Half Marathon Recap

Wow. 13 weeks of training for 13.1 miles are officially behind me. I cannot believe how quickly this all happened. When I called my mom after my race she asked me “How does it feel?” And my answer was “it feels like I didn’t even do it.” The entire race is a blur of adrenaline and magic. My sore legs are proof that it happened, but I can hardly remember the race.

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m so proud of myself. Sticking to a training routine and nutrition plan was hard. There were so many days that I didn’t want to run 10 miles, or eat ANOTHER peanut butter and jelly. Looking back, the physical stuff was the easy part. The mental game of running that long was hard. I would call my mom in the middle of my long runs frustrated that I was tired after 6 miles, or that I could barely run a mile that day. Despite all the challenges that hit me, I did it! I ran 13.1 for the first time ever.

The Waiting Game

The night before my race my dad and 3 fabulous uncles who came to cheer me on took me to a full Italian dinner. I loaded up on bread and noodles and left feeling stuffed and knowing this was going to give me the energy to wake up early, and crush my run. I was asleep by 8:30 Saturday night and slept surprisingly well despite having butterflies in my stomach. At 2:00 am my alarm went off and I woke up to Scott wishing me luck. He stayed up until 1:00 am his time to make sure I was ready to go! (How cute is he?)

I was out the door and on my way to Epcot at 3:00, and parking by 3:15. I definitely could’ve gotten there later, but I was ready to get in the zone and experience as much as I could. While I was waiting to head to our corrals I got my picture with Princess Jasmine, ate breakfast, and started warming up.

We went to our corrals around 4:00 and from there it was a waiting game. While the race officially started at 5:30, my corral (G) didn’t start running until after 6:00. The first few miles were easy. I was pleased with how I paced myself. I was expecting to start too fast and be worn out by mile 3. The toughest part was just navigating around the other 20,000 runners.

The Most Magical Moment

The highlight of my entire run was getting to the Magic Kingdom and having Mickey Mouse himself welcome us. If I’m being completely transparent here, I cried. It finally hit me that I was accomplishing my goal and crossing something off my bucket list, and I was so overcome with happiness. The castle seemed bigger and brighter than ever which made me cry some more. Luckily, you couldn’t tell the difference between my sweat and tears. This was the most magical moment of my life.

After leaving the Magic Kingdom I was slowing down. The emotions and distance were getting to me and I was exhausted. I started counting down how many miles I had left, and dreaded each step I was taking. Like I said, the mental part is hard. Then the worst happened: my headphones died. I had approximately 3 miles left and no music. My magic meter was at an all time low, so I did the logical thing. I stopped for a photo with Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa.

And I Ran Happily Ever After…

My magic was restored and I crushed mile 10. Mile 11 was difficult because I knew the end was near. Once I hit mile 12 closer to Epcot I got a rush of energy and was ready to finish strong. The cheer teams along the route were clapping and shouting encouragements at us, and it gave me the strength to sprint that last mile. We ran from backstage of the Land and Seas, in front of the Epcot ball, and out to the parking lot.

As soon as I got out from the park I heard my dad and uncles yelling my name. I guess it’s a good thing my headphones died, or else I wouldn’t have heard them. Crossing the finish line brought another wave of emotion and I fought back tears as I claimed my medal.

In conclusion, there were plenty of days of doubt and wanting to quit, but I pushed through and accomplished one of my biggest goals. If you’re interested in doing a Disney race I highly recommend it. It’s like they say…”every mile is magic.”

P.S.: You can still get my sport bra here and similar leggings here!