I’m not sure how to express everything I want to say about the Walt Disney Marathon Weekend. I haven’t processed everything so this post is about the races. More will follow about the associated antics.
Wednesday Expo: I arrived on Wednesday afternoon excited and nervous with some minor snags along the way. I got my bibs and registration packet, got my picture taken at the Expo. Then all I had to do was get to sleep. I had a 2:30a.m. wakeup call for a 6:00 a.m. start, which sounds excessive, but wheeled athletes have to be on the starting line almost an hour and a half before the actual start. If we weren’t there first, we would have to go around the 12,000 other runners in their corrals. And despite a typo in my name, bib number 27947 was ready to roll.
Thursday 5K: It was dark and cold as we set out, but excitement and nerves were enough to keep me going. I rode a Force G handcycle which is more high tech than my bike. After the welcome speeches and the national anthem away we went. And 16:30 later I crossed the finish line! It was hard to believe that after all that work, the first race was over so quickly. I headed back to my hotel with my first medal clutched in my greedy little paws.
Friday 10K: This was going to be a different kettle of fish entirely. Rain threatened and I was riding a different bike (the Force G was promised to someone else for the 10k and the half marathon). Luckily I had gotten some running tights that matched my Philly Achilles green singlet. Just as I headed to the starting line, the rain began. It wasn’t a light, friendly rain. This rain meant business. It was going to be very wet and stay that way. Another welcome, national anthem and away I went. I started having technical issues with the bike within the first two miles of the race. The parking brake was catching when I was trying to ride. It was worst in first gear (aka Granny Gear for getting up hills) and flat out locked on me in the middle of one minor hill. I was upset. I knew I could do hills like that one. It shouldn’t be a problem for me at all. I was pretty spent and was starting to doubt that I would be able to make it through another 39.3 miles. I worked hard and made it to the finish line in what felt like a terrible 48:26..but why should I think it was terrible? It was my first 10k ever, which means it was a Personal Record.
Saturday Half Marathon:
Sunday Full Marathon:
Last one. Did I have it in me? I better because it was time to go. I had decided that my goal was to finish and that I would stop and get my picture taken with characters along the way. I was back on the Force G handcycle, and it was dreamy. It was strange, I seemed to be staying ahead of the pack a lot longer than I usually do…but tra la la, la la…I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. At the half-way mark I got a shock. The time said 1:25:30. What? There was the possibility of breaking three hours? At mile 15 I got a great punch of energy when one of my best friends appeared shouting “Patricia! Go Patricia!” It lasted me all the way through…I finished with a 2:53:46…a personal record by more than 50 minutes!
There you have it…race memories. I plan to post another blog concerning all the things that weren’t specifically about the races because there were plenty of those.
Thank you to all of you for the support and encouragement through this crazy journey. It’s been amazing to push further than I thought I could go.
If you haven’t contributed to my campaign for Achilles, I would love it if you could: Here’s your chance
