The 2018 Wineglass Marathon

Honestly, I am not sure where to start with this post. I feel like I should feel disappointed after a less-than-stellar marathon time at the Wineglass Marathon, but honestly, I’m not. I’m quite the opposite - I am elated, I am inspired, and I am ready to marathon again. And that is kind of exactly what I hoped I would get out of this weekend.

So, I suppose we will start at the beginning, heading to Corning on Saturday morning. We live on Long Island, so it was going to be about a 5 hour drive north to Corning. We had a hotel booked in Bath, near the start area of the marathon. Dennis and I set our alarms for 5:45, and were out the door by 6:15. The first stop was at Emily’s house, to grab the last member of the race support crew, and then after a quick starbucks to meet our morning caffeine needs, we were on the road. We drove through the sunrise, crossing bridges and counting clouds as we went. When we hit about the halfway mark, we made a pit stop at McDonalds to grab breakfast, and were quickly back on the road. We made good time, and before we knew it we were pulling into the Museum of Glass in Corning, NY, where the race expo was set up.

It was around 11 am when we pulled into the museum, and we headed right to the expo when we got there, following the signs along the way. There was so much to look at as we walked through the building, that I nearly missed the bathroom that I so desperately needed to visit - by the time Dennis pointed it out, I had one foot on the escalador about to follow Emily to a lower level, when I quickly bailed. She looked at me with betrayal in her eyes as she considered running backwards up the escalator to not move on without us, but ultimately she took a full cycle down and then back up, meeting me on the main level again. I mean, she knew she was going to be chasing me around when she agreed to come along this weekend! Right Em?

Anyway, once that was taken care of we made our way into the expo, and it was quick business to get my race gear. The swag for this race was great - a red, embroidered quarter zip, a stemless wine glass, a drawstring backpack, and a single serving bottle of champagne. The expo was on the tinier side, but we still took a lap around, checking out the various booths as we went. I picked up some new Gu flavors to try, and a spectator map for Emily and Dennis to follow the next day. I spent the most time in the “official race merchandise” area, deciding if I wanted to make any extra purchases. Ultimately I bought a travel mug, a normal mug, and a zip up performance jacket. I am a sucker for race jackets, and wanted one to commemorate the marathon. The marathon nerves settled in as I purchased the jacket, a superstitious part of me fearing that I wouldn’t earn it.

Once bib pick-up was complete, we decided to explore the museum of glass, as one of the race perks was reduced admission cost for runners and their guests - $10 a person for a two day pass, a great deal! We spent a few hours exploring the museum, seeing art made of glass, a live glass blowing demonstration, learning about the history of glass, and even saw a few optical illusions.

When our stomachs started to call for lunch, we decided to check out the food court, and they had a surprisingly large selection. I was able to get a baked potato and some pasta for lunch, and get a few last minute carbs in. We had to be at the museum at 4:40 for a glass blowing workshop that we were signed up for, but I needed to run to a thrift store that was closing at 5 to pick up a throw away morning for the following day - the forecasted temperature had dropped throughout the week, so now it was looking like a warm layer would be necessary.

So, after eating we made a quick run to goodwill, which luckily was less than 10 minutes from the museum. I was able to find a coat for $4, that would ultimately be donated again the following day, but would do the job with keeping me warm. Did I walk up and down the aisles for 20 minutes making this choice? Yes. In retrospect, this doesn’t make much sense, as I re-donated the coat, but at the time I really felt like I had to assess all of my choices.

The final activity that we had planned for the day was a glass blowing class back at the museum, so we completed our circle journey and were all excited to try our hand at it. The project that we would be working on was wine glass tumblers. Once we were all checked in, we were handed safety gear - an apron, goggles, gloves, and sleeves, and told to pick the color that we wanted our glasses to be. Then we got a walk through with the instructors of the process that we would be going through, before trying out hand at it. Realistically, the instructors were doing the more complicated parts, with us acting as helpers, but it was awesome to see the process up close, and help in little ways. We each got to help shape our glasses, and the three came out different shapes, colors, and sizes, and are a really great reminder of the weekend we had together.

Once that was done we finally made our way to Bath, and checked into our hotel - Vinehurst inn and suites, which was less than 10 minutes from the bus drop off spot for the following morning. We settled in, I set up all my gear for the next morning, I checked the weather for the hundredth time - low 40s at the start, cloudy day, high temp in the 50s.

Once we were all settled in, we turned our focus to dinner - our first choice was a local italian restaurant, that toted “make your own” pasta on the menu, but when we called to inquire about wait times, there was over a TWO HOUR wait. It’s like runners like carbs before a race, or something. So, we settled on a small restaurant called Timber Stone Grill. I had a corn and crab chowder, to help with my sore throat, and a chicken sandwich with mashed potatoes on the time. Did my nerves start to control my personality at this point? Yes. To a point where I was on edge, and I put Emily and Dennis on edge (sorry guys, my bad).

I tried to take some deep breaths, reminded myself that I had put in the mileage for this race, and decided before bed that tomorrow would be great.

My plan for race day was simple. I was going to start with the 4:20 pacer, who would have an average pace of 9:54, and just see how I felt as the race went on. A 4:20 would be a great finish time for me, but at the end of the day, I wanted to feel happy and accomplished at the end of this race, and I was really feeling like that wasn’t going to be a feeling that was tied to pace. It was either going to be a good day, or a bad one.

I managed to go to bed early enough, and woke up a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I was feeling congested, and checked my weather app as I laid in bed…. AND IT WAS RAINING.

Cool weather, cool. Thanks for the super accurate forecast, I appreciate it so much. But, it was only a 30% chance of rain, and it was only supposed to last until 8 am, so it should be done and over by the time the race started. So the hard part would be staying relatively dry until it was time to start running, but I was prepared, with a poncho loaded into my race day bag (thanks, Dad).

Once I was all dressed for the race Emily and Den were starting to get moving, so I slipped on my Vans and walked over to the hotel lobby, to grab tea for me and coffee for Em. I figured that I may as well try to keep my running shoes dry for as long as possible, and I had to go outside to get to the room that the hotel served breakfast in.

A short mile later we were all ready to go, and we loaded into my car and Den drove me to the bus drop off location, where I would hop on a bus and get a ride to the start area. They headed to get gas, and then find a spot between mile 2 and 3 to cheer at.

I was layered up with my coat and all, lugging along assorted gear in the bag I planned to check at the start area. There were some porter potties at the bus area, and I decided to use the bathroom before getting on the bus, as the bathrooms at the start area would likely have a longer line. Only had to wait a minute, and as I stepped into the bathroom I looked down, and REALIZED I HAD NEVER CHANGED INTO MY RUNNING SHOES.

Yup, you read that right. I was waiting at a bus area to be taken to the start area of a marathon that I was meant to run, and I was wearing slip on Vans. And, incase you were wondering, I did not have running shoes in my checked bag. This was entirely unintentional, and I went into a full blown panic spiral, picturing myself trying to run in these no support, slip on shoes.

I immediately began calling Em and Dennis, and both of their phones went to voicemail. AAH. Thankfully, Em picked up on the second call attempt, and I panic-explained that I needed them to stop what they were doing and double back to the hotel ASAP to grab my running shoes, and bring them back to the bus area. It was a little after 7, and buses ran until 7:30, so we had a little time, but I sat there waiting, playing through the worst case scenarios in my head, and checking their progress on find my friends almost every minute. I texted Dad, panicking, how could I be this stupid?!

But then I took a step back. I had told myself I was going to practice positive self talk. What would I say to my best friend in this situation? What would my best friends say to me? Well, that was an easy question to answer - when I told Emily that I was so stupid for this, she responded “You are not stupid. You are a graceful honey bee.” And you know what Jennie reminded me? That something was bound to go wrong, and it was better to get the bad thing out of the way. Dad told me not to sweat it - because he knows I always worry a little too much. By the time I finished considering all of these things, Emily and Dennis were pulling up to Putney square and coming to my rescue, running shoes in tow. With just five minutes to spare, I was climbing onto the school bus at 7:25, crisis averted, changing into my running shoes as I finally made my way to the actual start area.

On the short ride to the start line I pulled myself together. I changed into my running sneakers, Brooks ghost 10s, filled my SPI belt with Gu and my inhaler, stored my headphones in the pocket of my running jacket, and unfolded the poncho that I had in my race bag, and pulled it on.

The bus driver advised us that the tent right next to the start line was pretty full, so if we wanted to wait for the race start in a dry environment, we were better off heading to the bus shed that  was open, just a little further from the start line. I had to check my bag, so I headed in the direction of the crowded tent to get that out of the way. I managed to squeeze into the tent, which it turned out was heated too, and found that there were plenty of open chairs further away from the entrance. After 15 minutes or so of waiting around, I decided to try to squeeze in one more potty stop before race time, and headed over to the porter potties. The lines were quick moving, and I was in and out in no time.

I walked back towards the start line, and people were starting to gather, as the start time was less than 10 minutes away. I easily found the 4:20 pace group leader, Mike, and introduced myself. I chatted with a few other people who were planning to run in his group, as we waited for the race to begin.

Now we have gotten to the race, and I feel like even though it was only three days ago at this point, I am struggling to have a lot to say about the race itself. It is kind of just one big mush of positive emotions. I don’t know the area of Corning well, so it is hard for me to take you through the race step by step as I sometimes do. So once again, we will just have to start at the beginning.

The crowd started to shuffle ahead of me, and I quickly pulled off my throw away layer and made my way to the side of the crowd to drop it out of anyone’s way. The race was using the “raceJoy” app to track runners, so I crossed the start line holding my phone, and then spent the first few minutes of the race working on storing it away.

My legs were hesitant as the run first began, wanting to run faster to express their race day excitement. But I stuck to the plan, and stuck with the pacer. I spent the first few miles chatting with a runner who had also had an injury during her training cycle - she was doing box jumps and managed to rip her shin open, yikes! We commiserated about our marathon cycles not going exactly to plan, talked about why we started running, and were both just generally happy to have made it to the starting line. We lost each other at the first water stop around mile three, but it was nice to have someone to chat with for a bit. Emily and Dennis were waiting for me right around the third mile, and I smiled and waved, and threw them my jacket, which I was already too warm for. Down to a t-shirt, capris, gloves, a hat, and a buff after that, and I was ok for the most part.

The first ten miles or so just flew by, at a steady pace thanks to Mike. He occasionally chatted with the group, regaling us with stories of some of the 60+ marathons he has run. It was still raining, and it seemed like it was going to keep raining for the rest of the race at that point. The views were beautiful despite the overcast skies, and while I had heard that this course was “net downhill,” it had its fair share of little rolling hills throughout.

Around mile 11 the pace that had felt comfortable rapidly started to feel taxing, and I could feel my heart rate climbing. I made it a point to start taking a little more water at the aid stations, thinking I just was not doing a great job of fueling. I knew Dennis and Emily would be around the halfway point, and started focusing on getting to see them again. Right around this point I also managed to drop my inhaler, and in my haste to pick it up and put it back together, had snapped it together in the wrong direction, such that it was not functional.

Thinking I may be able to pass it off to Den so he could pull it apart and then hand it back to me later in the race, I ran with it in my hand for a bit, until spotting them in one of the spectator areas. But alas, they were behind several layers of police tape that had live road between me and them, so I wasn’t going to risk trying to throw it and losing my inhaler.

It was just after the 13.1 mile mark that I started to yo-yo with the 4:20 pace group. My IT band was starting to freak out a little, and I fell into a cycle of dropping back, and then surging to catch up to the group. But you know what? I didn’t beat myself up for it. My IT band hadn’t caused my any issues during my training cycle this time, but here it was being a nuisance. Over the course of the next two miles I eventually lost the group, so I pulled out my headphones and took my race day experience into my own hands, and just focusing on making it to the finish line, and feeling good about that.

So, I went onward and found my groove. It kept drizzling, but I wasn’t bothered by it. The hills kept rolling, and the views kept changing, and I was loving it. Don’t get me wrong - it wasn’t easy, and I was a little frustrated that my hip hurt, but I was moving forward, and closer to the finish line. Each mile got a little harder, but I moved with joy. I was going to finish my fourth marathon, and damn it, I was going to be happy.

The on-course fuel was Gu, which was good for me. It meant that I had to carry less fuel on my person. The aid stations were set up well, and they were all paired with a water station. I had a new flavor of Gu with me - Birthday Cake! I had wanted to try this flavor, but did not want to commit to a whole box of it. Lucky for me, I had been able to pick some up at the expo, and I am happy to report that it tasted surprisingly like frosting, and I am a fan! I started to do some intervals as the run progressed, walking when my IT band started to hurt too much. I hate to admit that, but it was what I needed to do to keep moving forward. By the time I got to mile 21, where Dennis and Emily were spectating again, I was in the pain cave, and Em could see it on my face, and shouted our favorite Kasey quote at me -

“I am LITERALLY dying right now!”  (march 2018, Run rock n’roll washington D.C. Half)

I have to admit, this picked me up more than I expected it to, and moved onward chuckling. We Headed into a more residential area of the race for the last few miles, with spectators sprinkling the streets here and there, despite the rainy weather. I was struggling, but I was still so happy, to my own surprise. I had kept telling myself that my goal of this race was to fall in love with the marathon again - I was heartbroken and defeated after NY, and I wanted my groove back, and it was somehow happening, despite losing my pace.

When there were five miles to go, Jennie started sending me mile-by-mile countdowns, which I loved. Jen was encouraging me from GA. Dad was texting and reminding me that I could do this, the end was in sight. Mom was using the race joy app to send “cheers,” and sent me the song that my brother and I were obsessed with after it appeared in the power rangers movie when we were kids - “Kung Fu Fighting.” That one may have made me happy cry a little. Before I knew it, I was right by the museum of glass again, and I recognized the town that we had visited the day before. One final climb up a small bridge, and then I turned the last corner, and could see the finish line in the distance, and felt an indescribable amount of joy. The emotion that I feel in marathons is like nothing else, and as Jen and I often discuss, something that occasionally moves me to tears even when I am not running. Just thinking about it or reading about marathons sometimes makes me a little teary eyed.

The finish line got closer, the announcer even called my name, and I crossed that finish line. Marathon 4, complete in 4:44:37. I got my medal, I got my heat sheet, and I progressed through the finished chute with a full on post marathon shuffle. Hands full, heart full, head spinning, I eventually managed to plop into one of the seats they had set up just before the exit, and Emily and Dennis managed to find me there. They took the million things I was holding, and tolerated my slug pace as we began our trek back to the car. Did I have to stop and squat several times over the course of the walk back to the car? Yes. Was I stinky and sweaty and ready to get out of my rain soaked running clothes? Yes.

But guys, I was so, so happy. So happy to have my people, cheering near and far. So happy that I made it through my 26.2 mile journey with joy. So happy with my brand new glass medal. And so happy that I reclaimed the marathon on my terms.

This time, I am ready to go again - and that’s a good thing, as I’ve got the Disney Marathon on my calendar, just a few months away. So, here we go again!

Wineglass Marathon 2018: Week 9

Total mileage: 16.5

See that total mileage at the top of this post? If that’s not an indication that something went wrong this week, I don’t know what would be. But lets start with the good, before I move onto the bad….

After feeling successful about the previous day’s 19.5 mile long run, I was ready to face this week head on! I had the mileage on my side, and was feeling strong after hitting 40 miles a few weeks in a row. Yeah, the long run had been finished on the treadmill, but I didn’t let a thunder storm get in my way, so I was pleased with myself.

Jen was still in town on Monday night and needed to do a 3.5 mi run to keep up with her 10k training, so we decided to head to Eisenhower park to participate in the Nassau County Police Department Memorial 5k. Coming from a family of Cops, causes like this are near and dear to my heart.

After work I stopped at home to change, and then met Jen at the park, where she had already filled out our registrations and was waiting for me to arrive. Luckily, they still had our shirt sizes even though we were registering day-of. We waited by the starting area, Jen running through her prescribed PT exercises pre-run. The national anthem began, and we were off, into the park. This was Jen’s second race post-IT band injury, so she was wary as the mileage began. I don’t get to run with Jen all too often, so I was happy to stick with her as we made our way through the park.

It was a humid night, with a chance of thunder storms on the radar. We got lucky though, with only a few drizzles throughout the race, with no thunder threatening the full distance being completed. The first mile came in at 10 mins even, and we could hear the NCPD academy recruits running to a cadence as we ran a loop onto the next part of the course. I was impressed with their ability to sing while running in this humidity.

Mile 2 included water stations, and we took a quick walk break to get some fluids in. We were both struggling a little with the weather, and I had a nagging pain in my ankle. I usually take the day after long runs off, but I figured an easy paced 5k would be ok. My ankle continued to disagree. The second mile came in at 10:51, and we headed into a tree filled area of the park for the third and final mile. As we grew closer to the finish line, we were both drenched in sweat. Turns out summer is a less-than-ideal time to run – who knew?!

Approaching the finish line we picked up the pace, and completed the distance in 32:27, with an average pace of 10:23. We collected some cool towels they had near the finish, and then completed another .4 miles so that Jen would be able to get her full run distance in. Once that was done we checked out the post-race BBQ that was going on. They had a ton of food options available, but we both agreed that the humid run had made us a little nauseous and agreed to head to my parent’s house to hang out for a bit, rather than staying at the park for longer.

After the race my ankle continued to feel iffy, and of course I couldn’t find my ankle brace Monday night. So on Tuesday I focused on strength training, trying to give my body a break from running. In the morning I did a quick “Beach Body on Demand” workout, and then after work headed to the Gym with Desi, as is the usual Tuesday plan. I took Wednesday completely off, and thankfully a new ankle brace came in the mail that day. A few months ago I dealt with tendonitis that lead to the need for an ankle brace, so at least it was easy to get a new one, as I knew what I was looking for.

Did you know, Kasey “hates” running even more in the summer than she does the rest of the year?

On Thursday Kasey was planning on getting some morning miles in so I planned to meet up with her and figured if my ankle really hurt I would stop. Thankfully, I felt good when I started moving and was able to get in some excellent mileage. Kasey and I got in two miles together before she needed to get ready for work, and then I did an additional 5 miles solo, for a solid 7 mile morning. I started the run with no pressure on my pace, to give myself time to warm-up, and then gradually picked it up, enough that my last 4 miles were at a sub-9 min/mi, and the average pace came in at a 9:12. I felt strong at the end of this run and was glad that skipping some mileage had me feeling better. I figured I could run a little extra on Friday or Saturday to bring the mileage back up.

Thursday night meant, as usual, strength training at planet fitness. This time focused on arms and core. We spent a little more than an hour working through our routine and completed the whole thing without incidence.

I figured on Friday night I would get a few miles in after work before meeting Jen at a beach concert. Of course, I should have just done these miles in the morning. I wound up getting caught at work late, which meant no time for miles before the show.

Den, Desi, and I met up with Jen and her fiancé, Will, at the beach and learned that it wasn’t a concert on the sand like I had expected, but was a concert in an open air bar that was surrounded by sandy beach. I had worn flip flops, something that is fairly out of character for me, thinking my shoes would be full of sand if I attempted to wear sneakers. We found a spot to hang out on the roof of the bar, and had a good time hanging out and catching up. Eventually Jen and I were in need of drink refills, and we headed over to the bar for some refills. As we waited by the bar a waitress rushed by, and in her hasty almost-run, landed on my foot. She apologized quickly and moved on, I assured her it was no big deal, just an accident. My toe hurt, but it was no big, right?

We continued on with our night, eventually joined by my friend Chris, and we all sung our hearts out to classic rock tunes when we made our way to the dance floor. Even Dennis, who usually hates the bar scene, managed to have a good time. It wasn’t until we left the bar and begin the trek back to the car that I realized, WOW, my foot REALLY hurts! I wrote it off as a lot of time on my feet in unfamiliar shoes, and headed to bed when I got home without putting anymore thought to it.

The next morning when I woke up, the first thing that my body called my attention to was the throbbing pain in my foot. Examining my toes, I discovered that I had a bruise that wrapped around my pinky toe and swelling to accompany it.

Well, that’s not a good sign. I had to head to a meeting with the florist that Den and I are using for the wedding, so further evaluation would have to wait until after that. Weight on the foot? Not fun. After the meeting I iced my foot, and proceed to spend most of Saturday planted on the couch, trying to keep off my feet as much as possible. I had a 10k planned for the next day and was seriously questioning if that was in the cards for me. Needless to say, no makeup miles were possible on Saturday.

Sunday morning rolled around, and Desi was at my house bright and early. The Whisper Run 10k, which we were registered for that morning, was meant to be her first 10k ever. My original plan was to race the 10k, and then run another 8 miles to complete that weekends 14 mile long run.

I had pulled out my biggest pair of running shoes, half a size larger than the other pairs, and re-laced it in a way that the internet told me would take pressure off the toes. The course for the race was a repeat of a 5k loop, so I figured if I was in an unbearable amount of pain, I could manage walking at least one 5k loop. Putting the shoe on was painful, but I really felt ok once it was on my foot. We headed to Eisenhower park for the second time this week and picked up our Bibs and shirts. We had just enough time to use the bathroom before we had to line up and get moving.

Desi and I started the race together, but quickly settled into our own paces. It was humid again, but bearable. My foot felt better running than it had walking, and I pushed the pace a bit. I just focused on the mile I was in and found lot of on course support from members of the Merrick Bicycles Tri team, some volunteering and others running with me. When the first loop was complete I headed into the second one feeling strong, focused on the upbeat music I had playing on my headphones. One more loop. I was starting to become a little more aware of my foot, but it still felt ok. My watch was closing in on mile 6, and the course was closing in on the finish line – from looking at my watch while I was running through the area of the park that has more trees I know that my pace was off, so I’m going to chalk the short race distance up to the watch, rather than to a short course. As I approached the finish line, another member of the Tri Team, Andrea, shouted “you better not let me cross that finish line before you!” and it was just the motivation I needed to push a little harder in those last moments. I crossed the finish line and kept moving for a minute, mainly to avoid puking.

I chatted with some of other members of the tri team as I waited for Desi to finish, and when the results were posted I learned that I had managed first place in my age group – I was particularly excited by this, as I had gotten first place AG at this race in 2017 and was hoping to manage it again this year. We hung around for the awards ceremony, and several members of the MBTT had placed in their age groups, woo hoo!

Once the awards ceremony was over, I evaluated how my foot was feeling. Walking sucked way more than running and my foot was screaming about being confined to a shoe. I was happy with my 10k results, and decided not to head out for another 8 miles to complete that 14-mile long run, for fear that this was anything more than a broken toe. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and recovering… and kicking myself a little for deciding to wear flip-flops out on Friday night. What was I thinking?!

In the grand scheme of things, a broken toe isn’t much, but I was afraid that it would be more than a toe. After struggling through the last 5 miles of the NYC marathon last fall, and then having to sit out the Disney marathon in January, I found myself fearful that this would have an impact on the wineglass marathon. Was 2018 just a year that I was not meant to run a full? This was the question that repeated in a loop, as I wallowed in my swollen foot.

2018 Rock 'n Roll Washington D.C. Half Marathon

About a year ago, I signed up online for the Rock ‘n Roll marathon in DC when RnR was offering a presale special- a full marathon for $79? Sign me up!

Of course, when I signed up for this race I had lost the lotto for the NYC marathon, and figured after running the Long Island full in May I would have 10 months to prepare. But then, life happened, and I managed to get into the NYC marathon through New Balance rewards so I wound up taking on NYC in November of 2017. After the city beat me up, I wasn’t sure I was ready to start immediately training for another full marathon, which I would have had to do to get a full 16-week cycle in before the race. 

While I was considering if I really wanted to run a full, Kasey was thinking about running her first half marathon. She signed up for the lotto for the United Airlines NYC Half, and when she didn’t get in, we discussed running the Rock ‘n Roll half in DC. It quickly turned into a plan for a weekend trip involving monument and museum trips in addition to the half marathon, and Emily signed on to come along and cheer. Kasey signed up for the race, and I dropped down from the full to the half. Of course, in the weeks leading up to the full our runs grew longer, and Kasey questioned how I talked her into signing up for a half – but I knew she was ready. Heck, she had more training under her belt than I did before my first half.

So, on Friday March 9th Kasey, Emily and I loaded in my car and got on the road to head to D.C. It takes a little less than 5 hours to get there from Long Island, and with the expo closing at 7 I was keeping a close eye on the clock as I drove. Emily and I had headed to target during the week to make sure we had plenty of road trip snacks, and had a much less healthy ride than Kasey, as we snacked on pringles and skittles while Kasey stuck to yogurt and rice cakes. The sun went down as we grew closer to D.C. and we finally got to the Armory, where the expo was being held, around 6:10. It would be a quick visit with it shutting down so soon, but we would be able to get our bibs without any issue.

We took a moment to stretch getting out of the car, as we had driven straight through from NY, and all agreed that our first stop at the expo would be the bathroom. It took a minute to get into the armory, as we all had to go through a security check, then we made a bee line for the bathroom. Finally it was time to pick up our bibs, and we had to go into the basement of the event hall to do so. Since we were picking up the bibs so late there was really no line, and we were through bib pickup in a few minutes. After grabbing our event shirts I made Kasey pose for a photo, and she was less than pleased with me for this, as our outfits could best be described as “Long car ride comfort.”

Then we were filtered into the shopping area of the expo, and we spent most of our limited time in the “official merchandise” area. They had shirts and banners with all of the runners names on them, so of course we took the time to find ourselves. We both wound up buying one with our name on it, but unfortunately since Kasey’s last name starts with a “B” and mine starts with a “Z,” we were on two different shirts. I also picked up a pin that looked like the medal to add to my backpack, and Emily decided she wanted to get fitted for a pair of rock ‘n’ roll tie-dye brooks, so as Kasey and I headed into the rest of the expo Emily waited for them to size her.

The expo was on the smaller side, and a lot of the vendors were already starting to pack up. Since the official merchandise area let out right next to the united booth, we entered the contest that they were running – a giveaway for two round trip airlines tickets for anywhere in the world – mainly because we wanted the buff that they were handing out as you entered. They also had a giant medal for photo ops, so we snapped another photo. Kasey and I joked that if we won we would be headed to London on the next flight…. But more on that later.

A quick loop around the rest of the closing expo got us some popcorn, a few signs from the world wildlife foundation, and confirmation that the RunDisney booth was already disassembled for the night – a bummer, as I was hoping that they would have early registration for the food and wine half available. We tracked Emily down, having purchased her shoes, and headed back to the car, so we could find the hotel and grab dinner. Emily had gotten a free tech shirt for pre-ordering the sneakers, which she gave me since they didn’t have her size available.

We met Kasey’s parents, my Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom, at the hotel soon after. They had also driven in from NY so they could spectate Kasey’s first half, but were planning on heading home right after the race, so we took two cars to get to D.C. I pulled up google maps to see what restaurants near the hotel were still open, and there was a noodles and co. about a mile away, so we took a quick drive over there to carb up before the race. I decided to live dangerously, and went for a bowl of mac and cheese, despite its dairy content, and for once won the battle against my stomach.

We headed back to the hotel to call it a night after, and Emily and I made some race signs while Kasey was in the shower, to surprise her with during the race. We set up everything we needed for race morning, packed our bags and designated throw away layers, and agreed to meet my aunt and uncle in the lobby around 7 am to head out, Kasey and I going to the start line while the spectators would head to the finish area to park the car, then head on the metro to wait for us just before mile 5.

Our hotel was close to the start line, so Kasey and I decided to walk to the start area instead of being dropped off, just to get moving a little. By the time we actually left the hotel it was about 7:20, and the race was slated to start at 8 am. We walked up one block before hitting the national mall area, and got to walk by the white house and the Washington monument as we made our way to the start line. When we got there we figured out where our corral was, and then walked to the UPS trucks that were the bag check locations so I could drop off my stuff. Before heading into the corral we spent a few minutes stretching, and Kasey said her final goodbyes to Instagram, as she was almost certain she would die before managing to run 13.1 miles.

As 8 am drew nearer we found a spot in our corral, and I took my pre-race Gu while Kasey opted for some Gatorade chews. We made the final necessary adjustments to our outfits, queued our play lists, and hopped around to keep warm. As the fastest corrals started, we began the final march to the start line, taking off our throw away layers and making sure our garmins were ready – then it was time to start our journey, and we started our watches as we crossed the start line.

Of course, this was Kasey’s first half, and I knew I would be remiss if I did not make a video for us to remember it by – you can find it at the end of this post, and see just how much she hated me at various points of the race, and hear us fight about whether or not it is ok to pause your watch during a race. We had to fight a little – we are family after all.

Now, before we move into the actual race recap, I will ask you to forgive me in advance for not knowing the streets of D.C. very well – while I generally know what mile we were at, I will not know quite where in the city we are, or which monument or building it is that we are running by.

Mile one brought us into the national mall, and the first landmark that we spotted was the Washington Monument. Before we even hit mile one, Kasey almost lost half of her race fuel, as her sport beans slipped out of her SPI belt, since she had just tucked them into the belt and not into the pocket. To be safe we relocated them to my pocket for the rest of the race, so that I wouldn’t have to make another mad dash to rescue them from the pavement. Next we ran by constitution hall, before passing the first mile marker.

There was the first of many on course bands at the beginning of mile 2, and the first water stop happened during that mile as well. It was a crowded stop, so we opted to skip that one rather than fight our way into it. The course started to head towards the Potomac river, and just before we got to the shore we got a peek at the back side of the Lincoln Memorial. Another band greeted us at the end of mile two, and we got to run along the river for the first half of mile three, before going into an out and back section of the course. There was some construction going on along the river, so there was no shortage of distractions on this section of the course. So far we were both feeling good as far as I could tell, and I tried to keep the hill that I knew we would hit at mile 6 in the back of my mind. We stopped for some water at the mile three aid station, and at the turn around point just after the mile marker another band was working hard to entertain us. Mile 4 slipped by, and we were well on our way to mile five, and it was time to start keeping an eye out for our spectators.

I had gotten a text from Emily, so I knew that they were before the mile 5 marker, and Aunt Karen and Emily were stationed near a big red pickup truck that was parked on grass, and Uncle Tom was up on an overpass. I spotted the overpass first, and alerted Kasey to keep an eye out, and they were easily spotted with the landmarks that they gave us – first seeing Aunt Karen and Em with the signs that we had made, then spotting Uncle Tom waving from the overpass, with a huge smile plastered on his face. We stopped for another water station before hitting mile five, and at this point Kasey was less than thrilled with me, and passed me more of her fuel to hold as we continued on. For the 80th time that day, she let me know that she was dying, even though her pace was strong and her breathing was sounding good. I tried to provide some entertainment for her by singing, but she was quick to flop her headset back on and drown me out.

Right by mile five there were spectators dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Incredible – who says Disney is the only race with character stops! Mile 5 brought us through the mile of remembrance, and the course was lined with photos of fallen soldiers. It was an emotional mile, thinking of those who sacrificed so much for our country.

The start of mile 6 was lined with individuals from “wear blue to remember” holding flags, cheering runners up the biggest hill of the race. Kasey pulled over as we ran up the hill, and eyed me with some resentment – but we hadn’t quite reached mile 10 hatred.

What is mile 10 hatred you ask? Well, in 2016 when I ran my first half marathon, my running partner was Kasey’s younger brother, Ryan. The two of us had spent a few months training, but most of our runs were 2-3 miles around the neiborhood with maybe 3 “long” weekend runs that capped out at 8 miles – and we couldn’t run those 8 miles through, there were walk breaks thrown in there. So, when we went into our first half, we were a bit undertrained, and a bit unaware of that fact. The looks that Ryan was throwing me by mile 10 of that race – that is mile 10 hatred! I have never had someone look at me with as much resentment as he did at that point. But we made it to the finish line, and even went on to run one more half together after.

So Kasey pulled over for a minute as we headed up this hill, and I urged her to keep moving, even if it was a walk. But Kasey really did not want to walk. I’m pretty sure she would have been on board to lay down and nap before she was willing to walk. After a moments rest, she agreed to continue up the hill, and soon after reaching the top of it we passed the marker that indicated the half way point of the race. We slowed the pace a little to make up for the effort that was put into the hill, and kept moving, running by a few bands as we got through the next few miles. During mile 9 we went under a bridge that felt kind of sketchy, and I was happy to have behind me.

As we ran by our spectators for the second time, Emily caught the exact moment that Kasey yelled out "I'm literally dying!"

Emily, Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom had made their way to a spot just passed mile marker 10, and as we ran by them Kasey threw out her tag line for the race – “I’M DYING.” I’m pretty sure anyone near us during the race must have thought that Kasey lost a bet to me, and that was how I roped her into this. But let it be known: She signed up of her own free will! I wasn’t even with her and typing her info into the registration sheet or anything!

We were running through city streets that were lined with houses at this point of the race, and plenty of people had set up cheering stations on their front lawns, offering drinks and snacks to passing runners. A few girl scout troops were even selling cookies – this was the one stop I seriously considered making, but I couldn’t figure out an easy way to carry a box of samoas for the rest of the race.

Mid way though mile 11 we started to employ the “I’ll run again when we pass THIS LANDMARK” method of pacing, but we were still making good progress. There was more running than walking, and we managed to pick up the pace for the last mile of the race. Once we passed mile marker 13 we entered the finish line chute, and had only a tenth of a mile between us and the finish line – so of course I rallied us to push the pace for that last stretch, and we ran right through the finish line, feeling strong, and Kasey joined the ranks of half-marathoners in our family. She even managed to beat her brother’s PR by about 30 seconds, so maybe I can use that as grounds for talking him into taking on another race with me…..

Anyway, after Kasey stopped for a moment to recover in her usual pose, we claimed our medals and started the long walk to the post-race festival area, collecting the usual post-race heat sheet, snacks, Gatorade, water, and of course, chocolate milk. I called our spectators and we agreed on a meeting spot, and I left Kasey there while I went to collect my checked bag. Once we had all found each other we snapped a few photos, and then headed to the car. We had pre-purchased the parking that rock ‘n roll offered on their site, but when my uncle arrived at the garage that morning they told him it was not open yet, bummer! So if you are considering pre-purchasing parking I would advise against it, as he was able to find parking on the street easily enough.

We grabbed a celebratory lunch at chipotle before my Aunt and Uncle headed home, and Kasey Emily and I spent the rest of the weekend exploring D.C.

While the driving through out the weekend got me a little stressed out, all in all I would call it a successful trip. Kasey rocked her first half marathon – which just 6 months ago was a distance she swore she would never run, we found a few places to eat some excellent food, from burgers to breakfast, and had fun exploring the national mall and assorted museums – although we still need to go back to fully live out Kasey’s national treasure dreams.

Oh, and remember how I mentioned that Kasey and I entered a contest to win two round trip flights from United? Well, to my shock, I actually won the contest! I may already be scheming about using the flights to run the London marathon next year.....

Also, Kasey has requested that I point out that while she beat her brother's half PR by about 20 seconds, she beat the time of his first half by over 20 mins. Nothing like good, old fashioned sibling rivalry. 

Princess Half Marathon Recap: The Half Marathon!

For the last post in my Princess half marathon weekend series, we are finally talking about the big event – the princess half marathon!

For those of you that are new to the blog, I will let you know that the princess half marathon holds a special place in my heart, as it was my first race EVER back in 2016. My cousin Ryan and I decided to sign up to run it, not being runners or having any idea how to train properly, but somehow managed to cross the finish line. The moment we were done, I knew that running was going to be a part of my life for a very long time, and have been chasing the feeling that I had at that finish line ever since.

So, for the 2018 Princess half marathon the theme was “Snow White,” with a big apple shaped medal. I wanted a costume that would go with that theme, without hitting the nail on the head and just dressing up as the princess herself. Rachel and I spent some time brain-storming this one, and we decided to go as the mine train (Rachel) and the poison apple (me).

I had so much fun putting these costumes together, and even learned some new skills along the way. I decided to make the focal point of the costumes the skirts, and then build the shirts and accessories around it. For my skirt, I made it to look like the poison apple itself, with a red base and a sparkly white top, shaped like the poison dripping down the apple, complete with an eerie face. Then I used my mom’s Cricut machine to create iron on transfers for my shirt. I decided to go with a play on a line from snow white – changing “Just one bite and all of your dreams will come true” to “Just one RUN and all of your dreams will come true.” To complete my outfit, I ordered a poison apple hat and a pair of red ProCompression socks, and I was ready to run.

So, on race morning I rolled out of bed too early for the third day in a row, and got myself dressed for the day. It was basically a routine at this point, so I had everything laid out right where I needed it. As I left my room I texted Rachel to see how she was feeling and asked if she was going to run the half (the day before, she had nearly collapsed from dehydration). She said that she was feeling better and was going to give it a go, and we agreed to meet up in the start area like we had for the 10k. I hopped on the next bus that pulled up to the All-Star Music resort and was on my way to the start village.

I found Rachel easily enough, and we hung out in the start area until it was time to begin the long walk to the corrals. For this race I was assigned corral B, while Rach was in F. We were originally planning to run the race together, but since Rachel hadn’t been feeling well the day before we decided to run separately, so that I wouldn’t wind up pushing her too hard. As I hopped in line for a porter potty she headed to her corral, hoping to get a spot near the front – for this race corral F had nearly 10,000 runners, about 30% of the race field.

I made my way to the corrals surrounded by thousands of other runners, some in costumes. Near-by was a man dressed as Ursula, joking about needing to brace himself for the calamari jokes he was likely to hear throughout the day, as the temperature rose. It was about a 15 minute walk to get to the corrals, and once I found corral B I headed in and tried to relax, feeling more nervous than I usually do before a race. As the start time grew nearer, I took some time to stretch, and eventually took my first Gu of the day. By that time, the announcers were on the stage and the pre-race show was underway. Jeff Galloaway remarked casually about the 90% humidity, as if it was an everyday activity. To get the race started, they brought out the Fairy Godmother and had her countdown to race start with a cry of “Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boo!”

The first wave of runners were released with a show of fireworks, and then corral B was moved right up to the start line, and a minute later, we were off into the morning. My plan for this race was to have fun, and soak in every bit of Disney magic that I would encounter over the next 13.1 miles.

The first mile was a little congested, with all of the runners trying to find their groove. There were volunteers lining the side of the course, cheering as we started our trek down the highway. Since I knew I wanted to make some stops for characters along the course, so I picked up my pace to make up for time i would loose in lines. My plan for characters was simple – if there was little or no line and I wanted a photo with the characters, I would stop. If it was the Evil Queen disguised as an old woman, I would stop – since it matched the theme of my skirt. But most of the time, I wound up snapping a quick photo or video as I ran by.

The first stop was at mile 1.7, where I saw that Jack Sparrow was set up with his pirate ship. The props made it a cool stop, so I pulled over and got in line for a photo… but then realized it was a slow moving line and decided to cut my losses and keep moving. It was still dark, but I was already feeling the heat of the morning. This was the day that I would learn how much I am capable of sweating.

Soon after the pirate ship I came upon the entrance gate to magic kingdom, lit up and shining. This is one of my favorite parts of the race – even though the park is still miles away, I get so excited knowing that I am headed there. I stopped and took a selfie, mimicking one I took with my cousin in 2016.

The next stop that I came upon had an assortment of Disney princes and heroes, and I deemed it a necessary stop – after all, it is the princess half, and I felt like to post with the princes was a photo I had missed out on the first time around. It left a dent in my time for that mile, and I took off fast as soon as my photo was done. Of course, soon after came the one character stop that I “NEEDED” – The evil queen, and boy did she have a line waiting for her. I suppose since I was in an early corral and all it wasn’t the worst wait it could have been, but when I was moving I was running paces in the low 8’s, and my mile average still came in at almost a 14 min/mi for the two miles that I did these character stops.

On the upside of things, I was quickly approaching the Magic Kingdom, and over the next two or so miles it was all highway and no characters, so I was able to make up for some of the lost time. I wound up settling into a pace close to a 9 minute mile, but then slowing myself down as I approached the magic kingdom, not wanting to miss a second of time there. We passed mile marker 5 just before running though the bus bays outside of magic kingdom, then headed through the park’s main entrance and down main street USA – the smile on my face in the race photos says it all, and I found myself holding back excited tears as I made my way through the park. Have I been to magic kingdom before? Yes. But there is nothing quite like running down main street. Plus, this was the first time I was starting a RunDisney event in my designated corral rather than dropping back to run with someone, and I was in awe of how empty main street was.

Once I made it down main street the course turned into tomorrow land, and I felt like it was a parade of character stops in magic kingdom – first up was Buzz Lightyear, before running passed the story book circus, then into new fantasy land, where I spotted Gaston near his tavern and the White rabbit, who was probably running late and shouldn’t have been doing a meet and greet. Just before the castle Cinderella’s evil step-sisters were stationed, with people pulling over for pictures, when I could hardly contain my excitement enough to even consider stopping.

Then one of my favorite moments of a Disney race: running through the castle! I had it nearly to myself, and stopped to get a picture in front of the castle before going onward into frontier land. I quickly spotted tiana and Louie, then Woody and Jesse, followed by Goofy. There was only one person on line to meet Goofy, and being a sucker for classic Disney characters, I stopped for a photo with him before continuing to run to the part of the course that would bring us backstage in the magic kingdom.

I only got to spend a quick minute backstage, as we just ran by a few buildings before leaving the park, but they had some festival of fantasy parade floats out, so I grabbed a quick photo with the giant dragon float, since there was no line and I couldn’t resist such a cool photo op. There were some princesses out with their floats as well, but I ran on by as I said goodbye to the Magic Kingdom. I made one last photo stop on my way out – they had the rail road car pulled right up to the course, so I threw myself in the path and posed dramatically, as one does. I was basically dying because of how much I was sweating at that point anyway, so I may as well get a good photo of it.

The next few miles were all highway, as we made our way back to Epcot. We ran by the grand Floridian, where tinkerbell was hanging out with her fairy friends. As we approached mile 8, they had put up signs with cheesy jokes on them to amuse runners as they went by, all Disney themed of course. My favorite had to be “Who is the funniest Disney princess? – Ra-PUN-zel!” But I am a sucker for cheesy jokes. Just after mile 8 they had props and performers from the long closed Adventurer’s Club, which was once a restaurant in downtown Disney. Having read stories about it, I may always be a little bitter that I never got to visit myself, but I always enjoy when RunDisney brings out entertainment like that.

As I continued on the highway, miles 9 and 10 ticked off on my watch. The mile marker for mile 10 was a little special, as this was the 10th anniversary of the princess half. I slowed my pace a little at this point, as I was starting to feel the effects of the high humidity. Plus, my thigh was starting to chafe! I had run TWO marathons and countless training runs in the shorts I was wearing and never had any issues, but apparently the humidity was doing me in for this one. By the time I was finished with the race, I had a raw patch of skin on my leg. With mile 10 came the overpass, AKA the one “hill” of this Disney race. Once I was up the overpass, I could see runners on the highway for quite some distance.

With mile 12 I started to enter the Epcot resort area, and mile 13 brought me all through the parks. I was loving this race, but the heat was getting to me and I was more than ready to get to that finish line! I picked up the pace a little for the last mile, running passed spaceship earth, and to the final out and back of the course. Then one more trip passed spaceship earth, around the bend, and the finish line was in sight. There was still confetti on the ground from the winners crossing the finish line, and Prince Mickey and Princess Minnie were waiting by the finish line as runners approached. As I ran by Mickey I snagged a high-5, then threw my hands in the air as I crossed the finish line, full of joy.

Finish time: 2:13:37

A volunteer handed me my medal, and they had fairy godmothers in training on hand to sprinkle finishers with pixie dust. Then it was just a long walk down the finishers chute, where I collected Gatorade, water, and a snack box, then verification at the fairy tale challenge tent, where I collected my second medal of the day. The last thing to do was pick up my checked bag, and head for the bus back to the hotel.

I completed my second Disney princess half marathon, and my first glass slipper challenge. It was exactly the magic that I was hoping for, and that I have come to expect from RunDisney. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my family at my aunt and uncle’s house, just taking it easy and celebrating a successful race.

As for Rachel – she finished too, and even snagged herself a new PR, crossing the finish line in just over 2 and a half hours.

Princess Half Marathon Recap: Arrival to Florida and Expo day

My journey to Florida for the princess half marathon began at MacArthur airport in NY, where I boarded a flight with my parents on Wednesday night. Dennis was supposed to be joining us for this trip, but he recently started a new job and had to cancel. Dad won the seat game, when he snagged the emergency exit row seat that had no seat in front of him – talk about leg room! I had recently gotten some free drink coupons from Southwest, so Mom had a celebratory vacation drink as we flew to Florida.

The flight was smooth sailing, and when we got to Florida Mom and I collected our luggage while Dad grabbed the rental car, then we were on the road to Disney. This first ride of the weekend through Florida began the saga of the tolls, where we scrambled for the millions of quarters that we would need to chuck into the provided bins. In retrospect, we probably should have invested in a SunPass, but at the time we didn’t realize just how many quarters we would have to dig for.

We pulled into the All-Star Music resort, and found our room in the country music section. I had completed the online check in that Disney offers, so I didn’t even need to stop by the front desk when we got there – we had received a text with our room number and our magic bands would open the door. The most complicated part was figuring out where to park! We started by following the numbers around the building, starting high and marking them off as they got lower… but the parking lot ended at building 6 and we were headed for building 5. So we doubled back and realized that we needed to be in the parking lot that All-Star Music and Sports shared.

Once we lugged all of the luggage into the hotel we settled in and called it a night, planning to get up early and meet up with my mom’s sister and her family, and all go to animal kingdom together.

In the morning my Aunt Liz and Uncle Keith met up with us at the hotel for breakfast. Since the best way to start a Disney day is with a Mickey Waffle (or a cinnamon bun, I’m not picky), Dad and I both got bounty platters, complete with Mickey waffles to start the trip off on the right foot.

We all piled into the minivan that Dad had rented and headed for animal kingdom, and were directed to the Dinosaur lot. We got there just a few minutes after opening, and once we were in the park headed to Pandora. The first ride of the day was “Na’vi river journey,” and since the park had just opened there was only a 20–minute stand by line.

After the ride we found my cousin Keith, his wife Kristen, and their baby, Ainsley. Or, more accurately, they found us! Kristen jumped right into a photo I was taking of my parents, and we all got a laugh out of her photo bomb. 

After a few minutes of catching up as we hung out in Pandora, we made our way to flight of passage. Just a week before our trip the park hours got changed, which released an extra hour of fastpasses, and I managed to snag us each one for flight of passage. I was happy that my mom agreed to come on the ride with us, as she isn’t always a “ride” person, but we all had a great time.

When we exited the ride we found Keith and Ainsley hanging out by the gift shop, and all headed to dino land so we could take Ainsley on tricera tops spin, then hung out there for a little bit. We made our way around animal kingdom throughout the rest of the day, taking in festival of the lion king, riding expedition Everest, and grabbing lunch at flame tree BBQ.

We all had a great time just hanging out and enjoying the park and each other’s company, but as the afternoon rolled into the evening I needed to head to the Expo to pick up my race bibs, so we all parted ways, and my mom left with my aunt and uncle, as she was planning on staying with them for the next few days as Dad and I hung out in Disney.

We headed to the expo around 5 pm, and hit a little bit of traffic heading into the ESPN sports complex. Once we were parked we went to the bib pickup area first, as bib pickup was obviously my priority. We headed into the arena, and the process was easy enough. Flash my ID, trade my signature for a bib, and then do it once more for a challenge bib. Since it was the 10th anniversary of the princess half, in addition to my bib I was given a luggage tag in the shape of the half medal, a set of bib boards featuring mickey, and a button featuring the race logo.

The next stop was the main expo hall, where the shirts were waiting to be picked up. There was no line to get into the building, so we were able to walk right in. I stopped for a few photos with some snow white props they had out, and then we walked to the back of the hall where the shirts were set up. I tried on one of my shirts and it seemed good. While we were in the Visa center we stopped at the pandora booth. I wanted to check out the charm they were selling for the race weekend. It was kind of pricey, as it had to be purchased with a bracelet, but my annual pass knocked 20% off the price, and we had a $50 gift card from waiving maid service in the hotel room, so I wound up getting the charm in the end. I walked around the vendors a little, but there was nothing that I really needed in terms of running supplies, so the only other thing I picked up was some applesauce and buy one get one free chipotle coupons. 

Finally, we headed to the runDisney Merchandise area. I picked up the pre-order jacket that I was bought – there was no reminder that I had purchased one at any point in the bib pickup process, so if you pre-order merchandise, remember to retrieve it! It has the same logo on it that the annual passholder shirt bore, with each race distance and associated princess. Then we wandered around the merchandise, and I picked up a few things – a wine glass, a tervis water bottle, the pins of the race medals to add to my backpack, and a 13.1 magnet to add to the back of my car…. Yep, I’m THAT kind of runner. For the first time, the runDisney merchandise had its own building, which I really preferred over the usual arrangement. It meant that there was plenty of space for the merchandise to be spread out, so I was able to shop leisurely instead of being crammed into a small aisle with too many people. Before heading out, I waited in line to get a photo with princess Minnie, all ready for race weekend in her pink dress. 

With the expo complete, Dad and I headed back to the hotel and grabbed some pizza from the food court for dinner before calling it a night. I set up my outfit for the next morning and packed my bag with everything I would need, and headed to bed, excited for the weekend full of running that I had ahead of me.