Back in July, I made a decision that I was not going to live unhealthy anymore. I want to be healthy and happy and in shape in my "mid-life" and it started last summer when I joined Weight Watchers and the gym.
I have posted plenty of pictures throughout my personal Instagram and Facebook pages of my latest Disney trip, but thought I would share the real nitty gritty of the race. It may have appeared glamorous and easy. The running part wasn't what was hard, it was the factors that couldn't be helped that kept me from finishing sooner than later. I had trained like I had never trained for anything before. So here, I give you the real race......
I woke up Saturday to find I had started my period. I told you this wasn't going to be glamorous. I swear the last time I was at Disney, this same thing happened. At my age....I have one day that is basically me in the loo every hour. Well, guess what day that is? It's not Day 1. It's Day 2. So I knew that I was in for a long run on Sunday. I also knew that I was going to have to wear my fanny pack style belt to carry my SuperPlus Tampons (instead of my phone--I had to hold that sucker).
Saturday evening, we headed to the Art of Animation resort for pasta. I always have linguini with chicken, spinach, and olives. It was so good. I haven't eaten pasta in a long time. Like 7 months. The pasta line was the longest. You could tell they were all running the race early the next morning. Carb loading. Which honestly, for 13.1 miles isn't necessary.
Anyway, I woke up at 3--when my alarm went off--and my stomach was killing me. Turns out, not eating pasta in a while has given my body the opportunity not to like it anymore. I've never thought I had a gluten allergy, but I am starting to wonder. I can't drink beer anymore and now this issue with the pasta. It was all very unpleasant and didn't seem to want to clear up anytime soon.
We got dressed and headed to the bus stop about 3:30. The buses pick you up at the resort and drive you over to Epcot (where the start and finish lines are for this race). We arrived by 4 and had an hour and a half before the race even started. Well, I needed a bathroom....stat. We found them as we headed toward the corral. This is stop 1. Don't worry, I won't bore you with every stop, but let's just say there were lots of them and they were not quick.
There are fireworks at each corral start. I love this because you don't feel left out being in the back. Every group gets the same start. It's awesome.
We made one photo op stop on the way to the Magic Kingdom with Jack Sparrow and friend. I was really hoping maybe Johnny Depp wanted to reprise this role for the day, but it was still a good pic!
Mile 5 was at the bus terminal, right before you get up to the gate of the park. When you think about it, you're not even half way through the race by then. Coming into the park, we were greeted by some of the park characters. They were waving and cheering us on!
And when I rounded the corner onto Main Street, USA, I was in tears. I was overcome with emotion. Heck, typing this, I'm a little teary eyed. It was something I had worked hard to accomplish and here I was....running into the park. It was the only park I hadn't run in the few years since I started running at Disney. I was happy and emotional.
Clearly there was not much to talk about or photograph other than the water/poweraid/potty stops all along the way back to Epcot. There were photo ops with Prince Charmings--yes, lots of the different ones, photo op with Cinderella, and a few others, but none that I was dying to get, so we kept going.
Mile 12 was just outside of Epcot. All we had left was to run into the park, out to the lake and back, out the gate and to the finish line.
My half marathon was complete inside Epcot. We hit our mileage from bobbing and weaving through the crowd. Everyone ended up with more mileage and time, but when I hit it, I wanted record of it because it's almost 25 minutes before I actually crossed the finish line.
All smiles at the end of the race. I was exhausted, but happy. I had my knees wrapped in ice at the finish line. This always helps for movement later. We stopped for final photos and headed for the bus back to the resort. We never sit around after the races. We like to get back, shower, and hit the park. This definitely ranks up there as one of the best birthday weekends. I am grateful for the opportunity to run these runs with my best friend. I highly recommend any Run Disney events. They are fun and the bling cannot be beat.
And I couldn't wait to show my medal to Mickey! If you haven't had a chance to visit the talking Mickey, go now. He may not be around forever and he is great!
Most of you know from my multitude of posts all over social media and here that I have spent the last 5 months training and eating right for the 2018 Disney Princess Half Marathon. I decided to run it because it was the day the before my birthday and seemed like the perfect birthday trip (and it was!).
Saturday evening, we headed to the Art of Animation resort for pasta. I always have linguini with chicken, spinach, and olives. It was so good. I haven't eaten pasta in a long time. Like 7 months. The pasta line was the longest. You could tell they were all running the race early the next morning. Carb loading. Which honestly, for 13.1 miles isn't necessary.
We got dressed and headed to the bus stop about 3:30. The buses pick you up at the resort and drive you over to Epcot (where the start and finish lines are for this race). We arrived by 4 and had an hour and a half before the race even started. Well, I needed a bathroom....stat. We found them as we headed toward the corral. This is stop 1. Don't worry, I won't bore you with every stop, but let's just say there were lots of them and they were not quick.
There are fireworks at each corral start. I love this because you don't feel left out being in the back. Every group gets the same start. It's awesome.
As we entered the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom....you'd be surprise how much further you still have to go to get to the park. These pics provide a glimpse into that distance because it's dawn in the first one at the gate and then daylight once you could see the tippy top of Space Mountain.
Mile 12 was just outside of Epcot. All we had left was to run into the park, out to the lake and back, out the gate and to the finish line.
And I couldn't wait to show my medal to Mickey! If you haven't had a chance to visit the talking Mickey, go now. He may not be around forever and he is great!
Finally, my trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to see my 2018 Princess from BRAVE, Merida.
"Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it."
~Merida
Is it wrong that I am most focused on not eating pasta for seven months? LOLOL
ReplyDeleteGreat run for you despite the period power play. Not cool. I would be emotional running down Main Street too.
Awesome job!