Day 3, Part 1: Shots, the coldest 5K ever and "Dig A Little Deeper"
My alarm was set for 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning, but Maya - who had her own pull down bed, but had wound up in ours - was kind enough to kick me in the back around 2:20, so I was up and at 'em *real* early.
I brushed my teeth and got dressed for the race - short sleeve compression shirt under a long sleeve Captain America compression shirt, compression shorts, regular shorts, socks and compression sleeves for my legs. I threw on a running stocking cap and a long sleeve throwaway shirt, thinking I'd be warm enough before the race. Turns out, I was very wrong.
Since I was the point person for the pre-race meet-and-greets, I wanted to get to the staging area early. I got to the bus depot right at 3, thinking that's when they left. Turns out, they didn't leave until 3:30. But, the bus driver let me on and we watched a Jackie Chan movie for half an hour.
At 3:30, we got moving and were quickly to the staging area. I immediately noticed that I was under-dressed for standing around for two hours. It was probably about 40 degrees and breezy.
I went to the designated meeting area and held up my fancy, one-of-a-kind, if-you-have-to-ask-how-much-it-cost-you-can't-afford-it "DIS" sign. Very quickly, I met
@DustyWA - the first of many Dis-friends I'd meet over the week.
*ATTENTION* I want to pause here and say that I suck at remembering names, screen names, etc. So, I'm not going to tag most of the people I met because I don't want to leave anyone out. A few exceptions will be made.
Anyway, more runDisney all-stars showed up and we all chit-chatted in the cold. Before too long,
@jennamfeo showed up and - as we had joked about on Twitter a week or so earlier - she had shots for
@rteetz and I. So, I knocked back a shot of Jager before the race. NBD. Thanks, Jenna!
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After shivering in the staging area for a while, we all made our way over to the corrals. I was in A and walked with a few other Dis'rs into the corral. I think we got in there around 5 and I tried to get into the middle of the crowd to warm up a bit, but that was a big fail.
For the 5K, they released runners in "mini waves" within each corral. The idea makes sense in theory because the corrals were so big, but the execution was whack. It seemed like they were only letting 100 or so people go at a time. I think I was probably in wave A5 or A6, meaning I started around 5:40 or 5:42.
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The first two miles were pretty tame, which I expected. I took it pretty easy since I had zero intent of PRing anything this weekend and wanted to save my legs as much as possible for the full.
The fun really began when we hit Epcot. We entered the World Showcase (near China, I think?) and I immediately recognized the music playing. "Dig A Little Deeper." I was floored and smiling like crazy. That song has been my Disney jam for the last month.
Then, I don't know if it was the cold, exhaustion or what, but I felt a tad emotional. I had been looking forward to running through World Showcase with the lights and torches on for months and it was beautiful. Couple with with the verse in "Dig A Little Deeper" about how much Tiana's dad loved her and me thinking about my own girls and it was just an emotional experience. I haven't experienced anything like that since running down Main Street, USA during my first full in 2017. Disney magic hits you right in the heart, sometimes.
Anyway, World Showcase was gorgeous in the early morning hours. I would have liked to see it as the sun was coming up just a bit, but this was pretty perfect.
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I finished and got my Oswald the Lucky Rabbit medal, which was probably my favorite of the weekend.
PhotoPass_Visiting_WDWRUNDISNEY_8304166362 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
After the race I grabbed a food box and a powerade. They were also giving out plastic sheets to block the wind, which was much appreciated.
The last waves of runners for the 5K hadn't started yet and the buses couldn't leave, so I decided to get into the Oswald character line. I wanted to get a pic with him and I figured if I was going to be standing around in the cold, I might as well do something worthwhile.
PhotoPass_Visiting_WDWRUNDISNEY_8304692166 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
By the time I met Oswald, 45 minutes had passed and the buses were now running. I got on the third or fourth bus, but was quickly back to POR.
Next up: Magic Kingdom!