Run, Mommy, Run!

Me, Robin, Sarah (and baby in the belly) in front of Cinderella's dress

Robin and me at Wide World of Sports under the official sign!

...and that is what we did, we ran like it was almost midnight!!

Well, I did it! I completed my first half marathon and what a feeling it was to cross that finish line! I haven't been that impressed with myself since I went home less than 24 hours after I had Jackson via c-section. It was so amazing from beginning to end. The race started promptly at 7am on Sunday morning, which was basically 6am (time change). I felt so good in the beginning, my adrenaline was definitely getting the best of me. I was flying in and out of runners, and by mile 3 I had to pit stop due to the hundreds of liters of water I had stocked up on throughout the weekend in preparation. After that, I was gold. Robin ran with me the whole time, and seasoned marathoner that she is, she reminded me not to use up all my energy in the beginning. We had a long way to go. So I slowed up and we just coasted most of the way. We started in Epcot and ran to the Magic Kingdom. The roads were closed for us, and it was so weird to be running on the roads that I normally drive in on. Once we got to the Magic Kingdom, we ran down Main Street toward the Castle (so fun!). We rounded the corner of TomorrowLand and through FantasyLand, and right through the CASTLE!!! I was so happy at that point, I almost cried. That was about mile 6. We still had a long way to go. I got to see some of the "dark side of Disney", because we were running through the back where all the controls were. There were characters and princesses at every mile marker. I was cursing myself for not bringing my camera, but relieved not to have the extra weight in my running shorts. Disney did not disappoint, there were water and Powerade stops at every mile, Biofreeze at every 3miles, and even Clif shots at mile 8. I stayed hydrated, ate my sport beans, and thanked GOD for my Ipod about a million times. Toward the end I started to really get tired. I didn't think I'd make it past 11miles, but there was no way I was walking (I didn't stop to walk ONCE). I guess Robin could see the look of worry in my eye because she told me at about mile 10 "it's just mind over matter...you can do this...we're finishing together." I cranked my Ipod louder and trucked on. There was a hill that resembled Mt. Everest at mile 12, but it lead us right into Epcot and we ran through the front part of the park and rounded the side, right into the Imagine parking lot and across the finish line! When I stopped to give my chip to the collector (the chip is a piece of plastic that you wear on your shoe to record your time), I felt so numb I almost fell. I just kept walking and then of course, they want to take your picture, lol. It will be interesting to see those! They should be emailing the pics within a couple more days.

All in all, a great weekend and a great experience. I think I could handle more halfs, not sure if I have any desire to do a full marathon though. I will try to post the Disney pics when they send them.