I knew the night before the full that getting up was going to be hard to do on race morning.  I had just run a half marathon the day before and tried not to spend much time resting during the day because I wanted to make sure the legs didn’t get tight.  When the alarm went off on Sunday morning at 2 AM I had to fight the urge to roll back over and go back to sleep. 

Once we got rolling I woke right up.  The wind outside was enough to cut right through you which kept you on your toes.  Margaret, Mike and I piled into the minivan and drove over to Port Orleans Riverside to pick up Jen and Dave to head to the start.  When we got there Dave hopped out of the car and headed over to his Race Retreat.  This was one of those years where it really paid off to have it.  We stayed in the car longer this morning trying our best to stay warm as long as we could. 

We got out of the car to make a stop at the “H” tent again before heading to the start line.  Jen checked her bag and we headed over to the start line this time with enough time to hear the entire National Anthem.  At this point time seemed to start flying.  We made our trip around the outside of EPCOT and then up the promenade.  Because of crowds we seemed to spend most of our time around the outside of the circle which I knew was going to come back to bite us later on distance wise.   Before mile 5 we were already over 1/4 mile off from the mile markers.

We left EPCOT and made our way towards the Magic Kingdom.  At the TTC we saw Andi and Margaret’s paretns.  As we approached the Contemporary I saw my aunt, uncle, and cousins all out to cheer me on.  We then turned and went down Main Street.  The ROTEr Rooters group was much smaller this time, but they were still there.  Compared to previous years the crowds were much smaller because of the cold.  People didn’t hang around to cheer after their own runners left.  As we rounded our way out of the Magic Kingdom the course narrowed and it was difficult to run without a lot of zig zagging.  This is about where we found Roger and started leap frogging with him for a very long time. 

We soon saw Andi and Margaret’s parents again as we neared the Polynesian.  Then we were approaching the water stop my parent’s were at.  I tried to look strong running through so that Mom wouldn’t worry.  I didn’t need to act much because I really did feel surprisingly good.  Seeing the ROTE water stop was a big adrenaline rush as we entered a boring part of the race.  

I was still feeling good.  Almost too good.  It was making me nervous.  We wound our way through the Animal Kingdom and then out onto the toughest part of the course.  Miles 18-23 are on the highway with a 1/2 mile out and back in the middle.  As we were doing the out and back I looked for runners from ROTE and WISH to cheer them on.  I was wearing a green shirt with an oval on the front like a bumper sticker with a 39.3 on it which was a gift from my friend Jen.  It certainly helped at this point as I was getting comments from the people running towards us on my shirt. 

As we exited the out and back we passed the are where Mr. Dave had told me to throw my water belt two years ago.  Knowing how different I felt this day brought a smile to my face that I was having a hard time getting rid of.  Before we knew it we were entering MGM and the final stretch of the race.  As we ran through I saw my friend Scot leaving to Commissary and yelled to him.  When we exited WISH was there handing out pretzels and twizzlers.  I grabbed a couple pretzels from Tracy before heading off to EPCOT for the finish. 

We were all getting quiet at this point as different aches and pains started to set in.  My legs still felt strong but the bottoms of my feet were really starting to ache.  Margaret was having trouble with the side of her foot and Jen was having a problem with her KT-Tape rolling up on her.  I glanced down at my watch as we were nearing Mexico and got a lump in my throat as I saw that we were at 6:59 minutes already.  We had been staying well on pace until we entered MGM I think but I just neglected to watch my watch after that.  I declared the next walk break as our last and then we ran in for home.  As we came down the home stretch we saw ROTErs cheering us on.   Andi, my Mom and Dad were screaming for us as we headed for the finish line.  We did it!  I finished Goofy and my running partners, Margaret and Jen, finished their first Full marathons!

I grabbed some water and powerade and then made my way for the Goofy tent to get my third medal.  It was put around my neck.  As I left the area I saw Roger standing there wearing his and congratulated him.  Then I found my girls as the food tent.  We made our way back to the “H” tent which had benches underneath it this year instead of a table and a couple chairs.  I sat down and enjoyed the release of not having weight on my feet. 

Mom and Dad made their way towards us and Mom wrapped me in a blanket.  Once we were all present and accounted for we made our way to the car to head  back to Port Orleans Riverside where I had a scheduled massage.  The therapist really worked on my feet and by the time she was done I was walking normally again.

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