Around the World in 13.1 Miles

Happy October! Can you believe we are already in October? I sure can't, especially since the weather down here is gorgeous and people are still enjoying long afternoons holding hands and skipping through the parks, sunbathing, and at night enjoying a romantic dinner with views of the Magic Kingdom fireworks.  In my life though I am enjoying the afternoons at the pool working at my new resort, Saratoga Springs, and spending the evenings running and out with friends.

It's been a busy week down here. First as you know I have been deployed to Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. It's right down the road which is really nice for the commute and is a vacation club resort. The resort is nice and laid back with two leisure  pools and who knows how many quiet pools. The activities they do there are the same as Y&B and BW but they do some differently which is great because I can learn new and fun ways of doing the same old games. Because it is a Disney Vacation Club resort, the guests all feel the "own a piece of the magic" and technically sort of do; they pay monthly dues, pay into the program, and get perks. However, Mr. DVC member, you cannot tell me what I should and should not do with my job and no you cannot just take things that aren't yours. If you don't like something, write it on the comment card you get mailed and please don't complain to me. I am just the girl with the microphone. I would love to tell all guests that 1) everyone gets a prize so relax and 2) most of the stuff we get comes from Oriental Trading. It's not Disney, it's just something we get off of page 28 in a wholesale catalog. If you want it that bad, you can order it. But please 37 year old woman do not take our "critters" home with you because you got them from Disney.

On Saturday Walt Disney World celebrated it's 40th Anniversary. This park was from one man's vision and as he said, "it all started with a mouse." I wonder if he were around today what he would say or think of all this company has become. We got yummy cupcakes in honor of it and there were special fireworks at MK but Lauren and I couldn't go because we were too busy running with 12,000 of our new friends.

That's right, finally the Wine and Dine half marathon arrived. We both worked Saturday so we met up at Epcot at 7:30 to get the shuttle to Wide World of Sports. When we got there we hung out a little bit together but I had to take another shuttle to Animal Kingdom where I would be starting my leg of the race. Since I am product of my father, I ended up meeting someone on the bus and we ended up talking the two hours we had to wait until our part of the race. It was about high 70s and we were all shivering with goose bumps waiting for our relay partners to meet us at the switch point.  Lauren's 5 miles leg was from Wide World of Sports to Animal Kingdom, through AK, and then to the parking lot. At about 11:20pm (maybe?) I saw Lauren running in our matching pink t-shirts, ran out, and gave her a hug ( I skipped the kiss like many couples running did) and said I would meet her at our meeting spot (the phone booths in the UK). And with that my leg of the race which was 8.1 miles would  begin. Now I'll be honest, I've been running but the farthest I've ran in the past few forever has been 4 miles. The longest I've ever ran/walked was 6.2 miles and that was sophomore year of HIGH SCHOOL when I would join the XC practices just for fun. I knew this would be interesting but went full speed ahead.

To say Disney puts a  lot of effort into the marathon would be an understatement. It was really well done with everything set up perfect, entertainment on the side including characters, music, live bands, people cheering, a drink stop every 1.5 miles, and the finish line party was great. I wasn't going for time but I still wanted to finish without stopping or going under a certain pace so stopping to take pictures with Buzz Lightyear was just out of the question. My leg of the race was the AK parking lot, going out the entrance, around the streets of Disney to Hollywood Studios, in the service entrance where Rockin' Roller Coaster is, through basically the entire park, exit from the entrance, and run down the BoardWalk, Y&B resort, and turn left into the back service entrance of Epcot and done. Seems like alot, because it was.

I started off strong, passing people, keeping a great pace, rocking to my music and enjoying the lovely night. Heading into Hollywood I knew that would be a long stretch so I braced myself for it. We ran through Hollywood Blvd. Pixar Lane, got to run through the Backlot Tour where the costumes are made, through the off stage areas, on the car stunt show track, through the streets of NYC, back through the front and out. The streets of NYC were lit up it was so pretty I was loving it. About 2/3 of the way through Studios though, I couldn't help but saying under my breath something my dad always says when he's over something, "We get the point already." I was getting tired, bored, and my joints were starting to ache like an arthritic old man. I kept going though, knowing that I would get a boost when I got to my homeland, the resort areas.

There isn't much to do while running so I just contemplated life, tried to avoid people who would rudely stop in front of me, and jammed out on my new headphones. Here are some things I thought of.

First, I bought the headphones at the runners expo on Friday when we got our race bags. The guy said they were guaranteed not to fall off your ears so I was fitted (yup, fitted for headphones) and tried them on. They were actually pretty cool and worked so I bought the Ironman special pair for $50 bucks and said Happy Birthday to myself. What makes them stay in your ears they say is medical grade silicon. Spectacular, I'm wearing a fake boob in my ear. And speaking of boobs....

I can sympathizes with the issues of doing anything physical and having bigger then a mosquito bite chest but PLEASE for our eyes and your comfort, please invest in a good sports bra. They are pricey but  I guarantee it will be a worthy investment.  Speaking of investments...

If you are pregnant, invest in a shirt. You are not Demi Moore. You should not be wearing just a sports bra and a running skirt on a public run. We don't need to see your belly. Even though I was impressed with your run, just please wear a shirt next time. Speaking of shirts....

The really good looking guys, you are ok to keep your shirts off. You gave me visual pleasure besides the characters. Speaking of characters....

Props to the people dressed up as characters. Some were pretty impressive like the Sebastian the crab in the pot of water, countless Tinkerbells, and of course Princesses. The team names were cool too and most  had liquor or food references in them. Speaking of food and liquor....

The only thing on most of our minds was the finish line that had a free beer for us and the food in Epcot. What was keeping me from seeing Lauren and feasting was the runners in front of me for 8.1 miles. Runners, here is some etiquette you should follow while running.

1) if you're slow, stay to the right.
2) if you need to physically stop, get off the course (that includes for taking pictures) .
3) don't run in a straight line and hog the whole path if you are multiple people
4) try not to cut someone off. Sometimes it's unavoidable, but  I will push you back if you try and get all up in my grill again lady with the blue shirt on not paying attention.
5) if you need to stop for water, don't throw your cup behind you, especially when there are still contents in it. Speaking of water...

We all know I can't sit down for a nice meal without making a mess of my area, dropping food on myself, or a beverage on someone else's Thanksgiving plate (I still don't think Floriana has forgiven me for that).  I tried really hard not to go for a drink, but I just had to at mile marker 11. I grabbed the first cup which, since I had my headphones blasting and couldn't hear, was watered down Powerade. I tried to still run and drink which ended up a disaster; it dripped down my face and onto my shirt so without continuing the disaster, I tried throwing away the cup in the garbage to help custodial out. That failed too and I over threw it, causing it to splatter everywhere earning me a not so happy look from the custodial cast member who now had to clean up that cup along with about a thousand others on the ground.


So with all that, I decided that I want to run a full half marathon all by myself like a big girl. It was such a fun experience doing it with Lauren and it is something we will always share together. Once we met up (I had my beer and medal at the point so I was happy) we walked around Epcot where we took some pictures and I got a lettuce wrap from South Korea (amazingggg) and a Jim Beam Lemonade from Amurica. We jumped right on Soarin and then headed out at 2:45 am back home. Although at mile 12 I felt and heard my right knee crack, my knees are actually fine this morning. The back of my right hamstring though and lower back is another story. I recovered today by relaxing at the pool and writing this blog for all you pool side.

Being down here has opened me to a world of trying new things and I can honestly say I normally wouldn't have done this but I have been open to trying new things, meeting new people, and as they say "putting myself out there." So thank you,  Meg Mitchell, for working traffic control that early March day at school and talking up this program to me as I was headed to the GWU grad school open house. Who knows where I would have been if you didn't convince me to apply and try this out.

Here are two pics from the race. More to come soon! 

Beer and Medal in hand. 

Warming up at the Expo!