Clinta was one of the two bartenders Pat always looked for at Tambu Lounge because they could always be depended on. Clinta "disappeared" a while back and Pat finally found someone who told her where he worked now............
We were on the Magical Express that morning on our way to WL. We could see the water station that was set up behind the MK gate. We must have gone through the gates just a few hours after you went through there. We didn't run through that gateway when my sister and I ran the half marathon in 2002. We took the back roads in and I wasn't expecting to see the water station right there.To give you an idea, here is a picture from the Princess Half. You get the lovely chance to run through the Magic Kingdom gate! Where the cars would normally be.
It looks like everyone is walking at this point. Was it too crowded to run?
I love those pictures.
It was nice that your parents could watch you run past.I'm sorry to hear about your knee pain. I had trouble with my knee which started at mile ten. I ended up doing a lot of walking, too. But I ran at the end when the finish line was in sight. The adrenaline kicked in then.
That is the best feeling ever.
Congratulations to you and Caitlin.That was really nice of Caitlin to stay with you, especially through the 8 minute potty stop.
It gave you someone to talk to through the long hours.That makes it all worth it.
In case anyone ever wanted to know what it looks like when you arrive.
But you're right, good warm up, just a long one.
I would die! 
Maybe she was delirious at this point, I mean, heck, I'd be at mile 3! 
Caitlin! 
Of course, I DIED LAUGHING!!!
Hello from the other sideeeee.... hehe Just Joking.
Haven't been on the dis in a while. Just came to see if you had updated
"I WON!!!!! Against My Fitbit Friends At Least......"
Let no person mistake it. Getting up for a race at 3am is not easy.
I didn't sleep really, which is par for the course. I don't think that Caitlin slept very well either. It's an anxious feeling. It's not nervousness, it's just anxiety. Nervous about oversleeping and having to rush, anxious about the race. We had crawled into bed at 9pm and were up before the alarm went off at 3am.
That was absolutely me. All night long I think.
Welp, that race wasn't going to run itself, so I suppose it was time to get up.
But first, stretching, which is an important component. I would stretch more when we got to our corral, but I wanted to get some time in. Caitlin stretched too.
And jumped around like the energizer bunny that she is.
We headed out of the room at about 3:30am. The last pickup was at 4am, so we were on the monorail at 3:40am. We should have walked to the TTC from the Poly, but I didn't think about it that early in the morning.
The monorail ride wasn't too crowded and we definitely didn't have to wait long.
In case anyone ever wanted to know what it looks like when you arrive.
Ha! Totally boring picture right? Ok, they do play music and they normally have an announcer up on the stage trying to keep people energized.
For those who haven't run a RunDisney event, I'll let you know things along the way. First here, you get to the race but you don't line up for it right away. This is kind of a mingling area if you will. Gear check is also there, in case you decide to bring anything along. I did gear check for the Princess and decided I wouldn't do it again. I have everything I need on my person, and have my Mom bring anything I might need after. If the P's weren't there, I would just head back to the room for anything I would need.
Cutting out gear check is a good way to save time and hassle. I recommend not using it unless absolutely necessary.
Onward! We hung out and had some pictures taken. Yes, I know my shirt has glitter on it, and I'm a non-glitter person. It was the only thing I could find when I needed it.
After about 30 minutes, they announced that it would be time to start heading to the corrals.
Another thing to note. The corrals are not close. You have to go on a fairly lengthy walk to get to your corrals. Typically, before the race has even started, I clock about two miles of walking. So, you get a good warmup ahead of time!
Once we made it to our corral, we took some pre-race selfies.
For the races, you're assigned a corral. You can get assigned a corral either by submitting proof of time, or winging it getting placed in one of the last five. The corrals up near the front are assigned by proving you can run a race in a certain amount of time. So those who can run a half marathon in an hour and a half are up front, then they do more corrals by about 15 minute intervals.
My proof of time put me in corral J. Caitlin didn't submit proof of time, so she was in K. RunDisney will not allow you to move up corrals, but you can move back. So I moved back to start in K. The last corral for the Donald half is corral P.
This is for a lot of reasons. It's best that you end up in corrals with people who are a similar speed as you. Otherwise, if you're in with people that are significantly faster, you can get swallowed up. And, it's an annoyance for them, because there's a big difference.
Once in the corrals, we took the time to stretch again. Better to use your time wisely.
Finally, the race started at 5:30am. First they send the wheelchair participants, and then the elite corral. That corral obviously will always hold the winner. They're insanely fast!
Once the proverbial gun went off, Caitlin and I downed our caffeinated sports beans. They take about 30 minutes to start working, so it was good that we took it then.
Little by little, the other corrals went, and we got closer.
And we were off! My initial goal for this race was to finish sooner than I had finished Princess. I've said before that I'm not a fast runner, but I was hoping to come in even a little before I did the last time.
Caitlin had said she was going to stick with me the entire time, so we could stay on track. I had a nagging pain behind my knee from a long run prior, so I was hoping I would be all good.
I don't have many pictures, because I'm the kind of person who focuses more on the run itself. I want to do better with that on upcoming races.
To give you an idea, here is a picture from the Princess Half. You get the lovely chance to run through the Magic Kingdom gate! Where the cars would normally be.
At this point, you're almost at mile 4. And at this moment, someone to the left of Caitlin and I said "we're halfway!"
Unless a half marathon became 8 miles, you are definitely not halfway my dear. I'm curious if she was trying to encourage her running partner, but at this point, Caitlin and I looked at each other like.....
We kept up with our pace until............the castle.
When you run into the Magic Kingdom, you run down Main Street towards the castle, and then take the right by Tomorrowland. The you run through Fantasyland and come back through the castle.
And that is where everything came to a dead stand still. It felt like we stood there forever! Although in reality, I think it took us about 3-5 minutes to move through the castle. At a snails pace.
FINALLY. We made it out. And had lost some time off of our pace. I wasn't worrying about it. Soon we were out of the Magic Kingdom and on the back service road. We would be coming up on mile 7 soon, which was by the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian. Our parents would be waiting there to cheer us on.
BUT FIRST...I had to potty.
Which wasted like 8 minutes! I learned from this for the Dark Side and opted for no potty stops. Because normally it's your bladder being nervous and you THINK you have to go, but you don't.
8 minutes and a porta potty visit later, I realized this.
Oh well. What can you do.
And at this point, I'm introducing you to the best series of pictures my Mom has even taken.
Just wait for it.
Hahahahahahaha. Still cracks me up. I like to be dramatic when I know there is a camera around.
After mile 8, the back of my knee was bothering me. We stopped by a medical station so I could use some biofreeze. It helped, but the pain was still there.
At that point, Caitlin urged me to just walk. We were more than halfway done, and we knew that there were a ton of uphill parts we would be contending with. So walking it was.
My walk isn't too slow, since I'm long legged, so that's a plus. But it was definitely not what I had wanted.
Getting closer and closer, we did see a Green Army man, so of course we had to get a shot with him.
My leg was still nagging me, but I kept on keeping on. There's nothing else you could do at this point.
The finish line was coming. And we HAULED!
Yay! We finished! And I was the proud owner of a new medal.
All in all, this race had it's ups and downs. I didn't finish faster than I finished the Princess, and I was a little upset about that. It's because I'm too competitive. But I did what most people can't and that's finish a half marathon. And just finished my third this last weekend.
RunDisney events are exhilarating! They're a great way to get yourself into running half marathons, because there are a ton of first timers out there. They're more relaxed than other races, which is a plus. You feel a little less pressure that way.
I was so grateful to have Caitlin with me! I wasn't anticipating she would stay with me, and she definitely didn't have to.
In case anyone is wondering, here are the races I have planned coming up:
November 2016 - Avengers Half Marathon (Infinity Gauntlet Challenge) in Disneyland. I'll be doing the 10k and the half.
January 2017 - Donald Half Marathon (20th Anniversary!!) in WDW.
April 2017 - Dark Side Half Marathon (Challenge) in WDW. I'll be doing the 10k and the half.
January 2018 - Mickey Full Marathon in WDW. Get scared with me folks.
Oh, and I totally won at Fitbit today.
Up next: Pop always finds girlfriends everywhere.
