In this week's post, I wanted to share with you my first runDisney weekend. This past week, BibRave had a BRF set of images going around. My race was a great experience that I can't wait to take part in again. It also is a great example of a great running friend. This week I'll be talking about...
My First Half Marathon
My first half marathon was the Walt Disney World Half Marathon in 2014. That weekend I also ran the Disney Family Fun Run 5K, so that was my first runDisney experience, but the half marathon was my first big runDisney experience. You can read my full recap from back in January. It was a race I was both prepared for and unprepared for. When training to go from running "not at all" to running for 13.1 miles, I had more than the necessary time to complete the Jeff Galloway Training Plan. In fact, I had long enough to go through the plan twice, which became my exact plan. The first time through the plan, I followed it very closely, right down to a 14 mile run, still my longest to date, while on vacation at Myrtle Beach. The second time through didn't go quite the same. Missed training runs, winter in VA, other excuses, you know the drill.
When it came to race day, I was excited and ready to go. Unfortunately, things didn't go quite as strong the whole way. Around mile 7 or 8, I hit my wall in the race. I was just dragging at that point. That's where I had two things help carry my there. First, my running friend stepped in. A coworker of mine decided to join in with me when I chose to run the half marathon. Derek helped pull me through the rest of that race. He helped pull me through mentally and physically. I took some extra walk breaks and he urged me back into my run intervals. The other thing that helped pull me through was the fact that the race was in Disney. We ran past characters, resort hotels, and back to EPOCT. Frankly, running any where else would have been just trees or buildings, but in Disney, it's little bits of magic to me. The final downhill push into EPCOT was that light at the end of the tunnel. As we ran past the gospel choir, Derek let me run ahead to get my own separate picture crossing the finish of my first half marathon. That's a BRF.
When it came to race day, I was excited and ready to go. Unfortunately, things didn't go quite as strong the whole way. Around mile 7 or 8, I hit my wall in the race. I was just dragging at that point. That's where I had two things help carry my there. First, my running friend stepped in. A coworker of mine decided to join in with me when I chose to run the half marathon. Derek helped pull me through the rest of that race. He helped pull me through mentally and physically. I took some extra walk breaks and he urged me back into my run intervals. The other thing that helped pull me through was the fact that the race was in Disney. We ran past characters, resort hotels, and back to EPOCT. Frankly, running any where else would have been just trees or buildings, but in Disney, it's little bits of magic to me. The final downhill push into EPCOT was that light at the end of the tunnel. As we ran past the gospel choir, Derek let me run ahead to get my own separate picture crossing the finish of my first half marathon. That's a BRF.
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| This picture has appeared a couple times on the blog, but I really enjoy our castle selfie. |
What's your favorite place to run? Have you ever had someone help pull you through a race?
Onto the Linkup
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Running through Disney parks really can help pull me through bad spots. I was joking with my husband that we need to figure out how I can do all my training runs on the course of the WDW Full (since it's all four parks!). I'll say that Wine & Dine 2014 was rough on my between the weather (my gait changed running on wet pavement which tired out my legs faster) and my not so awesome training but once I got to Disney's Hollywood Studios, I knew I'd finish just because the rest of the way was parks and the BoardWalk.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind running through the parks for training runs. Seems like the way to go, haha.
DeleteYeah, everything I read about that race read as a rough time. But knowing you only have that left would help. For me it's also a great distraction.
As you know, disney is my favorite place to run! My sister helped pull me through my first marathon and my mom helped push me through my first half. Both at disney!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome. Great place for both! I'm trying to figure out whether I'm going to run my first full before I plan to run Dopey (2017) or have my first full be the marathon as a part of Dopey.
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