The Beginner's Guide to Disney's Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

So, you are running or planning on running the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon or brand new Pixi Dust Challenge for the very first time and it is your very first visit to Disneyland? Then you probably have some questions! I hope this beginner's guide helps answer some of your questions about the race weekend. I am by no means an expert, but I want to pass along what I have learned!

Last January was my very first visit to Disneyland, I have always gone strictly to Disney World. Let me tell you first, that while bearing the name Disney, they are two very different creatures!! :)

You can read my race re-cap here:

Expo and Neverland 5k
Tinkerbell 10k
Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon


HOW LONG SHOULD I STAY?
When planning for your Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon weekend, the first thing you need to think about is the amount of time you wish to spend in Disneyland.

The Race Expo opens on Thursday, and because I am one of those people who like to be there right when the expo opens, we decided to fly in on Wednesday night, which allowed us to play in the park on Thursday morning and then hit the expo in the afternoon when it first opens. Many people who live in the area arrive to the expo, depending on which races they are running either late Thursday or early Friday. The expo is much less crowded than the Princess 1/ 2 Marathon Expo and offers much of the same merchandise, however, I think it may be a bit smaller.

Since my sister and I ran all three races, we planned on staying until Monday afternoon. This was enough time to do everything we wanted to do, as well as have time to just relax. There was not a minute of this trip that I felt rushed or like I wasn't going to miss out on something.

If you don't care about getting to the expo right when it opens, or if you are passing on any of the races,  I suggest arriving later in the week, as you will have plenty of time for parks around the races!

HOW DO I GET TO DISNEYLAND:
There are a few different airports that you can fly to in order to get to Disneyland, this is a big difference from Disney World. You can fly into LAX, John Wayne, or Long Beach. The John Wayne airport is the closest to the parks, but for me is usually the most expensive and always has the dreaded layover!! We found that flying into LAX was the cheapest and the most convenient for us.

Now, those of you who are Disney World regulars, are used to getting off your flight and onto the Magical Express. There is no such thing here. The closest thing is The Disneyland Resort Express which provides  transportation between LAX and the Disneyland Resort area — including Disneyland Resort and Anaheim Resort hotels. Reservations are not required, but there is a fee to ride.

We did not take this option as our hotel was not serviced by this bus. We instead took the Super Shuttle
which costs only $17 one way! You will have to make reservations for this shuttle, which you can do online. It was very easy to use, and only took about an hour to make it to our hotel. 

There are lots of other companies that provide shuttles to the Disneyland area, most with competitive rates. 

You can also, of course, rent a car and drive, but please note that you will pay around $20 a night for parking, and we did not really find it necessary to have a car during our time in Disneyland!

WHERE SHOULD I STAY?
This was the question that I found hardest to get an answer to when I was first planning my trip. Because I am so well versed in the ways of Disney World, I was completely lost when it came to figuring out where to stay in Disneyland. 

The reason is, there are so many options!! Of course there are the Disney Hotels: the Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier and the Grand Californian. These are great hotels to stay at, and one day I would LOVE to stay at the Grand Californian, but I am a budget kinda girl, so we stayed "off property". 

"Off Property" is kind of a funny term here, because everything seems to be really close to the parks. When choosing a hotel I took a lot of care in finding the right location. I wanted a hotel from which I could easily walk to the start of the races, I don't like surprises on race mornings, and I wanted to know that I could make it to the start of the race easily on my own. I also wanted to be close to the parks, even though there is free transportation to the parks for racers that weekend, I again wanted to be able to get around on my own. Lastly, I wanted to be close to a grocery store, or somewhere that I could stock up on water and pre-race food. It is so nice to be able to eat what you are used to eating on a race morning (one of my pet peeves of Disney World races!). 

I really hate sharing my hotel, as it was the perfect hotel for the race, and I don't want it to be sold out when I want to make a reservation for 2015, but I have to share, because I love you guys and because the location of our hotel made for an amazingly easy race weekend!

We stayed at the Best Western Stovall's Inn, which was to our surprise quite a nice place! From the outside it looks old and gross, but the rooms are actually very nice. They all include a fridge and microwave, and plenty of space for a couple of racers and all their race gear (costumes!!). 

The best part however, was that the racer's village was right across the street. SERIOUSLY!! We were able to wake up, get race ready and walk to the bag check area in less than an hour. We only had to walk across the street and less than a block away was bag check and…..wait for it……wait for it……THE FINISH LINE!!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing to finish a race and be back at your hotel (in the shower!) in less than 10 minutes!! 

The start of the 10k and the 1/2 marathon were only about 2 blocks from the staging area/finish line/bag check. Which made getting to the races a piece of cake! 

This hotel is located about 2 blocks from Paradise Pier, 3 blocks from the Grand Californian and about 4 blocks from the Disneyland Hotel (where the expo is located). 

We chose this hotel mainly because of its location to the finish/start lines of the 10k and the 1/2 marathon. The 5k, however, starts on Main Street in Disneyland, which is a bit of a walk from our hotel. 

In order to get to the parks from our chosen hotel, we had to walk to the Disneyland Hotel (about 4 blocks) and then through Downtown Disney. The entire walk takes about 35 minutes (?) but is very enjoyable! We loved walking through Downtown Disney everyday, and planned most of our meals in this area. There is also a Monorail station located in Downtown Disney, which takes guest right to Tomorrowland. 

I have to say that the walk from our hotel to the start of the 5k (and to the parks in general) is not nearly as long as the "death march" from the Epcot parking lot to the start of the Princess 1/2 Marathon! It is much more pleasant too!! :)

There are lots of hotels located around Disneyland, and it is very important that you research the location of the hotel with the location of the start and finish of the races. I didn't mind walking further to the parks, because of the easy walk to and from the races. It was for me, of course, a race weekend! The parks were just a perk!!


WHAT KIND OF PARK TICKETS SHOULD I GET?
Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are the two parks that make up the Disneyland area, and if you are, again, a WDW regular, you will be shocked by the ease of visiting these parks. Both parks are small in comparison to WDW. I have heard that you can fit 3 Disneylands into the Magic Kingdom parking lot and still have room to park 300 cars!!! 

That being said, it is very crowded! I never feel too crowded by people in Disney World, but in Disneyland there were times I felt almost claustrophobic! 

While the layout of Disneyland is very similar to the Magic Kingdom, there are slight differences and some different rides! We spent a few hours each day in this park. But we really enjoyed Disney California Adventure. I think because it was something completely different! 

Disneyland and CA are separated by a plaza, which I would compare to the size of the bus depot at the Magic Kingdom (maybe?). You can seriously walk from one park to the other in a matter of 2-3 minutes, which makes getting a park hopper ticket completely worth it!

We went with the park hopper at the very last minute, and I am so glad we did! It is so easy to move from one park to another, and it is nice to head to the more open spaces of CA when Disneyland gets too crowded! We purchased a 4 day park hopper pass, and were very pleased with the our decision. Of course, because Disneyland and CA are so much smaller than Disney World, we had plenty of time in the parks, but it was nice to be able to take it slower and just have a relaxing visit. I think that you could see both parks in one day, but you would feel really rushed. If you are concerned about spending too much money, I would buy a two-day pass (not a park hopper) and visit one park each day. You will have plenty of time. If you can afford it, do the park hopper! :)


During this trip I completely fell in LOVE with Disneyland, I hate to admit it, but I think I like it more than Disney World (gasp!!). I like the smaller size of the parks and the general area, and this being my first Disneyland race weekend, I have to say that it felt more relaxed than WDW race weekends, and I felt much more in control of myself (I didn't have to rely on Disney as much!). Overall this was my favorite RunDisney weekend ever and I am looking forward to heading back in 2015!!  

If you are visiting Disneyland for the first time, I suggest you do your research, I know I spent at least a month researching all of my options, and I am sure that I came away with the best trip for me. My flight and hotel together were less than $500, which made me very happy (more money to spend at the expo!). 

Please leave me any questions, as I want this is be a living document, I will update and add answers to your questions!

Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon DC

After an amazing and very full day in Washington DC with my BRFF Meg, it was time to settle in, get things prepared for the next day’s race, and get some sleep!

This is where everything started falling apart for me! Pre-race I stick to a very strict routine, LOTS of sleep, LOTS of water, and LOTS of bland food! I pretty much threw all of my rules out of the window, and did not prepare for this race in the way I would if I were at home.

After eating a very heavy Mexican meal, I laid out my outfit for the next day, noticing that I had forgotten to pack/buy my very important pre-race food!! ACK!! I was nervous about fueling on different foods in the morning, but knew I needed to eat something! Meg had a package of crackers with peanut butter, and I figured that would have to get me through the race.

I did not sleep very well that night, I was nervous about the run, and my stomach was acting up – nothing new, as it has been a complete wreck for about the last 3 weeks! Grrrr.

The alarm clock went off at 4:30, but we stayed in bed until just after 5am. It was nice not to have to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn for a race! We quickly dressed and made out way to the metro. It was crowded, as I suspected it would be, and we stood the entire ride to the race. I ate my crackers and tried to convince myself that I would be okay without my normal oatmeal and banana!

Things went really fast once we got to the starting line! This was definitely my very favorite and least nervous wait for a race I have ever had! There were so many people to talk to, and so many hugs as friends found Meg and I. It was really exciting, and my normal corral-panic never set in!!

We met the 2:30 pacer group, and had a blast chatting it up with him! This diversion really helped me calm down and not think about the race! I had decided that I would run with Meg and Carolyn for the entire race, I really wanted us to finish together. It would be my first ½ running with someone, and I was excited to have some running buddies!!

It wasn’t long until our corral was at the front of the start line and off on our journey through Washington DC! 

It was a beautiful morning, about 55 degrees, sunny with a cool breeze. I was loving life for the first 3 miles. I was running slightly ahead of Meg and Carolyn, trying to fall into a pace that was comfortable, but allowed me to stick close to the girls.

We had decided on taking “Monumental Selfies” along the course, pausing, but not really stopping for the major sights! I tried to fall back and get in the pictures, sometimes waiting for a short time on the side of the road for my girls!

The first 3 miles flew by! We didn’t walk even once, but I just couldn’t find my stride. My stomach was acting up by mile 4 and I knew a bathroom stop was in my future. Even with the pain I was feeling in my gut, I was loving this race, and the company of Meg and Carolyn!

 

At mile 5, I decided it was time to stop and use the bathroom. I told the girls to keep running and that I would catch up. I didn’t think it would be a long wait, there were about 10 people in line ahead of me. Unfortunately, the first two people took over 10 minutes to use the bathroom, and I was getting nervous that I would never catch up, plus I really didn’t want to lose anymore time! I left the line and started sprinting, this was probably the second mistake I made during this race! I sprinted until mile 7 according to my Garmin, I was running 9 minute miles!! ACK!!! Sprinting like this is NEVER good during a ½ marathon…..especially when you are only ½ way done!!

I caught up to Meg and Carolyn around mile 7, and we took our first walk break. I was beat and my stomach was screaming at me!! I actually felt sick, I have never, ever felt like throwing up during a race, but I was pretty sure that I was going to make this my first. We walked for awhile, they were so sweet allowing me to catch my breath and relax for a bit, I knew they wanted to get running again.

Once we started running, I knew I would not be able to keep up unless I USED the bathroom!! I was bent over in pain, and feeling so sick!

At mile 8, I was lucky enough to find a REAL bathroom and again told the girls I would catch up! The line I got into was only about 8 people long, YES!! I soon discovered that it was the men’s bathroom and that men were using it as well as the ladies! Haha! Waiting in line, I was in a lot of pain, but it was amusing watching the men run to the bathroom and get nervous when they discovered they would be using the urinals in front of a line of women!!

The line went fast, and I was quickly out and sprinting again (didn’t I learn my lesson?). I still felt sick, but I wasn’t in pain. Sprinting was not as easy as it was the first time, it actually sucked… a lot! I started panicking that I wouldn’t catch up, and that made me feel even worse.

At mile 10 I was finally able to catch up, it was such a relief, but I was shot, I was ready to be done.  It kinda put a downer on the entire rest of the race for me. I didn’t want to hold Meg and Carolyn back, I didn’t want to finish the race without them but I was feeling so awful, I didn’t think I could keep up.

Mile 11 was the Whole Food’s Chocolate mile! Sounds wonderful, right? It would have been amazing, had I not felt like throwing up! Meg and Carolyn enjoyed the chocolate (which was given out the entire mile!! So cool!!), while I tried to get my shit together and finish the race!!

I know Meg was ready to run faster, and Carolyn was looking strong, but again, they were so sweet and slowed their pace for me.

The last mile was run in a tunnel, and this is where I almost lost it completely. In the tunnel there were drummers, and it was loud!! The beat was fast, causing me to quicken my pace, and the constant pounding was only adding to my nausea! I wanted out of that tunnel so fast!!

The tunnel ends at a hill, and even though I had powered up each and every hill before then, my legs were just dead. I had to walk. It was depressing.

I don’t really remember the rest of the race, besides Meg actually stopping before the finish line to wait for me. I was focusing on not passing out in a pool of my own vomit! Meg and I crossed together, holding hands. It was an amazing feeling! I was beyond emotional that she had waited for me, it was a really special moment.

I was so happy to be done! It was finally time to collect that Tiffany necklace!! Woo! We were first handed chocolate milk – my favorite post race recovery – and then we picked up Nike bike bottles of water. There was all kinds of food to pick up, and as we moved through the line, we received space blankets to warm up in.  The volunteer who wrapped me in my blanket, was the only one to see my complete break down! I just started bawling as he wrapped me in my blanket!! I have no clue what triggered that response, but it was such a release of emotions!

I think the epic-ness of the entire weekend hit me all at once, with this man’s kind act of wrapping me in a sliver blanket. It was truly a dream-like weekend, something I never thought I would experience, the wealth of friendship, the ability of my body to carry me through, and the sense of accomplishment. Words fail me when I try to express how much this weekend means to me, it was honestly that awesome.

Luckily, I was able to pull myself together, the sun glasses hid my tears, and no one knew about the embarrassing break down I just had!

We made our way through the finish chute, and collected our Tiffany medals/necklaces! I still wasn’t feeling the best, but I was living in the moment and soaking in the experience! It was so much fun receiving our little Tiffany boxes from the tuxedo-clad men!

We waited in a photo op line to get lifted by two of the men and hold a platter full of Tiffany boxes, this line took FOREVER!! I started feeling sick again, and drank my chocolate milk. I knew the sickness was partly being hungry! I had not fueled well before the race, and it was a good part of the reason I was so sick.  The milk helped, but I was getting impatient and just wanted to get back to the hotel room.

The next part of the finish chute was the ONLY part that I disliked. Finishers were funneled through a “Finisher’s Tent”, and everyone was excited, saying that we were getting finisher shirts, this was not the case, the tent was packed with women using foam rollers, stretching and freshening up at the mirrored stations. We were like a herd of cattle moving through the tented tunnel, it was hot and sticky and stinky!! We did not take part in any of the stations in the tent, and I wished we would have been given the opportunity to walk around the tent. The tent, however was BEAUTIFUL!! Again, Nike really knows how to impress and there were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and the atmosphere was really posh/VIP.

After exiting the tent, we got in the HUGE line for finisher’s merchandise. This was again, not the best use of our time, as  we found out (after waiting in line for about 25 minutes) that we could just go to the Nike store (on even online) to buy our finisher’s merchandise!!

We met up with some #Runnerslove ladies, and congratulated everyone on their finish! It was nice to end the race in the way we started!

After saying “hi” to a few more people we know from various facebook groups, we made our way back to the metro and back to our hotel room. Meg showered right away and I ate my cupcakes from the previous day. I was starving!!

We ended our day by visiting the Nike store in Georgetown again, and eating lunch at a WONDERFUL Irish Pub! Yum!!

We then made the LONG (9 hours!!) drive back to Meg’s house in CT. While the drive was super long, it was nice to have time together! J

Overall this race was fantastic!! I made some mistakes that hurt me (not fueling properly before the race, and sprinting!!), but the race itself was amazing! There were water/Nuun stops every 2 miles, orange slices, ShotBlocks, and Luna bars were given out along the course, and then there was the chocolate mile!!

The weather could not have been better and there were spectators at all points along the course. The course was beautiful, and the on-course entertainment was really fun! This is one of my very favorite courses ever!  It was well organized, and the finish line moved quickly!

I am so sad that this race is over, even though I felt really sick on the course, I have quickly forgotten the pain, and only re-live the pleasure it was to run this race! I would go back in a heartbeat!! I highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a beautiful course!  It would make a great first ½ marathon!!

This race has inspired me to put my name into the lottery for the Nike Women’s ½ in San Francisco! I cannot wait!

Thank you to Nike for giving me the ability to run this race, you are an amazing company and I am truly grateful for this opportunity!

I have to thank Meg and Carolyn for hanging in there with me, even when I felt like I couldn’t finish. I had a blast running with you two, and hope we get more opportunities to run together in the not so distant future!!

Meg, my RBFF, you made this weekend so special! Thank you for everything, and for being my friend! You are my inspiration! Love you girl!!

Thank you to all of the #Runnerslove ladies, you are an amazing group of women to call friends! I love you all so much and cannot wait for our next meet-up (where ever that may be!! J)

Princess 1/2 Marathon Race Re-Cap….finally!

It has been a long time coming on this race recap! I just simply haven't had the time!! My life has been pretty crazy, traveling all over for work, and blogging has had to take a back seat.

It was over a month ago now that I was in the midst of running the Glass Slipper Challenge, and the 5k which has been affectionately called "Dopey Lite" and having a blast with my BRFF Meg!!


After finishing the 5k and the 10k, it was now time for the main event: the 1/2 marathon!!


Yet another early wake-up call, this one wasn't as bad, I think I got used to it. If that is possible. I quickly got dressed -- Anna from Frozen, and made my way to the busses.

POP Century and RunDisney really had their stuff together as far as the transportation to the races were concerned, we didn't have to wait even a minute and we were on our way.

After a few pictures, Anne and I made our way to the Race Retreat tent to eat some breakfast and check our bags. We had packed all of our California medals, since we would be receiving our Coast-to-Coast medal and wanted some pictures of all the BLING!!

Inside the tent I helped myself to a bagel, peanut butter, a banana and some coffee. Anne and I sat quietly for about 30 minutes, just taking it all in. It was bittersweet. This was our last RunDisney race (or so we thought!!), and while I was excited to get running, I was also trying to savor every minute of the ride that brought my sister and I closer together.

Too soon it was time to head to the corrals. Having run the race before, I knew what to expect. It is a long, crowded walk. Anne couldn't believe how far we had to walk, I thought it seemed shorter than the past time, maybe because I knew it would be long!

Anne and I wished each other luck as we separated at corral F (Anne was in D), and then I was alone in a crowd. It was right then that my corral panic set in, and the idea of waiting really scared me. I was tired, I was sore, I was hot……it was really, really, really humid and I was already sweating!! Yuck!

During my panic, in which I tried multiple times to talk myself both out of and into running this race, was when the Princess issues started. Princess 1/2 Marathon is well known for having some drama, and some drama queens, and corral F was brimming with them. I was standing near the front of the corral, and was just about knocked over by a whole group of women who were dressed as Snow White (yes, they all were!). They literally pushed me to the side, and I tripped on a woman who was sitting on the ground. I was beyond annoyed.

It only got worse with these ladies. They were completely annoying. One woman -- who was wearing her hair down-- spent about 15 minutes scrunching her hair and making duck faces in her cell phone. It was so humid, and she was wearing full on make-up, and worrying about her hair?!?

Anyway, I tried to ignore the craziness around me, and just focus on staying calm. It worked for awhile. Not soon enough, corral F was sent off with fireworks and I got away from the Snow Whites!

From the very minute I started running, I knew I would struggle with the humidity. It was at 99%!! Something this northern girl just cannot handle.

My initial race plan was to have fun, stop at all the characters and enjoy the race. At mile 1, I completely changed my plan, I would just run, and try to finish. I would only stop at photos that I really needed, and that had short lines.

At mile 2 I was soaking, I could wring my shirt out, and my braids were heavy with sweat (note to self: never run with braids). I was running, but I was miserable!!

I think it was around mile 3, that I met up with irundisney's Jindy!! I was struggling, and stuck with her for a couple of miles. It felt really good to talk and have someone to run with. It took my mind off of the humidity, for awhile. Jindy was running intervals, something I have very little experience with, so it was hard for me, but I enjoyed the company so much, I stuck it out.

In the Magic Kingdom, Jindy planned on using the restroom, and we parted ways.

I always have fun running through the Magic Kingdom and this particular run was no different! I actually got to RUN through the castle! It was great!!

The time spent inside of the Magic Kingdom is just too short in my opinion, and much before I would have liked, we were running out of the park!

It was around this time that I met up with a #Runnerslove friend Caroline!!! It was so much fun to chat with her for awhile!! We took a few pictures together, and then she took off to claim her PR!! Woo!!

At around mile 10, I completely fell apart! The entire race, I had been taking 2 waters at each water stop: one to drink and one to pour over myself. The humidity was insane, and I was really struggling. While the water I poured on myself helped for about a minute, it left me soaking wet and miserable!

I was just completely done with this race by this point, so I stopped for a few pics, and started texting Meg. She is always so encouraging, and pretty much told me to "suck it up and run"!! I needed a that, and kept plugging along.

It really took me all I had to power up the highway on-ramps, and finish the last 3 miles! My Marathonphoto pictures show all the pain I was in!! Seriously, the humidity killed me!!!

At mile 12, I knewI was close, and caught a small second wind, enough to get me to the finish line!!!

I had already received pictures from my sister, as she had finished, and the thought of claiming 3 medals was also a BIG motivator for me.

As I crossed the finish line, I cried, tears streaked down my cheeks, and for a moment, I broke into a complete sob. I had finished, not that I thought I wouldn't, nor was I even close to being swept, but I finished!! What I had started over a year before was now complete. I had done it! I was so proud!

Walking through the finisher's chute, I was bombarded with water, Powerade, a cool towel (THE BEST!) and a mesh backpack to stick it all in.

I was shaking so hard I couldn't get my water open, luckily a volunteer saw my struggles and helped! I wanted to hug her!!! I was pretty emotional!

After what seemed like a LONG walk, I finally got my medal! The tears and sobbing started again when I received my coast-to-coast medal for completing both the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon in Disneyland and the PHM, and then to top it all off the Glass Slipper Challenge medal was placed around my neck. I just couldn't keep it together!! I was so proud of myself, and so emotional about the entire journey and how much I had gained through it.

I made my way quickly into the Race Retreat tent, and got some hot food! It tasted so good!! My cousins and Anne were waiting there for me. Anne presented me with a beautiful necklace and my cousins had bought us Mickey roses!!  It was a great celebration!!

Almost instantly my suffering on the course was forgotten, and I was sad that it was all over. Anne and I took a few picture with all of our RunDisney medals, and then we made our way to the bus line.

OMG!!! It was a disaster!! I think we waited in line to get on the bus for over an hour. It was truly awful!

The rest of the afternoon was pretty nondescript. We had early dinner reservations at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Review, and I was so excited to eat!! The show was so much fun, and the food was delicious!!

Afterwards, my cousins went to Downtown Disney and Anne and I went to the Magic Kingdom to take a few more medal pics with the castle!

We had an amazing time, and hardly felt tired from our day! We pretty much walked onto all of the rides, saw the fireworks (FINALLY!!) and the castle show. I broke down again and cried during the castle show, it was amazing to watch, but what was even more amazing is that I was there with Anne, and we were glowing in our accomplishment.

This entire race weekend was special, from meeting Meg, to the 3 races, to the coast-to-coast medal, it was magical. I cannot express the love I felt.

What is more important to me than any medal, or any finish line is the friendship and closeness I have build with Anne through this process. It warms my heart.

I cannot wait for our next Disney Adventure!! :)

2014 Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon Re-Cap

 I cannot believe how long it has taken me to get this post up!! I guess, writing my re-cap was just really hard because I just don't want to admit that Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon Weekend is over! I loved it that much!!

This was the race that started it all for my sister. If you remember back to April of last year, my sister had never run a race, and she was very "anti-race". I begged her to travel with me to Disneyland to run the Tinkerbell 1/2, and she flat out refused! She wanted nothing to do with racing. So, I devised a plan in which she wouldn't be "racing" at all, but helping me pace myself, and she would run with me. She went for it and we got signed up.

Of course, she needed to actually run a race in order to have a time to submit to RunDisney for corral placement, so her very first 10k was in August. It was at this race that she got CRAZY about racing (and very competitive!!).

Fast forward to January 19, 2014 --

We had just finished running the Neverland 5k and the Tinkerbell 10k the two days before this race, and now we were up at 3am again, to run the Tinkerbell 1/2 marathon!! Only 13.1 more miles stood between me and the amazing Tinkerbell medal!! I was so excited for this race, as it was going to be my first 1/2 marathon that I actually had someone to run with!!! I was very excited!

Anne and I got ready in record time, and made our way to bag check, and on to corral B. Anne had a time good enough to be in corral A, and while I knew it was killing her to fall back and be in B with me, I was overjoyed to be able to run with someone!!

As we waited in the corral to start, I was amazed with how "fresh" my legs felt!! I wasn't tired, or sore!! This was going to be another GREAT race!!

We were right at the front of corral B and it didn't take long for us to be called to the starting line. After the count down we started running!! I know I had tears in my eyes, I was just so excited to have another chance to run in the beautiful weather (55 degrees!!) and through the parks again!

For the first mile, we ran on some roads outside of Disneyland, these included a few small "hills", but I really don't remember too much of this part of the race, it was dark, and I was just trying to settle into a pace that would be happy for both Anne and I. Anne was struggling with her (bought the night before!) RunDisney tutu, and ended up taking it off and throwing it to a very excited spectator! She is not a costume girl!

About 1.5 miles later we entered Disney's California Adventures! Here we stopped for our first character stop, and I noticed that Linzie from @SeeSharpRun was right in front of us!! I took a quick pic with him! The first character line was short, and didn't take us very long to get through. We then devised a plan that Anne would run up to the character line and wait, I would run and catch up to her. This worked for much of our time in the Parks!

This is probably the reason I loved the Tinkerbell races, you actually run through the parks for an extended amount of time! We ran in the parks for just over 4 miles!! It was so much fun!!

Anne and I stopped for just about every photo op during these 4 miles, and it was funny to watch the time on our Garmins tick by! We actually "ran" mile 3 in 25 minutes!! hahaha! I think seeing this time really got to Anne, it got into her brain and she just panicked!

After meeting Cinderella, Rapunzel and Finn Ryder, Anne took off, saying she would wait at the next stop. When I got to the next character, she was nowhere to be found, so I ran to the next character, and again, there was no Anne. I knew, I knew she had left and I wouldn't catch up to her again, so I settled in to run my own race.

For about 2 miles, I was mad, I was really mad. Usually when I run mad, I run fast, but this time I was trying to choke back tears, I had really wanted to cross the finish line with my sister.

As I made my way down the streets of Anaheim, I got over it and just enjoyed the rising sun, and the views!











Some people complain about running on the streets of Anaheim, that it "isn't' Disney", which is true, unlike races at Walt Disney World, which are run all on Disney property, Disneyland is small, and the city of Anaheim hugs Disney on all sides. Disney cannot have their characters outside of their property, so after mile 5.5 there are no more character stops. I didn't know how I would feel about that, but I was shocked by how the city supported this race!! It was really awesome!! There were very few spots without spectators, and there were multiple places set up handing out food -- I ate the best orange slice I think I have ever had, I even thought about turning around to get another one!!

I had a really great time running this part of the race, I didn't worry about character stops messing with my time, and I was just able to run! It felt really good!

I was able to admire the costumes that everyone was wearing, and chat with a few other runners. At around mile 10 I caught up to a woman who was wearing one of those skirts that belly dancers wear, the ones that make noise, you know those? Well, it annoyed me so badly!! I couldn't focus on anything else but the noise her skirt was making, I actually thought about hitting her!! That's when I knew that I had to get this race over with!

At mile 12 we were back on Disney property, backstage of DCA, and the bottom of my right foot started throbbing. I didn't know what to do, it hurt so bad!! I have never had this type of pain before, and it was bad!! It hurt really bad when I ran, and not as much when I walked, so I walked a while. I didn't want to have to walk across the finish line, but I was in so much pain!!! I just wanted to take my shoe off!

I started chatting with a girl who was also walking, she gave me some encouragement, and at about mile 12.5 I high-fived her, and started running towards the finish line.

The crowd was amazing, and it helped me not focus on my foot!! I sprinted through the finish line, as tears streaked across my face! I think I was crying because I was sad that the weekend was over, that this race that I had planned for so long to run, was over, but I was so proud of myself for finishing!

I seriously skipped over to get my medal!! It is BEAUTIFUL!!! I love this medal!!

I met up with Anne at the same place we met the day before, and at first I got a little angry with her, but I didn't want to ruin the moment. Her excuse was that she "lost me" but I know she needed to run her own race, and just took off. I'm still sad we didn't get to share the finish together, but I understand.

With that said, she only finished 8 minutes before me…..so……

Oh well. I'm over it!

We collected our checked bag, in which we had put our other medals from the weekend, and we got a few pictures taken with all of our medals on!

My sister also had a special surprise for the at the end of the race. All week she had told me that she had something and that it would probably make me cry. She was right! She gave me a vintage (1950's) Tinkerbell charm that she had put on a Alex and Ani bracelet. The charm was very much like the one my mom got as a child in Disneyland. It melted my heart, and if I had had the energy to, I would have bawled. I held it together though. This bracelet means the world to me, for so many reasons!!

Even with all the post-race excitement, I couldn't forget about my foot, it was still throbbing in my shoe, so we made our way back to the hotel, had some breakfast, showered and got ready for our last day in the parks! Once I released my foot from my shoe, it was better…..thank goodness!!

We spent the rest of the day at both Disneyland and DCA, it was super crowded, and we actually had 2 rides shut down just before we got on them (after waiting over an hour in line!!).

It definitely wasn't our favorite day in the parks, but we made the best of it!!

My final thought about Disneyland's Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon Weekend are simple, it was a magical experience! And even though I have only run 2 RunDisney races (PHM and Tink), I am declaring Tinkerbell as the winner (although I am going to let PHM weekend impress me if it would like to!).

Tinkerbell is great because:

1.  time spent in the parks during the run (the 5k is completely in the parks - start and finish!)
2. getting to the corrals is much easier than at WDW, less walking
3. it is a smaller race, not so crazy
4. the weather!! No HUMIDITY!!
5. smaller parks mean less time spent on your feet in between races!
6. everything is much closer: expo, hotels, parks, etc.
7. the great people of Anaheim who come out to cheer on and support the runners
8. the medals!! They are HUGE!! and BEAUTIFUL
9. California!! I love California!!

I seriously have to run this race weekend again! I know many people had issues with parts of this race weekend, I did not experience any of these issues, and I overall had an amazing time that I will never forget!! It was amazing to travel with my sister, and experience Disneyland for the first time with her. I am so glad she decided to run this race "with" me!! I hope we can do it again in the future!!

Now, it is time to focus on Princess 1/2 Marathon weekend, and earning my coast-to-coast medal!!

#Runnerslove Meet-Up

Have you heard the news!?!?

I am currently in the planning stages for a meet-up event during Disney's Princess 1/2 Marathon Weekend with my very favorite RBFF (Running Best Friend Forever) @Warsawmermaid (AKA: http://www.runawayroyaltymeg.com)!!!

Meg and I met through Twitter and through following each other's blogs. Right away we had so much in common and this girl had so much positive energy it was contagious!! We both are running the Glass Slipper Challenge during PHM weekend in Disney World, and have been so excited about meeting each other in person, that we thought it appropriate to share our love with all of our social media followers, hence #Runnerslove was created!!

#Runnerslove is a casual runners meet-up and everyone is invited to attend our event being held on Friday, February 21st at the Poly Poolside Bar.

By attending #Runnerslove, you will not only meet a whole group of amazing runners, you will also be able to win prizes!! Meg and I have been collecting AMAZING prizes from OUTSTANDING running companies! We already have over 30 companies participating in #runnerlove!! Here are just a few!

KT TAPE
Armpocket
Island Boost
Energybits
BeeCause Charms
Sweaty Bands
A Princess Prerogative Disney Inspired Bows
PRO Compression
Skratch Labs
Nuun Hydration
The Runner's Guide to WDW
Sparkle Athletic
Women's Running Magazine
One More Mile Running Apparel
Bulu Box
Knuckle Lights
Sonic Endurance
Rock City Skirts
Headsweats
PocketFuel Naturals
Mudlove Pottery
Bondi Band
HB Tune
SkirtSports
Gladsoles
Moving Comfort
Greeper Laces USA
Barefooters
yurbuds™
Fitletic

Please RSVP here and look for updates to our meet-up! We are looking forward to meeting you!!

Please look forward to many product reviews coming up!!