Trip Report COMPLETED- Chickie RUNS Wonderland...and goes MAD!!!

Wow!!! After a long PTR, tons of planning, and several years of wanting to make this happen...it FINALLY happened! I participated in a runDisney race weekend!!! If you didn't follow the PTR, here are some of the basics...

WHEN: January 7-12
WHERE: WDW/AKL
WHO: Me (Sandy) and my friend (for part of the time)
WHAT: 5K, 10K, Half Marathon- Participant; Full Marathon- Part time cheerleader; 5 day park hopper

Hopefully, the title will explain itself as the report progresses.

January 7th

As some of you may know, I'm in the Houston area. We had a 7:30am-ish flight out of Intercontinental, so I was up bright and early after a long final day of packing and repacking. Yeah, I weighed my bag the night before and it came in at 58 lbs...before adding in things like hair stuff and makeup. It was a real challenge because I had a lot I needed to take since this wasn't your average Disney trip and the cheap fare I booked prohibited carry ons for the flight to Orlando. I really made the most of my personal item as I possibly could. I would eventually get my checked bag down to 47.5 lbs, so I was feeling good...at least heading to Orlando. I will also tell you that this is when my husband (the one who never understands why I "need" another bag) reminded me that I usually get a bag as a souvenir. I took that as...you need to buy a big bag...as in luggage!

I got a text from my friend that she was on her way in her Lyft. I live fairly close to Intercontinental and the cost to park was cheaper than two Lyfts, so I drove. We were hoping to meet up before security, but she got dropped off at terminal E and I was dropped off at C. United flies out of both and they sort of blend into each other. So, we wouldn't meet up until after security. What's funny...our flight was taking out of E, so you'd think she would have beaten me to the gate, but I got there first.

Yeah, my personal item bag (backpack) was primarily filled with all of my essential run gear. I was able to fit two out of three pairs of running shoes in there, but wore my 5K shoes for travel since those would be the first I'd need.


My friend arrived shortly after and we caught up on the details of the day so far...like all of the Disney folks she saw while going through security.

It wasn't long before it was time to board the plan. Call me a crazy planner and researcher, but I checked out our plane the night before and saw we'd be on a big 767 that had flown in from Rio. The plan was huge and the seats were super comfy. I took my seat and watched the sun start to come up...

Actually, I was in the aisle seat at first, but the flight wasn't even close to full. So, I scooted over. What's funny...a family would come over and initially think I was in their seat, but it was a really odd situation. Their adult kids were behind me and the wife actually was booked for that window seat I'd scooted into, but the husband had been bumped up into the really luxe looking business class, so his seat number was reassigned to me. The wife told me I could have the window, so that was sweet, but she ended up sitting in the middle section with three seats because her husband decided he'd be in hot water with her if he went off to sit in the luxurious seating all by himself. So, now I had both seats to myself to stretch out.

We took off right on time...

Bye Houston!!!

Bye Galveston!!! Ok, I think it's Galveston!

And this...well, I'm guessing it's Louisiana, but it looked neat with the sun!

I'm a big fan of United's entertainment app, so I was a bit delayed in realizing we had crossed into Florida airspace.

My friend had what I've dubbed "the good side of the plane," so no attempts at photographing Disney from the air this time.

Going east, we always have a crazy tailwind (the actual wind, not the exercise fuel-hahahaha), so we arrived super early. With all of our run gear, I wasn't taking any chances with luggage, so we went to baggage to collect our bags. Thankfully, no issues. Then it was off to the Magical Express. Of course, I picked the slowest line, but we'd eventually get where we needed to be.

(YAY DISNEY!!!)

We got the boring Mears bus on the right. Boooo!!! But hey, it was taking us to Disney and we had a super fun driver. She was crazy excited, which is always nice.

Bye bye, more magical looking MEs! I guess I haven't been through MCO in a while (2014?) because of road trips to FL, so I hadn't seen these in person. At first, I thought they were DCL buses. Nice!

We also didn't have to wait too horribly long for them to fill up the bus.

I was not in a good spot to capture us going under the Maingate, so this was the awful pic I got. LOL

We are never EVER the first (or even second) stop, so it wasn't any shock when we pulled up to Pop.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Wow...already coming around to Mexico!

Yup...still didn't stop.

I also ran behind Santa for a little bit!

So, this was my last picture before the finish line, but I do have several Photopass pics.

Now those are the better pictures. Here are the ones that I share simply for the humor of them.

After crossing the finish, it was time to walk to the tents with the goodies.

If you followed my PTR, you know that I bought that hoodie as a throw away piece. I decided that I kind of like it, so I decided to just tie it and keep it. I just wish I remembered to take it off before my medal/I did it! photo.

Someone was also kind enough to do the phone swap with me and take my pictures if I took theirs.

I had been hoping my friend would wait after her finish to ride the bus back with me, but she suggested getting a head start so she could shower. I guess that was wise since we had all kinds of post race plans. I had so much stuff in my hands and I was feeling kind of alone, so I decided to skip the post race characters. So, I made the walk to the buses...

My line wasn't this bad, but some of them were insane. I guess this is kind of like the video I saw showing Pop picking runners up for the race. I got on to a bus pretty quickly and had my first piece of bling for the events. I believe it was the 5k where I rode back next to a woman who is a school teacher from Ohio, who I believe was also there to do Dopey. She was super sweet, so it was a nice bus companion.

My friend didn't get one, but I was pretty excited to get a runDisney mylar.

I'm so glad they now do metal medals for the 5k. She's so pretty!

Before wrapping up this section, I have a bunch of thoughts on the race and my very first runDisney race experience.

1. I wasn't prepared for the crowds. I'm a bit claustrophobic, so having all of those people elbow to elbow with me in the lines and corrals and the course was a bit much for me at times. It's bizarre...I prefer having people around me when I run, but this many around me was almost too much.
2. I wasn't prepared for the darting and weaving. If you've ever done a race...any kind of race, you usually experience a lot of this at the start, but with the Disney crowds, it is an all-race kind of thing.
3. Wearing non-running pants for a 5k is tolerable, but not enjoyable. Glad I only planned these for the shortest distance.
4. You may notice I'm holding my phone. I wanted pictures and there was no point in shifting it in and out of my belt. If I'm going to hold a phone or a camera for a whole race and pick a costume without pockets in the legs, I'm going to need, at the very least, a pop socket. Not sure I film enough to justify a gimbal, but it's a consideration.
5. While I like my bib belts, I think I'd like to try bib magnets next time around. It would be nice to have one less thing around my waist.
6. I know the 5k is the shortest adult distance and with the waves, faster runners could be done really fast, but I didn't love seeing all of the runners with their medals waiting to leave as the final waves were just getting started. It was just so odd to see people already done and ready to head to their hotels while you're just starting.
7. Maybe these are just the normal thoughts of a solo runner, but I felt like runDisney ... so far ... was more fun for people running in groups of friends and family. Don't me wrong...it's super cool, but it looks like it's more fun as a group. It was this bizarre feeling. I was so excited to be there and really enjoying myself, but felt like others with friends were enjoying it more. Even at this shorter distance, I saw people waiting for friends in the World Showcase and going through all kinds of fun little traditions they must have developed over the years.
8. I knew this was my least creative costume, but my most obvious too. Not that any of my costumes were complete and total wows (there were some amazing costumes out there), but I think this one had the least crowd appeal. No regrets though, because I still think it added to the fun. I probably could have more fun with the 5k because of the shorter distance.

Several other observations...All in all, it was a pretty fun experience. I wouldn't notice it today, but apparently there was a stinky dumpster right after you ran out of the WS and there were a lot of people saying that Disney cut back on the number of character stops (4 total for this). I also almost ate it in mile 1. With all that course congestion, I wound up on the far left during a longer run interval. My foot landed in the beginning of a storm drain and I had to fight really hard to recover so that I wouldn't twist it or fall. I was wondering why my quad and hips were giving me pains I never experienced and I'm now starting to wonder if it's from this. Super scary, but it ended OK. Oh well...time to move on with the day.
____________________________________________________________________

Coming up...a breakfast with cake, Epcot time, Oga's, and an unexpected park visit...otherwise known as "stupid things you shouldn't do when you have two more races to run."

On a running related note...tomorrow I am seeing my daughter's allergist/asthma specialist. I didn't want to take this step until I decided I was serious about doing more and getting better with my running, but tomorrow is going to be my first attempt to get a handle on my running induced asthma. I have some ideas of things I want to do in the future and I really can't do them without taking this step. Fingers crossed this goes well and it helps me get to a point where I can push with less fear.

 

[Swissmiss]

I had many of the same thoughts/feelings as you after my 5k at WDW. Up until that point, I had always at least started a race with friends (after the start we usually run our own races because I have a slower pace, but at least the wait was always with friends).

I was supposed to do the 5K with my sister and my DD (who was 12 at the time) ... but it was the year it was REALLY REALLY REALLY cold (freezing temps with below freezing wind chill) so my sister got worried about her fitness level (she was only going to walk), the cold, the stress, her overall health and decided she shouldn’t do the race. Consequently I told my DD she didn’t need to do the race either. So in the end I was not with a group and it was ok, but “different”. On the plus side, I only had to concentrate on myself and I was pleased with my run.

And yes, the weaving around runners!!! My pace fluctuates between 11-13 mins/mile depending on weather, distance, preparation, etc. But even when I am at 11 mins/mile over here I am at the back of the pack ... so to weave in and out of people all thru a half marathon AND to realize that I was smack in the middle of the pack in terms of time was quite a different experience for me.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

I’m with you on the feeling a bit lonely, particularly for the 5k it seemed like I was one of the only people on my own. Not so bad once the race started but waiting on my own was quite hard. I think that’s part of what made the 5k my least favourite of the races.

If it’s the same entry procedure as the Dopey, when you filled in the online form for the 5k and 10k there should have been a drop down box asking you what pace you would do during the race. I’m assuming this is what they use for corral placement, but it does seem to rely on people being honest and we know that always happens with runDisney events.

So glad you’ve decided to keep up your running, it gets addictive doesn’t it. Much prefer magnets for race bibs. I forgot mine and couldn’t find any at the expo, really surprised Disney didn’t have themed ones I probably would have bought a few sets.

 

[MinnieM123]

We waited for close to 45 minutes for a bus and it involved other guests hailing down bus drivers to call over someone to get us a bus. Now, I remember a time when they'd say buses run every 15 minutes and I recall this being quoted as 15-30 for us this trip. I also remember a time when buses for DTD in the pre DS days were horribly unreliable. All I know is we waited and waited...watched Ft. Wilderness get 3 buses, Riviera get 3 buses, and we still got none. We got a bus shortly after a CM on the ground got involved. And looked, it's Cinderella's carriage, getting ready to take us back to AKL.

This situation makes me crazy. Granted, sometimes there will be (reasonable) bus delays, but 45 minutes?! But what I can't figure out (major bus delays have also happened to me before), is WHY there is not some central manager monitoring GPS locations for the routes. There should be someone in authority who could reroute one of the many MK buses (using MK, just as a hypothetical example only), to pick up passengers where they have been waiting forever.

Even if they could use some sort of automated system, for any time a bus was delayed 30 minutes--it could sent out an auto alert, to scan for possible available buses.

What I find more disturbing is that the guests have to flag down a driver or other CM to fix the situation. That should never happen!

On another topic, I thought your colorful striped leggings were a hit!

Congrats on finishing the race -- especially at such an early hour of the morning!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I had many of the same thoughts/feelings as you after my 5k at WDW. Up until that point, I had always at least started a race with friends (after the start we usually run our own races because I have a slower pace, but at least the wait was always with friends).

I was supposed to do the 5K with my sister and my DD (who was 12 at the time) ... but it was the year it was REALLY REALLY REALLY cold (freezing temps with below freezing wind chill) so my sister got worried about her fitness level (she was only going to walk), the cold, the stress, her overall health and decided she shouldn’t do the race. Consequently I told my DD she didn’t need to do the race either. So in the end I was not with a group and it was ok, but “different”. On the plus side, I only had to concentrate on myself and I was pleased with my run.

And yes, the weaving around runners!!! My pace fluctuates between 11-13 mins/mile depending on weather, distance, preparation, etc. But even when I am at 11 mins/mile over here I am at the back of the pack ... so to weave in and out of people all thru a half marathon AND to realize that I was smack in the middle of the pack in terms of time was quite a different experience for me.

It's amazing how alone you can feel in a sea of thousands. I guess that is true though. If you're on your own, you only have to worry about you...which can make some things a lot easier.

I remember seeing Vlogs about the super cold year. Even people who are from much colder climates were showing signs of problems in the corrals because their bodies were so cold. I was chilly the morning of the 5k, but it's nothing like the temps from that super cold year.

My pace had slowed quite a bit since shifting to the three race prep since it all became about preservation. So, I was much slower that I had been or could be. Still, so much weaving during my run intervals. There were definitely more walkers in the 5k, but I also know a lot of people who do Dopey walk the 5k and 10k to help save their body a bit of the stress. So, I'm sure that's part of it as well.

I’m with you on the feeling a bit lonely, particularly for the 5k it seemed like I was one of the only people on my own. Not so bad once the race started but waiting on my own was quite hard. I think that’s part of what made the 5k my least favourite of the races.

If it’s the same entry procedure as the Dopey, when you filled in the online form for the 5k and 10k there should have been a drop down box asking you what pace you would do during the race. I’m assuming this is what they use for corral placement, but it does seem to rely on people being honest and we know that always happens with runDisney events.

So glad you’ve decided to keep up your running, it gets addictive doesn’t it. Much prefer magnets for race bibs. I forgot mine and couldn’t find any at the expo, really surprised Disney didn’t have themed ones I probably would have bought a few sets.

Yeah, it all changed once the race started, but I found myself noticing all of the group costumes and people running as a team before things started and being a bit envious.

I only saw that drop down option for the half, and the only option for that I was given was 2:45 or better. All of these people were telling me I should be able to put in an estimated pace, but I didn't see that option. I remember going back in and looking for it several times when I was trying to decide if I should use my best POT race or not. It could be that I was working fast to get in those 5k and 10k entries since they sell out so quickly and missed it for those, but who knows. My friend didn't put in anything and she got into A for the 5k. I remember on the day registration opened, we both had multiple devices and browsers going and hers went through so much faster than any of mine. I think she was signed up and finished a good 10 minutes before any of mine ever connected to the registration page. Interesting that you bring up the honesty, because I've heard about so many people cheating the system in so many ways.

I think the running has helped keep me sane in these times of high stress. I don't know if I love it, but I think I need it and it's a far better stress coping mechanism than many of the alternatives. In all of the vendors I saw at the expo, I'm surprised Sparkle Athletics doesn't sell them. We popped by their booth, but it's not one of the accessories they offer.

This situation makes me crazy. Granted, sometimes there will be (reasonable) bus delays, but 45 minutes?! But what I can't figure out (major bus delays have also happened to me before), is WHY there is not some central manager monitoring GPS locations for the routes. There should be someone in authority who could reroute one of the many MK buses (using MK, just as a hypothetical example only), to pick up passengers where they have been waiting forever.

Even if they could use some sort of automated system, for any time a bus was delayed 30 minutes--it could sent out an auto alert, to scan for possible available buses.

What I find more disturbing is that the guests have to flag down a driver or other CM to fix the situation. That should never happen!

On another topic, I thought your colorful striped leggings were a hit!

Congrats on finishing the race -- especially at such an early hour of the morning!

That's always been my beef with the buses. When things go wrong, there isn't a good way to let anyone know in the moment. On our kids' first trip, we waited (and yes, I timed it) 47 minutes for a bus from WL to MK (boats weren't running). When we tried calling, they insisted that we had a bus come by...which wasn't the case. So, we were just stuck until they finally got one to us. I would have been better off asking one of them to get us to the GF or Poly for an ADR and taking the boat.

I mean, it was a cute costume, but so many people did big things for the 5k since it's a shorter race. So, it's got me thinking I could do more.

Thanks! It's really the early that seemed to be the challenge for me and I need to figure out how to make that work for the future.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

My friend was kind of shocked at how quickly I got back to the resort. I guess it took her longer or she hadn't been back that long. The reality was that we didn't have a lot of time to waste. We had a breakfast ADR at Cape May and fast passes to get to after that. So, we needed to get a move on. So, we finished cleaning up, she set up a Lyft, and we were off to Beach Club.

We had a few minutes to spare, so we walked around a little. This was another area she'd never seen, so another whole new world for her.

Obviously, these resorts are no longer in holiday mode. I can't remember which one of us suggested it, but we went back to BC to rest our feet. We had a fun little chat with the DVC rep there while we waited. I had to excuse myself for a bit to do check in ... both for the restaurant and for the kids getting to school. We were a bit early, but were seated pretty quickly.

Donald made it to us for his first pass before we ever even got a bite of food.

And now a visit from Goofy, also before we've gotten up for food.

I think we'd gotten food by the time Daisy came around. I don't know. We had a super fun and chatty server, so it all kind of blurred...in a good way.

I see food in these Minnie pics, so yeah...we definitely have food at this point.

Oh yea, our server also offered me allergy friendly Mickey waffles and an allergy friendly donut. SCORE!

Now, I have had OK character interaction at Cape May and excellent days as well. Today would be exceptional. Let's just say my favorite decided to join me as my breakfast date for a while.

He had to vacate his seat because my friend returned.

But he stuck around and pulled up a chair, because apparently, Donald likes cake.

He just can't believe his eyes.

Yeah, he needs some cake...so they got him some forks.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah, I know...why did I order a cake that I can't eat? I guess I just wanted to keep up with traditions and make it fun for my friend. I wanted an Alice in Wonderland theme, but I wanted the White Rabbit on top, running, since he's the character in the movie I most associate with running and it is a run trip. My friend also collects mugs, so while they offered to sculpt them to look like teacups, I wanted to keep the teacup decorated tiers in a mug shape. It was an orange cake with passion fruit mousse filling and vanilla buttercream. It wasn't cheap...and some of you have seen how far I've gone in the past with my Disney cakes...but nothing but high praises for the YC/BC bakery. They did a great job and they were so easy to work with for all of this...no begging for flavors, no waiting around for return calls, and they just wanted to make things perfect.

Daisy came by again after this and we offered her some cake too.

She gave us this whole silent spiel about how she's watching her figure. It was absolutely hysterical!

Goofy came by next and he was so into cake that he went to a nearby table and grabbed someone's bowl.

We had been there a while and we were going to need to get into Epcot to go to our first FP for the day, so we really needed to get out of there. It was a lot of fun though...and also fun to hear all of the congratulatory remarks about our medals. Yeah...that just never gets old. You also may notice I'm wearing my race shirt and my friend is not. Not sure if you could tell in the pictures, but she ran in hers. She wore it underneath her costume shirt for warmth. I never run in my race shirts, so I had mine to wear around in the parks.

Oh well, it's off to Epcot...which is thankfully a super easy walk from BC.

_____________________________________________________________

Coming up...all of our Epcot FPs and over-planning your park time on race days.

 

[Piglet_the_brave]

Love your character interactions, I think they’re always better when you give them some material to work with. Like awesome cake.

Running in race shirts is a huge no. First: untested, second: just jinxing yourself. The number of people running in ‘I did it’ shirts was just wrong.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Love your character interactions, I think they’re always better when you give them some material to work with. Like awesome cake.

Running in race shirts is a huge no. First: untested, second: just jinxing yourself. The number of people running in ‘I did it’ shirts was just wrong.

Cake really does help with characters, but when Donald is involved, I usually have a lot of material. Goofy was hurt that he wasn't my fave, but all done in fun.

Exactly! While the tutus and skirts I ran with had minimal testing, everything else got a ton of testing. And yea, no "I did it" until you've actually done it. Aside from that, I feel like I'd jinx myself.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh...little thing I forgot about my costume...

I had added velcro strips to that striped headband to help it stay in place. Yeah...didn't work. And I can't remember exactly when I noticed it either. I just remember remembering at some point that I was wearing it...reached up to feel where it should be...and it wasn't there. I thought it flew off of my head at some point. In fact, I noticed a lot of people losing costume pieces along the way. It had just traveled to the back of my head and was stuck around my bun, so I guess at least I didn't lose it.

OK, back to the TR...

As we were getting ready to leave Cape May and BC, my friend asked how we were going to get to Epcot and if we'd need another Lyft or even a Disney bus. Nope...we walk! Always one of the perks of being in the Epcot area for resorts.

There were lots of character meets near the IG as we entered.

But we had places to go and fast passes to use.

If you read my last TR, Soarin' is no longer a must for me, but my friend really enjoys it. I would have preferred Test Track, but at this point, I had it planned for a solo day, so all was good. We asked to wait for a front row center section seat. We got the front row...so no dangling feet, but we ended up on the right side, so things still had a bit of a bend to them.

Next FP was LWTL...a fave of mine and a first for my friend. My phone only did so so in the low light, but it's better than nothing

Much better once we're out in the light.

My friend didn't realize that Garden Grill rotated and looked in on the attraction, nor did she realize this was filled with hidden Mickeys, so it was a bit of a treat for her and things to look at for their next family visit. I just took pictures and tipped her off when I knew we were approaching a Mickey.

Even without its live narration and original music, this still feels like classic Epcot to me and really makes me feel like I'm at WDW. It's funny, I remember riding Soarin' at DCA and missing being able to ride LWTL right after.

We had a little bit of time, but our next FP was SSE. So, we headed that way.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We still had time, so we took a seat and waited for our window to open. OK...I got on the ground to get a different angle of SSE before sitting.

When we first sat down, SSE had a line and appeared to be working, but by the time we went to use our FP, it was closed due to some kind of malfunction. It's too bad because my friend has never ridden it and will not be back before it closes for its massive overhaul. I at least had one more opportunity for this trip. It would be hours before the app sent me any kind of notification. The CMs said we should be able to use our FP for anything in the park other than Frozen. I was highly skeptical because of the tier system, but we popped over to Test Track just to see. Yup...denied.

It would, however, let me book a FP for another park and we already had plans to head to HS for our Oga's ADR, so we just went that way. I don't know if the boat would have been faster, but neither of us had ridden the Skyliner at this point. We would have been walking to the IG area no matter what, so we opted to ride the Skyliner.

This was the first sign of starting to feel some fatigue in my feet and legs, so I kicked up my feet a bit while we rode.

We stopped a few times, which was a bit unnerving with the windy conditions. All in all, I like it and would definitely consider CBR, Pop and AOA for a future trip because of it. Even the transfer at CBR was flawless and super fast. I did a few travel time mock ups before the trip and it kept showing the boat to be about 2-3 minutes faster, but I think the Skyliner is actually the faster way to HS since you're never waiting like you do for the boat.

In any event, we got to HS...

This park still isn't one of my favorites, but even without Osborne Lights, I still love their holiday decorations the most out of any of the parks. I mean, holiday poodles...that's pretty darn awesome!

The fickle finger is pointing the way to SWGE!

On our way in, we came upon a couple of Storm Troopers. The one on the right approached me...like I might be some kind of threat. I know we also passed Chewbacca at some point before this, but that's all I remember.

So, we walked around a bit because we had time and weren't really 100% on where we were going.

We popped into the droid shop. My friend was doing some shopping for her boys. I took a quick video...



But there was nothing in there matching what I knew my family would want and I was feeling more of the fatigue, so I went outside to sit. Seemed like a perfect time to take another medal pic.

We were getting closer to Oga's time, so we started to head that way.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We found the line to Oga's and were told to get in, and something about people with reservations would be called forward. So, we waited a little.

It wasn't long before we were called forward to wait in a shorter line of people with reservations. We also had several funny CMs going through the rules with us. We were also told that most of it was standing...which we knew...not that my feet were happy about it. We also knew that there was no moving to better spots...which bites because better spots would open up shortly after we were placed. Oh well...we were in.

We were standing next to a family who was good with me taking pics of some of their stuff.

Gotta get a pic of me in here.

This was probably my favorite part...when the original cantina music from A New Hope started playing.



Time to figure out what to order...

So, I ordered this thing with the big sprig of rosemary. It was OK...just OK.

My friend ordered this bubbling thing and it sounded a lot better.

Oh, and towards the end, another girl running this week was placed at the standing table with us with her friend. I feel really bad. We were having a really nice conversation and she was discussing how she got pulled from the marathon course in mile 23 last year and was trying again this year. We had such a nice conversation, but in all of my sleep deprivation madness...I somehow remembered her friend being her mom. This is significant because it turns out, she's in one of my run groups and when I congratulated her on finishing the marathon...I remarked how it was nice to meet her and her mom the other day. UGH...so bad. I apologized and figured it was all of my exhaustion madness, but I still feel bad...like it was some sort of insult...which it was never intended to be.

Oh well, time to leave. My friend wanted to see Toy Story Land and I had a FP for the Aliens.

I wasn't sure about riding it. I had seen videos, but I don't do well with spinning and I really needed to see it in person.

Yeah....maybe on a non-run trip, but not today. It looks cute though.

Time to start heading out.

My friend wanted to stop at a kiosk to look at some merch, so I watched Slinky Dog.

I had a FP for it for the next afternoon, but I wanted to see how I really felt about it. Not like I did with the Aliens, but if it was worth leaving my meet up to make my FP. I like thrill rides and while it's cute, I wasn't wowed by what I was seeing. It's not a negative...by any means. It just reminded me of the Barnstormer and the Gadget coaster at DL.

Oh well, we started heading out.

We needed to be over in the MK area anyway and my friend's favorite resort to visit is the GF, so we walked to the buses and got one to the GF/Poly.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I got a little sad because the last time I was at the GF, greeter Richard Gerth was still alive and we had a lot of fun with him and my girls. Sad, but I guess that's life. So, we headed in and headed up.

No Christmas here either.

No time to waste...we wanted to get a monorail to MK. Sadly, we'd miss this one.

That's OK, we'd get monorail Gold!



We had a nice chat with a family while we were on there. It also occurred to me that this was our first monorail ride of the trip. And with one stop, it wasn't long before we were at MK.

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Coming up...more walking on tired legs that should be resting (but it was all to do my favorite), relaxing at the Contemporary, and a dinner with a view.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Double posts today, since I'm waiting on the car repair place to pick me up, plus it's raining...so there's no softball for either kid tonight.

Before I get into anything else, I wanted to share a little running news.

I went to the allergist/asthma specialist on Monday. As some of you know, I deal with running induced asthma. I decided that if I want to go any further with this, I need to really be able to push during my speed work and work harder on my tempo runs. In order to safely do this, I needed medical help. I went through about an hour of testing, and while my regular breathing isn't bad, I showed dramatic improvement after being given medicine. He still wants me to get allergy tested at some point (I've done it 5x in my life, and I DREAD it), but for now, he's put me on a daily pill, a nasal spray, and a rescue inhaler to be used shortly before my runs. I go back to see him in a couple of weeks to check on my progress.

I was supposed to do my first run since starting the meds yesterday morning, but I had to push it to today (a number of reasons). Let's just say...no inhalers after 6pm and I've now got a thing of pepper spray gel and a stun gun for some of the aggressive dogs wandering the neighborhood. It's going to take some time to get used to this, but I experienced something I've only had once or twice in my life...I pushed during a run and I didn't feel my lungs tightening up and wasn't a coughing wheezing mess after. It was raining and I'm still a bit nervous, so I wasn't breaking any land speed records during my speed work today, but my pace during those speed segments was really good (for me). In fact, they were faster than the speed segments I was running while still doing all of my POT work. During the warm up and cool down running, I was also able to run for longer intervals without feeling like I wasn't getting enough air. So, I think this should allow me to start building in longer run intervals over time. I'm really excited to see where all of this goes!

OK, so on with the TR!!!

So, MK area was in our plans for this day, but it was never in my plans to actually hit the park. We were supposed to just go to Oga's and then head back to AKL to relax a bit and clean up for dinner. I had plenty of energy, but I was starting to feel it in my legs and feet. Not that it was bad at this point, but I was worried about how much I was doing with two races still ahead of me. Clearly, it didn't stop me...because here we are heading into Tomorrowland.

My brain was thinking Peoplemover...nice, relaxing, sitting for a while. So, we got into the line, but it was long and barely moving. So, we left that line so my friend could grab a Lefou's Brew.

She said something was different since the last time she had it...good, but not as good. I've only had it once, right after all of the new Fantasyland stuff opened in 2012 and I was meh on it. So, I skipped it altogether. At least I got to sit while she waited in line. I also booked us some FPs for IASW at some point in all of this. They were soon, but the window wasn't quite open yet. Standby was only 20 minutes, so stupid me decided it was a good idea to just get in the line.

There were several times where we approached a line exit where I seriously debated just leaving. While we waited, that 20 min wait grew to 45. And again, while we were close to our FP window, we weren't close enough to just ditch it for the FP line...and once we were, we were already feeding into the area that was flanking the FP line.

We finally got on a boat and got off of our feet.

At least my favorite ride in all of Disney involves a lot of sitting, and log jams with the boats means even more sitting. I started out with video...



But I went back into my norm of pictures for a bit.

But then I had to add in some video, because we were coming up on my favorite sun and the little hula girls.



People can say what they want, but I always feel like this sun is the visual counterpart to the clock face in the queue. And I always feel like the clock face is a moon.

OK...hula girls.

I'd say we were in the finale room for at least 5 minutes.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Caution...the lighting pulses a bit in this video.



Au Revoir!!! We thought about riding again with our FP, but we were in the finale room for so long that we were good.

I was getting pretty antsy to get out of there, but my friend wanted to get pixie dusted again. At least it was along the way.

She also wanted to stop for medal pics with the castle. So, we did that too, but I made sure we picked the photographer with the shortest line.

Pretty quick wait.

On our way out of MK, we caught the very tail end of flag retreat.

I waved bye to the MK tree, figuring the next time I'd see it would be during the half.

My brain said it was faster to walk to the Contemporary than grab the monorail...so, we walked.

So, if anyone noticed, I was carrying my Donald backpack today (vs. my Mickey camo crossbody). It's because I was holding a change of clothes for California Grill. I really thought we'd get back to the room, but it was a "just in case" sort of thing. Turns out, I needed it. So, I changed in a bathroom at the Contemporary. This is also when I realized how much weight I've put on. I had some trouble fastening the button on the bottoms and it ended up popping off and hitting the stall wall. I guess at least my black capris go with a lot, so I improvised and wore those with my outfit.

I met back up with my friend over at Outer Rim so we could relax and have a drink.

Not sure you can see it, but behind my drink is a little bowl of snack mix. In all of my madness, I thought our server said mixed nuts, and my eyes focused in on the almonds. I had several before noticing the little cracker type pieces in there. I can't be certain, but I think this would impact my 10k morning. Sure, it could have been the drinking, but I drank a bit during my training and I didn't go nuts with things and am pretty good on what to order, so I'm thinking those almonds could have been what hurt me for the 10k. I still can't believe I started picking out almonds without noticing all of the cracker bits full of wheat and gluten. MADNESS!

Our server said there wasn't anything else, which was fine, but I think the damage was done. I did find it fun that she was the same server we had during our monorail crawl in 2014. They had a blue mule on the menu at the time and I was brought a Blue Moon. Ha!

We were a bit early, but I figured it couldn't hurt to see if we could get into California Grill.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

He told us they were still allowing people up prior to their ADR time, so the lounge wasn't 100% full yet ...if we wanted to wait on our table upstairs. I had shifted us from a 6:20 to a 6:55 a few days before the trip because I thought we might be better timed for fireworks if things take the time waiting and dining at CG normally take. Yeah...so, our table was ready immediately, which isn't a bad thing either. I believe we got the text while riding the elevator.

We were seated on the far wall, but it's still not a bad view for fireworks from the table.

I gave my friend the side with the view since I've been to CG many times, and with her young boys and their bed times, this may be her only visit...at least until they're older or she goes back with adults. If you've read my TRs from the first ones with my kids, you know I play the whole WDW thing a bit differently. My younger one was 2 on her first fireworks timed visit to CG (they were 10pm that night), but what works for one family isn't right for another, so I get it.

I had another cocktail...not a clue what it is, but I think rum was involved, and it was really good.

You can also see the deck door in that shot above. Mind you, I haven't been to CG since 2014, but in the past, you could go outside before fireworks. All of the doors were closed off at this point, which was odd to me.

OK, back to dinner. As usual, Disney does not disappoint with food sensitivities. They had house made GF/vegan rolls and an oil and sun dried tomato/herb combo.

They honestly could have just fed this to me all night.

My friend started with the sashimi plate.

It's beautiful and she said it was very good; however, I would have been disappointed had I ordered it since I think it pales in comparison to my 2011 Cali Grill sashimi plate. Just the portions alone are an issue for me.

I wanted sushi, but I was limited in what I could have. I wound up with salmon rolls, which were nothing special. Not bad by any means, but if you eat sushi and you've dined at Cali Grill before, you'd probably agree that this looks very average...dare I say, not much better than supermarket salmon rolls.

My friend opted for another sushi type starter for her entree. I honestly cannot remember what this is...

I've been doing a lot of proteins for my running nutrition. They were able to substitute some of the sides for the bison...so, this is what I got.

This was beautiful and it was delicious. It's also the first time I've been truly impressed with an entree from CG. Usually, it's the starters and sushi that leave me raving. Those are also big beets on the sides, which were quite yummy.

Around this time, they started removing the barriers or signs from the deck doors. I headed out to take a look.

It was really chilly and windy up there, so I decided best to head in and watch from inside. I don't think they dimmed the lights as much as they used to, but they were dimmed some and HEA started.

We were done with our meal and had just paid as the show began, but were also at that awkward time to get up and go. Like, why go if HEA just started? Well, my friend was tired and said she was just happy to have seen it in the park. She was probably right. The Disney freak I am is saying inside that we should stay, but I know she's right...and she doesn't even have to wake up for a race!

We both decide it's too chilly and we're too tired to walk back to MK for an AKL bus and don't want to risk the crowds. So, I set up a Lyft. It's probably also good that we did it during fireworks and not after. I did take one HORRIBLE HEA pic from the ground level before our car arrived (which was super fast).

We got back to AKL, went upstairs, and I got flatish me ready for the next day. Not sure if you can see it, but those gear bags make excellent laundry bags!

By the way, that picture was taken just after 9pm. It wasn't horribly late, but it wasn't early either and I would once again have a rough time falling asleep. It wasn't as bad as the night before the 5k, but it still took me a couple of hours of just laying there in bed to finally doze off...and I woke up several times.

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Coming up...the 10k that almost didn't happen.

 

[Swissmiss]

Hmm ... I don‘t think I like how you’ve left this off ... the 10k that almost didn’t happen. Sounds like a stressful story coming up!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Hmm ... I don‘t think I like how you’ve left this off ... the 10k that almost didn’t happen. Sounds like a stressful story coming up!

The morning of the 10k definitely had some stress. It still gets me a bit anxious when I think about it.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

January 10th

Warning- this section is pretty wordy.

I honestly cannot remember if I set my alarm for 2:45am or 3am, but after my bus blunder on the day of the 5k, I was dead set on getting a little more sleep. As I noted before, I did get more sleep, but I also noticed that my bedding smelled a little like vomit on the night before the 5k and I wound up having to sleep with this bedding for 2 nights (see the end of this segment). So, that didn't help and while I don't think it was the cause, it may be part of my issues with the day of the 10k. Still, I got up, got all of my gear on and headed out the door to head downstairs. I was so tired, I couldn't even remember if the tree was still up in the lobby when I walked out. All I know is that they were boarding the first bus when I got outside and I made it on. After that, it was a quick ride over and it was time to head in.

I'd say it was at least 10 degrees warmer this morning, but some people were still bundled. I had my regular mylars with me, but just didn't feel I needed them.

I had a ton of time to spare, so I decided to get into the line to meet Oswald.

I also caught a few glimpses of Mickey from the line.

I was all by myself today, so it felt a bit different. Still, I was trying to take it all in. I'd later find out that some of the people behind me are also in one of my Facebook running groups. It was so crazy to see pictures posted later that day and it be people who were around me in line.

Speaking of people around me in line, the guy right behind me was here from overseas. I know he said his flight was something like 21 hours and while his accent initially sounded British, he spoke of his nephews in the UK. He probably said where he was from, but with the crowd noise and my exhaustion, I couldn't make it all out. Either way, super nice guy! He was also getting a lot of Dopey tips from those runners in my FB group, so that was nice too.

So, I get to the front of the line and I got to meet Oswald.

The second one was taken on my phone. It's actually like 1 of 10...even though I only got 1 photopass pic from this.

I stuck around a little bit longer...

...but they started to open up the corrals. So, I headed out.

In hindsight, I should have hung to the back of my corral so I had easier access to those porta potties, but I pushed forward since nothing seemed wrong at the time. I've never run anything quite this crowded before (unless you count the previous day's 5k), but if you've never run at Disney or done a super popular race that gets crowded...you get packed into the corrals like sardines if you don't hang at the back and the mere idea of trying move inside of these crowds seems impossible.

I will not get graphic about things. I'll just say that my tummy started to feel "not right" just as the crowds started to really push in and there was no good way out. And with these smaller distances being so big (in participant numbers) and going off in all of these mini waves, it felt like things were taking forever. I knew I'd be OK if I could keep moving since this isn't the first time I've gotten sick like this, but we just weren't. I also was surrounded by a lot of groups and non-chatty solo runners this morning. I tried to engage a few people in conversation, but just very little interaction. So, there was very little to take my mind off of my growing discomfort and fears. I did pass one couple in these awesome Mickey glove hand costumes (think full body Mickey hand/glove) and I'd later find out...at least I'm pretty sure...that the girl was the one in the Crowned Athletics videos I sometimes watch, but hard to recognize people in these crazy fun costumes. These fireworks of the first runners starting were my first sign that I might be able to get onto the course semi-soon...but fearing not soon enough.

This would be the last picture I'd take with my phone. My stomach was getting so bad that I was wondering if I'd even start. And if I didn't start, it would mean something super gross and embarrassing happened before I ever got to run. I started thinking...would all of these people I follow and chat with online suddenly know me because I'd forever be that girl whose stomach had an epic fail once packed into the corral. Yup, my stomach felt that bad. I was in tears as my wave in my corral neared the start. Not that the 5k corral movement and waves felt like it happened quickly, but this felt so painfully slow. I'm not sure if it was or if it was just my stomach needing to move faster.

And then something really nuts happened...I wound up at the very front of my wave and they handed me the "rope." I think it had a more technical name, but I can't remember it. We were then given instructions on what to do and when to do it. I realize it's not the actual start of the race, but here I am, stomach going nuts, and I'm now literally right up at the front...timing mat at the tip of my toes...and all of the race personalities doing the entertainment are directly to my right...including the cameras. Yeah...this would be epic if I had a stomach fail right now. To make matters worse, the very nice girl to my left with the perfect makeup suggested we switch spots sine she wasn't planning on running. Yeah...I couldn't take any random movements, so I stayed put. I mean, if something awful did happen now, at least I was on the very edge at the front and they could hopefully whisk me away to a better spot...or that's what I was telling myself.

As soon as the fireworks went off and we started, things improved- IMMEDIATELY. In fact, I recall running 3x what I normally would in my first interval just to get my stomach to a better place. Still, in my brain, I also didn't want to push too hard because I still had the half the next day and I was trying to take in the details as well I could, considering the circumstances. The first half of the course was pretty blah. They had Anna and Elsa on an overpass and I think the Mad Hatter was at this really narrow bend pretty early on. I eventually came upon the first bank of porta potties, but I was feeling good and was afraid I might miss the entire race if I went in and got really sick...so, I just kept moving. I really wanted to stop once we got to the World Showcase because a lot of the CMs from the countries were out. Some of the people from Norway were at the corner leading in and I swear I saw a viking helmet and heard chanting. I also saw some chalk messages of encouragement. Still...I wasn't stopping for anything at this point. My mood about it all at least greatly improved by this section of the race. It was pretty cool to have the CMs out in the traditional dress for this one though...wish I got pictures of all of it, but I wasn't taking any more chances with stopping.

As we exited the WS and started making our way to the Boardwalk, I started to feel pretty good...like I was going to get this done. My race pictures are all out of order, but you can see that I look really happy in nearly all of my pictures. I even tried a couple of jump shots...tried being the key word. Two very fun things also happened as we ran by Yacht and Beach.

1. While I received a number of compliments on today's costume (incentive to continue with unique and homemade), some guy running behind me for a bit yelled out "Hi, I'm Randy!!!" at least I think that's his name. I could hear him, but it came out of nowhere, so I didn't realize it was directed at me until I heard his friend say that I probably can't hear him. He was responding the to "Who R U?" on my gold hydration hookah! I know I turned around and tried to acknowledge it, but it was super cool either way.
2. If you're into this whole runDisney business, you've probably seen some of the popular vloggers and podcasters content in your training and prep. One of the better known ones is Gerald Reznick...a.k.a. RezRuns. So, here I am, running past Beach Club and all of a sudden, I hear his voice. I knew he was running Goofy, so he wouldn't have been running the 10k. I do a super quick scan of the people cheering on the runners and there he is! The energy and cheers in this spot were incredible as it was, but this was sort of the icing on the cake. Of course, I had just taken a sip from the hydration hookah and I gurgled out a "REZRUNS!!!" that I know was not audible. I also wasn't in a good place to stop and was still scared to stop, so I just kept running.

By the way, Colorado Cola Tailwind is NASTY...took the chance since all of the other flavors taste the same to me, but this one has a funky off-brand cola taste. It didn't turn my stomach (not like I needed any more stomach issues) and helped hydrate and boost my energy, so it was at least doing the job. I know...nothing new on race day, but I bought a variety pack and when you've tested the majority of the varieties and come up with the same conclusions, well...the risk seemed minimal at most.

The rest of the race was a blur, but it was just so awesome to know for certain that I'd just seen someone who has helped get me through some of this training journey and he was there cheering us on. The only other things I really do remember were my exit through Mexico. Today, I could smell the stinky dumpster. On top of that, there were a bunch of free standing garbage cans with wheels off to the left. I'm not sure what triggered it, but one of them rolled into the runners. I was far enough away that I didn't have to dart away from it, but others got hit by it and one guy jumped in to get it to a safe spot. I eventually crossed the finish line, grabbed my medal, thanked as many volunteers as I could (did that during the races too), got my food box, and rushed to a porta potty so I could finally get sick. It wasn't pretty, but I made it. And I'm blaming those tainted almonds from the snack mix.

They're in no particular order, but here are a bunch of my race pics.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Not a great jump, but I got some good air here.

That's most of them.

Oh yeah...when I went to take my I Did It picture afterwards, I didn't have anyone who could take my pic with my phone. I had groups in front of me and behind me and they were just in group mode. Oh well.

Oh, so a few costume notes...

1. that blue head cap hood was surprisingly comfortable. It got a little itchy at the end (my head gets that way in normal baseball caps as well, so not the hood's fault), but it wasn't too hot, and it kept the sweat out of my eyes.
2. the torso portion sewn on to my top needed repairs after travel. I actually had to sew a little when we got back from Cali Grill the night before. At least I brought emergency supplies.
3. I think I need to save the compression for after runs. I noticed some tingling again in my feet and I haven't been getting it on runs without compression. I did it in case I was cold early on. It's a lot easier to remove compression sleeves in the middle of a run than shift from pants to shorts, so I don't regret the choice either.
4. You probably notice I'm in shorts. I brought shorts and pants for both costumes (as well as the planned layering pieces). I decided it was in between shorts and pants weather, but decided to go with shorts since I'd warm up as the race progressed. As you can see, I was in sun for most of it, and while far from hot to me, it was probably the better choice.

After that, I grabbed a bus back to AKL...no wait, but nobody really chatty this time on the trip back. I did at least confirm that the Christmas decor was still up when I got back to AKL.

I took a shirt and medal pic when I got back.

One other little interesting note...when we got back to AKL the previous night, Mousekeeping hadn't been to our room. We were gone from about 9am to almost 9pm, so they had PLENTY of time to clean. At 9:24pm (yes, I looked at my watch), there was a knock at the door to find out if we wanted the room cleaned. Ummmmm...I'm getting ready to try and sleep and have to be up in the middle of the night. I would, however, later think about the stinky vomit smelling bedding and wonder if I should have taken her up on it. So, I just had them give us more towels. Not that it was strong, but I noticed it and who knows...maybe it's what made me sick. When I got back from the 10k, I suggested to my friend that we get out sooner rather than later to ensure the room gets attention this day.

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Coming up...lunch at a "new to me" spot, the madness gets really bad, the meet up, and doing more to make the madness even worse.