Dopey Challenge--13.1 magical miles--The half

Controlling the controllables--Managing the cold

I finally figured out the cold by the time I got to the half marathon. Dialed it in! In addition to all the other layers, I used mylar blankets that I picked up at the end of the previous day's race to wrap around my lower half. Then I had a trash bag on my top half over my other layers. And I started to feel like, "I've got this!"

I met a woman on the bus from the hotel to the race start who was running her first half marathon, and she was so nervous and excited that her energy was infectious. She had no clue what to expect, so she decided to follow me and let me guide her to the start. I loved it. 

But then we got to the starting area, and I discovered that they had moved the start line. A long ways away. So a lot of what I had learned about race logistics from the previous two days was moot. I no longer knew where the best porta john stop was. On 10K morning, I found the perfect place to sit outside of the corrals to hide from the wind AND be comfortable on a sand bag, and that wouldn't work. Ahhhh, well. 

I read a lot about the races ahead of time, and many people wrote about the long walk to the race start from the buses. A half a mile! (some people said). On the 5k and 10k days, there was a little bit of a walk from the buses to the corrals, but it certainly wasn't a half mile. It never occurred to me (dope!) that they would move the start line. So all those people who wrote about the long walk to the race start from the buses? They weren't kidding. After getting to the 5k/10k start area and realizing that we weren't starting there again, I had to start to come up with a new game plan. When to hit the porta-potties again? (The layers and layers I had on made any port-potty stop an adventure.) Walk to the start line and get into the corrals early? I'm realizing as I write this just how much of my morning race plan centers around timing porta-potty stops. 

Seen Toy Story? One of the plastic soldiers is there to taunt you at the start line.

Found the new start line--that's not it under my head, though.

I walked to the start. I wished my new friend well when we got there a half mile later--she was headed to one of the "party corrals"--corral G, and I was headed to corral E. Corral G is the last (or second-to-last) corral to be released on race morning, and it's for the people who don't enter a race time to get seeded in the early corrals. That means that there is a mix of runners there--fast and slow, partiers and... well, I don't know what the other word is. But it's a fun spot to start (except it means that they have to wait even longer to start running, and that's rough on a cold morning!)

By day 3 of Dopey, I was finally dressed warmly enough to not have to dance around through the wait in the corrals to stay comfortable, so I decided to relax. And that's how I ended up with that picture of me laying on the road waiting for a half marathon to start.

The half heads out to the MK and back

The route of the half puts Dopey runners in new territory. While we do start at Epcot, the run is primarily about getting to the Magic Kingdom and back. That was exciting. Race plan for the half was the same as the others--run slowly and save my legs for the full marathon on Sunday morning. 

The road to the Magic Kingdom was dark, and I am not speaking metaphorically. It was actually dark. And there wasn't much entertainment. But it was easy to get into "easy run" mode and just go with the crowd. If I were to do the races again, I might think about having some sort of light on my shoes for those back roads, though. There were a number of uneven surfaces, and I saw more than one person who was tripped up out there by something on the road. 

I knew we were getting closer to MK when I came up on Mickey in the form of a hot air balloon in the middle of the road. Surreal. 

And then I teared up a little bit and had to stop for a selfie at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. The iconic gateway is even more special when you run through it in the early morning hours. 

And a closer view of the gate without the selfie...

Trying to capture the gateway without tripping or slowing down too much. 

And there is really nothing like running up Main Street USA towards the castle while cheering crowds high-five you. Serious happiness!

Heading towards the castle

Coming back around and through the castle.

The finish of the half is at Epcot again, but we only run up and around the fountain and Spaceship Earth and then head back out to the finish line. 

Not my best pictures, but hey... I finished, and I apparently wanted to document that each and every time. 

Each day you run at Disney, you learn something new for the next day. That was certainly true during the half. So lessons from the half:

1. Bring your sunglasses. The 5k and 10k happened almost entirely in the dark, so I didn't think to pack my sunglasses for the half. And because it was so cold and dark in the morning, I had a beanie on in the morning instead of a ball cap. So once that sun came out, I had nothing to protect my eyes. Squinting=extra layer of fatigue. 

2. Make a nutrition plan, and don't rely on Disney nutrition. 1)You can't eat at 3:00 when you wake up and expect that to hold you through a 5:30 start time. 2) A peanut butter sandwich in the corrals at 4:30 is a great start, but it still won't be enough. 3) Whatever your plan is for nutrition, add more calories to it because your metabolism from the two previous days will be in high gear, and you will be hungry. 4) Oreos at mile 9 of the half marathon will work in a pinch. 

           All that being said, the folks I talked to before the race told me that there would be plenty of food on the course. People told me that there would be food out there that wasn't even on the race guide: gu, sports beans, power-aide, bananas, candy. I thought long and hard about whether or not I wanted to carry my own nutrition--one of the benefits of doing a race series like this is that it's a catered long run! The reality of race day was different from what I had heard, though, and I was glad I had my own nutrition with me.

          Each morning, I packed a ziploc baggie with a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of water. For the half marathon, I also threw in some peanut butter crackers. And at 4:30, I ate that breakfast in the corrals. For the half marathon, I also decided to wear my Nathan Intensity Race Vest and load it up with water even though there ARE plenty of water stops on Disney's courses. I wanted to be able to drink whenever it fit into my plan, so I decided to carry my own. I also had a couple of these Nathan bottles  filled with my favorite nutrition for long distances--UCAN in Cocoa Delite. I usually plan on one bottle of UCAN for about five miles of running, so I planned to drink two for the half marathon and then supplement with either stuff from the course or salted caramel Gu that I had with me. 

          There was NOT any Gu out on the course (unless I ran past it and didn't see it). And there were Sports Beans on the course, but I won't take those during a race. I used them during both Ironman-distance races and I ended up with horrible stomach cramps. The Sports Beans may not have been at fault, but I wasn't going to take any chances. 

          I drank all my UCAN by mile 8. I supplemented with a Gu packet. But I hit mile marker 9, and my stomach was growling. GROWLING. I reached in my pack to find something else to eat, and I found only Oreos from the RunDisney box I had been given the day before. All good! I'd eat anything. I did get a couple of looks from other runners on the course as I was munching on some cookies, but they may have been looks of envy. That pile of sugar hit the spot. And I knew then that I'd need to come up with a better plan for the marathon. 

Oh, and I almost forgot! Each day at the end of the races, Mickey, Minnie, Dopey, and Goofy were there for pictures. I decided to get my picture taken with Dopey after the half. (I wasn't sure I would get there in time to see him after the full or that I would feel like doing it.) I kept thinking, "I'm coming for you, Dopey!" It didn't seem right to act like I was going to punch him, though...