This seemed like a good idea at the time..A Princess Half Marathon-The Aftermath 4/11
- Thread starter annabanna
- Start date
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
We had just ran through Castle, fighting through the crowds.
Next up was Liberty Square. We had to stop for a photo with Naveen, Tiana and Louis. Louis is my daughters favorite. My sister has that picture though, but I did get another as we ran by.
Just after we entered Liberty Square, we found mile marker 6. 6 down, 7 to go. We could do this!!
Pretty soon we hit Fronterland and then it was time to head back stage and out of the park. When people talk about how little time is spent in the parks at these races, they are right. It seemed like we blinked and we were out. But, I guess they don't want to spend a ton of time clogging up the parks with runners. Anyway, once we were backstage we saw all the boats from my favorite ride ever - Splash Mountain. Since I had to contend with the sad fact that I would not ride it this time around, I had to at least get a picture!
After this and a few more steps back stage, the first medical station came up. I stopped and got some tylenol and my sister grabbed a handful of biofreeze. Then we were back on course. Soon we were at the halfway point where they were blasting Girl On Fire. It was a good time for it because I think that this was the point where people were starting to get worn down. The heat, the humidity, it was all getting to people. It seemed as if the sun coming up had lessened the humidity for sure and there was a bit of a breeze every so often that really helped. But, I also think that the first 5 miles of unrelenting humidity had taken its toll on people. This is also where the title for my trip came about. My sister was a little bit ahead of me and she turned around to look at me and said very loudly - "Why did I let you talk me into this?" I replied, "It seemed like a good idea at the time".
The people around us all burst out laughing. I think the same thought was going through every one's mind at the time!
Then came mile 7. I swear, this is mile 7, but I just took at the wrong time!
Also, somewhere around here was Mary Poppins and the chimney sweeps. We stopped for this (again, sis has the picture) and then we also stopped for to use the port a potty.
I am missing my mile 8 mile marker, I am not sure how that happened because I remember stopping at it. I know we stopped because it was at that point that I realized how far behind we were, all those stops had dropped us from under right around 13:20 to 16:50. I mentioned this to my sister and we both decided that we had better get going. We both felt pretty good at this point, and felt like we had the legs to take us so we would run until we felt like we should walk.
Miles 8 and 9 really seemed very boring to me. The entertainment was pretty stretched out in here and it just seemed quiet and not very Disney. It was weird. So, when we saw the Genie, we figured we had better stop.
This helped our Disney fix, it did not help our pace though. But, I figured that if my calculations were right, we could go at over 19 minutes per mile and still stay ahead of the balloon ladies. My sister and I discussed this with a couple of women who seemed to be having the same issues, and we all decided that we should just enjoy the race and take it easy. That's what I love about Disney - conversations with complete strangers and feeling like you are old friends! So, we threw all dreams of a good pace and a good time out the window and decided to just take it all in without all the pressure. It was a great decision. I have 3 other half marathons this summer to prove that I can run in a good time, this was going to be more about the experience.
Next up was Liberty Square. We had to stop for a photo with Naveen, Tiana and Louis. Louis is my daughters favorite. My sister has that picture though, but I did get another as we ran by.
Just after we entered Liberty Square, we found mile marker 6. 6 down, 7 to go. We could do this!!
Pretty soon we hit Fronterland and then it was time to head back stage and out of the park. When people talk about how little time is spent in the parks at these races, they are right. It seemed like we blinked and we were out. But, I guess they don't want to spend a ton of time clogging up the parks with runners. Anyway, once we were backstage we saw all the boats from my favorite ride ever - Splash Mountain. Since I had to contend with the sad fact that I would not ride it this time around, I had to at least get a picture!
After this and a few more steps back stage, the first medical station came up. I stopped and got some tylenol and my sister grabbed a handful of biofreeze. Then we were back on course. Soon we were at the halfway point where they were blasting Girl On Fire. It was a good time for it because I think that this was the point where people were starting to get worn down. The heat, the humidity, it was all getting to people. It seemed as if the sun coming up had lessened the humidity for sure and there was a bit of a breeze every so often that really helped. But, I also think that the first 5 miles of unrelenting humidity had taken its toll on people. This is also where the title for my trip came about. My sister was a little bit ahead of me and she turned around to look at me and said very loudly - "Why did I let you talk me into this?" I replied, "It seemed like a good idea at the time".
The people around us all burst out laughing. I think the same thought was going through every one's mind at the time! Then came mile 7. I swear, this is mile 7, but I just took at the wrong time!
Also, somewhere around here was Mary Poppins and the chimney sweeps. We stopped for this (again, sis has the picture) and then we also stopped for to use the port a potty.
I am missing my mile 8 mile marker, I am not sure how that happened because I remember stopping at it. I know we stopped because it was at that point that I realized how far behind we were, all those stops had dropped us from under right around 13:20 to 16:50. I mentioned this to my sister and we both decided that we had better get going. We both felt pretty good at this point, and felt like we had the legs to take us so we would run until we felt like we should walk.
Miles 8 and 9 really seemed very boring to me. The entertainment was pretty stretched out in here and it just seemed quiet and not very Disney. It was weird. So, when we saw the Genie, we figured we had better stop.
This helped our Disney fix, it did not help our pace though. But, I figured that if my calculations were right, we could go at over 19 minutes per mile and still stay ahead of the balloon ladies. My sister and I discussed this with a couple of women who seemed to be having the same issues, and we all decided that we should just enjoy the race and take it easy. That's what I love about Disney - conversations with complete strangers and feeling like you are old friends! So, we threw all dreams of a good pace and a good time out the window and decided to just take it all in without all the pressure. It was a great decision. I have 3 other half marathons this summer to prove that I can run in a good time, this was going to be more about the experience.
DisMullins
Disney is my guilty pleasure
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2010
LOVING this!!! I want to do PHM 2014 so thank you for this report!! 
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
Just found you, so I'm joining in a bit late.We were there for PHM, too.
Your poor sister! It must have been so stressful to arrive just a few hours before the race started.
Looking forward to reading more!
I'm not sure what was worse for her - not really training for the race, getting in so late, or being away from her baby! But, we manged!
Did you have a good time at the race?
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
LOVING this!!! I want to do PHM 2014 so thank you for this report!!
You will loved it! It was so much fun!!
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
There were just so many people and it was such a small area, there just wasn't enough room. The crowd wasn't so bad, it was just the way some people were acting.
Frustrating!
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
I left off with my sister and I making the tough decision of taking our time and enjoying the race or pushing through. We chose to take our time.
So pressure off, we passed mile 9. Then we came to Princess Ata. I love It's A Bug's Life, so this was a must for me! This line was actually the shortest that we came across, there were just a couple people in front of us.
Soon after Ata came the 15K marker.
I didn't even bother to look at my splits at this one. When we were done I looked at them they had us at a 16:14 pace, so we were over, but not as much as my runKeeper thought we were. Anyway, it was right around here my knee was really starting to bother me. I had tried to be mindful of the slanted roads and felt that I had done pretty good so far, but my knee was telling me otherwise.
I remember seeing this on the way out at the beginning of the race, so I was happy to see the Princesses again. I also think that it was some where around here that on the first leg of our race the winner passed us going the other way, and hours later we were just passing the same point! It just boggles my mind that people can be that fast!
Soon enough we were passing underneath the overpass and found mile marker 10.
This was a great sight. And it was also the furthest I had ever run. Now it was all mental for me. I knew that I could get to mile 10 because I had done it a few times in training. But, I hadn't gone the whole way. So this was my final test. We started up the on ramp to the overpass. I felt okay at first, and I tried to stay on the flat part. But, there wasn't really a flat part. I tried being on the inside of the ramp but that didn't really seem to help. So then I moved to the outside and tried to run on the grass but that didn't seemed to make much of a difference, plus it was way more crowded on the outside. So, we headed back towards the inside and I just limped along. I know that my knee was in bad shape and the look on my face must have shown that because my sis, who was now in front of me, looked back and got really alarmed. She asked if I wanted to stop. I told her that there was no way we were stopping. At that point I didn't care if I had to crawl over the finish line, I was not getting off that course!
So pressure off, we passed mile 9. Then we came to Princess Ata. I love It's A Bug's Life, so this was a must for me! This line was actually the shortest that we came across, there were just a couple people in front of us.
Soon after Ata came the 15K marker.
I didn't even bother to look at my splits at this one. When we were done I looked at them they had us at a 16:14 pace, so we were over, but not as much as my runKeeper thought we were. Anyway, it was right around here my knee was really starting to bother me. I had tried to be mindful of the slanted roads and felt that I had done pretty good so far, but my knee was telling me otherwise.
I remember seeing this on the way out at the beginning of the race, so I was happy to see the Princesses again. I also think that it was some where around here that on the first leg of our race the winner passed us going the other way, and hours later we were just passing the same point! It just boggles my mind that people can be that fast!
Soon enough we were passing underneath the overpass and found mile marker 10.
This was a great sight. And it was also the furthest I had ever run. Now it was all mental for me. I knew that I could get to mile 10 because I had done it a few times in training. But, I hadn't gone the whole way. So this was my final test. We started up the on ramp to the overpass. I felt okay at first, and I tried to stay on the flat part. But, there wasn't really a flat part. I tried being on the inside of the ramp but that didn't really seem to help. So then I moved to the outside and tried to run on the grass but that didn't seemed to make much of a difference, plus it was way more crowded on the outside. So, we headed back towards the inside and I just limped along. I know that my knee was in bad shape and the look on my face must have shown that because my sis, who was now in front of me, looked back and got really alarmed. She asked if I wanted to stop. I told her that there was no way we were stopping. At that point I didn't care if I had to crawl over the finish line, I was not getting off that course!
TXAng
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2006
Yes, I sure did! I did not run for time, at all - stopped for a ton of photos and just had fun. This was my first Disney race, and I was just thrilled to be there.
Boo for knee pain!
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
We had just got to mile 10 when I last left off. We were going under the overpass and so close to being done!
Probably one of my favorite sights of the whole race was the army man from Toy Story. I have a video of him telling us runners to "Move it, move it, move it" - so cool!
The course evened out here for a while and I felt better and we were able to run for most of the next mile. It was crazy to look back and see all of the runners that were behind us.
It made me feel better about our decision to take it easy. I somehow missed the mile 11 marker picture. At this point all I could really think about was being done and I just really wanted to see the Gospel Choir. My knee was killing me, I was tired and hungry. I can tell that I was just over the whole thing by then because I only have a couple of pictures after the army man. When we turned the corner at the big cone barrier to head into the Epcot parking lot, there were a handful of coaches hanging out looking for their runners. They were so upbeat and positive and kept telling everyone how close we were and it was a walk in the park (literally) from there. It was nice to hear that, I sure needed it!
Next up was mile 12 and we headed into the park.
We took one last stop at Pinocchio, just to say that we did. Then we went around the loop in Epcot where there were a lot spectators. At this point we were so ready to be done. I was hurting, my sis was really hurting as she had strained a muscle in her calf and we were tired. And, she just wanted to get back to her 6 month old (she had gone since 2:30 am without breastfeeding - she was hurting!) But, we were so close! We heard the Gospel Choir, and then came around the corner to see them. People are not wrong when they talk about these guys - they are a wonderful, wonderful sight!
Then we came across mile 13! We were so close.
We were determined to run across the finish line, but we had to stop and get one last picture with Minnie. This one I do have on my phone.
After that, we grabbed each other's hands and crossed the finish line together. I won't lie, I totally cried at this point. All of that training, the runs in single digit temperatures and double digit winds, the after-work runs in the dark and miles on the treadmill - it was here. The finish. It all hit me at once. I was emotional. But, I pulled it together, found a volunteer with a medal and got one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip:
and then found the ice tent.
I was so happy to be done, but I was also kind of sad that it was over. I was really proud of myself. I was never a runner, ever. And most people I know would never believe that I did this if I didn't have the medal to prove it. Another thing that I think is pretty neat is how many people I have talked to who say doing this race is on their bucket list, and I have done it. I take some pride in that.
Anyway, back at the ice tent. I had them tape my knee with ice, which was much needed. Then we went and gathered our bags from the nice Red Hat Ladies, got our food boxes, some water and we headed for our bus. Then we saw it. The longest. line. ever. Seriously, this thing doubled back on itself it was so long. We literally waited 30 minutes. We waited while we watched every single other line move at what seemed like warp speed. That was the worst. All we wanted to do was to get off our feet, get back to our families, our showers and dry clothes. But instead we waited in line forever.
Eventually a bus came, and then another one pulled up at the same time and finally they were able to load almost the entire line at once. Apparently someone over at Disney transportation got the message that there was a serious backup at the Pop/AoA line and sent a bunch of busses at once.
I will say that the bus ride back was much calmer (and more smelly) than the ride there. Everyone just seemed done.
The ride back was quick and pretty soon we were pulling up at AoA. I had called DH on the way back and found that the whole family was at the pool. Sis and I headed straight for them - she really needed to breastfeed her baby. We all said our hellos, congratulations, and I headed for the room and a shower. By this time my knee was really starting to swell and it was not feeling very good.
Probably one of my favorite sights of the whole race was the army man from Toy Story. I have a video of him telling us runners to "Move it, move it, move it" - so cool!
The course evened out here for a while and I felt better and we were able to run for most of the next mile. It was crazy to look back and see all of the runners that were behind us.
It made me feel better about our decision to take it easy. I somehow missed the mile 11 marker picture. At this point all I could really think about was being done and I just really wanted to see the Gospel Choir. My knee was killing me, I was tired and hungry. I can tell that I was just over the whole thing by then because I only have a couple of pictures after the army man. When we turned the corner at the big cone barrier to head into the Epcot parking lot, there were a handful of coaches hanging out looking for their runners. They were so upbeat and positive and kept telling everyone how close we were and it was a walk in the park (literally) from there. It was nice to hear that, I sure needed it!
Next up was mile 12 and we headed into the park.
We took one last stop at Pinocchio, just to say that we did. Then we went around the loop in Epcot where there were a lot spectators. At this point we were so ready to be done. I was hurting, my sis was really hurting as she had strained a muscle in her calf and we were tired. And, she just wanted to get back to her 6 month old (she had gone since 2:30 am without breastfeeding - she was hurting!) But, we were so close! We heard the Gospel Choir, and then came around the corner to see them. People are not wrong when they talk about these guys - they are a wonderful, wonderful sight!
Then we came across mile 13! We were so close.
We were determined to run across the finish line, but we had to stop and get one last picture with Minnie. This one I do have on my phone.
After that, we grabbed each other's hands and crossed the finish line together. I won't lie, I totally cried at this point. All of that training, the runs in single digit temperatures and double digit winds, the after-work runs in the dark and miles on the treadmill - it was here. The finish. It all hit me at once. I was emotional. But, I pulled it together, found a volunteer with a medal and got one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip:
and then found the ice tent.
I was so happy to be done, but I was also kind of sad that it was over. I was really proud of myself. I was never a runner, ever. And most people I know would never believe that I did this if I didn't have the medal to prove it. Another thing that I think is pretty neat is how many people I have talked to who say doing this race is on their bucket list, and I have done it. I take some pride in that.
Anyway, back at the ice tent. I had them tape my knee with ice, which was much needed. Then we went and gathered our bags from the nice Red Hat Ladies, got our food boxes, some water and we headed for our bus. Then we saw it. The longest. line. ever. Seriously, this thing doubled back on itself it was so long. We literally waited 30 minutes. We waited while we watched every single other line move at what seemed like warp speed. That was the worst. All we wanted to do was to get off our feet, get back to our families, our showers and dry clothes. But instead we waited in line forever.
Eventually a bus came, and then another one pulled up at the same time and finally they were able to load almost the entire line at once. Apparently someone over at Disney transportation got the message that there was a serious backup at the Pop/AoA line and sent a bunch of busses at once.
I will say that the bus ride back was much calmer (and more smelly) than the ride there. Everyone just seemed done.The ride back was quick and pretty soon we were pulling up at AoA. I had called DH on the way back and found that the whole family was at the pool. Sis and I headed straight for them - she really needed to breastfeed her baby. We all said our hellos, congratulations, and I headed for the room and a shower. By this time my knee was really starting to swell and it was not feeling very good.
afnaechiquita
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2008
Congratulations on your finish! It's hard to keep up such a positive attitude, but it seems as though you and your sister did. Great work.
I agree about miles 8 - 9. I plan my bathroom break around those miles because there's nothing else to look forward to :|
I agree about miles 8 - 9. I plan my bathroom break around those miles because there's nothing else to look forward to :|
ZehnJahren
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 5, 2010
really enjoyed your trip report so far; I'd love to do this race or the WDW half but don't know if I'll be able to, so I love to read about them!
I'll be lurking!
I'll be lurking!
mouseketeer70
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2008
Your report is not only informative to someone who has never run a race at Disney but very motivational. I too have never been a runner and honestly no one thinks I can do it but I am determined to run this race! I am working through the Couch to 5K program as a start. Very slow going. But your report gives me hope that I can do it! It was just a relief to know that people do walk, a lot, and that everyone is not a big time, serious race type runner! I have been worried about that. So thank you
Can't wait to hear about the aftermath now. I hope your knee was well enough for you to enjoy yourself!
Can't wait to hear about the aftermath now. I hope your knee was well enough for you to enjoy yourself!
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
Thank you
Yes, those miles 8-9 were just grueling and seemed never ending. I was happy to hit that 10 mile mark!
annabanna
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2011
Thank you!!
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