Oh Disney. Thanks for 26.2.

Firts things first. I am officially a marathoner. Booya. 26.2 in one morning. Completed by me. Rock on. And the make the weekend even better... my Alabama Crimson Tide were titled the National Champions. I guess us Nick Saban followers accomplish greatness. :o)

Where to even begin. Let me start with the truth of I did not really train for this event. I took on the slacker training program, yet again. ugh. Going into 26.2 I had run 13.1 in October, but since then I don't think my miles hit more than 6. Whoops?! Onto the race -- The race was absolutely freezing - so cold people had ice forming on them where they were sweating and the water stops were pretty icy on the ground (I wonder if anyone took sponges at mile 17? I sure as hell didn't). So much for sunny Florida. I don't know the exact temps of the start, but I think it was in the 20's somewhere and it never really warmed up. Well, I never fully warmed up. The race starts with fireworks which, honestly, was pretty bad ass. I cannot tell you too much about the mile markers because well I was in so much of a trance that I was just trying to finish and get out of the cold. But I will tell you that running through the parks is pretty freaking awesome. And Disney is not as flat as you would think, or maybe it's just the exit ramps they have you run up - but I was not hill trained for this and that was a downfall for me. ...I guess it is back to running parking garages for me. HA!

I was really looking forward to running through the castle, but running up to Epcot and through Epcot in the dark was pretty magical. I loved Animal Kingdom, but then again that has always been a favorite for me. Hollywood Studios was nothing I remembered it being but I thought it was pretty much awesome, but that was the same for a lot of the parks. A lot of the race was access roads - more roads and less parks - which made for quite a challenge because the roads were so tight and there were so many runners and not a lot of spectators ... but it was manageable. I don't know why, but I had so so so much more energy in the parks than I did on the access roads. I saw my branch manager and her fiancee at mile 12 or so and they claim I was still looking good (I will see the pictures and decided). I never saw my family but they said they saw me ... I think they stayed in the car the whole time. HA. I hit mile 13 at a total high and by mile 15 I was starting to feel the pain. I must hit the pavement harder on my right side because by mile 20 my ankle, knee, hamstrings, and hip were killing me. I hit the wall around mile 22 ... but I wanted my Mickey so I just kept trucking. I am not going to lie, I pretty much walked the majority of the last 6 miles ... my body felt like it was shutting down and no matter how many times I stopped to stretch and try and work the kinks out I just could not get back in the groove. Running on the boardwalk was pretty, but cold. The resorts are amazing to run through as well, but I was honestly thinking. WHERE IS THE BIG EPCOT BALL?! I saw the Epcot Christmas Tree and I knew I was almost there, but just knowing wasn't enough to get me running - but I trotted and trotted and trotted.

As the lame person I am... I signed up to track myself and get messages of mile markers and I don't think the program worked as well as Disney hoped (seeing my mom didn't get any texts until I got to mile 10). But here were my times according to the race tracker. Mile 5: 59:58 Mile 10: 2:03:27 Half Split (13.1): 2:44:11 Mile 20: 4:21:07 Finish: 5:53:21 --- my dad told me that he had hoped I would finish in 5:30, but my legs were like bricks of pain and I didn't meet my 5 hour time goal, but I knew I had to be done in 6. Just call me a back of the pack runner. I have no pride!

I did set some marathon goals and to be honest, I am unsure if I met the 5k (I think I did) or 10k goal ... but I know for a face I was hitting 13.1 at about 5 minutes quicker than what I had planned. I do not know if I am hooked on this 26.2 thing - around mile 15 I was pretty much over the whole situation, so I may stick to half marathons and leave the full's to those crazy runners. ...or I will ease into another full. Get a few more 10ks and half's under my belt. ING Atlanta is next in March. As my marathon goals say ... I have to do active recovery and get in the groove for 13.1 in a little over a month. Oi Vey. ...most importantly, I was able to cross off 1 race on my marathon bucket list.

Time to bronze my Brooks - they have done 1 half and 1 full. I am never throwing those bad boys away. Never. Needless to say, I am headed for a good rub down this weekend at at Atlanta spa and this week will consist of some rest, a little walking, maybe some light light running, and a few good swims. Next week starts 2010 work out resolutions... hello spin class ... if my legs will move!

Thanks so much to EVERYONE who encouraged me, sent their well wishes, and encouraging texts during the race. I really could not have done this without you. I love you all!! :o)