Marathon Weekend 2019 Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap

Half Marathon Day finally arrived! It felt like this day was so long in coming since I'd been gearing up for it since registering for it in July. This was going to be my first half marathon so there were definitely some nerves about how it was going to go. But I'd planned and prepared and I was as ready as I was going to be.

My friend Melissa and I woke up dark and early at 2 am to start getting ready. We'd laid out all of our clothes the night before so all we had to do was get dressed and caffeinate before heading out to the buses around 3 am. I had my usual prerace meal of black tea and a banana and did my best to get my brain up and running before heading out the door. Our resort had a line of buses waiting to take runners to Epcot when we got there so we didn't have to wait at all.

Once at the Epcot parking lot, we walked over to the start area and got in line for some photos. They had Mickey (of course), Donald (the half marathon theme character) and Dopey and Goofy (challenge theme characters). All of the lines were fairly short so we did photos with Mickey and Donald. Since neither of us was doing a challenge, we decided to skip Dopey and Goofy. The lines had really picked up by the time we were done with our photos so I was really glad that we got there early!

Once the corrals opened, we started the long walk out to the start. I'd read that it's quite a long walk and they weren't kidding! But soon, Melissa and I had to split up since she was in C corral and I was in F. I did manage to meet up with another friend, Tess, in F corral so we got to chat and wait together. I didn't get to see much of the prerace show. The nearest screen was far away and the speaker nearest me sucked so I couldn't really hear what was going on. But, once the fireworks started, I knew it was just about time!

I had some issues with my phone holder which I was wearing on my arm under my throw away jacket so I decided to ditch the jacket before we started running so I wouldn't have to deal with it. It was definitely still chilly but I knew I'd warm up once I started running. I did feel odd just abandoning clothes like that but Disney collects it all and donates the items to charity. Finally, it was our turn to start and I was off!

Will had come to spectate and he did see me at the start. It was so cool to hear him cheer for me at the start of the race. Because it was still dark out, neither of us was sure if he'd be able to pick me out of the pack. Guess that's a good reason to wear a shiny costume! The start of the race was pretty crowded and it took longer than I thought to warm up so it was really nice to have that extra encouragement at the start of the race.

The first three miles or so are pretty boring, just roads but it was dark anyways so I focused on not going out too fast and sticking to my running plan. Since the course goes back to Epcot along the other side of the road, I got to see the wheel chair division as well as some of the elites running back the other direction as I was still headed out to Magic Kingdom. Wow, those guys and gals are fast! We all cheered as they raced past.

The first exciting bit was reaching the Magic Kingdom parking lot entrance around mile 3. It looks so pretty lit up at night. Unfortunately, we still had to run through the whole parking lot, to the Ticket and Transportation Center and around the lagoon before reaching Magic Kingdom. I will say that I'll never feel like it's a long walk through that parking lot to the TTC again! There were people cheering at the TTC and outside the Contemporary Resort but I had Main Street and the castle on the brain.

Running down Main Street with all of the lights and Christmas decor up was so magical! I made it into Magic Kingdom while it was still dark and it was such an amazing experience. The castle is stunning and there are so many people cheering. It was definitely the highlight of the race for me.

From there, the course turned into Tomorrowland and then through Fantasyland. Now, up to this point, I hadn't stopped for any photos but I did want to stop for Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters since I was dressed as Cinderella. They were right behind the castle and the line wasn't too long. I did stop and take a few castle selfies while I was waiting.

I probably only waited about 5 minutes for that photo but it did make me antsy seeing all of those people running past me while I waited. I was ready to get my running through the castle shot and finish the rest of the race strong. Running through the castle, I hung to the left and left some space between me and the runner in front of me and I readied my smile for the photopass photographer who's right on the other side of the castle. And then the person in front of me stopped dead in front of the photographer. I had to swerve to avoid running into her and, of course, didn't get that photo.

At that point, I was really upset with how things were going so I didn't stop to get a posed photo in front of the castle and I headed into Frontierland to follow the rest of the course. What I didn't realize is that there's a second set of photopass photographers at the bottom of the ramp down from the castle and one of those photographers got an awesome running photo of me with the castle in the background. However, I didn't know this until after the race when the photo showed up with all of my other race photos so I was still in a funk for the next segment of the race.

There was a bit more space at this point and I really wanted to make up some time so I really pushed my pace. My fastest miles were actually me trying to get out of Magic Kingdom and then start back towards Epcot. Thankfully, those few miles at a less than 12 min/mil helped me clear my head and feel better about my race. The back half of the race also has some boring highway stretches but also some hills. Plus the sun was up at this point so I knew that I had some hard sections ahead of me.

My goal on the way back to Epcot was to stay strong till the finish. I had set myself up really well on the first half of the race so despite the fact that I stopped for a photo and then didn't think I got my castle shot, the running part had gone really well. My plan was to walk up that dreaded Green Army Man on ramp but I was feeling good when I got there so I decided to keep up my intervals until I felt like I needed to walk the rest. And then I made it to the top without doing any extra walking so I just kept going. At each hill, I told myself the same thing and at each hill, I made it to the top keeping my intervals intact. Despite the fact that I was feeling tired and really having to focus during this section of the course, I had really consistent splits (at least according to my phone GPS) and that kept me motivated.

I was so excited to finally make it to Epcot. In the front of the parking lot by where the resort buses drop people off, there were more spectators. There was even a guy holding a sign that said "I'm not here for anyone so I'm here for you" and it just about made me cry. If you ever have the chance to spectate at a race, Disney or otherwise, I highly encourage you to do it because it really does mean so much to the runners.

I was really pumped to get back into a park but the first part of Epcot was all backstage areas and that was a bit disappointing. I was definitely starting to droop a bit at this point in the race and taking slightly longer walk breaks. Once inside of the park proper, though, there were a bunch of photopass photographers so I put on my happy face and made sure to run past each of them. I got some really awesome shots from this section of the course and having that smiling face on really boosted my mood.

On the way out of Epcot, I got a bit over excited and thought I was much closer to the end than I was. Once outside of the park, you still have to keep going. I felt a little silly taking walk breaks so close to the end of the race but I didn't have a lot left. I still really wanted to meet my goal of finishing strong and to do that, I had to stick to my plan. Finally the finish line came into view and I ran the rest of the race. I heard a voice call out my name and I looked to see my uncle and cousin who had already finished the half cheering for me. And just a bit further Will and Melissa were waiting in the stands to see me finish. It was wonderful! I crossed that line feeling so good but definitely ready to be done running.

I got my medal and proceeded on to the water and snack stations. And that was it. I'd made it. I'd completed my first half marathon! My time was 2:51:43 with a 13:06 min/mil average pace which included the one photo line. Originally my goal was 2:45 but since I did decide to stop for a photo, I was really happy with the time I got.

I met up with Will and Melissa and broke into that snack box. No oreos this year. :( Since I have food allergies, I did have Will bring me some of my own post race nutrition but there were also a few things I could eat in the snack box. Tess finished not too long after and we hung out with her for a bit before meeting up with my aunt, uncle and cousins who where still waiting for my cousin's wife to cross the finish line.

Then it was back to the hotel for showers and Mickey waffles! Prior to race weekend, I had been doing keto so all of the carbs were quite the treat. Then we headed out for a full day at Animal Kingdom. I've learned that I really do best if I walk around after my race so I was ready to hit the parks. We ended up doing just about everything (except Dinoland which is not my favorite). I even got my celebratory Dole Whip even though it was a bit cold for a frozen snack. My legs were sore in places that they'd never been sore in before but there was no pain and I was really able to enjoy the day.

One of the funnest things we did in Animal Kingdom was meet Donald. He was so excited to see our medals! And we got him to sign them on the back. Donald Duck #1

After dinner, Will went back to the hotel to nap for his marathon and Melissa and I did Pandora. It was amazing as usual. We were both getting pretty tired but our fastpasses for Navi River and Flight of Passage made us stay out a bit later. In the end we both crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel room, which was a good thing because we were getting up to cheer Will on at the marathon the next morning. But that's a story for another post.

Race Outfit:
Top and Headband: Crowned Athletics
Skirt: Sparkle Athletic
Pants: Walmart

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WDW Marathon Weekend 2019

Part 1: The Expo
Part 2: Joyful Miles Meet Up
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap - You are here
Part 4: Marathon Spectating
Part 5: Park and Photo Day