My Wine and Dine overnight trip and race recap!

So, yeah. I went to Disney overnight. I guess I should explain.

2 weeks ago, I was looking over my Hal Higdon Novice 2 full marathon training plan and remembered that it called for me to run a half marathon this past weekend. I found the Pensacola Marathon still had spots open for its half so I was planning to register after talking to My husband about the details. Well, I waited too long to register and they closed registration but said they would have 100 first come/first serve half entries at the start of the expo. So I took Friday off from work so I could drive the 1.5 hours over to late register.

So, Friday I was getting up and getting ready to head over to Pensacola and I posted a tweet about it. Well, through a TOTALLY unexpected opportunity, I got a last minute entry to run the Wine and Dine half!!

I texted my saint of a husband and he agreed to the crazy proposition of driving 16 hours, spending less than that many hours in the park, and letting me run the race! We booked a cheap hotel and headed out Friday afternoon.

We stopped along the way at his favorite non-Disney restaurant, McGuire's Irish Pub in Pensacola. It was the least I could do ;) It was delicious as always! I highly recommend it!

McGuire's Gift Shop

The McGuire's Moose

After pigging out, we got back in the car and then we stopped again, near the halfway point of Tallahassee, as we've come to do, and spent the night then drove the rest of the way Saturday morning. This is another thing I think we could start doing on our Disney road trips:

Cheap Lotto Tickets!

Anyways, we finally made it to Walt Disney World around noon.  After checking into the hotel, packing my race bag and picking up my race stuff, we headed to Hollywood! (Studios that is) Lo and behold, look what was there:

Christmas at the Studios!

Christmas Decorations were up!!! I knew they were beginning to show up around property, but I was giddy like a schoolgirl to see them again!!

Christmas Decorations!

So, we proceeded to ABC Commissary to get some much needed grub.  I got the Asian Grilled Chicken Salad, it was really good.  I would've snapped a pic, but as soon as it hit the table, I was chowing down.  Then we went on Star Tours.  Last trip, Jason and I got stuck on Star Tours for about 15 minutes due to a technical malfunction.  It was kind of funny so we hoped there wouldn't be another issue.  Wellllll, I think the Star Tours gods were trying to pay us back because on Tour # 1, Jason was the rebel spy, for his first time ever!  Then, when we used our fast-passes for ride # 2, I was the rebel spy!! We're basically Disney's version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, except I'm not all skinny & kick-A like Angelina Jolie.  I digress...

We hit up Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror and threw in a pretzel with cheese sauce for good measure.  I wanted to try to see Osborne Lights with Jason before I needed to go to the bus for the race, but he said no biggie (such a gentleman) and off we went to the car.  Jason kept a lookout as I stripped down in the semi-darkness and changed into my race clothes in the car.  Haha I'm kind of shameless and impatient like that.

He drove me across the street to the Boardwalk (one of the race's host resorts) and I gave him a kiss, he wished me luck and I hopped out of the car and over to the bus stop for the race transportation.  I hopped on the very first bus and sat next to another girl who was by herself.  She was really nice and we ended up chatting the whole 3 hours before the race until we hit the starting line together!  (I checked her bib # today and she finished her first half marathon that night!! Woohoo for Lisa!)

As soon as Lisa and I got off the bus at Wide World of Sports, we decided to get a picture with Minnie and Mickey, there were only 5 people in line.  Literally 20 minutes later, there were about 100 people in line. No joke. SO GLAD I got there early.

Me and the "Mice"

Can we just talk about that picture for a second?  I'm with 2 mice, but I'M the one with scary rat eyes?  yeah, thanks "red-eye reduction" setting. You no work.  Also, what's up with my right arm? I always feel weird placing my hand behind the characters back, like I might accidentally feel them up in a Disney costume, you know?  So, instead of creeping on the characters, I just look extra awkward in my character pics.  Way to go Diana.

Moving on...

We sat and talked for a bit and then the DJ started playing the "warmup songs". We both decided to take part and that guy really has energy!  We danced to "Gangnam Style" and I busted a move, let me tell ya.  Other songs included: YMCA, Thriller, Sexy and I Know It, Chicken Dance, Firework, and all sorts of stuff.  It was about 8 o'clock and after having danced for about 30 minutes straight, we walked over and I dropped off my bag at bag check then headed over to the runner's waiting area.  She went over to see some online friends and then we chatted some more.  We hit the porta-potties one last time, then squeezed into the corral.  My only gripe about this race, as well as the DL Half, not all corrals can see the starting line until the race has begun and they've moved up.  I wish there was a way to remedy that, but it's nothing huge.  We heard the announcements and saw the fireworks and after a few other corrals, it was our turn!

Our corral's fireworks

And I was off!  I was particularly excited for this race because I had a feeling I would PR (personal record - i.e. beat my previous best time).  Based on my long runs, I had been getting faster.  I was hoping to shave some time off of my fastest (and first) half in January at the WDW Half Marathon where my time was 2:56:19.  I started my running app (iSmoothRun) and I was off!  I was determined to NOT RUN like I normally am tempted to do at the start.  I kept to my normal routine, walk about 4 minutes, then start my run/walk routine (I use the Galloway run/walk method).  So, I did just that.  But, as I started my running, all I could think of was Disney's movie "Secretariat".  In the movie Penny Chenery's dad tells her to, "Let him run his race".  That is exactly how I felt.  It was my race to run.

Mile one hit and my time was looking good, considering it was my "warmup mile".  I decided I was feeling great and I wanted to just run, so I did!

Mile One Marker

The first characters on the course, Chip and Dale and their piano

Mile 2 Marker

The course moved from WWoS and over to Animal Kingdom.  We hit mile 3 and then the 5k checkpoint (marked by the sensor on the road) before we entered AK and after hearing my app overall time, I had to check my times that were being tweeted to verify they were right!  Well, they were!  I was on my way to a PR for SURE if I kept going at my current speed!

I decided to keep the pictures to a minimum so I could stay on task so sorry that there's not a whole lot for the rest of the 10 miles!! We entered AK and there were more floats from the electrical parade.

Twirling turtles entering the Animal Kingdom parking lot

The Peacock float and the butterflies leaving AK

After heading out of AK, we hit the 10k mark.  I once again checked my tweeted time and it was still right on track!!! Score!  I was still feeling great!  I was eating my fuel (raisins) and drinking my watered down gatorade as needed.  We hit Hollywood Studios arounnd the end of mile 8.  As soon as I hit Hollywood Studios and rounded the corner onto Sunset Blvd, I shouted out loud, "SUCK IT TOWER OF TERRR 10 MILER!!!!!".  If you don't follow me on twitter, you don't know the hell I went through at that race only 6 weeks ago.  It was at night, it was blazing hot, I was dry heaving and had to walk the last 4 miles.  It was the hardest medal to win and slowest too.  But this race, which covered most of the same terrain was a total 180.  After literally YELLING at the Tower of Terror, (I'm sure my fellow runners thought I was insane) I snapped this shot to commemorate the change!

Kicking butt and taking names on Sunset Blvd!

I also knew that the Osborne Lights were coming up and boy, they didn't disappoint!  It was so neat to run through them!! Definitely my favorite spot on the course for sure!  I haven't been able to see these in 2 years so it was a total treat!  Wish I could've stayed longer, but as Forrest said, "I was run-ning!"

Osborne Lights

Running through the dancing lights!

After that, we made our way out of Hollywood Studios.  At this point, I was no longer 100%.  I'm not sure if it was bad running form or carrying my still half-full water bottle for so long, but my lower back was killing me. We headed down the path to the Boardwalk and I had to take longer walk breaks.  I knew I'd PR either way at this point and I wish I could've kept pace, but my back was having none of it and I had just passed the last medical stop and I was NOT going back for BioFreeze (I'm gonna bring a small packet with me to the marathon for sure, just in case!).

I walked more than ran on the actual Boardwalk, but once we passed onto the International Gateway, I knew I was home free and PR bound.  I was trying hard at that point not to cry.  We ran into Epcot and the after-party spectators and previous finishers were lined up cheering for us.  *Don't cry Diana, don't cry*

We ran through the Fountain of Nations Plaza and crossed the all-familiar last bend around Spaceship Earth and I wondered, "would they have the gospel choir again?!" No, they didn't, BUT it was almost just as emotional, they were playing this:

Aaaaaand I lost it.  I mean, I'll never be an olympic athlete.  My time was still twice what the Elite runners finished in.  But I knew I was going to beat my old time by such a big jump that I kind of felt like I had accomplished something big.  In less than 18 months of running (EVER) and less than a year of running races, at my seventh race, I was going to do what other runners of all sizes and speeds hope to do, beat themselves.

I turned the corner and I saw it.  I saw the finish.  I knew Jason was there and a shiny new medal that I can add to my wall of (small) fame.  I ran across the finish line, both arms in the air and screaming :) once I crossed the final tag-timer, I stopped and cried a little more.  I had done it.  I got my new medal and walked to the side to check my time.  I officially shaved 14:17 off of my fastest half marathon!!! My official time was 2:42:02!

I picked up my drinks and food and went to the medical tent for BioFreeze (lifesaver!) for my back and then got my Brightroom post race photo, but I like the one Jason took right after I met with him the best:

PR BABY!!!!

The next day, I still couldn't stop smiling.  I had on my Coast to Coast shirt AND my new medal.  I have never done anything so life changing in my life and running is such a high but such a healthy one.  I wish everyone could do it, or find something that they enjoy as much as I do running.  It's fun and it helps my health.  Best thing ever.

I can't help it, I can't stop smiling!

Even at a windy Magic Kingdom, I was still grinning from ear to ear!

We left Sunday afternoon after a short trip to Epcot and Magic Kingdom.  It was way too short of a trip, and I don't think I'd ever do another overnight trip there again (unless it was the same race-fueled circumstances) but this trip will forever be in my heart.  I am so proud of how far I've come and what I've been able to accomplish.  

So, here's my parting shot: GO. DO IT.  Set your goal and RUN after it.  I know it's cheesy.  I know it's easier said than done.  BELIEVE me.  My training runs don't do themselves.  But, the hard work and persistence pay off.  So GO.

Just GO!

And one more thing, if you haven't seen this movie, go watch it now, please!  And run your race! 

Love, 

Nails & Costumes

My friend Kristin was tweeting awhile back about her new nail "polish", the new Sally Hansen Salon Effects stuff.  I had seen it in the store but was wary to try it.  After hearing her review, I decided to buy some and give it a whirl.  The packs have extra pieces in case of mishaps and include all the tools you'll need (other than nailpolish remover).  They are a bit more labor intensive than applying liquid nail polish, but I think the payoff is well worth it!  This was the first color I tried:

Graffiti look

Forgive the dinosaur phone, I found it at my office and was thinking that in 100 years, people will laugh that we used those things, right?! Anyways, the photo shows the nails, they were kind of a graffiti style, I really liked that color.  So, after testing it out, they definitely stayed on a LOT longer than normal nail polish.  I got quite a few compliments (which never really happens with regular polish) and I knew there were a lot more colors to choose from!  So, I went back to the store and bought 3 more colors!  I was most excited to try out the sparkly colors!  The next one I tried out was Frock Star, seen here:

Sparkly finger & toenails!

I decided to cut the strips into 2 pieces, one bit longer, enough for my fingernails, and the shorter end for my toenails.  However, this particular color was a bit of a pro/con scenario.  What I mean is, I put these on August 19th.

• Point 1: The strips are very thick.  That's good for toenails, but not for fingernails.
• Pro: They are just now (Sept 26th) beginning to come off of my toenails (after running at least 45+ miles with it on!)
• Con: They proceeded to start peeling off my fingernails within a couple of days.
• Point 2: The glitter on that particular color, while pretty & eye catching, is very big and once it started peeling off, would get snagged in my hair or on soft fabrics.
• Conclusion: for heavily large-pieced glittered colors, be prepared for them to peel from fingernails more quickly. But they still look amazing on!  I got a lot of compliments on this color as well!

Next, I tried this color:

Bling it On!

I wanted to wear it at Disneyland for the Half Marathon since it matched with my Cheshire Cat costume.  This color stayed on for about a week (even through making sandbags for Hurricane Isaac!) and the smaller glitter pieces didn't get snagged on anything.  I still had the Frock Star on my toes when I applied this color, so I'm not sure how it would fare as a toenail polish, but I'll report after I find out :)

Overall, I'm really happy with the product.  My least favorite thing: removal.  I cannot use enough nail polish remover to make a dent on the stuff!  I end up just scraping it off.  It's probably not best to do that, but it works better and faster than the remover does!  I have 2 more colors, a matte oxblood color and a black color that I'm excited to try soon for fall!  Actually,  I think I'll use the black this weekend for...

My Tower of Terror 10 mile race costume!!!

Yep, I finally decided what I want to be! Dr. Facilier from Princess and the Frog!  I LOVE that movie and since we go to New Orleans so often since we're so close, it seems like a perfect fit, villain-wise! (Disclaimer: don't think that I do voo-doo or anything!  Haha!  Never have, never will, promise!)

Saturday we stopped at Party City and I found what they had listed as a "Vampire Hat" priced at 9.99 (somehow, it ended up being only .50!!) and some wall hangings that included a skull & cross bones for 2.99.  Then, we went to Wal-Mart and I bought 1/8 yard of purple fabric, 1/4 yard of red fabric, black duct-tape and some feathers (total $7).  Here's my haul:

That afternoon, I went home and put it all together like this:

1. with some glitter that I already had, I recovered the black glittered skull & crossbones for the hat with silver glitter with modpodge and then clear coated it with more modpodge to try to keep from the dreaded glitter fall-off (I hate when it gets everywhere!)
2. I attached the newly glittered skull to my hat with a safety pin
3. I attached 2 of the purple feathers to the side of the hat with another safety pin
4. using my plain black short-sleeved tech shirt, I cut the purple fabric to length and a v to match the neck of my shirt.  Then, I used the black duct tape to attach the purple fabric onto the black shirt, to mimic his "black jacket"
5. Using more black duct tape, I made "lapels" for the shirt/jacket!
6. I am simply going to tie the red fabric around my waist (you'll see below)
7. Lastly, I'm going to try to make spats with old socks and more black duct tape, but I don't want to damage my beloved Brooks Pure Connects :) We'll see how that works out!

Then, using the same hat and red sash, I translated the costume into a non-runner friendly Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party costume!

Here's the hat closeup:

And here are the 2 costumes, side by side!

Dr. Facilier MNSSHP costume and Dr. Facilier running costume!!

Overall, $10 for 2 costumes is pretty sweet!! I'm so excited for the race and I'm REALLY hoping he'll be on the course and out at the party too so I can get a photograph with him!!  Is anyone else dressing up for a race/Halloween?  I'd love to hear about your homemade costumes!

Disneyland Half Expo and Race recap

Sorry, this didn't get to you yesterday, Monday was well, a Monday.

On with the show!  I forgot to say that at the meetup, we were given our shirts (which were HUGE! I wore it for the first time yesterday and it was WAY too big, who'd have known I would need a SMALL?!) and bibs ahead of time but were urged to visit the expo anyways.  I knew I'd still need to go to the expo to get hubby's bib and get some official merchandise.  So, we went to the expo Friday afternoon and picked up his stuff and then I picked up a Coast to Coast shirt, a "I'm only Half Crazy" Disneyland Half long sleeved shirt and a race pin since I hadn't been able to get one since I was late registering.

Then, I walked over to the runDisney booth and finally got to see this bad boy in person and in action! Here is some video of the 20th Mickey Medal I took!  Can't believe I'm willing to run 26.2 miles to get it, but I totally am!

Coast to Coast wristband, shirt, Expo carpet and Tower of Terror medal

I walked around the expo for quite a while, looking at the booths, getting my free Lasting Commemoratives poster, trying stuff out, it was a good expo.  We ended up going back Saturday after talking to Katie & her husband at lunch and hearing good reviews on the Yurbuds.  Jason & I both ended up getting a pair, his blue, and mine, unbeknownst to me until we got back to the room IRONMAN branded.  What the heck?  I guess I'll have to add IronMan events to my list of athletic to-do's so I don't seem like an impostor! (Oh my word did I even just say that?!)

Anyways, at that point, we were all set for the race!

Sunday morning, we woke up and hit the road to walk over to the Disneyland Hotel to queue up for the start.  It was early and there was a tiny nip in the air but not enough to make me excited.  We waited in the staging area for awhile for my friend Susan but she was running behind, so we got a quick picture snapped:

Sorry for the crummy quality

and then we walked over to the corrals.  I was hoping for cooler conditions but oh well.  We waited and waited and finally heard the first corral, then the others begin to go.  On the long walk to the starting line, we ended up seeing Katie and her husband again!  What are the odds?! Random but fun!

So finally, we got to the starting line, I started MapMyRun and we were off!  We passed our hotel before mile 1 and shortly after I tossed the tutu.  Note to self, if running in a tutu, make it short!  Mine was too long and kept going between my legs.  So, stripped of the tutu, I was more free to run and we rounded into the backstage area behind California adventure and that's where I took these photos:

Incredibles float backstage

Ham Float backstage

Coming out of the backstage area into Paradise Pier

Then we rounded our way into Paradise Pier, the first part of the race on Disney parks proper!

Paradise Pier

World of Color

In the shot above, you can see World of Color going.  I don't think I even caught that, EatSleepRunDisney told me about it later at the TouringPlans meetup and after looking at these photos I realized she was right! Then, we ran through CarsLand!

Carsland/Route 66!

Right at this point, Jason needed to take a potty break so we ran into the bathrooms behind Sarge's Supply.  He didn't see me follow him so there was a little freakout when we couldn't find each other, but all was well within a few seconds.  (I realize now that if 1-I hadn't taken some of these pictures and 2-we hadn't stopped for this potty break, I would've PRed, but oh well, it was fun and I'm glad to have these shots!)

Blurry photo, but Red was out, I like him :)

Hollywood Studios Area

As far as running goes, I was already feeling hot and gross.  It was really fun to be running in the parks and with Jason though, so we just kept on running!  We were running 1 minute:walking 30 seconds I think?  It's been too far back now for me to be sure!

My favorite ride!!! Wish it had been open!

I don't watch this show, but I know a lot of people like it, so here ya go!

After this point, I can't remember exactly which route we took to get into Disneyland, but somehow, we got over there and we ran through the backstage area which had all of the Mainstreet Vehicles lined up!

It's partly blocked, but they had all of the Main Street Vehicles out!

Then, we rounded our way onto Main Street USA!  In the picture below, you can see the Princess & The Frog Riverboat Float (LOVE that movie!!)

Main Street USA

I see the Castle!!!

At this point, we were right by the riverboat and we snapped this shot

Mile 3!

We kept on through the Frontierland area and then rounded our way into Fantasyland.

See the Pirates riding the Carousel?! Love that!!

The castle corridor was so small & congested, we had to WALK through it. Boo.

Manny The Monorail is saying hi!

Merida!!

Daisy & I'm not sure the name of the female chipmunk?

After this, we left Toontown and went backstage.  That was it for the parks, it covered more ground than the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom portion, but it still felt short (running through Disney parks always do) I wish they could get every square inch of a half into the parks, how awesome would that be?  I mean it's totally  not feasible, but... That's the advantage of a Walt Disney World race, more property means more Disney themed entertainment throughout the course.  But we weren't off property yet.  They had the horses out!

My sister rides horses so I thought of her when I saw this :) Love ya Katie!

After this, we left Disneyland Property and began running the streets of Anaheim!  My biggest gripe: we ran INTO the sun a majority of the way.  It was pretty blinding.  I wish they had designed the course backwards, with the sun at our backs, but I trust there was some unknown reason for the way it was designed, but it gave me slight raccoon eye sunburn.

I love this shot. So much.

The above shot shows the intensity of the early morning sun.  It made for a great shot, but not great running conditions!  But, we soldiered on!

Runners behind me (I wasn't last yay!)

Entertainment along the course!

I loved this sign along the course!

We just kept running and walking, and running and walking, for what felt like miles!  Oh wait, it WAS!  It was sunny, it was hot, but we were getting closer and closer little by little!  My least favorite part of the route was the path along the "river" (it was a drainage ditch ok Californians?!) that was dirt.  It was dry and dusty and I got gravel in my shoes, which isn't so fun when you have to run a few more miles.  But, we got to the stadium and there were Boy and Girl Scouts lining the path cheering us on! They were so cute!

Angel Stadium! You can see the Boy Scouts along the side!

Then, we went down through the tunnel and out onto the field!!! I'm pretty sure it was my favorite part of the whole race, even more-so than running through the Disneyland Parks.  Rounding that corner, hearing the cheers, it was magical and I shed one tear.  Just one.  I had too much salt on my face from sweating, I didn't need anymore!!

High Fives from the Girl Scouts!

The crowd cheering us on at Angel Stadium

Jason & I-take 1

I took 2 pictures of us here, one with the home plate in the background, and one with the marquee with the Disneyland Half Logo on it:

Disneyland Half Logo on the Marquee

Jason & I-take 2 :)

and with that, Jason was tired of me taking pictures and I just wanted to focus on finishing.  Also, by this point, it was the farthest Jason had ever run!  We only trained up to about 8.5 miles before the race and so the last few miles wasn't as smooth-sailing as it could have been if we had trained farther, distance-wise.  We passed quite a few more cheerleaders, a dude with a cowbell, and a school band or two.   When we got to mile 12 we were on Disney property again, running through the backstage area, I told Jason I might need to walk more than run.  But, I didn't really end up doing that.  I knew it was his first race and I had held him up with picture taking and so I pushed myself to just keep going.  Jason even said later that he was proud of me for keeping on running even after I said I wanted to slow down :)

As we neared the Disneyland Hotel, I could hear the announcers at the finish line and the spectators cheering the runners on and we just kept running and running until finally, Jason and I crossed that finish line together, hand-in-hand.  Yay!!!  Jason got his first ever medal and his first PR 3:00:59, haha (he can totally run faster than me, but he was a gentleman and ran with me)!  Then I got my medal and went and picked up my Coast to Coast medal too!  I love that medal!  It's so pretty!!

I can't remember if I cried at the finish line, but I know I did for a bit while we were standing in line to get our picture taken.  Just knowing that I had major abdominal surgery 12.5 weeks earlier, only having 6 weeks to train for a half marathon, and getting to run it with my husband, it was a great experience.  Here's my post-race pic with all 3 medals:  The WDW Donald Half and the DL Half which earned me the third, Coast to Coast race challenge medal!

I finished!

So, there you have it, another race in the books!  Plus, this weekend, we're racing AGAIN!  We're headed back to Walt Disney World to run the Tower of Terror 10 mile race!  I can't wait to see my friends and get a new medal.  I hope you enjoyed all the pictures and hopefully next week I can recap that race and not wait 3 weeks like this one!