Disney Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend

** I was waiting to post this until I received the pictures that Megan took during the actual race, but at the request of my faithful friend and fellow blogger Chrystie I will post sans photos cause even without them this may just be one of the longest posts ever  **

Last summer my friend Laura decided to take up running and begged me to join her.  Running has never been something I’ve wanted to try (I had friends that ran in Auburn everyday for 10 years and never once was I tempted to join them) and besides that I had a series of hot yoga classes I had regrettably purchased and needed to use up before I could force myself into any further exercise.  I told her I’d run once with her before the end of the summer just to prove to her that I wasn’t made to run.  I did a couple short (under a mile) runs with Abigail in preparation, but it was hard.  Laura was running with a fun group of women, but there was no way I was going to jump in and try to keep up with them so it was just Laura and I on my first attempt around the 4-mile Mill Pond loop.  It was hard for us both and we were slow.  We walked part of it, but I did it.  When I got home Justin and the kids were shocked. Here’s the girl who hadn’t run in nearly 19 years and probably never more than a mile – I had survived a 4-mile run/walk at a pace of 11:49 min/mile.

It was near the end of that first run that Laura asked me to run the Disney Tinkerbell Half Marathon with her and three other friends in May 2015.  It took some convincing, but she promised to be by my side and help me train during the next nine months.  Within a few weeks I had registered for the run, bought a plane ticket, and was running twice a week with Camden – the best running partner a girl could ask for.  My heart became stronger, but my body seemed to become weaker.  After about a month I started to experience severe knee pain anytime I ran more than two miles.  The race was nonrefundable so I was determined to find a way to get through it.  I’ve become quite familiar with knee braces, frequent icing, Ibrophen, rolling and stretching. 

The training program I decided to follow (entitled “To Finish in the Upright Position”) started in January adding a Saturday run every weekend with a long run every other week.  I continued to have problems with my knees on the long runs and during my last long run before the race (a 14 miler) I was in so much pain I had to run/walk the last few miles.  It was a discouraging last run to have going into the race. 

While I stuck to my training program all sorts of commotion was occurring with my fellow Tinkerbell runners.  In January, Laura decided she wasn’t up for the half and finagled her way into the 10K by raising money for a charity team.  Another friend had to back out to attend her sister’s wedding in Scotland that same weekend.  And just days before the trip another friend needed to stay home for IVF treatment.  So our group of 5 half marathoners dwindled down to just me and Megan running the half and Laura running the 10k (which we affectionately called the Diaper Dash). 

Our flight left at 6am Friday morning.  After picking up our rental car and checking into our hotel in Anaheim we picked up our racing packets and headed to Disneyland.

So official!

Laura is the Queen of Selfies so there were lots of pictures like this…

We picked up some Minnie ears to complete our racing outfits and wore them the rest of the day.

That’s my bag of racing stuff hanging from between my legs.  We were going to rent a locker, but instead just decided to carry them around all day.

Exploring Disneyland without kiddos is completely different.  We didn’t even enter areas like Fantasyland and Toontown opting instead to focus on just the big rides.  I’ve always said Disneyland is my kind of amusement park – I don’t like super intense thrill rides that are found at other places like Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags.  I can handle every ride at Disneyland & California Adventure with the exception of the Tower of Terror.  To be honest, of all the trips I’ve made to Disneyland never once have I actually ridden on the Tower of Terror, but I’m familiar enough with the concept of sudden death defying drops that I’ve always been happy to volunteer to stay back with any kiddos too young to ride.  Laura and Megan weren’t going to let me stay behind this time.  Let’s just say I nearly lost my mind.  I cannot believe I’ve sent my four year olds on this ride, year after year!  

This picture is deceiving in that it looks like I was smiling, but I was pretty close to having a massive panic attack (to Megan’s absolute enjoyment).  I couldn’t handle not knowing what would happen next and exited the ride pretty much in hysterics.  But if you ask my dear friends what their favorite ride was I’m pretty sure watching me lose my cool would rank the Tower of Terror at the top of their lists.

I thought we’d close the park down, but our early morning caught up to us and we decided to head back to the hotel early and get some sleep.

So the big race…

Megan was a big time runner in high school but hadn’t run more than six miles in many years so we had no idea whether we would be running together or not.  I didn’t know how long my knees would hold up and knew there was a good possibility I would be walking myself across the finish line. 

Here we are waiting for the race to begin.

As well as 13,047 other runners!

When we registered for the race I had no idea what kind of pace I could keep so based on my estimated time we were placed in one of the last corrals (F) – I had no idea how much that would impact my race.  Turns out it totally sucks to try to keep a 9-9:30 pace amidst thousands of runners pacing at 15-16.  Our slowest miles were by far miles 1-4 because we had nowhere to go.  Super frustrating.  I tried to weave myself through the crowds but I kept losing Megan and it was really only adding extra mileage onto an already long run.  Once I accepted that my time wasn’t entirely under my control it was easier to deal with the crowds and enjoy the race.  We even stopped several times to take advantage of some photo opps inside Disneyland…

** INSERT PICTURES FROM MEGAN’S PHONE :) **

The race itself was surprisingly good – only my right knee gave me problems, but I was able to power through it and run the entire race (when crowds didn’t interfere).  I was so glad that Megan and I were able to stay together from start to finish.  When I was slowing down she picked up the pace and vice versa.  Laura was at the finish line cheering us along.

I sure earned this bling!  Megan and I finished the race in 2:20:29, which I couldn’t be happier with especially since that includes so much walking in the first four miles, photo taking, and a quick bathroom break.  According to my phone I picked up an extra half mile (due to all that weaving) with my final stats at 13.68 miles with an average pace of 10:10 min/miles.  No, I’m not going to win any awards for speed, but I feel great about my times.  My fastest miles were mile 5, 12, and 13 at 9, 9:03, and 9:11 min/miles which is where I’ve been training.  

A few pictures from the Disney photographers:

I look pretty miserable don’t I? The next two are a little better:

The Three Mouseketeers – even if one of us did only run the Diaper Dash ;)

The rest of the weekend was spent shopping, eating, and relaxing.  Megan hooked us up with a bungalow at the Pelican Hill Resort, a super posh hotel in Newport Beach for Sunday night.  I’ve stayed in some nice hotels, but this was by far the most luxurious.  The only place I’ve been with a more luxury cars was in Monaco.  We sat by the pool enjoying the lemon water and sunshine while we waited for our room to be ready.

Unfortunately I didn’t get many pictures of the actual resort so I pulled a few off the internet.

Our room was just as fabulous

We walked along the beach

Watched the sunset while enjoying milkshakes and french fries

Laura desperately wanted to go on a whale-watching excursion on Monday morning.  We hoped that the hotel would give us a late check out so we could come back and enjoy the pool and shower before heading home, but I think they caught on that we were mere mid-class woman who’d gotten lucky on Priceline and they wouldn’t budge.  So our morning was a mad dash to get everything thrown into the car and still make it to the pier in time to get on a tour.  

We saw some sea lions on as we pulled out of the pier; however, this was the extent of our whale sightings…

If you can’t tell, that’s a grey whale with her young calf.

What was lacking in whale sightings was more than made up for when we came across a playful pod of dolphins.  

A photo of the $15 souvenir photo collage we didn’t purchase.

We had just enough time in the afternoon to get pedicures and lunch before heading to the airport.  Just as we were finishing lunch two police officers walked into Chick-fil-A with masks on and headed straight back to the kitchen.  Um, interesting… 

So the big question is: will I run again?  Yes, I will run.  In fact Camden and I were back on the loop yesterday morning (though my right knee was really painful – it’s really is a miracle I was able to run the whole race).  Not sure if I’ll run another race, but I have truly enjoyed my early morning runs with Camden over these last nine months.  She keeps the conversation flowing and my feet moving.  My knees may be miserable, but my heart is happy and healthy and I got an awesome mini-vacation out of it as well.