Today I felt like an athlete. Everything finally came together to make this the best race I've run. Official time was 2:06:49...a 13:38 pace when I arrived this morning expecting a 14:30 pace. The temperature was perfect (okay...for me ), I got to see old and new WISH friends, I felt calm and ready before this race, and first and foremost, my chip was on my shoe.

Had a chance to chat with Nancy and her DH who were leaving as I arrived for the Expo. Friday's expo was a little disappointing, not nearly as big or festive as the marathon, but maybe it will grow as this race weekend becomes more popular.



Picked up my stuff and drove home. Put my chip on my shoe right away and made sure everything I needed was packed. Got up Sat, finished packing DD3, went to DD13's band concert (excellent!) and left for WDW around 4pm. Arrived at BCV and checked in. We were able to get a table at Cape May which was a first for us. I wasn't sure about a seafood buffet as a pre-race dinner, but it seemed to be fine. Got to hangout with Cam and Rhonda for a bit, then we all headed off to bed.

No one slept much that night, but I did sleep twice as much as the night before the half. Got up at 4am to start getting ready, then got DD13 out of bed. We drove to EPCOT and parked. Options were to do that and be bussed to AK or drive to AK, then WDW would bus you from the finish at EPCOT to AK. Tiff and her family got on the bus right after we did. Our bus ride was a little scary...the bus driver literally had no idea where he was going. He asked those of us in the front to help him read the signs to get to AK.

Got there in plenty of time, did the first potty run, then started eating, stretching. The WISH team started accumulating...we got to meet some of the crew that we missed at EoS the night before. We hung out with Tiff and her family, Cam, Rhonda, Kamy, disneybelle and her daughter, Anne, Sara and her DH, Lynne (who am I missing?).

Started lining up about 15 minutes or so before the race start. Here's Minnie getting ready to send us off:


DD13 and I started running together, but at the end of my first R3, she kept going. I started with R3/W2 and made that for the first 5 miles. I saw DD13 again briefly, then she took off on one of her intervals. Lynne passed me twice early on.
Here's sunrise somewhere around mile 2:


The first 5.5 miles of the course are just road...running from AK parking lot to MGM. They did have frequent water stops, but only one or two potties available at each stop. There was more music, a DJ at each water stop, but the cheering crowds and groups in between were absent for this race. We did have fog, though...this is somewhere in mile 4, after the first part of the group turned around:


There's a U-turn, then on our way to MGM. The blond on the right is one of the few guys that took on the Minnie:
.

Somewhere before MGM, I met a nice lady who recognized my shirt (Hi, Yvonne!) She said she reads the boards but doesn't post, so I'm hoping she'll decide to join us!
I was getting tired by MGM so dropped down to W3/R2. Getting to the parks definitely helped with entertainment, though there were very few characters out. I saw Mrs. Incredible and Jessie. Here's a photo coming into New York Street:


We left MGM and ran along the walkway to the Boardwalk where DD13 and I did our 6 mile LR last month. Crossed over the bridge near the Swan and Dolphin, then onto Y&BC where I was expecting to see my mom and the wild todd. Unfortunately the wild todd slept in this morning so they weren't out yet. There were definitely few fans about at that hour.


And then onto EPCOT...almost there! We came in the back door and entered WS in the UK. IF you look to the left of the tree on the right, you can just see mile marker 8...no fancy signs or time clocks for this race.


Ran around the world, waved to the folks in line for the Norway princess breakfast then realized it was almost over. Got a great preview of the flower and garden show!


I came around walking from mile 7 on...just felt tired and lack of training caught up to me. If I'd realized my time was so good, I would've tried to get in under 2 hours. I did sprint for the end where I saw Lynne (wearing her medal), Kathy and Erin. DD13 had finished ahead of me in 1:56, 6th in her age group! I made it across and got my medal:


Found DD13 then wandered around as they were posting preliminary results while we waited. Saw Anne, Cam and Rhonda finish! The really wild thing...I did my undergrad at UCF in Orlando and worked out in Apopka at a research station. I had a really good friend that I haven't seen in probably 15 years that I had lost touch with. Saw a woman that looked like her finish the race...rubbed my eyes and it still looked like her. I asked her name...sure enough...she's still working at the research center and I'm hoping we'll be able to reconnect!

All in all, for me a great race! I do have my very first running blister from a badly placed sock...can't believe it took this long for me to get a blister. I have a very swollen L ankle, but that's an old issue that should resolve on its own. My R foot's feeling fine and I feel great, just tired. It was really cool to see so many WISHers...looking forward to see many of you again in Janurary! Special thanks to all the race volunteers...what they do out there is fabulous!
Last photos...DD13 at home with her medal




And the bad news...I'm afraid you won't be seeing Tink at WDW anymore...looks like she followed us home