Okay, I will go with shorts. I have some baggy ones (hopefully they are still baggy ). I won't need reflective gear because my white legs will be fluorescent enough! LOL.

I doubt HCBF will make it home tonight..he has had an awful day

Out of here soon..almost time for bed. LOL. At least I can WFH tomorrow!

Susan – Good luck at counseling!

Judy – Ah, I see you waited for the sale Glad you were able to get an outside run yesterday and today!

Sandy – Oh boy – you don’t need to research a cake place J Woohoo on getting to yoga this morning. What is the difference between regular yoga and yoga sculpt? Glad you didn’t get a lot of snow but sideways snow and -13 temps are no fun! BLAH. What are you up to this weekend!?

Ginny – I am so sorry about Beau!!! Thinking of you and DH.

Karen – Man, now I really want to try this soup! Awe, glad Riley is doing a bit better. Plus that it knocks him out Have a good easy run.

Cathy – 50?! Wow! I still laugh at parka. I don’t even own compression shorts haha. I guess I could buy some at some point – the longer ones. Not the ones where my butt would be hanging out haha. You are not the only one frustrated with your foot – I am too! Haha 

Docket – Good luck on the run tonight!

Tessa – Do you like peeps? Ugh, can’t stand them!  Nice morning miles today. LOL at your RN! How can you forget to take out a mouthguard?! Haha.,

Kathryn – Your miles will NOT be pathetic! Silly.

Have a great evening!

Karen, right?  At least the tank and arm warmers (bolero) I chose I can use nonetheless.  The extra layer for the start I'll bring with me.

My RR, meh:

Last Sunday, I ran the WDW Marathon.  This was supposed to be a race attempt at improving my post-knee surgery time and a good way to start 2017.  To the contrary, it ended up being a slug to the finish full of medical issues.  But still, it's Disney, so fun was had.

My last race for 2017 was the Weston Half Marathon, in which I ran a spectacular race and almost PRd.  So, the stakes for this race at Disney were high.  Especially, after the weather forecast turned to perfect.

Since Disney is semi-local, traveling is not as stressful as for other races.  We drove to Orlando on Friday afternoon and got to our Disney hotel (Port Orleans French Quarter), after dinner.  I had a horrible sleep week with me sleeping only 3-4 hours a week, so I was hoping Friday night was better.  It wasn't.  I woke up feeling run down and probably tired.  The weather was lovely for running, though, and also for walking around (the really cold weather had warmed up a bit).

After breakfast, we proceeded to the expo to pick my bib and to look around.  Managed to meet my friend Deb, so that made my day.

After the expo, we headed to the outlets to do a bit of shopping and then met my friends Alan and Mona and their respective SOs for dinner at the one of the Boardwalk hotels.

I knew going to bed earlier than usual was not going to happen, even if I was tired, so I went to bed at my standard for a 3am wake up call.

Race Day:

Woke up at 3am realizing I had slept probably 1-2 hours.  Couldn't fall asleep and woke up constantly.  Oh, well.  The feels like at that time was 36F and with a bit of wind, so I headed outside wearing my tank, arm warmers, and a thick sweat shirt I would take off at the start.  I wasn't too cold so it was perfect.

I got into one of the buses at the Port Orleans hotel and got to the athlete's village a little after 4am.  There was already a lot of traffic to get there compared to prior years, so I am glad I got on the first bus I saw rather than wait.

I met with fellow INB Alumni, Angi and later with Deb and we headed to the starting corral (Corral D).  Race started at 5:30am.

Miles 1-5:

The weather was awesome, albeit a bit breezy.  We run approximately 5-6 miles in the dark (at least from Corral D), so I was looking forward to see the castle in the dark.  The first few miles are all on the highway heading to the Magic Kingdom and, contrary to other years, I didn't see as much course entertainment as I had in the past.  In any event, I was not going to stop for pictures unless the race was going badly and at this point, it hadn't (but more of that later).  Splits: 10:14, 9:57, 10:01, 10:01, 10:05.

Miles 6-10:

After Mile 5, we entered the back of the Magic Kingdom and headed to the castle.  Although I had not started feeling bad here yet, the pictures tell their own story:

At this point in the race, I had some horrid pictures. All showed me not feeling well. These were the "best" of them.  But at this point, I still felt OK.  Until I threw up at Mile 10...  Splits: 10:14, 10:00, 10:02, 10:07, 10:59.

Miles 11-15:

After the Magic Kingdom, we head towards the water plant and head to Animal Kingdom.  I had been drinking water at all water stations but at one point I accidentally drank some horrid Nuun that I took from a volunteer in the dark.  That almost made me puke even before I puked.  The sun had come out and I felt OK, but my stomach started hating me.  At Mile 10, I stopped briefly and threw up on the side of the road.  Not surprising it was close to the water plant as that area always smells badly.  But I figured it was one and done so I continued running.  Until I entered Animal Kingdom, where I started feeling like shit and then I threw once more after the halfway mark.  Splits: 10:07, 10:09, 10:25, 12:48,10:40.

After the half way point, which I crossed at 2:16 or something like that, I walked for a while and texted my husband.  I was considering heading to the parking area and waiting for the park to open, hop on one of the buses and heading to the hotel.  But that was a good hour away.  Hubby took me off the ledge and told me to run/walk and see if I felt better. I continued on but I didn't run/walk. I just ran until I puked, and puked and ran, and puked some more.  I kept drinking water at the stations, but not sure if that helped or hurt me at that point.  I just wanted to be done.

A picture of me at the Animal Kingdom.  Don't I look like I'm having a good time?

Miles 16-20:

After the Animal Kingdom, we head once again through the highways towards the ESPN complex.  Although people hate this area of the course, I normally love it. It shows me I'm at Mile 20 and ready to head towards the end of the race.  But this year, I just didn't like any of it.  The out and back that was added in exchange for the speedway that was taken down, to the ESPN track where I met my friend Mike and we talked a bit, to the stadium where my shoes got full of debris and I had to stop to fix them. On top of that, I threw up twice in this section.  But I couldn't believe I was still going.  At this point, it would have been impossible for me to just stop and head to the hotel, which is closer to Epcot.  It was the point of keep going or wait three hours for a bus or my husband.  Splits: 12:53, 11:02, 14:47, 11:24, 13:48.

I will let you know guess which ones included throwing up (Mile 18) and the debris removal at Mile 20.

OMG, It's Almost Over:

By Mile 21, my stomach finally felt better. No more puking after this.  But I was for sure done.  Exhausted.  Hating everything.  We headed to the "hill" that characterizes army men yelling at you to continue, demanding push ups, etc., but this year it was disappointing. Only one guy was there just pushing us to the end.  No Army guy demanding pushups and taking out pictures.  This year Disney character stops were for sure disappointing. I have run this race for many years, and this was the less fun on the course.  Splits: 13:48, 14:15, 11:28, 13:15, 13:32.

At this point, I stopped a lot because for some reason, I kept getting debris in my shoe, or maybe I was just hallucinating, ha. I was also texting my husband more often so I walked during those periods.

After I crossed Mile 25, I was wondering of Mexico was open (World Showcase) to buy a margarita, like I had done last time with Mary during the Dopey Challenge.  At that point, I had stopped throwing up, so I thought it would be a good risk to do so.  And lo and behold, I saw a bystander with a margarita and I asked her if it was opened and it was!  So, I stopped, ordered a mango margarita and then proceeded to the finish line.

Boy that margarita was popular. Bystanders were jealous, fellow runners were sad they didn't get one, a cop was directing us to the finish and he said, finish and get your wine, looked at me and exclaimed, someone has a head start.  Here is the pic of that moment:

Then, I headed to the finish line chute and more people were talking about the margarita:

It was the slowest mile of the race since they took 5 minutes to make my margarita, but oh, it was worth it.  Crossing the finish line with one in hand is somewhat of a tradition:

I so wanted to race this race to see what I could do, and as you can see from the splits, I started doing it, but it was not meant to be.  I heard I wasn't the only one ill during or after the race.  Many others have mentioned they had similar issues.  Still wondering what I ate or what happened, but meh, not worrying about it anymore.  5:09:14 is still one of my fastest post surgery races, so I guess it didn't go that bad after all.

Damaris, that's hilarious. The woman behind you looks as if she was considering mugging you for your margarita.

Another reason why one should always carry some money during races. And your bib has your age on it in case they want verification!

Kat, hope you got out for some miles! 65 is great.

Managed 6.21 on the TM between conference calls and meetings. Back to the meat grinder...

5 miles,warm night. Even though it's been above freezing the past 2 days, still some ice in spots. It's pretty obvious what house have water leaks--in some cases there were 6 inches of inch by the curb.

Ginny, sorry to hear about Beau. That's so tough.

Kilmisters, hope the ankle is ok.

Anonymous Guest, we get warm temps and thunderstorms tomorrow,then back to below freezing on Sunday.

Docket, I can't believe you could finish the race after puking AND have a margarita. I don't handle puking very well.

From page 1:

Lizzie, 60s?  After single digits last week?  Weird.  I don't like to wear shorts if its raining, too much flapping around and they cling.  Capris or tights for me, although it's usually not that warm here if it's raining.  Maybe bicycle shorts length would be okay for those temps.  NO NO on the Easter candy!  Too early!

LC, if it's just me for dinner, it's hard to get motivated to prepare anything.  I'm trying to get better at that, at least do a salad.  Although if i'm being honest, cereal is one of my faves.

Judy, nice that the trails were clear for you.

CrazySue, good luck with the pre-marital counseling!  But I suspect you'll be just fine.  

Seloc, that yoga sculpt sounds like a neat class.  Profound things sort of choke me up sometimes.

Ginny, more hugs to you, DH and Beau.

Turtles, wait, from 50s to teens in one day?  How is that possible?

Kat, did you get in some miles?  The only pathetic miles are the ones you didn't do.  MTA: wait, that doesn't sound right.  Let's just go with no miles are pathetic.

Kilmisters2, sounds like the meeting was pretty positive.

Did I miss anyone?  Hope not, sort of skipped around...

On a sadder note, I left work early today to go visit a RC friend who's in hospice.  Brain cancer.  He's in good spirits, but it's so wrong and unfair to see him there.  Thought about him a lot on my run tonight.  Thought how lucky I was to see the sunset, hear the waves, and breathe that fresh air.  Important not to take things for granted, you know?   G'night all.