All the miles were magical!!!! Some of them were more magical than others, and some of them definitely hurt more than others, but I LOVE to runDisney!!! ✨👟✨ I am always amazed at how the characters support the runners. They laugh and make jokes, and never cringe or shy away from us smelly, sweaty folks. They embrace us and never miss a beat!! The spectators help make the not-so-Disney-magical miles magical!! Runners appreciate spectators and the humor they bring with their signs, snacks, etc. These signs were made especially for Whitney and I by our lovely chEARleader and Fairy Godmother herself! ✨👑✨ We crushed goals, took names, and walked away with the bling to prove it!!! We will be back for more runDisney, and we are coming for you again, 26.2!!! Next up, the Run Donna 26.2 in Jacksonville! At the moment I'm rocking a runner's high, so I'll worry about the next marathon another day! 😄
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We were on our way to being marathoners with a mere 10k left to go! I knew we still had Hollywood Studies, the Boardwalk, and Epcot to look forward to. It was all heart from here! We stopped for so many character pictures, but I think I was most grateful for this one. I was hurting, and I think Whitney must have known somehow, because she was like "let's stop for a picture!" The line was short, but I used it to stretch my legs and catch my breath. When we got to Hollywood Studios, we were running down the streets of "New York" when Whitney ran ahead of me and said, "Stop so I can take your picture!" I had no idea what was behind me or what would be in the picture, but when I stopped I heard someone across the course say "Hey, Anna and Elsa, we love your costumes!" (Or something along those lines) When I looked over, I immediately recognized them..... ...it was more of my #teamsparkle Insta friends!!!! (@find_your_happy_pace, @elisewallace, and @mylifepace) Of course I fangirled out again, and we ran over to take a picture!!! Those last 3 miles were my favorite!! The whole way we were cheered on by spectators and park goers alike! Those were the most emotional for me because I was reveling in the fact that I had run 23 miles, and I was 3 miles away from being a marathoner!! The crowd support was amazing!!! We also made a few final character stops where "runners get priority!" We ran all the way to London, met Aurora in France, Aladdin sang to us in India(?), we found our strong at Spaceship Eartn, and praised Jesus with the gospel choir at mile 26!!!! This was the BEST way to end the race!! Then there was one final photo we had to take before crossing the finish!! When I looked back at this picture, I thought "ew, what is wrong with my face?" Then I realized it was a mix between being so stupidly ecstatic that I was finishing my marathon and trying not to cry because, as Whitney said, "if you cry you'll ruin your makeup!" I'll take it! Our fearless chEAR squad was there to capture our moment of triump!!! All the fears defeated, and all the doubts squashed!!! WE ARE MARATHONERS!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't have asked for a better first marathon experience, and I can't imagine having run it with anyone else!!! I take my role as Princess Marathoner very seriously!!! RunDisney was the best choice for our first 26.2 magical miles!!! I hope 26.2 non-Disney miles are equally as magical. We are signed up for our second marathon on Valentine's Day!! 😀😬😳
Anna and Elsa were up and ready to run at 4am!!! Disney races are soooo early..... 😴 I had been obsessively checking the weather in the 15 days leading up to race day (that was as far out as the weather channel app would let me go). It had gone from no rain to some rain back to no rain again. While I was getting ready to leave on race morning, I checked one last time and saw that there was a 90% chance of rain at 7:00 and 8:00. I told Mom, Dad, and Justin to start praying it away. I didn't want to say anything to Whitney in case she hadn't seen it yet. All I could think of was that we would have wet shoes and clothes if it rained during the beginning of the race. While I had overpacked with other stuff, I did not have extra shoes. By the time we arrived at Epcot 30 minutes later, the rain chance was gone. From 90% chance to 0% chance in 30 minutes. Prayer works, people!!! After walking from the very end of the Discovery parking row to the starting area, we were ready to snap a few pictures before heading to the start corrals. Most everyone was already at the start, because the race was a mere 30 minutes from starting. Of course, we were starting in corral N out of P (thanks to my forgetting to submit a proof of time and Whitney's graciousness to move back from corral F), so we knew it would be a good hour after the first runners started that our corral would begin. Although I was telling myself I could do it, I had so many doubts and fears leading up to the race. I felt calm until we got in the corral. That was when it all came rushing in. Whitney had done several 19-20+ mile runs in preparation as she started before our training schedule had officially begun. I, on the other hand, had done long runs consisting of a 17 consecutive mile run, a 13.1 race plus 4 mile run two hours later, and one 21 mile training run. That longest run was good, but also painful. Every mile after 18 (further than I had ever run before) hurt. It hurt afterwards. My knee bothered me, and it has only ever hurt once after a run. I felt fear creep in. If it had hurt to run 21 miles, how could I run 26.2? Most training schedules have runners max out their miles at 18-22 miles before the marathon. I knew theoretically it was possible, but I was still afraid. I was also concerned because Whitney and I would be running together. Whitney runs a pace about 2.5-3 minutes faster per mile than I do. There would be no way I could run that fast, especially for 26.2 miles. I felt bad and worried about slowing her down, making her start in the back, and felt the pressure of the "balloon ladies" starting so closely behind us. For those who don't know about the "balloon ladies," they are the last people to cross the starting line. They maintain a 16 minute per mile pace, the limit of the course, and they are your warning that you are about to be "swept" off the course for not keeping the pace. I've heard that once they pass you, then comes the bicyclists, and finally the "parade bus" to take you off the course to the finish with a DNF. I understand those who have been swept will still receive a medal, but who wants a medal for a race they did not complete... Had we started in an earlier corral, we would have had a good cushion of time ahead of the balloon ladies to stop, take pictures, etc. Starting in corral N gave us about a 30 minute head start on them. Too close for comfort. All of these fears were unwarranted in the end, but very real nonetheless. We hugged our chEARleaders goodbye, I choked back tears, and we headed to the start with a quick stop at the porta potties. It would be 5 miles before we would see them again, but knowing they would be waiting for us at the Castle was good motivation! The first 5 miles to the castle we were full of adrenaline from the excitement of the start and knowing Main Street U.S.A was in our near future!!! We saw Mom and Dad just as we turned the corner!!! We stopped for a picture, and I handed off my Anaa cape. It was so hot and humid that I decided to take it off to try and cool down. I didn't realize until after the race when Mom told me that it was so soaked in sweat she could ring it out. Oops! Thanks for supporting our gross running habits! Justin had moved down Main Street they told us, so once we left them we searched frantically for the tallest spectator in a red shirt. I was afraid we had missed him, but then we saw him right in front of the castl!!! Of course we had to take a selfie with our number one fan!!!! #mybrotherisawesome Not only was he waiting to chEAR us on, he had picked out the perfect photo opp!! We ducked under the rope for this awesome picture!!! Besides seeing our family and running through the castle, this guy was the best!!! Have I mentioned that runners LOVE spectators?!? Especially ones with humor! Ariel and Sebastian were our first character stop on course. As we stood in line, a runDisney man told us the last runners had crossed the transportation station. I estimated that was a mile behind us. The pressure was on. I wasn't too terribly concerned about being swept. I knew we could outrun them, we would just have to limit our stops. I think Whitney took on the brunt of that worry. On the back of the castle we found our friends Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff!!! They loved our costumes, and Anna asked me "did you run your cape off?" It was so magical!!! After exiting the Kingdom, I finally found Maleficent!!! In dragon form, of course. We didn't stop for a picture, but we took one on our own. After Magic Kingdom, there were several less than magical miles. My iPod crapped out on me around the Wedding Pavilion and golf course. For some reason it started skipping songs, then stopped my workout. I restarted it and it did the same thing. I remembered this happened during the Princess Half last year at this same spot in the course. I've never had that happen during any other races or training runs, so I can only figure there is something in the air on that back strip that interferes with my little iPod. It even switched to trying to play the radio. Weird! We finally made it to Animal Kingdom which was around halfway through the race. We had read on blogs leading up to the race that some runners stop and ride Everest (if the park is open), so that was something we had been looking forward to! When you runDisney, you stop to ride a Disney roller coaster!!!!! While we were waiting in the 10-15 minute single rider line, we heard the balloon ladies were 30 minutes behind us. I had signed up to get runner tracking texts for myself, so they let me know our estimated finish time at every checkpoint. I knew we had to finish in 7 hours (plus the 10 minute cushion between corral N and P starting), and so far Disney thought we would finish in the 6 hour range. I was still not worried. The ride was fun, but we discussed after the race how it kind of made us both feel funny. The miles between Animal Kingdom (mile 13) and the Wide World of Sports (mile17-20) were slightly less than magical. It felt like a long way. Running through the parks is distracting. It's almost like you're not even running... Almost. We knew we would see our family at the Stadium between miles 19 and 20. I had already texted Justin to let him know I needed my first aid kit (my baby toe blister was rearing it's ugly head I feared), and Whitney was ready for her snack of a peanut butter sandwich. We stopped for a potty break and I checked on my other toes while I waited. A kind runner offered some "butt paste" for where my toes was rubbing, and his wife offered me a band aide when I realized my band aids had disintegrated from my sweat. I was SO happy to see my chEAR squad, but was also trying very hard not to break down and cry! I doctored my toe and found out my blister was indeed returning. Afterward I decided I probably should have let it lie, because it hurt worse after I "fixed" it. Lesson learned. Miles 17-20 were the worst for me mentally. I thought about what quitting would look like. Of course, I wasn't going to quit, but the thought still came. Whitney was making small talk all the while, which was such a welcome distraction! I am so thankful to have run my first 26.2 with her!! Once I could count the miles we had left on one hand, my mental game gained strength.
Last February my BRF/Sis-in-law qualified for Half Fanatics by running 3 half marathons in 90 days. We were at the lowest level, Neptune. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check them out here: http://www.halffanatics.com/fanatic-criteria) Through my Coast to Coast Challenge, I was set to "moon up" to Uranus; however, when the opportunity arose to "moon up" to Saturn, we jumped on it. Because, let's face it, who wants to be on Uranus.... In order to land on Saturn, we would need to run 4 halves in 37 days. No problem, we already had the Rock'nRoll Savannah, the Atlanta Half Marathon, and the Jeff Galloway 13.1 lined up. We only needed to add one more in between to get 4. All this while training for our first full marathon. Makes sense, right? That meant that 6 and 7 mile "easy" runs would become 13.1 races, and 17-19 mile runs would become 13.1 races and extra miles when we got home. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this plan, especially for the newbie runner. *Spoiler alert, it worked out, but it probably could have been better. More on that later.... With stop number 1 at the Rock'n'roll Savannah behind us, we pushed on to stop number 2: the Atlanta Half Marathon. It was a seasonably warm day. Much warmer in comparison to the year prior. The temperatures were cool, but not unbearable. As Triple Peach runners, we were able to seed ourselves in the corrals. It seemed like a long walk to get to the opening in the fence where we could actually enter any corral, but we finally took our place, walked back up the hill we had just walked down, and were off! It is impossible to run Atlanta without running hills. What sticks out to me most is the abundance of hills on the back half of the course. The first half came relatively easy for me, even setting me up for a potential PR; however, the hills on the second half drained my resilience. Coupled with a blister on the bottom of my foot that started screaming at me, I was all too happy when I saw the iconic Olympic Rings and knew I was done. Stop number 3 was a small town half in Monroe, Georgia, the Walton Half Marathon. I'll be honest, small halves scare me more than anything. There is fear of getting lost, fear of no support stations on the course, and my greatest fear as a middle-of-the-pack runner: coming in dead last. I know, I know, someone has to finish last, and I believe finishing at all is a great accomplishment, but my own vanity and insecurity get in the way. Whitney, of course, was pumped at the possibility of placing in our age group. (Which she did!!! First place in our age group!!!! GO WHITNEY!!!) This was also our first race without our faithful chEAR squad. With prior commitments and adult responsibilities, Whitney and I were left to ourselves to run this teeny tiny race. There were 95 runners total. (I finished 79th! 8th/9 in my age group!) The race started at a local elementary school, which means we got to use REAL bathrooms!!! My favorite race perk. Our packets had our names handwritten on the bag. Such a personal touch! We sat in the car until right before race time, then realized the finish line we were looking at was not the start line. The start was actually across the parking lot and down the road. We began walking to it, realized how far away it was, and then ran to it. This was unnecessary as the race start lady wasn't even there. We toed the spray painted line, set on her mark per megaphone, and as she pushed start on her iPhone, we were off. I've run many local 5ks that began this way, but this was a first for a half marathon. The course was advertised as flat, and since there was little information available on the Walton County Chamber of Commerce website, we didn't know much about it. They did tell us there would be water stations every couple of miles. I took my own water just in case. The course was very flat, and not very scenic. We ran long, straight rows with fields, pastures, and a smattering of houses. Every once in a while a grand house would pop up, and I daydreamed about who lived there. I don't know much about Monroe or Walton, but I gleaned that horses are a major way of life. The course also took us down a strange range that had pigs in a fence. I wouldn't have noticed they were pigs at all except that one of them mounted another as I ran by. #onlyinruralcountry Along the course, there were water stations, but no spectators. No one came to cheer us on or hold funny, quirky, encouraging signs to drive us on. I had exactly 2 people clap and/or say something encouraging as they pointed me in the right direction for a turn. Spectators make SUCH a difference!!! I have said it before, and I'll say it again, runners appreciate spectators!! A well placed "way to go" or "you got this" can give a runner the push they need to conquer a wall. About mile 8, my blister started giving me fits, so I slowed a bit. My blister/foot troubles plagued my mind, not for the race I was running, but for the marathon and longest training runs ever that were quickly approaching. At last, I finished to the cheers of two very sweet ladies who loved our skirts, and my supportive sister-in-law who had been waiting patiently in the car after blowing the race out of the water! When I got home, I ran 4 more miles, because my marathon training schedule called for a 17 mile run. 13.1 plus 4 two hours later equals one 17-miler, right? #runnerlogic The last race of 2015, and stop number 4 on our journey to Saturn was the Jeff Galloway 13.1. Whitney and I ran the inaugural JG 13.1 last year and loved it. This year, we got Justin on board our half-crazy train! The race weekend started off with a bump for me. After a hard week at work, we drove to the expo to pick up our packets. Justin and Whitney got in their fast corral line, picked up their bibs and shirts, and were done. I got in my middle-of-the-pack corral line, and my bib was nowhere to be found. Although my name was on the list with my bib number and all, the bib alluded us. No problem, they will assign me a new bib number. Except that my original bib had my name printed on it. Now my bib was nameless, and they hand wrote the change on a piece of paper (I still don't have an official record of my result because of this). As I swallowed my tears (yes, I realize this was a ridiculous thing to be emotional about), I remembered all the times when I've run a race with my name on my bib and spectators and volunteers have called out "go Sarah" or called me by name. That means so much more! Moving on.... Once I got home, I took a sharpie and wrote my name on my bib anyway. Turns out, there were 2 places on the course where the cheer zone called out my name, and the announcer at the end read my bib!!! This is a beautiful course, and Jeff and his team do a great job of minimizing the hills along the course. This is Atlanta, so there will be hills, but they are more manageable than some courses. I started out with the 2:15 pace team with aspirations of chasing down a PR. The pace teams do the Galloway run/walk ratios, which is how I run. The pace group quickly left me in the dust. The year before, I had started with the 2:30 pace group, and I had left them in the dust until the last tenth of a mile when they caught up to me. This year, like the one before, I found myself running my own race. Everything was going well until about 9. My blister wasn't feeling to terribly bad; however, I could feel my little toe starting to throb. I knew it had to be a blister forming, but I didn't want to stop and tend to it. I figured, "it's just 4 more miles" and kept running. Around mile 10, the course circles around a Piedmont Park entrance near the finish line. Last year I had seen my favorite chEARleader and photographer at this point. I knew that Justin and Whintey would be finishing somewhere around the time I would be passing this part of the course, so I figured no one would be there to cheer me on since they would be at the finish cheering on our finishers. I was pleasantly surprised to see Dad here with his sign cheering for me!! It gave me just the boost I needed to power up the hill! As I finished out the last mile through the Park, Barb Galloway and her running friend came up beside me. We passed each other a few times before they pulled ahead. It was like a celebrity sighting! I was so thankful to see the finish line, and after crossing I took my finish picture with Jeff! Upon inspection of my toe, I found that half of it had turned into a blister. It would be the most painful, persistent thing I've experienced as a runner. I am thankful that this has been my worst "injury." With that, we made it to Saturn!!!!! Now it was time to focus on our biggest runventure to date: the Disney World MARATHON!!!
This past week was my favorite sister-in-law's 30th birthday!!! We decided months ago to run the Rock'n'roll Savannah Half Marathon for the first time together to celebrate. (What better way to celebrate another year of life than sweating through 13.1 miles...) We went back and forth between the RnR and runDisney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon as they were on the same weekend. We ultimately decided on running Savannah. Fortunately, or unfortunately, neither race turned out to be a stellar choice. Flashback to my first Rock'n'roll race during the summer of 2014 in beautiful Seattle, Washington. It was my second half marathon ever, and my first time visiting the west coast. I had a great experience at this race, so I was excited to run another rock'n'roll event. Flashforward to 2015. We arrived in Savannah Friday night, picked up our packets, checked into our grossly overpriced hotel, had a delicious dinner at 17hundred90, and prepared to rock half marathon #2 for Justin, #7 for Whitney, and #10 for me!!! The weather was forecasting warm temperatures all week, so I knew it wouldn't be a "Fall" weather race; however, it was unexpectedly more hot and humid than anyone could have predicted. When I last checked the weather before settling into our corral, the humidity was 99%. I was slated for corral 15, with Justin and Whitney in Corral 9. While walking to our corrals, we realized RnR was not strictly enforcing corral placement. In fact, I don't remember seeing any volunteers in or around the corrals except the one holding the corral number sign. We decided to hop into corral 8 and start together. Looking back, I'm so thankful we made this decision. 15 minutes past the 7:00 start time of the race, the first corrals were finally released. From my calculations, there was about 1 minute to 30 seconds between the start of one corral and another. The back of corral 7 had barely gotten past the timing mats when corral 8 got the 30 second start warning. Knowing that Savannah is notoriously a "flat and fast" course, I think we all had our minds set on a PR. It didn't take long for me to realize this would not be the race for that. Some girls say "I don't sweat, I sparkle." Well, I SWEAT. Buckets. At any given time, regardless of my physical exertion or lack there of. For races like this in humidity this thick, I sweat an extreme amount. I was sweating before I started running, and my clothes were dripping sweat by mile 2. Literally, dripping. About halfway through the second mile, I was desperate for a water stop, and wondering where one would be. Typically water stations can be found every mile and a half or so. Sometimes sooner. It seemed like forever before the first water stop, and when I got there, the first tables were lacking water cups. There was a little "pile up" as runners clustered down the table. There was Gatorade at the end as usual, so I got a cup less than half full of water and a cup less than half full of Gatorade. This was the most well-stocked water station I encountered on the course. As the race dragged on, water stations were less and less stocked, with lines for water as volunteers scrambled to pull empty cups out of boxes and fill them from pitchers and the lined trash cans filled with water. There was one more Gatorade stop on the course, and I missed it because there were 2 tables of Gatorade on the left side, and 2 tables of water down and to the right. By the time I realized there was no Gatorade on the right, it was too late to turn around and double back to the Gatorade side. At another station, some of the tables were pulled off of the road because they had run out of cups. I stood in line for water, took ice in place of water at one station, and ate it after rubbing it over my body in an attempt to cool down. (My germaphobe, OCDish self would NEVER do such a gross thing under ANY other circumstance!!) In one neighborhood, instead of an official RnR water stop, spectators were using their water hoses to fill jugs and solo cups of water for the runners. Some even had their ice cube trays from their freezers to help cool down runners. The citizens of Savannah were quick to come to the aid of us runners, and for that we are eternally grateful! (A special thanks to the homeowner who put out tissues!!) Another first I experienced was the extreme amount of runners I saw needing emergency medical attention. I have seen an ambulance or two at a race, but I have never seen so many runners down, so many emergency personnel picking up runners, or run by multiple police officers and hearing their radios calling for help for runners. At some point, I started checking to make sure none of these emergencies were my runners who were running speedily in front of me. After the race, I learned that Whitney had actually seen a runner receiving CPR. I decided that while a PR would have been wonderful, finishing in an upright position on my own accord would be even better. I stopped pushing, and started listening to my body. Thankfully Justin, Whitney, and I all had a safe, strong finish! After drinking my chocolate milk (my FAVORITE after!! *hint, hint, runDisney and Atlanta Track Club*), we headed to the finish festival to hear Rascal Flats "headline." I won't say too much on that except, I thought this was ROCK AND ROLL..... I digress. After the finish festival, we headed to Vinnie Van Go Go's and ate a giant pizza. Carbs don't count after a half marathon, right....
Overall, I was very disappointed in RnR's organization (or lack of organization) for this event. There is NO excuse for a race (especially a high priced, well established race) to run out of water for runners. That is unacceptable in any conditions, but even more so when temperatures are unseasonably hot and humid. I keep hearing how there were "misters, ice towels, water sponges, salt, and air conditioned buses" along the course. None of these things were along the 13.1 mile course I ran, except I did see the remnants of salt packages at one point. As a solid "middle of the pack" runner, I am so thankful I started in corral 8. I can't imagine what water was available (or unavailable) to the "back of the pack" runners. I found out after I had finished that RnR made the decision to divert the runners off the course and stop the race due to the heat and for everyone's safety. The marathon runners were most affected by this decision, and many ran a mile or two short of the 26.2 they had been working so hard to achieve. I also learned that a runner had died on the course, and later found out that a second runner had died a couple hours after returning home from the race. My heart goes out to the runners who passed away and their families who lost their loved ones. What should have been a celebratory, fun event turned tragic far too quickly. Life is short. Enjoy the life you live. Do what you love, and love the ones you're with. It's been a hot minute since I've raced with my two favorite runners. Our last race together was the very wet Peachtree Road Race. Thankfully, the Atlanta 10-miler was nice and dry! The 10 miles were also a nice break from our typical 13.1 races. This was my second year running the 10-miler. Atlanta Track Club is a wonderful organization, and I appreciate the events they put on for the runners, by runners. I liked the medal, but I must say that I prefer last year's blue "suncatcher" medal. My memories from last year's race were of the brutal hills through the neighborhoods and back roads around Atlanta. I recall thinking Big Peach Running Co.'s tag line: "Hills, heat, humidity. Welcome to Atlanta." must have been written about this race course. As I ran this year, however, I kept thinking how surely they had changed the course. I remembered key pieces of the course such as IKEA just outside of Atlantic Station, the Puppet School people, and Cardiac Hill. They had to have changed the course this year, because the hills really *gasp* weren't that bad.... Right? Apparently, I've simply had a change of perspective. Has running the hills in my neighborhood helped condition me for Atlanta's hills? Did the mountain we ran on the Asheville Half Marathon Course resonate enough to make Atlanta's hills seem manageable? Don't misunderstand, I still loathe running/walking hills... Of any elevation. My favorite parts of this race:
1. REAL bathrooms at the start line!! "Thank you, kind volunteer, I am choosing to stand in this 30 minute line for a real toilet even though the porta potties down the way have no wait." 2. Course support is fantastic! I so appreciated the school groups along the route cheering us on. Never underestimate the power of a spectator on a distance race. Never! The 10-miler was the second stop for the Triple Peach race series challenge. Next stop: Atlanta Half Marathon!! I started my Coast to Coast Challenge in February when I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon Glass Slipper Challenge with my amazing sister-in-law. We had more fun than should be allowed running 13.1 miles, but it was Disney World after all. I complete the CC Challenge by running the Disneyland Half Marathon solo over Labor Day weekend. I chose this race because: 1. It was on a holiday weekend, so I got an extra day and only had to take one personal day off. 2. Having never been to California or Disneyland, I took full advantage of the extra time to visit the parks. 3. It was the 10th anniversary of this race, and the 60th diamond anniversary of Disneyland park, so everything would be extra special. The race expo was at Disneyland Hotel convention center, where we were staying, so after being shuttled to our resort, we checked into our room and headed over to packet pickup. We came in from the back of the hotel, and had some trouble navigating the arrows pointing down the blue carpet. Once we finally figured out where to go, packet pick up was a breeze. The lines for the official merchandise that people were complaining about the day before were non existent on Friday. Of course there were no race cups, mugs, or wine glasses left, so I was unable to add to my cup obsession collection... I stopped and said "hello" to Jeff and Barb, of course, before we left! Barb had a super cute shirt that Raw Threads had created just for the Galloways. I'm excited to run the Galloway 13.1 in Atlanta again in December! Saturday we woke up early, took advantage of our magic hour, and spent the day exploring Disneyland!!! It was a magical experience, and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to visit Walt's original theme park! "To think it all started with a mouse." My favorite part of running at Disneyland was being able to walk to the start line! In contrast to Disneyworld, I had a 3:30 wake up call as opposed to a 3:30 leave time. I am NOT a morning person, and the earlier I arrive at a race the more likely I will need to use the ports potties (NOT my favorite). I hugged mom and dad goodbye, and got in my corral by 5:20. I was in corral C, but the corrals only went to G. There were fireworks during the singing of the National Anthem, but I was surprised that there were no more fireworks for the start of the corrals. Another big difference with running Disneyland is that we run through the parks early in the race. We do run through both Disney's California Adventure and Disneyland for a couple of miles each, which is always fun. I was especially excited to run through DCA since we didn't have time to visit that park this trip. It was cool to see Cars Land and the Mickey Wheel. They had the lights and fountains on for us, which was beautiful! Only people who purchased chEar squad packages were allowed inside Disneyland Main Street, but Mom and Dad were lining the run-way between DCA and Disneyland to cheer me on!! I am so thankful for my personal chEarleaders who wake up early without complaining and stand in big crowds for countless hours just to cheer me on. Runners appreciate spectators, especially spectators who love and support you! 😊 It was so much fun taking pictures with the original castle and running through Disneyland. I was really missing Whitney on this run. Having a BRF (best running friend) with you makes racing a hundred times better! I got SUPER lucky and ran into my evil stepmother and another Cinderella inside Disneyland, so of course I stopped for a picture! As I was waiting, a cast member warned us that Mulan was about to replace Cinderella, so I was so happy to get this picture! My stepmother told me "I hope you win" with much disdain. After we exited the parks, we spent a LOT of time running on the roads. We were running towards the sun for most of it, but I had read about this in advance, so I was prepared with sunscreen. I loved running in California, because even though it was hot and the au was shining on us, it was not humid or muggy. Such welcome relieve from Georgia running, and even Florida running. I had seen on Instagram that Sparkle Athletic had a cheer zone outside of their headquarters about mile 7.5, so I was looking forward to seeing them! I stopped for "Sparkle Power" and ate the last donut hole in their box! 😀 Leading up to the Honda Center, there were rows and rows of cars. Fancy cars, old cars, new cars. Every car had at least one owner cheering us on. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging, and several of them commented on my smile. Of course I'm smiling, runners love spectators!! 💜 We ran on an interesting "trail" leading up to Angels Stadium. I ran carefully so as not to get any gravel in my shoes. At this point I was realizing I had some chaffing hotspots and 5 miles left, so I was treading lightly... The stadium was full of spectators in the stands cheering us on! It was so cool to run through the stadium. I was thankful for a lot of things at this point: 1. The lady with the tent of Vaseline outside of the stadium. 2. 3.1 miles left to go. 3. A kind runner who offered to take my picture. I had to wait in the runner zone for a while for Mom and Dad to make their way around the finish zone, across the course, through Downtown Disney, and finally over to the reunion area. My phone was not cooperating, as it does in large crowds where most people are on their phones to find their people. They finally made it, and I was so happy to see them and share my accomplishment! All in all, it was a wonderful race!! I am partial to races at Disneyworld, but I am extremely thankful for taking the opportunity to complete my West Coast leg of the Coast to Coast Challenge. Next up in my race schedule are Atlanta runs, and the Disneyworld MARATHON!!! Time to focus on the big daddy of races! Chick-fil-a Half Marathon Athens, Georgia April 18. 2015 This was my first time running in Athens, and my first CFA Race Series half marathon. Last March I ran a CFA Race Series 5k in Lawrenceville, and I was not disappointed. Of course, I am a huge Chick-fil-a fan, so I knew they would put on a great run. The "expo" packet pickup was at the Classic Center the night before the race. After winding around corridors through other events we finally located the correct expo room. There was little signage or direction on where to go. The expo was minimal with only a couple of booths, packet pickup, photo opps, children's game zone, and of course an opportunity to spin for a free frosted lemonade from Chick-fil-a. Overall, it was nothing special, but it gave us an excuse to eat in Downtown Athens and we did "win" a frosted lemonade. The race, as indicated in the elevation map above, was full of hills!! This was my brother's first half marathon (GO JUSTIN #mybrotherisawesome #proudsister), and we decided to drive the course after packet pickup. BIG mistake! I was fully prepared for running hills, and knew they would be tough in the middle, but I underestimated the other "smaller" hills. Besides hills, which are just about inevitable running in the South, the race was hot, sticky, and humid, but it was a good day! Definitely not my best, but also not my worst. It was awesome to run through Sanford Stadium. The finish line was a bit hazardous as we actually ran just inside the classic center; however, since it was wet from rain the floor was slick. I got a lovely finisher picture because I made a face when my foot slipped between timing mats... I give the race a thumbs up. Bonus: CFA provides chicken biscuits for finishers!!! Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon Waynesville, North Carolina May 2, 2015 Two weeks after the CFA Half, Whitney and I ran the Gateway to the Smokies Half in Waynesville, North Carolina. We chose this race because: 1. It is within driving distance. - Waynesville is about a 2 hour drive, so we didn't HAVE to spend the night. It did make for an EARLY morning, though. 2. Same day packet pickup. - Most races require runners to pick up packets at an expo in the days before the race. This is not always feasible unless you live fairly close to the race. Expo packet pickups prevent us from being able to run all the races. 3. May is not a great month for half marathons. - I don't understand why, but there are not many options (locally) for half marathons in May. It's a lovely month; however, the choices are slim pickings. After registering, I started doing some research and found out that this was the inaugural year for the half marathon and they only had about 250 likes on their Facebook page. Now, I am a middle of the pack runner. I'm not fast, but I'm not closing down the race course. This has been my experience in races with 1,000 plus runners. The week of the race we got an email indicating that there were about 150 people registered for the race. Nerves, anxiety, and fear set in. In a crowd of 150, there was a GOOD chance I would be dead last. My 2 goals for the race were: 1. Don't get lost. 2. Don't finish last. Once again our elevation map served to add to the nerves, fear, and anxiety. I LOATHE running hills. They are mentally and physically impairing. Whitney and I decided (afterwards) that the amount of hills wasn't as bad as Athens, but the severity of the hills was much worse. I could sum up this race as feeling like a long training run with a few extra people running with me. I had about 3 people around me at any given time either up ahead or behind. There were few water stops, so I carried my water bottle with me for the first time ever at a race. Thank goodness! Not a PR, but my 2 goals were crushed: 1. I did NOT get lost!! - The course switched back on itself a lot, so I got confused a few times thinking I had already been here, done that. The course was, however, marked well enough to make it difficult to get lost. 2. I did NOT finish last!! - Around the beginning of the race we switched back on ourselves, and I counted how many people were behind me. (There were at least 20) So I then counted how many people passed me from that point, and knew that as long as 20 people didn't pass me I wouldn't be last. Officially, I finished 145th out of 157!! I liked the race, small as it was. My favorite part was at the finish line everyone cheered for whoever was finishing! At the CFA Athens Half, there were a lot of people at the finish line, but only my family was cheering for me when I rounded the finish curve. In Paynesville, when I rounded the finish curve I was welcomed by cheers from more than just my family! Finishing a half marathon, first or last, is a major accomplishment, and it is awesome for that accomplishment to be acknowledged! Also, bonus points for finishing in a downhill portion of the course!! Asheville Half Marathon Asheville, North Carolina June 6, 2015 We gave ourselves a month between Waynesville and Asheville, but we returned to North Carolina for our last half before the summer heat overtakes the South. This race had a packet mail-out option, so even though there was an expo for packet pickup, we were able to have our packets mailed to us! *note to race directors: packet mail out and same day packet pickup options will open up your race to so many more runners than expo only options. After realizing that we needed to be at the start line at 6:30 am with a two and a half hour drive, I found us a reasonable option for lodging on Friday night. Being teachers, Whitney and I are out for the summer, and Justin, as an administrator, had an early day Friday, so we were able to make it work. I got us a 2 bedroom suite at the Residences at Biltmore for the price of one hotel room downtown. The Residences are 1.5 miles from downtown Asheville, and turned out to be a straight shot to the race start. The place was very nice, and I didn't even mind (too much) the pull out sofa. It definitely beats getting up at 2 am the morning of a big race. The Asheville Half Marathon made a list of one of the best half marathons to run. It was described as an exciting event with bands playing throughout, crowds, and a finish festival. I can't speak to races prior to 2015; however, this race was not up to par to its description. There were some bands on the course. Some were playing, some were on break, and some areas were set up for a band/musician with no one in sight. There were not many spectators on the course (you guys can make the experience and give runners the push they need to finish strong #runnerlovespectators).
Judging from the elevation map above, we knew we were in for a monster hill around mile 9.5/10. Again, I focused on the big one and underestimated the smaller, terrible hills at the beginning of the course. The long, flat stretch of the course ran along the French Broad River. One would think that would make it rather scenic, right? Wrong. It was an industrial type of road, and we saw the train tracks and buildings. I love the city of Asheville, and I think North Carolina in general is a beautiful state. I was disappointed the race director didn't show of the city like he/she could have. We did see a lot of parking lots of the community college. I dubbed the climb the "mountain." It was almost laughable how ridiculously steep this mile long portion of the course was. I walked the entire thing. Seriously. The name of the road is Lookout Drive. Unfortunately, we didn't see any scenic part of it. I did have a moment of kismet, however, when Maroon 5 started crooning "This summer's gonna hurt like a mother**" as I was ascending the mountain!! Truly, Adam Levine, truly. The course was the toughest I've ever run, so the (uphill) finish was made that much sweeter! It made me appreciate our Atlanta hills, for sure. (Remind me of that this Fall...) The finisher bling was pretty sweet, too! A few months back I decided I'd like to go all the way.... 26.2 miles to be exact! Today I registered for my first FULL MARATHON!!!!
I am of the mindset that running 13.1 miles is a whole race, not just "half" of one. I am content with my half marathons, and I believe they are an accomplishment despite what their names may imply. I have also decided, thanks to the amazing running community I have been introduced to, that I would like to try 26.2 miles. What better place to do that than Disney World?! Before I ran my first half marathon I said the only place I would want to run 13.1 miles would be at Disney. Thus, Princess Half Marathon 2014 being my very first, and quite magical, half marathon. Flash forward to April 2015: I have run 6 half marathons to date, and will be running my 7th half this weekend! Needless to say the magic of the Princess Half wasn't just attributed to Disney, but to the act of running itself. After running the Jeff Galloway 13.1 in December of 2014, I set my sites on 26.2. The pain of my longest run on record (17.5 miles training) has faded enough for me to believe that a full marathon distance is possible for me. The ONLY place I am willing to run that far (at this point in time) is Disney World. I mean, you get to run through all 4 parks, possibly get to ride some rides, take photos with characters, and race to the finish where Minnie and Mickey will be waiting with high fives for all!!! Does it seriously get any better than that?? This is the hope I will be holding on to through this journey, and it will be a journey! Nothing is given. Everything is earned. I am nowhere near the fastest or most skilled runner on the course. In fact, my wonderful sister-in-law who will be running with me could run circles around me and still finish well before I did. The point, however, is not to be the best or the fastest. The point is to have fun, run with your heart, and break through all your personal barriers that hold you back from greatness. I'll be happy to, as Jeff Galloway puts it in his training plans, "finish in the upright position" with a smile on my face! I have 257 days until Marathon Day to get my body, mind, and heart ready to go all the way, but the preparation for this moment started long before today!! |