{ONE}
Pre-race Dinner
The plan was to make dinner the night before the race, I’ve been wanting to try a three cheese tortellini with lump crab meat (It’s my top choice at Amerigos!). Well, lucky me, I got a whole package of unopened four cheese ravioli in a hotel room earlier this week and then my lovely roomie, Nic, offered me her marinara sauce. So between a pricey 20 dollar meal and a FREE meal, you can guess which one I chose! The pasta was delicious though and the perfect thing before my race!
{TWO}
The Outfit
I’ve been working on my outfit for a few weeks now!
My tutu- $8 (Cast Connections- a Disney cast member discount store)
My crown- $2.50 (Cast Connections)
My purple top- $12 (Walmart)
My perfectly matched compression capris in purple- $33 (Nike Store)
My shoes- $140 (Newtons, they are wonderful!)
{THREE}
The Crowd
Apparently there was something like 20,000 people registered for this race, it seemed like a never-ending slew of people constantly filing into their placement letter. At the start of each section of the race, they had fireworks, it was really great!
{FOUR}
The run
Unfortunately, I didn’t get any good pictures during the race, I just wanted to get to the finish line, and when you’re running a race by yourself, it’s not as fun to stop and get your picture taken haha. The race went VERY well (A lot better than the MS Blues, read about that here). I started off pacing myself really well, no pain at all. I started feeling pain around mile 7 or 8, but not as bad as my last race. When I got to mile 10, I was in one of those “Wow, I actually just ran 10 miles” kind of moods! At the last mile or two, I was booking it, I was pushing as hard as I could because I knew I was soo close. I remember at the MS Blues, the last 5 miles were the worst, it was horrible! This race was so much better!!
{FIVE}
I’m a finisher!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t have any family at the race, and Nick was unable to come to the race, and none of my roommates were able to make it due to work, so I was solo on this one. Disney did this awesome thing where friends and family could sign up to get text and e-mail alerts during your race to stay updated, so my dad, Nick, and a friend from work all signed up for that and kept up with me throughout the race. Even though I didn’t have anybody there in person, I had a lot of people there in spirit- and that meant so much! I had to ask a volunteer to take my finisher picture because I didn’t have anyone else to do it!
{SIX}
The good stuff
We got lots of goodies after the race
Crackers and Hummus (my new favorite snack!)
Yeah, I already devoured that!
{SEVEN}
The prized possession
{EIGHT}
Some lessons learned
1. At MS Blues, I didn’t wear compressions, I wore running shorts, and I had the worst chaffing ever! I learned from that and wore compressions this time and I swear it made a WORLD of difference!
2. At MS Blues, I didn’t take a pack with me to hold my water and snacks, I did for Disney and it made a huge difference with time, I didn’t stop at a single water stop because I had my own with me.
3. Research your race first! At MS Blues, it was the hilliest race you could probably go on and that wore me out quicker than the actual race, this time the only hills I encountered were going up circular ramps to get on another road, I was much better prepared for this race on the simple fact that there weren’t so many hills.
{NINE}
The time!
The time!
My goal was 2:30
My time was….
2:31:04
I’m so glad I went back and read this! I looooove your outfit and medal. My WDW Half was the same line as yours, I remember not getting to my corral until the upper corrals had already started, but it was nice since I didn’t have to wait as long.
Aw that makes me so sad that you had to finish it by yourself. 🙁 I wish I knew about that message thing I would have sent something! I am so jealous of that medal so adorable – dont ever throw that away!! And Your outfit is too cute too. So proud of you. I’m with Ness I want to do more races to get medals like that one! 🙂
congrats!!! you looked so cute in your outfit! such a great accomplishment!
Congrats! I love your outfit and that race bling is AMAZING!
Congrats!! I am jealous, as I one day really want to do a Disney run. (Now that you have done a Disney run, do you recommend it?) And great job on your time! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and tips, too.
SOOOOOOO, SOOOOO PROUD OF YOU HEATHER!!!! MOM LOVES YOU AND SO SAD THAT I COULDN’T BE THERE AT YOUR FINISH TOO. WE MISS YOU SO MUCH TOO AND CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR SWEET SMILING FACE AGAIN IN AUGUST! MUCH LOVE, MOM.
Wow, that’s so awesome!! I can not imagine running ten miles! =O Way to go. That is quite an accomplishment. Seems like it would be a fun race to participate in!! 🙂 Congratulations on finishing!
So proud of you Heather. I’m soo sorry no one was there to cheer you on at the actual race, I really wish I couldve been there. Your outfit is beyond adorable!! Loved it!! I love the tutu. (you should buy me something from that cast connections place haha 😀 ) The medal you got is So Freakin Awesome!! I cant wait till I start doing races and get some medals. I will definalty one day do the Disney Princess race so I can get a medal. Anyways, Love ya and Miss ya a lot!!
good job on finishing 🙂 I would of died, although last year I ran a 10k and made it out seemingly ok! So glad your family were able to keep up with your throughout the race 🙂