Friday afternoon the family headed to Walt Disney, for a change, to take part in the 13K Tower of Terror Race at Hollywood Studios. Upon arrival we immediately headed to get our race packets, check into the Boardwalk Hotel, and then on to Epcot for some food. In October Epcot has a food and wine festival and every country has booths with samples of, wait for it..., that's right food and wine. We tried to hold out for the fireworks for the kids, but it started to rain minutes before the start so we decided to bribe them with sweets from the bakery back at the hotel instead. Saturday morning we dropped the two angels off with the grandparents and went back to Epcot for some more over-indulgence of food, and to ride some rides sans kids. About 3:00 we decided to go back to the hotel for a little nap before the race which was at 10:00 P.M.
After napping for a few hours we got ready for our race. My wife, I guess excited about her first race was ready in about 2 minutes, I on the other hand wanted to eat dinner then come back to the room for a shower and take my time getting ready. Around 8:00 my wife and I were good to go. All we needed now was my sister and brother-in-law to show up, they were also participating in the big race. Much to my surprise, Not!!!, My sister called around 8:00 and said they were stuck in traffic and still needed to go back to their hotel to get ready for the race. Seriously, the whole reason we came to WDW was to run in this race, you would think that maybe, just maybe, you would be able to show up on time for a race that's scheduled to start at 10:00 at night. It wasn't like you had to get up for a race at 6:00 A.M.!!! Do you think your tardiness might affect other people in the group that might actually be taking this whole race thing seriously??? I digress.....
Finally, around 8:30 we left our hotel and walked over to the race start at Hollywood Studios. Upon arrival at the race we all signed the guest register, checked my bag, and checked all the peeps that actually dressed for the event. I saw a rocker, an emperor and queen, The Joker, several Tinker bells, and last but far from least more men dressed as princesses, (or more queens). About ten minutes before the start of the race I left my race ready wife, OCD sister, and self centered brother-in-law and headed closer to the front of the pack. I wanted to get to the the 7 to 9 minute pace area, however due to the crowd I was only able to get to the 12 minute pace area. Note to people who think they are going to run eight miles even though they haven't run even one mile since Never!!! There is nothing wrong with lining up towards the back of the pack. Why make it hard for people who actually are going to run the distance. I was once of you and I feel your pain. Just do not complain when someone that you are holding up, after you burst through the start line and run at a blazing pace for the first hundred feet, then walk eight wide with seven other idiots comes up behind you and jabs an elbow directly into your rib cage. You had it coming. Not that I would do such a thing.
After zigzagging for the first 3 miles, I was able to get into a groove and run the race I wanted to run. I progressively went faster each mile, and felt good the whole way. I finished in 68 minutes and 47 seconds, which was just under my goal time of "69" minutes. I thought besides the walkers at the beginning clogging up the course, it was another fine Disney event. I especially like being able to ride the rides after the race until 2:00 A.M. I am also proud that my wife not only made it to the start line, for once, but her sub 2 hour race and her dramatic crossing of the finish line. I can hardly wait to she the photos of that finish!!! Oh yeah, my sister and brother-in-law finished also, about 20 minutes after my wife. As they say better late than never. Peace Out!!!
Saturday Race: 8.1 miles 1 hour 8 minutes 47 seconds 8:30 average pace
Tuesday: 5 miles 45 minutes
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