The Mental Race

I vividly remember mile 12 of my first half marathon. Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger was on my iPod as I rounded the globe at Epcot. As I realized how close I was to finishing, to accomplishing my goal, I slowly became overwhelmed with emotion to the edge of tears. The feeling was indescribable. All of the hard work, the anticipation, had built to the moment I was about to experience – the finish.

Fast forward two months. Again I’m at mile 12 of a half marathon, the Iron Girl. But today is different. Today, I don’t know what is playing on my iPod. I don’t know where I am or what views surround me. I’m only wondering “where’s that damn finish line?” I’m beat; no, I’m defeated. But it’s not because my legs hurt, even though they did. It’s not because my stomach ached or my foot cramped, even though they did. It’s because my mind is broken.

Sure, I had a time goal for this race that I did not meet. And while that’s disappointing after two months of hard work, I’m okay with that…now. Injury and bridges alone would have made me lucky to finish even in the same time as my last race. What I’m not okay with, and why this race has haunted me since I ran it, is that my attitude failed me.

I set myself up for failure and then beat myself down when I failed. Going into the race, I had hopes of shaving about three minute from my last time. This was certainly a stretch to begin with considering the elevation of this course, but I felt I was up to the challenge. But when I injured my knee two weeks before race day, I never readjusted my expectations. I was injured to the point I questioned running it at all a mere four days prior, but never reevaluated my goal when I decided to run. Did I think injury didn’t really apply to me? Maybe.

Every mile that ticked by below goal pace set my mind racing. I was angry and screamed at my legs to move faster. They didn’t hear me. I was wondering if this was it, did I peak already (so melodramatic!). I was wondering if I should have pushed though the injury more in training. I was wondering if each consecutive mile would get slower and slower. I was thinking about everything else but the moment I was in. Negativity got to me and soon all I was hearing, seeing and feeling was the bad. I was being dragged down. I lost sight of the reason I run and I lost the enjoyment.

The clock certainly didn’t show a fail. But the point is that the clock doesn’t matter. I run for how it makes me feel – more mentally than physically. I know I’m physically capable, but there is a mental race to run. And in the Iron Girl half, I failed at the mental race. It’s harder for me to pick back up from a mental fail. But now is the time to learn from the experience, regroup and get the focus back.

Iron Girl Half Marathon 2012 Recap

Athleta Iron Girl Half Marathon

Location: Clearwater/Clearwater Beach, Florida

Date: Sunday, April 22^nd, 2012

Participants: Women’s Only Event – 1,481

Getting Right Down To It

While the weather was unpredictable this year, overall it was a good event that I would recommend and participate in it again myself. Challenging half marathon course (for a Floridian), beautiful venue, well organized, good security and volunteer support, nice shirts and medals, unique food box. Note that a 5K course is also offered by Iron Girl on this day.

Packet Pick Up

Several nights through the week you could pick up your packet (bib and shirt) at various bay area running/sports stores, or on Saturday during the Expo at Pier 60. Know your bib number which is sent about a week before via e-mail. The expo was also held on Sunday at the pier, but there is no race-day pickup. My plan was to attend the expo after the race, but Mother Nature had a different idea! By the way, the bibs are beachy and girly and are personalized with your name - a nice touch!

Race Start

Plan even more time than suggested to accommodate for parking and restroom lines. The parking lot connected to Coachman Park is used for the event, so you’re left with fighting for spots in smaller lots in surrounding blocks. It’s not impossible, but did take up more time than anticipated.

What every running wants to know – how was the port-o-potty situation? Actually, there were a decent amount of port-o-potties available. However, the lines were still running about 15 minutes long as both last minute half marathoners and early 5Kers (about 2500 additional women) converge at the same time. Again, probably less of an issue if I had made it there sooner. As it was, I was standing in line as they were making “last call” announcements to line up.

It’s a single start and the corral is narrow and winding, making for a slow start if you’re towards the back. I wanted to be just after the 2:00 pacer, but was only able to get halfway between the 2:30 and 2:45 pacers (and that was cutting line). But don’t fret. With just under 1,500 women, it thins out quickly once you get through the start line.

The Course

Starting in Clearwater’s Coachman Park and ending at Pier 60 on beautiful Clearwater Beach, the Iron Girl Half Marathon first winds towards the south through neighborhoods lining the Clearwater Harbor, then crosses the Bellair Beach Causeway and then heads back north to end at Pier 60. Beautiful views to be sure!

Although being in Florida, and Clearwater Beach no less, some elevation is built into this course not only due to two bridges, but also there were some “hills” to be found in the neighborhoods as well. Heck, you even start out running up hill! Garmin data showed 305 ft of elevation gain over the course. If you never run hills, I would advise doing so before this event, or be prepared to power walk up them. And remember to save some steam for the bridge just after mile 11!

One down side to this course is the amount of turns in the first half. These cause bottle necks and cause slowdowns. I felt like we barely made it an eighth mile before we were turning again.

The course is well marked and police officers and volunteers were a regular site. Water stops are frequent and well stocked/well manned. Both GU and Girl Scout cookies were on route as well.

Unfortunately, the starting line blew away before I got there so it lacked some of the fanfare. But according to my husband (and the picture he snapped), it was the right call to remove the finish balloon and the flags because they became a safety hazard.

The Goods

I always say, “Will Run For Bling”, and this event has the bling! The medal is heavy-weight and gold-colored with a beach theme (glittery sandcastle with palm trees and ocean) and thick teal ribbon printed with the event name and date. I peeked at the 5K medal, which was just as nice!

During packet pickup, you receive your shirt which is the same for 5K and half marathon and not event- or date-specific. The material is soft and comfortable. The fit is a little more “soccer mom” than “sporty”, but certainly 100% better than the basic cotton man tee. I felt sizing ran a little large. You do pre-order size, but I was able to switch mine out with no problems.

Loving the approach to food! All the samples are contained in an easy-to-carry box and include gluten free and organic foods that you might not expect. Apparently there was also a free breakfast offered to runners, but due to the downpour I didn’t stick around for it.

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2012 Recap

Disney’s Princess Half Marathon

Location: Walt Disney World - Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Date: Sunday, February 26^th, 2012

Participants: Total – 16,890; Women – 15,780

Obviously, this isn’t the timeliest recap as I just started blogging last week. But I still felt I could add my two cents about this event, and ultimately, I blog for me. Pausing to enjoy revisiting a joyful time in my life and being able to read back on it later have great value. This was my first half marathon and I couldn’t have hoped for a more organized, fun event.

During the Princess Half Marathon weekend, runDisney hosts the Tangled Royal Family 5K, Royal Family Kid’s Races, Pasta in the Park Party, Princess Half Marathon, and the Fit for a Princess Expo. This recap covers the last two of these events. Being fairly local, my husband and I drove in Saturday and returned home Sunday after the half marathon.

The Expo

ESPN Wide World of Sports is the host to the Fit for a Princess Expo. I had not previously been to this venue, but it’s the perfect place to start out the weekend. Driving in and parking were both easy with your own vehicle. We arrived around 11am. As you walk up the main entrance, the tone is set. The venue is grand and it was a beautiful, sunny Florida day with just a slight, cool breeze alluding to the coming cold front. The place is a buzz and already we spot smiling women in tiaras and tutus. Everyone is taking their photo with Princess welcome signs and course maps dotting the entry area.

The first stop is a giant tent set up on one of the fields adjacent to the Josten’s Center. Awaiting you as you enter the tent is your carriage with two handsomely dressed footmen. While in general, the lines to pick up your bib seemed to be rather long, I lucked up and mine was actually pretty short! Know your bib number. It’s located on the bottom of the waver you received via email. But if you happen not to have it, there are computers and printers on site. That’s just one more step for you. The bibs are very large and colored based on your favorite princess chosen when you signed up - mine was Ariel so it was teal. They are also personalized which is a nice touch. Much to my surprise, even though I signed up well past the deadline for such personalization, mine was emblazoned with my name!

I’ve seen some express discontent at the “goody” bag because it’s essentially just your bib, clear bag for bag check, and race information. Personally, it doesn’t bother me. When there is an expo involved, you get plenty of samples and goodies. And it’s actually less wasteful, as you only take what you want. I hate waste. Normally, I get a lot of useless junk in “goody bags” - anyone else have 8,000 cheap water bottles and key fobs? What I could see as potentially annoying is that they don’t give you your shirt. While this keeps lines moving faster, if you had no intention of visiting the expo, you’d be annoyed.

Next, you’re sent into the Josten’s Center building to pick up your shirt and enjoy the expo. Entering on the second story, you get to overlook the massive expo floor and see how incredibly packed it is! Oh by the way, your shirt pickup location is all the way on the other side - force a sale much? Eh, I’m here for a relaxed weekend and planned to visit expo anyway. Shirt lines were short with friendly staff. And the shirts are a cute cut for women, unlike most races with unisex shirts.

Okay, the bad about the expo. It’s packed! Bring your patience. There were times the walkways came to a virtual standstill they were so clogged. Certain booths seemed to cause more problems than others - namely the first booth to sell anything pink with 13.1 on it. Trust me - there are LOTS of other booths selling this same stuff. It’s all in good nature that I say - Please keep moving ladies. And don’t kid yourself that there are “deals” here - there aren’t, it’s just convenient. For me, an expo is a good opportunity to see a lot of items in one place and pick up a few samples of products I might not otherwise try. My nearest specialty running store is 40 minutes from my home and I despise shopping online, so this is a good opportunity to kill a few birds. BTW - I wasn’t looking for any of the specialty Disney merchandise (like the coveted Dooney and Burke Princess bag or the sport jacket), but I assure you it was all long since gone and everything else was picked over. So if you want that, you better go to the expo as soon as they open the doors.

In all, we spent about 1.75-2 hrs at the expo. Picking up the bib and shirt only took about 30-40 minutes of that.

Night-Before Preparation

We headed over to Downtown Disney to grab some lunch at Earl of Sandwich. Didn’t spend much time here as we’ve been many times before, but you’ll definitely want to check it out at some point. There are many food venues, tons of shopping, Disney Quest, House of Blues, Cirque, and much more. It’s a nice place on a small lake to meander and enjoy the weather.

We chose not to stay at one of the designated event host resorts, but we did still stay at a Disney property - Coronado Springs Resort. If you have your own car, or are willing to call a cab, I’d recommend this place. It quite close to the main Epcot entrance (read less travel, more sleep) and not overrun with children (read less noise, more sleep). For locals who only require one night (host resorts require 2 to get the deals), there are FL resident discounts and also pass holder discounts. I don’t want to do a full review of the hotel here, but suffice it to say it was clean, convenient for the race, had a hot tub, and late enough checkout to run, return and clean up - but don’t eat at the Pepper Market.

While your settling down and relaxing before the big day, read your race packet (if you haven’t already). If you didn’t print and bring the race packet with you, they provide the most important parts in your bag.

Here are the important items that it seems a lot of people overlook:

• There will be LOTS of traffic and VERY significant delays if you do not arrive early
• Be in the Epcot parking lot by 4am
• Be in your corral by 5am
• There is about a 20-30 min walk to the corrals from bag check (depending on how long you wait/how slow the overall crowd is walking)
• There are port-o-potties in the front and back of the family staging area
• There are port-o-potties multiple places along the walk to the corrals - if the first ones are packed, keep moving! The last stop is a large grouping underneath an overpass
• If you are a walker, slow runner or are using the walk/run method, it is courteous to your fellow runners to move to the right

I overheard a lot of frustrated people who didn’t plan enough time and got stuck in massive crowds “running” to their corrals to start on time. That can all be avoided. But you will have to read your packet and wake up early, very early. Just plan a relaxing evening and get in bed early.

The Race

The alarm was set for an early 2:45am wake up. Unfortunately for me, my brain decided 1:30am was more appropriate, despite taking a sleeping pill the night before. I brought my usual race day breakfast with me and ate it down first thing. Then got a quick shower and dressed in my clothes, all set out the night before - bib pre-pinned and all. This is where it was nice to have a hotel with later check out - no packing up, just go.

We left the hotel room around 3:30-3:40am and easily made it into the Epcot lot and settled in by 4 - no traffic problems at that time at all. The cold front had really picked up and it was low- to mid- 50s with a biting wind and threat of rain. So we opted to stay in the car for a bit while I mentally prepared. (yes, that’s cold for a Florida girl!)

We soon made our way to the family staging area where it’s a party scene over by a DJ stage! I’m not a great dancer normally, but that certainly doesn’t improve in the wee hours of the morning, so I opted for quiet stretching away from the stage. Due to the weather, I was glad I brought a throw away jacket. If you suspect it will in anyway be cold but not cold enough to run in long sleeves, bring a jacket to toss. They have donation bins all along the corrals. Note: don’t forget (like me) to pack another jacket in your checked bag for after! Also, if you like a pre-race drink (I use Hammer Nutrition’s Sustained Energy), bring it in a disposable water bottle. Most drinks should be taken between 30-45 minutes prior to your race, but you’ll be/should be in your corral.

They don’t open the gates out to the corrals right away. I went through bag check - with no lines! - around 4:40 but had a short wait until they let you through to the road to the corrals. Yes, it is a little bit of a walk (as noted in your packet) so remember to get out there early and not get too caught up in your dance moves! It's actually a nice way to get the blood flowing. I was in corral B which is an even further walk up. While I was early, I still ended up at the back of my corral due to a last minute need to pee! I had to exit my corral just before the national anthem, but still made it back in plenty of time before the race began.

The air is simply electric at the start of this race. So many costumes, tutus, tiaras, guys dressed as frogs, pink pink and more pink! There was music, motivational speeches, a blessing from the Fairy Godmother, and fireworks to send each wave on their way.

Being at the back of my corral, I did experience some heavy delays trying to weave through to the front. But it gave me a nice warm up, with no risk of blowing out my legs from the excitement, that allowed me to push the pace for the rest of the course. It didn’t thin out enough to get into a rhythm until about 1.5 miles in. The course primarily goes through the connecting roads through the Disney property, but that doesn’t mean they are boring. Disney really does it up. Of course, there are character stops all along the way. About every mile I would estimate. I didn’t care to stop at any, but they were nice to look at along the way. I’m a pretty focused runner, but I remember men on stilts, a hot air balloon, marching band, a few DJs, proposing Prince Charmings, a drum circle group, a 70’s band, storybook mile markers, and cheering squads. At one point around mile 9, I passed the famed Jeff Galloway and I remember thinking “oh, he actually does run it.” And if all the Disney entertainment isn’t enough, just checking out all the costumes is motivating - chase down that fairy! There are several well-stocked water stops along the way and a Clif Shot Gel station at mile 8, though I prefer to carry my own tested nutrition (Gu Gels and unsalted pretzels) in my SPIbelt™.

The highlights of the run are of course when you go through the parks. As I was running through Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom, the sky was just barely showing some light of a sunrise and all the white lights were on for us. Then you run straight through the castle to an awaiting crowd of spectators. Not to be corny but it really is magical. By the time you make it back over to Epcot for your grand finish, you’re ready for the pick-me-up of running through Tomorrow Land and around the iconic globe. Tourists are just starting to enter the park and are cheering you on, and a gospel choir signs! Right about this point is when I felt my proudest - I was really here about to finish; I felt strong; I was going to do this faster than I ever imagined; all my hard training was about to pay off. Kelly Clarkson’s, Stronger was on my iPod and I had just enough time before the thrill of the finish line to soak in my soon-to-be accomplishment while I ran.

And there it is - the finish. Mickey and Minnie are there to give you high fives under the pink archway. The crowd is rowdy. And racks and racks of big beautiful finisher medals stare at you. As you get your medal, you can be dusted with fairy dust. The end isn’t congested and you easily go to get “goodies”, which in this case were bananas, Nemo fruit snacks, water, mostly gluten free treats because one of our speakers (Miss USA, I think it was) had Celiac disease. Again I was able to claim my bag at the check with no lines.

Back in the family reunion area, the DJ awaits as well as photo opportunities with two princesses. Now that I’m done racing, I’m ready to take pictures! There were food trucks, a place to get champagne, a booth to have your medal engraved, and of course more merchandise. After a few photos, we didn’t hang around much longer as the weather appeared to be turning and I was pretty cold.

For the number of people participating, I’m amazed how smoothly this entire event runs. This is a perfect event also for a first time halfer. There are so many different ability levels and everyone is so supportive that you don’t ever feel “out of your league”. Everyone is there to have fun, fast or slow, run or walk. I recommend this event to anyone and plan on coming back for more future runDisney events! goDisney!