Run A Marathon Before You Die

I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 weeks since I ran my first marathon. Since then, I’ve taken a break from blogging and lowered my weekly mileage so I can recharge both physically and mentally. The experience however is still fresh. In fact, I could still felt a little bit of the after effects especially on my legs for several days after the race. Now that I’m ready to get back out there, I think now would be a good time to remember my first marathon experience.

I arrived at the Epcot parking lot around 4:05ish in the morning. The weather forecast was pretty accurate at a bad time. The evening low the night before was 29 F but with the windchill factored in, it felt like around 19-20ish. I brought an old blanket with me to protect me from the cold while waiting for the start. I also wore some layers of old clothing that I eventually threw away after a few miles. One thing that I will never forget about this race was how cold it really was. I remember I had to shuffle my feet around while waiting because my toes were starting to go numb.

After several minutes of waiting around in the gathering area, we were all instructed to start walking towards the starting corral. It was a good 15-20 minutes walk. I found out that Corral D, the corral I was assigned to would be the first wave to go. I still couldn’t believe that I was right behind the wheelchair and the elite runners. I remember going into the forums and a lot of people wanted to be in that first wave. I didn’t even submit any official proof of time but I guess I just got placed there by accident. The excitement grew as more people entered the corral. The music was playing and some people were dancing and jumping around. I remembered telling myself I would save all my energy for the race but I did a little bit of jumping myself just so I could feel my legs again. At this point, I couldn’t really feel my toes anymore. I remembered Jeff Galloway went up to the stage and gave some last minute tips to the runners.

I know this might sound cheesy but I got a bit emotional when the national anthem was sang. I just savored that moment, said a little prayer as the crowd cheered on “…the land of the free, and the home of the brave” part. After a few seconds, the countdown began. The fireworks started as the gun went off and I started running. I kept telling myself to start slow but it was hard especially with all the adrenaline. I was fortunate to get a glimpse of the elite runners and the guy who would eventually win the race. I watched them slowly pull away from our group.

Three minutes into my run, I had a little bit of a wardrobe malfunction. I felt my right sock slowly slip down and it kept slipping until only half of my foot was covered. So I decided to quickly pull to the side and untie my shoes to fix it. After that, I was back on track. The weather was very cold and it was still very dark. I didn’t break a sweat until mile 2. We did a couple more loops before heading out to Magic Kingdom.

The sun was starting to come up by the time I reached mile marker 9. I checked my watch and I already knew that I went out too fast. I wanted to slow down but I was feeling strong so I tried to keep my pace. A wrong decision that would eventually make me pay later on. There was a point right before we entered the Magic Kingdom where we could already see some of the elites on the opposite road which meant that they were already at the halfway point.

When I reached the half-marathon mark, my split was around 2:03 which was still too fast according to my original game plan. I stopped for a bit to send a text message to my wife to let her know that I’ve made it to the halfway point. When we reached the 15 mile mark I was still feeling great and this is where my second mistake happened. I decided I would surge for a couple of miles. After we passed the Animal Kingdom, at about mile 20. When I took a short walk break, that’s when I first felt fatigue.

By mile 21, I felt cramps on my quads which gave me a little bit of scare. I’ve never had experienced those during my training. At mile 22, my hamstrings were feeling the same thing. I had taken several walk breaks already and the distance felt like never ending. The Disney Hollywood Studios was just a blur to me. I didn’t really get to enjoy that part much because I was struggling the whole way. My legs were already lead and my pace was probably down to like 12 to 13 min/mile. I really didn’t care anymore.

What I will never forget though was my experience during the last 1.2 miles. I saw this guy hit the wall and at that time I was just about ready to walk the whole thing. I tried to motivate him and decided to walk next to him. He told me to go, so I decided to jog but then when I decided to walk again. I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was the same guy saying, “let’s go man…we can do it…you got it.” I jogged with him for most of the way. We stuck together trying to keep each other from quitting. When I saw the 26 mile marker, I tried to sprint what felt like the longest 0.2 miles ever.

Crossing the finish line was an unbelievable feeling. I can’t explain how great of a runner’s high it was. You have to experience it for yourself. My finish time was 4:30:20 but I didn’t really care much about it. At first, I thought I could’ve done better but looking back, I was really happy that I finished the race. Knowing that I accomplished all my goals for this race was enough for me. I survived. I am now in the best shape of my life. I had fun! The camaraderie between the runners and the people watching was awesome. And yes! I will do another one and will continue doing this. I’m actually thinking about which marathon will be next.

The guy I was running with earlier shook my hands and thanked me after we crossed the finish line. I thanked him back and we walked towards the exit to get our photos taken and that was the last time I’ve seen him. I never knew his name.

After 18 weeks of training, I’ve finally finished my first ever marathon. I crossed the finish line with an official time of 4:30:20. I was part of about 16000+ people that finished. The weather was so cold, my shirt and cap was covered with frost from the frozen sweat.

Like I’ve said before, I didn’t have any time goal for this race so I’m pretty happy with my finishing time. I still crossed the finish line running even though my legs were already feeling like lead. Running through all the Disney Parks and seeing the Disney characters cheering you on was indeed a fun experience. But I can’t say this race was easy for me. I faced some tough challenges too along the way.

I will post some more race details later. In the meantime, I will have to go ice my calves.

Just finishing up my bagel. It’s 2:37 AM. In a few minutes, I’ll be heading out to Epcot to the starting line. 18 weeks of training…over 126 days…it all comes down to this. This is it! The weather will be frigid! 30 F but feels like 21 F.