For the most part Disney did a great job with their half marathon weekend. There were definitely a few things that could be improved, but that all gets looked over when you have such a stellar time in the parks following a, personal, sub par race situation.
My travelling mates and I left Friday afternoon for the California desert. No issues driving and a quick over nighter in Barstow before heading into the LA area gave us a much relaxed start to the weekend. Nothing against Barstow, but I am not sure I would stay another night there anytime soon. If you've been there, you know.
We left mid morning on Saturday to head over the pass and hoped that we would be able to get an early check in at the hotel. Luckily, they had one room left. We dropped our bags and hoofed it the few blocks to the expo to grab our numbers and goody bags. Kudos to Disney and their organization with the race number pick-up. Maybe there were busier times but we went right about noon and it was super smooth and painless. No lines whatsoever. We mosied around the expo for an hour or so and picked up some free hand outs before grabbing a shuttle back to the hotel. Maybe we missed the sign, but it was definitely confusing figuring out which bus was the one we should take to our specific hotel. A quick lunch, grocery store shopping and back to the hotel until dinner. We were definitely wiped and ready for a nap mid afternoon. We found good grub at Buca di beppo and were satisfyingly filled with our share of carbs.
Sunday became an early morning. 3:30am early. I relish early mornings. They become tough as long days wear on, but nothing makes you feel more refreshed than waking up early, seeing the sunrise and knowing that your day is already productive. We joined the diaspora of athletes winding their ways through Downtown Disney to the staging area. Here is another one of those little things that could be fixed. I wear my warm-ups and trainers for a reason before races. When Disney makes you check your clothes bag at 5am for a 6am start, what is the purpose of wearing them at all? I am cold and wearing my racing flats, jersey and shorts for an hour before the race start. Not good Disney, not good. They led us like cattle to the start corrals. I made my way into the A corral, figuring the "elite" members would be in the front of the A corral. In fact, we had our own little section blocked off right behind the wheel chair athletes. Speaking of wheel chair athletes, wow! If my situation ever necessitates needing a wheel chair, I hope to be as burly as some of those athletes. Anyway, I warmed up, hit the port-o-johns one last time and made my way back through the crowd to the elite section. Believe me, I say elite, but the awesomeness isn't lost on me. Never have I run a race that is this big. Never have I run a race that had my name on the bib. And never have I EVER been called an elite. So, that is something to be thankful for. It was a check of humility all weekend when people would see my number (9) and comment on seeing someone with such a low number. Disney placed people by their anticipated finish times and lower numbers were faster. Believe me, it was definitely an experience.
I made it my goal to go out with the leaders and try my best to hold on. I knew that to do well, I needed to set myself up for success from the go and this was my strategy. Well, I didn't expect to have a 1:07 runner in the race. He went out so fast, everyone was pulled along by him and the leaders all got split up from the outset. Not much of a race. In return, I went out a little fast and knew by the first mile that it wasn't going to be my day. In retrospect, more tempo running and more mentally tough runs are needed during training next time. I realized how much of the race course was a blur for me when I spoke to my running mates about the course and they kept saying, "did you see this?" "Did you see that?" And I had not seen, or at least not remembered, any of it. I was flying through, focused on the race and my opponents most of the time. It is the one time I have felt bad about being in the front of the pack. I love being competitive and racing, but I miss out on a lot of the experience of the whole course by going so fast. Next time, I will have to take it more leisurly.
I have read from a lot of people that they didn't enjoy the course outside of Disneyland. I personally loved it. How many times do you get to run down roads 4 or 5or 7 lanes across with no traffic? You get to run the middle of the road and not worry about cars. I think that is great. Lots of people hated the scenery, but from what I said, I didn't remember much and in all likelihood didn't notice most of it anyway. I loved the cheerleaders and the bands and especially the boy scouts! (Eagle Scout!!) They definitely helped me keep my pace honest. I would get a great adrenaline rush when running through all the screaming individuals. And to top it all off the weather could not have been better. We had a deep marine layer fog over the course the whole time and it absolutely kept the temps down to a more enjoyable race. I only once dropped my shades down off my head onto my eyes. And that only lasted a few minutes as the fog rolled in thick once again. Incredible.
All in all, I wasn't pleased with my performance. I didn't care as much about place as I did about my time and I was far from where I wanted to be. To be honest, I have never trained for a race harder than here, but it obviously didn't pay off and I will have to go back and see what needs to be changed for next time. It was a really tough year at the Disneyland Half Marathon. Course records were set in both the men's and women's races and it was overall the fastest race on record for the top runners.
Thanks to all the volunteers. I have done that job many times and it never gets easier. They were awesome.
One more change that Disney should consider is allowing more mobility around the finish line. In other words, making it easier to cross from one side of the finish line to the other (for example, from the fantasia hat to downtown disney)and moving the awards ceremony sooner. It is a long wait for the first finishers to sit around for the awards 3 1/2 hours later.
The rest of the weekend was fabulous. How can you not have a good time in Disneyland? Except for a couple trips to the East coast Disney, I haven't been to this park in quite a number of years and I absolutely love it still!
