Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 1

Total Mileage: 33.8

As I begin this new marathon training cycle, I feel like I have to start by saying I am sorry for every time I complained about the cold weather on my winter runs…. As I run into the summer, I miss the days of being layered up, back when there was no humidity. These days I am happiest when the weather blesses me with a light breeze and breathable air.

I often take Monday as a recovery day, either resting completely or doing a yoga class, and after a weekend full of travel I opted to take it as a complete rest day. Not the strongest start to a training plan, but rest is an important part of training, and I need to take care of myself if I want to make it through this whole training cycle injury free. Plus, the travel was so worth it – I had gone to Atlanta to be a part of my cousin Jen’s surprise engagement!

When Dad and I met up for a Run/Ride on Tuesday morning, my training mileage officially began. I recently moved out of my parent’s house, but the move only took me one town over so we can still meet up for our morning miles. When I stepped outside the morning chill was nice enough that I pulled on a long sleeve running top for the beginning of the run, which I eventually removed once I warmed up. We got in 6 miles, with some little hills throughout the run. I mean, its still the south shore of Long Island, but it’s more hills than my usual route near my parent’s house has. Dad loves to pick a route that makes me run in circles around the hills, directing me to turn one way or the other as we reach the end of a block.

After work on Tuesday I headed to planet fitness with a few co-workers to get in some strength training. We focused on arm and core workouts, with a routine that took us a little over an hour. We have been going to the gym together for about two months now, getting there twice a week after work. It has been really great to have the structure of going right from work to the gym, and having a workout partner makes it so that I can’t bail just because I am feeling a little tired after work – an excuse that I often find myself using when I rely on my own motivation to do strength training.

The first swim of the week was on Wednesday morning, since I was too exhausted to get there on Monday. This called for a 5:30 AM wakeup, and a half-asleep trek to the aquatic center. The pool was set up in a long course configuration, which means that the lanes are set to 50 m per lap. Usually I dread long course configuration, as I find it more challenging, but I really hit a groove with it during this workout. Feeling good after the swim, I decided to ask the head coach, Lisa, about the open water swims that the team has now that the weather is nicer. When I told her that I had never done an open water swim, she insisted that I try one, and even offered to loan me her wetsuit. Well, that was exactly the motivation that I needed to bite the bullet, and agreed that I would attend one the following Wednesday night. Dad had taken his bike to the park, so he rode by as swim ended for a quick selfie. 

On Wednesday night, I flowed right from one workout into another. I headed into the neighborhood around work with my co-worker, making sure to run by the school that Dad works security at to say hello – just a quick fly by as we continued into some hills. To avoid busy roads, we eventually dipped into an area that was more residential, but equally hilly. My morning runs typically are about 12 ft of elevation. This run? 218 ft of elevation gain. Once we finished a three mile loop, we parted ways and I headed to the next event of the night: A Merrick Bicycles Tri Team track workout.

MBTT track night are lead by the team coach, Jackie, and she always has a challenging workout ready for us. Being a generally competitive person, I really push myself at these workouts, as I am always chasing after a faster runner. She kept us doing 5k and 10k pace repeats varying in distance, with a body weight exercise waiting for us between laps. Once my legs had been thoroughly thrashed by these repeats, she revealed the last workout of the night would be full on sprints, between the goal posts at the center of the track. By the time we were done, I was exhausted in the best pace, and super pleased with my moving pace – an average of 7:44 min/miles over the 5 miles we had logged.

While I was super pleased with myself on Wednesday night, my legs were dead when it came time to roll out of bed for my Thursday morning run with Dad. I may have overdone it just a little the day before with a swim and 8 miles of running – more than half of those being quality miles, but I was willing to pay the piper, in the form of a slightly torturous morning run. I only made it through 3 miles, each one progressively slower, before I declared that it was time for breakfast, and thus the run needed to come to an end before I passed out as a result of fatigue… yes, on a three-mile run. It was just one of those days.

But a slow run and sore legs didn’t keep me from heading to they gym after work. It was Thursday and I had a commitment to fulfill with my accountability buddies. We did a quick core routing consisting of hanging leg raises and dynamic movements like jumping squats, followed by a dumbbell arm circuit.

The night was not yet over – the last activity of the day was a spin class with Jennie! We met up for a class at iSpin studio, and got in a great hour of spin.

Now, as I was going through all of these activities, did I feel like I was overdoing it? No. I felt like I was socializing and enjoying time with my friends, all while getting my workouts in. Looking back at it though, I feel like I was bound to hit the ground after putting in so much so fast – sometimes I forget that I’m not in peak condition at present, and workout as though I am at the pinnacle of marathon season, pushing through 20-milers on the weekend. As I write it all down though, I want a little bit to shake week one Kelly and tell her to chill – but being me, I of course pushed on, the calm before the storm.

Finally, it was Friday. The end of the week, and one more early morning between me and the weekend (not that I would get to sleep in on the weekend, but that’s a whole other can of worms). I groggily made my way to swim again, and was rewarded with a short course pool configuration. After a handful of various distance laps, we switched over to kicking drills to bring us through the second half of class. As we neared the end of the session Lisa arrived, with a wet-suit in tow for me to borrow. She had me try to get it on, but as I was soaking wet and had never worn a wetsuit before, I was less than successful. I put the wet-suit back onto its hanger after the two of us spent a few minutes struggling, and hoped that it would be less difficult next time.

At this point, I honestly can’t remember the last time I got to sleep in on a Saturday. I think it has been at least three months, and this Saturday would not be my day of reprieve. I like to start my training cycles off with a race, so that I can see where I am, and have something to compare to over as I put more work into my training. So, this Saturday I was heading to Flushing Meadows Corona park with Dad to participate in the New York Road Runner’s Queens 10k. I ran this race in 2017 as well, and was hoping to beat my time from last year. I got to my parent’s house around 6 am, and Dad and I got on the road to head to queens. We were at the park by 7, and headed to race day central to pick up my bib. We had gotten there early enough that it was easy to find parking, and Dad broke out his foldable bike so he could explore the park while I was running. Once I had my bib I took plenty of time to stretch out, feeling a little bit stiff from the week’s activities. At 8:30 I headed into my corral, and took a few minutes to make a race playlist on Spotify – not something I usually do, but I felt like I would need the extra push, remembering how hard this race has been for me the previous year. The announcers started to release the runners, I quickly took a GU, and we were off! Dad managed to find me at four points on the course, even if I did only see him three times – part of why I usually don’t wear headphones while races, it makes it tough to find m:y people! I felt good starting this race, and settled into a fast-for-me pace, logging the first mile at a 8:20 pace. I was wearing a new pair of sunglasses – Goodr ones – and I was having a lot of trouble with my peripheral vision. The glasses were so reflective, that I was second guessing every time I tried to weave through runners, and I reminded myself that this is why people say “nothing new on race day.”

I pushed on, being careful in the field of runners as I brought my pace closer to an 8:00 min/mi. Ideally I wanted to be at an average of 8:14 or better, as that would allow me to PR the race. I was able to hang on to the pace through mile 4, but at some point as I put one foot in front of the other, telling myself “DON’T STOP,” I realized that I was starting to get light headed, and that my arm was going a little but numb, so I allowed myself to back off the pace a little, and pulled into the next water stop to grab a drink. While my goal pace quickly slipped away, I was still moving forward, and managing to keep my pace below a 9:00 min/mi. By the time we were circling around the Unisphere I was so ready to be crossing the finish line, but I tried to smile as Dad grabbed a pic of me running by. Then the final descent through the park, the finish line in sight, and a final push to get through the end of the race. I crossed the finish line, slowing to a walk, keeping moving through the finishers chute, collecting my medal and recovery bag – which I immediately opened to get at the Gatorade.

Now that the race was done, I went and collected my t-shirt and then found a shady spot to wait for Dad, who arrived a few minutes later. From there we headed to the car and made our way home. My average pace for the race wound up being an 8:25 min/mi, which was faster than the year before, even if it wasn’t quite a PR.

I had one run left for week one after the Queens 10k – the first long run of this cycle. Sunday was Father’s day, so naturally Dad and I made plans to go on an outing together. I had 10 miles on my schedule, and we headed to Bethpage state park to get the miles in. We stuck to a three mile loop of the trail that was half paved path and half in the woods, so it was nice to have some variation on the run. Plus, the part of the path that was in the woods was so serene that I looked forward to getting back to it every time I was on the pavement. It was a nice day, but I was grateful that most of the trail was in the shade, since every time I stepped into the sun I could feel the temperature rise and the air get thicker. As the miles went on my legs got heavier, reminding me of just how much I had asked from them throughout the week, slowing down a little as the run progressed. But honestly, I didn’t even mind the pace – I was just so happy to be starting this journey again. As I reached the end of the final loop Dad reminded me (several times) to pick up my feet more, find my stride. At long last, we came back to the car and packed up, heading home for the rest of the father’s day festivities, which for my family meant heading to Forrest Hills Stadium to see Roger Daultry perform The Who’s Tommy. It was a late night, full of less-than-healthy food choices, but I had such a great time taking it all in with my family.

Oh, and since this week was fathers day, I want to leave you with the following photos: My dad running the Long Island Half around 1989, and me running it in 2018.

On to the next goal: The 2018 Wineglass Marathon

As we progressed further into 2018, I started to get the Marathon itch. After running three in 2017, I was asking myself if I was really going to not run one this year. I had tried to run the Disney Marathon in January, but that dream had been squashed when my asthma flared up at the beginning of the year. Then I tossed around the idea of running the Long Island full, but as the race approached I found myself never really committing to a training plan, and ultimately decided to sign up for the half marathon. I thought, "Maybe this year I will just stick to halfs- work on improving my speed, and then bring the distance up again next year."

But then, a little holiday in the running community known as Marathon Monday happened. For most average runners like myself, the Boston marathon seems like an impossible dream, that only the “fast” runners manage to qualify for. I would be thrilled if I could manage to break the 4 hour mark in a marathon, and for my age the qualifying time is nearly a half hour faster than that. But as I followed the race day on social media, watching as runners braved awful weather and left all they had on the course, I knew that I needed another marathon to work towards, and that same day I found myself online, registering for the 2018 Wineglass marathon.

The Wineglass Marathon takes place on September 30, 2018 in Corning, NY. It is a point-to-point race in upstate NY, near the finger lakes. Being from NY, I have traveled to the area a few times, but I have never done any sort of running there – in fact, the last time I visited the area the focus was much more on wine than on any sort of wineglass marathon. Dennis and I did a little bit of hiking, and then spent a day checking out the local vineyards with some friends that live in Owego. It was a beautiful area, and I am hopeful that come fall it will be a run with some beautiful views.

So, what's my game plan here, and what have I been doing for the last two months, as this blog sat quietly? Well, in looking at my recent training, I have gotten better with cross training, usually logging 2 swims and 2 strength training sessions a week on top of running. I have been averaging about 20 mile weeks, mostly consisting of shorter mileage, as my weekends have been crazy busy for the last two months and not really allowed the time for long runs. The plan going forward is to start bringing my weekly mileage back up to around 35 miles a week, following a training plan from the Runners world “My Run Plan” app. After plugging all of my info into this app and allowing it access to my Strava so it could analyze all of my data, the plan that it spit out claims that I could run a marathon this fall in just under 3 hours and 50 minutes, running 4-5 days a week, with two days of swimming built in as cross training. I don't really believe that at this point that time is possible for me, so the “A” goal that I am setting is to break 4 hours – my current marathon goal is 4:13 and change, so while this is a little ambitious, I feel like it could be possible with the right training and a little bit of luck.

So, starting this Sunday weekly training recaps will be returning to the blog. You'll hear about familiar faces like my Dad and cousin Kasey (who currently is swearing she is never running more than three miles again), and a few new friends that have joined me during this journey. I will also have a few race recaps to post, as this year I have been loading up a little more than usual with shorter distance races. There may even be a few posts about (MAYBE) training for my first Triathalon, if I can manage to scrounge up a bike this summer.

You can follow my newest marathon journey on Instagram and Twitter, using the hashtag #KzrunsWGM, or just by following my account, @gokellyeli. As always, thanks for joining me on this run!

2018 Rock 'n Roll Washington D.C. Half Marathon

About a year ago, I signed up online for the Rock ‘n Roll marathon in DC when RnR was offering a presale special- a full marathon for $79? Sign me up!

Of course, when I signed up for this race I had lost the lotto for the NYC marathon, and figured after running the Long Island full in May I would have 10 months to prepare. But then, life happened, and I managed to get into the NYC marathon through New Balance rewards so I wound up taking on NYC in November of 2017. After the city beat me up, I wasn’t sure I was ready to start immediately training for another full marathon, which I would have had to do to get a full 16-week cycle in before the race. 

While I was considering if I really wanted to run a full, Kasey was thinking about running her first half marathon. She signed up for the lotto for the United Airlines NYC Half, and when she didn’t get in, we discussed running the Rock ‘n Roll half in DC. It quickly turned into a plan for a weekend trip involving monument and museum trips in addition to the half marathon, and Emily signed on to come along and cheer. Kasey signed up for the race, and I dropped down from the full to the half. Of course, in the weeks leading up to the full our runs grew longer, and Kasey questioned how I talked her into signing up for a half – but I knew she was ready. Heck, she had more training under her belt than I did before my first half.

So, on Friday March 9th Kasey, Emily and I loaded in my car and got on the road to head to D.C. It takes a little less than 5 hours to get there from Long Island, and with the expo closing at 7 I was keeping a close eye on the clock as I drove. Emily and I had headed to target during the week to make sure we had plenty of road trip snacks, and had a much less healthy ride than Kasey, as we snacked on pringles and skittles while Kasey stuck to yogurt and rice cakes. The sun went down as we grew closer to D.C. and we finally got to the Armory, where the expo was being held, around 6:10. It would be a quick visit with it shutting down so soon, but we would be able to get our bibs without any issue.

We took a moment to stretch getting out of the car, as we had driven straight through from NY, and all agreed that our first stop at the expo would be the bathroom. It took a minute to get into the armory, as we all had to go through a security check, then we made a bee line for the bathroom. Finally it was time to pick up our bibs, and we had to go into the basement of the event hall to do so. Since we were picking up the bibs so late there was really no line, and we were through bib pickup in a few minutes. After grabbing our event shirts I made Kasey pose for a photo, and she was less than pleased with me for this, as our outfits could best be described as “Long car ride comfort.”

Then we were filtered into the shopping area of the expo, and we spent most of our limited time in the “official merchandise” area. They had shirts and banners with all of the runners names on them, so of course we took the time to find ourselves. We both wound up buying one with our name on it, but unfortunately since Kasey’s last name starts with a “B” and mine starts with a “Z,” we were on two different shirts. I also picked up a pin that looked like the medal to add to my backpack, and Emily decided she wanted to get fitted for a pair of rock ‘n’ roll tie-dye brooks, so as Kasey and I headed into the rest of the expo Emily waited for them to size her.

The expo was on the smaller side, and a lot of the vendors were already starting to pack up. Since the official merchandise area let out right next to the united booth, we entered the contest that they were running – a giveaway for two round trip airlines tickets for anywhere in the world – mainly because we wanted the buff that they were handing out as you entered. They also had a giant medal for photo ops, so we snapped another photo. Kasey and I joked that if we won we would be headed to London on the next flight…. But more on that later.

A quick loop around the rest of the closing expo got us some popcorn, a few signs from the world wildlife foundation, and confirmation that the RunDisney booth was already disassembled for the night – a bummer, as I was hoping that they would have early registration for the food and wine half available. We tracked Emily down, having purchased her shoes, and headed back to the car, so we could find the hotel and grab dinner. Emily had gotten a free tech shirt for pre-ordering the sneakers, which she gave me since they didn’t have her size available.

We met Kasey’s parents, my Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom, at the hotel soon after. They had also driven in from NY so they could spectate Kasey’s first half, but were planning on heading home right after the race, so we took two cars to get to D.C. I pulled up google maps to see what restaurants near the hotel were still open, and there was a noodles and co. about a mile away, so we took a quick drive over there to carb up before the race. I decided to live dangerously, and went for a bowl of mac and cheese, despite its dairy content, and for once won the battle against my stomach.

We headed back to the hotel to call it a night after, and Emily and I made some race signs while Kasey was in the shower, to surprise her with during the race. We set up everything we needed for race morning, packed our bags and designated throw away layers, and agreed to meet my aunt and uncle in the lobby around 7 am to head out, Kasey and I going to the start line while the spectators would head to the finish area to park the car, then head on the metro to wait for us just before mile 5.

Our hotel was close to the start line, so Kasey and I decided to walk to the start area instead of being dropped off, just to get moving a little. By the time we actually left the hotel it was about 7:20, and the race was slated to start at 8 am. We walked up one block before hitting the national mall area, and got to walk by the white house and the Washington monument as we made our way to the start line. When we got there we figured out where our corral was, and then walked to the UPS trucks that were the bag check locations so I could drop off my stuff. Before heading into the corral we spent a few minutes stretching, and Kasey said her final goodbyes to Instagram, as she was almost certain she would die before managing to run 13.1 miles.

As 8 am drew nearer we found a spot in our corral, and I took my pre-race Gu while Kasey opted for some Gatorade chews. We made the final necessary adjustments to our outfits, queued our play lists, and hopped around to keep warm. As the fastest corrals started, we began the final march to the start line, taking off our throw away layers and making sure our garmins were ready – then it was time to start our journey, and we started our watches as we crossed the start line.

Of course, this was Kasey’s first half, and I knew I would be remiss if I did not make a video for us to remember it by – you can find it at the end of this post, and see just how much she hated me at various points of the race, and hear us fight about whether or not it is ok to pause your watch during a race. We had to fight a little – we are family after all.

Now, before we move into the actual race recap, I will ask you to forgive me in advance for not knowing the streets of D.C. very well – while I generally know what mile we were at, I will not know quite where in the city we are, or which monument or building it is that we are running by.

Mile one brought us into the national mall, and the first landmark that we spotted was the Washington Monument. Before we even hit mile one, Kasey almost lost half of her race fuel, as her sport beans slipped out of her SPI belt, since she had just tucked them into the belt and not into the pocket. To be safe we relocated them to my pocket for the rest of the race, so that I wouldn’t have to make another mad dash to rescue them from the pavement. Next we ran by constitution hall, before passing the first mile marker.

There was the first of many on course bands at the beginning of mile 2, and the first water stop happened during that mile as well. It was a crowded stop, so we opted to skip that one rather than fight our way into it. The course started to head towards the Potomac river, and just before we got to the shore we got a peek at the back side of the Lincoln Memorial. Another band greeted us at the end of mile two, and we got to run along the river for the first half of mile three, before going into an out and back section of the course. There was some construction going on along the river, so there was no shortage of distractions on this section of the course. So far we were both feeling good as far as I could tell, and I tried to keep the hill that I knew we would hit at mile 6 in the back of my mind. We stopped for some water at the mile three aid station, and at the turn around point just after the mile marker another band was working hard to entertain us. Mile 4 slipped by, and we were well on our way to mile five, and it was time to start keeping an eye out for our spectators.

I had gotten a text from Emily, so I knew that they were before the mile 5 marker, and Aunt Karen and Emily were stationed near a big red pickup truck that was parked on grass, and Uncle Tom was up on an overpass. I spotted the overpass first, and alerted Kasey to keep an eye out, and they were easily spotted with the landmarks that they gave us – first seeing Aunt Karen and Em with the signs that we had made, then spotting Uncle Tom waving from the overpass, with a huge smile plastered on his face. We stopped for another water station before hitting mile five, and at this point Kasey was less than thrilled with me, and passed me more of her fuel to hold as we continued on. For the 80th time that day, she let me know that she was dying, even though her pace was strong and her breathing was sounding good. I tried to provide some entertainment for her by singing, but she was quick to flop her headset back on and drown me out.

Right by mile five there were spectators dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Incredible – who says Disney is the only race with character stops! Mile 5 brought us through the mile of remembrance, and the course was lined with photos of fallen soldiers. It was an emotional mile, thinking of those who sacrificed so much for our country.

The start of mile 6 was lined with individuals from “wear blue to remember” holding flags, cheering runners up the biggest hill of the race. Kasey pulled over as we ran up the hill, and eyed me with some resentment – but we hadn’t quite reached mile 10 hatred.

What is mile 10 hatred you ask? Well, in 2016 when I ran my first half marathon, my running partner was Kasey’s younger brother, Ryan. The two of us had spent a few months training, but most of our runs were 2-3 miles around the neiborhood with maybe 3 “long” weekend runs that capped out at 8 miles – and we couldn’t run those 8 miles through, there were walk breaks thrown in there. So, when we went into our first half, we were a bit undertrained, and a bit unaware of that fact. The looks that Ryan was throwing me by mile 10 of that race – that is mile 10 hatred! I have never had someone look at me with as much resentment as he did at that point. But we made it to the finish line, and even went on to run one more half together after.

So Kasey pulled over for a minute as we headed up this hill, and I urged her to keep moving, even if it was a walk. But Kasey really did not want to walk. I’m pretty sure she would have been on board to lay down and nap before she was willing to walk. After a moments rest, she agreed to continue up the hill, and soon after reaching the top of it we passed the marker that indicated the half way point of the race. We slowed the pace a little to make up for the effort that was put into the hill, and kept moving, running by a few bands as we got through the next few miles. During mile 9 we went under a bridge that felt kind of sketchy, and I was happy to have behind me.

As we ran by our spectators for the second time, Emily caught the exact moment that Kasey yelled out "I'm literally dying!"

Emily, Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom had made their way to a spot just passed mile marker 10, and as we ran by them Kasey threw out her tag line for the race – “I’M DYING.” I’m pretty sure anyone near us during the race must have thought that Kasey lost a bet to me, and that was how I roped her into this. But let it be known: She signed up of her own free will! I wasn’t even with her and typing her info into the registration sheet or anything!

We were running through city streets that were lined with houses at this point of the race, and plenty of people had set up cheering stations on their front lawns, offering drinks and snacks to passing runners. A few girl scout troops were even selling cookies – this was the one stop I seriously considered making, but I couldn’t figure out an easy way to carry a box of samoas for the rest of the race.

Mid way though mile 11 we started to employ the “I’ll run again when we pass THIS LANDMARK” method of pacing, but we were still making good progress. There was more running than walking, and we managed to pick up the pace for the last mile of the race. Once we passed mile marker 13 we entered the finish line chute, and had only a tenth of a mile between us and the finish line – so of course I rallied us to push the pace for that last stretch, and we ran right through the finish line, feeling strong, and Kasey joined the ranks of half-marathoners in our family. She even managed to beat her brother’s PR by about 30 seconds, so maybe I can use that as grounds for talking him into taking on another race with me…..

Anyway, after Kasey stopped for a moment to recover in her usual pose, we claimed our medals and started the long walk to the post-race festival area, collecting the usual post-race heat sheet, snacks, Gatorade, water, and of course, chocolate milk. I called our spectators and we agreed on a meeting spot, and I left Kasey there while I went to collect my checked bag. Once we had all found each other we snapped a few photos, and then headed to the car. We had pre-purchased the parking that rock ‘n roll offered on their site, but when my uncle arrived at the garage that morning they told him it was not open yet, bummer! So if you are considering pre-purchasing parking I would advise against it, as he was able to find parking on the street easily enough.

We grabbed a celebratory lunch at chipotle before my Aunt and Uncle headed home, and Kasey Emily and I spent the rest of the weekend exploring D.C.

While the driving through out the weekend got me a little stressed out, all in all I would call it a successful trip. Kasey rocked her first half marathon – which just 6 months ago was a distance she swore she would never run, we found a few places to eat some excellent food, from burgers to breakfast, and had fun exploring the national mall and assorted museums – although we still need to go back to fully live out Kasey’s national treasure dreams.

Oh, and remember how I mentioned that Kasey and I entered a contest to win two round trip flights from United? Well, to my shock, I actually won the contest! I may already be scheming about using the flights to run the London marathon next year.....

Also, Kasey has requested that I point out that while she beat her brother's half PR by about 20 seconds, she beat the time of his first half by over 20 mins. Nothing like good, old fashioned sibling rivalry. 

Princess Half Marathon Recap: The Half Marathon!

For the last post in my Princess half marathon weekend series, we are finally talking about the big event – the princess half marathon!

For those of you that are new to the blog, I will let you know that the princess half marathon holds a special place in my heart, as it was my first race EVER back in 2016. My cousin Ryan and I decided to sign up to run it, not being runners or having any idea how to train properly, but somehow managed to cross the finish line. The moment we were done, I knew that running was going to be a part of my life for a very long time, and have been chasing the feeling that I had at that finish line ever since.

So, for the 2018 Princess half marathon the theme was “Snow White,” with a big apple shaped medal. I wanted a costume that would go with that theme, without hitting the nail on the head and just dressing up as the princess herself. Rachel and I spent some time brain-storming this one, and we decided to go as the mine train (Rachel) and the poison apple (me).

I had so much fun putting these costumes together, and even learned some new skills along the way. I decided to make the focal point of the costumes the skirts, and then build the shirts and accessories around it. For my skirt, I made it to look like the poison apple itself, with a red base and a sparkly white top, shaped like the poison dripping down the apple, complete with an eerie face. Then I used my mom’s Cricut machine to create iron on transfers for my shirt. I decided to go with a play on a line from snow white – changing “Just one bite and all of your dreams will come true” to “Just one RUN and all of your dreams will come true.” To complete my outfit, I ordered a poison apple hat and a pair of red ProCompression socks, and I was ready to run.

So, on race morning I rolled out of bed too early for the third day in a row, and got myself dressed for the day. It was basically a routine at this point, so I had everything laid out right where I needed it. As I left my room I texted Rachel to see how she was feeling and asked if she was going to run the half (the day before, she had nearly collapsed from dehydration). She said that she was feeling better and was going to give it a go, and we agreed to meet up in the start area like we had for the 10k. I hopped on the next bus that pulled up to the All-Star Music resort and was on my way to the start village.

I found Rachel easily enough, and we hung out in the start area until it was time to begin the long walk to the corrals. For this race I was assigned corral B, while Rach was in F. We were originally planning to run the race together, but since Rachel hadn’t been feeling well the day before we decided to run separately, so that I wouldn’t wind up pushing her too hard. As I hopped in line for a porter potty she headed to her corral, hoping to get a spot near the front – for this race corral F had nearly 10,000 runners, about 30% of the race field.

I made my way to the corrals surrounded by thousands of other runners, some in costumes. Near-by was a man dressed as Ursula, joking about needing to brace himself for the calamari jokes he was likely to hear throughout the day, as the temperature rose. It was about a 15 minute walk to get to the corrals, and once I found corral B I headed in and tried to relax, feeling more nervous than I usually do before a race. As the start time grew nearer, I took some time to stretch, and eventually took my first Gu of the day. By that time, the announcers were on the stage and the pre-race show was underway. Jeff Galloaway remarked casually about the 90% humidity, as if it was an everyday activity. To get the race started, they brought out the Fairy Godmother and had her countdown to race start with a cry of “Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boo!”

The first wave of runners were released with a show of fireworks, and then corral B was moved right up to the start line, and a minute later, we were off into the morning. My plan for this race was to have fun, and soak in every bit of Disney magic that I would encounter over the next 13.1 miles.

The first mile was a little congested, with all of the runners trying to find their groove. There were volunteers lining the side of the course, cheering as we started our trek down the highway. Since I knew I wanted to make some stops for characters along the course, so I picked up my pace to make up for time i would loose in lines. My plan for characters was simple – if there was little or no line and I wanted a photo with the characters, I would stop. If it was the Evil Queen disguised as an old woman, I would stop – since it matched the theme of my skirt. But most of the time, I wound up snapping a quick photo or video as I ran by.

The first stop was at mile 1.7, where I saw that Jack Sparrow was set up with his pirate ship. The props made it a cool stop, so I pulled over and got in line for a photo… but then realized it was a slow moving line and decided to cut my losses and keep moving. It was still dark, but I was already feeling the heat of the morning. This was the day that I would learn how much I am capable of sweating.

Soon after the pirate ship I came upon the entrance gate to magic kingdom, lit up and shining. This is one of my favorite parts of the race – even though the park is still miles away, I get so excited knowing that I am headed there. I stopped and took a selfie, mimicking one I took with my cousin in 2016.

The next stop that I came upon had an assortment of Disney princes and heroes, and I deemed it a necessary stop – after all, it is the princess half, and I felt like to post with the princes was a photo I had missed out on the first time around. It left a dent in my time for that mile, and I took off fast as soon as my photo was done. Of course, soon after came the one character stop that I “NEEDED” – The evil queen, and boy did she have a line waiting for her. I suppose since I was in an early corral and all it wasn’t the worst wait it could have been, but when I was moving I was running paces in the low 8’s, and my mile average still came in at almost a 14 min/mi for the two miles that I did these character stops.

On the upside of things, I was quickly approaching the Magic Kingdom, and over the next two or so miles it was all highway and no characters, so I was able to make up for some of the lost time. I wound up settling into a pace close to a 9 minute mile, but then slowing myself down as I approached the magic kingdom, not wanting to miss a second of time there. We passed mile marker 5 just before running though the bus bays outside of magic kingdom, then headed through the park’s main entrance and down main street USA – the smile on my face in the race photos says it all, and I found myself holding back excited tears as I made my way through the park. Have I been to magic kingdom before? Yes. But there is nothing quite like running down main street. Plus, this was the first time I was starting a RunDisney event in my designated corral rather than dropping back to run with someone, and I was in awe of how empty main street was.

Once I made it down main street the course turned into tomorrow land, and I felt like it was a parade of character stops in magic kingdom – first up was Buzz Lightyear, before running passed the story book circus, then into new fantasy land, where I spotted Gaston near his tavern and the White rabbit, who was probably running late and shouldn’t have been doing a meet and greet. Just before the castle Cinderella’s evil step-sisters were stationed, with people pulling over for pictures, when I could hardly contain my excitement enough to even consider stopping.

Then one of my favorite moments of a Disney race: running through the castle! I had it nearly to myself, and stopped to get a picture in front of the castle before going onward into frontier land. I quickly spotted tiana and Louie, then Woody and Jesse, followed by Goofy. There was only one person on line to meet Goofy, and being a sucker for classic Disney characters, I stopped for a photo with him before continuing to run to the part of the course that would bring us backstage in the magic kingdom.

I only got to spend a quick minute backstage, as we just ran by a few buildings before leaving the park, but they had some festival of fantasy parade floats out, so I grabbed a quick photo with the giant dragon float, since there was no line and I couldn’t resist such a cool photo op. There were some princesses out with their floats as well, but I ran on by as I said goodbye to the Magic Kingdom. I made one last photo stop on my way out – they had the rail road car pulled right up to the course, so I threw myself in the path and posed dramatically, as one does. I was basically dying because of how much I was sweating at that point anyway, so I may as well get a good photo of it.

The next few miles were all highway, as we made our way back to Epcot. We ran by the grand Floridian, where tinkerbell was hanging out with her fairy friends. As we approached mile 8, they had put up signs with cheesy jokes on them to amuse runners as they went by, all Disney themed of course. My favorite had to be “Who is the funniest Disney princess? – Ra-PUN-zel!” But I am a sucker for cheesy jokes. Just after mile 8 they had props and performers from the long closed Adventurer’s Club, which was once a restaurant in downtown Disney. Having read stories about it, I may always be a little bitter that I never got to visit myself, but I always enjoy when RunDisney brings out entertainment like that.

As I continued on the highway, miles 9 and 10 ticked off on my watch. The mile marker for mile 10 was a little special, as this was the 10th anniversary of the princess half. I slowed my pace a little at this point, as I was starting to feel the effects of the high humidity. Plus, my thigh was starting to chafe! I had run TWO marathons and countless training runs in the shorts I was wearing and never had any issues, but apparently the humidity was doing me in for this one. By the time I was finished with the race, I had a raw patch of skin on my leg. With mile 10 came the overpass, AKA the one “hill” of this Disney race. Once I was up the overpass, I could see runners on the highway for quite some distance.

With mile 12 I started to enter the Epcot resort area, and mile 13 brought me all through the parks. I was loving this race, but the heat was getting to me and I was more than ready to get to that finish line! I picked up the pace a little for the last mile, running passed spaceship earth, and to the final out and back of the course. Then one more trip passed spaceship earth, around the bend, and the finish line was in sight. There was still confetti on the ground from the winners crossing the finish line, and Prince Mickey and Princess Minnie were waiting by the finish line as runners approached. As I ran by Mickey I snagged a high-5, then threw my hands in the air as I crossed the finish line, full of joy.

Finish time: 2:13:37

A volunteer handed me my medal, and they had fairy godmothers in training on hand to sprinkle finishers with pixie dust. Then it was just a long walk down the finishers chute, where I collected Gatorade, water, and a snack box, then verification at the fairy tale challenge tent, where I collected my second medal of the day. The last thing to do was pick up my checked bag, and head for the bus back to the hotel.

I completed my second Disney princess half marathon, and my first glass slipper challenge. It was exactly the magic that I was hoping for, and that I have come to expect from RunDisney. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my family at my aunt and uncle’s house, just taking it easy and celebrating a successful race.

As for Rachel – she finished too, and even snagged herself a new PR, crossing the finish line in just over 2 and a half hours.

Princess Half Marathon Recap: Arrival to Florida and Expo day

My journey to Florida for the princess half marathon began at MacArthur airport in NY, where I boarded a flight with my parents on Wednesday night. Dennis was supposed to be joining us for this trip, but he recently started a new job and had to cancel. Dad won the seat game, when he snagged the emergency exit row seat that had no seat in front of him – talk about leg room! I had recently gotten some free drink coupons from Southwest, so Mom had a celebratory vacation drink as we flew to Florida.

The flight was smooth sailing, and when we got to Florida Mom and I collected our luggage while Dad grabbed the rental car, then we were on the road to Disney. This first ride of the weekend through Florida began the saga of the tolls, where we scrambled for the millions of quarters that we would need to chuck into the provided bins. In retrospect, we probably should have invested in a SunPass, but at the time we didn’t realize just how many quarters we would have to dig for.

We pulled into the All-Star Music resort, and found our room in the country music section. I had completed the online check in that Disney offers, so I didn’t even need to stop by the front desk when we got there – we had received a text with our room number and our magic bands would open the door. The most complicated part was figuring out where to park! We started by following the numbers around the building, starting high and marking them off as they got lower… but the parking lot ended at building 6 and we were headed for building 5. So we doubled back and realized that we needed to be in the parking lot that All-Star Music and Sports shared.

Once we lugged all of the luggage into the hotel we settled in and called it a night, planning to get up early and meet up with my mom’s sister and her family, and all go to animal kingdom together.

In the morning my Aunt Liz and Uncle Keith met up with us at the hotel for breakfast. Since the best way to start a Disney day is with a Mickey Waffle (or a cinnamon bun, I’m not picky), Dad and I both got bounty platters, complete with Mickey waffles to start the trip off on the right foot.

We all piled into the minivan that Dad had rented and headed for animal kingdom, and were directed to the Dinosaur lot. We got there just a few minutes after opening, and once we were in the park headed to Pandora. The first ride of the day was “Na’vi river journey,” and since the park had just opened there was only a 20–minute stand by line.

After the ride we found my cousin Keith, his wife Kristen, and their baby, Ainsley. Or, more accurately, they found us! Kristen jumped right into a photo I was taking of my parents, and we all got a laugh out of her photo bomb. 

After a few minutes of catching up as we hung out in Pandora, we made our way to flight of passage. Just a week before our trip the park hours got changed, which released an extra hour of fastpasses, and I managed to snag us each one for flight of passage. I was happy that my mom agreed to come on the ride with us, as she isn’t always a “ride” person, but we all had a great time.

When we exited the ride we found Keith and Ainsley hanging out by the gift shop, and all headed to dino land so we could take Ainsley on tricera tops spin, then hung out there for a little bit. We made our way around animal kingdom throughout the rest of the day, taking in festival of the lion king, riding expedition Everest, and grabbing lunch at flame tree BBQ.

We all had a great time just hanging out and enjoying the park and each other’s company, but as the afternoon rolled into the evening I needed to head to the Expo to pick up my race bibs, so we all parted ways, and my mom left with my aunt and uncle, as she was planning on staying with them for the next few days as Dad and I hung out in Disney.

We headed to the expo around 5 pm, and hit a little bit of traffic heading into the ESPN sports complex. Once we were parked we went to the bib pickup area first, as bib pickup was obviously my priority. We headed into the arena, and the process was easy enough. Flash my ID, trade my signature for a bib, and then do it once more for a challenge bib. Since it was the 10th anniversary of the princess half, in addition to my bib I was given a luggage tag in the shape of the half medal, a set of bib boards featuring mickey, and a button featuring the race logo.

The next stop was the main expo hall, where the shirts were waiting to be picked up. There was no line to get into the building, so we were able to walk right in. I stopped for a few photos with some snow white props they had out, and then we walked to the back of the hall where the shirts were set up. I tried on one of my shirts and it seemed good. While we were in the Visa center we stopped at the pandora booth. I wanted to check out the charm they were selling for the race weekend. It was kind of pricey, as it had to be purchased with a bracelet, but my annual pass knocked 20% off the price, and we had a $50 gift card from waiving maid service in the hotel room, so I wound up getting the charm in the end. I walked around the vendors a little, but there was nothing that I really needed in terms of running supplies, so the only other thing I picked up was some applesauce and buy one get one free chipotle coupons. 

Finally, we headed to the runDisney Merchandise area. I picked up the pre-order jacket that I was bought – there was no reminder that I had purchased one at any point in the bib pickup process, so if you pre-order merchandise, remember to retrieve it! It has the same logo on it that the annual passholder shirt bore, with each race distance and associated princess. Then we wandered around the merchandise, and I picked up a few things – a wine glass, a tervis water bottle, the pins of the race medals to add to my backpack, and a 13.1 magnet to add to the back of my car…. Yep, I’m THAT kind of runner. For the first time, the runDisney merchandise had its own building, which I really preferred over the usual arrangement. It meant that there was plenty of space for the merchandise to be spread out, so I was able to shop leisurely instead of being crammed into a small aisle with too many people. Before heading out, I waited in line to get a photo with princess Minnie, all ready for race weekend in her pink dress. 

With the expo complete, Dad and I headed back to the hotel and grabbed some pizza from the food court for dinner before calling it a night. I set up my outfit for the next morning and packed my bag with everything I would need, and headed to bed, excited for the weekend full of running that I had ahead of me.