Running, Cycling, Fitness Tips – The Inadvertent Athlete

Disneyland Half Marathon or Bust

Just over 2 weeks until a major goal for the year gets checked off: The Coast to Coast Disney Medal.

I suffered through the tundra of the Goofy Challenge in January to get the first series of medals, now just 13.1 separates me from my goal. My wife and kids and I are running the 5K on Saturday as well so, it will be another high mileage weekend. Granted, not as many miles as running 39.3 miles in two days plus walking through the parks later those days, but, nonetheless, you get the picture.

I haven’t logged a ton of miles this summer due to the wretched heat and humidity in these parts, mainly because I’m allergic to heat stroke and death. Anaheim will be in the 60′s at race time, not 90′s so, that’s a bonus. I’ll probably be cold, again. I hope so.

Still, with the prize almost within my grasp, I’m already looking to the next couple of things. I’m doing a big ride on the US Pro course a few hours before the pros do it for real. It’s called the Stars and Stripes Challenge. It’s for charity and for a good cause and it’s always fun to ride a closed course and not have to deal with cars trying to run you down.

Then, as soon as we get back from Cali, I’m pulling the trigger on Disney 2011. I have a score to settle with the Goofy Challenge. Hopefully this year, I will be a wiser, more well-trained participant. And also, it would be cool if Mother Nature would see fit not to do something retarded on race day. I figure she owes me and 15,000 other people big time. I’m ordering up a 50 degree, cloudy weekend. Hear that, old lady?

Cooper River Bridge Run Review

On a nippy Saturday morning, 50,000 of my closest friends and I shivered together, awaiting the start of the annual Cooper River Bridge Run. Started in 1978, the Cooper River Bridge Run has grown from a few hundred runners to one of the 10 biggest races in America. I have run this race several times, both while in college in Charleston over a decade ago as well as the past few years. The following is a review of this race and perhaps a few tips for those thinking about running it in the future.

The temperature is usually in the 40′s at start time, give or take 10 degrees. It will be chilly while standing around but, actually, perfect weather for running. The starting corrals are on Coleman Blvd. in Mt Pleasant. They extend for at least half a mile from the start line. It has taken me as many as 20 minutes to get to the starting line once the gun goes off. Today, I was 2 minutes from the start.

First tip: If you want to run this race for time, get as close to the starting line as possible. Somehow, without fail, walkers get into the first few corrals which should only be sub-hour runners. This inevitably causes lots of traffic to weave through and will cost you time. Sub 49 minute runners can submit proof of time and get preferred corral placement. If you’re not worried about your time, then just relax and enjoy the party. Also, get to the starting area in plenty of time to get in your corral or else you may have trouble getting into it in time to start.

As the clock counts down, the corrals heave forward in anticipation. Once the gun sounds,  everyone starts walking toward the start. As you pass over the timing mat, you are free to run, however, you probably won’t be able to for a hundred yards or so, because of traffic. Your first mile will be slow unless you are at the front.

Second tip: If you like a 6 mile long party, this is the place for you. If you have a fear of crowds, not so much. The first time you run this race, you might think that the crowd will thin out as you go along. It doesn’t thin as much as speed up. There will be runners within arms-length of you in all directions at all times for the entire race. It’s not so bad as long as you don’t fall down. If your shoes come untied, as mine did this year, I advise you to get to the side quickly and deal with it. If you stop in the center of the road, you will probably get trampled. Again, not trying to scare you, just letting you know. This is a BIG race.

Making your way out of Mt Pleasant, the Ravenel Bridge comes into view. It is a strikingly beautiful bridge and much smoother and easier to run than its’ predecessors. There is only one hill in this bridge, the others had two. Once you hit the approach to the bridge, you’ll need to use some caution as a lot of folks start to walk when they hit the hill. Making your way up the bridge ramp, you will start to feel the breeze from the ocean and the Cooper River. It will be welcome as you will be warmed up by now. Moving through the first bridge support, take a moment to look up and around you. This bridge really is a beautiful feat of engineering. The view out over Charleston Harbor isn’t too bad either.

About this time, you’ll crest the hill and the after-burners can kick in for the next 2 miles, which are all downhill. If you need to make up time, this is the place to do it. Enjoy the breeze and view while you can, this is worth the price of admission. Soon, you will make your way down the ramp to Meeting Street where a water station awaits. You will immediately notice that the breeze is gone, blocked by the buildings. The last couple of miles takes you down Meeting Street toward the Visitor’s Center, then hangs a right over to King Street. You will pass Marion Square, the post-race gathering spot, but there is more running to do before you get there. Keep going, down King Street toward Charleston Place before taking a left back over to Meeting Street. As you come back on to Meeting, you will see the finish line about 500 yards up the road. Sprint. Congratulations, you got over it!

The post-race area is an experience unto itself. It’s crammed full of spectators, runners, vendors and just about everyone in Charleston. It’s even more crowded than the race itself, if that’s possible. Water and fruit stations are everywhere. This is a very well-run and well-supported race. It’s amazing that so many people can be involved in the race and things still maintain a appearance of organization.

In years past, packet pickup has been a nightmare. The Gaillard Auditorium is a decent-sized venue, but when so many people rush it at once, it quickly becomes unmanageable. This year, they had a tent set up outside to get your number and then you proceeded to get your other items. This seemed to work much better than in years past. You also have the option of having your packet mailed to you in advance for a nominal fee. Personally, I like getting in the crowds at the Expo.

It’s a great race and the perfect excuse to spend a weekend in Charleston. For those that are considering registering for next year, here is my advice: Register early, book your rooms early, have your packets mailed or get to pickup early on Friday, be prepared for a 6 mile long party with CLOSE friends, and most importantly, relax and have fun.

Tags: 10K, Bridge Run, Bridge Run Review, Charleston Bridge Run, Cooper River Bridge Run

Walt Disney World Marathon Review

This is Part 2 of the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Review. Part 1 can be found here.

After the Half Marathon, I was frozen solid. I went back to the hotel, shivering, and took a hot bath, took my recovery supplements, and went to eat a good lunch. After that, my kids wanted to go to one of the parks, after all, we were at Disney World. So, we took them over to Hollywood Studios for a few hours and had dinner with friends. I didn’t do anything too strenuous so, it shouldn’t have been any big deal. I mean, I run longer training runs than 13 miles with no ill effects at all the next day.

On Sunday morning, when the room once again erupted in sound at 3 am, I jumped up and slapped at the phones and alarms until they stopped beeping. Lumbering across the room to start getting ready, I noticed that my legs were tight, and by tight, I mean stiff, and by stiff, I mean sore. Huh? Why am I sore? I shouldn’t be sore from that. It was just 13 miles. I finished my pre-race routine and my lovely wife and I made our way over to the park with the same clockwork precision as the previous day. This morning, we drove over and lingered in the car for a few more minutes because it was 10 degrees colder than the day before but no precipitation, thankfully. Walking down to the gathering area, I was still really tight in the hips and my feet were killing me for some reason. Trying to figure out what was going on, I looked down and saw my answer: concrete. This place was nothing but concrete. The roads, the parks, everything was made of concrete. At home, I run on asphalt, which is a good bit softer than concrete. The roads have to be harder in Florida because it’s hotter down there and asphalt wouldn’t hold up as well. I actually avoided running on concrete in training because it was so hard. At that moment, I got nervous about the event for the first time. Another 26.2 miles of pounding was gonna hurt.

We made our way down to the corrals with similar results as the previous day. We barely got in the corral and turned on our music before the gun went off. For the record, both of these races went off early. The advertised start time was 5:50 for wheelchair competitors and others would follow in waves a few minutes apart. On both days, I was running at 5:45. I suspect it was because of the 40,000 people shivering in 20 degree weather. In Florida…

The starting route of the marathon was very similar to the half marathon. There were some extra miles added to the start of the route but it didn’t matter much because it was pitch black outside for the first 2 hours. The occasional band, pep squad and sign helped break up the monotony of running elbow to elbow with 40,000 people. I took a drink from a drink station and when I raised it to my lips, nothing came out of the cup. The Powerade was frozen in the cup. Not only was the road a block of ice, so were the cups. You had to crush the cup a little to get the drink out. Mmmm, that icy water is just what you need when you are freezing to death and in pain. I was moving slowly because I was so cold and just couldn’t get warmed up. I exaggerated my movements, hoping to loosen up my legs. It was no use.

As we came into the Magic Kingdom somewhere around mile 9, my spirits lifted again because the sun had peaked above the horizon and it felt warmer, even if it wasn’t. Once again, we ran down Main Street USA to the cheers of spectators. We stopped and took a few pictures in front of the castle and with a few characters. It was here where we decided to just relax and enjoy the day. I stopped caring about the time on the clock. We would run a slow marathon but, I didn’t care. There would be other days for that. After posing with princesses, pirates, and anthropomorphic animals, we shot out the back gate once again on the lonesome country road. On the day before, it had been pitch dark on this road. Today, you could see that it was swamp land with a narrow strip of road running through it. This road was for use only by Disney cast members. There was still no indication that Magic Kingdom was just beyond the tree line. I still don’t know how they do it.

The next part of the course was a long stretch that ran down by a golf course or two and the wedding chapel complex and a few other resort areas. It was well supported but I could have used more distraction. Somewhere around mile 13 or 14 I felt a terrible stabbing pain in my left hip. I limped into a medical station and the little lady there said something about it being a “Stinger”. That sounded about right. She dug her knuckle into it a few times, slapped a handful of BioFreeze on it, handed me 2 Tylenol, a cup of frozen water, and sent me on my way. It was still bitterly cold and every time we stopped, even for a few seconds, it was really hard to get warm again.

Making our way around to the Animal Kingdom, we smelled it before we saw it. I can only imagine what I was smelling, but it was really foul and not what you wanted to be breathing. Soon though, the stench subsided and we entered the Animal Kingdom park and another string of cheering spectators and characters. We stopped to take pictures with Minnie, Rafiki, and Donald Duck. This time, I jogged in place in line to help stay warm. I don’t remember where we went out of Animal Kingdom because I was getting tired and hungry. I popped a couple of gels and S caps and kept trudging. My wife was an angel, hanging out with me all day when she could have run much faster without me. She would run up the road and look around to find that I had dropped off of the pace and then she’d wait up for me. She’s an angel, that one.

More desolate access roads, frozen tundra in disguise as drink stations marked the way to Hollywood Studios. One particularly irritating place was at mile 20. There was a long, maybe half a mile stretch that went way down one lane of the road and hair-pinned somewhere in the distance and ran right back down beside us so that we were meeting people coming back on our left. The temptation was strong to just jump over to that lane and go on. The only problem with that is that there was a timing mat at the end of that long stretch specifically to prevent that from happening. If you didn’t cross that mat, no medal. Buzzkill. Coming back from that hairpin was the mile 21 sign. The last few miles seemed to be getting longer and longer. We ran up and over a bridge that led up the side of the main thoroughfare into Hollywood Studios. We came in the back, where the back lot tour takes you by Walt’s plane, through the costume department tunnel, up by the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights and out the front gate. At mile 23, it finally warmed up above freezing. The drink stations were no longer frozen, and neither were my legs. I got a second wind, now that it was just a 5K to the finish. We wandered down by the waterway that runs from Hollywood Studios, by the Swan and Dolphin, The Boardwalk Resort, and up into the World Showcase at Epcot. Our last mile was around World Showcase, back up around Spaceship Earth (the big ball) and out a side entrance to the finish line. A gospel choir was singing to the side as we had 100 yards left to the finish line. I felt like singing with them but, I was so ready to get to the mat. Tons of cheering spectators lined the street and once again, we ran through all 3 timing mats. I was really glad to stop. REALLY glad. My legs were numb but surprisingly felt OK. I grabbed another Mylar blanket, got my Mickey medal and started the walk to the Goofy’s Challenge tent. Finally, the reason I put myself through all of this. The training, the education, the pain, the money, it was all about to pay off. A little Asian man placed the medal around my neck and congratulated me. I stumbled out into the sunlight and found my wife and we walked to the picture area, posed for a few shots and bundled up in Mylar and started the long, breezy walk back to the car. Once in the car, with the heat wide open, we started to relax and kind of tiredly celebrate what we had just accomplished. My wife had just ran her first marathon, albeit far slower than she could have done it, and I had just pushed myself across 39.3 frozen, painful miles. I knew I would have trouble walking the next day but, that kind of thing comes with the territory.

The next few days were filled with theme parks and great memories with my family so I haven’t had much time to reflect yet. I suppose, in retrospect, it doesn’t feel like such a big deal even though I suppose it is to some. 39.3 miles is a long way to run. I should be proud of it but, somehow, I’m not yet. Maybe in time.. I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be or expected to be, but I did have a lot of fun and in the end, I did what I went there to do.

If you are looking for a great event that is incredibly organized and supported, where all you have to do is show up and run, these are the ones to do. It’s easy to justify since you will probably spend a few magical days at Disney as well. How can you lose? Registration for next year will probably be open in the next few weeks. Maybe next year, it won’t be record low temps and snowing on you.

Tags: Running race reviews, Walt Disney World Half Marathon, Walt Disney World Marathon