An Aussie on a Wine & Dine 2019 Mission - Comments Very Welcome

Don't cancel your touring plans! You should be fine as long as you don't have a goal to PR, and even then, it's still possible. I ran all 3 races during Star Wars Weekend and I park hopped with the family every day, all day, all week, and felt fine. In the next few weeks, you could practice by being on your feet for most of the day, especially after long runs.
Nope no intention to PR at any of these races. I'm very much approaching them with a relaxed sense and intend to enjoy every mile and as many character meet and greets/photo stops as possible. With all the money you pay to participate I think it'd be pretty silly to rush through. Plus I'm anticipating big crowds so it'd be pretty hard to PR anyways :)
 
WEEKLY UPDATE
16 SEP - 29 SEP


I knew I wasn't going to make it through winter without at least one bout of the flu and my week was last week. Almost a year to the day my boss decided to be a hero and come into work sick as a dog and has infested almost our entire office with influenza which has kept 80% off the staff at home. Many of us have passed it onto our families as well. Most people have had to take at lease 3-4 days off work but I was one of the luckier ones. I think because I'm heavily into training and I've been taking vitamins for months now to lift my immune system I only had to take 1 day off. It's kept me off the road for a week though which is why there was no update last week.

The reason I mention that this happened a year to the day ago is because my boss did exactly the same thing last year which ultimately knocked me out of the Melbourne Half Marathon and cost me $130 not to mention hours upon hours on the road in training. I was so angry and was determined not to let it happen again which is why I started taking vitamins well before Winter started and I almost made it through.

So during my week off the road I invested in a second pair of Brooks Glycerin 17's!!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

I've had such a good experience with my first black pair that I threw out all my old Mizuno Wave Sky's and invested in a second pair of Glycerins. I figured that if I was running 3 races over Wine & Dine weekend I'd be silly to take only a single pair. I mean what happens if it rains during the 10km? Running a Half Marathon the next day in wet/damp runners is just asking for trouble. I've always wanted a red pair of runners but for some weird reason they always seem to reserve red as a colour for mens runners. So when these popped up I just had to have them :)

I made one other purchase during my week off and I couldn't have been more thrilled to have secured one of the limited edition Star Wars Pandora sets commemorating the opening of Star Wars Galaxies Edge.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

They weren't cheap but as a big Star Wars fan, they'll be cherished and very much loved with me.

So running wise I I hit a couple of milestones this past week that I've been back on the road.

On my first run in my new red Brooks Glycerin's I set a new PB over 5km! 31:15!! My previous PB over 5km's was 32:43 set on 18 September just before I got sick with the flu! So a week off doesn't seem to have done too much damage.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Yesterday was my first long run back post flu and I'm happy to report that it wasn't a bad result. I did slow down a little bit just because I was worried about injury and I'm definitely a little sore today but I'm ok. The weather wasn't looking great when I se out but I was lucky and the rain that threatened never turned up.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

And again another new PB! This time over 10km's. For months now I've been working with a physiotherapist after struggling with a calf strain so I've been running training intervals of 2.5-3km's followed by 1min of walking. Well yesterday I cut out the walking intervals as much as possible and only took my first 1min walking interval at around 7.5km's and it showed in my 10km time!!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

My previous 10km PB was set back in March 1:10:13 so this is a whole minute better and finally puts me under the 1:10:00 10km barrier. I'm really bummed though that I wasn't running at this pace before proof of time cut off for Wine & Dine. I submitted the 1:10:13 time as proof of time from March and I hope it'll get me into coral E or by some miracle D but this 1:09:14 time would have given me a much better shot at coral D. Oh well :)

I know it's not a fast time but I'm happy with my 14.18km's this week.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

I've had a lot of ITB soreness post run so I've been on the foam roller 2 or 3 times. The worst of the pain/soreness is on the outside of either side of my knees so I'm going to try back off my training a little bit. One of my fur babies Rastas was very much on hand to officiate my post run stretching/rolling.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

So now I have a new training dilemma which I ned some help with from our running community. On 13 October (2 weeks) I'm running the Melbourne Half Marathon. My current longest training run is 14.18km's. So next weekend should I taper and run a shorter distance (and if so what distance would you recommend) OR should I just run the 16km's followed by the Half Marathon the following weekend?

Likewise, 3 weeks after running the Melbourne Half Marathon I'm running the Wine & Dine races. So when should I start tapering?? I really need some help on this one and I hope some of you might be able to offer some opinions on what's worked for you.

18 SEP = 5.02 Km Run
26 SEP = 5.78 Km Run & new 5Km PB!
28 SEP = 14.18 Km Run & new 10Km PB!

SEP MONTHLY TOTAL = 61.5 Km (38.2 Miles)
ANNUAL TOTAL = 523.3 Km (325.1 Miles)

 
I'll leave the taper advice to someone more experienced than me. I love the red shoes! It sucks your boss keeps making everyone sick. Mine is a germophobe. He would never do that!
 
So now I have a new training dilemma which I ned some help with from our running community. On 13 October (2 weeks) I'm running the Melbourne Half Marathon. My current longest training run is 14.18km's. So next weekend should I taper and run a shorter distance (and if so what distance would you recommend) OR should I just run the 16km's followed by the Half Marathon the following weekend?

Likewise, 3 weeks after running the Melbourne Half Marathon I'm running the Wine & Dine races. So when should I start tapering?? I really need some help on this one and I hope some of you might be able to offer some opinions on what's worked for you.

So you just ran a 5k and 10k PR. Thus, the fitness is in a good place right now. I'd say taper, and run between 60-90 min at LR pace.

Essentially, for the second race (Wine and Dine) you're really just trying to maintain fitness moreso than gain anything new (the timeframe is too short). So probably something like:

Week after Melbourne - all easy, no more than 60 min in any run
2 weeks prior to Wine and Dine - mostly with easy with a touch of speed. LR capped at 120 min
Taper week prior to Wine and Dine - one hard run on Wed/Thurs, and weekend capped at 60 min
Race Week of Wine and Dine - all easy and standard taper week
 


So you just ran a 5k and 10k PR. Thus, the fitness is in a good place right now. I'd say taper, and run between 60-90 min at LR pace.

Essentially, for the second race (Wine and Dine) you're really just trying to maintain fitness moreso than gain anything new (the timeframe is too short). So probably something like:

Week after Melbourne - all easy, no more than 60 min in any run
2 weeks prior to Wine and Dine - mostly with easy with a touch of speed. LR capped at 120 min
Taper week prior to Wine and Dine - one hard run on Wed/Thurs, and weekend capped at 60 min
Race Week of Wine and Dine - all easy and standard taper week

That's great advice and makes a lot of sense! I've just never run 2 halves so close together before so I wasn't really sure what to do.

Talking to others I think I've figured out the following plan:

Tue 1 Oct - 5km relaxed run
Thu 3 Oct - 5km race pace/speed run
Sun 6 Oct - 16km long run

Tue 8 Oct - 5km relaxed run
Thu 10 Oct - 5km run
Sun 13 Oct - Melbourne Half Marathon

Tue 15 Oct - 5km relaxed run
Thu 17 Oct - 5km race pace/speed run
Sun 20 Oct - 15km (around 120 mins) long run

Tue 22 Oct - 5km relaxed run
Thu 24 Oct - 5km relaxed run
Sat 26 Oct - 9-10km (around 60 mins) long run before driving to the airport to fly out for Orlando!! Will help me sleep on the 16 hour flight to Dallas LOL!!

Tue 29 Oct - 5km relaxed run AROUND HOURGLASS LAKE EEEKKKKK!!
Thu 31 Oct - 3km relaxed run AROUND HOURGLASS LAKE EEEKKKKK!!
Fri 1 Nov - Wine & Dine 5km Race
Sat 2 Nov - Wine & Dine 10km Race
Sun 3 Nov - Wine & Dine Half Marathon
 
WEEKLY UPDATE
30 SEP - 13 OCT


Oops so I didn't do an update last week but as we get closer to our departure date things are getting more and more hectic. Only 13 days now till we fly out for Orlando. We've begun to pack and we're rushing around pickup up all those last minute things that one takes on a Disneyworld trip.

So since my last update I actually ran into some issues. After my long run of 14kms on the 29th I had increasingly bad heel pain which immediately sparked fears of plantar fasciitis. I rested but it just didn't get any better. After a 5 day break I took the advice of some other runners and began rolling my right calf pretty intensively. And this was the result!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Yes, I do tend to bruise easily but it turns out that my increasing heel pain was being caused by my stupid overly tight right calf again. This is the same calf I've been having issues with since May. It's so frustrating but I just have to work with it and be careful. As a result I ended up downgrading my entry to the Melbourne Half Marathon to the 10km race. It turned out to be a good decision in the end and as much as I would have liked to have run the Half Marathon I still had an amazing day and a great result.

So on Saturday 12th I was off to the Melbourne Marathon expo to collect my bib and checkout all the goodies. The expo here pales in comparison to anything that Disney dishes up for race weekends but I did manage to find some very handy items including a new pair of tights with an inbuilt Flip Belt. I'm not sure if many of you have seen these or know of them but OMG!! what a game changer. During the race today I wore my new tights and carried my car key, house key and garage remote as well as salt stick tablets, energy tubes, ID & cash as well as my mobile phone. The belt is built into the waist band of the tights and you could barely tell I was carry anything at all.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

I also purchased a neat water bottle that fits the belt too so that I always have hydration on hand. I was so impressed with the Flip Belt that I went back after the race today and purchased another belt to wear with my tights that don't have pockets or for in the parks.

I also found an amazing roll on reflective stick from a company called Glimmer Gear. Like most runners I'm often out on the road in the dark hours and I've had a few near misses with people reversing out of driveways or leaving for work in the morning and not seeing me. I've moved off the footpaths and onto the roads but again I'm still not super visible. So this amazing little stick rolls on grey but as soon as light hits it it lights up like a Christmas tree.
I LOVE IT!!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

So onto race day!!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

The weather today was amazing!! Chilly before dawn but it warmed up nicely and who wouldn't be happy in such a beautiful city!!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

So I was supposed to approach this race as a training run and take it easy but all the best laid plans LOL!!

I just felt strong and pushed out a new 10km PB!! And I didn't just beat it by a little bit I SMASHED IT BY 4 MIN!!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Over 37,000 people participated across all the races today and it was such a great race day.

Now I've got my sights firmly set on the Wine&Dine races and I'm really excited that my Proof of Time got me into corral E!! I'm happy with a middle of the pack start for the Half Marathon. That should allow me time to enjoy the course, stop for pictures and soak it all in without panicking the whole time that I'm about to be swept.

2 WEEKS TILL WE ARRIVE IN DISNEYWORLD
3 WEEKS TILL WE RUN WINE & DINE!!

1 OCT = 5.00 Km Run
5 OCT = 7.42 Km Run
10 OCT = 5 Km Run
13 OCT = 10 Km Run & New PB!!

OCT MONTHLY TOTAL = 26.4 Km (16.4 Miles)
ANNUAL TOTAL = 549.7 Km (341.6 Miles)

 
Yay for a great day and a new PR! I've been wondering about the Flipbelt tights. I have a belt and the exact same water bottle and love those.
 


OMG @JAMIESMITH Get the tights!! I love love love mine. They were so comfortable and I carried so much in them without all those weird thigh bulges on your thighs from side/leg pockets! The material they're made from is such good quality. It absolutely wicked the sweat away from my skin and was lovely and thick so I was never worried about see through material!
 
OMG @JAMIESMITH Get the tights!! I love love love mine. They were so comfortable and I carried so much in them without all those weird thigh bulges on your thighs from side/leg pockets! The material they're made from is such good quality. It absolutely wicked the sweat away from my skin and was lovely and thick so I was never worried about see through material!

I'll definitely have to try them now!
 
WEEKLY AND FINAL UPDATE BEFORE WINE & DINE 2019
14 OCT - 20 OCT


As the title says, this'll be my final update before running the Wine & Dine races.

We fly out for Orlando this coming Saturday 26 Oct and won't have a great deal of time or data once we land in Orlando to do updates. But I promise you'll get updates galore along with plenty of pics and details when we get back from this amazing trip!

So my boss and work colleagues are up to their usual tricks and bring their fly bugs into work and instead of staying away they're spreading their germs far and wide. So wide in fact that I'm back fighting off the flu and having to sacrifice my last long run before Wine & Dine. So this week I've been laying low, trying to recover and not pushing myself too hard. I only ended up doing 1 x 5km run :(

Disappointing but it's ok. The 5km run isn't timed so it'll be a nice relaxed jog/walk and lot of character photo stops and pictures. The 10km has a generous 16min mile pacing requirement and I currently run around a 10-11min mile pace. It's the Half Marathon I'm worried about purely because my longest run to date in my training was 14.2km's and I ran that 3 weeks ago :( I was going to do a 16km run today (Sunday) but the weather has been bad all weekend and I'm fighting off this flu again so I figured it was best for me to play it safe and rest rather than run myself into the ground and get really sick right before getting on the plane.

The other thing I did this week was snap up some bargains in the Sparkle Skirt Warehouse sale! Who doesn't love a sparkle skirt at 50% off!! The ladies were even lovely enough to arrange collection for me at the Wine & Dine Expo. So I'm now the proud owner of 2 sparkle skirts and a pair of sparkle capris which I'll pick up along with heaps of other merchandise at the Expo :)

So everyone it's here. It's finally here. I don't feel as prepared as I'd hoped but I think I'll be ok.
Looking forward to posting my photos and results once back home :)

6 DAYS TILL WE ARRIVE IN DISNEYWORLD
11 DAYS TILL WE RUN WINE & DINE!!

15 OCT = 5Km Run

OCT MONTHLY TOTAL = 31.4 Km (19.5 Miles)
ANNUAL TOTAL = 554.7Km (344.67 Miles)
 
WE'RE BACK AND WE DID GREAT!!

WOW WOW WOW!!


Our trip was amazing and you'll shortly see a full trip report pop up on the trip reports forum. I'm also going to be attempting a dining report. I won't bore you with the full trip report here and will just stick with the run weekend starting at the Expo!!

Thursday 31 October 2019

IMG_5987 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Around 10am we decided to drag ourselves out of bed and head to the expo. Not really knowing what to expect it was much bigger and busier than we were expecting. There were some really fun photo stops and the bib pickup process was actually really quick and painless.

PA310353 by Jennie G, on Flickr
PA310357 by Jennie G, on Flickr
PA310351 by Jennie G, on Flickr

The directions by staff members around the ESPN complex though were pretty frustrating and conflicting and we found ourselves running around like rats in a cage just trying to find a way into the merchandise area.

Holly cow! Can I just say that something weird seems to happen when people get near RunDisney merchandise! It was absolutely insane in that main arena and some people were just downright rude and obnoxious. I actually had one woman grab an in demand jacket out of my hands before a volunteer intervened. Luckily the volunteer had seen what happened and as I sat there aghast at what had just happened she stopped the lady, took the jacket back and handed it back to me. We dropped a pretty penny on RunDisney merchandise. Our purchases included W&D drink coasters, a W&D pin, a RunDisney LE pin, the main race weekend jacket, a RunDisney long sleeve tech shirt and a RunDisney short sleeve tech shirt. Then we were off to the expo floor to pickup our shirts.

Again we found the pickup process for our shirt packs was really quick and easy. No big queues and we had our shirts in hand in less than 10 minutes. I've never seen an expo so big! Other runners actually told me that this was one of the smaller expos when compared to marathon weekend. None the less it was impressive for us. I picked up 2 Sparkle (now Bolder) Skirts that I'd ordered in advance and purchased an additional one. I also purchased my first pair of compression socks and grabbed some sports beans and salt chews for the half marathon.

As we were leaving the expo we had to stop at the box office to pickup our after party tickets and as we got to the window I realised with instant fear that I'd lost my mobile phone somewhere in the expo.
:furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious::furious:
Panic set in and we started asking staff members where lost and found was located in case someone had handed it in. We were sent to 3 different places and no lost and found. As the panic rose we were becoming really quite vocal about our disgust at the lack of correct information we were being given. You see my phone is in a case that also holds my ID, credit cards and debit cards so the loss of the phone wasn't the worst part of it. It was also the loss of my ID, both credit cards we'd bought for the trip and my debit card. To cancel everything would have had a major impact on our trip and really complicated our payment options.

In the end we just decided to retrace our steps and luckily the lovely gentleman at Fit2Run had grabbed my phone and put it behind the counter in case I came back. I almost cried when he handed it over. I couldn't believe how incredibly lucky I'd been. I honestly believe that had I been at any other expo anywhere else in the world I would never have seen my phone again. Just a little bit of Disney magic!

After that drama we jumped on the bus to Disney Springs and had some lunch at Polite Pig - spoiler alert for my dining review - we weren't impressed. After lunch we had a very quiet end to the day and just headed back to POP for a quiet evening and an early night.

Up next - a very early start and an AMAZING 5KM RACE!!​
 
My cousin left her purse at Animal Kingdom Lodge just before ME was picking us up on our last trip. When we retraced our steps, it was in the exact spot she left it. Definitely Disney magic!

Please post a link when you start your TR and DR. I'd hate to miss them.
 
My cousin left her purse at Animal Kingdom Lodge just before ME was picking us up on our last trip. When we retraced our steps, it was in the exact spot she left it. Definitely Disney magic!

SO LUCKY!! There's nothing worse than that panicked feeling. It's awful. Thank goodness your cousin found her purse. I love that someone else has experienced that little bit of Disney magic when it meant the most :)
 
FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019

JUNGLE BOOK 5KM RACE


So we tried so hard to get an early night on Halloween night but the paper thin walls and people who seemed intent on shouting to each other across the courtyard at POP Century kept us awake well after 10pm. When our alarm went off at 2:30am we were quite bleary eyed and not loving life.

Luckily we were well prepared and had laid everything out the night before. When we first arrived in Orlando we took a trip to Walmart to stock up on basic breakfast essentials, so we grabbed a granola bar and banana and headed to the bus.

We arrived at the bus stop clad in our costume finest at 2:50am along with about 40 other keen runners in line. We were lucky to get on the 2nd bus out of pop and arrived at the EPCOT carpark around 3:05am.

IMG_6043 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Welcome to our first Run Disney event!

The start village was a little overwhelming for us. We actually had no idea what to expect but we did know to meet our fellow Lizards from the Be Our Guest Podcast running group (BOGP Lizards) underneath the "L" meeting area sign. At the expo the previous day I was lucky enough to meet a fellow Lizard so we knew at least 1 person in amongst the sea of Disney costume clad strangers. Not knowing anyone was one thing we were really nervous about but we need not have worried. Soon enough we were surrounded by Lizard friends from all over the world who welcomed us with open arms and were so excited just like us to be there.

IMG_6090 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Yes we were those token runners who seemed to have completely lost the memo that this was not a Star Wars race weekend and we turned up as Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper. At first we were a little awkward and felt a bit silly because there was literally not a single other person dressed in Star Wars garb but it actually worked our really well and every DJ along the route called us out because we stood out :)

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

As we made our way to our starting coral we couldn't believe the sheer numbers of people who were crazy enough to get up so early just to run 5km's!! As we were waiting for our corral to start (Coral D) it was quite humid and still but just moments before Coral A took off a cool breeze blew through and there was an audible sigh of relief as the temperature dropped a full 5-10 degrees in a matter or minutes.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6057 by Jennie G, on Flickr

And then we were off!!

Probably only 500m from the start line was our very first character stop.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

And not long after that we spotted that magical EPCOT icon

IMG_6065 by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
d080ed80-93e3-4868-acea-be3acf635b3c by Jennie G, on Flickr

We entered the park and found it full of walls and construction which was a bit disorienting. I think the on stage entry point was around The Seas/Test Track. We then made our way over to world showcase and the view was just stunning with all the world showcase pavilions lit up in lights and the flame torches lit. At France we jumped in line for Remy. The line was one of the longer ones but the wait was about 20 minutes.

13de5adc-992c-4f6f-be71-9adcb5a991fa by Jennie G, on Flickr

cb4dc305-a82a-4775-92ed-3817981a9ceb by Jennie G, on Flickr

I have a real soft spot for Japan and couldn't resist stopping for these pics :)

IMG_6075 by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
c0d9bb7f-4a4b-4e36-8a98-245d16b45d00 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Right before the home straight there was a Cars photo op which we also stopped for

000e1fb1-f09d-4752-9c7a-b66809c4cfa5 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Ant then just like that we were crossing the line and it was all over!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
ac852923-79dd-4bc4-9e54-106357096525 by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6088 by Jennie G, on Flickr

This was such a great race and I was so happy we chose the costumes we did. My husband really loves Star Wars and as it turned out this was the only race he ended up running. He stupidly didn't train and then pulled up really sore in his ITB and struggled to get down stairs for the next 3 days LOL!! Amateur :)

Following the race we headed back to POP for showers and then hit EPCOT for park opening! Can I just say I LOVE THE SKYLINER!! It saved us so much time this trip. I'm very superstitious about wearing race shirts before completing a race so of course we threw on our 5km shirts and hit the park. I'm just really bummed now that we didn't wear our medals this day. We thought we'd seem silly but after arriving at EPCOT we saw lots of people wearing their 5km medal :( The cast members and characters we met during the day were fantastic and we were congratulated all day, even from fellow guests! It was such a wonderful celebratory and encouraging thing to experience. It was an element of RunDisney that we really hadn't expected but was so so wonderful.

39edafa6-4369-4ba2-a01a-a529e8dbae39 by Jennie G, on Flickr
4e2cc1ef-e2c1-4077-b4d7-c4a3c5b2f685 by Jennie G, on Flickr

NEXT UP MY UNEXPECTED SOLO 10KM FROZEN RACE​
 
SATURDAY 2ND NOVEMBER

FROZEN 10KM RACE


Another 2:30am start! Now my husband was supposed to run the 10km race with me but he stupidly didn't do any training prior to our trip and after a short sprint to the finish line in the 5km race the day before, he had pulled up with ITB tightness. Now for regular runners this wouldn't have been an issue. We foam roll, stretch and train so that our ITB's don't give us too much grief. But for my husband he thought he'd done a serious injury 😝😝 Granted he also had a migraine and it wasn't worth risking serious injury or further pain/discomfort because we all know what big babies men are when they're sick or in pain!! So it was back to bed for him and off to the bus I went alone :(

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
HELLO!!

So off to the corals I went to meet up with my fellow lizard runners pre-race. Thank goodness for these guys! They were so welcoming and were life savers seeing as though the hubby had to drop out. Not having to face the next 2 days alone was a massive comfort.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

So before we knew it we were in the starting shute and ready to go!!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6125 by Jennie G, on Flickr
by Jennie G, on Flickr
f7a3efa7-2552-4002-b5c6-f0343f81af43 by Jennie G, on Flickr

You can see how shiny and sweaty I was in the last couple of pics. That's because it was actually really humid that morning. Even 1 mile in we were all feeling the humidity but at least it wasn't raining! Apparently in the previous 3 or 4 years the Wine & Dine weekend has been notorious for rain and bad weather but so far luck had been on our side.

If I'm honest this was the race I was least looking forward to because I'm not a huge Frozen fan. The medal didn't really inspire me and it was an almost identical route to the 5km race the day before. But I really like the 10km distance and if I was going to travel all that way I was going to do every distance.

I was able to get some great character photos and made time to just enjoy the race :)

0718f914-d3ba-473a-bee9-0a986a32765b by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6161 by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6165 by Jennie G, on Flickr
f67bffb1-628a-4e06-a7e6-18f61a621855 by Jennie G, on Flickr
5286361b-afa7-4ce5-984c-efce3fd2370d by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6167 by Jennie G, on Flickr
35953191-3195-4488-a679-cf44ca68514b by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

And then just like that it was all over!

d20b0358-d8a7-4f88-9348-eb11ace02654 by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6209 by Jennie G, on Flickr

I did end up running this one alone after all. Although I met up with my lizards group I didn't stick with them and I was pretty much alone in my slower coral. I still had fun though and was looking forward to a big breakfast at BOMA with the hubby. After a quick shower we were catching an uber to Animal Kingdom Lodge - our very first visit to this resort! It's definitely impressive but with my hubby being a very beige eater, the cuisine at Animal Kingdom just doesn't suite his tastes.

PB020370 by Jennie G, on Flickr
PB020372 by Jennie G, on Flickr
PB020381 by Jennie G, on Flickr

MMMMMMM BREAKFAST!!

IMG_6211 by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6212 by Jennie G, on Flickr

After breakfast and an explore around the result we jumped on a bus to Animal Kingdom for the day. I learnt my lesson from the day before and made sure I wore my medal! I didn't have it on all the time but I had it in my bad ready for a photo or two :)

92695b56-f3bf-4025-adb9-baa25e265f36 by Jennie G, on Flickr
Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

After a nice 4 or 5 hours in the park we headed back to POP for an early night before the big half marathon!!

Next Up the Half Marathon and Two Course Challenge completion :)

 
Men can be big babies! At least your hubby tries to run with you. Mine certainly won't!
I'd love to know how you've added your trip reports and reports underway to your signature! I've been trying to figure it out and have today updated my trip ticker but I can't for the life of me figure out how to add my report links :(
 
SUNDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2019

PATRIOTIC MICKEY HALF MARATHON AND TWO COURSE CHALLENGE


By this stage the 2:30am wake up calls are getting a bit old and a bit tedious but I'm up again at 2:30am with everything laid out and ready to go including my regular breakfast of a banana and oat bar to have in the corals as I wait. Today I'm in coral E which is I think a pretty good starting coral considering I really didn't have a great POT. About 2 weeks before we left Australia I ran in the Melbourne 10km race and produced a POT that would have gotten me into coral D but oh well.

The line for the bus this morning was much smaller than the previous 2 mornings and I was on the first bus out of POP. I admit to sneaking in a quick snooze. Last night's sleep, and every night for that matter, was very broken thanks to groups returning to their rooms late and insisting on screaming at each other across the courtyard or yelling down the outside corridors at midnight and 1am. A very frustrating experience and we'll really rethink our accomodation choices for future trips, especially if participating in races.

Upon arriving I headed for the character meet and greet lines and luckily found several fellow lizards from my running group who had all joined the line just prior to my arrival. Half way through the line we all decided to bunch up together to get a group photo which I'm sure everyone in line appreciated.

9524ce0d-a007-4232-9f8d-4d3343d0b1bf by Jennie G, on Flickr

And then we were off to our regular meeting spot for the group photo :)

b49da572-b9d0-4bf7-89bb-295c4097bbd9 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Today I went costume-less. The goal was to be comfortable and I felt a little under prepared coming into these races so I didn't want to complicate things worrying about a costume or having to remove and dump parts of a costume mid race. Wearing my lizard running shirt also made it really easy to identify each other and find one another on course.

And we're back to the starting chute!

IMG_6240 by Jennie G, on Flickr
IMG_6243 by Jennie G, on Flickr

I loved how every morning there were slightly different fireworks for wave starts. It kept things fun. This morning it was actually cold!! Luckily I had bought rain ponchos in case of rain but they also act as a great wind break for cold weather. A lot of runners had done similar with garbage bags or throw away sweats, mylar or fleece blankets. The starting chute looked like a clothing graveyard but it's nice to know that Disney collects all of the discarded clothing and fleece blankets to donate.

So off we set and again I was alone and just taking it all in. I stopped at the first character stop which was Burt & Mary!

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

And soon enough I was at the 1 mile marker

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Somewhere between mile marker 1 and 2 a funny thing happened. As I approached a very long meet and greet line (which I'd decided to skip) with my headphones on and a tune pumping out, out of the corner of my eye I see people wildly waving and shouting. At first I thought they were waving at someone behind me until I realised they were all wearing lizard shirts!! A lot of my fellow lizards had started in coral A & B today, so I didn't expect to see them at all on course but here they were, waving me down wildly to join them in the meet and greet queue. Honestly I could have cried! As we waited in the queue my fellow fast lizards explained that what they typically do during a race is that the faster starting groups take off and hold places in lines for the runners starting in slower corals. That way we all get those wonderful meet and greet opportunities. I hadn't realised this previously but OMG it made my experience truely special and we stuck with one another for much of the race. The group also laughed and said I needed to invest in some Aftershokz so that I could hear them screaming at me in future races LOL!!

IMG_6252 by Jennie G, on Flickr


IMG_E6460 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

There was quite a long stretch between mile 2 and the entry point at Animal Kingdom with no character stops but having my fellow lizards to pace off was wonderful. As we approached Animal Kingdom we found quite a few stops :)

a3f38b97-0715-4b07-9fc4-50ad677a490a by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

IMG_6325 by Jennie G, on Flickr

HELLO ANIMAL KINGDOM!! Your tree looks lovely in the pre dawn light!!

IMG_6275 by Jennie G, on Flickr

My very favourite ride in all of WDW is Expedition Everest and as we wound our way through the park I took what might be one of my all time favourite photos of the sun breaking over Everest

IMG_6276 by Jennie G, on Flickr

IMG_E6278 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

IMG_6283 by Jennie G, on Flickr

As we hit the carpark of Animal Kingdom and mile 6, I hit a wall. Don't be fooled by the smiles in the selfies. Everyone does but this next stretch between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios was probably the worst of the race.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

IMG_6457 by Jennie G, on Flickr

IMG_6327 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Ok so I had to do the typical tourist thing and point out the mile marker with my home country. I looked for this one every race and was so excited every time to see it!

IMG_6292 by Jennie G, on Flickr

As we reached mile 10 I was so happy to see Tower of Terror in the distance and running through the off stage area of Hollywood Studios! Mile 10 was pretty much then end and I just kept telling myself that from here it was all party!!

IMG_6328 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

IMG_6329 by Jennie G, on Flickr

As we came through the backstage gates in Hollywood Studios there was a Beauty and the Beast meet and greet but the line was huge so I didn't stop but I snapped this pic as I streaked by.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

Hollywood Studios had opened at this point and it was a glorious day. It was so encouraging to see people heading towards Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster cheer us all on and give us high 5's as we ran past. Some guests who clearly didn't realise it was a race weekend seemed completely puzzled by all these sweaty, heaving people running past LOL!!

IMG_6300 by Jennie G, on Flickr

As we entered Hollywood Studios I texted my husband so that he could get up and on the bus to the finish line. It was an extremely short run through the studios and before I knew it we were running past the Skyliner and on the trail to the Boardwalk.

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

All along the boardwalk area there were guests cheering on friends and family members. People had signs and were high 5'ing us as we ran past. There were also DJ's and some character meets along the way. You could really feel people starting to get excited about approaching the finish line.

IMG_E6308 by Jennie G, on Flickr

Untitled by Jennie G, on Flickr

IMG_6453 by Jennie G, on Flickr

I quickly realised that I'd left it too late to text my husband and really should have texted him from Animal Kingdom. He had texted to let me know that he was still stuck at POP waiting for a bus and I was literally only 1 mile from the finish line :( OOPS!! So I mulled around and actually pulled off to the side of the course for what felt like an eternity. I found every excuse I could for a photo or meet & greet.

Well I've reached my 35 photo limit so I'll sign off here but I'll be back in another post with my big finish, after party, final thoughts, tips and reflections on my first RunDisney weekend :)




 

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