Disneyland Half Marathon 2015 Race Report

I woke up the morning of the half-marathon, the morning of the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge,  pretty darn sore. I had been hitting the parks, and I had run a 10k the day before, and I was feeling it. It made me so nervous, I had never started a race so sore, and the challenge just meant so much to me. I didn't know what to expect. But I had the sweetest text messages and facebook statuses from my husband and friends, and it meant so much to me! Adam even got up early to follow my progress with the Disney racer tracking system. 

I decided to dress as Dumbo to represent the challenge. 

I started in corral D again, and the first mile  was definitely hard. But if there is anything I've learned about training runs or races, getting through that first mile is always the toughest. If I can get to that point, I'm usually OK. Plus, after the first mile, I was in the parks, which is a pretty awesome distraction. I didn't take many pictures in the parks, due to taking so many the day before.

Disney does such a good job with race entertainment. Most of the race is throughout the city of Anaheim, and they can not have characters and such out. But there were dancing troops, marching bands, cheer groups, and a 2 mile long stretch of classic cars.

I also really, really enjoyed the spectators and all the signs they had! I really loved the Disney themed ones. 

One of the highlights of the run was mile 9 when we ran through the Angels stadium. There were people in the stands cheering us on, and we could even see ourselves on the jumbotron!

The last 3 miles were definitely difficult. I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But I finally made it to mile 13. I always love that finish line moment. Feels so amazing. I had officially completed the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge, and it felt great (I even got to do it in sight of the evil stepsisters). Adam called me right after the finish line to congratulate me. I loved "sharing" that with him.

I earned four medals that weekend (The 10k, the half-marathon, the coast to coast, and the Dumbo double dare challenge). My favorite was the Dumbo Double Dare award because that was my new accomplishment. Doing two races back to back is something I can cross off my racing bucket list!

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Disneyworld 2015 Recap Trip: Part 11

This is the second part of our Epcot day, first part here. Read all of the trip posts here.

We had such a fun time in Japan, but we had to move along, and we headed over to Morocco. One of my favorite things about the Morocco Pavilion is the history behind it, as the King of Morocco sent his own artisans to help with the design. And the pavilion really shows off the effort! In the pavilion, there were wonderful mosaics and fountains.  I loved the merchandise they sold, especially the scarves! I had wanted to meet Aladdin and Jasmine, but we didn't have time (better luck next time).

For our snack in Morocco, we had the pistachio baklava from the Tangierine Cafe. It was soo crunchy and soo delicious!

If all the other pavilions are beautiful due to their simplicity, France is the opposite. France is blingy, loud, and fabulous! I just loved it, it was everything I would want Paris to be! The sun was starting to set by the time we got there, so everything was lit and sparkling. I had planned our food stop in France long before I ever got to Orlando. I had never had macaroons, and I was dying to try them. I decided this would be the perfect place. We bought an assorted variety. They were different than any other dessert I've ever tasted. But I loved them. My favorite was the banana, but I love all banana flavored things.

What happened when we were leaving France to head over the the United Kingdom was one of my favorite memories of the trip.  I really love Mary Poppins, and I was really hoping to get to meet her on the trip. However, I wasn't going to set aside time to do so.  So when I spotted her, and saw she had a short line, I took off running! Everyone teased me about that because not 2 seconds earlier I was complaining of tired feet.

She was a great Mary Poppins. She asked me if I was having a Super Califragilstic day , and we chatted about eating around the world. Then I told her I would be dressing as her at the Disneyland half, and she told me I would look Practically Perfect.

I was on a high after my encounter with Mary Poppins, and ready to take in all the U.K. had to offer. The United Kingdom was a lovely pavilion, full of little English touches. I stepped in the phone booth, it smelt a lot better than the one in London (or so I recall). I really wanted one of those tea kettles, freakin adorable. But just couldn't justify the cost at the time. When we were ready to eat, we went to the Yorkshire County Fish Shop and got a Victoria Spongecake. It was kind of like a lighter version of a pound cake with all sorts of goodies inside. Not bad.

Unfortunately, I don't have too much to say about our last stop, Canada. As most of the pavilion was closed, and we we unable to explore due to a private party. Luckily, one of the gift shops were open, so we could get our last snack to complete our eating around the world challenge. Canada had a bunch of weird flavored chips, so we grabbed some ketchup flavored chips. They were very different. Not bad, but I definitely wouldn't ever crave them!  

After we finished touring world showcase, we sat down to watch Illuminations. I had to post this picture, because Adam went to grab a donut, and him eating a donut in his Homer shirt was too classic. 

Although we were tired,  I'm glad we stayed for Illuminations. It was a fantastic show! I really, really loved the rotating globe, and the images from around the world were so touching. After seeing all 3 of the nightly shows, I will say Fantasmic is definitely my favorite! But I just can't wait to see World of Color in Disneyland.

We paused to take some final pictures of Spaceship Earth as we walked out the Epcot, knowing that would be our last time in the park. It all felt a little bit bittersweet.

The next morning we got up, and packed up all our stuff before heading over to the Polyneasian Resort for breakfast at Kona Cafe. It has always been a tradition of our friend group, that we  get together the last morning before parting for a good breakfast.

The Polynesian is an absolutely beautiful hotel, and I can see why it is so popular. I would love to stay there! Kona Cafe really had the best food. Jana got the Tonga toast, and I got the to die for pineapple macadamia nut pancakes.

Before we left, Jana and I made pouty faces, at the camera as we were having to leave our Disney bubble. We had the sad version of the Mickey Mouse club theme song playing in our heads, "And now it's time to say goodbye...."

Our trip to Disney was so much more than I could ever have hoped for. Truly magical in every way, I can see myself going back again and again for years to come.

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Disneyworld Trip 2015 Scrapbook: Part 8

These are the pages from our day at World Showcase, you can read about this part of the trip here.

Materials Used:
Papers are from Project Mouse
World Showcase Logos are from Mad for the Mouse



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