Running and Racing and Dancing and Chasing: A 2017 Princess Half Marathon Weekend Trip Report!

looking back I was just in AWESOME shape then, really well-trained and no injuries.
This is a FANTASTIC self-realization. 1) It is so typical of human nature to not recognize our "awesomeness" at the time, and criticize ourselves instead and 2) This gives me hope for an awesome Dopey 2018 with TONS of park time, as I barring an injury (knock on wood) I know I will be uber well trianed! Of course I'm pretty sure I've got 10 years on you, and that brings it's own issues. LOL!

I slept the ENTIRE way. My headache was finally gone after that. Then on my second flight I got the entire row to myself and slept again! Yay!
This is the only way to "enjoy" a flight!
 
I do think they did an amazing job with the interior of Be Our Guest - West Wing and Ballroom are perfect. Not sure why they made the music box room up and didn't have that be a library? Maybe it would be too dark and then they'd have 2 dark rooms with library + west wing?

I do wonder why they chose to do a completely original room instead of replicating a beloved part of the movie's castle ... I dunno. I'm sure they had a reason.
I would absolutely love a library, though ... preferably one that actually had real books that you could read while waiting for your food (although I feel like I'm the only person in the world rude enough to read in a fancy restaurant).

Last time seeing Wishes! This has never been my favorite nighttime show at WDW (that honor goes to Fantasmic!) but I was glad we were getting to see it this evening. This was my first time seeing it from here at Narcoossee's, and I gotta say, not my favorite vantage point. Better than nothing, though!

I watched Wishes from the GF boat dock (off in the corner of your picture last year), and while I agree that it's not my favorite vantage point, it's not bad. Definitely better than nothing.

We split up at about 11:30, and it was time for me to head to Disney Springs to get M. But first...a picture with Daisy! She was bummed she wasn't on any of the medals. I can't say I blame her...I'd love a Daisy medal!

Daisy may not be on any of the medals, but she does match your race shirt pretty nicely!

Up next for me: Tinker Bell Half Marathon weekend in May! I have another deferral to cash in, this time for the Pixie Dust Challenge (hoping to actually...you know...be able to train for this, unlike Princess) and am looking to get my pink Coast-to-Coast medal after not being able to do so last year due to injury. Also hoping for the 10th anniversary blue edition since I did the marathon in January!

Yay! Tink time is next! Plus, Tink is extra special because it's the one-year anniversary of your return to racing after your injury. Hopefully you'll stay healthy in training and have another great race weekend!
(And I do hope you get both C2C medals ... you earned them both!)
 
Great finish! Your lunch at BoG is almost what I get, except french onion instead of potato leek.

Sorry you weren't feeling well! But it was so hot. I had to take a nap before brunch. It takes it out of you when its hotter. Boo to not feeling well at Narcoosees - we tried the brunch there and it was awesome.

See you at Tink! I haven't yet, but probably will pre order the dooney. :)
 


Wow, that salad looks sad. A Daisy medal would be so cool! Glad you enjoyed Princess, it does seem corrals & expectations plays a roll in someone's experience at this weekend and probably all of them to a point.

Good luck at Tink and may the Training be ever in your favor!
 
Yay! Thanks for sharing another great trip report! I'm glad you had a good time with your friends. They seem really cool and easy to travel with-- that's not always the case with friend vacations!

Good luck with your Tink training. It seems that Tink falls at a pretty ideal time of year for training in the spring time!
 


Great TR. I learned a lot reading your reports. I especially enjoyed reading this one and learning great tips to enjoy a rundisney week especially coming late to the EXPO. Will be reading your next report.
 
Another TR in the books - thanks for taking us along with you again! Lovely medal shot of all 4 of them with the castle!
Now on to Tink! It will be here before you know it!
 
This is a FANTASTIC self-realization. 1) It is so typical of human nature to not recognize our "awesomeness" at the time, and criticize ourselves instead and 2) This gives me hope for an awesome Dopey 2018 with TONS of park time, as I barring an injury (knock on wood) I know I will be uber well trianed! Of course I'm pretty sure I've got 10 years on you, and that brings it's own issues. LOL!
Yeah, it's a realization that is still hard for me to accept. That's something I really struggled with last year (not as much this year, but still a bit) - comparing my current self to my past self. Not a good thing to do!
This is the only way to "enjoy" a flight!
Exactly!!
I do wonder why they chose to do a completely original room instead of replicating a beloved part of the movie's castle ... I dunno. I'm sure they had a reason.
I would absolutely love a library, though ... preferably one that actually had real books that you could read while waiting for your food (although I feel like I'm the only person in the world rude enough to read in a fancy restaurant).
I'm curious about that, too. Library/reading was such an important part of the movie...but here's a music box room?

I would totally read in a restaurant. ::yes::
I watched Wishes from the GF boat dock (off in the corner of your picture last year), and while I agree that it's not my favorite vantage point, it's not bad. Definitely better than nothing.
Agreed. If I could be at Narcoossee's right now watching Wishes instead of here at work, I totally would do it.
Daisy may not be on any of the medals, but she does match your race shirt pretty nicely!
True!! Coordinating outfits counts for something.
Yay! Tink time is next! Plus, Tink is extra special because it's the one-year anniversary of your return to racing after your injury. Hopefully you'll stay healthy in training and have another great race weekend!
(And I do hope you get both C2C medals ... you earned them both!)
AHHH you're right! :yay: Can't believe it's been a year already. Time flies!
Great finish! Your lunch at BoG is almost what I get, except french onion instead of potato leek.
Their soups are so good. Maybe I need to get both soups and a cupcake next time. :scratchin
Sorry you weren't feeling well! But it was so hot. I had to take a nap before brunch. It takes it out of you when its hotter. Boo to not feeling well at Narcoosees - we tried the brunch there and it was awesome.
That is true, the sun was tough during the second part of the half marathon!

I forgot they had a brunch, I need to try that!!
See you at Tink! I haven't yet, but probably will pre order the dooney. :)
It's coming up fast!! Yay!
Thanks for another great trip report! Already looking forward to Tink!
Thanks for reading! :yay:
Wow, that salad looks sad. A Daisy medal would be so cool! Glad you enjoyed Princess, it does seem corrals & expectations plays a roll in someone's experience at this weekend and probably all of them to a point.
It was a sad salad. Not a fan.

I did enjoy Princess. The way people talk about it, it's like there are zero redeeming qualities, and while I don't doubt that others have had that experience, I thought it was fun!
Good luck at Tink and may the Training be ever in your favor!
Thank you! :)
Yay! Thanks for sharing another great trip report! I'm glad you had a good time with your friends. They seem really cool and easy to travel with-- that's not always the case with friend vacations!
Thanks for reading! Yeah I wasn't sure how it would go because we had never traveled together before, but it was great!
Good luck with your Tink training. It seems that Tink falls at a pretty ideal time of year for training in the spring time!
Thanks! Yeah, I'm looking forward to it warming up for some nice outdoor runs...we're getting there!!
Great trip report! Looking forward to seeing you at Tink. Less than 2 months now. Yay!!!!
SQUEEEE :tinker::tinker::tinker:
Great TR. I learned a lot reading your reports. I especially enjoyed reading this one and learning great tips to enjoy a rundisney week especially coming late to the EXPO. Will be reading your next report.
Thank you! :) I hope it was helpful!
This is so fun! Thanks for including us in your adventure!
Thanks for reading! :)
Another TR in the books - thanks for taking us along with you again! Lovely medal shot of all 4 of them with the castle!
Now on to Tink! It will be here before you know it!
Thanks for reading! I'm trying to think of some good medal shots for Tink...I have some ideas but I may just need to wing it once I get there. :)
 
Thanks again for sharing and including the ups AND downs of the journey! Running/training for a race can have so many variables and you just have to go with it. I get it though, its disappointing when you are hoping to meet a certain goal and an injury, illness, the weather completely throws that plan out the window.

I've been over on the runDisney boards and wow, its getting me excited, can't believe I've never really looked into this before. You've inspired me!
 
Thanks again for sharing and including the ups AND downs of the journey! Running/training for a race can have so many variables and you just have to go with it. I get it though, its disappointing when you are hoping to meet a certain goal and an injury, illness, the weather completely throws that plan out the window.
Very true! Training almost never goes perfectly for me...just the way it is.
I've been over on the runDisney boards and wow, its getting me excited, can't believe I've never really looked into this before. You've inspired me!
Just a warning - the races are addicting!! :faint:
Another great trip report! Glad you were able to finish all the races despite the lack of training!
Thanks - me too!!! :eek:
 
I had that same salad at Narcoosee's in February and I was also disappointed. The previous time I was there (August) I had an awesome salad there so I had high expectations but that one fell way short!

Thanks for sharing your trip report! I'm already training for the 2018 Princess 10K (I'm a total newbie runner!) and your report is so helpful!
 
Love your trip reports. In fact they have inspired my family to consider running a RunDisney race.

I have a strange running question ... please redirect as needed but I looked in the RunDisney forum and found nothing there ... My family loves Disney and we go often. My two sons and I are considering a RunDisney event. My question ... my oldest son runs cross country in college (low d1) ... I doubt he'll run with us on the course but will him being a sorta competitive runner be a problem for him? Assuming he'll be in the higher corrals so will he be able to just run his own pace? Thanks in advance
 
I had that same salad at Narcoosee's in February and I was also disappointed. The previous time I was there (August) I had an awesome salad there so I had high expectations but that one fell way short!

Thanks for sharing your trip report! I'm already training for the 2018 Princess 10K (I'm a total newbie runner!) and your report is so helpful!
Oh boooo!! I will be avoiding that salad in the future for sure!

Yay, I hope you have fun at the 10K! Good luck with your training!
Love your trip reports. In fact they have inspired my family to consider running a RunDisney race.

I have a strange running question ... please redirect as needed but I looked in the RunDisney forum and found nothing there ... My family loves Disney and we go often. My two sons and I are considering a RunDisney event. My question ... my oldest son runs cross country in college (low d1) ... I doubt he'll run with us on the course but will him being a sorta competitive runner be a problem for him? Assuming he'll be in the higher corrals so will he be able to just run his own pace? Thanks in advance
Thank you!! :)

It shouldn't be a problem for him as long as he is corralled properly. I'm not sure which race you guys are looking at...if it's a 5K or 10K, he'll just need to put his anticipated pace per mile and that should put him in the right spot. If it's a challenge, half marathon or marathon, he'll need to submit a proof of time (10K or longer for a half or challenge and 10-miler or longer for the marathon, Goofy or Dopey Challenge). There is a date cut-off for when he can submit and a time period that his race needs to fall in (so it can't be, like, a 5-year-old race or something). Make sure you know what those dates are, they should be on the registration page or runner info (can't remember off the top of my head) tab for whatever event you are looking at. Hope this makes sense! :)
 
Makes perfect sense ... Thank you. He just ran the Charleston (SC) half-marathon in January. Finished around 1:20+. It was chipped time so that would suffice I think. How does he prove his time?

Thanks again and awesome job on your successful princess weekend!
 
Makes perfect sense ... Thank you. He just ran the Charleston (SC) half-marathon in January. Finished around 1:20+. It was chipped time so that would suffice I think. How does he prove his time?

Thanks again and awesome job on your successful princess weekend!
Yes, it has to be chipped so he's good.

Once he registers, there's an area in his Active account where he can pull up the registration and add in the result. He needs a link to the page and he'll be all set!
 
You are so awesome ... thanks for explaining all this ... there is so much information out there that it gets confusing. You provided us with specific answers......I truly appreciate that.

Have fun training for your next running adventure.

PS My wife is a 1st grade teacher so I totally get being a teacher-spouse. Her dinner stories about work are SO much better than mine :)
 

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