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Sunday, May 04, 2008

Minnie 15K Report

I finished in 1:35:18. Not my goal time, but still a PR. Here are the details:

Miles 1-5
Were pretty dang boring.

But I knew that. See, what's deceiving about a Disney race, is that expectant racers believe the entire thing will consist of runs through the parks with Tinker Bell and her faerie dust nearby, but the truth is that the parks are several miles apart, and to get to them, you have to run on the highway. So, we started in the parking lot of Animal Kingdom (didn't actually get to run through that park), and then circled out toward the Wide World of Sports and then looped back toward MGM -- all highway, baby.

And the other deceiving thing about this is that Disney kinda touts itself as a "flat" course, but with highways, come on/off ramps -- those are hills in my book. So the first half wasn't real exciting, nor was it easy.

1: 9:57
2: 10:32 (had to make a pit stop)
3: 9:47
4: 9:56
5: 10:09

Miles 6-9.3
Were much more interesting.

At 5.5, we entered MGM, and as we rounded through the park from the back, a flood of memories about finishing the marathon along this course flooded my consciousness. When I entered MGM at the end of the marathon, I was hurting, but today, I was feeling fine, and I can't express what a relief it was to run up "New York Street" in MGM and not feel hobbled.

From MGM, we wound through the Disney Yacht Club and ran along the boardwalk that circles the enclave (I remember at this point in the marathon, I was crying), and then we headed directly into Epcot. Epcot is always cool, and in the early morning, before the park was open, it was literally like running through small streets in Europe. I knew at this point, I wasn't gonna come into the finish in under 90 minutes, so I just enjoyed the park and savored the fact that I succeeded in enjoying it (instead of wanting to die like I did in those last few miles of the marathon).

6: 10:39
7: 9:15
8: 10:03
9: 10:25
.5: 4:30 (must've been doing some serious swerving b/c the Garmin recorded .2 extra miles)

Finish Line
Was in the same spot as the marathon -- you cross behind the giant golf ball and exit into the Epcot parking lot into the expectant crowd. I got my medal, a banana, and a water, and then exited the chute.

Finish Time: 1:35:18

In the end, I was a little disappointed in my time, and can't fully account for my slowness except to say that some days are slower than other days, and I just couldn't light a fire under my ass, despite an attempt in mile 7. It was still a fun race, and I especially enjoyed the last 4 miles.

Plus, this Disney event has me thinking of other events Disney has that are unique -- the 10K for the Taste (during the Food and Wine festival in the fall), the Tower of Terror 13K in October, and they are introducing a new 1/2 marathon next March called the Princess Half. I may seriously consider that one. Any other women bloggers out there wanna mass meet in March for that?!

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great job Jess!! Way to beat your previous 15k time. I bet you'll PR again and hit 90 minutes on your next 15k. Well done.

I am surprised to hear the beginning is boring.

Ryan said...

Good work Jess. 95 minutes is nothing to be worried about. The important thing is that you got your snaggletooth fixed.

Mary Gee said...

That is fabulous!!!! You did great.

And a Princess half sounds great!!!!

sRod said...

Nice run!

I always say the same thing about Disney: it is not flat and only 25% of the course is "magical."

Erin said...

Good job! That wasn't far off from your goal at all. You always forget about crowds, hills, and unfamiliar obstacles. I would be pretty proud of myself.

Maybe by your next race, LBF will be able to stay with Dad and I can come with for a girls weekend :)

Aron said...

great job on the PR!!!

Unknown said...

When in march is the princess half? If it doesn't collide with our family spring break vacation, I may like to come out for that one.

Megan Hall said...

Great job! Sorry you didn't hit your goal, but it sitll sounds like a pretty good run.

Having never run a Disney event, I'm surprised to hear how little of it is Disney-fied. Everyone always raves about the parks and forgets to mention the highways!

Wes said...

Yay! I'm glad you PRed! You will break that sub-90 minute mark someday. You are improving so much these days!!!

teacherwoman said...

Fantastic! You did awesome! :)

Laura N said...

Great job on your race! I sure didn't know you ran a bunch on the highway. That's so un-Mickey. The princess half sounds like fun, though. Do we get to run in tiara's and ball gowns? =)

Running Jen said...

Great job, I loved reading about the race! I think your time was great! I love this race, and reading your report on it brought back memories of when I did it. I do remember those boring highway miles in the beginning, but those last few miles are priceless.

I had no idea about a Princess half in March? I will have to look into that for sure. The Tower of Terror 13K is supposed to be great, I considered it last year, but definitely want to do it this year.

Marcy said...

I was going to ask the same as Lisa, when in March? I'm always looking for a reason to ditch these crazy asses . . excuse me, I mean children :P

AWESOME JOB CHICA!! ;D ;D

E said...

Awesome job!

I'm going to look into the Princess half!

Viv said...

Congrats on the PR, Jess. I am glad you enjoyed the Epcot running. I really thought it would be in the park, with Minnie and Mickey cheering you guys on not all that highway running.

A princess run sounds fun. Will have to check my schedule and airline miles.

MN Mom said...

Way to make Minnie proud!

L*I*S*A said...

Great job and way to smash your previous PR!

Kevin said...

Great job. You put in a decent time for a 15K and you PRd

Sarah said...

Way to go! You waaaayy beat my time on the course today! And that Half-Marathon definitely sounds like fun!

Scott McMurtrey said...

time may have been better if the course went in and through the animal kingdom.

P.O.M. said...

Great job! Do we get to see pics???

Anonymous said...

Good show. Anytime someone grabs a PR, it's a good run! Race for the Taste is also a pretty good run (and so is the drinking of the beer at the food festival afterward!). My wife and her sister normally do the Minnie events and will likely do the Princess Half next year. I'll keep them posted.

TonyP said...

Congrats on the new PR !!!

keith said...

Hey Hey!!! Swawesome PR!

The 311 Boys Mom said...

AWESOME PR. 95 minutes is nothing to sneeze at!!!

I love WDW. I think I truely belong there. Its my favorite place in the WORLD!!

I'll be looking to sign up for the Princess half. My boys Bday is the 11th.....so maybe htey can have their parties the NEXT weekend. . . how selfish am I??? Regionals too. . . oh well. . . it is WDW!!!

Great job & glad you're feeling better!

Unknown said...

Awesome Jess!!! WTG !!! The most important thing is that you went out there and had fun. You will certainly improve over time. Hmmm, maybe you need to cut down the beer. JK !!! Hey, I am going to check to see if they have Prince half.

Nancy said...

Hey Jess, way to go. I'm so glad you weren't hurting or crying and that you remembered to enjoy those last few miles even when you knew you probably wouldn't make 90 minutes. I swear, for someone that can drop an fbomb and a corona with the best of them, you always keep such a great outlook and level head. Nice PR. That must be the fastest pit stop I've ever seen. :D

sunshine said...

Just catching up... sorry to hear it was a bit disappointing, but glad to hear you enjoyed part of it! And, congrats on the PR!!!

J~Mom said...

WOOHOO!!! Way to go!! I have heard the same about the beginning of the runs here at Disneyland. My friend told me at one point they were running down an alley?!

audgepodge said...

Hey Jess - I think I saw you at the race! We finished right around the same time... I tried to find you at the end but didn't see you again. Anyway, yes, I'm definitely interested in doing the Princess Half next year!

Mendy said...

I bet it was worth the great feeling you had at the end of it to sacrifice the extra time on your goal time. You did great and sounds like a great organized race. Hmmmm.....

Stuart said...

Nice report, nevermind you finished slower than you hoped tonext time will be faster!

Jenniferlyn said...

COUNT ME IN for the Princess Half Marathon!!!!!!!

Great job on the run!