Day 232: WALT DISNEY WORLD MARATHON 2011!!!

OMG I FINISHED!!!!!!! I did the whole thing!!! I had to walk a lot, but we ended up finishing in 6:17:11... WAY better than the whole 7 hours we thought it was going to take, and even better than 6:30, which was my secret hope.

Chris and I got an early, as in 2:15 a.m., start because we had to be in our corral by 5:00 a.m. and we had a 45 minute drive and were warned about traffic. But actually we had no traffic, and were there by 3:30, so we hung out until 4 in the car, then braved the cold to wait outside and eat breakfast. It was surprisingly cold... too cold to stretch well, really. Once we were all crowded together it was a little better, and we made small talk with several people to distract ourselves from the long wait. Race day definitely brings people together.

There were fireworks and a DJ and Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy at the start. I was so nervous crossing that starting line... all I could think was that this was a really bad idea, I wasn't ready, maybe I should have listened to the doctors. We had a really good start though, and ran 6 miles before we stopped to walk. It was really surreal, actually, running under the ball at Epcot all lit up in the dark. I managed to keep up running through the Magic Kingdom, which was incredibly motivational. There were tons of people lining Main Street and we got to run around and then straight through the castle. Awesome.

I had a little scare around mile 11 when my heart skipped a bit, so we walked awhile, and after the half point we started alternating miles running and walking (but made sure to run through Animal Kingdom to show off). I actually made it all the way to mile 20 still feeling like a person. By mile 21 I was starting to get light headed, felt some tightness in my chest, and it was getting harder to move my muscles, so we just walked through Hollywood Studios and all the way to mile 25 back in Epcot. But I was running that last 1.2 miles, no matter what. It was slow and painful, but I did it.

It was incredible. We saw tons of characters on our run, and there were marching bands and cheerleaders at several points (poor kids... what high schooler wants to get up that early and be out so long?). The hydration and food stations were well organized, and all the volunteers were incredibly supportive. And there were so many people out to cheer us on... family and friends of runners, Disney World staff, and just regular park and resort guests. They made an amazing cheering section, had some really creative and touching signs (highlights: "Run, walk, crawl... just FINISH!" and "I'm a complete stranger and I'm proud of you!"), and used the names on our numbers to offer us some personal support (people called my name 21 times... Chris only had like 9. Which is awesome cuz usually all the girls cheer for him during our races and I get no love :-p).

I really can't believe I finished. It's so amazing. I almost cried when I crossed the finish line, and again when they gave me my medal (which is AWESOME, by the way). My mom was there and it was so great to get a huge hug and see how excited she was too. Plus I got like 10 text messages from friends that had been tracking me online or just knew that I was running today. I was white and shaky by the time I got to the car, and I can barely walk now. But it was worth it. Basically, it was a completely amazing experience. And... I totally want to do another one. Maybe this one again, maybe a different one. But I want to see what I can do when I'm actually healthy. I think I'm an addict... great.

So... I guess this concludes the blog... for now. Thanks for reading! Perhaps I'll have to revive this for our next adventure... the triathalon! After a few months off, of course...

Days 226 - 231: Now or Never

Day before the race. I can't believe it's tomorrow. 231 days of training... that is insane. But probably not even as insane as how far we're going to run tomorrow.

Well... how far Chris is going to run. For me, debatable. Here's been my lovely week:

I thought it'd be awesome to volunteer for an HIV vaccine study. Make some extra cash, see the clinical side of research, do my part in the fight against HIV. Participants have to be screened, and have a physical and blood work done to make sure they qualify. So Monday I had my screening, then went to yoga to work on making sure I was all stretched out.

Tuesday morning I get a call. Apparently the blood work showed I was "anemic as an ear of corn." Because I'm healthy otherwise and showed no symptoms and have been TRAINING FOR A MARATHON, the doctor didn't believe it, so I went back to redo the test in case the lab had messed up. Then Chris and I ran 6 miles. Usually a good idea when you're anemic, right? But I really assumed lab error, and my run was fine... just that last steep hill that hurt, but that's pretty usual.

Except then I got a call that night that the new test agreed with the first. And the doctor at the vaccine center told me I needed to go see the doctor at student health, and that I shouldn't run the marathon. Not even walk it. You can imagine the intense amount of tears and hysteria that resulted. 6 months and $135 all for nothing? No way. I decided to wait to see what student health had to say.

So Wednesday I had my third doctor's appointment and third blood test in 3 days. I was getting pretty tired of getting stuck by needles. The results came back the same. The doctor said I was near hospitalization/transfusion levels, that I shouldn't even be able to walk up a flight of stairs. And that running the marathon was absolutely out. I was crushed. Sad, angry, frustrated, depressed, hopeless. I decided belly dancing would make me feel better, and since I had been able to run 6 miles the day before I didn't figure it would be too much of a problem. I'm taking a class to work on shimmies. So maybe I can help my upper body catch up to my lower, and also learn how to do more than one move at once, since coordination is not my strong point. For the first day, it was a good workout, and always puts a smile on my face, so I felt a little better the rest of the evening.

Thursday the doctor called AGAIN and said I had a positive occult blood test... so I needed to go see a gastroenterologist, so he went ahead and made me an appointment... for that day. 4 doctors appointments in 4 days. Ugh. Thankfully not another blood test though. She was fairly amazed that I was just up and around like it was no problem, but she said the numbers were serious and I need to have an endoscopy, a colonoscopy, maybe swallow one of those pill camera things, and visit hematology. My next month will be fun. I also started intense iron supplements to get my levels back up.

So three doctors told me I shouldn't run the marathon. I was so frustrated because I FEEL fine. And I had just run. So why couldn't I at least try? So I had very long talks with my mom, my dad, my coworkers who run, and my best friend from college. We all agreed on the same thing. I've worked way too hard to just give up entirely.

Our conclusions: It was by freak accident I even found this out. If I hadn't volunteered for this study, I never would have known, and I would be running the race anyway. And if I did that... I would have pushed through any pain and could have SERIOUSLY hurt myself. But since I would be running it anyway, I should use this information to help, not stop, me. I know that at my worst point, I was able to run 6 mils and feel fine. So I should at least get some of the experience and go and run my 6 miles and then walk until the truck catches up to me and picks me up. That way, I get to at least have 8 or 9 miles of the Disney race experience, and everything isn't totally wasted. And it gives me the opportunity to keep going for as long as I feel well. I won't have run for 5 days, I will have been on iron supplements for 3 days, and I've been eating well and trying to get enough sleep for a week. The course is flatter, the air is warmer and more humid... maybe all of these factors will enable me to get through even more... maybe even the whole thing, although I'm not hopeful. But instead of giving up entirely, I can at least give it a try, and know that if I do start feeling bad, I need to stop. As long as I'm willing to do that, I can race and stay healthy. Everyone wins.

With that all settled, yesterday Chris and I left for Orlando and hit the expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports to get our numbers and shirts and free stuff! We also got hip pouches so I can carry my phone in case I have to drop out and pills and all of that. And we got awesome matching bandanas. Which Chris can totally pull off... but I look somewhat like a cancer patient... oh well. The expo was by far the biggest we've been to, but was well organized and just generally great. We met up with my mom and some friends at a Cuban restaurant in Celebration (the town that Disney built... which I think should be renamed Pleasantville... it's creepy... like straight out of the 1950s...) for a delicious dinner.

Today we're taking it easy. We walked about 3 miles this morning and I'm feeling pretty good. We're off to the thrift store to get some sweats that we can toss away after we start, since it's only supposed to be in the low 40s in the morning. Then an early pasta dinner, and bed by like 7:00, because we have to be up at 2:30, on the road by 3:00 to get there in time.

I'm so nervous! I have to accept the fact that I probably will not finish, but I still want to do the best I can. And I definitely hope Chris finishes... I'm confident he can. I'm trying to just relax and not think about it and just get up tomorrow and do it.

Wish us luck... these past 231 days have all come down to tomorrow morning... hopefully it was all worth it...

Days 224 - 225: Happy New Year

Guess my resolution is obvious.

After my intense workout Friday afternoon followed by dancing the night away and one too many vodka tonics (or was it the champagne?), Saturday was extra fail. I slept til 2:00 and did... nothing. Showered, went to... the only meal I ate that day (brinnunch? linnfast?), and went to a movie. Oh well.

Today Chris and I met this afternoon for a 7 mile run. Sadly, it was cold again, unlike Friday's gloriousness. It was a bad run though. I don't know what's going on. My abs and back just start hurting and it's harder to breath than it should be and my heart is racing faster than it should be and my legs feel so cramped. I literally stopped and cried right at the end of mile 6. I'm depressed. I don't think I can do it.

I'm hoping that eating real meals and getting plenty of sleep and drinking less this week will help. I'm also going back to eating a banana every day, and trying a glass of tonic water a day... supposedly the quinine helps with muscle cramping. I'm going to try to make all 3 yoga classes available to me this week to get stretched out too. I don't know. I don't know what else to do at this point.