runDisney! (we did.)

We just returned from a fun weekend running in the Disney races and playing in the parks.  Well, we didn't JUST return (it was a few weekends ago) but my knees still feel like they just ran a marathon. :-)

Our weekend plans started looking dicey when Will came down with a high fever on Wednesday.  I hauled him into the office Thursday and confirmed it was indeed influenza.  He couldn't keep any medicine down for about 48 hours, so he was like a little hot potato on the couch until his fever finally broke.  On Thursday night, when Will was informing us of his impending death ("I'm probably going to die, Mama.  I think so."), John and I started trying to figure out alternate plans while reassuring Will that he would, in fact, pull through.

On Friday morning, though, he woke up without a fever and looking slightly perkier (I told John he "got de turn" and John just looked confused...guess he never read Anne of the Island).  Leah texted me that he was asking for chicken nuggets by lunchtime, so we all ended up heading to Orlando that evening after all.

We barely got to the expo before it closed, then checked into the hotel, ate dinner, and went to bed so John could get a little sleep before his 3:30 wake up call.  He ran in the half-marathon race on Saturday, and did really well--he'd hoped to beat 1:50, but because it was so hot he wasn't quite on pace to do that, but he still beat his previous best by 3 minutes.

After he left the hotel at 4 am, Will popped out of bed and announced he was hungry.  So I decided we would try to watch part of the race and cheer for John.  We made it to the viewing spot next to the Polynesian, but somehow missed seeing him. :-(  To pacify the kids (and me), we stopped for some breakfast at the Grand Floridian:

We met back up with John at our hotel, then all headed to Epcot.  

Anna is finally tall enough for Test Track--she loved the "fast car."

After awhile, my legs started getting tired--not good, since they'd need to support me through 26.2 miles the next day--so we went back to our hotel for dinner and an early bedtime, so that I could be here...

at the marathon start line at 5:30 am.  Thank goodness for the fireworks, I needed them to wake up!

I had a few goals--I mostly wanted to beat 5 hours, so I lined up in front of the 5:00 pacer and vowed never to see her again.  I thought I should be able to do 4:45, and my stretch goal was to finish in 4:3something.  The Disney website didn't list a 4:45 pace group, so I ordered some pacebands (and cute tatoos) from this website.

My running mantra:

Not eloquent, but it gets the job done.

I was tired and a little cranky from the crowds for the first 8 miles.  At about mile 9, I remembered how much I paid to do the race and decided I better enjoy it.  By the time we hit the Animal Kingdom (around mile 12-13), I was feeling absolutely awesome and having a ball.  I passed the 4:45 pacer (there was one after all!) and kept on going.

Mile 18 is usually when I start getting fatigued, but I was still doing fine and on target to finish well under 4:40.  Miles 19-20 were a little slow because we ran through the Wide World of Sports complex, but all the Disney entertainment kept me distracted.

Then we looped back onto the highway...and at mile 21, the sun crested the trees...and that's when the whole thing became a lot less fun for me.  I'm still not sure if I "hit the wall" or had some mild heat exhaustion.  I was really thirsty but couldn't drink without feeling like I would throw up, and my heart was racing.  So I took a lot of walk breaks during that mile.

The kids and John were waiting in Hollywood Studios, at about mile 23.  I was so glad to see them, but I didn't stop running for long because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to start again!

Anyway, I kept on going and eventually finished.  I went straight to the medical tent and grabbed the bags of ice that they keep so you can ice your knees, and pressed them right into my face until I finally started to feel like a normal person.  I ended up finishing in 4:43 and some change--which I'm pretty happy with, all things considered.  I do wish it had been about 10 degrees cooler, though!

Will didn't have school on Monday, so we stayed over one more day and headed to the Magic Kingdom.  I let Anna wear a Snow White costume that Mama made for Laurie (as a Halloween costume, back when Laurie was around 4 years old).  She looked so sweet, and I really wanted a photo of her with Snow White, so we headed straight for Town Hall to meet the princesses.

After a 30-minute wait, we got to the front of the line and found out Snow White was not in this crowd of princesses.  Oh, well.  Anna hopped right up to Cinderella and started hitching up her skirt.  I wasn't sure what she was doing until I heard her say, "Look, Cinderella, you on my boot!"

This was true, since Anna was wearing her princess boots from Uncle Shawn and Aunt Cindy.  Cinderella seemed honored.

Anna moved on to meet Sleeping Beauty and show off her boots again:

Then, as she was supposed to go greet Rapunzel, Anna looked at me in a panic.  "Mama, 'Punzel not on my boots!!"  This was also true--only Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty made it onto the boots.  I told her I thought Rapunzel would be okay with that, being a newer princess and all.

Luckily, 'Punzel did not feel slighted in the least, and even pointed out that her good friend Snow White was across the way, at City Hall, in case Anna wanted to compare dresses.

Then we headed to the new Fantasyland.  It's not completely done--about half of it is open and it was packed with people. We enjoyed the new Little Mermaid ride, and the new Dumbo waiting area was pretty awesome.  

We skipped the one-hour line for the new restaurant, but played in the fountain outside Gaston's tavern:

On the way back out of the park, we stopped at City Hall to see Snow White.  As we got in line, one of the Disney cast members cut off the line just in front of us, explaining that Snow White needed to go bake some pies!  We left graciously, but I wanted to point out to the worker that Anna's dress was almost 25 years old and Snow White should really be excited to take a picture with IT. :-)

Then we headed home for some rest! (After I cleansed the house of all remaining influenza germs, of course.)