A Fear of Hurdles: a Marathon Weekend PTR

DisGirlAllie

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Feb 20, 2007
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Last night, I registered for this.

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I'm sure that some are out there saying "yay, me too!" I'm also sure that others are saying "what on Earth were you thinking?"

Exactly; what was I thinking?

I'll be the first to admit that I've never been a big runner. I did track for a little bit in elementary school but I never really enjoyed it. Any time running was mentioned in gym, I would cringe so severely you'd think I'd been electrocuted or struck by lightning. This is not, of course, to say that I can't run; it's in my blood. I have great (and great great and great great great and great great great great) grandparents who have competed in the Olympics for running. My uncle held some record for running some thing at the University of Alabama (I'm not sure if he still does or not) for many years. My dad was a runner of marathons, half marathons, 10Ks, and 5Ks until he tore his ACL about five years ago. So, running is in my blood. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

So, let's rewind to about a month ago. I was on the DIS, minding my own business, when I read someone's TR about their experiences running the 1/2 Marathon. And I thought to myself "I could do that!" I made the mistake of mentioning this to my father. This conversation followed.

Me: "And they have characters along the course and it's supposed to be really fun. It could be a great way to get healthy and who wouldn't want to say they've run a half marathon at Disney?"
Him: "Yeah, that would be cool. We should do it; we so could."
Me: "Yeah, we totally could. It's in our blood."
Him: "Yes, yes it is. How much is it?"
Me: "$150 a person if we register before 19th June."
Him: "Cool, I'll think about it."

And think about he did; so much so that when I came over Friday night (my parents are divorced so I'm with my mum during the week and with my dad on the weekends) he goes "we'll go get shoes and register tomorrow."

I, of course, was over the moon. I had visions of myself running through the castle, along the roads, and getting a medal at the end. It was awesome.

Then I woke up this morning and I realised something: I was in no shape to run 13 miles. I understand that's why you train and why you get healthy beforehand. But the thought was still terrifying.

I was ready to chicken out. Then, I remembered something about myself: I'm far more likely to do something if I'm accountable to someone else. Thus, this PTR was born.

If I have an entire board full of people who know I'm going to do this thing, then I'm doing it full force.

Plus, this gives me a place to get excited about my upcoming trip. Because, yes, I'll be running but I'll be running at DISNEY. And that's all that matters.

And before I post about who exactly these crazy people who will be running this thing are, I'll leave you with the greatest running pun I've ever heard:

"I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it."

Classic.

Table of Contents
The Cast of Characters
Eating, Sleeping, and Planning
 
The Cast of Characters for this trip will be a small group subject to change. I'll be posting character pictures for now because my computer is being silly and won't let me post our actual pictures. But, without further ado, here are the runners and the cheerleader.
Runners

John
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His actual name. I prefer Dad, Daddykins, or Father, personally. He's the former runner who tore an ACL with a brother who holds some running record at University of Alabama (ironic since we're LSU people). He's a computer programmer (with a much fancier title) and a total Disney freak. He'll be running the 1/2 with me. His favourite character is Tarzan, his favourite park is EPCOT, his favourite restaurant is California Grill, his favourite Disney movie is Ratatouille, and his favourite ride is a three-way tie between Test Track, Expedition Everest, and Star Tours.


Allie
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Yours truly. I'm an (almost) high school senior who will be going to college in a year :scared1: I'd like to be a Physician Assistant in either Emergency Medicine or Dermatology. But, if that doesn't work out, I'll be a hobo in Seattle. As I'm sure you've gathered, I'll be running the 1/2. My favourite character is Alice, my favourite park is a tie between Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, my favourite restaurant is California Grill, my favourite Disney movie is a three-way tie between Alice in Wonderland (old and new), Peter Pan, and Meet the Robinsons, and my favourite ride is Rock N' Rollercoaster.


Cheerleader
Christine
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My non-evil stepmother. She's a substitute teacher in elementary school and often subs for my first grade teaching mother (my parents had an amicable divorce that often stuns and confuses people). She didn't really "get" Disney when she first married my dad but now she does. She'll be cheering us on from the sidelines (or, more likely, the hotel). Her favourite character is Minnie Mouse and Mary Poppins, her favourite park is Magic Kingdom, her favourite restaurant is Le Cellier (a close second for myself), her favourite Disney movie is Mulan, and her favourite ride is Spaceship Earth (she hates Space Mountain).
 
i just saw this, looking forward to seeing more of it!!
 

So now that we've hit the 180 day mark, we went ahead and made our dining reservations and made a park plan. This is, of course, subject to change at any time but here's the current plan.

Thursday 10 January 2013
We'll fly down early sometime this morning before checking in at Kidani Village (for now) and heading over to the Health & Fitness Expo for packet pickup. Then we'll spend some time at Hollywood Studios before having dinner at Cape May and catching Illuminations.

Friday 11 January 2013
We'll spend the day at Magic Kingdom, starting with rope drop. We'll have dinner at Tony's Town Square (carb loading for the big day) and probably catch an early night.

Saturday 12 January 2013
It's half marathon day! We'll have a 3:00 AM wake up call (hooah) before heading over to Epcot to run 13.1 miles. After the 1/2 we'll head back to Kidani for a much needed shower, a change of clothes, and maybe a short nap. We have an ADR at Les Chefs de France at noon and the plan is to spend the rest of the day at Epcot, hopefully staying long enough to catching a showing of Illuminations.

Sunday 13 January 2013
Since it's Sunday (and post-half) it will be a day of rest and we'll head into Epcot a little later than we normally would and cheer on the marathoners (if they're still running by the time we get there). We'll have lunch at the Rose and Crown, ride some rides, grab a quick dinner at le Boulangerie Pattisserie, and then fly back to Virginia later that night just in time for midterms week!

As far as sleeping goes, we're currently planning to stay at Kidani Village. When we called DVC to reserve a room at Bay Lake Towers, the Boardwalk, the Beach Club, AND Wilderness Lodge were all booked up so we're wait listed for BLT and WL. I feel horrible saying this but, hopefully, someone currently booked there wants to go elsewhere.
 














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