Disneyland Half (Dumbo Day 2!)

 (credit: Jaime)

The second morning was a little harder to wake up for, and not as exciting. There was definitely a more serious vibe, or people were still tired from the 10k. I also didn't run into anyone until I was in the corrals because people were either already in their corrals or still on their way. I found a second row of portapotties that had no line, then headed to the corrals myself. I stayed in the back, because after Princess, I've learned I love the back of the corrals.

A for Abby! or the Anaheim Convention Center.

Hey Pam!

Pam found me and we ran the first 8 miles of the race together. She had hurt her ankle the day before and was taking it easy. I didn't really have any goals but to have fun. I made sure to stay in the back of the corral and it was a nice way to start out the race. We ran a condensed version of the loop from yesterday and were in the parks super fast! 

The Petting Zoo!

World of Color fountains

Dumbo photo for the Dumbo Race!

Which way to the finish line?

We made our own character stops, because I didn't want to risk standing in a long line and losing my cushion in case I needed it. It was super hot and I had no idea what was in store for me after the park.

But we did stop for Snow White, Pam was the Evil Queen after all!

and I finally met Merida!

Once we got out of the park, onto the streets of Anaheim, I started to get a hot spot on my foot. Pam advised I should put more vaseline on it (we still had a long way to go) so I stopped at the med tent, took my shoe off. The entire situation struck me as hilarious, I had never stopped to take my shoe off during a race before, much less apply the most obscene amount of vaseline ever- it felt so weird and it totally worked! But it didn't stop me from laughing like a crazy person for about a quarter of a mile, sorry Pam! 

Then it got really hot and miserable. There was nothing to look forward to and no shade what-so-ever. Pam and I parted ways because the extremely hot blacktop with no shade was making it miserable to walk and I needed to be done with the race ASAP. I tried to keep it together as much as I could, but there were many touch and go spots, especially when the course narrowed and I was forced to walk. 

But we got to Angel's Stadium and I felt better. 

Wide World of Sports has nothing on this!

Then it was hot again. The only shade was taken by walkers, and I wasn't ready to give up yet. I heard someone say it's almost over, enjoy it while it lasts. That really resonated with me and stopped letting outside forces upset me and I started to focus on enjoying it. This was the race I had been looking forward to for the past 6 months and trained for; even if I had wasted the majority of the race being miserable, I still had time to enjoy it. I let the heat in January get to me, I was not going to let that happen again!

Then I saw a familiar Mario, Luigi and Super Woman ahead and I ran to catch up with them! 

Hi guys! 

I slowed long enough to tell them they can keep this Disneyland race in not so many words and continued on to finish strong because at that moment, I needed to. Surprisingly, I finished the race and felt amazing. I was a little sad that I didn't leave it all on the course (even though I was sure I had around mile 11), but it's a Disney race and I still had a lot of park walking to do! 

No worries, we all met up at the finish line again! 

And I finally got all my medals!

Dumbo for running the 10k and the Half

Coast to Coast for running at least a half marathon at both Disneyworld (the WDW Marathon and the Princess Half) and Disneyland (The Disneyland Half) in one calendar year.

So, I've had a few days to think about it and I haven't written Disneyland off completely (how could I?! We PR'D in FUN at the 10k!) but I'd like to try out the Tinkerbell course if/when I go back. I've heard people enjoyed that one better.