A mini race report :)

[taratru]

So I ran the Disney Wine & Dine last weekend and realized I didn't AW it enough before, sooooo....here I am afterwards.    I went in with no goal other than run the best I could on that day.  Nothing attached to time (even though I knew I didn't want to be slower than 1:54 at the Denver RnR), just run smart and stop/slow down if my Achilles gave me any trouble, git r dun to start my vacation and break from running.  I knew it would be hard to be back on the site of my amazing fucking PR in January and not be able to race race, and it was, so I was in a weird mental place the whole time. 

In typical Disney fashion, everything was very well done.  Went to the expo on Saturday afternoon and easy peasy.  I ended up buying a super cute long sleeve Tink hoodie - www.rawthreads.org/fairyblackslubbedhoodie.aspx - mostly because it glows in the dark and has thumb holes.  LOLZZZ!  Headed back to the resort and took a quick nap.  Getting ready for night races is hard.  I was all "off" with eating and timing, but I think it went okay.  The night before was brutal in terms of um...time spent in the bathroom, so I was a bit worried.  I ate a bigger breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and a clif bar on the way to the race.  Lots of water because damnit, it was humid.  

Left my resort at 7 for a 10:00 start time.  Met some fun people on the bus, so that was nice.  They dropped us off at ESPN and had us in a fenced in field, which was fine, but I was there for TWO HOURS.  And I was bored out of my mind.  I tried to get in the zone a bit, but no dice.  I hung out at the entrance to mrsjthompson 's corral so I could tell her good luck.  Hung out in the porta potty line twice, which killed time.  Squeeezed into my corral at 9:45.  Saw famous bloggers - SkinnyRunner, RunEatRepeat, StuftMama - felt super cool being in the same corral.   

Off we went!  The first three miles were just roads...dark and pretty boring.  Then into Animal Kingdom which was great and of course, went by too fast!  All the cast members were out cheering and that was great.  Then back toward the start, so quiet and dark again.  That part was harrrrrd, mentally.  I was cruising along but was having trouble, I think because I didn't really have a goal, ya know?  Then into Hollywood Studios right after mile 8.  Lots of time spent in there - like 3 miles worth! - so distracted and happy!  The Osborne Festival of Lights street was AMAZING.  There was some kind of disco tunnel that I HATED because it was all closed in and full of dry ice.  Then 1.5 miles or so along the water through Beach Club and Boardwalk which was great!  Spectators alllll along there and some fun signs to look at.  Then into Epcot - mostly behind Epcot until a brief part, where I somehow spotted DH! Yay!  (I had told him to take my after-party bracelet and hang out in Epcot at the Food and Wine Festival until I finished and he wasn't sure...but then he did and had a great time!)  The last five miles or so, I was back and forth with a girl dressed like Minnie and that helped.  Then the finish, which was great.  High fived Minnie at the finish!  1:50:12. 

What I liked: running in the parks and between Hollywood Studios and Epcot, lots of water stations, good food and drink at the finish, the medal is awesome, everything really organized, characters along the course (stopped for Darth Vader and Jack Sparrow), getting a gift card with my race entry, getting discounted park tickets with this race, holy fast picture turnaround! You can go look if you want - there's one of me where my form looks fucking AMAZING annnnnd my eyes are closed.  Jeez.  In case it doesn't work, bib is 361 mydisneymarathon.com/winedinerun/TARAOSWALD361

What I didn't like: the parts not in the parks (and holy fake Florida hills, man! too many overpasses!), the course was wicked long for everyone I've talked to (which is only annoying because at mile 10 I thought "hey, I could go under 1:50!" and then I couldn't, because I ran over a quarter mile longer than I should have), hate getting there that early and just hanging out, nowhere to warm up (which I actually like to do) unless you ran around the field that was full of people, pretty crappy finish line pictures.

It was fun, for real, though.  My friend at school wants us to back next year with his wife and a foursome trip.  The three of us will run while my DH eats and drinks again and then we will do Food and Wine Festival for two days.  I am SO on board with this plan.    Next up...more Disney races.  Tinkerbell in January, Princess in February.  Yes, I'm a damn Disney addict.  

Wow, that wasn't really mini, was it. 

[kams]

Ahhh this is awesome - I'm so glad to get the lowdown! I was wondering if you saw any of those bloggers! And adorable hoodie. Also, hello awesome pics!

Sounds like such a fun race! I'm so glad you felt good, and had such a fun week!

[sassystace]

Very nice!! I'd love to run a Disney race some day. Great time too! Have a nice running break.

[mrsjthompson]

You forgot the best part-- meeting me!

[Wines Not Whines]

Great recap! I've been wondering what the non-park sections of the Disney races are like.

[sadlebred]

Sounds like a fun race!

[venice2007]

Great job!

[runblondie26]

Wow, that sounds like an awesome experience. Congrats!

[taratru]

Nov 16, 2013 23:34:24 GMT -5 mrsjthompson said:

You forgot the best part-- meeting me!

No I didn't!  I added an L like I always do and didn't actually tag you like I meant to.  Gah.  

[mrsjthompson]

Nov 17, 2013 9:36:58 GMT -5 taratru said:

Nov 16, 2013 23:34:24 GMT -5 mrsjthompson said:

You forgot the best part-- meeting me!

No I didn't!  I added an L like I always do and didn't actually tag you like I meant to.  Gah.  

(heart) (heart)

[mrsjthompson]

Aw, taratru, I wish I'd realized you were all alone, you coulda come hung out with us to kill the 47 hours at the pre-race party!  I'm glad you had a great race and your achilles didn't bother you.  The open road was boring, but I think Hollywood Studios was the worst because we spent so much time backstage and it seemed like we were in there forever!

I saw Skinnyrunner too.  Did you talk to any of them?  Because when I saw her she had total bitchface and I don't want to judge if she's actually a nice person.

[taratru]

Nov 17, 2013 10:40:14 GMT -5 mrsjthompson said:

Aw, taratru, I wish I'd realized you were all alone, you coulda come hung out with us to kill the 47 hours at the pre-race party!  I'm glad you had a great race and your achilles didn't bother you.  The open road was boring, but I think Hollywood Studios was the worst because we spent so much time backstage and it seemed like we were in there forever!

I saw Skinnyrunner too.  Did you talk to any of them?  Because when I saw her she had total bitchface and I don't want to judge if she's actually a nice person.

Aww...thanks!  I was hoping to find you guys loooong before then to do just that!

I didn't talk to any of them, but when I was walking by, I heard SR talking and she did NOT sound like I expected...she had a deep voice, which for some reason I didn't think she would.  I wanted to say hello, but didn't want to seem all weirdo about it, ya know?  

[mrsjthompson]

Yeah, the whole "celeb"-runner-blogger thing is kinda weird anyway.

OK, so NEXT time we're gonna get this thing right. I'll send you my # so we can text and find each other, and we'll take a picture!

[jene]

Awesome recap! Sounds like an amazing race!

[trigal]

Nice job!!!! You must have passed me on the course because I think you were in the corral behind me (they put me in B for some reason) and I only ran a 2:02.

And, I also took pics with Jack Sparrow and Darth Vader! They were the only ones I stopped for!

Wish I had gotten to meet you!

[taratru]

Nov 17, 2013 15:44:32 GMT -5 trigal said:

Nice job!!!! You must have passed me on the course because I think you were in the corral behind me (they put me in B for some reason) and I only ran a 2:02.

And, I also took pics with Jack Sparrow and Darth Vader! They were the only ones I stopped for!

Wish I had gotten to meet you!

I was in A, actually, and got my ass handed to me soundly.   

I looked for you in B as I squeezed in, but there was no way to see anyone.  I can't believe how small those corrals were!

[trigal]

Nov 17, 2013 19:03:18 GMT -5 taratru said:

Nov 17, 2013 15:44:32 GMT -5 trigal said:

Nice job!!!! You must have passed me on the course because I think you were in the corral behind me (they put me in B for some reason) and I only ran a 2:02.

And, I also took pics with Jack Sparrow and Darth Vader! They were the only ones I stopped for!

Wish I had gotten to meet you!

I was in A, actually, and got my ass handed to me soundly.   

I looked for you in B as I squeezed in, but there was no way to see anyone.  I can't believe how small those corrals were!

For some reason I thought you were in C. Yeah, the corrals were tight. I got there about ten minutes before the start and hung out on the curb before the start. At least I had some room to stretch!

[gt7301b]

Great recap!! This is a Disney race I could actually handle, I hate the early start of other races.

[shauni27]

so fun! Good heavens you are speedy!

[boston340]

Awesome race recap and you rand such a strong race! You look really great in the race photos too. Are you going to buy any?

[lovesherheels]

I have a friend who did this; it sounds like so much fun! Congrats on a great race!

[Deleted]

This sounds like so much fun! Congrats

[secretlyevil]

Don't knock our fake hills; those bitches are hard!