It's All About the Magic!

When we were at Disney World in October, 2010 I remember one of the kids asking a question about why something happened the way it did at Disney.  A cast member, who happened to be within ear shot, stepped in and answered "It's all about the Magic!"  We use that phrase quite often around our house and on every Disney trip at least a few times since then.

Well, today, my friends it was all about the Magic!  It is no secret that I LOVE DISNEY!  I have no clue how many times I have been to Disney World - probably at least 15, Disneyland Paris once and we are going to Disneyland for the first time Labor Day Weekend so I can get my Coast 2 Coast Medal and run the Disneyland Half Marathon.  I kinda love Disney even more since I started running and completed the Princess Half Marathon.   All I wanted to do during that race was get a picture with Louis!

So Magical, LOL.  Disney + Running = Awesome, Magical time in my book! My next big, to do, was to get into the 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and register for the Goofy!  (More on Goofy Later)  Mind you, I have already used our DVC points to book Animal Kingdom Lodge for the weekend of the races.

Registration is opening at Noon, EST on April 10, 2012.  I have a note in my running log, my iPhone calendar is all set with an alert 30 minutes ahead of time, and I asked the people at RunDisney to send me an email when it is time.  Needless to say, I have been kind of worried about this race selling out since it is the 20th anniversary...

SOOO, Imagine my surprise today when I was casually checking my email on my iPhone and saw this!

View this email with images | Add us to your address book Join us for a marathon celebration 20 years in the making! You'll run across magical Disney touches at every mile, including a spectacular surprise at mile 20. And, we're creating a brand-new Mickey Mouse finisher medal you'll cherish forever. Marathon runners will follow a 26.2-mile course that takes you through all four Walt Disney World® Theme Parks, including: In addition to the Walt Disney World® Marathon, you can get your feet moving in the Half Marathon and Goofy Challenge. With savings and races filled with this much Disney magic, you'd be Goofy to miss it! Learn more about the Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend events. SM, © Disney Really, was this serious!  I knew as a Visa card member I would get a discount, but to register today... Right now!!!! WOW! So, register I did!  Here is a link, if you are so inclined as well http://www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?CHECKSSO=0&EVENT_ID=2020523 No guarantees if it will work for you, but thought I would get it out there, as I'm sure it may just make your day magical too! Now, I can proudly add 2013 Goofy Challenge to my race schedule!  For those of you who do not know what a Goofy Challenge is, it is a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday.  That is right, 39.3miles in one weekend!  Now, I know it won't be easy and I'm not planning on any PR's only magical memories and hoping some good friends join me in the challenge! Thank you Disney for making my day!

2012 Disney Princess Half Marathon Race Recap!!!

Here it is!  The recap of the 2012 Disney Princess Half Marathon!  

I decided to run this race in October, 2011 after finishing Leg 3 of the Detroit Marathon Relay.  I wanted something to train for and to look forward too.  I can't believe that it is already over and I'm on to new races and new goals!

I woke up around 2:30 after getting a swift kick to the back by a little sweet pea sleeping besides me so I decided to take some time and stretch and relax in bed before getting ready at 3am. (the time the REAL alarm was going to go off, lol)  I woke up and went in the bathroom area of our room and closed the curtain so I would not disturb everyone too much since I had to turn on the light to get ready.  After a quick, but thorough, foam roll I got myself dressed and ready to go!  I made sure to stay nice and warm in some yoga pants and my North Face fuzzy over my race outfit.

I made it to the bus stop around 3:30am and was shocked to see that there were around 40 people ahead of me.  4 buses came and went until an empty one finally arrived that I was able to get on.  I snacked on a zucchini muffin, some applesauce and some water on the bus as there was quite a bit of traffic getting to Epcot.  When I got off the bus, I immediately found my good friend who just got off her bus a minute before me.  We always have the best timing in life ;)

We made our way into the "race tent" area of the parking lot and she checked her bag while I went to check into my "race retreat" tent!  Oh so worth it!! Private bag check and porto-potties that were less used and somewhat staffed!  We met up again to make the long, long, crowded check to the starting corrals.  Me in B and her in A.  I'm really hoping that for Disneyland I will also qualify to get in A, thinking it is 99.9% possible once I do Bayshore as I expect to have at least 5-10 minutes less off my time as there are no pictures with characters on that course ;)

Once we finally got through the crowds and made our way to our corrals, there was little time to wait!  Her wave took off at 5:45 and mine at 5:51 am.  By the time I got in my corral it was around 5:30 or so.  Before I knew it, I raised my camera in front of me in anticipation for the first fireworks for corral A!!!

(This photo I bought was much prettier than the one from my phone, so enjoy!)

Before I knew it, I was off!  I quickly made it thru the starting line and another runner started chatting with me.  The roads were dark and before we knew it, mile 1 appeared.  I planned on walking 60 seconds every mile to help keep my legs fresh after all the park walking so I said good bye to my new friend.  I felt good, and was so excited and alive with energy!  Disney had a hot air balloon set up somewhere in the first three miles as well as a pirate ship with the characters for us to enjoy!

By mile 3, things changed and I felt myself dragging along a bit as my legs just did not want to cooperate.  

5K Split 31:13

Of course I kept going and told myself the Kingdom is coming up soon and of course my legs are not happy with me!  I then saw a sign with Dory on it that said "Just Keep Swimming." So appropriate for the timing!  There was a water stop between miles 3 and 4 and then we ran past the Speedway and came upon mile 4.  I'm going to call this mile a total "tease!"  At the time, I thought we were starting to enter the Magic Kingdom, granted I thought it was kind of soon but it sure looked like it!  There were some cool Japanese drummers to welcome us too!

Yea, I now realize it was the Transportation and Ticket Center... Ugh, my legs!  I kept swimming and came upon this awesome sight!

Based on the map I had in my head, I knew we were getting close and it would not be long before we would be in the Magic Kingdom!   Before I knew it we were behind the scenes and then made a sharp right hand turn onto Main Street USA!  We made another right to head across the bridge to Tomorrow Land, past the speedway and the tea cups and weaved our way between the carousel and Snow White who was waiting for Princesses to join her for photo ops.  

Next stop....

10K Split 1:10:28

We headed into Frontier Land, and then I saw him!  The character I waited for and raced for, lol!!!

Louis, the Alligator that I saw in all the runDisney advertisements for this race!!! 

I had so much energy and was so happy running through the Magic Kingdom but before I knew it, we were through Frontier Town somewhere around Splash Mountain and backstage again.  I finished up my applesauce that I brought along with me and headed on the roads and was happy to hear Kelly Clarkston's song "Stronger" at Mile 7 and see the WDW Firemen and a huge ladder truck!  I was delighted to find Lilo and Stitch too across from the Polynesian!

Mile 8 and my legs were BURNING!

Walk breaks were getting harder to do, it just felt better to run!  Right after Mile 9 there was a medical tent staffed by some awesome volunteers giving people large squirts of BioFreeze!!! I happily accepted and with one hand (tried to keep it localized so I was not going to get it in my eye) lathered it all over the front and back of my thighs.  Ahh, relief but really having issues walking.  

15K Split 1:42:58

Before Mile 10 there was another water stop that I just ran through, easier to run at this point than walk.  Then, there it was, the gigantic highway off ramp that we needed to run up!  Great, my legs really wanted to run on an incline sideways and going up at the same time.  I plugged along and was at the top before I knew it then down an over.  Heading towards Mile 11 now and for some reason, thought I only had 1.5 miles left before mile 11 but um, no I then realized I had 2 miles.  Disney had a huge video screen showing all the runners and an announcer saying where everyone was from.  That was cool but then I saw another curvy ramp to run up and then down.  Keep running!!!  I headed towards the Epcot Parking lot and passed Mile 12 before entering the park through backstage around Innovation.  We took a run towards World Showcase and then looped back at the World Lake towards Spaceship Earth!

I was doing good, but waiting for it to be over!

 Before I knew it we were in an Epcot back lot heading towards the finish as I remembered this area from the day before and knew I did not have much farther to go!  This time though, a beautiful gospel choir was singing to keep us moving... THEN...

Finished in 2:23:33!!!

A new Half Marathon PR by 33:16!  That is a 5K time!

SWEET!!!

I proudly accepted my medal and headed into the tent area again!

I was so excited to see that my friend was waiting for me!  I did not expect to see her!  It was great to congratulate each other before we headed to meet our families.  I then headed to the tent where I was greeted with a cool down towel, flip flops and a ticket for some alcohol!  Yea! Seriously!

I waddled over to the alcohol booth, got a big check on my bib and a glass of champagne to celebrate!  I then plopped down at a table and probably ate 2-3 muffins, cookies and crackers with more applesauce as I was so hungry.  A quick change of clothes and I got a call that Hubby, Pea and Monkey were right outside the Race Retreat!

I got lots of hugs, kisses and congrats as we walked (I waddled) to the Epcot entrance to head for breakfast.  We needed to find Akerhaus for our meal so we wandered toward the World Showcase.  My left foot felt like a blister was brewing on the inside of it so I stopped to put a blister strip on it that I had in my iFitness belt and we asked for directions.  We arrived in Norway and had an awesome breakfast and an incredible day in Epcot and lived Happily Ever After!

I LOVE DISNEY RACES!!!

Kudos to the Walt Disney World Chefs

I was first going to tie in all my meals to my overall 2012 Disney Princess Half Marathon trip report, but I was so amazed at how well I was able to eat and how knowledgeable the chefs were about my multiple allergies that the food deserved a entry of it's own.

When we arrived on Thursday we went to Portobello in Downtown Disney via boat from Riverside. We happened to be there the same time a winner of some cooking show, could be Top Chef, was also dining. As I looked over the menu there was really no main entrees that stuck out at me so I started to look for things I could eat to prepare to discuss when the chef arrived. When the chef came to our table she was very helpful and as they mainly serve pasta, she kindly brought me a box to look at the ingredients. As soon as I saw it was Barilla brand I knew it was out due to toe corney vitamins added so we made a lovely dish out of fresh gulf shrimp and portobello mushrooms sautéed in EVOO. A glass of Italian Pinot Gris an we were off to a good start!

The next stop was dinner at The Hollywood Brown Derby at Hollywoods Studios. We were wisked away from the crowds into the private VIP Bamboo Room. Why? I have no clue but enjoyed having a room for just us four. The waiter brought me a cool iPad with an app to select my allergies. Since I have so many, it did not work that well for me and I knew I wanted filet and mushrooms anyways. Delicious!

For breakfast on Friday am I just had some of Nana's yummy muffins she made for me before the trip. Lunch on Friday took us to the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort where I feasted on Ahi Tuna and some baked sweet potato fries which were a nice surprise. The chef commented that I even noted bananas on foods to avoid with corn due to gassing. He said not many people realized that.

Dinner on Friday was at Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Resort. I was too starving to take a picture before I dived in but got to enjoy another Filet accompanied by butternut squash.

Saturday breakfast an lunch was good I brought. We ran the 5k in the early and and truthfully we were just all too tired to make it to Downtown Disney again for lunch so Hubby and kids just used the counter service at Riverside.

Dinner on Saturday was another story. We dined at Narcosees at the Grand Floridian where I stuffed myself on a pre-race filet and a wonderful melody of wild mushrooms an EVOO.

Sunday I was up at 3am to get to the starting corrals so I snacked on muffins again and the big surprise came after my 13.1 mile run. We had reservations at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot. This was a princess character breakfast. I need to make it clear that Pea does not like princesses, lol but this was booked as a convenience to have a meal with my family after my run. When we walked in I discovered it was a buffet an just kind of accepted I will just eat the food I had with me.

The chef came out and was very committed to get me a huge and safe meal after my accomplishment. Wow! I ended up with scrambled eggs sautéed in EVOO with onions and fresh potatoes and onions also sautéed. He also made me a huge plate of fresh fruit that I just devoured. I was craving some for the past few days before.

I skipped lunch due to the huge breakfast and napped instead. Our celebration dinner was at the Coral Reef in Epcot. I enjoyed wild salmon and butternut squash.

Monday we ate at Fultons Crab House where I had Ahi Tuna and green beans.

I can not say thank you enough to all of the chefs that made my trip so wonderful. It just goes to show that with proper planning (I brought a list of all my allergies and things I avoids due to them such as salt, seasonings, etc and contacted Disney Special Diets a month in advance) and open communication with the well trained and knowledgable chefs of Disney people with severe allergies can eat well when traveling. I highly recommend Disney for this reason.