All You Need is a Little Drive - 2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Report! (New 3/12 x4)

[Eight]

OMG at meeting Sean Astin!!! That's hilarious! I've never seen "Rudy," but you should definitely watch "The Goonies." Definitely one of my all time favorite movies actually.

That running meet-up looked super awesome! When I did the DL 1/2 marathon in 2008 I didn't bring my camera (b/c why would anyone want to cart around a camera w/ them on a 13 mile run??) but was super bummed I hadn't b/c everyone else was stopping to take pics w/ characters and rides and stuff.

And I'm still super bummed that we couldn't have our DIS-meet that week! Next time! I need to research this "Dumbo Double Dare" thing- it sounds intriguing, but maybe that's just b/c I was obsessed w/ appearing on "Family Double Dare" on Nickelodeon as a child haha.

Oh and I almost forgot- you have the GOLDEN PASS!!!!!!!!! It's so stinkin' fabulous I can't even stand it!

And lastly- that Tinkerbell 1/2 marathon t-shirt is indeed the strangest shade of green I've ever seen. I feel like it would clash with pretty much everything.

I feel like I should see The Goonies at some point, I think it's one of those movies that everyone has seen but me!

I have progressively worked my way up, sort of. For the ToT Ten Miler, I didn't stop for anything because I was too afraid of getting swept. For Tinker Bell, I made one character stop which you will see in an update or two. For Princess, I made four photo stops! Which you will see when I post that TR. I'm already up to like 12 pages and I'm only on the second day. Detailed much? Maybe I'll edit it down.

Me too, but definitely next time! The Dumbo Double Dare is for the Disneyland Half Marathon in August, you do the new 10K on Saturday and the half on Sunday. I feel a little crazy that I signed up but I am super excited! And I was obsessed with Family Double Dare too! I wanted to be on it, but seeing as I'm an only child, I would always think about which one of my cousins could be on it with me and my parents.

I am so obsessed with that thing, it's almost ridiculous. The silly part is that when I went to WDW, I kept forgetting I could use it for food and merchandise there too, because I never had an AP for WDW.

One of my friends described it as Double Mint Gum Green, which made me laugh. I actually wore it down to Florida, because despite being weirdly green, it's super comfy.

 

[Eight]

I know these are basically identical to the pictures I already posted, but look! It’s dark! I have a bib on! It must be the next morning!

I think I look surprisingly awake for having been up at 3AM to get ready.
Also, you can see that I made the text too large on my shirt. When I made it, all I could think about was making it readable, not how my suspenders would lay over it. Oops. I might try to fix that if I decide to reuse this costume for the Disneyland Half Marathon in September.

Anyway, as I mentioned, my bib now read Corral B, but I decided to go to C to be in there middle, since there were five corrals, A - E. B seemed like the other runners might be too fast. I think Corral C was a good decision.

My mom took these near the starting line.

The corrals go off in waves, about five minutes apart, so I had to wait about ten minutes from the time it started until the time I crossed the start line.

And then I was off!

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[Eight]

My mom also took this picture while waiting for me to come by on Main Street.

Just as most of the trip was a blur, so was the race.

I kind of remember starting.

I remember going through parts of DCA and the World of Color fountains were on, which was pretty.

I remember being super disappointed that there were no photo stops on Buena Vista Street, especially since the announcers at the beginning had said there would there would be citizens and news boys out. I didn’t see any.

I remember running down Main Street and wishing I could slow down and take in the moment more.

I remember seeing my mom and how good it felt to have someone cheering for me.

I remember my stomach starting to hurt shortly after that.

I remember stopping for a photo with Jack Sparrow, since he didn’t have much a line and I knew I would be out of the parks soon. I remember being excited that he was the first person to comment on my costume, saying, “oh, you’re that mouse!”

I remember leaving the parks and feeling sad knowing the rest of the course probably wouldn’t be as cool.

And I was right, it wasn’t. I don’t remember a lot of the course after that because the streets blend together.

There were a lot of high school bands and cheerleaders cheering us on. That was nice.

The last thing I remember about the course is seeing the finish line, speeding up to sprint the last bit, only to realize it wasn’t a straight line to it, and we had more to go. Oh man, that was a frustrating feeling.
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[Eight]

But I finished!

Crossing the finish line was thrilling! I couldn’t believe what I had just done.

Honestly, if you had asked me last January if you thought I’d be finishing a half marathon in one year, I would have said you were crazy. Seriously.

But now I’ve done a ten miler, a half marathon, and have two (maybe three) more half marathons scheduled, and I’m so excited.
(when I wrote this, that was true. Now I have completed two half marathons, and have two more scheduled!)

One thing I’m surprised at is how well my costume worked. Didn’t bother me at all. I was worried that I might ditch the hat after a while, but after a while, I didn’t notice I had it on and kept until the end, as you can see.
After finishing the race, I had one thing on my mind, but I’m saving that for the very last post.

The rest of the day, I took it pretty easy.

That afternoon, I met up with some people I met online who had also run the half marathon, and we exchanged stories and our experiences. I had a good time. Always nice to meet people with similar interests.

I think I went to bed around 8PM. I was exhausted. After all, I had gotten up at 3AM to run 13.1 miles.

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[Eight]

See how calm I look?

That would not last long.

After riding the Red Car Trolley, we went to get lunch.

After using my AP for the discount, I set it on the tray with the intention of putting it back in my wallet.

I sat down, and immediately got back because I forgot to get napkins, which I set over my AP.

Sat back down and forgot to put my AP back.

Do you see where this is going?

My mom came over and sat down, she had gotten lunch at a place nearby.

I finished eating, and was in a hurry to get somewhere. I don’t remember even why I was in a hurry or where I was going. It seemed important at the time.

“Don’t worry,” my mom said. “I’ll take care of that tray for you.”

I ran off.

Yeah.

Probably about an hour later, I had this weird feeling that maybe I didn’t have my AP with me. I frantically searched through my backpack and wallet, taking everything out.

“Did I give it to you at the table?” I asked my mom.

She looked through her bag, but alas, the AP was gone.

I panicked.

One thing I like about myself is that I generally don’t lose things. I’ve never had major problems with things like my cell phone, my car keys, my wallet. Even chapstick.

I was so mad at myself. I lost something valuable and important to me. Way to go.

We talked to someone at City Hall (wait, do they call it something different at DCA?) who told us I should go to a ticket booth and they would help me, which is what I was planning to do anyway, and also suggested we go talk to a Photopass person to see if I could recover my photos that I had not yet associated with my account.

A very nice Photopass CM helped me out and was able to find my photos. I was grateful.

That being said, I was a mess. Between the stress of losing something, beating myself up over it, and simply being tired from the half marathon, I was a mess.

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[Eight]

After all that, I went back to the room to relax.

Only for a short while though, because I was meeting up with a friend. We attempted to ride Mickey’s Fun Wheel, but it had technical difficulties right before we were about to get on and had to get out of line.

I didn’t want to go on any other rides because all the lines were too long.

Sometimes I’m not the best person to go to Disneyland with because I refuse to wait more than 20 minutes for most things.

I went back to the parks after she left. Nothing very interesting happened, but I did ride the Golden Zephyr for the first time in 7+ years. I took this picture from that.

Oh!

I remember what happened. I was so tired, I was at that point where everything is hilarious. Everything.

I was making myself laugh with the stupidest jokes.

You should have seen me attempt to “do the World of Color choreography”.

Here’s how to do it. You jump up and down and wave your arms back and forth.

Like I said, I was exhausted.

It was ridiculous, but not a bad way to end the last night of the trip.
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[Eight]

The last morning.

I rode Peter Pan first thing. It seemed appropriate.

Rode some rides, walked around, and ate lunch.
We also had a photoshoot with Eric the Photopass photographer who was hilarious and had my mom and I posing all over the place!

Sadly, it was soon time to leave for the airport.

But I still have one last photo to share.

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[Eight]

Here’s the last photo and my favorite.

Since there were no photo stops on Buena Vista Street, I was determined to go back over there and get some pictures anyway.

I went back to the room and got my pass and headed to DCA.

I had to wait a while for Mickey Mouse to come out, but I think it was worth it.

And with that, I am concluding this trip recap. Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time!

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[magichusky]

Brilliant. Just absolutely brilliant. I don't think there's a word appropriate enough to describe the extreme brilliance of that final pic w/ Mickey! I really can't believe how well you pulled off that costume- I remember seeing those running shorts in the store and wondering what in the world they'd match- Mickey Mouse apparently!

That's really awesome that your mom was able to cheer you on along Main Street- when I ran the DL 1/2 in 2008 I don't recall people being able to watch from that position, which prob turned out to be a good thing haha. I was sick in the middle of the race but was determined to finish b/c gosh darn it, I paid $100 to register and was going to get my castle shaped finisher's medal no matter what! My first name was on my bib, so for the final 8 miles that I was power walking while sick all of these obnoxious people watching from the sidelines kept screaming my name and insisting that I run faster and clapping. I was probably glaring at those poor people who just thought they were being inspirational.

I'm so sorry you lost your golden AP and had to go through such a terrifying situation! My golden AP was seriously my prized possession and I think I need to get a shadow box for it. Seriously.

Anyway, CONGRATS on finishing the Tinker Bell 1/2!!! Now you just need to find some running shorts that match the "Tinker Bell green" on that shirt! I'm off to your WDW TR now!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[Eight]

Brilliant. Just absolutely brilliant. I don't think there's a word appropriate enough to describe the extreme brilliance of that final pic w/ Mickey! I really can't believe how well you pulled off that costume- I remember seeing those running shorts in the store and wondering what in the world they'd match- Mickey Mouse apparently!

That's really awesome that your mom was able to cheer you on along Main Street- when I ran the DL 1/2 in 2008 I don't recall people being able to watch from that position, which prob turned out to be a good thing haha. I was sick in the middle of the race but was determined to finish b/c gosh darn it, I paid $100 to register and was going to get my castle shaped finisher's medal no matter what! My first name was on my bib, so for the final 8 miles that I was power walking while sick all of these obnoxious people watching from the sidelines kept screaming my name and insisting that I run faster and clapping. I was probably glaring at those poor people who just thought they were being inspirational.

I'm so sorry you lost your golden AP and had to go through such a terrifying situation! My golden AP was seriously my prized possession and I think I need to get a shadow box for it. Seriously.

Anyway, CONGRATS on finishing the Tinker Bell 1/2!!! Now you just need to find some running shorts that match the "Tinker Bell green" on that shirt! I'm off to your WDW TR now!

Thank you! I'm glad you liked that picture, because I was so determined to get it. I felt kind of silly when I was waiting around though because I was in a costume. I just hope people noticed the bib and the medal! I remember seeing those shorts in stores too, but I had no need for them when I saw them. And then when I decided to be BVS Mickey Mouse, I had a hard time finding brown running shorts!

Ooh, that must have been frustrating. I liked having people cheer me on, but then, I wasn't sick at all. I feel like people at the Tinker Bell would cheer you on by name more though than at the Princess. I don't know why.

You should! I don't know what I'll do with mine when it expires. Cry, maybe?

Thank you!! I have no idea what would match, but I do need some!

Great pics!

Thank you!