Well we're finally back from our AMAZING Florida vacation! I thought it would only be fitting to start my vacation recaps at the beginning: my runDisney fun with the Wine and Dine Half Marathon! Hooray, I finished my Coast to Coast Challenge!! You can check out a recap of the first leg of the challenge [the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland] here.
We flew into Orlando on Friday morning and immediately headed to the race expo. We got our bibs, yes, bibs - the half marathon wasn't the only race I ran while I was in Orlando, it wasn't even the only race I ran on the day of the half marathon! Mike, my parents, and I all did the Jingle Jungle 5k on Saturday morning before the half. At the expo, I also picked up some AWESOME merch AND literally [and I mean literally - no 21st century technology needed] ran into bloggy bestie Heather at the expo. [Note: we are the worst bloggers ever and didn't take an initial meeting photo - we were just so shocked!!]
After the race expo, we headed to Magic Kingdom [where else but MK to start a Disney vacation?!] for the afternoon. More about that later!
Friday night we were in bed early to wake up at 4:30 am, board a bus to Animal Kingdom, and run The Jingle Jungle 5k. The course was fun, but not my favorite. The first mile was around the parking lot, the second entered into AK, by the third we were out, running around the back lot, and by 3.1 we were back in the parking lot where we started. With 2 character photo stops, we finished the 5k in 34 minutes.
Why do we look so happy to be running?!
After showers back at the hotel, we spent Saturday at Animal Kingdom. It was very fun to be right back where we had run at 7 am, and I can't wait to share more about what we did later this week.
Half marathon prep began around 6:00 with some stretching and, of course, putting on my costume.
Here's what I wore: headband from C Sister Bands, tank top from Target, tutu from Sunshine Memories, leggings from Forever 21, and laces on my Nike's from Fit Approach - this was my first half as a Sweat Pink ambassador!
I headed to ESPN's Wide World of Sports around 8:00 and met up with Heather and her amazing friends. We did get a photo this time!!! HOWEVER, there was another blogger fail. We originally planned to record a vlog, buuuuut we got about 15 seconds in and had to head to our corrals. Oh well, we did get to do the Cupid Shuffle together, so all in all it was a win!
The first corral went off at 10 pm and mine went off at 10:30 or so. The first three miles were on the streets from ESPN to Animal Kingdom. I felt GREAT! After the 5k mark, we entered Animal Kingdom and did a similar route to the Jingle Jungle 5k that morning. At about mile 5, after leaving AK and on the way to Hollywood Studios, I started to get killer pain in my foot. About three weeks ago, I was diagnosed with peroneal tendonitis, and it was just awful. I had to walk about a mile and a half, and of course, this part of the race was on dark, Disney World streets, so it was BORING. We didn't get to Hollywood Studios until mile 9, but it was worth the wait. I LOVED running through HS. We saw every inch of the park, including the back lots and Osborne lights, and the music and atmosphere were great. The rest of the race circled through the Boardwalk and Epcot, and we ended in Epcot's Imagine lot, the same place where my first half marathon ended [The Walt Disney World Half in January 2012].
As I approached the start line
OF COURSE I had to stop for a few photos along the way!
I don't look as happy running this as I was during the 5k!
The end of the this race was VERY different than my first half. For one, I got my
Coast to Coast Challenge medal! Most notably, the finish was at 1:30 am as opposed to 8 am, so there were VERY few spectators, but one very important one was there!!! Mike met me at the finish, and it meant so much to me! We took tons of photos and even had a couple of beers! We got back to the room around 3 am and slept until 11!
COAST TO COAST!!
All in all, it was 23 hours straight of being awake and 16.2 miles ran. It was such a fantastic half marathon, but I think it might be my last one for a while! Thanks, runDisney for a great [and super long] day!
Linking up this week for Wino Wednesday [it was the Wine and Dine after all!] and Fan Friday!
12 comments:
Way to go, Meg! Looks like a lot of fun. A Disney World race is on the agenda sometime in my life--preferably the Princess Half!
I'm signed up for the Tink again--training is interesting with a 7 month old--usually can't get in longer than an hour of running at a time before she is done with the stroller. Oh, well. Disney races are so fun, it will be worth it, even if I have to walk in parts.
Thanks for sharing the video! haha I see that you got a picture with Lilo and Stitch and I'm wondering if I missed them somewhere along the route... I'll be in tears if I did! Seriously.... I love Lilo and Stitch!! Congrats on the Coast to Coast medal!!!!!
Holy Moly! Great job!!! That looks like it was so much fuN!
This sounds like such an amazing experience! My goal is to run a Disney race next year.
Great job on the race! Looks like it was a blast too! Found you on the NE Bloggers page today and following along on Blog Lovin now : ) Looking forward to reading more!
Karen @ Karen's Soiree
Wow! So impressive that you ran two races in one day.
So much fun! I'm majorly impressed with your stamina. I know I couldn't do it!
Girl, you are awesome! I couldn't do two races in one day, and I'm not sure I could run one so late at night.
The Wine and Dine theme is cool, though.
That is AWESOME!! Great job!!!
Congrats on your Coast to Coast! Pretty sure I saw you and your Buzz Lightyear at the 5K. I had a Buzz Lightyear hubby too. :) Love the Snow White outfit. Adorable. Thanks for sharing!
this is really awesome! I love the Snow White costume. :) I ran in the Disney marathon last year... it's nice running there because sometimes you sort of forget you're running!
I'm sorry I think I read this wrong, you ran TWO RACES IN A DAY!!!
OMG, YOU ARE MY INSPIRATION. Can I be like you when I grow up?
Post a Comment