Expedition Everest Challenge 2013 Race Report Part 2-The Race

After two days of volunteering and a mostly rained-out attempt at the Magic Kingdom Friday night, I decided to chill out in my room Saturday afternoon instead of heading to a park.  I thought I might take a nap, but I might have fallen asleep for maybe 20-30 minutes max...I spent most of the time eating lunch and then reading instead.

Headed to the start area not too early--this year it was a 10pm start.  The weather was pretty good for this time of the year-71 with a little breeze and not too humid (for Florida...it's all relative anyway).  I arrived and just wandered around until I saw Steve, Katie and their daughter (Running of the Ears friends), then I hung out with them for a bit.  I didn’t see any other ROTErs (though I knew some were there), but some of my local friends arrived and we got a quick pic before heading over to the corrals (borrowed the pic from my friend Amy at The Point One Will Getcha! since mine had icky lighting, thanks Amy!).  

This year for the corrals, instead of the individuals going in the first corral and the teams coming after, we were assigned corrals by pace.  There were corrals A-H; I was in F...kind of a bummer after getting to start in the first corral the last two years.  The corrals themselves were not big enough to fit everyone so we were spilling out the back of it.  As each wave was sent off and we moved closer to the front, we were finally able to fit into the chute...also the closer to the front, they had “snow” falling onto us from high above.  Our wave wound up starting at 10:30pm.

One thing that bugged many of us-even though corrals were supposedly assigned by pace (you had to indicate your anticipated pace when you registered), as each corral was sent off, you could see that every single corral (even corral A) had people at the very back walking-and not necessarily a fast walk either.  I had been honest about my pace when I registered-I was thinking they’d still have individuals first, probably ordered by pace, then teams the same way so I figured I still wouldn’t be at the back, even indicating that I would be one of the slowest paces...I didn’t know they would put individuals and teams mixed into every corral based on pace.  While I wasn’t put in the last corral, I thought they may have moved me up based on my times (5K and scavenger hunt) from last year. 

Since I hadn’t done much running-mostly walking-in the months leading up to the race, I started off at a brisk walk and figured I’d add in running if I felt up to it.  The course started off like the last two years, around the parking lot until we came to the first obstacles-the hay bales to hurdle over.  I did run through this-it’s a lot easier to hurdle hay bales when you’re running than when you’re walking.

Then on into the park for a bit before heading backstage.  They changed up the course a bit so we saw some different backstage portions than before.  The second obstacle was the tires.  They had a long line of tires set up (like what you used to see football players go through) and by the time I got there, it was a sea of people one after the other in a big line going thru them.  There were about 7 or 8 people waiting to start the tires in each line, and since I’m a clumsy one, I skipped it and went off-road around them.  The final obstacle was the net to crawl under, but again this year I couldn’t fathom crawling down there with the dirt being kicked up--I have enough problems with my allergies as it is...and so I went around this one too.  I probably would’ve gotten through it faster if I crawled since the sand around it was soft and not conducive to any kind of fast pace at all.

After crossing the 5K finish which was back outside of the park (not my slowest 5K time ever, but still pretty slow for me at 54:40, a 17:35 pace...but I did walk almost the whole thing), I got my first clue.  I was only handed the clue card and flashlight, and asked about a marker, but was told I wouldn’t need one.  Here’s Clue #1:

“Zero in” told me to look for the zeroes and once I did, you could see they made the letters “NW” for Northwest.  Told the volunteer at the first station just outside the entrance to the park my answer and I was given Clue #2:

“Heads up”-start at the top, “high and low”, go up and down...to get Northeast.  On to Camp Minnie-Mickey, gave my answer and got Clue #3:

This one I got immediately.  26--easy, that’s the number of letters in the alphabet, 19 and 23 are the letters S and W for Southwest.  Hurried to Africa, gave my answer and got Clue #4:

Okay, this one stumped me for a bit (and many other people).  I understood from the hints that I should start at the top line and look down the rows to get the answer but for the life of me I couldn’t see where in the top line to start.  Finally saw “nor” from normally, next line right below that was “the”, then right under that was the “ast” from “fast” which gives you Nor-the-ast...Northeast...and on to Asia for the Final Clue (#5).  When I got there, tons of runners were sitting all over the ground trying to figure out this clue:

So basically we had to put the other 4 clues together, turning them the correct way based on each clue’s answer to get this:

See the symbol in the middle?  We were supposed to point at the flag on our bib that had that symbol after we crossed the finish so the volunteer would know we solved it before we got our medal.  Me?  Yeah, I had no idea...just like all those other people who were sprawled everywhere trying to figure it out.  Since I knew we had to use the previous clues to solve the final one, I kept looking at them and the only thing that popped out at me was the colors the clues were printed on-blue for the first one, white for the second, red for the third and green for the fourth.  My not-so brilliant idea was, hey, we didn’t use yellow for those...and the final clue was on yellow, so I’ll just point to the yellow flag, right?  Yeah, not so much.  I headed to the finish line.

The volunteer I went to for my medal was one that I had worked with that morning at the refreshments table, and when I pointed to the yellow flag, she said, “ah, no...um, rhymes with right...”.  Oh.  Okay.  So I pointed to the white flag with a silly grin and she draped my medal around my neck.  White? Huh?  I got my banana, Clif Bar and Powerade and hung out after the finish chute waiting for Amy and her hubby (our other friends are way faster than us and were already done and back in the park).  She explained how the last clue was supposed to work.  I wasn’t about to try to figure it out again then, so we headed on into the park for the After-Party.

In addition to the rides in Dino-Land being open, they also had Kali River Rapids and the headliner, Expedition Everest available to ride.  I had been looking forward to that all night!  And what’s even better than riding Expedition Everest at night (the absolute best time to ride it!)? Sitting in the front row of course!  We rode twice before I decided to call it a night.

Overall I had a great time-this is still my favorite Disney race and I’ll keep coming back every year if I’m able.  My overall time this year was slower, in part due to my much slower 5K portion (2011 I did 47:17 and 2012 I did 48:44 for the 5K part) but also due to the difficulty of this year’s clues.  My final overall time?  1:32:42.  Women, 355/608; 599/954 overall in the individuals.  The 5K portion was of course 3.1 miles; the scavenger hunt added another 1.73 miles for a total of 4.83 miles for the entire race.  And for those interested, here’s the crazy overall map from my Garmin:

Have you ever done a 5K “Adventure” race like this?  Would you ever want to try the Expedition Everest Challenge?

Expedition Everest Challenge Race Report part 1-Volunteer shifts

I’ve said before how the Expedition Everest Challenge is my all-time favorite Disney race (I have, right?), in fact it’s my favorite race anywhere so far.  Not because it’s “only” a 5K-I actually prefer the half marathon distance since the first 1.5 to 2 miles are always harder for me while I get into a groove.  It’s my favorite because it’s just that much fun.  You’ve got obstacles along the course...nothing really hard, after all-you are still at Disney; you’ve got characters on the course; you’ve got a cool scavenger hunt solving clues that take you all over Animal Kingdom; and then you’ve got the after-party once you’re done.  But this part 1 post is about my weekend activities before the race.

Back in January during Marathon Weekend I had volunteered at the expo and 5K (yes, I know I haven’t recapped that trip yet but I will soon...I promise!).  I’m kinda getting into the volunteering thing-it’s fun and a great way to give back to other runners.  And so I kept watch on Disney’s volunteer site until the day volunteer registration opened, then registered to work a shift on Friday at the expo from 10am-3pm as well as a shift at the Family Edition race.  I drove up early Friday morning, got checked in to Pop Century so I could drop off my bags, then headed over to Wide World of Sports (WWoS) for my expo shift.

Waiting for the crowds to be unleashed

Even the Yeti needs to pick up his race shirt

Once I got to WWoS, I checked in at the stadium’s 2nd level, got my t-shirt and snack box as well as my assignment.  They were trying something new by having queue lines set up at the tables where you picked up your bib and race shirts.  Apparently they wanted people to go in one way and come out another, and those of us assigned to the queue lines were supposed to guide people into the lines.  Um, yeah...that didn’t work.  No one wanted to listen to us.  Thankfully, it didn’t get too crazy.  A little busy when the expo first opened, but after a little bit it died down to a steady trickle and since the tables were pretty spread out those of us working the lines were just kind of standing around, directing people and answering questions.  Once my shift was over, I headed back to my room for a short nap before heading over to the Magic Kingdom for some evening park time-which wound up getting pretty much washed out as it was pouring almost all night (I had my umbrella so I just kept on going thru the park...good thing about the rain?  Lots of people leave the park so there’s short lines).

The following morning I was up early to head over to WWoS for my second shift as a volunteer.  I would be working the Family Edition race this time.  A group of us were led out to the track where the kids race area was set up.  Together we helped set up the rack holding all the medals for both the Kids’ Races and Family Edition race.  I would be working the refreshments table so those of us on that table went over to make sure everything was all set up.  It kept doing this misty-raining thing on and off so they gave us ponchos (I am now the proud owner of a Disney Parks poncho, I feel so touristy LOL).  Once the races started, I wound up handing out these little Toy Story gummy fruit snacks to all the participants.  It was so cute watching all the little kids running their miniature obstacle course.  

Medals prepped and ready for the finishers!

Once they were done, the Family Edition started.  We had a nice little break in between while we waited for the groups to get over to the track after solving their clues so they could race to the finish line.  Once all the teams were in, we were done for the day.  The rain did finally clear up towards the end of the shift.  I picked up some lunch and headed back to my room to rest until it was time to head to Animal Kingdom for my turn at a race.

You can see it was icky out, but the kids still had a blast

I have to say, volunteering at the runDisney races is pretty fun.  There’s always a great group of people to work with (both rD people and the other volunteers).  Several of the people I worked with Friday and Saturday volunteered Saturday night for the main race and I chatted with them for a little bit before the race started...they thought it was great that I was participating in the race and wished me luck.  If you ever get the opportunity to volunteer at a race, whether at an expo, water stop, finish line or any other station, I would highly recommend you try it-especially if you’re a runner/walker yourself.  Seeing the race from the other side is enlightening...you don’t really realize the scope of what is going on until you’ve been on both sides.  Oh, and if you volunteer for Disney races, your volunteer time accumulates and you earn a one day/one park admission ticket for every 16 hours you work (exception for marathon weekend in January--if you volunteer then for either the half or full marathon, that shift will earn you a ticket all by itself)...plus you get the free shirt (or jacket for the half/full marathons in January).  It really is a great experience.

My station

I am hoping if I am unable to sign up for Tower of Terror (need my redemption, ya know?) this year, that I will at least be able to go up and volunteer.  And I’ll definitely be doing several shifts next January for Marathon Weekend again.  Hope to see some of you there!

Have you ever volunteered for a race (Disney or any other)?  What did you think about the experience?

PS-there was a cute little otter in the pond behind our refreshment station that kept popping up near the shore:

Race Recap-Tower of Terror 10 Miler

So this should be subtitled “the race report I never wanted to write”.  That may clue you in to where this is headed, but I’ll tell you everything anyway.

I set out early Friday morning to drive up to WDW so I could be at the expo when it opened.  The packet pickup and expo went like most all other WDW ones and I got through pretty quickly.  The only real difference was the expo size-it was much smaller than what you’d see during Marathon Weekend (where every millimeter of floor space is used to its fullest) which is what I’d expected. We got a cool tech shirt that glows in the dark and as I was expecting with the corral assignments made public beforehand, my bib # put me in the last corral (D).  I was a little disappointed about that since the only Disney race I’ve been in the last corral for was my very first one, but considering the shorter distance and only 4 regular corrals I guess I knew it was going to be like that.

I rested up Friday afternoon since I went to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party that night (LOVE the Halloween Party!).  I honestly can’t remember what I did on Saturday before getting ready to head to the race.  I ate a late lunch/early dinner, nothing different than what I’ve had for my other night races.  I was a bit concerned about the weather.  Not rain, but the humidity since the forecast was trending high.  We went to the start area early and met up with a bunch of the ROTErs and hung around chatting.  

Once it was time to start heading to the corrals I tried to make my way to the front of D, but there were SO many people it made it pretty hard.  I was finally able to get almost all the way to the front-I wanted as much room between me and the last person starting as possible.  Finally it was corral D’s turn to set off.  I was already sweating from standing in the huge mass of people...it didn’t help that it was still 80 degrees with 80% humidity (yes, you read that right).

I started off fine, walking a bit more than I normally would but still keeping my pace where it needed to be for Disney’s standards.  The first part of the course was an out-and-back down Osceola Parkway which was neat since you got to see the runners on the other side going the opposite direction and could shout out to each other when you saw someone you knew (or just random strangers if you really felt like it LOL).

Now, like I said I was keeping pace--so when the balloon girls (the Disney pacers who start after the last person crosses the start line and keep the 16 minute mile pace) had caught up to me by mile 3, I was wondering what the heck??  One of them I remembered from Princess, and it seemed they were doing the same thing I saw at Princess--once they would get to a mile marker they would stop for a bit since it seemed they were actually ahead of pace so they needed to pause to let the clock catch up to them.  So I was kind of concerned...especially when I really started to feel the humidity after mile 4.

Yes, I train in the heat and humidity since I live down here in SoFla where 80+ degrees and 80% or even 90% humidity is a regular thing (and it was like that throughout ToT training too).  But that night, it felt so much worse and actually made it hard to breathe properly when running-I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath...and so after mile 4 I was down to walking.  And after mile 4 I couldn’t see the balloon girls anymore.  But I wasn’t giving up.  I was going to keep going as fast as I could, period.  I was hydrating properly (and had for the days leading up to the race too) but the humidity was just so draining physically and it was making me feel a bit nauseated.

I think it was just after I hit mile 5 that the turn into Wide World of Sports came and we were on a dirt road for a while--which I hated.  I kept watching the ground, worried I was going to step wrong on a rock or something.  And that’s when I really started feeling the chafing from the huge amount of sweat making everything I was wearing wet (and in places you never want to chafe.  Don’t ask.).  But I kept going.  Through the stadium (which honestly didn’t wow me) and around the track, then back out to the WWoS exit.  As I was getting slower and slower-down to an 18 minute, then 19 minute mile there were fewer and fewer runners (well, walkers by then) all the way at the back.  But there were still people behind me...though many were starting to take the option of climbing into the extra-long golf cart that was trundling along at the back.

I refused to stop.  Once out of WWoS and back on the road, I knew I wouldn’t be finishing.  Just after the 7 mile point, one of the big charter buses was sitting right on the course (they normally position them off to the side on a side road or an off-ramp) along with one of the police cars positioned in such a way as to say “your race ends here”.  A man with a clipboard was waiting by the front of the bus to tell us that unfortunately, we’d have to stop there as they had to get the roads opened back up (um, for who?  It was right at midnight by then and we were only 3...miles...away...from...finishing).  There were several people who started to cry once they reached that point (and yes, I felt like it but held it back) and one guy who embraced his girlfriend/wife/SO to console her when they were stopped and her tears started to fall.

This is the first time I have ever been swept in any race.  I may have seen the bicycle people with their little orange flags and been passed or played leapfrog with the balloon girls before...but I was never swept.  Until now.

As we were ushered onto the bus, a runDisney person had a clipboard that she wrote our first name and bib numbers on as we boarded.  We were offered water and Powerade so I grabbed a bottle of water but just the thought of drinking the Powerade made my stomach do flips since that nauseous feeling was still happening.  I dropped into a seat and felt so tired and worn out--so horribly worse than I felt after doing the Disney full back in 2011 and the back-to-back days of halfs when I did the half marathon and marathon relay back in January 2012.  I didn’t want to move from my seat.  The runDisney person climbed on board the bus with us once the last person had been loaded.  She tried to be perky and smiling, saying we did a great job but we all knew she was just trying to cheer us up.  It didn’t work.

The bus dropped us near where the finish chute let out (I know it was after the finish line   since the runners coming by already had their medals).  We walked through a tent where we were handed a bottle of water and what I thought at the time was some food.  I wasn’t paying attention to what they were giving me since my stomach wasn’t very happy and I was looking around for anyone I knew and the way out, just trying to keep moving forward.  It wasn’t until after I was past the tent and trying to juggle what was in my hands that I realized the girl at the tent had handed me a medal, not some snack.

I know all the controversy there is surrounding medals for those who didn’t finish.  By the time I saw what I had, I was too far down to go back (I just felt awful and wanted to get where I was going and just be done)...so I just wrapped it up and zipped it away in my pocket.  I wasn’t about to hang it around my neck.

I saw Kimberly from ROTE and congratulated her, admitting that I was actually swept.  Actually saying that was so strange.  (It was great to see a familiar, friendly face after that, thanks for your kind words Kimberly!)

I finally made it out of the backstage area and into Hollywood Studios.  I texted my SIL and went to the Indiana Jones show area to pick up the bag I had checked.  Waiting in that line, going down the steps to the stage area and then back up the steps to get out I could feel the waves of nausea wanting to overcome me.  But I held on.  Once out I met up with my SIL and her friends (one was worse off than me).  I was craving some kind of soda, and made do with a bottle of Coke from one of the carts.  It actually made my stomach feel better when I drank it (and the burping helped too).  I still felt crummy so headed back to the hotel for the night.  I wasn’t in the mood for celebrating.

One thing was upsetting to me.  There was a large stretch of the course that was comprised of the out-and-back.  I actually saw several people cut from my side over to the other side, totally cutting out the WWoS section of the course.  At some of the points I saw people cut over well before WWoS, some cut from 2-2.5 miles off their course.  That just pissed me off.  Here I was, pushing as hard as I could given the conditions, not stopping until I was made to do so, covering every mile of the course as it was laid out.  Sure, I could have cut across--and though the thought of it was tempting once I hit that mile before WWoS, I have never cheated in a race and wasn’t about to start, even if I knew it might mean getting swept.  There were some people around me asking each other, “are they really cutting across?” and saying, “that’s just not right”.  Uh-huh, yeah.

Anyway.  Oddly enough (or maybe it was just a sign, or my body telling me something, or whatever), in the weeks leading up to the race and especially the day of and our waiting time right before the race started, I just had this “feeling”.  It was kind of a nervous butterfly feeling, you know?  It just felt wrong.  Even on days where my training was going great and I was excited for the cool new medal...I felt “fluttery”.  I don’t know.  

And so that’s my report.  The one I never wanted to have to write.  And I never want to write another one like it again.

Oh, and the medal?  I’ve never put it around my neck.  It’s not on my rack...and I'm not posting a picture of it.  And now I’ve got a sticker on it that says “DNF, 7.12 miles”.  It’s just sitting on a shelf.  It will never hang on my rack, but it is a reminder for me...and motivation to never let it happen again.  And yes, I’ll be back to try again...the whole redemption thing, right?

2012 Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap

Yes, I’m aware it is almost 11 months later, but hey-I figure if a year hasn’t passed yet, I’m okay posting my recap.

This was my first time doing the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  I’d actually been to the Princess Half Marathon Weekend before...you may or may not remember that the Royal Family 5K in 2009 during the inaugural Princess Weekend was not only my first Disney race, it was my first race of any kind-ever.  I remember when I was getting ready to check out of my hotel that Sunday (the day after the 5K), runners had already started coming back to the hotel with the shiny Princess Half bling hanging around their necks and that was the first time I thought, “I want one of those!”.  And thus this whole crazy ride started.

I was originally going to be heading up to WDW by myself, but then turned it into a mother-daughter weekend instead, bringing my mom along with me.  If you think I’m a huge Disney fan, I’ve got nothing on my mom.  Plus this would be the first time she’d be there for one of my races...so I was looking forward to a fun weekend.

The expo on Friday was just like most other Disney race expos, though not quite as large and crazy as the Marathon Weekend expo can be.  Packet pickup went smoothly as always, and I wound up in corral G.  Since the corrals went to H that meant I’d be in the next to last corral...so at least a little cushion there.  Erica from ROTE was working at the SparkleSkirts booth and after introducing mom, Erica continued calling her “Carra’s Mom” for the weekend.  After, mom and I spent time at Magic Kingdom getting lots of Photopass pictures taken and enjoying our favorites-the Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes.

Saturday we checked out Animal Kingdom, taking more Photopass pics until a little after lunchtime, then headed back to the hotel for relaxing and an early bedtime since those 3am buses on Sunday would be coming up pretty quickly!

I brought my mom along to the family area where I met up with the other Running of the Ears peeps at the H tent.  I introduced her to some of my friends and asked if she could follow some of them who would be cheering over to the Magic Kingdom until it got light outside (thank you so much Steve!).  Once it came time to head to the corrals, I made my way over while mom hung with the cheering ROTErs until they went to catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.  It was a bit cool out...I also did have a cheap poncho in my pocket just in case since the forecast was looking like it could rain.

Once in my corral I got as far forward as possible.  My speed was not really where I wanted it to be and I wanted to make sure I got as much cushion as I could to avoid those pesky sweepers.  Once we were on our way, the race was pretty uneventful...I didn’t stop for any characters and I was already familiar with the course from the Disney Half Marathons I’ve done.  The cool temperatures made it easier to keep up my pace.  I did start seeing the bicycle people with their little orange flags around mile 7.5 or so.  Around the time I got to mile 9 the weather had gotten a bit misty out but I didn’t bother breaking out the poncho.  There’s one lady from the bike people who would ride by letting us know how far ahead of pace we were.  I’ve seen her at previous WDW races and she’s pretty good at keeping the runners informed.  

Once I hit about mile 9.5, I was just so tired of trying to keep my pace up-I’d stopped doing any intervals a couple miles before.  I think after doing the back-to-back halfs during Marathon Weekend, then the ING Half three weeks later, then Princess was just taking its toll.  But I kept going and pushing because what was foremost in my brain was the fact that my mom was going to be at the finish and I didn’t want to get swept at a race she came to see.  Between mile markers 10 and 11 was the hardest...because just after 10, the pace girls with those blasted balloons passed me at that point.  During mile 10 my pace had dropped to around 17:30/mile.  

As I and my fellow runners/walkers were pushing through mile 11 towards a looping turn that would take us toward the final approach to Epcot, a couple of us asked one of the male bike guys if there were any more sweep points.  He said ,”Nah, no more” and looked very relaxed just hanging out on the side of the course as he was watching us go by.  We made a looping turn toward our last overpass when the lady bike person came around again.  She wasn’t saying anything about how far behind pace we were, so we asked again about sweep points.  She kind of fumbled her response with a ,”Um, well, you just need to keep on going, keep on moving forward”.  We looked at each other (us runner/walkers that is) and we knew we were safe--you could tell she was trying to say something to keep it vague so we wouldn’t just slow to a crawl without actually saying there were no more sweep points.

And so yes, I did slow a little, maybe by 15 seconds/mile until I passed the 12 mile point-knowing by then I was definitely not getting swept.  At that point it was kind of drizzly out and I was not going to rush it anymore.  I wound up finishing in 3:45 and some change...and finally got that Princess bling around my neck!

Once I stopped moving I got chilly and the line for the bus back to the resort was waaaaaaaaay long so mom and I hung out in the empty bag check tent to stay warm (mom was freezing from mostly standing in the wet and cold) until the line went down, then hopped the bus back to the hotel.  We both wound up taking a nap for a couple of hours to rest and warm up before heading out to a celebratory meal at Outback.

Sunday night was Epcot, then Monday was Hollywood Studios and a little more Epcot (taking lots more Photopass pics of course!) before finally heading home.  It really was a great weekend, especially being able to spend it with my mom, so we had a fun girls’ weekend-appropriate for Princess, don’tcha think?  As we were driving home, mom asked if I could let her know when we could see the Photopass pictures online after we got home since she would probably want to get some of us.  That’s when I sprung a little surprise on her...that we’d be getting ALL of them since I’d be getting the Photopass CD (thanks to a bunch of ROTE friends sharing discs!).  While it took me a while to get around to copying the pictures over onto a disc for her, I did finally get it to her along with a framed 5” x 7” of one of my favorite pics from the weekend (no, not the one pictured here).

So, have you ever had a race weekend away with your mom ladies (or dad for the guys)?  Did you have as much fun as I did with mine?  :-)  Cherish those memories!

The Biggest Loser RunWalk 5K-Fort Lauderdale

Just a quick recap from today’s event.  Back sometime last fall I had seen an email for The Biggest Loser RunWalk 5K that was coming to Fort Lauderdale on January 6th.  I originally looked it over and then though, nah-not interested.  The second time I saw an email, I thought about it and then decided, why not?  They actually give you a whole hour and a half to complete the 5K...I could walk the whole thing R E A L L Y slow like a turtle and still be just fine (not like there would be a sag wagon for a 5K, but still).  Plus you would get a tech shirt, a finisher’s medal and (drumroll please...........) free downloads of your race pics!  Yeah, bet most of you haven’t seen that one before.  And so I went ahead and signed up.

Here we are on January 6th and it’s time for the 5K.  Packet pickup was yesterday at a local running store.  On the website they had said that Dan Evans (season 5 Biggest Loser contestant, orange team) would be performing race morning...he was actually at the store helping with setup when I got there.  We got a bib, drawstring backpack and our tech shirts.  One thing I was a bit puzzled about was the women’s shirts (they had both women’s and men’s sizes)--being that this is a Biggest Loser event, you would expect to see many larger-sized people, right?  The women’s shirts only went to XL, but these were your average women’s tech shirts-that “slim” type cut-where an XL is not what a real XL is in regular clothes...and so I got a men’s XL instead.

This morning I headed down early since it was being held in Downtown Fort Lauderdale and I almost never go there and didn’t want to lose my way.  It had been raining before I left the house so it was really humid--like 93% humid--and 70 degrees.  Thankfully the rain cleared out and a light breeze was going on by the time the 5K started...unfortunately the humidity didn’t really go away though.  We’re having a warm winter this year with highs in the 80s, I was hoping for today that we could have had cooler and drier weather but that just wasn’t happening.  I met up with a friend from ROTE (Hi Tracy!) and was re-introduced to someone from my high school class (over 24 year ago, wow!) and we hung out until the start.  Dan Evans would be performing but before that he was again helping with setup, then he and his mom (Jackie) got up on stage at the start line and got us all started.  Dan even sang the national anthem before we started ( a little off-key for the first line, but overall did pretty good, especially since it was 7:30 in the morning).

At the start line-Dan and Jackie (season 5, orange team) are on the stage to the right at the front

I decided to just walk the course, aiming to just be under an hour since I really haven’t done much training the past couple of months.  I started going too fast (as always) and my shins and calves immediately let me know.  So I slowed down a bit...to find a little drawbridge after our first turn.  The incline wasn’t too bad, but have you ever walked over a drawbridge down here?  The top of the bridge is a metal grate.  Which wouldn’t have been an issue...if it hadn’t been raining.  I saw a few people slip so told myself to be careful...and still slipped a little myself (yeah, my back loved that).  After that I settle into a steady walk.  We walked thru downtown a little, then through an long-established neighborhood with beautiful, fancy homes...and cars-like the gorgeous red Ferrari and cream-colored Bentley I passed about halfway through the course.  Back into downtown and around another corner to----another drawbridge.  This time I got up on the sidewalk since the streets were still wet.  I sped up a little bit, headed for the finish line and squeaked in at 59:16.  I did walk the entire way, just trying to enjoy being out there and not trying for any kind of time...except to just be under an hour which I did do.  Got my medal (yes an actual metal medal!) but didn’t feel like hanging around-there were a couple of booths set up with some vendors, but nothing that really caught my eye-and so said my goodbyes and headed home.

Overall the event was good, it was just too bad that the weather was so humid.  Topped the day off by watching The Biggest Loser season premiere tonight.  Not sure if I’ll watch all season since I’m not a fan of the scheming and head games that start up as the season goes on, but it was a good end to the day.  I’m using today’s 5K as my re-start for my own weight-loss program since I majorly fell off the wagon this past year.  I’ll post more on that in another blog entry, for now it’s time to finally head to bed.

Race recap-2012 ING Miami Half Marathon 1/29/2012

Yes, I know this is very late--hey, I'm almost caught up though!

I was really lucky with the registration for this one.  They were running a promotion for the first however-many to sign up once registration opened that registration would only be $25 (I think it was the first 50 people).  Registration opened February 1, 2011 at 6am...I was registered by 6:04am...total was $33.50 with Active fees (lordy how I hate those Active fees!).  Couldn’t pass that up for a race as big as this one, especially since the 2012 race was the 10th anniversary promising special bling!  The race would be held January 29, 2012

I already knew I’d be running an event during Marathon Weekend at Disney earlier that month...I didn’t realize at the time that I would actually be running both the half and the marathon relay--3 weeks before ING.  Ah, well...it would be an experiment to see just how far I could push myself, right?  Sure.

The expo was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center and SIL and I went down to it together.  We met up with our friend Tracy and a couple more ROTErs we ran into there (hi Paul and Bill and Todd!) and got a free pic together at one of the booths.  After, some of us wandered down to Lincoln Road for some lunch before we headed home to rest up for the race.

The morning of the race my SIL and I drove down and got caught in a bit of a traffic crush trying to get to the parking garage by Bayside across the street from the American Airlines Arena (in front of which the start line was located).  Thankfully we made it with plenty of time.  We met up with some ROTErs who were in town for the race and hung out until it was time to get to our corrals.  It was great to see people down here that I normally have to travel up to Disney World to see.

The only problem?  I had this nagging feeling that I really didn’t want to do the race.  I mean, I had no issue with doing the miles (that never bothers me)...I just didn’t want to RACE.  I don’t know if my body was just telling me it was tired out after my back-to-backs during Marathon Weekend, or if it was a mental thing or what.  I just did NOT want to be there racing.

Unfortunately, we were both in the very last corral so it was quite a long wait until it was our turn to cross that start line.  One of the neat things about our corral though was that we were actually on a side street right next to the start line (we’d feed into the main road to cross the start), so we were able to see everyone start before us really close up.  And finally it was our turn and we were off.  

Now, normally when I start a race I’ll run for the first 30 seconds to one minute-excitement of the start and all that-and then settle into a walk for a bit to ease up on my shins before starting my intervals.  And that’s what I did for this race...though I probably ran a bit longer than I should have as my shins felt like what they feel like when I need a new pair of running shoes (and no, I did not have old shoes on).  This usually would be no big deal-I would just walk slower for longer before starting my intervals.  Except this course threw in a bit of a curveball.

After a small straight start, we turned right headed toward Watson Island...and the first bridge, only a quarter mile into the race.  Now, the bridge would normally be no problem-if it wasn’t so soon in the course.  My shins hadn’t had a chance to break themselves in and already I had to go up...up..up.  Those of you from other places in the world probably think I’m one heck of a softie, I mean it’s just a bridge right?  But I’m the very definition of a flatlander (South Florida native, and while I did live up in the NC mountains for five years, I was not active while there)-and I so very, very rarely ever have any kind of inclines in the races I do that I haven’t bothered with hill training so far.  Hitting that bridge right after the start and with my shins not really worked out yet HURT.  And so I slowed down...a lot.  Like almost 18 minute miles.  At least I had the cruise ships to look at along the MacArthur Causeway as I went along.  There was a second bridge along the causeway, but thankfully my shins had loosened up by then.  Too bad I was never able to get my speed back to normal.  Here's some pics from the first part of the race:

or this...

I'd rather be on this...

Approaching the 2nd bridge

 I do have to say, I’ve done a few races down in Miami Beach and I do like going along the Causeway.  Too bad most of the rest of the course did absolutely nothing for me.  We had maybe a little more than a mile (I’d guess around mile 4.5 through about 5.75) that was along Ocean Drive and the beach...other than that it was just going through the city streets, then along the Venetian Causeway-which had a whole bunch of construction along it.  It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but at the pace I was at, somewhere between mile 9 and mile 10 I (and everyone else still out on the course-which was a pretty good number of people) had to move up to the sidewalk as they were trying to open the roads back up.  Again, usually not a big deal when that happens, and I know that’s something I might encounter during a race if my pace is or falls below race pace (I’m just glad when they still let you finish and just move you to the sidewalks).  However, the sidewalks along the Venetian Causeway were mostly pretty narrow so there were many of us single-file and it was very difficult to pass anyone (which I was still able to do at some points, yay for me!).  

I tried to stay positive though-at least the skies were overcast so the sun wasn’t beating down.  We had only had a few sprinkles (for me back around mile 5 or so and only for a couple minutes) so it was not hot at all. Here’s my “keep your chin up” pic:

Once back on the mainland, it was a couple more miles through the city streets of Miami...but most in areas that didn’t look so hot (I wouldn’t walk there by myself if I wasn’t on a race course, especially around mile 12).  Our spectators for that part were mostly several homeless men sitting with their bags of stuff along the sidewalks.  By miles 11 and 12 I was dipping back into the 18 minute mile range.  Then finally during mile 13 I just totally eased off, knowing I was going to finish and not really caring at that point how long it took.  Remember that feeling I had like I really didn’t want to be there?  Miles 11-13 that feeling was roaring back full force.  I made the final hairpin curve to the finish...you can see how totally blah I was by then:

And then I was done.  Final chip time-3:55:37.  While I was not last-there were over 140 more people who came in after me-and not the slowest I’ve ever done 13.1 miles-I’ve never felt more tired, sore and just so totally wretched after a race as I did after this one.    I made my way through the finishers area (here, I smiled with my medal, I dug deep for that one)...

...and through the post-race food tents where there was plenty to eat since those people running the full marathon still had a couple more hours to go.  I was starving.  I looked around trying to find SIL (I knew she had finished almost an hour before me) and made my way over to some benches in a little mini-amphitheater area where a lot of runners had decided to crash.  I did not want to get up.  I would have been happy just laying down on the bench and staying there for the rest of the day.  But she found me and after we both just sat for a bit, we finally, very slowly, made our way back to her car for the ride back home.  Where I crashed on the couch with food and a blanket (after a shower of course) for the rest of the day.

Personally, I don’t know that I’d ever do this race again.  Not because my experience just sucked from a physical/mental standpoint, but because I really didn’t care for the course.  The other two half marathons I’ve done in the Miami Beach area were much more scenic and just felt more comfortable to me.  I’m not really a metro-urban city kind of girl and would rather be where there’s a lot more trees, water and so on than city streets with businesses and such.  I’m glad I did it, especially since it was the 10-year anniversary (yay for spinning bling!) and I got in for such a cheap entry fee...but for me it’s certainly not a priority for a future race.  I’ll gladly ride down to cheer for friends though come next year!

Sorry for such a long report and a mostly down-in-the-dumps one at that...but it does accurately capture my whole mood that day.  No really great pics with the exception of our group pics.  

Have you ever had one of those “I just don’t feel like doing this today” feelings before a race?  

Have you ever done the ING Miami Half Marathon?  What did you think of the course?