So I haven’t posted in a while, not much has been going on
in terms of decorating the house. But
lots of other stuff has been happening; namely-training for and running in the
Disney Princess Half Marathon! I thought I would do a little race recap here; mom
and I are thinking about starting a blog together, so I would post a whole trip
report there if we do.
Friday I arrived in Florida and meet up with my friend and
sorority sister Manisha and her sister and friend. We were able to book on night at Coronado
Springs, where the race expo was being held.
I was planning on going to the expo that night, but they told me it was
quite busy and it would be better to go first thing Saturday morning. We then
headed out to EPCOT for the night.
Saturday Manisha and I planned on going to the 5K finish
line to see her sister and friend finish; but we miscalculated our timing and
missed them. So after meeting up with
them in the family reunion area and congratulating them on their first 5Ks we
headed back to Coronado Springs. Manisha
and I were able to get to the expo when it opened and were able to get in line
for KT tape. I haven’t tried the Pro yet
so I really wanted them to tape my foot with that so I could see how it help up
efore buying it. They didn’t do a taping
job that was really helpful for me, but I don’t think I did a good job telling
them what was wrong with my foot. I did
like how the tape stayed on so well, I will definatly be buying a roll soon! The four of us decided to spend the day at
Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. After the parks we got our self’s checked
into Art of Animation. That evening I was able to meet up with my mom’s friend
Karen and she brought be Cherry Pepsi. I
was so happy to see that, Disney is a coke place and I do like cherry coke, but
Cherry Pepsi is what I want after a race!
Sunday we got up at 2:30am, to get dressed, head out to meet
another sorority sister, Amory, and her group, and get on the bus to the race!
I made my race outfit and I was so excited to wear it, it’s very
comfortable. I bought 2 shirt of the
same color and used on to make a skirt.
Mom helped me add gold panels to the skirt to make it hang correctly and
with adding the trim to the skirt, shirt, and arm sleeves. I made the arm sleeves out of a matching pair
of running capris. I had been planning
on getting some hot water at the beverage station in the food court but
everything was shut down. I guess
because most of the rooms at Art of Animation are suites they assumed we didn’t
need it, but the Little Mermaid rooms are not and don’t have coffee makers or
microwaves. I should have asked the
night before, and I also should have just had my pepsi-not the same as the hot
tea, but it would have helped I think.
Once the busses dropped us off we took some pictres and
found the first port a potties of the day.
There are some pictures taken by race photograpers on the marathonfoto
website, in one picture I clearly had no idea the picture was being taken. We saw lots a tutus and tiaras that day. Manisha and I split up when we go to the
corrals, I headed to a fence near mine to stretch, I twinged my hamstring while
stretching so that wasn’t good… Once I
was in the corral I watched a lot of ladies jumping the fence to go pee in the
woods (it’s about 4:30am, still dark!).
I also think I saw Jeff Galloway walking to the stage, here’s the
picture decide for yourself: I also saw
a late bus and a few princess trying to figure out what to do with their bag
check bags, I hope RunDisney was able to help them out. Once my corral started I walked past Sean
Astin, Sam from Lord of the Rings and the true star of LotR, Frodo would be
nothing without him…but I digress.
I honestly don’t remember much about the race, it was very
humid. I kept my hair down and the arm
sleeves on for the first few miles. I
had a lot of trouble with my breathing through the race, I took my rescue
inhaler every mile and sometimes in between.
I did better while the sun was still down, through the Magic Kingdom,
but once it came up it was very difficult for me.
In the Magic Kingdom I saw a short line for Gaston and
jumped in, WOW is he tall, as big as a barge I guess! I ran on and saw Jessie with a short line so
I got that picture as well. I continued
running through the Magic Kingdom and out the back gate.
After you leave MK there is a long stretch of road that is
really quite dull. Some characters out,
but no one I wanted a picture with. I
did stop for a picture with Princess Atta-it’s tradition now! One thing I learned from 2011 is to hand the
photographer your camera in the direction you want the photo taken. In 2011 it was taken horizontally, and I
really wanted vertically to match 2010’s photo.
Coming it the back of EPCOT I had an asthma attack-not full
blown, but worse than anything ever before.
I was asked by someone if I was ok, she saw my inhaler, I stupidly said
yes. Luckily, a member of my Facebook running
group spotted me. I couldn’t talk by
that point; she stayed with me until I drank a cup of Gatorade. I was so afraid that if I stopped and told a
race official that I wasn’t ok that I would not be allowed to finish. In hindsight-STUPID, but you get your mind
stuck on one thing-finishing and once you are in bad shape that’s the only
thing left in your mind. I was lucky;
God was taking care of me right then (and always...). I was able to walk for a while and started run
again one the way out of EPCOT.
The finish line is always the happiest place in a race. I was not feeling great, but I was happy to
finish. I knew at that point that a PR
would be nothing short of a miracle, and although I’m a bit disappointed sill I
know that the conditions just weren’t right.
I took a small detour at the finish line to high-five Jester Goofy, and
crossed the line at 2 hours 30 minutes!
I had an amazing time in Disney World, and can’t wait to go
back!
I am currently studying for my Praxis II exam, so no more
posts for a while. But once I pass (pray
for me?) I’ll be back with another race
story (!) and house updates. (and more photos, when I buy my "offical" race photos)
HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!
~Maggie
