WDW Marathon relay

So, we still got to the start line for 4am, like everyone else. Except we didn't walk to the start line. We walked to the other end of the parking lot and got on a bus to go to the transition area. And hung out. Why I didn't realize I'd be there for at least 4 hours, I'll never know, and thus should've brought more clothes. Ronda and I hung out for awhile, but we left me after an hour or so (her partner was significantly faster than mine). I should've taken a nap or stayed off my feet, but I did neither.

I really wanted to make this race better than the previous day's and it started off amazing! I was fully prepared to hate running until about mile 3, but I was fine. No pain, no sluggishness. Until the stretch of Interstate between Animal Kingdom and The Studios. . . My God was it hot. There was no shade and no characters. It was miserable. I lost it mentally there and I couldn't get it back. While we were in The Studios, I talked to the guy behind me waiting for Mike and Sully. He said he had never seen people run this race so slow before and it was good they were being smart for the heat. That's when I said screw it and stopped running. I knew people were waiting for me at the finish, but I didn't care. It was too hot. Around mile 23 I ran into Ms. Jeannine who walked the last 3 miles with me. We talked and she took my mind off of how much pain I was in. We thought she'd get pulled off the course, but she didn't and thank goodness! I made it!!

 The relay start/finish.

It was a little confusing what you were supposed to do. They had a video that was supposed to show you how to do it, but it was still confusing. A lot of people stopped running when they saw their partner and didn't even go the correct way to get their medals. I'm glad I got to see a few transitions before I went, but it could've been better.

 1st Photo Op and look who it is?! Maleficent!! 

(If you didn't already know, she's my favorite villain. It's on my bucket list to meet her. I don't consider this officially meeting but I do think I'm a step closer to that goal. Pray to the Universe I can go back for the Tower of Terror 10 miler and meet her then!) I thought this was a good sign of an amazing race. Little did I know about the Interstate stretch.

 The lost tourists. They were funny.

 No stopping for Jack Sparrow today! I waited 15 minutes for him yesterday!

 Jiminey Cricket!

 Everest, I'll be back for you in May.

I signed up for the Everest Challenge 5k!

 Dinosaur!

 Dinosaur! Entrance from backstage.

 The beginning of the stretch of death: 

The McDonald's I would go to before/after work.

Dug and Russell from Up! 

 The Boardwalk.

 Me! on my way to the finish line (courtesy of Ronda!)

It was pretty awesome having people in the stands at the finish line.

 Team GD Runners! 

Get your head right, Graphic Design Runners.

 3rd medal of the weekend.

 Fruit Fly and I doing my signature pose!

 Dale was really excited to see himself on the medal.

The End.

WDW Half Marathon.

Oh, Disney Half marathon. THE marathon I started running for. How many things could possibly go wrong?! The race was definitely started on the wrong foot and it just went downhill from there. But I won't dwell on the serious disappointment, it's over now. And I have the most amazing medal ever. If you'd like Fruit Fly's point of view, you can check that out here.

 In the corrals

 And we're off!

 1st character stops were all ducks for Donald's 15 year anniversary!

 The mayor of Main Street!

Action shot!

 Tomorrowland waiting for Buzz Lightyear!

These spectators were awesome!
The first pic of people I saw again on Sunday and the lone person's sign said
"I'm so proud of you, Total Stranger"

The Princess and the Frog

 The end of the race sag wag and all :-(

 Chip and Dale!

 mile 13. What?! 

 The choir singing!

 Yes. I got it. OMG. It's amazing.

 Ice Bath #1, getting ready for day 3 of running!

Up Next: The Marathon Relay.

Disney Family Fiesta 5K

So. It's 5am. And I'm in a giant parking lot full of runners doing line dances:

 The electric slide with coffee in hand.

Ronda thinks we are crazy. Apparently line dancing is a southern thing? But it was the most fun I'd ever had pre-race. We were dressed amazing and there was no pressure, we walked the whole thing.
So on to the report (via photos)!

 Our outfits rocked!

 Jeff Galloway talking before the start.

 The 3 Caballeros sending off wave 1!

 Running through the cast member entrance of Epcot. 

 The backstage part of Test Track.

 Running around the world clock-wise. 

2 lost Mexicans photo bombing a runner in China.

A-mazing.

Just kidding, we know her.

See? We love Sarah!

 The Epcot Ball from the top of the worlds.

 The obnoxious line for Aladdin and Jasmine. Seriously.

 But Abu was there, too!
Had I known. . . I still wouldn't have stopped. That was obnoxious.

 Photo Op Stop.

 In front of the Christmas tree where I messed up my hip for the rest of the races. 

Awesome.

 I can smell the finish line!

 Us with the 3 Caballeros and our medals!

Once we were showered and ready for the day, Fred landed and we went to play in the parks for a moment.  The castle was still lit for the holidays, which was really cool to see.

Fred and I.

Ronda and I in front of the castle with our fabulous medals.

Up Next: The Half Marathon!

Sombreros on a plane.

 

Before we get started about the race, we need to talk about the race weekend crisis because, let's be honest, there is always at least one. 

I was fully prepared for this race weekend. Everything was packed and organized. All my running stuff I put together in my carry on just in case they lost my checked bag. Yes, there was a checked bag involved. Don't judge me, this was a 3 race weekend. So, I put the sombreros that I made in a separate bag so they wouldn't get smushed. Can we see where this is going?

 Proof they existed. 

This is the pic I sent Ronda when I finished putting them on headbands.

 Need to know how to make a hat into a headband? 

Hotglue a strip of hard felt across it. Then you can clip it to your head or stick a headband through it. Done and Done. Easy Peasy.

Moving on. . .

It was 4am people. I slept a total of 30 minutes before I had to get up and go to the airport. I took a Dramamine to sleep on the flight. I didn't realize I had left them until I was half way to the hotel.  

The sombreros were left on the plane.

It was a disaster. How could our amazingly themed outfits work without sombreros?! Impossible. After a mild panic attack, I got in touch with JetBlue's lost and found. Yes, they found the bag. No, they would not bring it to my hotel. They could Fedex it to me tomorrow, but I needed them at 3am tomorrow! I'd have to go back for them. But there was no time! We had to get to the expo.

 The expo.

Sidenote: For such a huge race expo, the amount of samples and free stuff was completely lacking.

And now we're back to panic mode when genius strikes Ronda.

We go to Mexico.

Low and Behold, 

 

We find sombreros!! 

 and Mexican accessories!

 and a newly revamped ride.

 with lots of sombreros in it!

 We totally fit in with ours. Once we bought them, we didn't take them off.

We even found Donald and hung out with him in our sombreros.

(note: You might want to Bodyglide your forehead if you plan on wearing a sombrero for that amount of time. I know my forehand got chaffed!)

YaY! for race weekend!

See you again at 6:30am!

Sorry for party rockin.

Just got back from the most amazing running weekend ever. Promise more to come, but as a sneak peek, I'd like you to meet the official finish line from it. Now I need to catch up on sleep and snuggle.

xoxo

Taper Madness: Disney edition.

Just printed my race waivers. All documentation is loaded onto the iPad. Sombreros made. Race outfits ready to be packed. Packing lists are made. Researching the hell out of the race.

Oh yes. Taper Madness has fully set in.

I didn't get to do my last long run due to a serious chest cold that has kept me in bed for the majority of the weekend. I will be doing a short run, though. And some yoga.

But now I must rest and research.