Race Day Madness

Sorry. Longest post EVER.

I slept crappy Saturday night. I had nightmares for a week prior, that I was going to sleep through my alarms, get lost, forget shoes, forget how to TIE shoes, you name it. I woke up at 2:45 to a text from The H, who stayed up (till the very late hour of 11:45 pacific time :D) to wish me good luck. Fell back to sleep for 10 minutes before my alarm went off again at 2:59. I have a thing about setting my alarm at 0 or a 5.. I just can't. Weird, I know.

Got up, got dressed, did my makeup, did the hair (with a tiara, duh), dumped some water in my hand held, and after a quick debate about wearing my gloves (what? I get cold easily!), we were out the door by 3:30 when the babysitter arrived for A.

I was getting a little freaked out, honestly, watching B and L get ready to race. They were Body Gliding places I never thought of before. Seriously, it was a bit dosconcerting. Like, have I been doing something wrong?! These two are obviously the professionals in this group, YIKES! So, for the first time, I slapped some Body Glide on random spots that seemed like they might get crafty a couple miles in.

First order of business? Meeting up with my friend Dee in the lobby. Dee and I went to high school together our freshmen year, and spent a lot of time skipping algebra and PE... particularly running days. Thanks to the wonders on the internet, we got back in touch 15 years later, and were both running the Princess half! She won one of the iFitness belts in February, so we arranged to meet up before the race so she could use it.

And, seriously, she had the cutest.costume.ever.

There was a giant line for the busses, but thankfully it moved fast. We hit the staging area shortly after 4. And it was... insane. Soooo many people. Got in the line for the port-a-potties, but realized around 4:45, we should probably ditch it and head over to the corrals.

Along with 15,000 of our new friends.

It's about a mile walk from the staging/bag drop area, to the corrals... and it took for.ever. On the way over, I told B to keep an eye out for Little Fruit Fly... I still had her iFitness belt! I was in a little bit of a panic, because I was carrying it around, and briefly thought I'd have to wear it, and I hadn't trained with a belt! Don't try anything new on race day!

Crisis averted... I got a text from LFF at 5:20, and got her belt to her! Leslie from Racing it Off was pacing her, so I got to meet both of them beifly (and, I believe, Katye? Not sure!), before jogging back to my corral... waaaaay in the back (curse you, no proof of time!).

Back in my corral, we got to hang out and wait for the first 4 corrals to start before us. This was the only point of the day I wasn't totally cursing Florida's stupid weather.

This chick was in front of me, with the perfect message...

Finally, the Fairy Godmother counted down, and the fireworks started, and we were off.

I gotta say. The first 4 miles for me were the toughest. I was starting out super slow (with a billion walkers), there wasn't a whole lot going on around the course, people were being a little snippy... One runner was being courteous and called out, "Passing on the left!", which... for some reason, a walker took great offense to. I'm not sure why walkers on the right, runners on the left is such a tough concept for people. I spent a lot of time just running slowly, watching my footing, and the faster runners darting in between people. I've fallen once in a race, and it sucks :D.

But as soon as I hit the Ticket and Transportation Center, it was all awesome from there. The miles, literally, just flew by. I mean, slowly, 'cause, I'm slow, but it seemed... effortless. I was seriously worried the first few miles that I'd just.. hit the wall and stop. And that never happened, not even close. Once I hit the Magic Kingdom, I knew I had it. Someone around mile 6 was saying she wasn't even to the half way point, and... I didn't even care. I knew I had this.

The MK Sign...

Around mile 4.5, we went under the water overpass, and past the Contemporary (my favorite!)

...and then into Main Street, USA!

love these!

Sunrise over Tomorrowland!

Quick run through Tomorrowland, and then.... it started.

The pictures. I couldn't help myself. I had a time in mind, but the pictures! There were characters, and I was running, and I stopped, and stood in line every time!

First, there was Alice and the Queen of Hearts at mile 5.5...

Then through Tomorrowland, and on to...

CASTLE!

Through the Castle, back to Frontierland...

Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen... I told Naveen he might not want to touch me... Shady.

Then out through the back lots, and out of the MK.

I read a lot about how miles 7-10 were the worst... no entertainment, boring, blah. I thought they were awesome.

Goofy

Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip

Don't go that way...

The heroes of Disney :D

Um. Yes, please.

I heard about the overpass at mile 10, and I was ready for it, but... it didn't bother me.

Especially when this was waiting...

Keep running!

Soooooo close!

The stilt walkers from Animal Kingdom

Mile 12...

And then the picture taking stopped, and I sprinted in to the finish. 13.25, DONE!

Grabbed a picture with my medal, some Powerade, a quick massage, and back to the hotel for a shower.

Becka, A, and L were heading for lunch and to the airport, but I still had a day left on my pass and hours to go, so I headed back out to Epcot... my favorite park :D

Food has never, ever tasted so good.