Disneyland Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Anaheim, CA
Sunday, September 4
Half Marathon #42
State #34
Weather - Overcast, low 60s

If you missed the recap of the 5k that A and I ran the day before, you can read about it here. I registered for the Disneyland half marathon the day registration opened. So yeah, back in January. Heather had spent the night at our hotel so we could all walk over together. We had to get up pretty early, at 4:10. (Although I looked at Disney Princess recap and we were up over an HOUR earlier for that one). I had hoped to be out the door and to the starting area by 5:00 to get our picture taken with the Half Fanatics. Turned out we just missed the picture by a few minutes. Dang it! But we *did* run into Fruit Fly and Biker Boy on our walk to the start. Which is pretty strange considering HOW MANY PEOPLE are at Disney. We ran into her a LOT without planning it. We also ran into Dave, which meant... picture!!

L, Me, Dave, Fruit Fly, Heather

Heather and Fruit Fly left to meet up with Rose in Corral C (or D) and L and I made a quick stop at the port-o-potty before heading to Corral A. Don't even ask, I have NO idea how I ended up waaaay up there in the front. Our costumes must have been pretty awesome because we had more than one person stop to take our picture. Thanks! In addition to Brightroom, one of the Running Skirts husbands took our picture too.

It was PURE CHAOS getting to where we needed to go. By the time we got to our corral, there was only about 15 minutes until the start. This is the way to do a race... walk there and don't sit around for hours. View from the start line:

We crossed the line only a minute or two after the gun went off. Clearly I was not in the right corral. L had decided to run with me (we WERE dressed as a "set"), and we got SMOKED in that first mile. The nice thing was that we didn't experience the congestion issue that we did with Princess. I was a bit distracted because my little blue ribbon on my collar kept coming untied! At least I had it pinned down. I also had a bit of cramping in my left calf, but it luckily worked itself out before it got too annoying. The first mile was outside the park, but LOTS of crowd support already out, even though it wasn't even 7:00 yet. Then we entered the park. I'm glad L agreed to do character pictures with me!

The park is obviously the best part of the race. Being in the "fast" corral, not that many people were stopping for pictures, so the lines were NOT long at all. Usually we only had to wait for one or two people before we were up. I was a bit bummed that there weren't more characters out. There were TONS out at Princess. And quite a few of the floats/characters weren't even allowing pictures. What's up with that??

By mile 4 we are already outside the park and by then we are running right into the sun. It's starting to warm up! I was really surprised by all the support on the course. I have been struggling so much during races lately, it was nice to have that. There were dancers, cheerleaders, it was awesome!

Around mile 6 I have to stop to use the bathroom, but I was still feeling pretty great. My awesome Tweedledee name tag I had pinned to my back fell off somewhere between mile 6 and 7. Bummer :(

I didn't know what else was on the course except running through Angels stadium. We came up on the Honda Center, and I guess I thought THAT was the stadium. So imagine my disappointment when we do this weird run through the parking lot. Heh. But that WAS where a TON of crowd support was. I especially enjoyed the teenage boys doing the can-can. Hilarious.

Then we leave the lot and continue the run on a dirt trail by this super creepy and dirty canal. On the other side? Barbed wire. Clearly not the best part of town... but I can see the "A" in the distance, and I'm pretty excited. I want to see myself on the jumbo tron!

Check out all the fans!!

Heading into the stadium, look, there's L to the right!

I will admit, I was PUMPED to enter the stadium. I felt famous or something. So many people screaming and cheering. It was AWESOME!!

I had hoped to get a picture of us on the jumbo tron but by the time I figured out where the photographer was, I missed it :( Oh, well. Then we headed out and then I knew, 4 miles (roughly) to go, and then we are done. I'm really glad that L is running with me. I am pacing better and I am more motivated to not walk. I mean, she IS running slower to hang out with me.

The next few miles I feel AWESOME. There is a slight downhill and we are moving a bit faster. I finally start to struggle a bit as we get closer to Disney, around mile 12. I had a few "rabbits" in my sights that I really wanted to beat. By then, my legs were toast. I managed to NOT walk (thanks, L), but I really didn't have anything left to pass them. Boo. Here is one of the only race pictures... (L is saying "NO MAN LEFT BEHIND!!)

Obviously no where near a PR, but compared to how I have run/felt the last few months, I am SUPER HAPPY with this race. I got to run with L (did you know this is the FIRST half we have EVER run together?) and it was great. I felt good, I liked how many compliments we got on our costumes, and I had FUN. Which has NOT been the case lately.

Chip time - 2:16:37
5k - 35:08
10k - 1:08:02
15k - 1:38:55
Overall Place - 3409/12785
Gender Place - 1557/8368
Division Place - 280/1410
Garmin time - 2:16:37
Garmin distance - 13.24 miles
Garmin pace - 10:19
Mile 1 - 10:04
Mile 2 - 10:38
Mile 3 - 12:40
Mile 4 - 10:17
Mile 5 - 10:07
Mile 6 - 11:04
Mile 7 - 9:48
Mile 8 - 10:04
Mile 9 - 10:04
Mile 10 - 10:02
Mile 11 - 9:44
Mile 12 - 9:45
Mile 13 - 9:53
Mile 13.1 - 8:55

HUGE.

Coast to Coast Medal - AWESOME

FINISHED!

Of Note:

• I think my lowest average HR *ever* in a race - 160 bpm? I'm usually mid 170s or even higher
• This might be the only time ever I have had negative splits!
• No walking other than photo ops, 1 bathroom stop and water stations. Been MONTHS since that happened.
• Fruit Fly's boyfriend, Biker Boy, is AWESOME. We saw him 3 or 4 times on the course. Thanks for cheering for us!!

After we leave the finisher area, we grab some food and sit down to eat while we wait for Rose and Fruit Fly and Heather. We get kicked OUT of the finisher area because we need to "keep it clear for those people finishing." Thanks, RunDisney.

We decide to hustle over to Downtown Disney to buy our Tweedledee & Tweedledum pins and figure by the time we get back they should be close to finishing. We find some open fence just past the mile 13 marker and watch the rest of the race. We saw Dave!

Love the red dot skirt!

We are starting to get worried... we would have thought they would have been done. I was JUST getting ready to text Heather to find out what was going on, when they crossed. I missed getting the picture :(

Walked over to the family reunion area and chatted a few minutes before heading back to the hotel.

Me, Heather, Rose, Fruit Fly, L

Fruit Fly and Biker Boy (who was the pack mule and carried all our stuff while we were racing, THANKS!!) headed back to their hotel, Rose headed back to her car, and the rest of us walked to our hotel. Quick showers and then Heather's husband picked us up and headed back to her place for PIZZA and SWIMMING. Well. The KIDS went swimming. The rest of us were smart enough to know the water was FREEZING and decided to stay on dry land.

We let the kids exert some energy for a while, then we drove down to the coast where we met up with a friend of ours to meet her new baby! However... everyone fell asleep in the car!

We woke up everyone but H (L stayed in the car with her), and the rest of us wandered around a park with an amazing ocean view.

A and Gabs found some dirt to play in. Almost as good as sand I think...

And while the adults watched some crazy acrobats in the trees (sorry no pictures, but this really DID happen), the kids played on this tree. According to A, it was the MOST AWESOME TREE EVAH!

I'd like to say we had a "quick" and "easy" dinner at In-n-Out... but it was neither.

Yep. That's the drive thru line.

Inside? Tiny.

Yep. That's all there was.

We stood outside and stared at people until they gave up their seating. Yes, we sure did. No need to sit around and socialize when there are a hundred people needing somewhere to eat. Seriously, whoever designed this location...

Heather was awesome enough to drop us at Downtown Disney for the kids to pick out their souvenirs. I had invited #2 over for a slumber party (her and A are BFFs), so she came too. We took them to "World of Disney" and I figured A would want ears:

I *loved* the Donald ears

But... she didn't. And it was VERY chaotic in the store. The kids both decided that they would rather have something from Build-a-Bear. I let A get an Ursula costume for one of her existing animals, and then she got this outfit for her favorite stuffed animal, Bunny:

First, I thought Bunny was a boy. Maybe not? Second, the first outfit she chose was a bikini. This one was much simpler to put on and take off. We walked back to the hotel just in time to make the firework show. Did I mention it is like a foot away from our hotel?

A kept saying she was going to stay up all night. She made it until 10:30... I didn't make it much longer.

I'm not going to do a separate blog for Monday. Kids actually stayed in bed until 7. By the time we gave the kids baths, packed, and got breakfast, my super awesome friend Heather was back picking us up to take us to the airport. Seriously, the chick is AWESOME.

So. Thoughts on California? SO FUN. I think I'll do it again. January, maybe :D

Facts About February

Miles Run - 100.69
Races Run - 4 (1 marathon, 1 half marathon, and a four mile race, and an untimed 5K)
PR's Set - 2 (shave 4.5 minutes off my 4 mile time with a 35:25, and 14 minutes off my marathon time with a 4:28:15)
Minutes of Planks - 23

I didn't run as much in February as I had planned. I took a few extra rest days at the beginning of the month to recover from a severe cold. And then of course, took an extra day off after the marathon. All things considered, I'm pleased with the amount of miles I squeezed in.

Overall, I had a pretty awesome month! I was pretty nervous about running my second marathon since I was going to be traveling and running alone. It went FANTASTIC! And although I didn't have the best race for the Princess Half, I got to experience running with A for her first 5K, and that was truly priceless.

Disney Princess Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, February 27
State #22/50
Half Marathon #23
Weather - Hot. Humid. Blah.

2:59 came super early. Shuttles from the hotel stopped running by 4:00 am. The resort offers a babysitting service, and she was scheduled to arrive by 3:30 am. We got dressed, and the sitter arrived a bit early - around 3:20 am. We were out the door by 3:35 and walked over to the lobby to catch the shuttle. There was a jillion people in line, but luckily they provided quite a few buses and we didn't have to wait that long. Checked the weather on the bus. Oy.

The bus dropped us off at the finish line, which was about a mile from the start line. We didn't have any bags to drop, but I did want to meet up with the Half Fanatics for the group picture. By the time we sorta figured out where we needed to be, it was already 4:30.

Princess Snow White

The picture was supposed to be at 4:45 in front of the stage. I kept wandering around trying to find it... Luckily Dave is pretty easy to spot. We did a quick group shot - I actually look normal!

We were getting yelled at by volunteers to get to the start line. We were thinking... how long could it possibly take? The info said 15-20 minute walk. Well... there were a jillion people. And we were all trying to get one place at one time. Giraffy says it was a mile walk, and it took close to a half hour.

Quick stop at the bathroom. By now it was 5:15. Then we still had to get to our corral which took another 5-10 minutes. We lined up in the back of Corral B. As we were standing there waiting for the race to start, L told me the girl next to us looked familiar and thought she had seen her in Bermuda. She asked her, and sure enough... she was. Small world.

Me and L

The start line was absolutely INSANE. Our corral was due to have a 5:53 start time.

People everywhere!

Fireworks went off, and we were on our way. Well. Sort of. This race is a perfect example of what I don't like when I run. I don't like getting "stuck" at someone else's pace because I can't get around people running slower than I want to pace. The first miles was trying my best to dodge around people and get to a comfortable pace. Didn't really work. The first mile was about a minute slower than I normally run. My goal was to get done as soon as possible before it got super hot. As you can tell, my outfit is SUPER awesome. However... it is also made out of polyester and I was boiling in it.

One good thing about this course is that there were NINE aid stations. AWESOME! I knew it was going to be hot, and I like walking the water stations. The first one was actually right before the first mile marker.

Now keep in mind, we started racing before the sun was up. The first few miles were in the dark, so I really felt like I had to be aware of my surroundings. I kept trying to run in the grass next to the road to pass people but it was hard to run on and was hilly, so I had to just suck it up and run slower.

Mile 3 - Princess Ariel

The next aid station was at about mile 3.5 and I needed it. Bad. I was sooo tired and dehydrated and hot already. I was starting to get concerned. At least in a race like this, walking wouldn't be the WORST thing in the world (but it would be close). I really wasn't feeling well, and by about mile 4 I had to stop at the bathroom. Next aid station was about mile 4.5. It was about that point that I decided that I would go ahead and stop to have my picture taken with the characters. I mean, why not. If nothing else I could stop for a few seconds and catch my breath. (Have I mentioned I was absolutely MELTING in my stupid polyester costume??)

Princess Tiana

Woody and Bullseye

Cinderella's Carriage

Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming

The stops seemed to help, and I started to feel a little better. Even with the stops, I still was moving at an ok pace. Once we got out of the Magic Kingdom, we got back on a narrow road. Ran past the firefighters for Disney, and then back out on the open road. Just before mile 8, I spotted the other L, and I tried to speed up a bit to catch up with her to say hi. She and her friend, B (ironic, right??) are also running 50 half marathons in 50 states!

Pocahontas

I'll call this "Disney Dudes"

Pirates of the Caribbean

I don't normally run with anyone, but L was struggling a bit too, and between talking with her and doing the pictures, a few miles of the course actually went by decently fast.

Pain & Panic

Around mile 11.5, L said she was going to walk for a bit, and I was on my own. There was an aid station just ahead and I was sure it was going to be the last one on the course. I walked a bit longer than usual and then headed up the overpass headed into Epcot. I was pretty happy when less than a mile later there was another aid station. Man, I can't ever remember being so exhausted in a race!

Phineus & Ferb

Once I was inside Epcot I really tried to kick it up a notch, but I was just so hot and tired I really had nothing left in me. Then the lady announced - "only a quarter mile to go!" What??? I showed that we should almost be done :(

I don't know if it was all my weaving in an out of people or what, but the course measure LONG for me. The race ended the same place as the 5K did, and I have not been this happy to see a finish line in a long time. I find L almost immediately, and she was impressed I hadn't burst into flames and ripped the costume off mid race. She really expected me to cross the line in my bra and compression shorts. LOL.

Official Time - 2:13:36
5K Split - 29:28
10K Split - 1:04:06
15K Split - 1:35:45
Overall Place - 2105/13091
Division Place - 351/2113
Garmin Time - 2:13:37
Garmin Distance - 13.29 miles (!!!!)
Mile 1 - 9:43
Mile 2 - 9:22
Mile 3 - 9:09
Mile 4 - 9:41
Mile 5 - 10:46
Mile 6 - 10:49
Mile 7 - 11:05
Mile 8 - 10:38
Mile 9 - 9:30
Mile 10 - 10:49
Mile 11 - 9:48
Mile 12 - 9:48
Mile 13 - 9:35
Miel 13.1(ish) - 8:17

After the race we grabbed our goodie bags (Luna protein bars!!) and headed to catch the shuttle back to the hotel. We arrived just before 9:00 and the sitter said A had been very good and had only been up since about 7:30. We took quick showers and then took A to the pool for about an hour. Just as we were leaving the pool area, we ran into Giraffy who was SUPER PSYCHED about her first half marathon finish.

Somehow we were all able to be out by 11:00 (we were not able to get a late check out). Giraffy still had a day left on her pass so she was headed to Epcot. We were starving and headed to get food. We figured that we would have more options if we went to Downtown Disney. We found this cool place with dinosaurs and decided to eat there.

So. This place is called "T-Rex Cafe." They call it family oriented and "interactive." Well. What I call it is loud and not the place to take someone prone to seizures. The service was slow, it was chaotic, and we had to endure three "meteor showers." But the burger? FREAKIN FANTASTIC:

After we finished eating we had about an hour to kill before we needed to head to the airport, so we walked around Downtown Disney. This dragon is made completely out of Legos!

A finally got the face painting that she had been begging for (and it was WAY cheaper than what we were quoted at Disney).

We headed to the airport just after 2:00 and dropped off the rental car. Our flight left at 5:00 and was pretty uneventful.

I had an awesome trip with A and it was great to see Giraffy again!

State #22? Complete.