If you focus on what you left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead
- Thread starter MommaoffherRocker
- Start date
MommaoffherRocker
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2015
Thanks!
MommaoffherRocker
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2015
Wow I can't believe I haven't been on here since Feb. 7th!! To be honest I haven't felt the best about running since the marathon. Even though I have been running faster and getting closer to where I want to be I just felt lost I guess. The past week or so things have been looking better.
I signed up for the Darkside half at the Princess expo. I have a 10 miler on the schedule that day and will be on property anyways so I figured why not. I had been debating it for a while and came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be happy running that morning around CBR knowing I could be running the half. I am also hoping they are going to be keeping track of legacy runners and one day I will be recognized.
Yesterday was the lottery for the NYC marathon. I knew it was a long shot ( I heard 17% got selected) but I was really hoping to get in. I didn't make plans for fall races just incase I got in. Well I didn't get in
even though I wish I could run it I am relieved that I can now plan what marathon I will do. The few I had on my list were the RnR Vegas marathon (it has a 5 hour time limit), Honolulu marathon (not sure if I really want to go to Hawaii by myself on my birthday) or WDW. In the end I decided to go for Dopey #2. I was worried because looking at the runDisney website it says it is sold out and Acclaim, the TA I usually go with, said they were sold out too. But luckily I had asked the runDisney booth at Princess and they said they had bibs available with no ticket requirements so I went ahead and booked with them. I am excited to have another marathon on the horizon! And I am determined to work my butt off to get a awesome POT this year.
Now a little Princess weekend recap-
I ran the Enchanted 10k at Princess last weekend. Princess weekend was not my favorite in 2016 so I was going to skip it this year. Then they announced the theme was going to be Belle. Belle is my DD3's favorite princess. Her name is Lemon and we have successfully brainwashed her into believing her favorite color is yellow and Belle is the princess with the yellow dress. So I decided to make it a girl's weekend and take my 2 DDs to run the kid's races. But when they released the medals I was kicking myself for not signing up and I made a comment on the boards that I loved them. A fellow Dis'er contacted me and said they could get me a bib to any of the races, I jumped at the chance and signed up for the 10k.
Fast forward to Feb. DH, DD5, DD3, DS2 and I left for WDW Friday morning. DH and DS2 came along since I now needed someone to be with the girls while I was running. We left DS10 and DS7 at the grandparents because they probably wouldn't like Princess weekend and then we could fit in one hotel room. When we got there we hadn't gotten the room ready text yet so we headed to the expo first. We got all of our bibs and then noticed they had a photo op set up. When we walked over it was Belle and Rapunzel. The Belle line was kinda insane but Rapunzel was reasonable so we got in line. She signed the girl's bibs and I got a couple cute pictures.
I signed up for the Darkside half at the Princess expo. I have a 10 miler on the schedule that day and will be on property anyways so I figured why not. I had been debating it for a while and came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be happy running that morning around CBR knowing I could be running the half. I am also hoping they are going to be keeping track of legacy runners and one day I will be recognized.
Yesterday was the lottery for the NYC marathon. I knew it was a long shot ( I heard 17% got selected) but I was really hoping to get in. I didn't make plans for fall races just incase I got in. Well I didn't get in
even though I wish I could run it I am relieved that I can now plan what marathon I will do. The few I had on my list were the RnR Vegas marathon (it has a 5 hour time limit), Honolulu marathon (not sure if I really want to go to Hawaii by myself on my birthday) or WDW. In the end I decided to go for Dopey #2. I was worried because looking at the runDisney website it says it is sold out and Acclaim, the TA I usually go with, said they were sold out too. But luckily I had asked the runDisney booth at Princess and they said they had bibs available with no ticket requirements so I went ahead and booked with them. I am excited to have another marathon on the horizon! And I am determined to work my butt off to get a awesome POT this year.Now a little Princess weekend recap-
I ran the Enchanted 10k at Princess last weekend. Princess weekend was not my favorite in 2016 so I was going to skip it this year. Then they announced the theme was going to be Belle. Belle is my DD3's favorite princess. Her name is Lemon and we have successfully brainwashed her into believing her favorite color is yellow and Belle is the princess with the yellow dress. So I decided to make it a girl's weekend and take my 2 DDs to run the kid's races. But when they released the medals I was kicking myself for not signing up and I made a comment on the boards that I loved them. A fellow Dis'er contacted me and said they could get me a bib to any of the races, I jumped at the chance and signed up for the 10k.
Fast forward to Feb. DH, DD5, DD3, DS2 and I left for WDW Friday morning. DH and DS2 came along since I now needed someone to be with the girls while I was running. We left DS10 and DS7 at the grandparents because they probably wouldn't like Princess weekend and then we could fit in one hotel room. When we got there we hadn't gotten the room ready text yet so we headed to the expo first. We got all of our bibs and then noticed they had a photo op set up. When we walked over it was Belle and Rapunzel. The Belle line was kinda insane but Rapunzel was reasonable so we got in line. She signed the girl's bibs and I got a couple cute pictures.
View attachment 223380
Then we headed to get my shirt and look over the official merchandise. I didn't see much I liked and only ended up with a magnet. Then we stopped by the runDisney booth so I could signed up for Darkside. I got $25 off and a backpack for signing up there not as big as discounts I have gotten in the past but better than full price. We looked around the expo for a minute but didn't really seen anything worth buying. The text came in that our room was ready so we headed that way.
We were staying at Coronado Springs for this trip. DH and I have a goal to stay at least one night at each WDW resort so we finally got to check CSR off the list. It seemed like every time we tried to stay there in the past something always came up. Since we were only there one night as soon as we got to the room we quickly changed to our swimsuits and headed to the pool. It is funny how different this year was from last year, last year was freezing and this year was so warm. Even though we all loved the pool it felt more geared towards adults than kids. I think that was mainly because it didn't have a beach entry. It makes it so much harder for kids that are DS's age. He is too little to understand the life jacket but big enough to know he wants to swim. After a couple hours we went back to change and headed to dinner. It was a beautiful walk to the main building at dusk, I am sorry I didn't take any pictures of it. When dinner was over we grabbed a dessert to take back to the room and relax. I was worried I was going to be too anxious to sleep but I actually fell asleep pretty early.
continued next post...
Then we headed to get my shirt and look over the official merchandise. I didn't see much I liked and only ended up with a magnet. Then we stopped by the runDisney booth so I could signed up for Darkside. I got $25 off and a backpack for signing up there not as big as discounts I have gotten in the past but better than full price. We looked around the expo for a minute but didn't really seen anything worth buying. The text came in that our room was ready so we headed that way.
We were staying at Coronado Springs for this trip. DH and I have a goal to stay at least one night at each WDW resort so we finally got to check CSR off the list. It seemed like every time we tried to stay there in the past something always came up. Since we were only there one night as soon as we got to the room we quickly changed to our swimsuits and headed to the pool. It is funny how different this year was from last year, last year was freezing and this year was so warm. Even though we all loved the pool it felt more geared towards adults than kids. I think that was mainly because it didn't have a beach entry. It makes it so much harder for kids that are DS's age. He is too little to understand the life jacket but big enough to know he wants to swim. After a couple hours we went back to change and headed to dinner. It was a beautiful walk to the main building at dusk, I am sorry I didn't take any pictures of it. When dinner was over we grabbed a dessert to take back to the room and relax. I was worried I was going to be too anxious to sleep but I actually fell asleep pretty early.
continued next post...
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MommaoffherRocker
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2015
I woke up at 2:50am and managed to get myself ready without waking anyone else up! For marathon I woke up DS2 and had to leave a wide awake 1 year old with DH at 3am. I am sure he was cursing me that morning 
I ended up wearing my Snow White outfit that didn't get used for the Marathon half.
I ended up wearing my Snow White outfit that didn't get used for the Marathon half.
View attachment 223385
and if you have been following along you know I always take a bib and hair band pic before every race.
View attachment 223387
I loved the bib this year!!
I headed out the door and caught the first bus to the starting area. Once there I sat on the bleachers and waited. I felt like I was there forever and I probably could have slept in a little more. At 5 they opened the corrals but I headed the opposite way. I really wanted to run a PR and from past experience I knew I needed to get a warm up in first. Past the port o potties I found an almost empty area that only had a few other runners warming up in it. I did a slow 1/2 mile warm up before heading to corral C.
I took this picture on the way by.
I have never started this far up in the corrals before, I loved that I didn't have to wait long to start.
I was running 15 minutes after the race started. DDs' races were at 9:30 so I was a little worried about having enough time to make it back to the room to change and get them to their races but I was already ahead of my timeline by 15 mins so I happy.
The first half on the race was so crowded. For the marathon 10k I started in E and it was definitely not as crowded at this one was in the beginning. I was still able to maintain a pretty good pace and honestly it probably kept me from running too fast in the beginning. My goal was to run an average pace of 11:55/mile. That would give me a 3:38 PR and give me a POT under the 2:45:00 cut off.
The first 3 miles were pretty much uneventful. It was dark and crowded. My first two miles were 12:17 and 12:27. Ok so they were slower than I had hoped but now the crowd was thinning out. Then I heard one woman say to her friend that Shrek and Fiona were on the mile marker sign up ahead and I wanted to scream out what kind of Disney fan are you!! I pushed past that nonsense and was able to pick up the pace a little. Right before the 5k mat and the backstage area of Epcot I noticed a familiar face. It was @courtneybeth! I tapped her on the shoulder to say hi and we chatted for a minute before I wished her luck on her half the next day and then separating. My watch beeped at mile 3 with a pace of 11:59 and I crossed the 5k mat.
Now that I was past the mat it was time to pick it up. The tracking text came through that I was going to finish at 7:01am and I decided that I was going to beat that time. No matter what I was beating that time. Mile 4 came and went- 11:56 Then mile 5- 11:46, this was more like it! I was back into Epcot and the Princess and the Frog song "Almost There" was blaring. I love that song and it was so appropriate. The course went into Future World and I was thankful we didn't have to make a loop back by Nemo this time. Past the ball and towards the tapstiles I went picking up the pace the whole way. I was getting tired but so determined to keep the pace until the end. Mile 6 - 11:36. Only .2 to go!! I had a little bit of push left so I dug in even harder. I crossed the line at 7:00:54 giving me a negative split and a finishing time of 1:15:38! Not quite the PR I was hoping for but still a PR by 2 minutes. I grabbed my medal, powerade and snack box and headed towards the bus. I had places to be. I boarded the bus and waited for 10 minutes before we pulled off.
Up next Kid's races and Disney Springs
and if you have been following along you know I always take a bib and hair band pic before every race.
View attachment 223387
I loved the bib this year!!
I headed out the door and caught the first bus to the starting area. Once there I sat on the bleachers and waited. I felt like I was there forever and I probably could have slept in a little more. At 5 they opened the corrals but I headed the opposite way. I really wanted to run a PR and from past experience I knew I needed to get a warm up in first. Past the port o potties I found an almost empty area that only had a few other runners warming up in it. I did a slow 1/2 mile warm up before heading to corral C.
I took this picture on the way by.
I have never started this far up in the corrals before, I loved that I didn't have to wait long to start.
I was running 15 minutes after the race started. DDs' races were at 9:30 so I was a little worried about having enough time to make it back to the room to change and get them to their races but I was already ahead of my timeline by 15 mins so I happy.
The first half on the race was so crowded. For the marathon 10k I started in E and it was definitely not as crowded at this one was in the beginning. I was still able to maintain a pretty good pace and honestly it probably kept me from running too fast in the beginning. My goal was to run an average pace of 11:55/mile. That would give me a 3:38 PR and give me a POT under the 2:45:00 cut off.
The first 3 miles were pretty much uneventful. It was dark and crowded. My first two miles were 12:17 and 12:27. Ok so they were slower than I had hoped but now the crowd was thinning out. Then I heard one woman say to her friend that Shrek and Fiona were on the mile marker sign up ahead and I wanted to scream out what kind of Disney fan are you!! I pushed past that nonsense and was able to pick up the pace a little. Right before the 5k mat and the backstage area of Epcot I noticed a familiar face. It was @courtneybeth! I tapped her on the shoulder to say hi and we chatted for a minute before I wished her luck on her half the next day and then separating. My watch beeped at mile 3 with a pace of 11:59 and I crossed the 5k mat.
Now that I was past the mat it was time to pick it up. The tracking text came through that I was going to finish at 7:01am and I decided that I was going to beat that time. No matter what I was beating that time. Mile 4 came and went- 11:56 Then mile 5- 11:46, this was more like it! I was back into Epcot and the Princess and the Frog song "Almost There" was blaring. I love that song and it was so appropriate. The course went into Future World and I was thankful we didn't have to make a loop back by Nemo this time. Past the ball and towards the tapstiles I went picking up the pace the whole way. I was getting tired but so determined to keep the pace until the end. Mile 6 - 11:36. Only .2 to go!! I had a little bit of push left so I dug in even harder. I crossed the line at 7:00:54 giving me a negative split and a finishing time of 1:15:38! Not quite the PR I was hoping for but still a PR by 2 minutes. I grabbed my medal, powerade and snack box and headed towards the bus. I had places to be. I boarded the bus and waited for 10 minutes before we pulled off.
Up next Kid's races and Disney Springs
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MommaoffherRocker
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2015
I'm so glad to hear it is normal. You would think after accomplishing something you worked so hard for you would be nothing but happy but after a week went by that wasn't the case anymore. Thanks, I am glad to be back!!I totally get feeling lost after Dopey. I had that happen to me in 2013 (after unofficial Dopey) and 2015. Post-marathon blues are a real thing! Totally normal. Glad you're back to it!
Thanks, there will be even more adorable pictures of them coming up! I cannot wait for Darkside, it is going to be a blast. I am so excited to see what changes they are making for this year. Hopefully they learned from their mistakes last year (even though other than the buses I didn't think it was too bad last year).
TeeterTots
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2014
I love following your reports. Your girls are so cute! Loooove your race outfit! Congrats on your PR. How fun you ran into Courtneybeth! I was hoping too!
wehrengrizz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2015
ummmmmmmm
all of those. I mean I can't even figure out who they'd be mistaking it for. Or why speculate? For shame lol. way to take the high road!
Congratulations on the awesome PR! AND for not waking anyone up
SWDS is NEXT MONTH! yahoo! It WILL be the Best. Race. Ever.
MommaoffherRocker
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2015
I got back to the room around 7:30 and only DH was awake. I jumped in the shower while he woke up the girls/DS and got them fed. The goal was to be out the door by 8:30. Disney had sent a text out the night before that WWoS was going to be extra crowded due to the Braves game later that day. That made me extra nervous. We needed to have the girls on the track by 9:30 so they could run their races. Luckily everyone woke up in a good mood and we were able to get out the door on time.
The traffic that early wasn't really bad and we got to the track at 9:10. While we waited they were giving out GoGo squeez applesauce pouches, one of our kids favorite things to eat. They also had dancing, hula hoops and coloring stations. It seemed like it was going to take forever to be time for them to run but it went by pretty fast. We spent the whole time coming up with a strategy for the girls to run. DD3 did not want anyone to run with her. So the plan was for me to take her to the start and DH to wait at the finish with her claim tag. I took her to the start and waited.
The traffic that early wasn't really bad and we got to the track at 9:10. While we waited they were giving out GoGo squeez applesauce pouches, one of our kids favorite things to eat. They also had dancing, hula hoops and coloring stations. It seemed like it was going to take forever to be time for them to run but it went by pretty fast. We spent the whole time coming up with a strategy for the girls to run. DD3 did not want anyone to run with her. So the plan was for me to take her to the start and DH to wait at the finish with her claim tag. I took her to the start and waited.
View attachment 223404
When they said go she took off laughing. I watched for a minute and then I had to make my way back through a crowd of grumpy adults that didn't want to let me through. Seriously I just wanted to get out not take your spot. DH got her at the finish and said she was the only one in her age group that ran alone. That's my Lemon- Miss Independence.
View attachment 223409
Then it was DD5's turn. We waited as long as we could so we didn't have to wait in the crowd. She was so nervous she was going to miss it. She wanted to prove that she could be brave like her little sis so the plan was the same. I took her to the start and DH waiting at the finish.
View attachment 223405
I left before they started her so I lined up on the fence and got to watch her start. I tried to follow along the fence as long as I could but lost her before the finish.
View attachment 223408
When they were finished we found a photopass person and got a picture of all of us with our medals.
'View attachment 223406
Then we stopped to let them color a sign and we were off to Disney Springs.
continued next post...
When they said go she took off laughing. I watched for a minute and then I had to make my way back through a crowd of grumpy adults that didn't want to let me through. Seriously I just wanted to get out not take your spot. DH got her at the finish and said she was the only one in her age group that ran alone. That's my Lemon- Miss Independence.
View attachment 223409
Then it was DD5's turn. We waited as long as we could so we didn't have to wait in the crowd. She was so nervous she was going to miss it. She wanted to prove that she could be brave like her little sis so the plan was the same. I took her to the start and DH waiting at the finish.
View attachment 223405
I left before they started her so I lined up on the fence and got to watch her start. I tried to follow along the fence as long as I could but lost her before the finish.
View attachment 223408
When they were finished we found a photopass person and got a picture of all of us with our medals.
'View attachment 223406
Then we stopped to let them color a sign and we were off to Disney Springs.
continued next post...
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TeeterTots
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2014
So sweet!!! Yay girls!! Great photo of you three!
MommaoffherRocker
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2015
The girls had appointments for the BBB at 2pm that day. DD5 had done it twice before (once on a cruise and once at the old DTD location) but DD3 had never been. They were both beyond excited and were hard to convince that we were not allowed in before our appointment. We decided to have lunch at one of our favorite places Earl of Sandwich and then walked around the new shops for a bit. We also decided to buy the girl's dresses at the World of Disney store beforehand since I would get a 20% discount with my AP. At 1:45 it was finally time to head over.
They took us back and gave us a beautiful changing room for the girls to put their dresses on. Here is their before picture
They took us back and gave us a beautiful changing room for the girls to put their dresses on. Here is their before picture
View attachment 223414
DD5 decided on Elena of Avalor and DD3 wanted to be Merida (she met her at MK a couple weeks ago and is now her new favorite)
After they were dressed they took us back to the room to meet their Fairy Godmothers in training. They had a great time chatting with their Fairy Godmothers. Here they are getting their makeovers
View attachment 223415 View attachment 223416
Then it was time for the big reveal
View attachment 223418 View attachment 223419
They loved it!!!
Then they got to have not one but two photo shoots. Here is my favorite picture
View attachment 223421
So cute!
Afterward that we decided it was about time to go home. We had to pick up brothers and show off our princesses to their grandparents. On the way back to the car they got such a kick out of all the people telling them how beautiful they were.
Overall I had a great time during Princess Weekend and it looks like I will be back for 2018. However it will probably be just for the 5k since DD5 asked if we could run it together next year. I'm excited that she is showing interest in running and maybe one day we will run the Princess half together!
DD5 decided on Elena of Avalor and DD3 wanted to be Merida (she met her at MK a couple weeks ago and is now her new favorite)
After they were dressed they took us back to the room to meet their Fairy Godmothers in training. They had a great time chatting with their Fairy Godmothers. Here they are getting their makeovers
View attachment 223415 View attachment 223416
Then it was time for the big reveal
View attachment 223418 View attachment 223419
They loved it!!!
Then they got to have not one but two photo shoots. Here is my favorite picture
View attachment 223421
So cute!
Afterward that we decided it was about time to go home. We had to pick up brothers and show off our princesses to their grandparents. On the way back to the car they got such a kick out of all the people telling them how beautiful they were.
Overall I had a great time during Princess Weekend and it looks like I will be back for 2018. However it will probably be just for the 5k since DD5 asked if we could run it together next year. I'm excited that she is showing interest in running and maybe one day we will run the Princess half together!
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MommaoffherRocker
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2015
I love hearing that you love my reports, Thanks!
Thanks! I can't wait to do Marathon Weekend again, I had the best time last year. And fingers crossed we get to do all of the planned races this time.
It ended up being Bambi on the mile marker, which made it more confusing. And NEXT. MONTH. what?! Where did the time go! I am so excited!!!ummmmmmmm
way to take the high road!
Congratulations on the awesome PR! AND for not waking anyone up
SWDS is NEXT MONTH! yahoo! It WILL be the Best. Race. Ever.
I do need to frame that one. It turned out so goodI hope you have a frame picked out for that last shot!
MommaoffherRocker
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2015
Thanks! It turned out to be the perfect girls weekend and I hope it's the first of many with my girls.
wehrengrizz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2015
I may elect to never tell my DD5 this
Especially if January becomes a thing. I should save for an AP now!!!!Awesome pictures for sure !! I love that you had such a great trip even without park time. High fives for your little running ladies!!
PS DS3 is The. Same. Way. (at least half the time
)
cavepig
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2001
The Shrek & Fiona comment makes me laugh, people always think Shrek is Disney...Bambi does look like a green ogre I guess!??!
Congrats on the PR, woohoo!!!!
Great running to your girls too, very cute! That Cogsworth kid's medal is adorable, great pic of you three!
I love that last picture, "These Princesses wear running shoes"!!
Are the kids running at Darkside too then?
Congrats on the PR, woohoo!!!!
Great running to your girls too, very cute! That Cogsworth kid's medal is adorable, great pic of you three!
I love that last picture, "These Princesses wear running shoes"!!
Are the kids running at Darkside too then?
roxymama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2015
Well that's certainly one way to entertain oneself during a race...say weird things about mile markers to confuse people. See belle in her gown and say "look spongebob!" How about sorcerer Mickey "omg it's dumbledore!"
The possibilities are endless.
And FYI...you and your kiddos are awesome!
The possibilities are endless.
And FYI...you and your kiddos are awesome!
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