Mimsy Borogove
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
- Messages
- 711
January 15, 2017 part 4 - Luminous Beings Are We, Not This Crude Matter
As I was leaving Disneyland, I decided to pull over to the side and attempt a selfie with Captain Phasma in the background because it was such a cool photo op and also I could use a little practice in my selfie game. It isn’t my best work, but not too shabby, I guess? Then it was time to exit Disneyland and head towards the city streets. I was still feeling a little giddy from the park time and also because it was still feeling really nice outside, running was fun! And trust me, living in Florida, running isn’t much for fun most of the time when you either have to start your long run at 5am or face the consequences of the heat, humidity, and the sun's cruel glare.
In short, this was glorious! It was time now to head south on Harbor Boulevard, among the common folk (just kidding), but before exiting Disney property, there was a guy handing out Red Vines – nice! I didn’t take any, though, because I can barely walk/run and chew gum at the same time. So let’s not complicate things.
One of my favorite aspects of running Disney races in California is the crowd support. Lots of folks come out with signs, costumes, cow bells, food, free hugs, the works. And it’s probably because it’s on city streets versus on private property in the middle of nowhere (though major props to the folks handing out fresh McDonald’s fries on the overpass at mile 16ish of the WDW marathon last year!) so it’s a bit more accessible to people than Osceola Parkway or World Drive, etc.
This guy was awesome!
Then it was the long march on Harbor, past my hotel (though I’m happy to say that there was no temptation to head there). For some reason, it felt a lot shorter than in 2015. Maybe because now I’ve run more than a dozen half marathons in the interim, but this stretch seemed to crawl along forever two years ago.
Though it is a bit disheartening to be at 4 miles and see all the runners returning, nearly finished. Not to mention seeing your race costume but done better and faster!
By this time, I’m still feeling pretty good, like a walk in the park, enjoying the race costumes around me (including a girl dressed in a really cool Chirrut Imwe – “I am one with the Force, the Force is with me.” – costume), just striding along and then boom! I was suddenly facedown and flat on the road. My shoe had apparently caught on one of those road reflector thingies and down I went. Luckily, I have decent reflexes and my arms went up and cushioned my fall. A bunch of runners stopped to check if I was OK, one said something about my nose (so I thought I’d scraped it all up) but in my momentary daze, I realized she asked about my head but was gesturing to her nose, hence my confusion. But my head seemed fine even though my visor went flying off ahead of me. A few folks helped me up, checked to see if I was OK, and kept going (and I didn’t blame them a bit, it was nice that they’d stopped at all).
Meanwhile I took a little inventory to see where the damage lay. Both palms had medium-depth road rash, my left elbow was shredded (literally, my arm sleeve was ripped at the elbow), my iPhone case front was shredded (thank goodness for Lifeproof cases – my phone is fine to this day) though the earbud wires were partially cut, and my midsection was sore (my breath had been knocked right out of me). But by and large, I was OK. Very fortunate. So I started walking, gingerly because I wasn’t quite sure if there wasn’t more going on (I’d hit the ground pretty hard, even with my arms mostly catching me) and trying to work out the sudden stiffness in my legs. I looked at my elbow and palms, which were starting to sting by now, and decided I should visit a medic tent, at the very least to get the road grit cleaned out of the wounds because in addition to that nastiness, I’d be sweating for another 9ish miles, so best to get it out before that happened. So this race marked a first for me: my first on-course medical tent visit!
I opened up the digital race guide on my phone to see where the next one would be, and it was near mile 6. By this point, I’d texted DH to let him know I’d totally taken a header on course but apparently was still a little messed up in the noggin because I told him I was past mile 5 (which: nope). So I had about a mile and a half to go to the medical tent and by now I noticed that my bib was also only hanging by one hole; the top right hole had been ripped in the fall, so now I was awkwardly running/walking and holding one end of the bib up. All the more reason to visit the medical tent because they might have some tape to fix my bib.
Honestly, I was still a bit shaken up, because as you can see, my finger is obscuring the bottom third of this photo! The nurse is the nice-looking lady in back with the black jacket/scarf on and after waiting about 5 minutes for her to finish up with another runner (plus an additional runner in a lounge chair who was apparently waiting to be picked up by the party bus), she looked me over to ensure I didn’t have a concussion and then tried to figure out how to patch me up. She decided that my palms would be OK after wiping them down with antiseptic (ouch), but that my elbow needed Neosporin and a bandage, and she didn’t have one bigger than a standard Band-Aid. So I told her that if she had a gauze pad, I could position it and then put my arm sleeve back on to keep it in place. She thought that was a good idea. And when she was done, I asked for a piece of medical tape to fix my bib. My medical tent visit was 15 minutes.
It doesn't look that nasty, but trust me, it hurt like a @*%$&.
My newly-taped bib corner! I was just so glad that I didn't have to hold it up anymore.
I profusely thanked nurse, got up from my chair, and then cautiously re-entered the course. And I was back on my way. Around mile 6.5, we turned west onto Garden Grove Blvd for about a mile, then turned north on to 9th Street (in 2015, I’d misread the street sign as “Sith Street”
) for a couple blocks, then turning west on to Stanford Avenue, where we encountered cosplayers!! Woot woot! 
If you aren’t familiar with the 501st Legion, it is an organization dedicated to costuming in the Star Wars Universe, specifically for the Empire/Dark Side. There is also a sister Rebel Legion for the Light Side, but basically both organizations are referred to as “the 501st” collectively. Members apply to represent certain characters and have to meet strict standards for the costumes which can be rejected by review boards. It’s actually pretty serious and involves a lot of artistic talent. In addition to the costuming aspect, they do a ton of charity work, like visiting terminally ill children, volunteering at hospitals, and much, much more. There are chapters (= garrisons) all over the world. Their motto is “bad guys doing good” and I, for one, think that they’re a phenomenal organization. They also were the absolute stars (no pun intended) of the 2015 inaugural Light Side Half, as well as the 2016 inaugural Dark Side Half.
This year, as in 2015 (my only other Light Side experience), there were many lined up at and nearby Garden Grove High School along Stanford Avenue.
Up Next: Away Put Your Weapon, I Mean You No Harm
As I was leaving Disneyland, I decided to pull over to the side and attempt a selfie with Captain Phasma in the background because it was such a cool photo op and also I could use a little practice in my selfie game. It isn’t my best work, but not too shabby, I guess? Then it was time to exit Disneyland and head towards the city streets. I was still feeling a little giddy from the park time and also because it was still feeling really nice outside, running was fun! And trust me, living in Florida, running isn’t much for fun most of the time when you either have to start your long run at 5am or face the consequences of the heat, humidity, and the sun's cruel glare.
In short, this was glorious! It was time now to head south on Harbor Boulevard, among the common folk (just kidding), but before exiting Disney property, there was a guy handing out Red Vines – nice! I didn’t take any, though, because I can barely walk/run and chew gum at the same time. So let’s not complicate things.
One of my favorite aspects of running Disney races in California is the crowd support. Lots of folks come out with signs, costumes, cow bells, food, free hugs, the works. And it’s probably because it’s on city streets versus on private property in the middle of nowhere (though major props to the folks handing out fresh McDonald’s fries on the overpass at mile 16ish of the WDW marathon last year!) so it’s a bit more accessible to people than Osceola Parkway or World Drive, etc.
This guy was awesome!
Then it was the long march on Harbor, past my hotel (though I’m happy to say that there was no temptation to head there). For some reason, it felt a lot shorter than in 2015. Maybe because now I’ve run more than a dozen half marathons in the interim, but this stretch seemed to crawl along forever two years ago.
Though it is a bit disheartening to be at 4 miles and see all the runners returning, nearly finished. Not to mention seeing your race costume but done better and faster!
By this time, I’m still feeling pretty good, like a walk in the park, enjoying the race costumes around me (including a girl dressed in a really cool Chirrut Imwe – “I am one with the Force, the Force is with me.” – costume), just striding along and then boom! I was suddenly facedown and flat on the road. My shoe had apparently caught on one of those road reflector thingies and down I went. Luckily, I have decent reflexes and my arms went up and cushioned my fall. A bunch of runners stopped to check if I was OK, one said something about my nose (so I thought I’d scraped it all up) but in my momentary daze, I realized she asked about my head but was gesturing to her nose, hence my confusion. But my head seemed fine even though my visor went flying off ahead of me. A few folks helped me up, checked to see if I was OK, and kept going (and I didn’t blame them a bit, it was nice that they’d stopped at all).
Meanwhile I took a little inventory to see where the damage lay. Both palms had medium-depth road rash, my left elbow was shredded (literally, my arm sleeve was ripped at the elbow), my iPhone case front was shredded (thank goodness for Lifeproof cases – my phone is fine to this day) though the earbud wires were partially cut, and my midsection was sore (my breath had been knocked right out of me). But by and large, I was OK. Very fortunate. So I started walking, gingerly because I wasn’t quite sure if there wasn’t more going on (I’d hit the ground pretty hard, even with my arms mostly catching me) and trying to work out the sudden stiffness in my legs. I looked at my elbow and palms, which were starting to sting by now, and decided I should visit a medic tent, at the very least to get the road grit cleaned out of the wounds because in addition to that nastiness, I’d be sweating for another 9ish miles, so best to get it out before that happened. So this race marked a first for me: my first on-course medical tent visit!
I opened up the digital race guide on my phone to see where the next one would be, and it was near mile 6. By this point, I’d texted DH to let him know I’d totally taken a header on course but apparently was still a little messed up in the noggin because I told him I was past mile 5 (which: nope). So I had about a mile and a half to go to the medical tent and by now I noticed that my bib was also only hanging by one hole; the top right hole had been ripped in the fall, so now I was awkwardly running/walking and holding one end of the bib up. All the more reason to visit the medical tent because they might have some tape to fix my bib.
Honestly, I was still a bit shaken up, because as you can see, my finger is obscuring the bottom third of this photo! The nurse is the nice-looking lady in back with the black jacket/scarf on and after waiting about 5 minutes for her to finish up with another runner (plus an additional runner in a lounge chair who was apparently waiting to be picked up by the party bus), she looked me over to ensure I didn’t have a concussion and then tried to figure out how to patch me up. She decided that my palms would be OK after wiping them down with antiseptic (ouch), but that my elbow needed Neosporin and a bandage, and she didn’t have one bigger than a standard Band-Aid. So I told her that if she had a gauze pad, I could position it and then put my arm sleeve back on to keep it in place. She thought that was a good idea. And when she was done, I asked for a piece of medical tape to fix my bib. My medical tent visit was 15 minutes.
It doesn't look that nasty, but trust me, it hurt like a @*%$&.
My newly-taped bib corner! I was just so glad that I didn't have to hold it up anymore.
I profusely thanked nurse, got up from my chair, and then cautiously re-entered the course. And I was back on my way. Around mile 6.5, we turned west onto Garden Grove Blvd for about a mile, then turned north on to 9th Street (in 2015, I’d misread the street sign as “Sith Street”
) for a couple blocks, then turning west on to Stanford Avenue, where we encountered cosplayers!! Woot woot! If you aren’t familiar with the 501st Legion, it is an organization dedicated to costuming in the Star Wars Universe, specifically for the Empire/Dark Side. There is also a sister Rebel Legion for the Light Side, but basically both organizations are referred to as “the 501st” collectively. Members apply to represent certain characters and have to meet strict standards for the costumes which can be rejected by review boards. It’s actually pretty serious and involves a lot of artistic talent. In addition to the costuming aspect, they do a ton of charity work, like visiting terminally ill children, volunteering at hospitals, and much, much more. There are chapters (= garrisons) all over the world. Their motto is “bad guys doing good” and I, for one, think that they’re a phenomenal organization. They also were the absolute stars (no pun intended) of the 2015 inaugural Light Side Half, as well as the 2016 inaugural Dark Side Half.
This year, as in 2015 (my only other Light Side experience), there were many lined up at and nearby Garden Grove High School along Stanford Avenue.
Up Next: Away Put Your Weapon, I Mean You No Harm
)
I wasn’t able to get a photo of it/him, though.
