OK...the Tinkerbell half marathon...let's see where to start? LOL. It started after lunch on Thursday. I was coming down with a sore throat but that was it. Friday...I was definitely worse- I think I had a slight fever, cough and all around not feeling all that great. I had to take Princess for her consultation and then wanted to go pick up my bib from the expo. Loaded up on dayquil and off I started my day. The whole Princess thing is another blog in itself...but let's say she is costing me a pretty penny. Price of being a dog mom. I got home..forced myself to eat something and then off to the expo. Of course in the back of my mind...I am thinking what if I am worse on Sunday? Do I walk it or stay home? Only time will tell. OK...off to the expo. It seemed smaller than the Disneyland half I did a couple of years ago. Maybe there weren't that many vendors or maybe I was kind of out of it...no clue. Before I forget...I need to mention the parking situation since it plays into the story for Sunday. The instructions told us to park in the Mickey and Friends parking structure. I remember from my previous race it was easy to find so I wasn't too concerned about it. I also remember there was an open lot where I parked for the expo and they didn't charge. I actually was more concerned about finding that parking lot since I didn't want to cough up $15.00 for Friday and Sunday. Well...I found the "free" parking on Friday so off I went to the expo. Nothing too exciting...didn't buy too much and I left around 3:00. Luckily, I didn't hit too much traffic going home. Had to do laundry and by this point I was getting worse. Let's say at about 5:30...I went to go lay down for a few minutes and then the next thing you know it was 10:00. Good thing I had fed Princess before I went to lay down...LOL
Saturday was supposed to be a lazy day and it was. I slept in til about 11:00 and only had to run a couple of errands...mainly to get my bagel and banana for Sunday. I felt better but still not 100%. Now the problem was what to eat for dinner? This is supposed to be my carb loading meal but to be honest..I didn't have much of an appetite. I went to Souplantation for dinner and although I tried to carb load...I just wasn't feeling it. I just hoped I had enough fuel for Sunday. Was tempted to go to bed at 8:00 but by the time I finally dozed off...it was closer to 10:00 pm. Set 2 different alarms for 2:00 am and called it a night.
Sunday morning...RACE DAY!! Still didn't feel 100% but at least there was no fever and minimal coughing. Got dressed, made sure I had everything and off I went. Remember the parking structure that I couldn't find on Friday?? Well...I couldn't for the life of me find it on Sunday either. So..what does one do? Of course...follow the cars in front of her. I mean...who else would be driving around Disneyland at 3:00 am on a Sunday morning?? Well...I followed them for a bit until I realized they weren't going in the direction I wanted to go. I was tempted to go back and try again..but I was starting to panic just a wee bit. One of my biggest fears is getting to a race too late and I miss it. I remembered there were nearby motels/hotels that offered free parking to runners and a shuttle. I wasn't worried about the shuttle...I mean I saw tons of people walking to the start line so that was the least of my concerns. OK...I ended up on Katella and Harbor and decided to go down Harbor. I turned into one hotel/motel only to find a sign saying that you would be towed if you weren't a customer. Now...I am starting to panic just a bit more. I somehow ended up in the back of this motel...and ended up back on Katella. Thank God...there was the Gardenwalk parking structure close by so I parked there. Walked with the rest of the "crazy" people to the start. By this time...people were already going to their corrals..but of course I needed to use the bathroom aka porta potty. OK..after I go to the bathroom...I need to start heading out to my corral. Mind you I am on cold medication so I got very confused and actually headed to a faster corral. When the race volunteer pointed me in the right direction...I was definitely a fish swimming upstream. OK..finally find my corral and wait for the start.
We started out on the local streets and then around mile 2 ended up back in Disneyland. Now..one of the good things about running through the park is that you can use a normal restroom. I've gotten used to porta potties but of course given the choice...I mean there is no choice right??? I took advantage of the restroom twice...but it cost me about 5-6 minutes total. Another difference I noticed in Disney races is of course you run through the park and Disney characters are out for photo opportunities. Now..if I was a halfway decent walker...I would take advantage of this but some of the lines were very long and I opted out. I did manage to get in one picture!! Another difference is the race volunteers will tell us how many minutes above pace we are....so we don't get swept up!! At one mile..we were 7:00 minutes above the pace but I realized as we kept getting updates...we were getting slower and slower. I just started trying to pass as many people as I could...LOL. I think because the race was inside the park..the miles flew by! I'm the type of walker that sees each mile marker and thinks...OK x amount left to go. By the time I looked when we left the park..we were already on mile 7? either that or mile 6. So out on the streets we go. Nothing major...but I know at one point the volunteer lets us know we are 4 minutes above pace. So what do I do? I start jogging/running although I know I shouldn't have. As we were getting closer..I know at least I would make it so I started walking again. As we saw the finish line...I was getting excited but that was the longest .2 miles I ever walked..LOL..Finished at 3:43:47 which is not bad considering I was sick and spent about 5 minutes in the bathroom.
Got my bling...and it is definitely some heavy medal. Of course..used the porta potty and decided I didn't want to wait in line for the message. Surprisingly...I didn't have the "marathon" walk afterwards. Not sure what I did different this time around but I didn't feel the usually pain/stiffness I usually feel after a race. Now going home took me on a little adventure too...I am blaming it on the cold..but going home for some reason I thought I still needed to go south instead of north. It was too late to change lanes by the time I realized I was going in the wrong direction..so I had to get off at the next exit and go the right way back home!
All in all..I loved the Tinkerbell race...much better than the Disneyland Half.
Here is my "one" photo with the characters and my bling..
Up next...Surf City!!
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