13.1 Royal Miles-A Princess Half Marathon TR - Complete

[rani8600]

Personally I love pop century (and this is coming from a girl who had really only stayed at deluxe or villa rooms up until that point). But I will agree that it was slightly nosier in those rooms and I wouldn't want to have to share that double bed with anyone. I always have the worst nights sleep the first night away from home and never mind if I had the stress of a race - I'm always impressed that people running their first Disney marathon or half marathon manage to get any sleep at all. All that traffic and congestion (both cars and people) must be frustrating but I'm glad you made it to your corral in time. Pretty neat to see Sean Astin there.

Yeah, for me it tends to be sleep on the whole vacation that can be hard. As much as i love vacations i dont tend to get very much sleep as i just dont sleep as well when i am away. I was just hoping that for some reason it might be different this time.

I think it is interesting how our mornings were different. I won't go into it that much since I am writing my own TR... But between my bus experience being quicker and my walk to c taking longer- interesting I will say that maybe not everyone heard the call for c... I know I didn't and ended up walking with the masses to the remaining ones. I thought it was just me... But maybe if there was not many when you went... Maybe this is why.

The calls for the corrals were really quiet. With the DJs and all the people im surprised i heard it. It is interesting though that so many people had a different experience that morning and through the race. I cant wait to hear about your princess morning.

 

[rani8600]

By this time the corrals were starting to fill up and it wasn’t long before they were sending off the wheelchair athlete.

Then it was time for the first corral. With their send off there were fireworks from all around including towers of sparklers. It was an impressive sight and helped to get me excited to run this race. I couldn’t wait until it was our turn.

We slowly made our way forward until it was time. They sent us off with fireworks of our own and by calling out people by their costume. They also gave one last warning to make sure to hydrate well.

I placed myself just over midway back in the corral hoping that I would be a group of people with a similar pace. It worked pretty well as according to my Garmin we were running just shy of a 12 minute mile.

The first few minutes were a little strange for me. It was the change from all the excitement back in the corrals to the now seriousness of what we were all setting out to do. There was not a lot of talking and the music was quickly fading behind us.

Because of the heat and humidity Disney I thought added another water stop either just before the first mile marker, it surprised me as I was not expecting one until after the second mile. Looking back at the map i guess i just missed that one as i usually dont take water that early. This time i made sure to grab a cup. The first mile marker came on quickly. I tried to get a picture, but it came out so burry that you can’t see anything.

It was after the first mile that I knew that I was going to have to adjust my strategy. The humidity before the sun rose was killer. I had run the first mile with no walking and planned to run the second the same way. After running in the humidity I knew that I was going to have to add walk breaks in early or I was going to overheat fast. For the second mile I shifted to run 5 minutes walk 1 strategy.

Hey look, we made it.

It was just after this mile marker that I started to feel thankful about my change in plan as I saw a girl being sick on the side of the road… this was only just after the second mile marker. That’s how you know the humidity was bad.

Just before we hit the second mile the course had opened up as we were on the main road heading for Magic Kingdom. The first set of characters was in this area, the pirates. There was a long line and I knew that they would still be out when we ran by later on the course so I passed on them for now.

Like a beacon we could see in the distance the entrance to the Magic Kingdom area calling us. Soon enough we found ourselves running through the toll plaza . During our approach to the area they keep making announcements about the speed bumps telling us to be careful. While running thru the plaza I heard a girl turn back to her friend and jokingly tell her to be careful. Now I’m sure you can all guess what happened next…she tripped over it. It looked like a small misstep and she seemed fine…im sure that was not the last time something like that happened on the course that morning.

After the gates just before the Speedway was the 5k split, time 39:20 Pace 12:39, not too bad considering the weather and not that much slower than my planed 12mm pace. Soon after we veered to the right towards the speedway and through another water stop. By this point I was taking both powerade and water. I had never run while drinking powerade so I crossed my fingers that my body liked the idea. It ended up being fine throughout the whole race.

Near the Speedway the Cars characters were out. There was a line again and they were not a must for me so I took a picture and kept going.

The road had begun to narrow again and the course became more crowded as we ran through the mile four mile marker, I don’t know what I was looking at but I completely missed this one. I didnt realize until half way through the mile that i must have missed it. I was starting to think that mile was the longest mile ever

By this point we were heading into the Ticket and Transportation center. There were a lot of people in cheering on the runners. They had great signs and the energy was really nice. There was one person with a funny sign that said “I took the monorail, it was faster.” There were a few more funny signs along the course. I had to laugh out loud at a few of them.

I started to look around for my mom and sister as this was the first area we planned to see each other at. I thought I must have missed them as I was almost out of the ticket and trans area, but saw them at the last minute right by the monorail ramps. I shouted a quick hi and waved as I passed. It was really cool to see them on the course. After I passed they were going to make their way to the Grand Floridian via the monorail to try to catch me as we ran out of the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Disneychix]

SO happy you got to see your family! Way to go so far on your race!

Did you listen to music or anything. I have never run solo (I ran the Princess 1/2 with my mom and all 5ks with her, and the ToT with my DH). We are getting to the point where DH is faster than me and I don't know if I should just let him run on his own.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I had so much fun reading your last update. Not being a runner, had no idea how the Princess Half Marathon was laid out. And how cool to have the characters line up along the route for pictures!! Almost makes me want to start taking up running. Almost.

 

[rani8600]

SO happy you got to see your family! Way to go so far on your race!

Did you listen to music or anything. I have never run solo (I ran the Princess 1/2 with my mom and all 5ks with her, and the ToT with my DH). We are getting to the point where DH is faster than me and I don't know if I should just let him run on his own.

Thanks, it was really nice to see them.

Running with or without music was something I thought a lot about in the weeks leading up to the race. For all of my training I always had music with me. For the race, however, I decided not to try to run with any music. It didn’t bother me though as there was a lot going on during the run.

I had so much fun reading your last update. Not being a runner, had no idea how the Princess Half Marathon was laid out. And how cool to have the characters line up along the route for pictures!! Almost makes me want to start taking up running. Almost.

haha, this was my first long race. Disney def does the entertainment on long races well. I didnt feel the boredom that i usually feel on long runs during the race at all. On my 10k previous, i was sooo bored of running by mile 4. It was a really small 10k and there was no one around; i just wanted to be done. Not so for this one.

 

[beachta1]

Great run report so far. Can't wait to read how the rest of the run went for you!

 

[jwgm2012]

Just joining! Great report so far. I'm hoping to do a Disney run in the future; maybe next year?? I did my first 5K this weekend and really enjoyed the whole process.

Question though - do you feel like the Disney run is as hard as a "regular" 1/2 marathon? When I read about the characters being out and people stopping to visit - it seems those are opportunities to rest and catch your breath before continuing on the race path... I'm curious because the though of running a 1/2 or full is pretty intimidating but also doable if I know I'd be able to do it with small resting periods. Does that make sense?


Can't wait to read the rest.

gina

 

[annmarieda]

I was dying when I read your story about the "caution speed bumps ahead" warning. Not so much because of what happened to the gal, but... omg!!! The warning..over and over and over and over. Same with the "caution, road narrows ahead"

I didn't read any of the spectator signs. Now I wish I had. That is hilarious!!!

BTW, do you mind if I snag that picture of the map and use it on my TR (when I get that far?) It is a nice way to indicate just what the race route looks like. I mean.. It is easy enough to say from Epcot to MK and back... but to look at it on a map is helpful.

And we have similar pictures... I can't tell.. but I think yours is from a vantage further from the stage than mine..

Yours...

Mine...

 

[rani8600]

Great run report so far. Can't wait to read how the rest of the run went for you!

Just joining! Great report so far. I'm hoping to do a Disney run in the future; maybe next year?? I did my first 5K this weekend and really enjoyed the whole process.

Question though - do you feel like the Disney run is as hard as a "regular" 1/2 marathon? When I read about the characters being out and people stopping to visit - it seems those are opportunities to rest and catch your breath before continuing on the race path... I'm curious because the though of running a 1/2 or full is pretty intimidating but also doable if I know I'd be able to do it with small resting periods. Does that make sense?


Can't wait to read the rest.

gina

I would def recommend the Disney races especially as a first long race. It’s hard to say if they Disney races are harder that non-Disney races as I haven’t run in any longer than 10k. I am toying with a half with friends, but that is not until next November. They starting and stopping may help, but I wouldn’t count on it. Some of the stops are long 3-4 minutes, but most of the stops I took (mile markers, short character lines) were more like 30 seconds. The nice thing is that Disney’s pace requirement is 16 minute miles. This is greater than some others. The pressure to run hard and fast also seemed a little less so I didn’t feel so intimidated by the other runners out there. There were also a lot of people running run/walk intervals.

I was dying when I read your story about the "caution speed bumps ahead" warning. Not so much because of what happened to the gal, but... omg!!! The warning..over and over and over and over. Same with the "caution, road narrows ahead"

I didn't read any of the spectator signs. Now I wish I had. That is hilarious!!!

BTW, do you mind if I snag that picture of the map and use it on my TR (when I get that far?) It is a nice way to indicate just what the race route looks like. I mean.. It is easy enough to say from Epcot to MK and back... but to look at it on a map is helpful.

And we have similar pictures... I can't tell.. but I think yours is from a vantage further from the stage than mine..

I know, if she was really hurt I would have felt bad but she just laughed and kept going so... That’s one this about this race, no one can say that they didn’t warn us able obstacles in the course…haha.

I was def looking for signs after I saw that first one. I wish I could remember some of the others. I was great how a laugh at some of the signs gave you a little bit of push for a few minutes after.

Of course you can use the map pic, I may have borrowed direct from a Disney site .

 

[rani8600]

The road narrowed down to one lane as we started towards the Contemporary Resort.

I soon was running under the water bridge and up the hill that everyone talks about. I didn’t find it that bad, I ran down the hill but mostly walked up the other side as there was things to see. About halfway up the hill they had the giant puppets out that they had for the mile 20 spectacular for the full in January. I guess this was our mile five surprise .

Sorry for the blurriness. I could only slow down a little as the course was only one lane still and I didn’t want to stop in front on anyone. The crowdedness of the course could really be felt in the areas that were one lane. RunDisney stated that there were just under 24,000 runners participating this year .

Hey look… we made it to the fifth mile!

It was just after the mile 5 marker that we turned into the backstage area that would lead us down Main Street USA .

Our path towards the Castle had us entering MK from just behind Tony’s. There were a lot of spectators lining the left side of Main St and Cast Members on the right. There was cheering and lots of energy. Based on what others had said I expected Main St to be really congested and not really be able to run, but this was surprisingly not the case. Magic Kingdom was one of the easiest areas to get the space to run in. The only difficult area was actually going through the Castle.

Once we ran down Main St we made a right into Tomorrowland. Buzz was out but I passed. As we made our way into Fantasyland Alice and the Mad Matter were out. The line wasn’t so bad (about 12 ppl deep) so I thought them would make an excellent first character picture.

My eyes are closed in this one, guess I was in need of a quick nap…lol
After a quick thank you to Alice and the Mad Hatter we ran around passed new Fantasyland. PS It is so fun it to be able to write that we were running around Magic Kingdom. Doesn’t the idea just make you smile

The next character I saw was Gaston. There was no question… I was definitely stopping for this one. Gaston always has great lines. I was greeted with a “Come on over, don’t be shy.” Aside from the Hatter he is the only character that really said anything.

Gaston’s line pretty much lead right into Belle’s since she was my princess on my bib I wanted to wait for a picture with her. Plus now that she has Story time with Belle this is really the only way to meet her in her ball gown without standing in line for 2 hours.

Mickey and Minnie were out just before you ran through the Castle but there line was soooo long that I knew I couldn’t waste the time.

I have to say, running through the Castle was a bit anticlimactic. I expected to feel super great and excited, but didn’t. It was sooo crowded that we all had to walk and we were on top of each other. I tried to create some space so that I could get a picture but there was no way.

After our run (walk) through the Castle we made a right into Liberty Sq, then into Frontierland. It was here I made use of the real bathrooms. I was surprised to find no lines to use these. I have to tell you real bathrooms during the race were the way to go. They had things like soap and paper towels…the indulgence. As I was walking out I hear two girls quickly talk to each other about using the boys room to avoid the line, I told them they could go ahead to the girls room that there was no one there. They gave a quick thanks and I ran back to the course.

After Frontierland we ran backstage. They had one area set up for photos with one of the parade floats as a backdrop. When I ran past it was Aurora and Prince Philip, I heard that they were switching out with Cinderella and Prince Charming.

As we ran out of the backstage area we pasted the mile 6 marker and soon after the 10k spilt, time 1:34 pace 15:16. That mile in MK with pictures and stops really slowed my overall pace. Based on my running watch the mile through MK was just over 25 minutes.

This was not the pace I was aiming for, but feeling good cardio wise after taking it easy through Magic Kingdom I knew I was going to have to pick up the pace. I made a plan to run the next two miles straight as some of the humidity seemed to have let up, of course stopping for pictures.

Before I knew it we were at the hearing the half way song This Girl is On Fire.

Can’t tell but im pretty sure this is the mile 7 marker

Just after stopping for Mary Poppins and friends I found my mom and sister again. It was funny, I found them pretty easily, waved and yelled Hi and they still didn’t see me. I had to back track a few feet and walk right up to them before they realized it was me. A nice spectator took this picture for us.

I quickly ran off with a “have to go, I’m behind.”

 

[rani8600]

It was right after this that I started to really feel a pinching pain in my right hip. It started around the 10k split but wasnt too bad and I was able to put it in the back of my mind. This is something I have experienced before on some longer runs and I knew it wasnt going to go away. Just before mile 8 it became really bad. The pain feels like each time you put weight on the right side someone jams a big needle into the hip joint...not fun.

I took a long walk break hoping that I would be able to move into 1m/1m intervals for the remainder of the course. After my first few attempts at run intervals I knew that wasnt going to be a possibility. I had to switch to walking and walking fast. As I now had to reevaluate my goals for this race I made a new plan. For my own sanity and ode to the work that I put in for this I wasnt going to let myself fall behind pace. I was going to complete the remaining miles with each mile in the 16 minute per pace. In my head this became crazily important.

My GPS watch became even more important to me as it allowed me to be able to watch my pace closely and make sure I didnt fall behind. My walking pace varied between 14:30 and 15:45 minute miles. Im not sure what people would make of the expression i was most like wearing on my face at this point. I would like to think it was one of sheer determination, but it was more like a painful grimic. I was doing my best to put the pain out of my mind though, i had a job to do.

It was around this time where I thought running with my Ipod might have been a little bit helpful. The entertainment and characters were a lot more stretched out. A little background on my internal debate on whether or not I was going to run with music. This is something that I thought a lot about in the weeks leading up to the race. I had always had my Ipod with me on my training runs, however, I wasnt sure that I would be able to take it with my for the half as I wasnt sure how I was going to carry it. In the past I have tried to run with a running belt to carry some of my things, but I couldnt seem to keep them from slipping up and bouncing around my waist. They ended up being a hindrance rather than helpful. This wasnt an issue for my training runs as I wasnt carrying that much with me, but for this race I would need my phone and clif blocks. My skirt has no pockets so I had to tuck my phone on one side and fuel on the other. I figured trying to manage my Ipod too would be too much. I dont think it hurt in any way to not have it and I was by no means bored, but the music might have been nice for those few miles.

Just after crossing out of the MK resort area was the mile 9 marker. There was a nice volunteer there who was offering to take picture for people.

Just after mile 9 I came across Atta. Her line was only three people, even though I knew that I needed to keep moving to not fall behind I wanted one more character shot after all these pictures were one of the main motivating factors behind running this thing.

Just before the on ramp was the mile 10 marker.

Now about that onramp... OMG that is the longest onramp I have ever seen. It just kept going and going, I thought it was never going to end. I was walking on the inside of the ramp on the grass. I know that people tell you not to walk on the grass, but I was being careful and it was necessary for two reasons. One, it was ever so slightly less painful to walk on the grass as it wasnt so hard and two, even though I was walking I was passing people and there just wasnt enough room to go around people on the road. Near the top for the ramp were the army men from Toy Story. They were encouraging us to run faster.

We finally finished with the ramp that just wont end and found mile marker 11

At this point I was starting to feel ok, I was still in a lot of pain, but I knew now that I was going to finish this and finish in within my 3:30 time.

About half way through mile 11 the DJs and race announcers were there cheering people on. A little further on another DJ planning music trying to give us that last bit of energy and excitement we needed to finish this. She was playing some Bon Jovi, Livin On A Prayer. A bunch of us had found some energy and were singing along. The DJ just shook her head and commented that that was probably the only 80s song that all of us 20 somethings knew...well she isnt wrong :shrug:

There were also some last characters, Mulan and Mrs. Incredible. It was great Mrs. Incredible was just finishing her set and ran with us as she made her way to the trailer...in heels

Soon after I could see mile marker 12

You can see just over the clock Spaceship Earth. This was, it we were finally going to go through Epcot and the finish, just one more mile to go. Im not gonna to lie, I started to get a little emotional at this point. I had been thinking about it and training for it for so long and now it was here.

We went passed the ball on the right side and towards the World Showcase. I felt really bad for Pinocchio as he wasnt getting any love. I think everyone just wanted to be finished by this point. Right after the fountain was the Fairy Godmother. She had a little bit of a line, but nowhere near as bad as it would have been had she been any sooner on the course. I passed on both as I too just wanted to be done. Just at the entrance to WS we turned back to make our way out of Epcot and to the Finish line.

I saw my mom and sister for the last time on the course. There werent that many people in Epcot so they were easy to spot. I guess most people go straight to the finish.

Just as we were out of Epcot I could hear the Gospel Choir, then I could see them. I couldnt believe it, we were almost there. I didnt get a picture of the 13th mile marker as I was pulling myself together. I was determined. I was going to run that last bit through the finish no matter what. And I did, I ran through. It felt so strange.

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.

 

[afnaechiquita]

Congratulations on finishing!! It takes a lot to keep up the determination to continue on even with such pain. Great job.

I've never thought of NOT running with music, but when I read race reports here I sort of wish I had in the HMs, because it sounds like a good portion of excitement is found in the music and sounds from other runners. I missed out on that.

That being said, have you ever considered an arm band? They hold quite snugly on your upper arm, so you don't even have to think about it. I run with that and a little wrist wrap (like this: http://www.goneforarun.com/Lite_WristSTASH_Running_Wrist_Pocket_s/854.htm) to hold anything else. I used to run with a running belt, but it started to bother me for the reasons you described. The wrist wrap is much more comfortable.

 

[joanzie72]

Congratulations!!!! I can't wait till February. It will be my first Dinsey race. I remember running my first 1/2. It was very emotional. Shoot some of my training runs were emotional too. Funny how running can feel so good but yet make you cry or get down right mad.

 

[rani8600]

Congratulations on finishing!! It takes a lot to keep up the determination to continue on even with such pain. Great job.

I've never thought of NOT running with music, but when I read race reports here I sort of wish I had in the HMs, because it sounds like a good portion of excitement is found in the music and sounds from other runners. I missed out on that.

That being said, have you ever considered an arm band? They hold quite snugly on your upper arm, so you don't even have to think about it. I run with that and a little wrist wrap (like this: http://www.goneforarun.com/Lite_WristSTASH_Running_Wrist_Pocket_s/854.htm) to hold anything else. I used to run with a running belt, but it started to bother me for the reasons you described. The wrist wrap is much more comfortable.

Thank you! Finishing felt really good.

I had never thought of running without it either until i realized that i was going to have to carry it. I have thought about the armbands, but my Ipod is the first nano, the one that is a square rather than a long rectangle. I haven’t seen one that will fit it. Maybe once I replace the Ipod, I will look into it more. Apple def built those things to last though I have had it for nearly 5 years and it still works really well.

Congratulations!!!! I can't wait till February. It will be my first Dinsey race. I remember running my first 1/2. It was very emotional. Shoot some of my training runs were emotional too. Funny how running can feel so good but yet make you cry or get down right mad.

Thank you I didn’t anticipate being emotional about it. When i started to tear up at the finish I surprised myself. I think finishing and finally completing something that I had worked towards for so long was just so overwhelming.

 

[Eight]

First, congratulations on finishing!!

Going back, I hated that bottleneck entrance with the stained glass windows on the sides. Not really the best design decision they could have made.

But I agree, the walk to the corral didn't seem as long as I've heard, but maybe that's one of those things that people made out to worse than it was? I'm not sure.

I also saw the guy with the monorail sign near the TTC! I loved some of the signs people had out, it was a good distraction.

That's awesome that you were able to get a picture with your mom and sister.

I quickly ran off with a “have to go, I’m behind.”

I did that same thing with my mom when I saw her at the TTC, I let her take a picture but then I was like, I have to go, this is slowing down my pace!

 

[annmarieda]

Congratulations on finishing!!! So exciting... so empowering. I just love it

I love all your picture...even the blurry ones I had some technical difficulties...so sadly don't have many pictures. It is amazing how everything becomes a jumbled memory of events... so your pics help to remind me.

BTW, you look stunning in all your pics! I look all in any and all pictures of me. You look like a princess

I remember those "hills" the first one where the army sergeant was I did fine with. Those last ones were hard though. If you ask me having the hills at the end like that is just cruel.

 

[Judgey Judgerson]

And we have similar pictures... I can't tell.. but I think yours is from a vantage further from the stage than mine..

Yours...



Mine...

Sorry to hijack the post...but that's me in your picture annmarieda! Well, the back of me...I'm in the center of the picture in the blue Cinederella-esque costume and my friend minnie_mom is beside me in the purple...

Just a nice little surprise...

Now back to regularly scheduled trip report posting...

 

[annmarieda]

Sorry to hijack the post...but that's me in your picture annmarieda! Well, the back of me...I'm in the center of the picture in the blue Cinederella-esque costume and my friend minnie_mom is beside me in the purple...

Just a nice little surprise...

Now back to regularly scheduled trip report posting...

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.

 

[rani8600]

First, congratulations on finishing!!

Going back, I hated that bottleneck entrance with the stained glass windows on the sides. Not really the best design decision they could have made.

But I agree, the walk to the corral didn't seem as long as I've heard, but maybe that's one of those things that people made out to worse than it was? I'm not sure.

I also saw the guy with the monorail sign near the TTC! I loved some of the signs people had out, it was a good distraction.

That's awesome that you were able to get a picture with your mom and sister.

I did that same thing with my mom when I saw her at the TTC, I let her take a picture but then I was like, I have to go, this is slowing down my pace!

Yeah, while I appreciate Disney’s attempt to make us feel like we were entering a royal area, I think that they are going to have to rethink it a little for next year.

From what I had read about the walk from the staging area to the corrals I expected it to feel like miles, but in actuality it didn’t seem far at all. Maybe it’s more about expectations?

Seeing my mom and sister along the course was really nice, more than I expected. As much as I wanted to chat for a minute about how the race was going I knew that I couldn’t, I would just have to see them once it was over.

Congratulations on finishing!!! So exciting... so empowering. I just love it

I love all your picture...even the blurry ones I had some technical difficulties...so sadly don't have many pictures. It is amazing how everything becomes a jumbled memory of events... so your pics help to remind me.

BTW, you look stunning in all your pics! I look all in any and all pictures of me. You look like a princess

I remember those "hills" the first one where the army sergeant was I did fine with. Those last ones were hard though. If you ask me having the hills at the end like that is just cruel.

Thank you!!

Next time I run on of these though im going to have to figure out a way to take better pictures (remembering to bring my camera charger will probably help :facepalm). My phone is ancient at this point. Im glad I got what I did though because I don’t think I would have remembered as much without them (im still remembering some things I forgot), its amazing how some of the miles can start to blur together. I do remember those last hills. Once I was done with the ramp I thought I was done with all of the hills on the course. It did feel mean when they just kept coming. I was happy when we entered the Epcot parking area and I know they were over!

 

[laurenvic1312959]

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