Tag Archives: runDisney

Saturday at Disney = Race Day!!

18 Mar

Today is the Inaugural Enchanted 10K — Step one in completing the Glass Slipper Challenge!

This morning the alarm is set to go off a bit earlier than yesterday – since the event is starting a bit sooner! And again, no matter how much time I think I give myself I am once again tearing across the resort to get in line for a bus!  Didn’t see Jackie but hoped we’d at least get a good luck chat before heading to the corrals!

Again, got my bag dropped off and headed to the meeting sport to catch up with my running friends! More costumes, more pictures more fun! And Jackie found us (which wasn’t hard since we were in the same spot as the day before!!) I know I didn’t go into my corral alone…but I was really REALLY taking it easy to make sure I could do today’s 10K and tomorrow’s Half so ended up running my race on my own. Always keeping an eye out for friends!

The first few miles of the 10k course, frankly, kind of suck…it’s out on a highway. One highlight was that Elsa was up on one of the first overpasses and she made it snow as we ran by. Magical Disney Snow!!

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Then, for me, it was a little bit of a slog…I started okay with intervals but eventually just ran when I felt like it and walked when I didn’t! I did very much enjoy the Re-Micks though!! I’m sure at one point I came to a dead stop to watch one!!

And it might have been this one….

Tell me that’s not the cutest thing ever!!

Anyway…I carried on. Again, I didn’t feel like there were any *great* character stops so I didn’t stop for many pictures. I naturally had to stop though, when I saw my main man on the boardwalk!

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Then I thought it wouldn’t be bad to get a picture of the view…

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Sometimes I wonder what I’m thinking when I take these pictures!!

And it’s always nice to get a picture with the Ball! (Yeah, I know it’s Spaceship Earth, but Ball is easier to type!!)

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Again with the arms/hands…

And I did manage to get across the finish line in one piece. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed myself but there weren’t too many “memorable” moments for me in this one (do I need to do the 10K again to make some magical moments? Maybe)

There was a great ‘wall’ in the reunion area that listed all of the participants in this inaugural event! And of course I was on it!

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See! There I am!!

And I was in front of it too!!

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And see! Again!!

And grabbed my medal and headed over to get into EPCOT to wander through and get to my breakfast reservation at Hollywood Studios! Because in my big weekend of random firsts, I had chosen to eat at Hollywood and Vine – and in my infinite wisdom chose to dine during the Disney Jr. character meal. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t know any of the characters. And I was right!!! But I looked them up online later!

To get to DHS, I took the Friendship boat from the International Gateway at EPCOT. For awhile I had the whole place to myself – then the tourists all got on!! We all disembarked at Hollywood Studios and I found my way to my breakfast spot – after a stop on the Rockin Roller Coaster of course! (Tower of Terror would have to wait til Post-Breakfast!)

I didn’t wait long to be seated, and shown to yet another buffet full of things I really shouldn’t eat – but also lots of things that weren’t TOO bad for me!!

And Princess Sophia the First (I think is her full name?) stopped by to teach me how to take a selfie with my new phone!!

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Smart girl that Sophia!! Knew where all the buttons on the phone were!!

Then Handy Manny…

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I’m pretty sure he wanted to check out my medal…

After I was sufficiently full, I headed back out into the park for a roam…and to get on my favorite rides!! But I didn’t plan to spend much time since, yes, tomorrow was another early morning and another fun runDisney adventure!!

First Up — The Royal Family 5K

18 Mar
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Bib, t-shirt and medal!

So, after a really fun meetup (details to follow, of course!) I decided to head back to Pop and get some sleep. It wasn’t the mileage the next morning, it was the first of 3 early morning wake-ups that would be the challenge!

I made plans to meet Jackie (a fellow Team McGraw-er) at the bus in the morning and so I laid out my clothes and went to bed to wait for the alarm! Bright and early – before no time had passed it seemed! – various devices started beeping and it was time to rise and shine!

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Me and Jackie…pre-race happiness!

Somehow, no matter how early I set the alarm it’s a big rush to get out the door! So I threw on my shoes and grabbed my things and headed to the bus! Saw Jackie…er…Tinkerbell…waiting in line and hopped in with her to get on, hopefully, the next bus!! Things went quite smoothly and we made it through bag check and out into the corral areas. Which can only mean one thing — DISNEY DANCE PARTY!!! Absolutely, hands down, one of my favorite things about runDisney is the pre-race festivities!!! And this time, I was finally going to meet up with some of my invisible internet friends!

Jackie and I found my peeps and there was much picture taking and meeting, seriously, some of my new best friends! Eventually we headed in to the corrals and my goal was to be able to hang with Jacks the whole time. The only flaw in this plan is that this was my first run since…oh…Wine and Dine back in November…but we would see!

As usual, it was pretty crowded at the front and after awhile Jackie got a little bit ahead of me – though we did catch up for the run through the World Showcase, and were able to grab a few pictures! Lines for the characters were massive so we didn’t make any stops there but WS in the wee morning hours is an amazing spot and there are tons of photo ops that don’t necessarily involved characters!!

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American Experience – at sunrise-ish

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EPCOT gearing up for the Flower Festival!

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The Ball. Always a sign that the end is near!!

Once we headed towards Future World, Jackie booked and I dawdled… but when I crossed the finish line she was waiting for me and we got a shot of our brand new ‘bling’!

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First of several medals to be earned this weekend….

I had made a breakfast reservation over at Animal Kingdom Lodge so hopped on that bus while Jackie was going back to Pop.  Breakfast at Boma was really great! As most of them are, it was a buffet and since I was in Animal Kingdom Lodge,  there were some African influenced choices on the line. Since I love the buffet at Tusker House I knew I would enjoy this. And…sticky bun. Yeah, I splurged (and would pay for it down the road that’s for sure!)

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Boma!

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Sticky bun! Great with coffee…bad bad Anne!

After breakfast I headed back to Pop and planned to spend my afternoon just hanging out around the pool

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Pool Time!!

before going for Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian with some of my running gals! Definitely something I would do again – it’s a nice relaxing way to spend a couple of hours if you have the time to do it!

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Tea Sandwiches — My favorite was the curry-y chicken salad…

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Cozy tea pots!

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Scone, cream, jam, and a tart!

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What could possibly be under this beautiful whipped cream…?

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Strawberries! Lots of strawberries!!

Post-Tea, we all walked next door to the Polynesian Resort for another meetup. This time it was #runnerslove, set up by Kristy and Meg (who we met in the last recap!) and was VERY fun! We met out on the beach behind the pool, where there is construction going on (Poly is becoming a home to some DVC units)  Lots of giveaways and everyone left a winner! Rain threatened the entire time and eventually showed up but really didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm! 

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On the beach! At Disney! Does it get better??

Eventually it was time to head out and find some dinner – tomorrow is 10K and this girl needs her fuel!! Pop Quick Service to the rescue – Mediterranean Flat Bread yes ma’am! Another early rising day ahead so got my clothes ready and hit the sack!

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10K outfit, ready to rise and shine!!

Time to Shop!!! Princess Half Marathon Weekend – Part 2

13 Mar
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This is where things start to get exciting….

Yeah…if you know me – and if you read along long enough you’ll know me more than you probably want to! – I’m not a big shopper. Seriously, I have clothes in my closet that I bought when I moved to the East Coast. TEN YEARS AGO!! 🙂 And I have no problem with that!! Really, there are a couple of reasons I hate shopping and one of them is that I’m not a huge fan of spending money!! (I prefer to spend on experiences, not things!) The other is way more personal!

ANYWAY. I got up early Thursday morning to get to the Expo. Lately, at runDisney events, the expos have been kind of out-of-control frenzies…and I don’t deal well with that! And, really people, all I want is a magnet, a wine glass and a coffee mug (yes, if you’ve read my race recaps you already KNOW this is what I’m going in for!)

When I got to the bus stop I saw a “familiar” face. I was FINALLY able to meet fellow CT runner/#runnerslove(r) Meg (aka @WarsawMermaid, AKA Runaway Royalty Meg). I am almost ashamed to admit that we’ve been at some of the same SMALL events in CT and never managed to meet!! Those days are gone though. Sorry Meg! 🙂 I also got to meet #runnerslove(r) Kristy (aka @KristyrunsKato, AKA Kristy Runs Kato ) and we chatted on the bus over to Wide World of Sports.

We were probably on one of the first buses to head over to Wide World of Sports and when we got there the expo seemed to have opened early. I had a very small moment of panic but then took a deep breath and headed in!

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Gotta love an empty store!! Well..as much as one can love a store 🙂

My first stop was the runDisney merch booth (as usual) but after picking up my wine glass(es)! and coffee mug

both wine glasses 2014 Princess

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Cute mug!!

I realized my hands were full and I would need a basket. A basket people!!! There’s a tear in the matrix or something…

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What??!!

We had been looking at some things on the interwebs on the bus ride over and I had to look at the really cute zipper hoodies. They are really soft inside.

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This one is mine 🙂

And. The “I Did It” t-shirts. Not a purchase I usually make….but these were pretty cute!!

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And, well of course, my magnet!

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Let me say, Thank you Disney Visa for your 10% off – hey, every little bit helps!!

Then it was off to pick up my bibs and gear! Things were really pretty conveniently set up — All Glass Slipper Challenge could be picked up in almost one spot! The 5K pickup was more spread out but…a second spin though the expo floor isn’t a bad thing!

I mean, one can get their ankle taped up at the KTTape booth…

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New England legs in the winter!

One can even become a fairy…

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I tried to walk away with the pretty tiara but I didn’t get very far….

But — I had a lot planned for the afternoon so it was time to bring my belongings back to the room and head out to visit a park or two!! Then there was a meetup later that evening that I was really looking forward to!

On the way out, I stopped by the Oikos van

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— hoping to pick up a little John Stamos for the afternoon but, alas…they were just offering yogurt…

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Talk about disappointing…

See ya on the road!!!

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Here We Go! Princess Half Weekend Part 1

7 Mar

So, if you read running blogs, or you read Disney blogs you know that the Princess Marathon weekend happened a couple weeks ago! And, if you read *this* blog, you know that I have not yet told you of my amazing weekend!

Now, I’m tellin’!!

I made my reservations long ago, back when there were “meetups” sponsored by runDisney. So I was coming in a day early. Just in Case. The day before I was to leave, we got some “snow”….not as bad as expected, but I still had a driveway full of ice that I was HOPING someone would take care of for me! And luckily someone did while I was taking the dog to his babysitter!

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Thank goodness for 4WD!

Woke up early Wednesday morning to …well, pack and head to the airport! Weather cooperated thank goodness!

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View from my airplane window…Sunny Florida here I come!!

After so long away, I was so happy to get to Orlando! With my MagicBand I breezed through the Magical Express (even after going down the WRONG stairs and having to walk REALLY FAR to the desk and being confused!). Got right on my bus and was on my way to Pop Century!!

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Front desk of Pop Century resort — not time to hustle yet!

My plan was to hang at the pool for the afternoon and I had made dinner reservations at the Wilderness Lodge. All worked out as planned. I spent a couple of hours out by the pool where  I met a great mom and daughter pair who were doing the half together – of course it made me miss my mom. We had a great chat and I ended up seeing them a couple more times during the weekend!

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View from my chair at the Hippy Dippy Pool…

I love the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge but have never eaten there by myself. Turns out that’s not so bad at all! A single person can get the “all you can eat” plate with all the meat and sides and whatnot!

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Lots of protein on the plate! Plus mashed potatoes!!

Yay!!! I enjoyed the tasty BBQ and watching the families and kids having fun! Even caught a glimpse of one of the chefs coming out to do the Disney thing where they make sure people with allergies are accommodated!

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Chef comes out to take care of special dietary needs – the Disney standard!

Since it was a late reservation, I had planned to just head back to the room and hit the hay — I had expo-mania to deal with on Thursday and there was always a chance that it would not be pretty!!

Up next — The Expo, a MeetUp and some Disney Magic!

Wine and Dine? Yes Please!

4 Mar

So, yes, I know I have some Glass Slipper recapping to do but time to get another runDisney event on my calendar! The only other one I plan to do this year in fact.

Registration opens today for the Fifth Annual Wine and Dine Half Marathon weekend! And, given that it’s an anniversary year there should be some nice bling!

I ran this one last year and really need to just redeem myself!

So I’ll be ready when things open up  – though generally this even doesn’t sell out as fast as the ‘biggies’ I still want to be sure to get in there!!

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