Day 1) Tuesday - Woke up at 5am, left house at 6:30 and arrived at airport at 7am for 9am flight. Played some mini-golf after checking in. I had to jog across the street to avoid getting hit by a bus and was encouraged to find that my leg (which had been hurting for 3 weeks) did not bother me when I ran. This was the first day of getting up early and being on my feet WAY too much!
Day 2) Full MK day. At the gates at 8am and left a few minutes before the end of Wishes. I had to buy the $12 box of Nyquil at the hotel gift shop to have any hope of sleeping. I developed a cold/bad sinus infection on Monday and barely slept Monday and Tuesday night. The drugs worked and was able to get a decent amount of sleep Wednesday night.
Day 3) 5k Day! Woke up at 4 to catch bus by 5. I was very happy that I had thrown in some long sleeve shirts and running tights, but I really wish I had my good cold gear shirts. Before the race, we were able to squeeze into the unused massage tent which was heated, but very crowded! It made waiting for a race to start much easier! I was assigned corral C, but moved back to D to run with my brother. I ended up wearing a trash bag for the first mile or so of the race and then immediately regretted throwing it out. We took it very slow and finished in about 43 minutes. The calf muscle that had been giving me problems started to hurt a little by the end of the race. We spent the rest of the day at AK, and then took a bus over to Epcot to find something for dinner. We were too indecisive and just ended up eating back at the hotel. I tried to be in bed by 8, but I think it was closer to 9.
Day 4) 10k! Woke up at 3 to catch the bus by 4. I wore the running tights again, but decided to go with a tshirt and arm sleeves this time. I was able to get into the massage tent again to stay warm, and this time stayed there until almost the last minute. When the race started, my calf started to hurt almost immediately, so I took it slow and walked as much as I could. My normal running pace is around 10:30/11 min/mile, but my goal was to stay under 14. I finished in 1:26. I grabbed a mylar blanket on the way to the bus and was back to the hotel by 8am. Had breakfast at Kona at 10am and then spent the rest of the day at MK. We left around 6 and had dinner at the hotel. In bed by 8:30.
Day 5) Half Marathon! I woke up at 3 to catch the bus by 4 again. My planned outfit for the day had been shorts and a RawThreads tank, but I knew I would be way too cold. I opted for the tights again, and put on a long sleeved shirt under my tank. I thought I would be too hot, but it ended up working well. I kept the mylar blanket from the day before and wore that as well. I got to the bus stop at 4 and the line was SUPER long. I think I waited 15-20 mins for a bus and then the bus sat in traffic forever. I got to the starting area and jumped right into a bathroom line. The race started as I was still walking to my corral, but I was able to get into K just fine. I was happy that I didn't have to wait too long until my corral started. Same as the day before, I decided to try to maintain a 14 min pace by walking as much as possible. Towards the end of the race, I had sudden bursts of energy and periods where my leg didn't hurt, so I would run a lot more. I think the pain in my feet at this point was so bad that it masked any other pain I may have felt. This is where I started to regret all of the park days. My official time was 3:09. That would make it the 3rd straight day of personal worsts for me!
Got back to the hotel around 10 and then spent the rest of the day at HS with a dinner break at Via Napoli where I proceeded to eat 5/8 of the pizza my brother and I were sharing...
Day 6) Marathon day! I decided to try to get the bus earlier today so set the alarm for 2:30. Had a little trouble actually waking up and didn't get to the bus until 3:45. The line was long again, but a little better and I was able to get on a bus faster. The traffic was even worse this day and I ended up falling asleep on the bus. The bus dropped us off at about 4:50 and I walked as fast as I could to the race retreat which I had paid for just for this day. I was told upon walking in that the tent closed at 5
so I checked my bag and jumped right into to the photo line for the Toy Story characters. I was going for a Jesse theme with my outfit today, so I was very happy to see them in there! I had enough time to use the bathroom, then it was off to the corrals. I was running in a tank and shorts, so I grabbed a trash bag to keep warm in the corral. I tried to sit down until the corral started moving up since my feet were already killing me. I was able to maintain a 14 minute pace for most of the race (excluding the miles where I made bathroom stops), but towards the end my feet hurt so bad that I just couldn't walk fast enough. I had to run a little more each mile to keep the pace and eventually stopped caring. As we entered HS, I realized that it hurt just as much to walk as it did to run, so I just ran. I ran through all of HS and to the Boardwalk before I started to get out of breath. The cold I had in the beginning of the week and turned to chest congestion and breathing was hard sometimes! I powered through Epcot and smiled at the photographers and people who shouted encouragement, but for the most part I just had tunnel vision. I forgot about grabbing a drink to cross the finish line with, and I forgot to take a picture of the finish line or with Mickey. I just wanted to cross the line and be done! My official time was 6:18, which is actually a PR by about 10 minutes. Before I got to FL, I had really wanted to finish under 6 hours (I am capable of finishing in 5:20 really), but I am happy with just finishing!
After collecting my medals, I immediately went to the race retreat for real food. This is the reason I pay for the tent. I had a plateful of eggs, some sausage, a muffin, and a coke. There were also sandwiches and pasta that I did not try. After eating, I went outside to get a picture with Dopey. When I got to the end of the very long line, I was told the line was closed
The woman told me I could get a picture with Daisy instead. A lot of expletives went through my mind, but I think I just stared at her like this
and walked over to Goofy. Keep in mind that the race was not even over yet. I got my picture with Goofy and walked past the Dopey line to see that more people had gotten in. I asked what was going on and was told that everyone behind the lady with the sign (who first told me the line was closed) could get in line but was not guaranteed a photo. Fine, I will take my chances. The line went really slow as people were taking multiple photos and dancing around with Dopey. Apparently, all of the characters had to be done by 2pm, and it was now 1:50. A woman in front me was very outspoken about this and complained to the handlers. They eventually got the line moving faster and I got my photo before the line closed. However, I do not see it on Marathonfoto
. I do have a photo with my iPhone, but it's not very good. Mission accomplished, I finally got on the bus and made it back to the hotel by 2:30. I showered and put my feet up for a few minutes then headed to Downtown Disney for shopping and dinner. The post-race party wasn't very exciting, but there was a truck selling left over merchandise.
Day 7) Slept in a little (until 7 WOW). Spent day at HS and Epcot. Attempted to DATW, but bowed out after 2 strong drinks and rain.
Day 8) Got up early to head to Universal. The new Diagon Alley section of Harry Potter is phenomenal. SO much better than the original Hogsmeade section IMO. There was just more to explore and see there. I never really cared for the rest of the Universal (IoA included) so likely won't be back soon.
Day 9) Home! Got home around 9:30 and basically just dropped my bags and went to bed. Work the next day and back to reality!
All said and done it was a great trip. Touring the parks definitely made racing more difficult, but I would not have done it differently. I will probably avoid marathon weekend for a while and try other races. I don't want to do Dopey again, but I know if I go and only do 1 or 2 of the races, I will be extremely jealous of everyone in their Dopey gear! I think Princess may be my next RunDisney event
Obviously, you are a much faster runner than I am and were way ahead of me...
I gained 6lbs on this trip, which is typical. It's always 6lbs! 
).
) The medal was more special being the 10th anniversary and I think it was more interesting than the Dopey medal.
