My First Marathon

It. Was. So. Humid.  Like, I was sweating as soon as I crossed the start.  My hips hurt, because a few miles of the half were on a on-ramp on the highway, so I was running off balance.  I wasn't even to mile 1 yet, and was already having aches and pains.  However, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, considering I was 23 miles into the Dopey already.  23 miles--that's not even halfway there!

This race was serious.  It was all business.  I made it to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom, and usually I stop for a photo-op.  This time, there was no photo op.  I must keep moving.  I was doing 20/20 intervals, nice and easy.  I wasn't maintaining a good pace though--and I think it was due to the humidity.  I was already at a 15 minute mile pace, and that was only at the beginning.  I knew right then that there was no time for stops today!

Before I knew it, I was headed towards Main Street USA.  I took out my headphones to take it all in.  Cheers, cowbells, people galore.  All there for one reason--to cheer us on.  It was amazing.  It gave me chills.  I rain up Main Street USA for the last time during this particular journey.  I filmed it, and the video brings tears to my eyes watching it.  I stopped for a selfie near the castle, and kept on trucking into Tomorrow Land.

We ran through the castle, this time it was much faster than yesterday.  I stopped for a castle photo, and then trucked on.  My feet were hurting.  I was at mile 5, and thought I better make a restroom break.  Lines for portapotties were too long, so I detoured into Frontierland and made a quick potty stop.  Survival mode was beginning to kick in---it later will come into full effect around mile 18--but at this point, I knew I didn't have the extra 30 seconds to spare in washing my hands...so, out I went back onto the journey.

At mile 6, I was 20 minutes ahead of the balloon ladies.  And again, I was on the BORING stretch of road.  I was still mentally okay.  My feet hurt, but I was pushing past that.  We eventually made our way into Animal Kingdom.  The park was open at this point, so they would stop the guests to let us pass the areas in the park.  Guests were cheering us on, and it was neat to watch them watch us.  I saw parts of Animal Kingdom that I had not seen before.  I was drinking both power ade and water at every stop due to the humidity, so again I made another rest room pit stop.  We left Animal Kingdom and were on Disney backroads.

At mile 8, I started mentally breaking down.  I was 5 miles away from being HALFWAY done, and I was hot, sweaty, and tired.  I was in pain.  I started to cry.  Here I am, alone--crying.  I texted Brandon, telling that I didn't think I could do this.  How could I do this?  What was I thinking?  At that moment, I decided that I was wasting energy crying.  "Suck it up, sister.  You are wasting valuable energy by crying, and you're getting your breathing all out of whack.  If you can dream it, you can do it."  Somehow, I got outside of my head again, and just listened to my music and ran.  And ran.

I don't remember much after mile 8, until I got to 13.  I remember the "BUS" being at mile 11 picking up people, and I remember being so glad that I made it passed the bus.  At 13, I was in pain.  I was halfway there and in pain.  Again, the goal was to stay OUTSIDE of my head and not really even think.  Just like Forrest Gump, "I was running." and that's all I was doing.   I don't remember much after 13, until mile 18ish--or the ESPN center.

I do remember in between miles 13 and 18 two different things.  The pain was overtaking my body.  And I came across a lady who's shirt read, "Pain is just weakness leaving your body."  And I kept saying that over, and over in my head.  I'm shocked I wasn't chanting it outloud.  I grabbed some swedish fish from a stranger for a quick snack---I was in survival mode, officially.  Who takes food from strangers?  Marathoners do.

Oh, mile 18.  The ESPN Sportscenter, also known as the DEVIL.  As we went into it, people were coming out of it on the other side of the boulevard.  I was feeling optimistic, thinking I would be in their shoes soon.  WRONG.  Big, fat wrong.   We ran in that sports center forever.  Around a track, and just when you thought you were leaving, you entered in a baseball field that was a dirt track.  There was a band in there I think playing music for us, but at that point, I was done.  Ready to be outta there and on my way to the finish line.  Water stops were already breaking down their tables---I was officially at the back of the pack.

I had to pee.  Oh, I had to pee.  I had joked with Brandon previously that I would be like those crazy marathoners who pee on themselves to save time.  And at this point, I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider peeing on myself.  Like, I seriously considered it.  "I've got black pants on, nobody will know," I thought to myself.  I almost did---I was officially in survival mode.  I could NOT get picked up because I had to pee!  BUT, knowing me, it would run down my leg and 25,000 runners would know that I had just pissed my pants, and instead of it being a funny Billy Madison moment, I would be mortified....so I found the nearest porta potty and made a pit stop.  Let me say, back of the pack people have NO toilet paper left in the porta potties---next time--here's a tip--pack some toilet paper :D

I'm walking, maintaining a decent pace, when I hear---"8 minutes behind you."  The balloon ladies were 8 minutes behind me.  I was asking everyone near me for reassurance.."if we maintain this pace, we will be okay? right?"  Nobody knew.

At this point, I'm starting to feel sick.  I'm trying to run but my body doesn't want to.  My phone goes flying out of my flip belt and shatters.  "Who cares, you've got to finish a race, you can fix a broken phone but you can't get on a bus,"  and I trucked on.  I was trying to calculate what my speed needed to be in order to not get picked up by the balloon ladies....I couldn't focus.  I couldn't think straight.  The only thing on my mind was just keeping one foot in front of the other.  I was texting Brandon random texts that made no sense whatsoever.   I think I was losing it, I really do.  My body was in shock, wondering what the hell I was doing to it.

As I am back to the boulevard--you know that spot that I was so excited to see---well, I was seeing street sweepers sweeping the road that I had just ran on.  There were no more runners, just a race ending and people cleaning up after the mess.

I finally exit the Sportscenter, and am back on the highway.  A mile or so up the road, I head up a ramp, and see a policeman and a bus.  He looks at us, and smiles, waves his hands and says, "Congratulations, you made it.  This is the last bus."

At that moment, I lost it.  I had made it.  Tears filled my eyes, and those around me.  We made it.  We were going to finish the Dopey challenge despite all the odds being against us.  "We made it!" we said.  I was texting random people, letting them know that I was going to make it.

I was in so much pain, it felt good to know that I was safe to walk.  And then, all of a sudden there was intense pain in my arm.  I look behind me, and see that there was a bee stinging me.  I pulled out the stinger, and kept on trucking, thanking God that I wasn't allergic.

We walked a while.  5 miles to go.  And then, a lady comes up behind us shouting, "Balloon ladies are 2 minutes behind you."  Everyone started flipping out.  The policeman was wrong!  I forced myself to run.  It was devastating.  Absolutely devastating.  I ran into Hollywood Studios.  They gave us dove chocolate inside HS, and it was delish!  Last bus is at mile 24---if you make it past there, you are safe.  I couldn't fail now.  I couldn't.

"30 seconds behind you, pick up the pace."
It was all a blur, and finally I made it to mile 24.  I made it.  I was "safe."  I cried some more.  And, let me just say it wasn't a silent cry.  I was boo-hooing.  A really tall guy was walking next to me holding his shorts---it was clear that by the way he was walking, he was chafed...he asked me if I was okay, and I replied while balling like a baby, "yes, I'm just emotional!!!"   At this point, I could walk the rest of the race, and as long as I didn't pass out or fall over, I was going to make it.

I had decided to walk the last 2 miles.  I was in serious pain.
"Pain is weakness leaving your body...pain is weakness leaving your body." I was repeating over, and over in my head.

I was finally in the home stretch of the race, and there were people at the Boardwalk Hotel passing out sacks of pretzels.  Again, I took food from strangers, and ate.  My fingers were swelling, my feet were crying out, and I was in pain.

The last mile.  Oh, bittersweet.  The amount of people cheering us on in Epcot was amazing.  Those that had already finished were there, cheering us on.  Strangers.  Families.  I took my headphones out to hear everything and take it all in.  I could not stop crying.  I cried the entire last mile.  People were shouting out to me "Go Ashley, you have made it!"  One man in particular had just finished the Dopey, he held his medals out to me and shouted, "GO ASHLEY. YOU GOT THIS!! DO YOU SEE THESE MEDALS???? THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE YOURS!!!!"  I'll never forget how I felt when I saw him and heard his words.

I saw the choir singing.  I saw the sign that said mile 26, and then I saw my new friend Jennifer there.  We met up, hugged a bit, I cried some more and we set off to finish.  As I made it to the finish, I couldn't stop crying.  I was hurting, and I was proud.  It was over.  I had made it.

7 hours, 31 minutes, and 46 seconds.


The pain I was experiencing was extremely intense--the hours after the marathon are a story in itself, which will be another post, another day.

I did it!  I made it!  I could not stop crying.  I did it.
"If you can dream it, you can do it."