Sunday came way too early! I dragged my butt out of bed as my perky and amazing roommate ran around in her towel getting ready. Julie had agreed to meet us at 3 so when we heard a knock we knew it was her. Susie answered the door in her towel, which we think kinda scared Julie away, because she just said she'd come back and left.
The next time she knocked we were ready (bag unpacked and packed, second bottle of water drank). We headed down to the bus queues and joined the line. So the bus at 3:10 looks something like this. Packed full of princesses, front to back, with the aisle jammed with them too. We were standing in the back, and I tried not to fall over on the people around me when we made turns (it was dark people, even in Florida the sun doesn't shine at 3:10am). No pictures, in case you missed the part where I was hanging on for dear life!!
We made it to the entrance to the race area, checked our bags, and stood in line for the port o' potties. See, we had all been really hydrating this trip. Like extra, super hydrating. I have a bladder the size of a watermelon, a side effect of a physical defect I was born with (that part's true. well, it may not be as big as a watermelon, but it's big. Let's just say I scoff at the rest stops on long highway trips.) I get migraines when I'm dehydrated, and migraines when I don't sleep, and migraines with change in routine (you get the picture). Whatever, I did NOT want a migrane in Florida. So this time, I didn't scoff at the potties. I joined the line and waited my turn. The lines took forever. For.............ever. I was worried because they had said they close the corrals and I didn't want to get shut out of my corral. We finally got our turn and headed toward the race area. Which was another 10 or so minute walk. Really Disney? You think we need a little extra exercise today? As we walked Julie suggested hitting the first port o potties on the course, since they would be clean. I kind of laughed on the inside and was like, "race port o potties are for suckers," also on the inside, because I had bowed to nature and already used one stinky potty in a box, and didn't plan to use another.
Here we are pre race :)
When we made it to the corrals we separated. I was in the D corral and the people in that corral were serious! Like, "what's your goal time?" serious. This is a Disney run people! A Disney run is a chance to run, have fun, get your photo made with lots of characters, and see some behind the scenes Disney. The goal is fun, not a time limit.
Since we were a little later than the Friday morning run, we didn't have to wait long for the race to start. As we left our corral I hit the unpause on my music and started my Garmin. I was SET. But the music didn't play. I had about 30 seconds before the crowd of very serious runners were going to trample me, so I just ran without the music. I figured I'd fix it in a line waiting for a character. As we started, I saw the first port o potties, and I kind of internally laughed at them (oh how the mighty will fall!). About 1 minute past them I realized I needed to make use of them. Badly. I focused on breathing and running, and at the next potty I admitted defeat and stopped. Apparently I had sort of over hydrated, since I had to make 2 more of these pit stops on the course.
During the run there were all sorts of cool things to see, banners, people flying these really cool kites, and of course characters. I skipped the first few characters at the advice of a blog I had read. The course starts and ends at the same spot, so I was able to get those characters later, with shorter lines, and in the sunlight.
I picked my characters carefully. Here's some photos of me with them:
Me in front of the castle. Slightly confused as here the "official" photographers would NOT take a photo with a personal camera, even though they did at every other stop. Guess this is literally "the money pic." I'm trying to politely ignore the Disney photog while looking at a random lady I handed my phone to and begged to take a pic.
Tiana & the Alligator. Later Tiana was gone and Julie only got a photo with the gator
Prince Someone & Aurora
As you can see the noncostumed characters tried to keep a minimum body space between my sweaty self and their outfits
But the Genie is all up in my bizness
Holla Genie!
Mrs. Incredible
Here's one of the photos I skipped on the way out and got on the way back, in great light
Flynn Rider, Aladdin, mwah, Hercules, & Prince Eric
Creepy pirate 1 & 2
Sorry, not into pirate movies
Sophia!! Got this one for the girls. At this point I have forsaken all ideas of fashion and have rolled up my pants. Normally not a problem but was wearing some compression sleeves due to shin splints, so I looked redonkulous
I skipped a random purple bug, a barebershop quartet, Mary Poppins, Minnie & Mickey (those lines were OUTRAGEOUS), and a few more. At the end of the run I was given a spectacular medal, lots of bottles of water and Gatorade, and a box of snacks. I went to find a place to sit down with my snacks, and the water lady yelled at me. No, not kidding, she yelled at me. But it was a, "I don't want you to die in the Florida heat," yell more than an angry yell. She wanted me to stop trying to get my checked bag and drink something dang it!
Happy after finishing!
I sat on the ground and drank my water, and headed back to the resort. I had no idea what my time was because my brand new Garmin did not work (it said I ran .18 miles or something redonculous) but I figured it'd be a lot higher than my 2:16 qualifier I did in November with the photo stops and potty breaks. Later I found out it was only about 15 minutes more, so not too shabby.
I planned to go to the hotel, shower, and nap. I made it to the hotel, and, ummmm...napped. But I was on top of the covers so they didn't get too icky. When Susie came back I got up and showered and then, yep, napped. Not gonna lie, it felt pretty good. After my second nap we both got ready and headed out to Epcot with Julie. Our plan was to ride a few rides and eat our way around the worldshow case. We went in our race tees and medals. I have never been called princess so many times in one day. The Disney cast members and general guests kept telling us congrats.
Nothing says I just ran a half marathon like a slushie drink. I think this is the adult version of the Dole Whip
We had a great time! We did things again that I had never done, like Spaceship Earth and the ride where you go through the greenhouse. We started eating in France and met our group there. We spent an hour shopping in the Japan store, got some more food in Norway, rode Maelstrom, and went to the side of the lagoon to watch Illuminations. Again, never seen it so pretty special to do it with this great group of ladies.
Once Epcot closed we park hopped over to Magic Kingdom since they were open until 1am. And of course it was our last night all together, so why not keep the fun going as long as possible? First stop, Main Street, for some more nibbles. Then off to the jungle cruise, where we had the best, I mean the BEST skipper ever. I have never laughed so hard. This picture pretty much sums up the experience.
After Jungle Cruise we went off to Pirates, Big Thunder, Winnie the Pooh with no wait twice!!! (as in never got out of our honey pot and just kept going around the circle). There were probably a few more too but I can't remember them as I was running on pure sugar and adrenaline at this point. We stopped in at the big shop on Main Street and then headed out. I mean, it was 1 am, they pretty much had to kick us out, but we left.
At the end of the night we decided I would leave my roomie early (sniff!) and spend the night with the dynamic duo Heather and Suzanne. Suzanne loved me enough to pick me up AND drop me off at the airport, since I flew into the "not Disney" airport. We all headed back to the hotel where I packed my bags (I know, I know, enough with the packing!!) said a hard goodbye, and left with Suzanne, Heather, and her kiddos to head to Suzanne's place. Oh, and I might not have mentioned Suzanne's kids. My goodness! All I can say is that I hope my kids are like hers when they grow up. Polite, funny, spontaneous, they were the best kids ever. They may have had their good behavior on, but I think no. These are just some amazing kids.
Once we got to Suzanne's we blew up an air mattress and I went to sleep. HARD. I don't think I moved at all. My body sure felt sore in the morning. But that sleep was so needed! I got my things ready and we headed to the airport. Ugh. I hate goodbyes. Well, with a capital h so more like Hate. I felt like this trip couldn't be ending so soon. I didn't want to leave my friends. I wanted us all to go home, gather our families, and come back and live together in Florida in February. Not so much August, but February would be grand.
In the airport I did the normal airporty things, and headed home to cold, snowy, Indiana. I left part of my heart with my ladies, and I came home and picked up the pieces I left with my family. There aren't words to describe how amazing this trip was. Amazing, life altering, heart mending, wondrousness. I know, that if Holly could have planned a trip for us, it would have been this one. There is nothing that will replace her life, but I am blessed that I got to know so many fabulous women on a deep level due to her, and the connections she had to us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment