Earning My Tiara - Part VI: Coronation

After 3 months of training, it was finally time to actually get on the plane and make this a reality. With the race on Sunday morning, we were required to go to the Expo on either Friday or Saturday afternoon to pick up our race packets. I didn’t fly down until Saturday morning, to save a night at the hotel. BAD IDEA!! What I didn’t consider is that hello…it’s winter in MO. I woke up early Saturday morning to a thin sheet of ice covering EVERYTHING. It had drizzled all night and then frozen. Seriously, pulling out of my driveway, I thought my brakes were jacked up, so I went inside and woke up my husband to have him check. Nope, brakes were fine, just the entire street was a sheet of ice. Good thing I budgeted 2 hours to get to the airport, instead of the 45 minutes I would normally need (see previous post regarding my Type-Aness). On the way to the airport, I saw more cars off the road than I’ve ever seen in a single day. I maxed out at about 40 mph on the interstate but did finally get to the airport about 20 minutes before my flight. As long as it’s not delayed, I’ll be in good shape. Fortunately, the flight left on time. If you’ve never flown to Orlando, the fun begins the second you get to the airport. There were the requisite kids who were just finding out they were going to DisneyWorld, and Kelly and I spent a few minutes texting each other from our respective terminals describing some of the folks that we would be sharing a plane with. The magic of Disney extends well beyond the park itself and actually back to any terminal flying to Orlando. Disney has this magical power of making people blind to any fashion rules any reasonable human being would normally adhere to in any non-Disney location. I saw more jorts (jean shorts) with braided belts and fanny packs than I care to remember.

Kelly and I arrived in Orlando at about the same time, so we met at baggage claim and then made our way to the Magic Express (which is VERY difficult to find by the way). We checked into our hotel (Caribbean Beach), which I’d rate as “fine.” It was pretty dated, but I didn’t plan on spending too much time there, so no big deal. By a random stroke of luck, Kelly’s parents were in FL for a conference the week before the race, so they drove up and met us at the resort. We grabbed some lunch, and then we hopped in Rick and Debbie’s car to head over to Wide World of Sports. One tip, don’t take a wrong turn on the Disney property – it takes FOREVER to get turned back around! Once at the expo, there were a ton of cool things to see. My favorite part was the funny running shirts. I personally liked on the back of a shirt “Dear God, please let there be someone behind me to read this.” And “This was a good idea 3 months ago.” There were a lot of cute 13.1 charms, stickers, etc. but Kelly and I both felt that it was presumptuous to buy one before having completed the race. Jeff Galloway and other experts were giving small seminars throughout the day also. Around 4:30, we headed back to the hotel, where we laid out all our clothes and accessories for race day. 

We had an early dinner of chicken and pasta, and said goodbye to the parents and settled in for the night. Although we had been up since 5am, the nerves of course kept us from sleeping. We both drifted in and out of consciousness until the alarm went off…at 2:59AM!!!

We wanted to get on the shuttle around 3:30 (4am was the last shuttle), so we got dressed and put on a little makeup…hello – pictures, forced down some breakfast (half an English muffin with PB), and were off. The shuttle took us to the EPCOT parking lot, about a mile walk away from a pre-race party. We were there WAY early, so we walked around and then just sat and watched people roll in for a while. They started announcing that we needed to make our way to the start line, so we followed the crowd along to a huge bank of porta-potties. We decided to make one last pit stop, which took at least 30 minutes. Little did we know, we were still over a mile from the start line. We walked through back roads and past several other less-used port-potties (Grrrr) and eventually made it to our corrals.

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Before the sun came up, it was a little chilly, at around 62 degrees. I had on an old hoodie that I planned on throwing out during the race anyway. I ended up throwing it off actually before the race even started. We were in Corral D, so we were pretty far back, but everyone at that point was pretty laid-back, many of us experiencing our first half marathon (or like me, our first race altogether). There were fireworks and a good luck spell from the Fairy Godmother at the start of every corral, and with each celebration, we got closer and closer to the start line. Finally it was our turn, and we were off!

The road was wide, but with 16,000 runners, it was still difficult to get through, so we started off pretty slow and comfortable. There was plenty of good people-watching and some really fun costumes to keep us distracted. Also, starting at about the half mile mark, there were bands and other attractions to look at, so we were really never bored. Kelly’s shins started hurting, so we started alternating running/walking at each mile. By mile 3, we could see the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, so that perked our spirits. Once we got close to getting into the park, the road narrowed, and it was impossible to do anything but walk, so that was a little frustrating, but there’s no denying the energy there with the crowd (not that we had any friends/family in the crowd, but just knowing people are there is nice). We, like everyone else, turned into giddy children when we started running down Main Street. Kelly tried to take a picture of me with the castle in the background. She said, “Just keep running,” but I’m clearly a bad actor. J

Of course the highlight of the race was running through the castle (around mile 5.5). There are trumpet players on the balcony, and Cinderella and Prince Charming were there also (although the line to take pictures with them was SUPER long). 

A girl even got engaged just in front of us once through the castle. I still haven’t figured out if she kept going or dropped out of the race at that point. What would you do? Just past the castle, we ran into a couple of our favorite characters from Toy Story 2!

Kelly’s shins were still bothering her, but I was starting to get really hot and really hungry, so I decided to break off at around Mile 7. Miles 9-11 were pretty exhausting, but by 12, we could see EPCOT again, and it was gorgeous! Finishing the race was an emotional experience that I can’t really explain (at 2:39, by the way), but it brought tears to my eyes, and I was sad that my husband wasn’t there to cheer for me. I received my medal (my official tiara!!!), snapped a picture, and anxiously awaited Kelly's arrival, just about 15 minutes later.

I used both Pandora and RunKeeper on my phone throughout the entire race (though Pandora kept cutting out), and I still had over half my battery! RunKeeper said that I burned 1800 calories, so that made it clear that the rest of the day was party time!! We went back to the hotel, got cleaned up, and headed out for a day at EPCOT. We were so proud of our accomplishments and felt justified wearing our medals to the park in case anyone didn't immediately recognize our princessness.

Throughout the rest of the week, we visited EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Universal Studios. Here are some of the highlights. 

I returned from the trip still on my runners high, so I decided to try my powers of persuasion to try to convince my husband (a non-runner and Disney virgin) to try one with me. Stay tuned for the next post to see if I was successful! :)

Earning My Tiara - Part V: Finishing Touches

Yes, 3 months of training may sound daunting, but all the hard work is really done in the first 2 months. The last 3 weeks are a time to coast a little and maintain. My longest long run was on Feb. 5 (11 miles…yowza), and then it was all a walk (nay, run) in the park from there! It was time to start making final travel plans and packing.

Traveling for a race can be stressful, especially if you’re not familiar with the area. It’s always a great idea to stay as close to the race as possible. Going to DisneyWorld is a whole other experience. The race started at 6am, but with all the activities and logistics of getting everyone to the start area, we had to be on a shuttle from our resort by 4am. Obviously, normal shuttles are not running at this hour, so it was definitely worthwhile to stay at a host hotel that would provide shuttles in the middle of the night. We really didn’t need to rent a car since we were taking the Magic Express from the airport, and even so, with much of the race run on the streets, many of the roads were closed. Since neither Kelly nor I had really been to DisneyWorld since we were 5, the odds of us knowing our way around were slim.  Disney offered a lot of host hotels at varying price points. I was tempted to stay at the Grand Floridian or Wilderness Lodge, but at almost $500/night, I just couldn’t justify it. We tried for the Port Orleans resorts, but they were sold out, so we ended up at Caribbean Beach. 

The other piece of planning was what to wear. For most races, I would say to wear something comfortable that you’ve worn for long runs and that you know works for you. You don’t want to be mid-race and discover any mystery chafing! That being said, have you seen the costumes people wear for Disney races? Let alone Disney Princess?! As much as I’d love to do a training run in a tutu and tiara, sometimes you just have to take some chances. Speaking of the tutu, seriously, who has a tutu hanging around the house? I don’t, and I certainly couldn’t justify buying one just for the race. So, against my better judgment, I headed out to Michael’s. I thought a tutu couldn’t be that hard to make. I didn’t find any tulle, but I did find some pink ribbon with shreds of tulle hanging from it that I thought could pass. I bought some and sewed it to the bottom hem of a pink running shirt so the effect was like having a very short tutu. I also found a cute rhinestone iron-on princess crown for the front. From the time I signed up for the race, since the beneficiary was the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I always knew I wanted my mom to somehow be with me on race day. So, I bought a pack of iron-on letters, planning on writing “For Mom” on the back of the shirt. When I got the letters home, I realized that there was only 1 “M” in the packet (for $7…really?). So, I used a “W” upside down. Kelly kept saying “For Mow” but she said she only noticed because I pointed it out.

Full disclosure: I’m a super planner. So, I started my packing list about a week before the trip. That way, I have plenty of time to think of things that I may have forgotten initially. I also utilized a “Color Notes” app on my phone that allowed me to jot down things I thought of at any time, even if I was away from my notebook. After all the preparation you’ve done for a race, you certainly don’t want to get there and realize you forgot something like socks (or a sports bra, like a co-worker of mine did!). So, even if you’re not normally a planner, this might be one time to give it a try.

Earning my Tiara - Part IV: Ice Princess

It was actually strange in the beginning that the workouts were only 2-3 miles. They were over so fast, and it was much shorter than the normal amount of time I would spend in the gym working out. But, I also knew that just starting to rack up miles was really important, so I made a conscious effort not to overtrain those first few weeks. Now I understand why people say they gain weight when they start running!

The only redeeming quality of training in the winter is that there's not much else to do that time of year, which eliminates excuses like, "Oh, it's such a nice day, I'll go play tennis instead." But at the same time, there is a whole other set of excuses (in "whine" font): "It's negative 30 degrees outside." "There's an ice storm." Blah, blah, blah.

But seriously, it gets dark so early, and there's usually some form of frozen water on the ground here, and it doesn't take a genius to determine that darkness + snow/ice = DISASTER. So, my weeknight workouts had to be done on the treadmill. Seriously, I don't know how people use these on a daily basis. There are not enough words in the English language for how much I hate the treadmill. They're nowhere near as fun as they look on the OK Go video! It takes me longer to prepare for a 3-mile run than the actual run itself. First I have to time my trip to the gym just right so that I can be running during a TV show that I really like.

Once I've pinpointed the exact right time to get to the gym, I have to also be equipped with an iPod and magazine to keep me busy during the commercial breaks. And to make matters worse, our treadmills at work (although first...MAJOR props to my company for even having a fitness center, and making it free for all of us to use!) are up against the front wall of the cardio area, and the TVs hang directly above the treadmills, so you can't even see them. You can get one by a window if you're lucky so you can look into the hallway, or you can stare squarely at the wall. Riveting...especially after more than 2 minutes. It is incredibly clear why people say that they get bored running!

I quickly decided that I would either be unsuccessful, or at least incredibly grumpy for 3 months, if I had to do all my workouts on the treadmill. Because of the early darkness, I had no choice during the week, but one Saturday morning, I got all bundled up for a 4-miler outside. First off, running tights? Awe.some. Like full-body Spanx! Nobody loves that feeling of upper-thigh jiggle you get with running shorts. Anyway, much to my surprise, I didn't get that horribly painful cold-air-sucking throat lump I expected. The outdoor run was actually somewhat invigorating. From that point on, I did all my weekly long runs on Saturday mornings outside.

This worked out nicely since it was hunting season (seriously, when is it not?), and Adam was up and out of the house early every Saturday anyway. I could take my time on my runs and not be in a hurry to get back home. It truly became my “me” time. Even better was the feeling I got at the end of my run, knowing that I had the entire weekend ahead of me. With the crazy amount of snow we got this year, I have to also give major props to the City of Olathe. Even when the roads were still snow-covered (plowed, but not clean enough to run on), the Indian Creek Trail was perfectly cleared and safe for running. Part of why I’m successful running outside is this trail. It follows the creek, so it winds through the woods, providing great deer (and coyote…which I thought was a wolf…shut up.) sighting opportunities and shade in the summer.

I have to give a shout-out to Adam at this point, because at the beginning of my training, I warned him that for the next 3 months, I was going to have to make running a priority. He obviously didn't mind what I did on Saturday mornings, but even I have to admit that it made me a bit of a stick-in-the-mud on Friday nights. I wouldn't have more than one drink (so this is why people lose weight when they run?), and I wouldn't come anywhere near anything fried. Not that we eat that way all the time, but also part of the training process is learning what foods and habits work well with your body...and liquor and fried foods pre-run do NOT work well for me. That's a mistake you'll make only once. But the good news is that by the time the race rolled around, I knew exactly what to eat and when in order to feel good.