The Time of our Lives! My first Half Marathon! Update 6/6 COMPLETE!

[kmab00]

Hi! I'm Karen! For those of you that don't know me, I'm from LA, I'm a nurse, and I LOVE Disney trips! I also love TR's...as you can see in my siggy!

The following trip is from January....I ran my first half marathon! I also went at this time for our 2nd annual DIS Brides meet! Yay!

It all began last year in January (you can see the link in my sig...from our first annual DIS brides meet). We were there during Marathon weekend and it really inspired me to start running again! I left with a goal set in my mind...I was going to run the Half Marathon in 2010 at Disney! I trained for a full year for this race, and after all of my blood, sweat, and tears....here we go....Marathon weekend has arrived!!

 

[kmab00]

Not only was this my first half marathon, but it was also Kim's very first Disney trip! We were so excited!

Since you all know me, let me introduce Kim:

We met back in 2002 and have been BFF's ever since! Kim is a live in nanny.

Anyway, she has never been to Disney and she's heard me talk about it SO much. When I found out the dates for the half, I knew Jason wouldn't be able to get off of work for that time period so I asked Kim if she wanted to come along! She of course agreed so here we go....

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Kim spent the night at my house Wednesday night. We had originally planned to fly out on Friday but since planes are sometimes unpredictable, I didn't want to miss the Expo and not get to run the race! So we decided to leave on Thursday...fly out from NOLA around noon, and once we got to Disney, we could go to the Expo on Thursday night and maybe go to DtD but no park tickets for that day.

Well, starting off that morning, I had to bring Pixie to the groomers and we got coffee from Starbucks. That was when I realized I left my Disney Visa at home! YIKES! I had my debit card but I really wanted my Visa! So I called Jason and he met me halfway so we didn't lose too much time.

ALL the way to NOLA, it rained! Awful awful weather...it was just rainy and gross. I was hoping the rain wouldn't delay our plane! However, we arrived at the airport and made our way on Southwest without a problem. We had gotten A boarding (which I thought was important cause this was also Kim's first flight and she was worried). However, by the time we got to our gate, they were already boarding B! UGH! Oh well...Kim got a seat in front of me so it worked out fine!

Nervous and ready to go!

It was kind of cool how it worked out anyway...Kim sat next to these two guys that kept her entertained the whole time! It was really funny! One of them was running the half and the other was running Goofy! They took Kim's camera and were making up words/sentences for all of her pictures. It really was amusing!

I sat next to two elderly ladies who were on their way to Disney for their niece's Disney wedding! How COOL!! :0)

Our plane!

We arrived in Orlando without a problem! I hate the landings but Kim was fine with it all!

We stopped for a few pictures, then headed for Magical Express! By this point, it wasn't too late...it was around 1:45 p.m. or so.

We made good time in the air!

Once we got to ME though, it was a totally different story! The lines were INSANE! I've never seen lines like this for ME EVER! Crazy crazy!!! We didn't wait too long..I don't even really remember how long, then we boared the bus and were on our way!

We arrived at POP around 3 p.m....perfect timing for check in! I had never stayed at POP before this trip. I had stayed at All Stars but never POP. I LOVED this hotel! It was SO CUTE!!!

Our room...we were in the 70's section and were really close to the main building! I loved being so close!

We put our stuff away in our room and decided that since we hadn't eaten lunch, we would go to the food court and use our snack credits on fruit! In the meantime (on the way there) we took some pictures around our section!

................................CONT.............................

 

[monorail girl]

Hi! Can't wait to hear more My DH and I have decided to run the 1/2 marathon in Jan. 2011. Lets just say we have a lot of training ahead of us

 

[NMW]

subscribing

 

[MelissaFromRI]

Subscribing

 

[coconutsunshine]

Yay!!! Can't wait for more

 

[gduvall]

Really enjoy reading all your trip reports.

 

[jnjusoioa]

Yeah, another Karen trippie, I am SO excited!!! I just love your trippies. It will be a bright spot in my days again. Can't wait to hear all about your trip. How awesome you got to take your BFF to Disney and she had never been there. Very cool!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

Hi Karen!

I can't wait to read about your 1/2!

 

[Spartangirl]

Yay! You started...........subbing in! Can't wait for more!

 

[MeLaNie9]

I'm on board, and not too late as my usual. You know I really want to run the Disney 1/2 marathon, but DH is not interested in the least. I guess I would have to train on my own and I am not good at keeping myself going! Looking forward to hearing all about it!

 

[kmab00]

Hi! Can't wait to hear more My DH and I have decided to run the 1/2 marathon in Jan. 2011. Lets just say we have a lot of training ahead of us

YAY that's awesome! I trained for about a year but I really didn't need that long. You are both going to have SO MUCH FUN!!!! Good luck with training!!!

subscribing

Glad to have you aboard!

Subscribing

Welcome!

Yay!!! Can't wait for more

Hey girl! How's the baby? Hope you guys are doing good! Any cruises in the future? lol

Really enjoy reading all your trip reports.

Thanks so much!!!!

Yeah, another Karen trippie, I am SO excited!!! I just love your trippies. It will be a bright spot in my days again. Can't wait to hear all about your trip. How awesome you got to take your BFF to Disney and she had never been there. Very cool!!!

Woohoo! Hey girl!!! Thank you so much!!!

Hi Karen!

I can't wait to read about your 1/2!

Thanks girl! It was a ton of fun!!

Yay! You started...........subbing in! Can't wait for more!

Thanks so much! Hope you've been doing well!

I'm on board, and not too late as my usual. You know I really want to run the Disney 1/2 marathon, but DH is not interested in the least. I guess I would have to train on my own and I am not good at keeping myself going! Looking forward to hearing all about it!

I was worried about that, too....it really wasn't bad though. I did have my running group to keep me going on the weekends though! lol You could so do it, though! I highly recommend it for all Disney fans!!

 

[kmab00]

...........................CONT............................

Views of unfinished POP!

The building next to us...maybe 60's? I can't remember...

Our stairwells were 8-tracks!! lol

This was all in the middle of the 70's section!

The foodcourt was the first place I saw something marathon related so I got excited and took a picture!

After eating (I had the apples/caramel sauce and Kim had the grapes...we shared...lol), we went back to our room to return the reusable mugs, then decided to hit the bus stop for the EXPO! Woohoo I was so excited!!!!

We saw this guy in our window when we got back to our room! lol

A view from our balcony!

Up next: The Expo and DtD!!!

 

[kmab00]

Thursday, January 7, 2010 Continued

We left the room and walked towards the bus stop to catch a bus for the Expo. I wasn't sure at first how the whole WWS bus thing worked but it was super easy! We didn't wait long at all!!!

Here we are on the bus on the way to the Expo! I was SO EXCITED!!!!

On a bus on the way to the Expo

Race Waiver!

Disney's Health and Fitness Expo at the Wide World of Sports Complex

We first walked into this HUGE room but it didn't have very many vendors in it. I thought at first that this was the Expo and I was so sad! lol (The booths in the middle were all Disney merchandise booths.)We got our race numbers and activated our D-tags here, then we walked out and followed the crowd for our bags...

Where we saw this.....the Expo Floor! Insane how many people were there! I unfortunately didn't look at the signs right and I ended up with a Marathon bag that had a Full Marathon Mickey shirt in it! I didn't even realize there was a difference until I got back home. I figured it was a generic "Marathon Weekend" shirt. I e-mailed the Disney people once I got home and they sent me a Donald shirt in the mail free of charge! YAY!!!

I was running the Donald!

Loved the Running Skirt girls! They were so nice to meet!

The Disney Endurance Series booth! This was an advertisement for the Princess! lol

We didn't stay long at the Expo. I was way overwhelmed and I guess I hadn't really known what to expect. It was neat though...I just wish I had taken more time to explore it all!

Got my running number, got a few pieces of merchandise, then we left and caught a bus to Downtown Disney!

First stop: dinner at EARL!!! YUM!

I was SO shocked to see CHRISTMAS decorations still up! Last year at this time, everything was down already. I still thought it was cool, though...I LOVE Christmas!!

We mostly walked around...we didn't really buy anything.

I found a Hidden Mickey in the Christmas store!! lol

After shopping a little while, we decided for dessert at GHIRARDELLI! It's my favorite! I always get the same thing...I discovered it last year when I was there with Heather! lol It's so awesome!!! Anyway, the guy typed in the wrong numbers and HOLY COW look at my CHANGE! WOW!! lol Unfortunately, I didn't get all that change...oh well!!! lol

Yum yum!

Last photo before going back to POP and going to bed! Night night!

Up next: Rain and Animal Kingdom!

 

[Spartangirl]

Wow..........the Expo floor looked insane!

That's so cool that they sent you a new shirt.........gotta love DISNEY!

One of my friends ran the Goofy this year..........I loved hearing about his experience and I can't wait to hear more about yours.......it had to be AMAZING to run at WDW!

 

[WDWisOurHappyPlace]

Hey Karen,
I'm a Louisiana girl also, 60 miles west of N.O. Looking forward to reading more about your trip and especially about the marathon, something I'd really like to do someday. (Is that the All American sandwich in the picture from Earl of Sandwich? my favorite!)

 

[jnjusoioa]

Awesome update Karen!!! I love Pop, that is where I always usually stay. I am going down for a quick weekend trip though in June, to meet the new Toy Story 3 characters and decided to stay at the All Star Movies since they actually have a Toy Story area there. The marathon looks like a crazy time to be there but fun. What an extra special magical touch that there were still Christmas decorations up. Thank you for making my night with this update, as always great Can't wait to read and see more.

 

[kcandbella]

I'm jumping in! I am training to do the half next Jan., so I can't wait to see how it went for you!

 

[Jennifer48]

Umm sir, you still owe me $3000 for my change

 

[coconutsunshine]

Hey girl! How's the baby? Hope you guys are doing good! Any cruises in the future? lol

Hey!! The baby is great, his name is Crewe and he is awesome so adorable and so much fun!!! I;m so in love!!!

Sooo we have a trip planned to Orlando for the 16-27 of April staying offsite so I could have a full kitchen and in room laundry, but I had really wanted to go on a cruise again. A great fare popped up for a 3 night cruise April 22-25 so I booked it this past Wednesday!!! We're going on the WONDER!!! YAY!!! Any plans for you? Your anniversary is next week

Hope all is well!!