Preface:
Before I get into the actual race report, I feel like I need to recap the prior 18 months or so of what I'd been training for.
April 2015 - Had a minor medical procedure done that had me on the bench for a couple weeks. To mark my comeback, I raced the Louisiana Triathlon 15 days post-op. It wasn't a particularly fast race as I'd only been in the water a couple times prior and on my bike once, but it was fun and felt good to be back out competing. In the week following the race, I started a focused training plan for...
September 2015 - Ironman Augusta 70.3. This was my 2015 'A' race, and what I spent the summer of 2015 training for. Raceday went well despite the wind on the bike course and a bit of cramping on the run. After Augusta, I took off a week and started a focused training plan for...
February 2016 - Rock N Roll Marathon New Orleans. My goal was to break 3:30, but I blew up bad at mile 24, where the course turned onto Wisner Blvd. Still, I PR'ed by 5 minutes with a 3:33:02. The day after the race started my 30 week training plan for...
September 2016 - Ironman Chattanooga. It was HOT. Like 97 degrees and humid hot. But I finished, upright, smiling, and was able to skip the medical tent. All in all, a good day.
By this point, however, I was fried mentally. I was supposed to jump right into my marathon plan for WDW, but I had to take off about 3 weeks just to get my brain and body reset.
Training:
I started my training for WDW 11 weeks before the race by jumping into a training plan by Joe Friel that I found on Training Peaks. However, after about 4 weeks of that plan, I wasn't seeing any real improvement. So I defaulted back to Hal Higdon's Advanced 2 plan that I used for my last marathon. I did take an extra rest day each week in lieu of one of the easy runs, and I missed one of the three 20 mile runs due to a trip to Arizona for a conference for work. But by the time the biggest weeks of the plan rolled around, I was hitting my goals for pace on race pace runs and tempo runs. Weather forced me onto a treadmill (dreadmill) for my two remaining 20 mile runs, which SUCKED. By the time my taper started, I felt ready for 26.2 Magical Miles through the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Goals:
My goals weren't set in stone, as weather can be so screwy in Florida in January. If conditions were ideal, I was going to target a 3:40-3:45 race. If not, I was going to take advantage of my C corral placement to take character pics on the whole course.
Race Weekend:
We (The wife, kidlet, and me) loaded up on Thursday at O-Dark-Thirty to get on our plane to Orlando from NOLA. Preliminary weather reports looked like there would be rain on Saturday, giving way to a clear 40-45 degree morning and 55 degree temperature about the time I'd finish. That's about as perfect a day for marathoning as I can imagine. For raceday, I packed shorts, a singlet, arm warmers, and a throwaway sweatshirt to wear in the corral before the start.
Friday morning, we hit the race expo to get our bibs and so Brynn could run the Mickey Mile. There was some chatter about some really bad weather coming through Friday night and RunDisney was watching it because of Saturday's Half Marathon. Shellie was nervous as she was registered for the 13.1, but there wasn't anything we could do about it.
Brynn ran well in the Mile, not far off of her PR in Cross Country. And got what might be her funniest race photo yet:
Friday night while at dinner at the Kona Cafe', we got the email that Saturday's Half Marathon was cancelled due to the impending thunderstorms. Shellie was bummed, and I was bummed for her. She trained all summer and fall for the race and was excited to race a RunDisney race. After we got news of the cancellation, I made the Executive Decision that all three of us were going back to Magic Kingdom and closing down the park.
I woke up about 5:45 or so Saturday morning and the lightning was putting on a show. RunDisney definitely made the correct call, as much as it pains me to say it.
We eventually got up and headed to Epcot, and while there, the temperature was falling off of a cliff. It was around 70 when we arrived, low 60s when we ate lunch, and when the sun set, mid 40s. And the winds were picking up. After dinner with our friends at Via Napoli, we cut the evening early and headed back to our hotel. It was time to sleep because Sunday was race day.
Race Day:
I woke up Sunday at 3AM (worst part of RunDisney races are the God-Awful early start times) to eat breakfast, drink some coffee and get ready. I checked the weather and according to my phone it was 35 degrees with a north wind of 18MPH. That's a wind chill of 24 degrees. In Florida. ACK!
Because of the forecasts before we left, I didn't pack any cold weather running gear. I improvised with a pair of my wife's fleece lined tights, and two pairs of gloves, but I really wanted my tights and long sleeve shirt. Brrr...
I got to the parking lot at Epcot and tried to find somewhere I wouldn't freeze to death before we made the long walk to the corrals. I met up with Alex from AP Racing for a few minutes before finding Justin just before we began walking to the corrals.
Finally, at 5:42, the fireworks for Corral C went off and my 2017 WDW Marathon was under way!
And I was cold. Very cold. To make things worse, at about the 1 mile mark, the course turns on to World Drive headed north to the Magic Kingdom, right into that brutal cold wind. I looked ahead and saw a photo stop with Jack Sparrow and decided I wasn't chasing time. Instead, I'd spend the next four or so hours enjoying Disney. I stopped at that picture stop, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one....
Between each stop, I was running about an 8:30-8:45 pace. But I'd lose a minute or two for each picture. And every time I'd think I wanted to lose the sweatshirt, I'd unzip it, feel the cold, and zip it right back up.
The course enters Magic Kingdom just past the 5 mile mark, and heads up a very crowded (with spectators) and narrow Main Street before circling through the back of the park and exiting by Frontierland. The highlight is running through the Cinderella's castle (which was still decorated with lights for Christmas). If someone has run the WDW Marathon, they've probably posted a similar picture on Facebook or Instagram.
Leaving MK, the course goes out between the Grand Floridian Hotel and the golf course, through the back roads by the water treatment facility, and into a back gate of Animal Kingdom. The stretch between MK and AK is probably the least interesting part of the course, unless someone is really fascinated by Disney irrigation. There's just not much to see there, no matter how many signs they post trying to make it interesting.
Right after mile 9, my legs were getting warm, so I ducked into a Porta-John, and lost the tights. Again, I tried to ditch the sweatshirt, but it wasn't happening.
The halfway point of the course is in Animal Kingdom, right at the gate for Expedition Everest. Unfortunately, they weren't running it as it was only around 7:45 and the park opened at 9AM. Otherwise I would have hopped on for a quick encounter with the Yeti.
The second half of the course is more visually interesting with trips through Disney's Wide World of Sports and a lap of both the track and the baseball field, Hollywood Studios near the Tower of Terror, a run through the Boardwalk area, and a pass through Epcot's World Showcase on the way to the finish. At this point, I'd settled into a really comfortable groove and got to that "I could run forever" point in my mind. I stopped for character pictures, walked the aid stations, clowned around with volunteers, and was truly enjoying simply running. I again tried to lose the sweatshirt coming out of WWOS around Mile 21, but it was still too cold. Grrr...
I finally hit the 26 mile point right where the course exits Epcot into the parking lot and instead of being relieved, I felt like I do when a roller coaster ends. I knew it had to end at some point, but I was ready to run an even 30 miles, especially at WDW. I got to the finish line, high-fived Minnie Mouse, and crossed at 4:23:03, only 50 minutes slower than my marathon PR. Didn't care though, as I had an absolute blast running that race. 
After the race, I collected my finisher's medal, a bottle of Powerade, a space blanket, and took a couple more character pictures. Because of the cold, I suggested Shellie and Brynn skip the finish line and I'd meet them at Magic Kingdom after I ate and cleaned up. I then headed to my bus back to my hotel.Postrace:
I grabbed some food at the hotel, cleaned up, got my legs back under me, and like every good Disney tourist, headed out to the Magic Kingdom wearing my finisher's shirt and medal. Since I didn't run hard, I was able to enjoy the rest of the day with the Wife and Kidlet riding rides, seeing shows (including the Hall of Presidents because they have really comfortable chairs), and just enjoying some time with the family. That night, we had dinner at Sanaa in Animal Kingdom Villas before the eyelids got too heavy to hold up.
I was sore the following day, but not cripplingly so. We spent a half a day at the Animal Kingdom before boarding the bus to the airport and coming home.
About the half-marathon... Shellie had 4 options:
1. Refund in the form of a Disney gift card. But she would have had to forego the day at Epcot to go stand in line to get the card.
2. Two one-day Park Hopper tickets. Meh.
3. Defer registration to another Disney Half Marathon in the next two years.
4. Run the Marathon.
I pushed for her to run the Marathon. She's not nearly as dumb as I am when it comes to endurance sport stuff, so she will defer her registration to another race. Which means we'll be making yet another trip to RunDisney. Except maybe next time I'll be spectating.
