Disney's Princess Half Marathon Recap Part 3

When I conceived the idea of running a half marathon there was no doubt that my first one had to be at Disney. Why do you say? One, I am a big Disney fan, if you haven't figure that by now and 2 I knew that if I completed my 1st 1/2 marathon at Disney I was doing it for fun and not for competition, which is what I needed. 

After running. or rather walking the Enchanted 10k the day before I was more than ready to run/walk the 1/2. I was ready to embark in this new distance journey. 

Like the day before I woke up at 2:45 to take the bus to EPCOT, this time I was by myself. I woke up, got ready and gathered my things to leave. I was going to check my bag, but quickly realized that I did not have the bag that had my number, so I decided to venture lightly to the race. All I needed was my phone, id and GU since I was hoping they would provide water and bananas at the end. I boarded the bus at 3:15 and got to EPCOT almost at 4. That meant that I had 1:30 hours to kill before the start. Once we arrived at EPCOT I quickly realized why they encourage people to get there early. You first have to walk 1/2 mile to the gathering area, among 40,000+ people. Having worked at Disney, I have seen crowds, but believe me, I don't thing I have seen this many people in one area. After walking through security, I looked around to see what I could do. They had plenty of entertainment for people. They had a lady dressed up as a Princess doing a stand-up comedy type act, in which she was making fun of people that woke up early to do this, people's costume, or just people. They also has a DJ, and lines in which you could take pictures with the Princess 1/2 Marathon Poster.

At around 4:30-4:45 they started calling people to make their way to their corrals, which meant that we had to walk almost a mile to the start (didn't Disney know that we were running 13.1 miles). I made my way to Corral E and started to get nervous. From the beginning I knew I was going to do the run/walk method and I knew how I was going to do it. The stop watch that I was going to use broke, my GPS watch did not want to work, so my only solution to record my race/do my intervals relayed on 2 things: My Nike+ app on my phone and my head to count my intervals. Yes people, I counted to 40 every single time I walked and ran. I was nervous about it, because I kept thinking, what if I dont remember what number I'm on, or what if I forget to start and keep running? Believe me, all of these happened, but I can tell you that by doing this I kept calm and focused the entire race. 

Once they started to release each corral, I became more and more excited, there was no turn back now! I knew that I had done the best of my training, even with all the problems that I had during it and that no matter what happened, I knew I had the strength to finish the race, either by running it or walking it. 

Corral E kept moving further into the start line. It was our turn to go. I tried to be as far up into the corral as possible because I just wanted to go. When the fireworks went off, it became real. We crossed the start line and I got excited. If you have run a race you understand the feeling, if you haven't you don't know what you are missing. This is where you forget every worry that you had up until this point and you just let go and try to do the best you can. I have to say that doing a 40/40 interval (40 seconds running, 40 second walking) was not easy at first, specially for a person who is not use to stopping and going that much. It took me at least the first to second mile to get use to counting to 40 each time and stopping and going. Once I got the rhythm of it, it was easy, easier than I thought. Once of the challenges of the day was the humidity. We were sweating before the race started. 

Miles 1- 4 were all on Disney Main roads from EPCOT to Magic Kingdom. I thought I was not going to like that part, but since I worked at Disney for 10 years, running through those road brought back amazing memories of my time there. How many times did I drive from home to Magic Kingdom and beyond and had taken that same road? Thousands. We used that road as a short cut between Kissimmee and Winter Garden (the town behind Magic Kingdom). Also, Disney being Disney, had characters and music throughout the road. Once we passed the Magic Kingdom Toll Plaza I got more and more excited. I was a little hot, but I knew that soon I was going to be running through Cinderella's Castle and part of the MK. Entering the MK Parking lot I started to get teary eyed. More and more amazing memories came to me and I was passed the 5k mark and still no pain. Those were good signs. 

Miles 4-7 were magical. We ran through the ticketing booths where the Japan Drums met us and then near the Contemporary Resort. After passing the Contemporary I got more and more excited. We took a left turn and through MK's back stage. Soon enough I saw it, Main Street, the street where all children fall in love with Disney. The place where years and years ago I had enjoyed with my family for the first time, and then coming as an adult and shaping my adulthood. I had walked this street plenty of times, as recent as December, but ever since I started running, I wanted to run it and here I was, this was it. I ran as slow as I could, but I did not want to walk and took it all in. Once I rounded the corner to run through Main Street thousands of people were cheering for all of us. I got super emotional, because although I had move away from Orlando because I wanted to, I missed Disney and my closest friends so much and being there at that time made it all more and more real. Once I ran Main Street and took pictures I continued my journey through MK. Another fun part about this was running under Cinderella's Castle, and on to Liberty Square and Frontierland. After passing Frontierland you are backstage again and on the other side of the MK.

During Miles 7-12 it was almost the same route but you passed the Grand Floridian and Polynesian. During this time I was still feeling great so I decided to stop and take pictures with some characters along the way. I took pictures with Mary Popping, Mrs. Incredible and the Glass Slipper Keepers. After passing them I was ready to finish and get on with my race specially since I knew that I had to return the same way we came back from. 

Once we reached mile 11 we were starting to enter EPCOT's Parking lot and it was becoming more and more real. I had put it in my head that I wanted to run the entire last mile no matter what, but once I reached mile 12 my knee started to act up so I decided to just finish the race. Once we entered EPCOT, I knew we were close. I got more and more excited about finishing this race and reaching such a goal. We entered EPCOT the same way we did the day before bit this time instead of turning left to go to the ball we turned right to go almost to the World Showcase Entrance. Once we passed Spaceship Earth I knew we were close because the Gospel Choir was there to cheer us on. I started running to get to the finish line. About 500 yards away from the finish line I started to get sick. I felt like I wanted to puke (A feeling I had ad the MCM10k in October). I pushed through and finished. Luckily I did not puke and made my way to get my 2 medals. Since it was hot, volunteers where handing out cooling towels to cool us down. They gave me my 1/2 marathon medal and then they pointed to where I needed to go to get my Glass Slipper Challenge medal and go and take pictures. I did all that and although I wanted to stay and hang out, I decided it was time to go back to the hotel, have breakfast, take a  shower and a nap. 

This was a great experience and I am glad I got to do it. This is not my last Disney race, nor my last 1/2 marathon. I liked the distance and the course, but, I don't think that I will be running to many 1/2 marathons anytime soon. 

If you ever have the chance to run a Disney event, you should do it. Don't do it for time, do it for the experience. I had a great time and I accomplished a great goal. Hopefully I'll do it again in the future. 

I hope you enjoyed my race recaps. Stay tuned for more Nats Traveling Feet adventures as James and I embark into the Foreign Service. 

Until next time, keep your feet traveling,

Nats 

Princess Half Marathon Recap Part 2

In June of 2013 I signed up to complete the Glass Slipper Challenge which consited of a 10k race on Saturday and a 1/2 marathon on Sunday. In the last post I talked about my first 2 days at Disney World for the race. Now it is my turn to recap both races and take you through my journey.

On Saturday Jennifer (one of my best friends) and I woke up at 2:45AM. Yes, you heard right, 2:45 am. The race started at 5:30, but we had to take a bus to the starting line at EPCOT before 4:00am. We woke up changed into our clothes and headed to the race. We got there a little before 4:00. From the drop off to the actual start we had to walk at least 1/2 mile and go through Disney security. Once inside the racing area they had tons of things to do. From meeting areas, to port-a-potties, food and a DJ. The Dj was really energetic, which really helped people stay awake and not bored. He made us do several dances like: The Cupid Shuffle, The Fox Dance, etc. I was exactly what 5,000 + people needed at 5:00 am. A little after 5:00 am they called people to go into their corrals, which got me ubber excited and it became real to me. I bid my goodbye to Jen and I told her I would text her when I was close to the finish line so we could meet up!

I was on Corral B for the Enchanted 10k so that wasn't that bad. I knew I was going to walk it, so I was a little hesitant about it, because although I like to walk, I really like running races. Soon enough it was time for us to go and as I crossed the start line well of course I started running and continued to do so for the first 1/4 mile. The first 3 miles were ok. We ran through the entrace of EPCOT, where we saw Elsa, the Princess from Frozen, wiching us luck on our race, and through EPCOT Center Drive towards EPCOT's backstage. Once we reached the 5k mark we were entering the backstage area of EPCOT near Test Track. We entered EPCOT between Norway and China. At that point I started to get more and more excited and I started to remember the good times I've have for the last 14 yeard of my life, mostly as a Cast Member at Disney. As we walked through Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Morocco and France, I was completely happy about walking this race. I decided to take it all in and enjoy this little gift I was given and take pictures and reminiscient all the woderful memories I've created in years past. Once we past France we turned left to go around the Boardwalk and Yacht and Beach Club. My emotions were taking the best of me since I was going to be running through my old stomping ground (Bayside Marina and Stormalong Bay). When I saw that little building near the Yacht Club lobby, my face was beaming and I got more and more excited. I forgot that I was walking and that it was hot and humid. As I was walking by the Yacht Club I saw two familiar faces rooting for all of us, two of my old Coordinators, I ran up to them, told them I missed them and gave them a hug. After that we only had about 1 mile to go and I got my game face on. We went back into EPCOT again, through Nemo and Friends, and then on to Spaceship Earth. I texted Jen and told her I was almost there and once I passed the "Ball" I decided to run all the way to the finish line. On my way to the finish line there were several people that looked defeated and tired so I started to cheer people on and tell them that the finish line was close to not give up. Usually this is my husband's job, so since he was not there to do it, I decided to do it myself.

I crossed the finish line at exactly 1:30 minutes, which was faster that I anticipated. I got my lovely medal, The finisher wrist band and proceded to meet Jen so we could go back to the hotel where Caro, my best friend, was going to meet us to enjoy the rest of the day.

10k's have become my new favorite distance to race. The Enchanted 10k was a great experience and I hope to do other Disney 10k's in the future. If you are thinking about doing a Disney run condider the 10k's.

Here are some pictures from the 10k:

 
 
 

Stay tuned for the 1/2 marathon Recap,

Nats

Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap Part 1

Last month I wrote a post about how worried I was about running the Enchanted 10k and the Princess 1/2 Marathon at Disney. Up until the last week I was worried about running both races. With the cold weather came various difficulties like knee pain, twisted ankles, bad weather, over training and missed runs. To sum up I was completly certain that I was not going to be successful in completing my races.

Race week came way too quickly and I was both nervous and excited. Nervous because I did not know if I wan going to be able to run well and excited because it was my first 1/2 marathon and I was going to see my friends.

Although I own a home about 5 miles from Disney, I decided to stay at a host resort for the race so I did not have to wory about not getting to the race on time and missing it. The only downside to that is that you have to wake up ubber early to catch the bus. I stayed at the All Star Movies Resort and as luck would have it I got a prefferd room which means that I was super close to the bus stops, the lobby and food court which was a plus.

I flew to Orlando on Thursday after work so I could have a day to enjoy the Fit for a Princess EXPO and a day to myself. On Friday morning, my friend Nydia came to pick me up and we drove together down the road from the All Stars to the Wide World of Sports to pick up our bibs and check out the EXPO. We wanted to be there early because I did not want to wait in line for hours to get my bib, like it has happened before. To our luck we did not have to wait to get our bibs and shirts. I was doing the Glass Slipper Challenge so everything that I needed to be picked up was at the Milk House across from the EXPO. There was no line to get my bib or my shirts. After picking up our packets, my friend Nydia had to get her 10k shirt at the EXPO so we headed across the way. To our surprise there was not line there either to get it. We got Nydia's shirt and we headed to the merchandise area because I wanted to get several things. As luck would not have it most of the things I wanted were sold out. I was really looking forward to getting some Princess Half sweaty bands and some coffee mugs. I was a little sad about that. I bought some stuff though. I settled with a Glass Slipper Challenge jacket and a Princess Half Marathon tech shirt. I bid my goodbye to Nyd, since she was leaving to go on her Disney Cruise that afternoon, and I stayed at the EXPO to see the different vendors and such.

Staying at the EXPO was an excellent idea. I got to check out some cool vendors like Sweaty Bands, KT Tape (they taped me for free, score), and many more. I also had the opportunity to meet Jeff Galloway who was at the Run Disney booth and I got to talk to him about my hurt knee. He gave me amazing advice that I was going to follow to the T on Sunday. 
 

 

After being at the EXPO for a good 3 hours I headed back to the hotel. My friend Jennifer was coming to hang out later that afternoon, so I decided to go to the pool for some RnR since the weather was niceish.

When my friend Jen arrive we decided to go and have dinner at The Wave at Disney's Contemporary Resort. The dinning room was packet, but they sent us to the bar to eat. There we were greeted by one of the nicest Cast Members I have encountered in a while. He asked us what we wanted it and even let us order off menu. Talk about going above and beyond. I ordered a salad and Jen ordered a burger. The food was delicious and fresh.

After dinner Jen and I went back to the hotel and caught up on our lives and then we went to bed early since we had to wake up at 2:30 am to catch our bus the next day.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in which I actually talk about both my races!

Until then,
Nats