Disneyland Recap Part 3: Half Marathon

I swear Disney knows how to do races!  This Half Marathon was my first "race" since my injure and I really was not 100% sure how I would do.  So before the I even left for California I had decided to use this as a training run for my full marathon in November.  Normally I would look at the course prior to my run but since I had not expectations I just went out there and ran. 

I feel Disney is better in pictures so here are a fun from the race:

This was at the expo and it was a guide if you wanted to stop and get your picture taken with some characters.  Definitely lots of good choices!

My shirt and bib # signed by Jeff Galloway

This is a first!!

I have never ever seen a race with no line at the portapots!!!  We got to the start around 4:50 with a race start time of 5:45...I hate that rushed feeling trying to get to the corral or standing in the bathroom line watching time tick by.  This race was so much more laid back and I never once felt rushed! 

 

Corrals were easily marked and easy to get to!  I love that the start was right by our hotel. 

 

This quality picture is of this awesome man who dresses as Minnie Mouse for ALL the Disney races.  I have a picture of him after the Goofy's Challenge this past January and I had to snag another!  We chatted for a bit and then it was time to start. 

It was rather dark when we started and for most of the race until about mile 7.   The miles flew by and running through the parks and feeling all that magic is priceless!


Here is the course map.. from miles 5-9 there were a lot of old time cars, mustangs, cheerleaders, and dancers.  One of my favorite parts was running through Angel's Stadium!!!  The stands had tons of spectators and boy scouts cheering for us...They also were announcing some of the runners names and when I heard my name I put a little extra pep in my stride.  So cool!  At this point I had just passed the 1:40 pace group who I had started after.  I told myself "do not let them catch you".  I finished the race a felt like I could have definitely pushed a lot harder and wished that I had.  Here are my stats:

Distance	HALF MAR
Clock Time	1:38:15
Chip Time	1:37:55
Overall Place	216 / 14836
Gender Place	28 / 9341
Division Place	3 / 1647
5K	24:02
10K	46:57
15K	1:09:41

This is by no means a PR for me and prior to my injury I had planned for a 1:28 but I definitely think I could have pushed and got a 1:33...Oh well there is always next year!  I loved every mile of this race and look forward to doing it again and again.


Post race pics:

Stretching out my legs

 

love the Up costume!
 

Disney races always have the cutest costumes....I love all the Team Sparkle skirts and cannot wait to wear mine in January!

Bling!

 

I highly recommend doing a Disney race at some point in your running journey!  They are such a blast and you get to enjoy all the yummy food in the parks and restaurants and do feel so bad for indulging..Haha!

Who plans on running a Disney race in 2013?
I am doing Goofy's Challenge in January again.

Happy Running!

Disneyland Recap Part 2: Cars Land 5K Ralley

Sheesh I was having trouble getting this post to go through...Possible user error!

The 5K looked like so much fun and I know for sure next time I do not want to miss out.  It was the Cars Land 5K Rally and of course ran through the Cars Land portion of Disney California Adventure...Since  I did not run it my brother and his girlfriend did so they sent me a few pictures.

How cute is the Start?!

Lots of Cars photo stops along the way

My boys would have loved this medal!

This is such a great race to do as a family for fun!  I would love to do this with my boys and hubby next year because it is a great way to stay active as a family and enjoy Disney at the same time!!
This is the first Disney race where I have seen these post race treat boxes:

 They were black and blue RunDisney Boxes filled with these treats...I still like my banana post race but I really liked the convenience of the little box.  They also gave out Powerade and Dasani Water. 

After the 5K we headed to the parks for more magical fun!!

Made in Back to Delaware!

I am very said to have to leave the West Coast but I was missing my boys and hubby BIG TIME!  I truly fell in love with California and Disneyland.  The weather was perfect, the food was amazing, the people were fantastic and the race was awesome!  I will do a full recap tomorrow but for now here are a few photos from the trip:

Best Thing Ever in Disney!
 

 I almost did a cartwheel when I saw that Disneyland has a Starbucks!!  I love going to Disney World and doing all the Disney races but may goodness do they have bad coffee there..So when I was Starbucks it was love at first sight!

Watching the World of Color Show
 

 I love that everything was new and different in Disneyland for me since this was my first time going...but I wish I could have had all my boys there with me too.  Next year they will be coming also for sure.

Right outside of our hotel!
 

 I went out for a 4 mile shakeout run on Friday and came across this lovely sign right outside of our hotel!  I loved not having to wake up 3 hours before the race started and didn't have to deal with transportation to the start of the race!  I literally woke up grabbed my coffee and out the door we went on race morning.

Mr. RunDisney Jeff Galloway

I love Jeff Galloway and his love for running and helping people reach their goals.  He is by far one of the most friendly person I have ever met.  We chatted for a bit about last January's Goofy's Challenge and how not to kill yourself running 20 miles in the sweltering heat and humidity!!  It was very hard for me to get the run/walk concept in my head until I walked a few of the water stops on my PR marathon and felt so much stronger and more efficient..So good job Mr. Galloway for helping me open my eyes/mind to this theory!

Well I will be back posting more tomorrow but for now I need to go snuggle my little boys before they go to sleep!

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

Happy Running!

Epic Fail...But looking on the bright side

Since I worked all weekend and was not able to squeeze in my 20 miler on no sleep I was forced to do it on Monday...Well when I woke up to pouring rain and thunder I decided to push my run back until the rain slowed down a bit.  I really would have loved to do this run at the Y but they are closed Monday-Thursday for cleaning...Boo!!  By the time it cleared up and I took the boys to my brother it was about 80* out but there was a slight breeze..Until I started running!  It got to be so hot and HUMID that I really thought I was going to have heat exhaustion.  I was ok for the first 4 miles then I had a encounter with a dog that spooked me and turned around to head back the way I came on my route.  This is where I decided to be smart and text Angel for help!  She is a saint from above!  She drove out to me and brought me water, gatorade and honey stingers...I swear once I saw her car I could no longer hold back my frustration and tears! 

I had run about 6.5 miles at this point and totally felt defeated!  I normally am ok in the heat and can tolerate running at least 10 miles before needing to refuel but not today.  I was feeling sloooooow and emotionally I just shut down.  Angel gave me a quick pep talk and devised a plan for me since I was all "I suck at running and I am a loser".  I knocked out another 7 miles stopped for a quick break:

Yes that is all sweat dripping off my hat.

Trying to look happy with the portapots

And look what I found while feeling unlucky

 

I ended back at Angel's house with 14 miles total outside (my first 7 miles were all under 7:48 pace) and then finished 6 miles on her treadmill in the AC!!!  All in all I got the mileage done but this was not the way I saw it going!  This was a day that I probably should not have been outside running especially with the humidity being so high.

Temperature 70f 72f 74f 76f 78f 80f 82f 84f 86f 88f 90f 92f 94f 96f 98f 100f Humidity 40% 80 81 83 85 88 91 94 97 101 105 109 114 119 124 130 136 45% 80 82 84 87 89 92 96 100 104 109 114 119 124 130 137 143 50% 81 83 85 88 91 95 99 103 108 113 118 124 131 137 144 152 55% 81 84 86 89 93 97 101 106 112 117 124 130 137 145 153 60% 82 84 88 91 95 100 105 110 116 123 129 137 145 153 65% 82 85 89 93 98 103 108 114 121 128 136 144 153 70% 83 86 90 95 100 106 112 119 126 134 143 152 75% 84 88 92 97 103 109 116 124 132 141 150 80% 84 89 94 100 106 113 121 129 138 148 85% 85 90 96 102 110 117 126 135 145 90% 86 91 98 105 113 122 131 141 95% 86 93 100 108 117 127 137 100% 87 95 103 112 121 132 So according to this is am a total DA (dumba$&) for running when I did! Tuesday morning started off with SCHOOL!  Yay...Chase was all ready to go and looking very handsome: While Chase was at school I wanted to swim but once again the Y pool is also closed for cleaning at the same time as the fitness center!  Ugh.   So I decided to do my PT stuff at home and go shopping with my mom and brother.  But I still felt like I needed to flush out my legs and do a little something.  I did a very very slow 2 miles around the track at football practice.  I felt fine until last night when my body rebelled.  I just feel week and not recovered yet...I took today completely off and treated myself to a much needed pair of these I have been wanting to try these back out for a long time I am leaving in the morning for California to go run the Disneyland half marathon. We shall see how that goes for me....Fingers crossed PLEASE!!! Anyone else running/racing this weekend?? What running shoes do you love? Happy Running!