Disney World Marathon

I've had a couple days to think about Sunday's marathon, providing enough time for some of the frustration to wear off. That's a good thing, because looking back on it now, I can say I'm happy with how things went in my second marathon. When it was all said and done, I had shaved more than 13 minutes off my personal best and finished the 26.2 miles in a respectable 4:09:04.

The photo above (all pictures in this post courtesy of my wife, Kelly) is of me heading into the final turn at the finish. What you can't see is the source of my frustration. I was limping pretty bad at that point due to an issue with the right side of my hip. It started around mile 17 and was really bad for the final four miles -- to the point where it was hurting to lift my right leg.

Under the circumstances, though, my time was pretty good. My goal was to break four hours and -- injury aside -- had it not been for three unfortunate porta-john stops (thanks 6 am start!), I probably would've met that goal. Up until the hip issue flared up, I was on pace for about a 3:45-50 finish, which was what I was gunning for this time.

But, hey, I finished, and here's what I received for my work:

Quite the elaborate medal, huh. I knew Kelly -- a huge Disney fan, for those who aren't aware -- would love the hardware, not to mention the trip to Disney World. We toured the park on Friday and had a blast. Then, I got a backstage tour on Sunday. Running through large empty stretches of the parks was a neat experience.

Overall, I enjoyed Chicago more. I've said it before, I can't imagine many other marathons -- with the exception of New York and Boston -- matching the energy of the Chicago marathon. With 1.5 million spectators lining nearly the entire path, it's an awesome experience. For Disney, there were long periods of running with no spectators on the empty highway roads between the parks.

The four parks (you begin in Epcot, then run through Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios before returning to Epcot for the finish) did break up the run pretty well, though. Magic Kingdom was probably the highlight, though running at the bottom of Mount Everest in Animal Kingdom was pretty cool, too.

This is a picture of a crowd in Magic Kingdom watching runners head into Tomorrowland. After running down Main Street in MK, you head through this section of the park before making your way back to the castle. We ran through the tunnel under the castle from the back and then veered off to the right.

Here's a shot Kell took of runners making their way out of the castle. As you're coming down the ramp after coming out of the tunnel, there was a photographer in front of the castle. Some runners, me included, hopped off the course to get a picture snapped really quick. After doing that, I high-fived Mickey Mouse and went on my way.

Out of 14,940 finishers, my time was good enough to place me 2,586th. Out of 7,801 men, I finished in 1,926th place. I was 232nd out of 873 men in the 25-29 age bracket as well. My placings weren't as good as my half showing in Vegas, but I guess finishing in the top 20 percent isn't all that shabby, especially on a wonky leg.

I don't have any official splits for the marathon, but here are the estimated mile times, according to my watch, which tends to run a little slower than the actual pace:

Miles 1-16:
8:22/9:51/8:19/8:15/8:27/8:22/10:46/8:21/
8:16/8:24/8:30/8:44/8:23/8:41/11:15/8:30

Miles 17-26.2:
9:28/9:39/9:25/11:39/10:11/9:59/10:28/11:33/11:27/11:32/2:35

I broke them into two categories, because it's easy to see where my leg started bothering me. In miles 1-16, every mile is between 8:15-8:44 with the exception of the three bathroom stops. During mile 17, I started to feel some pain on the right side of my hip. By mile 20, it was really hurting, and by mile 22 I was limping along.

Given how I typically finish strong, I was well in line to finish around 3:45-50 through 16 miles. After that point, though, I averaged about 10:20 per mile down the stretch, and that pace climbed to 10:58 in the last seven miles and then up to 11:15 for the final four. I probably could've stopped at a medical tent for treatment, but I was so close to the end, I didn't want to quit. Plus, I was wasn't leaving without at least setting a new PR.

Here I am heading into the finish. Kelly said it was easy to see something was wrong with me, considering how I was running. What's funny is the marathon included our first names on our bib numbers, so I had a lot of people yelling my name at the end. I guess a noticeable limp will get people rooting for you! The race also added a nice touch by saying your whole name over the loud speakers as you crossed the finish line.

I wasn't the only MLB.comer in this race, either. Our Detroit Tigers writer, Jason Beck (pictured below with me after the race), also ran and finished in a cool 3:20 or so. I plan on getting to that type of time some day. For now, I'll have to be content with my time and just keep my eye on future races. I'm not sure what I'll do next year, but it looks like it'll be either the Chicago or Toronto marathon.

Until then, I'm going to rest up and back off on the long runs for a while. I've already enjoyed a post-race feast over the past few days, devouring some chinese food from PF Changs, some pizza, a burger with fries, doughnuts for breakfast today and even a beer at dinner on Sunday night! I know, I'm really letting go, huh.

I'll probably take a week or two off from running to let my feet and legs heal up. My hip has still been bothering me some when walking -- nothing too painful, but there's definitely some strain there. When I do get back to running, I'll likely be sticking indoors until I get back to Florida for Spring Training.

I bought a new pair of running shoes at the marathon Expo -- another pair of Saucony Hurricane 10s -- and am looking forward to strapping them on and getting back at it. But, until I know I have another marathon to train for, I doubt I'll be doing anything more than 10 miles. For now, I'll probably stick to 5-10k distances just to keep in shape.

Stay tuned for more...