I am WAY behind in posting about the weekend, but here's how it went for me:
DH and I got up at 3:30 on Saturday, and were on the road at 4:01. We drove straight to the expo, and picked up my bib and shirt. We went through the official merchandise, even though I knew there wouldn't be much left. I was surprised that there was much more than when we went for MW. They did not have the Corksicle that I wanted, but I expected that. I had asked if someone we know who was going the first day could get me one, but she was unwilling to go in once she saw the line. We bought a couple of pins, and headed for Pop.
Our room wasn't ready, so we parked the car, and took the Skyliner to lunch at Ale and Compass. We had a terrific lunch, then walked around for a bit before heading for the HH meetup. We really enjoyed getting to meet everyone there. The last couple of times we've tried to make a meetup, it hasn't worked out, so this was a treat!
After that meetup, we went to the Ale and Compass Lounge for a meetup with DH's former boss and her daughters (she was the one who didn't want to wait in the official merchandise line on day one). She is, however, the person who first got me interested in Princess weekend, in 2013. They had been there for yoga, and the 5k and 10k, so we got to chat about how their trip had been to that point, and catch up a bit.
Our room was ready, and we got back to Pop and had cheese pizza at the food court before getting to our room and preparing for Sunday's early alarm.
DH never runs on the Princess weekend races. He likes to be a spectator for those, while I do the running. I put on my Mulan as Ping outfit (soldier training outfit), and we had a long line of buses waiting at Pop. We were there early, and had an easy time of getting to the race, and plenty of time for the pre-race meetup, which was great. I was in S3, and DH headed for Main St. after we parted. He had an easier time getting there than I did--just after we passed the Contemporary, and just before swinging around to enter MK, I took a hard fall. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but there was a woman walking, and talking on her phone in front of me. I tried to go around her, and there was a bit of uneven pavement, and, well, it wasn't pretty. Several kind runners stopped to see if I was okay and one went after my water bottle that had rolled away. I thought I was okay. I had scrapes on my hands and elbow, and a bruise on my knee, but no blood. What I didn't realize until I picked myself up and started running again, was that I had jammed my shoulder when my right hand hit the ground that hard. It's still sore, but is getting a bit better each day, I think.
Nevertheless, I was almost to MK, and the chance to run down Main Street again! That's my favorite part. It wasn't as dark as I'd hoped, since the race started late, but it wasn't bad. DH was waiting at Casey's, as promised, to cheer for me.
By mile 9-10, I was walking a bit more, but still running a reasonable amount. That part of the course didn't have as much support as MW, when all the cars passing were honking and waving. It was a bit of a motivation suck through there this time. DH was waiting for me at mile 12, and I saw him, but he missed me. I was yelling his name, but he was not looking where I was. When he realized that I had to be past, he went to the finish line, and met me there. I skipped the character photos this time because most of the lines were so long (I did consider stopping for Mickey and Donald just inside Epcot, but didn't. Their line was much shorter, and I wonder if they were a bit too hidden in their spot.)
I've done Princess four times now--the half in 2013, the first challenge in 2014, the 10k in 2018, and the half this year. I thought the vibe was a little different this year, especially in how there wasn't much energy in the start groups. S3 was pretty subdued this year. It was a good race, though, and I was glad to get to do it. I like the medal and the shirt, and had a good time, despite the fall.
We didn't go to the parks that day, but had a relaxing afternoon, and then had a fun day in Epcot on Monday, and spent Tuesday morning at DS before driving home Tuesday afternoon. It was a great trip! It felt a bit indulgent, after having just been there for MW a few weeks before, and another trip last May. We are not planning on SS weekend, but look forward to reading about it on the threads, and will almost certainly be back for MW in January!
I can't complain...it IS above 30 seconds! 
