World's Fastest Man

I ran Marathon #5 yesterday, finishing the Disney Marathon in 5:00:03.  It was another great experience.  I stayed at my friend Steven's house and he was incredibly nice enough to wake up at 3:30 and take me to the start line.  There were even more people than last year, so it was pretty crowded.  I got there around 4:40 with a little more than an hour to kill before the start.  About 25 minutes before the start I headed to the start line, which was a 0.6 mile walk away.  It was good I didn't wait any longer because I got into my corral about a minute before the start of the race.

The first few miles were fairly crowded, but there was plenty of space so I wasn't really dodging people.  For some reason, people at the Disney marathon seem to do a good job of lining up so there aren't a huge amount of walkers around screwing it all up for the other runners at the beginning.  After a mile or two, we ran through Epcot, under the huge ball, passed all the major stuff there, ran through 2 of the countries and then out the back.  Next, we ran through some back roads on the way to the Magic Kingdom.  There wasnt too much to see on the way, but at one point we ran down an onramp so you could see the thousands of other runners, which was pretty cool.  

In the Magic Kingdom, we ran through the front, went through Tomorrowland, Frontierland, down Main Street, saw all the famous characters, and ran through the castle.  I think the photographer missed me there this time, unfortunately, but we'll see.  When you visit these parks they seem immense, but we ran through the entire thing in about 1 mile, so they're nothing when you compare them to a marathon.  We left the Magic Kingdom, then had what's probably the lowlight of the course, which is a 5-6 mile run down the back streets of Disney where there really isn't much to see.  It's also where it goes from several lanes down to 1 lane, which gets very crowded at times.  I was much more prepared for the monotony of it this time, so it was fine with me.

Eventually we got to the back of Animal Kingdom, with llamas, parots, turtles, goats and all other sorts of animals at the gate with the handlers.  We ran through the length of Animal Kingdom, with some African drummers playing and the photographer got pictures in front of the Himalayas.  We left the Animal Kingdom around mile 18, and this is really where the pain starts for most people.  As soon as we left, you could see a growing percentage of people walking.  

Next up was a highway overpass, which seemed to wipe out a bunch of people.  At mile 20 there is a 2 mile up and back, which is always annoying for me.  You have to run a mile looking at people ahead of you, then turn right back around and see what you just ran past.  

Mile 22 was a big point for me, because that was the point I started walking last year.  There was a hill there that completely broke me down the previous year, and from that point I walk-ran.  This year, I was mentally prepared for it and I pushed through it with no problems.  

Next was Hollywood Studios (previously MGM Studios).  Last year this was miserable for me, but I made it through, still running this time.  It was really hard because at this point I was just telling myself "just run to the next water stop and you can have a short walk there."  Finally, we left the park around mile 24.  Finally, I broke down and did some walking.  I ended up just walking the water stop and I found myself walking for a couple of minutes after that.  Between 24 and 25 there's a path that takes you around the lake and next to all the hotels, and for some reason that part is always really rough for me.  

At mile 25 I started running again and I didn't walk at all the rest of the way (other than to take off my ipod for just a second, because I like to have it off to enjoy the finish).  We ran the last 1.2 through Epcot, doing the whole park, passing under the ball again and out a side path.  There was a gospel choir by the finish, which was very cool, and then the finish.  I saw Gwen and my friend Steven there and crossed the line.

Overall, I was pretty happy with how I did.  I ran a slower pace than in any other marathon, but it was my 2nd best time overall because I walked so little.  I kept up about 11:00-11:15 per mile for the first 23, which I was pretty happy with.  And considering the amount of travel, school, work and family stuff going on lately, I think it would be dumb of me not to be happy about it.

So for now, I'm not signing up for another marathon.  I'm switching to triathlons to see how I like those.  I'd also like to get faster overall, so maybe a bit more of a focus on short runs to increase my speed.  I'll post some pictures of the race when they're posted on the site.