Marathon Relay 2012

We spent yet another weekend in Orlando, this time so that John and I could run in one of the Disney races.  This is the first year they offered a relay option for the marathon, so we jumped at it.  Unlike the regular half-marathon on Saturday, this race is on Sunday with the full marathon.  The first runner (me) lines up at the regular start, runs the first 13.1 miles, then tags off the second runner (John), who finishes with the marathoners.

We left on Saturday morning and stopped at Downtown Disney for lunch and photo-ops:

Anna's cute outfit is courtesy of Aunt Laurie:

Then we went to the expo to pick up our race packets, and Will and Anna enjoyed sampling all of the energy bars and drinks.  Once they were sufficiently energy-charged, we dropped them off to spend the night with Grandma and Aunt Cindy. :-)  John and I headed to the hotel for a carb-heavy dinner and early bedtime.

John was eager for me to be the first runner when we signed up because he thought he might be able to sleep in.  This was fine with me--I just wanted to get it over with!  I have a sad and embarrassing story from last year's race when Missy, Laurie, and I were running late to the start and were unable to get out of the hotel parking lot because the gate wouldn't open and no one would answer when we dialed for help and when someone finally did answer I yelled at her--it was very stressful and I still feel pretty bad about it.  Anyway, I learned my lesson and decided to take the hotel shuttle to the starting line at Epcot; that meant getting up a little earlier (I left my room around 3:45 am), but it was totally worth having a nice leisurely ride to Epcot.  John preferred to drive, so he left the hotel around 5 am, drove to the start, and took a 2 hour nap in the car.  (FYI for Missy and Laurie--when he left the parking lot this time, the gate had been left open already.  I'm guessing that the hotel decided to do that after the "crazy lady" incident from last year!)

The weather was fantastic--around 50 degrees at the start line.  I had hoped to finish in under 2.5 hours but was worried because I'd been having a lot of issues with my right IT band for several weeks.  I had a fantastic run, though, and my knee only bothered me for a short while between miles 7 and 8, and then it was fine.  I finished in 2:13, which was much better than I expected.  I also enjoyed getting to peel off and cross the finish line while the rest of the marathoners had to go another 13.1 miles.  :-)

Unfortunately, I didn't set up our runner tracking correctly, so John had no idea I was going to finish almost 20 minutes faster than expected.  I crossed the finish and ran to the corral where he was supposed to be....then spotted him several yards away, just looking around.  He was pretty shocked to see me and had to scramble to get his ear buds in and iPod set...and then he was off.  He had hoped to finish in under 2 hours and did it, finishing in 1:59.

I enjoyed every minute of the race and felt great when I finished.  However, I had to wait 2 hours until John finished and during that time I ate a banana and an orange, and drank a bottle of water and a cup of coffee.  So about the time John finished, my GI tract rebelled.  I sat in the parking lot, dizzy and nauseated while he tried to find the car.  Luckily, I'd brought some Zofran along in case of a migraine, so I took one and felt much, much better.  (Just adding this part in so that I remember to take it a little easier on the snacks after the next race!)

We had lunch and then retrieved the kids from Grandma and Aunt Cindy.  Will and Anna had a great time playing with them and Foxy and Pepper (and using their new sleeping bags)--and we really, really appreciated the baby-sitting!  After that, we went to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours, and then back to the hotel for another early bedtime.

On Monday morning, we got to Hollywood Studios just as it was opening for two reasons.  First, John really loves the Toy Story ride and the FastPasses go very early on that ride.  Will and I rode the Star Wars ride a few times while John and Anna grabbed FastPasses and posed with some characters:

(Anna didn't change clothes--the Woody and Jessie picture is from the night before!)

My favorite:

We also wanted to get there early so that Will could sign up for the Jedi Training Academy.  That's right--kids 4-12 years old can become little Padawans and battle Darth Vader in the flesh!  They must show up early, though, because the spots fill up quickly (by about 11 am on the day we were there--and the park wasn't that busy).

Here's an excited Will:

Talking strategy with the other trainees:

Hooded up and ready to go:

Battling Darth Vader:

Will battles Darth Vader from Angela Gianini on Vimeo.

(So, if you happen to watch this video with Will, do NOT laugh at the part where he doesn't duck.  I laugh every time, and he gets very upset. "I forgot because I was shy, Mama!!  I was just a little shy!")

(Oh, and if you want to watch the entire 7-minute training clip, click HERE. )

So he now has a diploma that declares he has been accepted to be a Jedi-in-Training, and he has been practicing with his light saber very faithfully at home.  Little sister has been practicing, too, although Will reminds her regularly that she can't actually train until she's four years old. :-)

One last Star-Wars-related photo:

Then we had lunch at Epcot, and headed back home.  Fun times!

John is looking to better his race time next year, and we are certain we can trim down our transition time.  So, if you want to run with us, just let me know!