This post is part of a series about my trip to Walt Disney World for Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend February 21-23, 2020. Make sure you check out my day 1 post first!
Saturday morning my alarm went off at 3AM - it was finally time to get dressed and ready for the Enchanted 10K! Luckily we had all set out our flat runners the night before so it was easy to get changed and ready to go in a short amount of time. Plus, we had to lay our flat runners out so we could post them to social media, OBVIOUSLY. 😂 For the 10K I was going as Meeko (since the race was themed after one of my favorite Disney movies, Pocahontas) and my mom was going as Ariel. Here's what our costumes looked like:
It was a FREEZING morning (in the 40's! 😭) so I added a couple of layers to my costume before heading out the door. We stayed off-property so we did not have built in transportation to the race, but luckily we had my mom to get us to the race in her car! We were on the road by 3:45 and at Epcot by 4. We stayed in the car for a little bit to stay warm, but I was anxious to get out and check out the staging area. We weren't there to just sit in the parking lot, after all! So we all grabbed space blankets and headed over to the staging area to see what it was like.
We didn't have any gear to check so after doing a quick look around to get our bearings of the area, we tried our luck at getting a pre-race character photo. I had told Brett that I would try to get a photo with Mulan since she is his favorite princess, and lo and behold Mulan was out to take photos with! We hopped in her line, but 5AM rolled around before we were able to get anywhere near the front of the line and the staff brought all the characters in to encourage folks to start heading to the corrals. One thing to remember if you're running a runDisney race and are hoping to get a pre-race character photo, GET THERE EARLY! I believe the staging area opens around 3AM (depending on the race) and people have nothing but time on their hands to wait in line for the photos so lines are super long, so if you want a character photo make sure you're there right when it opens.
Even though we were bummed we didn't get a pre-race photo with a character, we made sure to take some full-costume photos before snuggling back up in our space blankets and heading to the corrals and waiting for the start!
All three of us were placed into different corrals, but we all wanted to try to run together so we went to the lowest corral as a group. We had a loooong wait to get to the start because we were fairly far back (we even had eyes on the infamous balloon ladies! 🎈😨) but we made the most of the wait and tried to stay as warm as possible because we knew that the race was going to be totally worth it. I believe we finally got underway around 6:30am or so and we were finally running the Enchanted 10K!
(Fun fact - this was my 50th lifetime race which was so exciting and such a special race to run for #50!)
We ran as a group of 3 for the first mile or so but around 1.25 I turned around and could not find Cassie. I sent her a quick text to check in and it turns out she had gotten stuck behind some walkers and couldn't push through. I tried a couple times to run back to see if I could spot her but the course was so crowded and I didn't want to also lose my mom so I just made sure Cassie was okay (she was fine, just stuck!) and opted to run with my mom. One thing about being in one of the last corrals is that you're going to have to navigate through a lot of walkers. People are generally really nice if you say "excuse me" and will let you pass them, so my mom and I were able to weave through folks for most of the race without problem, but you should go into this race knowing it's going to be PACKED from start to finish and adjust your mindset accordingly.
Mom and I kept the pace easy because we just wanted to take in the experience and we honestly loved every minute. There were so many characters out on the course (I would say one every .5 - .75 mile or so, with much more within the park), they were bumping Disney music the whole race (mainly Pocahontas), and they even had video screens playing clips of the movies the weekend was themed around.
While we didn't stop for any character photos (every line was 1 billion years long and we knew we were at the back of the pack and at risk of being swept by the scary balloon ladies) but I opted to snag some quick selfies before continuing on the course. This is a great alternative to waiting in line for an individual photo if you're worried about time, and the characters are usually really great at waving to the crowd running by between the photos they're taking. My favorite was, of course, Meeko!
The miles seemed to absolutely fly by and my mom and I had a fantastic time together singing along to all the Disney songs and taking in all the sights. We made sure to take plenty of photos to remember our experience. Mom teared up a bit when we got into Epcot around mile 4 because it brought back so many memories of the last time we were in the park - over 20 years ago when I was 8 years old! It really was such a fantastic experience running through the park with my mom since we were together the last time either of us were there. Going back there with her was so special and I'm glad we got to have those moments together.
This one is probably my favorite photo that we took all weekend long!
Around mile 5.5 Cassie was able to catch up with us which was amazing because we got the chance to all finish the race together! We all danced down the finisher's chute and held hands as we all crossed the line together. We had such an amazing time at the race and I'm glad we all got to finish with each other! We all picked up our medals and (of course) snapped the all-important finish line pics!
The medals were absolutely gorgeous and so much bigger than I was anticipating! You can tell that runDisney really put a lot of thought into what their medals would look like and they are absolutely beautiful. It made me so excited to earn my half marathon and Fairy Tale Challenge medal the next day!
Dad and Grammy came all the way up from Melbourne to congratulate us on finishing. They even brought a hand painted sign which was SO STINKIN' CUUUTE! Look at how adorable they are:
We were definitely famished after all that waiting and running and lucky for us we had breakfast reservations at the Grand Floridian Cafe. We made our way over there after the race to chow down. Of course we had to celebrate with breakfast cocktails (I sprang for the Grand Mimosa because DUH 🥂) and I ordered the brioche French toast which was just... *chef's kiss*
After breakfast Dad headed back home and Mom, Grammy, Cassie, and I went over to Disney Springs to do some walking around. I think we were all fairly beat, though, because after a little under two hours we were ready to head out. Mom and Grammy dropped Cassie and I off at our room before making their way back to Melbourne. I'm so happy that my family was able to come up to Disney for a little while and spend time with me!
Operating on very little sleep, Cassie and I opted to take a nap for a little bit after Disney Springs. I'm not really a napper so I mostly just laid down and watched a couple episodes of Love Island. Around 5 or so we knew we needed to grab some dinner ASAP because bed time (and another 3AM wakeup call) was quickly approaching! Luckily our room was in an area with plenty of food options in walking distance so we decided on grabbing something from Macaroni Grill which was right across the street, but not before taking a selfie with THE MOST AMAZING GIFT SHOP WE'VE EVER SEEN.
Yes, that is a giant wizard. Yes, he is amazing.
Cassie pointed out that it was also National Margarita Day, so it was basically the law that we had to order margaritas with dinner. I'm not one to mess with the law, so I got myself a Strawberry Italian Margarita and it was amazing. 😍🍓🍹
With a belly full of food and very little sleep, I was so ready to crash. I think I was in bed and asleep my 7:30pm. 😂😂 I was proud of us for getting into bed at a good time, though, because not only were we running another 13.1 miles in the morning, but we were also planning to hit up Magic Kingdom after the race so it was about to be a looooong day. Sleep was much needed! 😴
Recap of the Princess Half Marathon and our day in Magic Kingdom to come soon! ✨
In case you missed my onslaught of Instagram posts over the last few days, I went to Disney World last weekend for the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend! This race weekend has been a dream of mine since college (the better part of a decade now!) and I feel so lucky to have finally gotten to experience it for myself. This was my first runDisney experience and even though I've completed dozen of races in the past, this was definitely an experience all its own and I knew I had to document it all so I could share it with you! 😉 Let's hop in with Day 1!
My weekend started on Friday morning by journeying to the airport! I took the train into the city so I was able to relax and read my book to pass the time. I got to the airport so early and was the only person in line at security. The barista at the terminal Starbucks even mentioned that I was his first customer of the day. 😅 This is what happens when the idea of being late to things stresses you out! Cassie met me at the airport a few hours after I arrived and we hopped on the plane to head to Orlando. My mom picked us up at the airport and we immediately made our way over to ESPN Wide World of Sports for the expo!
We received a royal welcome when we entered and got our first character photos of the weekend! These servants were so funny and interacting with them was a great way to kick off the weekend. We made our way into the merchandise building first because I really wanted a pair of the commemorative Minnie ears. Everyone in the Facebook group I was a part of made it sound like EVERY commemorative item would be sold out after the first morning of the expo. We got there at 5pm on the second day and....
I got ears! 🐭🎀 There were racks and racks of ears available so I honestly had nothing to stress about. I think runDisney has been getting better at restocking items throughout the weekend so that not everything is immediately sold out. If you have your eye on something in particular before getting to Disney, fear not! It will likely still be there when you arrive. ✨ After I snagged my ears and Cassie and Mom got a souvenir or two of their own, we made our way to the next location - bib pick up!
Each part of the expo is in different buildings at ESPN, but I thought each location was very well marked and easy to find so you don't have to worry about getting lost! Cassie and I headed over to the Fairy Tale Challenge booth to grab our bib and mom picked hers up from the 10K booth. For the Fairy Tale Challenge you only get *one* bib for both races, so you need to be sure you're taking care of it throughout the weekend! In order to ensure that you're the only person who could pick up your challenge medal after you complete both races, they also snapped a photo of you holding your bib. I was wondering how they were able to differentiate who did the challenge so findin gout how they managed all of that was interesting! We made sure to stop at a couple of the photo opportunities around the hall (there was a set up of each race distance!) and we even snagged one outside that was on-brand for mom's 10K costume - Ariel!
Last but not least was the expo itself. The expo was HUGE and chock full of vendors selling so many awesome Princess-themed items. It was really tough not to throw all of our money at every booth! 😂 We picked up our race shirts & gear bags at the shirt table, grabbed a drink, and spent the remaining time that the expo was open perusing the vendors and having a fantastic time. My mom ended up buying a Ariel-themed visor for her 10K costume which was so cute (and you'll see in the next post)! We basically shut the expo down and headed out to grab some dinner and get to bed.
We got to our room around 9pm and immediately started to get everything together for race morning. We had a 3am wakeup call waiting for us and it was going to be a super short night of sleep. We were all extremely excited, though! Our first runDisney experience was off to a great start and we could not wait to get to the good part - the races!
More to come in the next blog post where I talk about the Enchanted 10K! Stay tuned! ✨
Life in my neck of the woods has been a lil crazy lately in both my work and personal life (as it always gets this time of year!), so I apologize for the lack of life updates from me over here on the blog. I hope you all enjoyed my posts about my New Orleans trip (which you can find here, here, and here) because I had a blast sharing them with you! I'm hoping once I'm done with travel post-LA weekend (so mid-March 😂) I'll be able to get back to my normal blogging rhythm and update you on my non-running aspects of my life, but until then just know that even though I've been busy I've been having a great time!
I'm about to jet off to Orlando for Princess Half Marathon weekend and I am oh so excited! ✈ There will definitely be Disney posts and vlogs coming your way when I return so get excited for that! I feel like my full marathons get the bulk of the attention on my blog and socials, but because I'm about to embark on my first half marathon of the year, I thought I would highlight all of the half marathons I'm planning to run in 2020. (So far! There's always room for more. 😉) I really love the half marathon distance because I feel like while it's still a huge undertaking when it comes to endurance, it's also a distance where I feel comfortable trying to push the pace on. I hope to see some of you at these races throughout the year!
The Disney Princess Half Marathon has been on my bucket list since I was in college and I am SO JAZZED that I finally get to run it this Sunday! Like I said, I'll be posting plenty about my experience here and on my channel, but definitely follow along on Twitter and Instagram as I'm sure I'll be making plenty of posts in real-time. 👑
I love staying a bit local for half marathons and shorter distances. It allows me to make it either a morning or day trip instead of it being a multi-day affair like my marathons tend to be. I'm extra excited that my Half Fanatics membership got me a baller discount for the Providence Half Marathon this May because I've been eyeing this race for a while! Providence is only about 30 minutes from where I live so it'll be a great way to spend a Sunday morning after a crazy spring semester!
I ran this race last summer and I was totally impressed by it! This is a race that runs completely on runner donations and if you can't afford a donation you are still able to run it for free. I honestly wasn't expecting much more than an outlined course but I was blown away at how much volunteer support they had, how many water stations were available, and the fact that there were finisher's medals! This race is only open to 1,000 runners and the registration doesn't open until May, but I totally want to go back and maybe make this a recurring race for myself!
Sunday, October 4th Hampton, NH Disclaimer: I received entry to the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
As I mentioned in my previous post about this race, I have been wanting to run the Smuttynose Rockfest Half for years, so I was pumped that I was added to the BibRave Pro team that was running this event! I am so excited to return to my home state and run along the coast, and I'm especially excited to experience the post-race party. There is plenty more on this race to come, so stay tuned! If you're planning on registering (which you definitely should!) use the code "SAVE10" for 10% off your registration!
Disclaimer: I received entry to the Mount Dora Half Marathon & 5K to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
The last half I have on my schedule (for now!) is the Mount Dora Half Marathon! I love me a good, festive race during the holidays and because now I'm usually down in Florida around Christmas, I'm always looking for a race that is near my parents. Luckily, the opportunity presented itself for me to run the Mount Dora Half in December! We have quite a bit of time before this race comes around (just a cool 10 months 😂) but I'm excited for the festive feel of this small town race! Use the code "BIBRAVE" for 10% off your registration and join me in Florida this December!
This post is part of a series about my trip to New Orleans February 7-10, 2020.
Make sure you check out my day 1 & day 2 posts first!
I'm so excited to finally be talking about race day at the Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon! The Cheer Squad and I were up bright and early to head down to the starting line. We were out the door by 6:15am and opted to take the trolley downtown. As I've found at other large races, there was definitely a delay in the transportation that morning. When thousands of people are all trying to get to the same location it's only to be expected, so make sure you're planning for travel time to the start the morning of the race!
I believe we got on the trolley by 6:45am or so and were off and walking toward the start by 7. There was a big construction site in the middle of Canal Street during our visit due to the collapse of the Hardrock Hotel, so we had to walk the rest of the way to the start. The start was scheuled for 7:30am so the pressure to get to the start was a little stressful! But we made it in plenty of time. I missed the Maniacs photo by literally 10 seconds which I was kinda bummed about, but honestly I was just excited to be there!
I said my goodbyes to the Cheer Squad and headed into my corral. While I was waiting for the starting gun, I looked down at my watch and realized that even though it had been on the charger all night it was still at 18% battery. 🤦♀️ I rely heavily on my watch to make sure I'm hitting my paces, so because I wasn't quite sure how long my watch's battery would last I decided to load up Strava's record feature on my phone which I had never used. 😂 Naturally I had no idea what I was doing, but I managed to figure out how to get it to tell me my mile splits through my headphones. It would have to do!
I waited in the corral for quite some time. It seemed to be about 30 minutes or so before I finally got to the starting line, but once I did my corral got stopped *right* at the front! For the first time ever, I got to be right at the line when the gun went off which was super cool. I don't think it will be often that I will be able to be one of the first to cross the start when the gun goes off, so I tried to savor the moment!
Knowing that I was running Strava off of my phone, I didn't take a ton (or any) photos during the race. I didn't want my phone to die mid-run because I already knew that my watch was going to! Luckily the Cheer Squad took a few great photos to share with y'all and a ton of video for the vlog which you can find at the end of this post! 😊
It was an absolutely *gorgeous* day for a marathon and I was so thankful for the weather. It was a bit humid but not unbearably so, and running in the warmth for a change was so pleasant. The first few miles of the race was an out-and-back section through a neighborhood. (You can see the course map here.) The streets were full of spectators and a few live bands. I really enjoy out-and-back sections because I love being able to see the other runners on the opposite side of the road from me. I got to see the elites roll by which is always so inspiring, and having both sides of the roads filled with marathoners and half marathoners was so much fun.
The first 7 miles of the race seemed to FLY by. I was doing my best to not get too caught up in the excitement of the race and focus on my fueling plan, and eventually I fell into a good rhythm with my pacing. Unfortunately around mile 6.5 or so I really started to feel the impact of the roads on my feet. I know I was a bit overdue for some new running shoes but I wanted to stick with my trust purple Adrenaline 19's since I've been doing all of my training in them. Sadly I definitely felt the impact of having worn out shoes and have learned my lesson to buy a new pair mid-way through my training cycle next time.
At mile 9 we arrived in the French Quarter and I found the Cheer Squad in Jackson Square around mile 9.75! It is always so unbelievably motivating to see friendly faces mid-way through a marathon and know that they'll be waiting for you at certain points along the course. It gives you something to look forward to throughout long, lonely stretches of the course and also motivates you to work that much harder for the people who are there for you. I always love having my Cheer Squad with me and I'm grateful I have folks who are willing to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn to watch me run a lot of miles. 😂💗
This course has one of my *least* favorite features of any race that has both a half and a full marathon running simultaneously. They bring the full marathon right by the finish line of the half before the runners continue on for another 13 miles. It's always such a mood killer to know that the finish line is that close and yet you still have so far to go! 😂 As usual, as the half marathon veered off to finish, the course became quite a bit more open. However, the field to this race is so large that I never was alone on the course, which was nice!
Once I passed mile 16 and took the turn onto the section along Lake Pontchartrain, the wind SIGNIFICANTLY increased. After doing some research on the wind conditions, it looks like there was 20+ mph wind gusts and they were mostly ALL headwinds! There were certain points where I felt like I was getting blown backwards. It was crazy! Definitely not something I was prepared to experience so it was a challenge to keep myself pushing through. I was also feeling off stomach-wise for most of the day so this additional challenge really made me have to fight even harder mentally to keep pushing as hard as I could.
Around mile 17.5 I pulled over to refill my Camelbak. As y'all know, I like to run with a pack as I drink a ton of water while running. One of my favorite features of this race was the fact that there was a water stop at almost every mile, and each stop featured an ENORMOUS water jug that you could use to fill up your own water supply if you wanted. I was able to take advantage of that which I was super grateful for. Unfortunately my stop reflected on the GPS tracker Erin, Brett, and Cullen were using to see my progress and they were a little worried if I was okay or not. Brett called me right before I passed mile 18 to check in, and hearing his voice gave me a boost of energy. He let me know that they were waiting for me around mile 20.5 which I was so looking forward to!
As promised I saw their three smiling faces midway between miles 20 and 21. Erin ran with me a bit of the way until we met up with the guys where they were camped out. I was still on track for a sub-5 race so I didn't want to linger too long with them but again, it was so good to see them and get good vibes and high fives all around before heading into the last portion of the course. I would see them at the finish!
Unlucky for me, I started getting some serious leg cramping about 5 minutes after I saw them. I started to have to take stretching breaks which I hate having to do mid-race, but I needed some relief from the cramping! The wind + the old shoes + the exhaustion of running that far was really taking its toll on my body, but I kept my race goals in mind and kept pushing hard. I took a pattern of Run → walk → stop and stretch over the next few miles in order to give myself some relief every so often.
Around mile 23 we finally started to get some relief from the wind. I wasn't totally sure that I would be on track for a sub-5 anymore at that point, but I still was fairly sure I could PR. My watch had been dead for about 10 miles and I wasn't sure how accurate Strava was, so I really had no idea where I stood. I just kept myself moving forward at as quick a pace as I was able to. Once I hit mile 25 I just sucked it up and kept myself running. I was close enough to the finish that I just wanted to put my head down and get it done! The race volunteers and police that were staffing the course were smiling and enthusiastic toward every single runner and I am so appreciative of that. There's nothing worse than being a back-of-the-pack-er and seeing volunteers look annoyed at the fact that you're still running and they can't go home yet.
Eventually I turned into City Park and I knew the finish line was SO CLOSE! As you turn toward the finish chute the energy and crowd was unreal. The music was pumping, every member of the crowd was cheering for every runner, and it just felt so good to be able to be welcomed to the finish line in that way. I saw the Cheer Squad to my right, waved and blew them a kiss, then gave my final push across the finish line. Another state done! ✅
The volunteers at the finish were great. You were given your medal and had a couple opportunities to take your photo with them. You were handed snacks, water, and Gatorade, and congratulated left and right. When you're super delirious after 26.2 miles it's really hard to think coherently and the volunteers at the finish line made it so you didn't have to. That way you could just reflect on what you just accomplished. I took my medal and a handful of snacks and drinks and met up with the gang so I could finally sit on the ground. 😂
We didn't think to take finish line photos of our own for whatever reason (maybe because I was dead 💀) so here are some close up shots of my medal!
Again, I wasn't sure what time I finished in. My watch was dead, I wasn't sure how accurate Strava was, and I guess the Rock n' Roll tracking app said I arrived to the finish line WAYYY before I actually did. Strava said I finished in 4:58 (and later said I finished in 5:01?) and my unofficial time from Rock n' Roll was 5:04:13 but because the app said I arrived several minutes before I actually did I was worried that my time was much longer than that. It wasn't until later that evening that we got official results, and it turned out my unofficial time of 5:04:13 was my official time! I HAD SET A NEW PR!!!! 🎉🎉🎉 Regardless of what my time would have been I was super proud of myself and how I performed that day. I knew my training had made me a much better runner and had made my marathon experience much better for it. I was super happy and ready to celebrate!
One of the *only* things I would criticize this race on is that the finish line festival was SO. FAR. from the actual finish! City Park is a huge place and the organizers opted to put the finish line festival all the way across the park from the finish line. I was really confused by that decision because there was so much empty space at the park much closer to the finish line that could have easily been used for the after party which would have made it so much easier on the runners. I can speak for myself when I say I am definitely not up for walking super far after running 26.2 miles, and I'm sure other runners could say the same for any of the race distances that were offered. Unfortunately because it was so far from the finish I had zero desire to check it out, even though I'm sure it would have been really fun! If it was closer to the finish and I didn't have to go as far, I likely would have gone and checked it out.
But if that's the only thing I'm criticizing the race on, I think that it's a pretty damn good race! 😉
For real, this race was great. The volunteers were so helpful and friendly, the pre-race communication was excellent and I knew exactly what I needed to do as a participant, the on-course experience was so vibrant and fun, and I just felt happy the entire race! This was my first Rock n' Roll race experience and I am so happy it was a positive one. I've heard really mixed things about this race series and I'm glad that my experience was one that makes me excited to come back to it. I'm really looking forward to heading to Seattle and Savannah with Rock n' Roll later this year!
After the race, we went back to the AirBnB to chill for a couple hours. The Cheer Squad needed naps and I needed a shower and a place to sit down. 😂 Eventually, though, we needed to venture out for food because I had burned a LOT of calories that morning! We opted for my fave - PIZZA. We hit up Louisiana Pizza Kitchen in the French Quarter and like all of the other food we had that weekend, it was BOMB. All I need in my life after a long run is some cheese pizza and I absolutely devoured it. I was excited I was able to eat whatever I wanted again, and partake in some cocktails! Erin and I opted for a carafe of peach sangria and it was delicious.
It was Brett's first time in NOLA so we had to spend some time on the world famous Bourbon Street. I was really hankering for a post-race Hurricane so we headed over to Pat O'Briens to grab a few! We got a table in the courtyard and it was a beautiful night to sit and chat about the day with pals.
After wandering Bourban Street for a bit, acquiring beads, dancing to street performers, and enjoying a couple of Hand Grenades (you can see all of that on the vlog below!), we knew that our final stop of the evening had to be to snag a couple order of beignets! We were going to go to the famous Cafe Du Monde, but we opted to stop at Cafe Beignet instead (because it was closer and we were tired lol). I'll tell ya that the beignets were *incredible * and good if not better than Cafe Du Monde - there's more than one place to get beignets, folks! 😍
Sadly Erin and Cullen had a super early flight so we woke up around 3am and sent them on their way to the airport. We were able to hang around in our AirBnB until 11, so we relaxed and gathered our things before heading out midday on Monday. Before heading to the airport we went to The Ruby Slipper for brunch and it was super delicious. I had this amazing vanilla iced coffee that I had so snap a photo of. I'm not sure why (maybe I was still hungry from the day before haha) but it honestly tasted SO GOOD. Everything tastes good post-marathon. 😂
After brunch we headed to the airport to catch our flight home. This was such a fantastic trip and I feel like this is one of those cities that I will definitely be back to again in my lifetime. There's still so much of this city to eat, drink, and explore and I look forward to experiencing more of it in the future!
For more marathon & NOLA adventures, check out the vlog from days 3 & 4 of our trip below!
