Princess Half and Disney Princess Weekend day 4

Our last day of my Disney Princess weekend was Half Marathon day! Jennifer and I got up early (not 2:45 early!) but early to go see Brooke and Jillian run their half marathon! I have to say it was a pretty exciting experience. We stood at the finish line and watched countless princesses run across the finish line. There were about 25,000 runners that day. As Jennifer and I waited for Brooke and Jillian we watched a young child cheer for her mom. It was so sweet. She kept yelling "Go, Mommy, Go!" I teared up watching it! 

This is after the race! Don't they look great for running 13.1 miles? You can read about their experience here.

I knew that Brooke and Jillian were dressing up like Elsa and Anna from Frozen. I knew I wanted to make a sign to hold up for them so I went with the Frozen theme. I used the song Let it Go as my inspiration.

The finish line. The big screen was showing the girls (and some guys) as they crossed.

As Jennifer and I waited to meet up with the girls, we watched this couple get engaged. It was so sweet!

The Half Marathon Finishers!!!

When the race was over, we met up with  my family for lunch at Hollywood Studios. We went to the Sci-Fi Dine-In theater. It was a fun place to eat. The food is alright but the atmosphere was pretty neat. I would definitely check it out if you are going to Disney.

We sat in cars like this and ate our lunch watching old movies!

When lunch was over Jennifer tried to convince me to ride Tower of Terror. Jennifer told me that she got up early, put on a Minnie Mouse outfit and ran/walked 6.2 miles the day before for me. She said the least I could do is ride that scary ride! I said no! I'm so scared of that ride! Thank goodness Brooke and Jillian are not chickens like me so they rode it with her. I went and got a seat with my parents to watch the Beauty and the Beast show. That's more my speed. 

Dad and I waiting for the show to start. 

Belle 

Since Dad had a scooter for the trip we had to use the handicap entrance for attractions. We were one row from the stage at the Beauty and Beast show. We got some incredible pictures!

Since this was our last night at Disney World we spent it at our favorite place...Magic Kingdom. 

We rode the Little Mermaid ride. 

My dad and brother waiting for the parade. My dad is wearing my mom's jacket! He was cold and that was all we had! 

My family in front of Cinderella's Castle.

My brother and I love the night activities at the Magic Kingdom. The fireworks, the castle show, and the parade are our favorites!

This trip was a big step for my dad. He told us about 15 years ago that he was never going back to Disney. He doesn't think this is the happiest place on earth! But he decided about a month before the race that he wanted to go. Daddy said that the last six months changed his mind. I think he actually had fun this trip! It was so nice to be where it was warm! Dad rode around in a scooter and that helped him so much. (He just started walking about 4 weeks before we left.) It meant so much to me to have him there supporting me at my Princess race!

 Even though I was so tired and limped around the two days after the race, it was a blast. The trip was planned by our Disney travel agent, Jennifer Sheehan. I started planning this trip last July and Jennifer was there from the first moment. I even texted her while I was on my trip and she helped me then! She is so helpful and caring! I think she went above and beyond to help make this a special trip for my family! If you are thinking about planning a trip to Disney, please don't hesitate to contact Jennifer. We have already contacted her to look into planning a special Disney trip this fall...I have to take a Disney trip as Aunt Moe soon!

Of course the highlight of my trip was the Enchanted 10K but being in the Magic Kingdom was a close second. I love going to Disney because it makes me feel like a kid again. The magic still gets me. In this crazy world with lots of sadness, deadlines, and stress it is nice to go to the happiest place on earth every once in a while. It's a nice escape from it all.

xoxo

Disney Princess Weekend Day 3

The Enchanted 10K was on day three of our Disney Princess weekend. Since Jennifer and I got up at 2:45 to run we decided that this day would be an easy day without a lot of park hopping!

Of course I had to wear my bling for the rest of the day. I wanted everyone to know why I was limping around the park. My hip was hurting and my legs were so tired! I was also so excited to wear shorts!

As soon as we were ready, we headed to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with my family and our friends Brooke and Jillian. 

Last summer when we went to Disney we ate at Be Our Guest. I knew that I wanted to eat there again. It is almost impossible to get dinner reservations so we settled for lunch.We got in line and waited for about 45 minutes to get in. This is the Grand Ballroom. It is so pretty. It even snows outside the windows!

The best part of the meal was my dessert! This is a strawberry cream cheese cupcake. I thought I deserved this yummy treat after my run. 

Jennifer and I were so tired and the Magic Kingdom was so crowded. We decided to go back to our hotel to take a nap. 

I wanted a picture of us with our medals in front of the castle.

As we walked around the park all the cast members congratulated us on our run! I think that made it just a little bit more special!

After our rest I got ready and headed to Epcot to meet Mom, Dad, and Ryan for dinner. We ate at the Corral Reef. You know, the restaurant that was in a Full House episode back in the 90s!

It was mainly seafood and I don't like seafood. And it is at an aquarium and I have a fear of aquariums. So this was not my favorite.

I took this selfie to send to a friend to show off my medal. Can you say I was proud of that medal?

My brother Ryan. 

 

That night I looked up the results the race. I was 3212!  

We went to bed pretty early that night. Brooke and Jillian were running the next morning so we wanted to cheer them on at their race!

I have decided that for my next Run Disney race that I will stay at the Grand Floridan and just chill at my hotel the day of the race. I have always wanted to stay at the Grand Floridan so this would be the best time since you do spend time in your room!

xoxo

Enchanted 10K

 Last year I decided I wanted to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon. I was so excited to train and prepare for the Princess run. But in August my hip decided to not cooperate. I couldn't run without pain and I couldn't walk without a limp for days after a run. Then my dad was in his terrible car accident and all running came to a complete stop for me. So after 3 months of rest I thought I was healed. I started to run again and the hip pain came back. I went to the doctor and didn't get any real answers. (I am still waiting for some answers!) I did start physical therapy and that has helped some but running still hurts! After all this pain I knew it would be stupid to try to do the half marathon so I made the decision to do the new 10K of the Princess weekend. I say all this because I went into this 10K without any training! I have never ran more than 5 miles at one time and that was last June! I was extremely nervous for this race. I didn't know how my hip would do and I didn't know if I had the stamina to do 6.2 miles.

This is my recap and my thoughts on my first Run Disney race. 

This is right after I crossed the finish line and I saw my mom! I think I am half laughing and half crying

Our wake up time!

My best friend Jennifer signed up for this race with me. She is not a runner so I was so surprised and happy that she decided to run this race. This was Jennifer's first race ever! 

We waited at our hotel for 30 minutes to get a bus to Epcot for the start of the race. Finally at 4:00 am we were on the bus and ready to go. 

 

We had to walk a while to get to the starting line and our corrals. It was hard to believe that we were there and getting ready to run a race. 

Our first stop was the porta potties. yuck! The lines were so long.

We decided to go get in our corrals so we could wait. Jennifer was in corral E and I was in corral D.  I sat down to rest my legs. I checked my heart rate during the wait and it was 98! I was nervous. 

Finally it was time for my corral to start. I was in corral D and as we started they played "Who let the Dogs Out!" I have to say the start of this race was more fun than any other races I have started. Disney shot off fireworks when each corral started. 

Within in half a mile I saw Queen Elsa on an overpass. This was so cool! As we ran under Elsa it was snowing and she was talking to us. She was asking if we wanted to run in snow! As soon as we passed under the bridge there were speakers playing "Let it Go." This was definitely one of the best parts of the race.

I passed mile one and my time was about 12:09. I started at 6:00 instead of 5:30 so I was 30 minutes behind the clock time.

My hip was not hurting and I was feeling good! I wasn't running really fast and I was okay with that. My goal was to have fun and finish!

Mile 2. This is where my hip decided to hurt. But I still was running about a 12 minute mile. At this point in the race I needed to find a bathroom. I had to wait in another porta potty line! crazy! 

Mile 3
 I knew I was half way and getting so close to Epcot. The race course took us on back roads into Epcot. It was neat to see behind the scenes of a Disney park. My hip was hurting more but I kept on running. I was getting slower at each mile.

This was my view when I ran into Epcot. The big torches were so beautiful and made Epcot seem magical. It kind of made Epcot gain a few points in my book. (Epcot is not my favorite Disney park.)

The course went through the world showcase at Epcot and then around the Boardwalk hotel and Beach and Yacht Club hotel. I am not sure why I don't have any pictures from this part of the race. Probably because I was in pain and just praying that I would finish. I ran and walked most of the race up to mile 5. At mile 5 I decided to walk till I got to mile 6. I really wanted to run across the finish line. 

Disney has characters out on the race course. But the lines were long to have your picture made with them. I knew I wanted to have fun on this race but I think I was being a little competitive in my mind. I knew stopping and waiting for pictures would make my time slower! I have also learned that stopping with my hip kind of makes it hurt more (maybe that is in my mind too).

When I crossed the finish line the announcer said my name!  It was so surreal to hear my name being called out at Disney! I had told my family before the race that I was sure I would cry as I crossed the finish line. Simply because I had accomplished a goal and partly because I knew I would be in pain. I really tried to hold it together but I did cry crossing that line!

My official time was 1:20:08.

The finish line. My mom took this picture from where she was standing.

After I crossed the finish line I heard people shouting my name. I spotted my mom and friends. I was so happy to see them!  I am doing my princess wave to my fans! Ha!*

I got my medal and began to make my way to my mom because I knew Jennifer was right behind me.

It was official. I had the bling and I was done!

A picture with the finish line and Epcot ball in the background. 

My sweet friends Brooke and Jillian came with my mom to watch me finish. They were running the half the next day so I was happy and honored that they came to watch me. Getting up early is not easy when you know you have a 2:15 wake up call the next day!

As we were waiting for Jennifer, Brooke showed me a hip stretch. I was in pain so I decided it was worth a shot.

Jennifer was texting me every time she crossed a mile. I knew she was getting closer so we waited to hear her name called out. We cheered when we heard her name being called out!

Right after she crossed the finish line!*

I was so happy for her! And guess what? I cried when she crossed the finish line too! This was a big accomplishment for Jennifer. She was so worried she might be swept and have to ride the bus of shame. (Disney requires you to maintain a 16 minute mile at their races.)

*A special thanks to Josh at JAWs Photography . He took the starred pictures of Jennifer and me at the race! 

Two happy girls

Before I left for Disney I would say I was just doing a 10K.  I didn't feel like it was as impressive as the half marathon. But I have learned to be proud of my "just a 10K".  It was hard work for this girl who is pretending to be a runner. I know that I probably don't have the best form and I am clueless about distance running but I gave it a try. My original goal was modified but I did it. I ran a Princess Race at Disney and I think that is pretty awesome!

I have said that I was hanging up my running shoes after this race because of my hip pain but I think I might have to continue. I still want to do the Princess Half Marathon! I want to run through Cinderella's Castle just one time in my life! After all I am 99.9% sure I am a Disney Princess! 

xoxo

Disney Princess Weekend Day 2

I see London,

I see France, 

I see Melissa's KT tape! 

We spent Friday at Epcot. I hadn't really spent time in Epcot on my last few trips to Disney so I was looking forward to exploring this park. Maybe I was tired or maybe I was just nervous about the race the next day but I didn't enjoy Epcot as much as I thought I would. I did enjoy riding Soarin and meeting Mickey and Minnie. 

It all started with a mouse.

We left the park early so Jennifer and I could rest and get in bed early for the Enchanted 10K. While we were waiting for our bus I decided to practice my Pure Barre moves. Doesn't everyone else do this? :)

 

My brother, Ryan and my dad came down on Friday to spend the weekend with us. While Jennifer and I rested Mom, Dad, and Ryan went to the Magic Kingdom! 

xoxo