Disneyland Half Recap - Expo, 5K, Bloggy Madness

Friday evening after work, I met Becka (link HERE) and our kids at the Expo.

Now, Becka and I were at Princess together, and I had no issues with that Expo.

THIS expo, for whatEVER reason, seemed like a cluster. Maybe it was the kids. Maybe it was the construction at the hotel. Maybe it was the volunteer with poor wording.... Whatever it was, I was unimpressed with the whole shebang. I ended up walking out with only a headband for race day, and nothing else.

Maybe that's the key to expo'ing - bring a billion kids and be quick to get out without dropping serious cash.

After the expo, we ran to Downtown Disney for a quick dinner, then I dropped Becka, L, A and H off at their hotel... then home for an early bedtime... #1 was running the 5K bright and early!

Friday morning, 4:45 came really early. REALLY early.

Luckily, #1 was up and ready to go, AND super stoked. #2 said she wanted to come as well, so we packed our sweaters (what? It was 62*!) and headed out.

We parked at Becka's hotel, then walked over to the starting area together. We found Fruit Fly and.... Biker Boy. No Rose :(. Unfortunately, Rose ate some funky calamari, and couldn't make it to the race, so BB kindly took her place (seriously, best BF ever).

#2 and I headed down to the only spectator area on the course - the courtyard between Magic Kingdom and California Adventure.

(Can I just say, how super bummed I was in this course!? Really, RunDisney? Only one spot for spectators? We can't even be at the finish line? Dumb.)

#1 is a super fast runner. Remember how she earned 2nd place in her age group a few months ago? So I was expecting to see her pretty early on, at mile 2.25-ish.

But 20 minutes came and went, no #1. We're having a grand time, cheering on the runners though, so it's cool.

Then 30 minutes. Still no #1. I'm a little concerned.

Then I see Becka and A....

Becka says she thinks #1 was in front of her somewhere. Huh.

I'm frantically looking everywhere - HOW could I miss her!?

Then I hear... "MOM!" I look over, and #1 was sprinting past me. No picture! Argh.

But I did see FF and BB, looking pretty pleased....

Turns out, #1 was taking her time with photo ops :D

So knowing that #1 was safely still on the course, I headed over to our pre-arranged meeting spot, the fountain in front of La Brea Bakery, and waited for everyone to head out. Apparently, the finish line was in some random spot, and they had to walk .25 miles-ish to get out to Downtown Disney. Lame, RunDisney. Lame.

We headed into La Brea Bakery, and proceeded to order a billion plates of kids French Toast, and meet the lovely RadRunner! Rad totally lived up to her name and gifted all of us with tons of GU.... and man, oh man, do I love GU.

#2 was totally impressed with Rad, as well - she sat next to her, and kept whispering things to me about her hair :D

After breakfast, Becka and L, their kids, and I hit up the expo one more time to stock up on some Team Sparkle skirts - I always race in these, and have gotten #1 addicted to them as well :D. After, B, L and their kids, and FF/BB headed to the parks. I took my kidlets home (still no Disneyland for Gabs - bummer :( ).

I ran some errands (thrill a minute, I know), took a quick nap, and then we headed out to the bloggy dinner at Cheesecake Factory.

Gab, me, Rose, Elisabeth, FF
#2, Becka
A, BB
Good food, fun conversation. Good times.

Next up? Disneyland Half, Team Jam, Crotch Shots, and Goatse. Don't google that.