So this is my Ironman...
39.3 miles. Two days. Walt Disney World. Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge.
When I decided I was going to start blogging again. I was trying to figure out exactly what I could write about day after day. My first thought was to write about my training for these races. I realized I couldn't go that narrow in focus, mostly because I realized I would have nothing to write about once winter starts to set back in, as there isn't much to say when you're running on a treadmill repeatedly... That and nobody would have read anything I wrote...
Saturday, January 12, 2013 - Half Marathon
Both of these races start at 5:30 in the morning. If the running doesn't kill me, the 3:00 AM alarms will. If you've ever been to WDW the two maps will make sense and probably make you shudder in a little bit of fear for me.
The half marathon starts in the parking lot of EPCOT and makes it's way north to the Magic Kingdom, going past the Ticket and Transportation Center and Contemporary Resort before making a loop through the Magic Kingdom (including running through the Castle and down Main Street, before heading back to EPCOT where you make a loop around Spaceship Earth before finishing back out in the parking lot.
If you ever want to run a flat fast half marathon, I honestly can't think of a better place to do one. The only way to run 13.1 mile with less elevation change is to run on a track or a treadmill. The course has a grand total of 49 feet of climbing in 13.1 miles. 49 feet! If you look below, I had 216 feet in my 6 mile run tonight, and that was as flat as I could find on the west side of Madison...
This would be a great way to kick-off a family vacation at the happiest place on earth, unfortunately, it's only the first third of the stupidest thing I'll probably ever do running.
Sunday, January 13, 2012
Welcome to day two... Another 3:00 AM alarm... Another bus ride to the EPCOT parking lot... Another run to the Magic Kingdom... (Honestly, what the hell, didn't I just do this?) Thankfully, a little over eight miles in, something different. Not just from the previous day, but a new addition to the WDW Marathon. We get to run around the WDW Speedway! I put in the exclamation mark not out of excitement, but it seemed to be the only piece of punctuation that fit... Sure it's a race track that once held IRL and NASCAR truck races, but honestly, it's an odd shaped tri-oval track that has an outer wall, a few random buildings in the middle, and no grandstands...
Anyways, we're now a little over 9 miles through the race and we get to my favorite part of all of this, mile 11 contains the WDW sewage treatment facility. I'm really looking forward to that! Back on course *ba dump ching* we will then make our way through Animal Kingdom, and I'm praying it's cooler at 7:00 AM than it has been any other time I've been there. Otherwise I'm just going to stand in the single rider line for Expedition Everest until the park opens.
Leaving Animal Kingdom we're at about mile 14, a few miles later we hit another new part of the course this year, the Wide World of Sports. Here we actually get to do one thing I do find neat, we get to run around Champions Field, which is the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. Supposedly there are going to be exciting surprises at mile 20 because it's the 20th anniversary of the WDW Marathon. Unless it's a giant wind tunnel pushing on my back, honestly, I won't care that much.
Now we're getting to the fun part... If you've run a marathon before or have heard me talk about any of mine, you know what I mean. Miles 20-22 take you back out into the swamp one last time (just what I want when the only thing I can feel in my legs is pain... SWAMP! If it's hot I wouldn't be surprised if someone went alligator hunting with them self as the bait...) before you get into Hollywood Studios (or MGM Studios for those who have short-term memory loss). From what I can tell you run through the backlot area here, not sure how I feel about that, just get me in and out and closer to the finish...
Leaving DHS at mile 23 will probably make me laugh a bit. My family and I have stayed in the area between DHS and EPCOT a few times, so I know the area well, and I've ran along the lakes numerous times. Hopefully I won't fall on wet concrete like I did the one time though... (painted cement + water + plant foot not under center of gravity = fall) But I digress... past the Yacht and Beach Club, into the World Showcase, quickly through Future World, under Spaceship Earth one more time, and done.
I need an ice bath just thinking about this...
I haven't found an elevation profile for this exact course, but my best guess is that at most there will be 200 feet of climbing. Which once again, is less than I ran in 6 miles tonight. In comparison, the map of the Chicago Marathon I found had 256 feet of climbing, and that's a notoriously flat course.
Unfortunately, you'll probably still get some of those training blog posts, but I'll try to make them somewhat interesting. I promise.
Today's run: 6 miles - 43:09 - Apartment to Capital Brewery (side note: I have a running route that has a turnaround right outside Capital!) - I just wanted a flat six miles after yesterday's workout... Unfortunately the west side of Madison doesn't understand the word flat. I can't get more than a mile from the apartment without hitting a substantial hill... So this is the profile of the flattest route I could find...
Today's beer: Widmer Brothers Rotator IPA Series: Spiced IPA
If you're looking for something different, this will definitely fit the bill. This beer was brewed with Black Tea, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, anise, black pepper, and cardamom, which I can safely say are not typical ingredients in beer. All of these, a whole bunch of barley and a ton of hops, make for a very unique spicy flavor.
- Skippy's Rating - 5 out of 6 beers (if I'm only drinking one at a time, any more than that and the tea taste would get to me)
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