In the words of Peter Pan, “Here we gooooo!” The Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California was this past weekend on January 20, 2013. What an epic race for this little koala; I have so much to say, I just don’t know where to start! The weekend started with a 6:30 am Southwest airlines flight out of San Jose International Airport. This was a very early flight! I knew it was going to be a early day when both my Barrie and my BFF’s husband conferred that we should be on the road by 5 am! What?! I set my alarm for 4:15 am and got myself pulled together. My carry-on suitcase had been packed and re-packed for several days and was ready to quietly roll out the front door. I picked my BFF up right at five and we headed down the road. We got to the airport and parked and made it through security with plenty of time to spare, and even time to get a much needed caffeine boost at Starbucks! I probably did not mention that this koala does not care to fly, at all (does any koala like to fly? probably not!) We were in the A boarding group, which if you fly Southwest know that this is super imperative! My BFF boarded first and of course sat in the EXIT aisle. Really?! I didn’t know if I could handle flying, let alone the EXIT row responsibilities! We even had to take a verbal oath that we would handle our duties as outlined by our flight attendant. Of course, we survived and made it down to the OC in no time at all. I think it took us longer to walk out to where the taxis were waiting than the actual flight itself. At 8 am on a Saturday morning, there is no traffic in the OC and so we arrived at the Disneyland Hotel super fast. Things were going so smoothly, including the fact that our room was already ready for us when we arrived. Score! We brought our stuff up to our room (which I might add had a view of the finish area), grabbed our waivers, and headed down to the EXPO. We had to wait in line for a few minutes since the EXPO did not open until 9 am. Soon enough, the line started to move and we headed down below to pick up our bibs and make sure they were functioning properly. For some reason, no matter what Disney race I run, my bib line is always the longest line. This time was no exception! Did I mention I was in the A Corral?! If you have ever run a Disney race, you will know that this is huge! Now you all know that I am not any kind of elite or fast runner, but I guess in the grand scheme of Tinkerbell Half Marathon standards, I fit into the A Corral category:) It’s exciting to be in the front corral, but I’ll tell you more about that later.
We got our bibs and headed into the actual EXPO. Disney EXPO’s are the bomb! It was a joy to be able to browse and concentrate on shopping without any little one’s asking when could we go to the park. We got our shirts, which are so cute, and explored the EXPO. I have a pair of Snugbuds earbuds which I bought at last year’s race that were broken and the excellent company gave me half off on my new pair! I also bought a pink glitter headband with an adjustable band on it. There is so much stuff to look at and wonderful companies and products. At this point, the hunger pains were stronger than the urge to shop so we headed over to Steakhouse 55 for some grub. I had a yummy short stack of pancakes with berries. Yumm-o!
We chowed and then headed into Downtown Disney to shop for our kids, of course! it was fun to seek out all the requests of each of my six loved ones. Everything from salted caramels for Barrie to a Vinylmation for Madison and anything boy for Blake! The call of the pool and the gorgeous southern California weather was too strong to resist, and so we headed back to put on our swimsuits and head down to the pool. It was such an awesome 80 degree day. We spent the afternoon lounging and relaxing by the pool laughing at the antics of BFF’s three year old son. As the sun started to set behind the palm trees, it was very evident that it was for sure still the middle of January. Yes, it was Martin Luther King weekend not Memorial Day!
Getting back to the room, I laid out all my stuff for the very early morning wake up call. I had to make the toughest decision of the day: should I wear a long sleeved shirt or my tank top in the morning? After reviewing the hourly weather report and seeing that it would be 50 degrees at race start at 5 am (yes, I did say 5 am!), I decided to go with my tank. I had worn my tank on a 6 mile training run and assumed it would do just fine for the longer distance. We called down for our 3 am wake up call and turned in for the night around 8:30 pm. I did not sleep well at all; I never sleep well before a race so that really was not anything new. The more I listened to my BFF’s quiet, even Ambien induced breathing, the more I lay there wide awake. I mostly lay there awake with the devil reminding me that I could not do this and the doubt just beating me down. I began praying and reminding myself of my husband’s encouraging words as we said goodnight. I asked God to bless me with a great race the next morning for all the glory would be to Him. I must have dozed off at some point since the next thing I knew our phone was ringing with Mickey saying it’s time to get up!
I quickly showered and put on my gear which included: pink glittery headband, pink and green stripey tank, black booty shorts, hot pink tutu, I can fly race legs, and my lite brite asics running shoes. Oh, and of course, Tinkerbell green wings:) We headed down to the hotel coffee shop at about 3:45 am, and I had a cup of coffee, half a banana, a whole grain mini bagel, and some peanut butter. By 4 am, we headed over to the corrals and one last trip to the Port-a-potty. Have you ever tried to use a Port-a-Potty in the pitch blackness while wearing a tutu? I don’t recommend it; just saying.
BFF and I said our goodbye’s and headed to our Corrals. Another great thing about a Disney race is that they actually monitor what corral you should be in. It is definitely nice not having to spend the first two miles of your race dodging people who are walking;) Heading into the front corral by myself is a very awkward thing; I don’t really consider myself to be a “fast” runner, and everyone there automatically thinks you are fast in some sense of the word. I sat down on the curb next to an Asian woman who quickly began talking my ear off. She was a wonderful distraction, and I am sure God sent her to me, just to ease my mind and upset stomach; her name was Grace! She was a doctor at Kaiser who had so many stories and interesting things to say which occupied the time. I also met two sisters from Ventura County who found Grace equally interesting! Hearing a military woman sing the National Anthem with fireworks going off in the background brought chills through my entire being. Grace and the sisters all said good luck and our goodbye’s and it was time to go!
The first six miles of the race were spent running through California Adventure, then Disneyland, and then Downtown Disney. I felt as if this time and the miles were just flying by! I guess they were. My 5K split time was 27:12 and my 10K split was 56:05. I felt like I was flying, really, no pun intended. The feeling that I had during the bulk of this race and the miles I covered was almost supernatural; I knew that God was carrying me! It was one of those days when almost everything is in sync; my legs felt great, and other than a little tummy upset, I generally felt like I could run forever! My 15K split was 1:26:19; I think one of the best 9 mile times I have ever had. At this point, I was predicted to finish at 2:01:25, which was really close to my goal time of two hours. I knew I could do it, but did I really want to kill myself? I continued to run with very short walking breaks, knowing I was so close to the finish. As we crossed Harbor Blvd. and headed back onto Disney property, I knew the end was near. At the mile 12 marked, I walked a little and continued to listen to my motivating Christian music. The last mile was absolutely the most difficult; we were on a service road behind California Adventure. The Tinkerbell Half Marathon course as a whole was wonderful, except for that last mile. It was so boring, and just seemed to be the longest mile E.V.E.R.! As I came around to Disney Drive, which was across the street from the finish line, a woman was on the ground. It almost made me cry! She was so close to finishing. I asked if she was okay, and she replied yes. There were several race staff helping her over to the side (I hope that she was able to finish!). As I came across by the Paradise Pier Hotel, I could see the Finish Line, and then realized there was a horrible little horse shoe out and back to reach the actual Finish Line! I made it to the turn around, walked for a few seconds to regroup and then sprinted the rest of the way to the Finish! What a wonderful feeling to hear the announcer calling out my name and the wonderful sound of that new PR, 2:04:05! I was so happy with my time and the entire race. As I received my second beautiful Tinkerbell medal, I thanked and praised God for carrying me all those miles and making the time literally FLY.
We spent a few hours in Disneyland, and enjoying some time to ourselves. All the while, I was wishing that Barrie and the kids had been there to see me finish and spend time in Disneyland together. I couldn’t wait to get home to see the kids and Barrie! My body felt awesome after, no aches or pains; such an amazing feeling. And yes, I will run this race every year until I can no longer run it; I am a Legacy!
mama koala on the run 