Say Please in French - A June and Sept. 2018 DLP TR *Updated 4/22

Oh no, I bet those setbacks were so incredibly frustrating!! I turn into kind of a mess when things start going wrong like that, so I can totally sympathize. It sucks when you have imagined something going a certain way for so long and it all starts breaking down around you. I hope the rest of the race was better for you.

Those pics of Evie running her race are too cute!! So precious with her little pigtails. I love it!! It must have been really frustrating for the older kids having to wait so long too.
 
ok excuse my ignorance but what are tagalongs? I'm assuming they're tasty enough to need hiding lol but curious as to what they taste like?

Taglongs are a type of Girl Scout cookie! The scouts only sell cookies once a year (usually in the spring) so you have to grab them up while you can. My favorites are the Taglongs, which are a peanut butter and chocolate cookie. And the Samoas, which are a caramel and coconut cookie.
I found a picture with both of them:
caramel+delites+vs+tagalongs.jpg

They're pretty tasty, even if they cost an arm and a leg.



I'm really, really hoping that things improve for you regarding the race but can I just say that, even if they didn't go as planned, look at what you did!!

Thank you. I was pretty frustrated with my performance for a lot of the race, but afterwards I felt nothing but pride.


Those pics of Evie running her race are too cute!! So precious with her little pigtails. I love it!! It must have been really frustrating for the older kids having to wait so long too.

I think Evie loved getting dressed up and seeing other girls in their princess costumes more than the actual race.
Landon was a little underwhelmed by the whole experience. Sort of a "THAT'S what we waited in line for?" mood, but when we asked him if he wanted to do it again this fall he said he did. So who knows what his true opinion on the race was...


Alicia I'm here just trying to get caught up. I'm on page 14 for now and loving it.

Hi! I've been horrible about commenting on your duel TR, so don't feel bad! But I've been reading along; I was bummed to see your DD didn't get the character gig. Hopefully that just means something bigger and better will come her way.
 


Half Marathon Recap Part 2:


I’m not sure if it was frustration over so many things going wrong or if it was because it was outside the parks, but either way I got to this awesome kilometer marker:
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And I cleared my head and focused my attention on the run.


Soon, I was breezing past the signs:

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Then the course took us into a wooded dirt trail, and that was one of my favorite parts of the race.

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Back at home, the path I used for my long runs had a two mile stretch that went into the woods, and it was running through that section on raceday that brought my training to mind. People around me were complaining about getting dirt on their shoes and the uneven ground under their feet, but I was having the opposite reaction. My head was going, “You’ve done this before! This is just like all your other weekend runs; stop making this run a bigger deal than it needs to be.”



Once through the trees, the race wound around a nearby village. I made a big loop up and around the main street, passing people farther ahead of me on the opposite side of road and then passing people behind me after I reached the turnaround point.


Eventually, I reached the “value” resorts of Disneyland Paris:

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And a new kind of pain was entering my body.

The kind that screamed, “You’ve been running for almost ten miles! Are you ever going to stop??!!”




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I stopped to take this kilometer sign and it was pure will that got my feet running again. The farthest I had run in training was 10.5 miles, and as I neared that point my body was becoming tired.

I wasn’t planning on using my second gel pack (I had taken the first around mile 6) until closer to the 11 mile point, but I knew I needed the energy. I was going slower, but my body didn’t recognize the need for energy by mileage. It was going off time, and saying it had been 45 minutes and needed a boost.

So I sucked my pack down, chased it with water from my bottle, and forced myself to get back to work.

But I was in the pits. My feet hurt, my calves hurt, the gel wasn’t hitting fast enough, and I was really questioning why I ever wanted to do this.

“This sucks. Really, really, sucks.”


Then, in miracle Disney storybook fashion an amazing runner saved my day. This guy was standing behind the barriers, medals from the half marathon, 31K Challenge and 36K Challenge around his neck. He had obviously finished his run and was headed back to his room at Santa Fe, but before he went to shower and change he decided to stand on the sidelines and support his fellow runners.

I saw him standing there, clapping us along, then heard him go, “Just a little bit farther guys. You’re almost there. Really, you’ve made it past the worst of it. Push through a little bit longer. Hang in there!”

:sad:

I almost lost it.

Those words were precisely what I needed to hear. The way my mind works, hearing this stranger who had already finished tell me I was almost there was validation that I could make it. Yes, I was feeling every pebble on the ground through my shoes. Sure, my thigh was still a burning nuisance. Naturally, the humidity was clinging to my skin in such a way that I felt disgusting.

But I couldn’t think about those things. I had a little less than three miles left.

Three miles.

That’s my easy run distances. Three miles is nothing after everything I’d already done.


And look, there’s my girl Ursula:

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One foot in front of the other. Every step down is one step closer to the finish line.


I continued to hear that guy’s encouragement as I left Santa Fe and made my way through Hotel Cheyenne:

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“You’ve made it this far”

Out of Cheyenne and next to Sequoia Lodge. Past it, looking enviously inside its doors where I knew a hot shower would be waiting for me, up the incline (a hill on mile 11…cruel!) and around the lake, with Newport Bay on my left. Running, running, and running until I was entering Disney Village.




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(This sign was along the lake by Sequoia Lodge.)

I sent that pic to Alex to show him where I was on the course and he responded back by telling me to keep my eyes peeled for him around the World of Disney store.


Hold the phone!

Alex and my babies were waiting for me?

:cheer2:


I kicked things into high gear. I didn’t even realize I had a high gear left in my tank but apparently the prospect of seeing my kiddos was enough to find a hidden reserve and activate it in my jellied legs.



After the race, Alex told me this guy in the photo below was motivating runners with his medal and a banana.

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I guess he was basically shouting, “Your medal and BANANAS await!” The kids thought he was secretly a minion with how excited he was over bananas…



I worried the kids were bored out of their mind waiting for me to pass, but as it turned out they were having a lot of fun cheering people on.

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I am grateful so many people slowed to give Landon and Evie high fives and indulge their enthusiasm. I’m sure it made them extraordinarily happy to receive the attention, and it made me remember to acknowledge kids I see spectating in future races.



Eventually, I rounded the corner near Annette’s Diner and Alex spotted my purple skirt in the middle of a cluster of runners.

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There they were!!!

I saw them immediately and my heart swelled with emotions. My cheering squad, my biggest supporters, my family….

I needed to see their smiling faces more than they will ever know. I had one mile left, and my tank was empty. I was propelling myself forward with a stranger’s encouragement in my ears, phantom feelings of a medal being placed around my neck, and visions of the finish line sign in my eyes.

But getting to see three sets of familiar faces? That was worth the pain and exhaustion. My kids looked so proud and excited, and I realized in that split second that I was showing them what hard work could accomplish. They saw me preparing for this for months, they heard me talking about what a dream it was for me. I looked at them and hoped they knew I was paving a path for them to follow any goal they wanted to achieve.


Half marathons bring about some crazy emotions, guys. I’m telling you, I am a pretty mellow person. I am not much of crier (except for brutal This is Us episodes) nor do I get overwhelmed with big feelings. I kind of live in a neutral calm where I don’t swing drastically one way or the other. Never overcome with anger nor blown away with exuberance.

So this half marathon was proving to be exhausting more mentally than physically.

I was ready for the roller coaster of highs and lows to be done!

Let me grab some selfies with these amazing people in my life and go finish this bad boy.

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(I didn’t realize Evie was cut out of this shot until too late. Sorry, daughter!)


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A quick smooch to Alex and I was off. For hopefully the last time.



I entered a backstage area of the Studios and followed a road, stopping long enough to take one last kilometer sign:

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And making two English ladies laugh when I exclaimed, “Hallelujah, I’m almost there!”



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I turned a corner and left the backstage part of the park, finding a long straight stretch of cement with the finish line waiting for me at the end.


Two hours and forty minutes after starting, I finished my first half marathon.

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I was a hot mess, but I did it.



Sorcerer Mickey was showing off his magical abilities for me as I received my medal:

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My time was nowhere near where I expected it to be. Based on all my previous runs, I was pretty confident I was going to be around the 2:20 marker. It was a blow to my ego to fall short of that by twenty plus minutes, and to this day it still nags me. But I reminded myself that it was my first race, and I had to overcome a major learning curve. I learned a lot during those 21 kilometers and have no doubt I’ll go into my next race more prepared and able to crush this time.


Once I got my medal and stretched out my legs for a minute, Alex and the kids entered the park and met me in the spectator section. The kids loved seeing “Magic Mickey” on stage and looking at him on my medal:

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Alex let them stay and watch for a few minutes while I left and followed the swag line, grabbing a Powerade and a snack box. Then the much promoted banana and….

What was this???

A bottled cappuccino?!?!


“I love you.”

I might or might not have said this to the volunteer who handed me that bottle of caffeinated sugary slice of heaven.


Cappuccino. After a race.

BEST POST-RACE TREAT EVER.



Before I left the post-race area I stopped long enough to inhale my banana and half the Powerade. Then I slowly walked out of the park and found Alex and the kids in Disney Village.

I was tired. And gross. And walking on Cloud 9.


Best day ever.



Up Next…I’ve Made a Huge Mistake
 


Ach Alicia I’m getting all teary-eyed reading that update!
Very proud of you :worship:
Love that the kids were there to cheer you on :cheer2:
Laughed out loud when I read how happy you were with the castmember's gift of a cappuccino:rotfl:
Sometimes it's the little things!!:goodvibes:thumbsup2
 
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WHAT A READ, Alicia!! You did it!! I'm so happy for you and was captured by your inner strength and perseverance. YAY YOU!!
 
Hmm, I'm missing some quotes in here. Re: running again after stopping: that is so hard to do when you're running near your max mileage. If I get stuck at a red light after mile 7-8 on my long runs, it takes everything in me to get moving again It's like your body says "Ok, good, we're done now," and you have to psych yourself back up all over again.

That’s my easy run distances. Three miles is nothing after everything I’d already done.

I do the same thing. Long runs, races, whenever I hit 3 miles to go I start reminding myself it's just a 5k to go, that's nothing, I can do that any day.

Two hours and forty minutes after starting, I finished my first half marathon

Woohoo! Congrats!

Based on all my previous runs, I was pretty confident I was going to be around the 2:20 marker. It was a blow to my ego to fall short of that by twenty plus minutes, and to this day it still nags me. But I reminded myself that it was my first race, and I had to overcome a major learning curve. I learned a lot during those 21 kilometers and have no doubt I’ll go into my next race more prepared and able to crush this time.

I hear you on missing a goal, that would get under my skin, too. The thing is, between the rain induced chafing, the cold and the stopping for pictures, your race day conditions were a lot harder than your training was.


If you really want to push pace, there are some great training programs that combinemore speed work during the week with long weekend runs. That's how I managed my sub 2 hour half, which was a major personal achievement.
 
You're such a great writer, I felt like I was with you during that half marathon - all of the emotions and perseverance through everything - what an accomplishment!
 
Ach Alicia I’m getting all teary-eyed reading that update!
Very proud of you :worship:
Love that the kids were there to cheer you on :cheer2:
Laughed out loud when I read how happy you were with the castmember's gift of a cappuccino
Sometimes it's the little things!!:goodvibes:thumbsup2

Thank you! Seeing the kids near the finish line was one of the best parts of the race, followed closely by that cappuccino! :rotfl:



WHAT A READ, Alicia!! You did it!! I'm so happy for you and was captured by your inner strength and perseverance. YAY YOU!!

I appreciate your kind words. Completing the race was a personal triumph and has given me the courage to pursue other goals.
 
If you really want to push pace, there are some great training programs that combinemore speed work during the week with long weekend runs. That's how I managed my sub 2 hour half, which was a major personal achievement.

Something I realized after my race was that I didn't put enough thought into the training plan I followed. A runner friend of mine had given me her half marathon training plan, and I decided to use it for myself without really looking into it. Since then, I've done more research and gotten advice from runner friends and found a new plan. This one will work better with the kids' school schedules, our move, and anything else that will pop up.
The two biggest differences in this new plan versus the one I used for this race is that I have an interval day. I'm switching it up between Fartlecks and hills. Before now, I didn't do ANY interval workouts. I'm sure that did not help my pace at all. This time, I'm also making my long runs go up to 12 miles, so that I'm not gassed by 10.5 again.


A sub two hour half marathon! That's incredible! What an accomplishment...I'm impressed. Do you think you'll do a Disney race someday?
I love running, but I don't see myself getting my race under 2 hours. My average pace is about 11 min/mile. I can pull out 10:30's on my tempo runs, but that's still not enough to get close to a 2 hour time.



You're such a great writer, I felt like I was with you during that half marathon - all of the emotions and perseverance through everything - what an accomplishment!

Thank you. The race was more emotional than I expected, and I swore I would never do one again. But now I am itching to return to the Disneyland Paris Half. Crazy....
 
This time, I'm also making my long runs go up to 12 miles, so that I'm not gassed by 10.5 again.

Personally, I don't like race day being my longest run, so I always have at least one run at or above race distance in my training scheduled. I did a 14 leading up to my half, which gave me the confidence to know I could push pace even at the end of the half since I had already done longer. It's a head game for me, and I prefer to be overprepared in general, so I do the same when training.

A sub two hour half marathon! That's incredible! What an accomplishment...I'm impressed. Do you think you'll do a Disney race someday?
I love running, but I don't see myself getting my race under 2 hours. My average pace is about 11 min/mile. I can pull out 10:30's on my tempo runs, but that's still not enough to get close to a 2 hour time.

It took years of consistently running 3 short and 1 long runs a week to get my pace down. I started when the girls were 20 months old and was doing 16 min with the jogger, 12:30 solo at that time. Now, my normal 5k when I don't push myself is about a 10-10:30 but, with a lot of concerted effort and training, I was able to get my to get my half in at an 8:48 mile.

For me, a Disney race is pie-in-the-sky. I'd love to do one, my friend is running Princess in February next year, but when I start actually looking at the costs to fly down, stay there, enter the race, etc I realize that I'm not going to spend that kind of money on myself. Maybe when the kids are a lot older but, right now, I start looking at that dollar amount and saying, "But we could xyz with the kids with that money."
 
I'm so so proud. It was like you in Rocky for a moment there, things looked bleak and then ya kept going to the bitter end. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the half marathon.
 
SO Proud of YOU! I am in tears! What an amazing experience- thank you for sharing your trials with us, and then- AH seeing your babies so excited for you! What a race you had!
 
Omg! Not only does running half bring out the emotions apparently read it it does too I cried!!!

So happy for you! You did amazing and it was amazing reading about it!

It inspires me to rub more too !
 
Half marathons are super emotional experiences. So I completely get everything you were going through. But you did it. You are officially a half marathoner! Congrats!!

Also … chafing is pretty terrible, but also fairly inevitable when it rains. Clothing that’s totally comfortable for long runs suddenly becomes terrible about a mile into a wet run. It sucks.

And I need to start finding races that give out cappuccinos post-race. I usually have to get my own coffee and I’d much rather get a cappuccino than a Powerade.
 
Wow I'm so impressed reading about your race experience! I was cringing when you got to the chafing part - I might have said OH NO out loud :confused3 How great you persevered and finished the race. I'm sure your kids were proud of Mom!
 

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