I just returned from a really FUN and successful destination
race weekend at Disneyland!!!!!!
While it wasn’t my first time traveling for a race (and it most
definitely won’t be my last) I had some new experiences that I plan to learn
from so that I can continue to develop into a strong runner (and pleasant
travel buddy) down the road. It is
challenging to be somewhere and have a great time while still making sure that
you’re taking care of your body so that you can race with a fresh body. A little pre-race pampering on a
vacation can come across as super lame-ass (no alcohol, early bedtimes, etc…)
to those who don’t run.
LESSON #1: Know not
only your travel plans, but the travel plans of others. I woke up on Thursday realizing I had
no plans on getting from airport to hotel and was ready to just swallow a $40+
taxi ride. Fortunately for me I
ran into someone in our group that was on the same flight as me and she knew of
two others that would be arriving around the same time. This not only lowered the cost of the
taxi from $40 down to $10/person but it also allowed me to hang out with others
rather than sit by myself in my hotel room for the afternoon.
After
arriving on Thursday and having some time to settle into our hotel rooms the
four of us that arrived together all walked down to Downtown Disney and enjoyed
a DELICIOUS meal. I indulged in
Lobster Mac & Cheese! But kept
the meal alcohol-free, boo! It is
sooooo challenging to not order alcohol when out on vacation, but kudos for my
will-power. Had I not run into
them in the airport I may have just spent the evening by myself and not gotten
out and explored Anaheim.
LESSON #2: Put your
feet and legs on a pedestal…they deserve to be spoiled! I learned this
little lesson in two ways. The
first was walking to/around Downtown Disney the first night in cute little
flip-flops. I could feel my heel
develop a blister. Not a good
thing when you need your feet to carry you 13.1 miles in 3 days. Luckily for me nothing popped up so my
feet were safe for the time-being, but it was much too close for comfort. Secondly, I spent much of Friday
walking around Disneyland which resulted in a “knotty” feeling in my
hamstring. Once again, panic
ensued!!!!! Turns out I probably
wasn’t drinking enough water…I mean I didn’t pee ALL DAY which is not a good
sign. I hydrated like no bodies
business for the rest of the trip and once again, my panic was a little
unnecessary. Wear comfy shoes,
walk around but not an excessive amount, and drink lots and lots and lots of water. Your body deserves it.
Friday
was all about Disneyland. We got
there fairly early and brought with us an unofficial Disney tour guide. She knew all the ins and outs of
kicking ass at Disneyland. We hit
all but one major ride in less than 2 hours! This led to enough time for a delicious lunch and some
souvenir shopping. By about this
time my hamstrings were acting up and I was getting really tired. See Lesson #2…DRINK WATER (take care of
yourself). Unfortunately this led
me to bailing on the parade and fireworks and tucking myself into bed by
9:30.
LESSON #4: GET TO THE
EXPO EARLY (or don’t if you wanna save $). The expo was a fairly quick in and out process for us. We spent about an hour walking around
and somehow I managed to only spend $30 total. I had hoped to load up on
Tinkerbell Half Marathon souvenirs but by the time we arrived most things had
sold out L Lesson learned…get there early for
souvenirs, or show up later to save money. Your choice!
The
rest of Saturday was all about well, resting! An early dinner (5 PM) and an early bedtime (8 PM).
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| And we're off on 13.1 speedy miles! |
RACE DAY HAS FINALLY
ARRIVED! I woke up, already dressed in my race outfit, to a text from Rob
and a fresh, hot cup of coffee…2 of the best things that can happen at 3 AM. I
enjoyed the quiet calm of the morning as I finished any preparations I needed
for race day. I pinned my number
on, threw on a layer of warm clothes, packed my GUs, and grabbed a spare water
bottle and headed out to the shuttle.
Upon arrival at the race…
LESSON #5: FIND A
WARM BATHROOM, SERIOUSLY IT IS AWESOME!…I somehow was the only person
racing that morning that thought it might be a good idea to check out the hotel
lobbies and use their facilities rather than freeze my tush off in a
port-a-potty. Of course the ladies
room was locked but having no shame so early in the morning I checked mens room
and walked in there like it was nothing strange. It was only 4 AM and the race was dominated by women so I
couldn’t possibly imagine a guy coming in. My ability to not care provided me with a warm and toasty
place to hang out and play some Freecell for like 15 minutes; definitely beats
wondering around in the dark and cold.
After leaving the warmth of my men’s bathroom, I ran a quick
10 minute warm-up and proceeded to fight my way to the front of the corral
where after 15 minutes or so Tinkerbell appeared on-screen and started us off
on our 13.1 miles of magic (it’s comments like that which make me realize I
spent too much time at Disneyland).
The first several miles were fairly uneventful as I raced
through the parks. I did my best
to enjoy the experience; see everything lit up; wave to all the characters but
still maintain my goal pace and keep certain people in my sights. As we exited the parks and hit the dark
streets of Anaheim I focused on making sure I was getting my nutrition and made
my first attempts at maintaining a decent pace through water stops…I was fairly
successful but definitely need some practice
LESSON #6: WATER
STOPS…securely place your hand over the top of the cup, pinch the cup, and
turn the cup. Chug water! It might go up your nose and you might
completely miss your mouth but I’m confident that this method works (or with
some practice, it will work)
LESSON #7: DON’T BE
TEMPTED TO CHASE PETER PAN…around Mile 6 I heard someone hauling some
serious ass as they caught up with me.
As they approached I was thinking to myself, who the hell is this
person? They are going way too
fast to have been behind me! Turns
out it was the leader of the men…fearless peter pan and the leaders bike crew! I thought for a minute as they blazed
past me that maybe I could pick up the pace and try to stick with him for as
long as possible…a thought I was able to quickly push out of my head as the
distance between the two of us increased greatly (Peter Pan managed to finish
in 1:16, glad I didn’t try to push that pace). Push yourself but don’t get too crazy and try to speed up
your pace to a sub 6:00 when you’re happy to be running a 7:00! Where I am at right now I’m still
racing myself…I don’t need to get caught up in racing every individual out
there! The time will come for that;
but
for now I’m happy to be beating the runner I was 6 months ago.
As the race continued I kept three women close in
front. Slowly I passed one, then
the second and kept was steadily closing in on the third when out of nowhere
she darted off the course and ducked into a port-a-potty! And suddenly there was no one that I
could see in front of me…and so I ran all alone, in the dark, empty streets of
Anaheim.
LESSON #8: TRAINING
ALONE LEAVES YOU PREPARED FOR LONELY MILES DURING A RACE. After being “abandoned” by the women
who had to relieve herself I was all alone on the course for about 2
miles. Every once in a while I
caught a glimpse of the women ahead of me but she had to be probably a half a
mile ahead and I was losing sight of her at every corner (and on this course
there were a lot of corners). It
was during these miles of the race that I dug the deepest and fought to keep my
legs moving. I feel that a lot of
my early morning solo tempo runs had prepared me for this moment. If I could do it at home when I was
truly out there alone, then I could keep moving today, keep moving when it
mattered the most. I knew that I
was running just ahead of my goal pace and couldn’t succumb to the burning
sensation in my quads and glutes if I hoped to break 1:35…so I just kept
pushing, just like every other workout.
After a couple of miles of solo running (and a missed
opportunity to take a GU) a Disney miracle occurred. Around mile 10 two women came up from behind me and unlike
other race experiences where you get passed, they stopped and we started
talking a bit. We exchanged names,
although they admitted that they’d already nicknamed me Long Legs several miles
back. We discussed PR’s and spent
a few more minutes (or tenths of miles) getting to know each other before we
settled into a quiet and quick pace.
During these final miles I feel behind the group by a foot or two and
heard “where you at long legs”, “keep up with us if you can”, and “pick it up,
you can keep this pace”. They
reported our pace, let me know when the last hill was just around the corner,
and informed me that finish line was not where you’d expect it to be (it was
instead another 1/10 of a mile and two corners away). Upon crossing the finish
line we hugged and congratulated each other.
Lesson #9: IT IS SO
MUCH BETTER TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER AS WOMEN. This experience really opened my eyes to another side of
competition. While this race isn’t
known for it’s competitive spirit, the three of us were still a group of women
towards the top of a race. But
rather then blow past me and let me fight to the finish on my own these women
lifted me up and their positive spirits helped carry me across the finish
line. It’s true what they say, as
a whole we get a lot farther supporting each other than when we knock each
other down. If you’re confident
with yourself then you can easily encourage others. This was definitely the best experience I’ve ever had racing
and it taught me a valuable life-long lesson about sportsmanship and how to
treat fellow competitors as well as my fellow man (or women).
FINAL TIME: 1:34.15 (6 Minute PR)
PLACE: 16th Overall (3rd Age Group)
Both the training cycle and
race have taught me a lot about myself as a runner, an athlete, a wife, and a
friend. The discipline that I
required to complete my training and be successful in my race has forced me to
grow a lot in all aspects of my life.
The way that I felt during this race has taught me that there are
weaknesses that I have (leg strength and speed) and also strengths (endurance,
steadiness). But most importantly
at the end of the race I felt that I had more to give and that I haven’t come
close to reaching my potential as a runner. I have had the last week to reflect on my performance, enjoy
the success that I have had but know I am ready to start looking forward, develop a new set of goals and get
to work accomplishing them all.
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| Post-race celebration! |
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