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...
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