I have now officially fallen into what I like to call Post Disney World Depression. This weekend surpassed all my expectations and was absolutely amazing. I don't even know where to start....
Jman and I had to work on Thursday but we got in late thursday evening and hopped on to the magical express to take us to our resort. We stayed with my mom, dad, sister and brother in law at the Wilderness Lodge by the Magic Kingdom. On Friday we slept in until about 8, had a nice breakfast in the room and then headed off to the expo. It was so crowded there but we managed to pick up our packets. Alot of people who have done other disney races were complaining about how poorly the expo was set up this year but we were just glad to be there and take it all in. The swag for this race included a t-shirt and a mesh bag but we also brought pins because we are all into disney pin trading.
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| Disney's Fit for a princess expo |
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| They had a wall with all the participants.. I found my name! |
Friday even we went to Epcot to the Pasta in the Park Party. There was a buffet and a live Dj and also characters to take pictures with. It was fun but I don't know if we would do it again. The best part of Pasta in the Park was the reserved seating section for Epcot's firework show. It was by far the best seats in the entire World Show Case.
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| Pasta Party |
The entire trip we were conflicted between taking it easy or enjoying all that Disney has so we tried to find a balance between the two. Saturday morning we woke up early and headed off to Hollywood studios. I discovered that my new favorite ride at disney is the Toy story ride! SO MUCH FUN! AHH! At lunch time we came back to the resort, ate lunch and laid by the pool. The weather was absolutely perfect. For dinner we went to olive garden and then the boys went off to the dog races while the girls came back to the room to finish getting ready for the big event. We went to bed super early because our alarms were set for 2:15 AM!
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| Jman and I on the 3D toy story ride |
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| My sister and mom first ones in line for the 3am bus. We thought it would be crowded. |
I actually got a good nights sleep which was something I wasn't expecting. I figured I would be tossing and turning all night but I was happy with my 5 hours of rest. We caught the 3am bus (which didn't actually leave until 3:20.. we were not happy about that!) and headed off to Epcot. Mom treated us to "Race Retreat" a tent in the prep area with private bathrooms, a private bag check, a stretching area and a breakfast buffet/coffee. We all decided this was definitely worth the money however we wish we could have stayed there longer. Since we were in the last corral we wanted to get a place closed to the front so we would be as far away from the "balloon ladies" as possible. If you are not familiar with disney races.. the balloon ladies are two women that keep the slowest pace possible (16 min mile). If you fall behind them then disney busses come and sweep you up.
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| At Race Retreat |
The wait for the race to start was painfully long but eventually it was our turn and it was so exiting. The Fairy Godmother was there to wish us good luck and counted down to GO. Fireworks blasted off and so did we! I would say the first half of the race our pace was really good. We stuck to our run walk interval and made good time. Disney did a great job of entertaining us throughout the race. There was music and characters pretty much every mile although we didn't get to stop and take any pictures with the characters because the lines were so long (especially for the princes!) My favorite part of the race was between miles 4-6 aka running through the Magic Kingdom. Words can't describe how fun it was. After we left Magic Kingdom however, it all went down hill from there.
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| Fireworks at the start! |
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| There were so many people there.. |
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| Keep in mind that our corral (H) started 55 minutes after the clock time.. so our time at mile 4 is actually 53 minutes.. about a 13 minute pace! WooHoo! |
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| The Magic Kingdom sign! |
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| I was having a great time! |
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| The castle! |
Mom tripped on a road reflector which was pretty scary. She twisted her knee just slightly but we were very worried for her so we all slowed down the pace and decided to take more walk breaks. Miles 8-9 were the toughest in my opinion. The road was very small and it was hard to go around people who were slower than us. This was pretty frustrating. I am not sure why people don't have the etiquette to walk on the right side so people who are running or walking faster can pass on the left. At this point most of the people around us were walking most of the race which I was surprised about. After we got through the hill on mile 10, the rest of the race went pretty quickly. Running through Epcot was like a dream. At one point I looked over at mom (who was teary eyed) and I had to plead with her to not get emotional until after the race! Crossing the finish line was the best feeling ever and I am so glad I got to do it with my sister and mom right by my side.
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| We made it to 12! (again take 55 minutes off the clock time...about 3 hrs an 8 minutes) |
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| I GOT MY HARD EARNED METAL!! |
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| Bling Bling :) |
After the race we linked up with the boys and sat in race retreat where we enjoyed a hot breakfast and our post race vitamin drink. When we got back to the resort we took ice baths, drank some beers and then headed out to the pool to relax. Later that night we went to Magic kingdom were we got to show off our new bling! One of the best decisions we made was to come back on Monday. It was nice to be able to enjoy disney for one more day before heading home.
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| A very cold ice bath! |
Now I am contemplating signing up for Las Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I have heard that it is fun and there are lots of bands that play thoughout the entire race. We will see...wahahahaha
Until next time,
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| My favorite new car magnet! |
