Half Marathon #2 is in the books and I am so sore! Like barely getting up from bed, walking down the stairs, lumps of rocks in my legs sore.
After Nike DC last year I did not have high expectations about the Princess Half. I knew it was going to be fun, but Nike was so great about everything I didn't think it could be topped (read post here, here, & here). But I was happily wrong. I could still be coming off of the "runner's high" but it may have been better!
Because I live in Orlando, the half marathon weekend as a whole wasn't as big of deal as it was for DC. For DC, there was the anticipation of traveling, sight seeing, and completing my first half. All week I had to remind myself that the race on was on Sunday. Even Saturday, while I was running errands with Brandon, I had to keep saying out loud that I running 13.1 miles in 24 hours…
My running buddy (who did Nike DC with me) and I hit up the expo Friday evening and it was a fun experience. I wasn't tempted to make any purchases; which is a good thing since most of it was picked over already, really didn't need to spend the money, and I wasn't crazy about the clothing options. But I felt bad for the people who clearly had intended on buying merchandise. I saw a lot of upset people on the PHM Facebook page who were really disappointed about all the big ticket items being gone really fast. That is a thing Nike DC had going for them, they NEVER ran out of merchandise--one thing would come off the shelf and a sales associate would be right there to restock.
I did end up purchasing Clif Shotblocks for the race and a 13.1 running headband.
If you don't know Disney races, they start EARLY, not like, ew 7:00 am early, but 5:30 EW AM! And the park has only one way in..so if you aren't staying at the resorts and taking a bus in, you have to leave early.
So, my alarm was set for 2:45 am with a 3:30 am leave time.
I had plans to go to bed early, but Brandon popped in Gone Girl and even though I tried to fall asleep twice during the movie, I was already hooked. When it finally finished, I tried to get the last 2 hours of sleep I had left.
But unlike the alarm for work, when this went off adrenaline kicked in and getting up was a breeze. I put on Jock Jams Pandora and started getting ready.
Running Outfit:
Tank Top: Sports Authority in Volt
Running Skirt: Esty
Wings are from 10 years ago-seriously, Halloween costume in HS-thank goodness for inability to throw anything away.
Not shown: Shorts under the skirt: Sports Authority
Shoe pom-poms: homemade
We got to Epcot around 5:15 and found our friends. This arrival time is later than I recommend because we did not realize that the starting line was a 10 minute walk from the parking lot. Meg and I were supposed to be in corral G, so we knew we weren't leaving right at 5:30, but still needed a bathroom break before getting to the corral--while there are lots and lots of port-a-potties behind bag check in, everyone is also trying to use them, so my tip is to get the corral and THEN use the restroom, there are just as many there that no one is using.
We missed the entrance for our corral by a few seconds and had to jump into H. We ended up starting the race around 5:48 and it really was like herding cattle. Women right on top of one another and I kept having to apologize for my wings. I even told Meg after the first few minutes of running that it would impossible for anyone to PR on this because of how crowded it was getting out.
Photo from google
Mile 1: This first mile came up really quickly, but it wasn't very fast because of all the other racers and it took about 1-2 miles to find our pace group.
Disney does not disappoint with the character stops, we could hear the Pirates of the Caribbean theme blaring soon after we hit mile 1.
Character stop: Pirate ship with Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbosa
We hit the first water/powerade stop about 1.5--it was our plan to walk through each one.
Between Mile 2-3: Character stop: Several of the fine looking Disney men (Aladdin, Eric, Hercules, Rapunzel guy, and John Smith)
Mile 3-4: The first sight of spectators. After making it through the 5k is was really nice to hear some cheers and seeing our hubbies! Making it to the parking lot was a good feeling that we were getting close to the Magic Kingdom.
Character stop: Villians (Cruella, Malefiecent, Evil Queen)
Mile 4-5: Backyard Disney scenery and a few of the resorts. We had 3 shot blocks around mile 4.5.
Mile 5-6.5: We finally made it to the Magic Kingdom! I could see the top of Space Mountain and a wave of adrenaline kicked in knowing we were so close. You head in through the side of MK and up the middle of Main Street, which is loaded with spectators--including our hubbies again! Thank goodness they are so tall, it was always easy to spot them.
Seeing Cinderella's castle in front of us was so amazing. I may have seen it a hundred times before this, but nothing is quite like running 5 miles to see it! Photo-op necessary.
After passing the castle we headed through Tomorrow Land, run through the castle and into Frontier Land. Coming out of the castle our hubbies caught us again--so sweet of them running through MK to catch us.
More water/powerade stops and character stops: Buzz Lightyear was in Tomorrow Land, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum were in the carnival area, the Frozen characters were above us as we were going through the castle, and Woody was in Frontier Land. We decided to not make any characters stop throughout the run because the lines were really long and we were afraid if we stopped it would be hard to start back up again. But we did take a few "selfies" with them in the background.
Mile 7-8: This is where it was getting really tough. Both of us did not train like we did for Nike and had not stretched properly--we were in PAIN! At this point, both of us had developed blisters on our feet and were debating on whether our feet were potentially bleeding. My inner thighs were so sore and I needed to alternate with some walking with long strides to stretch them out.
Character Stops: Mary Poppins and crew
Mile 8-11: We started making it back to the route that took us out of Epcot and hit that 10 mile mark. At this point, a 5k to go looks like a jog around the block. We also had our last three shot blocks.
Mile 11-12: I still needed to switch to walking strides every mile to stretch out my legs. But by 11.5 we could see the Epcot ball and we realized there was an actual chance I would PR this half--remember at mile 1 when I said it would be impossible?
Damn you Walt Disney….
Well, at this point I was not having any fun, I wanted it to be over so bad--everything was hurting, but we were so close!
At mile 12 we came in around the right side of Epcot and needed to run through the opening of the park, turn around at the lake, and head back past the other side of ball.
I cannot say enough how much better is it to run with a friend. It made the whole 13.1 miles so much fun, I don't think I can run one alone again. With a friend you can't get lost in your own thoughts and you have a motivator with you. Meg was especially awesome during the last mile. Had I been alone I'm pretty sure I would have allowed myself to walk a bit, but not with Meg. She kept yelling out "you're gonna PR..only half a mile to go..only point 3 miles to go..you are gonna PR!"
With her cheering me on and right at the moment I hit 12, Dixie Chicks "Ready to Run," came on my iPod, I took that as a sign from God that I can keep going and make it through..and you know what? I did!
Meg and I crossed the finish line together and I PR'd by 5 minutes!
Loving the race bling!
How perfect is Brandon's shirt?!? He and Meg's husband bought those while they waited for us to run from MK to Epcot. They are the best! I was so happy he was there, he wasn't able to travel to DC last year, so it meant a lot to have him watch me--plus I think he caught the running bug and he wants to sign up for Disney Wine and Dine Half in November..registration is in two weeks, so hopefully he'll still think it's a good idea.
Overall, Disney Princess may be better than Nike DC.
Either, I'm still on a high from the weekend or it really was just that great. I loved seeing all the costumes, running through a place so familiar, full of Disney magic, and running with a friend.
I can't wait to sign up for 2016!
That leaves the biggest question..what will I dress up as next year?
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