Minnie Mouse Race Report

We left for Disney Friday afternoon. We were going to stay 2 nights but my 10 yr old Emily got sick last night. She was up pretty much until I had to leave at 4:30 this morning for the race. I didn't get a whole lotta sleep....So we booked another night, tonight, so Bob could take our 9 yr old son to Epcot. Worked out well, Emily and I slept for 3 hours this afternoon. Hence the early race report! I have some pictures, but I can't download them until I get home. I'll post those later.

I had pasta premivera for dinner at Planet Hollywood....ok, ok....and 2 beers. I carbed this time instead of the steak philly I had before the Sarasota marathon...lol. Went to bed at 10pm, but was up most of the night with Emily. I met my friend Cindy at the big coke cup and we drove over to the Epcot parking lot. Disney bused us over to Animal Kingdom to the starting line. We were early. I even said it didn't look like 3,000 people were running. I was wrong! They began to show up in droves! I ran into my friend Ellyn too! We let her cut us for the port-a-potty, what are friends for??????

We lined up at the 9-11 mm and got ready to go. As we came up on a curve we looked ahead and saw about 1000 runners! It was amazing to see. Then when we got to the end of the curve we looked back and saw another 1000 runners! It was a pretty tight crowd. It wasn't like that for the marathon. I didn't like that feeling at all. It probably worked out though because I couldn't take off like I wanted to, I had to keep a slow pace. I worked a few frolics in when I could.

The first 4 miles went very well. It was warm, but not too bad. A little breeze came through now and then. I hit mile 4 at 42 minutes. Mile 7 at 66 minutes. I wanted to finish at 1:20 but I knew it would be a stretch. I have only been running 3-4 times since the marathon March 2nd, thanks to a hip flexor injury. I was very concerned with injuring it again today, I went easy because of that too. I swear it had nothing to do with the tight proximity to the other runners throughout the entire race...ha!

I was pretty hot by mile 7. By hot, I'm not talking about goodlookin'. I'm talking about sweating like a P-I-G. Very sexy, I know. I took water at every table but it was hard to drink it for some reason. I took note of my running group. I was pretty much staying with the same group of ladies. When I did my 45 second walks I memorized the people I was dropping behind. Then as I started running again, I found myself back with them. Jim is so right, you don't lose much time when you take a quick walk break. I felt rested and invigorated and I wasn't struggling. I love this method because it lets me enjoy these races. I need to be able to talk (oh, big surprise), and I love to see the sights. If I'm not having a good time, I don't want to do it.

I was with Cindy for awhile, but lost her before mile 4. I couldn't see too far ahead. Cindy doesn't like to talk while running so it was probably for the best....lol. Ellyn sprinted past us at mile 2, never saw her again. She was like a blur.

Another thing I love about this walk/run method is, I have some energy to make a strong finish. It feels so fantastic to get into a full out sprint to cross that line strong. Very satisfying.

Cindy finished 6 minutes ahead of me, I never saw Ellyn again.

So I finished at 1:40:08. I had hoped for a 1:20, but my best 5K time is 30:50. Kind of a far reach to hope for 1:20. If I had stayed at my 10 minute pace I would have finished at 1:35 for this 15K. All in all, I am very pleased with 1:40:08. I haven't been able to train for 2 months. Been stuck in the gym on the machines while my flexor healed. And healed it is! It is a little sore right now, but not bad, not bad!! Once again, I had a great time, lots of fun and met some new people. I've been to Disney about 5-6 times but running it gave me a new perspective. It may never be the same for me again!

My next race is Saturday. A 5K run called "Miles For Smiles". All proceeds go to kids with cleft palate. Worthy, worthy cause.