Immediately after crossing the finish line of my first marathon, the first thought that ran through my head was "I am never doing that again!" I tiredly walked my way through the finisher's gauntlet, collecting my finisher's medal, food, and then standing in line to proudly take a picture with my new jewelry. Nobody I knew was at the finish line to greet me. This was something I did by myself, for myself. I meandered slightly away from the crowd and found an empty patch of ground so I could sit and stretch. After sufficient stretching time and a few attempts to actually stand up. I made my way to the bus stop for my hotel. The Walt Disney World Marathon is one of the best organized events I have ever been a part of. If you stay at one of the many Disney hotels, they have buses to take you to the start of the marathon, and return you when you're done. Around 25,000 people ran that morning. I finished near the back of the pack, so there was a line for the bus. As I waited and chatted with the other proud marathoners, we all shared our thoughts on the experience of the day. The bus came to get the next round of passengers. I was close to the front and noticed that like most busses, you have to climb a few steps to get on board. I wondered to myself if my legs muscles could climb steps after the strain of 26.2 miles I just put them through. Just then, someone in front of me voiced the same thought out loud. We all chuckled until someone else made the comment "Going up the steps is not the problem, wait until you try to go down." I thought about it for a moment but didn't really understand. I got onboard the bus and sat in the first seat directly behind the bus driver. When the bus got to the hotel I was the 3rd person to get off. I walked over and looked at the 3 steps to get down. The handrail was going to be a necessity today. I grabbed the rails and extended my right leg. To my surprise I could not feel the step below. The majority of my weight was being supported by my trailing left leg. Although my brain told my left leg to bend, it did not comply. I felt a sudden panic. How was I going to get off the bus? All these people behind me are probably staring at me waiting impatiently for me to get down. I was gazing at the steps for what seemed like an eternity. My only choice was to trust that my arms were not a tired as my legs. I slid my hands down the rails a little more and prepared myself to thrust both legs forward to the next step. Thankfully it worked. I repeated the process a few more times and was safely on the ground. Under my breath I cursed the guy who said going down the stairs was bad. I got to my hotel, took a shower and attended to a few minor blisters. When I finally lay down on the bed to relax for a minute, I was unsure if I would be able to get up again. I made a few phone calls to brag about my accomplishments, and then it was time for lunch.
Coincidently my parents were at Walt Disney World that weekend for a wedding. Although they were not able to see me cross the finish line, I did make plans to meet them for lunch immediately after. I hobbled out of my hotel room, got in my car and drove over the hotel where they were staying. I had the option of taking the Disney bus again, but wanted to avoid any stairs at all cost. Getting out of the car was another challenge. To get in a car is easy. You just lean into it and fall down. Getting out is another story. It was then I also understood why going down stairs was so difficult. The mechanics are similar. Both require a single bent leg to be strong and stable enough to move you forward. It took a few tries until I decided to use my arms. I grabbed the top of the door sill and pulled myself out. I met my parents in the lobby and we decided to eat at the restaurant in the hotel. I was wearing my medal to show it off. As I walked through the hotel, almost everyone there congratulated me. Most of these people I have never seen before. To me they were just random people in a hotel lobby. I was really overwhelmed by how a marathon affects people, not only the runners but the spectators too. Being in or around a marathon just makes people smile. During lunch, I regaled my parents with stories about the sights and sounds of the morning's marathon. My parents are always very supportive. I think my mom was more proud of me than I was of myself. I left my parents and went back to my hotel. I planned to stay another night at Disney and visit the Animal Kingdom Park the next morning.
Back at my hotel, I collapsed on the bed and almost immediately I fell asleep. After two hours I woke up and turned the TV on. It was Sunday in January. Watching football was the plan for the rest of the day. A few hours went by and I became hungry. I debated calling room service so I would not have to move, but realized I need to walk around to stretch my muscles again. I walked to the hotel cafeteria and got some pizza and chocolate cake. Just rewards for a hard earned day. A couple football games later, I turned the TV off and went to sleep.
The morning after the marathon started well. I woke up feeling better than I expected. I got all my stuff together and checked out of the hotel. After breakfast I headed over to the Animal Kingdom. I attended college in Orlando and spent lots of time at Disney, but I had never been to that park before. As I entered the park, my legs started to feel tired. I walked about 200 yards and sat down on a bench for a minute. I made my way through the park stopping for breaks on benches frequently. The park is fun and educational at the same time. The variety of animals rivals most Zoos. Luckily for me the park is not enormous. By time I my legs did not want to carry me anymore, I had seen everything I wanted to. I went back to my car for my four hour drive home.
The next day my life returned to normal. I wasn't training for anything. In fact, I planned to take a couple weeks off from all scheduled exercise. I constantly retold my marathon stories to anyone who listen. I became a kind of ambassador for the marathon experience. I tried to convince everyone that running a marathon is something that anyone with a little determination and a good training plan could accomplish. People would ask if plan to run another marathon. My usually answer was "I think I'm just going to do half marathons." In my mind, the half marathon would be a piece of cake. During my training for the full marathon, I ran 13+ miles at least 7 times. Several of those times, I was not even sore the next day. I found that people who don't run or only run 5k think 13.1 miles is near impossible and 26.2 miles is just plain crazy. Either way, they tell me there is something extraordinary about me that I am willing and able to do it. Even though I loved talking about the marathon, that little voice in the back of my head kept telling me to lie on the couch and eat ice cream. It took two to three weeks for my body to feel normal again. My mind was a different story. Only a portion of the focus and determination stayed with me. On the positive side, I had enough confidence to quit my ok job at a bad company to take a contract position, potentially doubling my income. After six months of the contract, I found a great permanent job at the company I am still with. It also involved a large pay increase from my previous permanent job. The down side was every time I considered going out for a run, the little voice in my head said "You don't need to do that. You are not training for anything right now." A few months later I would overcome that voice by signing up for my first triathlon.
I ran my marathon in January. I started training for an international distance triathlon in April, which was schedule for September. Between January and April, I probably regained the 15 lbs. I had lost while training for the marathon. First I began to run again. Then I started swimming laps in the pool. Finally I bought a road bike and joined a local bike club.
That year I completed a full marathon in January, a sprint triathlon in July, an international distance triathlon in September, and a half marathon in December. It was a great year that kept me on the path to becoming a runner. Even though I said I would never attempt a full marathon again, two years after completing the first one, I would return to Walt Disney World to try it again. Later on, I would even be goofy.
