A Trip of Magical Memories-Princess 1/2 Marathon Weekend-March 5-8, 2010 Updated 6/24

[miztigg]

glad you caved and got your bag Even though your prob gonna get another one on the cruise Cant wait to hear about the race

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I am so jealous! I want that bag so badly! That or the Disney cruise one, I don't know which I like better.

 

[doombuqqy]

Thats it I am gonna start getting ready today after work. We have had soooo much rain this week that it makes it even harder. I turn 40 in Sept and would really like to do the run in Oct. My DS 19 said he would do it with me DD 16 and DH said they will watch lol. Don't think I can do the 13 miles though so I am gonna start with the 5k I know I'm a wimp but maybe I can work my way to the Princess half marathon by the time it rolls around. This is so exciting I am enjoying your report very much. You should be very proud of your accomplishment and you are truley inspirational.

 

[MamaCrush]

I have deided today, to walk/run/bike/swim to WDW. It is 944.31 miles. Once I reach it virtually, I am going to go! I have decided I am going to save $1 each mile that I walk toward the vacation. I am enjoying these threads that are so inspirational. I have never walked a half or full marathon, but maybe the princess 1/2 could be my first!

I love this idea! I am on the cusp of dusting off my healthy eating and exercise habits, so this is a wonderful incentive. I need to consider if maybe I can do the Princess 1/2. I'd also like to consider the Expedition Everist Challenge since it looks like so much fun!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I just wanted to pop in really quick and say hi! I know some of you are waiting on an update, and I hope to have one up soon. I like to try and sneak them in at work, but they've blocked us from being able to access Photobucket, so I can't get to my photos from here. I promise I will have one soon!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

The alarm clock went off bright and early at 3 a.m. A few minutes later my cell went off, soon followed by a wake-up call from Mickey and Stitch. Amazingly enough, I had slept pretty well and was able to wake up right away.

I then hit the shower and followed my normal get-ready-for-the-day routine. Thankfully, I didn't have to worry too much about fixing my hair--I just pulled it all up so that I could try and stay as cool as possible. I then put in my Mickey earrings in hopes that they would bring me good luck.

We then headed out the door, into the darkness of the morning and headed towards the bus stop. There was a bus pulling off just as we made it to the stop, and I started to panick. Since this was my first Disney race, I had no idea how the whole thing worked, so I was little nervous that I wouldn't make it to the start in time. Luckily, another bus pulled up right away, and the few of us who were waiting loaded the bus. These weren't the normal Disney buses either--these were the big charter buses that had the nice comfy seats.

Mike and I made our way towards the back and grabbed 2 of the few seats that were left. There was a lot of chatter going on, but I was so nervous that I didn't say much. I couldn't believe that I was about to do this. Once again, a million things were going through my head. A lot of times, when I get nervous or scared, I get a little edgy which makes me come off a little hateful. As I sat there, I looked down and noticed how crooked my bib was. So of course, sitting there on a bus while riding wasn't the best time to try and re-pin it. Mike tried to help, but when it was still as crooked as it was to begin with, I began to really get irritable. Of course Mike told me to chill, and that only made it worse. Mike snapped a pic of me as we rode, and I managed to fake a quick smile.

Soon enough, we had arrived to the Epcot parking lot, and before we knew it, we were unloading off the bus. We had no clue where to go, so we just followed the crowd.

We made it to another section of the parking lot where tons of people were hanging out. Lots of them were dancing to the music that was playing. Some were just sitting on the pavement, and others were just trying to stay warm. By this time, I decided to pull out my handy dandy head/ear warmer since I was starting to get a little chilly.

As we waited, we decided to snap a quick self pic...

Both of us were so excited and nervous at the same time. I was so worried about having to leave Mike. I knew he would be fine, but I just didn't like him being by himself. I snapped a quick pic of him in his ChEar Squad shirt:

Bless his heart, I know he was so cold. All he had on was his shirt, which was short sleeved, and a light winderbreaker type jacket over that. Next time, we will definitely be more prepared.

We stood around a little longer, and then I noticed people heading for the white tents that were behind us. I wasn't sure where it lead to, so I just followed the crowd. I just assumed that Mike could come with me, but I didn't realize that this was the beginning of the walk to the starting line, so only race participants were allowed past this point. I started walking towards the tent and got in line as there was someone there checking for bibs. And before I knew it I was kissing Mike goodbye. It was a little quicker send off than I had hoped for, and I think we were both a little surprised that it happened so quick. As I made my way on through and started the long walk to the start, I felt really guilty for just walking away from him so quickly. I almost had this weird feeling that I might never see him again.

The farther I walked, the lonlier I felt. There were already people pushing their way through the crowd, and we weren't even to the start yet. I ended up getting pushed to the shoulder of the road and just walked along with everyone else. Anyone who knows me, knows that I never do anything alone, so this was a little tough for me. But, I also knew that I'd be meeting up with Shawna soon enough, or at least I hoped!

After what seemed like forever, I had finally arrived to the area where we entred the corrals. Shawna and I had agreed to meet at the very back of our corral. When I got there, our corral, which was D, was just starting to fill up at the front. I kept waiting and waiting for Shawna hoping that she would be there soon. And of course the longer I waited, the more our corral filled. There was another girl who was also waiting on someone, so we stood near each other, and every once in a while we'd look over at each other and smile. I think we were both worried that our person wasn't going to show up. As I was standing there, a couple of ladies walked up to me, and one of them asked if I wanted a tiara to wear. I hadn't planned on wearing one, even though most every one of the other ladies running did. I just felt like I looked silly with one on my head, but once she offered it to me, I figured that was a sign that I needed to wear one. Since I didn't have a mirror to help put it on, I figured I'd wait for Shawna.

As I waited, I took a pic of the one of the big screens that they had lined down the sides of all the corrals. They were showing random shots of the crowd and were interviewing different people.

The corral had just about completely filled up, and I felt like I had been waiting for an eternity when I finally spotted Shawna! I don't think I was ever more excited to see someone!! Bless her heart, she was about to freeze! She had already told me that she wasn't much of a morning person, and I knew that she had to get up extra early this morning, so I was hoping that she would be okay. Of course she looked all cute with a little tiara on her head, so I figured I'd get her to help with mine. I know she thought I was crazy when I told her that I didn't know how to put my tiara on!

I finally had my tiara on, and we were ready to get started already!! So, as the minutes counted down, we asked someone to take a quick pic of the two of us.

Soon enough, as the corrals in front of us started, we began moving forward.

And before we knew it, we'd made our way to the front, and it was finally our time to shine!!

 

[kellyb2000]

Yay - here we go!

 

[miztigg]

how exciting!!!!

 

[alliebelle3]

I can't imagine how nervous you were. Waiting for more!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I definitely know what you were feeling with that case of nerves, I would have been feeling the same way.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

you have me nervous just reading your post. You are doing such a great job with this report. I cant wait to hear/see more!!!!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Yay - here we go!

I'm glad you're still here!

how exciting!!!!

It was exciting-definitely!!

I can't imagine how nervous you were. Waiting for more!

I think I was more nervous about finding Shawna than anything. Once I finally met up with her, it was all good!

I definitely know what you were feeling with that case of nerves, I would have been feeling the same way.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who gets that way!

you have me nervous just reading your post. You are doing such a great job with this report. I cant wait to hear/see more!!!!!!

Awww, you are too sweet! I will try and get more up soon!


Thanks to all of you for hanging in there!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I just realized that there were some responses that I didn't reply to after the last update, and I don't want to leave any of them out.

Oh the anticipation, I just cant take it.

Glad you got the purse! I would love to see a picture of it.

I can't believe that of all the things I did take pics of, my purse wasn't one of them! I can try and take one and post it if you still want to see!

I have deided today, to walk/run/bike/swim to WDW. It is 944.31 miles. Once I reach it virtually, I am going to go! I have decided I am going to save $1 each mile that I walk toward the vacation. I am enjoying these threads that are so inspirational. I have never walked a half or full marathon, but maybe the princess 1/2 could be my first!

Wow, that's an awesome and creative goal! Good luck to you, and congrats on getting started! The Princess was the only race I'd done other than a couple 5k's, so if I can do it, you can too.

You're stopping there? You can't do that to us! Do we get to see a pic of your purse?

I didn't even think to take a pic of my purse, but I can defintiely still post one if you still want to see. Of course it doesn't look nearly as nice now as it did when it was new!

Ahhhh what a cliffhanger! I cannot imagine how nervous you must have been. I would be the same way, with all of those questions running through my head.

Very exciting about the purse, I'm jealous! That was really sweet of your DH, how he had planned to buy it for you for finishing. So ready for the next installment!!!

Yes, I am very blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive husband. I think he was as proud of me as I was of myself, and I am so thankful that I had him there.

glad you caved and got your bag Even though your prob gonna get another one on the cruise Cant wait to hear about the race

Yes, I caved-defintiely! I guess that just shows how disciplined I'm not!!

I am so jealous! I want that bag so badly! That or the Disney cruise one, I don't know which I like better.

Lessa, I remember you saying in one of your other reports how much you wanted that bag. Didn't you call to have it shipped, but you were deciding on whether to pay that much for shipping to Canada?

Thats it I am gonna start getting ready today after work. We have had soooo much rain this week that it makes it even harder. I turn 40 in Sept and would really like to do the run in Oct. My DS 19 said he would do it with me DD 16 and DH said they will watch lol. Don't think I can do the 13 miles though so I am gonna start with the 5k I know I'm a wimp but maybe I can work my way to the Princess half marathon by the time it rolls around. This is so exciting I am enjoying your report very much. You should be very proud of your accomplishment and you are truley inspirational.

Wow, to say that I'm inspirational is really nice of you. You can definitely do it! Starting with the 5K is a good choice. It will take some work, but you can definitely get it done! Good luck to you!

I love this idea! I am on the cusp of dusting off my healthy eating and exercise habits, so this is a wonderful incentive. I need to consider if maybe I can do the Princess 1/2. I'd also like to consider the Expedition Everist Challenge since it looks like so much fun!

Funny that you mentioned the EE Challenge...My running buddy Shawna just did it with a friend of hers, and I think she had a blast. I saw her pictures, and I think I've talked Mike into doing it with me next year. It definitely looks like a lot of fun!

 

[praisehisname]

It never occurred to me that the runners would get nervous. (Can you tell I'm not a runner? ) But I can totally identify with that feeling you got when you had to leave Mike suddenly. What a trooper he was to be out there in the cold for you!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Yay! Another Princess Trip Report to read!

And I thought I was the only one left still writing about it.

I am enjoying reading this. I am going to subscribe so I can see how your experience with it was. This was also my first half marathon, and I can REALLY relate to all those feelings you wrote about, both for the night before and the morning of!

 

[UGAFan0829]

It never occurred to me that the runners would get nervous. (Can you tell I'm not a runner? ) But I can totally identify with that feeling you got when you had to leave Mike suddenly. What a trooper he was to be out there in the cold for you!

I never really thought about how nervous I would actually be, but by was I!
And yes, you are right about Mike-he definitely was a trooper!

Yay! Another Princess Trip Report to read!

And I thought I was the only one left still writing about it.

I am enjoying reading this. I am going to subscribe so I can see how your experience with it was. This was also my first half marathon, and I can REALLY relate to all those feelings you wrote about, both for the night before and the morning of!

Hello there!!
I'll have to check our your TR as well! I had really planned on having mine completed by now, but it just didn't work out that way!! Thanks for stopping by!

 

[UGAFan0829]

We finally crossed the starting line and were on our way.

The beginning of the race was total madness. People were blazing past us, never caring if they hit you or not. We were just taking it slow, knowing that we had 13 miles ahead of us, so there was certainly no need to be in a hurry. People were yelling "coming through", and "passing on your left". I had gotten hit so many times before we made it to mile 1, that I wanted to yell, "The next person who touches me is going DOWN!". But, I figured that probably wasn't very Princess-like, so I just held it in and kept smiling.

In what felt like no time, we were passing mile marker 1. As you can probably tell, we were running at this point, so the pic came out a little blurry...

You can see the time posted there on the sign, but that was actually the time that had elapsed since the first corral started, so we really weren't that slow!

Within just a few more minutes, we were passing the mile 2 sign. We must have been walking at this point, as this shot came out a little better:

Poor Shawna was still freezing, so when someone tossed their gloves to the side, I quickly picked them up for her. Bless her heart, I know she was hoping the person who threw them down didn't have cooties, but I think she was also thankful to have something warm on her hands! I began to get a little warm under the fleece jacket I was wearing, so I unzipped it a little. It didn't take me long to zip it back up though, as the air was still a little chilly. I did manage to shed my headband and gloves. I hated to toss my gloves, but I didn't have room for them in my pack. I did keep my headband though...it was too expensive to just toss!

Before, we knew it, we were passing mile 3, and I told Shawna that we'd already ran a 5K! Of course, I had to stop to get a pic with this sign since it featured my favorite Princess of all!

As you can tell from the picture, the sun was finally starting to rise, and thankfully it was starting to warm up just a little.

I think it was also somewhere around in here that Shawna and I both decided that we really needed to find a restroom. She had went before the race, but I hadn't since we left the room that morning. And Lord knows, I'm not one to be able to hold it long. But when forced to either hold it, or take off to the side of the road, I favored holding it. I had heard that there would be lots of people who would chose the side of the road, but I was really shocked when I saw it with my own eyes. I guess some people just aren't as modest as some! But, when you have to go, you have to go, I guess!

As we were making our way, we passed this pirate ship:

There were several pirates out for pictures, including Jack Sparrow, so of course there was a line for it. I can't remember right, but I think Shawna stopped for a quick pic here. I think she may have been a little worried about stopping and losing time, but we both agreed before the race started, that we were going to take our time and enjoy the scenery, and definitely stop for pictures when we wanted. So, I was all for her stopping!

After just a few more minutes, we were making our way past mile marker 4.

And were on our way to the Ticket and Transportation center.

Thankfully, right inside the T&TC, there were some real restrooms. Of course, there were lines, but Shawna and I decided to go for it. The lines moved pretty fast, and we felt much better when we were done. In fact, once we came out of the restrooms, we decided that it was finally time to shed our jackets. So, we left them right there in the T&TC. Of course, I had to document it with a photo:

After saying goodbye to our jackets, we were on our way again. And it wasn't long until we were crossing under the bridge in front of the Contemporary.

This was probably the worst hill of all, and it wasn't that bad. To try and make up a little of the time that we'd lost, Shawna suggested that we jog up the hill, which we did. I couldn't believe I made it, but it felt good to pass a couple people and hope that we'd made up a little time.

We continued our jog/walk routine and finally made it to mile 5.

We were also on our way to the Magic Kingdom, which really got us pumped up! I don't know excatly how we made it into the MK, but I do remember coming from backstage and passing a side door for Tony's Town Square. We ended up coming out on Main Street, and made our way towards the castle. This was the first thing we saw once we turned the corner onto Main Street:

Not only was I excited about being in the MK, but I knew that Mike would be waiting here for me as well. Part of the ChEar Squad package that we'd gotten included a "reserved" viewing spot at the Castle, so I knew to look for him there. He had our big camera with him, so he was able to take pics as well, which worked out pretty good. Evidently, he'd been waiting there quite a while as this is what the MK looked like when he first got there:

And here's what it looked like when Shawna and I were finally making our way towards the castle:

I was SO excited to see him, and gave him a big hug! I think he was excited to finally have seen us as well, especially since he'd been waiting so long. Have I said how lucky I am to have him as my husband?

Unfortunately, we didn't get to hang around long as we knew that we were losing precious time, so we headed off into Tomorrowland.

We made our way towards Stitch's Great Escape, and then turned left. After we made the turn, Chip and Dale were out, so we had to stop to see them!

We then made our way towards the Mad Hatters Tea Party, and found the Queen of Hearts there. I'd never seen her before, we we decided to stop again. She was quite funny, and I wasn't sure what to do, so I just looked at her, and she just stared back!

After our strange meeting with the QoH, we were on our way to the back of the castle, where we saw all these characters:

And of course, we HAD to stop for Mickey and Minnie!

 

[UGAFan0829]

We made our way through the castle, where Mike was waiting for us again. He snapped these shots as I waved bye to him since I wasn't sure if I would see him again before the finish line. These turned out to be some of my favorites of the whole day:

After we came through the castle, we turned right, and made our way into Frontierland, where we passed mile 6.

We'd just ran the most exciting part of the race, in my opinion. Part of the whole excitement of the race is getting to run through the MK and the Castle, and of course for me, getting to see Mike was a super bonus as well. So, as we headed on our way, things started to get a little tough for me. I don't remember what route we took, but I know we went through a backstage area where we saw this float:

Once we passed that area, we were back on a two lane road where there was nothing but road and runners. It began to get a little crowded again at this point. And it's also the place where things began to get a little scary for us as well. We heard someone yelling about a cut off point being just ahead for the sweeping point. Of course, we needed to make it there before the cut off time, so we picked it up a couple notches. I think Shawna really wanted to run, and I tried to give it all I had, but for some reason I got really winded, really fast, so we had to slow back down to a fast walk. We actually saw a couple people who were riding along the side of the road with an orange flag, which was thought to be the people who set the sweeping mark. Seeing them scared the heck out of me. Along the way, we finally passed mile 7, which is where the cutoff point was supposed to be, if I understood right.

While Shawna and I were running the race of our lives, Mike was headed out of the MK and back to Epcot to try and get to the finish line. With the way that we were going, he had plenty of time, but this was the line he found when he got to the monorail:

Shawna and I kept repeating our jog/walk method hoping that it was enough to keep us in the safe zone. We really tried to run more than walk, but I was having a really hard time. It was really bothering me because I knew that I was holding her back, and I certainly didn't want to be the reason that she didn't finish. In my mind, I was wondering if she was regretting having me as a running partner. I think there were a couple of times that I told her to run ahead, that I would be okay by myself, but she wouldn't. She stuck right there with me and cheered me on.

Eventually, we passed mile 8, but I wasn't up to taking a picture this time. Things were still tough, and we were still worried about getting swept. There was really no way for us to know if we were safe or not. My feet were bothering me a little, but not enough to stop me. They almost had that same feeling as when they "go to sleep". I just get trudging along though, and so did Shawna. I don't think I had heard her complain one single time. And of course, she was still sticking right there with me!

I honestly don't remember which part of the course we were on when we passed miles 9 and 10, but I did manage to get a pic of both:

At some point, we ended up back on the highway, and were slowly making our way back towards Epcot. Pretty much most of the course had been flat until now, with the exception of the bridge that I mentioned earlier. But now, we were making our way up an exit ramp, which was up and around a hill. It was then that we passed mile 11. You can somewhat see the hill in the picture:

We did okay though. But once we'd made it up the ramp and were running across the bridge, we could see the sweep van picking up some runners. They were close enough to see, but there were still a ton of people behind us, so I began to feel a little better at this point.

Mile 12 came, and we were still on the road to Epcot.

We were getting closer when we saw some of the characters from The Princess and the Frog. Though I hadn't seen the movie at that time, I still had to make a quick stop:

It wasn't long after that when we passed mile marker 12 that the emotions slowly started to set in for me. We were only 1.1 miles away from the finish. We'd come all that way and managed not to have been swept, yet.

We finally made our way into Epcot and headed from the front of the park towards the World Showcase. We made it to the lagoon, and then made a u-turn and headed back towards the front of the park. It got a little messy here as the park had already opened, and people were crossing our path right in front of us. There were CM's there to help them cross when there was a gap, but a lot of them were impatient and ran right out in front of some of the runners.

Spaceship Earth was finally getting closer, and so was the finish line.

I have to say, this was definitely the longest mile that I think I've ever done. I knew that the finish line was actually in the parking lot of Epcot, so I kept wondering how much further it was until we were out of the park.

We rounded a couple more corners, and before we knew it, we saw the most beautiful mile marker sign of all...

We rounded one more corner, and the finish line was FINALLY in sight!!!

And here is what Mike captured as we made our way into his sight:

I can't even begin to explain the emotion that went through me at this point. In fact, writing this brings it all back to me. I'm glad that I had sunglasses on, because the tears were streaming. I couldn't believe what I'd just accomplished. Months of sweat and frustration and doubt turned into an accomplishment that I never though would happen. I had just finished 13.1 miles-me, little ole me who was never, ever a runner. The person who starts something and NEVER finishes. But by golly, I finally finished something...and other than the day that I became Mike's wife, this was the best accomplishment I'd ever made!

After I crossed the line, I was heading to grab my medal when I noticed that Shawna had stopped to see her family. I wanted to wait for her so that we could be "crowned" together, but the CM who was there made me move on. So, I got my medal and waited for Shawna. She caught up with me, and we went through the refreshement line and picked up some water and a couple other items. We snapped a couple pics of us with our medals:

And then it was over! I said my goodbyes to Shawna, and told her thank you for sticking with me. I don't think she will ever truly understand what an impact she made on me. I mean, she barely even knew me, but yet she stuck by me and helped me make it through. If I hadn't had her there to push me along, I don't know that I would have ever made it, and for that I am grateful!

Mike and I made the long walk from the finish line to the bus stops at the front of the park. As we were walking along, he told me how proud of me he was, and I broke down again. I cried like a baby. And he just hugged me, right there in the middle of the parking lot. I told him just how very thankful I was that he was there for me the entire time-from start to finish. I was so very blessed--I had such an awesome running parter who pushed me through, and I had my husband who was there with me during every step of the way and believed in me the entire time.

We finally made it to the bus stops, and waited for a bus back to SSR for some much needed rest and maybe even a nap!

 

[miztigg]

im so excited about my first 1/2 next year thanks for the extra motavation in all this heat . I didnt even think about have to go to the bathroom

 

[alliebelle3]

Wow, what a journey! I loved the race report. I could tell how emotional you were, I got goosebumps reading about it! Congratulations on that AMAZING accomplishment. You should be so proud