Mission Accomplished
OH YEAH......The Donald medal is now MINE!!!! I did it. I, Desiree, completed a half marathon with a time of 2:21 flat!
We arrived at Disney on Friday and headed to the health expo which was pretty cool. I was able to get the fuel belt that I wanted. We picked up our marathon packets and realized how big this all was! Erik and I were eager to get into our hotel room, settle down, and get ready for the pasta dinner. Disney was not able to get us into our room so I impatiently waited in the car. I finished a book while sitting there for hours with a dead cell phone and the anxiety levels increasing.
We checked in and quickly got ready for Team in Training's Pasta Party. It was so neat. We arrived at Epcot and were shuttled through the back, VIP style :) As we turned the corner there were about 100 people from TNT cheering us on, raving about how great we were, how wonderful we did with fundraising and wishing us luck. I was able to make all of that out through the cow bell ringing, the clapping and the hollering! It was overwhelming and I my eyes were definitely watering. Once inside there were hundreds of people chowing down on all you can eat pasta, protein, desserts, drinks, whatever you wanted, they had. We watched the big screens and quickly discovered, these are the people we worked so hard to run for and it was then that I understood that I was a part of something amazing! There were 2000 TNT participants in the Disney races, coming from all over the nation. We listened to a speaker from Runner's World magazine and a survivor of Lymphoma. The stories were remarkable and Erik and I left there so pumped.
Needless to say, sleep was not in my body's schedule for Friday night. I was up tossing and turning. I may have gotten 3 hours of sleep before the alarm went off and we slowly dressed from the clothes pile I made earlier on Friday :) I was so afraid of getting dehydrated so I chugged and chugged Gatorade and water making sure to stop long enough to where I wasn't going to have to "go" on the run (a huge fear). Once we arrived at the gathering location for the runners and walkers we realized that we had a good 2 hours to kill before we headed into our waves. 2 hours? What were we supposed to do for 2 hours? I went to the bathroom a few times, people slept, some danced to the live band playing and others were still arriving. Before I knew it, it was time to line up and head over to the race start.
Wow, the race start. Something I sort of expected from pictures I had seen....huge! Disney had projector screens, music, fireworks...they had it all. We counted down for the faster runners to start and off they went. I was not nervous at this point....I was in it for the long haul. At 6:10am the fireworks went off and our wave started. And started out slow it did. It was so difficult trying to break free from the herd of folks making sure you didn't get hurt, step on someone or lose your running pal. I would yell Erik's name and I'd hear, "right here babe". I was afraid to turn my head and lose my footing so I kept ahead. It was muggy and I was sweating before the mile 1 marker. Not good. At about mile 3 the crowd starting breaking apart a little bit, especially when people hit the beverage stations. Thank goodness for the fuel belt, no stopping for us :) As the sun came up I started looking out in the crowd of fans for my mom and sister. I knew they were coming but where would they be?
Bands played, people cheered, runners were panting and not pacing themselves....I felt great! What a rush! At about mile 5 we entered the Magic Kingdom and as I turned the corner I saw Cinderella's castle. So cool! It seemed so much smaller than I remembered as a child. We ran right down main street, kids putting out their hands for a high five, people yelling, "Go Team" and cameras flashing. Erik and I ran out of the castle together hoping to capture the lens of one of the 3 photographers.....we better have :)
At about mile 9 I lost Erik. I later found out that he hurt his knee which set him back but I couldn't stop. At mile 10 I called Lisa and I knew she was the one that could carry me to the end. I freaked her out calling from Erik's phone and I was on the verge of tears....fearing that I wouldn't make it to the end. I remembered how exhuasted my body was after 11 miles and I was praying that my mind would fight the fatigue. I caught a glimpse of mile marker 11 and realized that it was at the top of an overpass we were having to "climb". Once we cleared mile 11, there was another overpass on our way into Epcot.....pretty tough putting 2 overpasses within the last 3.1 miles of your race....wow!
I heard a volunteer say, "Mile 12" ahhhhh. I'm almost there. We headed into Epcot and that's when the cheering got out of control. You could feel it and yes, I am positive it wasn't my heart jumping out of my chest :) We rounded the Christmas tree and I'm wondering at what point do I finish, I'm sooooo close. So close indeed! Another volunteer shouted, "3 tenths of a mile to go". Holy canolie! I rounded another corner, cheers got louder, I could see the Finish Line....YES I COULD SEE THE FINISH!!! Then I heard the best words ever, "GO RAE"! Mom and Chrissy were there with Team Fenniman shirts on, signs, and horns. My mom's face was plastered against the fence yelling for me. I turned and saw them and at that point I was so proud and happy that they were there, there for Erik and I. I crossed the finish line and waited for Erik, not knowing he was 16 minutes behind because of his knee. I got worried, chugged water and Powerade (which by the way sucks...Gatorade is sooo much better). Once I saw Erik my nerves settled and I could feel the pain in my body. My knees and back were rejecting everything they had done. Their way of saying, "hey girl you did it, we did it, and we'll do it again!"
Fred Lebow (former president of the NYC marathon) once said, "In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that"
How true that is! Afterward we took pictures, gobbled down food and walked away from the event. I am so sad it's over but can't wait to run with Lisa in Jacksonville, power walk with my mom in Orlando for the Minnie Marathon, and plan to train with Erik for our next race.
A great thing has happened to me and when I decide exactly what that is I'll let you know!!!
Thanks to ALL of you that supported us with money towards a cure, prayers, and encouraging words. Thanks to my "peeps" for our Sundays and I hope for more. I feel like Carrie Bradshaw signing off on the last episode of Sex in the City....the only difference is, I'll be back!!!
Now I can really say that I am a Runner! HA!!
We arrived at Disney on Friday and headed to the health expo which was pretty cool. I was able to get the fuel belt that I wanted. We picked up our marathon packets and realized how big this all was! Erik and I were eager to get into our hotel room, settle down, and get ready for the pasta dinner. Disney was not able to get us into our room so I impatiently waited in the car. I finished a book while sitting there for hours with a dead cell phone and the anxiety levels increasing.
We checked in and quickly got ready for Team in Training's Pasta Party. It was so neat. We arrived at Epcot and were shuttled through the back, VIP style :) As we turned the corner there were about 100 people from TNT cheering us on, raving about how great we were, how wonderful we did with fundraising and wishing us luck. I was able to make all of that out through the cow bell ringing, the clapping and the hollering! It was overwhelming and I my eyes were definitely watering. Once inside there were hundreds of people chowing down on all you can eat pasta, protein, desserts, drinks, whatever you wanted, they had. We watched the big screens and quickly discovered, these are the people we worked so hard to run for and it was then that I understood that I was a part of something amazing! There were 2000 TNT participants in the Disney races, coming from all over the nation. We listened to a speaker from Runner's World magazine and a survivor of Lymphoma. The stories were remarkable and Erik and I left there so pumped.
Needless to say, sleep was not in my body's schedule for Friday night. I was up tossing and turning. I may have gotten 3 hours of sleep before the alarm went off and we slowly dressed from the clothes pile I made earlier on Friday :) I was so afraid of getting dehydrated so I chugged and chugged Gatorade and water making sure to stop long enough to where I wasn't going to have to "go" on the run (a huge fear). Once we arrived at the gathering location for the runners and walkers we realized that we had a good 2 hours to kill before we headed into our waves. 2 hours? What were we supposed to do for 2 hours? I went to the bathroom a few times, people slept, some danced to the live band playing and others were still arriving. Before I knew it, it was time to line up and head over to the race start.
Wow, the race start. Something I sort of expected from pictures I had seen....huge! Disney had projector screens, music, fireworks...they had it all. We counted down for the faster runners to start and off they went. I was not nervous at this point....I was in it for the long haul. At 6:10am the fireworks went off and our wave started. And started out slow it did. It was so difficult trying to break free from the herd of folks making sure you didn't get hurt, step on someone or lose your running pal. I would yell Erik's name and I'd hear, "right here babe". I was afraid to turn my head and lose my footing so I kept ahead. It was muggy and I was sweating before the mile 1 marker. Not good. At about mile 3 the crowd starting breaking apart a little bit, especially when people hit the beverage stations. Thank goodness for the fuel belt, no stopping for us :) As the sun came up I started looking out in the crowd of fans for my mom and sister. I knew they were coming but where would they be?
Bands played, people cheered, runners were panting and not pacing themselves....I felt great! What a rush! At about mile 5 we entered the Magic Kingdom and as I turned the corner I saw Cinderella's castle. So cool! It seemed so much smaller than I remembered as a child. We ran right down main street, kids putting out their hands for a high five, people yelling, "Go Team" and cameras flashing. Erik and I ran out of the castle together hoping to capture the lens of one of the 3 photographers.....we better have :)
At about mile 9 I lost Erik. I later found out that he hurt his knee which set him back but I couldn't stop. At mile 10 I called Lisa and I knew she was the one that could carry me to the end. I freaked her out calling from Erik's phone and I was on the verge of tears....fearing that I wouldn't make it to the end. I remembered how exhuasted my body was after 11 miles and I was praying that my mind would fight the fatigue. I caught a glimpse of mile marker 11 and realized that it was at the top of an overpass we were having to "climb". Once we cleared mile 11, there was another overpass on our way into Epcot.....pretty tough putting 2 overpasses within the last 3.1 miles of your race....wow!
I heard a volunteer say, "Mile 12" ahhhhh. I'm almost there. We headed into Epcot and that's when the cheering got out of control. You could feel it and yes, I am positive it wasn't my heart jumping out of my chest :) We rounded the Christmas tree and I'm wondering at what point do I finish, I'm sooooo close. So close indeed! Another volunteer shouted, "3 tenths of a mile to go". Holy canolie! I rounded another corner, cheers got louder, I could see the Finish Line....YES I COULD SEE THE FINISH!!! Then I heard the best words ever, "GO RAE"! Mom and Chrissy were there with Team Fenniman shirts on, signs, and horns. My mom's face was plastered against the fence yelling for me. I turned and saw them and at that point I was so proud and happy that they were there, there for Erik and I. I crossed the finish line and waited for Erik, not knowing he was 16 minutes behind because of his knee. I got worried, chugged water and Powerade (which by the way sucks...Gatorade is sooo much better). Once I saw Erik my nerves settled and I could feel the pain in my body. My knees and back were rejecting everything they had done. Their way of saying, "hey girl you did it, we did it, and we'll do it again!"
Fred Lebow (former president of the NYC marathon) once said, "In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that"
How true that is! Afterward we took pictures, gobbled down food and walked away from the event. I am so sad it's over but can't wait to run with Lisa in Jacksonville, power walk with my mom in Orlando for the Minnie Marathon, and plan to train with Erik for our next race.
A great thing has happened to me and when I decide exactly what that is I'll let you know!!!
Thanks to ALL of you that supported us with money towards a cure, prayers, and encouraging words. Thanks to my "peeps" for our Sundays and I hope for more. I feel like Carrie Bradshaw signing off on the last episode of Sex in the City....the only difference is, I'll be back!!!
Now I can really say that I am a Runner! HA!!
posted by Desiree | 5:47 PM
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