2021 Virtual Enchanted 10K (At Pop Century Resort)

Let's back up a minute, shall we? Travel back with me...all the way to February of 2021 and our should-have-been-princess-half-marathon-trip. (Ok that wasn't that long ago...but still...it feels like it!) I was registered to run the Fairy Tale Challenge, then added the 5K later on once I saw that it was Ariel themed. I decided to run the half marathon at home the weekend before we left for the trip, then complete both the 5K and 10K while at Disney.

Bibs and mile markers were printed ahead of time and brought along with me. I also loved this new shirt from Sparkle Athletic, so I went a little on the "Tiana inspired" side for this 10K!

The trail around Pop Century and Art of Animation is a beautiful one to run first thing in the morning. It's also a longer-ish trail, so you don't have to make quite as many loops to get all of your mileage in.

I felt kind of silly because I completely forgot about the Little Mermaid section at Art of Animation! I could have taken all of my 5K photos there the day before. Whomp whomp. Oh well!

Today it is! :) 

The sunrise was breathtaking and the weather was perfect during this run. It truly was a beautiful morning!

I also managed to bump into a few slacker friends of mine! It was so nice to see them! (Check them out here and here.)

I love running super early, before the skyliner is running!

Before I knew it, I was done! 

Although this experience of running Disney was 100% different from the norm, it was nice to have other runners out there, cheering each other on! That aspect made it feel not quite so different after all! 

Now that live racing is returning to Disney, we are planning to run Princess once again, this time in 2022! What about you? What's the next race on your runDisney list? 

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 Haunted Mansion Virtual 5K

Hi there, friends! New blog post - who dis? 

Yes, it's been a LONG time, but I have very good reason. If you follow me on instagram, then you know that Hurricane Laura hit my home town of Lake Charles, LA as a category 4 hurricane and wreaked havoc everywhere. My initial intention to run the final leg of the runDisney summer virtual 5K series on my birthday (August 27th) changed as that was the day that Laura hit and pretty much ranks up there as one of the worst days I've had in a very long time. 

After returning home a week later, we spent a good bit of time cleaning up our yard and my parent's yard. We also lived at their house for three weeks with a generator, waiting on our electricity to turn back on. It's been an interesting road and one where I've tried to stay positive, but running has been hard for many reasons. 

So, my well laid plans of running the Haunted Mansion 5K on August 27th were altered and instead, the distance was completed on October 1st. Better late than never, right? 

This has been the first week in a while where I felt like I could truly breathe and had a little bit of extra "free" time in the evenings. Last night, Brayden and I set out on our 5K journey together and I felt like our route was fitting for the "theme" of this race - it was daunting with a hint of eerie mixed in. :)

Our start line began in front of the garage (complete with hurricane damage) and our remaining stash of MRE's - perfectly fitting for the three miles ahead! 

As we ran, we encountered a few doggies (thankfully the were on the smaller side), downed trees on the side of the road, tarped roofs on houses, and several friendly faces outside who waved as we passed. 

Trees like this are everywhere and it always amazes me to see - the root ball of the tree was literally ripped out of the ground! The powerful force of hurricanes completely blows my mind.

We reached mile 3 as the sun began to set, among the various debris lined streets.

At a month out from the storm, things around here are slowly starting to improve. Tree trucks make the rounds daily to pick up roadside tree debris. They haven't even started on the other debris yet (shingles, fencing, siding, etc). Although they are working hard, this is going to be a very slow and gradual process. I told Jason that I'm truly learning how to "chill" because I want everything done like a sprint and this will definitely be like a "marathon" to complete. 

Our finish line landed us right back in my front yard, complete with the remains of my fence I worked so hard to stain back in the spring (yes, I'm bitter about it)! 

...and with that, the three part runDisney Virtual 5K Summer Series turned Fall Series is complete! :)

I plan to return (soon) with more stories from our hurricane "adventures" and the cleanup process. This has been one of the most interesting experiences of my life and one I hope we don't have to go through again for a very very long time. 

Have a great weekend! 

runDisney Space Mountain Virtual 5K

On Wednesday, I ran the Space Mountain Virtaul 5K. This 5K is a part of the summer virtual runDisney race series and I will complete it next month with the final race in the challenge.

Setting out to run this race was interesting because I thought I would be fighting the weather, but I wasn't 100% sure how much time I had. Well, about a mile and a half into my run, my fears were confirmed and what started out as a leisurely 5K (sans kid) quickly switched to a "run this thing as fast as possible because those dark clouds are looming!"

My husband snagged a photo of me with the "start line", and off I went!

"Start line selfie", anyone? :)

By mile 1, I was feeling good and keeping a pretty consistent pace. All was well, I had my podcast in my ears, and life was pretty good. Then, I turned the corner and spotted this....

Super dark clouds looming in the distance! It started to lightly sprinkle which got my mile markers a little wet but I knew the big drops were coming!

So, I pressed on and attempted to keep a pretty consistent pace to beat the rain.

By mile 3, I knew I had it and all would be well! I narrowly missed the rain by 2 minutes. After stepping on my front porch and taking a picture with my watch, the bottom fell out from the sky with giant, heavy raindrops...and a lot of them, too!

After checking my stats, I saw that I managed to run negative splits the entire time, thanks to the threat of rain looming in the distance!

Don't get me wrong...I don't mind a rainy/wet run, but I did not want to get stuck in the kind of storm where it's raining so hard you can't see, there's thunder/lightning, etc. Thankfully, that didn't happen for this one!

I hear people are starting to receive their medals for this race series! If you registered for this, have you received yours yet?

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?

2020 Star Wars Rival Run Weekend

Although I was not registered for any races during the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend this year, I did manage to watch the entire Star Wars saga on Disney+ throughout this whole quarantine saga.

So, when pretty much the entire runDisney community decided to come together to make their own quarantine version of the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend due to the cancellation of said race weekend, I was all in! One of the running groups I belong to (Team #runDisney) created a true "Rival Run" and place runners on two different teams (dark side and light side). The teams would then log their miles throughout the weekend - the team with the most mileage/points at the end of the weekend was the winner! Well, I was given team dark side and although we kept a lead for a good bit of the weekend, we ultimately lost to team light side. Whomp whomp. It was all in great fun, anyway!

Happy Star Wars Day, by the way!

Friday

Since I had not attempted anything quite like this challenge in a long while, I decided to take it super slow on Friday and Saturday to baby my hamstring. A 4:1 run/walk ratio was quickly adapted and it suited me well then entire weekend which I was very grateful for!

I honestly kind of enjoyed the run/walk ratio - it always kept my mind on something and helped the miles go by!

Leg 1 done!

Saturday

For the 10K on Saturday, I continued with the same 4:1 run/walk ratio and attempted to keep a similar pace as Friday. 

The weather was perfect the entire weekend and the 10K turned out to be a really good one!

I honestly haven't run three days back to back with varying up mileage like this since Dopey in 2018 which made me very nervous. I am so thankful my hamstring decided to behave!

Sunday

On the morning of the half marathon, I got a little bit of a head start and added in a few fun extras to help make the idea of running a half marathon at home a bit more exciting! 

What does every runDisney race have? CHARACTERS! 

After considering a few different options, I came across the official Star Wars app. Included with the app are "stickers" which you can move and resize on your pictures as you see fit. 

With a plan in mind, I was off!

I decided to have a "character stop" every 1.5 miles or so and take GU at mile 5 and 10. Along with counting down a 4:1 run/walk ratio, my mind was literally busy the entire 13.1 miles. (You can also see all of these pictures and more on my instagram runDisney highlight.)

Baby Yoda at mile 1.6.

Dark Side? Light Side? It didn't matter! They were all a part of my race weekend!

Imperial Storm Trooper at the 5K point.

In order to take these photos, I found various points along the route to rest my phone and I used the selfie mode timer. I'm sure my neighbors thought I was straight up crazy!

I found Rey at mile 4.6.

Look! It's the Millennium Falcon at the halfway point!

I spotted a Porg at mile 8!

Kylo Ren did not understand that I was on team dark side! He was ready to chop off my hand at mile 9.5.

Although I managed to get away from Kylo, this storm trooper was ready and waiting for me at mile 11. Thank goodness they have terrible aim! I was not impressed.

I know I said I was team dark side, but seeing this Wookie at mile 12.5 really made my day!

...and done!

High fives after my run from this little dude were pretty special, too!

That's a wrap! Race 3 of the Rival Run weekend was complete (for a combined total of 22.4 miles) and my hamstring held up through the entire thing! I decided that run/walking at a slower pace and continuing to run vs running fast and having pain was a better alternative in the long run, anyway!

Jason had breakfast waiting for me once I was done. This included coffee in our Rey coffee mug and Sky (Paw Patrol) waffles because...well, she's a pilot and it was the closest thing we could come up with! :)

About a week after running this challenge, the medal I ordered from Virtual Pace Series arrived. I realize that this specific challenge was actually supposed to coincide with Star Wars day (which is today), but I decided to make it my April the 19th challenge instead. :)

The official virtual runDisney Star Wars Half Marathon was sold out, so I chose this one from Virtual Pace Series because the back of the medal included all of the distances I ran - the 5K, 10K, and Half.

Oh yes, and the medal included Mando and Baby Yoda...so yes, I'm an easy sell!

Did anyone else run their own Virtual Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend? If so, how did it go? 

Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th Be With You!