Lucky Charm--marathon outfit

I promised I would share the story behind my marathon outfit and here it is.  I have a closet full of sparkle skirts and I love them all--some more than others.  I gravitate towards the same skirts over and over because of their lack of glitter and bright, fun colors.  I often will wear a glitter bomb for a race or one that is very sparkly.  Well, one night as the race approached Critter was fussing and just wanted to be held so I decided we'd play in the sparkle closet.  Yes, I have a whole closet devoted to sparkle.  

 She could have cared less and just wanted to be held and snuggled.  I looked through all the skirts and kept coming back to Lucky Charm.  I felt guilt that I wanted to wear that skirt because it is one of the skirts I wear *all*the*time.*  We didn't decide on a skirt that night and I just kept having this nagging feeling that Lucky Charm was the skirt I needed to wear over the next few days.  I kept thinking about that skirt.  I tossed it in my suitcase without so much as a backup glitter bomb "just incase" and two lime green shirts that matched.  One was a heavier fabric tech and the other a lighter fabric tech--for the weather.

At the expo I saw the runDisney shirt in lime green and since lime is my favorite color it had to go home with me.  With the weather to be very humid I decided to toss caution to the wind and wear the brand new shirt on race day--against all the cautions of "nothing new on race day."
I am happy to say that I felt great the entire race and my skirt really was my Lucky Charm.  Everything worked out perfect with me picking up a shirt for the race at the expo and running what would have been a PR had I not needed to stop and pump.

Goofy Marathon 2016

It was much warmer the day of the marathon than it was the day of the half marathon.  It was humid but fortunately that burned off fairly quickly and it was almost ideal marathon conditions by the time I reached mile 8 (but more on that later).  When I woke up the morning of the marathon I found my little Critter had unswaddled her arms and was sleeping very comfortably.  Thus began the unswaddle sleeping once we returned home and she's been sleeping amazing--better than when swaddled.  

We left a little bit earlier than the day before--3 am bus this time.  This gave me a little more time in the corral before the race and I enjoyed a smoother walk since it wasn't as crowded walking over earlier.  

I had a "holy cow" moment when the pacers walked into corral C.  Um, yes there was a 3:30 guy and a 3:45 guy.  Feeling out of my league but knew it was where I belonged at the same time because I am capable of running that fast.  Probably didn't help that the one guy just laid on the pavement and relaxed.  Yeah, I am going to run a 3:45 marathon today for fun is probably what he is thinking since he probably runs a 3:15 most marathons so a 3:45 would be 'doable in his sleep.' 

My little Critter was an angel once again for my mom and slept or enjoyed watching the runners or hamming it up for spectators near her.  Such a good little girl.  I stopped at mile 4 for a quick check in and kept right on motoring along.  The 3:45 pacer was out of sight at this time but I tend to get stronger and faster as the race goes on, but then again I would be stopping at mile 8 to pump for Critter.

My little Critter was just waking up when I got to mile 8 and she was hungry!  But with all the distractions of the race happening I knew pumping was the way to go.  She had been a poor nurser over the weekend anytime we were out and about with all the stuff going on around her.  Miss New Hampshire held her and tried to keep her calm while I plopped myself on the pavement and hooked up the pump while my mom fed me gummy candy and powerade plus took off my socks and shoes so I could change those when I was done.  My shoes and socks tend to get soaked the first 8 miles with all the humidity and I found that changing them helps greatly reduce my blister risk factor.  What would I do without the most amazing support crew ever on the course?  Seriously, my mom is the best.  No questions asked she just started un-tieing my shoes and stuffing my face with food as the race went by. 

My mom fed her the bottle of milk I had just pumped and it was back to all smiles from Critter and some napping at the finish line while waiting for me to finish.  It took me about 2 miles to find my stride again and get into a rhythm.  Then I started to slowly pick up the pace starting about mile 18.  Entering the Wide World of Sports I knew there were a lot of twists and turns and it is what I call "suckfest."  I just put my head down and kept pushing, thinking about my Critter and how much she was going to need me at that finish so she could eat again (even though my mom had a cooler bag with milk to heat up for her that I got up in the early middle of the night to pump-->Disney = no sleeping).  

Exiting WWoS I was feeling very strong and knew there was just a 10k to go and really started to kick up the gears and start pushing the pace but still feeling comfortable.  I was running past people like they were standing still and felt amazing.  In the last water stop on the course I took a "walk break" to text my mom that I had a mile to go (even though we know it is more like 2) and continued to "crush" the last miles. I had a huge smile on my face and felt *very* strong.  As in, I could have run another few miles at that pace easily and continued on right past that finish line.  My Lucky Charm sparkle skirt was indeed a very lucky skirt for me.  (I will have to make a separate post on my outfit for the marathon).

I gave Critter a little snuggle before handing her back to my mom because I was soaked in sweat and didn't want her getting the chills from having wet clothes on.  She snuggled into her Coo Coo on the bus back to the hotel.  I carried the bag and other stuff off the bus so my mom could take Critter since I didn't trust my legs going down stairs with her (sometimes they get wonky).  I was stiffening up a bit and getting sore at this point from the race but still felt really great.  I nursed Critter back in the room, took a quick shower and then it was time to check out.  We had an early evening flight so my mom and I said goodbye to Miss New Hampshire and then went for a walk to help get the gunk moving out of my legs.  Of course I at a burger and beignets.

I ended up running a 4:01:23 for the marathon and considering I stopped to pump on the course I am very pleased with my time.  My splits were:  5 miles in 44:58 (9 min miles), 10 miles in 1:42:55 (10:18 miles), half way in 2:10:11 (9:56 miles), 20 miles in 3:08:59 (9:27 miles), Finish with an average pace of 9:13.  My first "split" had an ETA finish of 3:55:45 and my actual finish was 4:01:23 so not too bad at all.

2016 Half Marathon

With some of the new security measures that Disney has taken lately we decided to catch the 3:30 bus to make sure we had enough time.  First up was hitting up the Baby Care tent so that I could pump.  Critter nursed in the hotel room at like 1:45 am (little stinker wasn't going to let us sleep 'til the alarm went off at 2:15 for me to do that and get ready to be out the door).  Exiting the bus we stopped as we got closer to security and put the noise canceling headphones on Critter since it is noisy with music playing in the staging area.  Security wasn't an issue but they did take the time to go through each zipper pocket of the bags we had and us picking up Critter so they could check out the stroller a bit.  By the time we got through security and I pumped it was about 4:30.

 I kissed my baby girl goodbye and gave my mom a big hug before heading off to the medical tent to check my pump and head to the corrals.  I immediately headed to my corral and arrived after the long-ish walk to the corral at about 5:05.  The race starts at 5:30 so it was perfect timing where I wasn't too stressed about making it to my corral on time.  It was very humid out and I was HOT running.  I even thought, "hmm, wonder if my baby is too hot in that outfit?"  Um, nope cause when I was done within 5 minutes I was chilly--it was the damp chill outside of a 55 degrees.

 I was pulling my phone out to take a picture of my support crew and a quick check in on how I was feeling before heading to Magic Kingdom.  I did not stop for any photos because I knew I needed to get to the finish so that I could feed Critter.  I still enjoyed the race but it was odd to not stop for photo opportunities.

I caught up to my support crew and chEAR squad again at mile 8 and kept cruising along to the finish. My little critter was an angel the whole time, sleeping or just being awake watching the "parade" of runners go by or playing with her toy rattle lion.  My mom is amazing for taking on the job of caring for Critter and still making sure she was my support crew for a shoe change and such.

 I finished feeling very strong and know that I could have run a phenomenal half but with the full the next day had to hold it back quite a bit.  I ended up with a time of 1:52 and change--a time I would be happy to have run 2 years ago for "just a half" with lots of training.  I tossed on my long sleeve t-shirt that has gone to every runDisney event with me (it was supposed to be my throw away shirt at my first marathon but I tied it around my waist because I thought I might get cold and want it during the race since it was raining).  I finished that first marathon and the shirt comes every year but as a part of superstition/good luck.  We met a few characters and Daisy Duck loved Critter.

 Critter wanted to use my medal as a teether but that would be one expensive teether! We snuggled on the bus back to the hotel where I showered before we headed to the Polynesian for some Dole Whips and Tonga Toast (that I wasn't allowed to have since it contains dairy).

 We tried to take a nap but Critter wanted none of that so my amazing mom took her outside for a walk/snuggles so I could nap.  I was kind of groggy when all that happened and knew she left but woke up and sent her a text of where are you with my baby?  She was out on a bench with a sleeping Critter in her arms just chatting with her friend Miss New Hampshire that was staying with us and partaking in my support crew.   We went to get some food.  Yum, beignets.  Sugary, bad for you goodness.

 We went for a walk since the weather was nice and Critter really likes being in the stroller looking at everything.  We stopped by our resort campfire and toasted a few marshmallows before calling it a day and going back to the room to get gear out for the marathon and pack our bags since we would fly home the evening of the marathon.