I was happy to open an email from April-Anne yesterday, trying to set up a running date for today. We agreed to meet up at a flat, paved trail, close by, for a 3 mile run.
For those of you not living in New England we have had an exceptionally mild winter so far *fingers crossed*! Today when we met at 4pm it was raining and cold. Yes, I picked the cold, rainy, sleeting day to get back on the running wagon. Missed out on all those 40 something, clear sky days since the marathon and ran in the rain. I guess that's why we took off like "Bats Out of Hell" and ran 3.4 ish miles instead of the planned 3. We lost track of time and distance as we ran along chitchatting and catching up on the last couple weeks as she tried to convince me San Diego is the way to go. I'm not making any big commitments at this point in time but I am looking at the Run to Remember 1/2 marathon in Boston coming up in March. Anyone else game?
The run felt great, it's great to be back on the road!

"Mrs. Bolduc, now that your husband is home from Iraq, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to DISNEY WORLD!!"

The start was cold, I was all sorts of layered up not sure what to expect when the sun came up. The start was also very lonely. My running partner was corralled in a different location so I found my mind wandering to home and pretending that this was just another long run in the cold, minus the Running Chicks. I tied and retied my sneak, jumped around to keep warm and checked my MP3 to make sure it was going to work. Finally, Goofy, Minnie and Mickey made their way to the stage to send us off.
Mile 1: 9:56 Lots of weaving in and out but it went by very quickly, I couldn't believe it when I saw the mile marker. I started to gain some confidence that I could actually do this!
Mile 2: 9:30 Still feeling confident and I was really enjoying the mix of music I had compiled just for this race.
Mile 3: 11:41 Time for a potty break- no lines, no waiting I was in and out in a flash which was very pleasing.
Mile 4-5: 19:34 I was in such a daze I forgot to split in between, I was just cruising and bebopping in my own little race.
Mile 6: 9:19 I can't believe I am maintaining this pace still!! This is the distance of my last "long" run 2 weeks ago!!
Mile 7-8: 19:50 I remember that I brought my camera phone in my jacket pocket- yes jacket, it's freezing!! Forget to time the split. I'm starting to get excited to see my fans at mile 9!!
Mile 9: 13:26 Spot my fans and do a quick change. I was starting to get warm but still cold enough for my coat. So I took my shirt off reattached my bib to my coat and away I went.
Mile 10: 9:18 At this point I'm running on the adrenaline from seeing my big supporters. This is also my favorite part of the marathon. You run down Main St., around Tommorowland, and through Cindy's Castle.
Mile 11: 9:42 I remember starting to feel tired but I knew I was almost to the Half Marathon mark.
Mile 12: 10:02 I spot my husbands military friend in front of Shades of Green and stop to chat for a minute- always nice to see familiar faces.
Mile 13: 9:46 PHEW, made it to the HALF- keep going!!
Mile 14: 10:23, Mile 15: 9:09, Mile 16: 10:41, Mile 17: 12:37- I started to lose my pacing and was taking pictures along the way had another potty break, the parks had the bathrooms open so it was in and out and actually didn't stink to high heaven. It took a bit to get back into a groove. I also didn't realize that after Mile 17 my watch memory was full and stopped recording my splits- OH BOTHER! It's also a tough part of the course as you go through the back side of Animal Kingdom- nothing like inhaling the smells of animal poop!
Mile 18- 20: Mile 18 was a bit more pleasant as we rounded by the new Mt Everest ride. I also knew I was getting close to the mile 20-21 turn around spot where my fans would be waiting. I was done with the sweet gummy worms and ready for the salt.
Mile 20-21: I came up to the cheering section strong and took a minute to stop and stretch out, eat some Goldfish and get an encouraging hug from my darling daughter and a "GO GET 'EM" kiss from the hubby.
Mile 22-25: Over to MGM with some encouragement from the soldiers from Toy Story and then through the costume design area and then the Hershey Kiss table- just what I needed to follow up on the salty Goldfish. At this point I remember thinking this was like a running buffet, I hadn't stopped eating for 2 hours! Before heading into Epcot for the final mile we ran over the beautiful Boardwalk got some great views and fan support to push the last mile.
Mile 26: The last mile brought us throught the World Showcase. I tried to focus on my form, by this time my back was starting to give up on me (*more ab work needed*) and my feet were in shuffle mode. I also decided to give up the head phones and let the cheers of the crowd pull me in. As I rounded the corner and had the Finish in site I couldn't help but pump my arms, smile wide and think in a flash all I accomplished- I finished the 26.2, I took 10 minutes off my time from last year- and the best part was that my husband was on the other side of the line for the first time!!
Special Thanks to the Race Crew:
John- Thanks for the ride and convincing me to sign up one more year
Mom- for being such a great "coach"
Hubby- for being there, you were my motivation
Maggie- for being my #1 fan
Geoffrey- for being such a great navigator to get the crew to each location
To the Running Chicks:
thanks for getting up early in the cold, I love your company on and off the road.

When I first decided to run this marathon I had huge hopes- run a 4 hour marathon, lift weights, follow training to a tee- then the reality set in. My hubby came home 2 months early from Iraq and disrupted my flow and training (not a bad thing), the cold New England weather rolled in, a root canal and life in general. I started missing long runs and then I started skipping my mid week runs and then I thought “how am I going to run this marathon?!” With an optimistic attitude and patience. My family deserved a nice vacation and time away so that would be the focus of the week and the marathon would be secondary.
We headed down to Orlando on Friday afternoon with plans to “do the expo” on Saturday and then meet up with my friend John, who was also running the marathon, and his family at Olive Garden for some carb loading and last minute race strategy. We had a great meal and good company and then we said our goodbye’s and planned our 4am meeting. Once back at our suite I pinned on my race bib, put on the chip, packed my race bag and laid out my clothes. My race team and I went over the viewing areas one last time and then it was off to bed. I didn’t have much trouble falling asleep. I did have a hard time however pulling my butt out of bed at 3:30am to go run 26.2 miles!!
I had my pre race breakfast of oatmeal and packed up my bagel for the road and headed out to the sidewalk to wait in the 30F cold weather to wait for John to pick me up. We drove over to Epcot for the start and I could feel the butterflies trying to fly out of my throat. After parking, checking in our bags and using the portopotties we started our .75 mile trek to the start.

I just flew in from Florida and boy are my arms tired! Seriously, I just returned home after a week of MAGIC in Walt Disney World. I finished the marathon on my own 2 feet and actually shaved about 10 minutes from my time last year!! I'll be back soon to post the race report!