My friends from Team Studios Central started to arrive at 4AM and we met up for some pre-game cheer!
Courtney and me :)
Amanda, me, and Yulady!
My friend Laurie from the WDW Radio Running Team!
Then it was time to get into our corrals, on my way to Corral D I ran into another member of Team Studios Central, Sarah!
I started the race knowing that I had a maximum allowed time of 4 hours based on my corral placement so I did not stop at all to use the bathroom or take any photos. I was on a mission to finish this one! I hope to increase my pace in the future because I did miss out on some great photo opportunities. The on course entertainment was fantastic and running through Magic Kingdom and EPCOT were experiences I will never forget.
The course map, I am SO proud of myself for even attempting this!!
I had no problem and was feeling good for the first few miles. My pace was right on target and I was enjoying listening to the playlist I had created on my iPhone. However, there was a bit of bad manners on the course that I must address. There is a bad bottleneck near the Contemporary in the underpass so most people just walk briskly through it. I was following the lead of the crowd and some guy behind me decided to angrily shout "On your right!" meaning I was to move aside and let him run on the right. First of all, runners are always to the left and walkers are to the right. Secondly, there was absolutely no where for me to move. I was shoulder to shoulder in the crowd. The guy dressed as Aladdin walking next to me gave me a smile and said "I don't know where he wants you to move!" I had to laugh it off. There was another instance where a girl did not say excuse me and she tried to squeeze between me and another girl who were too close together. She ended up literally using her arm to move me aside. I was so mad! This course was very crowded and I think people should have been more aware that they were not going to PR (personal record) this one. Disney races are not meant to be competitive. There is a lot of entertainment to take in and a lot of people stick to the 16 min/mi pace. I did not let the rude people phase me, I enjoyed my race!
As we entered the Magic Kingdom the crowd was all down the left of main street cheering for us. I did a light jog down Main Street but I walked the rest of the way because you are only in the Magic Kingdom for 1 mile and I wanted to take it all in. The tears flowed when I jogged down Main Street towards Cinderella Castle. I was overcome with the happy memories I had there and the accomplishments I am making in my life now because those memories keep me going every single day. I remembered all the family trips I had taken as a child walking down Main Street with my family, the night Jason proposed to me, and our Bridal Portrait session a year later.
We took a right at the hub in front of Cinderella Castle and went through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland where we actually got to run through the castle. As we neared the castle, there were trumpeters heralding our accomplishment. I cried then and I'm crying now remembering it! One girl was so overcome with emotion that she tripped and fell and I helped her up. I just looked at her and said "You can do this!" and through her tears she said "I know, thank you."
We ran to Liberty Square and then I think we exited the park via Frontierland. I felt awesome but at the same time I was thinking "Oh my gosh now I have to run all the way back to EPCOT??" I drive on property all the time so I knew the roads we would be taking. I was pleased to see that my playlist was very well timed because at the halfway point I heard "OOOOOOOOOOOH you're halfway there! Oh oh! Living on a Prayer!" one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs!
Around Mile 8 I was feeling like I could do this! At Mile 10 I felt like I wanted to stop. But, I was thinking of my Dooney and that was a major motivation to keep going!
At one point I saw the pace keeper guy with the balloon who is an indication you may get the sweeper bus if you don't speed up. I talked to him and he said he was running a 15:30 pace. I felt discouraged because I was hoping not to see any indication that I might be forced to stop because I was too slow. That is what happened to me at the Tower of Terror 10 Miler and I didn't want a repeat of that experience. I sped up as fast as I could but Mr. pace keeper left me in his dust. There was a sea of people behind me so I hoped I would make it but again, the same thing happened to me at the Tower of Terror event and I did get the sweeper bus there.
I spoke to a coach on the course every mile after that to make sure I was ahead of the sweeper bus. The coach at Mile 12 told me I was well ahead of the sweeper bus and I was going to make it! Then she high fived me :) Shortly after that, my friend Laurie found me on the course and stayed with me the rest of the way. As we entered EPCOT, the crowd was cheering and I saw my friends from WDW Radio and Team Studios Central cheering us on. Laurie and I cried together and talked about how much we love this place and how proud we are of our accomplishment.
When we rounded the corner to the finish line, there were hundreds of people lining the street cheering for us. I heard someone call my name and I saw my friends Amy, Jeff, and Erica with my husband Jason all cheering for me. It gave me the push I needed to start running and finish strong. Laurie and I crossed the finish line together and then we hugged and cried. I seriously thought I was going to throw up so I needed to sit down. After I rested a few minutes and had a post race snack, I called my friends to set a meeting spot. When I walked up to them I started crying again, I just felt so lucky to have a great group of people all there to cheer me on.
Photo by Amy PetermannMy husband, Jason, greeted me at the finish line with a tiara and a kiss :)
Photo by Amy Petermann
My friends Amy, Jeff, and Erica also greeted me at the finish line. I felt so incredibly lucky to have an entire group of people I love cheering for me!
Now that I have finished my first half marathon, what's next? I have a year of running events all planned out my friends, stay tuned! I completed the Expedition Everest Challenge and I am signed up for the Tower of Terror 10 miler and 5k, Wine and Dine Half Marathon, WDW Half Marathon 2014, and the Princess Half Marathon in 2014 :)
