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<\/a><\/p>\r\nBack to the story… which is appropriate for an event billing itself as celebrating storybook tales!<\/p>\r\n
In the end, it was my slowest marathon at a proper 26.2 mile event in 12 years.\u00a0 There have been trail events and snafus with course markings that took longer, but at a standard road race?\u00a0 Twelve years.\u00a0 And that was a race where I was dehydrated and sick.<\/p>\r\n Was it the cumulative effect of four days of early rising and racing?\u00a0 It\u2019s happened before \u2013 12 times over the last 13 years (one year was made virtual by Covid), and I ran these events much faster in prior years.<\/p>\r\n Was it the lingering injury that sidelined my training and left me a bit wobbly on my feet?\u00a0 Maybe\u2026 but honestly though my leg was bothering me during the run, it never felt like a painful death march.\u00a0 It mainly felt like\u2026 extreme fatigue.\u00a0 I would list in my running, drifting to one side as I was probably overcompensating for the injury.\u00a0 Or maybe it was that my stride was much shorter due to the leg\u2019s tightness\u2026 and thus I was taking WAY more steps to compensate for the shorter distance every footfall was taking.<\/p>\r\n Nick was a sport and tolerated my slowed gait\u2026 and in the later stages of the course my intervals between running and walking growing shorter and shorter\u2026 or perhaps more clearly, we walked a whole lot of this race.<\/p>\r\n In the end, though, we finished the race, the challenge, the day.\u00a0 And that\u2019s not nothing. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n A photo album:<\/p>\r\n Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, and Tweedle Dopey… that’s me, in the middle.<\/p>\r\n The Star Wars corridor, with a killer soundtrack and some fine photo ops… it helped gussy up a section that in years past always felt a bit… mind numbing.<\/p>\r\n Animal Kingdom pics…<\/p>\r\n The Star Wars corridor was great… even if it meant we lost my Adventurers’ Club reunion pics (I did miss seeing them this year… #AdventurersClub4Eva!). \u00a0But then there’s a long drag on the highway into the Blizzard Beach parking lot… which is literally the only part of any course I might advocate cutting. \u00a0That’s how bad this section is. \u00a0And to be honest, with the ping-ponging and Garmin errors, I could’ve done so and STILL had 26.2 miles on my GPS watch… so there’s that.<\/p>\r\n An all too brief run through Hollywood Studios… culminating in meeting the emotions that encapsulates a marathon run: joy and sadness. \u00a0Albeit they probably also should have had Anger, Anxiety, and maybe Disgust while we’re at it!<\/p>\r\n The final miles back into Epcot — the Boardwalk and a quick chat with my conscience…<\/p>\r\n The Finish Line pics…<\/p>\r\n Culminating in one of the best moments of the weekend… I bumped into Mari-Mar of TravellingFit fame. \u00a0She and her Australian running tour company are second to none in this business. \u00a0If you’re looking to book a tough to get to event, run, don’t walk over to TravellingFit’s website… even if you’re not an Aussie.<\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\r\n