Running Like a GIRL!

The Disney Princess 5K and Half-Marathon

So it finally came! Last weekend was the Disney Princess 5K and 1/2 Marathon and it was AWESOME! My mom, sister, and I all had a great time just hanging out together, along with some long lost cousins that were HILARIOUS! Oh yeah, and the runs went really well, too!

First, we got to Disney world on Thursday night which we just kind of hung out and ate at Wolfgang's in Downtown Disney. - Funny story: we get there and mom, Shelly (my sister) and I have all been dieting and working out to get ready for this weekend and we're looking over the menu and trying to decide on what to get. We were debating splitting something and Shelly asked "Do we want something like a salad?" to which mom responded, "NOOOOO." - We shopped some around Downtown Disney and then flaked out at the hotel room and went to bed.

Woke up the next morning in time for the expo where they sold some official merchandise and other fun helpful running stuff.


I got a few things including a running skirt, sweat absorbing visor, princess crown, earbud covers (I'll talk some more about that later), and fog-proof sunglasses. There were lots of fun headbands, skirts, and t-shirts all over the place that said stuff like "will run for beer/wine", "it's not fat, it's fuel", and "run like a mother." I thought that would've been awesome for sis or mom, but alas, they did not get one. The earbud covers I got were for the ear buds I got that came with the new ipod shuffle. The shuffle is about the size of a piece of chewing gum, but has no buttons. Instead, Apple decided to put the controls on the earbud wire. This would be fine if the earbuds would stay in my ear, but they don't. Luckily, at the expo, they sold these silicone covers you put over your earbuds that hold them in your ear and even funnel the sound down your ear canal so you don't have to turn the volume up so loud either. Thank God for those, because without them I wouldn't have been able to listen to any music on either run!

We also picked up our registration packets with our bibs, t-shirts, and free socks among other samples and brochures. And when you run in the half-marathon, you get a purple mesh bag filled with all these things. Well, mom wasn't too happy that she didn't get to have one of those bags and we never heard the end of it. "I don't know. I guess that's something only someone with a purple bag would know." or "Since you have a purple bag I guess you can/know that blah blah blah..." It was so funny! So I let her carry mine around for a little bit:

After the expo we started cruising around Magic Kingdom and eventually met up with Tracy and Susie who are two of the most hysterical people I've ever met in my life! So that spiced things up as well. It was just fantastic all around. We grabbed some dinner at the hotel's food court and tried to go to bed early. Did not happen like we planned because we were so excited that we spent more time getting our stuff set out and ready and trying on everything that it was kinda late before we finally hit the sack. That night were trying to find a way to keep mom's crown on when we came up on the idea of rocket sprouts. We tried it out and thought they were adorable, but mom didn't want them even though Shelly defined the look as "Diesel." So Shelly tried to make them a little more aerodynamic and put the sprouts coming out of the back more so than the top (like real rockets) and that was truly "Diesel," and even though mom didn't wear her hair like that to the race, her nickname stuck. Here is a picture of the awesomeness:






The 5K

The race started at 7:00am (aka butt-crack of dawn), but we had to be there by something like 6:15am when it's still dark and cold outside. So we got up early and froze our asses off waiting for the bus, getting on the bus, walking to the start line, and waiting for the race to begin. Disney did have an awesome DJ blaring some good music so I couldn't help but dance, especially when my tutu made it look like I've got a tail-feather to shake! It was lots of fun and helped warm me up. Mom stepped in and started dancing with me, too, which made it even more fun. We saw some awesome costumes and some crazy people, and it was all just great!

We ran and within the first 1/4 mile my shoe came untied (while I was screwing around trying to get my ipod to play with those STUPID earbud controls) and I had to break from the group. I eventually caught up sometime after the 1 mile and finally around the same time got my ipod to play the right playlist. This was also about the time that we entered Epcot's World Showcase which was where the real fun began! We stopped at different countries to take pictures with the cast members who were associated with that country. For instance, Aladdin and Jasmine were in Morocco, Mary Poppins, Alice, and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger were in England, Marie (the girl cat from Aristocats) was in France, Mulan and Mooshu were in China, and so on. It was so cool! Mom kept getting antsy with us when we pulled her off the track to run in and get a picture with us and the characters, but it all turned out great. Tracy beat us all, and Shelly and I finished together after her, and mom was close behind us. It was great! They had photographers throughout the course and at the finish line. (That's my sister in the pink tutu next to me!)

We came back to the hotel room afterwards and stretched, showered, and went back out to walk all over disney world again with some park-hoppers. We spent most of our time at Epcot that day going all around the world (eating lunch on the patio in Italy with some hot Italian waiters) and to Nemo's ride. Then we went on to MGM to catch the Rockn' Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror. I wish I could have seen the picture of my sister and Tracy looking at each screaming when the elevator dropped! Then we grabbed a bite to eat back at the hotel, Shelly and I laid out our clothes, and we went to bed...eventually.

The Half-Marathon

Since this race was significantly longer, it started quite a bit earlier. We had to be in line by 5:15am to start the race by 6:00am. Still dark when we started! It was cold as all get out, too, and since we were running such a long ways, my sister and I minimized the amount of clothes we wore and things we took with us. We wore a trashbag while we waited in our corral and we were the second group to start at 6:07 with with fairy godmother and fireworks at the starting line! To shorten the experience, I'm going to break down the my thought process and mottos mile by mile of the course:

Mile 1 - We're doing it! After a month and half of training, we're doing it! SHIT, it's cold! Ooo a Timberland jacket! Mine now!

Mile 2 - The sun is up! I'm still running! This skirt keeps falling down. Did I lose inches from the 5K yesterday? What's wrong with my calf?

Mile 3 - YES, thank you, Biofreeze. Going to walk a little more. Getting close to Magic Kingdom!

Mile 4 - OMG! We're almost at the castle! I think I'm keeping up. Man, my leg's not making this easy.

Mile 5 - Wow, everyone is waving..and there's Japanese girls drumming and princesses everwhere! I'll have to bring a camera next time!

Mile 6 - Maybe if I pretend to not feel the pain in my leg, it won't hurt so bad. What leg? What leg? What leg?

Mile 7 - THAT leg!!!!!! They said there's a calorie booster at mile 8. Will run for food...

Mile 8 - That was not food and it took everything I had to muscle it down...suck it up. I'm just going to have to walk as fast as I can for the rest of this.

Mile 9 - 2 doses of Biofreeze, please! Dear God, make it stop hurting!

Mile 10 - I think I know who the 8th dwarf is...LIMPY! Have I done a 20 minute mile yet? Aren't you people supposed to pick me up! Take me away!!!!!

And there it ended. They let me make it to the 10 mile marker, loaded me up in a "carriage" (a 12 passenger van) and drove us slow and injured people to the finish line. I was upset at first that I didn't make it the whole way, but after limping over to my sister and crying for a second (amazing how little self-control you have over your emotions after 10 miles) I got over it and talking to my dad and brother helped a lot, too. After thinking about it, 10 miles was a lot and I hadn't been training long and was lugging around a lot of extra weight I didn't burn off in time for this event. Next year will be a COMPLETELY different story! I wish I could do it next month!

Shelly finished strong and got an awesome medal for it! I'm so proud of her! She rocks!

Mom brought us back to health at the hotel and we tried to make our way around the parks for our final day, but none of us were getting anywhere fast! We walked around Epcot a little longer and ate at a buffet in Germany. I had the best beer I've ever had in my life. The smallest size they came in was half a liter. Yummmm.

The next day Shelly left early and mom and I grabbed a quick lunch at downtown Disney and did a little last minute souvenir shopping and left for Douglasville.

I cannot describe the sadness that ensues when you leave a place like Disney World. One day you're having the best time of your life and the next you're back to what is now a dull and boring existence. As the week has gone by and my legs have become less sore and my ankles less swollen, I've slowly gotten over leaving.

There is another run in Disney World in October, the Food and Wine Festival run which I'm trying to strategize how to get there. I think I've become addicted and will be training for the next one! Lots of work to do, but by God I will finish next time!!!

Anyone who wants to join either the next Disney Princess Weekend or the Food and Wine Festival are more than welcome to join me!!!