My Princess Half Story

I have copied this from the Wish main board because I posted it there instead of in the Events sub-forum.

This is my 2015 Princess Half story. I wanted to share it because reading the posts of so many other people has encouraged and helped me immeasurably.

I'm a 46 overweight decidedly non-athletic woman who loves Disney. Why I started reading the the Events/Competitions forum I have no idea; but I loved reading about the races and how people were training. I read these boards for years secretly wishing I had the nerve to try to train for a race. We were visiting Disney one year during Marathon weekend and I loved seeing everyone's medals and shirts. My husband is not a big Disney fan and he jokingly told me we could come back if I ran a half marathon here. Well, that was the carrot I needed. I convinced another non-runner friend to join me and a year ago we started run/walking. Now, I would love to say I discovered my inner Kenyan and that running was effortless. NOT !!! I trained fairly regularly up to registration day in July. After that I become somewhat more sporadic. I guess I felt like I had plenty of time. Starting October/November I definitely got more serious because February was looming, you know.

All along my husband was giving me advice and pushing me to train harder. In all fairness he did run cross-country in college, so it's not like he had no idea what he was talking about. Sometimes it's hard to take advice from those we are closest to. I have already admitted to him that he was right and I was wrong. You have to respect the distance. 13.1 miles is a long way. Did I share that the Princess half was my first race ever? I work weekends and I had trouble fitting in some other race beforehand. My friend and I would share details about our training and runs, but never really got to run together because of scheduling conflicts. It was great having someone else to share the ups and downs of this journey. Continued in next post....

February arrived and it was almost race time. My last long runs did not go as well as I would have hoped. I knew I would need every second of cushion I could get. I anxiously waited for the bib #s and corrals to be posted. I landed in L and my friend was in J. She agreed to move back so we could do this thing together. I was so grateful she moved back with me. I can't tell you the times I calculated how much of a head start I thought we would have on the balloon ladies. We arrived in Fl on Thursday and I went to the Expo with my DH and DS on Friday morning. The nerves really hit then. Stuff just got real people. My DH And DS had fun teasing me and calling me princess all weekend before the race. I just tried to be calm.

Saturday we ate lunch in Downtown Disney and relaxed in the hot tub a little before bed. My friend was at Saratoga Springs in a 2 bedroom while we were at POR. She had me come spend the night with her so I didn't have to wake everyone up at 2:45 AM. We laid all our gear out and tried to sleep. I was up like a shot when the alarm went off. We dressed quickly and made it out to the buses. Once we were on the bus I realized I had forgotten my Garmin watch. I decided not to let it bother me and maybe it would be better not to be constantly looking at it. The wait for the start of the race went really quickly. We used the port-a-potties and headed to the corrals. The walk wasn't too bad. Before I knew it the race was starting.... and the time between corral releases was less than I was expecting. I thought it would be 5 min and it was 3 min. O.K. there go the nerves again. It was our turn and I knew my time had come. It was time to put up or shut up.

The first 5K was not too bad for me except for having to stop for the port-a potty. The 2nd 5K I felt like I just couldn't get in a groove. I was walking more than I wanted to. We made it through Mk and it felt as if everything fell apart. Miles 7-10 were bad. We were almost swept right before 10 and my friend practically dragged me to mile marker 10. I'm so thankful for her. My Dh and DS were at the last bridge before Epcot and cheered me on to the finish. The last mile in Epcot was the longest mile ever. Continued in next post ...

I was pretty far back in the pack at the finish. I wasn't last but mighty close. My only goal was to finish so I'm O.K. with that, especially with realizing how under-trained I really was. Walking across the finish line felt good. I was proud to have actually done this thing that had seemed impossible a few years ago and very glad just to be done. It felt great to finally have that beautiful medal hanging around my neck. That walk down the finisher chute felt almost as long as the last mile though. I really wanted to sit down, but I was I afraid I wouldn't be able to get back up if I did. I found some railing to lean on and called my DH to tell him where to find me. I wasn't about to walk around looking for him. My family got me back to the car and had a cold beer waiting on me. My husband swore it would make me feel better and he was right it did. I hobbled to our room and DH and DS told me how proud they were of me.

Final thoughts

Will I do this again? Definitely yes, but with a better understanding of the training needed. This is a life-changer for me. I'm going to become a runner!

Best parts of the race experience - Really, the best thing was how encouraging everyone was on the course and how great the volunteers were. It was great talking with the other racers and the volunteers were fantastic.

Best thing after the race - Wearing my medal and having my family tell me how proud they were.

Advice for others - Do it!!! Although it could have been a better experience for me if I had trained more I so glad I did this. Believe in yourself and get out there and do what you have to accomplish your goals. I did many things way out of my comfort zone getting ready for this race and I'm a better person for it.

Body Glide - it's a good thing. Get some.

Don't wear a new shirt race day. No matter how cute.

Do this with a friend if you can. It was great having someone else along.

Keep moving after the race. We went to parks afterward and even though I was moving slowly it helped me to not stiffen up too much.


My next goal is to keep training and maybe run another half this fall. I'm so glad I worked up the nerve to actually sign up for and participate in this half marathon and I can't thank the posters on this board enough for sharing all their experiences. If it wasn't for reading this board I would never have done this great thing. Thank you all.

cannmom said:

Will I do this again? Definitely yes, but with a better understanding of the training needed. This is a life-changer for me. I'm going to become a runner!

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You just did a half marathon. You already are a runner.

I too believe you are already a runner! Congratulations! I was inspired to start walking and running almost 3 years ago (when I was 50) by these boards and my goal was the Princess half. I have not yet run that race, nor any Disney race, but I've run 3 other halfs (halves?) and one day I will run at Disney. I'm not fast, but I've gotten faster. We are our own worst enemies in the sense that we limit ourselves and spend too much time doubting, but we can also be our own best champions if we give ourselves permission to go for it! Nice job cannmom!

From one runner to another, I'm proud of you too, and I loved reading this. Congratulations!!!

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. Ariel 484 I have loved reading your trip reports. Thank you so much for taking the time to write them.

cannmom said:

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. Ariel 484 I have loved reading your trip reports. Thank you so much for taking the time to write them.

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Thank you so much! That's so nice of you to say.

Congrats - not on just finishing the half but on the entire journey there!

I love reading these kind of posts. I felt the same way a few years ago. So happy for you!

Your story brings tears to my eyes... in such a good way. I'm proud of you and happy to hear you did not give up and will be back again! Congratulations and welcome to the very addictive runD cycle!

What a fantastic accomplishment for both you and your friend! I loved reading your story and tips.

amazing story congrats on your finish!!

Oh, how I wish your story was my story for 2015! I started running in 2013, at age 62 and obese. I have no idea why running is the only exercise that appeals to me-- I tried and hated spinning, and we don't have enough bike paths here to really get in a good workout. Group exercise was out of the question lol. So I started. And signed up to the 5 k Princess in 2014. Then I decided to do the 10k that weekend also. And then I lost my mind and signed up to the half too. I'd lost about 50 pounds, was still slower than molasses and finished last or near it in every race I did( local 5 and 10ks)

So I did all three races in 2014 and finished, even though I started in the last corral. So I signed up for the half again in 2015. Signed up my granddaughter for a kid's race. Life was good. Until October.

I pulled something in one hip, and then the other. training screeched to a near halt. I gained some weight back. All of a sudden, running wasn't going too good. But I did my long runs, was starting in a higher corral (M) and figured I'd make it. Even after I pulled a gluteal muscle two days before we left at work and could barely walk.

Well, I didn't. I got swept right before the last overpass into Epcot. I was 30 seconds behind pace.

I was the one standing there bawling my eyes out.

My Garmin was dead, my pacing was way off, and my hip and butt hurt so bad I slathered a whole tube of Biofreeze on it during the race.

Oh, and my granddaughter fell during her race and skinned her knees so badly she still has scars.

Not the funnest of weekends.

But this week, after gaining 10 pounds in the last three months, I picked myself back up. My hips hurt whether I run or not. So why not run. Just a little, you know. I'm not going crazy. Not signing up for any halfs. Doing 2 miles to start. Once I get up to 3, I'll hold steady and not push it any further. I've lost 3 pounds.

I don't know why running works for some of us, but I do know that for me, even old, overweight and decrepit, it's still the only exercise I can really stick with.

See you at the 5ks-- that's my new race limit.

Maybe.

You guys are awesome! Look at it this way... you thought you could do it and you signed up and you trained... that puts you leaps ahead of most people.