2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon - Coast to Coast Challenge Finisher

I am late! I am late... for a very important date! 

OK here we go, my last Disney race recap... until Sept!

New Race Course

Some cool facts about this race

12,000 bananas were given out this weekend at the race.

Saturday,  Jan 19th - Expo

We drove to Anaheim fairly early on Saturday. My friend Jen picked me up around 7:00am.  We wanted  to hit the expo before anybody else for a chance to register for the (Inaugural) Dumbo Double Dare Challenge this fall. What is the DDD? It's a 10k on Sat followed by a 13.1 mile on Sun. 

I had already registered for the Dumbo Double Dare at the Walt Disney World Expo, but I also wanted to be there early to check the Coast to Coast Challenge Merchandise and to make sure I had the chance to exchange my race shirt in case it was needed.  

What is the Coast To Coast Challenge?  You run a half / full marathon in Walt Disney World and a half in Disneyland on the same calendar year and you receive an extra medal. 

In my case, I ran 3 races in the East Coast ( WDW Family Fun Run 5k on Jan 11 + WDW Half Marathon on Jan 12 + WDW Full Marathon on Jan 13) and 1 race in the west coast, the Tinker Bell Half Marathon.

We arrived at the Expo around 9:00am. We picked up our race packets including shirt, bib, a bag and Disney's Official Race Guide.  To my surprise, the shirt fit me perfectly. This was the first time. To an even bigger surprise, my daughter was featured in Disney's Official Race Guide, a picture from last year's kid race. Yahoo!

At the expo, I met more friends from the running group Embrace The Crazy

After the expo, we dropped our bags and headed out for lunch at the Cheese Cake Factory, one of our favorite carb-loading restaurant.

Sunday, Jan 20th - Race Day

This year I stayed at one of the Best Western Hotels in Katella. It's not my favorite place in the world but it has its pluses. One of them is that it's just a few minutes walk from the starting line or should I say the staging area. I still left my room at 3:30ish. I met a group of runners, the Mad hatters, at the Disneyland Hotel Hat at 4:00. Fifteen minutes later, I met my friends from the Embrace The Crazy group.

We were asked to head to our corrals at 4:30am.  Mine was A for awesome, per Rudy's words. Rudy is the race announcer. I see him in almost all the races. 

The race started at 5:00am. I crossed the starting line a few seconds after the gun went off. The first two miles were over a couple of overpasses before entering the parks. First we ran through California Adventure. I saw the characters from Monsters Inc. but I didn't stop for pictures. I wanted to run. We soon passed Cars Land which looked beautiful at this time of the day with the neon lights. There were short lines in front of Lightning McQueen and Mater but  I decided again not to take pictures, since I had some good shots with both of them at the Art of Animation (Cars) Resort the weekend before. 

From California Adventure, we went to Downtown Disney and Disneyland. I love love love running through Main Street. I think I mention this in every single Disney race recap. There is something very special about this and the lit up castle in the background. I never get tired of it. This time around, I noticed how small Sleeping Beauty's castle looks in comparison to Cinderella's castle in Walt Disney World. Still, the experience of running through the castle is surreal. 

At mile 6, we left the park, My legs were still tired from the Goofy Challenge but I was happy that my piriformis was not acting up. No sciatica pain today.  The next miles were through the city of Anaheim.  At mile 8, they gave us GU. At mile 10, I smiled knowing that I'd soon receive my Coast to Coast Challenge medal. The last 2 miles were fast ones. Not enough for a PR but that was not the goal this time around. I just wanted to take it easy and enjoy the race. My finishing time was 2:13, one of my slowest at Disneyland. I was still very happy to finish all these challenges. Can you tell by this picture?

2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon- Race shirt and medals

55. 5 miles,  4 races in 7 days, 6 beautiful medals.

I think I need a medal rack. 

2013 Goofy Challenge - Part II

Check  2013 Goofy Challenge - Part I

Sunday, Jan 13th - Walt Disney World Marathon

Race Course

The 26.2 mile course starts outside of Epcot, goes up to Magic Kingdom, down to Disney's Animal Kingdom, over to Disney's Hollywood Studios and back to Epcot.  

Some cool facts about this race. YES, the number of female runners outnumbers the male runners.

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Summary

After waking up 2 days in a row at very early hours, my body was getting used to it exhausted.  I woke up at 2:45 am and met my friend April at the bus line around 3:25am ( just like the day before for the Walt Disney World Half Marathon). 

We arrived at the staging area around 3:45 and took pictures with some running friends. 

With my friend April

With April and Crystal Wiseheart aka Disney Diva

Meeting a bunch of Marathon Maniacs fellows

At around 4:45am, we headed to the corrals. We left 15 minutes earlier since we almost didn't make it to the corrals the day before. We arrived to corral B just in time. The gun went off at 5:30 am.

The first 9 miles were the same course as the day before ( from Epcot Center Drive to World Drive [ mile 2-4] to Magic Kingdom [miles 4-7]).  My legs were feeling heavy. I told my running buddy, Julius, that I was not going to stop for pictures at Magic Kingdom this time around. However, at mile 7 or so I spotted the Queen of Hearts and some Disney villains. Since I was dressed up as her, I had to take a picture. "Off with their heads" someone said as I was posing. This is probably the most awesome picture I've ever taken at a Disney race.  

Standing up to the villains.

Peter Pan, Julius, The Queen of Hearts and Wendy

At mile 9. we arrived at the Disney World Speedway. It was nice to see some cool cars. 

Of course, this was my favorite one.

We ran 3 more miles and entered the Disney's Animal Kingdom. We had been there the day before and enjoyed the new Expedition Everest ride. 

Outside the Animal Kingdom, I saw Mickey and Pluto dressed up in Safari costumes. 

 At mile 17, we entered the ESPN WW of Sports where the expo was held a century 2-days ago.

From mile 17-22, we ran on some busy roads. My legs were tired but my mind was distracted by the Disney characters.  I did make a few  lots of stops for pictures. 

 

At around mile 18, I met again my friend April again.

At mile 22, we arrived at Disney's Hollywood Studios where Wreck-It Ralph was waiting for me. I thought of my friend Edna who was dressed up like Vanellope Von Schweetz. This would have been picture perfect for her. I wondered at that time if she saw him.

From Hollywood Studios, we ran to Epcot. It was about 2.2 miles. At this point, I didn't want to stop anymore. Not even for pictures or water breaks. I just wanted to get to the finish line in one piece. Few minutes later, I could see the Spaceship Earth in the horizon. I was in familiar territory. This is my third consecutive day running in Epcot.  While running the very last mile, I felt I was in the movie The Groundhog Day.  Once again, we past the gospel choir and few yards later the finish line.  

OMG, I did it! I can't believe it! I ran 5k, walked for 7k, ate and slept for 2 hours, then ran 13.1 miles, walked for 7 hours, ate and slept for 2 hours, then ran for 26.2 miles, walked for 10 hours, ate and SLEPT IN!  42.4 miles in 3 days, 4 parks, 4 beautiful medals. 

Oh, after the race I was caught on camera doing my little dance. LOL!

WDW Marathon race shirt and finisher medal

Goofy Shirt and all the medals.

BIG thanks to my husband and kids! You rock my world!

To all my family and running friends that helped me out with words of encouragement, I love you. To my mom in-law, thanks for my beautiful running outfit. You might get some requests after this post  ;)

To my new running buddy, Julius, many thanks for sticking with me for 39.3 miles and taking all those fabulous pics.  

What's next? One more Disney race this weekend ( 01/21), the Tinker Bell Half Marathon to qualify for the Coast to Coast Challenge.  Yes, I am a Mad Hatter :) 

2013 Goofy Challenge - Part I

WARNING! Sit back and relax, this is going to be a loooong post!

 SPOILER! It's official! I am the proud finisher of the Dopey Challenge.

What is the Dopey Challenge? You run the Disney Family Fun Run 5k on Friday, followed by the Walt Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday, followed by the Walt Disney World Full Marathon on Sunday.  Let me start from the beginning.


Thursday,  Jan 10th - Expo

After a 7 hour flight from San Diego, we arrived in Orlando at 9:30am.  We took tDisney's Magical Express Bus to our new home for the next couple of days, the Art of Animation (Cars) Resort.

We quickly unpacked and headed off to Disney's Health & Fitness Expo held at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

I must say this is the mother of all running expos. Anything you can imagine, you can find it here. If you like running and you are a Disney fan,  you better leave your wallet at the hotel.  This place is dangerous. Today, however, I chose not to spend too much money at the expo. Instead, I waited for nearly 45 minutes to be able to exchange my gigantic race shirts, from size S to XS. For the Goofy Challenge, they gave us 3 nice shirts. Lucky me, I was able to swap the WDW Full Marathon one. I went back 2 days later and with the help of my cousin I was able to exchange the Goofy shirt as well. As for the Donald race shirt, well it's my new PJ.

Take me out of here or lose me forever!

The item that stole the show at this expo was the New Balance Minnie-Inspired Limited Edition. Pretty cool, huh? I am glad they are not Brooks or I would have bought them.

After the expo, we headed to Downtown Disney for a delicious Cuban dinner at Bongos Cafe.

Friday, Jan 11th - Disney Family Fun Run 5K ( Epcot)

Race Course

Summary

We woke up at 4:30am and left our room half hour later.  My kids ( 4 and 7 years old) were half asleep.   My husband brought the stroller for my youngest one, just in case. Unfortunately, strollers were only allowed in Corral D and my daughter wanted to start in Corral A with "the fast people" ( her words), so we split.

The race started at 6:30am with a beautiful firework display. The first mile was outside Epcot. We entered the park via Mexico and ran around the World Showcase. We saw Goofy dressed up in colonial clothes. We also saw Pluto in Paris and a Canadian Donald Duck.

From the World Showcase, we went to Future World and took some pictures on the go before arriving at the finish line.

We ran, laughed, and talked a lot during this race. I loved it! This was my daughter's second 5k and she did great!

Post Family Fun Run 5K

After the race, we went to Disney's Magic Kingdom for 7 hours. I went to bed at 10:00pm. 4 hours of sleep until the next race, the WDW Half.

Friday,  Jan 12th - Walt Disney World Half Marathon

Race Course

The 13.1 mile course starts outside of Epcot, up to Magic Kingdom, back to Epcot through Future World, and finishes in the Epcot parking lot.

Summary

My alarm went off at 2:30am. YES, 2:30am. You read right. I grabbed a banana and an orange and headed out.

I met my friend April aka Bella at 3:15 am at the bus line.

We arrived at the Epcot parking lot at 3:45 where I met a few friends.

My friend Edna aka Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph.
We both participated in the New York Marathon

My friend Greg V. We both ran the RnR Edinburgh and Madrid last year

I also made a new friend, Julius. He is a friend of Caro who also ran the RnR Madrid. Little I knew that Julius would become my new running buddy at this Goofy Challenge. We ran together the entire WDW Half and Full.

Aladdin and his friends. LOL

At 5:00am, we headed to our corrals. We thought that a half hour would give us plenty of time to get there but I was wrong. At 5:30am, the gun went off, another big firework display. We jumped on corral B. We just made it by a hair.  At the starting line, there were Goofy, Mickey and Donald in running clothes wishing us good luck!

Photo Credit: Run Disney

Photo Credit : Run Disney

My strategy for this race was to take it easy and save my legs for the full marathon the next day.  The plan was to stop at Magic Kingdom for pictures with the characters and then run some more. This is exactly what we did.

The first 4 miles were a "breeze",  literally and figuratively.  We ran between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Nothing too spectacular entertainment wise, except for a big pirate ship and some kites.  The temperatures were perfect. Not too cold, not too hot, not too humid, at least at 5:30am. At mile 4 or so, we arrived at Magic Kingdom. Running through Main Street was magical. Of course, I had to stop to take pictures at Cinderella's castle!

From Main Street, we went to Tomorrowland and the new Fantasyland where I saw some of my favorite characters, Alice and the Queen of Hearts. I had a big smile on my face. I also stopped for pictures with princess Tiara.

From Fantasyland, we headed to Adventureland and out of the park to Epcot via World Drive.  The sun came up and the temperatures was rising. This part of the course was not very exciting but the sight of the pirate ship that we passed earlier on made me smile. I spotted my friend April around mile 10. She decided to join Julius and I for the rest of the course. Soon after, we were at Epcot. I could see the Spaceship Earth. YES, we are almost there!  It's the final stretch. There was a nice gospel group entertaining us just a few yards from the finish line. I usually sprint the last mile or so but I decided to take it easy. After all, I was running a full marathon the next day.  My finish time was 2:24:17 including 20 minutes for picture stops.  Mission completion! 16.2 miles done 26.2 to go!

My beautiful medal.

Post-race

After the race, we headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom. The plan was to stay only for few hours but we returned to the hotel at 10:00pm. Only 4 hours of sleep until the full marathon next day.  OMG!

Check  2013 Goofy Challenge - Part II.