A Magical 13.1

About a year ago, Jen started talking about the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland and somehow convinced me that we should run the race.  Last June, we got registered and booked a motel room (good old Motel 6!), then in October we bought our plane tickets.  It was hard to believe that the weekend was finally here as we flew to Anaheim Friday morning, exchanging single digit temperatures for upper 70s and looking forward to a couple days of fun before the race.

Jen and I checked into our room Friday afternoon.  Not bad for a $65/night Motel 6 in Anaheim, right?  We had free shuttles to and from the parks because we were there for the race.

We decided to hit California Adventure Friday since I had never been, and we had a blast.  My favorites were Radiator Springs Racers, Toy Story Mania, and California Screamin.  The lines weren't too bad, especially since we took advantage of the Single Rider lines whenever we could.  We did all the rides we wanted to, watched It's a Bug's Life and the World of Color, and even stopped by the Mad Tea Party before we headed back to the motel at 9:30 pm.

Saturday was spent in Disneyland (Splash Mountain was my favorite!) and checking out the race expo.  I had my first Dole Whip (delicious) and we ate dinner at the Blue Bayou, overlooking the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Sunday morning was the race.  I wondered how I would do after walking around the parks for the two days prior!  We got up just after 3:00 am in time to catch a 3:30 am shuttle to the park.  We needed to be there by 4:00 and in our race corrals by 4:30 for the 5:00 am race start.  So early!  I was amazed how I was able to jump out of bed though and quickly get ready.

About 12,000 people ran the half marathon that morning, including Jen and I (the Sneaker Bells) and Brooke and Merrilee (the Boise Beauties).  We ran through California Adventure and Disneyland and through the streets of Anaheim.  I was glad I felt pretty good throughout the race, especially considering I trained by only running once a week.  I started getting tired around mile 9, but I pushed through and ran the entire way.  I could tell I slowed down a bit at the end, but I finished with a 2:17:55 time (although my watch showed that the race was actually 13.3 miles and that I finished 13.1 in 2:16!),

Overall, I had a great trip.  I did feel guilty several times being in Disneyland without Matt and Kylee, so I doubt I'll do the race again, but it was probably the most "magical" half marathon I could have run!