Still Cold

The race is over. It's been over for 8 hours. I'm still cold.

We got up at 3a to catch the shuttle to the race at 3:30a. I layered on running tights, dry-fit long sleeve shirt, dry-fit short sleeve shirt, cotton long sleeve and a hooded sweatshirt. Not to mention gloves and ear warmers. The sweatshirt was my Brother's - thank goodness I wore it. It was 34 degrees. I saw a few snow flurries.

We stood out in the windy cold for two hours. Wow, I was chilled to the bone.

Then we got to our corral and waited some more. Soon the freezing rain started. Eventually the fireworks went off to let us know we could start! We ran 4 miles into the sleet. My plan was to shed the sweatshirt after a mile or so, but I kept it for the first 5 miles. I saw my Sister-in-Law's parents who were there to cheer us on. I gave them the cotton long sleeve and the hooded sweatshirt. The next mile or 2 was awesome. Through Main Street, into the Magic Kingdom Castle. We saw Cinderella and Prince Charming and the whole Royal Family outside the castle! It was still dark out, so the lights were all on. We also saw a lot of the Disney characters around the park. Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook and Smee. The Bears. Captain Jack and the pirates. So many more. It was awesome! Those 2 miles were the best by far.

Then I immediately wished I had my sweatshirt back. The last 6 miles had the wind at our backs, which was better. My hip started to hurt with about 3 miles left. The rest of the run was fine - rain began so we got wet. At the end, we got Mylar wraps which usually toast you like a baked potatoe - unfortunately, you need the sun in order to really make them effective. In the end, they just worked to keep the rain off.

We got on the shuttle bus to go back to the hotel. For some reason, the bus was frigid. I don't know why the bus driver didn't have the heat on. We got back to the hotel and ran (literally) back to our room. I didn't think I had another 10 feet in me, let alone a few blocks. I couldn't get the water in that shower hot enough. My toes are still cold.

We got cool Donald Duck metals, and we finished the race in just over 2 hours. Not bad for below-freezing temperatures. If I do this again next year, I hope it's a tad bit warmer.