When chatting with a friend in early 2015 in TN about
running we both started talking about how fun it would be to do a Disney
race. Well, little did I know that she
meant in 2016!! So to my surprise by
July I was signed up to run the runDisney Princess Half Marathon in 2016.
My friend Emily had never really been a runner and I had
moved away so we were training for a race in two different states and at two
different paces. We planned our trip,
booked flights, booked hotels, figured out which parks we would do on which
days. Then my mom decided that she
wanted to join us, so fun!!! We had
support staff now!
So with all of our plans in place my mom came in town for
the middle princess's birthday (the day before we left for the race) and of course
I got sick. Like
SIIIIIICCCKKKK....fever, misery, awfulness.
So meds meds and more meds went in.
I rested as much as I could before we left and packed super last minute
and hoped I had everything I needed!
Our flight was super early so we got an Uber car to get to
the airport instead of waking the tiny princesses. Mom and I hopped in and off we went!
Mom and I in the plane ready to take off!
We took JetBlue for the first time ever and even though I
was loaded up on meds we got mimosas to kick the trip off right!! A short-ish flight (with delish snacks and
rude flight attendants) later we were in Orlando and headed to the Disney
transportation. Emily was coming in
later so we made a bee line for the hotel to get checked in and drop our bags.
Disney transportation was easy and comfy and made the transition from airport
to hotel pretty simple!
I spy with my little eye!
We arrived at the Art of Animation resort and checked in, we
lucked out and our room was ready early so we could drop our bags in our
room. Emily's flight had come in a
little early from TN so we waited for her in the room after filling our
refillable resort beverage cups.
Resort beverage cups!!
Once Emily arrived it was a whirlwind and we were on our way
to the expo to pick up packets...only as we got on the elevator Emily realized
her ID was not in her wallet. Back to
the room for a frantic search with no luck.
We headed to the expo and Emily was hoping for the best.
Getting in line for the bus over to ESPN Wide World of Sports and the expo!
We arrived at the expo and made a pit stop to take pics with
baseball Mickey.
Baseball Mickey!
Emily went straight for runner relations while I picked up
my packet and my mom went over to the chEAR packet pick up. Emily was told she HAD to have a picture ID
to pick up her packet. So she called
home and got her husband to text her a pic of her Sam's Club card that had her
pic. That was good enough and she got
her packet!! There was some seriously
tense waiting for that text, we nibbled
on some soft pretzels while we were waiting which was basically lunch. So with all of the packets picked up we
decided that an early dinner was the way to go.
That was one stressful packet pick up!
We made our way to Disney Springs, met up with a friend from my local
MRTT chapter that had picked up tshirts for us at the expo (she was there on
the first day), and hit up our favorite quick yummy restaurant - Wolfgang
Puck's Express! My salad was delicious
(Big Daddy and I always do a light salad with chicken the night before a race)
and after dinner we took the bus back to the hotel.
A quick 2 mile shake out run to relieve any travel stiffness
and an early bedtime with a VERY EARLY wake up call set!
Selfie after my shake out run.
Let me tell you something, it does not matter what time you
go to bed...it SUCKS to get up at 2am.
We all slowly got up and were likely perkier than we should have been,
I'm going with adrenaline for the cause of that. We dressed, fueled and headed to the line for
the bus to the race start. The bus was
kind of quiet, but that didn't stop me from dancing. Yeah, I'm that weirdo.
So we arrived at about 3ungodlyearly am at Epcot and started
the walk to the gEAR check and race retreat.
There was a lot of waiting, a lot of pictures, a lot of port-a-potty
visits. At some time, no clue what time
it was...it was still dark...we said goodbye to mom and headed for the start
line. It was quite a walk and at some
point we split off to go to our respective corrals. I was in C and Emily was in K.
Me and Emily pre-race in front of the race logo
All 3 of us pre-race, don't we look cute??
In my corral at the start
After typical pre-race stuff the fireworks went off and
corrals started moving. I was so far up
in C that I started pretty darn soon after the initial gun. Kind of crazy, I'm never that close! Without Big Daddy to help keep control of my
pace I relied heavily on the light button on my Garmin to make sure I stayed
steady. I wasn't trying to set a PR, but
let's be honest, I'll always challenge myself even if I say it's a
"fun" run. So I sped through
dark streets, down under the lagoon, up a nasty little hill and in to the Magic
Kingdom. I hit Main Street when it was
still pitch black out. The sun was
finally starting to come up as I came through the castle. I really did my best to smile for the
photographers when I saw them and avoid the inevitable ugly race pics. At about mile 9 I started to tank. It sucked, I realized I had fueled wrong.
Whether it was the too early AM, not enough protein on course, or the sickness
kicking my ass it was awful. Those last
few miles were completely brutal and honestly I don't remember much of
them. I remember hitting the pathway in
Epcot knowing I was almost at the finish and hoping I had enough to get
there. Finish line crossed (and new PR made!) I went to
find my mom (after the obligatory step and repeat medal pics and FOOD) who
burst in to tears because she missed me crossing the finish line. She vowed right then and there that next year
SHE would run it and I told her I would cross that finish line WITH her.
Step & repeat medal pic
Me and my runDisney Mom!
After a teary phone call to my husband who told me all about
the insanity that was going on at home (dogs with intestinal upset/virus, sick
kids, and virtually no sleep for him) we went to see where Emily was. My mom had gotten the Platinum chEAR package
so she could go in the tent and check easily.
We had some time so we hung out right outside while she snuck me out a
plate of food and a Coke. When we
figured she had finished we went over to where runners come out to find
her in the growing crowd awaiting
runners. It was her first half marathon
so she was OVERJOYED!!!
Finishers!
There wasn't too much to hang around for so we took the
shuttle bus (which smelled quite interesting after shuttling runners all
around) back to the hotel for some showers.
Bus selfie!
We had decided to make that day our Epcot day!! We did Epcot things and made our way to the
World Showcase where our first stop was in France for a celebratory glass of
champagne (which also happened to be Emily's first EVER glass of bubbly) and
pastries.
Epcot!!
Champagne is always the answer
Next was a nice walk and time for some FOOD!! Like real
food.....and of course it was TURKEY LEGS!!!
I wanted a beer, so I got a beer.
Mom and Emily got this delicious frozen lemonade cherry bourbon
concoction and it was AMAZING, definitely on my next Disney trip list!
The plan was to stay for the fireworks but there was NO WAY
I could make it, or any of us for that matter.
We got a little stuck inside Test Track and when we finally got out 45
minutes later we were done. We went back
to the hotel and hit the hay. We counted
at some point and had been up for something crazy like 18 hours and we were EXHAUSTED.
Turkey Leg and a beer, perfect post-race food!
Before we got stuck in Test Track and had to evacuate
My "holy crap we have been up for like 21 hours and now I am going to sleep in my Princess pjs" selfie
The next two days were a blur of Disney parks and food and
rides. I was still pretty sick so
recovery from the race was that much harder.
Castle pic!
Mickey head ice cream, always a must!
Tower of Terror, Emily's first time on that ride!
Our last day, a visit to Animal Kingdom
It was my first runDisney race but sure won't be my
last!! Mom wants to do the Princess Half
Marathon next year so I am going to do the Glass Slipper Challenge (the 10K and
the half marathon) and the 5K. I am
excited to cross the finish line with my mom!!
