I didn't think it was abig deal, you only choked once!! Update 9/18 final thoughts

[dawnbu40]

Happy Fathers Day to Dale!!! I know your Disney Princesses are spoiling you!!!

Dale said "Thank you". We did indeed spoil him! The weekend was spent doing all his favorite things and Caitlin got him some new shorts and a shirt and I got him tickets to Kid Rock.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

OMG I've missed soo much!

All-Star Sports looks like it has a lot of great photo ops!

And I am soo glad I'm not the only one who gets up there and does the Cupid Shuffle at the pool.

Yayy for sushi at the resorts!

 

[pilferk]

Finally Chewie came out and we were first in line, followed by our new friends.

We had a great time with these meet and greets and it totally sold us that we must visit during Star Wars Weekends sometime!

Thought you guys might like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Comic-Images-...U298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308781309&sr=8-1

Chewie Backpack:

I must confess, I just ordered a Yoda one...FOR ME...pretty much for our upcoming Disney trip.

 

[dawnbu40]

OMG I've missed soo much!

All-Star Sports looks like it has a lot of great photo ops!

And I am soo glad I'm not the only one who gets up there and does the Cupid Shuffle at the pool.

Yayy for sushi at the resorts!

We enjoyed spending the weekend at Sports. There were fun activities at the pool and while we aren't sports fans we enjoyed the theming.

Caitlin was really excited that the food court had sushi

 

[dawnbu40]

Thought you guys might like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Comic-Images-...U298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308781309&sr=8-1

Chewie Backpack:

I must confess, I just ordered a Yoda one...FOR ME...pretty much for our upcoming Disney trip.

Isn't that cute?! We saw that backpack at the World of Disney and we have a pic of Caitlin trying it on

We haven't seen the Yoda one. Post a pic when you get it

 

[pilferk]

Isn't that cute?! We saw that backpack at the World of Disney and we have a pic of Caitlin trying it on

We haven't seen the Yoda one. Post a pic when you get it

I will.

The yoda ones seem to be a tough find. I found mine at j and r (an electronics place, strangely enough).

It replicates the "Luke carrying Yoda around" look from Empire Strikes Back. Should be here in the next week and I'll post a pic.

 

[dawnbu40]

Hi All! Well I've put it off long enough.....it's time to tell you about the race.

I guess I should give you some background info before I begin. First of all, I am NOT a runner! Never have been and never will be. In fact, when my best friend from jr high heard I was doing a 5k her reaction was this

You see in school we were fit tiny little things yet we despised gym class and tried daily to sneak our way out of running the mile.

So how did I come to enter the 5K? Well I had read about it online and thought it would be something Caitlin would love. She did the Princess 5k in March 2010 and really enjoyed it so I knew it would be right up her alley. (besides the fact she's a gym rat) After I told her and she got all excited about entering, I read you needed to partner up
So I volunteered (the things we moms do for our kids)

My plan going into this was to WALK the 3+ miles at pace (48 minutes) I knew I could do that as I WALK at the gym several days a week. So my goal was merely to finish at pace by WALKING.

We trained for a few months and by race time I was walking/running a 12 minute mile. I know it's not great but for this almost 45 yr old I was pretty pleased.

So now that you know the background, let the games begin......


When Caitlin left off we had taken the bus to AK. We got there early. TOO EARLY. We arrived 2 hours before the race began and then had to sit in the hot sun in the parking lot. We did some people watching and enjoyed the music the dj played.

They also had photo ops available. Since we only had the disposable we only took one...

Finally 8:30 rolled around and it was race time! They began in heats and ours (the Mother/Daughter) was last. That meant almost another half hour of waiting. To be perfectly honest, after not sleeping much the night before, I was ready for bed by the time we had to start the race

So finally we're up. The fireworks explode and we're off. RUNNING! And I'm thinking I am supposed to be WALKING!

I think we had to run almost a mile just to get into the park! I had pictured enjoying the beauty of AK at night and I'm running in a parking lot? While I was thinking that though I noticed some people passing me. While I was running. And that's when it hit me. Simply finishing this thing was not going to be enough. I needed a decent time and I needed to beat someone. Anyone. (yes I am that competitive) So I noticed the women in front of us had their names on their shirts so I decided no matter what we needed to beat them. So I turned to Caitlin and told her that "we must beat Laverne and Shirley" (I don't remember what their names were) Caitlin was like "WHO?!" and I just pointed out our new nemisis

So we passed them. They passed us. We passed them and never saw them again!

So the race took us from the parking lot through the AK. We passed the Tree of Life and kept going til we were backstage and then it looped around and we had to go all the way back. I won't lie, by the time we were halfway through I was dragging. We were still running (not walking) and as a non-runner it was a lot harder than I expected. At this point I turned to Caitlin and told her she had to keep me going. Laverne and Shirley were nowhere in sight so I needed a new motivator. What did my darling daughter use to motivate me?

A Disney Dooney. She kept describing the newest one I was longing for and how if I finished the race the purse would be a great reminder of the accomplisment. I just kept visualizing that bag and it really did help. Finally we were back outside the park and facing the final obstacle. ( i forgot to mention that every so oftenthere were obstacles like tires to run through & hay bales to jump over! I mean come on, I'm 44! ) The last obstacle had to be conquered before you could reach the finish line. You had to either go over, under or around an obstacle. Well Caitlin went under (and cut her leg and now has an Everest Challenge scar) and I went around. I mean seriously, after running 5k you want me to climb a wall But we finished and our time was ........



35 minutes!! I beat my best time

I was so proud of our time but I was feeling like I was going to be sick. Then I realized the race was only half over. Yeah! There was a second half which was a stupid scavenger hunt! Now after the 5k we were back in the parking lot. We now had to go back in AK for the hunt. The 5k was actually about a 10k becasuse we re-did almost the same path on the hunt. The hunt had ridiculously lame clues and codes to figure out which had nothing to do with Disney. I simply gave up and let Caitlin do that part. I forced myself to complete it with her but I was absolutely no help. Simply keeping moving was the best I could offer.

Finally the second half was completed and we were done!! It ended in Asia and we got our medals.

At this point there was supposed to be a party but it was so crazy crowded back there it was awful! All I wanted was to sit down and have something cold to drink but I couldn't find anywhere open and the drinks they were handing out were warm

After the race we were supposed to meet up with some dissers (disbugmom and dad) By the time we found them I felt like death. The race, the heat, the lack of sleep it was all too much. I let the 3 of them ride EE and I found a spot on the ground to sit and call Dale.

After they rode Caitlin came and got me and said we could go back to the resort. I knew she would have rather stayed and gone on the rides so I really appreciated her willingness to go back with me. We walked all the way back to the bus stop and before long we were at Sports. We grabbed some snacks from the cafeteria ( cheesecake for me and Chipmunk mix for her and sodas all around) and went back to our room. Sometime around midnight we finally went to sleep.

***Final thoughts***
I am glad that we did the race and I feel like I was able to prove something to myself since I lived to tell about it. However, the whole race from registration on just wasn't up to Disney standards IMO. It all seemed unorganized and they had advertised special characters etc and the only character was Baloo. However, since it ended up being FREE I guess I can't complain too much

 

[meeko_33785]

Hey Dawn and Caitlyn! Sounds like the race was a little bit of a bust. I'm not a runner either, so the only reason I would do a Disney race would be to see characters. I think I would be super disappointed is only Baloo was there. Bummer. And I have to ask, were their names really Lavern and Shirley?

 

[Moira222]

HOORAY for both of you finishing, and especially you Dawn! and you RAN! and did good time!

and now the race and the Dooney were "free" ---just some blood (Caitlin) sweat and tears (ok I added the tears)

I am not a runner and can just imagine the total exhaustion that hits like a wave when your pulse finally gets back to normal.

 

[dawnbu40]

Hey Dawn and Caitlyn! Sounds like the race was a little bit of a bust. I'm not a runner either, so the only reason I would do a Disney race would be to see characters. I think I would be super disappointed is only Baloo was there. Bummer. And I have to ask, were their names really Lavern and Shirley?

Hey Meeko!

The race was a disappointment compared to all we'd heard about other races and the great character photo ops.

Their names weren't really Laverne and Shirley. I just couldn't remember what they really were

 

[dawnbu40]

HOORAY for both of you finishing, and especially you Dawn! and you RAN! and did good time!

and now the race and the Dooney were "free" ---just some blood (Caitlin) sweat and tears (ok I added the tears)

I am not a runner and can just imagine the total exhaustion that hits like a wave when your pulse finally gets back to normal.

Thank you!

There was blood and sweat and trust me I felt like crying too

I would have been fine if the race had ended with the 5K and not the additional scavenger hunt. I'm just too old or out of shape for all that

 

[pkondz]

After I told her and she got all excited about entering, I read you needed to partner up
So I volunteered (the things we moms do for our kids)

Okay, okay, you're a better parent than I am... I would be more like this:
Me:"Hey, there's a 5K run at Disney."
DD:"Awesome! I'd love to go!"
Me:"Really? You should so do it. It would be a blast! Seriously! Do it!"
DD:"It says here you need a partner... do you think you might..."
Me (interupting):"Ya know, now that I think about it... it's Florida... gonna be super hot... you can get pretty dehydrated in those runs, I hear... some people die from that, ya know... and blisters on your feet... and chafing in places you don't wanna chafe... just saying..."
DD:"I still think I'd like to go... now if I can just find a partner..."
Me:"Good luck with that!" (sits down and turns on TV)

We trained for a few months and by race time I was walking/running a 12 minute mile. I know it's not great but for this almost 45 yr old I was pretty pleased.

Sounds pretty darn good to me!

So finally we're up. The fireworks explode and we're off. RUNNING! And I'm thinking I am supposed to be WALKING!

Peer pressure... it's a wonderful thing, ain't it?

So I turned to Caitlin and told her that "we must beat Laverne and Shirley" (I don't remember what their names were) Caitlin was like "WHO?!" and I just pointed out our new nemisis

So we passed them. They passed us. We passed them and never saw them again!

Way to go!

But we finished and our time was ........



35 minutes!! I beat my best time

Awesome!!!

Finally the second half was completed and we were done!! It ended in Asia and we got our medals.

Congrats! One question, though. Are there two different medals or do they open with the compass inside?

By the time we found them I felt like death. The race, the heat, the lack of sleep it was all too much. I let the 3 of them ride EE and I found a spot on the ground to sit and call Dale.

I was so sure you were going to say, "I found a spot on the ground to lie down."

After they rode Caitlin came and got me and said we could go back to the resort. I knew she would have rather stayed and gone on the rides so I really appreciated her willingness to go back with me.

Awww... She's a good kid, isn't she. So how long did it take you to recover (from the race, the heat and the lack of sleep)? And thanks for another wonderful update!

 

[dawnbu40]

Okay, okay, you're a better parent than I am... I would be more like this:
Me:"Hey, there's a 5K run at Disney."
DD:"Awesome! I'd love to go!"
Me:"Really? You should so do it. It would be a blast! Seriously! Do it!"
DD:"It says here you need a partner... do you think you might..."
Me (interupting):"Ya know, now that I think about it... it's Florida... gonna be super hot... you can get pretty dehydrated in those runs, I hear... some people die from that, ya know... and blisters on your feet... and chafing in places you don't wanna chafe... just saying..."
DD:"I still think I'd like to go... now if I can just find a partner..."
Me:"Good luck with that!" (sits down and turns on TV)
To be honest I probably didn't think it through long enough because later I was like "what have I done?! "

Sounds pretty darn good to me!

Thank you

Peer pressure... it's a wonderful thing, ain't it?

My dad was always super competitve and I could just feel his dna taking over and telling me walking and finishing in the end of the pack was not an option

Way to go!



Awesome!!!



Congrats! One question, though. Are there two different medals or do they open with the compass inside?

That is the same medal. It opens with the compass inside. Sorry I should have explained.

I was so sure you were going to say, "I found a spot on the ground to lie down."

If there hadn't been so many people I would have grabbed a bench and crashed. Caitlin could have woke me when she was ready to leave

Awww... She's a good kid, isn't she. So how long did it take you to recover (from the race, the heat and the lack of sleep)? And thanks for another wonderful update!

She's a great kid To be honest, with the late nights, race and heat I didn't feel myself the rest of the vacation. I always think I feel younger than my age. Well after that night I felt all 44 years with an extra decade or so added on

Thank you! And thanks for reading and commenting

 

[mousegear]

Congrats on your successful finish of the race!
But from your story, I would have been upset on speding that much on disorganized event. I guess it is something to stay away from....

 

[jenbear123]

After the race we were supposed to meet up with some dissers (disbugmom and dad) By the time we found them I felt like death. The race, the heat, the lack of sleep it was all too much. I let the 3 of them ride EE and I found a spot on the ground to sit and call Dale.

I know this isn't supposed to be funny but I can totally relate to how you must have felt!!

***Final thoughts***
I am glad that we did the race and I feel like I was able to prove something to myself since I lived to tell about it. However, the whole race from registration on just wasn't up to Disney standards IMO. It all seemed unorganized and they had advertised special characters etc and the only character was Baloo. However, since it ended up being FREE I guess I can't complain too much

That's too bad it wasn't organized very well. And who serves warm drinks after a race in Florida?! At least you did the whole thing for free AND at least you accomplished finishing the race! That's a big deal!!!

 

[nukephd]

Congrats on finishing. I've been thinking of doing a Disney race, and after hearing about your experience and other runners' experiences with it, I think I'll pass on the Everest run.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Congrats on beating your best time and finishing the race!

Those medals are really cute!

Sorry you were feeling sick, but it's nice that you guys just relaxed after the race was over.

 

[dawnbu40]

Congrats on your successful finish of the race!
But from your story, I would have been upset on speding that much on disorganized event. I guess it is something to stay away from....

Thank you

After Caitlin's positive experience with the Princess 5K and hearing such great things about the Half Marathon we thought the whole thing was really lacking. Maybe with the race and hunt they tried to do too much

 

[dawnbu40]

I know this isn't supposed to be funny but I can totally relate to how you must have felt!!



That's too bad it wasn't organized very well. And who serves warm drinks after a race in Florida?! At least you did the whole thing for free AND at least you accomplished finishing the race! That's a big deal!!!

Thanks

Exactly! Who wants warm water

Thank you. I am glad that I can say I did it

 

[dawnbu40]

Congrats on beating your best time and finishing the race!

Those medals are really cute!

Sorry you were feeling sick, but it's nice that you guys just relaxed after the race was over.

Thank you

We did like the medals and wore them proudly the next day

I was so glad to go to bed that night!