amazingact21
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- Nov 6, 2010
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It drives me crazy having a report unfinished, so I’m going to see if I can write condensed updates for the rest of this trip.
Saturday, April 20th, 2024:
This was 10K Day! Alex and I were up and at the buses at 3 a.m. and through Epcot security by 3:45.
The globe looks so pretty in the middle of the night.
We weren’t going to make the same mistake we made the day before, which was getting in long character lines before the corrals opened. Instead, I dragged Alex over to the DIS meetup location (by the only light post for those interested!) and chatted with three other DISers from the race group. One I’d met the previous SS Weekend but the others were new.
It was a nice way to kill time and always fun to put faces to names. When the corrals opened, Alex and I went ahead and headed into ours. We were more tired than on our 5K day, so finding an open spot to sit and disassociate on our phones for 45 minutes was nice.
The energy this morning was much, much better than the day before. It felt like the typical runDisney excitement, which I was relieved by. I didn’t want Alex to think all the mornings were a little lackluster. (After listening to the 3,2,1 Go Podcast by the race announcers, it seems like everyone felt the 5K was a little off.)
The two of us had to go through the awful cattle herding process until we were eventually standing in front of the starting line.
Then we were off!
I love the 10K course at Walt Disney World. The first two miles are on the highway, which really allows everyone to spread out. There’s not a lot of bottlenecking, even on the turnarounds, so you can slide into your pace very easily.
The only downside to the course is that there’s no real bathrooms the first few miles. My better half was hurrying us along to get into the parks quickly. Hydration is a double edged sword!
Almost halfway through the course, we popped into Epcot just long enough to get to the International Gateway. It was as we were running over the bridge on the way to the Beach Club that Alex exclaimed, “I smell bacon!”
Other runners around us heard and started laughing. One gentleman even screamed “BACON!”
Leave it to my husband to amp up those around him.
It made us both laugh out loud and put us in great mindsets. We were having a blast. The race this morning was going much better than the 5K. Alex’s preferred race distance is the 10K, so he was especially enjoying this run.
One of my favorite parts of the course is the loop around the Boardwalk. Seeing all the lights on the water, hearing everyone’s feet clacking on the wooden boards, glimpsing the characters out meeting and greeting, all comes together to create a unique Disney experience. (Even Riley’s constant loop telling athletes that the ground is wet and slippery. It’s part of it!)
Naturally, I was having a ton of fun but you wouldn’t know it from my photograph:
I HAD TO MAKE SURE I DIDN’T SLIP!
Couldn’t have anything take me about before the 10-Miler.
Alex and I entered back into Epcot and did a reverse course from the 5K, going around the World Showcase from France to Mexico. Then we ran into where Cosmic Rewind is housed and stopped for a quick photo:
A final push into the backstage area of Epcot, where they had the Japanese drummers and the Gospel Choir performing and we were back where we started. In the Epcot parking lot and at the finish line!
I managed to get a PR time, which I just beat again at the Oklahoma City Half, but at the time I was over the moon excited about. I beat my previous time by 8 minutes, I want to say.
The sun was just starting to rise by that point and volunteers were handing out cooling towels to help with the heat.
I will say this. Springtime Surprise is a beast. That heat is no joke.
Alex and I grabbed our medals and food snacks. We remembered to bring plastic bags to set everything inside, which is my number one tip for anyone participating in a race weekend. There’s not enough arm space to carry the race box, banana, Powerade, water and medal!
Alex suggested we get in line for the Lilo and Stitch Meet and Greet since our colors were loosely based on Stitch and Angel.
All right friends. *inhales deeply* I debated sharing this story, but what the heck? I love poking fun at myself, and afterwards I had a good laugh about it. When I told my friends about it later they were cracking up. So let me share my public service announcement about cooling towels and light colored tops.
Alex and I were standing in the queue, waiting, drinking our waters, talking about the course. Hanging out.
Eventually, we get to be the second group in line. I wanted to look somewhat decent for the photo so I took off my cooling towel.
Then I notice this young girl in the switchback of the queue look at me.
And friends, I think we all know that look.
It wasn’t an offhanded look.
It was a “What in the?!” look.
It was a look that made me go, “Huh.”
Naturally, I was hot and sweaty and red, but so was everyone else. So why was this girl staring at me with such a surprised expression?
With the people in front of us taking their photo, I looked down and realized what the fuss was all about. The cooling towel, when draped over my shoulder, ended right at chest level. And when handed to me, it was dripping with water. All of which the padding in my bra decided to soak up like a sponge and my lilac shirt was not keeping hidden.
I looked like I was a nursing mother ten minutes late to feed her youngin.
This dawned on me literally right as it was our turn to take a photograph. Good grief!
No time to think, I situated myself sideways and grabbed my medal, doing my best to hide the appearance.
Of course, my blissfully ignorant husband had no idea what was happening, so he kept pushing my side to try and get me to turn straight. Just another layer of chaos.
Walking away, I grabbed the cooling towel and wrung it over the rest of my top so all of it was then wet, making it much, much better.
Still. Not my finest moment.
Alex and I hopped on a bus soon afterwards so we could shower and change for our breakfast reservation. We were eating at our favorite, Steakhouse 71.
The restaurant was extremely busy that morning with what appeared to be a lot of locals and college program kids. I got the Eggs Benedict and unfortunately, the eggs were way overcooked. To the point where there was no runny yolk, making the dish a little dry.
Our server was fantastic, though, and didn’t seem to get upset when we told him that he should let the kitchen know.
Alex and I also split a side of the seasonal pancakes, which were lemon blueberry. They were phenomenal. Honestly, every single time I’ve had the pancakes they have been spectacular. It’s the shining dish on the menu.
After breakfast, Alex and I took a bus to Disney Springs. We wanted something lowkey and relaxing to do so that we wouldn’t tire ourselves out before our last race.
In a rare surprise, the line for Gideon’s was really short. We hopped in and were inside in less than 30 minutes!
I have no doubt we ordered some cookies, but the real star of the show was this beauty:
There’s nothing like a Gideon’s cold brew on a Disney trip.
Caffeine in hand, Alex and I meandered through a few shops, keeping cool inside air conditioning and seeing if there was anything interesting to bring home. We made it down to the running store, but I can’t remember the name of it. Alex was not loving his phone holder he was using for the runs and was trying to see if he could find something better. He struck out, but while we were inside I found a cute shirt that matched the Springtime Surprise theme. I ended up buying it to wear on our day after the races.
Leaving the store, Alex and I were originally planning on popping over to Hollywood Studios to meet up with Vanessa again at Oga’s Canteen. However, even with a filling breakfast and a large coffee, the two of us were feeling pretty tired. So instead, we called Alex’s mom and asked if she wanted to pop over to the Wilderness Lodge and spend the afternoon with us.
Naturally, she was delighted to and it was lovely getting to visit with her for a few hours. She had recently bought a new car, so Alex drove us over to a grocery store in it so we could buy some more waters. His siblings had bought us a few the day they picked us up from the airport, but it was so hot that we’d gone through it all already. (Having just now read @Mollydolly334 update, was because of the Bonine?)
Once back at the resort, Alex and his mom and I went down to Geyser Point and had an early dinner.
Alex and I loved our meals so much the day before we were happy to go again.
This time I got a salad with chicken.
I can’t remember what the little crunchy strips were on the dish, but there was a ton of them and as Alex’s mom said, “They taste like Styrofoam.”
Will definitely ask them to hold the slivered packing peanuts next time.
With dinner complete, it was time to say goodbye to my MIL and head back to the room to chill. I was hoping to be asleep by 8 o’clock, but I think it was closer to 9 before we set our alarms and dozed off.
Not the greatest schedule when needing to wake up for a 3rd morning in a row of running, but catching up on rest is for after the Disney trip is over. There’s always so much to see and do on property and not enough time to do it all.
Up Next: You’re Gonna Make It
Saturday, April 20th, 2024:
This was 10K Day! Alex and I were up and at the buses at 3 a.m. and through Epcot security by 3:45.
The globe looks so pretty in the middle of the night.
We weren’t going to make the same mistake we made the day before, which was getting in long character lines before the corrals opened. Instead, I dragged Alex over to the DIS meetup location (by the only light post for those interested!) and chatted with three other DISers from the race group. One I’d met the previous SS Weekend but the others were new.
It was a nice way to kill time and always fun to put faces to names. When the corrals opened, Alex and I went ahead and headed into ours. We were more tired than on our 5K day, so finding an open spot to sit and disassociate on our phones for 45 minutes was nice.
The energy this morning was much, much better than the day before. It felt like the typical runDisney excitement, which I was relieved by. I didn’t want Alex to think all the mornings were a little lackluster. (After listening to the 3,2,1 Go Podcast by the race announcers, it seems like everyone felt the 5K was a little off.)
The two of us had to go through the awful cattle herding process until we were eventually standing in front of the starting line.
Then we were off!
I love the 10K course at Walt Disney World. The first two miles are on the highway, which really allows everyone to spread out. There’s not a lot of bottlenecking, even on the turnarounds, so you can slide into your pace very easily.
The only downside to the course is that there’s no real bathrooms the first few miles. My better half was hurrying us along to get into the parks quickly. Hydration is a double edged sword!
Almost halfway through the course, we popped into Epcot just long enough to get to the International Gateway. It was as we were running over the bridge on the way to the Beach Club that Alex exclaimed, “I smell bacon!”
Other runners around us heard and started laughing. One gentleman even screamed “BACON!”
Leave it to my husband to amp up those around him.
It made us both laugh out loud and put us in great mindsets. We were having a blast. The race this morning was going much better than the 5K. Alex’s preferred race distance is the 10K, so he was especially enjoying this run.
One of my favorite parts of the course is the loop around the Boardwalk. Seeing all the lights on the water, hearing everyone’s feet clacking on the wooden boards, glimpsing the characters out meeting and greeting, all comes together to create a unique Disney experience. (Even Riley’s constant loop telling athletes that the ground is wet and slippery. It’s part of it!)
Naturally, I was having a ton of fun but you wouldn’t know it from my photograph:
I HAD TO MAKE SURE I DIDN’T SLIP!
Couldn’t have anything take me about before the 10-Miler.
Alex and I entered back into Epcot and did a reverse course from the 5K, going around the World Showcase from France to Mexico. Then we ran into where Cosmic Rewind is housed and stopped for a quick photo:
A final push into the backstage area of Epcot, where they had the Japanese drummers and the Gospel Choir performing and we were back where we started. In the Epcot parking lot and at the finish line!
I managed to get a PR time, which I just beat again at the Oklahoma City Half, but at the time I was over the moon excited about. I beat my previous time by 8 minutes, I want to say.
The sun was just starting to rise by that point and volunteers were handing out cooling towels to help with the heat.
I will say this. Springtime Surprise is a beast. That heat is no joke.
Alex and I grabbed our medals and food snacks. We remembered to bring plastic bags to set everything inside, which is my number one tip for anyone participating in a race weekend. There’s not enough arm space to carry the race box, banana, Powerade, water and medal!
Alex suggested we get in line for the Lilo and Stitch Meet and Greet since our colors were loosely based on Stitch and Angel.
All right friends. *inhales deeply* I debated sharing this story, but what the heck? I love poking fun at myself, and afterwards I had a good laugh about it. When I told my friends about it later they were cracking up. So let me share my public service announcement about cooling towels and light colored tops.
Alex and I were standing in the queue, waiting, drinking our waters, talking about the course. Hanging out.
Eventually, we get to be the second group in line. I wanted to look somewhat decent for the photo so I took off my cooling towel.
Then I notice this young girl in the switchback of the queue look at me.
And friends, I think we all know that look.
It wasn’t an offhanded look.
It was a “What in the?!” look.
It was a look that made me go, “Huh.”
Naturally, I was hot and sweaty and red, but so was everyone else. So why was this girl staring at me with such a surprised expression?
With the people in front of us taking their photo, I looked down and realized what the fuss was all about. The cooling towel, when draped over my shoulder, ended right at chest level. And when handed to me, it was dripping with water. All of which the padding in my bra decided to soak up like a sponge and my lilac shirt was not keeping hidden.
I looked like I was a nursing mother ten minutes late to feed her youngin.
This dawned on me literally right as it was our turn to take a photograph. Good grief!
No time to think, I situated myself sideways and grabbed my medal, doing my best to hide the appearance.
Of course, my blissfully ignorant husband had no idea what was happening, so he kept pushing my side to try and get me to turn straight. Just another layer of chaos.
Walking away, I grabbed the cooling towel and wrung it over the rest of my top so all of it was then wet, making it much, much better.
Still. Not my finest moment.
Alex and I hopped on a bus soon afterwards so we could shower and change for our breakfast reservation. We were eating at our favorite, Steakhouse 71.
The restaurant was extremely busy that morning with what appeared to be a lot of locals and college program kids. I got the Eggs Benedict and unfortunately, the eggs were way overcooked. To the point where there was no runny yolk, making the dish a little dry.
Our server was fantastic, though, and didn’t seem to get upset when we told him that he should let the kitchen know.
Alex and I also split a side of the seasonal pancakes, which were lemon blueberry. They were phenomenal. Honestly, every single time I’ve had the pancakes they have been spectacular. It’s the shining dish on the menu.
After breakfast, Alex and I took a bus to Disney Springs. We wanted something lowkey and relaxing to do so that we wouldn’t tire ourselves out before our last race.
In a rare surprise, the line for Gideon’s was really short. We hopped in and were inside in less than 30 minutes!
I have no doubt we ordered some cookies, but the real star of the show was this beauty:
There’s nothing like a Gideon’s cold brew on a Disney trip.
Caffeine in hand, Alex and I meandered through a few shops, keeping cool inside air conditioning and seeing if there was anything interesting to bring home. We made it down to the running store, but I can’t remember the name of it. Alex was not loving his phone holder he was using for the runs and was trying to see if he could find something better. He struck out, but while we were inside I found a cute shirt that matched the Springtime Surprise theme. I ended up buying it to wear on our day after the races.
Leaving the store, Alex and I were originally planning on popping over to Hollywood Studios to meet up with Vanessa again at Oga’s Canteen. However, even with a filling breakfast and a large coffee, the two of us were feeling pretty tired. So instead, we called Alex’s mom and asked if she wanted to pop over to the Wilderness Lodge and spend the afternoon with us.
Naturally, she was delighted to and it was lovely getting to visit with her for a few hours. She had recently bought a new car, so Alex drove us over to a grocery store in it so we could buy some more waters. His siblings had bought us a few the day they picked us up from the airport, but it was so hot that we’d gone through it all already. (Having just now read @Mollydolly334 update, was because of the Bonine?)
Once back at the resort, Alex and his mom and I went down to Geyser Point and had an early dinner.
Alex and I loved our meals so much the day before we were happy to go again.
This time I got a salad with chicken.
I can’t remember what the little crunchy strips were on the dish, but there was a ton of them and as Alex’s mom said, “They taste like Styrofoam.”
Will definitely ask them to hold the slivered packing peanuts next time.
With dinner complete, it was time to say goodbye to my MIL and head back to the room to chill. I was hoping to be asleep by 8 o’clock, but I think it was closer to 9 before we set our alarms and dozed off.
Not the greatest schedule when needing to wake up for a 3rd morning in a row of running, but catching up on rest is for after the Disney trip is over. There’s always so much to see and do on property and not enough time to do it all.
Up Next: You’re Gonna Make It
