01 02 03 corral b.: race recap: disneyland 10k 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

race recap: disneyland 10k

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i woke up the morning of the 10k at 4:00am. while this is definitely an earlier wake up call than most people are used to for a race, i had the advantage of coming from a later time zone, so it felt like 6:00am to me: early, but nothing too awful. i immediately ate a peanut butter crunch clif bar and drank some water before putting on my daisy inspired race day attire.
my road id matches her bracelet! oh and i wore my pink nikes.
my parents decided they were feeling super awake and wanted to walk me over to the race start. they kept asking if i was feeling okay and if i was nervous, but in all honestly, i felt fine! maybe it was because i had done a 10k before or because i knew i was taking it easy, but i wasn't worried about this race at all. i was more concerned about them having a good spot to relax while i ran but still being able to see me, so we decided starbucks was the best bet. i parted ways with my parents and headed for a quick stop to the restroom before making my way in to the corrals.

i was in corral c (3rd out of 5) and despite not heading over there until 15 minutes before race start, i was pretty close to the front of the corral. i had a good view of the stage and big screen, which was awesome to watch as the first two corrals started. but then, it was my turn! i told myself i'd run until we got in to the parks, which ended up being about 2 miles. then it was time to run through california adventure! i tried to keep an eye out for a character stop i wanted (donald and daisy were my most wanted) but i didn't see any characters i liked all that much in the park. i did enjoy that world of color was on, though.

we then headed over to disneyland, which i was most excited for. i thought for sure donald or daisy would be there. nope. i was so intent on finding them that i wasn't even paying attention to my running! as we headed backstage behind fantasyland i realized i had already finished four miles! i couldn't believe how quickly this race was going, and i sort of freaked myself out by thinking i had gone too fast and ruined my legs for the next day, so i decided to walk a bit. as we headed back in to the park area, i realized my most anticipated part was about to happen: running through the castle! all i wanted from either of these races was a good picture of me coming through the castle, so i wiped some of the sweat off (couldn't get it all; it was humid!) and smiled big as i headed on to the drawbridge. aaaand...

just what i wanted!

smiling to the finish, wondering if donald wants a hug.
i was so pumped after that, i couldn't stop smiling. i texted my parents that i was about to head in to downtown disney, and then decided to run the rest and take it all in. i was enjoying every minute of it, despite the lack of characters. once we hit downtown disney, the crowd was awesome. there were so many people out, cheering for each runner. some people even called us out by the names on our bibs. not going to lie: i loved hearing "go brittney!" or "go daisy!" i saw my parents and waved a big hello before taking off a bit quicker and passing the six mile marker. i was in seriously great spirits as i rounded the corner toward the finish line and thought to myself "i get to do this again tomorrow!" i was so pumped! and then i saw him: my favorite character, the one i had been looking for all race, dressed as a runner and at the finish line. i laughed to myself as i considered stopping for a picture with donald five feet from the finish, but figured i wouldn't get in the way of every one trying to high five him. you better believe i gave him the biggest high five myself, though!

i finished in 1:13:24 which definitely isn't my fastest, but i was still surprised, considering i walked a bit and stopped for a picture. i gathered up my medal and post race snacks, and set off on the biggest adventure of the day: trying to reunite with my parents. we had agreed to meet in front of the starbucks they were at, but as i tried to make my back through downtown disney, i was met at a deadlock. nobody was moving. at first, i thought it was because they were all trying to watch. then i realized it was because the race path cut through downtown disney so that it was impossible to just walk along the storefronts; you had to actually cross and then re-cross the lane to get to certain places. and they weren't letting anybody cross. before i knew it, i was jam-packed in a little area with a bunch of agitated finished runners, trying to get back to their hotels. everyone kept crowding in and yelling, and it was just so negative after such a fun run! i think the way the crossing was handled is my only complaint about the race, besides the lack of character stops.

literally yelled "oh my god, he's a little sailor!!!"
of course, i eventually reunited with my parents. we watched the end of the race and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the park. we decided to spend the day in california adventure because we figured i'd be tempted to do less there. wrong. we ended up going on almost all the rides there, and even considered radiator springs racers, despite the 60 minute wait (luckily the heat got the best of us and we decided against it). we also thought we were smart to see the aladdin show to rest my legs, but that meant standing in line for a long time to get a good spot. and then, as we walked along the boardwalk, i saw donald! of course, i jumped in line: i waited for this picture all day! i didn't care if i needed to sit down; what's another 15 minutes, right? needless to say, by the time we sat down for dinner, my legs and feet were killing me. i thought about how it might affect my race the next day, but i figured, how often do i get to spend this kind of time with just my parents in our favorite place? #worthit

back in july, i decided to make dinner reservations at wine country trattoria for saturday night. i knew they had unlimited bread, and of course i was a cliche and wanted pasta the night before my first half marathon. well, i'm glad i booked so early! when we showed up for our reservation, the restaurant was completely booked by runners! luckily, we got a nice spot outside in the shade. we ordered the bruschetta without cheese and i got myself the broccolini aglio olio. so good! with full bellies, we headed back to the hotel. i laid out all my stuff for the next morning and then tried to get to bed early. i couldn't believe it was almost here: my first half marathon!
i want this before every race.
what do you eat the night before a half marathon? anybody else think it's totally rude for disney to tempt runners in to ruining their legs by hosting races at the happiest place on earth?!

-b

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