Got pixie dust?
One week ago I completed my first half-marathon EVER: the Inaugural Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon. While I admit that I did not run the entire thing, I did finish the 13.1 mile course that wound through Disneyland, Downtown Disney, Anaheim, and California Adventure. 3 hours. 22 minutes. 29 seconds.Check.
The weekend started by spending a few hours with Juliana at the Health and Fitness Expo at the Disneyland Hotel. We spent the time buying official race wine glasses (obviously, we needed those), spinning wheels for prizes, hydrating like crazy, and sampling every type of free energy bar and power shot available to us. Along with getting our bib and getting pixie-fied (aka getting “pixie dust” sprinkled over us that didn’t come out of my hair for a few days), we also got to listen to some great race advice and be surrounded by thousands of other Disney lovers.
The night before the race was filled with catching up with some of my favorite people, eating excessive quantities of pasta, and trying to go to bed at 8:00 PM. I don’t know if it was the race anxiety or the fact I knew I was going to have to wake up at 3:30 AM, but I didn’t sleep that well. However, by the time 3:30 rolled around the nervous energy had me ready to go. We got to the race location a little after 4:30 AM where we stretched near the longest bank of porta potties I’ve ever seen, drank water, and finished our fruit and power bar breakfasts. We were in the corrals by 5:15 with a half hour of time to kill and to cover our bibs since we moved up 2 corrals so we’d have more time to take pictures.
The entire race was kind of a blur. I remember staying with the Crazies for the first few miles so we could take pictures in the park with such characters as Tarzan, Hercules, and Pocahontas (though I really wanted to stop and take pictures with Belle and Beast). I remember I could feel my knee start swelling around Mile 7. I remember trying to keep up with girls dressed like the 3 good fairies and two girls with shirts saying “Team Hot Mess.” I remember high-fiving some high school cheerleaders and realizing I had the Hannah Montana soundtrack on my phone and could therefore listen to Disney music for my last few miles. I remember being SO excited to stop and take pictures with Sully in California Adventure. And I remember waving to Woody and Buzz as I refused to stop during the last mile of my run.
And even though I could barely move for the rest of the day and walked like a 95 year-old lady all day on Monday, I am so incredibly proud of myself for finishing the race and living to tell about it. I have to admit, however much I dislike running, I felt such a high from crossing that finish line. I’m actually even considering doing another run this year, which I never thought I’d hear myself say. But then again, I’m thinking race number 2 will take place in Disneyworld and I might have even convinced Becca to do it with me!!! We’ll see what happens, but if I do run at Disneyworld I would get a Coast to Coast medal on top of my race medal! Talk about incentive. Well, that and getting to go to Disneyworld :-)
