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!

Excalibur 10 Miler Race Recap

So I need to start with a bit of back story for this race recap. This race happened to land on the weekend after general registration for the Wine and Dine half marathon weekend. When I registered for this race, this fact didn't seem significant. I had already purchased my bib for Wine and Dine race weekend through a travel agent and so wouldn't be fighting with opening day registration drama. But the week prior during passholder registration, it came out that the POT pace requirements had been updated and runDisney would only be accepting POTs for 2:30 or faster half marathon times. General registration confirmed that this was not a mistake and all of my beautiful POTs including my new PR from Princess weekend were now useless......

I had been chasing that sub 2:30 half (and equivalent 10k) because that would have gotten me into the next corral and I was so close but I had not yet made it. This all really sucked for me because there was not going to be great running weather between the release of this new POT requirement and the deadline in August because summer starts way early in Florida. Guess I was going to have to have a pretty ambitious time goal for my first 10 miler so I could have a POT for Wine and Dine 2020 and Marathon Weekend 2021.

COVID-19 was starting to pop up more and more in the US and some people were already freaking out about it but I wasn't too concerned until Thursday afternoon before race weekend when I got a message from a friend (who also wanted to use this race as a runDisney POT race) that the race was canceled. I was really upset. I was already not happy at runDisney for changing the POT requirements with no warning and now I wouldn't even have a shot at a POT because people couldn't wait to freak out about the coronavirus until Monday. Plus, I had only just registered for the race and there would be no refunds or options to defer until next year. I really felt like I had just flushed a whole bunch of money down the toilet. Since I didn't need to taper any more, I headed to the gym for some serious strength training and angst relieving activities.

 Disney also announced that they were closing both parks for the remainder of the month so the next day, Will and I went to Epcot for our last Disney trip for a while. That really helped my mood and made me feel better about the race cancelation. I had run runDisney races in nonPOT corrals before and had a great time. Plus I knew if I ran the first half of the race fast, I could still do lots of character stops with short lines near the end of the race. It was going to be OK.

I decided to run the race as a virtual so I could still feel like I earned my medal. I took my 10 miles nice and easy on Saturday morning. It ended up being a really nice run. We had picked up our race packets including t-shirt and medal on Friday on the way home from Disney so my medal was waiting for me when I got done with my run. In the end, crap happens. Races get canceled. You may have to DNS. But staying upset about it doesn't change anything. Keeping up my commitment to training and working towards my fitness goals will change things.

Right now, the rest of my spring running season is so up in the air. I'm still working to maintain my half marathon base for the Star Wars Rival Run in April but we'll have to see if the parks reopen at the end of March or if Disney decides to keep them closed. I'm also working towards my next Spartan race which is in early May. (They have also canceled all events through mid April.) There is a definite chance that either one or both of these races will get canceled or postponed but until then, I'm going to keep training as if they are going to happen. Races will not be canceled forever and when I get to run my next race, I want to be ready to crush it.

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!

Eye of the Dragon 10k

February has some of the best running weather in Florida so there are always a ton of races to choose from! I really enjoyed running the Eye of the Dragon 10k last year as it had a nice course, great entertainment and beautiful medals so I signed up to run it again. The weather was around 68F at race start but humid. The course was exactly the same as last year. It runs along the side of the river for about 1.5 miles then back past the start line. Then it goes left over the causeway about 1.5 miles and back with the start line transforming into the finish line.

My 10k PR before this race was a 1:09:42 from this race in 2019. I was aiming to hit sub 1:07 use as proof of time for runDisney races in hopes of qualifying for corral D. I had been trying to incorporate a bit of speed work into my training between marathon weekend and this race but I didn't really have a specific strategy for improving my time. I did make a running playlist to listen to during this race. I don't usually listen to music while I run so I was hoping it would provide a bit of extra motivation. I also opted to carry my own water so I could skip some of the water stops.

I felt really good at the beginning of the race. It was still pretty cool out and I was excited. The music definitely kept me pumped, a bit too pumped in fact. I went out a bit too fast in the first mile so I pulled it back a bit and I was on track when I hit the midway point past the start/finish line. And I passed the midway point before the race winner crossed the finish line which was a nice bonus!

Then I headed out over the causeway. In 2018, I did a lot of running over the causeway leading up to this race in 2019 so my legs were used to hills but in 2019, I really slacked on the hill runs so it was quite an effort to make it up the causeway. I tried to maintain a decent pace while not pushing myself too hard. But right around mile 4, I got side stitches so I had to take an extended walk break. It was right in front of the race photographer too. Not sure why they had her at the top of the causeway where we all looked like death but that's what happened.

I was able to start running again soon after but I never regained the sub 11 minute mile that I needed to reach my goal. At this point in the race, there's no shade and the Florida sun was starting to beat down on me. I did keep pushing myself all the way to the finish despite things not going according to plan. I clocked in at 1:10:27 which came in as my second fastest 10k and only 45 seconds slower than my 10k PR. It's also a really solid runDisney corral E POT. I definitely need to start running the causeway again though!

runningUniversal Part 3: My Quick Thoughts

I wanted to have a space just to jot down some quick thoughts about different aspects of the race for future reference. Let me know if there is something you'd like to see added to this list. Enjoy!

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Bathrooms-Plenty of port-o-potties before hand and all in park bathrooms on course. They aren't well marked during the race so look at a park map before hand to scope out the best ones.

Character Stops-Quite a few characters with really short lines. A lot of the characters are ones you can see regularly in the parks though. More rare characters would be great!

Corrals- Corral A: sub 60 min 10k POT required, Corral B & C self seeded. Didn't really use corral C in 2019.

Course-Amazing! Lots of park time and plenty of space. A+

Epic Fan Package-Not really a great value for your money. We vote skip and let the rest of your party sleep in.

Expo/Merchandise-Limited selection, generic runningUniversal items, adult sizes only. Plenty of Universal merch in the parks to spend your money on if you want a cool souvenir.

Medical Support-There were quite a few med tents marked on the course map but I don't remember seeing any. One of my friends forgot their inhaler so they were specifically looking for one on course to see if medical had one they could use and they didn't see any med tents either.

Packet Pickup-Packet pickup was in a very small area in the Blue Man Group building. There were very short lines while we were there. It will definitely take a fraction of the time of a normal runDisney packet pickup trip.

Photos-On course photography was provided by Marathon Photo at character stops, at the finish line and (a very few) randomly on course. Photos and a video of you crossing the finish line were available for purchase afterwards for $40. Personally, my iPhone took better photos at the character photos and the action/finish line photos I got were not that great and didn't justify spending $40. Team members were available to take a photo with your phone at the character stops.

Prerace Atmosphere-There's not a lot going on prerace-no dj, no character photo ops, no prerace show. Don't expect to need to be in the corrals as early as you would for a runDisney race.

Postrace Atmosphere-Not a lot of spectator viewing area but your party can meet you in City Walk. Two character photo ops were available for the characters on the race medals-Blue the velociraptor and two minions. There was also a coffee tent and food truck but with City Walk near by, I'd recommend stopping by Starbucks on your way out instead.

Race Shirts- I enjoyed the design of the shirt but the material felt cheap. Shirts were unisex (ie men's only) ran big and were not offered in women's or youth sizes. Shirts were short sleeved. Bonus, no massive amount of sponsors on the back.

Snack Box-Post race refreshments included bananas and bottled water in addition to the snack boxes. The snack box included Go-Go Squeeze apple sauce, pretzels (not GF), trail mix and Kashi chocolate almond sea salt granola bar (DF, vegan, does not list wheat/gluten in allergy section but includes oats). I was really happy with the options in the box and both Will and I were able to both find something to tide us over until breakfast.

Water Stops-There were plenty of water stops on course (5 total). No electrolytes were provided during or after the race so bring your own if you need them.

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runningUniversal Part 1: Expo
runningUniversal Part 2: 10k
runningUniversal Part 3: My Quick Thoughts-You are here.

runningUniversal Part 2: 10k Race Recap

Race morning came cold and early! The race was scheduled to start at 6:15 am so we got to sleep in a bit compared to a runDisney weekend. That was really nice. The temperature was in the mid 40s which is great for running but not so great for waiting around in the corrals. Will and I both had to tweak our running costumes at the last minute for some extra layers. We stayed at one of the Universal onsite resorts and they provided transportation. Unlike Disney, the bus drivers were the regular drivers so they all knew exactly where to go. Plus, there's a lot less to get lost in at Universal.

 The race start was over by the Volcano Bay parking entrance so once we got dropped off at the normal resort drop off location, we headed back into the giant parking garage. They had plenty of staff members to direct runners. The security was set up in the parking garage for us and included medal detectors. It's definitely something to keep in mind when planning your costumes for future Universal races. They had a ton of port-a-potties immediately after security but none further down by the corrals. And that was about it.... No prerace characters and no prerace water available.

There were four corrals-elites/wheel chairs, A (sub 60 min 10k POT) plus B and C which were self seeded. The corrals were on one side of the parking toll booths and the start line and prerace announcers were on the other side. So it was really hard to see what prerace things they did have going on. The announcers tried to get us all excited but it was really cold and none of us were really having it. The did have King Julien from Madagascar up on the stage with the announcers but again, he was really hard to see. I don't think I saw anyone in corral C and we definitely didn't need to get there as early as we would for a runDisney race. This race was just not that big and there wasn't that much time between the first runner starting and the last runner starting.

I did have some huge issues with the corals. They were letting people in corral A without A stickers on their bibs. If you are going to do POT corrals, you absolutely cannot do this! I'm not sure what was going on but the people checking bibs at the corral entrance need to do a better job. Also, there was a couple with a jogging stroller and infant in corral A despite strollers being specifically prohibited in the race rules. This kind of race is not a good one for strollers and them allowing strollers would definitely make me less inclined to run this race again. Hopefully, this will all get cleared up for next year. The race ended up being pretty spacious since there was a pretty small field but this kind of thing will become a huge issue as this race becomes more popular.

Will and I were running this race with Gerald from RezRuns over on youtube. We decided to run the first mile or two and then start doing intervals so I could keep up with the boys. Plus it was cold and we all wanted to get moving and warm up. The first 3/4 of a mile or so are on highway so there was a lot of space but it was pretty dark. It was a bit difficult to keep an eye out for tripping hazards in this section. Then we headed back stage of Islands of Adventure back behind Hulk and the Marvel Super Hero area. There were a lot of tripping hazards in the back stage areas-grates, cracks in the pavement, speed bumps, etc. They did have some marked out by cones but it's definitely an area to be careful. We hit our first water stop right before heading into the park at Toon Lagoon.

Right inside Toon Lagoon, we passed our first in park bathrooms as well as the first character stop, Betty Boop. They did have a photographer as well as a team member who would take a photo with your phone. The character lines were generally quite short which was really nice! We then headed out passed the Marvel area. I was hoping they would have some Marvel characters out but no such luck! Will and Gerald were Winter Soldier and Captain America, respectively. The course went out the front of Islands of Adventure and we looped around City Walk. There was a great photo op in front of the Universal Studios ball.

Then we did a short jaunt backstage before coming out in Seuss Landing. There was another water stop and some Whos out taking photos. About this time, I was nice and warm and ready to start intervals. It was still dark out and so pretty to be in the parks with them all lit up. Over in the Lost Continent, we stopped for our first character stop Puss in Boots and his girlfriend kitty (It's been forever since I've seen that movie and I can't remember her name.). Then we were into Hogsmeade.

It was so beautiful!!! I've never seen that area so empty either. I know a lot of people run theme park races for character photos but I do them to be in the parks when they are all lit up and beautiful. Loved it! They did have some team members out in Hogwarts robes but no photo ops. Next was Jurassic Park. There's a lot of construction going on in this section right now so while there was still plenty of room to maneuver, it was not the most exciting part of the course.

Then the course headed back stage again past Skull Island. We hit mile 3 backstage as well as another water stop and some DJs. We did get to run under the Hogwarts Express track which was really cool! I had no idea how it actually worked but it's up on an elevated track with the ground level road underneath it. So if you want your train photo, grab it with the dummy engine in Hogsmeade. At mile four we headed back into the park by the San Francisco area before popping backstage again.

Then we snuck in a back way to Diagon Alley. It was so cool to run through there! A lot of the shop doors were open and the team members were setting up for the day. That section of the park is just so immersive because you literally can't see anything outside of that area while you are in there! We ran out past the bar and I was hoping we could grab a hot Butterbeer but no such luck! It wasn't open yet!

The next stretch was backstage again. We looped around behind the Men in Black ride and then popped in right next to it. We did a bit of zig zaging past the false front of Diagon Alley to make up a bit more milage. It took us right past the Knight Bus. The driver and talking head were out if you wanted a selfie. Then we headed back around the lake. The fountains were on so it was really pretty along this stretch. Then we had a few more character stops-the Simpsons (which we decided to skip), Winnie Woodpecker, and the big Transformer (one of the good guys I think).

Mardi Gras had started the night before so there were some Mardi Gras performers out for photos as well. I felt so bad for those poor girls! The costumes looked absolutely freezing! I hope they got plenty of breaks and hot coffee. Lastly, we ran out past New York to finish backstage behind the Blue Man Group building. The finish line was not crowded at all and they did have a few photographers here. They were also videoing the finish and showing it on a big screen. It didn't look like there was a lot of spectator area and there wasn't really anyone there cheering. It was really chilly and I think you had to buy the spectator pass to watch at the finish line so I wasn't surprised to see very few spectators. (Gerald had a friend buy the spectator pass and the verdict was unless it's your very first race or something else super special, let your support crew nap at your resort instead and save yourself some $$).

Time: 1:29:24

Distance: 6.2 miles

Pace 14:28

They had Blue the velociraptor right next to the finish line. His photo line was the longest of the whole race. It probably was about a 30 minute wait. But we all got really cold as soon as we stopped running so we moved on to the water, bananas and snack boxes. I was pretty happy with the snack boxes. We got Go-Go Squeeze apple sauce (of course! lol), pretzels, a granola bar and trail mix. Plenty of options for after a 10k. Then the Minions were out and had a much shorter line so we waited for a post race photo with them. So the finish line atmosphere was not as exciting as I would have liked but I think a lot of that had to do with the weather and the lack of spectators.

I did get to meet up with a running friend Audrey and also ran into two of my local running friends after the race. We did not end up staying very long after we finished. I needed a hot shower and then some breakfast!

Given how the expo and corrals went, I was super nervous about this race but I ended up having an amazing time! The course itself was so great! So much of the course was in park. I loved it! There was minimal highway stretches and the backstage portions were intermixed with park time so there was always something really cool to see. We ended up with about a 14:30 pace which included character stops, plenty of walking and stops for Gerald to film. There was so much space on course that it never felt congested. This course could definitely handle more people in the future. There is very little about the actual race that I would change. Way to go, Universal!

The medals were a really cool spinner. The ribbon was really pretty with a different design on each side. Size wise, they were a bit smaller than a standard runDisney 10k medal but still had a good weight to them. The design was really detailed and the characters look nice. I love having it hanging on my wall!

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runningUniversal Part 1: Expo
runningUniversal Part 2: 10k-You are here.
runningUniversal Part 3: My Quick Thoughts

runningUniversal Part 1: Expo

I was really excited when I heard that runningUniversal was bringing their races to Universal Studios Orlando! For their east coast inaugural race, they offered a 10k and a 5k. We decided to sign up for the 10k. The races are priced comparably to the runDisney races and registration was really simple.
I was hoping that after having two race weekends in Hollywood, a few of the kinks would have been worked out of the system but a lot of the administration stuff was a bit less organized than I would have liked. Things like race theme, medal design and packet pick up info came out really late and some stuff wasn't released until packet pick up.

Their website could definitely use some work to make it a bit easier to navigate. If you wanted to be notified when new info such as medal design or course map was going to be released, you had to sign up for each bit individually. When the big packet of race info was given out, it was a bit difficult to figure out where everything was. I kept having to click in and out of different pages to find all of the info I needed. I was able to find everything eventually but I also knew what to look for since I've done theme park races before. It really made me appreciate how much of a well oiled machine runDisney is!

Packet pick up was located in the Blue Man Group building in City Walk. Each runner was given a pass for free parking but you had to physically print it out and bring it with you. No parking passes were accepted digitally on phones. Once in City Walk, there were plenty of signs telling runners where to go for packet pick up. Once I got to the pick up location, it was clear just how much smaller this race was than a Disney race. If this race gets bigger, they are going to need to find a better place for packet pick up. They were a bit more disorganized than I would have liked but it was really empty when we went to pick up so we didn't wait long. We each got a tech t-shirt, a draw string bag and our race bib. The bag was a nice touch.

I was disappointed by two things. The shirts were unisex sized which means I'll be drowning in my shirt. I wear a women's X-small so the men's small was a no go for me even if they hadn't run big. This is a problem I have with a lot of races and I hope that they start offering women's sizes next year. I did really like the design of the shirt but the actual material was not the greatest. It's going straight into the to be made into a tshirt blanket pile. Also, I did not get into the proof of time corral. There was an option to put in a proof of time during registration but no more info was given about corral placements. I spoke to runner relations and the cut off for A corral this year was a 60 minute 10k. It would have been nice to know that ahead of time. I'll go into corrals and whether or not I think you need a proof of time for this race in the actual race recap.

They did have one character at the expo, Woody Woodpecker but we didn't stop for a photo. They had a very small merchandise tent. Most of the merchandise was general Universal merch like you can get in the parks but they had a few generic runningUniversal shirts, jackets, etc. I'd love to see race specific merchandise as well as magnets next year. All of the race merchandise was adult sized even though I did see quite a few kids on the course.

The theme of the race was "epic characters" with the 5k being Shrek and Bumblebee (from Transformers) and the 10k being Minions and Blue (the velociraptor from Jurassic World). I did like that they picked more well known characters but I felt that the theming was a bit weak. They didn't do much else with the theme besides the medals and tshirts. I liked the themes for the two Hollywood race weekends better and I hope that they decide to go with a more dedicated theme next year.

Lots of City Walk places were offering discounts for runners and Voodoo Donuts had special 5k and 10k donuts. Overall, despite seeing areas for improvement, it was a really good first effort for the Orlando runningUniversal team. Putting on a race is a huge undertaking with a steep learning curve but hopefully my experience will help new runners be prepared for next year.

Stay tuned for Part 2 all about the race. (Spoiler alert: It was much more impressive than the expo!)

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runningUniversal Part 1: Expo-You are here.
runningUniversal Part 2: 10k 
runningUniversal Part 3: My Quick Thoughts

Marathon Weekend 2020 Part 2: The Half Marathon

Marathon Weekend has historically has some varied and unpredictable weather. Coming into the weekend, it was looking like a very warm and humid race. Since I had planned my costume with layering in mind, it was easy to strip down to the most minimal version which included shorts, a tank top, a running skirt and a visor. (Last year, it was much chillier so I wore pants and had a throw away jacket to wear in the corrals.) I also had plenty of time to mentally prepare myself for warm weather. Living in Florida, I have an advantage over those traveling from colder climates so always keep your summer running needs in mind when preparing for a runDisney race.

The wake up call was at 2 am. I was much more prepared for the early mornings than I was last year so I stuck with my routine. Nothing new on race day! I had tea and a banana and then got myself looking cute for the race. I did pack five magic bands but forgot to pack the one that matched my running costume! Dope! Oh, well. We headed out to get a seat on the first bus which left at 3:00 am. I always like to catch the first bus so I can not feel stressed if there's traffic and so I can get character photos.

The prerace characters were Dopey, Goofy, Mickey and Donald. I opted for photos with just Mickey and Donald. I feel weird getting photos with Dopey and Goofy if I'm not running those races. Since we only go the two photos, that left us plenty of time to hang with friends by the dj. It's great to get excited with everyone and to check out everyone's costumes! A bunch of our friends did Donald and another group did the Mighty Ducks.

I found out that two of my friends, Leslie and Kimberly were in my corral (E) and I decided to run with them. Since the race was going to be a warm race, I wanted to go a bit slower and just enjoy the experience rather than suffering through trying to get a time goal. They were both doing Goofy and wanted to take it easy before the marathon on Sunday so it was a good fit.

Due to the massive amount of construction going on at Disney currently, they did have to make some tweaks to the course. But the corral set up was very similar to last year including the really long walk! So we headed over to the corrals pretty early to give ourselves enough time to get over there and situated. We also ran into a few more friends in the corral so we had some nice chats while we waited for the race start. The corrals are probably my least favorite part of race weekend. It's a lot of standing and waiting with people all right up next to you. It's really nice to have a friend to chat with (even if you don't plan on running together) to make the time go by faster.  I didn't bother watching much of the preshow as I'm short and the screen was far away.


Then we were off! We opted to run the first two miles or so and then start intervals which is something I've never done before but can be a good strategy to deal with the crowding during the beginning of the course. In the theme of things I've never done before, we also stopped for selfies with each mile marker. Some of the ones we took before sun up aren't the greatest but it was fun! I totally get why so many people do that. It helped break up the highway stretches which can be really boring. There were also a couple of characters (Esmerelda, Captain Jack and Lilo) during the highway to Magic Kingdom but we opted not to stop for any of them.

I also had a new electrolyte strategy for this race. I carried a water bottle full of pickle juice to drink at water stops instead of Powerade. I had tried it on a few training runs so I knew it wouldn't bother my stomach but this was my first race with it. At each water station, I would drink a cup of water, take a swig of pickle juice and then have a second glass of water to wash away the pickle taste. It ended up working really well! I was worried that the pickle juice might start to taste really gross but it was fine. I do love pickles though!

Our next stop was the Magic Kingdom parking lot sign which was lit up really nicely and had It's a Small World music playing. It was so pretty! And it meant the castle was coming! There were two wintery characters in the parking lot-Rudolph with some toy soldiers and Duffy the bear in a santa suit. They also had the faux snow made of bubbles blowing at each stop which was really cool! Only snow of the season for me!

The course ran through the Transportation and Ticket Center and then up past the Contemporary. There were quite a few spectators at the T&T Center and a few at the Contemporary. It's always nice to have people cheering you on! There was a slight change to the course going into Magic Kingdom as we didn't really run through the bus drop off section but we did still run straight through the front of the park.

Main Street is definitely the best part of the course! It was still fairly dark outside when we made it into the park and it looked so beautiful all light up! I love the castle in it's Christmas lights! Mile 5 was right before we headed into Tomorrowland. I also adore running through Tomorrowland! Disney is still working on the Tomorrowland rethemeing but it always looks great lit up in the dark. The it was into Fantasyland and through the castle! I did feel like there were fewer characters in this section of the park than last year but we did run through slightly less of Fantasyland this year so maybe that's why.

We definitely didn't make it through the front of the castle in the dark but it was pretty overcast so you could still tell the castle was lit up in the photos. I ended up with a great action shot by the castle again this year but it's always a good idea to stop for a posed photo just in case the action shot doesn't come out. Then it was onward to Liberty Square and Frontierland!

There are several in park bathrooms available to runners and I had a pit stop at the one between Frontierland and Adventureland. It's a bit off the course so lots of people miss it and there was no line! Woohoo! We also ran into the Mighty Ducks crew who were waiting for a character photo near by. I'm always amazed at how many people I run into on course! After Frontierland, we exited through where the parade floats come out into a backstage area. Some of the backstage areas are really cool and they had a few parade floats out with Pinocchio which was really cool. It's also where the backsides of Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain are. The train was not available for photos this year and won't be until they open the train back up when the Tron construction is done.

The next section of the course past the Grand Floridian is really narrow and we ended up walking a lot. There's usually a character stop or two during this section and we stopped for Daisy. She was in a really cute yellow dress that I've never seen before. I do appreciate that they try to have rare characters or more unique character outfits for us at some of the character stops. Thankfully, the course opens back up again after mile 7 when we it the main highway stretch back towards Epcot.

I know a lot of people hate the highways. They can be so brutal if it's hot and the sun is baking down on you. The clouds managed to stay out for most of it and we even had a nice breeze for part of it. I always appreciate the space the highways provide as some parts of the course are so crowded! We caught up with several more of the Donald crew at the Goofy photo stop and we ended up walking with them for a good bit. I had some really nice conversations during this race.

Once we hit the cloverleaf onramp around mile 10, the sun had come out again and we were all really drooping. This is the "hilly" section of the course so we did a lot of walking and drank a lot of water but it also means that we were almost back to Epcot! The Epcot section of the course also had some tweaks (so much construction going on here right now!) and part of that was more of the backstage area. Personally, I think this backstage area is less interesting than the Magic Kingdom section but there was a water stop and several character stops which was nice.

There was only a very small section in Epcot proper and the course was very crowded at this point. We had slowed down a lot and had fallen back in with some of the later, larger corrals. I was ok with that because at this point I was ready to be done with the race. It was hot and I was tired. We did not get to run out the front past Spaceship Earth due to the construction and the last section of the course was a weird hybrid between the course used for Wine and Dine 2019 and one from Marathon Weekend 2019. The finish line was incredibly crowded and even though I did my best to have a space so I could get a finish line shot, it didn't happen. People kept cutting right in front of me and there wasn't anywhere else to go.

In the end, I was just happy to be done. It was medal and snack box time! In the end, I spent almost four hours on course which is 45 mins longer than my previous personal worst. I actually had a lot of fun for most of that time but it was a long time to be on my feet running and walking and I wasn't really prepared for that. I would definitely do some things differently next time I do a race this hot. Four hours is just a bit much for me until I decide to commit to a marathon. That's one of the things I love about running. I'm always learning new things and tweaking what I do.

*******

Marathon Weekend 2020
Part 1: The Expo and YouTube Meet Up
Part 2: The Half Marathon-You are here!
Part 3: Cheering for the Marathon
Part 4: Enjoying some Disney Magic

Central Florida Spartan Sprint

After the Kissimmee Spartan Sprint this summer, I really wanted to do another one. Getting to do the obstacles made me feel really powerful and strong. The next Florida race was the Central Florida weekend one week after the Space Coast Half Marathon. Will was already signed up to do the longer Beast distance on Saturday and when I said I was interested in the Sunday Sprint, we both signed up.

The Central Florida races were taking place about 3 hours from where we live. Since spectating isn't free and there's not usually a lot of places along the course to spectate, Will decided to go run the Beast by himself and come home afterwards. We'd drive back down on Sunday together for the Sprint. Unfortunately, disaster struck when Will got a flat tire around 9 pm on the drive home. He was fine, the car was fine aside from needing a new tire and we had a spare so he was able to get back on the road and make it home without needing a tow. But you can probably tell where this is going.

There is pretty much no way to get a tire replaced between 9 pm on a Saturday night and 8 am on a Sunday morning which is when we'd need to leave to make it to the Sprint on time. Even attempting to get a rental car before 8 am on a Sunday would be really unlikely. If it was a local race, we probably could have gotten someone to drive us but three hours each way at the last minute is a lot to ask even of a really close friend. So we were left with skipping the race as our only option.

I wasn't super upset Saturday night but at that a point I was just really tired and wanted to sleep but Sunday morning I was really struggling with my emotions. After the Space Coast Half, I did not feel great so I started out the week with a rest day. I had planned on doing recovery walks on Tuesday and Thursday but it was in the 40s during my walking time. I have no issue running in 40F weather but this Florida girl is not up for walking in near freezing temps at 5 am. I napped instead. So by Sunday, I had all of the angsty feelings from not having exercised all week on top of all of my feelings about missing my race.

I went out Sunday morning for a four mile run. The weather was actually quite nice for a run and it was a good time for me to get my feeling settled about my first DNS. It was a real bummer to have two not so great race weekends in a row but there will be more races. Marathon weekend is coming up. And there will be more Spartan races opportunities in late 2020.

One of the things that comes with running is that sometimes you will put in all of this training and not get to run your race. Injury, emergencies and inclement weather happen to everyone. It sucks when it happens but the journey is still worth taking even if the destination isn't what you pictured when you started out.

Space Coast Half Marathon Race Recap

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is always the day of the Space Coast Half Marathon and Marathon. This year it was on December 1. This race is known for having really cool spaceship medals and also a lovely riverside course. The Marathon goes north out and back and then south out and back through a tree lined neighborhood. The half marathon has two courses either the north half or the south half of the marathon course. I signed up for the half course as it was described as very flat with the north course having more hills. At least more Florida level hills.

Originally, I had planned on this being my PR race with my goal of a 2:36 half for proof of time for a future WDW marathon. With my amazing PR at Wine and Dine weekend, I felt way less motivated to push on this race but I thought I'd give it a shot anyways especially if the weather was nicer than Wine and Dine weekend. Alas, the weather was about the same as Wine and Dine with the race starting a bit later in the day. This race did have a 2:30 Galloway pace group running 60/30 intervals just like at Wine and Dine so even though I wasn't feeling super motivated, I thought why not.

Like most local races in my area, it was self seated corrals with both halves and the full starting at the same time. It was quite crowded as this is a super popular race. I managed to find my pace group and met the pacer. It got really tight close to race start as people kept piling in last minute. Then for some reason, the pacer decided that she needed to push further up in the coral leaving the rest of the group to try to squeeze through the crowd to keep up with her. Not sure what was up with that but it was not a great start to the race.

I wasn't able to see much of the prerace festivities because I'm short and there were just way too many people. But soon we were off. The beginning of the race was very crowded as we headed down a two lane road. I was glad to be with an interval pace group because it would have been very difficult to navigate walk intervals in the dark with such a crowded course. It took quite a while for the course to thin out. Part of the problem was that there was also a 2:25 non-interval pace group and a 2:25 and 2:30 pace group are going to be pretty close together especially at the beginning of the race. I have no idea why they had two pace groups so close together but I also learned there was a second 2:30 pace group that did not run intervals that started behind us.

I could tell from my phone that we were a bit behind in the beginning. I wasn't worried at this point as the same thing happened at Wine and Dine and we were able to catch up. The course had plenty of water stops but they were very tiny compared to runDisney water stops. We blew through the first stop. I managed to grab a cup of water but inhaled about half of it while I was trying to run and drink at the same time. This would become a trend as we ran through every water stop. I had to chose between skipping water, trying to drink and run or stopping and then having to really push to catch back up to the pace group. Because of this, I was not able to take any of my electrolytes during the first half of the race. I simply did not have time to mix it in my water cup without getting left behind.

I started getting worried as the course turned out to be hillier than advertised. They were gentle rolling hills that most runners probably wouldn't blink at but for someone who runs in an area so flat you can't ever tell there is an incline, I was not prepared for this. I felt that we weren't running fast enough to make pace especially as I knew my phone over estimated how far I ran. Then the second 2:30 pace group passed us..... Never a good sign when your pace group gets passed by another pace group.

I managed to stay with the pace group through the halfway point turn around. We passed quite a few spectators. There were a lot of unofficial booze stops but I was not about to stop for alcohol during a potential PR race. By mile 8 we still hadn't caught up to the pace group that had passed us and I was feeling really tired. I knew I could have pushed myself for longer but I didn't feel like I would have made it with the pace group till the end so I fell back from the pace group at the next water stop. I finally got to take electrolytes and some extra water. My salt solution tasted amazing which meant that I was loosing too many electrolytes.

I switched to 30 30 intervals and let myself slow down. At this point, I just wanted to finish the race. My legs started really hurting as I got further into the race. While I was running, they felt fine, but when I switched to walking all of the muscles in my legs felt really sore. I was too tired and cardiovascularly worn out to run longer intervals but my walk intervals were not fun either. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and taking extra water.

I did get passed by the first place marathoner. I'm not sure what his time was but last year's winner finished around 2:20 so I had expected to see him. I also got to see the first few marathon pace groups and it was encouraging to see those runners still looking strong. Once I got within a mile of the finish, there were a lot more spectators and loads of people encouraged me to keep going while I was doing my walk breaks. I think I need one of those Jeff Galloway made me take this walk break shirts for local races because people don't know about interval running. I know from experience that I can't start skipping my walk intervals if I'm more than 0.1 miles from the finish.

Time: 2:39:40

Pace:12:11 min/mi

Finally, I made it to the finish line and got my medal. I was feeling really not good. I usually like to walk around quite a bit after a half marathon to help my legs cool down. After this race, I knew that if I stopped walking, I wouldn't be able to start walking again. I drank a bottle of water and found Will. He wanted to wait to see his official finish time so I went to find the bananas. They were hiding behind the giant line for pizza. When I got finished, Will's time was posted and I told him that I needed to go home. Usually, we like to stay and enjoy the festivities and catch up with our other runner friends to see how their races went. That was not happening today.

Looking back at this race, I could pinpoint several things that went wrong but I was still really happy with my time. It ended up being my second fastest half marathon so I couldn't be unhappy with the overall result even if it was a pain to get to. But after my amazing PR at Wine and Dine weekend, I was not super motivated. I definitely wasn't mentally prepared to PR a race. My nutrition wasn't that great during November and I hadn't been sleeping very well.

I had issues with getting enough electrolytes on course which is pretty normal. It was so bad that I drank some of the on course electrolytes during the last quarter of the race. I'm so not a fan of gatorade/powerade type drinks. I think I'm going to have to start carrying my own electrolyte beverage with me during races. I hate having to carry a water bottle. Oh, well. More experimentation is needed before Marathon weekend.

So I'll just say that this race was an educational experience that came with a really cool medal.

Wine and Dine 2019 Part 3: Half Marathon

There are a lot of people who think trying to PR a runDisney races is a waste of a very expensive race-cation. For me, that is just not the case. I live in central Florida so the runDisney races span the entirety of our good running weather. With four race weekends from November to April, it can be really hard to fit in another local race for a good solid PR effort. I'm also not a huge fan of character photos. They are nice but I love action shots so much more and you can definitely get those while PR'ing at Disney. I use the run walk method and runDisney pacers do too. It's a unique opportunity for me to have a pacer who uses my running strategy at runDisney races. And as there is no time of the year when it can't be 80F or hotter in Florida, I've got to take the good weather races when they happen.

And that is exactly what happened for Wine and Dine. After spending most of June through October running in high 70s to low 80s with 90-100% humidity, I decided to make a PR attempt at the Wine and Dine half marathon because the weather forecast was supposed to be in the low 60s and low (for Florida) humidity. My current half marathon PR was from Star Wars weekend where I also ran the challenge. So I spent most of Saturday post 10k resting and recovering after a brief trip to Animal Kingdom. I did a lot of foam rolling and took an epsom salt bath to help my legs recover and much of the afternoon was given over to napping and relaxing in the hotel room. Nutrition was also going to be key for my PR attempt so I made sure to stick to good food choices on Saturday. After the half, I could let myself eat all the things. I went to bed super early (at 7pm!) plus the time change gave me an extra hour of sleep.

Then it was up at 2 am again to get dressed and catch the 3 am bus. The half marathon also started in the Magic Kingdom parking lot so the pre race area was set up exactly the same as the 10k. The character lines were quite long again so we decided to just get a photo with Pluto who had not been out for the 10k. I headed out to the corrals early which worked out great because I ended up taking four port-o-potty trips before the race started! #runnerproblems

I was in corral E again for the half. I had two pace groups in my corral, 2:30 using a 60/30 interval and 2:45 using a 30/30 interval. My PR was a 2:41:43 and my goal was to hit a 2:36:00 which is the cut off for the Marathon proof of time. I decided to start with the 2:30 pacer and fall behind them when I couldn't catch up rather than starting with the 2:45 pacer and breaking ahead of them part way through the race. For most of the summer, I've been training with a 45/45 interval but I was still using the 60/30 interval I used all last year for my short maintenance runs so I felt comfortable committing to the longer interval pace group.

It was really scary deciding to go for the faster pace group which would be aiming for a 11:26 pace. That's a bit slower than my 10k PR pace so I know I could go that fast but I had not run anything nearly that fast since April. There was definitely the potential for the wheels to totally come off during this race! But soon enough, we were off and I kept my eye on the pacer flag as we headed into the most crowded section of the course.

It was so nice having someone else in charge of the intervals. I have had problems at previous races not being able to hear my beeps for my intervals because the course was too loud. Being in a group of run walkers also made it easier to navigate the course because a lot of other people were starting and stopping with you. The beginning part of the course is a dark stretch of highway so I really just focused on keeping pace with the rest of the group. I did pass Heather and Jen on the course but the pace group was moving on and I just had to do a quick wave and keep going.

Due to crowding on the course, our first couple of miles were under pace so the pace leads had to speed up during miles 4 and 5 to make up time once we had a bit more space to move around. This was during Animal Kingdom and I had to spend all of my energy keeping up rather than looking out for photopass photographers. One did manage to get a shot with me in it but it's definitely a challenge to get candid photos while running with the group.

For Star Wars weekend, running through Pandora and Africa in the dark was one of my favorite parts of the race. Unfortunately, the time change meant there was no way I was making it to Animal Kingdom before the sun came up. So it worked out that I was focused on running rather than anything else for this part of my race. Thankfully, it was very overcast so the weather stayed nice rather than having the sunbaking down on us from Animal Kingdom to Hollywood Studios.

I knew from Star Wars weekend that the next highway stretch would be pretty boring. I was also getting pretty tired from running a sub 11:26 pace. But by that point, we had made up our time and could back down on the speed a bit after mile 6. My original goal was to aim to stick with the pace group until about the halfway point and then evaluate how I was doing. I felt great about the more relaxed pace and made a new goal to make it to mile 9 with the pace group.

During Star Wars weekend, I struggled a lot from Animal Kingdom to Hollywood Studios. I was killing myself to stay ahead of the 2:45 pace group and ended up having to run with them for a bit leading up to Hollywood Studios. But this weekend I was still feeling strong and staying with the 2:30 pace group. Mile 7 passed, then 8 and I was still sticking it out. A sort of manic joy came over me as I realized just what an amazing thing I was doing. Sure, I wanted to PR but I didn't imagine that I'd actually keep up with the pace group this long. I actually started tearing up several times during this section of the race.

It also helped that I knew approximately where the water stops were from Star Wars weekend. While it was difficult to drink and keep up with the pace group, each water stop left me feeling refreshed enough to make it to the next stop. Then we hit mile 9 and were into Hollywood Studios. The in park section here was tiny and crowded so I didn't even bother trying to get a photo. I had eyes on the prize and that prize was utterly smashing my half marathon PR.

The next section runs from Hollywood Studios, past the Swan and Dolphin and around the Boardwalk hotel. This section before you get to the wide boardwalk at the front of the hotel is notoriously narrow and crowded. I was actually surprised at how well our pace group stayed together. But we did lose a lot of time and had to overcompensate once the course widened up again. This is when I really started struggling.

There are also a couple of small inclines going from the Boardwalk into Epcot and while they are laughably small hills to most runners, my legs were really struggling powering up them. Just as we were entering Epcot at around mile 11.5, I had to call it quits with the pace group and fall back on my own. I walked for a bit while I got the interval app on my phone up. I knew from experience that if I switched to a shorter interval, I could still maintain a pretty good pace and give my body a bit of a break. I went all the way to my shortest interval set of 30/30 for going around World Showcase.

At this point in the race, I was in a really good position to still PR as long as nothing catastrophic happened. I did want to get some photos from this race so I smiled passed each photopass photographer and started looking for the next one immediately after passing the last one. Disney usually crams Epcot full of photographers so I took the good opportunities I had for photos and didn't worry about those that I wasn't in a good position for.

The character lines in Epcot were quite short at this point but still too long for me to want to stop when I was running for time. I was not going to ruin my hard work by stopping now! Again, the course ran through much of the same backstage area behind Test Track towards the finish line. On the way to the finish, I saw not one but two different characters with literally no one in line for them. This time I did decide to stop and spend the 5 seconds or so it would take to get a photo. Neither the big bad wolf nor Lightning and Mater where characters I had any particular attachment to but I had such a joy at my performance so far that I wanted to have some character photos as part of that experience.

Soon, I hit mile 13 and heard the race announcers mention that the 2:30 pace group was crossing right on time. I pushed to a strong finish but decided not to sprint as my legs were done and I knew that I was going to have PR either way. Plus I had a great pocket for a good finish line photo. I definitely could have shaved a bit more time off of my race if I made different decisions at the end but I regret nothing.

Wine and Dine Half Marathon

Time: 2:31:58

Pace: 11:36

I was very emotional as I walked down that long, long shoot to exit the runner area. I didn't know my official time yet but I knew I had taken at least 8 minutes off of my half marathon PR. (Actual finish time showed I took 9:45 off and was only 10 sec per mile slower than the 2:30 pace group!!) It was so far above and beyond even my secret A goal for this race that I could hardly believe that I had done it. I'm pretty sure only dehydration kept me from crying as I headed down towards the reunion area. I picked up my challenge medal and stopped for an "I did it" photo before meeting up with Melissa and Will again.

Will had finally gotten his sub 2 hour half and was celebrating with a hard cider. Melissa also had a very good finish time at this race. Jackey from Joyful Miles had flown in to cheer on the half marathon and she was waiting at the reunion area too. It was so awesome to have people to share my victory with! Will volunteered to get me a celebratory champagne while I rehydrated and refueled with some more appropriate post race nutrition. I'm usually not one for alcohol right after a race. I know it's not a good choice but I needed to celebrate!

More of the Joyful Miles crew stopped by as they finished so we could all catch up and share our race experiences but we had to head back to the hotel before everyone finished because we all wanted showers and mickey waffles before the hotel cafeteria stopped serving breakfast. (We made it but just barely!)

Wine and Dine 2019:

Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k
Part 3: Half Marathon-You are here.
Part 4: Two Course Challenge
Part 5: Meet Up and After Party