January 11, 2014....Thankful that this is a race day recap instead of a night at the airport recap (see previous posts for details on that :-P). To pick up where my last post left off, we finally boarded our new plane around 11:45 pm, and took off around 12:30 am. It felt good to be off the ground actually heading to Orlando. With the start of the race about 5 hours away, my goal was to get any possible sleep I could on this little over 2 hour flight...like maybe fall asleep, and the next thing I know we are pulling up to the gate in Orlando. Well, it didn't exactly happen that way. After having a brief conversation with the nice man sitting next to me, I leaned my head straight back, closed my eyes, and listened to airplane noise practically the whole way. In all honesty, I just could not get comfortable. Even though I ended up in first class, I had no pillow, and there was a large enough gap between my seat and the window, where I could not lean on it without feeling like I was breaking my neck. I tried to fold up the thin blanket they gave me and use it as a pillow, but to no avail. It is possible that I dozed off a few minutes here or there, but I never got the feeling of any solid sleep whatsoever.
When we finally landed, part of me was glad to be there, but part of had me had lost a little enthusiasm for the race. I was really tired. In fact, as I was walking through the airport trying to follow my mom's instructions to get to their van, I went the wrong way. I knew I had to get to baggage claim, so I started following signs. The signs went from 'baggage claim' to 'Baggage Claim A' and 'Baggage Claim B'. Great....I had to make a 50/50 decision on virtually no sleep. This was somewhat of a big decision because these baggage claim areas are not that close together. I went with 'Baggage Claim A'.......bad decision.....I wasn't thinking very clearly and reasoned that I had to keep going down to get where cars can pick you up. I was starting to see signs for parking garages, and there were no doors to the outside. I did finally conclude that I had to be heading in the wrong direction (believe it or not, I'm pretty good at following signs in the airport when I'm awake and alert). I decided to give my mom another call. When telling her about the baggage claim predicament, she informed me that Baggage Claim 'B' was where I needed to go (hmmm....maybe I should have addressed that earlier). Well, after turning around, all I could see were signs for baggage claim 'A'......nothing for 'B'. I'm thinking...'why are there no signs for 'B'? This makes no sense at all. Being after 3:00 am, the airport was like a ghost town. Anyway, I finally figured it out and arrived at my parent's van at around 3:15 am.
Ok, it was time for some conversation with God. After all of the delays and doubts about even getting to the race, sleep or no sleep, I should be excited for the race. To be truthful, I was stuck in neutral. I didn't have much of a feeling one way or another. I had run races before on very little sleep (4-5 hours), but never on a few minutes of dozing here and there. I needed a little jolt...my heart needed changed.
After being dropped off, it was about a 30 minute walk to the starting line. This was after going through a security check, a bag drop-off area (which I did not utilize...another story for another time) and following thousands of people about another half-mile to the starting line area. With the bib number I had, I was able to start in the first corral, and actually worked my way up to the front line right before the gun was to go off. As the start of the race drew closer, I wasn't feeling an adrenaline rush, but my spirit was calm. I was excited for the race, but it was a very 'relaxed' excitement. In fact, during the National Anthem, I closed my eyes for a little bit to meditate on God, and get focused. The longer I kept my eyes closed, I felt the more difficult it would be to open them. Believe it or not....here we are just a couple of minutes away from the start of the Disney World Half-Marathon, and I had the slightest difficulty opening my eyes at the end of the National Anthem! I was thinking....ok God...this race really is yours. Ok, here is how the race went down (from what I can recall). :-)
Mile 1 - 5:12 (actually faster than I thought I would run the first mile in. Although I felt pretty decent, sweat was dripping already (it was 67 degrees with 100 percent humidity....a little warm for me since I had been training in much colder weather). I think I was in 5th or 6th place at this point. The three lead runners had a pretty sizeable gap already, and I knew maintaining my current pace in the heat and humidity would probably mean crashing and burning later in the race. Therefore, I ran with a second pack of runners where my pace felt relatively comfortable.
Mile 2 - 5:18 - just hanging with Clint Verran of the Hanson Brothers (4-time Olympic Trials Qualifier - finished 5th at the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials) and a few other guys....feeling decent.
Mile 3 - 5:23 - not much has changed. Clint and I have a slight lead over the rest of our pack, and we are closing on the guy running 3rd (Hunter Kemper - World Class Triathlete - former Olympian)
Mile 4 - missed this one for some reason.
Mile 5 - miles 4 and 5 combined to be 11:00, so we have slowed to 5:30 pace. Even slowing down, Clint and I have passed Kemper, and gapped our pack slightly more.
Mile 6 - 5:37 - much of this mile was run inside the Magic Kingdom. There were several tight turns and curves through this part along with wet pavement/concrete. This slowed us down, but this was arguably the most fun part of the course running underneath the Disney Castle, and enjoying the lights and large crowds throughout the park. Also during this mile....while Clint and I are enjoying the sights and the crowds of the Magic Kingdom, world class Ultra-Marathoner Michael Wardian tracks us down, and surges past us. Clint says, "What's up Mike?" Mike quickly responds, "Just trying to beat you guys." I think this woke Clint and I up a little. We both picked our pace up in an attempt to keep up with Mike.
Mile 7 - 5:27 - another runner has joined us (not sure who it is), so we have a pack of four now that is trailing the two lead runners (not within sight).
Mile 8 - 5:31 - although I slowed a little on this mile, I have taken a slight lead on the second pack, and the second place runner is within sight (the darkness definitely made it hard to see him though. :-)
Mile 9 - 5:29 - I'm quickly closing in on 2nd place, and putting a little more distance on the pack. I move into second place before reaching the 10-mile mark. I am now following one of the lead bicycles because the first place guy is way ahead. I'm thankful they did this. It allowed me to concentrate just on Jesus and running and not have to worry about what direction I needed to go.
Mile 10 - 5:29 - It was during this mile that I made a mess. With the exception of one earlier water stop where I fumbled away three different cups of water without getting a drop, I had been able to successfully down some water at some of the other stops. Well, this water stop had a little different story to it (keep in mind that I do not literally stop at the water stations. I slow down only slightly and grab the water on the run). I think some of the race volunteers were still sleeping at this one. As I was approaching the station, I ran past the Powerade, and began calling for water. It looked as if there was next to no one at the water tables, and the few that were there were either sleeping or not paying attention. I quickly realized there was going to be no one to hand me water. Therefore, I ran right next to the tables, and grabbed a cup of water myself. During this process I probably knocked at least 10 cups of water down making sure I had a good grip on the one I grabbed. I hope that didn't hurt anyone later in the race. :-P
Mile 11 - 5:29 - ya know what? Now that I think about it, what I wrote about in mile 10....I think it actually happened in this mile. I think during mile 10 is when I moved into 2nd place....oh well. I think the recollection of events is generally accurate. I know at least my splits are accurate because I actually have them saved on my watch. Some of the race I remember distinctly, and some of it is definitely a blur. Due to a little sleep deprivation, I'm not sure my brain was working at full capacity....or even half. :-P. I do know that I continued to widen the gap on the runners behind me (according to the guy on the bike).
Mile 12 - 5:22 - this mile had a nice little downhill section. There was also a not so nice little up hill before this, but I can't remember if it was actual within this mile or in Mile 11. This was a good mile though. I knew I wasn't anywhere close to first place, but I didn't care to be honest. My goal at this point was to run as hard as I could with whatever was left in me, and hold 2nd place.
To be continued.......(it's 2:15 am)...I'll think more clearly tomorrow. :-P
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