Thursday, May 15, 2014

Race #46-- Disney's Princess Half Marathon

 This post has taken me forever to write.  I'm having a hard time being motivated with this whole injury thing.  And this race was definitely my worst and hardest race ever.  I think it was a combo of being injured, only have run twice in the 2 months before (the marathon and the 10k the day before) and the fact that I had just raced the day before.  Oh.  And the humidity was horrible.  But here we go.

Cori and I met  up with Kristin (A Mom on the Run) early on Sunday morning before the race and hung out for a little while before heading into our corrals.

Kristin was in a high corral so she headed there and I was 2 ahead of Cori but wanted to stay with her in the corral so we could chat before the race.  (loved my Rapunzel costume!)



  I was feeling pretty good and wasn't hurting so I decided to run it like I normally would and not go easy (yeah, plan foiled).  






I ran for the first mile straight before starting my run/walks.  Looking at that first mile now, I went out pretty fast (for me)--9:34.  Before I knew it, I was at the Magic Kingdom toll plaza.


By the time I hit the 5k mark, I knew I had gone out way too fast.  My 5k split was 33:02. 





 The famous hill and underpass.


Soon we were running into the Magic Kingdom.  I love running down Main Street with the crowd and then through the castle. 




 It's my favorite part!


I had stopped for tons of pictures and at all of the mile markers at the race last year, so this year I was only going to stop for the ones I didn't have (as long as they had short lines). 

It was so foggy and damp the whole race.



 I didn't think I had a picture with Queen Atta but looking back, I did.  Oh well..no one was in line!


I had to get one with Sofia!  Yes, I am a child and watch her cartoons!

I was really struggling towards the end of the race.  I just wanted to be done.  I was hot and tired.  The months of no training was really affecting me.  My feet hurt.  Kory was waiting for me at the bus stop right before the runners enter Epcot.  I told him to forget watching me finish...I just wanted him to go to the car, get my comfy flip flops and ankle brace and meet me as soon as I was finished.  I did my 2:1s the whole time but they were slower than normal.  Running through Epcot was HARD!

I ran backstage and knew I was almost done (and this is a cool monorail shot)



Finally I saw the finish line and had a huge smile on my face.



 I got my half marathon and Glass Slipper Challenge medals and went to meet up with Kristin.  



Kory met me there and I immediately took off my shoes and socks and put on my ankle brace.  My ankle was killing me and my tibia was starting to ache.  (The pain would be way worse later in the day.)

I was really disappointed in myself about my time but I soon learned that a lot of friends and runners had worse times than they'd hoped for.  The humidity really did us in!  My official time was 2:35:22, 14 minutes over my previous half marathon time.



Although looking at my rankings, I'm in the top fourth for everything so I guess it's not too horrible.


And my Glass Slipper one


Overall, I did have fun, as always!  I just can't wait until I can start training again!

8 comments:

  1. I think that's actually a really good time for that race! I am a 2-2:10 halfer and I only managed a 2:46 due to the heavy crowds and humidity in 2013. It was a neat experience but I'm not sure I'll do it again. It was SO crowded I never felt like I could get into a groove. I was actually hoping to sub 2 that one, but it quickly went downhill. I loved running down Main Street too & especially through the castle!

    Adorable blog btw... :)

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    1. Last year we stopped for most pictures so our time was 30 mins over our PR (at that time)...but we had planned for that. This was rough!

      And thanks!

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  2. Glass Slipper Challenger! Congrats :)
    Your outfit is ADORABLE! I'm sad I didn't run into you.
    I hope you are feeling better soon! :)
    Karen @karenlovestorun

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    1. I'm sad I didn't run into you too! I was going to message you but knew you were busy having an amazing time at your bachelorette party weekend!

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  3. I'm also a 2:1 and i stopped for lots of pictures and Castle shots, but the heat and humidity killed me!! Coming from Northern Indiana....we hadn't seen weather like that in months. My 2:1 ended up being 1:3!! it was so hot and miserable.....definatly my worst race also....i'd have been ecstatic with a 2:35.......I ended up just over 3 hours....half an hour over my best time. ugh...miserable.

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    1. Yup! Although I'll probably do it again next year!

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  4. That humidity was BRUTAL!! I can't wait 'til we can start running races again! I haven't run in over a month :(

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    1. You have a race tomorrow! Good luck on it! My next race won't be until the 4th of July!

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