Let Me See That ‘Thon!

Hello, hello! I thought I’d give you some updates on the countdown to the marathon…it’s been a busy couple of days!!

We left Michigan Friday morning at 7:00, which meant we were up at 5:00. The roads were so bad, schools were canceled, but luckily, our flight was only delayed while they de-iced the wings.

(That’s my, “Why the hell is it so hot in here while they de-ice the wings?” face.)

Florida is in the midst of a cold snap right now, so I was prepared for the worst, but it was sunny when we landed. And…hello! There are palm trees! That’s better than Michigan. We are staying in Celebration, FL with our old neighbors and I love their house. It’s like staying at a B & B…every room is magazine-worthy. And the whole town looks like the set of “Desperate Housewives.” The best part is how close it is to Disney…just a 10 minute drive!

After settling in, we hit the Expo to pick up my race packet.

Thank goodness the T-shirt is better than the Detroit marathon. NOT PINK!

I don’t usually buy stuff at running expos — I’m no runner after all, and this shit seems serious — but since this is special, I did buy some swag. I got a new arm band and running belt, which will actually really help me on Sunday.

The arm band is big enough for my ipod and my phone. The belt looks tiny but the guy totally sold me on it. I was standing there scoffing to my mother, “What’s that going to hold…a key? Pshhhaaaa!” Then he showed me how much stuff you could fit in it and how your gels fit on the side. Oh, yep, there goes my $15…

I also got a Wooloot sports watch that I am so excited about! I love wearing a watch (I despise checking phones for the time!) but since I’m in workout clothes a lot, would like something not gold and Marc Jacobs.

This guy is waterproof, lightweight, and contains Tourmaline which allegedly is good for increasing concentration and improving sleep. Who knows? It’s cute (comes in a million colors) and will look great with my Nikes!

After that, my mom and I hit Publix for food for the whole weekend and then came home and made dinner. We got a rotisserie chicken, so I had that on salad with tabbouleh and hummus…

Plus whole-wheat pita, watermelon, and an amazing nectarine. I forgot how the in-season fruit would be different here. The nectarine was SO good!

We went to bed early, and I slept really well for the second night in a row! Normally anxiety makes me toss and turn, so the fact that I am sleeping so well bodes VERY well for tonight/tomorrow. This morning we had to be up for Preston’s 200 meter kids’ race. Um, the weather was no longer acceptable. It was SO cold and pouring rain. And I don’t know why I didn’t consider that bad weather plus children was a bad idea! As I waited in the rain for his race to start, and the cries and screams of children in ponchos rang out, I was ready to take a dull spoon and remove my ovaries right there. When they actually started running, it was cute, though.

Well Preston had fun. A lot of the kids were still crying on the track.

After that, it was time for something fun: a health blogger meet-up! I got to meet my “imaginary friends”…all the other bloggers I read and Tweet with every day. There were around 30 of us at a restaurant in Orlando. I am SO glad we did the lunch!

(Me with Jenn and Tish from Fit Bottomed Girls, one of my faves!)

I was still freezing from being in the rain at the kids’ race, so I ordered the chicken pot pie for lunch.

I also had a salad and drank a lot of tea and water; we had a lot of chats over lunch about what color our pee should be tonight.

Not only is it nice to meet the bloggers, but I think we all really needed to just TALK about how we’re feeling. I’ve decided running a marathon is like being pregnant. You sacrifice your body for several months, your appetite is out of control, your body is doing weird things you don’t understand, and by the end, you just find yourself crying all the time, at everything. I imagine the taper week is like the week leading up to your due date…you know it’s going to hurt, but you’re just ready to get this thing over with! And, just like how pregnant people can only talk about being pregnant, we only wanted to talk about how we’re feeling right now. It was so nice and helped me relax even more. This is seriously the most relaxed I’ve ever been before a long run, and considering I can’t start popping Xanax with my pasta tonight, that’s a very good thing!

I watched the videos Disney has about the course, and that got me excited. There are characters throughout cheering you on, and apparently people stop and take pics with the characters throughout the race! I thought this was silly, until I saw Prince Eric in the video. If I see Prince Eric, I WILL stop running and get a picture with him, officially making a childhood dream come true.

It’s supposed to be in the 20s tomorrow morning so Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point said she bought a cheap parka from Goodwill to wear while we wait in the morning (it could be about an hour) and then she can just toss it once the race starts. I had brought a sweatshirt I planned to toss, but a cheap winter coat seemed SO smart, so we put a thrift store into the GPS and went on a mission for a warm coat. Um…not easy to find in Orlando, but I did find this awesome Nike warm-up suit circa 1991….I like to imagine this is what Veronica Corningstone would have worn “yogging” with Ron Burgundy.

To be honest, I’m a little sad that I have to toss it once I start running. But right before we start I am going to WHIP it off and reveal my bedazzled Shedding It jacket (JAZZ HANDS!!!!) that WILL include a suggestive running mantra. (Right now, “Putting the HO in MARATHON” is leading the pack, but it IS Disney after all and my grandma is going to be there…so we shall see.)

My night is coming to a close very soon because I have to go to bed so early…like 8:00 PM! I’ll be getting up around 3:30 to get ready and luckily, I’m not staying at the resorts…those people will be up at 2:00. YUCK!

Tonight we’re having spaghetti and then I’m going to retreat to my room to do my playlists (I’m planning six hour-long playlists, including “Marathon Party” for when I’m feeling awesome and “Marathon FML” just in case I’m not). After that, I’m going to re-read every comment and Tweet I’ve gotten in the past week!! Seriously…your good wishes and advice mean a lot to me and that’s what I want to be on my mind as I fall asleep tonight.

I’m not totally sure when I’ll have the recap posted. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I might not get it up till late on Monday, but I’ll be updating Twitter and Facebook a lot in the meantime. You will be the first to know when I finish.

Aaight, I’m out! Love you mean it…talk to you again in 26.2!!!

Tagged as: 2010 is going to be epic, Disney World marathon, marathon training, running