Princess Half Marathon Trip Part 2

The morning of the big race day finally arrived! We had mostly everything ready the night before so we could just get up and go. I can't remember what time we got up but we were on the bus by 3am if not earlier. I woke up congested and still with a scratchy throat - my voice was a little bit better at this point. Also woke up with stomach pain - to the point that I could not walk, but that was taken care of with some medicine so that I could move around with minimal pain. At least I slept well and was full of energy for the most part. 

On the bus to the race! 

One of the many spelling errors along the race path. 

They had a DJ for a dance party pre race. 

Ready to run! 

Snow White! 

We were in corral D together. 

Up at the starting line! Listening to the Fairy Godmother and some other Disney guys.

The starting line!! 

I ordered a CD of all of my race photos and got some pretty cool pictures like this one! 

I stopped for all the mile markers. The times are off since I was in the 4th group to start. I was slow, but not that slow! 

They had random things to look at throughout the race. 

For Amanda! 

I did almost cry running down Main Street with everyone cheering. 

Lost a lot of time for this picture - the first volunteer did not take a picture, so I had to stop again. 

Silly! I wanted several character pictures but had not stopped for any until I got to him. Glad I did stop along the way because I think I would have been disappointed to go to a Disney race and not have any pictures from it. Next year, I would love to stop for even more! 

This picture is hilarious to me - for one, I am acting like a total goofball and for two, look at the others in the picture. Cinderella for one is talking on her cell phone. 

This was on my list of character stops! So glad they were all out! 

I stopped and took several of these pics of just the characters to save time, but I did not post them all. 

Another one on my list!! They were not all out when I got in line, so I was so excited to have them all there when it was my turn for a picture. Probably one of my favorite pictures from the race. 

Woohoo!!! Half way there! 

Awesome!!

no line for this one, so I said - why not!?!?

Somewhere around this point, the on/off ramps did me in and my legs could not take much more. The ramps were tilted to the side which was just not a good thing for my legs. Had to keep going though! 

Forced smile - maybe! 

So tired!!! 

Another character on my list to see!! She was fun! 

Crossing the finish line - clearly I was too tired to lift my arms any higher! ha! Will do better next time! 

I did it!!! Woohoo!!!!! 

They didn't stop for as many pictures, so they had to wait for me! :) 

Did pretty well for being sick! :) 

Here are video clips from before and during the race. At the beginning I tried to get a video of us walking the red carpet but just barely got it - you blink and you miss it! Most of it is a little bit bumpy since I was running at times while taking video. Also, you can hear me sniffle - so sorry! :) I was not crying - for the record. :) 

Enjoy!!!

Princess Half Marathon Trip Part 1

My dream trip to go to Disney and run in the Princess Half finally arrived! We left Friday afternoon after everyone got off work. I was the only one who took off Thursday afternoon and Friday. So glad I did since I was still working on their goodies Friday morning. :) Also woke up sick with a scratchy throat. :/ 

What trip would be complete without some sugar cookies?? I already had the cookies baked and in the freezer and just barely got these iced the night before. 

We also decided it would be fun to have matching shirts after the race to wear around the parks with our medals of course. I normally don't do Disney apparel but made an exception for this event. 

Also put together folders with their magical express luggage tag and picture touring plans for the week. 

All the goodies to go in their princess bags: Shirts, cookies, princess suckers, princess pez dispensers, matching earrings, snacks, and race day chews and jelly beans. 

They were pretty excited to find their treats when they got in the car. ;) 

We landed safely in Orlando and got on the magical express fairly quickly. Our bags would be in our room later that night - love that little perk of staying on site. We got to our room and found the traditional Mickey Towel! Our room kind of smelled funny but did not think anything about it at the time and headed on to Epcot for extra magic hours. Sadly I did not take any pictures that night and actually rarely carried my big camera around the entire trip- kind of nice! 

Our resort the next day - so pretty and peaceful. It was a very quiet resort but fairly big, too. Not a bad walk to the front from our room. 

Saturday morning we got up pretty early and headed to the expo to pick up our packets for the race and do a little shopping, too. 

Would you like to run in this shoe? ha! 

Deanna and Crissy

Me and Kendra

We got to meet Jeff Galloway! He is so nice, and we love his training plans! 

View of the Expo! 

We were placed in Corral F initially and all got to move up with proof of time from other races we did. 

You get to pick your favorite princess when you register to personalize your bib. Snow White just happens to be one of my favorites. Not sure who I will pick next year. 

After the Expo, we dropped our things off at the room. The smell was still bad and it was a bit stuffy. Noticed the refrigerator was leaking. :/ Planned on going to lunch then going to see if they could replace the refrigerator or do something about the smell. 

Went to downtown Disney for a quick lunch and got this cupcake for dessert. It was different - that is all I can say about it. 

Then headed to the front of our resort to take care of the room issue. They were willing to move us to another room which was awesome. The move got us a little closer to the front which would be great for race morning! 

After a much needed afternoon nap, we headed to MK for our dinner reservations.

Our dinner was pretty good and this dessert was fabulous! So cute, too!! 

On the People Mover - love this little ride - the friends did not. :( 

We did a few not so popular, low key rides with no wait before calling it a night. The friends were not impressed with those rides, but I warned them before hand. It was a crowded night - what did they expect! ha! I was just trying to maximize our time and get everything in on our trip. :) 

Early to bed before an early, early morning for the race. 

More coming soon...

Who's Excited?!?!

I finally registered for a half Marathon and am beyond excited!! There are 4 of us going, and we are all ready to start planning! Already have our rooms (rented vacation club points this time and saved money!) and are working on getting our meals reserved. Now to decide if I should run this race in costume or normal clothes - ha! Only kidding - normal running clothes for sure (There is a youtube video of running costumes from last year - too funny - can't wait to see what people wear this year). Crowds are low while we are there, so we are staying a little bit longer than we normally would to enjoy shorter wait times. After going at the busiest time of the year last year, I am ready for a somewhat slow time. :) 

I may have some more WDW vacations to plan but nothing for sure yet! :) I even had someone call me today to help them plan their vacation while I was in the middle of mine. ha! 

Recent Appliques

For some sweet and precious twins I can't wait to meet! 

Love how the name gowns turn out but boy are they rather difficult to make. :) Good thing they turn out so cute or I would definitely stop making them. 

Picked this flower/paisley print out on a whim and love how fun it turned out! May have to do more with this fabric. 

Also loving all of the sports themed appliques. Lots of new ones online this year that are just too cute not to use on something even if it is not the "right" team! Ha!