Despite work and life trying their hardest to get in my way, I was able to complete my first goal of 2013: the Princess Half Marathon! It was my first half marathon ever (hey, instant PR!) and my first runDisney race, and it was an amazing experience. In order to preserve my memories from the whirlwind weekend, I’m putting together a combination trip report and race report. In truth, I’m suffering from a bit of post-trip blues, which happens to me after every vacation, so reliving the magic should help cheer me up!
Day 1: Getting There is Half the Fun!
Instead of flying out of my local airport, I’d booked my flight out of Manchester, NH, about two and a half hours away. My mom, who was my travelling companion and cheerleader on this trip, lives in NH, and Southwest offers direct flights to Orlando with the added bonus of free checked bags! After kissing the husband and kids goodbye, I made the drive to NH on Thursday morning to meet my parents and hitch a ride for the airport.
Before boarding our flight, Southwest made an ominous announcement asking anyone who was connecting to Saint Louis on the second leg of the flight to come to the podium. This was our first hint that some parts of the country were experiencing some pretty disruptive weather. In hindsight, I feel very lucky that our travel was smooth, as many Princesses travelling to the race had to deal with cancellations and delays.
Sitting in front of me on the flight were two adorable women in tiaras. I asked them if they were running the Princess, and they were! Although, secretly I think I would love it if they just wore tiaras around for giggles. They asked me which corral I would be in, and when I told them B, one said “Oh, you’re a real runner,” which cracked me up. Turns out, the princesses on my flight were in G. I didn’t see them after we got off the plane, but I hope they had a great race!
The flight was relatively uneventful, except for the fact that light turbulence made the captain keep the seatbelt light on for almost the entire flight. Not a big deal, unless you are trying to hydrate like crazy for your first half marathon! I ended up breaking the rules to use the bathroom, and got a hearty scolding from the flight attendant, as well as an extra announcement from the pilot asking us all to keep butts in seats, please.
Once we landed, we made our way to the Magical Express bus. I love not having to collect my luggage from bag check! Our driver was quite the jokester, and got a big cheer from us when he announced that he would be dropping off at Art of Animation first. We spent the drive over listening to the cute kids behind us react in awe to the welcome movie playing on the bus, and it was the first of many times that weekend that I wished my own kiddos were with me…
It was our first time at Art of Animation, and the hotel did not disappoint! In keeping with the theme, the lobby was full of animation sketches, including the light fixtures. We had booked in the Little Mermaid section, and after receiving our keys began the first of eleventy billion long walks from Animation Hall to our room. We knew going in that the LM rooms were far away, relatively speaking, but I think there’s a difference between knowing something, and actually having to face that long walk after a long day of theme park fun (or half marathon running!).
After dumping our carry-on bags, we walked back to Animation Hall (see?!) to grab some dinner. I was very impressed with the food court at AoA, as they offered some more healthy and interesting options than I’ve seen at most value resort food courts. I ended up with the Create Your Own pasta bowl, which was delicious – and HUGE! The portion was enormous, and in a nod to sustainability, was served in a “real” bowl instead of a to-go package. I mentally made a note that the pasta bar would be a great pre-race dinner option on Saturday night. My mom and I each picked out a cupcake for the road, and headed back to our room to see if the bags had been delivered yet.
Sadly, the bags had not arrived, but I’d packed some jammies in my carry-on, along with all of my race day gear, so I was able to get comfy and wait. My poor mother did not take the same precautions, and had to wait until our suitcases showed up at 10 pm to settle in and go to bed. We set an alarm for 5:30 am, plenty of time to get up and ready for our breakfast at…CINDERELLA’S ROYAL TABLE!
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