Sweat and blisters and Vaseline, oh my!

I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Waikiki finally writing about the race. Thank god for photos because I can barely remember it. Maybe running a marathon is like having a baby. If people remembered the pain, they'd never do it again.

I do remember it was freaking hot and humid. The first 2 hours before the sun came up were the fastest and easiest. I ran, slowly, for the first half. Combined running and walking after that. And pretty much walked the entire last 6 miles in the thick 85 degree heat. Each time I tried to run, I felt like passing out or throwing up.

Because of the sign on my back ("It's my 1st Marathon and my 42nd Birthday TODAY!!!") I had hundreds of friends along the way. So many "Happy Birthdays!" from people passing me (many of whom I passed later on!) A few of my "single-serving friends," as Tyler Durden would call them, ran along with me for part of the way and chatted. A grandfather from Pittsburgh whon looked like a character in "Easy Rider." A 20-something from Wisconsin whose parents had signed her up to take her mind off her imminent wedding. A guy with a 5:30 Goal sign on his back who, like me, was falling further and further behind his target pace.

I remember wanting to stop soooo bad at one point and also wanting to cry because there was no way I was going to stop. Ellen called me around the 22-mile point to find out my progress and all I could say was, "It hurts!"

Still, I noticed that no matter how much I hurt and wanted to quit, the smile never left my face! Talk about your cognitive dissonance. the 2 thoughts, "I hate this!" and "I'm doing it, oh yeah!" jostled together in my brain all the way to the finish.

Notice, I haven't said anything about Disney World itself. What's to say? It was Disney World. It was cheesier than I remembered. The last time I was there, I was seventeen and concerned with looking good for boys and not losing my retainer. This time, I'm 25 pounds heavier, red and sweaty and slathering on vaseline at every opportunity (there were vaseline stations all along the way to prevent "chub rub") and feeling sexier than I ever have in my life! Yeah Ellen, I AM bringing sexy back!

As I neared the finish line, I saw the spectators in the bleachers cheering, I forgot all about the pain and the heat. Adrenaline kicked in, and I took off, running toward the finish line and looking for my sisters. Such relief and excitement, if not actual joy, I have never felt before. As I crossed the finish line, I saw Ellen and Fran. They were crying and hugging each other and holding up their sign. It was a sister bonding moment like no other!

Fran and Ellen put a "Princess For The Day" crown on my head and helped me to the car as I talked to Michael on my cell phone. And they really did let me be Princess for the Day, although I think they got some secret pleasure at my screams as Fran poured 2 garbage cans full of ice on my swollen legs.



After the ice bath, Fran massaged my legs for 2 hours!


I felt so good afterwards, I dragged them out to see "Dream Girls" with me (my third time) and then to Pleasure Island where we danced until the clubs closed at 2am! Forget Justin Timberlake! WE BROUGHT SEXY BACK, BABY! It was lost and now it's found. (You may not have noticed it was gone, but WE will never be the same again!)

The Best Birthday Ever!!!

I'm going to write all about the marathon and post pictures when I'm not crazily trying to catch up on work before flying off again to Hawaii. For now, I'll just say, it was the best birthday I've ever had even though I was in pain for A LOT of it. Here's a photo of me celebrating with my sisters at 2am that night, which really says it all:

RUN Alert

ELIZABETH TERRY, 06:09:44@Finish, Pace 14:06.
WALT DISNEY WORLD(R) Marathon - Disney Destinations LLC.

RUN Alert

ELIZABETH TERRY, 04:35:42@20 Mile, Pace 13:47.
WALT DISNEY WORLD(R) Marathon - Disney Destinations LLC.

RUN Alert

ELIZABETH TERRY, 03:00:23@Half, Pace 13:45.
WALT DISNEY WORLD(R) Marathon - Disney Destinations LLC.

RUN Alert

ELIZABETH TERRY, 02:17:58@10 Mile, Pace 13:47.
WALT DISNEY WORLD(R) Marathon - Disney Destinations LLC.

Rule #1: Get in the Porta-Potty line as often as possible

We drove to Epcot and only had to turn around once. (Have I mentioned how #$%&*@ confusing the highways are here?)

Ellen and Fran helped with last minute preparations and showed the first of 3 signs they made to cheer me on!

Then, as John Bingham advises, I got in the porta-potty line again and again until it was time to line up. I need to stay hydrated, but any fluid in my bladder is just going to cause trouble.

Here are a couple of camera-phone videos before the start of the race. During the race, I forgot all about taking pictures, as I was too preoccupied with SURVIVING!

The race before the race

It's 3:52 am and Beth's been up since 3:04. Apperently there was a wake up call to the room but I (Ellen ) didn't hear it. Beth seems to be doing well, eating her oatmeal, mixing her electolite drink and pinning her race number to her chest. She's definitely amped up and excited. Things got a little tense last night at times so we know she's feelin it.

Happy 42nd Birthday and 1st Marathon Big Sister!!! We love you!

Fran ate all my #$@%&*!%#$ cupcakes!

This morning, there are big chunky crumbs all over th carpet, making it sticky again, and a hole in the box the size of her big mouth! It's to be expected, as we were all raised by the wolves who are currently partying hard with a bunch of Micronesians on their floor in Hawaii.


Yeah, we were up until 5am. It was the war of the iPods. Who had the best, weirdest, or just plain wrongest (yes, that's a word today) music.




Of course, the lightbulb burned out as soon as they got here, and since this room is a FREAKING CAVE, it was just like any club in San Francisco. Except for the mosquitoes and humidity.

Fran gave us Restoril to calm us down, but none of us could get sleepy. So Ellen took more, and I took a couple of Valium, and finally, we fell asleep and slept until 2:30pm. It was an awesome nights, I mean morning's, sleep except for the housekeeper who knocked on the door every 1/2 hour to ask if we needed cleaning. Naturally, this place has no "Do Not Disturb" sign to put on the door, and we were too drugged to get up and make one.

Okay, gotta go. We are finally dressed and ready to leave for "Cirque du Soleil" at 6pm.









I LOVE MY WACKY SISTERS!!!!!

(Fran's a brick house.)

I'm Here! In Orlando! For the Walt Disney World Marathon!

I'm happy. I'm peeved. I'm so excited I could throw up and also so irritated I could throw my laptop through Quality Suites Maingate East's windows and break all of them.

I'm sitting by the hotel pool getting eaten by mosquitoes as I write, as it's the only place in the complex I can get decent wireless internet reception. (And yes, Dad, I'm using Roboform so no one can steal my passwords.) The advertised Internet Cafe just off the main lobby does not exist. Nor do sunlight in my room or clean carpets. Well, okay, the carpet is clean today. They must have sent someone to clean it after I complained about my feet sticking to it last night. Now, it's just wet.

But I'm here! I can't show you any pictures at the moment because my laptop suddenly doesn't want to read my camera card. But I will find a way tomorrow.

(Okay, it's a few days later. Here are photos of the hotel.)

It's 9:43pm Eastern Time. In just over 2 hours Ellen and Fran will be joining me. I called Ellen today. She was already in a bad mood over something that happened at school. We are off to a great start.

Okay, honestly, we ARE off to a great start. I'd been freaking out for 2 weeks about the weather as I watched the forecasted temperature in Orlando go up, up, and away for Sunday, January 7th. It's hot and humid and kind of stinky here. But my attitude changed this afternoon at the Marathon Expo as I listened to a talk by my hero John Bingham, aka The Penguin, and his wife, Coach Jenny Hadfield, the authors of the book, Marathoning for Mortals upon which I based my training plan.

The title of Bingham's talk was "No Need For Speed." He's a big advocate for the slower runners among us. (His catch-phrase is "Waddle on, friends.") First he asked, "How many of you have a time goal?" A couple of people raised their hands. He responded, "Are you nuts? You paid all this money and went through all this training to come to Disney World, and now you want to get through it as fast as you can? Most people who visit Disney World want to stay all day!" He had a point.

Coach Jenny talked about the the unseasonably high heat and advised as to slow down and drink plenty of fluids so as not to become severely dehydrated and die. She also advised us to eat some salt right before the race and around the 18-mile mark so as not to develop hyponatremia and die.

Afterwards, they stayed to chat with people and sign books. I was so excited to get my book signed, I was practically peeing on myself. Once again, I really had to pee! But I just had to tell them that Sunday is my 42nd birthday and my first marathon and that I couldn't have done it without them! They needed this information! The guy behind me in line was kind enough to take my picture with them, but as I mentioned above, this *#!@$%#^ computer will not read my camera card so I can't post it just yet!

Okay: Here are the pictures:





So here I sit in my room, using a dial-up connection because my computer battery died as I was sitting by the pool and I had to come inside to plug it in. My marathon clothes and gear are all lined up on top of the air conditioner in the bedroom.





I tried to take a nap after the expo today (since I have to leave at 11pm to pick up Ellen and Fran, and who knows how long they'll keep me up tonight). Valium helped me get about an hour of uninterrupted sleep, but then my cell phone woke me up. After that I had about another 2 hours of fitful, mind-racing madness until I gave up. I never get enough sleep on most ordinary days. Why should marathon weekend be any different?

At any moment I could burst into tears.

Okay, I just did.

Here are some things to know:

The marathon starts at 6am Eastern time. If you would like to track my progress during the marathon, you can sign up at Live Results to have an e-mail or a text message sent to you as I cross the mats at miles 5, 10, 13.1, 20, and finish line.

2 new runs and something for emergencies...

I just signed up for the Walt Stack 10K on Sunday, June 18. I'm scheduled to run 6 miles that day anyway, so it fits perfectly into my program. I think running with other people will help keep me motivated. This race goes along the SF waterfront from Hyde & Jefferson towards the Golden Gate Bridge and back. It should be nice and cool down there at 9am: good running weather. Anyone want to come and cheer me on?

Here's another event I would like to participate in for my birthday next year: The Disney World Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge January 6-7. The goofy part is that it's a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday. Why would anyone want to do something like that? All I know is that I need to keep setting goals for myself to keep going. Anyway, what have I got to lose but my registration fee?

And finally, just in case I take the Goofy Challenge and collapse along the way (or at any other time I am out running) I just ordered the RoadID Shoe ID tag. Yes, this is a happy shopping day for me!