Stacie's Family 5K / 15K WDW Vacation TR (Be warned! LOTS of pics)

[postesf]

Here is my Minnie Trip Report. The races are first...then a little bit about the remainder of our vaction.

I want to preface this with a message to the WISH Team. I want to THANK all of you for your support of me during my training and jouney to the Minnie. It was so nice to see the sea of green for the 5K and 15K before, during and after the race. The support of the WISH is awesome!!!! You guys rock. Just knowing that you are not at the race a lone helps so much. You have folks to chat with and that definately helps to settle the nerves. THANKS again to ALL of you!


Friday, May 2
We fly out of RDU to Orlando. We have a nice non-eventful flight, arrive safely and hop on the ME to Saratoga Springs. We arrive and make our way to our room where Susan and Larry have already checked in. We head over to Fulton's Crabhouse for lunch. It was so-so. My salad was good, but the service was lacking. Not sure we'll be going back there. Then it's off to Packet pickup at the WWoS. We see Scott and Amy there. WOW--what a nice suprise! I just them! Susan was super excited to meet them. After a quick chat w/ them, we all picked up our packets and headed off to the grocery store and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, May 3
We are up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the 5K. Everyone is excited and nervous. This mine and Matt's 2nd 5K, but my mom, dad, Susan and Larry's 1st. Susan encouraged us all to run our own race so we all did the best we could.

This is mom and myself coming up on the finish. The girl behind us in red decided to "pace" with us. (I thought...really? Pace with US? but OK...)

Here's Dad coming up on the finish:

And...Susan!

Matt was the one doing all the picture taking so he's not in any pics...

Our times were:
Matt: 33:09 WOW!!! NO TRAINING!
Mom: 43:09
Me: 43:10
Dad: 45:54
Susan: 1:00:54
Larry: 1:01:30

We all had a great time. I had a great time cheering for fellow WISHers and meeting others before the Start!!! Hi guys!

I am so proud of all of my family. Susan!!! Way to go! Dad! SO proud!

I touches my heart so much that my family was able to do this and we were able to share in our successes together!!!

So...Matt was totally wiped out from the 5K so my mom, dad and I went to Magic Kingdom for a while in the afternoon. We did a few shows/rides and then were off to the WISH meet at POR. Getting in and of POR is a hassle! I like the resort but will probably shy away from staying there due to transportation. It was so great to meet some fellow WISHers! (for pics, see Scott's blog!) Then Matt, mom, dad and myself were off to Grand Floridian Cafe for dinner while Susan and Larry went to Flying Fish. The food was good! Matt suprised me early with my anniversary presents! A massage at the SSR spa and a carriage ride (back at POR) We have never done a carriage ride before and it was so cool! I'd love to do one again some time maybe at Fort Wilderness! Overall, it was a great day!!!

 

[postesf]

Saturday, May 3
The Start of the 15K
The alarm goes off at 3:30 AM!!!! Geez! That is early! I hop out of bed (ok, not really, I fell out) and started to get ready. We had a cab ready at 4:30 am to share with a fellow WISHer to the start. We arrive super early. I think only 10 folks were there. Not soon after do people starting coming in. We hang with the WISHers and continue to get nervous. This is the furthest distance I have ever been! The day before I did not hydrate well and so I was a little concerned about that. Instead of stopping my fluid intake an hour before the race as planned, I casually sipped on an orange gatorade. Just being around the entire WISH team helps to settle the nerves. It definately makes you feel like you are part of a team and support group. You are not alone in this venture. THANKS WISH TEAM!!! Before we know it...it's time and we're off!

Mile 1
Lots of folks are initially passing us and that's ok. I knew I wanted to go a bit slower and really pace myself. 9.3 miles is no small feat. I start my Garmin, but realize it's picking up from the 5K time. Nope, that won't work. I try to restart it and nothing. I cut it off, cut it back on and it won't pick up a signal. ugh. So...it never would keep my avg pace, just current pace so I found myself constantly looking at it to gage what my pace was. Eventhough I pottied before the race, the nerves and gatorade were getting to me. Luckily, they had potties in Mile 1 so I made a quick stop. I was good after that.

Miles 2-8
I was very pleased with our performance. I felt good, kept a descent pace...We saw some fellow WISHers around Mile 2. We stuck with them for a few miles and Stacey (Tink06) and I ran together for a bit. Around Mile 4, Matt and picked up the pace and a bit and pulled away. We did a walk/run combo... There was really no method. Just ran when I wanted and walked when I wanted. I had a super fast walking pace. A few times the Garmin registered around a 13/13:30 pace! Whenever I would see anyone a bike (a medic or a perceived sweeper) it always helped me to pick up the pace a bit. I ate a few packs of beans and got water at all the water stops.

At one water stop Matt picked up some of the Powerade and instead of poring the water on his head, he accidentally pored the Powerade on it instead! I about died. It was soo funny!

Finally around Mile 5 we are coming to Hollywood Studios! Yay! I was getting really tired of running on the road...BORING! As we come into the back of HS, I see a pregnant woman in front of me. He and her DH and really doing well! I'm sure she crossed the finish line before us. We pass ToT some backstage stuff. Pretty cool! Then it's off to the Boardwalk. HOW PRETTY! It was such a "pick me up." Just gorgeous in the morning light. By now, the booty hydration bag Matt is wearing it starting to come in handy. I'm needing my gatorade the last few miles. Suprisingly the water stops kept me good unil Miles 7/8. We enter Epcot and start around the contries....Again!

Miles 8/9
As we head around the countries in World Showcase my brain says...Yay! Only 1 more mile! My body says...Ok. I'm done. You've trained for 8 miles, we're there and I'm done. That last mile was a battle between my brain and my body. You're done...Nope, you're not...You're done...NO I said!

THE FINISH
I make it through the last mile, head out of Epcot and start looking for those bright green shirts! I see them! My mom, dad and Susan on the left...Scott, Amy and other WISHers on the right. Oh, Thank you I am almost there! Everyone is waving and cheering. As we head down the final stretch, we run it out and as I look over to my left, my dad is running to the finish with us just outside the gate. I don't think I will ever forget that. It means so much that my parents (and sister) were there to see me do this. They met us at the finish, congratulated us, and I head off to the medic tent to get some ice for the back of my knee. I proceed through the line to get my medal, some fruit and Matt, myself and my dad head off to go cheer on the rest. We wait for our time to be posted, chat a bit w/ Scott and Amy and then off back to the resort.

Back at the resort, Matt and I head to the "quite" pool. It was freezing the day before so I knew this would be good for my muscles. Well...it was closed! We trek up to the main pool, I hop in and the water is warm. I take advantage anyway and swim around a bit to try to losen up those muscles. We head back to the room and take a nap. We had plans to EMH at MK that night so I knew I would never make without a nap. Ahhh. Sleep! The rest of the family had gone to MK and when they get back we grill out some hotdogs and hamburgers for diner and then Matt and I head off to MK. We rode a few rides and then meet up with Scott and Amy for some extra fun! Matt was feeling pretty worn out as he had done NO TRAINING for either race, but after Scott and Amy showed up and he had some water, he did start to feel better. I think he was mainly dehydrated. It was so cool to hang out with them!!! We had a blast! Scott totally tricked us into riding Splash Mountain and we got SOAKED! (Check out Scott's blog as he will most likely post the pic! I'm not seeing it in my photobucket...hmmm) We also did Jungle Cruise (very funny) and Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. What a great night!!! Thanks so much for hanging with us guys!!! We got back to the room around 2pm and we were out for the night!

 

[postesf]

Monday, May 5

We head over to Hollywood Studios for ToT fun which we got both my mom and dad on! I think this is my favorite ride!!! LOVE ToT! Then to Rock'in Rollercoaster. My mom braved this one...but only once. Matt and Susan rode a 2nd time. Matt decided he wanted ice cream (DIP ice cream) and come to find out...No one serves DIP ice cream before 12n! Not in HS, Not in Epcot. We had lunch ressies at Marakesh for 1pm so we headed over to Epcot (yes...searched for ice cream but none was to be found). Marakesh was very tasty. I was a little leary about trying it, but it was good.

After lunch we headed back to the room, took a nap and Matt and I had dinner at Narcoosee's for our Anniversary. YUM! I had a steak and it was fantastic. Yummy AuGratin taters too! Wishes started about 1/2 way through our dinner, but decided to go out on the balcony and watch anyway. After Wishes we had the yummy cheesecake dessert and headed back to SSR. It was a really nice night. Great company, good food, nice fireworks...

ToT pic!

Tuesday, May 6

Matt and Susan and I did Typhoon Lagoon. It was fun. We have never done a Disney waterpark before and we had a good time. We had lunch there and headed back to SSR. Naps again! We are just worn out! We had dinner from the food court and Matt and I went to Downtown Disney for a while.

Wedensday, May 7

Epcot day! We got up, went to Epcot and rode Soar'in, Nemo, Figment and had lunch in Mexico. Matt decided he wanted Chef's de France so he went there while we had Mexican. Then guess what...Back to SSR for a nap! Do you see a pattern here? lol! After our nap it was off to Cali Grill for dinner. Yum! We also got to see Wished from the balcony which was very nice.

Here are some random pics from that day.

Thursday, May 8

My mom, Susan and I went on the Backstage Tour and the boys all went fishing. Everyone had a great time. Who knew they did so much Laundry at WDW! WOW. Found out some really cool stuff on the tour. It was fun. If you are into the backstage stuff, it's pretty cool. Spoodles was dinner. We had the shrimp pasta. I thought it was pretty descent. Everyone had a good day and we were all so tired so after dinner it back to SSR to relax a bit.

Friday, May 9

BOMA! We packed up and sent our luggage over to POP as Matt, mom and dad and myself had one night there. Then we headed off to Boma at AKL for breakfast. There was loads of food and it was very tasty. It was a great buffet breakfast. After breakfast, Susan and Larry depart for home and mom, dad, Matt and I head over to AK. We do the Safari and Everest and mom and dad catch the Nemo show while I get our boarding passes printed (Southwest). After AK, we head over to POP to check and as soon as we get in our room, we all crash and you guessed it...Took a nap! We have dinner at the Food Court and just hang out for the rest of the night. Our trip has come to and end... So sad.

Overall we had a great time. I think everyone was a bit more tired this go round. The races really wore us out. It was a pretty relaxing trip and it was great to spend some quality time with the family. Thanks to my sister for sharing SSR with us!!! We met some great people and go to hang out with some of WISH buddies. Good food. New experiences. Just a great trip all around! The end of our vacation came way too soon. I really could have used a few more days! Now, I'm back to the real world, back to work. How much longer til January???

 

[SamSam]

Stacie, what a fantastic trip report...loved all your pics. It made me feel I was back at WDW, enjoying life.
It was a pleasure to meet you at the WISH meet Saturday!

 

[postesf]

Stacie, what a fantastic trip report...loved all your pics. It made me feel I was back at WDW, enjoying life.
It was a pleasure to meet you at the WISH meet Saturday!

You too Sharon! I am so glad we were able to work out the shirt swap!

Stacie

 

[curiouser]

Yay, great report!! Well done and congrats!!

I wish we would've made the trip earlier to see F&G festival (I love that topiary Daisy!) but oh well. Your pictures will get me through!

 

[suzannews]

Great report and pics. The Minnie 15K was my first race also and I can't wait for the next one!! Great job!!!

 

[Honeibee]

Wow, great trip report and excellent pictures! Thanks for sharing. I loved reading about the race. You guys all did great!

 

[windwalker]

Stacie, thank you so much for sharing. Erica and I didn't get to go so we have to enjoy the sights through you guys that did go.

Happy Panda

 

[jeanneg]

Great report and photos, Stacey!!!! I think I remember seeing your husband at the start, but am disappointed I didn't get to meet you. As I mentioned before I spent most of my time getting on and off the porta potty line! What flight were you on out of RDU? Some of the people in your party look very familiar. I was supposed to be on the 7am SWA but that one had mechanical trouble and was either delayed or cancelled. I was the last person called for stand-by on the 9am flight.
I especially enjoyed all the photos of the EPCOT garden show. Except for the brief run through that park, we didn't get to go there at all this trip.

Congrats to you and hubby on doing so well in the races!

 

[postesf]

Great report and photos, Stacey!!!! I think I remember seeing your husband at the start, but am disappointed I didn't get to meet you. As I mentioned before I spent most of my time getting on and off the porta potty line! What flight were you on out of RDU? Some of the people in your party look very familiar. I was supposed to be on the 7am SWA but that one had mechanical trouble and was either delayed or cancelled. I was the last person called for stand-by on the 9am flight.
I especially enjoyed all the photos of the EPCOT garden show. Except for the brief run through that park, we didn't get to go there at all this trip.

Congrats to you and hubby on doing so well in the races!

We left on Friday, May 2 on SW--the 9 am flight. You may have seen us! How funny!!! I saw in the airport everyone still hanging out from that flight. I had considered that one and was glad I had chosen the 9 am one instead. It's great you were able to catch that one instead! Maybe I'll catch at one of the local races. I hope to do a few 5Ks in the area. I do plan to do the Susan G Koman 5K on June 14 in Raleigh.

 

[wtpclc]

Congratulatiosn Stacie adn SUsan!

Stacie - GOod for you for overriding your body at the endo fo the race. Glad you had such a great time after too!

 

[jeanneg]

Wow, that's so crazy! I wish I had known then. Actually when I saw your photos, Susan looked familiar. I was wearing a lime green polo-type Mickey shirt and also my WISH socks. I think Susan approached me and said she liked my shirt. At that point, my flight wasn't going anywhere and I was waiting to talk to the attendent, so I was kinda preoccupied. I realize now it must have been your group. Darn, I wish I had known! And what was that big to-do with the lady on your flight wanting to get off? As I'm trying to make my way into the plane she's pushing and shoving saying "Let me off!" and dragging her husband with her! By that time they were already doing the safety insructions! What a crazy flight!

 

[monte]

Wow, what a great trip report and loved the pictures. I'm with Dave..I wasn't able to go on this trip but have enjoyed reading everyone's TR's. Thanks for sharing.

 

[larry's girl]

Nope, sorry Jeanne. Wasn't me. I live in metro Atlanta, so Larry and I drove down and met my parents and Stacie and Matt at WDW. Maybe I have a twin somewhere (poor thing - I feel for her ). Anyway, it was such a great trip. Stacie has convinced me that I should copy and post my trip report from my journal over here. I don't have any pictures, but it does give my perspective of what the race was like. So I think I will (she twisted my arm, you know!!!).

Susan

 

[ScoJo15]

Great trip report Stacie!!

Love the photos and it really looks like you all had a great time!

It was a thrill hanging out with all of you, before and after the races and then with you and Matt on Sunday night. Happy Anniversary again!

:

 

[jeanneg]

As I mentioned, I was definitely preoccupied, so my memory is a little fuzzy (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) What about Stacie's mom and dad.....were they on the same flight? They also look familiar.
And by all means, please DO post your race report! Congrats on finishing!

 

[larry's girl]

Yes, they were. They flew with Matt and Stacie as a group. I'm the only one in the immediate family who ever moved out of NC, but at least I'm close enough to DRIVE to WDW when I want to go! I favor my Dad somewhat - maybe that's why I look familiar to you? Anyway, no matter - we're all really appreciative of you and all the great WISH'ers who give so much encouragement and support here. It helped me TREMENDOUSLY!

Off to post my TR now.

Susan

 

[keenercam]

Stacie -- Great TR and awesome pix! I am sooo happy for you that all your hard work and discipline and training paid off. You looked awesome!! IT was so great to meet you and Matt at POR though he probably thought I was so weird. I have to tell you, Susan, that picture of you at the FINISH line is one of the best pix I have ever seen! I LOVE that you look so happy and proud and you don't even look TIRED!!

 

[Steffwalks]

LOVE it Stacey. I almost feel like I was along!! Thanks!