random race thoughts

Really just a catchall post to gather the random thoughts that didn't quite fit in the race or prerace reports... largely because I couldn't remember when some of this stuff happened.

- Right after the start, we found ourselves keeping pace with a race walker. We'd pass her (barely!) on our runs, then she would glide past us on our walk breaks. I know we're slow, but she was really booking. Every so often I would think that we had dropped her... but then I would see her mouse-eared shadow looming behind me. Scary!

- The Disney Running shirt, which was luminous orange, continued to attract attention. Two women running near us were wearing them; we were all running 5:1 run:walk intervals but our timing was a little off... so we kept passing each other on walk breaks. Later on in the race we caught up with another Disney Runner... I said "Look... it's a forum encounter" and we all laughed. And I felt extra dorky.

- Though there weren't as many of us in orange as there were in purple for Team in Training, we all cheered for each other, waved, and clapped when we saw each other. "K80K" from the forum ran the half on Saturday and volunteered at a water stop with her folks on Sunday. She was especially supportive during a time I really needed it!

- Having our names on our bibs was fantastic.

- Wearing medals after the race has been great. It's fantastic to feel a part of a community like this. A little dorky, sure, but still fantastic.