Princess Weekend 2020 Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge

How do you celebrate your second Fairy Tale Challenge? By going to the Magic Kingdom of course! So after a long nap and some breakfast, we headed out to ride some rides and get some castle pictures. Going into this weekend, I knew it was going to be busy. Princess weekend seems to have the most impact on Magic Kingdom crowds of any race weekend plus it always falls during some schools' winter break. With that in mind, we booked some fastpasses and planned on just hanging out in the park if the lines were too long.

I love getting my medals signed by the theme character so one of our fastpasses was to meet Cinderella and Elena. I was actually pleasantly surprised that the meet and greet line didn't seem too crazy since Cindy was the half marathon princess this year.

Medal autograph accomplished!

 Elena is always a bunch of fun! I don't really know anything about her but she's always super spunky and talkative. I really need to check and see if any of her movies are on Disney+ so I can find out her story. So many of the Disney princesses are sweet and reserved that it's fun to interact with someone who is so different! (That's also why I love meeting Cindy's stepsisters! They're a hoot!)

After the meet and greet, the day started to go a bit off plan. We had another two fastpasses plus a few bonus multiple experience passes given to me by a cast member because our room took so long to get ready but even the fastpass lines were crazy! After a PR race, I was just too tired to deal with the crowds so we took some more medal photos and headed over to the Polynesian to find a shorter Dole Whip line.

Except that the Poly had a new special Dole Whip snack that everyone was trying to get so its line was even longer than the one in Adventure land. Ok, on to plan C. We took a bus from the Polynesian over to Disney Springs to escape the crowds and find some dinner. We ended up getting the allergy fish and chips from Cookes of Dublin. It was so good!

We ended up spending the rest of the evening chilling in our hotel room. It ended up being a very low park time weekend but I was really ok with that. Will and I both needed some extra recovery time physically and mentally and I was so glad that we took that space to just relax. We did manage to have an amazing park day on Monday so stay tuned for that recap!

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Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k
Part 3: Half Marathon
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge-You are here.
Part 5: Disney Magic at Animal Kingdom-coming soon!

Princess Weekend 2020 Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap

For the Princess half marathon, my husband Will decided to join me. He had promised to run Princess weekend with me in a tutu if I ran a Spartan race. Which I did.... So he got to dress up as Cinderfella while I went as Lady Tremaine. We opted for a Sparkle Athletic skirt instead of a tutu as tutus can be very itchy!! But he was a great sport about it and even wore a running tiara.

The corrals for the half are actually quite a walk from the prerace area so we walked over with some of our running friends. I had a really nice chat with Jen from the Go Find Your Awesome Podcast. We talked about my goals for this race (a sub 2:30 and new half PR). She told me that no matter what happened today, I was awesome! Those words of wisdom would come in handy later.

Since the weather was really great for running, I had decided to go for another PR attempt and see if I could hit the 2:30 mark. Just like for Wine and Dine, the 2:30 pace group was in my corral and they used the 60:30 interval that I train with. One of the reasons I do PR attempts at runDisney races is that they offer Galloway pace groups! Will joined me back in corral E and we found the pace group. It was not as cold as the 10k the day before but I did bring a throw away shirt and mylar blanket to wear in the corral. I'm such a pansy about being cold!

Then we were off! I love running with a pace group at the beginning of a race. It's super easy to go out too fast or to get bogged down by the initial crowding on the course and go too slowly. We maintained a great pace through the beginning of the course. The beginning of the Princess half marathon course is pretty boring. It's dark. It's on the high way and there's not much to see in the first few miles except a few character stops. I do remember seeing character stops but there's no stopping during a PR attempt!

I felt ok during the first three miles or so but not amazing. I definitely could tell that I ran the 10k the day before a bit faster than I probably should have. But the conditions were so great that it was hard to hold back even as much as I did! The two pacers were really fun and up beat so that definitely helped. And I had Will to chat with. We also ran into Jar Oxandspoon going under the bridge between the Magic Kingdom parking lot and the Contemporary. Will ran up and hung with him for a bit before rejoining me in the pace group.

We hit Magic Kingdom after mile 4 and that really gave me a boost of energy. Because we hadn't stopped for characters, there wasn't much crowding at the course despite having started in a later corral. There was plenty of space to get action shots from the photopass photographers and still stay with the pace group. Even the pacers were really getting into the action shots so it was a lot of fun!

Running through the castle is my favorite part of this course and we both ended up getting a castle action shot! Woohoo! Knowing that I was going to have at least some photos from this race made me really happy and was definitely an energy booster which I knew I would need for the long highway stretch back to Epcot.

But during Magic Kingdom, something started to rub on my rib cage under my left arm. I'm not sure what it was as I had worn all of the pieces of my running costume before and never had any issues. Thankfully, I knew from previous races on this course that a med tent was just past Frontierland in the back stage area before we hit cone alley. I had Will run ahead of me and grab some vaseline for me. I was able to apply on the go and not risk losing the pace group because I had to stop. Thankfully, that completely took care of the rubbing so I was fine the rest of the race. Will was also great with running ahead to the water stops so I could drink water during a walk interval even if we ran through the water stops.

I had probably my very best cone alley experience this race. This stretch between Magic Kingdom and the highway is a huge choke point and can be really hard to navigate. I'm not sure if it's just because I was going faster or if my pace group was just really good at staying together but it was really not bad. It's good to remember that each and every race experience is different and just because one section of the course was bad for someone else, that doesn't mean it's also going to be bad for you.

Then it was back on the wide highway towards Epcot. I actually like the highway stretches of the course because there is so much room to navigate between other runners but it can be brutal if the weather starts to get warm and the sun is beating down on you. This race started in the 50s so it was really nice for the beginning half or so of the race. On the way back to Epcot, I started over heating and struggling to stay with the pace group.

I had a hard time deciding what to wear for this race. For the 10k, I definitely needed pants and a long sleeved shirt for the whole thing but it was going to be about 10 degrees warmer for the half. I decided to wear pants but a throw away long sleeved shirt so I could run in a sleeveless top. I ended up choosing which pants to wear with which outfit based on which colors went best together but that was a mistake. The blue pants I wore for the 10k are actually nice cooling pants from Under Armor that are meant to be worn in the heat. The black pants are cheap running leggings from Walmart with no cooling properties. I really could have used the cooling properties during the half marathon!

Around mile 9, I decided to stop to roll my pant legs up to see if that would help with the over heating. I also switched to a 45:45 interval to give my legs more of a break. Running without the pace group meant that I could walk the water stops and hydrate better. I've definitely noticed that running through the water stops really makes it harder for me to maintain pace. For the rest of the race, I drank two glasses of water, a swig of my pickle juice for electrolytes and dumped a cup of water over my head at each water stop.

I still wanted to try and PR and possibly catch up to the pace group so I decided to keep a good pace for the next stretch and see how I was doing. If I got to a point where I 100% knew I couldn't PR, then I could always stop for a bunch of short character lines in Epcot. We were actually a bit ahead of pace so I knew a PR was still possible if I could continue to push for the rest of the race. I turned on my inspirational Disney running playlist and kept going. The changes I had made definitely made me feel a lot better even if I hadn't been able to keep pace with the group so I think breaking off from them was the right decision.

They were playing Into the Unknown during one section of the Epcot backstage area which was one of my inspirational songs. That was a big motivator for me and I had some really great paces for the intervals during that section. I still hadn't caught up with the pace group but I was still in range of possibly PR'ing so I kept going. Things were getting really rough as we exited Epcot to head towards the finisher's shoot. I had to keep taking my intervals the whole way through, even if there were photographers so I got some pretty awkward face photos.

I really wanted to just stop and walk the rest of the race since I was so tired but instead, I dug deep and found just a bit more for one final (and actually pretty pathetic) push towards the finish line. I stopped my running app and checked the time. It was definitely over my previous PR from Wine and Dine weekend. My app time is usually a bit longer than my actual time as it starts before I start and I stop it after crossing the finish line but it definitely looked like it was too much longer than my PR for the difference to get me an official PR.

And I was surprisingly ok with that. I gave it my best effort and I pushed myself all the way to the very last seconds of the race. It was still an amazing time and I had a blast doing it. And either way, I was awesome and not PR'ing at an incredibly crowded race that I dressed too warmly for was not going to change that. We were both really tired so we decided to head back to the hotel immediately instead of hanging out in the finish area to wait for everyone else to finish. We had breakfast and then napped. I woke up from my nap to a lovely text from my running friend Audrey who had been tracking my race bib and wanted to congratulate me on an awesome time and ask if I had PR'd.

This was the first I had seen my unofficial time from runDisney and it was lower than I thought it was. I almost texted back that it was not a PR but I decided to hop onto the runDisney website to double check my past PR since I was going purely on memory. And I had misremembered the seconds from my last PR which mean that my unofficial time was two seconds faster than my PR. I was pretty stunned but decided to wait until my official time was posted before calling it an official PR. But the official time matched the unofficial time and I had myself a PR. While celebrating, I realized something.

Every second of that race counted. Each extra interval I had pushed to stay with the pace group before breaking off counted. Every time I wanted to stop my run interval early but didn't had mattered. That last tiny little bit I found in myself to push in those last yards towards the finish line made a difference. If I had chosen to give up on any one of those micro decisions along the course, I would not have had a PR. In the end, I'm so glad I decided to keep pushing myself to see what I could find because I found awesomeness.

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Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k
Part 3: Half Marathon-Your are here.
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge-Coming soon!
Part 5: Disney Magic at Animal Kingdom-coming soon!

Princess Weekend 2020 Part 2: 10k Race Recap

Saturday morning for the 10k came dark and early and chilly! Last year, we had a heat wave for princess weekend but this year we had a cold spell. It was about 45F at race start! As a Floridian, I was not mentally prepared for standing in the corrals in that kind of weather. My original costume idea was to be Jasmine but in the week leading up to the race, I was scrambling to find a way to make my costume more weather appropriate. I had a pair of teal leggings to wear and I grabbed my 2020 Marathon Weekend shirt since the colors coordinated with everything else I was wearing. No one knew who I was but it still looked cute in photos.

I also bought some throw away gloves to wear. I wanted to grab a mylar blanket but I couldn't find any. A trash bag with a hole in the top also works in a pinch so I had a super glamorous look prerace. The character lines were super long by the time I arrived at the race site so I skipped character photos and instead met up with some friends I'd met on Instagram. The runDisney community is so awesome and it was awesome to get to meet more people in real life!

The 10k corrals are really close to the character area so I popped into my corral pretty early. It definitely felt odd being in corral A. I definitely don't run at a corral A speed but I decided to just enjoy the corral A experience incase it's my one time to be at the front of the pack. It was really chilly in the corral but the trash bag definitely helped. Pretty soon we were moving forward to get in position for race start. Unfortunately, I tossed my trash bag while we were getting into position. Usually, once I'm in the shoot, race start is imminent but in corral A, you are in the shoot before the preshow even starts. Oops! I still had enough layers that it was bearable but I was still colder than I would have liked.

Then it was time for race start! I've seen video from runners who start in corral A and actually run corral A pace but I was still amazed at how much space there was!! I opted to run the first mile before starting my intervals as it was cold and I really wanted to warm up. The first character we passed was Pocahontas. She was up on the overpass so she wasn't available for photos. I was kind of disappointed that she didn't have any photo opportunities the entire weekend but there were plenty of Pocahontas characters during the race which I really appreciated. There was John Smith, Meeko and Governor Ratcliffe. I stopped for a photo with John but I wanted to keep moving. Brr!

There was one section of the highway part of the course I really did not like. We ran back through part of the Epcot parking lot which was nice because it was a convenient place for spectators to go after the race start. Unfortunately, all of the buses that shuttle people back to their resorts were lined up along the course. They were all running so there was a really bad exhaust smell in the air. Nasty! It was bad for the runners but I felt really bad for the spectators who just had to stand there and breathe that gross air.

I made it into Epcot in the dark which was amazing! I wasn't going very fast as I wanted to save my legs for the half but starting right at 5:30 allowed me to get to the park in the dark. So beautiful! I absolutely love running through the parks in the dark. It's one of my favorite parts of a race weekend. The lights were all on and it was an amazing sight. I stopped for a few photos but didn't stop for a character until France. Esmeralda and Quasimodo were out! Esmeralda was out for the Marathon Weekend half but her line was super long so I didn't stop that weekend. The line was so short when I got there so I had to stop.

The course then headed out around the Boardwalk area. I do enjoy running the Boardwalk and for once it was dry! I ran into Kristen from Running in Makeup and Theresa from Running with Shinsplints who were cheering on the Boardwalk. Thanks for the support ladies! My next character photo was Clarice. She's a chipmunkette who appeared in some Chip and Dale cartoons. I've seen her with Chip and Dale during several races but the trio always has a super long line. She was kind of tucked away in a corner at the bottom of a hill right by the Swan and Dolphin hotel so I think a lot of people didn't see her. There were only 4 or 5 people in line for her so I had to stop!

Then I ran passed the Yacht Club and Beach Club resorts before heading back into Epcot. At the very center of the lagoon, Flora, Fauna and Merriweather were available for photos! Since they were the challenge characters, I was really excited to see them on the course. The line wasn't too long when I stopped but by the time I got my picture and left, it had really picked up. (The ended up also being on the half marathon course too so hopefully lots of people got the opportunity for photos.) 

After that, the course was almost over and headed out of Epcot and to the finish line. We got to run through some of the Guardians of the Galaxy construction area which was cool. I'm so pumped for that ride. I did start to get cold again during the last mile or so of the race. I had tossed my gloves around mile 3 and my hands started getting really cold at this point! I did check the weather later in the day and the temperature did actually dip a few degrees towards the end of my race. I took my time crossing the finish line and made sure to get a great finish line photo. They did have mylar blankets at the end of the race which I needed!

The character lines were pretty short so I grabbed a photo with Aurora and Princess Minnie. I got in line to see Anna and Elsa too but I only stayed a few minutes. For whatever reason, their line was moving really slowly and I was just too cold to stand outside anymore. I headed back to my resort for a hot shower and a nap. Since I got done with my race so early, I was able to nap and still make it in time for breakfast at my resort. Mickey waffles for the win!

After breakfast, I headed over to Disney Springs for some window shopping. I stopped by Erin McKenna's for some allergy friendly treats. Some Disney resorts carry mini cupcakes from this bakery in their cafeteria but no such luck this trip. I got my favorite-a mint brownie cupcake. Then I attended another meet up! Yay for friend time! It was a bit smaller than the Marathon Weekend meet up which was nice because I felt like I actually could catch up with everyone and not miss people. After the meetup, it was back to the resort for me. Since the weather was so great for running, I planned on going for a PR attempt at the half marathon so I needed to rest my legs. I got in an epsom salt bath and spent the evening watching HGTV in bed. A lot of people enjoy getting in tons of park time during race weekends but I really enjoy having some quiet resort time.

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Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k-You are here.
Part 3: Half Marathon
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge-Coming soon!
Part 5: Disney Magic at Animal Kingdom-coming soon!

Princess Weekend 2020 Part 1: Expo

The first stop of every runDisney weekend is the expo! The first day of the expo is always the busiest so I like to go on Friday when things are a bit more chill. Since Wine and Dine and Marathon weekends sold out of a lot of merchandise on the first day, our first stop was the official runDisney merchandise area. Thankfully, there was still plenty of merchandise and sizes available when we arrived.

I got two mini medal replica pins (the challenge one was sold out), the weekend coffee mug as well as a Fairy Tale Challenge tank. I don't usually buy shirts as they rarely have XS but this one was so cute and they actually had it in my size! And it wasn't pastel! Win! Then we popped over to pick up my preorder of the passholder Tervis to go mug and pin. So cute!

We were a bit too early to catch any of the meet and greet characters but Cinderella's coach men were available for photos. They are usually outside with Cinderella's coach that they use for weddings but it was quite cold so they moved inside.

Next we headed over to bib pickup. I knew I was going to be in corral E for the half but challenge participants don't find out their 10k corral until bib pick up. For Princess and Star Wars weekend 2019, I was in corral C for the 10k but for Wine and Dine, I was in corral E so I was anxious to find out my corral. Somehow, I ended up in corral A! I tried to pay attention to challenge bibs over the weekend and it seemed like the 10k corrals were a bit random. I think I saw just about every possible corral pairing except for ones where the half corral was a lower letter than the 10k corral. So who knows how they are assigning 10k corrals for the challenges.

Our last stop was shirt pickup in the vendor merchandise area. I really liked the shirt colors for this year. I love a bright bold color and I'm not really a pastels person so I always love when the princess shirts aren't pastels. I'm not 100% in love with the Cinderella design on a yellow background but I do really like the other two. I didn't end up getting anything from any of the vendors this go around but I'll be back in a few weeks for Star Wars weekend incase there's anything I can't live without.

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Part 1: Expo-You are here.
Part 2: 10k
Part 3: Half Marathon
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge-Coming soon!
Part 5: Disney Magic at Animal Kingdom-coming soon!

Princess Half Marathon 2019 Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge

We did it! Both Melissa and I ran our very first runDisney challenge at the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. It's called the Fairy Tale Challenge and includes running the 10k and half marathon on Princess Weekend. So after returning to our rooms for a shower, we decided to hit the parks to celebrate! Woohoo!

After getting Mulan to sign our 10k medal, we had to try and catch the other two princesses. Luckily, you can meet both Jasmine and Aurora in Epcot. Jasmine had quite a short line and her cue and meet area are air conditioned which is a bonus on hot days. She was quite sweet and very impressed with our medals.

We both promised to come visit Agrabah some time. Jasmine said she could arrange a flying carpet tour so we could rest our legs. Too bad Carpet wasn't around to give us a lift that day!

We got to Aurora early and waited for her. She had quite a long line, much longer than either Mulan or Jasmine. The photographer and assisting cast member were super organized and kept everybody moving but we didn't really get much character interaction-just photos and our medals signed. If you really want a great character interaction with your medal signing, I'd recommend going on a day other than that of the race where they'll probably be a shorter line or going to a less popular meet and greet area like we did with Donald for Marathon weekend if you can meet the character in more than one park.

I definitely need to go meet Aurora another time when she is not quite so swamped with fans! We grabbed lunch in Epcot as well. Melissa and I are both trying to eat at places we've never eaten at before so we decided to stop at Germany for some brauts and chips. I tried sauerkraut for the first time. I don't think the kraut they had was particularly strong but I actually kind of liked it. Maybe now I won't be so scared of German food.

Then we headed off to the Magic Kingdom for some medal photos with the castle. So magical! I will say that it's pretty annoying walking around wearing more than one medal so I recommend just wearing one at a time and taking the rest out for photos. Whatever finish they used on the Aurora medal scratched really easily so the Jasmine challenge medal was the one I decided to wear in the park.

We ended the day with some really great fastpasses. Despite it being race weekend, I didn't feel like the parks were overly crowded. It's definitely possible to get in some good park time during a runDisney weekend and I actually like having to walk around after a long race. I think it really helps with my recovery.

Speaking of recovery, this weekend really exhaused me so I was glad to have called off of work on Monday to have a day to recuperate at home... and wash all of my stinky running clothes. I know not every one has the option to take that extra recover day, but if you can, I recommend it especially if you run more than one race in a weekend. That's a wrap for Princess weekend but don't worry because Star Wars Rival Run Weekend is just around the corner!

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Princess Half Marathon 2019:

Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k Race Recap
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge Race Recap-You are here.

Princess Half Marathon 2019 Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap

Sunday started out early, really early. And not because my alarm went off but because I woke up with a splitting headache in the middle of the night. Luckily, I always carry my migraine meds with me. After taking some, I took another shower and did actually manage to fall asleep for a few more hours. I was feeling much better when my alarm did finally go off and Melissa and I both got ready for the half pretty quickly. We were able to make it to the start area early and take advantage of the short character lines.

There were some character repeats from the 10k but we did get Anna, Elsa, Merida and Pocahontas. The start corrals for the half are a good half mile away so once we finished photos and grab some water, we headed out. We made it to the corrals with plenty of time to spare and grabbed a great spot near the front. I did get to see some crazy stuff while we waited including some corral jumpers and one person who was trying to argue their way into a better corral. Please just go to the corral assigned to you! And if you are running late, just join a later corral.

Unlike the 10k, we definitely had a time goal for the half. We had to check out of our Airbnb by 11:30 am so we needed to make decent time during the half. After the heat and humidity on Saturday, we decided to not stop for characters before Magic Kingdom so we could focus on getting in as many miles as possible before the sun came up. Thankfully, it felt much less humid. I also saved my cooling towel from the 10k to use during the half and decided to drink two glasses of water at each water station instead of one.

The one shot we really wanted to get was a castle shot. There are always several photographers down in front of the castle, just off of the course. They don't usually have a long line especially if you go to one further down.

We got some amazing candid shots from Magic Kingdom. I don't know if they just have more photographers out since Princess has more daylight than Marathon Weekend or if I just missed all of the photographers Marathon Weekend but I'm so happy with the shots! Right before one photographer, Melissa told me she was going to jump so I jumped too and the photographer managed to capture us! Yay jump shots!

There's a water stop just outside of Magic Kingdom, before you hit cone alley and this is where I started taking electrolytes. I knew that I had really failed on electrolytes during the 10k and, not wanting to have powerade for the first time during a race, I brought table salt packets to dissolve in water on course. It didn't taste that great but it didn't upset my stomach either. I also started grabbing a third up of water to drench my cooling towel in. It felt amazing on my neck!

Right after the water station, we ran into Laura of Joyful Miles and some other Joyful Milers so we had to stop for a selfie! And further on down in cone alley, we bumped into a few more Joyful Milers. It's been so great to make some runDisney friends and get to run into them on course! Cone alley usually also features the groomsmen with Cinderella's glass slipper but this race they were replaced by bridesmaids. There was literally no on in line to see them so we had to stop!

After the crowding of cone alley, I was ready for the wide open spaces of the highway to head back towards Epcot. Just like Saturday, it was still overcast when we made it to this part of the course which was amazing because there is basically no shade! It can be pretty brutal when the Florida sun is out. I wish they had more character stops out here but usually it's just Jack Sparrow. Pro tip: If the line for Jack is too long on the way out to Magic Kingdom, you'll have another shot on the way back to Epcot. While Melissa waited in line for the photo with Jack, I made a mad dash to the port-o-potties across the way. I usually don't have to use the bathroom during races but sometimes you've got to go. But I had plenty of time to get back in line for the photo.

Towards the end of the highway section, there are a series of "hills"-one on ramp and a few overpasses. If I'm feeling strong, I like to continue my intervals up them or walk if I'm feeling tired. I was still feeling pretty strong so I ran most of them.

Finally, we were back at Epcot! There are heaps of photopass photographers out so put your happy running face on! I also stopped for a posed photo with the ball in the background. The Epcot section for this race was really short so before we knew it, we were headed out to the finish line! Woohoo! Then it was medal time! We got our Aurora medal and then headed back to the challenge tent for our Jasmine Fairy Tale Challenge medal. Such beautiful bling! And then it was snack boxes and the obligatory "I did it" photo.

Princess Half Marathon

Time: 3:05:50

Pace: 14:11 min/mi

Despite the unfavorable weather conditions and frequent stops, my time was only about 15 mins slower than my marathon weekend PR. I was quite happy with that and we were doing good on time so we finished our snack boxes and grabbed a photo with Tiana.

We hit a snag when we went to leave the parking lot. The traffic was really bad and we sat for about half an hour with out moving at all. All of the incoming traffic was blocking outgoing traffic and they didn't have the traffic people out there soon enough to direct every one. And then once we got moving, we took a wrong turn which totally messed up the GPS which ate up even more time. So there was going to be no napping today. We did manage to shower, get presentable and pack up on time but it was a bit stressful!

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Princess Half Marathon 2019:

Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k Race Recap
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap-You are here.
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge Race Recap