2016 Disney Princess Half Marathon

I did my first half marathon, the Disney Princess Half, back in 2012.  My friend V ran with me the whole way.  So when my friend Anna set her sights on doing a half, we registered last year for the Princess.  Even registration was a whole different ballgame from my first RunDisney race just a few years ago; if you want to run, you have to be ready to register online the minute the race opens (6+ months before the event!) because these events sell out quickly.  It's like trying to buy Adele concert tickets, but for masochists who want to run all over Disney creation.

At the Expo

We drove in from Tampa the Friday before the race, and the following morning we picked up our race packets first thing.  I love the RunDisney expos because the shopping, while expensive, is awesome!  My favorite booth this time was Raw Threads, which had some adorable Disney-themed shirts.

And, like any RunDisney race...  we started in the dark with an obscenely early wakeup.

That said, it was fun to run this stretch of land again.  It was my 3rd time completing the run from the start near Epcot, to the Magic Kingdom, as you also cover that stretch during the full marathon.  We grabbed a quick selfie on Main Street, because it's one of the best parts about running these races.  If you do a RunDisney race, I highly recommend submitting a proof of time that allows you to start in earlier race corrals; if you start further back, I noticed it gets a lot more congested, and at some points you really can't even weave in between folks!

Overall, we were successful!!!  We pushed through those 13.1 miles, and we triumphantly earned those beautiful medals.  It was warmer than past Disney races I've done, but no big surprises really.

I don't know if I will do the Princess again... it has gotten to be a very congested race, and there were some catty folks out there on the course.  (Where was their Disney spirit?)  I think if I do another half, it would be something different, like a Disneyland race of the Indianapolis Mini.  RunDisney puts on a great race, but the masses (15,000 26,000+!) make it a bit chaotic and planning-heavy.

I did get to see some other friends during the weekend!  I caught brunch at Epcot after the race with my friend M and her crew.  Check out the picture below, what a great group of people!  THAT is how you do a RunDisney race right.  Anna and I had her boyfriend to cheer us on too, and the more the merrier definitely held true.

Do you have any questions about running a RunDisney race?

Walt Disney World Marathon

Perhaps I should call this, "How I survived my first marathon in spite of myself" or something like that. You see, last spring I registered for the Walt Disney World Marathon, because I'd gotten this wild hair at some point that told me I needed to run a full marathon before I turned 30... and this race would take place just a couple of months before my self-imposed deadline.  WOOF.  Thankfully, my parents jumped on board right away and committed to going with me.  Here's how it all went down.

At the Race Expo, and a photo of my race bib!

BEFORE THE MARATHON

• Training:  I didn't train like I should have.  I'd planned to follow the Disney Marathon "finish upright" training plan, and I completed three half marathons during my training months.  But I never built up to a distance beyond 13.1 miles, truthfully because ain't nobody (okay, ain't many people) got the time/motivation to run 3-5 hours straight on a weekend.  Yikes.  I effed up training.  And it made me a nervous wreck going into the holidays and Disney.
• Diet:  I let myself off the hook diet-wise the week leading up to the marathon, taking the online reco to carb-load and reduce fiber and protein.  I really think this helped a lot.  Seriously.  I didn't eat like a 3rd grader, but I did eat a good deal of pasta and baked potatoes.  I also focused on hydration, reasonable.  It helped me stay fueled during the race.
• Gear:  I am used to running with a Fitletic Ultimate II running belt, with whatever hydration and sunglass pouches attached that I choose.  I need something to keep my phone and inhaler, and this fits the bill.  For the marathon, I stocked my belt with Clif/Gu to eat about every hour (I only eat vanilla, Gu has caffeine but Clif tastes better to me), one hydration pouch, a pouch for sunglasses/chafing gel/chapstick, and my phone/headphones.  I wore my Garmin Forerunner 10 to keep pace, and the battery actually lasted up until my final mile.  I also wore Swiftwick Aspire Twelve compression socks.  All of this gear I was used to wearing during my long runs and half marathons, so I knew that I would be fine with them.  I chose to wear a Sweatyband I bought at the Expo in my hair for the race, similar to ones I wore before too.
• PANIC:  The number one best thing I did was digest this 6 1/2 Hour Marathon Survivor Race Strategy.  Because I was using a run/walk strategy to prevent injury (again, because I effed up training) I knew this would work for me.  I even made a little piece of paper with the times to hit and "laminated" it between some clear tape.  This little guideline became my security blanket, which I felt I needed to avoid being swept off the course for not meeting cutoff times.

THE MARATHON

Course Map, through all four parks at WDW!

I woke up at 3 am (blergh!) in order to get to the gear check and starting corrals on time.  There were literally 20,000 people running, so they had start corrals A through P.  Since the race started at 5:30, they wanted you in corrals by 5 am.  I wore a garbage bag over my clothes to stay warm, and many people wore "throw away" clothes that they tossed off at the start; Disney donates these to Goodwill or something.  There were portapotties, many with super long lines.   I was in Corral M, so I actually didn't start until almost an hour after the first runners!  They move you up like cattle as each group begins.

These are some Start photos Disney gave me when I purchased my marathon pictures. :)

MILES 0-5:

By the time we started (every corral got fireworks!), I had to pee within the first couple of miles; I felt funny joining portapotty lines so early on, but I am glad I did it.  I kept to a 14-minute per mile pace (4 minutes running, 1 minute walking) consistently to start, knowing I'd need my energy later.  I felt like I had to hold myself back in those first miles, because the energy is so high.  Every mile marker has a display with different Disney character images, which is cool.  There are also bands, cheerleaders, and ALL THE DISNEY CHARACTERS along the way.  For real, people queue up to take photos with characters.  I was too nervous to wait in lines, but I did run by the characters to sneak a peek when I saw them.  So cool!

MILES 6-11:

This was probably my favorite part of the race.  Much like in the Disney Princess Marathon, we run up Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, then through Tomorrowland and through the back of the castle.  It's super magical! You don't even realize you're running!  I knew that my parents were waiting for me in the Magic Kingdom, and I searched the crowd for Dad's bright orange hat.  I was honestly so happy and emotional to see them; Mom gave me a clementine and I left on my way.  I was bummed it wasn't still dark (they'd done up the castle in a Frozen lighting scheme at night) but I did get to see Elsa and Anna as I entered the castle!

I saw my parents once more coming out of the castle and heading to the Speedway.  We actually got to run around the race track, and there were race cars and the Florida Corvette Club displaying cars.  Then we had to hit a long road with not much going on for a while.

MILES 12-17:

As we got closer to Animal Kingdom, there were actually some animals there to see us, plus cast members.  I have to say, it's awesome how many cast members come out to cheer on the race.  Your race number has your name on it, so people call to you by name.  The water and fuel point volunteers were amazing too!  By the time we got to Animal Kingdom, the park was open, so a lot of runners detour to ride the Expedition Everest roller coaster.  I get motion sick, so I didn't go, but it was fun to see people do that.  At some point we ran by a stinky water treatment facility (I think before reaching AK) and that was my least favorite part.  It also started a lightly rain around mile 17 for me, but it wasn't too bad as it had warmed up a little.

MILES 18-22:

These miles were the most boring.  Once we left Animal Kingdom, we headed for Wide World of Sports (where the Expo had been) and had to weave in and out of a track, soccer/baseball fields, etc.  We even ran around inside a baseball stadium.  The plus side to this chunk of the race is based on my strategy, I slowed down just slightly for each mile, and at mile 20 I switched to survival mode.  The best part of WWoS was that my Mom was there waiting for me!  She had orange juice and more clementines for me to eat.  I also grabbed an acetaminophen from a medical tent during this time.  I remember that this is where it all started to hurt.  The bottom of my feet hurt the most, from pounding pavement.  An experienced marathoner later told me she thinks Florida/Disney puts a lot of shells in their pavement or something that makes it feel even harder.  Well, I felt it.  Tons of people around me were walking a lot at this point, but I knew I was safely ahead of the sweepers by almost an hour.

MILES 23-26.2:

This is where we went through Hollywood Studios (the hat was still there, though fenced off for removal) to the Boardwalk resort to Epcot for the finish.  Hollywood Studios is where I burst into tears.  I just felt so emotional, and even though I had such a relatively little distance to go, I was just so distraught for some reason.  A gal from Texas named Misty (wearing a Team RWB shirt like me) stopped to pat me on the shoulder and tell me I was going to be just fine and finish strong.  Tons of other Team RWB people came up to me during and after the race, so I was happy I'd worn the Eagle shirt (instead of my original plan to wear a costume) for the extra encouragement!

With a few Team RWB shoutouts in that last chunk, I braced myself and could see the Eiffel Tower in the World Showcase in the distance.  Once I got into the showcase, I powered through as much as possible.  They had all kinds of princesses (Jasmine, Mulan, etc.) out but I just wanted to be done.  I pushed until we ran past Spaceship Earth and towards the finish.  Some people stopped for beer in Germany and margaritas in Mexico, which they ran with to the end!

I heard (and saw) my parents cheering, and I knew I was almost done.  As I ran across the finish line, I raised my arms up because everyone else was doing it.  I did it!  I finished in 6 hours, 6 minutes, right where I'd planned to be.  I'm not as fast as I once was as a college runner, but I was incredibly proud and felt so accomplished when I earned that Mickey Mouse medal.

I don't know that I'll ever do a full marathon again.  It was a significant emotional event.  It hurt for days afterward.  It takes a lot of freaking time.  It makes me almost start to cry thinking about how it made me feel, good and bad.  But I sure picked the right one to do...  the Walt Disney World Marathon says that "every mile is magic", and I think they're right.  You're never alone, you're taken care of, and you feel like thousands of people want you to succeed.  It was definitely a magical day, one I won't soon forget.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend

Wearing my medal after 13.1 miles!

I had a WHIRLWIND weekend!  I'm not kidding... I got home Monday night and crashed in bed before I 7:30pm, and slept until morning.  My body aches, but I had an amazing time.  Here's the rundown:

FRIDAY
On Friday, BD and I drove down to our vacation rental in Kissimmee.  Originally our group was larger, so we had a HUGE house (booked through EasyChoice Vacation Homes via HomeAway) for the weekend.  The house had five bedrooms, a pool, full kitchen and dining areas, and was an easy distance to the parks.  We each were able to have a bedroom to ourselves with ensuite bathroom, which was really luxurious.  It was easy to spread out.  After we settled in, BD and I headed to the Magic Kingdom for an evening at Disney.

We got to the park after dark (and during a parade) so we used that time to hit some rides and take advantage of the short wait time.  We did the Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World, which happened to be rides we both loved as kids!  We then did Snow White's Scary Adventures, one of the original rides from when the park opened, because it is officially closing forever in May.  Disney is doubling the size of Fantasyland, so the ride is being torn down as part of that expansion.  I'm very excited to head back to Disney once construction is complete, because rumor is they will replicate Belle's village from my favorite, Beauty & the Beast!

We grabbed a bite to eat in Tomorrowland, then met up with my friend MH for the evening fireworks.  It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend.

Animal Kingdom

SATURDAY
Saturday morning, BD and I headed to the Wide World of Sports to get our race numbers and see the expo.  There were so many 'girly' running things for sale, from running skirts to headbands to snacks!  We discovered that our bib numbers featured our favorite Disney princess, and that all three of us running had chosen Belle!  The bib number also had our names on them; mine said "Princess Aubrey".

After the expo, we picked up our third runner, VV, at the airport.  That was the worst experience of the weekend.  I had been at the curbside for no more than 30 seconds, waiting for VV, when the airport worker came up to me and told me I had to drive around.  He was aggressive and confrontational, and even though we could see VV running towards us, he was insistent that I move my car and threatened to call the cops!  BD scared him off by asking what his name was so we could report him, and we made our escape.  As I drove, I could see TONS of other cars parked for way longer than I had been... guess I was his lucky victim that day.

Shaking off that negativity, we headed straight to Animal Kingdom!  We looked at the animals, hit up some rides, and grabbed some pizza.  It was really great to take in the park at a slow pace, and I got to see a TON of giraffes in action (my favorite!) during our visit.

We left the park early so we could head back to the house for a low-key pasta dinner!  I made spaghetti and garlic bread, and we watched Beauty & the Beast on DVD.  Then it was off to bed, because we had an EARLY day ahead of us on race day.

3 a.m.!

SUNDAY
We woke up before 3 am, which wasn't a pretty picture!  I felt very silly getting into my Snow White running outfit so early.  We reached the parking lot by 4 am, then headed towards the bag check and staging areas.  There were 17,000 (or was it 19,000?) runners, so it took us nearly half an hour just to walk to our 'corral' to start.  It was chilly, so we stretched and danced around to stay warm.

When it was time to start, the Fairy Godmother gave us our cue, and they shot off pink/purple fireworks!  It was really a unique experience.  There were plenty of portapotties and water stops along the way, and running through the Magic Kingdom was the highlight of the race for me.  VV and I ran together the whole way.  There were even character photo ops along the way, so we slowed down to catch a couple of opportunities to make a memory.

My advice before running a half marathon?  Um, TRAIN.  I ran the first 6 miles without blinking an eye, but around Mile 8 I was waning.  I was HURTING for a while, and didn't perk up until about Mile 11.  It was an incredible experience, and Disney puts on an amazing race, but I was in real pain.  My medal was well-earned!

After we showered and napped, VV and I headed back to the parks to check out Epcot.  We limped around (haha!), ate pastries in 'France', then headed home early for some sleep.  I stayed up all night in bed watching the Oscars, happy to be horizontal for a while.

MONDAY
BD and I took VV to the airport first thing, then made a stop in town to see my friends CG and HG.  CG used to work with me, and she's due to give birth any day now!  I wasn't able to make it to the baby shower, so seeing them both was a real treat.  They made us an awesome Puerto Rican-style breakfast before we had to hit the road.

Driving home was a bit painful, and it rained a whole lot, but BD and I survived.  I had some soup for dinner, passed out before 7:30pm, and have been limping around and back at work ever since!  It was a great trip (and another task off my Before I'm 30 list!)

(More photos after the jump!)