Disney Princess Half Marathon
I wasn't sure how good of an idea it was to sign up for a half marathon the week after a full but i knew that i would be sad if i didn't run the Princess Half this year. I didn't run it last year and it sounded like fun.
My only goal for the race was to have fun and enjoy running through the Magic Kingdom... and hopefully remember it this time.
My niece and nephew were in town visiting us so we spent the day at the parks on Saturday. It was chilly and hectic but we survived. I ran over to the Expo to pick up my stuff. I am the world's worst shopper so i barely looked around but i did get a tiara put in my hair by the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo salon ladies. Like I said, it was a chilly and hectic day and by the end of the day, i hadn't eaten anything, it was getting late and Sidney was starting to run out of steam. I ended up getting a roti from an indian restaurant and heading back to the hotel with Sidney while Chris, Robert and Becca went out to eat. Sidney was asleep before i even got his shoes off so i had my bread and went to sleep later than i would have liked to for a 4:00am wake up.
I actually slept pretty well and was ready to go when the alarm went off. I knew it was cold so i piled on the clothes. I wore a long sleeve tech shirt under a short sleeve tech shirt, my running skirt and gloves. I wore my pajama pants to the start but left the in the car with Chris. I left my hair down for the first time since i didn't want to mess around with the tiara.
Chris got up and drove me to the start and then went back to the hotel. His plan was to wake Sidney up before I was due to finish and they were going to meet me at the finish line.
I did a few warm-up laps before checking my bag and sweatshirts, hit the bathrooms a few more times and headed over to Corral A.
I felt pretty good - i was excited to get started (and warm up!) and couldn't wait to see the entertainment on the course.
Mile 1 was slow and crowded. About a 9:00. Note for next time - line up as close to the front as possible. i think this has to be true for most races from now on. I'm not super fast but not being able to run my pace makes me twitchy and nervous.
Once i found a spot and pace, i felt much better. I ran how i felt and didn't pay much attention to my splits. it was fun! Captain Jack was out and then some of the princes. There was a super cool drumming group as we neared the Magic Kingdom.
At mile 5, we came in to the Magic Kingdom. It was magnificent! We ran down Main Street USA and i stopped quickly to take a picture of the castle. We rounded through Tomorrowland and turned into Fantasyland. There were a ton of princesses and characters out. Then through the castle! finally, out through frontierland. I must have looked like a three year old - i could not stop smiling and looking around wide-eyed.
We spend a LOT of time at the Magic Kingdom and it never gets old for me. I only wish it was that empty every time we go!
After the Magic Kingdom, it's mostly highway and back roads. Never boring but it's not a 13 mile run through the castle! I felt like the adrenaline kick was wearing off around mile 7 and i took a gel. There were a lot of characters out on the second half too and i made sure to say hello to each of them! I was really just having a great time! My favorite part was Maleficent! She is my favorite villain and i was super happy to see her out there... Disney should have a villains race - at night.
Everyone advertises their courses as "flat and fast" and Disney is no exception - but i've run Disney enough to know that's simply not true. there are some hills and on-ramps/overpasses that qualify as at least "hill-like" - especially in Florida! The "hills" came late in this race and were at mile 11. I planned for them though and had no trouble at all.
The last mile and a half brought us back to Epcot - though a different route than the other races i've run there so that was pretty cool.
I hadn't look at my watch in awhile and was surprised to see that i was headed for a 1:40-something.
I kicked it up a little the last quarter mile and finished with chip time of 1:43:55. I was super happy and very surprised. Of course, in retrospect, i was kicking myself for not starting off closer to the front - i could have PR'd!
There is a lot to be said for running how you feel and truly for fun - without any goals or time pressures. I don't know if i have the ability to do this for a full marathon but i would like to try it sometime.
This was the most fun race I've ever run. I cannot wait to do it again next year!
My only goal for the race was to have fun and enjoy running through the Magic Kingdom... and hopefully remember it this time.
My niece and nephew were in town visiting us so we spent the day at the parks on Saturday. It was chilly and hectic but we survived. I ran over to the Expo to pick up my stuff. I am the world's worst shopper so i barely looked around but i did get a tiara put in my hair by the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo salon ladies. Like I said, it was a chilly and hectic day and by the end of the day, i hadn't eaten anything, it was getting late and Sidney was starting to run out of steam. I ended up getting a roti from an indian restaurant and heading back to the hotel with Sidney while Chris, Robert and Becca went out to eat. Sidney was asleep before i even got his shoes off so i had my bread and went to sleep later than i would have liked to for a 4:00am wake up.
I actually slept pretty well and was ready to go when the alarm went off. I knew it was cold so i piled on the clothes. I wore a long sleeve tech shirt under a short sleeve tech shirt, my running skirt and gloves. I wore my pajama pants to the start but left the in the car with Chris. I left my hair down for the first time since i didn't want to mess around with the tiara.
Chris got up and drove me to the start and then went back to the hotel. His plan was to wake Sidney up before I was due to finish and they were going to meet me at the finish line.
I did a few warm-up laps before checking my bag and sweatshirts, hit the bathrooms a few more times and headed over to Corral A.
I felt pretty good - i was excited to get started (and warm up!) and couldn't wait to see the entertainment on the course.
Mile 1 was slow and crowded. About a 9:00. Note for next time - line up as close to the front as possible. i think this has to be true for most races from now on. I'm not super fast but not being able to run my pace makes me twitchy and nervous.
Once i found a spot and pace, i felt much better. I ran how i felt and didn't pay much attention to my splits. it was fun! Captain Jack was out and then some of the princes. There was a super cool drumming group as we neared the Magic Kingdom.
At mile 5, we came in to the Magic Kingdom. It was magnificent! We ran down Main Street USA and i stopped quickly to take a picture of the castle. We rounded through Tomorrowland and turned into Fantasyland. There were a ton of princesses and characters out. Then through the castle! finally, out through frontierland. I must have looked like a three year old - i could not stop smiling and looking around wide-eyed.
We spend a LOT of time at the Magic Kingdom and it never gets old for me. I only wish it was that empty every time we go!
After the Magic Kingdom, it's mostly highway and back roads. Never boring but it's not a 13 mile run through the castle! I felt like the adrenaline kick was wearing off around mile 7 and i took a gel. There were a lot of characters out on the second half too and i made sure to say hello to each of them! I was really just having a great time! My favorite part was Maleficent! She is my favorite villain and i was super happy to see her out there... Disney should have a villains race - at night.
Everyone advertises their courses as "flat and fast" and Disney is no exception - but i've run Disney enough to know that's simply not true. there are some hills and on-ramps/overpasses that qualify as at least "hill-like" - especially in Florida! The "hills" came late in this race and were at mile 11. I planned for them though and had no trouble at all.
The last mile and a half brought us back to Epcot - though a different route than the other races i've run there so that was pretty cool.
I hadn't look at my watch in awhile and was surprised to see that i was headed for a 1:40-something.
I kicked it up a little the last quarter mile and finished with chip time of 1:43:55. I was super happy and very surprised. Of course, in retrospect, i was kicking myself for not starting off closer to the front - i could have PR'd!
There is a lot to be said for running how you feel and truly for fun - without any goals or time pressures. I don't know if i have the ability to do this for a full marathon but i would like to try it sometime.
This was the most fun race I've ever run. I cannot wait to do it again next year!