My First Half Marathon

September 2nd, 2012- Disneyland Half Marathon

With the 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon a week away, I thought I would recap last year's half marathon which was also my first ever half marathon!
 
On February 2nd, 2012, I made a decision that would change my life- although I did not know that at the time.  That day, I signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon.  I also convinced my best friend to sign up with me.  Neither of us had ever run a half marathon before and I figured if we signed up together then at least we could hold each other accountable for training properly!  After I signed up, I panicked.  What was I thinking?  The farthest I had ever run was 6 miles...on a treadmill.  Oh my.  I immediately began looking up training plans and luckily the runDisney had a training plan made my Jeff Galloway.  I followed it pretty strictly and before I knew it, it was time for the race weekend!

We hit a lot of traffic driving from Las Vegas so we made it to the expo really late.  Unfortunately, most of the merchandise was already sold out.  I was so disappointed to have missed out on the "I did it!" shirt.  However, I was happy that I had pre-purchased the pin and was able to pick it up with my bib.

Race bib and pin

We were such amateurs and we did not realized how busy Downtown Disney would be.  It took forever to get food, but we finally able to get burgers at the UVA bar.  By the time we finished eating, we had to run back to the hotel to watch our alma mater in their first football game of the season.  I took this time to put the finishing touches on my costume!  I triple checked my alarm clock and then I drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

I woke up bright and early and chowed down on a banana and a granola bar.  My friend and I walked to the starting line which we found the day before while we were walking to the expo at the Disneyland Hotel.  We made it to our corral, but it was already pretty full so we were at the back.  We were both pretty nervous, but it was so neat to see everyone's costume.  I decided to go as Cinderella!  I wore a blue Nike running tank with a pale blue Sparkle Athletic skirt and white running sleeves.  I sewed on some ribbons to look like puffy sleeves and I made a black ribbon necklace and a blue headband.  I ended up losing the headband as I went through the castle though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-race jitters

We were in one of the last corrals so it was a little while before we started, but finally it was our turn.  The starting line was on Disneyland Dr. and continued down Katella until we were finally in the Parks!  Running through the Parks was an absolutely amazing experience!!  At one point we even got to run back stage.  Most of the characters had long lines and we were paranoid about getting swept so we didn't really stop for pics, but we did get a pic with one of the cars from the movie "Cars".  It was my first time seeing the new Cars Land at Disney's California Adventure and let me tell you, it was stunning!  After running through DCA, we headed over to Disneyland.  My favorite part was running through the castle.  I was a little disappointed that we didn't stop to take more pictures with characters.  I really wanted to get a picture with Cinderella, but she had a long line.  This time, I'm definitely going to slow down and take a bunch of pics with characters! 

After the Parks, we ran through the city of Anaheim.  There was one big hill when we went over an overpass, but other than that it was pretty flat.  Along the course there was quite a bit of entertainment.  There were high school marching bands and cheerleaders, dancers, girl scouts, etc.  At one point we ran past a bunch of classic cars.  One person was playing the soundtrack to "Cars" on their radio.  That was so cool.  It was so fun to wave at everyone and I was surprised at how many people turned out to spectate! 

Around mile 9, we made it to Angel Stadium.  I was so excited to run around the warning track!  I have been to many games there, but of course I've never been on the field!  At this time, I had such a runner's high and I felt like I had so much energy.  Once we exited Angel Stadium, I received a text message from my mom cheering me on.  It was such an adrenaline rush!

Before I knew it, we were heading back towards Disneyland.  At this point, we were both tired, but we pushed through.  Finally we saw the finish line.  We held hands and crossed it together!!  I ran to the first volunteer I saw and I got my medal.  It was glorious!! 

Awesome bling!

I couldn't believe that I had actually done it.  All the long hours of training in the blazing sun and all the sore muscles were totally worth it. 

We did it!!

Overall verdict:  I already told my husband this is going to be an annual vacation for us from now on.  I plan on running this race every year until my body gives out!  

August Race #1- ET Full Moon Midnight Half Marathon

August 17th/18th, 2013- ET Full Moon Midnight Half Marathon

**Cue the X-Files theme song**

Picture this- a 10K, half marathon, full marathon, and 51K that take place on the Extraterrestrial Highway in Rachel, NV (about 2.5 hours from Las Vegas).  There are no lights...except for those coming from UFO sightings.  The race starts at midnight.  Watch out for aliens!

I heard about this race last year and I seriously considered running it, but I wanted my first half marathon to be at Disneyland so I didn't sign up.  However, I promised myself that I would run it in 2013.  The whole premise of this race really piqued my interest!  I am a night shift nurse so I was super excited to actually run a race during my "normal" waking hours.  I ran another Calico Racing event earlier this year and they put on a great race!  Everything is well organized and the finish line parties are fantastic.  Plus, who doesn't love a little sci-fi every once in a while?

Since Rachel, NV is so far away from Las Vegas, Calico Racing chartered buses to and from the race for $30.  Well worth it in my opinion!  Most people were able to sleep during the long commutes.  I took a short nap on the way to Rachel after I ate my peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Packet pickup and the bus stop were at the Hard Rock Hotel.  I got a few weird looks because I wore my costume, but hey, it's Vegas and people should be used to seeing weird things!

Which brings me to my costume.  There was a costume contest (some people had amazing costumes!) and I had a million ideas of what I could dress up as, but I ended up going as a "Man (woman?) in Black"!  I wore my black Sparkle Athletic skirt, black Pro Compression socks, a white tank top, white Sparkle Athletic running sleeves, and a black tie.  I also wore a headlamp because we were required to have some sort of light source throughout the entire race (people carried flashlights, wore glowsticks, etc.).  All runners received a glow bracelet at the beginning of the race too.  There are no lights along the highway and it was pitch black out there.  In my opinion, it was gorgeous!  The stars were shining so brightly and I even got to see a shooting star!

Men in Black

 The buses stopped about 26 miles outside of Rachel at the famous black mailbox where many people come and gather to look for UFOs.  This was the starting line for the 51K and full marathon runners.  Most people got off the bus here to use the port-o-potties and look around.  There isn't really anything to see though.  The half marathoners and 10K runners had to get back on the bus to be shuttled to the other start lines.  The buses dropped us half marathoners off 13.1 miles away from Rachel.  I LOVE point to point races!  There was no "official" start line.  We all kind of gathered and then the race director said "go" and we were off at 12:30am!

The first six miles were tough.  There was a slight incline and then a bigger incline around miles 5/6.  Since it was so dark out, I really wasn't able to look ahead so the hills took me by surprise.  Also, it was warmer than I thought it was going to be and I ended up having to take off my sleeves.  My hydration belt, tie, and headlamp made me sweat more than usual because they were rubbing me the entire race!  Next time, I will plan that a little better. 

There was quite a lot of wildlife on the course.  At one point I heard a bunch of cows mooing and I was saw a couple of jackrabbits.  There was even a dead rattle snake on the highway!  Unfortunately, I didn't see any aliens though.  The moon and stars were the only lights out there and it was very peaceful.  I didn't hear of any alien abductions that night :)

After mile six, the course flattened out and I was able to run a lot faster.  At this time, I was in the middle of the pack.  The faster runners were so far ahead of me that I couldn't really see anyone in front of me and when I turned around to look behind me all I could see were people's glow bracelets.  This is normal for me though- I spend the majority of races by myself in the middle of the pack.  I made a killer playlist for just that reason...

Alien bling

Here's a little sampling of my playlist that night:
"E.T" by Katy Perry & Kanye West
"Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Space Cowboy" by *NSYNC
"Men in Black" by Will Smith
"Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys
"Space Jam" by Quad City DJ's
"X-Files" theme song

It was quite fitting that I finished the race listening to the "X-Files" theme song.  Although I didn't get a PR, I was still happy with my time.  The finish line was at the Little A'Le'Inn, a motel/bar/restaurant in Rachel.  They had a great buffet for the runners which was included in the race fee.  They served bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, cookies, muffins, fruit, veggies, coffee, BEER!, lemonade, water, Gatorade, tea, etc.  I loaded up my plate and ate my face off.  I had a "runger" like no other!  The buses back to Las Vegas were leaving every half an hour and luckily I finished eating right as one was loading up so I was able to catch a ride back without having to wait a long time.  We got back to Las Vegas right as the sun was coming up.  I was a little stiff from having to sit for 2.5 hours, but other than that I had a fantastic time and the alien head medal is adorable!  Thank you to all the volunteers and thank you to the town of Rachel!

Overall verdict:  This was a GREAT race and I look forward to running it again!!

Another "great" finish line pic...with my eyes closed