So we arrived at the All Star Music resort on Friday, about midday. We had done online check-in, but our room wasn't ready. So no big deal. I ran off to the expo and my parents took the kids to get something to eat. It was super chilly (for Florida) that day. And all we heard about was how the name of the 5k, the Frozen 5k, was very fitting for this year's race!
I met up with my bestie, Brenda, at the Wide a world of Sports complex to pick up our packets. We had to get our pictures taken with our bib numbers, for verification for our finishers medals and to get our Glass Slipper medal at the end.
We of course wanted to get as many pictures as we could, so we took all of the banners for each race, well each race we were in.
Brenda and I in front of the 10K banner
And of course, the big race!
I had never run more than a 5K when I had signed up for these races. I honestly, for a long time, didn't know what I was thinking signing up for a half marathon, especially with everything that derailed my training this year. But here we were about to embark on a "magical" weekend.
Run Disney has a motto that "Every mile is magical". If you had asked me during the race, I probably would have disagreed. But I'm jumping ahead here. Back to the expo...
We picked up our packets & bibs & got our pictures taken with our bibs. Then we picked up our shirts!
I love them this year. Not that I have any idea what the shirts looked like in years past.
Then we went shopping! Oaky, so I really wasn't planning on purchasing too much. I did want to get a few commemorative items, but the ones I wanted were sold out. So I ended up with two "I did it" shirts (one for the 10k & one for the half) & a pin. We had talked about getting the commerative ears, but neither of us liked them. Someone, she was either a volunteer or a cast member, was wearing a blue set of ears with a glass slipper on it. I did find them on Saturday at the Magic Kingdom.
Anyway, we checked out all the vendors. Some were pretty cool, and some just didn't interest me.
I will say I was upset that certain items were sold out. The expo isn't open to only runners, which frustrated me. Not that I want to keep others from experiencing the expo, but I do think certain things need tobe better regulated, as far as who gets first dibs on it. But that is another story for another time, and apparently it happens every year & runDisney doesn't do anything about it.
We did have a little fun at the expo, and I was happy it wasn't super packed. I don't really like huge crowds, which is kind of ironic considering the number of registered runners for the races this year.
Yes, I did this simply to get a banana! It was fun! And I got my banana!
Anyway, after the expo was over, Brenda and I hopped on the bus and headed back to the hotel. I had gotten a text from my mom that our room was ready. It had been ready within 15 minutes of us arriving.
We rented a family suite, since the times I needed to wake up for the races was super early. And I couldn't leave my kids in a room by themselves.
So Brenda headed back to the Magic Kingdom with her family, and I got into my room.
I rested for a bit and then we headed to dinner. We decided to go to Olive Garden. Carbo load!
We got back to our room & relaxed a bit. Then I went to bed super early. 3 am comes way too early!
Saturday morning came around. Well, 3 am came around. I got up, got dressed in my costume, which I have no pictures of because it was cold and my fleece didn't come off during the whole race. But I dressed as Ariel. And met Brenda at the bus.
We rode the bus, which wasn't at all crowded, unlike what I had read on other blogs, and arrived at the Enchanted 10K.
I wasn't at all nervous about this race, because I knew my pace was good for 6.2 miles. We checked my gEAR bag,a dn headed to our corral. 
And this morning, I remember to bring the Mylar wrap that they handed out at the 10k, so we could sit on the ground. It was 10 degrees warmer this morning, so it was in the mid 50's. I left my jacket in my bag, because I really didn't need it. We did sit in our corral for a while, and we found Waldo, FINALLY that chapter of our lives can end.
Brenda and I decided we weren't really going to stop for many pictures, and I do wish I had at least done the selfie stop, but I was too concerned with finishing before the balloon ladies.
It was COLD for Florida at this time. I am so happy I grabbed my hat at the last minute.
We got to enjoy the emcees for a while and cheer on all the other corrals. And then we were off. We kept a pretty good pace, but our first 4-6 minutes were a bit fast. We did let the excitement take over and started a bit fast.
This was the best I could get of the starting line. And then we were off!
At the first over pass were Elsa & Anna. And I thought, "great, we are going to see a lot of characters"! But honestly, I was a little disappointed in the lack of characters.
I honestly didn't stop for many pictures, because I wasn't excited about the characters. But these guys were kind of cool, and reminded me of New Orleans! And the line was short.
Anyway, so the 10k was a good race. It did get crowded in places, but nothing like the half. We were able to keep our pace and had time to stop for a few pictures.
This was about half way around the lake in the World Showcase.
Almost at the finish.
This was the finish line. I honestly didn't want to try to get a better one closer, because I wanted to finish. Okay, that sounded bad... The 10K wasn't a horrible distance at all.
The oictrue of me getting my medal wasn't so wonderful. So I'll spare you.
Us afterwards. Not my favorite picture, but we did it!
The medal. So pretty. And yes, I did wear that to the MK!
We sat down for a few minutes, and then jumped on the bus to get back to our hotels.
I spent the afternoon at the Magic Kingdom with my kiddos. We had a lot of fun. Rode a few rides and then headed back to our hotel room to relax and take naps. Then dinner and to bed early. We had another 3 am wake up call!
So Sunday morning rolled around. And again, I got up at 3am, got ready and met Brenda at the bus. This time, the bus was more crowded, but there were also about double the runners.
We arrived at the starting line, and did the same gEAR check (it's what Disney calls their gear check) & headed to our corrals. It was a bit more of a walk this morning.
The race started at 5:30, I think. I can't even remember, but we were in a later corral, so we didn't end up starting until 6:30-ish.
This was Brenda's picture. None of mine came out.
This was the race I wasn't sure about. I knew I had trained, and I was trying to listen to everyone's advice of trusting my training.
Again Brenda's picture, because her's was so much clearer than mine.
The first mile came and went, and we felt pretty good.
I borrowed this picture from someone else, because I didn't stop to take any pictures of the mile markers. (And no that wasn't my clock time, because I started a good hour after the first corrals).
Anyway, we saw some of the characters, and the lines were way too long. So we didn't stop. I did do a few run by's though.
Captain Jack Sparrow, you can see a portion of the line waiting for their picture with him.
The princes.
The gates at the Magic Kingdom. I do wish we had done a selfie here, but I honestly wasn't ready to stop for pictures yet. I was trying to keep my pace, and give ourselves a bit of a lead, just in case.
Right around here, we did get to see the first place runner heading back to the starting line. It was pretty cool to see the top finishers lapping us. Most of us cheered them on!
As we continued to head into the Magic Kingdom, we saw and experienced all sorts of other things. But the worst, at this point, was the hill right in front of the Contemporary. Oh my! But thank goodness it happened at the beginning-ish of the race.
Going down Main Street USA. This is where it got a bit congested.
Just before going through the castle. This is where it got really congested! Well, more than on Main Street USA.
Elsa & Anna were up on the Castle.
Going through the castle was a nightmare. We were literally at almost a standstill. This is where our race really slowed down. It got so bottle necked here that you couldn't run through the castle. You shuffled, small steps at a time.
From here on out, I didn't get any pictures, because of the time it took us to get through.
So we got through the Magic Kingdom and were on our way back to Epcot.
All along the route there were several creative spectators with awesome signs, but I didn't take any pictures.
Around this time, it started to really get real! I have been nursing a sore foot for a while now, and of course it started to hurt. We ended up walking more of this part of it. I just couldn't run... I hit that wall.
Around mile 9-10, the course takes you up an entrance ramp from one highway to the other. That was just cruel. And again, it bottle necked BIG time. From this point on, we had no choice but to walk a majority of it. There just wasn't room to run.
I hear it was also the last hard sweep of the race. But we still were nervous about being picked up. The balloon ladies had caught up to us, and of course we were nervous about that. I didn't get through 10 miles to not finish!
All of us tried our best to pick up he pace, but the crowds just didn allow for it too much. And at this point there were several sharp turns, and such, and we saw several people cheat. I know I shouldn't get mad about it, because they only cheated he selves, but it was frustrating to me to see.
We headed back into Epcot to finish the race, and a lovely, and I mean lovely, volunteer said those magical words, "you are safe, but finish strong." Everyone was cheering everyone else on. We got this!
In Epcot, we ran into the park, up to the lake and back around the ball to exit to the finish line. Again lots of people cheated, but I wasn't going to.
We saw the gospel choir and knew we were almost there!
And then we saw it. But of course, because of the amount of people around us, we couldn't run across the finish line. But we finished! We got our medals! I didn't take pictures because it was way too crowded.
We got our water, Powerade, bags & then headed to get our Glass Slipper Challenge medals! They verified that we were who we were and that we finished, and got big congratulations and our medals!
My first stop after that was the self medical area for ice and the. To the gEAR check for my bag, so I could put my flip flops on and ice my foot.
If you had asked me in the middle of the race, or even at that moment if I was going to do it again, I would have told you no way! I was cool with the 10k, but not both races!
And even later that day, I still wasn't convinced that I wanted to run again.
We did it! You can't really see both medals, but they are there!
We hopped back on a bus, and of course, we got a bus that had no AC. No joke! It was a miserable ride for a bunch of us.
I showered, packed up and went back to Epcot with my family for a bit.
Anyway, things I wish I had remembered or done, I wish I had worn my sun glasses. It was bright towards the middle to end. I also wish I had put on sunscreen, although I'm not sure if it would have stayed. It was VERY humid. I also wish I would have used my beans better. I did better with them in training, but not during the race. I did stop for every water station, which I high suggest.
Would I do it again? Maybe. It is an expensive race, but the experience was amazing! I don't know if I will do the Princess Half Marathon weekend again. I may try for another tunDisney event, maybe the Wine & Dine. They did tell us that they are going to offer a Disney Pairs Half Marathon weekend in 2016. But I don't know that I will sign up for that. It would be cool, but not with the way airfare is to get anywhere these days!
This was one of the many signs along the road for us.
Here are my three medals!
And my shirts.
All in all, it was an experience. I am still deciding if I want to do another one or not. I do know I will be continuing running. I also will be adding in weight lifting, because I want to change my physique. So stayed tuned... Results will come!
Would you ever run do a race weekend like this?
