"Every fiber of my being hurts, but this is SO cool".. Our 13.1 Mile Disney Journey

[20thingamabobs]

Hello! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Whitney, a 24 year old graduate student from Ohio. I LOVE Disney and will make any excuse possible for another trip... including running a half marathon. If you'd like to read about the planning for this trip and couple others, you can check out my ongoing PTR in my signature. For those of you who have been reading along, WELCOME AGAIN!

Background of the trip:

When: Jan 7-9, 2011.
Who: My DBF and I

Where: Bay Lake Tower

Why: Our First Half Marathon!

It all started back in September. We were driving to my parents for Labor Day Weekend when I began asking (more like begging) my DBF, Ian, to travel to Disney with me to run a half marathon. It took a couple days but he finally agreed. So the planning and training began. We never missed a step when it came to our training so I felt confident going in that we would at least finish. We'd been following Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk Ratio plan where you run for 5 minutes, walk for 1, run for 5, walk for 1, etc. (which went out the window on race day as you'll see). It was an amazing experience and an absolute blast!

I hope you'll all join me on this short but unforgettable 13.1 mile journey...

 

[20thingamabobs]

I went to bed around 11:00pm on Thursday night. Friday, Jan. 7 started early... really early. My alarm went off at 3:00am. I got ready, ate a small breakfast, and was out the door by 4:00am. I was heading down to Disney by myself to go to the Health & Fitness Expo for our packet pick-up while DBF was going to work a half of day at work and meet me later that night. I made the 30 minute drive to the Cleveland airport and parked my car in the short term parking lot (DBF's parents came to pick it up later in the day). I checked my bag in and made my way through security. I had to use the new body scanners for the first time. It definitely adds time to the process but luckily it wasn't too busy this morning so I was through in no time. I grabbed a bottle of water and a snack for the plane and headed to my gate. I was about an hour early so I sat and read my magazine till it was time to board. Here's a picture of the plane.. covered in the snow from the night before:

We took of on time and made the short hour and 50 minute flight to Nashville, TN. I didn't have to deboard and the layover was only 35 minutes. When the new passengers boarded, a woman wearing a 2010 Goofy Challenge shirt sat next to me. I immediately struck up a conversation with her about it. She told me she was just doing the half this year and that it was so much fun. Before I knew it, we were headed to Orlando. I ate the crackers I'd picked up that morning and then rested my eyes for the remainder of the 2 hour flight. We landed in Orlando 20 minutes early, I made a quick potty break and headed down to the Magical Express. I left our ME booklet with DBF to make things easier for him so I headed to the line to check-in. The line was a little long so I had to wait but once it was my turn, I was in and out in 2-3 minutes with my voucher. I made it just in time and was immediately shuttled onto my bus:

I got an AK themed one this time! I watched the welcome video:

then just watched out the window. I was hoping to get a video of the Welcome sign but I was too far back to even make it worth trying...
We stopped at the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian, the Wilderness Lodge, and then finally the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower! I checked in at the front desk of the Contemporary:

I was glad that I did online check-in because the regular line was really long but I was the only one in the online one. Unfortunately, my room wasn't ready so I took my carry-on bag to the bag check area and asked where I could find a bus to the Race Expo. I was directed to the convention center where a bus was waiting. They have to have at least 10 people on board before they're allowed to leave. I was number 9 and they were about to let us leave when 6 more people came running to get on. We stopped for about 2 minutes at the Wilderness Lodge but no one got on.

The World of Sports Complex was packed with people EVERYWHERE. But, it was really neat to see the portion of Disney that I'd never seen before. Here's my walk into the complex:

I headed to the field house first for packet pick-up where I received Ian and I's race bibs, bag check tags, D tags, and my commemorative pin. Then I headed over to the merchandise section I knew exactly what I wanted... an I Did It! t-shirt. I really wanted it but was afraid of jinxing myself so I did what another DISer recommended. I left the tag on and kept the receipt until after the race! I also ended up buying a sweatshirt because somehow I forgot to pack one . Next, I headed over to the Expo area. There was a long line to get in but I met a nice couple that were running as part of Team in Training as well as a young boy who was also running his first half. I spent the 10-15 minute wait talking with them. And then, we were released into this:

It was wall to wall people but there was a huge sign on the opposite wall indicating where I needed to go. I headed over to pick up Ian and I's goody bags and free commemorative t-shirts (which turned out to be really nice!). I spent a little time walking around but wasn't really interested in buying anything else so I start to head out. On the way out there was a place where you could get a picture taken and then e-mail it to yourself as well as print out a free copy so I went ahead and hopped in line (came up really funny):

Then, I headed back out and snapped some more pictures on the way to the bus:

My room still wasn't ready so I decided to head for a park. There were no direct buses so I hopped on one heading to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I walked into the resort to check out the lobby as it had been a while since we stayed here. They still had their Christmas tree up so I snapped a picture:

Then it was out to the bus stop and then over to:

I was headed in one direction:

Continued next post...

 

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I passed these guys on my way:

But I only had one thing on my mind... The Yeti.

I checked out the stand-by line which said 30 minutes then decided to head for the single rider line. This was a good choice, I ended up waiting only about 10-15 minutes. Then, it was time to head out of AK but I stopped for some pics on my way:

I headed out to the bus stop where I waited about 15 minutes to take a direct bus to Hollywood Studios. I was planning on heading to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster but was detoured to this:

The standby wait time said 20 minutes so I decided to go for it, the CM at the entrance announced it was only 10 minutes but it was practically a walk-on. I walked through the line and was immediately directed into a Twilight Room whose doors were just opening. I watched the little video before making my way through the Boiler Room line.

They were loading an elevator then we were placed onto our spaces. This ride was awesome as usual, I really love the element of surprise it brings.

Since I got through so quickly I decided to head here:

After navigating the chaotic streets of California, it was time to head out of DHS. But, I had to stop for a picture real fast:

I was planning to head to the Magic Kingdom but on my wayI received a phone call saying my original room wasn't going to be ready for a while so they switched me and I needed to come recheck in . It turned out ok, they upgraded me to a 5th floor water view right next to the walkway to the Contemporary that ended up being really convenient! We were in room:

And here's what it looked like:

Now, it was getting late and Ian had just called to say he landed so rather than heading to MK I decided to just shower and get ready for our dinner reservation. Well, this turned out to be unnecessary. Ian waited forever for a ME bus and it became apparent that we weren't going to make our 7:20pm reservation. I called WDW-Dine and explained the situation, they said there was no use in canceling the reservation because it was so close to the time but they were able to get me a new one for the same place at 8:30pm instead!

Stay tuned as we finish up our night with a nice meal and fireworks and head into race day!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Yay I'm first!!! You have to put these TRs in your signature.

Oh I was all ready to cheer your four parks in one day but then you got texted about your room. Seriously, loving the park hopping ability right now. Your room looks gorgeous!

 

[jenseib]

What a busy day. And you look so amazing. I love your hair like that.

 

[Shannon84]

I am here to read along : I ran the Wine and Dine half marathon back in October and I love to hear about racing experiences at Disney...well and I love reading TRs all together too

 

[20thingamabobs]

Yay I'm first!!! You have to put these TRs in your signature.

Oh I was all ready to cheer your four parks in one day but then you got texted about your room. Seriously, loving the park hopping ability right now. Your room looks gorgeous!

Welcome Again! I was going to wait to start this TR until my other one was finished but I couldn't because I was so excited! Park Hopping this trip was awesome and flawless. It was so easy doing it by myself... I was really hoping to make to all four parks but I never made it to MK.. the only time I was in that park was during the race...

What a busy day. And you look so amazing. I love your hair like that.

It was busy but it ran really smoothly. And, thanks! I actually thought I looked like a mess because I'd been up since 3:00am and was going non-stop It feels good to know I didn't look quite as bad as I thought I did...

I am here to read along : I ran the Wine and Dine half marathon back in October and I love to hear about racing experiences at Disney...well and I love reading TRs all together too

I've been reading your TR too! We had a blast during our race and I can't wait to read about your experience! I would really like to do the W&D half someday

 

[Nermel9]

I'm here! Great start so far, love your room at Bay Lake Tower! Looks like you were having a great time in the parks! Can't wait to read about the race, I would love to do one of those someday!

 

[20thingamabobs]

I'm here! Great start so far, love your room at Bay Lake Tower! Looks like you were having a great time in the parks! Can't wait to read about the race, I would love to do one of those someday!

I have to absolutely suggest that you do one of the races someday! It's just a really cool experience. Even DBF kept saying over and over that it was "so much more fun than he expected". If you love Disney then you'll love the races. I have to tell you this.. we trained for four months and we had a goal time (which we made) but if you're not a serious runner, it really is more about the experience, which is the best part!

 

[20thingamabobs]

So, we were going to miss our 7:20pm reservation but they were able to make us another one at 8:30pm instead. DBF finally got on a ME bus and I told him to just get off at the Polynesian instead of the Contemporary and I would meet him there for dinner. In the meantime, I had showered and got ready. On my way to the Poly, I walked through the gift shops at the Contemporary and then hopped on the monorail. It was about 7:50pm so I walked through the gift shop there also. Then right before 8:00pm DBF called to say he was there! I went to the entrance to meet him. Then, we walked out to the beach to watch Wishes while we waited for our reservation!
Enjoy the show!!

After the fireworks, we headed back inside and upstairs to:

Kona Cafe! We had to wait about 10-15 minutes to be seated. DBF had the Teriyaki Steak and I ordered my favorite, Pan-Asian Noodles with Chicken! Sorry, but we were starving so there's no food pics... We were finished eating in 30 minutes and we paid our bill and headed back out to the monorail back to BLT. It was about 10:00pm so we headed straight to bed.

Continued Next Post...

 

[20thingamabobs]

Day 2 - Jan. 8, 2011: RACE DAY!

Race day started VERY early in the morning. We set our alarms and were up around 2:50am. I had brought bagels, to-go packets of JIF Peanut Butter, and bananas with me. It was nice having the kitchenette area in our studio because we used the toaster in the morning for our bagels which was a huge convenience! Then we finished getting ready. I thought it was going to be pretty cold so I layered on my spandex, t-shirt and shorts, then sweat pant and sweat shirt. We were out the door and heading towards the monorail by 3:30. We took the monorail to the Ticket & Transportation Center and then another monorail to Epcot. The yellow one to be exact:

As we looped around Epcot on our way to the station I snapped this pic:

Seems weird not seeing it lit up in the dark, the only light was coming from street lamp type fixtures not the typical "ball lighting". We exited the monorail and followed the lights, and not to mention MASSES of people towards the well I referred to it as "race central". This is where we would be finishing later but was about a 20 minute walk from the start line... This is the view as we approached "race central":

Then once we entered, this was all you saw:

People and Porta-Potties. And a couple tents... We stopped for the first of many potty breaks (pre-race jitters, ya know?) Then we headed to find our designated tent for bag check. You had to find the tent that included the First letter of your last name. Once we found the tent, we headed in and handed over our bag and were told to return here after we finished to claim it. The number on your bag was the first letter of your last name followed by your bib number. Then, it was through the other side to wait for them to open the path to the start line. We only waited about 5-10 minutes before the crowd started to move so we followed. I path to the start line was really weird. It was like an old ride attraction vehicle grave yard. We saw several old Backlot Tour vehicles and even an old Jungle Cruise boat. They were all really dirty and sad looking...

At the end, the path split into two. Those in Corrals A-E were suppose to head to the right while those in Corrals F-H were suppose to head to the left. (You'd be surprised how many people missed this.. they ended having to jump the fence to get onto the correct side - happened all morning) We didn't submit a time since this was our first race so we were assigned to Corral F. I was happy with this as I had been expecting to be put in H. We made our way past Corral H then G, stopped for another potty break, and finally into our Corral F. We stopped for a pic (sorry it came out blurry):

They check your bib on the way into your corral to make sure everyone is in the right place. We proceeded forward and we must have been fairly early because we were one of the first ones there and ended up being right against the rope/fence thing. This was awesome because we had a great view of everything going on to the right/front of us on the start line.

There was a DJ playing music and talking to everyone and there was a lot of exciting energy. They did invite a woman up to tell her special story:

Every year, her and her husband ran the WDW Half together. Unfortunately, he was deployed to Baghdad and wasn't going to make it back for the race. So, he arranged for himself along with approximately 400 other soldiers to start and run a half marathon in Iraq at the exact same time as the WDW one! Him and his wife had special watches set so they would be running the same pace and though they were across the world from each other, they'd be running together. They brought the husband up on the Jumbo screens and he got to talk to his wife and little daughter. It was a really touching story and moment and I had to concentrate on breathing to keep from tearing up.

I started to feel really nervous at this point and decided to head out of the corral for one more quick potty break (just to be safe lol). I got back in my corral around 5:30am. Around 5:35 we were greeted by Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald! And the countdown began for the 5:40am start...

 

[apecharge]

Ahh the suspense haha. I love your TR, you have it written very well.

 

[lnk1229]

Wow- amazing trip report!! Totally subscribing! I love the pictures and the story about the racing couple made me all teary.. My DBF is sitting next to me rolling his eyes... haha!!

We are going to WDW on Thursday and I am writing my first trip report- I love your style and the suspense! I am looking forward to reading more and can learn a lot from your awesome TR!

 

[Normangirls]

They brought the husband up on the Jumbo screens and he got to talk to his wife and little daughter.

Well, geez, you have me tearing up here at work this morning. What a sweet story!

Just wanted to chime in and tell you I'm really enjoying your TR. Keep it coming!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Count me in as tearing up too! Yeesh! Pardon me as I dab at my eyes.... what an incredibly sweet moment.

Wishes at the Poly was certainly a great way to welcome your DBF! Race day - what an early morning and very cool to see the Epcot ball so dark.

More more!

 

[Shannon84]

Glad to hear they could fit you in later at Kona and you were able to see Wishes together, very cool!! :

I can't believe how early you had to get up and be there...that is why I did a race at night Seriously though it seems like the half you did was much more organized then the W&D one (probably since it was the first year for the W&D) Also I cannot believe your crowd pictures...lots of people...we only had corrals A-D for the W&D one...do you know how many people ran that half with you?

That story made me almost start tearing up at work!! That was really sweet!!

 

[jenseib]

Wow, 2 early mornings in a row. I wish I could run, but I hate it....and I am not a fast walker yet. I hope to get myself in shape though.

 

[20thingamabobs]

delete

 

[precious pixie]

Enjoying your report so far!! I'd really like to do one of the disney marathons but haven't found anyone to run with yet. I have never done one before so I think disney would be the motivation needed to start training.
Can't wait to hear more

 

[KatMark]

I'm here...but now I have to go back and read.