Half Marathon 2013 (until about mile 8)

Start off by saying my worst half-marathon time wise, EVER! But we should all look this good leaving for the 3am bus to the start. I always get funny looks as I step onto the bus with my cup of cereal (Frosted Flakes).  My mom enjoys the looks on the second day when spouses might be trading off spectator duties and whisper, "there's that girl again today."

Back to the half marathon.  Maybe it was the corral I was in or that I just didn't really care how I ran for the half that it was so bad.  I enjoyed running and chatting with Kelly though.  I met up with her in the start corral.  Barely off the bus runners were met by a couple of these lovely banners warning us about the heat.  

Entering the staging area where they have baggage check and port-a-potties lining the perimeter was the usual red carpet entrance with new Mouse Ears.  I sat next to the gate waiting for it to be opened allowing us to head towards our corrals.

The race started with the usual fireworks, with the largest display just behind our corral.   Kelly and I hung out with each other chatting on our run until I met up with my mom for a check in about mile 3.

 

 I drank half a bottle of Diet Coke my mom had with her (tasted so good) and poured a cup of ice down the front of my dress in addition to wiping the sweat off my face and neck with an ice cold wash cloth.

When I caught back up to Kelly after her about mile 3 check in with her man Dan I pulled out some ice for her to cool down as well.  We decided to run together until we got out of Magic Kingdom and had our about mile 7 check in.  Meanwhile my mom headed over to her mile 7ish check point and hung out with the one and only Genie.  What a lucky Momma!

 While she was waiting for me to exit Magic Kingdom I texted her from one of the character lines to let her know they were kind of long and it would be a while.  Yep, I texted while running a race and I did several times during the marathon as well to check in with her since the runner tracking texting doesn't always work the best.  Here is a photo collage of the events from mile 3 til mile 7ish.

 

Last characters in Magic Kingdom that we stopped for.  We skipped Beast and Donald/Daisy Duck as Princess and Prince.  Lovely day for Marry Poppins and Bert to be out and about.

 I saw this sign and did a u-turn in the wet grass to go back and take a picture.  I love Dumbo and they do have FastPass for the attraction now so it helped to make my day.

 I met up with my mom to check in again and she snapped a picture of me with Genie.  While waiting for my photo with him I munched on my candy and told my mom about who I saw at Magic Kingdom.   I probably also complained about being hot and the lines to see the characters, which I never really had an issue with before.

The adventure continues...