So, I made it my goal that by the time I was 40, I would do it. And YES, I am 40. Or 41.... I can't remember.
Anyhoo..... I began my training in September of 2014.
IT. WAS. AWFUL.
Training for a Disney World Half Marathon is NOT fun.
But COMPLETING a Disney World Half Marathon is AWESOME.
That cannot be stressed enough:
Training for a half marathon: You're nuts and something must be wrong with you.
Actually racing in a half marathon at Disney: This is the best idea you've ever had!
So, the last weekend of February, 2015, we all set out for a long weekend at WDW which would culminate in a huge bucket-list check mark for me! Hooray for completed goals!
THURSDAY:
Early Thursday morning, we headed out on our 10 hour jaunt to WDW. We were all very happy.
See?
Happy.
Mary wanted to sport her new Minnie Mouse flip flops (that she had been wearing 24/7 at home) to Disney, but it was going to be a bit chilly for that..... so we compromised. THIS is how she went to Disney. I don't even care.
More travel fashion.
As soon as we pulled into WDW, we headed to the Wide World of Sports complex to the Princess Half Marathon Expo. I needed to pick up my race packet, turn in my paperwork, and get some SWAG!
The Expo is in multiple buildings at the Wide World of Sports Complex. It is HUGE, but we must have hit it at a good time because it wasn't busy at all! We walked right in and found what we needed very easily. First stop was to turn in my waiver and get my race number and bag.....
I love it when there aren't lines at Disney!
Then, it was off to the next building to get some goodies! This part of the expo was a bit more crowded! You can find ANYTHING for the runner in your life here at the expo. They also had LOTS of guest speakers covering topics like training, nutrition, injury, race prep, etc. Very neat! Even Jeff Galloway, my guru in race preparation, was there speaking!
Here's my ChEAR Squad!
We had ordered Joe a special ChEAR Squad package so he could view the race from a special spot. He also got a shirt, blanket, clapper, and other goodies!
(The kids didn't go to the race since it started so early in the morning. They slept in that day and then went into the parks with Mudger and Night Night!)
Please take note of the footwear.
Mercy.
My race bib! I was placed in Corral M out of P.
I'll explain later, but I was VERY relieved to not be in the last corral!
My Run Disney Swag! shirts, hats, headbands, mugs.... they had it ALL!
Ha! Joe loved this shirt!
They even had a station at the Expo where families could make signs for their runners! So cute!
The only NOT magical part of the race weekend was THIS.
A flat tire as we came out of the Expo!
But, in true Disney fashion, the workers in the parking lot crawled up under that vehicle with Dad and helped us change the tire. Then, the tire people (yes... Disney has tire people who work at the Tire Center) came to where we were, picked up the tire, took it away, and put it back on our vehicle the next day for NO CHARGE.
Disney. You are awesome.
FRIDAY: EPCOT
We rode all our favorite rides. We saw all our favorite characters. And we ate lots of good food! This was a great day!
Always our first stop at EPCOT! The Character Spot!
At the end of Test Track, Max found his future vehicle! Save your pennies, dear boy!
Turkey leg for everyone!
The next three pictures were taken in the span of about 10 seconds....
Oh, the drama of getting a good picture!
After all the times we've been to Disney, it never occurred to us to SNACK AROUND THE WORLD at EPCOT. Instead of eating a full meal at any one place, we decided to get a snack at every country and share it. We enjoyed goodies from Mexico, Italy, America, England, France, America, Morocco, and China. I totally would have taken pictures of our yummy adventure, but when you're sharing a snack with two teenage boys and a little girl who enjoys food, there's no time for a picture!
I believe this will become a new Powell family tradition at EPCOT!
SATURDAY: MAGIC KINGDOM
Magic Kingdom opened at 7:00 (!!!) on the weekend we were there. We, of course, had to be there when the doors opened, so it was an EARLY start for all of us!
Mary is still asleep as we hopped on the carousel first thing.
There was NO ONE in the park at this time.
At one point, we wondered if we'd somehow gotten in during a special event or something..... I mean.... it was EMPTY. And LOVELY.......
We'd set up several FastPasses for the boys to use later that day on the mountains of Magic Kingdom, but since it was so empty, they decided to go ahead and knock them out. So, while the boys set off on their coaster adventures, Mary and I hopped in line for the princesses.
Ten minutes later, we were HERE......
It HAD been an early morning, so we had a little stretch and yawn while we talked with Cinderella.....
which Cinderella found hilarious......
THIS. THIS IS FABULOUS.
Mary LOVES "Punzel" and wouldn't take her eyes off her long enough for me to get a picture!
We caught back up with the boys over at Splash Mountain after we met all the Princesses. The boys decided to hit a couple of the rides several times in a row since there was no one there, so Mary and I sat in our favorite rocking chairs in the store by Splash Mountain and in just a few seconds, this is what Mary was doing. It was only 9:00 AM!
Once the boys got their fill of coasters and Mary had a good nap, we rode some things together.
Max is fun when taking selfies.
We found Aladdin and Jasmine over in Adventureland! Mary had just watched their movie for the first (and second and third) time on the way down to WDW, so she was excited to see them in person!
Here, they are asking her if she's TWO......
..... and she quickly said, "No, my THREE."
Then it was off to Tomorrowland and our favorite ride!
Joe, Mary, and I ended our day early and headed back to the hotel so we could turn in early. Tomorrow's wake-up call of 2:30 AM will be here before you know it!
The boys hung out with M and NN at the Magic Kingdom for a while longer!
SUNDAY: RACE DAY!
Joe and I had an early wake-up call on race day. We woke up at 2:30 and were on the race bus by 3:30. Mary was hanging out at the resort with Mudger that morning (after sleeping a bit late) and the boys were enjoying a day at Hollywood Studios with NightNight. Joe was sweet to be my ChEAR Squad and rode with me to the race area over in the EPCOT parking lot.
The whole event is TOTALLY organized and smooth. I mean, it's DISNEY, after all!
We hopped right on the waiting bus, ate our breakfast that we'd grabbed from the food court (which opened early for racers), and got to the race prep area in PLENTY of time!
Joe stayed with me while I checked my bag and then I went into the "racers only" area and began walking to my corral. Joe then hopped on the monorail and headed over to get a good viewing spot on Main Street at Magic Kingdom. By this time, it was around 4:30.
There are lots of tents and lots of porto-potties at the entrance to the race!
Folks are stretching, hydrating, and getting ready to go!
And there's a BAND!
Once I left Joe, I started the 1-mile walk to the corral area. There are corrals A-P and you qualify for a corral based on the time you submitted for race completion. Quick times require a proof-of-time from a prior race, but since this was my FIRST race of ANY kind (not even a 5K so far!), then I just had to take whatever corral I got. I was THANKFUL for M out of P! There's a 16 minute mile pace requirement and any who fall behind that pace get SWEPT off the course! (more about this later). I knew I'd trained below the required pace, but it's always nice to know you have a little cushion. (They don't start the timer until the LAST person crosses the start line in the LAST corral.)
Signs were everywhere! Some even wished us a MAGICAL RACE!
Once you're in your corral, you wait for a while. There are huge video screens everywhere showing the race hosts and previews of Disney movies, etc. Miss America even made an appearance! There are clips from past races, interviews with famous folks that are there to race for charities, etc. Folks are sitting around stretching and talking..... it's so much fun and the time goes by very quickly. Before you know it, they're calling your corral and you're headed to the starting line!
Huge balloons mark the corrals.
There are over 25,000 people in this race, so it's CROWDED!
I'm not sure exactly where we were lined up in corrals, but it's somewhere on the highway right outside EPCOT. Both sides of the highway were blocked off. Of course, it's 5:00 in the morning, so I'm not sure who would be out anyway.
Corral M was finally called and it was time to go!
For each corral, they do an official start countdown and set off fireworks to start your race. I took video of this, so no pictures. But it was definitely done in DISNEY style!
Throughout the entire race course, there is SO MUCH activity! Characters, bands, fun signs, etc. line the race course and make the time (and the miles) fly by!
At the end of each mile, there's a mile marker to show your progress. There's also an official time clock on each sign, but it had begun with the very first runner in Corral A, so I used my own Garmin to indicate my time.
First mile! Done!
Second mile. CHECK!
Just as the sun had come up, I was entering into the Magic Kingdom entrance to parking. I'd kept a good pace so far and was figuring out how to work the crowds, water stops, etc. With this being my first race of ANY kind EVER, it took me a little bit to figure out how it all worked.
Three!
There were LOTS of characters throughout the race course (off to the side, of course) and you can stop at any time and get pictures with the characters. The lines for photos are usually long, though, and it eats away at your race time. Since I was PETRIFIED of getting swept, I didn't stop for any pictures, but I tried to take a few as I ran by!
Loved this sign from a spectator on the side!
Mile four! Yay!
The drummers from EPCOT's Japan pavilion were right outside the Transportation and Ticket Center at Magic Kingdom. Great show for mile five!
Here we're running DOWNHILL (hooray for DOWNHILL) under the bridge headed toward the Magic Kingdom. The Contemporary Resort is on the right just on the other side of the bridge.
Just as you pass the Contemporary, you've completed Mile 5!
(This was where I realized that I'd dropped my entire bag of fuel at some point and began to panic just a little that I still had such a long way to go without any fuel at all. I should have known that Disney was prepared for things like this and would be passing out chews and gels just down the road. THANK GOODNESS.)
Once you're into Mile 6, you turn in front of Space Mountain and enter a side entrance into Magic Kingdom. One quick right turn and THERE'S THE CASTLE! I was running, trying to look for Joe, crying, laughing, and taking pictures and video. IT. WAS. AWESOME.
We turned right onto the bridge headed to Tomorrowland. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. Perfect for a 13.1 mile run!
Running through Tomorrowland! There were characters everywhere, but it was crowded and I was just trying not to run into folks.
Then you swing around in front of the tea cups, in front of Pooh, and there you are! At the back of the castle!
And look who was there to greet us! They had on microphones and were talking to us, encouraging us, singing to us! So fun!
There was a bit of a bottleneck going through the castle, so I had to walk here. SLOWLY. I began to worry that it was really messing up my time (please don't sweep me!), but it turned out fine. I was able to make it up later and it slowed down the pacers, too. Folks who had run the race in previous years said this had never been a problem, so we're not sure what the problem was, but it turned out okay.
Keep going!
Once you're through the castle, you turn right into Liberty Square and Frontierland. RUN!
Woody and friends in Frontierland!
And six miles over!
Some folks were stopping and getting pictures of them UNDER the train. You know.... at this point, you feel like you've been run over by a train! No time for Mikki to stop, though. ONWARD!
Hi, Snow White and Prince. Can't stop. Gotta run.
Mile seven! Now. This is where it gets interesting. First of all, I was tired. It had also gotten HOT and HUMID since the sun had come up and I was FEELING IT. Once you exit Magic Kingdom through the gate next to Splash Mountain, you follow a little back road that takes you around in front of the Grand Floridian and then back to the highway headed back to EPCOT. On this road, there's no music, no characters, no bands, NOTHING. Just quiet running and people. Still LOTS OF PEOPLE. They have cones set up in the middle of the road and the runners are on one side while the cars are on the other. Runners call it "Cone Alley" and I'd read about it on a few blogs before. They warned that this stretch of the race was LONG and BORING, but that if you could make it through it, there was fun stuff up ahead! So I pushed on.
Half way there!
Hello, Genie from Aladdin!
Mile 8.
Now. This picture requires serious explanation. Just after you pass the Mile 8 marker, you notice that there are a few busses lined up on the side of the road. THESE BUSSES ARE BAD. There are three ladies.... "Balloon Ladies" they are called because they complete the race with balloons tied to their belts so they can be spotted easily. These ladies (same ones every Disney race) start LAST.... they are the last people to cross the finish line in the last corral and they walk the course at a 16 minute mile pace. If, at mile 8, you are BEHIND the Balloon Ladies, YOU ARE SWEPT OFF THE COURSE. Once the Balloon Ladies cross the 8 mile mark, a large group of vested policemen (see them back there?) stand across the race course and the busses pull across the road. Anyone who is behind at that point is put on the bus and now allowed to finish the race. Awful.
I was so glad the buses weren't even cranked when I passed by.
THANK GOODNESS.
Only I'm not out of the woods yet..... cause they sweep ONE MORE TIME on down the course.... either at Mile 10 or 11.....
So, ON I WENT.
Nine miles! Hi, Belle!
More characters along the way!
No time to stop!
Captain Jack Sparrow's over there somewhere.
And this isn't part of the Disney stuff, but it was passing by on the other side of the road while I was drudging through Mile 9. I thought it was funny.
Mile 10. Getting rough now.
Once you're headed to Mile 11, there's a RAMP. A RAMP YOU HAVE TO WALK UP. A RAMP ON THE INTERSTATE THAT YOU HAVE TO WALK UP AT MILE 11.
Once you've survived walking up that ramp, this guy is at the top. And HE. IS. FUNNY. He's miked and he's LOUD and he's screaming stuff like, "Keep going, racer! You PAID to do this, now keep running!" So funny when you're SO TIRED.
Then the soldier tells you to look behind you.
When I did, this is what I saw. I'd never looked back until then and really had no clue how many people were running the race. These folks are below me....about to come up the ramp..... That's a LOT of people. CRAZY!
See the bus? Not sure where the sweeping happened. It freaked me out and I didn't look back again. But LOOK AT ALL THOSE PEOPLE. And there were MORE people than that in FRONT OF ME! Ridiculously crowded! But it never really caused a problem once I figured out how to handle it while running.
Course, by Mile 11, there was VERY little running going on.
I tired.
But THIS gave me some energy! The finish line is somewhere over there! Once you see that EPCOT ball, you know the sweeping is over and there's not too much further to go! YAY! RUN!
Twelve miles done! This is somewhere in the EPCOT parking lot.
Coming into the side of EPCOT at our last water stop. Powerade comes first and water is always at the end. I would always grab one of each and keep going!
You come into EPCOT right under Spaceship Earth. Then you head right towards the countries.
You run to the entrance to the World Showcase, then turn the circle and head back to Spaceship Earth.
Look at the lady's shirt in front of me...."This is a 5K, right?" Hilarious.
Run, people! We're almost done!
Just before the final stretch, there's a gospel choir SINGING! It's awesome.
Mile 13. I. Am. Almost. There.
Once I rounded the corner and saw the finish line, I started looking for Joe. I knew he was somewhere in those stands over there and I needed to see his face. I was tired, but so excited! He was right on the front row, right by the fence, and I was able to run over and talk to him before I headed to the finish line. I tried to take some pictures coming over the finish line, but I think I took video instead. Here are a couple of shots that Disney took for me! I'm in pink. Along with everyone else! Ha!
See me? Hands up?
I think my hands were the only part of me that didn't hurt.
Scratch that. My hands were totally swollen.
I was so glad it was over.
But so glad that I'd done it!
When the race is over, they keep you on your feet and walk you through the tents at the end. They immediately give you your medal, let you grab some water and Powerade, a banana, and a goody box. Then, I went to the tent to get my checked bag and started looking for Joe. We'd agreed on a spot to meet and I found him right away. Then we headed over to our bus line to head back to the resort.
13.1 miles! Done!
Yay for goals met!
Since the boys were living it up at Hollywood Studios with my parents, Joe and I took Mary to dinner with Cinderella and then just sat around enjoying some quiet and rest. We are somewhere beside the Grand Floridian.... see Space Mountain and the castle across the way? Beautiful way to end a fun day.
I did!
And by the end of the day, this is how we all felt.
Nothing like being Disney tired.
I'm writing this blog post on January 1, 2015 (I know. Pathetic)... and in ONE WEEK, Joe and I will be running the Walt Disney World Half Marathon together to celebrate our 20th Anniversary!
I had such a good time that I convinced Joe to run with me and we've been training for months. Yay!
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