Moving on...Disney World Marathon

Yes, I still want to finish my race report, but we'll see. I know I have at least a few more comments about it, but first...I had several life changes come about during November and December and I'm currently moving across the country to San Diego. I quit my job teaching at Embry-Riddle and have accepted a position with General Atomics working as a Test Engineer on the Predator.

Among other changes, Irfan and I decided to just be friends. Now on to other updates.

Training has been week, but I still ran the Disney World Marathon on Jan 13 even after taking most of November and December off from training. I was happy with the result: 4 hr 40 min 58 sec. That's still faster than San Francisco and I know I will do much better on the 3rd one...like they say, the 3rd time's a charm :) Let's hope so.

How was the race? Very good all things considered. I spent the night before the marathon in Orlando so I wouldn't have to get up so early. That helped, but I was still up by 3:30. I stretched, ate and was out the door and headed to the starting line. I was lucky to have been joined by Mark, a cycling friend who has recently been running more. He ran for a friend who was not able to run the race. Here's a picture of us before the race.

We started in separate corrals and so I ran the race alone. Well, maybe not alone. When there's 15,000+ runners, you're never alone on the course. I started off feeling pretty good and so I went with it, perhaps because I'm stupid, because a smart runner would really hold back and know they have a whole 20+ miles to speed up. That was my goal for this race, work towards negative splits (running each mile a little faster than the previous) and for the most part, I did that all the way until the last 2 miles.

For the first 5-7 miles the people were so think it was difficult to spread out and claim your own space and set your own pace. The mass was running together. I drafted a few guys off and on to start with. I was given this advice at a local running store and decided to give it a go.

The weather for day couldn't have been any better. It was in the low 60s at the starting line and it stayed mostly cloudy the entire time I ran. There were times when the wind would pick up, but I was drafting, therefore it didn't matter too much.

I met a nice guy around mile 7 and we ran until almost mile 18 together. He was a fellow triathlete and this was his first marathon. Finally at mile 18 he told me to go ahead. I ran to catch up with another couple I had leaped-frogged with for many many miles. I drafted the husband closely. When running we held a 9:20-9:40 pace. For the last several miles we would run 6 and walk 1, but before that we were walking the hills. They were awesome for me. They pushed me and demanded that I give it my all. By mile 24 I couldn't go it anymore. That pesky mile 24, it's the same one that got me in San Francisco. I'm going to work on that.

Up until this time I had felt really good. I had consumed 5 packets of CarbBoom, but probably should have taken 1 more. With 1 extra gel, I think I could have held on. The only other issue I had during the race were my knees. Almost from the first step the outside of my right knee hurt. In the beginning I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to even finish the race the pain was so bad, but at one of the aid tents along the way I decided to try Biofreeze. That stuff is AWESOME!!! I stopped at every aid tent thereafter and would get 2 handfuls and slather up. It feels a lot like icyhot or other sports creams. I highly recommend it!

So at mile 24, I would run 1-2 minutes, walk, run, walk, run....I ran a 12+ and 11+ pace for my last 2 miles, not too bad I thought since I really felt like dying. In the end, I didn't die, I crossed the finish line completing my second marathon 90 days before my next marathon that I will run as the final leg of my Ironman.

The following day was nothing like post-SF. I felt really good. Sure I was a little sore, but all-in-all, I could walk, lift my legs and smile. It felt good for my muscles to be sore. The soreness went away though in only a couple of days. There was no time for rest, I loaded my car up the following day to depart Florida early Tuesday to begin my 21 day adventure across the country covering almost 5,000 miles...and we're off!