2021 Virtual Princess 5K (at Pop Century!)

With our Disney trip still in the works despite the virtual switch of the Princess Half Marathon weekend,  I knew I still wanted to save some of the races for our time on actual Disney property. Although I'd only initially registered for the Fairy Tale Challenge alone, I added on the 5K after the virtual switch. I'll admit, it was the theme that got me. Prior to this, I didn't own any Little Mermaid runDisney anything!

The night before my run, I took a look at the running route around Pop Century which mostly included the path around Hourglass Lake (roughly 1.3 miles). 

Off we go!

Character "stops" anyone? Well, I found a few! It never dawned on me that I could have taken some of these photos in the Little Mermaid section at Art of Animation. (face palm)

The Skyliner began operating during my run and it was so beautiful and peaceful in the morning! 

Mile 2...almost done!

...and with that, my Disney Princess 5K was done! I'll admit, it was nice not having to wake up at 2:30 a.m., take a bus and sit in a random parking lot for an hour waiting on a race to begin. With that being said though, I really really miss runDisney!!

Throughout this run, I encountered so many runners who were out there doing the same as me...running bibs, costumes, sparkle skirts, and all! Everyone was so encouraging and friendly, and there was even a group out there handing out bananas to runners! Even though it wasn't a "true" runDisney event, these little elements sure made it feel like "home" and it made for an amazing and memorable experience. 

Up next: Our day at EPCOT! 

2021 runDisney Virtual Princess Half Marathon

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? 

runDisney Virtual Marathon Weekend Kids Races 2021

Hello hello! Good morning and happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are doing well. I wasn't here on the blog much around the holiday season, but I did continue the tradition of weekend vlogs throughout the holidays. If you missed those, check them out over on YouTube! :) 

A few weeks ago (on what should have been Marathon Weekend), Brayden ran the Virtual Marathon Weekend Kids Races - 100 m dash, from home of course!

Although I'm not a huge fan of the idea of the runDisney virtual races, I do love that they provide everything you need to run your race from home - it's all tucked neatly in your runDisney online account.

I initially signed Brayden up for the kids races for a couple of reasons - first, he's never run a kids race during marathon weekend and I loved the medal. He also loves Chip and Dale so that worked out perfectly! Second, I thought this would give us all a chance to get outside and so something fun...and I was right! Brayden LOVED it!

We printed the start/finish line signs as well as his bib and off we went. For authenticity, we had to crinkle the bib a little bit prior to starting the race. You know how it is!

Along with the start/finish line and bib options, Disney even threw in a virtual Marathon Weekend playlist from spotify. We listened to this while running the race, riding in the car, at home, and I even took it along for my long run that day! 

Before he knew it, the race was over and it was time to celebrate! I'm pretty sure he giggled the entire way! :)

With no Mouse at the finish line to high five at the end, I had to do! Brayden agreed that mom was a pretty good alternative to Mickey!

runDisney even shared Brayden's fun accomplishment to their instagram! 

...and with that, our version of a virtual marathon weekend was over. We had a lot of fun but can't wait to run them in person in the (hopefully) near future!

Did you participate in any virtual marathon weekend festivities? If so, which ones did you do?

runDisney Mad Tea Party Virtual 5K

Last week, my friend Melissa and I (along with Brayden and Melissa's dog Tink) completed the first leg of the runDisney Summer Virtual 5K series, the Mad Tea Party 5K! 

With the state of the world as it is, I knew another runDisney event wouldn't be in the cards for me this year, so signing up for this race series was perfect!

We decided to complete the first portion of this race series at Melissa's house. This was a new (to me) route, and we had a lot of fun along the way!

Their neighborhood almost makes a 1 mile loop, so mile 1 hit in no time.

Around the end of mile 2, I noticed something in the water of the ditch alongside the road...

Can you see it? It's a water moccasin and it looked like it had just eaten dinner due to its fat belly!

Naturally, our mile 2 stop had to be taken with the (not so friendly) snake! Yikes!

Needless to say, our mile 3 was just a tad bit faster than the previous two! We were ready to be finished!

Melissa's dog Tink came along for our 5K (which Brayden loved) and had a great time!

Before long, our 5K was complete! I'm so glad we decided to do this together. We can't wait for part 2 and part 3, coming in July and August!

The last time I completed the runDisney summer 5K series was the inaugural year (back in 2016) and I've enjoyed this one just as much as the first! Reading back over part 2 from that race series reminded me about the snake I came across in the grass during that run. What is it about the runDisney summer virtual series and snakes? I'm not sure, but I hope it doesn't happen again!

Did you register for the runDisney summer virtual series? If so, how has your running gone so far?