Disneyland 1/2 marathon - Why there are cars . . .13.1 miles is a long way to go!

Sunday September 6, 2009 really began more than a year ago. As you may recall, I started this blog when I was training for the Pasadena 1/2 Marathon and had run the longest I had ever run - which at that time 8 miles. (O.k. I don't really to expect you to remember that.) As you may also recall from various postings, I often suffer from a lack of consistency. I will train for a few months, then get busy with work, leading to inconsistent training. It drives me nuts, but that never stops me from going forward. Although I never ran the Pasadena 1/2 Marathon, that was a result of the race being delayed due to fires, not due to me saying no thanks.

So let's fast forward to May 2009. I was back from vacation, training for some sprint triathlons, and came across a listing for the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. The pros - the course goes through California Adventure, Disneyland, and Anaheim stadium and MOST importantly you get a very cool finishing medal. Of course, the down side is that you have to run 13.1 miles to get it. But I wanted to do it and so cajoled some of my friends into doing it with me. The whole misery loves company thing.

So we signed up - and then I got busy. And more busy. By July, I was working tons of hours, and not even getting to boot camp at all. I may have run 5 miles some time at the beginning of July, but after that, I spent far more time at my computer than even outside.

Then August came. I had some travel and the hopes of getting out to run. But with the schedules and hectic things going on, I only made it out a few times. I then came home hoping to get a few runs in, but then more fires struck leaving horrible air quality.

[I will interrupt this long blog for Super Cliff's Notes for the lazy readers: Ran 1/2 marathon, was a long way, see pictures , hope all is well! For real readers, please continue . . .]

So by the time I had made it to pick up my bib - I had run a total of 11 miles in the last two months. Now I had to run 13.1 and never had even tried running more than 8 miles. Oops. I guess Steinbeck had it right when he wrote "the best laid plans of mice and men will surely go awry."

So Saturday we headed off to get our bibs, shirts, etc. We were happy and excited. We were planning on just having fun and possibly walking all of it. All I wanted to make sure is that they did not sweep me off the course for going to slow. Could that really happen to me? Jane assured me it would not happen, and I doubted it, but did not want to find out. I am not a quitter and not one to allow someone to stop me.

So the other thing you don't think about when you sign up for these things is what time in the morning you have to get up. In this case we had to be there in time for a 6 a.m. start. So that meant getting up around 3:15 a.m. to get dressed, make breakfast, and hit the car by 4, so as to be in Duarte no later than 4:10, and off to D-Land. (Some of you know that I am often up early to catch airplanes. But then I am sitting in a seat reading for work or sleeping - not running 13.1 miles.)

Sunday morning was dark. So I got dressed, got all my stuff together and was off. We actually got to Disneyland very quickly, parked, and was actually ready to go by about 5:15 - so had plenty of time before we needed to be anywhere. (Note to self, next time we can leave a few minutes later.)

We sat around for a long time waiting to begin. There were tons of people - approximately 13,000 participants. Finally around 6:30, we were off.

The mood was festive, the people were happy, and I was feeling good. Kary, Jane and I ran the first few miles together. We started running through California Adventure, which was a blur. We then headed to Disneyland, where we stopped to take some pictures.

After the 5K, we started running for 3 minutes and walking for 1. But I was feeling good, and each 3 minutes I found a bit ahead.

And here was my favorite shirt-sign of the day:

Around 4.5 miles, Kary stopped for a restroom, and we never saw her again until the end. Around Mile 7, Jane and I took some pictures and then agreed we would just do our own thing. So I was off.

I think one of my favorite parts was getting to run through Angel's stadium. There were lots of people cheering people on, and you got to see yourself on the big screen. Pretty cool!

As we exited Anaheim Stadium, we hit Mile 10, and all of a sudden I was done. No, the race was not done, but all of a sudden I was dead tired. I guess this is where your training kicks in - or in my case my lack of training. We were running on the black asphalt, it was hot. I also think the sugar in the PowerAde started to affect me as well. (Since I don't normally consume any processed sugar, my body does not react well when I occasionally do.) But I did not bring my own stuff, so was a little stuck. So Mile 10 went on forever - kind of like this blog. :)

It actually felt that mile 10 lasted as long as the first 10. Could that be possible? I kept looking for a tunnel, which was supposedly where Mile 11 started, but that never seem to come. Finally. . . I saw the mile marker and knew it was just 2 miles. Pretty soon, I was almost towards the finish - the last half mile - I could see the Disneyland Hotel. But it was really just a tease. We had to wind our way around a few parking lots until we finally hit the finish. Then it was off for the most important thing - my medal:

All in all, I felt pretty good about the day. I will do another half in the not too distant future. This time I will train. And I will also do a marathon sometime as well. But for that, I think I want to pick out an exotic location so I really enjoy it.

As a total aside, I had a funny conversation with someone the other day, where it came up that I really don't like to run. Their response was surprise in that I am always out there doing things involving running. But as I explained it - I don't run because I enjoy running. It is hard, and I usually suck at it. In fact, I have sucked at it since I was a kid playing soccer. I never felt fast enough or had that natural joy from running. But I run because of the challenge and my desire to improve and meet new challenges. Shortly after that conversation, I saw this quote, which I thought was interesting and somewhat fitting - so thought I would share it with you all:

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." -Carl Bard