Princess Half Marathon Week(end) 2014: Days 6 & 7

All good things must come to an end, including Princess Half Marathon Week(end) - which is technically just a weekend but we turned it into a week.

So here are the last few bits of my February 2014 Disney World vacation, or run-cation would probably be more accurate.

On our sixth day in Disney World we finally got to do the Magic Kingdom! This was also the day after our half marathon, and the monday after an entire weekend full of running! The pain was real but we trudged forward and spent an entire twelve hours inside the Magic Kingdom and it was absolutely wonderful.

What a beautiful and bright day!

We got our fast-passes first thing and started tackling our to-do list. I won't bore you with the details, but we pretty much went on every ride in the Magic Kingdom and Space Mountain happened not once, but twice! We went to Columbia Harbour House for lunch, a quick and easy counter service restaurant. I had fried shrimp, so healthy, I know. A few hours later we tried Dole Whip for the first time ever and neither of us are fans. Although, we did get orange Dole Whip with pineapple juice, so i'm thinking we went wrong there. For dinner we did counter service again, but this time in Tommorowland at the Terrace Restaurant. I had the Citrus Shrimp Salad and it was probably the healthiest thing I consumed during out entire trip. For dessert, we had waffles from Sleepy Hollow and I was deeply saddened to find out they were not Mickey Mouse shaped, because everything tastes better when it looks like a Mickey head. At night we saw Wishes and it was a beautiful sight as always. We were actually shopping in the Emporium and realized the show was about to start, so we obviously had to run out of the store like five year olds and get as close as possible. Yep, that happened. 

We also stayed for the second round of the electrical parade, finally rounding our day out to twelve long hours. It still wasn't enough time! Leaving the parks on your last day is heartbreaking for me; I seriously feel withdraw. 

 Our very last day in Florida was spent rather unproductively with an attempt at laying out by the pool but deciding it was just way too hot. We did at least make it to Downtown Disney because we didn't need park admission. We spent half of the day there, wandering around the shops like the first day, eating Ghiradelli icecream, spending too much money, and then eating dinner at Bongos which was actually really great and I believe often underrated. 

Then the really sad part came...packing. If you ever thought you were bad at packing then you need to see a video of me packing. It's a process that begins with me sitting on the floor next to my suitcase, staring at it in hopes that it will pack itself. Eventually I start to throw things in, getting to the point where i've wasted half of my space by not effectively rolling my clothes. It usually ends with me on top of my suitcase, gripping the zipper like my life depended on it and trying with all of my might to close the thing. To conclude, I always end up with a larger carry-on than what I came with, often resulting in various bags all over the place and unintended drama at the air-port. 

Oh, and our flight home was delayed - insult to injury to say the least and that was on top of the fact that the temperature was approximately fifty degrees colder in Delaware. 

So basically, life sucks after leaving Disney and we're already planning our next trip for the Tower of Terror 10 Miler in October. 

Run Happy, 

Ali 

Disney Princess Half Marathon Week(end) 2014: Enchanted 10K

 After Pasta in the Park we went back to our hotel and got our race gear ready for the next morning. I was going with a pseudo-Cinderella outfit. My Lululemon skirt was intended to be part of an Olaf costume but college finals got the best of me and I ran out of time. 

Heather and I before entering our corral, bright and early! We ended up running in the same corral although we were in different ones, mostly because we just put random times at registration. I really didn't mind dropping back a corral, considering my lack of preparation for the race. Although, I did underestimate my ability to run on adrenaline. I actually felt great the entire race and I believe if I started in an earlier corral with less congestion I would have significantly reduced my time. But hey, we were running in Disney World and I was not planning for a PR. 

I got kind of caught up in running and sadly did not get any character pictures because once I got going I just wanted to finish as fast as I could without overstraining myself for the 1/2 the next day. 

After the race! 

We didn't end up staying together during the race because the start was really congested and it was hard to keep together. Heather ran with our friend Megan, until they eventually lost each other and Heather ended up helping a 16 year old runner who was injured but was determined to finish because she was running in honor of her dad who ran Boston last year. This is why Heather is awesome, and also because she has a really awesome Ariel Sparkle Skirt! 

I named the blister Mt. Vesuvius because it looked like it was waiting to erupt. Gross, I know. 

And this is where everything went downhill! Sorry for the tmi gross picture, but this is what a blood blister looks like, incase you were wondering. I experienced some swelling in my feet due to the heat in Florida in comparison to the cold weather in Delaware. I suppose that is why my left shoe felt a bit tighter than usual and my poor toe hit the top of my shoe for the entire race, rubbing against it and causing terrible friction. I actually did not realize I had a blister until I took my shoe off though, which was probably for the best because I was at my hotel at this point. I wore flip flops for the rest of the day and went to Fit2Run that night, where I was directed towards some really cool toe socks that helped. 

We headed to Epcot to ride as many rides as we could before our 12 pm reservations at Biergarten. This was another really cool dining experience; there are musical shows throughout the day, so no matter what time your reservations there will be entertainment at some point. The restaurant is buffet-style, and the seating is in groups, meaning your party will be seated with an entirely different party at a table, this makes for interesting conversation though! The buffet offers many different types of German foods, some of which I had never experienced until then. There is an entire section devoted to meat carving, a section with sides, soups & salads, and dessert, of course. My favorite part - the mini bavarian pretzels! 

While in Germany, I had to get my boyfriend a souvenir because last time we visited I meant to buy him a beer-stein or something of the sort and I lost track of time. Given my already overpacked bags, I wasn't sure how I would pack a very breakable beer-stein so I found this funny beer "sweater" as I like to call it. He took German in high school and taught me how to say "iche liebe dich," or "i love you" in German. So this was the only one that I could read without referring to the tag, lol. 

This is my supercool Enchanted 10K shirt, which was included in registration, along with my super cool Princess Half Marathon jacket, which was not included with registration, haha. 

After a long day well spent running, riding rides, eating in Epcot, and shopping in Fit2Run, we finally retired to our room at 8pm. Instead of making dinner reservations anywhere, we planned on getting room service, which clearly resulted in me ordering an entire pizza - the best pizza. I obviously didn't eat the entire thing the night before a race, I actually just had 2 pieces and had plenty left over for after the race. Yes, I was sitting in bed taking in the beauty of my pizza while watching tutorials on how to use KT Tape - in my Disney Princess Shoe pajama pants, of course. 

These are the awesome toe socks that I wore to separate my toes from each other in avoidance of nay more blisters! I was a first time user of KT Tape, and I am now a believer. I taped it the night before the half because I had to wake up at 2:15 am and did not want to deal with it in the morning. I highly suggest using KT Tape, even as a preventative type of thing. I didn't actually have a shin splint, yet...but I was feeling a good amount of pressure on my left shin during the 10K and I didn't want to risk it for the half marathon. I have to say, I am very glad I bought it and used it. Also, it stays on forever, you don't have to worry about it coming off until you're ready. 

Next up: the Princess Half Marathon race recap! It's about time. 

Days 2 & 3: Disney Princess Half Marathon Week(end) 2014

Time to get this show on the road with the whole race weekend recap thing...

So here is a combination of 2 days! 

Day 2:

Started with the Fit for a Princess Expo <--- view this post if you want to know more!

After we spent way too much money at the expo, we finally headed to a park! 

Because this was our first official visit to a park and we only had half a day left, I figured Hollywood Studios was our best option because it wouldn't be overcrowded like Magic Kingdom and we had dinner reservations around 7:00 pm. 

The sky looks like a backdrop, but thats actually just how beautiful the weather was! 

Despite the beautiful weather, the lines actually weren't so bad! We had time for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride, and Muppet*Vision 3D. 

We had dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater! Such a fun dining experience!

You get to sit in booths that are made to look like vintage muscle cars. 

It wouldn't be a Drive-In theater without the cheesy 1950s Sci-Fi Movies (with a few Disney classics). I think they play a loop of clips, but I was honestly too preoccupied by the food to truly pay attention. 

The menu is 1950s American cuisine. There are about three vegetarian options, I went with the Vegetarian Shepard's Pie Sci Fi-Style, its a very interesting dish - sorry there are no pictures, I was starving! The menu description reads: Fresh Vegetables and Vegetable Patty topped with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Melted Cheddar. For such a different type of entree, I really enjoyed it; a great alternative to the typical veggie burger option that I am so accustomed to. Oh, and the milkshake - not optional. 

The Sorcerer Mickey Hat was looking very majestic, especially considering the lack of tourists around. ha! 

We actually ended up in the park after-hours because our reservation overlapped with closing time. Great photo-op! That almost never happens in Disney - what a great way to end day 2! 

Day 1: Disney Princess Half Marathon Week(end) 2014

Way back in June 2013, I thought it was a grand idea to register for my very first half marathon in addition to a 10K, because a half marathon wouldn't be enough of a challenge...

Fast forward to February 19, 2014...

My roommates are the best! 

Me in the car on the way to the airport: "Wow those 8 months flew by," while making a mental list of all of the things wrong with the current picture:

1. I did not sufficiently train for the half marathon; although I was well prepared for the 10K. 

2. Silly me, being a college student I was naive in adding up the various expenses of a trip to Disney World. 

3. We were also running late to the airport...

These things are all very typical of me; I am not a planner, at least not in the sense that I plan the important details (only the fun details).  I also procrastinate, hence the not training part. 

And despite everything that was wrong in the first place, I had the best vacation ever. 

Here's the basic info:

Flight: Frontier Airlines (New Castle, DE--->Orlando, FL)

Hotel: Shades of Green, Walt Disney World Resort 

Travel Companion: Heather - the best Disney travel buddy ever!

I should also add that this was Heather's first trip to Disney World! It was my fourth time visiting, my most recent prior to this one was January 2013 with my boyfriend's family, who happen to be Vacation Club Members!

For the sake of logistical questions, I should probably preface this with I am not a logistics person.

I can tell you that yes, we did have transportation from the airport to the hotel, but how that happened, I am not sure except that Heather took care of it. Oh, but our driver, Alfredo, he was incredible, as are all of the drivers in the vicinity of Disney World. 

After a long morning that started on 2 hours of sleep, being lost, finally arriving for our flight, and setting off the metal detector with my bangles, we finally got on the plane and made our way to the Sunshine State. Might I add, Delaware was in the 20s when we left, so I sincerely mean it when I say I was very grateful to be heading towards sunshine.

We checked into Shades of Green a few hours later. FYI: Shades of Green is actually a government run resort for military families and their friends (me being the friend) on beautiful Disney World property. It is not technically a Disney resort, but there is bus transportation to all Disney World parks, which was the most important amenity for us - especially on both races days.  I highly recommend Shades of Green to anyone who is in the military or has family in the military. We had a great experience during our stay, not to mention at a much lower price than anything Disney World can offer to guests at other resorts. 

Once we checked in and changed into more weather appropriate clothing (read: I spilled iced tea on my white shirt and had to change), we headed over to Downtown Disney. On my previous Disney vacation, I only went to Downtown Disney for dinner at Raglan Road and that was at nighttime, so it looked like a whole different place. Albeit, Disney is always changing so there were of course some major differences.

I was most excited to check out Fit2Run, a shopaholic/runners paradise, if you will. This is where my bank account probably took the worst hit...oops. I'll go into detail about Fit2Run in a separate post, because it totally deserves one.

Naturally, I was starving and there happened to be this mystical place called Earl of Sandwich right in front of us.

Sorry, not exactly the most descriptive picture...I wasn't thinking in terms of blogworthy photography at this point in time.

I am a pescetarian, so I had a tuna melt and it was quite wonderful. From what i've read, everything at Earl of Sandwich is amazing.

Of course I had to have a dessert, being that dessert is my favorite food category. I opted for a chocolate  malt milkshake from Ghiradelli, which gave me a sense of being in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. After that, I was pretty much done for, the food coma had set in.

I think thats about it for interesting details of day 1 in Disney World. We had to turn in early to hit the Expo first thing in the morning (shopaholics).

I have many more details to share, the exciting stuff is yet to come - please stay tuned!

Run Happy, 
Ali