It all started on the Fourth of July. We were hanging out watching the kids swim when my sister in law, Liz, asked me if I wanted to run in the Princess half with her. It sounded like so much fun! There was one problem, I wasn't a runner. I could not even run a mile without stopping! Still, I felt like this would be a challenge for me and just the motivation to get out and do something for myself. By the end of the day, I had convinced myself that I could train for a half marathon. The next day, registration opened for the race and I signed up! I was that crazy!
I had to start small with my training. First, I had to work up to running a 5K comfortably. This took me a couple of months. I worked hard from August to October, but with the time change in November my training kind of came to a hault. I took most of November and December off. After Christmas, I started back up and worked my way right up to twelve miles. All along the way Stephen trained with me. I don't know how many times asked him how in the world I was going to run 13.1 miles!!! He always had faith that I could do it. That's why I love him!
This past weekend the day finally came! Liz and I got up at 2:30 am (yes, that's right) to get ready for our race. After getting dressed, I went over to Liz's room and she braided my hair. We dressed up like Rapunzel and Snow White which made the race so much fun! Then, we boarded our bus about 3:30 am to take us to the race. We had to be in our start corals by 5 am.
Here I am in my coral waiting for the race to begin. I was a little nervous! I really wanted to finish the race with a time of 2:15, but because I am new at this I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it. Disney did an excellent job keeping us entertained until it was time for us to start. I was able to move my coral up from E to coral B by bringing proof of my time from a 10K race I did in January. I am so glad that I did that. Our Fairy God Mother counted down the clock and fireworks flew as we started the race. It was so cool! Liz and I took off, but as with any large race, we spent much of the first three miles zigging and zagging around slower runners trying to find a good place for us. Our first 5K was a little slow because of the this. We were moving further up in the crowd and could see the pace runner for a 2:15 finish. Liz suggested we get ahead of him, so that's what we did.
Once we were ahead of the pace runner, we never saw him again. The miles truly flew by and before we knew it we were running up Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. It was such a rush! The street was lined with spectators cheering us on. We looped around through Tommorrowland into Fantasyland through Cinderella's castle!!! As we left the castle we ran through Frontierland and out of the park. All along the way Disney places entertainment and photo ops with characters. We did nnot stop for any photos because I really wanted to finish with a good time.
After leaving Magic Kingom, we still had about seven miles to go. I was able to keep pace and felt good. I was having a great race! We enjoyed seeing the other runners' costumes and the cheering volunteers that Disney had along the race. Before I knew it we had finished 10 miles. I knew the finish line was just about 30 minutes away. As we hit mile 12, we entered Epcot. Liz and I were so excited! There were people cheering form the sidelines and we picked up our pace a little. Before I knew it we were crossing the finish line!!! My chip time was 2:08:48!!! I blew my expectations out of the water!
I did it!!!!
Here we are after the race. Liz was so much fun to run with! She was there to support me every step of the way. Thank you Liz for talking me into this crazy thing. I am so glad I did it. I think you have a new running partner. I am already planning my next half marathon! Are you up for it?
Here we are with our kiddos. The family didn't make it off the bus in time to see us cross the finish line. Stephen was getting text alerts from my timing chip and sent me a text right before I finished cheering me on. He was so proud of me.
My other running partner. He might not have run the Princess Half with me, but he has run many miles with me in preparation for this day. He and I will be running together in the Gate River Run 15K next weekend!
My Rapunzel hair after the 13.1 miles. I can't believe the flowers made it!
All in all, I would do a Disney race again in a heart beat. As expected, they did an awesome job!
I guess I can call myself a runner now. I never in a million years would have thought it was possible, but life is full of surprises : )
