I'm rather late in writing anything, but we came back from Princess weekend and jumped right into a major home renovation project, so I haven't had a chance. This was a fantastic weekend for me. We drove down on Friday. We had to cancel our lunch plans at Beaches and Cream because a huge wreck shut down the Turnpike and put us behind schedule. Once we were in the bubble, though, things were good. We had lunch at POFQ and headed to the expo. It was pretty straightforward this time. The only thing I bought was the Corksicle 12 oz cup. Our friend (and her friend, now also our friend) had driven down the day before, and were already checked in. Our room was ready pretty quickly, and we had a great corner room with a view of the river. That night, we had reservations at Frontera, and then tried to get to bed early.
Saturday, we got up to see our friend do the 10k. This was her first ever, and she's 64 with multiple health issues. We were so proud to see her finish and get her beautiful medal! We celebrated with brunch at Olivia's, then got some rest. That night was dinner at Boatwright's.
Sunday, we all got up and headed out with plenty of time and buses waiting. I ran the half, as did the friend's friend, while DH and the friend spectated. I was pretty pleased with my race. I had major emergency surgery and a 12 day hospitalization in August. Since then, I had to cancel one half, completed Space Coast (mostly walking), did the half for MW (about 25 minutes faster than Space Coast), and now Princess, which was about 25 minutes faster than MW. I came in at just over three hours, feeling pretty good. I may not ever be back to my old standard of about 2 1/2 hours for a half, but we'll see. I didn't stop for photos this time, but I enjoyed seeing the characters as I ran and walked past. Running down Main Street and through the Castle was as fantastic as ever, and I'm grateful to still be able to do it after all the medical stuff this past year.
Sunday afternoon, we had a drink with a friend in from Arizona at Wine Bar George, and then dinner at Paddlefish--both were wonderful!
Monday, we went to Blizzard Beach (had never been there, except for the dreadful marathon course in 2022). We had a good time, then got ready and had dinner at Citrico's (also a first). While we were at dinner, we had a great view of a rocket launching from Cape Canaveral.
Tuesday, we checked out of POFQ, picked up the dog from Best Friends, and got on the road home. We left earlier than usual and got home by dinner. It was a wonderful trip, and I love the medal. We are planning DL next January, so probably won't be at MW, but I suspect we'll be down for PW again. Princess was my very first rD race and first half (in 2013), and I love running it.
Dunno when though, this Princess Weekend was a lot more tiring than the previous races I've done.
