Royal Family 5k
Fit for a Princess Expo at Wide World of Sports - had to head there on Friday after work to hand in my waiver, pick up my packet, and SHOP! Was looking for new running stuff, but my favorite brand wasn't there. I bought a Princess Half Marathon Weekend shirt that says "My other running shoe is a glass slipper."
Came home from the Expo on Friday to find this - a decorated apartment, courtesy of Mike! There were streamers everywhere and lots of signs. This poster features me running through Epcot with Mike on top of Spaceship Earth.
This poster features one of Mike's favorite sayings. It also shows me running through Epcot and Mike drinking beer at the Rose and Crown, where we like to eat and drink at Epcot.
So, Saturday morning we got up at 5:15 to be at Epcot by 6:00. Wondeful husband came along to hold my stuff and take pictures and cheer me on.
Starting line. It was SO crowded. I didn't even technically get into my corral, but when they actually started, I squeezed it. That didn't end up mattering too much because I still got into a good spot for my pace, which is about a 12 minute mile (yes, I'm slow.)
There's the finish line!
This is me at the end of the race about to cross the finish line! The clock officially said just over 39 minutes when I crossed it, and I was trying to beat my time of 38 minutes. As Mike pointed out, since it took me a few minutes to pass the start line and actually start running once the crowd thinned out, I probably did. I ran most of the way - I only stopped at the mile 3 water stop and once more during mile 3 to fix my hair. I didn't take the camera so I have no on-course pictures, it was a fun course full of Disney characters. A woman from my running message boards was apparently right behind me the whole way, because she had a bunch of pictures of me running.
Taking my official medal picture! Mike had to sneak in from the side because ASI doesn't actually allow pictures to be taken here. I will have to order the good one, along with pictures from on the course, from their website.
Posing on the porch with my t-shirt, medal, and commemorative ears! All ready to go to Disney for the day. I didn't wear the ears all day (too uncomfortable) but I did wear the medal! I saw some other people wearing their medals, too. I think for most, the 5k was kind of a warm-up for the half marathon, but for me, it was the main event! So I proudly wore the medal.
Traditional Disney running picture. Can't wait to take one in front of the Castle when I run in a longer race! (P.S. - Yes, I am wearing Crocs. They are my official Disney shoes. When you've run 3.1 miles and walked another 5 in the parks, you would want Crocs, too. I promise I only wear them to Disney.)
So, that is it! I'm pretty excited to have accomplished this goal. When I started on January 7, I could run about a 1/2 mile without huffing and puffing. Now, I'm running a 5k easily. My next goals are to run another 5k or two over the summer. (Maybe in Michigan? I am worried that any other race won't be as fun as Disney.) After that, I'm going to run either the Race for the Taste 10k at Epcot in October or the Tower of Terror 13k at Hollywood Studios that same month. I won't do both, though. Then, next March, I would really like to run in the main event of this weekend, the Princess Half Marathon.