Team B's Marathon Vacation -- Day 4 RACE DAY!!!

[teambricker04]

Who??
DH, Aaron
Me, Nicole
DS#1, 3yo
DS#2, 19mo

When and Where??
January 8th-16th at Fort Wilderness

Day 4 -- Jan 11 RACE DAY!!!

The night before the race, Aaron and I spent some time making sure he had everything. We laid it out, I helped pin his bib on after a half hour of contemplating where to pin it (shorts in case he needed to loose his shirt). We set multiple alarms for 2am and went to bed. I laid there forever because I wasn't getting up that early and really wasn't tired. Aaron, as usual, fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The alarm rang and up we both were. I helped him get what he needed, took some pictures of his "before" and out the door he went. I headed back to sleep until 6am when I got up to shower and get ready. The little boys decided to sleep in (of course) and I let them. I had signed up for the runner location texts. I was SHOCKED to see Aaron was running a 7 minute mile!!!! WHAT?!?! We never talked about that!!! I was thinking more like a 9 or 9.5 minute mile. This put him ahead of our time frame to get to the Contemporary or even MK. So we skipped it. When I asked him after the race why he was running so fast, he told me that he was right next to the fireworks, behind the wheelchairs and all the excitement just got to him.

After we ate and were ready to go, we drove up to the front and parked, and walked across the lot to the bus stop. We JUST missed the EPCOT bus. That was okay because after talking with the attendant, I learned that the road still wasn't open to EPCOT so that drive had to go to the TTC instead. We waited a LONG time. The bus area filled up and the boys were crabby. A really nice woman from FL sat near us and started a converstation. Her fiance was running too.

A DHS bus pulled up and the driver hopped out. He yelled to see if anyone wanted to get on his bus. I was tempted, but unsure how the transportation to EPCOT was going to go. So I asked, "Are the boats currently running from DHS to EPCOT due to the race?" He didn't seem to understand me and couldn't answer, so I asked, "If I get to DHS, but I want to take the boat to EPCOT will I be able to get to it because of all the runners." Finally, the driver said, "Ma'am, the boat runs on the water and runners don't. Do you think you'll be able to?" URG. What was the DEAL with people this trip??? The very nice woman, and all the people around me groaned because they all seemed to get what I was asking. The driver wouldn't drop it and kept going, thinking he had some one to make fun of and an audience. I told him what I thought of his response in the nicest way I could and he tried to back track. I just ignored him and he finally went on his way with an empty bus. Really, I don't know why this happened to me, but this trip made me feel like a target for strangers.

The EPCOT bus came and the really nice woman helped me on with the stroller and two boys. The road was all clear... I should have driven all the way to EPCOT, but who knew??!? Not me!

When we got to EPCOT, I saw the line for security and got a little nervous. As it turned out, most people were going to the finishline. The boys and I headed in and made it to the rope right before the drop. You could see all the runners and feel the energy. According to the text messages, Aaron would be in and running past us with in a half hour. We went in and stood across from the electric umbrella. We cheered and started getting hot. #2 was really enjoying himself and tooting a train whistle. #1 was mad that he couldn't run too and was doing everything in his power to be difficult. Luckily, I had snacks. I kept saying, "Just a little longer!" finally, an hour and a half later I figured we missed Aaron. We headed out front and sat. Finally I got a text saying that Aaron crossed the finishline. We found him and found out that it took him as long to run the last 6 miles as it did to run the first half due to terrible cramping. He ran past the spot we had stood in about 2 minutes after we left That was my fault. So we never saw him, but he did it and made it and we were all so proud!

A quick trip to the cabin for a shower and lunch, and then we headed back over to EPCOT for the afternoon. By dinner time we were all hungry and tired. Luckily, I had put a roast in the crock pot. We ate, hung out and called it an early night!

Oooh... Aaron's legs were sore, but nothing like his last race. Later we found out that cramping like that can happen when you train in a really dry climate like Denver and then go run in a humid climate like Orlando. It may also have something to do with the 7 minute miles at the start.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Congratulations to Aaron for completing the race!

Other than the bus driver, sounds like a very exciting day. Thanks for sharing!

[faline]

Sorry you missed him run by you but he really accomplished something! He certainly has every right to be very proud of himself - cramps and all!

[mouseketeer mom]

Sorry you missed him, and sorry about your frustrations with the bus driver. How fresh he was. Kudos to you for getting around WDW yourself with your two little boys. They're at an age where it isn't always easy. Congrats to your DH too, for finishing the race.

[dolphinmickey9170]

Sounds like a bus driver who tried to have an attitude. Horray for you for not stooping to his level! Sorry you missed your DH, but congrats for his finish!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!