Wine & Dine 2015: The Half Half Marathon

So we left off with us walking back to the corrals after finding out the race would be cut short....

The national anthem was being sung and we were still walking to our corrals. Finally we got into our corral, corral H, our best corral seeding yet! Eventually the other corrals went out, then it was our turn. We were off for a 6ish mile course. We knew they cut out Animal Kingdom, which meant that Jack Sparrow was gone. He's usually in the parking lot when you come out of Animal Kingdom, so we knew that part of our goal was not gonna happen.

We went right from Osceola parkway to the terrible banked on ramp to Hollywood Studios. This is usually mile 8, but hitting this so early sucked, since I wasn't even warm yet. But I drank extra water and we took it pretty easy. Since the course was shortened, and I don't think everyone got a chance to get into the right corral, it was very crowded. And the part of the course that was left was the narrow part. 

There weren't many characters out on the shortened course. The Country Bears were up first, before mile 1, then some fairies (not Tink's friends, just random ones). At the on ramp there were the Toy Soldiers, which are a fave of mine. We kept running, and saw that Lilo and Stitch weren't at their meet and greet area, but they had a huge line waiting for them. Then we got to Hollywood Studios. This is what I wanted, the lights! We ran by the Tower of Terror, and decided to take a pic, since we didn't have any pics yet.

Then we headed up Hollywood Boulevard--without the hat!, and towards Pixar Place. Buzz and Woody were there, but their line was pretty long, and we had pics with them already. We headed to the backlot, and through the disco tunnel. It was all disco-y as usual, but inside the windows, where the costumes are usually being made was empty. It was just storage. A sign of things changing at Hollywood Studios, kinda made me sad.

But then we were there, the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights! It's the last year of this at Hollywood Studios, so it was great to run through them. We stopped to take pics here, we had to. Everyone was taking pics here like crazy.

Now we headed around the back of Hollywood Studios, and I mentioned to Kris, I think they don't have as many lights out as usual. I know this is a night race, but it was dark out there. I feel like in years past (even in the pouring rain last year) there were a few more lights. Sometimes as we'd run past the street lights would just turn off. Were they expecting the race to be done with by now? It kinda sucked. Thankfully, everyone stayed safe as far as I could see.

We came out of the Studios, and I took a pic of my fave mile, 11. When we passed this mile marker out first year, it was the farthest Kris and I had ever run in our lives... nostalgia factor. Now we knew then next part of the course would be extra hard with so many people jammed together. This area, getting to the Boardwalk, is always notoriously narrow, and with all extra people together, since the course didn't have time to thin out, made this a long walk section for us. No sense in fighting to run, especially when it was a weird distance anyways.

We made it through the Boardwalk and into the back of Epcot. We were almost at the end... Meanwhile, it was very weird to still feel so good at this point on the course, which is usually the part where you are just so done. Before I knew it Spaceship Earth was in front of me and the finish line was so close. They didn't have a laser tunnel to get to the finish line (don't know if they scrapped it with the lightning threat). As we hit the straightaway to the finish, Kris and I ran the whole way. It was about .25 miles, if not a little longer. (Don't think I've ever run for that long in a race without stopping.)

And with that we finished! It felt more like a big group training run than a race, but it was finished. We grabbed our medals and food and headed to the wine and beer distribution. Now this part was definitely improved from last year. It took a while to get there, but there was plenty of wine left! (Last year when we got there there was only beer left... ew)

I had my wine, I had my bag, and I was ready to after party. If I didn't get a whole race, I sure as hell was gonna get a whole after party.

As we walked into Epcot, we were able to see the last runner finishing up the race. It was awesome to see that. Then we got to the countries and decided to get some food and drinks. We ate and had some drinks, and then decided that we needed to get our character meeting on.


Gotta say they brought out some rarely seen people. First we saw Bert from Mary Poppins in England. His accent was better than Dick Van Dyke's! LOL! Then Remy and Emile from Ratatouille. Jasmine and Aladdin, Pinocchio and Gepeto, and finally, Snow White and Dopey!

Then we headed to see Mulan and Mushu in China, but it was 3:45am and they said she wasn't taking any more pictures. So we headed out of Epcot and back to the buses. It was late, and though the race didn't tire me out, the walking around and being up til 5am did. But we got to the hotel, I got another shower and passed out.

It was such a disappointment to have the first race of the season be such a let down. I don't have another half marathon on the schedule until March, but then I have one in April and another in May. And there are a few other races before then too. I had such different expectations for this race, but I guess, just like life, things change sometimes and throw you for a loop. So here's to the rest of the races I have on the books for now. It's gonna be a packed 2016!

Wine & Dine 2015: Expo and Kids Races

It was a very strange race weekend, but let's start at the beginning.

I drove up to Orlando on Friday, scooped up Kris from her office and we headed to the expo. I think this was the earliest we'd ever been to the expo (at about 3pm), and it wasn't crowded, so we were able to shop and chat with people without being rushed.

We did some serious expo damage... we grabbed our "I Did It!" shirts, headbands, compression sleeves, and I got me a sparkle skirt. I also picked up my turkey shirt from Raw Threads, so I'm ready for my Turkey Day 10k. I love the expo. I think it's one of the funnest parts of a race weekend. And we also met Jeff Galloway! You may know him as the run/walk guy.

 

We grabbed some dinner and then headed back to Kris's house to hang with the family and get our morning runners, the kids, ready for their races.

The next morning we got ready for a hot day, very hot for Florida in November, but our little runners were amped to go. V asked me to run with her, so I was ready to get that mile under my belt. X was gonna run with Eddie. We got running Princess Sophia (with her Aunt Diana crafted skirt) and running Batman ready and headed out. We got there a bit early, so we headed into the expo. The kiddos grabbed some snacks, and we walked to the field to wait for the Kids Mile to start. Last time we did a RunDisney race with the kids, they said the sprints were too short for them, they are used to doing 5ks after all. So this time they were in the Kids Mile. They were even timed, so cool.

We waited around in the heat (and boy it was HOT) for the mile to start at 10:45am. It was really humid and the blaring sun was not helping. The kids were antsy to get started, and then we finally did. 

V grabbed my hand and started off, but I told her to let go and run fast, so she did. She was awesome. She took some walk breaks, and when we got to the 1/4 mile mark, she asked me when we were done. I told her we gotta keep going, there's water, granola bars, and bananas at the end. This totally amped her up and we kept going. This part of the course was also a little shady, so that might have helped too. We finally got to the track, the last part of the course, and we saw Santa Goofy at the end! We passed Grandpa and Kris (V asked me how they got to the end so fast, LOL) then before we knew it, we crossed the finish line!

V got her medal, and we saw X, who chose to run with his dad, Ed. They were so hot, but the race was done!

After the race, we grabbed some lunch, and Kris and I headed to the hotel for our pre-race rest and nap. We were beat. Between being up early and the sun at the races, we were just done. I grabbed a shower since I was gross from running that mile, I KT taped us up and the nap was on. We had read about what happened at the Rock n' Roll Savannah race earlier that day due to the heat, and were a little concerned, but being Floridians, I thought the heat wouldn't affect us too bad. I made a mental note to drink more water (and even some Powerade) on the course to make sure I didn't dehydrate.

Soon enough the alarms went off and we started getting suited up for the race. Our hair was braided, and Anna and Elsa were ready. We walked out to the buses with Eddie, who met us up and would be waiting for us to finish to join us at the after party. 

Now our goal for this race was simple, be fast enough to have time to wait for a picture with Capt. Jack Sparrow and still avoid the balloon ladies, then try to make it into the after party and see more characters. Oh and eat and drink!

We went to bag check where I dropped off my stuff, a dry shirt, my ShowerPill (*I'm a ShowerPill Ambassador), and some walking sneakers. Then, we headed closer to the runner area before heading into the runner area. We also met up with a friend of mine from work (also named Diana) and she waited with us. 

Soon enough we said bye to Eddie and headed to the port-a-potty lines in the runner only area. As we waited, and scoped people's costumes--which is one of my fave parts of a Disney race, a guy came by with a megaphone. He was saying that there was lightning in the area and they were gonna get everyone indoors. Now, we were almost at the front of the line for the port-a-pottys, so we waited to go. 

After we used the facilities, we headed to the Wide World of Sports. Now, I noticed that it got slightly cooler and a little breeze came through, so I thought rain was coming, but that never did. First we sat outside. Then we were told we had to go indoors, so we headed inside the HP Field House.

When we got inside, it looked like a hurricane evacuation site, only with better costumes. Everyone was super bummed since it was almost 10 and the first corrals should be starting at that time. They kept announcing on the speakers that as soon as they had clearance we would start. But we waited, and waited... And I still didn't hear or see any lightning (I came to find out later that there was some in the area.). I had run this race, the infamous "Splash and Dash" Wine & Dine Half, the year before, where I ran for 13.1 miles in the cold, cold rain. So a little humidity was NBD for me. But I know people were freaked out after there had been a death in Savannah earlier that day, and the lightning that was in our area too.

At about 10:30ish we finally got the all clear, and now 15,000 runners plus spectators had to get out of these buildings and back to the staging area and corrals. As we trudged out of the Wide World of Sports to the fields where the corrals were, we heard that the course had been cut. That we'd only get to run a 10k. A 10k?! I trained for 13.1 miles, I ran 11 miles by myself on purpose. Kris and I looked at each other and we were pissed, not gonna lie. I never, ever thought I'd be mad NOT to run 13.1 miles.

And... the rest of the story tomorrow!

2014 Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend: Part 2

We left off right before the half marathon. We had done a 5k, napped, and now started getting ready. Since the night before the race, we had been crazy checking the weather. All week, the forecast was great, then a few days before, it called for rain. Rain all through the time we'd be running, not good.

We tried to keep positive about the weather and started getting ready. Of course, I made us new running skirts for the occasion. Kris wanted to play up her patriotic HFOT shirt, so I made her a red sparkly skirt and she added a Captain America sticker to her cheek.

I knew what my costume was gonna be since I went to the movies earlier in the summer, it was all about Maleficent.

Of course, I needed a sparkly skirt, that was the easy part. Then I added a cape and collar "things" to a black tank. The hardest part was the horns. These were attempt #3. I knew I couldn't run in the light up horns that I had, cause they weighed too much. Then Mom's Maleficent hat would have just been too constricting. And thank god I didn't use those, cause they would have gotten wet. I tried to make horns from toilet paper rolls and gauze, but those ended up being so heavy. The best option was the easiest, fabric! I made the horns out of fabric and stuffed them with fiberfill. They were light, but stood up and looked like Maleficent horns.

And that was the one and only time our costumes were visible. It was already chilly, so we put on our jackets and then boarded the buses and headed to the Wide World of Sports. We checked our bags (which we packed with dry clothes and socks), and were grateful that it wasn't raining. We sat on our ponchos and waited for the time to get into our corrals.

As the time drew nearer to get in the corrals, the rain finally began. We put on our ponchos and waited for our corral to start. The rain really didn't let up, but we decided that if we did, we would ditch the ponchos. That was a dream that never became a reality.

They finally called corral J, set off the fireworks, and we were off for a soggy 13.1 miles. Kris and I took it pretty easy because we wanted to stay on our feet and not slip. We headed out of the Wide World of Sports, and I was happy to see that the Country Bears were there for a photo op. Not many people were stopping for pics, but I was happy to see that they still had some people out there.

After about mile 1, we were hot with the jackets on underneath the ponchos. I helped Kris get her jacket off, and then took mine off under my poncho. It was much better with just the ponchos on. The ponchos shielded us from the wind, but still kept us cool enough not to suffocate.

We continued on our way to Animal Kingdom, which seemed really long. Other than the rain, I was feeling good, which I totally chock up to the morning's 5k warmup. We finally got to the Animal Kingdom, and the characters were waiting under cover. They are usually out in the open, but it seemed that they were scooted into anywhere with a little bit of a roof. The lines weren't too long for them, cause I suspect that people didn't want to wait in the rain.

Kris needed to use the facilities, so she did once we were in the park (better than using a port-a-potty), the rain really made you need to go! I waited as she used the rest room before we left the Animal Kingdom and we kept going. We had our intervals running, but the uneven ground in the Animal Kingdom looked extra slippery, so we took some extra walking intervals to make sure we didn't slip.

Once we hit the back of Animal Kingdom, we headed out towards the parking lot. We saw the pirate ship with Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbosa (one day I will get a pic with them, but that line!), and headed back towards Osceola Parkway.

This part of Osceola Parkway is a long stretch before you reach any park, so they usually have huge TV screens, lots of DJs and plenty of characters. I think they rain caused them to scale back. There were no TVs, only 1 DJ, and a few characters. I knew this was the hardest part of the race, but I still felt good and we had gotten back to the run/walk intervals.

We saw the Toy Soldier on the ramp on the way to Hollywood Studios and I knew we were almost there. Then we ran around the back and up Sunset Boulevard. I was so happy to see Hollywood Studios, but this is the part where I hit my wall. I'm not sure if it was the half of a Gu that I had at mile 9 (I lost my new pack of shot bloks while removing my jacket underneath my poncho earlier), or that I was wet or the fact that I was running in a poncho, but I was just done. I kept pushing though and kept at it. We ran through the backlot and behind the studios. I had almost fogotten when we headed back through the park that we got to run through the Osbourne Family lights! I'm such a sucker for those lights. That was definitely the place where I saw the most people stopping to take pics.

As we headed out of Hollywood Studios, I just couldn't hold it anymore. I had to go, but figured I could hold it til we got to the end, but the wind and cold and rain, just wouldn't let me. I stopped in the last bathroom in the Studios (luckily there was no line), and felt TONS better. I got my second wind and we headed towards my favorite mile of all, mile 11! I like mile 11, cause I never really end up training for more than about 10.5, so it's a BIG deal to get to 11. And so much closer to the finish.

This part of the race takes you to the Boardwalk resort, and is also very narrow. I remember that last year this part was so crowded, that we weren't able to get in all of our run intervals. But it seemed a little less crowded and we were able to run our intervals without issue.

We had heard since the beginning of the race that the Boardwalk would be slippery. And there were even volunteers warning us about it before we got there. It was slippery, so we kept up a good pace, but walked til we got off of the Boardwalk.

After the Boardwalk we headed around the back of Epcot and before I knew it, I saw The Land pavillion in front of me. I knew we were almost done. We came into Future World and saw tons of people waiting and cheering all the runners along. Being on such a rainy, wet course, hearing the volunteers and spectators cheering really did help.

Finally, we came alongside Spaceship Earth and the finish was right there in my sights! Kris and I kicked it into high gear, and ponchos and all, ran across the finish line! It was done, half marathon #2 is in the books.

We grabbed our medals and the RunDisney space blankets they were handing out and waited for Kris's friend Larry to finish. I never had gotten one of these space blankets at the end of a race (blame that on the Florida heat), but they really did keep us warm. Larry finally crossed the finish line and we all headed out towards the exit.

But first it was time to collect our drinks. Here is the major fail of the night, by the time we got to the drinks, they were all out of wine! How can you be out of wine at the Wine & Dine Half Marathon? I ended up getting a beer... :(

We went into the changing tents to get out of some of the wet clothes we had on and put on dry stuff. I luckily had dry socks and shoes too. That helped tons. When I took of my wet shoes and socks, it looked like I had been in a pool all afternoon. Nothing was cozier than those dry socks. When we were all changed, we headed out of the tents, still with our space blankets on. It was raining harder than it was before, plus the wind had really picked up. It was just miserable out there.

We had every intention of hitting up the after party big time, but it was too rainy and too cold. We went to Spaceship Earth to see if Larry was still there, but didn't find him. We took a very cold Spaceship Earth pic, and then asked if Starbucks was open. It was so we headed there for some coffee and pastries, that we got with the gift cards we planned on using at the Wine & Food Festival. Oh well... That hot coffee was the best ever. Even after waiting in line for 30 minutes. At least we were inside and dry. After our coffees, we headed towards the buses and back to the hotel. We got in at almost 4am, changed, and passed out.

The next morning I had made brunch reservations at Chef Mickey's. Since the kids were with us, we had no problem waking up on time. We met Kris's Dad over there and got to have a great brunch, and hang with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. It was the perfect end to the weekend, with our biggest supporters and Mickey and his crew.

I felt pretty good after the race, and I'm so glad this wasn't my first half, cause I think the rain would have flipped me out. Luckily, I just had some foot pain the day after, which I attributed to running in wet shoes. But now I can say that I've run a race in the rain. Doing the two races in one day actually helped how I felt at the end of the day, I think... crazy, I know.

I love doing the Wine & Dine Half. It was raining for nearly all 13.1 miles (with a little break around mile 9), but it was still a fun race. So, who'll be doing it with me next year?

2014 Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend: Part 1

It was finally time for the 2014 RunDisney Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend. This was my second half marathon, with the added fun of a 5k the morning before my marathon. Was I crazy? Yes! But it all got done, and it was a great, fun time.

I arrived in Orlando on Friday afternoon, and was able to get a great massage before heading with Kris to the expo. I love going to the expo. I always end up wanting to buy everything! But I only got my "I Did It!" shirt, a new 13.1 magnet, and some shot bloks. I also forgot my waist pouch to carry my phone, so I had to get a new one. I got one from Fitletic and it even had a bib holder, it was perfect for my phone and bib and was super comfy.

After the expo, Kris and I headed to Hollywood Studios to join up with Kris's charity team (she was running with Homes for Our Troops this year) for the group dinner. Eddie and Kris's friend Larry, who was also running, met up with us too. They took us inside Hollywood Studios to an old prop shop in the backlot and where we had a really tasty dinner. After the dinner we got to take some pics with the cool props that were decorating the space.

We left the dinner and Kris, Eddie, and I decided we needed to ride the Tower of Terror before we left, so as we headed that way, and then we noticed the lights. It was the first night of the Osbourne Family lights at Hollywood Studios. It was a little chilly, so between that, the lights, and the music, it felt like Christmas. It was the best surprise.

We headed to the Tower of Terror, screamed our heads off, and Kris and I headed back to the hotel. We stayed at the All-Star Sports Resort. We got there and turned in early, cause we had the Jingle Jungle 5k in the morning.

We woke up bright and early at 4am to get ready and be on the last bus by 5am. It was chilly, so we put on some long sleeves, compression socks and got out there.

We got there on the last bus, but still had over an hour to kill before the race, so we got into the line to get a picture with Mickey and Minnie. They were dressed in their holiday safari gear, so cute!

After waiting forever for that pic, it was time to get into the corral. I had corral C, but Kris (using Mom's bib, cause Mom wasn't able to do the race) had corral D. Since you can only move back in corrals, and not up, we moved to corral D. This was the last corral, and since we planned on walking the 5k, we moved all the way to the front of the corral to make sure we wouldn't be too far back.

Then with a big wave from Mickey and Minnie, we were off into the Animal Kingdom.

We got to walk through the Animal Kingdom as the sun was coming up. It was a gorgeous sunrise by the Tree of Life.

And in RunDisney fashion, there were tons of characters along the route!

We felt great as the sun finally warmed us up and finished feeling great from our 3.1 mile walk. We crossed the finish line, and got our cute holiday themed medals.

After the race we got a great breakfast (I wanted some eggs!), and headed to pick up some ponchos. The forecast said that night would be raining, and we wanted to get ready for that just in case. We headed back to our hotel where Eddie met us with the kids! They loved the hotel and the football field outside our room. We relaxed for a while, then grabbed lunch. After that Eddie and the kids headed to the arcade, while Kris and I napped. We needed some rest after that early morning and then the late race later in the evening.

Thankfully, we were able to sleep. I remember trying to nap last year and not being able to get calm enough to really sleep. I guess the race was no big deal now, cause I passed out. It was a great nap. Then all too soon, it was time to get ready for the big event.

And my half marathon recap will be up tomorrow!

Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend: Part 2

The fireworks went off and I was starting my longest run ever. We were off for 13.1 miles through Disney World.

We ran out of the Wide World of Sports and onto the Osceola Parkway. Thankfully Disney did it up with DJs blasting music and characters along the way already. We had planned not to stop for characters unless absolutely necessary, so we just saw them as we ran by. The Country Bears (from the Country Bear Jamboree) and the Hippo and the Swan (from Fantasia) were on this first part of the course. The first mile was very, very crowded. We had just left the start, so people hadn’t spaced out yet. After that first mile it was a little more bearable. We were doing our walk-run intervals and it was working great. Mile 2 seemed good, but it was daunting to think how many miles were ahead.

Then at about mile 2.5, I tweaked something in my knee. It was a sharp pain. I was pissed. I had been resting my knee for weeks, since I had messed it up after the Happy Haunted 5k. I wanted it to be fresh for this race. It usually didn’t start bothering me on my long runs until about mile 4, so this was entirely too early for me. It was bothering me, but quitting was not an option.

By this point the course had taken us to the Animal Kingdom. The front was already decorated with a big Christmas tree. We ran into the park through these light-up tusks and right in front of us was the Tree of Life. It was awesome seeing it lit up at night. I was still feeling off, I think my knee was getting to my nerves. There were people stopping to use the bathrooms in the park, and I was tempted to go cause I was feeling a bit bleh, but I kept going. I got water and Powerade at every single water stop throughout the course. There were stop about every 1.5 miles, so it was perfect. At this point I had one of my Cliff Shot Bloks. I think this helped me out.

We kept running through Animal Kingdom and passed by Everest (which I will be back to ride!) and through DinoLand. As we left Animal Kingdom we saw Captain Jack Sparrow, then at the exit of the parking lot there were these awesome light up puppet things (it’s hard to explain them) of Tigger and Sebastian (from The Little Mermaid). We heard “Under the Sea” and were off to a long highway stretch of the course.

I knew that this part of the course would be long and uneventful, cause we wouldn’t hit Hollywood Studios til about mile 9. But they kept it really fun and had DJs cheering us on. And at a particularly sucky on-ramp, one of the toy soldiers from Toy Story was cheering us on. He really helped.

Finally, we got to Hollywood Studios. I knew this was the beginning of the end. We ran into the park next to the Tower of Terror and then ran up Sunset Bouelvard. I think this is the point when I heard Journey’s "Don’t Stop Believin'" (best timing ever). We turned to head towards Mickey’s Sorcerer hat which had an awesome DJ cheering us along. We ran through the Pixar area and even saw Buzz and Woody taking pics with people. Then, it was the Osbourne Family Christmas lights. It was amazing.

We hit the Hollywood Studios backlot next. If you’ve ever taken the Backlot tour, you know the part where they show you set design and costuming in a tunnel? Well, that tunnel was a disco party! They had disco balls, lights and music to keep you going through that tunnel. It was a great surprise.

We headed out around the back of Hollywood Studios and saw Wreck-It Ralph and there was no line to meet him! My nephew loves Wreck-It Ralph, and we couldn’t pass up a character with no line, so we stopped and took a pic with Ralph. He was very nice and even blew kisses at us.

Then we were going towards the Beach Club and Boardwalk resorts. This part of the course sucked, not because of how I felt--I was feeling much better, but because the sidwalk was so narrow. When it was time for a run interval, we couldn’t run cause there were so many people huddled together. Finally, we reached the wider boardwalk of the hotel at about mile 12, and there were tons of Team in Training people cheering us on.

We came around the back, and Kristina tells me, “OMG, look Paris!” We were almost at Epcot and the finish line. We ran past the countries and through Future World. Now I know parks like Epcot and Hollywood Studios like the back of my hand, but going through them like this is a whole new experience. You’re so turned around sometimes you aren’t expecting to see things.

Before we knew it Spaceship Earth was in front of us, and the finish was just beyond. Once we got into the parking lot the lights and noise of people cheering got louder. And then I saw it, the finish! We walked for a bit before so we could make sure to run through that finish line, and we did!

I still can’t believe that my best friend and I did this. Two girls that had no desire or even inclination to run a year ago had just done a half marathon. We had our hard earned medals. It was amazing.

I went to the medical tent to get an ice bag for my knee and then we went to take pics, and meet up with Eddie, who was volunteering with Team in Training. We didn’t know it, but Eddie was at the finish and got video of us crossing the finish line. He also got us some celebratory cupcakes! Thanks again Ed!

At this point my phone died, so I have no more pics, but we did make it into Epcot and got our sparkling moscato and a few things to eat. We kept to the front side of the lake, cause there was no way we were gonna walk all the way to the back of the park, to then walk to the front to leave.

After about an hour at the party, we boarded our bus back to Port Orleans. Getting the hotel was the best idea. Not having to drive back to Kris’s house after the race was a fabulous decision. We got back to our room and our fluffy beds and passed out.

The next morning, we checked out and headed to find some real food. We decided against going to a park cause that would have required too much walking, but we went to Downtown Disney instead. It was a nice morning, plus we had our “I Did It!” shirts and medals on. We were soaking it all in.

We didn’t think we would be able to find brunch, but luckily there is a Sunday brunch at Raglan Road, and it hit the spot. We started out with some mimosas, and then the "full Irish" breakfast. We needed that food after eating so randomly the night before.

We walked around a bit, marveled at how good we felt, and then headed back home. I’m still in a bit of shock that my body held up so well. My knee feels better than it has in weeks, and thankfully I was able to make it all the way through the race.

If you really want something, just put your mind to it and it can be done. No matter how impossible something seems, if you want it you can make it happen. I never thought in my wildest dreams this was possible and it now is fact. Sorry to get all sappy here, but I’m so proud of Kris and I for making through those 13.1 miles. We actually did it!

So I just have one question, when’s the next one?

Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend: Part 1

The day was finally here, I never, ever thought that I would be running a half marathon in 2013, and the day was here all too soon.

I got into Orlando on Friday night. Kristina picked me up and we headed off to the expo that night. We figured it would be less empty than the next morning.

We got our bibs and then went to get our corrals changed. When I signed up, I had no idea how fast or slow I’d be, so I said I did a 16 minute mile, which placed me in the last corral, corral L. There is a cut off time for the RunDisney races, and they start that counter when the last person crosses that start line. I wanted as much buffer time as possible, which is why we did the Pink Feet 10k, that finishing time would bump us up. I was hoping to move up to corral K, to give me a few more minutes. I showed my papers with my time on them at the booth, and the girl told me I should be in corral J. I thought that was great! Then she told me she ran out of stickers for J, so she would put me in corral I. I? I never ever thought I’d be up so far! I was ecstatic and in total shock. Kristina got bumped up to I too, since we had the same finishing time. This was getting all too real.

I don’t think the grin of shock, fear and excitement left my face at the expo all night. We shopped around, but already knew what we wanted. We needed the “I did it!” shirts from RunDisney. I also got myself the cool RunDisney limited edition Minnie sneakers. They were too adorable to pass up, and after all this training, I deserved a little something cute.

The next day, I repacked a smaller bag with all of my race stuff and some extra clothes. We headed out to Port Orleans Riverside. Even though Kristina lives in Orlando, we decided to get a room for the night of the half marathon. We figured we’d be getting out super late, and wouldn’t want to drive across town to get back to her house.

We checked in and our room wasn’t quite ready yet, but we met up with Kris’s Team in Training group to head out to the inspiration brunch. The brunch was perfect, breakfast food and pasta. It was just what we all needed before the race. We ate and listened to people talk about all of the help that Team in Training is giving to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It really was eye opening to see how much money they raise.

After stuffing our faces, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest before the race. Now with the adrenaline and just plain jitters, I don’t think either of us got much sleep, but we did lie down and just rest for a while. Then before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the race. We put on our costumes, and headed to the buses.The nerves were in full effect at this point, but we got to the Wide World of Sports and were with the other 14,000 runners.

Everyone was just waiting for them to tell us to get into our corrals. But Disney knows how to do it, they had entertainment, DJs, characters to take pictures with, plus just seeing all the costumes was entertainment enough.After a port-a-potty pit stop, it was time to get into our corrals. We walked over to corral I, and waited for the race to start. They kept us going with music, and before you knew it, it was time. The corrals started going off one after one, until it was our turn. They said corral I, the fireworks went off and we were off for 13.1 miles.

 



This post was getting really long, so I'm splitting it up into 2 posts. Check back tomorrow for more.