When I decided to do the Disneyland Half Marathon this year with two friends, I had never really done any running before, and it wasn’t until midway through our training that I realized, maybe, we should have started with a 5k. In fact, when I registered, and all throughout my training, my goal was simply to finish the race.
I had little, to no expectations for this race. Aside from the yearly 10k fundraiser my junior high and high school hosted (I participated in 5 of the 6 years I was there, one year my foot was injured from dance) which were pretty much social events where we all walked the 6 miles and whined the whole time about the Los Feliz hills, and gaped at the pretty houses, I have no racing experience.
One of my training buddies, Courtney, her husband, Anthony, Travis and I shared a hotel room in Anaheim for the event. On our drive down to Anaheim yesterday, Travis and I made a pit stop for lunch at the newest Chick-fil-a, because, well they are difficult to find in Los Angeles! They just opened one right next to USC, and I have to say, good job, USC. Maybe not so good with the sportz ethics, but good job getting a Chick-fil-a nearby.
No pickles for me!!
Om nom nom, Chick-fil-a! By the way, this stop was the first fast food I’d had in…what felt like forever, and let me tell you, my stomach was not all that happy about it 
After getting stuck in gross Los Angeles like traffic, we finally made it to Anaheim! Land of Disney! YAY!! I tried to get better pictures from the car, but it was quite difficult, and this was the only one that was salvageable. My photography skills need some work.
Yay! Here I am in what we thought was the Mariott we were staying in. We discovered we were at the wrong hotel and had to drive a little ways a way to the right hotel. Oops!
We had a pretty nice room!
Anthony and Courtney also brought along their two Boston Terriers, Bruce and Jack
Once we had all gotten settled into the hotel, the boys went to find a bar (more on this later), and Courtney and I headed to the Disneyland Hotel for the Health & Fitness Expo so that we could pick up our bibs and race packet.
Woo hoo! I was excited that my bib also had my name on it. I know, it’s silly, but the little things excite me. I was in Corral F because when I registered they asked what your anticipated finish time would be. You had to be finished in 3.5 hours, so that’s what I put.
Courtney is the fastest of the three of us, but somehow she got put into Corral G. We are still unsure as to how this happened.
Mickey!! Something I noticed a lot this weekend was that people stood in lines for pictures with Disney related characters and statues a lot. I was not about to stand in a twenty minute line for a picture in front of a cardboard cut out or a statue. But, it was pretty cool to see Mickey Mouse 
The goodie bags were kinda cool, the t-shirts were legit though! They gave us a technical t-shirt. I’ve never owned a tech- tee before, so I got really excited.
After sorting through our goodie bags, we met the boys at Oggi’s a bar/restaurant similar to BJ’s where they had taken a disgusting sounding shot called Harlem. It was described by the bartender as “….like Jager with Goldschlagger.” Courtney and I stuck to water. We ended up eating dinner there, and I started with a Greek Salad.
I ate about a quarter of this, and then got the Pollo Pizzolia, which was described as a light chicken dish with a side of pasta in marinara sauce. This is what I got:
That is not what it looked like in the menu, it was basically Chicken Parmesan. I was annoyed but tried to eat around all the breading and cheese on the chicken.
After dinner we went briefly to the pool where I stuck my feet in the hot tub. It was already later than I wanted to be in bed so around 8:30pm Courtney and I headed upstairs and got ready for bed. The boys continued to drink and charged in around 12:30 and decided to watch SNL in the living room area, where Courtney and I were treated to a rousing discussion about Justin Bieber’s hair. Quote of the evening “It’s like he’s in a constant wind tunnel!”
I didn’t sleep well at all last night, I was nervous about the race, and anxious knowing we had to be up at 3:30am to be at the race on time. When our alarms went off it was a little tough getting out of bed, but I hopped up, made a peanut butter sandwich and ate a banana and got dressed.
Our chips!
We are ready!! I left my camera and cell phone in the room for Travis to bring over when we met up after the race because I didn’t have anywhere I felt would be really safe to carry them both. The last thing I wanted to deal with was trying to run with my camera and a phone. I had already decided to wear my hydration belt sans water bottle and just pack some PowerBar Gel Blasts because there were hydration stations almost ever 2 miles along the route.
When we arrived at the Disneyland park and headed out to meet Janna, I ate one packet of Gel Blasts. I probably could have waited, but I got nervous and a little over excited. We managed to find Janna and her wonderful, kind, thoughtful husband who was there with her at 4:30am. Meanwhile Anthony and Travis were still asleep in the hotel room (I was kind of jealous.) The three of us hit up the port-a-potties before making our way to our respective Corrals. Janna and I were both in F, and Courtney was in G. After what felt like ages of waiting in the Corrals, I was really starting to feel antsy and my feet and legs were getting a bit stiff.
The weather today was perfect, slightly overcast and cool, but at 5:30am when the sun was just peeking out it was chilly, and standing with hundreds (there were 14,000 entrants total apparently) of other racers was both exciting and nerve wracking.
Around 6:30 we finally crossed the starting line, and I started my trusty Garmin.
I stuck with Janna for almost the first two miles before losing her in the crowd, but was determined to push forward and run as long as possible. My original plan was to try to run the first half straight through with no/very little walking. I was a little afraid that if I started walking too soon, I would get trapped in a tired leg cycle where I wouldn’t be able to manage much more running, and while I did just want to finish, I also didn’t want to fall behind course pace (which, I know, 16 minute mile pace, I was fine no matter what, but, I worry).
So, I pushed myself to run the first four and a half miles going at a really good clip for me. I have to say, I may be slightly PMSing but I got kind of emotional several times during the race. The amount of positive, kind, energy that was on this course was amazing. Running through both California Adventure and Disneyland was an incredible experience (I yelled GO WILDCATS to the High School Musical cheerleader people in Disneyland, and I am not ashamed!!). I don’t really know how else to describe it, with the cast and crew cheering everyone on and the music playing and just… ok, look, I love Disneyland.
I think my favorite part of the race was running through the parks. There were a few stretches of the course where there were few to no spectators and it was a little rough at times, but I would look around at all the other runners and it kept me pushing forward.
Around the 4.5 mile mark is where I started to slow down a bit. I was wearing the only hat I own that fits properly, my University of Oregon hat, which is a traditional baseball cap, a wool blend. Not the best choice I discovered. While it had been fine for our shorter runs, and even our longer runs that had been mostly shaded, I found myself feeling slightly overheated several times throughout the race. I started dumping water onto my head to help cool my face off. Basically, just my face felt really hot and I know I got super red (which is kind of embarrassing haha). I stopped at every water station and got a water and then a Powerade (which I find to be just too sweet, so I began to cut it with water toward the 6 mile mark) to fuel up. I also kept powering through my Gel Blasts in my fuel belt.
The last big portion of the race goes through Angels Stadium which is pretty cool too. We got to run along the baseline and past home plate before coming out of the stadium and hitting the 10 mile mark. Once I got there, I really decided to start pushing it again. I was making really great time, and I realized that if I kept up a strong effort, I could finish in under 3 hours. This made me REALLY happy and proud and excited.
The last 2 miles were kind of rough, not a lot of cheering until we got back into the park and very close to the finish and it took a lot of mental strength to push through and cross the finish line at 2:59:01
I really pushed and sprinted that last tenth of a mile to make sure I finished in under 3 hours. I was so elated and proud of myself when I finished I finally understood the runner’s high! It made me ever more excited for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon that I registered for in Phoenix this coming January.
Race Breakdown time!
Total Distance: 13.10 miles
Total Duration: 2:59:01 (I still can’t believe I finished 31 minutes before I expected to!!)
Mile    Avg Pace
1. 11:30
2. 11:25
3. 11:51
4. 12:35
5. 13:27
6. 15:28 (walking breaks)
7. 13:57
8. 14:35
9. 13:08
10. 12:35
11. 15:13
12. 15:50
13: 14:04
.10 – 10:43
Overall Avg. Pace: 13:39 -This is definitely the fastest pace I’ve had on any of our longer runs!
According to the Disney updates:
@ 5K in 00:36:36 (NET). Pace: 11:46. Predicted: 2:34:19. Sponsored by Disneyland Half Marathon.
@ 10K in 01:19:44 (NET). Pace: 12:49. Predicted: 2:48:12. Sponsored by Disneyland Half Marathon.
15K in 02:03:12 (NET). Pace: 13:12. Predicted: 2:53:14. Sponsored by Disneyland Half Marathon.
@ Finish in 02:59:04 (NET). Pace: 13:39. Sponsored by Disneyland Half Marathon.
If I had been able to keep up the pace I had at the 5K I could have finished in 2:34!
I would say barring anything terrible happening I would definitely do this race again. The atmosphere was great, the hydration stations were well planned, and the course was cool! Hopefully there will be some pro pics up soon so I can share those =D There were so many photographers all along the race course, and every time I saw someone with a camera that looked even remotely professional, I smiled really big. I was determined to have some “good” race pics haha.
A few things I noticed:
- the balls of my feet were super tender when I finished, almost like they were blistered but they weren’t. I think maybe I need some better socks. I’d just been wearing whatever socks I had in my drawer.
- My hips and knees are a bit sore, but it’s not terrible, yay!
- I definitely need a hat with ventilation.
- I am much stronger and faster than I imagined!
Well, I am pooped! I’ll share my Half Marathon Playlist with you all tomorrow =D I am off to read and then bed! I have to take Travis to the airport for a 7:30am flight tomorrow  The good news is he’ll be back again soon and then he’s home through the end of this show.  Still on a bit of a runner’s high 
After seeing them on the plates of so many bloggers I love to follow, I decided I had to try them for myself. I was nervous, “healthy” pancakes?
As you can see, I have mad pancake skillz. Or, not.
Little bit of butter and some lite syrup (which must have belonged to our former roommate as I don’t think I’ve ever purchased lite syrup. However, it was there, in the pantry so I used it. =D I’m actually not a huge fan of syrup to begin with. I am more than happy with just some butter on my pancakes and waffles, but every now and then some sweet syrup is good.
