Synopsis of my First Marathon

Orlando seemed so long ago. 26,000 runners partcipated in the Disney World Marathon and Half Marathon on January 9, 2005. We started out at 6:30 a.m. on a day that would eventually hit 80 degrees. I felt I was pepared for anything that might go wrong. I was most concerned with the controversial subject of proper hydration. How much is too little or too much?

The first two hours were pleasant because it was dark out. I didn't anticipate the humidity would contribute to foot blisters that began to form by mile 6. If anything would take me out of the race, I thought this was it. Before long, I wrapped bandaids on my toes at an aid station and off I went. I forgot about the problem until I removed my bloody shoes from my feet in the hotel room about an hour after the marathon. Months later I calculate I lost about five toenails in all.

They say that a body can run for about two hours on glycogen, a main form of carbohydrate storage in the human body. Thereafter, the body converts to burning fat instead, a less efficient type of fuel. That is why most runners "hit a wall" after about 16 miles. My "wall" appeared before me around mile 22. I credited some of my fatigue to the rather boring stretch between mile markers 18 and 22, a four mile stretch along the outskirts of the park with few spectators and no shade. Upon exiting MGM studios around mile 23, the remainder of the course was a steady uphill run, a surprising encounter.

In all, the DW Marathon was a success and I enjoyed it. I finished in 5:08 and would have finished in under five hours if it had not been for the uphill run during the last stretch of the race.