Hi there! Long
time no blog! :) To be honest, I don't have a great reason for that. I
feel like my greatest blogging inspiration comes to me when I'm on a run
and although I have been running a little lately, it hasn't been as
much as my norm. I'm definitely trying to get back into the swing of
things, though!
When runDisney announced their transition to a virtual option for the Princess Half Marathon this year, we had a couple of options. Since we'd already used a few borrowed points to book our rooms for the trip (we did this right at the beginning of corona last year), I knew we weren't really looking at canceling our trip. (Borrowing DVC points then canceling your trip means you lose the points.) So, since canceling the trip wasn't an option, I decided to go forward with the virtual option and run the Fairy Tale Challenge on my own. I also decided to add the 5K on to the list since it was a Little Mermaid theme and I own zero Ariel runDisney items!
After going over running options for these races, I decided that maximizing the time I had with my family at Disney was my first priority. So, I made the decision to run the Fairy Tale Challenge out of order by running the half marathon at home the weekend before our trip, then running the 5K and 10K while at Disney. This plan worked perfectly and I'll definitely share more about my time running the 5K and 10K around Hourglass Lake very soon!
The weekend prior to our trip was quite a doozy over here. That big ice/snow storm was rolling through the south and definitely threw a wrench in our plans. Although our trip plans changed, I knew I still needed to get my half marathon in so I decided to go forward with it, even though it was cold, windy, and kind of a nasty day.
The day of my half marathon, I worked until noon. Trying to figure out my eating plan for the morning was a bit challenging, but I went with a banana and some peanut butter crackers about an hour before the run and all went very well!
The route around my place of work is a nice one, but I had to steer well clear of the lake because it was SO windy! Thankfully, I had several options!
The first set of miles felt great and I didn't experience any issues. The only really problem I had was running towards the wind. It was the weirdest thing - I almost froze when running towards the wind and got incredibly warm when running away from it.
Around mile 6, I began to get stiff, cold, and I had to turn to a 4:1 run/walk method to keep going. This random leg cramp that I've never experienced before also popped up and all I could think about was my old running coach and how I needed a pack fo salt! Hah! Since there was no salt around, a run/walk ratio had to do.
Somewhere near mile 10, the leg cramp went away and I was able to run the remainder of the race cramp free! Yay!
In the end, I finished with a 10:58 pace and I was 100% ok with that!
Running alone is hard. Running a virtual half is really hard. Running without runDisney is hard. This pandemic is hard. 2020/2021 is hard. Life is hard. Thankfully, I'm still blessed with the gift of running and the ability to "burn off the 2020/2021 crazy" that continues to plague me! Also, I took a little Disney magic along with me by listening to the awesome runDisney Spotify playlists from both Marathon Weekend & the Princess Half Marathon Weekend!
Throughout this run, I knew a trip to Disney was coming up and that definitely gave me something to look forward to, even though it wasn't the traditional type of runDisney trip we usually take in February!
So, let me know - if you registered for the Princess Half, did you choose the virtual option? If so, where/how did you run your race?
The Disney Princess Half Marathon was held over the weekend of February 21-23, 2020. This was a race that blew my expectations out of the water and I loved every second of it!
To begin, I expected to run this race solo, and I was 100% ok with that. Imagine my surprise when I ran into my friend Mindy who asked if I'd like to run together? Absolutely!! What was set to be "another Princess Half" for me became a race full of memories and one that I'll always hold near to my heart!
I'm getting ahead of myself here...let's back up to 2:30 a.m. on the morning of the race...
When I tell you I had zero costume inspiration for this race, I literally mean it. Instead of trying to force something I just wasn't feeling, I dug in my closet and found a Raw Threads shirt I hadn't yet worn for a race yet. It was Belle themed, so I pulled out a yellow Sparkle Skirt (now Boulder Athletic) and topped it off with a Belle themed Sweaty Band! I was good to go! :)
I made it on an early bus which I liked because the time waiting in traffic wasn't very long. Once we made it to the drop off area, I wandered around for a few minutes until I heard the announcement that the corrals were open.
...and off I went!
Once I arrived at corral B, I realized just how early I was! The corral was almost empty which worked to my advantage. After standing for a few minutes playing on my phone, I saw that my friend Mindy was also in corral B. It had been a while since I'd seen her and I wanted to say hi, so I started scanning the small crowd. It wasn't long before I spotted her hat!
Yay! Hi friend!!
We spent the remainder of our time talking in our corral and then just as the race was about to begin, she asked if I wanted to run with her. I was so nervous about my hamstring and I knew she was a faster runner than I am, but I said yes and prayed for the best. I knew she liked to stop for all the characters too, so I hoped the occasional stop would be to my hamstring's advantage. (I'm happy to report that it was!)
Before long, we were off!
Our first stop was at mile 1 with the mice from Cinderella.
We found out later that this was one of the stops you would also pass on the way back and both mice were out for pictures during our second pass. We missed it - oh well.
These ladies were HILARIOUS! Because this race held a Cinderella theme, there were so many runners themed as Cinderella - Mindy included. I took my picture after Mindy and as I ran up to the Evil Stepmother, she said "Oh thank God it's BELLE! I couldn't handle another Cinderella! They're everywhere!" I died, y'all. So funny!
One thing I appreciate about runDisney is the changes they now frequently make with the character stops for each race weekend. For so long, Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirate ship included) and group of Princes were always two of the stops in this area. Although I love both experiences, I've seen them several years in a row, so it was nice to have this change!
As we approached this sign, I told Mindy that I was excited because I'd never made it to the Magic Kingdom while it was still fairly dark out and I always wanted to. She said we were going to remedy that during this race and she was right!
Along the way, there were several princess themed carriages out for photos. This one happened to belong to Rapunzel!
The drummers were out again at the TTC. I always love hearing them play!
The bridge by the Contemporary is a beast, but we managed it!
Goal met! Yay!
I love the crowd on Main Street! It's always so magical (and I truly mean that)!
In Tomorrowland, we spotted Lewis from Meet the Robinsons! I was so excited to see him as this is one of my favorite Disney movies!
It was here that Mindy and I ran into one of our fellow southern running friends, Joe. He happened to be the one who paced me for the Louisiana Half the year I ran a sub 2 and it was so great to see him again! What I didn't know was that running into him (literally) would be a recurrent theme for the next several miles!
Dopey was hanging out in New Fantasyland!
While waiting for Rapunzel at the castle, we ran into Joe yet again. I knew we had to snag a quick photo because I wasn't sure if we'd see him again during the race. (We did...several times! Hah!)
How fun is this castle photo of all three of us? I love it!
What's a Princess Half without a jumping castle photo? :)
Chip and Dale were out for photos in Frontierland and I'm still trying to figure out why Dale is standing so far away from me! During these character photos, everything is so fast paced, it's hard to get a perfect placement. (This photo still makes me laugh, though.)
After leaving the Magic Kingdom, I was surprised to see zero line where there's usually a huge one. We quickly realized it's because this area was a parade float only without any characters out front.
The line for Princess Atta was fairly short, so we jumped in it.
Then, just as we approached the Grand Floridian, I spotted them...the Fairy Godmothers!!
If you read my recap from the Enchanted 10K the day before, it was while waiting in line for these ladies that I almost got swept from the course. I was so nervous while standing in this line during the half but we got the picture and didn't see any balloon ladies in the process! YAY!
I was also surprised (and grateful) to see that they were back on the half marathon course because runDisney doesn't always duplicate characters. They do sometimes, but not always. In this instance it made sense, because the theme for the Fairy Tale Challenge was the Fairy Godmothers. Regardless of all of that, I was very grateful to see them out on the half course, too!
Cinderella and Prince Charming were also out for photos, just outside of the Grand Floridian.
I was surprised to see a few villains out for this race! Jafar from Aladdin was there as well as Shan Yu from Mulan.
This guy cracked me up. He very firmly pointed at me, then pointed at the ground next to him as if to say "YOU! Stand here!" Yes sir, I didn't argue! :)
The next few miles were pretty sparse, but that's where having a running buddy came in handy. It was so nice to have Mindy to talk to while we ran our way to Epcot!
These fairies were just around the bend into Epcot. We were almost there!
Of course I couldn't pass up my traditional Mile 12 sign!
Bolt was in Future World and it was so neat to see him! (Yet another rare character!)
Speaking of rare? Well, we managed to also snag a photo with Panchito in Mexico!
As we neared the finish line, a feeling of gratitude overtook me. I was grateful to have a friend to run this race with, grateful for my family that I knew was waiting just beyond the finish line, grateful to have finished yet another Disney race, and most of all, I was grateful that we did not encounter any balloon ladies along the way!
Done!
It was so nice to have Mindy to run with! After our hugs goodbye, we made plans to run together again in the future...whenever that may be!
I loved how this race blew my expectations out of the water. After a disappointing race the previous day (see 10K recap), I had no idea what to expect for the half. It seriously turned out to be one of my favorite runDisney memories to date!
Seeing these guys at the finish line made for a pretty special finish, too! Peep Brayden's shirt! :)
We didn't hang out at the finishers area for long. Instead, we boarded a bus and made a bee line for breakfast back at our resort.
Mickey waffles did the trick! Oh yes, and it was nice to see the "fake cheese" back in the post-race food box! :)
Has a race ever turned out different than you initially expected? Tell me how in the comments below! :)
If you'd like to see a video recap of the Princess Half, check out this video below!
Have you ever been to a runDisney Expo on day one of opening at opening time? Well, I'm here to tell you that it was definitely one of the most interesting experiences of my life! I'm getting ahead of myself, though...let me back up...
For the Princes Half Marathon this year, we arrived the week before race weekend. Our usual plans include race weekend followed by the week after, but due to our annual pass expiration, we had to choose the week before. This worked out in our favor though, because I was able to attend the Expo on day one of the opening, that morning! Prior to this experience, I'd only ever done that at one other expo and it was for one of the Disneyland races.
So, my plans were to wake up that morning, run the Derby Dash at Saratoga Springs, then shower and get in line for a bus to the Expo.
With coffee in hand, I was ready to go for exactly 9:15 a.m. The Expo was set to open at 10 a.m. and I wanted to be on the first bus out of our resort.
The line of people once I arrived at the bus stop should have been my first clue that this was not going to be an easy walk in the park...
The bus arrived a little late, but we were still at the Expo just a few minutes before 10 a.m.
I decided to first stop in the runDisney official merchandise area before moving over to pick up my bib. Walking up to this building was a bit deceiving because I didn't see any lines! I thought I happened to be lucky!
To my surprise, we were allowed inside the building (I thought they had opened the Expo early), but instead of being shown to the merchandise area, we were ushered into a "queue" room where we were asked to wait.....check out the people!
In true Disney fashion, this room had tape all over the floor, signaling the way for us to walk and the path for us to follow. The room was filled with people! I couldn't believe it!
After 40 minutes in the merchandise queue room, it was finally my turn to go shopping! :)
To be honest, it was interesting being at the Expo on the very first day and seeing all of the fully stocked shelves. I was able to snag a spirit jersey for myself and pins for all of the races I was running. (I was bummed at the Wine & Dine Expo that all of the pins were sold out by the time we made it inside.) Also, the frenzy of people grabbing items, tossing others to their friends, and stuffing their baskets was quite comical. It felt like Black Friday but at a runDisney Expo!
After selecting my items, I joined yet another line to check out. By the time I finished my purchases, I decided I was done with lines forever. :)
Outside of the merchandise area were several photo opportunities, character stops, and a food/beverage area.
My next stop on the Expo journey was to pick up my packet. I was literally standing at the bus stop back at Saratoga Springs when I realized I left my race waiver back in my room (but I wasn't about to leave my spot in line). For those of you who are absent minded like me (sometimes), you can always print your waiver at the expo. Usually though, there's a bit of a (you guessed it)...line...to get to the computers. Oy.
Somehow, I missed the big race banners altogether. They were moved over to the far side and I didn't see them. Instead, in their old spot were these decals on the concrete!
Once inside the bib pickup area, I waited in a semi short line to print my waiver, then picked up my race bib. The shirts were located inside the Visa Center (another completely separate building) which also houses the main expo floor.
I also loved these number photo ops. I could have/should have waited to take a picture with them but...you guessed it...another line!
The Visa Center was buzzing with activity and people by the time I made it over there. My main focus in this building was to pick up my race shirts and find a shirt from Raw Threads to wear for the 10K!
It didn't take long before I found what I needed, and I was done!
In total, I spent three and a half hours (including travel time) navigating the Expo. In theory, I could have spent more time exploring, but about an hour and a half of that time was spent waiting in lines and I was ready to go! I am SO glad I didn't bring Brayden to the Expo with me. I never felt rushed but I know if he had been with us, that would have been a different story. Instead, Jason and Brayden spent the morning at the pool since the weather was beautiful! (This was of course before the weather turned and it froze for the 5K the following day!)
So, would I be tempted to visit a race Expo on opening day at the time it opens? Unless there's an item I absolutely HAVE to have and I'm worried it's going to be a hot ticket item, or unless I'm with a group of friends, probably not. :)
Now you know my thoughts and experiences from the Princess Half Marathon Expo! If you want to see more, I do have a coordinating video linked below. Have a fabulous day!
