I just returned form a fun trip to Florida where DD and I completed the 5K last Friday morning. I still smile thinking about how much fun we had at this event.
I surprised my kids with a vacation trip to Florida to visit their grandparents. I was pleasantly surprised that it was also during the Princess Half weekend. I have always wanted to be a runner and finally did the Castaway Cay 5k in November and thought this would be another way to keep going. So I asked DD if she was interested in doing the 5k through Epcot. I purposely lefty out the time until I let her respond and then slipped in the, "oh by the way, it starts at 6:15 in the morning". I still can't believe she agreed to getting up at 3:30 am to go to a race!
So we arrived in Florida last Wednesday night...my parents picked us up and unfortunately they also got us lost trying to find a Denny's for my kids. but we survived! We headed to ESPN the next day. I have to say it really made me feel good to be among all these runners! and i was I really hoping it keeps my kids motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It was really cool to see everyone so excited to be part of these events.
We got up at 3:30 the next morning. We had to plan for an hour drive to Epcot which was relatively easy, but shorter than i planned. We arrived at about 4:20, but plenty of time for some breakfast in the car before heading to the corrals. Then we headed towards the music with everyone else and we were very excited. I found it chilly and DD was frozen even though it really wasn't that bad. I was very happy i brought my jacket and also very happy it wasn't raining.
The crowds were getting bigger and bigger as time went on. I would not have showed up so early if i did it again. We were in corral E; I am not the fastest runner, but I am OK with that! I loved watching people in their costumes; it was very entertaining. Our corral did not actually start the race till about 6:45, so waiting for over 2 hours at that hour of the day in the dark was not something I cherish, but still part of the experience.
DD could have finished the race long ahead of me, but she was a good sport. We didn't stop for character pictures...lines were too long. We did take a couple of pics along the way of each other. I think we finished in about 37 minutes, but i don`t know for sure. there were many times when we couldn't run as space was tight with people, so this is not a good race for exact times unless you start earlier. We even saw people finishing before we even started!
When i saw the medal at the end, I said I want a real medal, but we would have to complete at least a 10k. I am still proud of my 5k medal, but i want a heavy one! So we will do a 10k at some point. It was fun doing this with my DD. She is just 12, so i am hoping this will be a positive memory for her and keep her wanting to do more. We both agree we want to do the 10k even if it is just to get the medal. I enjoyed watching other people with their kids young and old. It really was an experience i would recommend to anyone who is thinking about it. For a true Disney fan, this was awesome. Unfortunately, now i feel hooked and just want to do more Disney races...Better start saving!
I surprised my kids with a vacation trip to Florida to visit their grandparents. I was pleasantly surprised that it was also during the Princess Half weekend. I have always wanted to be a runner and finally did the Castaway Cay 5k in November and thought this would be another way to keep going. So I asked DD if she was interested in doing the 5k through Epcot. I purposely lefty out the time until I let her respond and then slipped in the, "oh by the way, it starts at 6:15 in the morning". I still can't believe she agreed to getting up at 3:30 am to go to a race!
So we arrived in Florida last Wednesday night...my parents picked us up and unfortunately they also got us lost trying to find a Denny's for my kids. but we survived! We headed to ESPN the next day. I have to say it really made me feel good to be among all these runners! and i was I really hoping it keeps my kids motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It was really cool to see everyone so excited to be part of these events.
We got up at 3:30 the next morning. We had to plan for an hour drive to Epcot which was relatively easy, but shorter than i planned. We arrived at about 4:20, but plenty of time for some breakfast in the car before heading to the corrals. Then we headed towards the music with everyone else and we were very excited. I found it chilly and DD was frozen even though it really wasn't that bad. I was very happy i brought my jacket and also very happy it wasn't raining.
The crowds were getting bigger and bigger as time went on. I would not have showed up so early if i did it again. We were in corral E; I am not the fastest runner, but I am OK with that! I loved watching people in their costumes; it was very entertaining. Our corral did not actually start the race till about 6:45, so waiting for over 2 hours at that hour of the day in the dark was not something I cherish, but still part of the experience.
DD could have finished the race long ahead of me, but she was a good sport. We didn't stop for character pictures...lines were too long. We did take a couple of pics along the way of each other. I think we finished in about 37 minutes, but i don`t know for sure. there were many times when we couldn't run as space was tight with people, so this is not a good race for exact times unless you start earlier. We even saw people finishing before we even started!
When i saw the medal at the end, I said I want a real medal, but we would have to complete at least a 10k. I am still proud of my 5k medal, but i want a heavy one! So we will do a 10k at some point. It was fun doing this with my DD. She is just 12, so i am hoping this will be a positive memory for her and keep her wanting to do more. We both agree we want to do the 10k even if it is just to get the medal. I enjoyed watching other people with their kids young and old. It really was an experience i would recommend to anyone who is thinking about it. For a true Disney fan, this was awesome. Unfortunately, now i feel hooked and just want to do more Disney races...Better start saving!
