runDisney Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Recap

What a weekend this was for sure! After coming back from Dopey weekend, I was feeling very good physically and mentally. I made it back to So Cal, got back into the groove of life, and was ready to take on another 19.3 miles with the Tinker Bell 10K and the Tinker Bell half marathon! I actually had a roller coaster of a weekend! So I won't waste to much time with that an intro, let's dive right in!

Thursday I made my way to the expo at the Disneyland Hotel! I figured Thursday would be a great day to go! Especially in the evening, hopefully the crowds would be gone! I was right! But let me step back! I received a text from the lovely Vicki, who blogs over at Scoot-A-Doot and she totally surprised me and told me she was in town for the race...as a participant! I was over the moon! I absolutely adore this girl!

Vicki went with me to pick up my bibs and handle some business over at runner relations. We laughed the entire time! She really is awesome! Vicki took off to catch some Z's, so I went to the expo to poke my head around and see what was happening! I picked up my tee-shirts and ran into running pal Tracy who was volunteering! After that, I made my way over to Sparkle Athletic to grab some sparkle for the half marathon. Real Men Sparkle after all! I knew that my girl Kelly would hook me up and make sure I sparkled right! I secured my gunmetal sparkle visor!

@AccordingToKelly from Sparkle Athletic is just AWESOME

I ran into some other awesome people at the expo! Then I made my way to the runDisney merchandise area! I will say this...the expo was run 100 times better than Disneyland Half's expo last year! I was thrilled! Very efficient. Very well organized. Hats off to the coordinators! I headed home and wouldn't return to the resort until the 10K on Saturday Morning.

Yes that is an A. runDisney made a boo-boo! 

Saturday morning I arrived to Anaheim ready to take on the 10K! I was a bit chilly but that's to be expected for 5:30 in the morning in January, right? I mean it isn't snowing or anything but we were in So Cal. I met up with fellow gazelle Joe who was in town to spectate the 10K and run the half marathon! I love hanging out with this guy! He's crazy fast...and well...just crazy! He's AWESOME! We decided to run the half marathon together!

Hey, it's Joe!

Throughout the morning, I received tweets from other great runners who were participating in the race that wanted to make sure that we could connect and say hello! Before I knew it, we were off and running! The first people I ran into are a couple of my favorites, Tracy and Dawnley the mother daughter duo that represent Team Run#3rd! I always LOVE seeing these two! Always so warm and always smiling!

Love Tracy and Dawnley

I continued my run through Disneyland and even encountered another online friend, Fiona! I have been chatting with her for some time, and she always makes me laugh so it was awesome to get to bump into her and meet her in real life. She was also spectating the 10K and was gearing up to earn her wings on Sunday.

The rest of the race was pretty great! I love the route that runDisney chose when they designed this race. A majority of the race was actually on Disney property which was pretty awesome. There were probably two miles total that were on the streets of Anaheim. Overall, this was an awesome race! Now there is a huge catch here for me. After coming off of Dopey the prior week, at the finish I immediately felt my energy levels deplete! I really did my best not to over do it on the 10K, but I guess my body had other thoughts. Immediately post race I didn't stop to say hello or see ya tomorrow to anyone. Sorry you guys. I made a direct line to my car and drove home. I finished up some chores around the house, climbed into bed and vowed never to leave it again. I was literally physically drained. I am now calling this the Post Dopey Hangover. I am absolutely sure it was a combo of running the Dopey Challenge, flying, working, then jumping right into Tink weekend without any real break! I always say listen to your body, and my body basically told me to stay in bed and don't ever leave...well until Sunday morning.

Sunday morning was half marathon day. At this point, I was still feeling the effects of the Dopey Hangover, but I didn't think about it much! I was more excited to be able to run with Joe! I've never had the opportunity to run with Joe let alone hang out with him much (mainly due to our paths just crossing at different speeds) so this was going to be a treat. I arrive to the corral and find Joe in his #TeamSparkle skirt, visor that matched mine, and his St. Jude Hero singlet...oh and fairy wings. I knew at that moment that this race was gonna be a blast! His energy was through the roof!!!

Ohhh Joe...

Before we knew it, our crew was underway on our 13.1 mile trek through the Disneyland Resort and the city of Anaheim! This was a fun experience because we literally stopped for every single character stop. And I mean every single one. We decided this race was just going to be about fun, laughing, encouraging other folks while we waited in line (Joe is a pro at that), and taking all the random selfies!

The gang is all here!

Fast forward to mile 6 which is where we leave the resort and head onto the streets of Anaheim, the crew had to stop for a photo with the awesome folks from F3 - Further, Faster, Forever (of which I am a member) for our awesome photo!

F3!

At this point, extreme fatigue had set it. I realized I was basically done for the weekend! I dialed ALL the way down and ended up walking a majority of the rest of the way. I mean, I ran when I could but that Post Dopey Hangover came in full effect. I was literally mentally and physically exhausted. I had officially done too much. I recognized this, realized what was going on, and mitigated to avoid serious illness. I got some nutrition into my system and hydrated like a mad man. I didn't feel faint or like I was going to puke or anything, but I knew that my race weekend was done. That was okay with me. It's not like I didn't just run 48.6 miles the week before. This is another important lesson in listening to your body. I felt fine when I walked, but running caused some interesting sensations in my abdominal region...cramps but not really. So I took it easy. I knew the finish wasn't too far so I focused on enjoying the walk and celebrating that I just ran Dopey and I just added on another 19.3 miles! I was proud! I ran the last .1 into the finishers chute, got my selfie with the boss mouse and crossed the finish line! I had earned my second pair of wings AND my coast-to-coast. That was pretty awesome!

Tink and Coast to Coast

Although, I felt like crud at the finish, I met some familiar faces and made another bee line to my car. I was officially ready for a bath, some water, and a much deserved rest! Overall, I had a great weekend of running. It was an awesome challenge to go back-to-back but luckily Tink Half moves to Mother's Day weekend in 2015 so that temptation goes away...although I am hearing rumblings that another race may take it's place? Who knows...that's what I am hearing in the streets. Anyway, runDisney rocked it! I had a blast! Next up, Surf City USA in Huntington Beach! See you there! But before I go... look at all the blinnnng!