I had laid out my clothes the night before so I was ready to go. Cleaned up, put a little make up on and ate a bagel with peanut butter and jelly and a banana. I contemplated taking a long-sleeved shirt but after walking about 100 feet outside, decided against it and went back to the room. It was a good decision as the heat and humidity would be a factor later on. I kissed Mark good bye and told him I'd see him at the finish line.
Flat Janae laid out and ready to go. I'm not a huge pink/sparkle girl so this was a perfect outfit for me. I could still dress up but be comfortable.
I got a kick out of seeing all the other women staying at Art of Animation heading towards the bus stop. Along the way, I met a wonderful lady from New York who runs almost all the Run Disney races. We chatted the entire way to the bus, sat together and then chatted up until we got to the race reunion area before saying farewell and good luck. I was so happy to have met her - she kept me from thinking about what I was about to do and made the long bus ride and short walk to EPCOT fun.
A few months back, through a Facebook group dedicated to the Princess Half, I met a gal named Kacey. Somehow we started chatting, realized our 10K times were pretty similar and decided to run the race together. This ended up being a HUGE blessing for me, but I'll explain that later. We were going to meet up at the race reunion area before heading to the corrals so I sat on the ground and stretched for while waiting on Kacey. After she arrived, she made the suggestion of hitting the porta potties before going to the corral. I'm not a porta pot girl, but felt like she was probably smart in her suggestion and decided to suck it up - it was a helluva a good decision too! With an hour to go until race time, they began calling us all to our corrals. I thought that was a bit excessive, until I realized we were going to have a 20+ minute walk to our starting corral. Holy cow - those blogs I read from last year's race weren't kidding - it's a crazy long walk. The humidity was high and evident - we saw one runner already down on the ground before we even got to the corral. I quickly began to evaluate my strategy. Kacey and I found our corrals and sat down to stretch and relax a little more - and discuss plans. We decided to skip all character photos until we got inside Magic Kingdom -Kacey wanted to give us enough cushion that we could finish the race at an even pace without having to worry about playing catch up the entire time. What a smart gal - she was spot on with that assessment we soon discovered. Kacey runs - I run/walk. I told her that no matter what, if I began to hold her back she needed to just keep going and not worry about me - I didn't want to impact her race. Again, a smart conversation as this would later prove to be a true statement.
We casually chatted with people around us and also enjoyed the pre-race festivities on the big screen. Oh yeah, and the surprise for the military wife - absolutely incredible!!! Loved, loved, loved that. Bravo Run Disney.
Before we knew it they were sending corrals off. At 6:01 a.m. - we crossed the starting line. The fun was about to begin...
The starting line as Corral I gets the green light to GO!
I let Kacey set the pace since she would be running - she settled in comfortably around 13 minutes and I had no problems staying with her. I actually ran at least the first mile - possibly close to the second mile (I really don't remember). I started my run/walk - not with intervals unfortunately - it was still dark, it was humid, and I didn't want to continue looking at my watch. I would walk until I felt good and start running again. I managed to keep pace with Kacey as she continued to run, and if I fell back a little bit I kept her in my sights. The crowd that had gathered down the first quarter mile or so was crazy - people cheering, tons of cow bell - it was fantastic. When we got passed the cheering crowds, a local high school band was in the median of the road playing and cheering for us - I loved that they were out there so early in the morning to kick off our race.
The mob of people never seemed to cease. We did a lot of bobbing and weaving - slowing down and then picking the pace back up. I didn't let it frustrate me though - I knew it was coming and expected as much. But, it was still a little shocking that there were so many people. Kacey and I both had headphones in and were zoned in to music but would tap each other to get attention if we wanted to say something. I felt a tap on my shoulder and she was pointing ahead - the Mile 1 marker sign was in view! I felt good - my breathing was not bothering me at all. BUT, I had no feeling in my feet. For the first 3 miles both my feet were numb - I have no idea what happened, or why it happened, but it scared me a little. I tried to just keep going and not think about it. I also began to realize that my trip to the porta pot early may not have been a good idea - I had broken the proverbial seal. I had to go again - bad. I didn't want to stop and slow Kacey down yet - I wanted to get to the Magic Kingdom before stopping - but I was getting increasingly concerned that I wouldn't make it (TMI - I know...but hey, it's a recap.)
Somewhere between miles 1 and 2 there were these cool birds that people were flying around in the sky, similar to kites, and fittingly the song "Let's Go Fly a Kite" was playing. CMNH (the official charity of the race) also had a big set up around mile 2 with groups of people cheering us on. As we approached mile 3 we saw our first characters - Jack Sparrow and his ship. The line was insane - and I had no desire to stop for him anyway - so we took a peek and kept running. I got a kick out of watching a guy in front of me hop off to the side and into a batch of trees behind the pirate ship - apparently he couldn't wait for a real bathroom in the Magic Kingdom.
We also came up on a photo I really wanted - the heroes. The line - holy crap, the line. There was no way. Kacey and I decided to cross our fingers the line would be shorter on the way back and kept right on running. If I do this race again, I may stop and make it my only character stop on the course.
Soon, we saw a glorious site - the ticket area for the Magic Kingdom. I stopped to grab a photo - but as you'll see, the humidity was so thick the photos make it look like it's raining.
YEA! The Castle will be in my view soon.
After we crossed through the ticketing areas we approached the Walt Disney World Speedway. They had an Exotic Car and a RPDE corporate car out front with a couple company drivers for photos. I was fairly disappointed there was no Lightning McQueen or Mater - I stopped to grab a quick photo of the set up and kept running. After a while, we came up to an entry point - with bathrooms!!!! I told Kacey I had to stop and ran right to the men's room - the line was shorter. This was a highlight of my race - the gal in line in front of me and I came oh, so close to squatting over a urinal - we didn't want to wait. And then it happened - guys walked into the bathroom, a little surprised to see what was in front of them. I told them not to worry, we wouldn't peek - they apparently weren't worried either. (Again, I know it's TMI - but I'm recapping my race - I don't want to forget anything - this is my diary as well).
We also passed by another photo stop I really wanted to make - the Villains. I knew the line would be long for this one too - and Kacey and I were keeping a good 13 minute pace, so we stopped to grab photos of them candidly but didn't get in line.
Kacey and I took off with the crowd and headed to the right, around the lake and past the Contemporary Resort. I looked ahead and realized - this was it - the castle was coming.
Stay tuned for Part 2....
