Archive for the ‘Team In Training’ Category

I have claimed a portion of a wall in the garage as mine. This is at the door going into the house. This is my brag wall:

The signs were held by my husband and my cousin during my marathon. I was thrilled to see them whenever I approached them along the route.

There are also two signs and a door knob hanger that I discovered on my hotel room door before and after my marathon. They were placed there by my coaches and thrilled me to no end.

Then, there are my race numbers. My very first 5K (#856) was February 4, 2007; my very first 15K (#1135) was September 27, 2008; my very first marathon (#16101) was January 11, 2009; and the first 5K hubby and I did together on January 31, 2009, has both his (#1223) and my (#925) race numbers.

I expect the numbers on this wall to multiply dramatically this year. I’m contemplating cutting a piece of my marathon “blanket” to hang up there, too.

Now… what to do with my medals? Right now, I only have two medals, and they’re hanging on a relatively small, decorative mirror in my bedroom. But they, too, will multiply and require proper displaying. Because I’m all about the bling!

wRitErsbLock

Comments (3)

The Disney professional photographer pictures are available for me to order. Now, to find money…

(I’m #16101, in case it doesn’t go to the page I want it to go to and you have to search for me.)

Just as I suspected: my finish line picture captured me saying “OH!” of my “OH MY GOD!” as the girl in front of me tripped and fell, trying to take me out in the process. Dammit.

wRitErsbLock

Comments (5)

I heard this song for the first time at the Team in Training Pasta Party Friday night. It made me cry. Because this is why I ran:

Team in Training raised $7 million from August to January for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Thank you for helping to fund the fight!

wRitErsbLock

Comments (1)

Me and Coach Jen at 330a:

Inside Magic Kingdom, about to run through the castle:

Epcot, between miles 25 and 26:

People posed for every mile marker. This was the only one I wanted; I’m so glad my coach had her camera with her for it. Mile 26:

My coaches fell back and let me cross the line alone:

wRitErsbLock

Comments (1)

Useful official stats on my marathon.

wRitErsbLock

Post a Comment

House of Boudicca (blurred for blogging, but if you’re my friend on Flickr, you can see Boudicca and husband without the blur).

We were just a few tables away from each other. It was nice to see Bou, but this was the only time I saw her all weekend. We talked several times, but we each had things to be doing, so visiting was non-existent.

She did her marathon an hour faster than I did mine. She’s awesome like that!

wRitErsbLock

Comments (2)

…and since you’re asking today, likely won’t ever do ever again in my life.

This will be a long, rambling post recapping my marathon. It will include TMI, such as talk about bodily fluids and functions and port-o-lets. If you’re disinclined to read the disgusting vivid details of my run, stop reading now and just scroll for pictures.

(Thank you to Jason for screwing up the format of my blog guest posting while I was offline all weekend. And thank you to my cousin for live blogging my run here, here, and here.)
Read the rest of this entry »

wRitErsbLock

Comments (28)

Boudicca already posted this information, so if I’m unclear, go read her post.

You can track my marathon. Clicky clicky. On the left side of the page click SPECTATOR RESOURCES. Click the MARATHON link.

(You will need to create an account for yourself. But I’m worth it!)

This will redirect you to site where you enter your email address and password (set up through Active.com) and scroll down to enter the participant you want to track. Then click on my name and on this page you can enter an email or phone number (don’t forget to enter the cell phone provider if you select the text message option)

You will get an email or text message when I reach various points on the race course.

If you do decide to track me and you have my cell phone #, feel free to call me during my race to offer me words of encouragement. I’ve heard this is very beneficial for helping runners break down the wall. Just don’t expect much conversation from me! I’ll likely be gasping and dying at that time!

Race begins at 6a. It will likely take me 6.5 hours, but I’m hoping I can do it in 6. So, you know, maybe around 9a or 10a or 11a, call me and give me a pep talk. I won’t be much of a conversationalist (never am) because I’ll be huffing and puffing and generally exhausted. But I will appreciate that you were thinking of me!

If you do not have my cell and would like it, shoot me an email or comment. If I get your comment/email before I leave my house around 3-330p today, I’ll hook you up.

wRitErsbLock

Comments (2)

Curiously, I had no trouble at all finding Disney’s Wide World of Sports. I say curiously because I ALWAYS get lost on Disney property. But today, I got into and out of WWS without any trouble at all. I got there around 1245p, it opened at noon. Forty-five minutes after it opened, and I was parked in overflow parking. It. Was. Mobbed. I parked and began walking toward the building.

I knew I should have brought a camera with me. What a mad house!

There were thousands of people there. I followed the flow of people and found my way to the room that had booths set up to retrieve my racing bib. I got lucky: there was only one person in line for the group of numbers my bib falls into, so I didn’t have to wait. The woman gave me my bib, my program, and my Championchip, then sent me into another line to have my Championchip scanned to make sure it’s programmed correctly.

The line was much, much, much longer for chip scanning. Fortunately, it moved quickly, since all you had to do was wave the envelope holding the chip over the scanner, and verify your name appeared on the screen. They had three tables for this task. While I stood in line, I heard someone call my name. Now, in a room full of thousands of people, I’m certain there were several people with my name, but I turned anyway… and… kinda sorta recognized the man.

T: I know, I’m not wearing running clothes, you don’t recognize me.
Me: (still uncertain, because I tend not to recognize people) Yeah, and I’m showered, have makeup on, and don’t have a pony tail.
T: I think I parked next to you.
Me: Really? Then why didn’t you call out my name while I was walking?
T: I wasn’t sure it was you… you’re wearing real clothes!

LOL! By then, it was my turn to scan my chip, and T was in line to pick up his half-marathon packet. I found him in that line and asked if he’d mind if I hung out with him, as I was very overwhelmed by the massive throng of people.

It seems T is running the full, but as a TNT mentor, is working the half, so he had to get two packets. There are people running both the half on Saturday and the full on Sunday. That event is called The Goofy, and those people are called insane. T said he’s not doing the Goofy, but if he has packets for both, that sounds to me like he is. ::shrugs shoulders::

After we had our packets and scanned our chips (the chip attaches to the shoe, and that’s how our time is tracked, and how you’ll be able to track me online… more on that in a separate post), we were herded over to another building for the trade show type thing, where we’d get our shirts.

Kids, I ordered my shirt back at the beginning of October, and I totally didn’t take into consideration that my body might shrink with all this activity. So, my XL shirt is just too big. Oh well.

We took our shirts and the goody bag that accompanied the shirt and proceeded to walk around the exhibit hall. Holy Toledo! It never even occurred to me that there would be Disney merchandise specifically for the marathon that I would absolutely want to buy! Damn you DirecTV! I have no money to buy a $35 shirt. Grrrrrr. I wonder if my uncle would get his employee discount?

I enjoyed the exhibit hall quite a lot and will have to bring my husband back with me when I go again. It’s open Friday and Saturday, too. We check into our hotel tomorrow after sherlock gets home from work. I can’t recall which Disney hotel we’re staying at (I just got confirmation on Tuesday that I do not have a roommate assigned to me, since my roommate broke her foot, so I’m sneaking my husband in with me!) this weekend, I know it’s not the Westgate. I’ll have to look and see which hotel it is. My understanding is Boudicca’s team got relocated to a different hotel, so we’re apparently not in the same hotel together. Bummer.

Anyway, we’ll check into our hotel tomorrow afternoon, and then I’m dragging sherlock back to the Wide World of Sports to go to the exhibit hall with me. I don’t think he’ll mind.

It was very nice to have T to walk around with this afternoon. It certainly made it less overwhelming for me, and it was great to have someone to gush at, as I am bubbling over with excitement about my marathon!

wRitErsbLock

Comments (2)

Since I began running, I have been sleeping less and less soundly, and for much shorter durations. Oh, sure, some lucky people found running cured their insomnia; running has stoked mine. I sleep the least on a night before a long run. This has been my body preparing me for Saturday night / Sunday morning when I have to meet my team in the lobby at 3a (THREE IN THE MORNING!) to board a bus to go sit at the start for a couple hours in the cold and dark. It’s not that I don’t appreciate my body prepping me for that night of insufficient sleep, but lately, I don’t sleep the rest of the week, either.

Last night, I took half a nighttime advil before bed. And slept. Almost the entire night! I didn’t wake until 430a. That’s huge progress! And, I don’t think I saw 1a like I usually do.

Add stress about DirecTV stealing my money (still not in my bank account which means, oh joy, I get to call those thieving bastards again) this week, and a fight with my MIL, has kept my mind racing come bedtime. Yesterday, I felt like I was teetering on the edge of sanity. So, the sleeping pill last night: BRILLIANT!

This morning, I got up with sherlock, kissed him goodbye, and climbed back into bed. I didn’t sleep anymore, but I did relax. And I feel absolutely zero guilt about it. My body is tired and I am about to ask it to complete a marathon. So, rest was needed and appreciated.

The good news: my ankle doesn’t hurt. My back barely hurts at all. And my shins are the only loud pain I have. I’ve had the shin pain since August, so that’s practically like having no pain at all! I am ready for my run.

All that being said… I’m heading to Disney World just as soon as I throw the clothes into the drier and start a new load in the washer. From noon to eight today I can pick up my race packet. I’m hoping to get an HNT posted today utilizing my race number, so the sooner I get there and back, the sooner I can plan out my provocative picture!

Lots to do today and tomorrow. Laundry, packing, food preparation. You’d be amazed at the weird things I have to remember to pack, as packing for a marathon is different than packing for any other weekend excursion. Boudicca is packing a blow up raft. That’s brilliant! Too bad I’m broke. I hadn’t considered the fact that I’ll be sitting on cement for two hours in the cold and dark. It makes me wonder what else I haven’t thought about.

Note to self: Don’t forget to pack wipes. Note to Bou: just in case the port-o-lets are out of tp and because I need to disinfect my hands, so it serves two purposes.

I have had to mentally prepare myself for weeks for the inevitable fact that I will be utilizing at least one (and hopefully not more than one) port-o-let on Sunday. I could go six hours without having to pee, which will be the shortest amount of time I run my marathon in, but adding on a couple hours before hand where I’m just sitting at the start… that’s too much for my already weak bladder.

Come on washing machine! Finish my clothes so I can start the next load and head out!

I also want to bring a cooler of food. Crap, what the heck am I going to have for breakfast on Sunday? I’m thinking about getting a box of uncrustables, and bringing one with me to eat while I’m at the start waiting. I can barely force food into myself at 430a, how much harder will it be at 330a?

Oh, shoot, I haven’t bought the camera bag yet. Stupid DirecTV. You suck!

This post is getting long and inane, so I’ll stop.

wRitErsbLock

Comments (2)