Disneyland 1/2 Marathon Recap

My legs are finally free from soreness and I am officially back to my normal everyday life. This past Labor Day weekend I ran the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon with my mom and my sister back in California. Overall this race was fun, but not as fun as the RunDisney events that I have ran in the past in Florida.

The weekend started with a trip to Disneyland to pick up our bibs and goodie bags on Saturday. The Fitness Expo was well done and had a lot of great vendors. I think I bought everything my little runners heart desired. A new running watch, a few Sweaty Bands, some really cute running tanks, and some cliff gels for the run. This year the race shirts were orange and huge. I ordered a small, thinking that it would fit ok, but turns out they were a mens small. The shirt is so big, I didn't even bother to bring it back to Colorado with me. After the expo we "carbed up" with spaghetti and meat balls with lots of bread. After a yummy dinner we went back to our hotel room to try to get to bed early.

The morning of the race quickly arrived. We set our alarms for 3:45am, we had to be in our corals by 5.   It was dark when we arrived and not cold at all. We were place in coral E and didn't start the race until 30 minutes after the first coral started. It was a long wait. There were people everywhere, I believe

I was really excited to get going and wanted to break my PR. I tried to find the race totals, but was not able to find anything published. I saw numbers ranging from 23 to 23,000. So let's just say there were a lot of people. Once, we finally got to start the race I spent the first mile weaving in and out of people. This was my first mistake, I should have just slowed my pace down until I was able to break free from the crowds.  My sister and I were running a 8:30 per mile pace for the first 5 miles, but we spent a lot of energy weaving in and out of people. The first 4 miles were spent running through the park. The entertainment was limited, but nothing compares to running behind the scenes and through 2 of my favorite parks.

By mile 6, I could feel the heat. It didn't help that by that point I was running on the streets on Anahime with little to no music or entertainment. In the Florida races I was entertained every mile and music could be heard through out the entire race. But, mile 9 made up for the lack of entertainment. At mile 9 we entered Angel Stadium and it was AMAZING. Hundreds of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were cheering me on as I enter the stadium crossed home plate and exited the stadium. I was on the jumbotron and the "fans" were going wild! It was by far my favorite part of the race. The remainder of the race was spent running back to the parks.

At the end of the race I did not break my PR. I could blame it on the huge crowds, narrow track, or the heat, but I won't. I wasn't prepared for the run. I need to re-focus on my training and get back to a schedule and prepare for the Disney World Marathon. My move to Colorado has allowed me to slack, but there really shouldn't be an excuse.

This race was a good one, just not my best one. I was able to run with both my mom and my sister, spend time with my family, and run through the park that I grew up in. It is always so much fun to be at Disneyland. Being at Disneyland takes me back to all of the memories that I have shared with my family through out the years.

Do you work out with your mom?
What is your favorite run?

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