dopey challenge day 3: the half marathon

I was excited for the half marathon Saturday morning.  I'd slept well (Scot brought me my pillow), I'd been able to eat the special pasta dish from the AOA food court the night before, and I was looking fowrard to wearing my Aurora In Blue costume (even though I knew everyone would think I was Cinderella, but that just shows you how many people don't know their princess crowns.)  I put on a oversized plaid zip-up jacket, slipped the hand warmers into my gloves- no way I was going to toss them this time!- and headed out.  

My parents and Scot were up by 4 to get to the start area, then their plan was to go to the TTC around mile 4 to see me, then board the Resort monorail to the Polynesian to find me at mile 7.7, then meet me back at the finish area.  Sounds like a plan.

It was cold.  Not as cold as the first 2 days, but still in the upper 40s.  I didn't do much socializing on this morning, I shivered my way through bag check, skipped the ridiculously long bathroom lines, and started the mile walk to the corrals.  I was in F for the half and full, so I followed my herd into the fenced off area.  Along the way, and I should have mentioned I saw this at the 10K too, I saw tons of dudes just lined up peeing in the woods off the side of the road.  A volunteer started yelling at them that there were bathrooms up ahead and to not to that again.  Giggle.  The lines were much shorter so I stopped briefly, then got into my corral with about 30 minutes to kill.  

This route was the same as the Princess Half Marathon route back in February.  Once my group got to the start, the countdown was on, a burst of fireworks exploded above us, and we were off!  My plan was to light jog the first few miles before switching to my 4/1 intervals, just to get some space between me and the corral behind.  There's not much to see the first few miles anyway, especially in the dark.  My parents told me later that they were in the crowd to the left separated by about 50 yards of fence and median, but I didn't see them. There were several high school bands playing in the first couple miles, I high-fived lots of cheerleaders as I ran by.  I did see more guys peeling off into the woods to do their business though.  I kept my jacket on, it was still really cold- I was planning to hand it off to my folks when I saw them at the TTC.  We started off down Epcot Center Drive before turning on to World Drive into the MK.  At the 3 mile mark, we hit the WDW Speedway.  I remember looking up at it thinking "Yep, gonna run around that tomorrow!"  There were lots of volunteers and spectators through this area.  I saw Wreck it Ralph, as well as some race cars lines up with lights and music going.  I got a text from Scot saying they were waiting at the mile 4 marker sign.  Good, easy to find!  The cheers from the spectators is always amazing- some of them had really great posters too ("If this was easy, it'd be called your mom," among others.  Some Disney appropriate, some not!  I enjoy reading them all, though!  I saw my dad holding up a "GO MAGGIE!!!" sign at the mile 4 marker, so I stopped to say hi, hand off my jacket, kiss my boyfriend, and headed off on the road into the Magic Kingdom.  I followed the group into a backstage area before bursting on stage just after mile 5 into Main Street USA.  

The crowds and noise didn't feel as overwhelming as they did back in February, but I think that's just because I knew what to expect this time.  It still gave me a huge grin and I ran toward the castle.  I looked for my friend Joe who was supposed to be there with a sign for several of us, but I didn't see him (found out later he overslept.  Easy to do at this hour!)  I ran through Tomorrowland and Frontierland, stopping for a second for a photo with one of the Country Bears.  No lines!  

 A few of us stopped here, there was no official photographer, just someone grabbed a random medical volunteer and handed him a camera.  Poor guy got stuck taking photos til a cast member showed up.

The only photos IN FRONT of the castle were from official photographers, so I snapped a selfie as best I could in the dark.  

After the run though the castle and the paparazzi-esque hoard of photographers on the other side, I scooted off through the parade entrance between Frontierland and Adventureland, over the railroad tracks where a train was parked, lit up, and pumping out steam, and then I was back on the road toward the Grand Floridian and Polynesian!  

Floridian Way runs by the golf courses the speedway, and 2 resorts.  It's about 3 miles of straight road and can get a little tough.  This is where the Clif Shot stop is, as well as more spectators in front of the hotels.  I saw my parents and Scot with the sign again outside the Polynesian.  I stopped for a photo op in front of the Grand Floridian with Mary Poppins and the crew- again, no lines!

With my intervals, I was holding steady at about 10 min/mile.  I tried to slow down a bit with the intervals and photos but it was tough!  This was going to be my slowest half marathon anyway, so I just decided to go with what felt comfortable.  The on ramp to Epcot Center Drive is where the Green Army Man usually is- and without fail, he was there shouting out encouragement to everyone as we hoofed it around the curve.  I stopped briefly, no line for him either.

"This is a race, comrade!  RUN!"

Mile 12 was just outside Epcot, as we ran by tons of volunteers were cheering with noisemakers "Almost there!  One more mile!  You got this!"  I loved it!

We ran in, down the stretch toward Wolds Showcase, made the u-turn where the Christmas tree usually is, and then back towards Spaceship Earth.  I didn't stop for a photo there, lord knows I have tons of photos of Spaceship Earth.  The gospel choir was singing praises at mile 13 as I ran by.  I didn't see my parents at the finish so I just continued on and crossed the line with a smile.  I coasted past the medics and over to get my medal.  

So pretty!  Of course, I double checked it to make sure it was printed properly

I took my time getting through the walk-out.  Photo stops, get some Powerade and water, snack box, oooh apple sauce!  Banana.  Again.  The crazy thing this year is that for us Dopeys, they were not handing out the plastic wristbands to show we'd run all the races.  Basically, they were going off finish times, and matching us up with a photo we'd had to have taken at the Expo.  I didn't mind that at all!

My parents and Scot had gotten stuck on the monorail so it took them a while to meet me at the reunion area.  Scot brought me a drawstring bag to put all my crap in (yay!), then we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up.  The rest of the day was spent lounging around, with me trying to stay off my feet.  I booked pedicure appointments for my mom and I at the Senses Spa at Saratoga Springs and OH MY GOD IT WAS AMAZING!  We got there over an hour early and could take advantage of the hot tub, steam room, and relax room with these awesome chairs that were like heaven for my lower back.  The spa provided flavored waters, tea, snacks, flip fops (although I didn't stray from my Oofos!) and soft luxurious robes.  The massage pedicure chairs were the best I'd ever experienced!  We even got little goodie bags- a bottle of nail polish to take home, plus a block buffing file and a regular nail file.  Just like at the dentist, only better!  Well worth the $80, by far the best spa experience ever!  I walked out of there 3 hours later feeling refreshed, rested, and ready to go run a marathon.

Half Marathon results:

4,559th/22,081 finishers (top 20%)

Gender place: 1,554/12,379 (top 12%)

Age group place: 291/1,953 (top 14%)

Net time: 2:14:11

dopey challenge day 2: the 10k

On Friday, my alarm unsympathetically jarred me awake at 3:15.  I'd slept mildly better the night before, in part because I was just plain tired!  I got dressed in my Nemo costume and discovered something.

I had made a Nemo corset.

The white satin stripes I'd sewn around the orange tech shirt didn't stretch.  Like, at all.  The shirt had absolutely no give to it!  Fortunately with my sports bra I was able to squeeze into it but I could only take shallow breaths.  It'll have to work.  I ate another banana and crackers for breakfast, not really hungry and not really even wanting them.  I made it to the bus stop by 4 and then to Epcot again with plenty of time.

Apparently, I was behind 2 Stitches in the corral!

I'd put on an oversized gray hoodie as a throw-away cover and a customer yesterday at work had given me some packs of those charcoal hand warmers so I was feeling chilly but okay.  I met up with some other Dopeys for a photo op and some chit-chat.  After that, back to corral B for 6.2 miles!  I didn't see my millionaire friend but I was okay with that.  When we got the GO at 5:40, I trotted off.  My plan was to just stick to a light jog, 10 min/mi, maybe stop for a photo or 2, and just continue to use this run as a warm-up for the half.  I tossed my hoodie over the fence at the start and lost the hand warmers around mile 2.5.  I wish I'd kept them because it was freezing afterwards!  

The course was the same at the Enchanted 10K from Princess weekend.  Out of Epcot, along Epcot Center Drive, then back into the park around mile 3.  I didn't stop at any of the characters outside the park, but when I got to World Showcase, I did stop for Mushu because I looooove Mulan.  It came out blurry and that makes me a little sad.  

The crowds around the Boardwalk between Miles 4.5 and 5.5 were great- I'm so glad people get up and crawl out of bed to cheer us on!  Football Player Mickey Mouse was posing for photos next to the ESPN restaurant but there were seriously 100 people in line there and I really don't care about football so I passed.  

About halfway around the Boardwalk, someone slightly behind me called out "Hey, Nemo!"
I turned around "Hi!"
A bearded man ran up next to me. "How are you doing?"
I said the first thing that came to mind: "Doing swimmingly!"
He laughed.  "I just wanted to let you know that I've been kind of pacing you for the past few miles.  I didn't want you to freak out that some weird guy was running behind you the whole time"
Now, I didn't feel the need to tell him about my weird guy running with me yesterday so I told him that was just fine, and we chatted along towards the finish.  Mr Beard was from Savannah- good, I had some questions to ask him about the Rock N Roll race there.  We talked about purely running things, which was totally fine by me!

Really cool puppets- they had similar ones at the Enchanted 10K, these were right at the finish

After the tour around the Boardwalk, it was back in to Epcot near the Imagination Pavillion.  After that, a quick hop in front of Spaceship Earth, then out the chute to the finish line.  We said our congratulations and goodbyes, I got my medal, then I headed out.  I saw the line for a photo with Dopey out near the bus pick-up so I got in it.  It was freezing!  I was regretting ditching my hoodie while waiting in that 20 minute line.  I got the photo and then scooted over to the bus as fast as I could.   

My parents were up and moving around when I got back to the room, so we spent the day at Animal Kingdom.  It was a very windy, cold, gray, drizzly day!  I wanted to stay off my feet as much as possible so we saw a lot of the shows and tried to plan the activities to have as little walking as possible.  The really good thing is that Scot got the next day off work so he actually came down while we were at the park!  We left around 5 and met him at the hotel for dinner.

Bless him, he brought me my pillow.

10K results:

2,611th place out of 10,949 (top 23%)

Gender place: 903/6,309 (top 14%)

Net time: 1:04:33

dopey challenge day 1: the 5k

Well, I DID IT!!!!!

I ran 48.6 miles in 4 days! (eh, more like 49 1/2, if you believe my GPS watch, but details, details...) 

I'll be going over each race in its own post, so this one here covers the Pluto 5K.

I left work on Wednesday, hit up the expo at WWOS for my race packet, 6 (count 'em!) shirts, and some merchandise.  I think I'm solely responsible for keeping the Bondi Bands gals in business.  I added 3 more to my collection- hey, they were part of my costumes!  I always need new ones because 1) They're awesome and keep my forehead sweat-free and 2) I have probably 10 very specific design ones that I get for costumes so nothing I have will ever match anything I wear again.

Anyhoo, the race shirts were long sleeved (hey, it's January but what the hell can I do with long sleeve shirts in Florida?) so I bought a short sleeve Dopey Challenge tee at the RunDisney booth.  After that, I headed with my bag of treasures (some mileage magnets for the car) over to Art of Animation to check in.  They were able to grant me a late check-out Sunday afternoon, thankfully, and I made my way over to my Nemo suite.  The location was great- first building, first floor, 2 rooms down the hall from the door.  Great, if you're lazy and potentially sore like me.  Not so great if you want to sleep.  Lots of hallway and pool activity kept me up the first couple nights til I was too tired to care by night 3.

Christmas decor still up all over the parks.  I heard Christmas music for 4 days straight and just about lost my damn mind.  I was going to punch someone if I heard "Run Run Rudolph" one more time.

I got some dinner at the food court and cleaned up and tried to get some sleep around 9pm.  That didn't work!  I tossed and turned til after 10 and didn't sleep well at all!  Part nerves, part very uncomfortable pillows.  I made a note to have Scot bring me my pillow from home if I wanted to get any rest at all this weekend.

My alarm went off at 4:05 am and I was glad to get up.  I looked at the temperature outside and it was 39 degrees!  Shit.  How long can I delay my trip to the bus and still make it on time?  I didn't want to stand around outside for an hour in this cold!  I ended up putting on leggings, a long sleeve tech shirt, my running jacket, gloves, and a fleece head wrap.  The walk to the bus was brutal, my eyes were watering in the cold!  I boarded the bus quickly and the ride was all too short to the Epcot parking lot.  Everyone looked pretty miserable.  I didn't see very many costumes, I'm pretty sure a lot of people scrapped that idea with the frigid temps.  I struck up a conversation with one of my fellow runners as we headed toward the staging area and the music.  His sister had convinced him to sign up for the Dopey challenge and then had to bail on him at the last minute for a work commitment.  That totally sucks, btw.  We kept each other company by the front stage- usually the DJ has everyone up dancing together and warming up but not this morning!  Everyone was just bouncing up and down, but not to the music- to keep warm!  We eventually got herded into our corrals, my new friend was in D so I said goodbye and headed into B.  Everyone in the corral was huddled up together in the front corner- the rest of the large space was bare.  I joined some others there to commiserate about the cold- even the girls from Wisconsin were freezing.  The temp dropped to 38.

Then it got weird.

I chatted for a few seconds before our corral was released with a fellow Dopey runner, and when we took off, he said he wanted to pace with me.  That's fine, I was doing about a 9:30/mile and don't mind company for a short distance.  Let me just tell you the bizarre things I learned about my new friend in 30 short minutes:
1) He thought college was unnecessary, even though his mom wanted him to go
2) He didn't want to go to med school like his mom wanted him to because doctors "only make like $200,000 a year"
3) He dropped out of pharmaceutical school
4) He makes millions of dollars trading precious metals and has connections in Dubai and all over Europe
5) He's never been to any of those places because he pays people to go for him
6) He paid back his pharmaceutical school loan of $180,000 in just a couple months after starting his current work
7) He ran a 3:30 marathon the first time ever with little training
8) He has friends that make their living playing video games
9) He lives in New York
10) He wants to retire in a couple years
11) He's 28 years old

Now, my bullshit meter was going off like crazy!
But then I'm like- this guy's story is so far out there that it could be partially true.
Whatever.
I opened my big fat mouth and told the truth when he asked what I did for a living and then I had to spend half the run explaining the flight training process to him because all of a sudden he got interested in buying and flying his own jet airplane.

Lord help me.

I did fucking JOB MARKETING during the 2015 Walt Disney World 5K.

We crossed the finish line and went our separate ways after claiming our medallions.  I couldn't tell you anything about the course because I was having a conversation with Mr Millionaire the whole time.  It went through the World Showcase and stuff?  He was a nice guy, but a bit... intense.  That's a good word for it.  

 Like my pants?

It took me a while, staring at my medallion ribbon, flipping it over, staring at it again, to understand that it was printed backwards!  My early morning frozen brain could not comprehend this.  I'm keeping it, maybe it'll be valuable one day!

So, the 5K was bizarre, I was freezing cold, I waited in line for the bus for over half the time I was actually running the race, and I had to go to work later that day where I got no-showed from my customers so after making $0 I just came back to the hotel to meet my parents. They'd arrived that afternoon and taken the Magical Express in.  We got them set up with park tickets and I hit the mattress early again in preparation for the 10K!

5K stats (the 5K isn't normally timed, but for Dopeys it was)

5K time- 30:24
[no other placement info available because it was not an officially timed race]

imma gonna run a marathon in a week (eeeeeek!)

Sooooo one week from today I'll be settling in to my room at Art of Animation with Scot an my parents to get some rest before my final 2:30 AM wake-up call to go Run Disney!

My costumes are done, I just need to bring a little needle and thread or safety pins to secure the collar onto Blue Aurora.  Nemo's fins are in place (I'm doing the 10K in that one because I can tell they're going to be annoying) and my shiny green fish scale Sparkle Skirts came in the mail yesterday!  I've got the perfect purple tank top to finish off the Ariel costume.   I've got the crown I made for Blue Aurora and a big red bow for my Marathon Ariel ponytail.  I know the Florida weather can change in the hours before a race but it's looking to be a bit cool and maybe a little drizzly the first 2 days.  We'll see.  I survived Wine & Dine, I can handle that.

(Going costume-less for the 5K.  I guess "Normal runner" is my costume.  Too much work to put in to a 3 mile run.)

I bought myself a little Christmas gift this week!  Stopped into the newly relocated Fleet Feet in Altamonte Springs to check out the new store and buy compression socks.  I walked out of there with a new TomTom GPS running watch in my bag, too!  I'd finally had it with RunKeeper after my stupid phone decided to start turning off and back on randomly (yeah, I need a new phone, too!  One thing at a time.)  

So I spent no less than 3 hours combined on hold and on the phone with 2 different TomTom tech support people trying to get the stupid thing set up.  It wouldn't connect to the computer.  It wouldn't connect to the phone.  I needed a software update.  ARGH!

FINALLY, I got it going.  It still doesn't quite do the Bluetooth thing just right but it times my intervals, gives me my mileage, and doesn't crap out on me at inappropriate times.  I actually really like that it doesn't have the robot lady voice like RunKeeper has and doesn't bark at me every mile and tell me stupid things like I'm doing 0, 6 or 27 minutes per mile.  All wrong.  Zippy (that's what I named the watch...hey, it made me name it during set-up) just buzzes my wrist quietly on my intervals and doesn't disrupt my zen.  I find I'm much calmer running with the watch.  I still use the phone for music so if it decides to restart itself, whatevs.

I've started making a packing list for Dopey, and I'm glad I live local and am driving because I'm pretty sure I'm bringing 4 different suitcases full of crap. 

 I even decorated my magic band.

Sharing this photo, too- I had to make a new medal hanger after filling up the first one!  It's ready for 6 more!

midnight insomniac ramblings

It’s midnight here in Florida and there’s 2 weeks now until the Walt Disney World Marathon and I officially can’t sleep!  I decided to get up and put some thoughts down, so excuse the randomness while I blurt out what’s contributing to tonight’s insomnia-

1.  Christmas is over.  Whew.  I feel bad though because 2 cards that I mailed to family members got returned with a wrong address and no forwarding info.  Seriously, who doesn’t give forwarding addresses?  I contacted one cousin about it to get her new address but haven’t yet contacted the other whose card I got back today.  I should do that.  I keep writing the note I’d put in the Facebook messenger over and over in my head but I haven’t actually done it yet.  Doing so would clear up valuable worry space.  

2.  I’m starting to go over my packing list and how I’m going to juggle my work days with my Dopey days in a couple weeks.  I haven’t decided if I’m going to go in to work after the 10K or not.  My parents are coming in Thursday afternoon and I’m afraid they’re going to be bored because I don’t want to go traipsing around the parks all day.  They don’t want to buy their tickets until they get to the hotel, or the morning that they want to go to a park and the lack of planning there is driving me nuts!  I want to book Fastpasses and have things as organized as possible to give them the best experience I can, but that’s not looking like it’s going to happen.

3.  I think they’re just coming because I may have too strongly suggested or assumed they would.  I don’t think anyone understands why I’m doing this, or why I really run at all.  All I hear is that I’m crazy, or when I’m sore I hear things like “Well, you‘re doing this to yourself” (even from my won boyfriend) and if it weren’t for the support from the online groups I don’t know if I could take it.  I’m pretty sure they do tell their friends and the rest of the family about my races because people ask me about them, but no one really knows what to say after that.  (Besides “So, how many miles is it?”)  I want to accomplish something amazing- there are so many things I do that just feel mediocre.  I get the feeling sometimes that my idea of amazing isn’t on par with everyone else’s.  I know I should be running just for me, and I do.  It’s my thinking time.  My “me time.”  I drive myself crazy with my own thoughts, though.

4.  We spent several days in Louisiana with my family for Christmas.  Scot was pretty intimidated with all the activity and visiting with all my relatives (we had 21 people for Christmas day lunch) and I kind of was, too.  I mean, I’ve known these people all my life, but the past several years since everyone’s married off and had kids, I feel like I have nothing in common with anyone.  Neither of us had a single word to contribute to the conversations about the kids we don’t really know at all, the duck hunting stories, the prices of oil, the local politics and happenings, or the recent goings-on in the family.  We work a lot.  We travel probably a bit more than the settled-down groups.  All we know to talk about is the Caribbean and Disney and airplanes.  And now running, to round out the conversational topics.  All of those a virtual dead end after you scratch the surface with someone who can’t relate.  “Oh, wow, that‘s interesting!” is about as far as you get.  Same goes for us on the kid/hunt/oil/gossip front though.

5.  I admit, I was a little let down that I didn’t get any “fun” running stuff or Dopey-related items for Christmas this year.  I did get the specific items I needed (oofos & balega socks) but nothing personal.  I think what lends to the let-down feel there is not the lack of stuff but rather the lack of support and thoughtfulness, which stems from the lack of understanding.  A Dopey mug, a little 26.2 charm or necklace, Christmas ornament, whatever you know?  I reiterate that I’m not doing this for attention or glory (lord knows I‘m not gonna win), but it’s been such a long, hard journey and I think I’m getting worn out and stressed as Marathon Weekend approaches. 

6.  I can hear my mom telling me in my head that I’m being too self-centered and whiny, but for god sakes, I’m tired.  I just want to get out there and run these races surrounded by people with similar goals and experiences and that understand me.  I want to see the spectators with their poster board signs of support, their funny signs, the ones they hold up for hours and hours waiting for just one specific person to see it.  I want to be that person with that kind of support.

7.  This one is to hold myself accountable for making my costumes for January.  Confession: I have nothing special to wear for the 5K and I’m ok with that.  I don’t even like rolling out of bed for less than 6.2, so the 5K is a formality here.  Jog, take it easy, get my rubber medallion, and go to work is the plan for that day.  I’ve spent way to much money tonight online- I reserved a RunDisney Dooney & Bourke purse because I want one really bad and didn’t want to risk missing out at the Expo where they sell the leftovers.  I then bought a mermaid-fish scale pattern SparkleSkirt because I found out they weren’t going to be at the Expo at all.  2 day delivery should have it here with time to spare.  I’ve got to find a purple tank top just in case the weather is warmer, I have a purple shirt already but I want to be 110% prepared.  I got some white satin fabric today to repurpose my Orange Bird costume into a Nemo one.  Gotta make some stripes and get them glued on tomorrow maybe.  I also got craft foam to make my fins.  I’m using the rest of the satin fabric to add to my blue outfit I’ve worn before as Cinderella and Eeyore, this time for Blue Dress Aurora.  I got some yellow glittery craft foam I’ve got to somehow turn into her crown, otherwise people are going to think I’m Cinderella again.  

8.  I keep asking Scot what he wants to accomplish or do in the new year- hoping he’ll mention something about trips he wants to take, goals he has, his ideas on the future of our aging relationship, when he wants to replace the fridge or any other projects….anything.  But he just shrugs.  Boys are dense.  It’s driving me crazy.  


I think that’s it… lots of stuff going through my head tonight.  I hope getting it out will make sleeping a bit easier.  

Thanks for listening.

ps: I did send that message about the Christmas card.  It's out of my hands, now.

        

3 weeks to go!

Ack!

I did my last long training run before Dopey Challenge time today- 24 miles!  This week was totally exhausting:

Monday morning: 3 miles (before spending the whole day at Epcot, about 9 hours)
Tuesday morning: 6.2 miles (before a full day of work)

Tuesday night- skipped trivia night at the Abbey, needed the sleep and did NOT need the wine.  Cooked healthy chicken and garlic dinner instead

Wednesday morning: 12 miles (before another day of work.  Also, my RunKeeper app pissed me off by not giving my interval times.  Started to get sick of Best Of The 90s on Pandora radio.  Tasted garlic all morning, no matter how many times I brushed my teeth)

Wednesday night- Scot thought something was wrong with me since I passed on ice cream for dessert for the 3rd night in a row.  In bed by 10pm, out cold.

Thursday morning- 24 miles (before work, again.  Out the door by 5:45, arranged water and Powerade, bananas, Gu, and pretzels for easy access through pending delirium.  Kept coat on for almost 16 miles, it was cold!  RunKeeper crapped out again and my phone decided to F*%KING TURN ITSELF OFF after 12 miles.  I ended up doing 2 12 mile runs, the timing was all off.... the app said I did 12 miles in 1 hr, 6 minutes.  Wow!  And if I hear one more song by NSync or Alanis Morisette I'm going to hurt somebody)

Thursday night- I'm sore, I'm tired, I want a Garmin watch thingie, and it's too late to ask for it for Christmas.  Ordered pizza and cheesy sticks for dinner, followed with peppermint ice cream.  And cranberry Sprite.  

Tylenol has been my best friend this week.  That, and my foam roller.

I signed up for a virtual race, the Polar Bear Run Half Marathon last month, and the bib came in an email yesterday.  I ran it as part of my 24 miles today, the medal is super cute so hopefully it'll come in the mail next week.  Speaking of next week- Merry Early Christmas!  Scot & I are headed to Louisiana for the holiday, I'm going to try to get a couple short tapering runs in while I'm there.  The past few years it's been super super cold though, so I might just stay inside and hang out by the fire with a cup of tea.  We'll see!

orlando ouc half marathon and some disney christmas

Well, I have to say I'm proud of LizzyDragon for finishing her first half marathon!  We had a pretty good time at the OUC Half Marathon last week, you know, that one I kept forgetting about.  I actually stayed at her place Friday night and crashed on the couch after an episode of Cutthroat Kitchen on Netflix.  Lame, I know.

We dolled up in our coordinating outfits and headed out to downtown Orlando around 6:15 to get parked and settled in.  Traffic was rotten, but we ended up making it to Lake Eola in the middle of downtown in plenty of time.  Out of the thousands of  people milling around that morning, we actually ran into another friend of mine, Kylie, when the sidewalks merged together!  I didn't know she'd signed up (found out later it was a spur-of-the-moment decision and she'd done barely any training at all for it!)  We took some pictures and then tried to worm our way into the huge crowd at the start line.  There were no corrals, just some signs with min/mi paces staggered back along the sides.  I inched my way up to the back of the 9 min/mile crowd before I couldn't go any further.  I really didn't have a goal for this race- I figured I'd start running and see how I felt and do the best I could.

 Kylie & I

 LizzyDragon and I rocking our Sparkle Athletic Skirts:  

"Let's get a picture before we get all gross!"

My view of the start line.  I'm not that tall, of course- was on tip toe with my phone!

The gun went off at 7:30 and we all inched forward.  I started the RunKeeper before I hit the timing pad, just in case it wanted to give me problems.  I zig-zag jogged around people while trying to find my pace in the crowd- I met up with the 1:50 pacers and stayed with them for a couple miles before losing sight of them after I slowed at a water stop.  I was feeling pretty good and settled comfortably into an 8:25 pace.  The race went through the streets of Orlando and through some neighborhoods so there were plenty of curious spectators.  The route took us under the 408 expressway and south of downtown.  I'd never been in this area before so it was interesting to look at.  Some of the houses were ridiculously big!  There were a few bands and DJs along the course, as well as plenty of water and medical assistance.  Around mile 9, some people had a table filled with red solo cups and a keg in their front yard with a poster board and marker sign that read "Beer Stop."  The smell was nauseating when I ran by, but people were stopping for it!  I learned later that LizzyDragon was one of those!  I laughed, at least I had an excuse to not take any (the FAA frowns on drinking and flying, you see.)  

I crossed back under the 408 and headed north back to the finish line- it was looking like I'd break my previous record from the Wine & Dine Half in November!  

 It's probably hard to see, but I had to put up the map because I had no idea where I was the entire time during this race!  I crossed the finish line in 1:51:51- a new personal record!  

Yay!

There were plenty of snacks at the finish- Publix had muffins, lots of Powerade and bananas, and the best thing in the world- ice cold chocolate milk!  There was also a beer truck (at 9am?  Gross.)  I wandered around for a while- stood under the water misters, browsed the booths.  LizzyDragon came across the line about 40 minutes after me- I'd been getting text notifications on her progress so I was ready to meet her at the finish.  We got her refueled and then met up with another friend of ours who had tried to watch us on the course but kept missing us passing by.  It was so weird- we just randomly ran in to him on the lawn the way I'd randomly bumped in to Kylie.  

Speaking of Kylie- she finished as well!  She'd said it would be pure stubbornness that got her through, and sure as can be, she got across the finish line about an hour after LizzyDragon.  We left before she finished- LD and I both had to get cleaned up for work so we drove to the flight school and used the FBO showers before showing off our medals to any customers we ran in to.

 Finished!

 It sparkles in the sun!

 Showing off out new (heavy!) bling

So I had to work after all the fun that morning!  LD and Kylie did, too so none of us got to do much relaxing or basking in our glory.  I worked again Sunday morning, and wanted to go down to the Magic Kingdom Sunday evening but Scot said he was the tired one!

We did go on Monday and I ate the following:

 Pork shank from Gaston's Tavern.  Verdict?  Awesome.  Salty.  Loved it.

Cupcake from the Big Top Souvenir candy counter in Storybook Circus.  Also very yum!

We watched the castle lighting- it was Frozen themed this year.  I have to say, I like the Cinderella version better- I love Frozen but the sketch on stage was hokey and Elsa just kind of flailed around while pretending to cast an ice spell all over the kingdom.  Plus Olaf was like 6 feet tall.  After that, we resort-hopped along the monorail route and looked at the gingerbread displays.  Good times, late night!

Next week I get to do my LAST mock Dopey- 3 miles Monday, 6 miles Tuesday, 12 miles Wednesday, and 23 miles Thursday.  I'm going to be more prepared and rested this time- I'm going to have snacks and bananas and not run to the library without water!

OUC Half Marathon stats:

Chip time: 1:51:51

Age division place: 32/278 (top 11%)

Gender place: 126/1,763 (top 7%)

Overall place: 526/3,331 (top 15%)