I still finished in just under 3 1/2 hours. I lucked out and ran/walked the first 7 miles with a pacer--a team of two people who keep you on pace to finish in a certain amount of time. This pacer was doing a 3 hour 15 min finish, which consisted of 15 seconds of running and 30 seconds of walking, equaling about 14 min/mile.
Around mile 6.5 you hit the Magic Kingdom and it gets really congested and hard to stay together. So I had a hard time keeping up with the pacer (she held a sign so I could keep her in my sights, and she would yell "run" and "walk" when it was time to switch intervals). I had to run for half the walk breaks to catch up, weaving through people. And by mile 7, I was out of gas and was done with the pacer.
So for miles 8, 9, and 10 I ran/walked my own intervals, which were around a 15 min/mile pace. Then I walked the rest of the race. My last mile was slow--19 min. I was cooked.
But I never saw a Balloon Lady--those dreaded women carrying balloons who maintain the 16 min/mile minimum you have to maintain in order not to be swept from the course. I started in the 2nd from the last corral, so I had an additional 6-10 min cushion. Plus the fastish miles of the first 7 miles. And I knew I'd be ok if I walked the last 3 without killing myself.
No blisters, no knee pain, no damage. Normal soreness which I'd have had even if I'd trained. I am beyond lucky that my body still cooperates with me. Especially at my age and at my weight (174--the heaviest I've ever done a half).
We rested and got ready after the race for about 2 hours, then went back out to the Parks. Had dinner at 9:45pm at O'Hanna's at the Polynesian. Got back to the hotel at 12:30 am. I was up for over 20 hours (woke up at 2:15am to catch a 3:15 bus for the 5:30 start).
We walked another 8-9 miles in the parks that day. Walk=hobbled. But it worked out the lactic acid and Monday was better soreness-wise and Tuesday was even better.
It was a great trip. These are four of my oldest and closest friends that I never get to spend time with. It never rained; we had sunshine and warmth every day.
Mark and the kids did fine while I was gone. I of course had everything "idiot proofed" for Mark--left him 5 pages of notes and had the kids lunches pre-packed in lunch sacks. He still had a new appreciation for how much work it is to get the kids ready in the morning and at night. I am glad to be home with them all again. 6 days is a long time to be away.
I am back to being abstinent. I am on day 16. I am doing an intensive 12 step workshop with my friend Amy (she's in the black t-shirt beside me in the pic) through a workbook. I've done steps 1-3. Now starting step 4. That's where I got stuck last time. So this will be new territory. I'll keep you posted.
