Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Weekend Filled with Princesses, Pink, and Pain

I survived my second half marathon.  I can proudly say that I PR'd by 18 min (although I am not happy with my finish time at all).  I finished in 3:12:21.  I was hoping to finish under 3 hours (closer to 2:45) but whatever.  It was still a great race.  Last year I ran with Sharon for the first 2 miles before I let her leave me in the dust.  This year, I was with her for 5.5 miles, only stopping because I tweaked my knee.  I ran for the next 2-3 miles before I finally listened to my body and took it easy.  Every step was excruciating and I almost didn't want to finish (or think I would finish).  But I did and I'm so proud! 
Fit for a Princess Expo
So here's the weekend wrap up....

Saturday
John and I headed up to Orlando, with Tim and Sharon, to meet up with my parents who were there already.  We grabbed a great breakfast with them on our way up.  We got settled in at the hotel, made a quick trip to the Nike outlet (which you will see a couple references to), then hit up the Expo.  I was really looking forward to checking it out but when we got there (2 hours after it opened), it was a mad house.  It took forever to get our bibs and goody bags.  There were so many people that you really couldn't move.  So I resigned to the fact that we wouldn't be able to browse like we did last year but demanded we stop at the Sweaty Band booth.  I am the proud owner of a Sweaty Band and it was worth every dollar that I spent!!!  My hair wasn't in my face and it never moved.  I am a believer!!!  We then left, went back to the hotel for lunch, then hit up mini golf.  Disney has 2 different miniature golf courses on its propery.  We did the first last year and tried the second this year.  It was a Winter Summerland.  We were transported to the North Pole in both the winter and summer.  It was a great course and not stressful like last year.  After that, we headed home.  John and I took a quick trip to Magic Kingdom to get Noah a hook like Captain Hook (he's big into Captain Hook now).  Then it was home for an early bedtime for the big race. 
Just another day of golf at Disney
 Sunday....Race Day
Our 4am alarm came very early but I was excited to get started.  There were 17000 runners this year so traffic was horrible to say the least.  We got to Epcot, parked and made our way to bag check.  Then it was the long walk to the corrals.  Our corral was sent off in traditional Disney style....Fireworks and the Fairy Godmother.  Its amazing what a difference an iPod makes.  Last year I didn't run with one and decided that I would this year.  It definitely made the experience a little more tolerable.  I was doing great for the first 5.5 miles.  I was hanging with Sharon (a huge improvement from last year) and then it happened.  I felt a tweak in my left knee.  I don't know what happened. All I know is from that moment on, every step was painful.  I told Sharon to go on without me and from that point on, I struggled with the race.  I was set on having a great time and knew that I could do it if I pushed through the pain.  I also knew what happened to a girl at work who pushed through the pain.....a torn labrum, crutches, and possible surgery.  I didn't want that so I chose to listen to my body over a good time.  So I crossed the finish line, 18 minutes better than last year, with a smile on my face. I'm so proud that I was able to shave that much time off, regardless of being bummed about the actual time.  It truly is an accomplishment to be able to say that you've finished a half marathon, let alone 2 of them.  The rest of the day included a shower, a nap, and a trip to Epcot to celebrate Tim's birthday.  We swung by China for lunch, had to say goodbye to Dad (who was going back home) and we enjoyed the rest of the day at Epcot doing all the rides that John and I can't do when the kids are with us.  My knee was pretty rough but I managed.
Race Day Memories
Monday
We got up bright and early to go to Hollywood Studios.  I was in tears with my knee pain but it finally loosened up after the long walk to the gates.  We went to the Rocking Rollercoaster (or whatever its called) which was AWESOME!!!  Rode that twice before jumping on Tower of Terror and then headed to Toy Story Mania, which might be my favorite ride.  We got to me Lotso from Toy Story 3 and Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars.  By this time I was miserable and started feeling sick (which I'm now on antibiotics for).  We called it a day and headed back home to see our kiddos, who we missed so much.  
Pics from Epcot and Hollywood Studios
 It was a long weekend, a painful weekend, but an amazing weekend.  I am looking forward to next year's Princess and we're already looking into a few more Disney races.

~JRC~

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