Saturday Feb 24 - Race Day!
I eventually just gave up trying to sleep around 1:30. Got up, showered, dressed, and made it to the first bus. Dropped my bag at gear check and waited in line to see Rapunzel and Flynn, since I was dressed as Pascal. That was totally worth it and I got some great photos. I thought its was weird that they took a 15 minute break just as the corrals opened, though. I know legally that’s required, but maybe swap out for some new “friends” in that case? But the line managers and photo pass were a well-oiled machine, so the line moved quickly after the characters returned and I had plenty of time for one last potty stop before heading to my corral.
I had previously planned to see how fast I could run this one, but the aftereffects of my cold from last week meant that running too hard caused me to cough so I had to change my plan.
First mile, worst mile. Every time.
The first three miles of road I ran my intervals as well as I could, then I tried to just enjoy myself once I got to the parks.
I felt like course congestion wasn’t too bad this time. Even the sidewalk from Studios to the Boardwalk had a clear flow of people running on the left, which isn’t always the case.
i didn’t feel like waiting in character lines, but I did stop in Epcot in the newly opened area. They had two photo pass people off to the side, so runners could get jump shots if they wanted. My legs were feeling fine, so I thought why not. I pulled over, told the photo pass person I wanted to jump, she counted me down. I jumped, and she said “perfect!” so off I went.
My friends, it was not perfect.
Maybe I was supposed to jump on 3? I don't know. I did redo this photo later in Epcot but my shirt is coming up and you can see my tummy so I'm not sharing it, but just know that I did get a good jump photo in this spot eventually!
Anyway, the rest of the race was good. I did develop a bit of pain on the inside of my left knee during the last mile. That’s a new one for me, so I will have to keep an eye on it, but it went away pretty quickly. Probably just time for new shoes again.
Got my medal and cheese, took photos with the backdrop and Jogging Jack Sparrow, and hopped on the bus. That was another downside to my All Star stay, I couldn’t walk back to my hotel through Epcot. But I would have had to wait around for Epcot to open and I was starting to feel my lack of sleep, so I wasn’t upset about having sit on the bus.
Mobile ordered some mickey frittatas and picked them up on my way back to my room. Ate, showered, and crashed until well into the afternoon. I hate that I missed the HH meetup but the lack of sleep and still not being 100% after my cold last week meant I really needed the rest.
I did manage to make it out to Epcot, then over to MK for some nice golden hour medal photos.
I feel like you should get a special button for that!
