Wine n Dine Half Marathon!
Well those of you who have been following along with Facebook or Twitter will know that the Wine n Dine Half Marathon took place last weekend and it was glorious! This race was super exciting for me. Not only did I get to run with a bunch of my old friends, but it was a DISNEY RACE!! Which of course is my favorite type of race. We all know Disney knows how to put on a show, well they certainly also know how to put on a race!! This particular race is the finale to a magnificent event that Walt Disney World puts on in Epcot, called the Food and Wine Festival. Food and Wine is pretty much the greatest festival ever. They have booths set up all over the World Showcase from different countries and you can taste different food and beverages from each booth as you wander around the park. They also have live entertainment almost every night, this year some of the highlights included Wilson Phillips, whom I did not get to see, and Hanson, whom I did indeed see!! This magnificent event goes on for just over a month and culminates in the Wine n Dine half marathon!!! The race begins at the Wide World of Sports and goes through both Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios before ending in Epcot with a giant party and much exultation! I have been looking forward to this race for months and I’ve been training hard. I did, however, have a few trepidations.
1. Running outside!! I’ve been training strictly on a treadmill for the last 7 months. How am I going to react to running on real life land, have I been training g hard enough? I try to vary my treadmill incline and speed enough to mimic land, but maybe I didn’t train correctly or enough.
2. Temperature!! I spent the last 3 months in the Baltic, training in the cold, how will my body react to the high temperature and humidity of Florida?! Especially with all the signs proclaiming ‘EXTREME HEAT WARNING!! STAY HYDRATED, THIS MAY NOT BE THE WEEKEND TO RUN YOUR BEST TIME’
3. Time!! This was a night run. Start was 10pm. Sure I do training runs that late, but my entire race history, be it marathons or triathlons, is all morning. I know how to prepare for morning races, I know how my body reacts, nights races are a whole other ball game, I’m not sure how best to prep.
So I went into the race, not expecting much, but expecting to do the best I could do. As expected, the first 3 miles were the worst. I always fight through those. Between mile 2-3, a ruthless cramp almost crippled me, but I ran through it. I love running outdoors. After the amount of discipline I’ve developed to run on a treadmill for endless miles, it was like a vacation to run outside, so many things to look at, so many people to race!! Turns out I didn’t do so badly in the training department. Once that pesky cramp worked itself out, I ran like there was no tomorrow. I felt amazing and turns out, I ran my best time ever! 2:05!! And I had a blast!!! Great success!!! And at the finish line, not only did I get a massive giant medal, but also a glass of wine!! Best. Race. Ever!!!!
je suis erica 