So I had an amazing RunDisney weekend, like always. I had some technical difficulties doing my blog/food journal and then had 2-10 hour work days afterwards- so some recovery time mentally and physically.
This blog post is all about the 10k and 1/2 marathon! I'll do my food journal later.
So the 10k for Wine and Dine on Saturday morning. Get up at 3 am and get dressed (protip- I braided my hair the night before and slept in my capris and tank) and took my mandatory selfie in the mirror with my Pink Drink!
You get on the Disney bus and head to the corrals where you stretch, danced to the DJ, and sometimes try to get character pictures (but not this time). I also ate my protein bar there. After hanging out a good hour you hit the port-a-potties and then get into your assigned corral (indicated by the letter on your bib- I was C). Corral is an adequate term as your bunched up a little like cattle going into the starting chute. Wheelchair racers start first, then Corral A, then so on. The corral is supposed to be based on your expected finish time so faster people go in front and there are less hazards on the course. For this particular run we took off from the Magic Kingdom parking lot heading towards Epcot. My placement put me in a decently congested area so I didn't stop for pictures until I hit the parks and the lines were lower. I was running at about a 10-10:30 minute mile pace.
Throughout the park there are photopass photographers ready to try to snap some action pictures- you can tell they're ahead due to bright lights and neon green tents. I'm a ham so I pose often.
There are also characters along the course- I stopped for 4 and I don't know what face I was going for with the Bowler Hat Guy but that wasn't it.
Here's more photopass action pictures. Some races are better than others and this wasn't my best. I even tried to jump and thought he got a good one, but instead he got me almost stumbling after my jump.
You cross the finish line, feel amazing, get your medals, snack boxes, water and power aide, and an official medal picture.
Took a bus selfie to put on Facebook right away- the photopass pictures take a few hours to days to load them all because some poor people in cubicles have to find the numbers and assign them.
I went back to the resort, showered, ate breakfast, and noticed that my medal matched my dress for work!
So I went to work, when I got back to the resort we went to dinner and then were basically ready for bed. It had been a long day and we had a longer one coming up.
Once again, I slept in my capris and shirt. Got my picture with my Mom juice (made Ella do it instead of the mirror).
And we headed to the bus again. Today my dad and I were running together, once again from Corral C. In the corrals they also do "mini-waves" where instead of letting all thousand people in the corral go, they break it into sections. We were right behind the ribbon and one person away from the mat at the start line.
We ran a good pace, skipping the first 2 characters due to lines and then started to stop to see people. They had a lot of unusual characters out for this race which was awesome! (these aren't in perfect order) We started in the Magic Kingdom Parking lot and headed towards the Animal Kingdom.
They also caught us running around the Animal Kingdom.
Then we headed out of the park and found another character
Then headed down the Osceola Parkway towards Hollywood studio with the sun coming up. The overpasses aren't fun, especially with the sun, but we were blessed with a cool breeze and decent humidity levels (says someone who trains in the Florida heat). There were also a few more characters to help pass the time.
We went through Hollywood Studios and stopped for a few more characters-
Through the park...
And ran out the front gates towards the boardwalk
And met another friend at the end of the boardwalk before going in the back of Epcot at the world showcase
So we went around the world showcase where we were caught by photopasses several times including a great jumping picture-
And stopped for more characters
And after going backstage finding more
And then to the finish line
Due to the heat we got Dr. Cool towels to help cool us down, water, power aide, snack boxes and our challenge medal for doing the 10k and 1/2 in the same weekend. We got our race photos.
Then we got on the bus where I do my bus selfie.
I stunk REAL bad, so I showered after I stopped sweating, ate lunch for breakfast, and was ready for the day. Wine and dine 1/2 marathon includes an after party at Epcot in the evening after the 1/2 marathon, so I napped a little to be able to enjoy it and then Ella and I took off for fun at Epcot. We got home after midnight, but it was a great weekend full of memories. I even got to meet some Facebook running friends in person!
I 100% believe everyone should experience a Disney race in their life. The atmosphere is amazing, it's so fun, and so worth the price and lack of sleep (at least to me!). Disney does it right from managing all the people at the race start but entertaining us with a DJ, having adequate water stops with power aid also for the 1/2, a nutrition stop during the 1/2 (typically sports beans), characters and other entertainment along the way (there was a few bands, DJs, and screens along the way to keep from having boring miles), not to mention medical and volunteers just in case. Disney does it right.
My next race will be the half marathon at Disney's Marathon weekend in January! I can't wait!
Blessings in Health and Happiness!
