Dopey Challenge January 2018 Day 6

Sunday January 7th Marathon Day!!!!!!!
2:15am wake up. Did our normal pre-run fuel. We left the room just before 3:30am and I looked down and realized I didn’t have my bib on!!!! So we went back in and I put it on. This caused us to miss the 3:30am bus. Teri managed to catch that bus at the next stop down by her room. The next bus arrive at 3:45am. We hit massive traffic and sat on the bridge near the Swan/Dolphin for nearly 45 minutes!! We saw people walking on the grass and running on the edge of the road so they could try to get to the race start. Our bus driver informed us he’s doing everything he can to get us there in time and this is the only route they are allowed to take. He did say that he couldn’t stop anyone from getting off the bus, but we were still 4 miles away from the drop off! There’s no way I would even consider traveling that distance so close to start time! And you can be disqualified and not allowed to start the race if you arrive on foot, it’s against the rules. We finally broke free of the traffic jam and arrive just after 5am! The race starts at 5:30am! We barely had time for a quick potty stop. Poor Teri arrive within 15 minutes of getting on her bus and was standing in the cold the entire time. That was the saving grace for Ryan and myself since we were comfy on the bus. Scott and Kathy even got to the start area and then were heading to the monorail before we even arrived! We later heard that a bus had broken down and caused the backup. As we were walking to the corrals, the race officially started and we saw the fireworks. We walked a bit quicker, but it’s nearly a mile from the porta pots to the corrals! It’s a crazy long walk for the half and full marathon to get to the corrals. Plus the walk from the bus drop off to the porta pot area is a long walk too! We gave quick hugs and off Teri and Ryan went to their corral together and I went to my same corral. They said they barely made it into theirs before it was closed off and were at the very back of their corral. I intentionally stayed to the back of my corral again today. This was my first ever full marathon and I was surprisingly calm! I think that since we had done so many races in the prior days, I didn’t really realize that I was about to run 26.2 miles! I was in my running skort, tank top, two pairs of arm sleeves, two pairs of gloves and ear covers. I had a mylar blanket to stay warm before crossing the start line. It was in the low 40’s with only a slight breeze, it was balmy compared to all the other mornings!!! People looked at me like I was crazy since I was in shorts, but it was going to be in the 60’s by the time I was finishing the race and that’s way too hot to me in capris and long sleeves! I had hand warmers in my gloves and that helped. I shed my arm covers, gloves and ear covers by mile 18 and it was beautiful out! Our course started the same as the half marathon course. EPCOT parking lot to MK and then through MK. Scott and Kathy had bear hugs ready for me on Main Street again!!!! I realized I needed to make a quick potty stop and I kept looking at the bathroom lines. They were all out the door! I came around the corner after passing the Beauty and the Beast area and craned my head to look toward the bathroom by Pinocchio’s and I couldn’t see a line, so I beelined it! NO LINE!! I was in there all of a minute or so and when I came out, the line was out the door! I think everyone followed me!! We exited back by Splash Mountain again and took the back road by the Grand Floridian (more characters), then the service road towards AK, there was a stupid hairpin where we ran 1/4 mile down an unending road, then completely 180* turn back down that road, then the back road to AK (they had Hades, Pain and Panic at a meet back there. Plus props and characters from the Adventurers Club at the old Downtown Disney, old attraction cars there too!), we hit our half marathon distance by Expedition Everest. Scott and Kathy texted me they were over by Triceratops Spin and AK was officially open for the morning. I got my text check in and was behind pace. I really wanted to finish under the 7 hour requirement (you can take longer than this as long as you stay ahead of the cutoff bikes at the end which I was well ahead of). I personally wanted under that 7 hour mark. I saw Scott and Kathy. Got a HUGE bear hug from Scott and hugs from Kathy. I told them I was off pace and will likely continue to slow down. @nascfan just looked me in the eyes and gave me the best pep talk ever! That gave me the boost I needed and the next time I would see them would be at the finish line. I exited AK just past the restrooms in Dinoland. There was a water station backstage there. So I refilled my electrolytes into my water bottle and had them top me off with water. We then worked our way to Wide World of Sports. Everyone said this is the worse portion of the race and is where most people hit “the wall”. It’s 4 miles in WWoS. Thankfully, I never experienced that “Wall”!! I was receiving text tracking alerts for Teri and Ryan and as I entered the long road leading to WWoS I got their 20 mile check in. I was coming up to the back of a mile marker (since we went in and out on the same road) and it was mile 21. So I kept scanning for them on the road because I should see them within the mile! I was beginning to think I had missed them, but just before I turned to enter in WWoS they were right there!!!! We gave each other big hugs and Teri said “now go finish your marathon!!!” My heart was filled and restored! I think that’s what carried me through WWoS! They had lots of characters out in their sports attire at various spots. Our 20 mile check in was on the warning track of the baseball field. I was so excited to see the 2nd banana station in here too!! I grabbed one earlier too! Oh, forgot to mention that somewhere on the road (no clue where I was) but I stopped for a pic with Clarabell Cow!!!! There were only 2 other people in line. I did this as a homage to my first half marathon 5 years prior at Disneyland and I stopped for a picture with her then too! We made our way to Hollywood Studios. The cool part?? They were handing out chocolate as we exited by Fantasmic!! Chocolate!!!! Legit M&M’s and other candies!! I was heavenly at mile 23-ish? I also stopped for a photo with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit behind the scenes there too!!! We then ran the resort loop, entered the construction area where the gondola will go by the International Gateway entrance and enjoyed the entertainment of their “construction workers” that were really CM’s! They were hilarious! We then entered World Showcase by the UK. My mission was to find a so that I could have it in my finish photo. Um, where are in World Showcase?!? I asked a CM in Japan and he wasn’t sure where the nearest cart was. I got to the America Pavilion, surely they would have one there! Nope! The CM said closest would be Future World, really!??! Then he remembered there was one just down the hill in Italy! I pulled out my $5 from my case and saw the cart! The CM had no customers! I start to call out to her that I needed a Mickey Bar! She was a bit confused at first and saw me running towards her with money in my hand! She reached into her cooler, pulled out a and I passed off my money! It was the perfect baton hand off!! Keep in mind, it’s nearly 1pm, so there are day guests on one side of cones and runners on the other. It was fun having guests just cheer us on! I kept my in the wrapper and carried it by the stick end carefully. We worked our way to Mexico than by the Fountain of Nations. Then to our exit shoot, there was a soul choir singing and cheering for us!! I unwrapped my and just kept running to the finish!! Yes, I officially crossed the finish line of a marathon with my in hand!!! I absolutely positively LOVE my finish picture!!! I saw and heard Scott, Kathy and Ryan cheering for me in the stands!!!!!!! What an amazing experience!!! I took my bit of my right after finishing and getting my full marathon finishers medal!!!! I went to the medical area to preventatively get ice for my knees since they often get sore after long runs. I ate what I could of my while getting ice wrapped on me, but it was melting fast. But all of the volunteers loved and were jealous that I finished with it! Since this was the 25th anniversary of the marathon at WDW, they surprised all of us finishers with Mickey Ears with the anniversary patch on it!! I cried!!! This is my first ever set of ears!!! My head is too little to wear them, so I’ve never bought any. But these were so special to me!!! I went to the tent for Dopey finishers and received my Goofy Medal (finishing the half marathon AND Full marathon) and my Dopey Challenge Medal (finishing the 5k, 10k, half marathon and Full marathon)! I cried again!! Then I got my food box and water, and nearly cried when they handed me another banana! I was so hungry!!! I took my finisher pictures and worked my way to the reunion area! I found Ryan right away and we just hugged and cried together!!! I was so proud of him!!! And so thankful that he helped Teri get through all the races! Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we would run a full marathon, but we did it!!!!! He then took me to Scott and Kathy. And more water works!!!!!!!! The BIGGEST HUG EVER from Scott. He couldn’t stop crying and telling me how proud he was! A gal that had finished the race was walking by and overheard us. She said she didn’t cry at all until she heard us talking! When I say that Scott is the best cheerleader EVER, I mean it!! Kathy was crying for me and hugged me so big too!!!! It was simply amazing!! My body felt great and I couldn’t believe I had just completed 26.2 miles (well my Garmin said 27 miles due to the weaving and bathroom stop). I felt like I had only ran a half marathon! So my training paid off!! I finished in 6 hours and 54 minutes, under my 7 hour goal! I even managed to make my last 3 miles my fastest miles, and my final mile was my absolute fastest mile of the entire full marathon! I realized around mile 23-24 that if I ran a little bit more (I walk/run) then I could make my goal time! I finished just around 1pm! We walked the race merchandise shop at the finish area.

Teri had already gone back to our room before I finished because Kailey was getting her final Bippity Boppity Boutique experience (her 13th birthday is the next day). So Teri finished her run and then went to our room to get ready. Her Ryan and Kailey were already at MK for her BBB. She was sad to not see me finish, but she was torn on staying to see me finish or going to see Kailey get her final BBB. The sad news was that transportation was not in her favor and she missed both. When Ryan and I got off our bus at Riverside, she was at the bus stop trying to get to MK. She said she ended up just driving because she had already waited 30 minutes and no bus had come. The roads were still partially closed from the runners. Ryan and I got to our room around 2pm, showered and got ready. We left at 3:30pm. I texted Scott to go ahead and use their Soarin FP’s because there was no way we were be there within 15 minutes. They went Soarin and we met them at the Mickey Meet and Greet to use the next FP. We got pics with all out medals! Wow! Wearing 6 medals at once is crazy heavy!! (I weighed them when we got home and total they weighed over 2.5 pounds!). My bestie Deedee had quilted us medal packs to hold them so they didn’t get damaged in our bags. They were perfect! We were hungry and a little slow going, mostly from just being tired. However, we both had a few blisters on our feet that were causing us to move a bit slower. We were hungry and got Fish and Chips in UK. Then over to Figment for our FP. We walked with Scott and Kathy to Hollywood Studios so we could stretch our legs. We really enjoy this walk! We said goodbye to them at HS. Ryan and I had reservations with Teri and her family at 50’s Prime Time Cafe for Kailey’s birthday dinner at 6:10pm. Teri, Ryan and Kailey were in the lounge waiting for us, Teri was pooped! Our table was ready within a few minutes. Our server was hilarious and awesome!!!! Ryan has a beard and the server kept calling him Chewbacca! I had the fried chicken, Ryan had the sampler and we split the brownie for dessert! I couldn’t get through most of mine, so much food!! But it was delicious!!! We did a few family photos. I said my goodbye’s to Kailey and Teri’s Ryan since I wouldn’t see them again on this trip. We all called it a night. Ryan and I were back to Riverside by 8pm with lights out just after 9:30pm.
Miles logged 35.1 including 27 from the marathon. I completed the Dopey Challenge!!!!!!!!