Glass Slipper Challenge recap- Disney Princess Half marathon

Alright so where were we…

JJ and Nando arrived at the hotel and checked in. There room wasn’t ready so we went back to our room for a few minutes and then headed on out to the parks. We started at Hollywood Studios where it rained on and off but we didn’t let it ruin our day. After HS we went to MK for a little bit and then headed to Giordano’s for dinner. I am pretty sure we waiting forever and a day for a table and then for our pizza to be made but it was worth. SO GOOD! Probably not the best pre-race dinner but I don’t care. I loved it. After dinner we finally headed back to the room and I tried to get some sleep.

Again I slept maybe 4 hours so when my alarm went off at 2:45 am for the 2nd day in a row I was NOT happy at all. In fact I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. I just wanted to go back to sleep. I forced myself to get ready and headed over to meet up with Kat and Melissa. Unfortunately, it took forever for me to get on the bus and walk over to the runner’s village. I never ended up getting to see Melissa. I met up with Kat and we made our loooooong voyage to the corrals where we then stopped to use the potties. I tried to find Melissa waiting in her corral on the way to ours but I never saw her. I was pretty bummed because I wanted to wish her good luck on her 1st half! I guess that’s what phones are for..

We didn’t have to wait very long for the race to start since by the time we got to our corrals the first group had already started. We chatted for a little bit and we were on our way. The start felt different to me this year. Maybe because I wasn’t in the last corral and there were actually people behind us or maybe because it wasn’t my first half and I knew what to expect. I don’t know but like I said I was also very tired and just wanted to finish the thing and go back to the room. I know during the race I spent A LOT of time talking. Like a lot a lot. I was actually waiting for Kat to tell me to shut up. I was actually pretty proud that I could talk so much.. doesn’t mean I needed too. I guess I was just trying to keep us both going. It was overcast and foggy but still very hot and humid. It was pretty much misting on us.

Getting to Magic Kingdom is always the best part. We saw Karen waiting on Main Street and waved as we ran by. We stopped and took pictures in front of the castle which is something I didn’t do last year. Another thing I didn’t do last year was run through the castle. It was too crowded; we had to walk slowly through it but not this year! This year we actually got to run right on through which I thought was amazing for some reason.

I won’t go through every mile but right before we got into Epcot, I think it was around mile 12, the DJ was at the bottom of the ramp playing music and Kat and I just sang and danced and got our second wind. It was fabulous. I also kinda thought she was playing the perfect song for that moment.
“Tonight, Tonight” – HOT CHELLE RAE. Well not all of the lyrics applied but
“I don’t know if I’ll make it but watch how good I’ll fake it
It’s all right, all right, tonight, tonight”
And
“Just don’t stop let’s keep the beat pumpin’
Keep the beat up, let’s drop the beat down
It’s my party dance if I want to
We can get crazy let it all out”

Those parts of the song had me going lol. We finally reached Epcot and it was the home stretch. My wonderful cheer squad was waiting for me near the finish line and I could not wait to see their faces. After all of the miles and sweat and tired feet from too much walking around the parks and not enough sleep.. BOOM.. its over. Just like that. We got our medals for the half and then headed to get our medals for completing the GSC. We said our goodbyes and I went to find my cheer squad.

After we snapped some pics we went into Epcot, set up our fast passes for the day and went on a ride or two. At that point I needed a shower so we went back to the room for a little bit.

We all rested and got ready for the day and then headed back out to Epcot for a few rides and a lot of drinking around the world.

After Epcot we went over to MK for some magic hours and went on a few rides. My phone was dead by then so I don’t have any pictures. Nando might have some on his camera.. should they ever actually make it onto a computer 😉 I cannot tell you how bad my feet were hurting at that point. They were burning so bad it almost felt like I had been walking around with no shoes on all day. We went back to the room, slept and then woke up the next day and went to Animal Kingdom for a few rides and lunch before JJ and Nando headed back home.

Once they left we pretty much stayed in the room until dinner. We went to DT Disney for dinner and went to Bongos, my fav, but unfortunately I was getting sick. The weekend was catching up to me. I enjoyed the dinner and everything I just wish I had felt better because I wanted to walk around after and then head to HS for extra magic hours. Sadly, I just went back to the room to rest.

Ah well. All in all it was a great weekend. I had a great time and even though I was sick for a week after I would do it all again. If this year had been last year and this was my first half I wouldn’t have been able to do all of the stuff I did before the race. Probably not as much after either though I do remember being in the parks ALL day after running the half. Last year I only had to run one race though so I only woke up really early one day and I also took it very easy the day before. You can read about it here.

That will be all for now. I am finally caught up! Woo!! Now hopefully I can start blogging regularly again!! You love it 😉

Glass Slipper Challenge – Enchanted 10k

Ok so in my last blog when I said I’d be back sometime next week with updates and pictures I really meant months later. Forgive me for the miscommunication haha

I would like to update my blog more often and I am going to try. I know, I know.. I keep saying that. I realized today while talking to Melissa that it’s probably because when I first started this journey I was experiencing new things and so many emotions it was easy to find stuff to write but now it has become more of a way of life. Don’t get me wrong the struggle is still very real. I am hoping the next couple of months will provide me with some good topics to post about. We will see! In the meantime let me just write a little bit about the GSC weekend that I have been neglecting.

So expo- I picked up Kat and Karen at their hotel because I had to drop some stuff off for them and we headed to ESPN WWoS for the expo. We walked around, took some pictures, bought a few things and headed back to our
rooms. Short and sweet. We got there pretty early so it wasn’t too crowded but once you have been to one expo you have been to them all.

After I left the expo Sergio and I went to Animal Kingdom for a little bit. I actually rode Expedition Everest and didn’t die so that was good. We ate at our favorite place in AK, Yak & Yeti, and went on a few more rides. After that we just went back to the hotel and eventually just decided to eat dinner there and call it a night.

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The next morning I woke up at 2:45 for the Enchanted 10k. I only slept maybe 4 hours that night but I felt fine and was pretty excited to get going. I Mickey-ed myself up and headed to the buses. Once I got to the runners village I met up with Kat and Karen and we did the usual pictures and bathroom before we headed to the corrals. Melissa met us and we all chatted before the race. Kat ended up going on a head of us shortly after the race began. The beginning of the race was a little crowded and then a little boring but once Melissa and I got into Epcot we had a blast chatting and taking pictures. Plus by then the sun was coming up so that was a bonus. I would have to say I am a little disappointed with the first part of the race. It was out on the roads with pretty much nothing going on. Epcot and the boardwalk were pretty cool and definitely made me feel better about the run because I was so excited to try this new course. But hey I had finished my first official 10k. woop woop! After the run we got our medals, took a few more pictures and headed our separate ways.
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I ended up going back to the room to shower and get ready because JJ & Nando were on their way to Orlando to hang out with Sergio and me for the weekend! Yes, my dear pal decided to ‘surprise me’ and come hang out and watch me run the half marathon!

But we will end it here for now. I will be back with the next part of this story soon… soonish? lol hopefully next week. I know I am not really giving much detail but this is what happens when you wait so long I guess. Have a great weekend!!
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