13.1 Royal Miles-A Princess Half Marathon TR - Complete

[Disneychix]

oh yeah! Congratulations! Wasn't it the best feeling when you got to the choir?

Those ramps are the WORST! Never ending!

My mom and I were getting so annoyed at people that kept yelling "the end is just around the corner" but there were never ending turns towards the end!

 

[JessM]

Congrats on finishing! You are making me serious consider a Run Disney event next year... I just need to decide which one : )

 

[Judgey Judgerson]

Congratulations on running and finishing!! This was my first RunDisney event and we had a great time. Loved seeing your pics...

I kind of felt the same way about the run through the castle being anticlimactic...but i absolutely LOVED running down Main Street...it was definitely the highlight of the run for me.

 

[Judgey Judgerson]

That is AWESOME! I know I look for myself in pictures...just in case. Nice to "meet" someone I have in one of my pictures. And... while it isn't a great picture... if for what ever reason you want it...feel free to snag it.

nice to meet you too! I've been lurking on a few of your trip reports, really enjoying them!

rani8600: I promise, no more hijacking

 

[TangledUp]

Congrats on finishing! Especially with the pain in your hip... It's so nice that your mom and sister were there to cheer you on. By the way I love the tiara and how you don't look sweaty at all. If only I could look like that after running.

 

[rani8600]

Congratulations on finishing I love your report and all the pictues
Definitely want to do a rundisney event on my next holiday, it's looks so much fun

Thanks! it was a lot of fun... a lot of work, but a lot of fun

oh yeah! Congratulations! Wasn't it the best feeling when you got to the choir?

Those ramps are the WORST! Never ending!

My mom and I were getting so annoyed at people that kept yelling "the end is just around the corner" but there were never ending turns towards the end!

The Choir was the best, it was the feeling of wow in doing this

Congrats on finishing! You are making me serious consider a Run Disney event next year... I just need to decide which one : )

Thank you! I would def recommend one

Congratulations on running and finishing!! This was my first RunDisney event and we had a great time. Loved seeing your pics...

I kind of felt the same way about the run through the castle being anticlimactic...but i absolutely LOVED running down Main Street...it was definitely the highlight of the run for me.

Thanks, you too! I agree about Main Street, that was one of the best parts of the run

Congrats on finishing! Especially with the pain in your hip... It's so nice that your mom and sister were there to cheer you on. By the way I love the tiara and how you don't look sweaty at all. If only I could look like that after running.

Thanks, your sweet. I got my tiara from the Germany Pavilion in Epcot. It wasnt too pricey and i was able to use it for a Halloween costume as well. I always used to see then and never had an excuse to buy one before

 

[rani8600]

After receiving my medal, I slowly made my way out of the finish line area and grabbed a bottle of water. The RunDisney people were not letting you leave the area without some form of liquid. There were even people there offering to help you open the bottles. As you walked toward the bag check area there were volunteers handing out snack packs and bananas.

Juggling my things I called my mom to try to figure out where they were. There were on the outside of the family reunion area (they didn’t know they were allowed to come it) and I told the politely (at least it was in my head…lol) that there was no way I was walking all the way out there and there were going to have to come to me.

I found myself a fairly uncrowded place by the ESPN trailer, promptly sat down and guided them in my direction…hey, im a princess now after all. I took the chance to look through the snack pack surprisingly most if not all of the items in the pack were vegan friendly….very exciting.

After a few minutes they were able to find me. We took a few pictures…

And took a walk around the area to see was there was to see. The DJ was still there and there were some people dancing. I would assume that the majority were families as I can’t imagine too many of the runners would have that much energy left. I looked around for some of the character pictures, but the lines were sooo long. It was not like during the race either because now there were families with kids and autograph books so the lines seemed to be moving quite slow.

Still in a bit of pain we made the decision to go back to the hotel to shower and change. On the bus to the hotel I was starving so I dove into my snack box….there was hummus and crackers, perfect! It was just the right amount to hold me over and that was nice.

 

[rani8600]

Once we got back to the room I was able to get a hot shower, this really helped with some of the muscle aches. While the others were getting themselves together I took the chance to have one of the Babycakes cupcakes that my mom and sis had picked up before I arrived. I have the Blondie, it is one of my favorites from there. Sooo yummy.

We took our time getting ready for the day and left for Epcot a little before 12. We got a bus pretty quickly and were on our way. I was excited to finally be going to a park and not to just run through one.

We had to make a quick stop at guest relations as I wasn’t able to locate my annual pass. I looked everywhere I could think of, but just couldn’t find it. The process was rather simple, I told them I lost my pass the checked my ID then printed me off a new one. They must have people who loose annuals all the time.

Pass in hand we made our way through into the park. We have to use the old entrances as annual passes have not been converted to the new systems yet. The park had been open for hours at this point so we didn’t try to make it on to anything. Our plan was to go straight to World Showcase and get some celebratory margaritas! I felt I deserved one, what do you think .

We stopped quickly as Cool Club for some free soda (rehydrating is important). I had my usual, the watermelon from China…its my favorite.

Once we had our fill we started our journey to Mexico, slowly. This was something I had to remind my mom and sister frequently for the remainder of the day. I would say we are going to have to walk slow, they would say ok and walk on…then I start my repetition of slower please, no still slower than that.

Eventually we made it to Mexico and to La Cava Del Tequila.
I didn’t take picture inside as it is too dark, but I borrowed this one from their website

I had a delicious Wild Passion Fruit Margarita (100% Agave Tequila Reposado, ginger liqueur, passion fruit, mango nectar and fresh lime juice, topped with mango foam, served on the rocks). I was going to get the Midnight Blue (100% Agave Tequila Reposado, blue Curacao, fresh lime juice and agave nectar, served on the rocks with a hibiscus Himalayan salt rim), but changed my mind at the last minute. My sister ended up staying with the Midnight blue and enjoyed it. I tried it, but was glad I changed to the passion fruit.
We took our drinks to go (its small in there, and there were people at the tables) to continue our journey around the world. They already had some of the topiaries up for the flower and garden festival.

We took our time wandering through the world. As we were passing through America, we heard the Voices of Liberty. They were performing on the main stage as part of limited time magic. They were about halfway through so we made a plan to come back for the next set. To waste some time we wandered off to Japan. Maiyuki was just about to start her show; we hadn’t seen it in a few trips so we wanted to watch. As we were waiting for the show to start my sister commented on my lack of progress through my drink. This afternoon I was discovering just what a 13.1 mile run will do to you tolerance level. I was felling my drink just shy of halfway through and SLOWLY made my way through the remainder as I had no plans to fall over that afternoon. I think it took me over 45 minutes to drink the whole drink.

After we saw some fun candy animals we walked back to the American theater. We were able 15 minutes early for the show and it was nice to sit and wait for it. The Voices of Liberty are one of my favorite shows to see and I always try to make sure to see them once per trip. I was pretty excited to hear that they were going to be part of limited time magic while I was there.

The show was really nice and longer than their usual 10 minute set, about a half hour.

Some medal shots while we wait

After the show we finished wandering around the lake, not really going into many of the countries. Once we were finished with the WS we wanted to check the wait times for Test Track, we knew that there was no way that we would be able to get on Soarin, but thought we might through the single rider line at Test Track. The wait said about 30 minutes. That was as short as any line was going to get. My sister and I went in the single rider line while my mom chose not to ride and made some phone calls.

While we were waiting in line we chatted with a woman just behind us. She had run the race that morning as well and we had fun discussing the different parts of the course. We had very different races though as she was a more serious runner (she was preparing for a marathon just a few weeks later). It was nice to compare notes and made the line go by quickly.

Soon enough it was our turn. My sister and I were lucky and able to ride in the same car different rows. After our ride we met mom and talked about what to do next. There wasn’t that much that we were interested in that didn’t have a huge line so we decided to head for the monorail and the MK resort area. PS they really need to put an elevator up the Epcot monorail ramp or something, that ramp was trying to kill me…lol

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Following along in your TR. I am running ToT in a few months and running Princess 1/2 next year. Congrats on your finish!!!

 

[emmysmommy]

Congratulations on finishing your first 1/2!!!! We were there during the Princess 1/2 and that morning we saw a woman at breakfast who had run that morning and I was in awe at how she looked so good - just like you!! you really looked amazing after running 13.1 miles. I run, but 10 miles is my limit and even then I feel like an old lady afterwards! Great job!

 

[annmarieda]

I was surprised by how nice a hot shower was after the race. I had kinda last minute changed our breakfast ADR so that I would have time to go back to shower. (yes, I know...ewe... I had planned to just "clean up" and head to breakfast. )

My family also had trouble finding me... although, mine almost just decided to go back to the resort. Glad you found eachother.

When you mentioned going for the celebratory drink, I thought "wow... I wish I had been brave enough... I certainly would have liked one" I just wasn't sure I could handle the alcohol. Maybe next year... but it is good to know that my celebration my come a bit cheaper since the drink may hit me a bit hard.

What did you think of the new test track? I liked it more than I thought I would....

And as for chatting with others after the race....wasn't that cool?! Just seeing someone wearing a medal was cause for conversation.

 

[rani8600]

Following along in your TR. I am running ToT in a few months and running Princess 1/2 next year. Congrats on your finish!!!

Thank you! You are going to have a lot of fun in your races

Congratulations on finishing your first 1/2!!!! We were there during the Princess 1/2 and that morning we saw a woman at breakfast who had run that morning and I was in awe at how she looked so good - just like you!! you really looked amazing after running 13.1 miles. I run, but 10 miles is my limit and even then I feel like an old lady afterwards! Great job!

Thanks, thats sweet. I admire her for making it to a breakfast res. I dont think i would have been able to make it anywhere that fast after the race...lol. 10 miles is a great distance and Disney is adding additional races like TOT 10 miler and the new 10k for the disneyland half weekend. i wonder if they will add a 10k to any of the WDW races...

I was surprised by how nice a hot shower was after the race. I had kinda last minute changed our breakfast ADR so that I would have time to go back to shower. (yes, I know...ewe... I had planned to just "clean up" and head to breakfast. )

My family also had trouble finding me... although, mine almost just decided to go back to the resort. Glad you found eachother.

When you mentioned going for the celebratory drink, I thought "wow... I wish I had been brave enough... I certainly would have liked one" I just wasn't sure I could handle the alcohol. Maybe next year... but it is good to know that my celebration my come a bit cheaper since the drink may hit me a bit hard.

What did you think of the new test track? I liked it more than I thought I would....

And as for chatting with others after the race....wasn't that cool?! Just seeing someone wearing a medal was cause for conversation.

If i hadnt had my phone to direct them to me, we never would have found each other. if was a big area with a lot of people in it thats for sure.

As for the drink, i had rehydrated after the race and back in the room before we headed out, so i though it wouldnt be a problem. Had to be careful though, one was enough. I had to sip it real slow, but it was worth it

I like the new test track. We went through the single rider line so we didnt get to design our own cars. I think the designing of the cars def adds to the ride, but i dont think i could justify an hr plus in line just to do it. It did get me a chance to chat with another runner though and that was really cool. It was like we were all part of this club for the rest of the trip...linked us all together

 

[rani8600]

We transferred over to the resort monorail at T&T (more ramps) and rode over to the Grand Floridian. My sister wanted to look around the Basin shop to pick out some soap. We still had a little before we could go for our dinner reservations as they were at the Wave and first seating wasn’t until 5 so we looked around the gift shop as well. There was nothing we found that we wanted so after a look around we went out to catch the monorail over to the Contemporary.

At this point my muscle and joints were starting to stiffen up every time I sat for more than a minute…not so fun. We wandered for a little bit, I took some more pictures of my medal (I was more than obsessed with it for the rest of the trip, I mean it’s just sooo pretty!) I also uploaded some to facebook and twitter; accomplishments don’t count unless you do after all .

At about quarter to we made our way down the elevator to the Wave to try to check in. We waited in a little lounge area by the bar.

The area slowly started to fill up as people arrive for dinner. Soon it was five and we were seated. I was really excited to try the Wave as I had heard it was really good and I like the idea of fresh local food. Our waitress came out quickly as took our drink orders. I told her that I was vegan and she said the chef probably won’t come out. This was a shift that I really began to notice this trip. In the past the chef always would come out to help you with the menu or offer something different if nothing on the menu could be veganized. I asked if she could then verify that I could have the vegetarian option to make sure that it didn’t have egg or dairy. She ran back to ask the chef and said that it was okay and I could have them make it with tofu as well. We placed our orders and our food came out fairly quickly. I thought I took a picture but I can’t find it anywhere.

I had the Curry Vegetable Stew with Butternut Squash, Asparagus, Heirloom Apples, seasonal Vegetables, and Jade Rice with the addition of tofu. It tasted like a Thai curry to me as opposed to an Indian curry. It was very good and I would get it again.

After sitting through dinner my legs were really stiff. It was a hard walk out of the restaurant, but I was able to quick stretch of whatever that muscle behind your knee is called outside for a minute and was able to almost walk like a normal person again.

The original plan was to walk from the Contemporary to the MK bus stops and take the bus back to Pop. Rather than the walking and the waiting we went with a cab ride instead We take cabs from hotel to hotel fairly often…we start with the intention of using Disney transportation but the process always seems like such a pain that we op to just take a cab.

Once back in the room I took the chance to gently but fully stretch for the first time since after the race. I was worried that if I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to move the next morning. After that, we wandered over to the food court to get some drinks and snacks. We pretty much just hung out and watched some TV before calling it a night fairy early. Not sleeping the night before was starting to really show.

 

[annmarieda]

That medal is actually very very beautiful. I am not a medal sort of gal... it isn't the reason I like to run. But that extra bit of sparkle sure did keep my attention a bit longer.

Sorry about your legs... I can relate

And the wave.. YUM! I know I ate a bit different than you given that I am not vegan... but I did so love what I had there.

 

[rani8600]

That medal is actually very very beautiful. I am not a medal sort of gal... it isn't the reason I like to run. But that extra bit of sparkle sure did keep my attention a bit longer.

Sorry about your legs... I can relate

And the wave.. YUM! I know I ate a bit different than you given that I am not vegan... but I did so love what I had there.

It was my first time at the Wave and i will def be back. I like the idea of the place being fresh and local. I feel like the quality of food is better than some of the other more expensive restaurants on property.

 

[rani8600]

Day 3

Monday started off rather well. I was able to get some decent sleep Sunday night and my legs were feeling a lot better. I was actually walking like a normal person…big improvement on the night before.

I forgot to turn off my weekday alarm so at 6am it went off and I jumped out of bed to turn it off…of course it was charging on the other side of the room. I tried to lay down for a bit, but between the alarm itself and having to get out of bed to turn it off I was up. I figured I would start getting ready for the day so I was done and out of the way by the time it was my mom and sister were up.

They were up soon after and getting ready. While they were busy getting themselves together I took the chance to eat my leftover Lo Mein from Saturday night. I think it might have been just as good cold for breakfast as hot for dinner…lol.

We decided that this morning we were going to go to Animal Kingdom. We thought we had till nine to get there, but when I was online I just double checked the time. AK was having early opening…there was no way we were going to make it on time for early open. We ended up getting there just before the non magic hour opening at 9.

They made us go through the new gates and there isn’t a way scan annual passes. We have to walk through and go to a CM inside who scanned our passes with what looked like a phone (guess there’s an app for that). It seemed very chaotic, maybe it will seem less so as people get used to it and everyone is on the same system…I hope so anyway.

As the park was already open we chose to head straight for the safari. The weather was nice and we figured the line couldn’t be that bad yet.

The line was posted at 10 minutes, most of which was spent just walking up the line. The weather seemed perfect for the animals as we were able to see a lot, even the cheetahs and the lions which are fairly rare in the heat of summer.

This guy was just sitting there hanging out with the birds

 

[annmarieda]

Safari ride looks fun. I think we got to AK just too late the day we went. The wait time was never that short. We ended up skipping it entirely.

 

[rani8600]

After the safari my mom and sister were a little hungry. They got a breakfast flatbread from tamu tamu counter service. I passed as I had eaten breakfast already.

Our intention was to go see Flights of Wonder, the first show wasn’t until 10:30 so we had some time to waste. We chose to take a walk through the Maharaja Jungle trek to see some tigers. We saw a bunch of animals along the way including some really cute bats.

I really liked the flags

After our trek we went over to the show area to wait for it to open. This turned out to be a great idea because there was a preshow with birds that was nearly as good as the main show. I was so busy watch that I didn’t take many pictures…all I have it this one

After the show was over we crossed the park to Camp Minnie Mickey to watch the Lion King Show. This is what we do an AK, the shows. We are not fond of the Nemo show though…it crosses the line into way too long of a show for us.

Since we were in the area I wanted to try and get some character pictures. As the Lion King Show was emptying out behind us we knew that we were going to have to make a quick choice as the lines would become wayyy too long to stand it. Donald was kind of hidden and not really getting any love so we decided to drop by for a visit.

We had planned this afternoon for swimming so we made our way out of the park. Not without of few pictures in front of the tree of course

This afternoon we decided to exercise our privileges (I think for the first time ever) as DVC and take advantage of being able to swim in almost any pool. We went back to Pop to change into swimsuits then went over to Old Key West.

We were feeling hungry as we hadn’t eaten that much all that day to we stopped at Olivia’s first. The menu as Olivia’s is not very vegan friendly though so I had to ask to speak with the chef. He came out to chat about my options. I asked about a veggie burger (wasn’t on the menu but most places carry one), but after checking the ingredient list he reported that it wasn’t vegan as it had egg. He offered to make me a veggie sandwich with whichever veggies he had in the back.

This was a great choice; he made me a grilled veggie Panini that was fantastic…I’m pretty sure he even put olive oil on the bread before pressing it. It was served with kettle cooked chips…yum

 

[Mcbruns]

Just after I crossed the line it hit me, I did it...I completed a half marathon. If you would have told me a year before that I would be standing there having done it I would have laughed and told you never gonna happen, yet here I was.

There were tears in my eyes as I found a volunteer and received my medal.

Awesome!!!!

 

[annmarieda]

Love that you are sporting your medal!

I knew that dvc members got to go to any pool... but that is pretty cool to go from pop to OKW