I took my computer to Disney with full intention of blogging while I was there, but instead I enjoyed my friends, family, and vacation. Now that I am back to reality there is so much to tell!
The half marathon was amazing!! I ran at an easy pace and loved every minute of it! What was crazy though was registration and the rest of the weekend. When I signed up for the half marathon I knew it would be an accomplishment for me to do it. I am not a natural runner and have never run a race before. During the expo I “checked in” the same day as the runners of the Dopey Challenge. For those that are not familiar with Run Disney races, this is completing a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and a full marathon. If you want to feel inadequate mention that you are only running the half marathon to loads of people running four races in four days and finishing with a full marathon. Although everyone was super supportive, being around that many runners accomplishing much bigger feats, makes you feel like 13.1 miles is nothing.
Hilary, my running buddy for the race, arrived the next day. When you are going to run through Cinderella’s castle you are going to want one of your close friends by your side, and Hilary and I had been envisioning our trip to Disney together since we were ten years old. Neither of us could have guessed that it would be seventeen years later and that we would be running, but it was more amazing than we could have imagined! We nearly froze waiting for our corral’s start time, but enjoyed trying to make our hand warmers heat up and hiding behind other runners when the breezes hit.
We had no idea that we would have Mickey and the gang and fireworks with our start time! Every corral had fireworks with their start! Not just one or two, but a mini show for every start time! It was amazing to see that every group was made to feel like their start was just as special as the professional runners in the front. Only Disney can take something ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary.
I didn’t feel like a runner through the entire process until the race. Not during training and certainly not at registration. It wasn’t until I felt comfortable running even once I hit mile nine and still passing other runners that I realized in the last six months I’ve become something I never thought I would be, a true runner. I still have a love/hate relationship with it, but the feeling was something I will never forget.
I knew only Disney could make me run, but I never thought it would make me want to run more than one race. I felt amazing when I finished, like I could have kept going for miles. As they say on the jungle cruise I was inspired to go deeper. Knowing I could accomplish more I texted my brother to see if he was interested in doing the full marathon in 2016. Running two parks was cool, but four parks and the ESPN Sports Complex sounded amazing! And who better to run with than the one person who grew up with me vacationing in the happiest place on earth?
Until next time,
Kaycee
P.S. My favorite song today is Do Life Big by Jamie Grace, such a great message!
