Fear: Obstacle Course Races...Me? Really?

I blogged back in February about finishing the Spartan Sprint in Arizona. How hard it was, how much I hurt for most of the next week, yet guess what I'm doing? Next weekend I have the Super Spartan in Nevada, a 7-8 mile obstacle course with 20+ obstacles. Then at the beginning of May I have to Military Spartan Sprint in Colorado...about 3.5 miles with about 15 obstacles, but the  majority of these obstacles are designed by U.S. Special Forces!! I can only imagine what they have in mind. At the end of June I have the Spartan Beast, a race at 12-13 miles and 25+ obstacles. I'm volunteering for 2 days at the Colorado race so that I can get a free entry to both the Super and Beast.

But that's not all! I just registered for the Tough Mudder in Tahoe at the end of September. Now this one I know involves electrocution, an ice bath of huge magnitude, jumping off a 15-20 foot high (perfectly good) platform into what I hope is a deep enough man made pool of muddy water. Joy. Now, did I happen to mention that I have a little bit of a fear of heights and a strong underlying phobia of deep water and drowning? I don't know where the height thing came from, but when I was about 5 years old I almost drowned, or at least perceived it as such, during a private swim lesson. I continued to take swimming lessons throughout my childhood and actually did learn to swim but I still don't feel extremely comfortable in water where I can't touch the bottom. I've been taking lessons from a friend for the past few weeks and have gotten most of my form down but my flutter kicks are extremely weak. I can't even get the full length of the pool using a kickboard. It's so frustrating!

Anyway, I digress. I had never considered doing obstacle course races (OCRs). My son had mentioned that one of his good college friends was trying to get a team together for Arizona but was having a difficult time getting people to join. At some point she just stopped trying. So I got in touch with her, a young, local friend of mine and my son and we formed a small team for the race "Team Endorphin." I did the race and finished in what I thought was a terrible time, but I found out just a week or two ago that there were girls much younger than me at the same race that took over four hours to finish the course. That made me feel a bit better considering that I finished in under 3 hours.                                        

     

  

 My friend mentioned the Trifecta medal, for doing one race of each of the first three levels like I have planned, within one calendar year, so being the bling addict that I am I decided to go for the Trifecta and thus all the Spartan races. The Military Spartan Sprint has it's own separate medal with a barbed wire look to it that I had to have it so I'm doing that as well. The things I do for the bling!! lol!

Am I afraid of these races...more than you will ever know. Why do I insist on doing them? Well, my life has been fairly safe except for the multiple times that I have tried to take it myself. I feel like I've lost the adventurer that was me in my youth. Maybe it was getting married so young (had just turned 19) or having kids so early (when I was barely 21) or maybe it was because I was constantly in school working on multiple degrees and then working full time. I don't know what happened, but I don't have the spontaneity that used to define me. So now, just 6 months from my 49th birthday I'm doing things that I "shoulda, coulda" done when I was in my 20's and early 30's except for the fact that these types of races didn't exist as far as I know. I can't say that I'll be the oldest ones out there, but I'll definitely feel that way when the fit 20 and 30 year olds go flying by me finishing in times that I could only dream of. I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and approaching life with the following mantra:

Race Recap: Bataan Memorial Death March - My 1st Full Marathon

Race Location: White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico

Race Date: Sunday, March 17, 2013

Race day - 2:
Well, the day had finally come. It was time to get ready to head towards my very first full marathon. Admittedly, I hadn't trained anywhere near as much as I should have. I had a case of nerves that I hadn't really felt since my first half marathon or the first time I did Spartan Sprint last month. In late February I had received an injection of confidence and purpose when a Facebook friend told me the story about her great-aunt who was a military nurse taken as a POW after the surrender at Bataan. I decided to dedicate this race to her and the other female military and civilian nurses and healthcare workers taken prisoner after Bataan. However, even with this new sense of purpose I had a recurring sense that I was about to fail at probably the most meaningful race I could have entered to date. I actually considered paying the $50 fee to change to the short route, but I had dedicated 26.2 to the Angels...so 26.2 miles it would be.

My veterans dedication bib and my special dedication bib
for the Angels of Bataan.

The bib I printed to wear during the race dedicating it to the Angels of Bataan.

The husband was on Spring Break from the college and university so the timing couldn't be much better. I had managed to get almost all of my pre-race ritual housecleaning done on Thursday and just had a few things I needed to do plus get my packing done. We finally left at about 12:30pm or so for the roughly 5 hour trip to White Sands Missile Range...an operating Army missile base that you may have seen parts of on Mythbusters. We stopped in Roswell to get the husband a boonie hat for the race as well as something quick to eat. Why is it that I only seem to eat at McDonald's when I travel for races?? Yuck! (And I used to be a huge McD's fan!) After that it was pretty much a straight shot to WSMR. We got to the Community Center on base where they were doing the marchers in processing. You have to go through a series of rooms to get everything done but it wasn't too bad since we arrived for the first day of registration. I think, IMHO, that in the future they should move it to a more open area but this was still workable. We picked up our packets, hubs was doing the 14.2 Honorary March) and looked around at the race merchandise for a bit. I really wish I was paying more attention because if I had seen the "I Survived the Bataan Memorial Death March" decal I would have bought one for sure (just in case).

Race packet swag.

Commemorative timing chip.

Commemorative dog tag...no bling except for those who place.

Certificate of participation.

We headed back to Holloman AFB just about 40 minutes east of WSMR where we were going to be staying for the next two nights. After we got into our room we headed into Alamogordo to eat at Carino's to continue the carb loading that is my habit for the week prior to a race. We got back to the room around 10pm and started getting our race gear together and made plans to make a trip into Las Cruces for breakfast, to buy some tech shorts for the hubs and watch  21 & Over (5th time for me, 2nd time for the hubs).

Race Day -1:

We got out the door and headed for Las Cruces at about 9am and stopped at The Village Inn for breakfast...great timing because the place filled up just after we were seated. We then stopped at Dick's Sporting goods before heading over to the Telshor theater to watch my 2nd favorite movie after Pitch Perfect! LOL! After the trip to Las Cruces we had to run back to the room to pick up some virtual race medals for the team from West Point Military Academy who would be competing in the Military - Heavy Division (full uniform with packs > 35 pounds. After we picked up the medals, we headed back to WSMR to attend the meet and greet for the survivors. The meet and greet was in the Professional Development Center and broken out into several different rooms with a survivor speaking in each one. There were no survivor's names assigned to the rooms so it was kind of a pot shot as to who we'd be hearing from. We ended up in the auditorium where Col. Ben Skardon was scheduled to speak. The man, 94 years old now, had a sense of humor about surviving the March and captivity, along with a deep reverence for his comrades who were no longer living as well as a sly, sparkle in his eye when talking about the Angels of Bataan (whom I had asked about) as well as the nurses who cared for him after liberation from a Japanese POW camp. After his talk I went up to thank him for his time and asked if he knew Lt Thor, the Angel that I was dedicating my race to. Unfortunately, he didn't know her but he saw that I was Filipina and he went on to talk about working with the Philippine Scouts in the region of Cebu where some of my family hails from. I cannot tell you how many times I had tears in my eyes during his talk, nor the amount of laughter that he was able to elicit while talking about such a deep subject. This man would be walking 9 miles of the route the following day with the help of his family.

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Blurry cell phone shot of Col. Ben Skardon during his talk.
Click here for a video of Col. Skardon talking about his captivity in 2012.

After the presentation we headed over to the Frontier Club for the pasta buffet. I looked around for some of the Team Red, White & Blue members and knew that the West Point cadets would be with them. This is when I presented their medals to them. I spoke for a while with one of the national leaders and took the photo of the West Point-ers. While eating we also met a couple of Marathon Maniacs (I had purposefully planned to wear my Half Fanatics shirt to meet other HFs or MMs) one of whom was an active duty colonel at Wright-Patterson AFB and another girl from San Jose plus her friend who was from San Leandro (both some of my NorCal SF Bay area neighbors). We had a great time just chatting about races, doing Bataan for the first time and encouraging each other...

The four cadets from West Point, there was a last minute addition from
Annapolis Naval Academy to round out the team who is not in the picture.

My new Marathon Maniac running friends on race morning.
Dan-O was competing in the Individual Military Light Division.

More Marathon Maniacs and I. I'm the only true Half Fanatic.
Some of the Maniacs are Double Agents, meaning that they are both
Half Fanatics and Marathon Maniacs...I'll be one of them by fall.

We were going to watch the movie Forgotten Soldiers which was about the men of the Death March, but we wanted to try to get to bed early since we would have to be heading to the base at 3:30-4am the next morning. Instead we headed back to HAFB at about 7:30pm to finish getting our gear ready and try to get some sleep. I popped a milligram of Xanax hoping for some decent sleep since 26.2 miles was going to be a distance that I'd never done and I wanted to be rested...I'd find out the next morning if it was a good idea or not.



Race Day:
Well, as always on race day the alarm went off too soon...this time at 2:30am. I was a little slow to wake up and by the time I did the hubs was already out of the shower. I had just a slight Xanax hangover which was quickly washed away after a nice, hot shower...yes, I'm one of those people who has to take a shower in the morning to wake up even on race day. Taped up my knees, calves and shins for what I truly expected to be a long and rough day then got dressed. We got everything packed into the car since we would be making...or rather the hubs...the nearly 5 hour drive home right after the race. We checked out of lodging and were on the road for the 30 minute or so drive back to WSMR.

We got there at about 5am and traffic was slow but not painful. We managed to park right across from the staging area and get everything set up. We headed over to the Team Red, White and Blue RV to meet up with some of the members and see if a "before" pic were to be had. Unfortunately there wasn't so we headed across the street to get in line for the call of nature before heading over to the fire truck that was flying the gigantic Stars and Stripes to find the group pic for the Marathon Maniacs and the one lone Half Fanatic (me). By the time we got the pics taken, it was time to get to our separate staging areas for the start. Hubs made his way to the back end of the group where the Honorary (Short Course) marchers were while I took my place among the Civilian - Light marchers.

The temp was in the low 50°'s and the wind was fairly calm. The local high school choir sang The Star Spangled Banner and a bagpipe regiment played after the names of the most recently deceased survivors were announced. Prior to the names of the recently deceased, the survivors in attendance were identified in a roll call with their voices strong over the sound system. The poem written by journalist Frank Hewlett during the war to call attention to the men of Bataan was read:

The Battling Bastards of Bataan emblem
with the Philippine Defense medal.

We're the Battling Bastards of Bataan,

No Mama, No Papa, No Uncle Sam,

No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,

No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces,

And nobody gives a damn!

It was after this that the tone of the start focused solely on why this race was happening...to remember those men who suffered through the 80+ mile forced march with little in the way of provisions, medical care and in the worst possible conditions during their days as POWs. This race is to be sure that their courage, bravery in the face of adversity will never be forgotten.

There was a multi-wave start with the Wounded Warriors leading the way. With each different wave a cannon announced their start. There were the survivors at the sides of the start shaking hands with those of us who went towards them. There were 15 total survivors in attendance and I had the opportunity to shake hands with 3 of them as I headed out on the course.

The first part of the course was on the roadways of the base, by mile 3 we were on groomed/bulldozed trails  out past the sports complex. Things were a bit crowded, but the course was flat. I found it necessary to jog past people occasionally to get past slower groups or to simply get away from the dust being kicked up by so many people in one place. The sand as never too bad here and most of the course was fairly well packed.

Around mile 3 or 4...

By water/aid stop #3 we were back on the asphalt. This was also where the two different routes diverged and I headed off the base towards the "hills." We remained on the roadway for a few miles with some slight inclines and then came this view...

Water/Aid stop #3/#9...the point where the two routes split up.
Not too long after I was passed by the 3rd runner headed
back to the finish...his mile 19!

Around mile 9...the hills begin.

At about mile 10 they had set up some misters...to bad the wind was blowing one side of the mist back onto the desert instead of the marchers! By about mile 11 we were back on groomed trail although it was quite a bit sandier than the previous portion of trial...

Back on the trails at around mile 11. The sand isn't too deep, but it's there. 

At this point in the race it became mostly an uphill climb...near constant. Those of you who know me know that I am not a fan of hills, but I persevered often wondering to myself if this climb will ever end. I made it to mile 13 and was elated that I was almost at the halfway point. I also thought that I was at the top of the climb, but WRONG!! There was still more to go...I stopped at the mile 14 water/aid station (and hot dogs, hamburgers, chips station) to empty the sand out of my shoes for the first of many times during the remainder of the race. By mile 15 or 16 I had reached what I think is the pinnacle for the climb...

The Canadians had been here!

Yeah, that's WSMR way down yonder!

I was fooled again into thinking that it was all downhill from here. It was downhill for a bit and then the climb started again. At about mile 16 or 17 they had a clock up and this is my time as of then...

I didn't think that was too bad for hiking the course.

By the time I got back on the asphalt at about mile 18 or 19 I was never so happy to be on solid ground. I had stopped at least 6 times since my first stop to empty the sand from my shoes. My feet were tender from forcing myself to keep going with the sand/pebbles in my shoes and I was tired from all the climbing. Lesson learned from this first experience...next year and thereafter I would wear gaiters or running boots!

I was happy to be back on the asphalt for even just the few miles before we ended up back on a trail. My feet were tender and tingling like pins and needles. About a mile past the #3/#9 water and aid stop where the two courses had split up, we turned across the road and back onto groomed PT/marching trails. The sand in some points was terrible, especially in the region of mile 21 where I'm told that the man made "sand pit" is. The sand did seem slightly deeper here than in other places, but I didn't think it was as bad as people were saying...until I went in nearly ankle deep and got a bunch of sand in my shoe again! I stopped at the mile 22 water/aid station and literally sat there for 10 minutes emptying out my shoes and just long enough for the med techs to come and check that I was okay. I was just dreading putting my shoes back on because since I had rested them there was blood flowing freely again and I knew that as soon as I stood up the pins and needles sensation would start all over again.

I had received a text from the hubs saying that he had finished and to let him know when I got to mile 24 so he could meet me. From that point on all I could think about was my cold post race chocolate milk, teriyaki beef jerky and the ability to take of my shoes and put on my Birkenstocks! I kept moving on listening to my music with a lot of Pitbull and David Guetta in these last few miles. That beat really kept me going and still singing to myself (aloud if no one was around) taking one step at a time. By the time we hit the backside of base housing the wind had whipped up and was probably well into the 20+mph range. A few times I actually had to use my bandana to keep from breathing in the thick dust. Then I saw it...that magic mile 26 marker. There were a bunch of active duty Army women there doing the Military Light Division resting and just getting up to try to keep going. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only one moaning and groaning about my tender feet! I took a group pic for them and they returned the favor and took my first pic at mile 26 (hopefully one of many to come).

Hot damn! I'm actually doing this!! Only 0.2 miles to go!

We all pretty much headed out to the finish together. In the last 100 feet or so each of the Army ladies took off in a jog to finish (teams had to finish within 20 seconds of each member) and once they were all there they crossed the line together. I started a strong jog about 75 feet from the finish...I didn't even really look at the time but I think it was about an 8:31 clock time (my MotoACTV had died along the course so I had no real idea of my time). I went straight for the med tent just to get some ice to ice up my calves but you had to go through and get seen and checked out even if all you wanted was ice. Along the way I reassured one of the other Team Red, White & Blue females that I was just wanting to ice my legs and that nothing else was wrong. So because of all the red tape I skipped that and headed ever so slowly back to the car. 

After we got settled we drove by and saw that most of the Team RWB camp was broken down already so we headed back to Holloman AFB so I could go to the gym to take a shower and so that we could stop at Popeye's for dinner. I could've gone to the base on WSMR but they had people sleeping in there for the race so I thought it would be less of a hassle at HAFB. Once at Holloman I had the hubs drive me to the door of the gym and I slowly made my way to the women's locker room. I knew I was going to have a crazy suntan between my compression shorts, KT Tape and compression socks and this is what I ended up with...

I'll never have an even tan this summer unless it's fake!!
Unfortunately, I didn't have any baby oil to loosen the adhesive
so I ended up taking a layer of skin off while removing the tape in the shower...

After I finally finished my shower we headed over to Popeye's to eat only to find out that they close early on Sundays. We ended up at Denny's where I ordered fish and chips but barely at any of it. It may have been the quart and a half of chocolate milk I drank, plus nearly half a liter of Gatorade but this was the first time in many races that I wasn't anywhere near being starving at the end of a run! So odd!

All in all it was a great, inspiring and challenging weekend. This is a race to do for all the right reasons...not necessarily a race to complete for time or a new personal record. This is a race to remember the sacrifice of the men and women of Bataan/Corregidor.

What I liked (loved) about this race?

Everything!! Seriously...the reason and importance of the memorial...to remember those that suffered through the Bataan Death March. I'm honored to have had the chance to meet and/or shake hands with some of them. This race touches me on so many different levels from being a female military veteran, to being a nurse having worked in the Air Force and Veterans Affairs healthcare systems to being a full blooded American born Filipina. The story of the "Angels of Bataan" or "Battling Belles of Bataan" is something that I will not let die and be forgotten! I also thank Col. Skardon for telling me "...the Philippine Scouts/Army doesn't get the recognition it deserves..." in reference to the Death March and WWII. That truly means a lot to me.  Course support is OUTSTANDING even though it's primarily a closed course.

What I did not like about this race?

The only thing really is the in processing...everything else was great! Well...I wouldn't mind the hills not being there but that's what this race is all about...being uncomfortable in a controlled situation unlike the veterans of Bataan.

Will I do this race again?
I will be here annually from now on...possibly at the expense of the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon which has been on my radar since I started racing. It'll be on my calendar for the rest of my racing/running life!! :D

Results:
Not too far off of the middle of the pack...totally happy with that!! :D


BETH HARDY
Gender: 376/668 
Clock Time: 8:29:18 
Chip Time: 8:19:47 
Pace: 19:04 
Bib: 1502

When You Wish Upon a Star...

Long Title:
My first real attempt at getting into the runDisney Princess Half Marathon Meetup and Warm Up Run with Jeff Galloway

Well. That was fun. "What was that?" you ask?

Since last Wednesday (minus the 2 day weekend) I, and many others like me, have been poised at our computers/laptops/tables/phones in hopes of being one of the lucky few to get invited to attend the runDisney Princess Half Marathon Meetup & Warm Up Run with Jeff Galloway and other celebs. This year in addition to Jeff, runDisney's official dietician Tara Gidus, actor Sean Astin, The Biggest Loser's Ali Vincent, defending Princess HM and back to back Disneyland Half winner Rachel Booth and two time Paralympic track and field medalist April Holmes will be appearing at the meetup.

Now, I have never gotten into one of these events. They're pretty hard to get into and usually fill very quickly. Everything I've read or been told by past attendees makes them out to be an awesome experience. I mean really, how many times do you actually get to go for a run with a former Olympian? I've only tried to get my name into the 2013 Tinkerbell Half Marathon meetup and it was only a half hearted attempt. I did most of the things that you need to do to enter, but I just wasn't quick enough on the draw. This time I was ready! Now, while I really want to get in, it's not a do or die thing for me. It's more about the chase of friendly competition with others to get your name in before the window of opportunity closes. That doesn't mean that I'm going to not offer info on how the process works, but I'll invite others that are interested and share what knowledge I do have of the process.

The process for this year's Princess Half (PHM) meetup was different. Yes, we did the required wait...referred to the #refreshwaitrepeat on Twitter...but glitches occurred on Friday when the announcement was supposed to be made sending the process into an unprecedented fourth day (on Monday)! Yes, I was one of those people stuck to the screen for 4 days...well, actually from about 6am MST to anywhere between 1:10pm and 4:00pm on Wed thru Friday...then rudely getting awakened on Monday by a tweet notifying me of the announcing blog post at 5:35am MST at which time once I managed to gather my wits about me I went flying into the back room to my more reliable desktop to send in my email requesting inclusion in the event. I hurdled 3 dogs and when I slid into the rolling office chair I actually rolled away from the computer. My nerves were shot, I was shaking from the adrenaline surge and could barely type some updates onto a Facebook group that I belong to or into my own Facebook/Twitter feeds. It was only after I did manage to send my email and get my status updated that I found out that the actual blog post had been put up around 1:30am EST!! Whoaa!! That pretty much killed my chances then and there...if only I had refreshed the blog before I finally went to sleep at around 2am MST!! LOL!! :D

Such an early announcement has never been made and I don't expect many west coast hopefuls to be very happy as I know I wouldn't be. But it's a game and sometimes you win but most times you lose. There are plenty of people who never even get a chance to get their names in the hat even though they may have been working the process as well...as was the case for me during the TinkerBell meetup process.

So, the waiting game begins. Emails should be sent out to those invited by 4pm EST today with a link to a final list posted by 5pm on the Disney Parks blog. So I'm watching the ticker on my email account and will be checking every new email that comes in in hopes of being one of the lucky few...but if not I have at least 5 more runDisney to try to get into the meetup so no real loss on my part aside from my time and a little sanity.

Because of the "villians" (as runDisney put it) messing with the system, I wouldn't be surprised if changes happened to the process...but for now here are some tips that I've learned in the two times that I've attempted. These tips are subject to be incorrect at anytime...especially with the difficulties encountered with the PHM process so I really expect some major changes in the future!

• Download an auto refresh extension for whatever browser you use.
• Open a window for the Disney Parks Blog.
• Set your auto refresh to whatever timing you want...recommend 5-10 seconds. The blog is the first place they'll announce that the process is open.
• Open and monitor the @runDisney Twitter account...usually about a 5 second delay from the blog post.
• Set up your phone or other devices to receive SMS texts from @runDisney by texting "FOLLOW @runDisney" to 40404.
• Prepare an email that includes your full name to be sent to one of the following addresses (always double check in the blog post in case they change) depending on which park the race is at:
• RDL.SportsMeetUps@Disney.com
• WDW.SportsMeetUps@Disney.com
• Have the email open and ready to just click "Send" at a moments notice.
• NOTE: You can only send a single email from a single address...if they see more than one email addy for the same person it automatically disqualifies you.
• Once you see the announcement, you usually have literally seconds to send in the email because they fill up so fast (this was NOT the case with PHM).

Then the wait begins!! They will email you if you get in within a few hours (it's only been an hour or so since the PHM meetup process closed and emails are already going out).

NOTICE: Just to make it perfectly clear...this list is totally of my own work/original, not copied from any source. It includes information gleaned from online discussion in Facebook or Twitter, the Disney Parks Blog and from observing previous meetup processes as they occurred. I, in no way, copied or designed in any plagaristic manner from any files from any groups or websites.

Just FYI:

• Earliest day of announcement: Tuesday
• Earliest time of blog post: ~1:30am EST (I think...it was for this PHM)
• Latest day of announcement: Monday (for this PHM...but typically on Fridays)
• Latest time of blog post: ~3:30pm ET
• Usual window for announcement: ~10am-1pm ET

The one thing I want folks to remember out of participating in this kind of endeavor is that it is just a game! Don't take it too seriously!! Sometimes you win, most times you lose...there's almost always a next time.

Good luck to all the Princesses that got their names into the mix!

UPDATE @ 8:43am MST: The final list of 50 attendees is already posted on the Disney Parks Blog less than 2 hours after closing the process! Congrats to all that made it in...unfortunately I wasn't one of them. There's plenty more runDisney races to try again!! :D

Recap: Walt Disney World Wine & Dine Half Marathon

Race Day: Saturday, November 11, 2012 at 10pm

Race Day – 2: Travel Day

Well, I got up this morning at 4:30am to start getting ready for my drive to the Lubbock airport to catch my flight to Orlando. Darn this time change…first we get the extra hour with the time change and then I lose it again having to cross the border and eventually to the Eastern time zone. I’m traveling on my crutches with a post-op walking shoe and my foot wrapped  in an ACE wrap. Let me tell you, trying to drag my suitcase and carry on backpack to the car was not easy!

Once I got on the road things were much better. I decided to park in an off airport lot so that they could shuttle me to the terminal and I wouldn’t have to deal with  except to get it to the check in counter to have them put the tag on the bag. As I headed to the security check point it took me forever to get everything ready to place in the bins.  I stood next to the chair while I was getting everything settled and allowed probably over  a dozen people to go by me.  I grabbed some breakfast (bagel, cream cheese and a Sprite) then headed to the customer service desk to get a blue tag for early boarding. Nice bonus for having to use crutches!

This was a direct flight to Orlando with a short stop in Austin to take in more passengers. We arrived just a little early at about 2pm and I went to grab my one bag (I had carried my race gear with me as my carry on).  With that done fairly quickly, we were able to arrive a little earlier than anticipated. Once I picked up my bag I headed to the transportation area to catch the Magical Express to the All Stars Music Resort. Unfortunately that was the wrong side to check in. The bus driver was kind enough to drive me over to the other area so I didn’t have to mess with my bag and crutches. I finally made it through check in and was able to board the bus within about 10 minutes. The drive to the resort was pretty much like I remembered it. The driver dropped people of at several other stops before getting to my hotel.

Check in at the hotel was a joke! I had done the online check in so that it would be much faster, but it turned out that there was no one manning the online check in area. The three concierges eventually took the first 3 people in line, but after that they began working with people in the concierge line. I took pics of almost each line to show you what I was talking about…I hope that this is not an every day occurrence! Eventually a single clerk came out and started helping the online check in waiting line which by then had blossomed to about 6-8 people/families. People who were waiting for the regular check in actually finished about 10 minutes fast than me and I was the first one in the online check in!

All Stars Movie Resort - Love Bug 6 where I stayed.

For me this was the first stay in a Disney resort of any kind. The room was decent with 2 double beds which was comfortable (only slept in one), a full tub/shower, sink outside the bathroom, a table or 2 and a mini-fridge which didn’t have a freezer. There were no microwaves or coffee makers in the room. The bathroom/sink area was nice because there was a curtain separating the sink area from the sleeping area. That way if you have an early riser in the group (or runners getting ready for an early morning half or full marathon) the rest of the non-running group can sleep.

For the rest of the night I found out how to make the trek to the Shades of Green (SoG)  military resort to shop for some breakfast and snack items. Just FYI get on the bus or monorail to the Magic Kingdom then either take the monorail to the Polynesian exiting through the main enterance and following the walkway and signs. The walk is about a quarter mile. From the Magic Kingdom you can also walk past the monorail entrances and catch the Shades of Green bus that stops where all the other non-Disney buses stop...this is maybe a 10 minute ride once the bus leaves. One quart of low fat milk, 2 pints of chocolate milk, 3 large individual serving cups of Frosted Flakes, a regular bag of Keebler cookies (not a mini bag),  a large bag of beef jerky and a couple of other things came out to just over $25. The prices there were basically the same at any military convenience store.  After getting back to the room (it took about 20-30 minutes each way) I put everything away and headed for the Food Court which reminded me of a college cafeteria. I got an individual sized pepperoni pizza and a bottle of Sprite which came out to about $14. took my pizza and my expensive food and headed back to the room to eat and chill out.

Race Day – 1: The Expo

After about 6 hours sleep (the longest stretch of sleep in a long while), I got up just before 6am. Of course I spent nearly an hour or so playing on Facebook before getting ready for breakfast. The expo wasn’t opening until 10am so I decided to go to the food court because I needed spoons and while I was there I also realized that I needed some bananas (the SoG didn’t have any fresh fruit that I saw) as well as some orange juice. So, I broke down and bought them in the food court for $1.49 for each banana (got 3) and $3.50 for each individual serving of Simply Orange orange juice (got 3).  For those 6 things and tax the total price was just shy of $16!! OUCH!! I was trying to resist the urge to get anything else but for some reason pancakes just sounded good so I ended up with 3 lid sized pancakes and 2 slices of bacon for about $12. I headed back for the room to chill for a while as the first bus to the expo wasn’t until 8:30am. Some TV and Facebook later I headed to the pick up point at 8am because I didn’t know how crowded the line would be. Fortunately, it wasn’t totally full and I was able to get a front seat. BTW, I had ditched the crutches but was still wrapped in the ACE wrap and using the post-op walking shoe.

There was a bit of a waiting line to get through the entrance to ESPN and then another line to wait for packet pickup. Once I got in I headed to the line for my bib number, or what I thought was my number. Thankfully, I looked at my waiver again and I was supposed to be in the line to the left of me which was much, much shorter and moving much, much faster! Score! I got my packet about 10 minutes after I moved to the correct line and made a beeline to the official runDisney store. OMG, the line for the cash registers was LONG. I mean long enough that it snaked through the merch store and was going nearly halfway into the stadium. Thankfully it was moving fairly decent so I was probably in line only for 15 minutes or so. I walked out with only buying 2 tech shirts (I for the event itself and one for the Coast to Coast Challenge). I then headed over to the Jostens Center where we were to pick up our race shirts and where the actual expo was being held. I walked around a bit making sure that I found the SparkleSkirts booth where I would be volunteering the following day so that I could introduce myself to the owner, Leah. There was plenty to see or do but not enough money to do it all! I did buy a new handheld Nathan hydration bottle (I have an Amphipod one that I hate), a couple of sports bras (one was a bold, bright yellow that I’ve been looking for forever) and a few other things as well as a few freebies.

After the expo I decided to head to Downtown Disney for some dinner and maybe walk around. I headed directly for my absolute favorite Disney restaurant…Poole’s Dublin Fish & Chips to crave my fish & chips craving. Then I headed out to my next favorite place Ghiradelli’s Soda Shop to get a brownie sundae. YUMMO!! I was ready to call it a day so I did absolutely no looking around instead heading back to the room on the resort shuttle and setting out my outfits for the Saturday. I set up my camo SparkleSkirt and black tank to wear while working the expo and then my cheap, but functional Eeyore outfit. I did have a sweet tooth attack so I headed to the food court for a snack of a great chocolate croissant, something I haven’t had for years. The rest of the night was spent just chilling and watching TV. I even managed to fall asleep sometime after 9pm and had a really nice extended 8 hour slumber.

Race Day

I woke up at about 5:30am without the alarm after getting a full night’s sleep, something I hadn’t had in a very long time. After doing my ritual of playing on Facebook for awhile before having my standard breakfast for the trip of Frosted Flakes, banana, milk and orange juice. I got dressed in my camo outfit for the SparkleSkirts booth at the expo and headed out the door to catch the first shuttle to the ESPN center. The shuttle was running about 15 minutes late and I even checked with a taxi to see how much it would cost for the trip and for less than a 5 minute ride it was going to be about $15! So, I waited for the shuttle. It finally came at about 10 minutes until 10am and I ran for the Jostens Center so that I could get in before the expo opened. I had to sweet talk the older gentleman who was limiting access since the expo hadn’t actually opened yet to let me in since I didn’t have an exhibitor badge. I arrived at the booth (after quickly making an appointment for a massage after my shift) and introduced myself to the other girls who had volunteered to work the booth as well as to Leah Powell, the owner of SparkleSkirts. Now, realize that the last time I had worked retail was back in high school when I worked at Sears. It was like I had stepped right back into that mode. I was showing people the shorts under the tech skirt and the huge pockets on each  side, the fact that these shorts NEVER ride up, then there’s the 12” zippered pocket on the waistband and the fact that they are made in the USA. I was pushing the new SparkleSkirts MuddBuster shorts and capris made especially for those ladies who love doing mud and obstacle runs. The wicking material for these items is newer and better than the older model, has double paneling front and back so nothing shows through when your soaking wet, has a zip pocket on the back waistband and best of all has 2 large four inch mesh pockets on the legs that will allow water/mud and any junk that may end up in the pockets to drain. I also was pushing the original SparkleSkirts which are just cover skirts that you wear over your own shorts, capris or tights. I swear I love this brand of running skirt and will likely start getting more of them versus some of the other running skirt brands that I use.

I have to say that I had a blast working the booth and hope to do this again at another expo. For my time, just short of 4 hours, I got a $100 store credit which I was able to spend on the spot. I got a Minnie Mouse tech skirt, a brown and multicolor paisley tech skirt and a new medal rack since my current one is completely full. I did go over my $100 by $40 but still that’s not bad for some time and 2 skirts that were normally $65 each and a medal rack that was normally $35. The Minnie Mouse Skirt and the medal rack were on clearance prices of $60 and $20 respectively. After I picked out my stuff, I walked around the expo again until it was time for my massage. It was only a 25 minute massage for $25 but I really needed to loosen up my legs from just beginning to bear full weight again. After that I headed back to the resort to get ready for the night’s race.

The two SparkleTech Skirts and medal rack that I got for
working the SparkleSkirts booth,
plus I paid an additional $40 since I went over my earned credit.

It was about 4pm when I got back to my room so I freshened up a bit then began to get dressed. Now, I was dressing up as Eeyore in just a simple costume: a periwinkle (light purple/blue) running skirt and tank, a felt chest piece, Eeyore ear headband and a tail. It was a pretty tacky costume, but it’s a Disney race…you have to (not really) dress up in a costume of some sort to run. I grabbed my gear bag headed out to the food court to get the last of my carb loading done with a plate of spaghetti with meatballs. By the time I finished eating it was 6:40pm so I headed out to wait for the first bus to the starting line.

The outfit looked better just laid out on the bed!
And yes, there's a tail, you just can't see it.

The bus was full of people chatting away and you could feel the excitement building. I tried looking around the bus for people that I knew but with no luck. So when we got dropped off at the waiting area I headed directly to the port-o-jons  for last minute emptying and then to dropped off my bag at the gear drop tent. Since it was only about 7pm, I went up near the stage area where they have the “entertainment.” This was really just an extremely energetic emcee/deejay who got the crowd riled up and dancing/stretching. I joined in with the dancing and singing from time to time (getting tired and sweaty even before the running started) and at other times was walking around to find people I knew. It was during this time that I probably lost my $10 gift card that was for the after party…I was just so ticked at myself for that, but eventually let go of the self anger. I did bump into some ladies that I’ve met from my online running groups or run with at other races (most at the Tinkerbell HM).

Finally at around 9:30pm the announcement was made for everyone to start heading to their appropriate corrals. Earlier I had decided to start one of the further back corrals, like in C or D; but at the last minute I was feeling pretty confident and stayed in my assigned corral B. I did try to stay to the back of the pack but as they were asking people to move forward in the corrals I ended up in the middle of the pack. We waited, and waited, and waited some more until finally the 10 minute mark was announced. Everyone started warming up with earnest and at 9:55pm the wheelchair racer was on his way. Five minutes later corral A was released to the loud cheers, music and fireworks. Then it was my corrals turn…we got the same cheers, music and fireworks…and as we crossed the starting line I forgot about the worries of my foot and began running. I took off too fast as usual going at about a 10:38-10:48  pace for the first 3 miles or so. I finally slowed down and by mile 6 I was in my usual pace range of 12:30 - 13 :30.

Blurry pic of the starting line...sorry!

We headed through the Disney Studios, went back on the road to the Animal Kingdom then onto Epcot. The course was mostly flat with several overpasses that weren't bad at all. I can't really say that it was scenic since it was on the major roads on the Disney Property so it's usually lined with trees, canals and such but since this is a night race you didn't really get to see the scenery.There were the usual photo ops with Disney characters, but I’m not a huge Disney fanatic so the character pics really didn’t mean anything to me. Call me jaded, but I just think it’s because I grew up going to Disneyland almost every summer when I was growing up and even then I was not a kid who really wanted to take pics with the characters.

These pics are of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

The finish line was at Epcot, we had to actually go through one of the buildings and then under the overhang on one side of Spaceship Earth before heading to the back lot and finally the finish line. After crossing the line I was relieved to finish uninjured…I didn’t even care about my time. Just the fact that I finished after 4 weeks of absolutely no training and only a day and a half with partial/full weight bearing was good enough for me. I got my finisher’s medal then grabbed a banana and a post race snack box (a piece of Almond Roca, nut/raisin packet, crackers, spreadable cheese, hard energy candy and some other small stuff) definitely not anything special. I headed over to the Coast to Coast medal booth to pick mine up then got my bag at gear check. It was kind of hard to find a place to sit. At TinkerBell there was a large area right next to the finish that you could plop down just about anywhere, but at this race it seemed that they had blocked off the waiting area so that we couldn’t sit there. Instead there was just a small block of ground maybe the size of a small 1 bedroom bungalow that everyone was sitting. I had brought my usual post race replenishment and sat there eating beef jerky, 2 pints of chocolate milk and the banana. By the time I was done taking pics of the medals and eating I was too full to even consider heading over to the after party where different booths were serving different drinks and foods from all over the world. Instead, I hopped on the bus back to the resort, took a cold bath, then a warm shower before going to sleep at nearly 6am.

Almost there! Really!

Less than a mile to go!

Laser light show during the last quarter mile.

The finish line, finally!!

Race Day +1

Oddly enough I woke up just before 10am which is fairly normal for me but I had taken a Xanax when I went to bed so I should have been out for a couple more hours. I did my morning routine: Facebook, breakfast and shower and decided that I’d do my laundry before going home. So I spent from about noon to 1:30pm doing laundry, having another chocolate croissant and repacking the suitcase.  Around 4pm I decided that I needed to eat a late lunch/dinner…the dilemma was where to eat.  That was pretty easily solved considering that my favorite Disney restaurant is in Downtown Disney so off I went and caught the shuttle back over to DTD and headed straight back to Poole’s for my fish and chips and then over to Ghiradelli’s for another brownie sundae. This pretty much ended up my short stay in WDW on a very happy note. All that I had left to do was make sure my reservation for the Magical Express (airport transportation) was all set for the next morning and I donated my crutches to the front desk where they bring left behind strollers, wheelchairs, etc. into the baggage hold room and give them out to people who need them while at the resort. I went to sleep pretty early, before 9pm and slept great aside from some really weird dreams that seemed very realistic…not nightmares but just outrageously nonsensical dreams.

Race Day +2

I woke up at 4:45am and took my shower, finished packing the tech clothes that hadn’t been all the way dry after being washed on Saturday and had breakfast while playing on Facebook. At 5:15 I rolled my suitcase over to the front of the hotel where they would do the airline check in. They printed up my boarding pass and took possession of my bag and made sure that it got on the plane. One less bother to worry about on the trip home. My pick up time for the Express was at 6:15 and they arrived right on time.

We arrived at the Orlando airport at about 7am and since I was already checked in, I went straight to the security line and slowly made my way through. As I got to the TSA agent, she saw my military ID and told me to go to the priority line. I asked if she was sure since I am only a dependent but she said go ahead. I moved over there and showed the agent my ID and again asked about me being allowed to use the priority line. She replied that as long as on an “operation” military could use the priority line. So I guess the TSA doesn’t get any training on what the different ID cards for the military indicate, so I just went with it and was through the security checkpoint in less than 5 minutes. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to try that again, but it would be nice if it was true and correct.

After getting on the shuttle for the gates, I noticed a guy who was vomiting near constantly. My first thought was, “I hope he’s not on my flight.” I got to the gate I plugged in at a charging station (surprise, surprise) and waited for boarding to start. Once I got on the flight, somehow managing to wrangle an aisle seat even though I was within the last 35 to board. The flight to Austin was a little bumpy and within the first 30 minutes I began to hear the retching and vomiting…it was the guy from the shuttle gates. Joy. Within another 20 minutes or so a guy in the front row began vomiting as well. Oh joy…again. I just tried to sleep and ignore the vomiting going on. When we finally landed in Austin I found out that I didn’t have a boarding pass for my connecting flight. I picked one up at customer service and just waited.

My drive home was as boring as usual and it didn’t help that I was stuffed and getting sleepy. Once I made it to town, I put on all three medals again and stopped in m husband shop to let him know that I was back and do a little bragging!! :D My drive home was as boring as usual and it didn’t help that I was stuffed and getting sleepy. Once I made it to town, I put on all three medals again and stopped in m husband shop to let him know that I was back and do a little bragging!! :D

 Oddly enough the flight to Lubbock was totally full but at least it was a smooth, short trip. Lubbock is a small airport so baggage claim was no big deal. I caught the off airport parking shuttle and picked up my car.

Since it was about lunch time I decided to see if any restaurants were serving free Veterans Day meals since Monday was the federal observation of the holiday. I found several places that were doing the Monday offer so I first headed to Golden Corral which I found was only doing a dinner special from 4pm-9pm. I then decided to try Texas Roadhouse where I got a great grilled pork chop, green beans, loaded baked potato, 4 dinner rolls and a soda…enough to fill me up and put me to sleep at the same time!

My Disney Coast to Coast Medal and qualifying medals.
TinkerBell Half Marathon & the Wine and Dine Half Marathon.

Official time: 3:27:22

What did I like about this race?

This is a fun, no pressure Disney race. This is one of those races that unless your a really hardcore runner you don't mind making extra stops for character pictures that sometimes have long lines.

What I did not like about this race?

Primarily the cost. All Disney races are expensive even if you sign up early. Since the race goes through the parks, there are times that the course gets quite narrow and congested but that's what you get for running in the parks! They weren't built with road races in mind. Lack of runner etiquette, even though in the final instructions and race program they review proper etiquette few seem to follow it. I tended to stay on the very far side of the course right next to the cones or curbs yet I almost got knocked over 2-3 times by runners passing where there was not enough room yet on the other side there was plenty of room to pass. That's not Disney's fault, but still something I dislike in any race.

Would I do this race again?

Yes, maybe. Because these are such expensive races my goal is to run all the half marathons and the marathon at least once except for Tink which I plan to go legacy (run it for 5 straight years). I won't do any of the shorter races unless I'm already in the area for some reason. Maybe I'll do this with my husband once he starts running his half marathons...hell could freeze over by then!