Disneyland Half Marathon

Expo/Packet Pickup
The expo/packet pickup was somewhat confusing. It seems as if they were trying to address the crowding issue from the prior years, so they moved the bib pickup to the underground parking structure. Then you walk back up to the expo floor to pick up your shirt and goodie bag. It was standing in one line after another. But I suppose we were at Disneyland... lines are to be expected. I did a quick sweep through the aisles and stopped by the Competitor/Elite Racing table to say hi. One of the girls that I see all the time introduced herself and told me her name. We shared a few good laughs and we'll see each other again in Vegas. I had to let her go back to work.

Pre-race
I am not where I should be with my fitness. The only recent run I have done was my 5 mile run on Monday. The run left both of my calves very sore for the next couple of days because the route was hilly and I attacked it. But with a bad half marathon at AFC and a DNF at Montaña de Oro, I really didn't know what to expect out of this race and to make things interesting my lower back has been sore. Given the circumstances I knew one thing and that was that I still love running this super expensive race because I am a big time Disney fan! My goals were still the same.

Goal A: sub 1:50
Goal B: sub 1:55
Goal C: sub 2:00

I carbed up with karamiso ramen on Friday and with pho and spring rolls on Saturday. Those foods always work for me. I tried to sleep early, but I ended up watching Tyson. Love him or hate him... believe him or not... it was a good intriguing movie.

Race day
I got to the parking lot at 4am where I relaxed and ate my Powerbar while listening to my tunes on my iPod. The parking fee had inched its way up to $12. There is no recession when it comes to Disney. Around 5am I stripped down to my race clothes and headed out to the starting area.

I went out conservatively making sure I did not overtake the 1:40 pace group. They stayed about 5 secs ahead of me and eventually pulled away from me. I think more races should emulate Disney and place people in corrals based on previous race results. Even though it was crowded during the first mile, it was good enough that I didn't have to keep adjusting my stride and not once did I pass a walker that had no business being in the front. The pace that I wanted to hold was 8:30 min/mile. The first 5k was easy as most of it was inside the 2 parks.
1: 8:38
2: 8:25
3: 8:20
5k: 26:23

I still stuck to my run/walk plan. I would take a 1 minute walk break for every 30 minutes of running. I used to do that to prevent injury, but now I think it's more for me to take a mental break. Here we ran through the streets of Anaheim. I was feeling ok after 10k.
4: 9:00
5: 8:19
6: 8:31
10k: 53:05

I tried to pick up the pace after a slow mile 8, but I knew that I was getting close to my limit. There was a small series of short climbs. I took my Hammer gel at the 1 hour mark.
7: 8:52
8: 9:17
9: 8:23
15k: 1:20:41

Going through Angel stadium was ok. This time we ran on the "warning track" in front of the dugouts and the home plate. I was starting to fade and could not get the legs to turn over any faster. The cheerleaders right before the tunnel were loud and the energy was much needed. I tried to muster up a faster pace for the final mile, but I was gassed and unmotivated since I knew the PR was out the window after 3 consecutive slow miles.
10: 9:01
11: 9:15
12: 9:11
13: 8:35
13.1: 0:48

Finish: 1:54:40

Post-race
It was so great to see a lot of my friends at this race. I was actually surprised to get a 1:54 out of my legs this weekend... only 23 seconds off of my PR. I was expecting something bad to happen. I really need to get off of the marathon maniacing so that I can start training for quality races. If I get healthy and start putting in the miles, I should easily be in the 1:40s. But that'll have to wait because it's on to the next race, the Big Bear Marathon on Saturday!