The Power of A Moment!

Well, we did it!

The race has been walked, and the bling has been blinged!

Over the last two weeks before the race, I really began to doubt my ability to finish. I was kinda hoping for some sort of injury that would get me out of what I had agreed to do. Then I thought about it. I was not doing this for anyone but myself, and I had nothing to prove to anyone but myself. I really have to thank Terry for being such a driving force. Not only in getting me to agree to do this in the first place, but being by my side throughout the entire thing.

Here is my tale...

We spent Saturday Afternoon at EPCOT, noshing our way around the world, and having Japanese Hibachi for lunch. I was scared to death about what Sunday held, but somewhere inside me there was this little voice telling me that if I could do this one thing, I could do anything. So, in the adrenaline infused excitement of my life at that moment, I did the unthinkable....I ATE SUSHI!!!

After lunch, Tom and the offspring headed back to Studios to ride Toy Story one more time with a second set of fast passes, and I headed back to the resort and started on a pre-race pasta feast for the family.

After Toy Story, everyone came back to the room, and the kids headed to the big pool while the sauce simmered. Yeah, freak me...on vacation, gravy from scratch!!! We ate dinner around 9pm, and headed to bed.

RACE MORNING!!!

We were up and out of the hotel room by 5:30 AM. We had to pack the car because housekeeping wouldn't agree to an additional hour for checkout, and we weren't entirely sure we could be back and out by 11AM.

We were all dressed, and as ready as we ever would be. I was texting terry the whole way there, and she was waiting for us by the "big thing up in the air." I had to make a potty stop first, and so did about 2500 of the 2600 people racing...it took forever at the porta potties!!!

Mags and TJ met up with Terry first, and I got there a few minutes later. Hugs and kisses around, and I reviewed what I had said to my family the night before at dinner. Everyone go out and do your personal best, and nobody wait for me. I would see everyone at the finish line.

We all headed to our time chutes, Tom & TJ going upfront, and Katie, Maggie, Terry and I heading to the walker chute. We ran into Mouseman Tom there, but he was focused, and didn't seem to want to talk so much, but I don't think anyone did. Nerves were in charge, and before we knew it, the starting gun had sounded!!!

It took three minutes for our group to get to the timing pad after that, and we were off!

To see the ocean of people ahead of us was cool, 2600 is a lot of people, I can only imagine how the races with 50,000 must look going off. Every walker started off with a run, which caught me off guard, and I found myself running hard at the start to catch up with Terry and the girls.

All of the race information came with the warning that you must be able to maintain a 15 minute mile to stay in the race. We came to the first mile marker, and the clock said 18:30ish and I was like "NO WAY". Terry looked at her newfangled heart thing and it said we were on a 15:30 pace. So did the little British woman in my ear telling me how well I was doing.

About this little British woman. She lives in my shoe and speaks to my I-pod. Sometimes Lance Armstrong comes to visit, and he talks to me too! No, I don't need to be medicated, it is the wonder of Nanotechnology. I left my new shoes in my suitcase, just to have them with me.

We walked from Wide World of Sports, down Disney roads I have no knowledge of their names and into studios. Mile two came somewhere in there, as well as the first water stop. There was a lot of time spent backstage, and then we came to the Lights Motors set...and there we were on the BIG SCREEN...yuck!!! We looked like crap! As we were heading in, I could see a group headed out, and I saw Maggie...BIG WAVES!!!

I confused Terry a little bit with my countdown of the K's we had completed...mile 3 was outside the Christmas Shoppe in Studios...5K came around in front of the "big Hat" in Studios. We headed out toward the front entrance (Detoured past the Prime Time and Hollywood and Vine)

We came out of Studios, along the walk to Boardwalk, across the bridge to the Swan/Dolphin (mile 4) and via the boardwalk in front of the Beach Club we headed into a backstage area of EPCOT.

This area came in at the international gateway behind Britain in EPCOT. They ran us behind England, and past GARBAGE DUMPSTERS that reeked beyond all imagination. We came out into the World Showcase, and were headed UP THE HILL toward France. That hill was mean, but when we got to the top we saw the mile 5 marker!!! No One had pulled us off the course...we were going to finish.

We ran through the World Showcase, commented how our fingers looked like bratwurst when we got to Germany and I really was appreciating the breeze off the lake during the last leg. As we left the park through a side door near spaceship earth, I saw the mile 6 marker and knew it was almost complete. I was working hard to keep my composure about finishing, and I looked up ahead...and saw Tom and TJ waiting for me! I just lost it. I looked at Tom and he was losing his cool...we both knew what I was about to do, and how hard the journey was, and how much it meant for me that I took the trip.

At that point, the little British Lady congratulated me I had completed 10K, but Disney had other thoughts...I still had a bit more to go. I knew Terry crossed the starting pad ahead of me, so I ran ahead to even our times. I jumped in the air and pounced on the finish mat. I then realized what I had done, and started to cry again. I cannot believe I had tears...I was mondo dehydrated!!! Terry and I finished within 4/100th of a second of each other in time. Maggie was at the finish line...Katie was up ahead getting her Powerade and watermelon. Our Cheerleader Amber was there taking our pictures and cheering us on...

We ate, we laughed, and after awhile, said our goodbyes to Terry and Amber, hoping it wouldn't be two years before I saw Terry again in person.

It was 9:45 so we hurried back to the hotel so we could shower before the 11AM checkout time. I had purposely NOT checked out early, and left my bill hanging on the door, but when we got back to the room at 10, the maid was in there cleaning, and pretty much told us that it was tough crap. It kind of ticked me off since we actually had the room until 11AM, but I didn't make a fuss. We headed to the fitness center to shower, and the girl told us there were no showers in there (which I found out later was a lie...and probably the focus of a later rant) So, we went for a swim to clean ourselves off...

But I have no guarantee of my next heartbeat

And my world’s too big to make a name for myself

And what if no one wants to read about me when I’m gone?

Seems to me that right now’s the only moment that matters

You know the number of my days

So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head

And come write Your wisdom on my heart

And teach me the power of a moment

The name of this entry comes from a song by Chris Rice. It was my power song, set to come on the I-pod at the 6 mile mark to let me know that I was almost there. I never heard it. I was ahead of my best pace ever.

But the words of the song came back to haunt me just a few days later. My cousin, Michael, age 27 passed away suddenly, for no apparent reason. We are still awaiting the autopsy results, but my guess...he was extremely overweight. Probably played a part.

I owe it to myself to live each moment to its fullest extent. I owe it to God to do everything I do to honor what He has given me. There is no reason that these two things cannot coincide.