I go to FL a couple times a year. We have a Disney timeshare. Some of our timeshare friends decided to run this race and support having another race in Disney World. It was going to be a race that started at the Richard Petty Speedway and would wind its way through 3 parks. Somehow along the way, all of that fell apart, and the management co. reverted to the exact same course as the half marathon course that they stage in January. It starts in the Epcot parking lot, runs up the highway, through the Magic Kingdom parking lot, backstage at the MK, through part of the MK (including the all important Castle) and then back down the highway straight into the morning sun, onto another highway, through the Epcot parking lot, Epcot backstage, briefly through Epcot’s Future World and then backstage again to the parking lot where the finish line is. The only difference is that this was “Princess” half, targeted towards women. I think there were only 200 runners out of 7500 registrants that were men. I don’t like this course, and I am not a huge Princess fan and so this wasn’t setting up to be the race to end all races for me. But, the women that I was running with as an unofficial team are pretty darn cool, so it was worth it to go and race. We left NJ on Wednesday while the weather was 6F and drove to VA to catch the Auto Train. It was 60F when we arrived in FL the next day. Nice change. Didn’t seem to improve or hurt my cold any, and I was feeling strong. Race day was the change to daylight’s savings time. We left our complex at 4:30 a.m. and drove over to the Epcot parking lot. We set up a blanket and our little team of 5 gathered and chatted, stretched, etc. Eventually we checked our bags and started the long march to the start. This being a smaller race, two of us were in the first corral.. While shivering in the cold morning air waiting the 40-45 min to start, my one teammate and I made $20 motivational bets. Hers was to beat a 2:10 or owe me $20, and mine was to beat a 1:54 or owe her $20. Eventually, we got to go! Course was wide open from the start for me. Went out at a reasonable pace the first mile – little over 9 min mile. Got faster starting at mi 2, and the miles clicked away pretty speedily through about mile 8. I have to check my splits, but I think I was generally at 8:20-8:30ish pace. Then, things got harder. I was set up properly with my coconut water, well-hydrated, etc., but my cold started kicking in then, and it was kinda making me sick to my stomach. I’m not sure if that was real or imagined, as I had been sick from the cold a week or so back. My pace started creeping up in the later miles – 8:47 was very popular on my wrist for a long time. That actually gave me hope as I was struggling with nose blowing and some uphill areas and heavily canted switch back portion of the race. The training I’ve done got me through, as even though I felt slower, I actually was able to maintain pace. I did try to slow down to a 9 min mi and felt no better, so I figured I just needed to haul it in and call it a day. Might as well not lose money in the process, so in the last 5K, I was doing a lot of math in my head to be sure I beat the 1:54 bet. Just before the finish was my family and the families of our other teammates, which was fun. The pictures of me are horrific, and I really do look like I’ll be sick any moment! But to hear my 5 year old yelling for me – OH, how priceless that sound is! As I crossed the finish, the clock said 1:54 something, and I immediately thought, “I hope we were betting net time!” HA! I walked over to have my chip removed. The lady somewhat impatiently said, “Put your foot up on the bucket.” I replied, “I know. I will. I just want to be sure I don’t throw up on you.” The chip clipper sitting next to her roared laughing and said, “Turn the bucket upright!” I didn’t need it and soon was through the finish chute, and over being a Mom once again. I could barely move, but my 2 yr old had to be up and on me within 3 min of me finishing. Back to being Mom! It took a whole lot of effort out there, both mental and physical to finish and chip away at that PR. And, I had a lot of time to think about how much effort it will be for me to do double that in November. I thought more than once, “You have a lot of work to do to have an enjoyable marathon in November.” And I do, and that’s OK. As I said, I don’t like the course I ran, and wanted to have a kick-butt performance. It may not rank as that, but I’ll take it. So, why do I think I didn’t do better? Mostly, I think I should have run a little more with this cold than I did. I simply got so tired that I kept losing the motivation to run, even with a race looming. I think this is a case where perhaps a little more keep to the schedule and a little less listen to the body would have helped. Also though, there’s the cold itself. It may have taken more out of me than I realize. Finally, instead of really enjoying it out there like I usually do in races or even my long runs, I was running to get it done. Instead of negative splits, I ran fast from mi. 2 – which might have worked if the cold and sudden lack of training weren’t in play. Anyway, a long read to get to the results: ChipTime ClockTime Overall SexPl DivPl AgeGrade 1:53:45 1:54:03 373/6150 347 38 62.6% Running and racing is so great! While I never got comfortable and in the flow out there, I managed a decent result anyway, and had a great time with family and friends. I learned a few more things which will help me build towards the future. My husband also put the whole Disney race scene in perspective for me. He said, “We need to save the Disney races for when you are in a burnt out period.” And for me, he’s right. I like Disney World, but I’m not a fanatic who goes gaga over seeing the characters or backstage. But, maybe when I’m burnt out and not trying to see how fast I can go, a Disney race will be just the thing. And maybe, like the guy who was dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast (complete with blue pinafore dress and basket to carry), I’ll relate to it better then. But to give credit where it is due, this race was definitely tweaked since the last half I did in early 2007 and indeed eliminated some of the really lousy parts of the course. And, things seemed to run smoother overall, esp. on race day. Oh yeah, and my betting partner? She came in at 2:08, so she was happy with her result as well!

Good job Nono! So, did you guys call the bet a draw? I think you ran a great race. If you hadn't gotten sick before, I'll bet you'd have gone sub 1:50!! I'm like you in a lot of ways... I like Disney, too, but not the hype. Fun layout, good concept, just tone down the corn a bit, eh? I think this race is a good base to work from for your November marathon...

nono, you took on both Disney and the cold and beat both. Congratulations to you and your friend for beating your goals. TomS

NIce racing and a great RR. Congratulations!

There's no way you can accurately determine how much that cold cost you, but it had to have been significant. My own performances have been awful when I run with a cold or just after getting over one. I think you pushed the last part of the race valiantly. Well done. The picture of your daughter on last night's daily is a beauty too. Thanks for posting it. Spareribs

Nice job, given the circumstances. You've definitely got some guts to finish this one as well as you did. Just think how much better it'll feel next time when you don't have a cold!

Nice job, nono! Thanks for sharing! I was wanting to do this race because of the new advertised route. I'm sorry to hear that the organizers went back to plan B with the January race route. Congrats on your good finish in spite of the illness - way to hang tough!

I thought more than once, “You have a lot of work to do to have an enjoyable marathon in November.”

You hit the nail on the head with that race goal for me. My first marathon goal is to not be miserable running it. Okay, maybe that's my second, coming in behind "finish without injury." I already think you will do great in November. As for this race, you did a heckofa job, especially since you had a cold. I don't agree that you should have run more during the week before. When you are sick, rest is the best thing for you. Nothing you could do about getting sick, but listening to your body was the right thing to do. Great race and report!