Well, our first official 13.1 is now in the books! On Sunday, Renee and I woke up bright and early, with a long and fun day ahead of us. The race was amazing. So much fun. The weather couldn't be more perfect--cool, cloudy, breezy. A little drizzle towards the end, but it felt good!
I interval trained using Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run method, but ended up running much more than I imagined. My knees were not bothering me at all, so dare I say the entire trek felt good?! Yep, it did. I know alot of people cross the Half finish line and say "Bring on a Full!" Alas, I am not one of them. Perhaps years from now, with several more Half courses under my belt, but I wouldn't hold my breath! I AM looking forward to cheering my best friend Alissa on during the Chicago Marathon this October as she attempts qualifying for Boston!
I have to give Renee so much credit for asking me to do this with her--had she not, I might not have every bit the bullet and registered for a 13.1. We did our little ol' Royal Family 5K together last February and it was so much fun, so to be able to go from that to this with her was really special. We were able to keep pace with each other, or at least very close to it, throughout the whole race. We made a deal--if one got to Mile 13 before the other, we'd wait so we could cross together, hand in hand. Neither of us had to wait for the other and crossing the finish line together was something else.
I must say, it didn't actually hit me what we'd accomplished until the next day. That runner's high is such a true thing.
Snow White--3 am, why am I so happy?!
Epcot traffic.
In our corral, waiting for the start.
We were seriously a mile back from the start line. It was fun though, and the Fairy Godmother counted us down--Bippidi Boppidi Boo style.
Ren & the Jollyroger.
HELL NO!
RUN PRINCESS PIRATE--RUN!!!
There were characters along the whole course. These ladies got to smile with some of the Princes. We didn't stop for many though, as the lines were deep.
Heading into the Magic Kingdom!
I thought this was SO cute. A mama had her baby's sonogram picture on her back and it read "Sunley...Our first race together." I spotted several baby bumps running the course.
Running up Mainstreet U.S.A.
Kodak Photo Spot!
Words can't describe how excited I am for the new Fantasyland! How many months until our November trip?!
These dwarfs were missing their Snow White. Glad I was around!
Inspiration by Walt.
Running through Cinderella's Castle.
With Jessie in Frontierland!!! Lola thought it was so cool Titi & Mommy got a picture with her. I was telling her about all the characters we say on the course and she couldn't believe it.
Miss USA with Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Princess Aurora (Briar Rose) & Prince Phillip!!!
HALF-WAY!
Thanks to Dory for always offering encouragement! JUST KEEP SWIMMING :)
And a hearty laugh at this. Lululemon's clothes are amazing to run in and their slogans always crack me up.
A husband and wife Mic & Min.
Flora, Fauna & Merryweather, runner style.
Renee getting her Finisher's Medal from one of the THOUSANDS of voluntEARs. Not sure what was more inspiring, all us runners or all those volunteering to make this race happen. Wow.
WE DID IT!
Sadly, Mom, Dad & Mom didn't get to see us cross the finish line because of a huge Monorail debacle, but meeting them shortly after in the family reunion area was AWESOME.
She was so proud of me and it felt so good to hug her at the end of it all. Even though she thought I was crazy for running that far, she was still so encouraging :) It's ok, I thought people who ran were crazy, too, just a short while back!
There was a big surprise for Ren at the finish line--her good friends Brian and Cindy cheering from the stands, waving this sign. So awesome!
And when we walked through the door at home, this sign was waiting for us. Thanks Mom :)
Ronnie told Mom to soak up the sun, so we were sure to get a picture of her doing just that!
