Step Right Up, Step Right Up

@emilyhuff I actually also had chatted with a guy at DTD (@MommaoffherRocker I can't NOT say it deetahdee :rotfl2:) ...he set me up with an "open" appointment so that I can go whenever but still get the gift card and FP for staying onsite...then we had the rep at the PPH set it up for an actual time...well, timeS.

@MommaoffherRocker How do I not have a pic of the sourdough Mickey?!:sad1: I'm going to look on our regular camera on the off chance we took one. :( Also...I feel like your character match is on the tip of my tongue...I'll keep thinking. It was funny but not a bad fit! :confused3
It was Lilo! it just came to me as I was reading your post.
 
Great score on the fastpasses!! Maybe we should do a DVC tour on our next trip. Hmmm...

I'm just really relieved you didn't lose a shoe!!! PHEW.
I think the fastpass thing may be only at DL, so if you have a choice between DL or WDW the better deal was definitely at DL. But yeah for $100 and 9 fastpasses it was definitely worth an hour of my time. Especially because I was just going to be sitting around taking it easy anyways.

I kinda wish someone would have lost a shoe just to see what that lady would have done!
 
I've been offered the FP+ at WDW (we had a DVC tour scheduled our last trip but had sick kiddos and we had to cancel), and we were staying on property...so they offered to pick us up wherever and drop us off wherever, and give everyone 3FP+ (that would have been 8 of us x3!) but no gift card offer...maybe b/c we were at a value? Which would be bologna. Anyway, I'm much happier having received $100 and mooching off @MommaoffherRocker 's FP at DLR :thumbsup2

Dude, seriously.:rotfl:But then we wouldn't have gotten our free FP. Ha. For the record, I did feel a little bad when I realized maybe she got mad about me high fiving people? :blush: But the screaming...:eek: A little over the top.
 


Then it was time for one last ride on California Screamin' :( Did I mention how much I love that coaster?! Becky, the bread and I used a fastpass so we could jump right on. Luckily the bread fit perfectly into the pouch that holds your stuff or else that could have been a disaster. By this time it was 6pm and I was exhausted! But we still had 3 fastpasses. I looked around thought if we try to do anything else my legs were going to fall off. So we decided to find someone to give the passes to. It is crazy that we had too many fastpasses! Much different than WDW that's for sure. We found a nice couple to give them too and they were pleasantly surprise.

We passed by another 60th anniversary photo op and just had to stop.
DCA.jpg DCA1.jpg DCA3.jpg

When we were taking the pictures we had the photographer laughing and the guys behind us were like you guys are good but we are better. We said oh yeah then bring it! It was a photo off! We were way better! I wish we would have gotten a picture with those guys, that would have been epic!

On the way back to PPH DTD was packed. I guess it was Saturday night and that was the place to be. We grabbed a pizza at Napolini for dinner.
pizza.jpg

The pizza was very yummy

Back in the room at PPH, I ate my pizza, laid out my race stuff for the next day, set 3 alarms and crashed!! The only night I fell asleep early and probably due to sheer exhaustion.

Up next: The Half/last day at DL




 
I've been offered the FP+ at WDW (we had a DVC tour scheduled our last trip but had sick kiddos and we had to cancel), and we were staying on property...so they offered to pick us up wherever and drop us off wherever, and give everyone 3FP+ (that would have been 8 of us x3!) but no gift card offer...maybe b/c we were at a value? Which would be bologna. Anyway, I'm much happier having received $100 and mooching off @MommaoffherRocker 's FP at DLR :thumbsup2

Dude, seriously.:rotfl:But then we wouldn't have gotten our free FP. Ha. For the record, I did feel a little bad when I realized maybe she got mad about me high fiving people? :blush: But the screaming...:eek: A little over the top.
I wonder if it is tiered like that because out of all the time doing those "tours" this was the first time I have ever gotten fastpasses and have always gotten a gift card.

She was way over the top!
 


We have so many amazing pictures from those days but I really think those last ones were my favorite!! The photo pass photographer was awesome too. Great way to end the long day of fastpassmadness
 
THE LAST DAY

Waking up the last day had me feeling so many emotions. Becky had to leave to catch her flight before I left for the race so I was sad. She had gotten her flight through Priceline name your own price so she couldn't pick her flight times. Even though she left before the half I was just so happy that she got to come out to DL. I think if she didn't come this trip wouldn't have been nearly as fun. After she left I finished getting ready for the half. For this race I was dressed as Mickey Mouse as you'll see from my race photos further down.

I grabbed my Clif bar and headed out towards the start. On the way I got a picture of the ESPN Zone sign
sign.jpg

I passed through the crazy security line, It didn't take long but it seemed like a lot of people, I made my way to corral H. When I got to my corral I just happened to run into a couple people from the Disboards. I was glad to have people to talk to because I otherwise would have let my nerves get to me. I was suppose to be eating my Clif bar but I just didn't feel like eating. I think that came back to bite me in the end. As the first corral was being sent off we looked up and our corral was packed. There was so many people they couldn't all fit in the gates. When they moved us closer to the start line I turned back to take a picture.
crowd.jpg
That is all corral H. I was so glad I got there when I did I would not want to be at the back of that.

I also took a picture of the starting line.

Start.jpg

They counted us down and I was off again. Running by PPH (no Becky this time :(). Then out to the streets. I noticed I was hungry as soon as I started and immediately knew I should have forced myself to finish my breakfast. This time we were into the parks much faster than with the 10k. Going in through Cars Land around Paradise Pier. I took more time to look around this time. I notice the World of Color fountains going and more things were lit up.

I didn't really have a plan of how I wanted to run this race. I was just going to go by how I felt and walk when I needed to. The course left DCA and then entered DL. I was making really good time. I noticed that this race had many more characters than at Tink. My highlight was seeing Aurora and Phillip riding the carousel.

mickey castle.jpg main street.jpg




As I was leaving DL I thought to myself I am almost at a 5k PR.
So I started to push myself. Why I would push myself into a 5k PR at that point is beyond me.
My 5k split ended up at 38:31 which was 23 seconds slower than my PR. At that point the course went back through DCA for a little bit and then we were out in the real world.

Things were still looking good. There was some on course entertainment like marching bands, cheerleaders and Mexican dancers that kept things interesting for a while. I tried to interact with as many people as possible to keep myself going. I gave lots of high fives. I started to do regular intervals at that point but kept my walking at a fast pace. As I approached the 10k mat I noticed I was close to a 10k PR so I decided again to go for it. This push was more difficult. My split for the 10k was 1:20:13 my pace was falling from the 5k split but only 56 seconds off of my PR.

After the 10k mat I started to feel the effects of pushing myself so early in the race. At mile 7 things were not looking so good. I choked down one of the Honey Stinger Waffles I brought along hoping it would give me more energy. I passed some hula dancers and that was a good distractions for a minute. Then I came up on the car mile, it was just car after car. There were all kinds of cars, antique, sports etc. It was nice to have the people cheering for us but cars are not my thing so it wasn't helping me feel any better. I took out my phone and started texting DH. I never thought that I was going to quit or not finish it was just hard and I needed someone to talk to. We passed through the parking lot of the Honda Center and headed on to the Santa Ana River Trail. When I was looking at the course map at home I was excited that we got to run along the river. Boy was I wrong! It was just dirt! The trail, the river bed it was all dirt. And not very fun to run. My moral went even lower at that that point. My 15k split was 2:05:53 as you can tell I fell way off!

Little did I know at the end of the trail there was going to be a light at the the end of the tunnel.
Angels sign.jpg

Angel Stadium was God sent! There was a much needed water stop as I made my way in and then the energy once inside was amazing. I took so many pictures and even made my first ever race stop to have my picture taken.

stadium1.jpg

picture of picture.jpg

oh wait there's photopass people here LOL

mestadium.jpg
First ever race stop!


After leaving the stadium I was on such a runner's high. I can totally do this! My back had kinda started hurting earlier but I didn't pay much attention, I told myself if I came up on a medical station I would stop for Advil. Right before mile 10 there was a medical station and I briefly thought about stopping for that advil but felt so good from the stadium I thought I was good.

Right after the mile 10 marker there was a lot people cheering. Some guy was yelling about getting a PR when the girl next to me at that point turned to me and said "Well I have never been past mile 10 so this is already a PR." That reminded me of something I hadn't thought about in a week. For this training I had only gotten up to 10 miles and I was nervous about it. I had completely forgotten that until she told me that and I think it started to mess with my head. My back started hurting so bad and my energy was completely gone. I was keeping up pretty good with my intervals until that and it looked like I was going to be close to my PR. But when I approached mile 11 my legs felt like lead. At 12 I hit the wall. I just didn't want to run anymore. I kinda gave up running and walked. I would try to run here and there but it was not happening, honestly I felt like such a loser. At mile 13 I said to myself I have to cross that line running. So I picked it up for the the last .1 miles. As I approached the line I saw Mickey and Pluto giving out high fives so I made my way to that side and high fived them.

line.jpg
Stopping my watch at the finish


As I crossed the line I burst out in tears. I had made it! This was the first race to ever make me cry. I guess I was just so proud of myself for completing the challenge, not only completing it but doing it all by myself. I proved that I was strong enough to do things on my own.

Continued
next post...








 
I got my medal and then made my way to the challenge tent so they could verify I completed the challenge. Once they cleared me I got my Dumbo medal and then pulled out my 10k medal that I had stashed in my pocket during the race. I stopped for my I Did it! picture
I did it.jpg

Photopass apparently had trouble placing the banner but they eventually fixed it LMAO


Ididit3.jpg

DH was signed up for text alerts and texted me that he was so proud of me after I finished so I took a picture of medals myself to send back home

medals.jpg

I got my powerade, snack box and banana before heading out of the finish area. Then I called DH on my way to back to PPH to tell him how the race went.

My thoughts on the race are I think I made a lot of mistakes for my first challenge. I went out too fast. I should have stuck with a pace that was more comfortable from the beginning. I didn't need to push myself at the split mats to get good times. My official time was 3:04:52 which was only 5 minutes slower than my PR but still 13 minutes faster than my first half that I ran in April. I also didn't fuel like I needed too. I should have finished my breakfast and ate both waffles I had brought before feeling like I was running out of energy. I decided to run this challenge as my test run for the Goofy challenge in January and I definitely learned a lot!

And I'm sure all the park time before the race probably didn't help but I wouldn't take that back for the world!!


up next Killing Time at Disneyland



 
As I crossed the line I burst out in tears. I had made it! This was the first race to ever make me cry. I guess I was just so proud of myself for completing the challenge, not only completing it but doing it all by myself. I proved that I was strong enough to do things on my own.

I don't blame you for bursting into tears - I would have too - You should be very proud of yourself - finding independent inner strength is important! I am so proud of you. :-)
 
Seriously SO happy to have been a part of the weekend, thank you @MommaoffherRocker for getting me to come out there and putting me up...putting up with me? haha
It was an awesome trip, I just wish I could have been there for the half! "next time." I had so much fun chEaring that I'm not sure why I would ever run again! :D
 
Killing Time at Disneyland

I had to be out of PPH by 11am so I didn't have much time once I got back to the room. The plan was to nap for 45 mins and then pack with the remaining 20 mins. I laid down for a little bit but was so amped up that I decided it was best to just go ahead and get myself ready. I showered and then packed. The packing took way longer than I thought but I still able to get out of the room right at 11. I had 10 hours to kill before my shuttle to the airport was set to arrive.

I was originally going to spend the day in a park but I am glad I changed my mind. I don't think my body could have handled it. Instead I decided to hang out at the pool. So I dropped my bag downstairs and then headed up to the pool deck. The plan was to take a dip but once I laid down on the comfy pool chairs I knew I wasn't moving for a while. I called DH back to tell him more about the race now that things had quieted down. After about an hour or so the pool started to get crowded so I checked the Disboards on my phone and saw that @Mickey Momma was heading to Trader Sam's if any one wanted to join her. So I decided to hobble over.


I found Mickey Momma on the patio and introduced myself. I love meeting other Disboarders!! We had a great time eating, drinking and chatting but we were in the sun so we finished up and moved over to a shady spot near the DLH. It was funny to hear how much we had in common including that she use to live near where I live now. After chatting we decided to do some shopping for our kiddos. I have to say again how friendly the people are at DL. We had a number of people come up to congratulate us on our races while eating and shopping. After shopping Mickey Momma decided to head to DCA before her World of Color dessert party (I hope you had an amazing time) and I decided to catch a movie. I so wish we would had taken a selfie! Next time for sure!

Becky had given me the idea earlier to catch a movie while I was killing time. I couldn't pass up a comfy seat in the A/C. So I decided to see Pete's Dragon, one of my favorites from childhood. When I would see the commercials for the movie I admit I wasn't thrilled with the way Elliot looked but it ended up being a good movie. I cried a lot! For some reason I was extra emotional that day. I'm sure it had nothing to do with all the running on top of a lack of sleep :rolleyes1

When the movie was finished I still had three hours to kill. I still needed to buy gifts for the kids so I went back through the gift shops. This was the most stressful part of the entire trip! I went to the 3 separate gift shops and they all had pretty much the same stuff but what else was I doing. As I was leaving the DLH gift shop I saw someone walking towards me that gave me a look like he knew me. I stopped and it clicked that it was probably another Disboarder. It turned out to be @camaker. We chatted for a couple minutes about disboards, DL and the races. It was getting close to my pick up time so we didn't have much time to talk but I hope we run into each other again at Marathon Weekend.

I made my way back to PPH and I had just enough time to grab a bite to eat at the Surfside Lounge. I finally did not care what I was eating so I order wings, fries and an adult beverage. Then I grabbed my bag, snapped a picture of Goofy and headed to the curb to catch my shuttle.
goofy.jpg


My shuttle was right on time. It wasn't a bad ride for $17 including tip. I even got to catch the fireworks on our way to LAX. When I got to the ticket counter for United I noticed I had an aisle seat. I don't know what I was thinking. The flight was over sold so there was no hope up changing or upgrading. However on my connecting flight out of Houston there was upgrades available so I snagged it. At least I could catch some Z's on that flight. When I upgraded it gave me a free bag so it wasn't really that bad of a deal. I checked my bag and headed to the gate. The first flight was quiet and I was able to get a little bit of sleep. In Houston I grabbed some Hot Cocoa and a muffin from Starbucks and headed to my next gate.
When I boarded I was stoked to have a huge comfy seat. I was so ready to just pass out when the lady next to me sat down I noticed she was the same woman that got on my shuttle from DL. I ended up striking up a conversation with her about Disney that lasted the whole 2 hours from Houston to Orlando. I think she was a bigger Disney fan than me, I don't come across many people I can say that about (in person anyways). We landed and I grabbed my bag which was one of the first off loaded. Apparently that is another perk of first class.( I have been spoiled and am not sure if I can fly any other way now :)) I headed out to the curb for my ride.

I flew into Orlando so my family could pick me up and we could continue on to Epcot. Everyone was happy to see me, especially DS1. DD5 even drew me a picture of Dumbo
DeeDumbo.jpg



I was exhausted and at this point I had been up for over 24 hours but we decided to keep chugging and we ended up at Epcot at noon. We walked inside got to the land pavilion where I turned to DH and said I just can't do this, on top of being tired it was so crowded (labor day). So we left.

If you follow my training journal you know I always eat a celebratory meal at The Maple Street Biscuit Company after a race and this weekend was no exception. The day after getting back I met DH there for lunch where I had the Five.
MSBC.jpg
it's a biscuit with sausage gravy, bacon, chicken, and cheddar cheese!


Over all I had an another awesome race weekend at DL and I can't wait to go back and do it all over again!


 
Killing Time at Disneyland

I had to be out of PPH by 11am so I didn't have much time once I got back to the room. The plan was to nap for 45 mins and then pack with the remaining 20 mins. I laid down for a little bit but was so amped up that I decided it was best to just go ahead and get myself ready. I showered and then packed. The packing took way longer than I thought but I still able to get out of the room right at 11. I had 10 hours to kill before my shuttle to the airport was set to arrive.

I was originally going to spend the day in a park but I am glad I changed my mind. I don't think my body could have handled it. Instead I decided to hang out at the pool. So I dropped my bag downstairs and then headed up to the pool deck. The plan was to take a dip but once I laid down on the comfy pool chairs I knew I wasn't moving for a while. I called DH back to tell him more about the race now that things had quieted down. After about an hour or so the pool started to get crowded so I checked the Disboards on my phone and saw that @Mickey Momma was heading to Trader Sam's if any one wanted to join her. So I decided to hobble over.


I found Mickey Momma on the patio and introduced myself. I love meeting other Disboarders!! We had a great time eating, drinking and chatting but we were in the sun so we finished up and moved over to a shady spot near the DLH. It was funny to hear how much we had in common including that she use to live near where I live now. After chatting we decided to do some shopping for our kiddos. I have to say again how friendly the people are at DL. We had a number of people come up to congratulate us on our races while eating and shopping. After shopping Mickey Momma decided to head to DCA before her World of Color dessert party (I hope you had an amazing time) and I decided to catch a movie. I so wish we would had taken a selfie! Next time for sure!

I had so much fun meeting you (and talking your ear off)! As someone who takes photos (part-time) for a living, I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to take a photo together. We will just have to get together again. :hyper2:
 
Sounds like a good end to your time at DL and so fun that you got to meet a couple of disboarders! That sausage gravy biscuit thing looks awesome!!!!!!!! Yum.
 
Great race & report! I loved Angel's Stadium too last year, such a burst of energy. I think I'm like one of the few people that liked the dirt/gravel bits of the riverbed to run on though. Great race outfits too! Good luck in your Goofy training!
 

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