Three Boys and a Lady: Disney Marathon 2009...That's 26.2 Miles!!

On January 11th, 2009, Rylan officially turned 2, and I officially ran and completed my very first Marathon! I registered for this marathon nearly a year in advance. But somewhere in the past year, I had a falling out with running. I just didn't enjoy running anymore. I started feeling like the training was becoming a job, not a recreational sport...so much pressure. It took a lot for me to actually speak the words "I'm not going to run it". I'm not much of a quitter. Leah suggested that we come up to Orlando anyways, and if I felt like running it, then no problem, it was already paid for. I honestly didn't know if I was going to run it until I woke up at 3:00 am and got dressed in my running gear. I'll also add that I felt like complete shit! The night before, I started having flu-like symptoms, Nice! I hated the idea of being a quitter, and the fact that others thought I wouldn't be able to do it because I didn't train, only made me want to complete it even more. I knew that if I said I was going to do it, then I would. I just wouldn't be able to run the whole thing, I'd have to walk portions of it.

I had researched the Jeff Galloway method and decided that I would try to follow it. It was a bit annoying trying to stalk my running watch and keep up with the 3 minute run/walk routine. Leah and Scott were great and stayed with me, even though they hated stopping to walk. All was going good until mile 10. I always hit a wall at that mile. But we pressed on and continued. Leah left me at about mile 19 and Scott was slightly ahead fo me too. I stopped at every photo opportunity and took pictures with ALL the characters. At mile 23 I got this awful pain in my right foot and ended up having to walk the last few miles. I can't really explain how it felt to run that marathon; exhaustion, ache, pain, excitement. It was extremely emotional! Towards the end I kept choking up and got that awful knot in my throat, until finally I just wept. Every time a runner would pass by that was part of the Team In Training Leukemia Foundation, the tears would just start running again. To see all those runners with tons of ribbons and pictures with the names of people they know who were affected by cancer, it was just incredible and so moving.

The 26.2 mile journey took us through all 4 Disney Theme Parks. We started off on the outskirts of Epcot. We made it into Epcot at mile 2-3, then headed back out to the streets on our way to Magic Kingdom. At mile 10 we finally made it to Magic Kingdom where we ran one short mile through the park and then started back on the streets again. At mile 16 we were coming up on Animal Kingdom. Mile 16 and 17 were spent running through this park, but most of it was through the back areas where it literally smelled like a cow pasture. At about mile 22.5-24 we went through MGM Studios, then made our way over to the Disney Beach Resort and then finally back to Epcot. Each park we stopped at was like a Mardi Gras for Marathon runners. Countless people lined the path cheering us on. It was really neat! In the end, I'm so proud that I finished it, but I'm not sure if that feeling is enough to make me want to experience it again. But I got my medal!

3:00 in the morning