race. I bought a sequin skirt to wear during the race, a new running tank, some sports beans for the race and a couple of official Disney merchandise things.
So, that was it. We now had everything we needed and race day was only hours away.
I was nervous. I was absolutely freaking out. Not going to lie. I was excited - but being my first half you really don't know what to expect. So, after the expo we ran to the store for food to stock up the condo kitchen and then prepared a runners evening pre race meal:
Spaghetti! I added tofu to mine and just a little sauce. I'm not a huge sauce person.
Mom and I went to bed before 9:00 since we had to be up by 3:00.
O.M.Gawsh. Being up at 3:00 to get ready to run 13.1 miles is extremely annoying. I slept, don't get me wrong... but getting up, getting ready and trying to force breakfast down my throat that early in the morning really wasn't all that enjoyable. Especially since I'm from the Midwest and where I live it was only 2:00 a.m.
We were out the door by 3:45 and on our way to Epcot. (Which is where the race started) We got parked, grabbed everything we needed and left dad and Andrew to sleep/relax in the car since it was going to be awhile. After we got through bag check, we didn't have any bags, we decided going to the bathroom before hand would be a good idea. Until we saw the porta potty lines:
Even though the lines were intimidating, we still waited.... and boy are we glad we did. The porta potties closer to the race start were even worse! It was a .5 mile walk to the start line from where we were so we got a bit of a warm up too. Once we got to the corral areas then it really sank in. There we SO MANY PEOPLE. So many tiaras, so many tutus. It was insane but at this point my adrenaline was sky rocketing. I was ready to go. I was full of energy. I wanted this thing to start!
Look at all of those people. And yes, men were allowed to do this race only if you signed up as a co-ed team. Plus, the men that ran got into character. Some wore skirts, costumes and tiaras. It was great. There were 9 different corrals. Each one started about 5-8 minutes after the other. We were in the last corral and I swear ours had the most energy.
When it finally got to our start, I was almost jittery. This was it.
Mom and I were ready to go. We had been training, been through ups and downs... all to get to this exact point. Race time! The Fairy Godmother was letting us know how much time we had left and then she started our countdown......
We were off! The first 3 miles of the race there was music, marching bands, a pirate ship with Captain's Jack Sparrow and Barbosa, hot air balloons... but mostly people all striving towards the same goal. To finish their first half marathon. (Our corral was full of first timers.) I had to remember to not only tell myself, but my mom as well, to slow down and take it easy because the last thing we wanted to was to go out too strong and tire way too soon. We ran through the gates where cars would normally pay for parking to get into Disney World and knew we'd soon be entering Magic Kingdom. Now, I had already been to Disney but my mom had not. I could not wait for her to see the castle. We got to mile 4.17 and that was the first potty break for my mom. I assumed we would have to stop a couple of times for her and that was no problem. I was keeping time with my Garmin and wasn't really concerned with the official timer. We kept on trucking along after the potty break and we didn't take our first walking break until the GIANT hill before entering Disney. What the hell was that about huh? We also ate some Gu around mile 5.
We were both SO glad that Magic Kingdom was basically the half way point because there was so much to look at, so much to be excited about and it really pushed us to keep going. Plus, during the race they had these awesome photo opportunities!
We didn't wait in line to get our pictures taken because they were so long... plus, we didn't want to stop. At about mile 8 both my mom and I were thinking "Oh God, there's still 5.1 miles to go. Can I really do this?" I have in the past done a 10 mile run before. I knew I could do 10 - but to throw another 5K on top of that? I was worried. My arthritis really started to hurt, the athletic tape I had put around my baby toe started to come off and I could feel a disgusting blister forming. So, a little after mile 9 I ran off to the side of the road, sat down, took my shoe off and fixed my tape, I also took that time to stretch my hamstrings and quads. My mom retied her shoes and off we went again. I should also make note that I basically stopped at every water/powerade stop along the way and took both drink options. I wanted the hydration and electrolytes bad. I never had the urge to pee so I knew I needed to continue to hydrate. We finally hit mile 10. This was it. A 5K is what stood between us and the finish line. They had a nice spot set up where Clif was handing up multiple samples of their GU shots. I picked up citrus and mocha. I immediately at the citrus one. But..... let me tell you how wonderful Disney is....
They routed the last 3.1 miles over on ramps, hills, and curves. Bastards. There was this one on ramp that was so steep and so curved.... it was really hard on my foot and my mom's ankles. I thought for sure I was going to collapse because my foot was just going to give out.
However, mom kept pushing me along andI kept telling myself that this was it. I had gotten this far and I wasn't going to stop. I was going to do this half marathon even if my foot fell off!
The finish line was right outside of Epcot, and yes, we ran through Epcot and the park had opened for the morning! There we a lot of people visiting the parks that were either confused by what was happening or cheering us on and giving us high-fives while they patiently waited for us to run by. The atmosphere and the mood of the entire finishing area was so overwhelming. Complete strangers cheer you on, tell you not to give up because you could do it. Just a little farther. Then we saw it. We saw the 13th mile marker.
At this point my mom was screaming "C'MON BECKY!" because she was a bit ahead of me because I was almost fully limping. But, I could hear the screams from the finish line and I ran. I ran with her that last .1 mile and when I crossed the finish line they said my name! Probably because they saw Jirschele and went.... "Yeah, Cowan is easier to pronounce." :)
We did it.
We got our medals, we get to now say "I've run a half marathon."
After that, they shoo you into the family reunion area where my husband and my dad were both watching for us. We got bananas, Toy Story Fruit Snacks, a chocolate Luna protein bar, water, Powerade and a box full of whole grain crackers, hummus and bean dip, dried edamame, trail mix, dark chocolate....
And I'm not going to lie. I ate every last bit of everything I got because I was STARVING. I burned 3,218 calories that day. And I guarantee I didn't even come close to eating all of those calories that day.
I was cold and sore after all was said and done. The minute we got to the car I took my arthritis medication and wrapped up in Andrew's coat. We headed back to the condo and the thought of getting out of the car and walking to our room made me want to cry. I'm not going to lie, I hurt. My hips, my feet, my calves, my ankles... my entire body was fatigued. We got upstairs and the first thing I did was fill a tub with hot water and I sunk my entire body in it.
It.Was.Amazing.
I then put on comfy clothes and plopped down on a chair. Dad and Andrew got us some hot dogs. We ate, and then.... nap time.
That nap was medicinal. After I slept I felt a million times better and most of my aches and pains were gone. We then went downstairs to the hot tub (score) and the pool bar to really get our post run medication:
Two for one draft beers by the lake. I also had a dinner of Ahi Tuna Fish Tacos at the club house that were delicious.
Needless to say, after all is said and done, I cannot WAIT to do it again next year. :)
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