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Disney Marathon

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Location:

St. Petersburg,FL,

Member Since:

Dec 30, 2014

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

  • 5k - 3/8/14 - Armadillo Run - 15:58
  • 10k - 2/7/15 - BDR, Safety Harbor - 33:17
  • 15k - 2/21/15 - Gasparilla - 51:05
  • 1/2 - 12/14/14 - Holiday Halfathon - 1:13:31
  • Marathon - 10/04/15 - Twin Cities - 2:38:46

Short-Term Running Goals:

2016 Races

Clearwater Halfathon - Jan 11
Donna Hicken Marathon - Feb 14
Gasparilla 15k - Feb 20
Florida Beach Halfathon - Mar 6
??? Chicago Marathon ???

Long-Term Running Goals:

Find balance. Run with my girls. Break 15 in the 5k.

Personal:

Born in 1973 in Southern California.

Ran in high school for Arcadia. They have a famous cross-country team now. In my day, we were famous for dodging our coach during runs.

Over the next 15 years I ran very little, but life was awesome. I lived mostly in Northern California, where I met my wife. We moved back to her native state of Florida in 2005, where I gradually started running more seriously.

 

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Disney Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:48:05, Place overall: 18, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
22.006.000.000.0028.00

To preface, I'm not a Disney fanatic. We have two daughters, 3 and 6, who may be the only children in Central Florida yet to enter the Magic Kindgom. Growing up near Disneyland in California, I have fond memories, but only within the past year has the draw become difficult to resist. They'll finally be going later this month.

Early in the fall I applied for a program that invites a dozen FL runners to the WDW Marathon, and comps their entry, hotel and throws in park passes and other neat perks. While this isn't a marathon I'd typically target, I applied for the benefits, and thought it would fit within my racing schedule.

I was grateful to be accepted, but knew it would be tight to fit in a fall half-marathon series, this marathon and then the typical Feb/March peak races in Central Florida.

My fall was a mixed bag. I raced mostly well. I had a lot of great training. I did get injured for two weeks though, and spent another week and half sick with the flu. I never got in the (abbreviated) marathon training block I'd hoped for. I found myself in late December with the realization I wasn't in shape for full-blown marathon PR attempt.

That's not where I usually come in at. I don't run a ton of marathons - 1 or 2 a year tops. When I do, I train for them with focus and let other distances go by the wayside. Up to Disney, I'd run 9 marathons, and lowered my time in 8 of them. So to decide this time that I'd run a sub-optimal effort wasn't easy to get my head around. Also, since I'd applied and been invited to the race, I was guilty about not showing up in peak shape. Ultimately, it wasn't the best planning on my part, but once I let it go, everything fell into place. Yes, that was my one subtle Disney reference.

A very good friend and training partner, Quint, was also running, and hoping to break 2:50. This would be over a 6 minute PR for him. He had an excellent fall, with PRs in the 5k, 10k and a recent 1:19:46 half-marathon, so this was an attainable (though challenging) goal. We decided to run together.

The morning of the marathon was pleasant - a little under 60 degrees. Slightly warmer than you'd want, but not a killer. We got off to a good start in the race, and clicked off steady miles to hit the halfway point in 1:24:36. Over the next three miles, we picked up a few more seconds to hit mile 16 about 40 seconds ahead of pace. I could feel the distance starting to take its toll on Quint. The Disney Marathon, despite its reputation, is actually fairly interesting, but the sights come at the expense of an extremely circuitous course with countless tight turns. I can't really tell one theme park from the next, but miles 18-20 navigated a sports complex and dirt track. For Quint, the wheels wobbled here. We started losing steam, and at mile 20 were a few seconds behind 2:50 for the first time in the race.

I knew where he was - I have been there in marathons, and most everyone has. There is no benefit to having a friend around...it's nothing you can think or talk your way through. You just have to get to the finish line. So after a short, grunted conversation, I took off. I ran the last 10k mostly at marathon pace in 38 minutes. As I ran through Epcot, I was struck repeatedly by how difficult the course was to navigate, and pitied the fool who chose this marathon to run a PR. I finished with a silly leap at the finish line. I'm not sure why I did that.

Quint showed a lot of grit. He finished in a little over 2:57. He could have taken a more incremental approach and paced for (and probably nailed) 2:52-2:54. I really respect him for swinging for the fences.

The big story of the day was my wife, Allison. Allison has run around 3:46 a couple times over the past few years in attempts to hit a sub-3:40 BQ qualifier. Over the last six months, she began training seven days a week and increased her mileage. Through steady work and determination, she got to the starting line in great shape, and I knew she was ready to run sub-3:40. As I ran the course though, I became concerned. Disney is a fun marathon to experience, but if you are there to hit a time goal, you'd better be ready to run 1-2 minutes faster on a more neutral course.

I found a spot at the finish line. From checking her splits on my phone, I could see Allison was dead on pace up to mile 20. With 30 seconds remaining, she came around the final turn and qualified with 7 seconds to spare. Definitely the best moment of the day.

For me, this marathon was a good lesson. I sometimes wonder if I'll be interested in running when I can no longer improve my times. Although I get a lot from watching my friends race and train, I have wondered how motivated I'll feel when I'm no longer chasing PRs. After this race I am thinking I may be in this for the long haul after all.

Samwise Gamgee was on our bus back from the race, and being huge nerds, we had to hassle him for a photo-op. He was a sweet guy, and we actually ran into him in the halls of the hotel a few more times that day. Each time, he was stoically posing with fans looking not a little like a guy who had hiked hundres of miles through poison swamps and razor sharp rocks.


Comments
From Bret on Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 08:28:02 from 216.234.133.229

2:48?! Amazing - when you were clear that you were not really ready to race and still went sub 2:50. Nice job. Hope it all went as planned and your friend was able to hang with you all the same.

From Drew on Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 18:27:39 from 24.92.19.68

Thanks Bret! It was really an excellent experience, and I think Disney is a great race as long as you are there just to enjoy running around.

From Jason D on Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 19:19:31 from 68.80.27.222

Good effort, Drew. I'm with you on running marathons: I want to lower my time and be in the best position to do so. This will build some strength for the races to come. A belated welcome to the blog.

From Drew on Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 19:50:56 from 24.92.19.68

Thanks Jason! Yeah, that is my thinking as well. This time didn't play that way, but the experience was worthwhile.

I'm hoping that after some time, with my head in the sand, I'll come back ready for a strong fall marathon.

From Bret on Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 20:35:23 from 99.1.220.106

Great report Drew. Where did Quint end up finishing. I met him and Christina at Chicago in the fall. Great couple. And fast too.

From Drew on Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 05:43:49 from 24.92.19.68

Hey Bret - thanks, reading your comment made me realize I didn't wrap up that part of the story. Quint came in at 2:57. No doubt he could have run faster if he went out more cautiously, but he went all in. He's got the spirit.

From Bret on Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 06:54:18 from 216.234.133.229

Cool. And congrats to your wife on the BQ - quite a moment you captured in your report.

From Jake K on Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 09:06:17 from 159.212.71.25

Nice race and recap. I take it the course is pretty flat, just lots of turns? I was impressed by the times of the top men - it seems like this marathon is getting more competitive at the front end. It's nice that Disney gives some perks to the better local runners like yourself... they can probably afford it :-)

From Rob Murphy on Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 10:05:16 from 163.248.33.220

I lived in Anaheim until I was 13 when my family moved to Dunedin. Been to Disney 100 times. My kids have never been and will, no doubt, be scarred for life.

Great race report.

From Drew on Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 18:25:27 from 24.92.19.68

Jake - I have heard tell of races that involve such things as hills, climbs and elevation change - but I've always taken that on faith, kind of like the Loch Ness Monster. Disney is flat as a pancake, so we Floridians are resigned to complaining about the couple highway underpasses on the course. In seriousness though - yeah, the winning time was insane, given the amount of turning and how strung out the front of the race is.

Rob - Anaheim to Dunedin - that sounds like an interesting story. I'm also glad to hear I'm not the only parent whose children live in want and deprivation.

From Rob Murphy on Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 18:42:32 from 24.10.247.181

We were in California a couple years ago. Had a nice hotel on the beach in SLO County. I was fully planning on taking the kids to Disneyland but they seriously told me that they would rather play at the beach. Beach - Free, Disneyland - second mortgage on my home. It wasn't a hard choice.

From Rob on Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 01:19:35 from 69.94.197.42

So far, Disney has been the only marathon I've run. My family is big on Disney World so when they heard I wanted to do a marathon, they encouraged me to do WDW. I did the race in 2011 and ran 2:54:46.

Reading this race report about your friend gave me flashbacks. I felt great through the half and then at mile 20 I thought I wouldn't finish.

Thanks for sharing your perspective on the course as an experienced marathoner. I've always had this thought that Disney was probably the easiest course out there and that with how rough it was for me that I might be wise to never run another marathon. Great to know that you consider it a somewhat challenging course, encouraging for me.

From Drew on Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 07:01:48 from 24.73.66.122

Rob - 2:54 is great for a first marathon. My first was 4:06!

I see you're in ATL... one low-key marathon near you is Jacksonville in late December. I ran it a year ago - it's flat, fast and well-organized. No frills and no spectators, but it's hard to appreciate the surroundings during a marathon anyway.

From jtshad on Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 08:55:59 from 69.20.183.178

Nice race! I did that one a few years back and it has some small challenges. Nicely done to your wife as well.

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