When I finished in 2011, I was pregnant and slow- real slow. I finished in just over 4 hours of walking, earned about 10 blisters (one for each toe) and could barely move when it came time to hit Epcot for the celebration steak at Le Celliar. I pretty much hated the experience. It was cute, and exciting at first, but 4 hours of anything that leaves you in pain just ain’t fun, yo!
But like child birth, with time, the pain fades and the excitement builds and I was game to run another half. My friends were on board again, Mr. Shenanigans said “go!” when I asked him about it, and so I waited for registration to open. Once I signed up, I felt like this was the year I could make some progress and become a real runner.
Of course, that only sorta happened. I did train and work on the plan, and decided to follow Galloway again (walk/run/walk/run). My intention was to start with 1:1 intervals and work up to 4:1 intervals. Yeaaaahhhhhh… didn’t happen. I got stuck at 1:1 and just stayed there. It was comfortable, and I could get those long miles done without too much pain, so I stuck it out at 1:1.
The planning was more fun for this trip. There were *new* rooms being created and they were calling my name: Royal Guest Rooms (aka, the Princess themed rooms) at the Port Orleans Riverside resort. After doing some math and checking the schedule for Princess 2013, I realized that getting an Annual Pass would actually pay for itself with hotel room discounts. Nicer hotel room for less? Yes, please! With the AP rate on board, I booked my sister and I at the POR RGR and was very excited.
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| Aren’t they just divine? |
Dining reservations were next- I tried and tried and tried for Ohana’s- my all time favorite!- and was denied. And denied and denied. About the time I really worked on getting dining booked, Disney released the “One More Day” promotion for leap year and things booked up fast. Ohana was not meant to be- and I was sorely disappointed. Bread Pudding, y’all, just rocks.
Training- check.
Room- check.
Dining- check.
Clothing? This is always a big issue with the planning of a Disney race. You get to dress up- if you want. And I would love to, but am still concerned about just finishing at this point, so I haven’t gotten brave enough to try out running in costumes. I settled on a runningfunky.com skirt in Minnie Mouse polka dot print. It was cute and comfy and I felt I was in the Disney spirit.
Socks were another issue. Mile after mile my feet would ache. I needed padding, or compression, or something more. And I was terrified of getting those blisters again! I finally landed on a pair of Feetures! socks with Zensah compression calf sleeves for my legs. Paired with my compression shorts and Minnie skirt, and I felt I was in good shape to be able to walk after finishing this race. With gear- you just have to do trial after trial to see what works for you.
Back to training…. there is a lovely race in Austin called the 3M Half Marathon. It’s billed as a down hill course that yields a ton of PRs. Checking my training schedule, it fell on the same week as my 12.5 mile run at the end of January. I decided to run it as my “training” run. What can I say- I like bling!
I am such a mental runner that 4 miles into this race I was cussing out the people claiming this was a down hill race. There were hills, really, there were. It’s a rolling hill course- that gradually goes downhill. I personally wouldn’t say that it’s down hill, but by elevation, yes, it goes down. There wasn’t a lot of entertainment, but this is Austin, so the neighbors come out and wish you well. And give you beer (ick!) or mimosas (yum) or a drum solo (thank you random kid- I am sure your neighbors loved it!) as well as petroleum jelly on tongue depressors in case you are chafing. I love Austin.
This race was pretty great because it was the first time I really noticed the TEAM in Training groups- they were everywhere! And encouraging everybody! Even lonely ol’ me bringing up the end of the race. I wasn’t wearing a stitch of purple, but they cheered me on, and it was really nice.
The last 3 miles I was forced to walk due to an incredible calf cramp that wouldn’t go away. If I began a jog, it seized up immediately. So walking it was… and I was not happy to be walking. But I finished, and it was a much improved time over the last half I did (Princess 2011) so I was very happy. 3:20 finish time. I am sure I could have been closer to 3:10 if I had run the last miles rather than walk, but hey, it happens.
After this race, I was ready for the Princess 2012. But first… some unexpected Pixie Dust came my way….
Part II
Patty Holliday has been running Disney since 2011. She knows just about every tip, trick, and hack there is to cover the runDisney Magical Miles at Disney World and Disneyland. She knows every mile isn’t *always* magical- but with training, tips, and a little bit of pixie dust, they can be a lot of fun! You can also find her at noguiltlife.com and noguiltfangirl.com