A look back... my first runDisney race!

Today is registration day for the 2015 runDisney Princess race weekend!  Inspired by that and by Patty at My No-Guilt Life, who asked for tales of first runDisney races, I took a few minutes to re-read my recap from my first race/first runDisney race/first Princess race, the 2012 Royal Family 5K.  Care to join me?  Click here... Tangled Up in… FUN! Royal Family 5K Recap!

Things sure have changed since that first race!  For starters, registration.  Back then, I registered a month before the race.  A MONTH.  This time, I fully expect the 5K to sell out in a day.  Word's out and runDisney races are popular, folks.  

(Note: if it's near 12pm EDT and you're here reading this, and you plan to register for any of the 2015 Princess races, STOP READING and get over to runDisney.com to register!  I'll still be here later.)

Know what else has changed?  Leo no longer runs with me.  I'm pretty sad about that, but he's 12 now and is still figuring out his "thing" so I try not to let it get to me.  Plus I'm still hoping a Star Wars race appears on the WDW radar to tempt him.

The race itself has changed, growing from 5,000 participants in 2012 to 10,000 in 2014.  When I first ran it, strollers were allowed; now, no strollers and participants must be over 5 years of age.

I've changed a lot since that first race, too!  I'm blonde now, and weigh almost 15 pounds less.  I'm a whole lot stronger, too, and I've since completed two 10-mile races, four half-marathons, two 10Ks, more 5Ks than I can count, and my first back-to-back-to-back challenge, the Princess Triple Crown.  Back in early 2012, I don't think I ever saw myself someday being where I am now!

And, despite my claims in February that I was DONE with all things Princess for a while... I am, right now, pre-registered for another run of the Triple Crown: the 2015 Royal Family 5K and the Glass Slipper Challenge (Enchanted 10K + Princess Half-Marathon.)  

Princess Weekend?  I just can't seem to quit you.

Thanks, Patty, for the inspiration to take a look back!

And to all who will be registering today for their first race, I wish you much success and a whole lotta fun!

#alltheraces!

Princess Half weekend - final thoughts and TIPS to run Disney!

As of now, I’ve participated in every runDisney race weekend offered at Walt Disney World:

Royal Family 5K (Princess 1/2 Marathon weekend), 2012 and 2014

Expedition Everest Challenge, 2012

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler, 2012 and 2013

Jingle Jungle 5K (Wine & Dine Half-Marathon Weekend), 2012

Princess Half-Marathon, 2013 and 2014

WDW Half-Marathon (Marathon Weekend), 2014

Enchanted10K, 2014

With all of those under my belt, I feel properly equipped to offer some TIPS for those thinking of running Disney!

Embrace the fun – don a costume!  I know – it feels weird to dress up in costume for a race.  But trust V; it only feels weird until you actually get to a runDisney race… once there, you won’t feel out of place at all!  You’ll see a huge variety of costumes put together with varying amounts of effort and detail.  Here’s the thing: it doesn’t need to be complicated, it doesn’t need to cost a lot, and it really should be comfortable, especially for longer distance races.  My advice is to work with items you’d wear to run in the first place: shirts and bottoms made of soft, comfortable wicking material.  You can add items and embellish from there without breaking the bank or your resolve to finish your race!

The 2014 Princess Half-Marathon weekend was my first time putting much effort into costumes, and I’m very glad I did – it upped the fun quotient by a LOT!  My favorite was the Cinderella-themed outfit I put together for the Royal Family 5K:

This was absurdly easy… I bought a Cindy-blue running shirt on clearance online for less than $20 and paired it with a matching $25 skirt from Sparkle Athletic.  I’ll use both again, so the cost can really be pro-rated by a number of years of wearings.  Under my skirt, I wore a pair of compression capris I already owned, and around my neck I wore a black satin choker left over from a Halloween costume I wore a few years ago.  A $2 pair of white knee socks worked as “gloves” – I simply chopped off the feet.  And I topped the whole thing off with a tiara I’ve had for ages, though a blue ribbon would have worked, too.

See? Easy, affordable, comfortable, and, most of all – FUN!

Take pictures. Lots of ‘em.  Okay, if you’re a friend of mine on Facebook, you’re probably sick to death of my many race pics.  Sorry.  But, you know what?  I almost wish I’d taken more!  Especially from past races.  While it’s fun to share images from your races with friends and family, it’s even more fun to look back at them yourself and remember the good times you’ve had!

Taking a lot of pictures when you’re trying to run a race isn’t the easiest thing to do, and I’ll be the first to admit that I thought it would be hugely burdensome over long distances.  Hence the complete lack of on-course photos from my first few long distance races.  But I discovered some tricks over the past year that’s made it pretty easy to score more photos…

First, if you’re already carrying a phone that has a decent camera in it, use it.  I carry my iPhone 4S in an arm pocket and thought it would be a royal PITA to take it out and put it back in repeatedly, but I quickly realized a couple things: 1. With a little practice, it’s really not that hard to maneuver, and 2. I tended to take three or four photos in a row, then run a mile or more without any before wanting my camera handy again – so it was easier to run with my phone/camera in my hand between photo stops, then put it away for a while before pulling it back out for a few more shots.

Also, know that there is almost always someone available to take your picture, so make sure you’re IN some of them!  At designated course photo stops, you’ll find volunteers or Disney staff on hand to snap your pic with characters and props.  Don’t worry – they’ve seen every photo-taking device known to man and can use all of ‘em without instructions. Should you find yourself wanting to be in a shot without a dedicated photographer, look around and ask for help!  Chances are other runners are taking the same pic and will happily take your pic.  Be sure to pay it forward and take theirs, too.  Race volunteers and theme park staff members are also happy to help you out.

Plan out timing and transportation ahead of time.  Like, not at 3am.  Are you driving to a race?  Read the race materials carefully to learn the appropriate route/s and road closures.  Make sure you have gas in the tank.  And don't forget to turn on your headlights - 3am is freaking dark.  (Yes, I saw quite a few cars on the way to races with no lights on. Skeery.)  Figure out ahead of time how you'll store your car key while running.  Write down or take a pic of where you're parked.

Taking a race bus?  Find out ahead of time where it will be making stops - this varies by resort.  Locate your stop and walk to it in daylight from your room so you'll know where to go in the dark, wee hours of the morn.  Take a look at the race materials to determine where buses will be after the race, then follow the signs to your bus when you're ready to go. 

Most importantly, leave plenty of time to get to the race.  If buses start running at 3am, you can bet I'm on a bus or in my car no later than 3:05.  Because every race, at least one bus driver gets lost and takes forever getting to the race and the poor runners on board have to scramble to make it to their corrals on time.  And at every race, there comes a time when traffic is heavy and cars back up trying to park.  Leave early, don't get stuck in traffic, and enjoy the extra time to relax before your race.

Know thyself.  Race weekend is not the time to abandon your routine.  After months of training, and years of living in your own skin, you'll know your individual needs - do as much as you can to meet them.  How much sleep do you need to feel good?  What kinds of foods can you eat and how often do you need to eat?  Can you walk around all day and still feel good to run double digits at night?  Does heat and sun exposure wipe you out?  Do large, noisy crowds stress or invigorate you?  Think carefully about what you need to feel strong and healthy, and adjust your plans accordingly.

I happen to have a cast-iron stomach; pretty much nothing makes me have GI issues, so I don't worry much about food, but some folks need to eat very specific items to race well.  You can find menus for all WDW restaurants at Allears.net - check them out ahead of time and make meal plans accordingly.  Bring favorite items with you from home, or plan a trip to a local grocery store.

I need adequate sleep to be of sound mind and body, so I plan to be in bed by 7pm before early morning races.  I also can't spend much time on my feet before night races, so I spend afternoons before those napping.  It means forgoing some park time, but I know I'll be better for it.   If you don't need much sleep, or aren't bothered by time on your feet before racing, hit the parks and have fun!

Lots of folks bring nothing more to a race than what they'll carry on the course.  I am not one of those people.  I MUST foam roll before and after running, and I like a change of clothes after the race, and I need my reading glasses to read the eight-million new text messages and social media posts after racing.  Lucky for folks like me, runDisney's bag check bags hold a ton of stuff and are very easy to drop off and pick up.

Find a race buddy!  If your'e running a race with a friend, and you're in the same corral, and you're planning to run the same pace - great!  You're all set.

But the planets don't usually align that perfectly for most runners.  And it's totally fine to go it alone - I've done that more times than not.  But I promise - you'll have more fun at a Disney race with a buddy.  And it's pretty darned easy to find some...

Have a friend starting in the same corral? Super! Agree to hang out together in the corral, but run your own pace once the race starts.  Don't worry - you'll find more buddies soon...

Take a look around you in that first mile - is another runner going the same pace as you?  Do you keep passing each other on opposite intervals?  Did you both pull over for the same photo?  Say something!  "Hee hee - feels like we're playing tag here!"  Or, "I'll take your pic, if you'll take mine!"  Or maybe, "Have you done runDisney races before?"  Nine times out of ten, a short conversation will ensue and you'll find it to be fun!  Don't worry if you lose each other after a few minutes - there are more race buddies to be found...

Chat with someone in a porta-potty line.  Compliment a fellow runner's shirt.  Ask where she got her super-cute headband.  In the middle of my solo Enchanted 10K, another runner asked if my 5K and 10K tattoos were real - I told her they were temporary and where I got them, which led to a chat about running skirts, which led to talking costumes for future races, and in no time a mile had flown by!

A race buddy, even if he/she is a temporary one, is invaluable when your feet hurt, you're tired, your head's no longer into it, and you're ready to quit.  If you spy a friend, reach out, tell him/her how you're feeling, ask for a word or two to boost you up.  Look for other runners who seem to be in the same place and say something encouraging to them; it'll help you feel better, too.  Lead a cheer of "KILL THE HILL" and help a couple dozen other runners get through that final overpass.  When it comes down to it, we're all each others' race buddies, which is a pretty beautiful thing.

Which brings me to...

Join a running group.  Listen - I'm not a social runner.  A large part of what I enjoy most about running long distances is the chance to be alone with my own thoughts; out on a long run, I'm not Mom, or Friend, or Employee, or Blogger - I'm just me, free to let my thoughts run without interruption, or to blissfully not be required to think at all.  So I'm here to tell you that you don't need to be an outgoing extrovert to join a running group.

That's because running groups come in all sorts of sizes and packages.  There are local groups who meet to run and socialize, and local groups that meet to train hard.  There are online groups that "meet" across the miles in social media groups.  There are groups that welcome new runners, and groups that cater to elites; groups that chat only about running, and groups that talk about anything and everything; groups that focus on a certain race or series of races, and groups that aren't specific to any race at all.  There is truly a group for every runner, of this I am certain.

The key is to find a group that makes you feel supported, encouraged, secure and confident.  I had to try on a few different groups to find "my" running group, and when I did stumble upon it, I wasn't sure I even wanted to be part of a group at all.  But in the year+ I've spent with the amazing folks in my group, I've found a family of runners with whom I can be myself.  I can tell or ask them almost anything and get well-thought, honest answers and replies.  We can all have lousy runs and hear from our friends that we're not alone and tomorrow will be a better day.  We support each other through illnesses and injuries, and shout to the rafters to cheer each others' successes.  At races, we make time to connect in person through meals and meet-ups, on race courses and in Disney parks.  Though we may joke and lightly tease about silly things, we never go on the attack over differing views or life choices.  We encompass all ages, speeds, sizes, colors, genders and occupations and, though we have so many differences, our love of running trumps it all.

I can honestly say that I would not have run at least one race without the support of my running group.  Injured and afraid, I was 99% ready to bail on the WDW Half-Marathon this year.  It wasn't the kind of thing I wanted to admit to anyone, but I did to my running group - who promptly circled their wagons and convinced me that while I might not feel up to going for a new personal record, I could finish the race and have a really fun time doing it.  They were absolutely right.

Can you run happily without ever joining a running group?  Of course!  But I promise, finding a group that fits you and your needs can only be beneficial and is totally worth the effort of finding. 

TOTALLY worth the effort of finding you - GO TEAM!

I think that wraps it up!  Thanks for reading along - do you have more tips for running Disney races?  Share them in the comments, or do your own blog post about them, let me know, and I'll link to them here!

~~~

I've got one more, non-Disney long distance race next week, and then I'll be going into my off-season for the summer.  Because summer in Florida is freaking HOT, y'all.

However...

Remember how I was done with the Tower of Terror 10-Miler after the last one?  Yeah, well... I'm signed up for another round.  And the 2014 Wine & Dine Half-Marathon, too.  So in another six months, I'll be back to running Disney :)

Race Recap: 2014 runDisney Enchanted 10K! And other Princess stuff...

Before I get to the second leg of my Princess Triple Crown endeavor, I need to share a little bit about the rest of Day One.

After completing the Cinderella Royal Family 5K Friday morning, I headed back to my motel to eat, shower and rest a bit.  I may be the exception here, but I was surprised by how much TIME of my race weekend was taken up by eating, resting and readying.  It felt like I was constantly eating; I’d had a bagel before the race, a protein bar immediately after, and I was totally ready for a full breakfast again after.  I also found that stripping off my race outfit, hanging its parts around to dry, and readying my next day’s race outfit took some time.  After all of that, a long shower, some checking in on social media, and a call home to see how things were going in my absence, I didn’t have the time or energy to hit a theme park.  Instead, I got back into bed and took a nap for an hour or so.

After a nap, it was time for a Princess-worthy tea at the Grand Floridian!  A small (small because that’s all we could fit – reservations for the Garden View Tea go early and fast!) group of us ladies gathered for high tea to celebrate the race weekend.  I won’t go overboard on details, but wanted to share because it was such a nice way to take a break from the race action, enjoy some non-running time with friends, and… EAT!  Again.

Four mini sandwiches, followed by assorted pastries and strawberries & cream.
And I was hungry again a couple hours later.

I highly, highly recommend adding this to your race weekend, should you be running future Princess events! 

After tea, I headed over to the Polynesian Resort’s beach for another non-race get-together.  I’d been invited to #runnerslove, a gathering of fellow Princess runners/bloggers/blog readers, with the promise of many, many giveaways.  Confession: this isn’t my kind of thing.  I’m a bit of a loner, get very anxious about new social settings, and am quite wary of any event promising “free” stuff.  But with a number of running friends going, too, and having already “met” the meet-up’s leaders online, I decided to give it a chance.  I am SO glad I did!

Kristy (of Kristy Runs Kato – go read it) and Meg (of Runaway Royalty - go read it, too) were terrific hosts, making us all feel welcome and excited.  They also get mad props for dealing with both an impending rain storm and noisy construction going on behind us.  I really wondered if either had any voice left afterward.  Well done, ladies!  And the giveaways?  PLENTIFUL!  I don’t think anyone left empty-handed.  Including me:

How did they know I was in need of a new visor?!  Perfect!

After the meet-up, I headed into the Polynesian to grab a quick dinner, then drove back to my motel to decompress, get everything ready for the next morning, and get some shut-eye.

~~~

Day Two, Race Two: the Inaugural runDisney Enchanted 10K, the first event of the Glass Slipper Challenge!

This one required an even earlier Stupid-Early wake-up: 2:45am to get out the door by 3:30am.  Really, I should have gotten up at 2:30am; I woke with a pounding headache, tight muscles, and the need for a long, hot shower.  I settled for a short shower and I think I managed to hit the road by 3:45.  I again drove to the race, which also started and finished in the Epcot parking lot, and was again parked within 10 minutes of leaving my room.

Despite eating a bagel with peanut butter and downing some caffeinated brown water (NoOffenseJoffrey's), my headache continued to get worse as time went on.  I sucked it up and smiled my way through another pre-race meet-up with my running group (which was pretty easy, since despite the pain, I was happy to be there!), and jumped in line for a final porta-potty stop before it was time to get into our corrals.  The lines were much longer that day, and by the time I got done, corrals had been called and my friends had all dispersed.  I was on my own for this one.

I'm not complaining - I like running on my own!  It's actually a surprise to me that I've come to enjoy running with friends so much.  So I was fine with being on my own and got ready to settle into my corral (C) to wait my turn to start.  And, actually, I wound up having a nice chat with a lady next to me about runDisney events, the crazy recent weather, and race costumes.  The time flew by and next thing we knew...

THREE roman candles!  Oooo, aaaaaahhh...

... we were OFF!

My goal once again, was to take it easy: lots of walking, a little easy running, no sprinting. Get it done, remain uninjured, live to run the next day.

For the first few miles, I did just that.  The on-course crowding was significantly less for me than in the previous day's 5K.  I had plenty of room to walk, run, pass, be passed, and pull over to tie my shoes.  Repeatedly.  I wore my new Brooks Ravennas and quickly discovered that their laces were still pretty stretchy; no matter how tight I tied a knot, the laces kept stretching, and I kept pulling over to tighten them up.  Good thing I wasn't looking for a fast time, I guess.

The first three miles took us out of the Epcot parking lot...

With Elsa making it snow from an overpass above us!

... up what is normally a ramp down to the parking lot...

Trust V - in the dark, wee hours of the morn, this is HI-larious.

... and up over another overpass before turning back down to the backstage area of Epcot, from where we entered World Showcase.

I'd like to mention something at this point.  See how fuzzy that pic above is?  That's only partly due to camera movement.  The rest is due to extreme humidity.  I believe it was in the high-60s that morning, with around 100% humidity.  Which was NOT helping my headache.  At all.  Every running step made my head throb, and I could feel a migraine hovering in the wings, ready to take its curtain call at any moment.  So I slowed way down through World Showcase and made myself stop to take some pictures.

Snow White and some topiary dwarves. This seemed like a brilliant shot at the time.
Now, it looks s little odd - Happy looks ready to attack and Grumpy looks like he might cut someone.

"Temptations. They're the wrong things that seem right at the time..."
Like, oh, say... three races totaling 22.4 miles over three days, Jiminy???

I. am. SO. glad. I stopped for this!  Jiminy had a long line, but it was time for me to eat (again) anyway, so I parked it in line, ate a Cliff Bar and finished just in time for my photo turn.

With some fuel in me and the morning dew beginning to burn off some, my head started to feel a little better, and I picked up the pace to get through the remainder of World Showcase and out to loop around the Epcot resorts.

I really, really enjoyed that part of the course!  I've run the Boardwalk/Epcot Resorts loops before, and have strolled that loop more times than I can count, so I was already very familiar with the setting and knew where I might want to break off for a quick pic or two.

Had this been open, I'd have been buying.  A cold 'rita on the rocks sounded wonderful!

Back story: about a decade or so ago, I was an avid swing dancer and spent quite a few evenings at the Atlantic Dance Hall, listening and dancing to the amazing big bands that used to play there almost weekly!  It was a fun, fun time in my life, so I had to pull over, break into a little Charleston, and ask a maintenance guy to document the moment with my camera.  I neglected to ask him to skip the ambulance.  Tho.

The rest of the race is something of a blur to me... I finished the Epcot Resorts loop, reentered Epcot through backstage (saw more kegs, but didn't stop for another pic), raced past the Land pavilion and the Big Ball, and crossed the Finish feeling strangely better than when I'd started!

I had a nice time running the Enchanted 10K.  Yet, when I came across some running friends afterward, I heard myself saying I thought it was a "one and done," that I had "no burning desire to run that course again."  And at the time, I really didn't.  I was surprised at how little entertainment there'd been in the early miles and it just didn't feel like a good value for the cost, especially compared to the Royal Family 5K.  This, from a gal who's proclaimed repeatedly that she doesn't need all of that Disney stuff to enjoy a race!

In retrospect, I think I was feeling much worse than I was willing to admit.  My head continued to pound all day and I was feeling the effects of not enough sleep.  With some time passed, I'd actually like to run that course again - 10K is a great distance: short enough not to be too taxing, long enough to have some fun and get some decent running in.  I honestly think that if I didn't have the half-marathon looming the next day, I'd have enjoyed the Enchanted 10K much more.

~~~

The rest of my day was spent cleaning up, getting things ready for the next race, resting a bit, and eating (again... and again... and again.)  I had a yummy dinner meet-up at Beaches & Cream with my running group, so I popped over to Epcot first to take care of renewing my annual pass.  With no real nap that day, I hightailed it back to my motel after dinner and got myself into bed by 7pm.

And then tossed.  And turned.  And stretched tight legs.  And got up for some water.  And to use the bathroom.  And finally fell asleep somewhere around 9:30pm.  Much later than I wanted, with Even Stupider-Early right around the corner...

Next: the main event... the Princess Half-Marathon!

Race Recap: 2014 Cinderella Royal Family 5K!

Okay, yes, I will be the first to admit it… my last post was BORING.  But so was my day – as it was supposed to be; calm, relaxed, boring in preparation for the insanity about to ensue.

At 3:30am.  Also known as Stupid-Early.  That’s when the insanity ensued.  Leg 1 of my go at the Princess Triple Crown: the Cinderella Royal Family 5K.

The race didn’t start until 6:15am, but we had to be at the start line staging area by 5am, which meant leaving my hotel at 4:15am to fit in time to eat, use a porta-potty and see some friends before getting into our corrals.  And I needed 45 minutes to get myself together because – one of several big firsts for me that weekend – I had an actual costume to don!

Given my now-blonde hair and the 5K’s Cinderella theme, Cindy seemed like a natural fit and my outfit had a number of parts to get on, including a tiara.  Tiaras, of course, leave hair exposed, so I needed time to get my mop of blonde fuzz under control too. 

I opted to drive to the 5K because I’m not a fan of buses.  For one thing, the seats are always so high, my feet don’t reach the ground, which is not comfy before or after a race.  Also, buses would need to make a few stops to pick up folks all around my hotel, which takes time; I knew driving would be faster, allowing me more time to get myself together and eat.  And then there’s this: buses are full of people, and people in February are all too often cesspools of germ activity.  I needed to stay healthy for two more races, so driving my own car was a no-brainer.  For those considering the drive vs. bus conundrum, let me say this: it took me exactly 10 minutes to get from my Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR) room to a parking space at Epcot, where the race was to begin and end. No WAY could a bus have gotten me there faster!  Now, that speed was offset some by a pretty decent walk to and from the race start/finish area.  I was fine with that, as my legs needed the stretch anyway, but do keep that in mind when making the decision yourself.

After a breakfast in my car of a bagel with peanut butter and a travel mug of the lukewarm brown water Disney insists on referring to as "coffee", I headed over to the staging area to meet up with my running group, take some pre-race pics and hit the porta-potties a couple times.  This was great for me; I don’t like feeling rushed and stressed about time, and I had ample time to chat away pre-race nerves and sort out any last minute costume issues… like, oh, ill-placed race bib pins.

Note: if you are short-waisted, watch where you're pinning your bib, or the pins can wind up in, er... unfortunate spots.  Many thanks to some good, good running friends for pointing this out before the race started.

I found the pre-race staging area to be amply sized for the 10,000ish folks racing and their accompanying friends/families; we had plenty of room to mill around and porta-potty lines were never too long.  Before long, it was time to get into our corrals and get the party started!

There's the Start line, waiting for us!

My assigned corral for the 5K was D, and corrals ran A through E.  The way things worked this year was that we got into our assigned corrals and waited as each corral, beginning with A, was routed out of its barricades, past the other corrals, and up to the Start.  The National Anthem was sung, the wheelchair participants took off, and then the corrals began.  It took about 5 or so minutes for each corral to start, so D didn’t head out until about 6:30am.

My goal for the 5K was to mostly walk, stop for lots of pictures, and generally just have a fun time with no attention paid to pace at all.  I was lucky to find that a couple of new running friends had the same plan and were in corral D with me.  We had an absolute BLAST!!!  I don’t think I could have asked for better partners in crime for that race; we were equal parts enthusiastic, silly, irreverent and tired and there was pretty much nothing we didn’t find fun along those 3.1 miles.

Our hilarity started early, as the course took us through a great, big parking lot devoid of any entertainment at all.  So.  We made our own, of course.

Most folks wait to stop for pics with Disney characters. We are not most folks. BEHOLD - a Disney power station!  Ooooooo, aaaaaahhhh!!!

So much confusion in one sign... if no pedestrians are allowed, how are we here? I don't recall signing up to allow any inspection of my truck, TYVM. And who the heck resides in Epcot???

Don't make me bust out the canine search, lady.

After a mile or so, we left the parking lot and backstage area to enter Epcot's World Showcase.

Probably the most frequent question asked about Disney races is, "How crowded are they?"
^THIS crowded. ^
Yep, it looked like that the whole way.
This is not the place to score a new PR, folks... unless you're going for a PR in Fun!
Which I was :)

The course then took us around World Showcase, through the pavilions of Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, and Morocco.  

If you do this race, you MUST stop for a picture with the Big Ball.  MUST!

Character photo stops were available all through there, including Mulan and Mushu, Dopey, and Aladdin and Jasmine.  We kept passing them by because the lines were sooooo long.  And we wanted to have time for more power station photos, of course.

Raise your hand if you got this reference...

And then, there was this, in France:

Remember me, V? I. Don't. Do. Character. Pics.  Only... now I do!  Another big first - I got over the weird factor of posing with some dude in a fur suit and got my photo opp on.  Go V!!!

But for every normal pic, there needs to be a bizarre-o one, so here:

Doesn't everyone stop for a little thoughtful rest in the middle of a race???

At that point, the course took us backstage again, which meant more rare photo stops.

KEGS! Disney KEGS!

This can only be captioned "WTF?!?!"

Just for the record, we were not the only ones taking weird pictures and laughing our asses off.  I don't know about the other corrals, but D was Party Central.  When our firework (yes, just one <sad trombone>) went off at the start, NO ONE in that corral ran!  We all just sauntered on through, acting like it was just another day in a theme park. La-di-dah, just strollin' along... Okay, there had to be some runners in there, but they were noticeably few and far between and that slow, fun pace continued throughout the race.  It was such a huge departure from how I've tried to race the past couple years, and you know what?  I LOVED it!

Just about as I was thinking "I could do this ALL day!", we cruised into Future World, past the Big Ball (Spaceship Earth, really, but it will forever be the "Big Ball" in my family), and back out to the parking lot to the Finish.  I got my first medal of the weekend, hugged my awesome friends goodbye, as they were heading home after the race, and thanked my lucky stars for such fun ladies to race with. :)

By the time I grabbed my post-race banana, water and box o' snacks, walked back to my car, and drove to CBR, it was nearing 9am and I felt like I'd already had a very full day.  But there was still more excitement to come!

Next up: Princesses dig tea, and FREE stuff!

Princess Triple Crown Weekend Recap - Part 1!

First things first… did ya hear today’s announcement? A new runDisney race weekend!  With… an AVENGERS theme!!!  I adore the Avengers.  Okay, I think Capt. America’s a little prissy, and I’d really like the Hulk to get some language lessons, but yeah – big, HUGE fan of the Avengers here.  Phil is my hero.  Nick Fury rocks my world.  RDJ as Ironman?  Please… ~SWOON~  So I’d be all sorts of stoked for this race, except… it’s in Disneyland.  Which is NOT in Florida.  

Yeah, not gonna happen for me.  But rumors continue to swirl about a possible STAR WARS themed race and you know who has this thing called STARWARS Weekends every year?  Walt Disney World.  In Florida!  Know what I adore even more than the Avengers?  STAR WARS!!!  Here’s hoping.

Okay, back to business… a 2014 Princess Half-Marathon Weekend Recap!

Oh my goodness – what a weekend!  The runDisney Cinderella Royal Family 5K Friday, Inaugural Enchanted 10K Saturday, and the Princess Half-Marathon Sunday, plus lots of amazing time spent with running friends between equals one very, VERY tired, but very, very VERY happy PrincessV!

This would be one epically long recap if I were to tackle it all at once.  And frankly, as a reader of blogs, I don’t ever want to see a post that long, let alone be the writer of it.  So I’ll take a small steps approach if you’re willing to keep coming back for more, dear reader.

Day One: Disney’s Fit For A Princess Expo

I am so happy to report that Disney moved the Princess expo back to its original ESPN Wide World of Sports location this year and gave it more room to spread out, too.  Last year’s fiasco of an expo at the Coronado Springs Resort was a special kind of hell: long on lines, short on space, and bursting at the seams with disgruntled Princesses.  Not so this year!

I arrived at the expo around 11am, after making the drive to WDW and checking in at my hotel.  As they’d done for Marathon Weekend in January, Disney spread things out by housing bib pickup in a building separate from the expo itself and providing ample room for folks to get their race shirts, commemorative items and Race Retreat wristbands.

Plenty of space to move around at packet pickup!

The main expo floor, where vendors sell their wares, was loud and busy, but still felt better than last year.  There was a huge section of real estate given over to official race and runDisney (rD) merchandise, which eliminated the insane lines and congestion of last year.

rD merchandise was at the far end, while New Balance set up its shoe shop at the near end, with assorted other vendors in between.

After picking up my bibs and race shirts, I was on a mission to find the booth for one of my favorite brands – Another Mother Runner.  You may recall that I sported a Badass Mother Runner shirt in my first long distance race, the 2012 Tower of Terror 10-Miler.  Well, that super-awesome shirt is now much too big on me, so I wanted something new, plus I hoped to see one of the Mother Runners again, as it had been so nice to meet Sarah last year.  I was in luck!  I came away with two shirts that fit and a nice visit with Dimity!

Yes, I am very short - but Dimity is also very tall.

Two of my favorite running brands together - yay!

The Mother Runners just recently announced their official partnership with the rD brand and I couldn’t be more thrilled for them.  WTG ladies!

I didn’t spend a lot of time at the expo because, well, I’m not a shopper.  So I got in, ate some lunch (and enjoyed a quick visit with the lovely Tracy from my running group!), grabbed my stuff, and got out.  If you are a shopper, and are thinking about a future Princess race, plan to spend some time and money there – there was lots and lots to peruse!

By the time I’d finished up, I’d gotten a text alert that my room at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR) was ready, and I still had a car full of stuff to unload, so that’s where I headed.  I love the CBR and have stayed there many times over the years, but this was my first stay there over a race weekend.  I’ll give a full review on it as a race resort later, I promise.

I’d had thoughts of heading over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios (it’ll always be MGM to me!) for a ride or two and dinner, but after getting all of my stuff unloaded, and getting tings arranged and prepped for the 5K the next morning, I was pretty tired.  So I opted to grab dinner at CBR’s food court and enjoyed this lovely view as I relaxed and ate.

With a start time of 6:15am, I needed to be up at 3:45am to get ready, and in my car by 4:45 to get to Epcot before they closed down roads for the Royal Family 5K: bedtime came early for the first of three nights.  I was in bed, falling asleep by 8pm, ready to get the party started the next day.

Next: Race #1, the Cinderella Royal Family 5K!

Shirts and bibs for #ALLTHERACES!

PSST: want another review of the expo? Head over to Run.Walk.FASTPASS.Repeat.!