Let's Go

Princesses:  The time has come!  I leave for my flight in about four hours.  My training plan is completed.  My costume is in my suitcase.  My shoes and tiara are in my carry one.  I am all packed.  There is nothing left to do but go!

I really want to meet each and every one of your while we are in Walt Disney World!  Please “friend” me, follow my tweets and follow my blog.  I will but updating it frequently about things going on and where I am.  Here is a bit of what I have planned.

Our flight takes off at 6:55am from Baltimore/Washington International.  That means we have to leave home by 4:00am.  Why so early?  I know!  My husband insists we take the first flight out in the morning so he can have maximum park time.  After we land and get our luggage, we will have to get our rental car—then it’s off to Walt Disney World!  We will check into our hotel at the Bay Lake Tower/Contemporary Resort and then go to Captain Cooks at the Polynesian resort for lunch.  We love that place!  After lunch, it’s off to the EXPO!  After I get all my loot at the EXPO, we plan to hit the Magic Kingdom for a while and then meet friends for dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s Express. 

On Saturday, I have the Tangled Royal Family 5k at 7am.  After an easy 3.1 miles, I will grab breakfast with my husband and daughter—Captain Cook’s again I bet, then we will hit the MK again.  I have a blogger meet up at 3, and then another at 4:30.  After the meet ups, it’s time to meet a big group of friends for dinner at the best place to eat ever—“Ohana at the Polynesian.  Hopefully I can make it an early night because my first half marathon is just a few hours later. 

Sunday morning will be a very early wake up call for me.  I plan to get up at 2:30 and get dressed.  I will have a cab come at 3 am to pick up a few friends and I, to take us to the Polynesian resort to catch the bus to the race start.  Since I am in corral C, my race start is at 5:57 am.  I will finish the race around 9 am.  I plan to take as many pictures as possible with my medal.  After I am done taking pictures, I will change and then go to the Akerhaus princess breakfast.  Then it’s back to the hotel for a shower and a nap!  After I am rested, we will head back to Epcot for some rides and dinner at the San Angel.

 After sleeping in on Monday, we will go to Hollywood Studios.  We have a dinner reservation at the Cape May Café at the Beach Club resort.  On Tuesday, we will visit the Animal Kingdom.   To celebrate the end of our trip, we will have dinner in the castle at Cinderella’s Royal Table.  After breakfast on Wednesday at Chef Mickey’s, we will check out of our hotel and hit up a park for the last time, before leaving WDW for the airport around 4 pm. 

What are your plans for the weekend?  Will you be at all of the same parks/restaurants/events as me?  Let’s meet up!

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

After Race Shoes

I have been thinking a lot today about what to where after the race.  I know I will be starving after my 13.1 are finished.  My plan is to finish the race, get my medal, take a ton of pictures, then change and go to the Akerhaus for breakfast with my husband and daughter. 

My post-race outfit is easy.  I am a total jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, so in my bag check bag, I will pack my Levi’s and my race shirt.  I will also through in there a deodorant, some wipes and a little makeup.  What I can’t decide on is after race shoes.  Usually after a run, I just go home.  Even after my two local 10 milers, I just drove home and showered.  I have a pair of Nike sandals with gel in the sole.  I think I am also going to toss them in my bag.  I will also through in an extra pair of socks in case I want to put my sneakers back on after breakfast.   After a wonderful breakfast with the Princesses, I plan to head back to my hotel, shower and hopefully take a nap.

What are your post-race plans?  What kind of shoes do you wear after running a half marathon?

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

***Please find me on Facebook and twitter (click to the right).  I will update where I am all weekend.  I want to meet up with all of you while we are in WDW! 

Fit for a Princess EXPO

Since the Disney Princess Half Marathon is my first half marathon, it is also my first race EXPO.  I have looked at pictures online of last year’s EXPO, but I really don’t know what to expect.  I do know one thing thought—lots of good shopping! 

After I pick up my packet, my first stop will be at SparkleSkirts!  Miss Leah, Queen of Sparkle, has promised me she has some wonderful surprises to unveil.  I love the SparkleTech that I have and plan to wear for the 5k.  Rapunzel is my princess of choice for the half, so I hope Leah has a great skirt for me.  As a wonderful surprise, Alissa from Balancing Act Clothing sent me a Rapunzel shirt.  I can’t wait to wear it, along with my new purple SparkleSkirt! to my first half marathon. 

My next stop at the EXPO will be at the official merchandise booth.  I really want one of the Dooney and Bourke Princess Half wristlets.  I am a purse freak in general.  I have several Disney Dooney and Bourke purses already, but I have a feeling that this one will become an instant favorite.  There are rumors that these will sell out quick, so I really hope I get to the EXPO in time to get one.  One item that they will have at the EXPO that I would like and am not sure I will get is the “I did it” shirt.  I would love to have it, but don’t want to jinx myself.  I have heard they sell them at the finish line also, but that there is a limited supply. 

After hitting up SparkleSkirts and checking out the official merchandise, I plan to wonder around the rest of the EXPO.  I can’t wait to check out all great running gear and samples.  The last place I need to make sure I stop is at the runDisney booth.  Maybe they will take pity on me for not registering for the Disneyland Half in time and let me register there.  I highly doubt it, but I will check it out anyway.  

If my busy schedule allows it, I would love to hear Jeff Galloway speak.  Since I am such a believer in his run/walk/run plan, I would love to meet him in person.  He will be speaking at the EXPO on Friday at 11am and 6pm and Saturday at 11am and 5pm.  I hope to hit the Friday at 11am time.   

What day are you hitting the EXPO?  What do you hope to buy or do there?  Are you planning on checking out any of the speakers?

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

***Please friend me on Facebook and follow my twitter!  Links to both are on the upper right.  I would love to meet up with all of you during race weekend.  It’s getting so close princesses!

Prerace Caffeine Plan

Three am.  Yes, I said three am.  That is what time I have to board a bus on Sunday morning for the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  On a normal morning, I need a nice caffeine jolt to get me going.  On a morning that I have to get up at the time I would normally be going to bed and then run 13.1 miles, I am going to need a major caffeine fix.

My original plan was to eat a bunch of 2x caffeine Clif Bloks.  All that I have been reading about arsenic in organic brown rice syrup, the first ingredient in Clif Bloks, has me rethinking my plan.  I got a few bottles of 5 Hour Energy and gave it a try.  It did not upset my stomach and I did feel decently caffeinated.  I plan to drink one about a half hour before the race starts.  I also plan to take my beloved Dunkin Donuts coffee with me to make in my room and take with me on the race bus.  As a backup, I also have a GU gel in Espresso Love 2x caffeine.  I really dislike the texture all gels in general, but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

To go along with my prerace caffeine, I also have my prerace meal planned out.  Before I leave the Magic Kingdom for the day on Saturday, I am going to get a bagel and a banana from the Main Street Bakery.  I am bringing with me a packet of peanut butter.  I will eat my bagel on the bus ride to the race and save my banana for in the corral.  

 

What do you use for prerace caffeine or energy?  Will you be taking food with you to WDW or will you get it there?  When do you plan to eat? 

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

All About the Tangled Royal Family 5k

Very late last night, I got an incrediable offer.  An offer that I did not have to even think about.  I said yes instantly.  Last night, a blog read and friend offered me a bib for the Tangled Royal Family 5k.  My husband and I have been discussing over the past few months about doing the 5k together, but he was never in to it, so I let it go and it sold out.  I was kind of bummed when it sold out, but I figured there is always next year.  I am so appreciative to my friend, you know who you are, for giving me this oppurtunity. 

Last night I did a crash course of learning about the Tangled Royal Family 5k.  I learned that I have to be at the Epcot parking lot by 6:15 am.  I put the word out to my Facebook friends and I found a ride from the Bay Lake Tower to the race.  The course starts in the Epcot Imagine parking lot.  We will run thought all the counties of Epcot’s World’s Showcase.  To finish out the race, we will run through Future World past Spaceship Earth and back into the Imagine parking lot thought the finish line.  Each finish will earn a finisher mediallion. 

My only delemma is what to wear.  I know I was asking you all yesterday your opinion about what to wear to the race.  Know that I am doing the 5k too actually makes this an easier decision.  As of right now, my plan is to wear my pink SparkleSkirt! to the half and my Rapunzel purple outfit to the Tangled Royal Family 5k.

 

I plan to use the Tangled Royal Family 5k as a warm up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday.  This will not be a PR race for me.  I am going to take it easy, have fun on the course, hopefully get some great pictures and get a fell for how a runDisney race works. 

On a very sad note, registration for the Disneyland Half Marathon is closed.  It filled up before I could register.  I looked just this morning at it and it was 93% full.  I figured I still had a few days before registration closed.  Boy was I wrong!  Sadly, I will not be doing the Disneyland Half in 2012 and will not be a Coast to Coast runner this year. 

Are you doing the Tangled Royal Family 5k?  Are you dressing up?  Have you ever done a 5k the day before a Half Marathon?

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

What to Wear?

Ok fellow princesses, its confession time—I don’t have a race outfit picked out left!  I have so many outfit options but none I am totally crazy about.  Please help me choose.  Here are my options:

1)       My first option outfit is my Picasso Pink SparkleSkirt!  I love how this skirt fits me and it is very comfortable to run in.  I have paired it with a black Champion tech shirt.  The thing that is holding me back from this outfit is that I hate my knees.  I know, it sounds crazy.  I never wear shorts because I hate how my knees look in them.  I know lots of picture will be taken at the race.  I don’t want to be constantly complaining that my knees look funny in every picture. 

2)      My next option is a skirt my little sister helped me make.  I bought the fabric and cut it into six trapezoid shaped pieces, 6 inches at the top and 8 inches at the bottom.  My sister and I sewed them together then added a waist band and hemmed the bottom.  The skirt does not fit me well and it not very flattering.   I love that we made it together. 

3)      My third option would be to buy a Sparkle Skirt at the expo.  I would buy a jeweled purple skirt to dress as Rapunzel.  It has been my plan all this time to dress as Rapunzel, but I was holding out for a SparkleSkirt SparkleTech—a skirt with legs built in.  It does not look like they will have those ready for the race, so I would have to get a SparkleTech and wear capris under. 

Such decisions!  Please help me choose.  What option do you like?  What will you be wearing to the race? 

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

Single Digits

In less than one week, I will have that bib in my hands.  I will have my official princess half shirt, and hopefully my new Dooney and Bourke wristlet.  My goody bag will be spread out on my bed at Bay Lake Tower.  My race outfit will be hanging in the closet.  I will be looking out my window at Cinderella Castle.  Yes ladies, we have entered the single digit countdown until the Disney Princess Half Marathon.

It seems like forever since I started my training.  Actually, it’s been over a year.  After all that time and all that training and I am a week out from one of the biggest goals I have ever set for myself.  Now that we are just one week out, you would think I would be nothing but a bag of nerves, right.  That I would be a crazy, nervous mess?  Yea, so did I.  Well, none of that is true.  I am happy to report that I feel a strange calm.  I am not calm about anything!  I feel like I have put the time in, that I am as ready as I am going to be.  That I am ready!  There is nothing to do now but pack my bags and head to Walt Disney World.

I have three runs left before we go.  I plan to do around five miles on Sunday, but that could prove difficult with an impending snow storm destine to hit.  Hopefully I will get my run in before the bad weather hits.  Then I have my 30 minute runs on Tuesday and Thursday.  That’s it!   Walt Disney Princess Half Marathon, here we come!

How do you feel in this weekend before the race?  Are you nervous, confident, calm, ready?  

A dream is a wish...

--Amy

What corral am I in?

Hello Ladies!  Do you believe it?  Two weeks!  I have been training for over a year now and it felt like it would never come.  Now at two weeks away, it feels like it is coming to fast.  I still don’t have my costume together yet.  I have lots of great ideas, but nothing together yet.  I better start making some decisions-now!  

Since bib numbers came out last week, many of us (me included) have e-mailed runDisney to get our corral starting letters.  I am pleased to report, I will start in corral C.  I found this floating around the internet and I wanted to share it with you.  It is a chart of bib numbers with corresponding starting corral letters. 

Disney Princess Half Marathon Corral Placement 2012

 Corral: Individuals Bib *** Team Bib Range

 Corral A 31-2250 *** 20001-20313

 Corral B 2251-4500 *** 20314-20634

 Corral C 4501-6750 *** 20635-21017

 Corral D 6751-9000 *** 21018-21373

 Corral E 9001-11250 *** 21374-21777

 Corral F 11251-13500 *** 21778-22159

 Corral G 13501-15750 *** 22160-22617

 Corral H 15751-18000 *** 22618-23000

So, Now that we all know what corral we will start in, what time do you start running?  Here is the starting schedule.

‎Starting Times for the Disney Princess Half Marathon 2012

5:43 a.m. – Wheelchair Start

 5:45 a.m. – Corral A Start

 5:51 a.m. – Corral B Start

 5:57 a.m. – Corral C Start

 6:03 a.m. – Corral D Start

 6:09 a.m. – Corral E Start

 6:15 a.m. – Corral F Start

 6:21 a.m. – Corral G Start

 6:27 a.m. – Corral H Start

Girls, it’s coming fast!  Are you ready?  What is left on your Princess Half to do list? 

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

My New Half Marathon Plan

After a long, hard run today, I made a plan for my very first half marathon.  It is not a conventional plan.  It is not one that would be advocated by Jeff Galloway or any other running coach, but I think it will work for me. 

My plan is to run hard and all out for the first 5 miles to get to the Magic Kingdom.  Once I make it into the Kingdom at twelve minutes a mile, I will feel much safer to slow down and take pictures.  Once I run down Main Street, through the castle and then through Adventureland, I can slow down and enjoy the last half of the race.  I can stop and take pictures at the castle, with the princesses and with the characters on the way back to Epcot. 

See, I have a completely irrational fear of getting swept.  I think about it all the time.  I have nightmares about it.  While I have proven to myself I can go the distance at about fourteen minutes per mile pace, I am still scared.   I can run hard and keep up a twelve minute mile pace for at least 6 miles, as I did today.  Finding out I have a low bib number, and in turn hopefully an earlier corral does put me at ease a bit, but not enough.  

I know that no running coach would approve of my plan, but I feel like it is right for me.  I know you should take it easy the first half and go all out toward the end.  If I did that, I would not enjoy the race.  I would spend the entire race looking over my shoulder for the balloon lady (sweepers).  To test my plan, I will put it into effect for my last long run this weekend.  My endurance is high enough to keep going—at least walking— the whole 13.1 miles.  My walking speed concerns me because I walk at about 17 minutes a mile.  Knowing I have a decent cushion will allow me to enjoy the race and not be so paranoid. 

Do you have a race plan?

A dream is a wish…

--Amy

5591

Bib numbers are up!  runDisney has made the waiver for the Disney Princess Half Marathon available online.  Click here to get yours.  I am Princess runner number 5591!

    

A lot has been made on Facebook and various message boards in the past 30ish hours since the bib numbers have been released.  “Does a number of 23XX mean I will be in Corral A?” or “Oh No!  My bib number is 223XX.  Does that mean I will be in the last corral?”  While no one knows what system runDisney uses to assign bib numbers or corrals, it seems like one may have nothing to do with the other.  I have read countless stories of how someone in the Princess half last year had a really high bib number but ended up in corral A or someone else that ran in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon had a very low bib number but ended up in the last corral. 

I am not immune to any of this bib hysteria.  I will admit, when I opened up my waiver and saw number 5591, I was relieved.  I saw some of my Facebook friends with bibs in the high teens and even twenties.  My first thought was—Yes!  A low bib number equals a higher probability of an earlier corral!  While I knew that a low bib number did not necessarily equal an earlier corral, I still felt like a lower bib number gave me a better chance at an earlier corral.  Yes, it is irrational, but I will say it does make me feel a bit better. 

So for now ladies, let’s all make a pact to stop obsessing about what corral we will start in and let’s concentrate on the last three weeks of our training.  After all, it is the only thing we have control over.  None of us will know until the expo at packet pick up what corral we will be in. 

A dream is a wish…

--Amy