Goofy's Challenge Part 2...Half Marathon

Friday we switched hotels and moved over to our favorite hotel the Polynesian:

We normally stay Club Level but it was closed for refurbishment so we had a park view room!  Once we checked in we headed out to Epcot for the day and just cruised around the park...We had a nice carb loading lunch at Via Napoli which was AMAZING:

Don't mind if I do!

 We did not have a single crumb left!

Seriously

After lunch we walked around a little bit more and did a few rides then went back to hotel and rested since we have to be up by 3 am to head to the race start!

We had the Race Retreat package for the half marathon so we just grabbed a bagel, banana and some coffee in the tent before the race.  This is a extra cost but so worth it...It is a heated/air conditioned tent with private port-a-potties, tons of food and beverages (water, powerade, coke products, tea coffee), a stretching/massage area as well as character photos!  I am so doing this for now on!

Race Retreat Tent

There is about a 20 minute walk to the start of the race so after I got fueled up I said bye to Danny and walked to the start!  Well, it was a mess...So So So crowded and took about 35-40 minutes to get to my corral A. 

walk to the start

This was just the start of the walk to the corrals!  Apparently they increased the field size and more people showed up this year to run the race.  I had wanted to use the pot again before the start but there were no port-a-potties near corral A so a few girls were popping squats near the trees so I decided to give it a go...Well never again!  There were little prickly things from the brushes that got stuck all in my hair and on my shorts...as well as the other girls also!  This totally freaked me out but I guess that is what I get for squatting in the jungle!  

Pre-race

I wore my Team Sparkle red skirt, my red sparkly BIC band and my Running Skirts tank top which I am in love with!!

I couldn't find my pace for the first 4 miles or so because it was so overcrowded and people were running slow!  I decided at this point this is just for fun and not a race...So when I started to see the characters along the way I stopped for a few and got my picture taken.  The crowd support here is also great and so many people are out a cheering us on!  I did see Danny a few times along the way which was awesome!  He snagged a few pics:

Female winner: Melissa White of Hanson Brooks

The weather was great..a little warm towards the finish but I will take it over freezing cold weather any day!

My time was not great but will do... 1:40.  So after I finished we went back into the race retreat and Danny ate while I got my massage!  It was the best massage ever.. My girl knew exactly where my tender spots were and really worked on them as well as adjusted my out of place rib!  No wonder it was hard to take a deep breath.  After the massage we hung out, ate, took a few pics then loaded the bus to go back to the hotel. 

Some of the fairies

I went to the pool for a little post race relaxation and sunshine:

Later we went to Magic Kingdom and did a few rides and had dinner at the Crystal Palace which was delicious and I was quite full and ready for bed when we were done.  Another early morning was ahead for us.  We watched the fireworks then went to bed.  1/3 of the way done the Goofy's Challenge....26.2 to go!

WDW 20th Anniversary Marathon post up next!

Happy Running!

Disneyland Recap Part 1: Expo

We arrived in California and checked into the Disneyland Hotel on Thursday.

Checking in!

I love the 3 hour time difference for heading out to the West Coast!  We spend the entire day and night in the parks.  Friday was the first day of the Expo which opened at 12pm...the Expo was located right in our hotel so we got there around 11:45 and there was already a line to get in.  I am not kidding when I say it was like Black Friday shopping when the doors opened!!  Disney Half marathon merchandise was flying off the racks..I have participated in RunDisney events in Disney World and there is always plenty of apparel and gear there but here the inventory is smaller I am assuming.  I picked up a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a polo shirt for my hubby and a pin for my boys. 

As the doors open!
 

I had a few vendor booths I wanted to check out on my list:  KT tape, Nuun, iFitness, Team Sparkle, and Running Skirts.  I went straight to the KT tape booth and there was about a 15-20 minute wait to get tape so I hung out with my dad, brother and his girlfriend while we waited.  I wanted to get my tendon taped because it was a little tender so I picked the neon green tape:

I have used KT tape for about the past 4 years and absolutely love this stuff!  So many people caught on to it's greatest and by 4 pm the line was about 1.5 wait to get taped! This is what the table looked like on Friday:

Right across from the KT tape was Team Sparkle so I stopped in to say Hi!!  These girls were so amazing and friendly...And I love there outfits!!

 

I am already planning my outfit for my Goofy's Challenge!  I picked up a super cute skirt and cannot wait until January. 

Next stop was Nuun :

 

I love the Strawberry Lemonade flavor and with how hot and humid it is on the East Coast I definitely needed some of these to help me rehydrate back home.

I forgot to grab pictures from the Running Skirts booth but these women are so fabulous also!  I really wish our local running store would start to carry there products!!  I may just have to go beg them to consider carrying Running Skirts gear!  I also got to meet Sandy from BIC bands...and I picked up a few more bands! 

Picking up my bib!

My brothers 1st 5K!!
 

 

 I forgot to sign up to do the 5k and after seeing my brother get his bib and how excited he was I was sad I was going to miss out...Dang it!  Definitely doing both next time.  After we hung out at the expo and chatted with Jeff Galloway we then went back out to the parks and had a magical time!

Next post will cover the 5k and half marathon recap!  Yay.

Do you use/love any of the products from above?

Happy Running!