Some of the Biggest Disneyland Half Marathon Mistake

The amazing Disneyland half marathon!! This is a wonderful but painful goal that I decided I wanted to experience. Don't get me wrong! It's totally worth the pain and the 2:30 am wake up call. Not only did I train for this run I also read blog after blog on advice and tips.  Besides the obvious of making sure you are actually training and can make the 16 minute mile pace, here are a few of the most important tips.

I did the 10k and the half marathon this weekend. My biggest mistake was thinking the 10k was anything like the half marathon. The 10k is a real race that you should train for, but a lot of people that do it are not overly concerned about their time. They have fun with their custom choice and props. The half marathon also has some who decide to wear customs, but for the most part they have minimal customs like run skirts that sparkle and short tutus that neither cover their butts or weight them down.

Look at me in the picture above!!!! What was I thinking! As soon as I lined up in the corral and took one look around I knew I was in trouble. I by far had the biggest tutu I could see. About 7 miles into the run I was completely  miserable and the thought of how much my tutu was weighing me down kept playing in my mind over and over again. So what I promised myself I wouldn't do, I did! I stripped off my fluffy bo pee tutu and never looked back. To be honest I heard a women behind me say "That's totally ridiculous!" But I read on another blog before my run that throwing things down on the side that you didn't want was acceptable and would be donated to Goodwill.  So I don't know what that ladies problem was...maybe my tutu got caught in the wind and flew back and hit her in the face...

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This brings me to my second tip. Whatever you do prepare for the weather!! I don't know how I could have planned for how hot it was but I wish I would have trained in hotter weather. My corral started at 5:20 am and it was already 84 degrees. 

"Water water I need water." Said a girl on the sideline sitting on the ground with a bunch of people huddled around her. Okay, so a  lot of people out there say don't bring water there are enough water stands that you run pass. I'm going to give those people the benefit of the doubt, and say they must be trained athletes. Because if they are not, they're either lairs or murders trying to kills us or trying to win the race.  I am telling you right now, running and drinking is not the funnest or easiest thing I have attempted. Although it must be pretty entertaining for the people on the sidelines. On top of that the sip of water you get from those cups that actually make it in your mouth and not down your chest is definitely not enough to quince any normal person's thirst. So bring your own source of water, unless you are comfortable on long runs without it.

I hope you fined these tips helpful! Next week I will post about getting some great Disney Run pics during your run.

Disneyland 10K Tips

Hello Everyone!!

Thousands of people each year signup for the Disneyland 10k. I decided to do the double dare. Which means running the 10k on Saturday and then the half marathon on Sunday. Why would anybody do that??!! For me, it’s my love of running and medals.(lol more medals then running)  Not only do you get the 10k and half marathon medal you also get an amazing double dare medal. This year double dare medal was an awesome Pixar themed metal.  Instead of writing about both and getting things all confused I will first share my thoughts on the 10k.

The 10k is an amazing opportunity for anyone who enjoys or doesn't enjoy running. You get the chance to run inside of Disneyland and California Disney. Some of the race is outside of the main park (you end up running by some equipment) but I didn't mind it at all.

Main things to be prepared for:

1. This is a real 10k! Yes, what other bloggers say is true there are some distractions along the way. But the excitement of cute characters waving at you, and funny customs running alongside you soon fades at about the 3rd mile. The heavy reality of only being about half way soon hits you like a ton of bricks if you don't train. You don't have to run the whole thing but if you plan on enjoying Disneyland at all when you are there, make sure you can keep up with the 16-minute mile pace without killing yourself.

2. You will be waking up at about 2:30 - 3:00 am every morning for a 5:00am race keep that in mind. I thought this would totally kill me because I had to do it 2 days in a row. But it wasn't too bad. Just make sure you go to bed early!! Your family is going to want to hang out, they don't have to get up and run so don't feel bad for turning in early. Also  have all your gear picked out the night before, know what you will eat in the morning, and keep hydrated.

3. Be prepared for the heat! With a 5:00 am run, this one got me. If anything I was prepared to be cold. But when I lined up in the corral with sweat lightly collecting on my forehead from the 80 degree temperate at 5:00am, I knew my arm warmers were unneeded. 

4.  For the 10k about 50% of the people dress up like a Disney character. My suggestion is that you wait to hear what the Disney theme will be and then get an outfit to coordinate. But if you aren't particularly happy with the theme, don't worry you can dress up as any Disney character of your choice as long as it follows Disney's costume rules. Test that costume!! I went as piglet for the 10k and about half way through the run, my ears were killing me and I had to hold them. 

Mommies' Priceless Moments

5. Have fun!! Remember you have been planning on this run for quite awhile so dress cute, take pictures and enjoy your surroundings!!