Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap Part Two: Enchanted 10K and The Magic Kingdom

2:40am I woke up. Alarm was set for 3am. Yup, I wasn't going back to sleep! Got up, got dressed.  Cate's daughter was also running the race with us that morning. We headed over to Epcot, and Cate checked a bag. Poor E was exhausted. Nothing like a dance party at 4am to get you going. I LOVE energy everyone has. I even got to meet Rachel, a Dailymile friend. Its always great meeting DM friends.

First of many Olafs!

We all headed to our corrals and chatted with some other runners. Each corral got their own fireworks which always excites me.The plan for this race was to take it easy. Thats usually very hard for me to do. However, this time I had a half marathon the next day and I know what an exhausting half marathon can feel like.. NOT FUN. Also the humidity was nasty and I decided to let this be a slow long distance run. I haven't been training in heat so there was no reason to go all out or anywhere close to that.

Our fireworks went off.  Cate, E and I decided to stick together. We did 1/1 intervals and then went up to 2/1 intervals soon after. It was great running without headphones and chatting with Cate and E. It was also great to hear all the conversations going on around us. I loved the Elsa on the bridge above us right before mile 1. However, the rest of the highway was pretty uneventful and just dark! Nonetheless the spirit of all these women in tutus made it awesome. Also the company of E and Cate.

At around mile 3.4 Cate and E decided to slow down a bit. Still having lots of energy in me I decided to go on by myself. I put in my headphones for a bit until we hit Epcot. Running through Epcot was the highlight of this race. Lots of people were there cheering us on. There was music playing and many more characters. I stopped and took photos, however I never stood in line because they were pretty long. I have never been to Epcot before (except for seeing a bit of it during the half last year). Running over the boardwalk was also really cool.

BONJOUR!

Some art along the way. Hey my Art History minor does come in handy!

I decided to start going a little faster at this point since my Garmin was about to die and I had the energy. At this point I saw Donald Duck, One of my all time favorite Disney characters (along with Goofy). The line wasn't too long, so I stopped and stood in line. However, one minute after standing there I thought it was going to take forever. I  decided to snap a selfie with Donald in the back instead and went on my way. Once I saw the golf ball I knew the end was close.

Jump caught in it's full insanity!

The finish was hilarious. Right as I was about to cross the finish line I saw the fairy godmother. I wanted to snap a photo with her (there was no line). SO I ran like a chicken with it's head cut off to grab a photo with her, until another girl went in for one. I decided not to wait for this other girl because she was chatting it up. Also the finish line was exactly 3 feet away. Still Marathonfoto caught me in all my glory running up to her instead of to the finish line.

FAIRY GODMOTHER! AHHH!  

YIPPPEEE! Part one of the Glass Slipper Challenge (10K Saturday and Half Marathon Sunday) was done. I grabbed my medal and met up with Cate and E who were not far behind!

Splits:
Mile 1- 13:51 min/mile
Mile 2- 13:47 min/mile
Mile 3- 13:16 min/mile
Mile 4- 12:57 min/mile
Mile 5- 12:00 min/mile
Mile 6- 11:50 min/mile
Mile .38- (average 11:18 min/mile)

UNOFFICIAL TIME (6.38 miles): 1:21:56 (average pace- 12:51 min/mile)
OFFICIAL TIME (6.2 miles): 1:21:55 (average pace- 13:12 min/mile)

We headed back to the hotel, did I mention it was only 7:30am?  I decided to go right to the pool. When I got to the pool it was empty. It was so nice to just relax in the pool with no one else around. I didn't bring my phone or camera to capture a photo of this but it was so peaceful and a little sun came out. I just sat under the water fall and reflected on everything. I was so happy to be back. I was so grateful that Cate and her family let me stay with them. I was so happy to be running this race again this year. I was just happy. Pure bliss and completely at peace. After sometime I decided to go back and shower and upload photos etc. I took a 20 minute nap which was also nice. We all decided to head to Downtown Disney to grab some lunch.

Then we headed over to the Magic Kingdom! Last year, dad and I had walked around the park and went on only one ride. This year Cate and the fam decided to give me the true Disney experience, rides and all! Also Katie (my twitter buddy) had made me an itinerary of rides, stores and restaurants to check out. We went on
1. Big Thunder Mountain, which was the "scary" ride for the day.
2. The Jungle Cruise, which I snapped photos for the kids at the daycare because I thought they would love them.
3. Pirates of The Caribbean, which left me in aww!
4. Haunted Mansion.
5. Philharmagic, which was adorable.
6. The Tiki room (not a ride but fun entertainment)
7. Peter Pan, short but sweet!

 Big Thunder Mountain

 The Jungle Cruise

Pirates of The Caribbean

Haunted Mansion

 Philharmagic

Being a goof.

I found my prince!

Even the Magic Kingdom needs a facelift every now and then.

The day was so much fun, and it was great to see another side to Disney! We left the park around 6pm, we were all exhausted. Especially E, Cate and I who had woken up at 3am. We were in search of somewhere to have dinner. I found myself getting grumpy, which I blame on exhaustion and hunger. I also had some major chaffing going on and was afraid how the half would go. We got back to the suit and I got everything out for the next day and then fell into bed.

ALSO! That day I hit over 30,000 steps with my fitbit!

To be continued …… PART THREE