Firsts

So I have returned, safe and sound, from the little jaunt in central Florida. Disney World and Animal Kingdom were fun, MGM and Blizzard Beach were funner, but the little 10K run Ted and I did was the greatest of all.

In all the pictures (Ted carried the camera with him during the race...he said if all these people could carry MP3 players, bottles, and such, he could carry a camera), I'm in the maroon shorts and red bandanna. Ted would speed up after me, then wait and get pictures. Then speed up and repeat. I guess he did a 10K of fartleks.

The firsts I experienced in this 10K:

1. My first 10K. I've done 5Ks, 8Ks, 10-milers, and halves. I've never, ever ran a 10K race.

2. Smoking and Running. In all my years of racing, I have seen alot. But I have never witnessed someone standing, waiting for the start of the race, quickly sucking down a Marlboro. Hey, if it works for you, then carry on. I only wish I would have known if the smoker had beaten me or not.

3. Fireworks. At the start of the race, after the National Anthem, all race participants counted down from 10. At zero when the start gun officially announced the beginning of the race, two streams of fireworks lit up the still-dark Florida sky. Not much makes me literally gasp. This did.

4. Stunts. Part of the 10K route took us through MGM Studios, and through a front-seat look at the new "Lights, Motors, Action!" Extreme Stunt Show. While we ran through, a cameraman filmed us, allowing the runners to view themselves on the big screen hanging in middle of the set. Cast and crew cheered us on as we entered and continued into MGM.

5. Post-race recovery snacks. Oranges, bagels, bananas...sure. Spicy beef empanadas? Not quite what I had normally eaten following a run. But Disney does their own things, and in very Disney style, they know what works and what people like. And spicy beef empanadas? Delicious. Along with that, we also got strawberry and mango salad and kiwi and custard roll--all part of the promotion for Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival.

6. Theme-park related run. Okay, so I realize this is kind of a cheap "Hey look at this for a first!" first. Not many people are fortunate enough to have run a race that weaves through any theme park, let alone some of the most recognizable parks in the country. I know how lucky and fortunate I am, and I would highly encourage anyone to take advantage of running a race of this kind. The Disney Marathon in January has to be amazing. (The picture to the right is me with Epcot in the background--the end of the race course led runners directly underneath the silver "Spaceship Earth" feature.)

And, finally, here we are with our finishers medals.

Originally, I was going to comment on how warm it was for the race...how hot and cooked we both felt. Then I heard about the Chicago Marathon, and read Turtle's blog entry about his experience, and I really don't feel I can comment on the heat there anymore. I'm glad we stayed healthy, and I'm glad Turtle was healthy throughout the event.