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SRRC Race Reports

Disney Marathon, Orlando, FL —Sun., January 13, 2008
or
How to Qualify for Boston in Six Easy Steps!

by Alison Gittelman

Since completing the Disney marathon and qualifying for Boston, I’ve discovered that what most people want to know is how I qualified. How did I train? What was my race strategy? How did I maintain focus? What did I eat/drink before and during the race? How much did it hurt? While I by no means ran a perfect race, and am still learning how to run 26.2 miles, I’ve tried to answer some of those questions in this report.

Step 1: Train Smart

It’s important to find a training plan that works for you. If the plan is too demanding or unrealistic, it’s hard to stick to. Hal Higdon has some great training plans that are easy to follow. After following his Intermediate I plan for my first marathon, and feeling that I needed more long runs in order to meet my goal of 3:45, I decided to step up to Intermediate II. At its peak this plan has three 50-mile weeks, which were tough but manageable. Over the 18 weeks I missed 2 runs: a 19 mile because I had a hacking cough that wasn’t going away in the cold weather, and a 10 mile run because of a family commitment. Other than that I stuck pretty closely to the plan. Sticking to the plan not only builds strength and endurance but also confidence. Feeling confident that you’ve trained sufficiently to achieve the goal is a key factor.

Training alone isn’t much fun, so, with no-one else training for a marathon, I split my long runs into several stages and recruited people to help me with each stage. I planned my routes and switched training partners at various points, depending how far they wanted to run! This kept things interesting and turned my 20 milers into 8 and 12 milers or 6 and 14 milers which, psychologically, felt much better than 20! A good way to approach a long race is to break it into more manageable parts, so why not the training? By the way, a BIG thank you to everyone who helped me with my training – couldn’t have done it without you!

Step 2: Tame the Pre-Race Jitters

Two weeks before the marathon everything was fine; my training was going well and I had started the taper. Then I apparently overdid things with a fast 10 mile on Manassas Battlefield, which in and of itself probably wouldn’t have done any harm, had I not immediately followed that with a series of “strides” that became full-out sprints as four of us turned it into a friendly contest. The next day I discovered that my IT band on my left leg was sore. Over the next two weeks I continued the taper but also visited the chiropractor and the massage therapist, and stretched and iced it, all the while trying not to freak out! Knowing that I had a good training base, I figured I could probably run through it, although I suspected it might be pre-race jitters – a sort of psychological issue expressing itself in physiological terms.

The weather in Orlando was typically humid as I set out for a 2 mile jog the day before the marathon. Before I hit the 1 mile mark I felt very warm and uncomfortable. The good news was that the race was due to start at 6am, long before sunrise, so it shouldn’t be as hot. The bad news was that race day was supposed to be more humid! But the conditions are the same for everyone, and at least there was no wind in the forecast!

Later that day, at the race expo, I picked up my number and checked my championchip had been activated, which, I discovered, it hadn’t. (Note to others: always check your chip is active if the option is available!) Looking at my registration card, I noticed that a Z on my chip’s serial number had been transposed to a 2. This was quickly and efficiently remedied at “Runner Relations” – even I was impressed. I didn’t find anything to buy at the expo, but “The Stick” people were there with their stick rollers that supposedly relieve tight muscles. I had a big knot on my shoulder – the result of trying to sleep in a car during our 14 hour drive to Florida – which I got my husband to work on with the stick. After a few minutes of the stick going bumpety-bump over my shoulder the knot started to loosen, and soon I felt much better. I met SRRC’s treasurer, John Winkert, at the expo. John has completed over 30 marathons and, in addition to being experienced, is a very calm person. Talking to him helped relieve some of my pre-race tension!

Step 3: Stay Calm on Race Day

The alarm didn’t go off at 3:30 on Sunday morning. I was already awake and turned it off before the screeching woke the kids. I was dressed and ready to go much more quickly than usual – it helps to have everything organized the night before! It’s a 30 minute drive to Epcot – where the race starts – so, while my husband, Stuart, drove, I ate half a Clif bar and tried to relax.

Three million cars were waiting to get into Epcot’s mammoth parking lot. Fortunately, Disney has learned how to move massive crowds and we were waved into our parking space relatively quickly. I was surprisingly calm – usually waiting for anything on race morning makes me jumpy. I think even Stuart was surprised at how laid back I seemed.

It was a short walk to the “staging area” for the race. The occupants of the three million cars – plus everyone who took a shuttle bus or monorail – filled the staging area. It was a zoo. There was music and a massive TV screen and huge lights and suddenly I felt overwhelmed. Plus, I couldn’t see the bathrooms, or a sign for bathrooms, anywhere. Those familiar porta-potties were nowhere to be found. There were some huge tents on one side so we wandered over to ask for directions. We were told that the porta-potties were on the other side of the tents, where spectators were NOT allowed. I told Stuart to wait for me and went through to find another three million people waiting in very long lines for the porta-potties. I realized Stuart had the pins for my race number and I needed to go back and find him. I headed back through the tent, located Stuart, and told him that I had to go and stand in a very long line for the porta-potty so we’d better say goodbye now. It wasn’t even 5AM. I had more than an hour before the race start.

Heading back through the tents I started thinking that I’d bypass the first porta-potty lines, which are always longest, and head for the end. This was a good move because I discovered a quiet corner where the lines were very short. Upon exiting the porta-potty area I followed the throng walking to the start lines. There were two separate start locations to give runners more room for the first few miles. The two groups would merge at 4 miles, after running through Epcot. This is another sign of Disney’s brilliant engineering. I was in the blue start group, in corral A, the first corral. It was a long walk to the start. It felt like an eternity just to get to the dividing point, where we said goodbye to all the red starters and went on our way. We finally reached corral A some minutes later. On the other side of our section of fence were some bushes which we used as our personal bathrooms. Everyone exercised decorum – boys on the right, girls on the left. When we weren’t taking care of business there was plenty to keep everyone busy. A jumbotron showed runners and a wheelchair racer being interviewed by a rather ditzy woman who obviously didn’t know much about running.

Step 4: Plan the Run; Run the Plan

In our corral we were joined by Scott, the 3:40 pacer, who was immediately surrounded by a swarm of runners obviously planning to stick to him like glue. I was tempted join in, but I decided not to get caught up in other people’s race plans. I had my plan – to run between 3:40 and 3:45 (the latter being my Boston qualifier requirement), and to do it with a negative split, i.e., second half faster than the first. I suffered at Marine Corps Marathon because I went out too fast, so my plan was to avoid a repeat of that. I made a decision to keep Scott and his followers in my sights (Scott has a sign with balloons attached, poor soul) but not to pass him.

The race started at exactly 6:00AM, with fireworks and typical Disney fanfare. It only took me one minute to cross the start line! I couldn’t believe how close to the front I was. And how much room I had. I wasn’t getting bumped and shoved like I did at Marine Corps. (Disney Marathon’s limit is 18,000 runners, whereas Marine Corps’ is over 30,000.) Once we left the start area, with its lights and fireworks, I suddenly realized that it was pitch black (which is probably why Stuart didn’t see me – fortunately I saw him). And sunrise wasn’t until 7:30. I also realized how humid it was. I decided I should drink a lot early on, because of the humidity. I took a salt tablet before the start and planned to take one every hour.

Boston qualifier!

Entering Epcot was a magical moment. (The race started on a road just outside Epcot.) We entered right next to the Rose and Crown pub in the United Kingdom section (how appropriate!) of the World Showcase, which is my favorite part of all the parks. We ran around the World Showcase, which was lit up spectacularly and had a very festive atmosphere. There was music playing and characters cheering us on and Japan even had some strobe lights coming from one of its buildings! It was so much fun and provided me with an early feel-good boost. The Disney Marathon route visits all four parks – Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM), but much of the running is on the roads connecting the parks. This was one of my concerns because I feared the long stretches between the parks might be monotonous. For instance, you leave Magic Kingdom at mile 11 and don’t enter Animal Kingdom until mile 16, and you leave Animal Kingdom at mile 18 and don’t enter Hollywood Studios until after mile 22. However, I soon discovered that, rather than looking at a road that stretches to the horizon, I was looking at a very interesting landscape of all the facilities that make Disney World the amazing place it is. Music was playing from speakers positioned alongside the road, a definite help. In addition, there was always the next park to look forward to, where I knew the crowds would be huge and, along with the characters, would be cheering for all the runners.

Step 5: Be Adaptable

Adaptation has its rewards . . .

Having removed my shirt, I found that my fuel belt was chafing my skin. When I saw Stuart again at 4 miles (in the same spot as the start because the first 4 miles were a loop that took us back through the start area, which was already being dismantled!) I shouted to him that I wanted to switch to my water bottle when I saw him next at mile 8. However, a mile or two later, as we were heading to the Magic Kingdom, volunteers were handing out Vaseline on a stick. I grabbed a stick and manage to put some of the Vaseline on my skin under the belt. It was amazing how much better I felt and, when I saw Stuart at the monorail station outside Magic Kingdom, I told him to meet me with the water bottle at mile 13. At this point I was cruising comfortably. My pace was a little faster than I planned; The plan was to run between 8:34 and 8:45 for the first half, and then pick up the pace and run 8:13 to 8:25 for the second half. The negative split is arguably the most effective way to race; you avoid burn-out early on in the race and, by picking up the pace in the second half, you motivate yourself and destroy the competition by passing them as if they’re standing still! However, doing this can be risky because, if you’re trying to run under a certain time and find that, halfway through, you’re not able to pick up the pace sufficiently, you sacrifice running that time. That being said, I’ve always run my best times when I have a negative split. As I was saying, I’d been running a little faster than planned. After an 8:40 first mile I unintentionally picked up the pace and ran the next 7 miles between 8:15 and 8:22. I finally managed to slow down and run mile 9 at an 8:31 pace, only to pick it up and run the next two miles at 8:22 and 8:21 respectively! I kept trying to slow myself down, but clearly the thrill of running through the parks and the shouts of encouragement were making me pick up the pace. Upon leaving Magic Kingdom, at mile 11, I managed to slow down to 8:30s for the next couple of miles.

At mile 13 I saw Stuart and was finally ready to be rid of the fuel belt. He knows that when I’m racing I don’t like to stop for anything and so he stepped out with the bottle, expecting me to grab it, drop the belt, and make like a bandit. But I felt like I had a little time and wanted to stay relaxed so I stopped, gave him a kiss, took my time transferring my salt tablets from the belt to my shorts pocket, and told him I felt great, before heading off. He looked really surprised! I did feel great. I was slightly ahead of my target and my IT band hadn’t bothered me at all. I was actually enjoying the race.

I ran miles 14, 15, and 16 below 8:20 pace, but something must have happened at mile 17 because I ran an 8:38. This is in the middle of Animal Kingdom so perhaps a Hippo got in my way… Leaving Animal Kingdom at mile 18 I was not looking forward to the stretch ahead of me: run along the same road for 2.5 miles before turning around for a short dog leg and then heading towards Hollywood Studios. Taking stock of how I felt, I noticed that my hips and glutes were tight but that the legs were still holding up. By this point it was daylight but it was cloudy so the sun wasn’t heating things up and it felt like the humidity had actually dropped. Still, I was drinking a lot and I knew I would run out of my own fluids – PowerBar Endurance - before the finish. Fortunately there were fluid stations every mile. I was taking GU every 1.5 hours (I didn’t want to consume too much sugar so minimized the GU intake because I was drinking so much of the PowerBar Endurance, which also has sugar) and salt tablets every hour.

Step 6: Maintain Focus

Just before the 20 mile point a really good live band was playing! I enjoyed the music as I ran past those who had completed the turnaround, including Scott and his 3:40 pace group. They looked really strong. My right quad was starting to tighten, but, being close to 21 miles, I told myself that all I had to do was hang on for 5 more. I stopped at the water station just before mile 21 and tried to give my right quad a quick stretch. That’s when I discovered my quad wasn’t the problem. I realized the pain must be coming from the IT band – on the opposite leg from the one that had been bothering me for the last two weeks! OK, I thought to myself, let’s assess this situation. I’ve got 5 miles to go and all I have to do is run 8:30s to make the 3:45 target. It’s going to be close but I can do it. I just have to ignore the pain in the leg and keep moving. I shortened my stride but quickened my pace. This helped more than I anticipated because the shorter stride lessened the pain in my IT band and glutes. For mile 22 I ran an 8:27 which was a huge motivator as I felt like I was moving much more slowly. The most difficult thing at this point was ignoring what was going on around me: lots of people were walking and it was tempting to follow suit. Instead I reminded myself that they probably weren’t trying to get under 3:45.

There were no spectators in Hollywood Studios because it’s not accessible by monorail, all the roads around it are closed so it’s inaccessible by car, and everyone was at the finish anyway. However, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head, and some Power Rangers kept my spirits up. Hades was also there, which made me laugh, considering how I felt. Mile 23 was a sluggish 8:56; I tried vainly to calculate how much faster I needed to run to make that magical 3:45. My brain refused to do the math. Leaving Hollywood Studios was the medicine I needed as I found that I’d picked up the pace and ran mile 24 in 8:32. The next thing I remember was running around a very picturesque lake and trying to work out exactly where I was and when Epcot should come into view. We entered Epcot at exactly the same point as before, the Rose and Crown, and I was buoyed by the recognition and the realization that the finish was just around the corner and all I had to do was run around my favorite part of Disney World. Everything was a blur. There was a woman right in front of me raising her arms and cheering back at the crowd and I wanted to do that but I couldn’t.

Before the race started I had visualized what it would feel like to cross the finish line in a Boston qualifying time. I imagined that I would be kissing the ground and jumping up and down. I imagined that I would be like those Olympic marathon winners who somehow have the energy to run around the track after completing the race of their lives. Not so. I clearly recall noting that the confetti on the ground was very dirty, stopping my watch at 3:44:07, and walking slowly through the finish area. I had to walk what felt like several miles to the family reunion area, during which I collected more and more stuff until I was struggling under the weight of: one gargantuan and very heavy medal, a space blanket (more bulky than weighty because I’m carrying it since I have absolutely no need to wrap myself in it), a bottle of something (which I had the foresight to ask a volunteer to open since I know I won’t be able to), several Power Bars that some volunteer insisted I take, and some banana muffins. En route to the family reunion area several volunteers ask if I’m ok. I guess I’m not exactly walking in a straight line…

In hindsight I should have gone to the medical tent. Not because I think I needed an IV (although it may have helped!) but because they probably had some nice comfy stretchers. Instead I found myself struggling to lay my space blanket on the ground (finally, I’ve found a use for it). It was windy, which didn’t help, and my legs weren’t working. I finally managed to secure it with the Power Bars and muffins at the corners (found a use for them, too), and then tried to lay down, which was nowhere near as easy to do as it was in my head. I struggled for a while to bend my legs before finally succeeding.

The mind and body are truly amazing. For 26.2 miles my mind told my body what to do and my body responded. I find it fascinating that I can run the last half mile of a marathon at 7:47 pace but that I can hardly walk after that. If someone had asked me to jog or run after the marathon I would have been physically incapable. That’s why visualization and positive thinking are so important in a race. You have to believe you can achieve the goal and constantly remind yourself that you can. To a degree you can block pain signals and push yourself even when you are hurting. Three weeks after the marathon my left IT band was still tight and sore, yet it didn’t bother me at all during the race. (The one on my right leg, which did bother me, is fine!)

Postscript

Marathon cool-down: walk all around Disney with your family.

The following day, my legs were stiff but I felt fine walking around Epcot. A lot of people were wearing their marathon shirts AND medals! All I could think was, “those medals are heavy! There’s no way I’d be dragging that around the park.” But, for these people, it’s their badge of honor and they’re proud to show that they’ve completed a marathon. At the end of the day, it’s all about what it means to us.

February 2008

The SRRC would love to hear about your running, racing, or crewing experiences! If you would like to submit a race report, to be posted on the SRRC website, please email srrunner@srrunners.org.