Our First RunDisney Half Marathon Weekend

So let me start by saying we were not runners, but now we are. Running in a RunDisney race is was something we have always wanted to do. Picking our first race was the hard part. We typically take our Disney trip in September for our anniversary. The only race in September was in Paris. As much as I would love to visit Paris, it was not in our budget. WDW had the Wine and Dine, but Disneyland had the Avenger's Half Marathon Weekend. Well we had never been to Disneyland so that was our winner. We saved up for the race fees and waited for registration to open. We ended up registering for all three races. My parent's decided to join us and ran their first 5k. After all the planning and waiting, the day finally came. We flew out to California and we were on our way to the Disneyland Hotel. As we pulled up to the hotel we could see the race weekend stuff all ready to go in our hotel parking lot. It finally felt real. All of the training, or well the lack their of... we settled in to the hotel, grabbed some pizza and enjoyed our first day of vacation.

Expo Day We headed to the expo to pick up our packets for each race. After picking up our packet we headed over to pick up the Avenger’s Half Marathon Weekend Dooney and Bourke table. Of course I purchased all three sizes. Well, my mom purchased me the wristlet for Christmas. After purchasing the Dooney’s we headed upstairs to explore the rest of the expo. we started by picking up our race weekend t-shits and then over to New Balance to check out the limited edition RunDisney New Balances. I fell in love with the Little Mermaid one’s and just had to purchase them. We did some more shopping over the next hour. Before leaving the expo we checked out the 2017 New Balances. I will own the Haunted Mansion editions. And of course Justin wants the Space Mountain shoes.

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Captain America 5K Arriving at our first RunDisney race was incredible. First thing we had to do was try to figure out the corrals. We just followed the other runners with the same letters on their bibs. The walk was only about 5 minutes from our hotel room. We made our way through the other racers to get to our corral. My parents lined up in the corral behind us. We waited for our corral to move up to the start line and once we did, it was go time! We started in the street just under Downtown Disney and then moved our way into the backlot of Disney’s California Adventure. We entered DCA at Carsland. As we ran past Radiator Spring Racers, the sun was just starting to rise over the cliffs. Everything was lit up and going like guest were riding them. It was so awesome seeing the the park empty. As we ran through the rest of DCA we headed to the backlot once again to make our way to Disneyland. We entered Disneyland and ran through the park towards the front of the park. The last part our race took us through Downtown Disney. I was proud to finish but the real tests were coming up.Dr. Strange 10k

Just like the day before, we started our day the same way. Lined up in our corral we prepared ourselves for our first ever 10k. I was nervous and excited. As much as I trained, I felt I didn’t train well enough. Justin wished he had gotten any training done. As our group stepped up to the start line, excitement became the only emotion. And we’re off! We passed the entrance into the backlot of the parks and headed towards the convention center. We ran around the convention center and down a main street before entering the backlot of DCA. This time we ran through more of DCA. The rides and World of Color on in the background. We ran through more backlots, passing old ride cars. Cast members cheering us on. I loved the cast members who were doing the Wild Cats cheer from High School Musical. We entered Disneyland through Toon Town. I was more than half way through the race. We ran through Disneyland, I was feeling great until we were about to enter Sleep Beauty Castle. The lady in front of me decided she just needed to take a selfie and not warn any of us behind her. She just stopped. The guy next to me was trying to avoid crashing into her and me and I was avoiding her, him and the lady next to me. I twisted my ankle and knee in the process. It didn’t stop me though, I kept on running. I was too close to give up. I ran down main and exited the park and headed towards Downtown Disney. There it was, the 6 mile marker. I noticed my parents standing right by the sign cheering me on. I finished strong! I finished my first 10k. And about 20 minutes later Justin finished too.

Avenger’s Half Marathon Just as the day’s before we got up and got ready. We headed down to check our bags. This morning was different than the previous two. My knee was killing me… I could put pressure on it, but it didn’t feel good. I was hoping the moment I started the running, the pain wouldn’t be as noticeable. We were further back in the corrals so we didn’t start for about an hour. We got up to the start line and were pumped and ready. This was the moment we had truly been waiting for. We started running and the pain never went away. We once again ran through the parks and then headed to the streets of Anaheim. We ran towards Angels baseball stadium. It was incredible how many people we sitting on their porches cheering us on. As we reached Angels stadium I slowed down to grab a power gel and water, which was the worst idea I’ve ever had. It was mile 10 and my knee was hurting worse than ever. I had slowed down to a walk and couldn’t speed back up. The pain was just beyond bad, but I wasn’t ready to give up. I ran past supporters who were dressed in 50’s attire cheering us on and headed into Angels stadium. I ran the baseline trying not to think about the pain. Running back was probably the most challenging part. I knew I was so close. I made it to the back side of Downtown Disney which felt like the longest road ever. Then I saw it, mile marker 13. I was so close. Once again my parents were right there cheering me on. Crossing that finish line was the most amazing feeling ever. Between the pain and the excitement I was almost in tears. I collected my medals, had my picture taken and got some ice for my knee. I waited for Justin. He had fallen at around the half way mark, but did not give up. About 35 minutes later I saw Justin finishing and getting his medals! Giving up was never an option. We accomplished something. Starting is an accomplishment but finishing feels great. It’s crazy to think we’re going to do it again and again. Dark side here we come!