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And after all the planning and preparation to leave Barrie and the four kidlets home to survive four days without mama koala, Kylie and I were off. Yes, I only took my oldest daughter with me! Barrie and I decided it was way to expensive to do WDW with a family of 7! We could go to Hawaii for the same price! Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled story. The first leg of our trip went to Austin, Texas where a 2 hour layover turned into a 3 hour layover! Weather delays, but we were so excited it didn’t really phase us too much. We took in the Texan accents and charged our cell phones. When we finally got onto the flight headed to Orlando, Kylie and I were both tired, hungry, and saying “y’all”. We made it into Orlando International without any problems and headed to our Magic Express Bus. Retrospectively, we probably should have grabbed some food and taken it with us, because this turned into a long ride. Our driver was very entertaining with Disney trivia and such (Did you know that the Disney World property is the same size as the city of San Francisco?!), but the ride turned into a long one with dropping off at all the other resort hotels with ours being the last stop. We checked into our room, got some sandwiches, and began the 15 minute trek to our room! It was very dark, We were tired, hungry, and had no idea where we were going. We finally found our building and our room, and then it took us about 5 minutes to figure out how to open the door! Kylie and I were both almost in tears and then laughing when we finally figured out the key was magnetic! Who knew?! Apparently, all the card readers are magnetic in WDW. We ate and turned in for the night. Our resort, Coronado Springs, was beautiful; it reminded us both of Mexico.
Friday morning, we got up and headed back to the main lobby to have breakfast and head to the Expo. We waited in a short line to get into the area where you picked up your bib, and then headed into the Expo area. We went to the runDisney merchandise area which was not that crowded when we got in there, but within minutes it was swarming with women buying 4 items of the same thing at a time. The staff were quickly trying to restock items as fast as they were flying off the shelves! I saw a great teal track style Champion jacket with writing on the front that said “Princess Half Marathon”; I sent Kylie to grab one, and when I saw the price, $70, I promptly sent it back into the mayhem! I purchased a runDisney Mickey vinylmation with princess crown medal for Madison and a runDisney lanyard for all my Disney race pins. We got out of there quickly and headed to Magic Kingdom. After leaving, I realized that they hadn’t given me anything for my Coast to Coast Medal; I knew I was supposed to get a wrist band or something. I decided to deal with that later.
As I said, we boarded the shuttle to Magic Kingdom. I had no idea how big this Disney World resort was. I am so used to Disneyland and being able to walk everywhere, even when staying off property! Not so in the World! We arrived at Magic Kingdom, and it was like being in an episode of the Twilight Zone; it was like it was the same as Disneyland, but not exactly the same. We went to City Hall and got some First Visit buttons and started to head into the park. All of a sudden, there was Marie, the kitty from the Aristocats, and Kylie decided she wanted to wait in line to have her picture taken with her! Yes, teenagers still love to do that stuff too! She also took her picture with Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast, later that day. We rode a bunch of rides, all the while making the comparisons to our beloved Disneyland. Some rides better, some rides not so much. We were both very impressed with how well the Fast Pass system seemed to function, but they did not honor fast passes that were outside of their time window. Early afternoon, we headed back to our hotel for a little rest, dinner, and to deal with the Coast to Coast situation.
I headed back into the Expo, which was very crowded now. I asked a runDisney representative standing outside the area of bib pick up what I should do after explaining my situation, and she had no idea and sent me to Runner Relations which had a line about 8 deep. I waited in line, got to the front and proceeded to tell the girl my situation. She said I needed to go back out to the computers and print out my proof of time for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. So, back out I went and printed out my proof of time, and went back to runner relations. She checked my result, gave me a bright green wristband, and I was on my way.
We had a very nice dinner at a restaurant in our hotel called The Mayan. It was some very yummy Mexican food. We back to the shuttle bus stop where we experienced the mayhem of too many riders and not enough buses! We made it back to the Magic Kingdom, rode some more rides, saw the fireworks, the Main Street Electrical Light Parade, and ate ice cream sundaes on a door step on Main Street. It was starting to rain, and people were leaving like crazy. We enjoyed our ice cream and made it back to our hotel and turned in for the night. Saturday morning, we spent at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Kylie wanted to ride Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster, and so I reluctantly tagged along. I was glad that I rode because both rides were very cool. We spent the rest of our time there seeing a couple of shows and then headed back to Coronado to enjoy the afternoon relaxing by the pool. The weather was very warm and tropical; cloudy and humid. At 4:30 we decided to head to Downtown Disney. This turned into a major fiasco! We waited over an hour for the shuttle and then it took 45 minutes to get there; the overload of runners being shuttled out of the Expo had caused a major traffic jam. We arrived at Downtown Disney, and grabbed a map since the play was huge! We visited some stores, shopped and ate at Wetzel’s Pretzels. Very tired and knowing I needed to be up at 2:30 am to catch my shuttle at three, we headed back to our room, showered, and went to bed. As usual, I tossed and turned for the short time I was in bed. I couldn’t take a sleep aid, since I wasn’t actually going to be asleep for that long!
My alarm went off at 2:30 am, and I jumped out of bed, put my Belle outfit on, and headed out to catch the shuttle to Epcot. I have to confess that when the alarm went off at o’dark thirty, I seriously considered going back to bed; the voice in my head was telling me I shouldn’t even attempt this race. I knew that the heat advisory runDisney had put out the day before was scaring me. I shut the voice of the devil down and began to pray that God would bless my morning, keep me alive until I crossed the finish line, and bring me safely back to my daughter. I had told Barrie while on the phone the night before that I was really just hoping to finish in 2 hours and 20 minutes (my second slowest half ever; also the finish time of my second half, but 10 minutes faster than my first!) The chartered bus was waiting for us and filled up at our stop. I boarded and sat down amongst many women who were chatting with their girlfriends. My first fail of the morning: NO COFFEE!!! Yep, I said it; I did not get ANY coffee! Ugh, I already knew that was going to be a killer. I was thinking by some miracle of God that there would be coffee when I arrived at the start/finish area. Nope, I was very wrong. Second fail of the morning: Did not have my usual mini bagel, peanut butter and banana! Forgot my mini bagels at home (in California), did not have a chance to get a banana, and had peanut butter but nothing to eat it with! I am very particular about my morning of race routine, and things were certainly not going in my favor! It was so early, I didn’t even eat yet. My corral was set to start at 5:35 am, and so I knew I should eat around 4 am. I did have two of my trusty Honey Stinger Waffles. Our driver took us on some weird out of the way ride; I’m sure he knew what he was doing but it seemed as if he had gone way out of the way. I’m sure it had something to do with many of the highways being closed for the race. We finally arrived at Epcot and began the trek to the finish area. This was a BIG production! We walked about 10 minutes from the drop off area, and then were held near the port a potties until they would allow us to go to the Corrals. I used the bathroom several times, stretched a little and tried not to get nervous. Finally, it was time to head to the Corrals. To be honest, I can’t even remember what time this was, but it was still very dark but also very warm. I believe it must have been close to a mile to get to our Corrals. At some point, we split; front Corrals went one way, and the others went straight. As we got closer to our entry, all of a sudden, it was just me and one other girl. The staff checked our bibs to make sure we were in the A corral and in we went. The two of us walked all the way to the front; it was kind of cool. Forgot to mention, yep, no coffee at the holding area; I did have a cup of water!
Soon, the corral started to fill up and I settled into a spot near the front and near the stage. I ate my waffle and started to dance with the rest of the princesses. They had some crazy runDisney guy with too much energy named Stevie leading us in crazy dance moves. I wasn’t really interested until they played something I actually knew and could relate to; yep, YMCA! This other gal and I started laughing and dancing all the while thinking it was so funny that most of these girls were too young to remember this! Then, the runDisney gal came over and asked if she could interview me! It was pretty cool; I was really nervous and up on the huge screen TV’s for all the runners to see! There was also Sean Astin (from the Goonies, Lord of the Rings, and Rudy) and Ali Vincent (the first season winner of the Biggest Loser) who both told their stories and everyone was starstruck with them right in front of me in my corral! The best story was of a gal who had lost a ton of weight and was the very last finisher of the Tinkerbell Half 2013. She was very inspirational! Soon, the Fairy Godmother came, and she sent us on our way, fireworks and all!
As soon as I started running, I literally felt like I wanted to curl up in a ball and die! The heat and humidity were intense; I could literally feel the electrolytes being zapped right out of me. I felt like I had never run a mile in my entire life, let alone 13.1 of them! I thought of just giving up; was this really worth it for a medal? Was I willing to risk my life? I began praying that God would just sustain and motivate me. My shuffle was cranking out the tunes; sometimes Christian music, sometimes not. I made it to the first water/Powerade stop and knew I needed the electrolytes. My legs were cramping up like nobody’s business. I don’t know if I have mentioned this before, but I do not do well with Powerade during a race; as soon as it hits my tummy, ugh, major stomach cramps. I knew I had no choice, and so I grabbed a cup of water and a cup of Powerade and combined the two. I was so thirsty already; it tasted like Heaven! Within a few minutes, my legs were regaining strength and coming back to life. We were running down the highway toward Magic Kingdom. Soon, we were inside Magic Kingdom. It must have been around mile 5. I remember feeling beaten down again. Then, I saw a sign that said, “It’s hard to beat someone who doesn’t ever quit!” Boy, did I ever need to see that at that moment! I continued on, and when I realized that there was no way I was setting any kind of records, I decided to enjoy the ride. For the first time ever in any Disney race I have done, I stopped to take my picture with Belle and Tiana and Navine. When I was waiting to have my picture taken with Belle, a girl with a thick foreign accent ran up to get in line and said to me, “How are you?” I replied that it was very hot! She proceeded to say that she was so happy and excited and having the time of her life! I thought to myself at first, wow, I have not had nearly enough coffee to deal with this woman’s energy and great attitude at this hour in the morning, and then, wow, thanks for taking away the woes me pity party attitude away from me!
I am so glad I did! Trista will really admire and appreciate those pictures later!
Before I knew it, we were out of Magic Kingdom and at mile 6! Wow, almost halfway. I settled in for the long haul, knowing full well that this was going to be the longest, hottest, most boring 7.1 miles. I had read several blogs about last years Princess Half, and I think that helped me to mentally prepare for the last half of the race. The Lord continued to bless me with music that was motivating and inspirational. I remember thinking how it seemed like the miles were going quickly now, even though I was walking and had walked quite a bit more than I normally do in a race. He (God) kept reminding me to slow my pace, watch my breathing and heart rate, and He had my back. I think it was around mile 8; I started to think about my wonderful husband and how I missed him and what would he say to me if he could right now (of course, I had my cell phone; I could’ve just called him, but I knew he was asleep–it was only 4 am!). Out of the blue, my music starts to play every song, in a row, that I have on my shuffle that remind me of Barrie! First, If It’s Love by Train, then Crazy Beautiful by Chasen, and Follow You, Follow Me, by Genesis and two others that I can’t think of right now. I was literally laughing out loud at how God was blessing my time and answering me even in the quiet whisperings of my mind!
As I approached dreaded Mile 10 and the cloverleaf on ramp, I just kept pushing forward. Miles 10-13.1 are always the most difficult for me, and this time was no different! It was quite the incline, and there was a green Army man from the movie Toy Story at the top yelling at us to move it! It was actually a little bit funny and kind of motivating at the same time. Soon, we were entering Epcot and the end was near. As I neared the finish line, there was a gospel choir of young teens singing and praising God! It brought me to tears; I stopped and gave them a thumbs up. I cannot tell you how God continues to be present in my life! It shocks and amazes me that in the crazy dealing of my half marathon mania, there He is! The finish line was in sight, and I sprinted the rest of the way until I high-fived Minnie Mouse (dressed in full pink and purple Princess outfit, of course!). As I crossed the finish line, the girl that had interviewed me announced my name and city and state and remembered me from the morning! What a proud moment! I proceeded through the shoot, got my Princess 5th Anniversary Medal, princess sparkle poured over my sweaty head, and then, the coveted Coast to Coast medal! Both medals are very cool, I praise God for blessing my race, albeit my toughest half marathon yet.
I remembered to have someone take a picture of me with my medals this time! Yes, I look very happy, and I am! Happy and proud and so glad to be done and so glad to be alive! What you cannot see in this picture is how sweaty I really am. What you first need to know is that I don’t sweat a whole lot when I workout or run in general. My entire outfit is absolutely soaking wet with sweat. I mean, soaking wet like you could wring the sweat out of my clothing! Disgusting, yes! And just think, I had to bag those clothes and shove them in my suitcase, blech! For the first time in my racing history, the sweaty clothing did not make me cold or chilled; it was so warm out that it actually felt good to have those nasty, sweaty clothes on! I found the resort hotel shuttle area and boarded with the rest of the happy, sweaty, tired runners. I made it back to the hotel and what did I find in my room? My daughter, still sleeping away at 8:30 in the morning! What a happy, peaceful site! I showered and we packed up our stuff and headed to the front desk to check out. We ate breakfast and then finished our souvenir shopping and then headed to the pool to eat some lunch. The weather was nasty out but still very warm and humid. Soon, it was time again to board the Magic Express Bus back to Orlando International Airport and say good-bye to WDW. Usually, I get sad when I leave the Disneyland Resort. There is a part of me that is such a kid in a fantasy world of living at Disneyland all the time. We have so much fun as a family there. I did not get that same sad feeling when leaving WDW; Kylie and I had a great time there together, but we both agreed we would not be upset if we never came back again. We also agreed on how much more we love and appreciate Disneyland!
The main thing that I learned from this trip was the reiteration of the fact that I do not do well with destination races at all. I had many things going against me this race: 3 hour time change, severe sleep deficit, heat, humidity, tired feet, etc. Yes, I am glad that I completed the Coast to Coast Race Challenge, and yes, I love runDisney races, but this will be my one and only Coast to Coast Challenge. Challenging it was, and I guess that is why they call it a challenge! Surprisingly, fuel wise, I think I did well. Also, the watered down Powerade seemed to work well for me as well! I am so thankful to the support of my husband and kids for allowing me the chance to complete this crazy dream and as Barrie says “get it out of my blood”. I could not have done this at all without their constant love and support. I give all the glory and recognition to my Father in Heaven; I could not have survived this challenge without his constant love as well!
The statistics were quite exciting and surprising to me! I am proud of myself and what I have accomplished already in 2013! Two down, ten more to go!
Division place (40-44 year olds) 320/2,703
Gender place 2,553/21,222
5K split 29:03
10K split 1:02:04
15K split 1:57:11
Net time: 2:19:08!
mama koala on the run 