Hunny even my socks smell like Disney! ~ "relaxing" Sept 2010 trip!1/24/11 RACE TIME!

[Nermel9]

Great update! Your shirt is so cute!

I don't know anything about Disney marathons...why do they make you start at 10pm??? I don't know if I'd be able to run a race that late, I'd be getting ready for bed!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I love that you actually remembered to bring your camera. I had checked mine, and kept thinking I should have brought it. I wish I had taken a few pictures along the way. Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[Shannon84]

Great update! Your shirt is so cute!

I don't know anything about Disney marathons...why do they make you start at 10pm??? I don't know if I'd be able to run a race that late, I'd be getting ready for bed!

Thank you :
Most races start early in the morning around say 7 am...but this one is a little different and was advertised as the "runners night out". With the heat during that trip I am sooo glad it was at night

I love that you actually remembered to bring your camera. I had checked mine, and kept thinking I should have brought it. I wish I had taken a few pictures along the way. Can't wait to hear the rest!

I don't know if bringing my camera along was a blessing or a horrible mistake. I stopped a lot to try and take pictures, but most weren't coming out, because I was moving and it was so dark out but I am glad I was able to get a few good ones. Next time no camera and I will just enjoy the race

 

[UGAFan0829]

Woohoo!! The race is on! How exciting!! I can't wait to read more!! So glad your friend found her iPod--poor thing!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Cool! The race begins!

I'm not big on running unless something is chasing me, but I'll be interested to see how you do! And I'm glad that if nothing else, you got to meet some DISers.

And you have no idea how much I want to let loose with a "women have to go to the bathroom at the start of every trip" joke right now...

Must...hold...back...

 

[oOJulieOo]

I love your shirt!

I just started training for a half marathon on Monday. I've done one before, and reading your description of the start made me feel all the race-day nerves!

It's crazy that everything was so disorganized for the race. It sounds like you were lucky to even find it.

I hope the rest of the race went well for you!

 

[Shannon84]

Woohoo!! The race is on! How exciting!! I can't wait to read more!! So glad your friend found her iPod--poor thing!

I know I felt so bad for her, but I also needed to keep going because I know I wanted to stop to take pictures and I am not that fast to begin with

Cool! The race begins!

I'm not big on running unless something is chasing me, but I'll be interested to see how you do! And I'm glad that if nothing else, you got to meet some DISers.

And you have no idea how much I want to let loose with a "women have to go to the bathroom at the start of every trip" joke right now...

Must...hold...back...

Oddly enough running has become something social for me, thank god - otherwise I'd quit

It's a little bit like being a kid...you say youre fine before the trip starts and 10 minutes in you say you have to go potty Actually that's me and most other women I know too!!

I love your shirt!

I just started training for a half marathon on Monday. I've done one before, and reading your description of the start made me feel all the race-day nerves!

It's crazy that everything was so disorganized for the race. It sounds like you were lucky to even find it.

I hope the rest of the race went well for you!

Thank you :
I always get very nervous at the beginning of a race and for some odd reason right before the finish line!
I think since it was the first year for the race it was disorganized, but I am really glad I took part in the Inaugural event.

 

[Shannon84]

Soo I know I have been moving slowly on updates lately, I promise to get another part of the race done tomorrow Lee and I sat down the other night to discuss the year ahead and I am having a hard time accepting that a WDW vacation is not on the horizon...at least not this year and possibly not next I know a lot of people go each year...but isn't a BUMMER when you aren't planning another trip??

 

[Shannon84]

When we left off, I was slowly making my way down a fairly boring stretch of highway, going towards Animal Kingdom. Also I was looking for a restroom

I should have shared this earlier, this is the map of the total course

I found port o potties at the first water station, not too far after the first mile. Let me tell you it is very nerve racking to wait in line and use those things in the dark...not a fun experience and I wasted over 5 minutes in line...that is a lot in race time

Luckily I started to pass entertainment ... floats from Spectromagic parade..here is Goofy blurry

Somewhere after mile 2 I started to see runners passing on the other side of the highway, these were the super fast runners leading the race. They were approaching mile 7 at that point...and guess who I saw...my DIS buddy FireDancer running past ...I think he ended up finishing 26th overall in a group of 10,000 or so racers

I was feeling pretty darn good at this point...but I kept stopping to try and take pictures - try being the key word. I wasted soooo much time taking pictures that didn't even come out I knew at this point I was very far behind my normal pace...so I threw it all out the window and tried to just enjoy the experience

We entered AK with large red glowing tusks lining the entry way..very cool..wish I had a picture of that! We had some friends to greet us as well

Now up until this point I was doing ok with the crowd, but the pathways in AK were very dark and narrow and I lost a ton of time inside that park as well, but very cool to see it at night time.

Lots of cool entertainment in the park...

Inside of the park we stumbled across mile 4...I think we were rounding the Tree of Life at this point

Here is my blurry tree picture

Once we rounded that area...we headed off towards Asia and passed Everest...then through Dinoland....all very cool to see and lots of entertainment along the course!! I was having a lot of fun inside the park...but pretty soon we were hitting mile 5 and exiting Animal Kingdom backstage by Dinosaur and off through the parking lot. This is where pairs who were running the half marathon as a relay were switching off. As we exited I remember there being speed bumps, but there were CMs out there making sure we were being careful!!

We were back on Ocesola Parkway...and it was a lonnnngggg stretch before we were going to make it to DHS, around 4 miles actually

I remember there being a GREAT band along the highway area that I wish I knew the name of....I actually stopped my Ipod when I passed them.

I found some Spectromagic friends along the highway and stopped for a picture

Around mile 8 we sort of did a loop back on a little stretch of the highway...then we were up a small hill past this green Army man

As we came closer to mile 9, we were also coming closer to entering DHS...FINALLY!! They were handing out Clif Shot Blocks...these are sort of like gummy squares that you chew. I have used them a few times during training. They help you during physical activity to eat something that will help you get some carbs and electrolytes. They aren't too bad tasting...but people were throwing their half eaten shot blocks all over the VERY DARK highway...I think I had a inch of it on my sneakers


Up Next: DHS is pretty darn cool to run through, especially at night!! Will I ever finish this half marathon?

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Yay! An update!

The map was interesting; I had no idea the Wine and Dine would use such a different route from the Princess!

I can't imagine running through Animal Kingdom in the dark. What were they thinking? I have been there for late EMH and it can get VERY DARK in there! It looks really cool though!

I also found it interesting that you got the blocks and we got the gel. I guess they wanted to change it up for some variety!

Thank you :
Most races start early in the morning around say 7 am...but this one is a little different and was advertised as the "runners night out". With the heat during that trip I am sooo glad it was at night

I don't know if bringing my camera along was a blessing or a horrible mistake. I stopped a lot to try and take pictures, but most weren't coming out, because I was moving and it was so dark out but I am glad I was able to get a few good ones. Next time no camera and I will just enjoy the race

I wish it was 7! If I recall correctly, we had to be at the start area at 4:30a and corral A stepped off at 6! I think I woke up that morning at 2:30 and caught a bus at 3:30.

I hear you on the camera thing....it did slow me down, but I wasn't worried about a time. I just was concerned with finishing, and the camera and entertainment made the event bearable, errrr, fun!

I know it's different with night shots. It's hard to get them to come out clear. My early morning pictures were mostly blurry but my daytime ones were okay, even when I was still moving.

Soo I know I have been moving slowly on updates lately, I promise to get another part of the race done tomorrow Lee and I sat down the other night to discuss the year ahead and I am having a hard time accepting that a WDW vacation is not on the horizon...at least not this year and possibly not next I know a lot of people go each year...but isn't a BUMMER when you aren't planning another trip??

I can totally relate to this. WDW is not on the agenda this year, but I wish it was.

 

[oOJulieOo]

The 4 mile stretch to DHS must have been torture after having all that entertainment at AK!!!

Great job so far! I am so excited for you, even though the race was months ago!

I love it that you stopped for a pic with Chip and Dale!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Ick!! The evil Clif Shot Bloks. It still makes me ill just thinking about them.

I liked your pictures from AK. I forgot about the characters and float things they had there. That stretch from the AK to DHS felt sooooo long. I couldn't wait to get into another park.

 

[Nermel9]

Great update! I love how they had characters out and entertainment along the race course! I had no idea they did that! This is so interesting!

I can't wait for the DHS part, I LOVE that park!

 

[Shannon84]

The map was interesting; I had no idea the Wine and Dine would use such a different route from the Princess!

I can't imagine running through Animal Kingdom in the dark. What were they thinking? I have been there for late EMH and it can get VERY DARK in there! It looks really cool though!

I also found it interesting that you got the blocks and we got the gel. I guess they wanted to change it up for some variety!

Yeah I was a little bummed that we didn't see MK at all during the race..I imagine running through that park, especially by the castle is amazing!!

It was cool to see AK at dark, but not very safe running wise!! I trained with the gels...I didn't mind the blocks though... I just dont get why people threw them directly in the middle of the road

I can totally relate to this. WDW is not on the agenda this year, but I wish it was.

Every time I see one of the new commercials I want to cry...I have tried a thousand ways to fit it in our budget and it just isn't happening

The 4 mile stretch to DHS must have been torture after having all that entertainment at AK!!!

Great job so far! I am so excited for you, even though the race was months ago!

I love it that you stopped for a pic with Chip and Dale!

At least there was some entertainment along the highway plus I had my ipod...but I was getting BORED...I started talking to random people that were around me...especially others running alone. Of course I kept passing and then being passed by the same people, so I started to recognize everyone

I love Chip and Dale and you can't beat the cool outfits they had on!!

Ick!! The evil Clif Shot Bloks. It still makes me ill just thinking about them.

I liked your pictures from AK. I forgot about the characters and float things they had there. That stretch from the AK to DHS felt sooooo long. I couldn't wait to get into another park.

I didn't mind them so much to eat as I did stepping all in them, I did not need any added resistance!!

I know I kept thinking to myself DHS has to be coming up soon, I was getting a little discouraged out there!! You remember going over an overpass and you could see the DHS sign from there? What a tease!! It was still a couple miles away!!

Great update! I love how they had characters out and entertainment along the race course! I had no idea they did that! This is so interesting!

I can't wait for the DHS part, I LOVE that park!

Thanks I think the day time races have more to see though...or at least from reading reports they seem to have less stretches of highway!! It was still great to see all of the different things that Disney did to make it special, I bet the 2nd year of it will be even better!!

 

[Shannon84]

To back track a little bit here is the map from inside AK

Finally DHS was in sight...I was actually really confused as we entered the park...but quickly realized where I was...backstage behind the Tower of Terror

Here is the map from inside DHS

We came on stage and passed RnR and then did some sort of loop that I really cannot remember I think around the Beauty and the Beast show queue area. After that we were off to Sunset Boulevard where there were race photographers snapping our picture...just like a Hollywood set...except much more sweaty and less glamorous

We were headed straight toward the hat and there were some "Pixar performers" out singing and dancing by the hat...I actually was really running at this point...mainly because there were so many of them cheering me on I felt a little silly taking a walk break at that point

We were headed past Animation Courtyard/Little Mermaid attraction past mile 10...this picture actually came out good

I was really starting to wonder what my time was at this point, I knew the clock was faster than my actual time and my Nike+ started to act up (a gadget that plugs into my ipod and a sensor that goes in my shoe to track my mileage) It was telling me I was at mile 11.5 when truly I was just passing 10...ugh!!

I did sort of a silent thanks to Walt as I passed One Man's Dream and then I had to stop for a picture with Woody outside of TSM

At some point we started zig zagging in the back area of DHS...including running through the tunnel on the Backlot Tour...pretty awesome!! We got to see a close up view of costumes and props back there! I think we veered off of the map I showed you at the beginning of this update...either that or I am crazy I was starting to really hurt around mile 11...I wasn't tired just really sore...my toes hurt!! At the next waterstop there was some gel to help ease your aches...I rubbed some on my calves and kept going.

We even ran across the stage area of LMA stunt show and they projected us running by on the big screen...I wish I had pictures of this!!

I know at some point during all th winding back and forth in DHS I saw the Incredibles posing and also the characters from UP! I really wanted to stop, but I was getting a little nervous about my time. I wish I could remember the DISer's name who was calling out "shannon84" to me...she caught up with me and she was SO encouraging...she was ready to pass me, but she told me what a great accomplishment this all was and she knew I could do it...I swear I love these boards!!

So we turn onto the Streets of America and the best suprise of the entire race greets me!! The Osbourne lights are on!! I actually started to tear up here!!

and a video (its a quick video and please excuse the shakiness and my cheesy grin )




After that we passed by the Star Tours area of DHS and well I had to stop with Darth Vadar...I am not even a Star Wars fan, but he just looks so darn cool!!

We exited DHS and Lee was calling my cell phone. I was hitting mile 12 at this point...he knows my usual pace and I was really behind it, so he was getting worried. For some reason he told me the sweepers were right behind me (there was a time limit on the race) and I paniced...I picked up the pace and high tailed it outta there Later I learned he just fibbed to get me going - I am so glad he did, I really had given up mentally



Up Next: The glorious finish line and how will the finish line party be??

 

[KatMark]

Shannon, I'm enjoying the race part of your TR. You are doing great! I can't imagine running through AK at night...a little creepy.

I'm sorry there isn't a trip on the horizon any time soon...but you never know that could change. The only reason we are going again this year is we are getting AKL free for the two nights we are staying there and we got the 30% off code for the CSR for our four nights.

 

[taymacsmom]

Hi Shannon! Coming our of lurkdom to comment on your race "coverage"! I never realized that the races actually went through the parks and that there are so many characters and sights to see. This may just be the incentive I need to start running and get in shape. Maybe I can convince DH that he and I should take a short trip back alone! Loving your TR and looking forward to more!

Kelly

 

[Shannon84]

Shannon, I'm enjoying the race part of your TR. You are doing great! I can't imagine running through AK at night...a little creepy.

I'm sorry there isn't a trip on the horizon any time soon...but you never know that could change. The only reason we are going again this year is we are getting AKL free for the two nights we are staying there and we got the 30% off code for the CSR for our four nights.

Thank you I was trying my best!! I actually fell running a month ago during icy conditions and am just getting back into my routine this week

AK at night is a little creepy...I dont know why, but running past the Chester and Hester dinosaur area at night sort of creeped me out

I keep playing around with the discount they are offering for up until the end of September, but Lee and I both need new vehicles this year...maybe if I keep playing the lottery I'll win big!

Hi Shannon! Coming our of lurkdom to comment on your race "coverage"! I never realized that the races actually went through the parks and that there are so many characters and sights to see. This may just be the incentive I need to start running and get in shape. Maybe I can convince DH that he and I should take a short trip back alone! Loving your TR and looking forward to more!

Kelly

Glad to have you reading along!! Running in the parks was so much fun, I promised myself next time I try a Disney race I am running in MK!!

They usually have a 5k the same weekend as the half marathons...and in January its a whole weekend of races including a full marathon : I started from not running at all to this half marathon in the same year...and I am just now training to increase my speed since I'm a slowpoke

p.s. I see youre from CT!! I grew up in Western Mass. - Springfield area...miss it up there!!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Wow, this race sounds brutal. I like Lee's psychological ploy to keep you going!

I'm proud of you for keeping it going! I would have given up much sooner to wander as much of the backstage areas as I could.

 

[20thingamabobs]

I'm loving your race update so far! It seems like a really fun/cool run (except that stretch between AK and DHS. I definitely want to try this race now! I LOVED the half during Marathon weekend that I just ran and i think I'm addicted now...

Your shirt is so cute! Oh, and i can't believe your DBF told you the sweepers were behind you