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!