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

[PopArtGal]

I love shows at WDW. I just discovered Nemo at AK. I was so skeptic and loved it!

 

[PopArtGal]

I love Princess Tiana! I love that movie so much! Especially Ray hehe

 

[PopArtGal]

I wish I could run a marathon, but my ashtma makes my lungs hurt so much when I run.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Just found your report and got caught up. I enjoyed reading about the race. I am planning to do my first 1/2 at the disney princess half in march 2011. Its funny I have that same problem with my heart too. Mine usually doesnt last that long only a few seconds but it scares me so I stop running for awhile. Ive read that it happens commonly to alot of people especially women. Anyway, I cant wait to hear about the rest of your trip. You are an inspiration!

 

[MsHershey]

Karen,

I love your TR! What an awesome accommplishment to complete a marathon. I'm sure the emotions are indescribable.

My dd recently lost 80 pounds and ran her first 1/2 Marathon last weekend in Nashville. She LOVED it! She couldn't believe that she could finally achieve something such as that. I am so proud of her. Now she wants to run the Disney 1/2 Marathon. Hopefully we can work it out. What week in January does this occur?

Subscribing to your TR. I can't wait to hear more.

Good job!

 

[praisehisname]

I'm joining in! It is my dream to someday to a Disney race, even if it's only a 5K. I have to start small...LOL

 

[kmab00]

Yay Karen!!

Congratulations on finishing!! That must be an amazing feeling to reach your goal like that!

Thanks so much!!! It was soooo awesome!

Another awesome and amazing update my friend. Wow, I think that took some amazing strength to run that race, thank God you had the help of a friend. I am not convinced I could have done it with as cold and miserable as it was, if there is one thing I can't stand, it is being cold, not sure I could have done that in those conditions. You did get to meet some pretty cool characters, love The Princess & The Frog gang, how cute. That is cool about the door on the Toy Story building, I will have to be sure and check it out, I am looking forward kind of to staying at a different resort, it is just a super quick trip but will still be nice, have decided not to try and cram a whole lot into the two days and just relax and enjoy being away from the rat race. Can't wait to read and see more of your trip, as always a bright spot in my day.

Thanks girl! It was definitely a plus that I had Laura with me! I don't know how I would have done without her! You are going to really enjoy ASM! It's a cute hotel!!!

So amazing, Karen!!! Good for you! What a cool experience........can't wait to hear more!

Thanks girl!! More is on the way! :0)

Karen - Awesome Job!!!!
I love that you took so many pictures on the way, and recorded each mile sign! How cool that there are a bunch of characters along the course!
I get some PVCs and tachyarrhythmias periodically too - I have noticed that when I am really tired and/or way off my usual schedule (on a trip in a different time zone) I get more...maybe with getting up so early you threw your system off??? Glad you only had a brief run of it, I have had it when running too and it feels awful!
Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip

Interesting! Hmmm...maybe the time zone did something to me? Not sure...it hasn't happened again since the New Orleans Half so hopefully I can keep it under control! Thanks so much!

I really enjoyed your race photos! I remember hearing about how cold the race was, it even LOOKS cold in your photos! It looks like we had the same route for the Princess, but the mile signs and the characters were different.

Your time looks like it was much better than mine. I walked a large portion of my race, though. My goal was just to FINISH!

We had Clif Shots too. I'd never had one before. I thought it was sort of the consistency of pre-made cake frosting, but not quite the same taste, and I had the vague sense that I probably resembled my dog eating peanut butter while trying to get that stuff down without any water!

Thanks so much! Oh it was SO cold!!!! I heard Princess was the same route! I love the characters I've seen in pictures from Princess!!! They are so cute! LOL My goal for the Full in January is just to finish so I understand where you are coming from! lol I love the dog eating peanut butter thing...yes that's how I felt! It was like paste! Yuck! Congrats on Princess!!!

Awe. So happy that Kim got a great experience out of her first flight.

Me too I'm glad it wasn't too bad for her!

Christmas decorations and Ghirardelli. What more can you ask?

I still dream of seeing the Christmas deco again.

Not much...that's like my favorite! LOL

I love one man's dream too. I just realised I only got pics I took. I'm not in any of them hehe

I have a sweater with the pic of Mickey and Walt on Main Street. Also found a pen at the fire station in the MK that has a projection of the image. It's so cool.

I also love HSM. And I think the shows at DHS are really cool.

Kim looks a bit "Blazé" lol

That pen sounds cute! DHS does have some really cool shows! :0)

I love shows at WDW. I just discovered Nemo at AK. I was so skeptic and loved it!

Oh yes Nemo was really cute too!! We didn't get to see that one this trip but I like the soundtrack to it! :0)

I love Princess Tiana! I love that movie so much! Especially Ray hehe

Oh yes RAY is my favorite!!! He cracks me up!

I wish I could run a marathon, but my ashtma makes my lungs hurt so much when I run.

Sorry your Asthma is so bad! :0(

Just found your report and got caught up. I enjoyed reading about the race. I am planning to do my first 1/2 at the disney princess half in march 2011. Its funny I have that same problem with my heart too. Mine usually doesnt last that long only a few seconds but it scares me so I stop running for awhile. Ive read that it happens commonly to alot of people especially women. Anyway, I cant wait to hear about the rest of your trip. You are an inspiration!

Woohooo! How awesome! Good luck with training for Princess!!! Well I'm glad to know that more people have the heart problem than just me! I was kinda worried! lol Thanks so much!!! :0)

Karen,

I love your TR! What an awesome accommplishment to complete a marathon. I'm sure the emotions are indescribable.

My dd recently lost 80 pounds and ran her first 1/2 Marathon last weekend in Nashville. She LOVED it! She couldn't believe that she could finally achieve something such as that. I am so proud of her. Now she wants to run the Disney 1/2 Marathon. Hopefully we can work it out. What week in January does this occur?

Subscribing to your TR. I can't wait to hear more.

Good job!

Thank you so much! The feeling of "I did it" is just incredible! Wow that's awesome about your daughter! I heard really good things about the Country Music Marathon! I would love to run it one day! How exciting! Disney's Marathon weekend is January 8th! Can't wait!!!!

I'm joining in! It is my dream to someday to a Disney race, even if it's only a 5K. I have to start small...LOL

Hey starting small is the best place to be! 5K's are so much fun! Disney has some cute ones! :0) Good luck!!

 

[kmab00]

Saturday, January 9, 2010 Continued

After the race, I stood in a forever long line to get on a POP Century bus. I was halfway wrapped in that Mylar stuff but I was really really freezing! The line really seemed forever. It took about 4 busses to get us all on. You don't even know how good the blast of heat felt when I got onto the bus. I felt like the Heavens had opened up and the Angles were singing! lol

I got back to POP and found Kim. She had my mug so I was able to get hot water for some tea. Thank you Kim!!

She had also started the bathtub filling up with hot water for me. I knew we didn't have a lot of time and I wanted to take a nice hot bath. I sat in the water for what didn't feel like long enough. It got cold on me so I decided to get out and get ready! lol

We got on a bus for the MK...our CRT reservations were for noon. The #1 thing Kim wanted to do was eat at the castle and this was the only time I was able to get so we did it!

This was Kim's first time to be in the MK! She was in awe of the castle! She loved it!

We got to the Castle and there was no line so we were able to take our picture right away. Also after that, we were able to walk right up and get a table! Yay!

Our waiter was so awesome!! We loved him! He gave us a lot of Pixie dust! lol

I finally warmed up a little....I had those hot hands things in my pocket...they were the big ones and those really helped!

Our appetizer tray!

Here come the Princesses!

Just to give you an idea of how cold it was outside, I had on:
an undershirt
a longsleeve tshirt
tshirt
fleece
hoodie sweatshirt
gloves
scarf
hat
long johns
2 pairs of socks
jeans
hot hands in my pockets! LOL

Our fabulous waiter! He asked me a lot of questions about the race. He asked if I swam (triathalon)...Noooo way not in that weather! LOL

After lunch, we bundled back up and headed out to explore the MK. We had the Disbrides meet later that afternoon but for now, we had some time to kill!

We took the obligational castle pictures first...

And we found these guys along the way!

We rode Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Big Thunder, Peter Pan, Mickey's Philharmagic, and we saw Mickey and Minnie's House!

Somewhere inbetween all of that, Kim wanted to see the parade, so we stopped and waited for it!

I held up my medal to Donald and waved! LOL

By this time, we needed to get on the Monorail to make our way to the Grand. We took a few picture on Main Street, then made our way out!

The White Rabbit was playing "Ring around the rosie" in the Exhibition Hall with these kids! I thought that was cute...and so rare! I wish characters could interact with kids like this more....

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[kmab00]

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

We got to the Grand and at first, only Laura and Erin and Holly were there. We talked to them for a little while, then more people started arriving.

Heather and I!

Woohoo! We did it!!!

Hahah Bobby took my camera!

Group pic

Strike a Pose!

Dis guys! LOL

The Halfers

We are so awesome! LOL

After talking for a while and exchanging items for goody bags, we decided to make our way to the Poly for our OHANA reservation! Through most of the Half, especially the parts where Laura and I were hurting, we would say, "Just think! Ohana's later!" LOL This is what got us through the race! hehe!

The ONLY picture I got in Ohana was the Bread Pudding! Go figure! LOL

Kim and I made our way back to the MK for Wishes after dinner!

We had trouble making this thing stay around her head. She had forgotten her hat at the hotel so we tried to make this neck warmer to an ear warmer! lol!

Wishes was amazing as usual!!!

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

 

[kmab00]

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

After Wishes, we had a virtually empty park. There was still about 30 minutes before the park closed so we rode Buzz, Space Mountain, and Small World! We also stood in line for Monsters but it closed and they gave everyone fast passes!

Buzz Picture!

LOL

This is the first time I've ever seen this clock open up! I had heard about it, but never seen it! It's really neat!

After getting of Small World, pretty much everything was closing up. We were a little delerious so we played around with the park all to ourselves!

This castle is so gorgeous! I was so excited it still had the lights on it for Kim to see!

Thank you for coming to my castle today.... LOL see what I mean? We were being a bit silly...

Bowing to her people...LOL

Thank you for being here today....Hahahah

Up next: Epcot...our last full day! :0(

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

what a great update. You girls looked like you just had such a great time. The castle does look so beautiful all in lights. I would love to see that in person some day. What a long day for you. Boy I bet you were exhausted when you got back to the hotel. Cant wait to hear about your epcot day.

 

[Twingle]

Love your TR - how fun! I'm planning on running the Princess next year, so I really liked hearing about your experience with the half.

The purse you mentioned sounds adorable - the one with Walt Disney, Mickey and the castle. Could you post a pic of it? I'd love to see it!

Looking forward to hearing more

 

[MeLaNie9]

Great update Karen! Your castle/Wishes pictures are incredible! Our space shuttle viewing tickets just arrived and we have picked up our WDW package stuff from AAA...we leave next Thurs! I am praying for better weather than last May
We are so excited!
Can't wait to hear about your last day!

 

[PopArtGal]

So cool to see a pick of you and Lynnie together. My 2 girls together! hehe All that's missing is me

 

[MiaBella05]

What a great report, i loved seeing all the brides together, it feels like we on the boards know you all through your TRs.

 

[praisehisname]

Wow, you did a lot that day, especially considering how exhausted you must have been! I love the night-time shots you got of the castle!

 

[PopArtGal]

I meant a pic not a pick.

 

[kmab00]

what a great update. You girls looked like you just had such a great time. The castle does look so beautiful all in lights. I would love to see that in person some day. What a long day for you. Boy I bet you were exhausted when you got back to the hotel. Cant wait to hear about your epcot day.

We had a blast! Thanks so much! Oh my gosh the castle is soooo gorgeous in all the lights!!!! I was so tired that night! I slept very well! LOL

Love your TR - how fun! I'm planning on running the Princess next year, so I really liked hearing about your experience with the half.

The purse you mentioned sounds adorable - the one with Walt Disney, Mickey and the castle. Could you post a pic of it? I'd love to see it!

Looking forward to hearing more

Thansk so much! Oh I would love to run Princess one year!! It looks like such a fun race! I will take a picture of it and post it! I love the purse! :0)

Great update Karen! Your castle/Wishes pictures are incredible! Our space shuttle viewing tickets just arrived and we have picked up our WDW package stuff from AAA...we leave next Thurs! I am praying for better weather than last May
We are so excited!
Can't wait to hear about your last day!

Thanks girl!!! Wooohooo! I think you may be home from Disney by now or you may still be there? I thought of y'all when I heard about the shuttle on the radio!! Hope y'all had fun!!!

So cool to see a pick of you and Lynnie together. My 2 girls together! hehe All that's missing is me

What a great report, i loved seeing all the brides together, it feels like we on the boards know you all through your TRs.

It was neat getting to see everyone again and see some I didn't get to meet up with last year! We had a really good time!!!

Wow, you did a lot that day, especially considering how exhausted you must have been! I love the night-time shots you got of the castle!

We did do a lot! Looking back now, I wonder how on earth! LOL I didn't feel it until that night. Must have been running on adrenaline! lol Thanks so much!!

 

[kmab00]

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Sunday morning, we woke up and got ready for our breakfast reservations a Cape May at the Beach Club. Laura was SO nice and offered to come pick Kim and I up at Pop! I had totally forgotten about bus traffic and stuff from the FULL that morning! Poor Shan...she had to take a cab to get to breakfast! Ugh!

We sat outside for a few minutes waiting and I took this picture! lol

We made it to the Beach Club ok!

Bella was so cute with the characters!

After breakfast, we said our goodbyes to everyone and made our way to Epcot. As we walked through the back, we saw all the Marathon runners. Besides being cold outside, I got the chills watching them run. I had been toying with the idea of running the Full in 2011 and this did it for me. I decided I was going to! Eeek...kinda scared but I have a good running group and a good coach so I know I'll be prepared!

We got through the traffic and made our way into Epcot. We started first at the Living Seas!

See how cold it was outside? The water was FROZEN!

After Nemo, we walked around looking at the fish!

I didn't warn her about the Beverly before she tried it! LOL Whoopsy!!!

We decided to see Spaceship Earth after that! I thought our video was HILARIOUS! We picked the
"healthy" option and it was so funny!!!

We also rode Test Track!

I found a Hidden Mickey while we were waiting in line! :0)

Just a few pictures from around Epcot...

This is a joke...we've always called her "Kim Possible" so when she saw this, she was like, "ooh take my picture!" LOL

I was FREEEEEZING and wanted coffee but all I could find was hot chocolate! lol

I wanted Kim to see the Voices of Liberty so we made time for them, too!

By that point, we had seen pretty much everything we wanted to see so we decided to go back to Pop and look around! We were meeting up with a few friends later that night to hang out!

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

 

[kmab00]

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

I loved POP! I thought it was such a cute hotel!

We didn't make it very far before it was time for our friends to be there. So we loaded up in the car and decided to head over to Downtown Disney!

This is on the counter in Tren-D! LOL

We ate dinner at Earl again! I loved spending time with them! We had a great time!!!

After they dropped us back off at our hotel, we finished our tour and taking pictures!

We joked that Kim had found her prince charming! Hehe!

An 8Track stairwell!

I still say Awesome! LOL

I so had one or two of these!

Crazy how cold it was out there!

The Lobby

This was totally my section!

And with that, we said goodnight to our last night in Disney! Just a little more magic tomorrow, then it's time to go home! :0(