100 Triathlons
Go to the early blogs to read how I got into triathlons. Click on any picture to enlarge it. "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." Theodore Roosevelt 1910

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Walt Disney World Marathon


Today was the 2012 Marathon at Walt Disney World.   I had last done the race in 2010 and had progressively better times in each one, until this year.  My times were:
2005 5:18:56
2009 4:51:33
2010 4:32:08
2012 4:38:53
Oddly enough, my total distance was 26.80 miles on my Garmin GPS watch. My time at 26.2 miles was 4:32:25. Several other people with GPS units also reported that the course was long; from 26.4 to 26.6. I spoke to the race director later who said the course is measured at the tightest point and narrowest corners totaling 26.2 miles.  It's almost impossible to run 26.2 miles with other people there, so the GPS measurement will show a longer course.  There were 13,478 finishers.

The race itself posed a few difficulties. I arrived at 2:30 AM to beat the traffic and then met Bernadette walking past the parking area from the shuttle bus zone. The morning was crystal clear, 51 degrees, with a full moon shining through the trees. The 5:30 start went off fine and B and I ran together for the first mile. Some ground fog crossed the road and the temps dropped going through the wooded areas. At about mile 20, my left leg started hurting and despite the use of Anti-fatigue caps and Tylenol it got worse. I started to take little 100 yard walk breaks through the water stops for relief. By this time the temperature was in the 60s and it was very sunny. It was really sore by mile 25 all the way to the finish. My final time of 4:38:53 had me finishing 124th out of 412 55-59 Men. The Garmin also showed I burned 3,706 calories.  A post-race assessment of my pain indicated ITBS or Ilio-Tibial Band Syndrome.  A friend told me the combination of long distance, age, and uneven pavement can bring it on.  The number of canted exit/entrance ramps the last 5-6 miles probably did it.

Unfortunately, Bernadette suffered leg cramping at mile 24 and fell off her pace to finish at 4:53:13, 109th out of 444, 50-54 Women.
Another mutual friend, Rick Paine (on left), qualified for the Boston Marathon with a 3:28:13 finish in 50-54 Men.
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