The Tinkerbell Half Marathon...ugghhh

Heidi

So Sunday morning came very early for us east coasters...ha ha ha.  We woke up before our alarms went off at 3am.  Being on east coast time really was a bonus....it felt like 6am.  We got up, dressed in our costumes (well at least one of us was in costume) and ate our breakfast.  I tried to chug down some water and Gatorade but I didn't give it enough time.  I knew I would not be able to pee enough before we had to leave and...I was right. 

In our hotel room...

We walked not even a quarter of a mile to the race start.  There were tons of people everywhere (most in costume).  I was kind of bumming that I didn't find wings to make my Tink outfit complete.  I was just worried they would annoy me or I would have to rip my long sleeve shirt off from heat and then my wings would be all tangled up.  I went to my D corral while Kristen meandered up through the crowd to find corral A.

Before we parted at the race...

While I was waiting on the curb (I had to sit for a bit before the race started) I talked with some nice runners.  Most were from California and wondered how Disney World was.  Ha Ha my west coast friends.  Nothing like this...that is for sure!!!!  They told me that Tink was just a great race and there was nothing to worry about.  That put me a little bit at ease. 

Start of the race...

They were letting the corrals go at about a 6 minutes apart.  FINALLY, it was Corral D's turn.  Bam and we were off.  So, I start running on Disneyland Drive.  Then wham, the run-walkers started to walk.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME????  We haven't even passed mile one yet.  The thing is...I was in Corral D.  There were 6 corrals and I was not in the last one.  We had to prove our times with other races.  So I did and I figured I would be with people who actually ran unlike my 5k in Disney World last year.  WRONG!!!  Now I know I am a slow runner.  There are plenty of people who do the Galloway Method of Run-Walking.  I get it.  I will probably use this method when I run my first marathon next January.  However, if you know you are going to walk, STAY TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE!!!!  I was so stuck behind the walkers.  I tried to go around them but at different places in the parks it was impossible.  Then we had to run through a tunnel which was uphill going into the parks.  NOBODY ran up the hill.  NOBODY!!!!!  It wasn't even that steep and again, it was within mile two.  It was probably the only real hill on the course.  My first 5k split was terrible!!!!!  Over a 15 minute mile.  Yikes.  So what did I do??  I already screwed my time, I might as well go take a bathroom break.  No sense in being uncomfortable for the next 10 miles.  I knew that water and Gatorade would catch up to me. 

World of Color lake at California Adventure...

My second 5k was not much better than the first.  I felt great but I kept getting stuck behind walkers in the parks where it was kind of narrow.  I really enjoyed running through the parks but I wanted to get to the streets of Anaheim so I could actually run and get this thing over with. 

I finally got into my groove around mile 6.  Although I was stuck behind many walkers for the first 10k, I really was running the majority of the race. A lot of zig zag running, but still running.  I knew I had to make up for some time so I decided to run hard until the 15k mark.  I got to the 15k line and was waiting for my text message to come through my headphones to give me my split.  NOTHING.  Great.  So I just kept running.  No walking breaks except when I passed a water station.  I still felt pretty strong.  I ran all the way to mile 11 and then decided to give myself a walk/picture break.  I had only taken one other picture in the California Adventure Park and I decided now would be a good place to take a pic of the mile 11 sign.  I also texted Kristen and my friend Jackie a few words that are not appropriate for this blog.  Ha Ha.  I posted my pic on Facebook and then I started running again.  I ran to the finish.  No other walk breaks.  I even ran up the hill in the tunnel that I had to walk up the first time.  Nobody was running up that hill....again.  I got some "wow look at her" remarks.  I felt kind of badass.  Ha Ha. 

This is where I took my first walk break...officially that is.

So my final time was 3 hours, 11 minutes and 9 seconds.  It was 4 minutes and 2 seconds (because that matters) quicker than Philly.  I wanted to be under three hours.  However, with the training I did (or didn't do) and the ridiculous walking situation, I think I ran pretty well.  I ended up having a negative split for my 15k and final time.  I have never done that before.  My next half is the Princess Half Marathon in Disney World in February.  I am just putting this out there now....I DO NOT INTEND TO GET A PR FOR THIS RACE.  I am running the Glass Slipper Challenge which is a 10k the day before the half.  One thing I want to do for the Princess Half is stop and take more pics.  Plus I will be sore and tired from the 10k.  So I am sure walking will be my friend.  (Of course I will stay to my right!!!!)

Me after the finish...from very far away...ha ha.

So, overall I think it was a great race.  I love anything Disney, as we all know.  This was my first Disney Half.  Kristen and I had never been to Disneyland so that was a bonus for us.  What I loved about Disneyland (which is what I hated the first night there) was that you could walk to everything.  Our hotel was located across the street from California Adventure.  (Although you had to walk around it to get to the entrance.)  Our walk to the race line was seriously less than a quarter of a mile.  That was quite useful walking back to the hotel when my legs were shot.  I have a feeling I am going to miss this when I run Princess in February.  Now that Tink is over, I am getting very excited for Princess.  I would highly recommend running Tink, especially if you are a Disney fan.  You can't get any better than Disney, unless you want to get a PR.  Then this is not the race for you.  It is just a really fun, energetic, no need to run this seriously race.  It would be nice to be able to run a race like this with friends someday.  Guess I better start getting faster. 

After the race, we showered and headed over to California Adventure to get a beer.  The lines were long and I was feeling a bit ill at that point.  We did get that beer(s), it is tradition after all.  However, we ate lunch at 1:30 at a delicious Mexican restaurant called Tortilla Jo's and then called it a day.  We bought a six pack for the room and I was asleep by 4pm.  Yes, 4pm West Coast time.  I didn't even drink my beer.  Kristen was able to stay awake until 7 watching the nfl playoff game.  I have no idea how.  The biggest disappointment was, I burned over 1,500 calories and barely ate or drank anything.  What a waste.  But still a great day!!!

Our awesome medals and beers...