Picking up from yesterday –
Once we made it into Hollywood Studios, people were giving out candy! Yep, various kinds of chocolate. Yum yum. …?
“Yum yum” was my first thought when I saw candy. However – for one thing. I’m obsessed with milk. I don’t really like chocolate unless I can down some sweet, sweet, delicious milk along with it.
But more than anything, my stomach was just not having it around mile 22-ish. I reached out for free chocolate. It’s free chocolate. Natural reflex. Then I looked at it in my hand and thought, “Nope. No way.”
It wasn’t that I had an upset stomach, but I dunno… It just did not seem appetizing to me that deep into the race, though I’m sure some people loved it.
Speaking of food deep into the race, there was a bacon challenge around mile 24. I had no idea what it was when I passed it. I saw a booth people were going off to, and I saw people getting medals. I had no idea what was going on.
I found out later that a little non-Disney-official Facebook page had been started, and a group had put together a challenge in which runners would eat 3 pieces of bacon toward the end of the race. If they did, they got a super cute 3 Little Pigs medal.
I’m not sure bacon would’ve been super appetizing at that point (to me, at least – congrats to everyone who could handle it), but I’m pretty sure I’m in for the challenge during the Disneyland Half. (I can definitely handle it in a half.)
After Hollywood Studios, the course took us through Disney’s Yacht Club Resort (this is where that bacon challenge was). I liked being on hotel property. As much as I like highways, again, the change of scenery was nice. Thought it is a little odd, right? Seeing these hotel guests lounging by the water when we’re out there doing a marathon.
I’m sure it’s weird for them too. “What is this sea of people doing traipsing through my vacation?”
Even though I had taken a look at the map, I was not intimately familiar with it. (I never am. I just follow signs and people in front of me.)
I thought we’d be doing the overpass again to get to Epcot. I wasn’t looking forward to going up an incline so late in the race – even if it was just one hill.
Well, imagine my pleasant surprise when the course took us through some back entrance to Epcot from the Yacht Club. Woot!
I knew once we were in Epcot, we were pretty home free. This was it – the last thing. Just get to the ball and go out to the parking lot.
I was tired, but still keeping it together okay. The park was open and people were milling about. Anytime I’m in front of a crowd, I want to be super cute and personable and fun. I wanted to take off running, looking totally cute, of course, and giving big smiles to everyone I passed.
I abandoned that idea in about one second.
I want to give y’all a show, but way more than that, I just want to put on these headphones and have R. Kelly and Michael Jackson take me on home.
I started up “The World’s Greatest” by R. Kelly on my iPhone. That song is my jam! I used to end every workout with it. Then I banned it from my rotation for a while after I got out of the hospital and had crummy little slow workouts. “You are not the world’s greatest!” I’d yell at myself.
But, I’ve allowed it back in the rotation sometimes this year. (Not that I actually think I am the world’s greatest anything. Come on, who am I? Hillary Clinton? Cory Booker?)
Anyway, I was finishing a marathon – a marathon, y’all! Slowly, slowly finishing. But I allowed myself my R. Kelly treat (twice).
And I will wrap up the marathon story tomorrow (even though I wish I could just talk about it forever – too fun!)