Running & Wine-ing: February 2016

Ahhh! Another Princess race weekend has come and gone and, as usual, it was an amazing and fun time!

But first...

I'd been having this recurring nightmare that I forgot to submit my proof of time for the half marathon. I'd just get a really bad feeling that would linger around in my head, especially any time someone on the runDisney Facebook pages mentioned that they forgot to submit theirs, or that they submitted it and it wasn't accepted. One night I dreamed I'd gotten assigned to corral K. Why K? I have no idea. My POT was good enough for B, but when I went to double check online, the deadline to submit had passed and I couldn't remember if I submitted my Best Damn Race PR of 1:48 or not!

This caused me more pre-race stress than was really necessary. I'd convinced myself I'd forgotten to do it (even though I never do!) and had resigned to have fun no matter where in the back of the pack I ended up.

Then the waivers came out. And I must have remembered after all.

DOUBLE A! Holy shit I couldn't believe it! The highest up I've been for a Disney half was B for last year's Wine & Dine (but I moved back to C to run with Scot). A! A is where the people who win these races start! A is the serious runners. A is...so not me. But I earned it, so I was gonna be there.

After picking up all my stuff at the expo (and for once, not purchasing ANYTHING there), I checked in to AS Movies and found my room way back in BFE behind the Country Fair building. Ugh. This is why I didn't like this resort last year- I get stuck in the back of the resort and it's such a haul to go anywhere. My room was even facing the trees again! Oh well, I guess that'll be quiet.

I got my pasta dinner and some provisions for the next 2 days- orange juice, chocolate milk, and a piece of cake, to take back to the room. Didn't realize until I got to the room that I forgot a fork. No cake for me :(

I was fixing to settle in when I all of a sudden heard what sounded like the bombing of Baghdad outside the door. BOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM! BOOM BOOM! BOOM!

What the actual fuck?

I opened the door... Fireworks! Apparently, Hollywood studios is oh I don't know, like, in the parking lot of the All Star Resorts. The Star Wars fireworks show was in full swing and continued a relentless attack for about 15 minutes.

After that was over, I managed to sleep for only a couple hours. I'd made plans to meet up with some other Disney brides before the race- we're all in a Facebook group and had managed to work out some get-togethers over the weekend. My alarm went off at 3am and I was up, fed, dressed, and on the bus ready to go at 4.

The Enchanted 10K is much smaller than the Princess Half so, although there were some crowds, it was easy to get around. I wandered around the staging area for a bit- it was pretty familiar in the way it was setup. Pretty standard for all the races. I had on my Mermaid SparkleSkirt, a purple tank, and a red Bondi Band. Ariel, in the same outfit I wore for last year's marathon. The 10K was Little Mermaid themed this year so I had to represent.

I met up with some girls from the DisBrides group near the information tent. Everyone was really nice- there were 2 in the E corral and 2 of us in A. We chatted for a while before making our way over to the start area.

Lovely ladies! It was chilly this morning!

Raiza, in the orange, and I were in corral A for the 10K. We bid our goodbyes and good lucks, and joined our people in the front. We were both relieved to be in A for the 10K (I told her I was nervous for A for the full...she was assigned C), because the corral starts for the 6.2 miler were 10 minutes apart! I remembered that when I started in D the first year with Sparkles and we waited over a half hour to get going. It was annoying for sure, although I do understand the need to spread everyone out. We hung out in A, and with about 5-10 minutes to the start, they led us out down the road to the start line. We passed the other corrals along the way and everyone was cheering and waving, so we cheered and waved back of course! I think everyone was beyond ready to get underway.

Raiza told me she was going to hold around an 10:20 minute mile, so we stuck together through the start then parted ways once things got underway. The Fairy Godmother came up on stage, the national anthem was sung, the announcers were keeping the energy up in the crowds and then the countdown came- Bibbidy, bobbidy- GOOOOOO!!!!!!

Woo hoo! The cowbells started clanging, the spectator crowds lining the street started screaming, and I crossed the start line, hit the button on my watch, and took off.

I didn't shed my hoodie at the start, I was still pretty chilly. The first mile out there wasn't much to see- it was pitch black outside and we were mainly running up an on ramp and onto Epcot Center Drive. I actually stopped at the first photo stop (breaking my rule of NEVER stopping at the first photo stop!) It was Tinkerbell and a couple other fairies that I didn't recognize. I stood in an unusually long line for about 10 seconds before bailing and merging back on to the road. I'd get the rest of the pictures, I didn't care too much about skipping Tink. Sorry, girlfriend.

I was cold still! I hit Mile 1 at 8:50 on the clock and was otherwise feeling comfortable. I saw the Wicked Queen ahead at the U-turn...the road hooked a 180 and headed uphill over another exit ramp. 2 people ahead of me for her, so I stopped.

Less than a mile down was Pocahontas and Meeko, so I stopped there as well. Maybe 3 people in front of me, very short wait.

After her, there wasn't much. I knew the World Showcase and Boardwalk were ahead though so I was looking forward to more photo ops!

We ran towards backstage Epcot- underneath the Test Track course and behind the World Showcase. There were lots of cast members up and awake and cheering us on as we moved though. There was a DJ with a big fancy schmancy car pumping music and flashing lights somewhere back there, he was telling us all to put our hands in the air and whatnot as we ran by. Done! We popped out onstage into the World Showcase promenade between Norway and China. A left turn was met with a water stop and tons of cheering volunteers. I took a sip and carried on ahead, looking forward to who I might meet!

I looked into China, I thought for sure I might see Mushu the dragon. No one. Kept going.
Germany next- any of the 7 dwarfs? Hmm, no. Carry on.
Italy! Hey- Jimminy Cricket and Pinocchio! Okay! The line had maybe 3 or 4 people in it, I also took the chance to ditch my jacket here.

I looked for any Princess and the Frog characters and I passed the American pavilion but aside from cast members and Marathonfoto paparazzi, there was no one.
Japan was empty, as I expected, and so was Morocco. No Aladdin characters?
Then came France, which made up for the lack of others around the World Showcase!

Lumiere AND Cogsworth! OMG!!!! Yes! 2 people ahead of me in line- sweet!

We headed over the bridge and made the left turn through the back entrance of Epcot- the International gateway. I started to notice whenever the path dipped down, the air got much more chilly. I'd warmed up enough running but was thinking I may have shot myself in the foot by giving up my hoodie completely. I thought back briefly to how frozen I was after ditching the sweatshirt I wore to the 10K for Dopey. Uh oh.

The bridge up over the waterway that led on to the Boardwalk had 2 way traffic. I could easily see some of the leaders who were already on Mile 5 1/4. I was just hitting 4.5 miles and I was feeling great. The Boardwalk was a bit wet and there were volunteers nearby hollering at everyone to watch their steps. Got it. There should be someone up ahead- last year I got a photo with Baseball Donald outside ESPN, who would it be this time?

Heeeeey! It's Vacation Genie!

I sailed around the Boardwalk easily, hitting Mile 5 in front of the Beach Club Resort. I saw 2 women with this sign- true, it wasn't really for me, but I took a photo anyway. I think it was the same 2 women with the Maggie sign from last year! They were just as un-amused at there being another Maggie on the planet this time as they were last time.

Whatevs.

I wound up backstage again for a few short minutes then came back on from behind the Imagination Pavilion. The course made another left in front of the Living Seas where I was the absolute coolest stilt people ever. Stilt coral? Anyway, I had to stop. No line here!

They were the last of the photo opportunities for the 10K. I ran through Future World and around Spaceship Earth before exiting the park and into the finish chute- the same way I'd be coming through tomorrow, too. It was still dark when I crossed the finish line in 59 minutes. About 6:30 am. I got my medal, my drinks and snacks, then scurried over to get some Princess photos near the DJ stage.

Belle was out- the wait for her was significant but it didn't bother me. I also wasn't cold, which was a relief!

I had an armful of crap I was carrying- water bottle, Powerade bottle, snack box, foil blanket, phone... I was dropping stuff everywhere, I was a hot mess. When I got to Belle, I dropped my junk all over the ground again while I was fiddling with my phone. It was embarrassing, but then Belle told me, "Oh dear! You remind me of Ariel, she collects things, too."

Ouch.

But it was funny.

I made it back on the warm bus and to the resort. The walk to the room felt longer than usual, but I managed to get back, rest, clean up, then head to the Magic Kingdom for some pictures and to join the DisBrides meet up.

I've been to the Disney parks solo before- it actually doesn't bother me at all, I'm so familiar with them it feel like home. I enjoy going alone when I do, I can do things on my own schedule. I had booked a FP+ for Ariel, and on my way there I decided to stop and get a photo with Merida. I waited in line for about 25-30 minutes.

Merida asked if my medal was for winning the Highland Games

I had a delightfully awkward conversation with Ariel on how she can't get a medal without legs to run with. She said she'd ask her father to change her temporarily and that Eric should be able to teach her how to run. Sounds good to me.

I got some more photos with Chip & Dale, Gaston, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. It was a great day!