Princess Weekend - Sunday Part 1

Our wake-up call was at 3:30am. And we had to spring forward.

But it didn't matter! I woke up excited and nervous, and I think I was fully into my running clothes within 10 minutes of my eyes opening. Because THIS was the day I would run my first HALF MARATHON! WOOOHOOOOO!

I had a couple of sips of soda, a mini Larabar from the expo and a banana for breakfast. Fueled up, ready to go! The three of us (that's right, Lili got up at 3:30 just to support us, fantastic friend she is) headed to the bus. Holy smokes! What a line! Apparently, a LOT of princesses were staying at our hotel. There was a problem with one of the buses and everyone on it had to unload, then get on another one. The line kept growing behind us. Even so, and despite the cold, people seemed pretty cheery. Eventually, we boarded a bus and were on our way to the staging area.

As we got to the staging area, I bee lined for the merchandise tent just to check and see if there was anything I couldn't live without. The race officials were herding people off to the start line, so we got to the tent as it was clearing out. I bought some Tylenol just to be safe, but I managed to avoid buying any extra goodies. Purchase complete, we followed the herd towards the start line. Once we all hit the sign that read "Runners only beyond this point," we hugged Lili goodbye and ventured into the woods - at least, it kinda seemed that way in the early morning dark!

The race info we received had mentioned that the walk to the start line was about 20 minutes, and it was not an exaggeration! As we got close to our destination, we hit the last line of port-a-potties. It looked like there were hardly any lines, so we figured we'd make a pit stop. Little did we know, we were looking at the back side of the fauxcilities. There was a massive throng of people on the other side! Still, we agreed that it was a good idea to take advantage of our last chance to use the restroom before the race, so we waited. The line was on a downhill slope, so we got to stretch our calf muscles in line. We also got to see quite a few people decide they'd rather hit the bushes than wait in the line. Princesses must be adaptable, I suppose!

The good thing about the bathroom line was that it ate up some time. Once we actually got to our corral, we only had a couple of minutes to wait and make small talk with other runners before it was time to hit the road! We tossed our plastic ponchos and started running, waved on by the Fairy Godmother herself.

The first mile, I felt like I was overrunning my pace, mostly because I was trying to jockey for a little space in the crowd. When we hit the mile marker and started to walk (our strategy was to run a mile, walk a mile), Tricia told me as much. But I felt fine. The adrenaline was coursing through me, and it was all aok. I kept reminding myself to really savor the next twelve miles and enjoy all the sights and sounds of the day. There were DJ's, drum corps, beautiful fairytale mile markers. Royalty of all flavors had set up at stations all along the route to encourage us. There was so much to take in, I often found myself hitting pause on my Shuffle so I could hear everything. Every time we passed a mile marker, I checked our pace and I was thrilled that we were doing better than anticipated. The dream of a sub 3-hour time loomed ever larger and more likely. That kept me excited!

When we got to the Magic Kingdom, the castle loomed large and lovely in the early morning sunlight. Cast members were assembled all over the park to cheer us on. One lovely woman named Ada was standing in Frontierland, both arms raised to give out high-fives on either side to all the passing runners, while she called out "You are doing wonderful, my gorgeouses!" Just thinking about that moment makes me weepy!

Before I knew it, we were out of Magic Kingdom and back on the highway. How did that happen so fast? I realized we were just about to hit the seven mile marker, and we were over halfway there! As we passed the Polynesian, there were spectators lining the course. I was so touched that they cheered for everyone they saw, even as they waited for their special runner to pass by. Husbands, sisters, parents and kids held signs high so their family members would see them as they passed.

Tricia and I had stayed pretty close to one another for the better part of the race. My walking speed is a hair faster than hers, so she would sometimes jog ahead and then I would catch up when she switched to a walk. At mile 10, that little demon passed me and I didn't see her again until the end of the race! I started running whenever I felt like I could and walking as needed, but even with the less structured approach, my pace stayed really consistent. Right before we hit mile 12, a girl in a pink tutu passed me, running backwards and holding a camera. I started to wave when I felt an arm around me - another woman dressed as Snow White wanted a picture of the two of us running together. :) I was only too happy to oblige!

Entering EPCOT for the last mile of the race was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. There was an enormous crowd assembled, screaming and cheering the runners, using noisemakers to create a glorious din. One guy exclaimed as I ran by "It's a Snow White speed suit!" which made me grin ear-to-ear. You can't help but run fast, no matter how tired you are, when that kind of force is all around you. It's astonishing. As the finish line drew closer and closer, EPCOT cast members were keeping all of us runners alerted to how far we had left to go. I remember thinking as I passed by Mouse Gear, "It's a good thing I'm running a race right now, or I'd stop and probably spend several hundred dollars." As I neared the semi-hairpin turn at the gates to World Showcase, a older gentleman cast member leaned out to high five me and said "You've got this!" I wanted to run fast just for him! Shortly after that, another EPCOT cast member named Luis yelled out "I am so proud of you!" as I passed by. I burst into tears. The good kind.

I was almost sad when I saw the finish line. What a morning I was having! I felt like I could do anything by the time I hit the end. When I saw that the race clock said 2:45:00 as I finished, I was ELATED! Less that three hours! Tricia was waiting for me right across the finish line. She had completed the race just two minutes ahead of me and hadn't even gotten her medal yet.

We turned in our chips (kneeling down to get it off my shoelace was... interesting), got our glorious medals, and grabbed some refreshments. Then came the big question: where, in this crowd of thousands, was Lili? We had intended to pick a place to meet up when we arrived in the morning and scoped things out, but we all forgot. Whoopsie daisy! Tricia sat down on the ground to stretch and I scanned the crowd. To my amazement, I spotted Lili in less than ten minutes, not far away! I retrieved her and brough her back to Tricia, who was still on the ground. That's also when I noticed that Tricia never dumped her long sleeve shirt from the expo. She had it around her waist, and it looked for all the world like she was wearing a pink skirt, which tickled me to no end in my post-exertion delerium.

Lili handed me my phone and I immediately called Brian. He had been receiving email updates of my status throughout the race, and he said that my finish time according to my chip was 2:38! WHOA! I was so happy, I can't even describe. Next year, I'll aim for less than 2:30 for sure!

We were pretty eager to get back to hotel and get showered. I was ravenous. I think I could have eaten a cow, piranha-style. Onto the buses we went, exhausted and happy.

This entire event was so special because of the support for all the racers that came from everywhere. People there to cheer for family members cheered ALL the runners. Disney cast members, from security to race coordinators to characters, all had words of encouragement for the half marathon "princesses". The volunteers working the water stations would make a point of calling people by name as they passed by (though I have NO idea how they could read the bibs so fast!). Runners encouraged one another and complimented each others' costumes. People cheered for total strangers, willing them to keep going and finish the course. There was SO much positive energy. It made me wish it could go on forever, even when my feet were starting to complain. I wish the "real" world were so positive and affirming. I am inspired to do my part to make everyday life more positive for everyone I can. Because everyone should know such bliss.

Sigh. I wanna do it again!