It’s been a while since I’ve hosted a good old fashioned giveaway, so let’s do this thing!
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I’m a huge fan of the Run Newport Races up in Jersey City, NJ. It started when I ran the 10K back in 2017. Not only did I have a blast, but I set a new PR on their fast, flat course.
When they asked me to join them as a Blog Partner again for the Half Marathon later that year, I jumped at the opportunity to use it as a training run for the NYC Marathon and fell in love with my new favorite half marathon course.
Seriously, the half may not be my favorite distance, but with the scenery you get during the Ruth’s Chris Newport Half Marathon, it didn’t feel like 13.1 miles. You run through twisty city streets and really good crowds, get a nice boost when you run through Liberty State Park for basically all of miles 5-10, and finish in the heart of Jersey City – where they have a sweet post-race party going on pretty much all day afterwards. Add super-easy parking and race morning logistics to the list and you’ll see why it’s my favorite race series ever.
Unfortunately, thanks to an unholy combination of injury and bad timing, I was unable to run the 10K earlier this year, and will not be risking injury again by attempting 13.1 later this month, having only run a max of 5 miles in the past 8 months.
And that makes me sad.
BUT!
My misfortune is your GOOD fortune, because I now have a FREE ENTRY to the Ruth’s Chris Newport Half Marathon that I’m giving away! All you have to do is ENTER HERE by 12AM on 9/6 – and the best part is you can earn a bunch of entries by doing different things like following me on Instagram, Twitter, and leaving a comment here on the blog.
So don’t miss out on your chance to run this fantastic race, enter now and we can compare course notes after the race!!
It’s no secret that I love Star Wars. And since you’re already on my running-themed blog, you get that I also love running. So the fact that Disney – known for its incredible race experiences, parent company of Lucasfilm – holds Star Wars themed races means that I’m pretty much guaranteed to run them.
Well, I didn’t discover these races until last year, when I completed the Kessel Run Challenge by running both the Light Side and Dark Side Challenge weekends (10K and half marathon in one weekend). It was an unbelievably fun experience. Aside from the NYC Marathon, the four runDisney races I’ve done were the highlight of my year, if not my entire running career.
But, those great experiences came with a heavy price tag – literally – and I decided not to run the 2018 races. I made my peace with that early on, and instead looked forward to saving some money while watching my friends run them thanks to the magic of social media. Then, back in October, runDisney made the decision to suspend all races at Disneyland in Anaheim until further notice, and I felt better about my decision. You can’t suffer from FOMO when something is cancelled!
Fast forward to this morning, when it was announced that runDisney would offer a new Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon instead of the Light-Side-Themed Disneyland races.
Well.
You probably know how this story ends.
My racing plans went from “focus on a PR attempt in April” to “hey, let’s shoehorn another half marathon in there too” with one mouse click.
And while I know some folks think this is just a cash grab by Disney, let me say this: I am aware of that fact, and I don’t disagree with you.
But I TRULY DON’T CARE.
Sure, for what you actually get (a medal and a few downloadable PDFs along with the chance to share your experience online with the event hashtag), it is pricey.
But it’ll keep me active, keep me accountable, the medal is freakin’ sweet:
And most important of all? It makes me happy. I am going to have SO much fun figuring out what outfit to run in and sharing my run online. It’s a fun way for me to get my runDisney Star Wars fix in 2018 without having to shell out $2k+ for hotel, airfare and park tickets for two on top of race registration.
So now that I’m officially running the Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon, it’s on like Alderaan!
Er… it’s on. Let’s just leave it at that. Cause Alderaan didn’t deserve that.
How about you: What do you think about virtual races? Have you ever done one? If you’ve done a Disney race, which one is your favorite?
After a great experience as a Blog Partner with the Newport 10K in May, I was invited to run the the Newport Half Marathon in September and jumped at the opportunity. Sunday started out muggy and warmer than expected and as we headed into Jersey City we prayed the sun would stay behind the clouds for our race to keep the temps low.
Spoiler alert: it did!
A note about parking: a big factor in my race decisions is how easy it is to get to. My nerves are already shot enough on race morning, I’m not about to drive myself insane circling a city for a parking spot or navigating a bunch of detours. Anyone who’s driven in northern NJ will tell you that it’s a bitch and a half, so I was skeptical about a race IN Jersey City. But these folks are total pros, and even though we rolled up to the race area a bit later than I wanted, we still managed to get a parking spot in the huge deck very easily thanks to the clearly labeled streets and tons of race volunteers. A++ for that, Newport Half Race Team!
After parking, we stopped at the porta-potties (again, plenty of clean options available, another A+ for the event crew), hung out for a bit, and waited for the start.
Full disclosure: while waiting, I had a bit of a panic attack. The craziness of the pre-race crowds two days in a row, combined with the lack of sleep and extra physical pressure I had been putting on myself all came to a head and I just wanted out. I didn’t want to be there. I felt itchy all over. My skin burned and my insides churned. I couldn’t catch my breath and I felt like crying. So I sat on the curb while everyone around me chatted and took a few deep breaths to work through it.
I didn’t plan to wait until World Mental Health Day to publish this post, but it’s fitting that I share it now. Anxiety doesn’t always look like hysterical tears or someone hugging themselves and rocking; sometimes it’s a quiet, forced smile or a stoneface when everyone else is laughing. I’m not going to gloss over my mental health issues to paint an unrealistic picture. We need to break the stigma of talking about these things, and I want to help do that, one blog post at a time. So yes, I had a small panic attack before the start. After a few minutes I was able to pull it together and we went on with our morning, but if you ever feel overwhelmed and scared, just know that you’re not alone!
Once we realized the crowd was moving to the start corrals we headed over with them and seeded ourselves. It was a smaller race so the corrals were about 50 feet apart, which was nice. Mike stayed with me to send me off at the start, and away we went.
Right away, the humidity was an issue. It was hard to breathe and my muscles were super tight from racing Seaside the day before. I took it slow because I still had the goal of adding miles at the end of the race. But by mile 3, my right calf and ankle felt like they were wrapped in super glue: tight, hot, and angry. So I pulled over to a curb and stretched for a good minute or two – clearly this was not going to be one of those “omg I am so strong!” races. I was OK with this.
After mile 3, I was feeling better, my ankle and calf had loosened up, and even though I was drenched in sweat already, I fell into a groove behind these two girls at my exact pace, who had to be twins – they had nearly identical builds and ponytails, even their gaits were similar.
I took my first gel at the water stop near 4.5 and finally stopped for a bathroom break at about mile 6 in the park. Then we turned onto the waterfront path at 6.5 and came face to face with Lady Liberty and the NYC Skyline – and I kid you not – Taylor Swift’s Welcome to New York randomly came on my iPod and the run immediately took a turn for the better.
I sang, I danced, I pointed at the skyline – hell, I cried some happy tears – all while running straight for that beautiful city in front of me.
I’m sure the folks around me thought I was insane, but I didn’t care. Seeing the city was just the refresher I needed to get me through the rest of the race. We curled through the park for another few miles, and about halfway through mile 9 we cruised through a water stop manned by a crew of teens who cheered us on with big smiles. I had to laugh though – as I took my second gel and walked through, one of the teens sitting on the curb nearby shouted to her friend across the course, “Oh my god, my legs are SO TIRED!” to which I replied without thinking, “YOUR legs are tired???” She immediately blushed and covered her face and laughed with everyone around her – “I’m sorry!! I mean I ran yesterday so I’m sore! But you’re running so much more than me, you’ve got this!!” It’s always fun to interact with the volunteers 🙂
Around mile 10.5 as we neared the city again, I started to feel some twinge-y pains in my left ankle, possibly from overcompensating for the sore right ankle earlier in the run? Either way, I slowed down a lot here, and even stopped to fish a rock out of my shoe at one point. Then just before mile 11, we turned the corner where a small group of spectators stood. A woman was there with an older woman and a younger guy, and she was holding a sign that said “Almost there!” Of course, I laughed and said with a smile, “You’re not allowed to say that until Mile 13!”
Well, apparently this woman had enough of being heckled by runners the whole race, because she immediately snapped back at me in a super-nasty tone: “IT’S AN INSIDE JOKE.”
excuse me??
I laughed in her face and waved her off. Um, an inside joke with who? One of the thousands of runners out here on the course with me? How about if you don’t like the comments you’re getting, you put that sign down until this inside joker of yours passes by, and you keep that sourpuss to yourself, mmkay?
ANYWAY, it was right about then that Formation came on my ipod and I kicked it into gear for the final 5K. I texted Mike to let him know I was about a half hour away and took off at my now slower pace to keep that tender ankle from rolling. At mile 12 we hit the waterfront and cruised along there for the final mile and a half, and I crossed the finish line at 13.5 miles in a semi-decent time for a training run on tired legs.
Overall it was a perfect course and a well-organized race, just like the 10K. If you’re looking for a nice flat half marathon with pretty views (and a medal, too!), definitely check this one out.
Because they were both such awesome experiences, I’m going to write individual race recaps for each of the races I ran back in September, but first I want to talk about racing in back to back events in one weekend: in a word, it was challenging.
On Saturday the 16th, I headed down to Seaside, NJ for the 4th running of the Seaside Semper Five 5K. After what happened at the race last year, there was no way I was missing this one. Even though I had 16 miles on the training schedule the next day, I figured I’d go and walk it, just to participate.
So we fought through the crowds and Mike and I met up with our friends Liz and Jess and Ed (Liz and Ed ran it, Jess hung back with Mike) and after BSing at the start for a bit, the gun went off. And of course my competitive streak came out and I ran. I mean RAN. It wasn’t my hardest effort, but I really pushed more than I probably should have.
The next day, I woke up again at about 4:30am for the Newport Half Marathon with the goal of adding 1.5 miles before and 1.5 miles after for my 16 NYC Marathon Training Miles.
Well. Let’s just say that after my 2nd 4:30aM wakeup in a row, coupled with another crazy crowd of people, 90% humidity and tired legs all combined to make it not my best idea. I ended up having a minor anxiety attack before the start. I started out feeling OK but my right calf was super tight by mile 3. I really felt the burn by mile 10. At mile 12 this sharp pain in my left ankle caused me to slow down even more to avoid injury. By the time I finished, I was DONE with a capital D. Those other 3 miles were not happening.
And guess what? THE WORLD DIDN’T END.
Shocking, right??
In the past, I’ve been so super strict with myself about THE PLAN that missing a few miles here or there would send me into a tailspin of anxiety and self-doubt. 13 miles instead of 16 means the next week’s 12 miler would be another shorter run and the next week I have to do 18 and jump from 13 to 18 and I CAN’T DO THAT!
Once the crazy lady in my brain calmed down (and I got out of the ice bath after that half marathon), I realized: I still did a LOT that weekend. All told, I DID the 16 miles. Sure, I ran them over 24 hours, but I still ran them. And there’s always time to make up those miles. So I made the decision to listen to my exhausted body and mind, called it at 13 for the weekend and picked up at 16 the following weekend. And it was fine! I’m now at 18 miles and feeling groovy, ready for my 20 miler in a few weeks, and those 3 missing miles didn’t kill me!
So yes, I ran back to back races in one weekend. No, I would not do it again. Or if I did, I’d be sure to take it super easy (I’m talking walking) during the pre-long run event. I’m simply not at the point in my fitness where I can race one day and go for 3+ hours at nearly 90% power the very next day. The marathon training process is teaching me a lot of things. I’ve learned that I’m capable of a lot of incredible things, like running 18 miles with a huge blister and not stopping. But it’s also teaching me what I’m not capable of, which is just as important.
After going into detail about the snazzy costumes I ran the Star Wars Light Side Challenge in, I got a lot of positive feedback from folks who had considered Disney races or running in costumes. So now that the Dark Side Challenge is complete, let’s take a look at the costumes I ran in this time (and how I had to modify my plans to account for the heat)!
Originally I wanted to run as Phasma for the half and possibly do Greedo or Han Solo for the 10K. I even went as far as spending an entire evening looking at hip holsters on Amazon (an activity I don’t recommend unless you want your Amazon suggestions to be VERY WEIRD for the next few weeks).
But because this was a Dark Side themed weekend, I decided on Phasma and Vader pretty early on. And here’s how I made them happen!
Captain Phasma
My search for a Phasma outfit started off rocky: I couldn’t find the right shiny silver top and skirt in matching tones AND performance fabric in my budget. But, as fate would have it, at the same time, my friend Tiffanie (aka Star_Wars_Runnah), announced that she’d be running the NYC Marathon in support of the March of Dimes and would thank donors by making them skirts or full outfits depending on their level of support. The chance to support a good friend, a great cause, AND check my costume off the list while getting something one of a kind?? Thank you, universe!
To top it all off I added some personal finishing touches, including a DIY cape I made the weekend before and the outfit was complete!
This one was easy and functional, especially in the Florida heat:
And as a bonus: I can wear almost all of this costume again, even when I’m not running! Except for the silver gloves. Those things were so soaked through with sweat you could see through them and went right in the trash after the race, lol.
Darth Vader
For Vader, my costume was even more simple, and thank goodness: that heat was BRUTAL, and even though I was only in one layer, the sweat had pooled at the bottom of this dress and needed to be wrung out from miles 8-13 (bleh)!
Vader Dress by Her Universe (on sale for $25 when I got it!)
The end product was something super-easy to run in that still got the Star Wars love out there. Plus – as an added bonus – it looked super cute, if I do say so myself!
Have you ever run a race in costume? What’s the craziest costume you’ve ever seen at a race? Share in the comments!
With the 10K complete (and another day of Florida fun under our belts), mama and I got back to the hotel on Saturday night and found this fun voicemail on our room phone:
Gotta love that Disney touch 🙂
The next morning we woke up nice and early – 2:30am again! – and after putting on Flat Vader, I headed out for the Dark Side Half Marathon and the completion of the Kessel Run Challenge and Disney’s Coast to Coast Challenge!
The same bus ride as the day before took us to the same Start location, but instead of doing any character photos, I hung out near the stage area and watched the pre-race show (and almost got picked for the trivia contest but chickened out)! The best part was getting to see The Last Jedi trailer on the big screen with everyone, and admiring the insane costumes some people were running in.
That’s a Millennium Falcon in Mickey ears, a SUPER REALISTIC Krennic (hubba hubba), a Dark Helmet, and yes… a George Lucas (I stole the pic from Disney’s website, it’s too perfect).
My friend Lizzie was running the half with her uncle, so we met up and headed over to the Corrals, where we chatted and waited for a final bathroom break, then went our separate ways. While waiting to start in Corral E, I managed to get some video of the fun psych up speech the Stormtroopers gave every morning about these races being a test for Captain Phasma to find the best soldiers and it gave me a little giggle.
Another fun thing I caught was the HUGE fireworks display they set off at the very start – Disney really pulls out all the stops for these things!
After corrals A-D and E1 went off, one of the coolest things happened: the corral was cut in half RIGHT in front of me and I was one of the folks that got to hold the start ribbon!!
Me and the folks around me were losing our minds – how cool was it to START our corral? It was an awesome experience to be the very first people to start, and gave me a taste of what the elites must feel (although they probably don’t selfie NEARLY as much when it happens to them):
When the gun went off and the fireworks shot off over our heads, I ran through some ash from the firework and laughed the whole first 100 yards – we felt like we were in the Olympics all by ourselves up there! I had to calm myself though: no sense in going out at an 8 minute mile when I still had 12.1 more to go.
The first 3-4 miles in the dark were on the highway and in back roads between parks, and almost immediately I noticed a difference from the 10K. They had more music on the course, screens playing the movies, and one section where they laid out a crazy laser light show along a stretch of about 100 yards between forest on either side, complete with big speakers playing music and background noises and Ewok battle cries to simulate the battle on Endor! I loved it, even if I did get blinded by a few rogue lasers.
By about Mile 5, the sun started coming up, but thankfully, it stayed behind the clouds. It was a true blessing: with the sun hidden, it stayed relatively cool, even though the humidity was still around 90%, even at 7am.
In addition to a few character stops that I didn’t bother making, I got to see another fun piece of Disney magic around mile 6: a real live elephant! I didn’t get a picture, but apparently the Animal Kingdom park has an elephant care and rehab facility where they treat the animals, and one was hanging out watching us run! I know there’s some controversy around the fact that these guys are even there at all, but I had to laugh at how random it was to find an elephant on my half marathon course. Only in Disney.
After the Animal Kingdom we headed back out on the highway for mile 7 on, and my stomach was starting to get a little wonky. So I stopped at a medical tent for some Immodium (just keeping it real, folks), and headed back out for the final 5-6 miles feeling much better.
The view of the rest of the crowd behind me from an overpass we ran under then over.
One of the last character stops I made was partially for the character and partially just so I could get a break from running in the humidity! Darth Maul was never really a *must have* for me, but I turned out to really enjoy this guy. The cast members managing his line led him off for a break right before I got to meet him, so I was “first” in line again. The one cast member thought the line deserved a photo, so she snapped one. And when she showed me, I HAD to have it. But as I was giving her my cell # to text it to me, Darth Maul came back and had to wait for me to finish chatting. He was not pleased. Either that or that’s just his face. Either way, it made for some funny photos:
After Darth Maul, we ran through Hollywood Studios and I managed to get a fun picture with my squad, along with some nice runfies and shots of the scenery:
While I had gone easy for most of the first 10 miles, I ran the last 1-2 miles feeling strong.
It was the same route we ran the day before so we got to pass the Dolphin and Swan resorts before entering Epcot for the final stretch (and I got to see Hux again! What’s up, General Bitchface Weasley?!)
Bonus: as we went through the Boardwalk, I found Denny of the Diz Runs podcast spectating at mile 11 (he’s at the far right in a red shirt below)!! Seeing a friendly face and giving him a big ol’ sweaty hug was just the boost I needed to get me to the finish.
As if Mother Nature knew we were almost done, the sun came out FULL force as we rounded the corner into Epcot.
Having to run the final mile in full sun was brutal, but the view was nice and knowing we only had a mile left made me run stronger than ever.
After learning that the finish line was just on the other side of Spaceship Earth during the 10K, that big metal ball was a sight for sore eyes.
Sore, sweaty, exhausted eyes.
I gunned it and made it through the finish with a big ol’ smile – I had completed the challenge!
After getting a cold towel and my medal (and a bottle of water that I was instructed to have OPEN as I passed through the finisher’s chute, thanks to a bunch of attentive medical volunteers), I was directed to the challenge tents where I picked up the bling that made me want to do this whole thing: my Dark Side Challenge medal, Kessel Run Challenge medal and Coast to Coast Challenge medal.
I won’t lie: I cried when the volunteer put the last medal around my neck. She hugged me and said “Oh, bless you! Congratulations!” and I couldn’t pull it together. These medals were more than just pieces of metal; they were the culmination of a LOT of hard work, travel, and time, and they were finally mine. A fun side effect of all that bling: the music they made when we walked around the finish area:
After a quick stop at the medical tent to ice my sore calf (no big deal, just tenderness), I hung out and waited for one last picture with Kylo Ren (again with my awkwardness), and called it a day.
Before I signed up for the Rebel Challenge, I never considered running in a costume. And if we go even further back on that logic train, before Disney owned Star Wars, I never thought I’d do a Disney race, but that’s another post.
But when I started researching Disney races – especially the Star Wars themed races – I realized a costume would be pretty much mandatory. Also, if I was being completely honest, I wanted to dress up in Star Wars costumes! How fun would it be to run a race surrounded by other people dressed up in the characters I loved? But how was I going to pull it off? I’ve never run in costume before, let alone TWO races in two days!
Here’s how I pulled it all together for 19.3 miles of costumed fun:
Rey
I knew I wanted to run as Rey because this was a Light Side themed race and frankly, I love the character. Plus, I can really pull off a 3-bun hairstyle:
Halloween at the office. I promise there were other folks dressed up.
For the actual costume, I flip flopped between searching for actual performance gear creating my own costume, but after doing that once for my real Rey cosplay outfit, I learned that I’m way too picky and could easily waste loads of time and money and still have it be turn out “meh”.
So I opted for the actual Rey Halloween costume. I read recaps of other girls running in it and they reported that it worked just fine, and figured for a 10K I could tough it out.
The funniest part of this whole thing was having to “test-run” in the costume the day before we left for CA. I wasn’t crazy enough to wing it and run in the costume for the first time on race morning, so I brought it into work and waited for everyone to leave before changing in the locker room and sneaking into the office gym for a quick mile. No one saw me (expect for the 15K+ people I shared it with on IG), and it’s a good thing I tested it: the top was WAY too short and I needed to add a tank underneath it, which worked perfectly!
I had to add a little of my own sass, though.
The store-bought costume came with almost everything I needed except for the goggles (that I turned into a headband) which I bought separately from a Halloween store on clearance for like $4. To top it all off, I safety-pinned a little stuffed BB-8 to my race belt – he turned out to be the crowning achievement, as it was the first thing people commented on when they saw me bounce past with him on my hip!
The result was great: I ran comfortably for the 1+ hours I was on the course, and the character photos I got worked perfectly with the costume too! Bonus: the arm warmers *actually worked* in the chilly corral before we started – who knew a Halloween costume could be functional running gear too?
BB-8
My BB-8-inspired costume was less “costume” and more running gear with a theme. With 13.1 miles to run, I wasn’t about to stray too far from what I normally run long in: wicking tank, Nike pro shorts and compression socks.
That said, it was easy enough to create this outfit thanks to Etsy and some creative thinking (and sales on bright orange running shoes, thanks Altra!):
Bonus: BB-8 printed headband & custom Momentum wrap, both Christmas gifts from my beautiful sister-in-law Meredith!
The final outcome was the perfect mix of running and costume: comfortable, functional, and super cute.
I didn’t chafe, I got tons of compliments, I felt good, and I’ll admit: I liked the way the swishy little sparkly skirt made me feel! I’m definitely looking at ways to add a skirt to my Dark Side Challenge races, that’s for sure.
Ready to Run?
All in all, running in these costumes was SO fun. If you’re on the fence about doing a costume run, I highly recommend it. The key is to find a theme that you’re into and roll with it. In my case, it was all worth it to hear people – especially kids! – on the sidelines yelling out as I passed, “Go, Rey!!” or “Keep rolling, BB-8!!” Even though it was just a costume, it gave me that extra boost I needed to pick up my shoulders, run stronger and smile.
And when it comes down to it, isn’t that what this running thing is all about? 🙂
What do you think: have you ever run in a costume? Do you have any tips I didn’t mention here? Share in the comments!
After running the 10K – and all-out racing about half of it to beat the time cutoff after nearly 45 minutes of character photo stops – I woke up at about 3AM Sunday with sore legs. But I geared up in my deconstructed BB-8 costume and we headed back out to the starting line for the half marathon, taking our time now that we knew what to expect.
After milling around and watching the pre-show (most of the same patter as the day before, but with a Vader appearance instead of a Jedi show), I kissed Mike goodbye and headed into the Corral G where I met up with a Twitter/IG friend Alex (who I’d met in person for the first time the day before at the We Run Social meetup)! Spoiler Alert: he PR’d in the half that day – congrats, Alex!
Just like the 10K the day before, the half started on almost the same course through California Adventure then Disneyland for the first 4.5-ish miles, and had character stops along the way. I had decided to not stop for any long lines, so I ran past the long line for BB-8 and skipped Chewy because I knew he’d be in the park. There were a few other stops for Rebels and I think an R2D2 stop again, but I DID stop for a few fun little things that took only about 2-5 minutes each, with almost no lines:
Had to stop for just one of the Mile signs
Stormtroopers found me!!
I found a speeder! Wish I could have stolen it to finish the race.
Alliance Starbird sighting on the roller coaster!
I also had to stop at around Mile 2 when I noticed the words scrolling along the marquee of a theater in California Adventure:
Yes, it says “May the force be with you, Princess Leia Organa”, and yes, I openly sobbed and had to catch my breath before I started running again. I was wondering if there would be a tribute to Carrie Fisher, and this was a very sweet, subtle way that still took my breath away. Well done, Disney.
After we left the park at around Mile 4.5, the rest of the miles were out on the streets of Anaheim. I was prepared for this with my headphones, and also knew from previous runner’s race recaps that there would be a lot of on-course entertainment. BOY they weren’t kidding! Local marching bands, color guards, spectators, cosplayers – TONS of cosplayers! – at basically every step of the way there was something to dance to, smile at, take a selfie with, and generally enjoy.
Like a random “halfway-ish point” sign that someone made and took our pictures with!
When we got to the cosplayers around Mile 7, I had a blast.
Kylo Ren was the first person I ran into, and after taking a selfie and telling him to smile, he punched himself in the stomach to summon that anger in response. The Leia a few feet away from him was laughing as I got to her next. I asked her, “He’s your son, can’t you get him in line??” to which she replied, “I just can’t do a damn thing with him.” We had a good giggle at that:
Beyond that, I stopped at SO many points for a few seconds to selfie with these folks – they were TRULY happy to be out there giving out high fives and taking photos. Some people even tricked out their cars!!
The energy on the course was like nothing I’d ever felt. Everyone was laughing and cheering and calling out character names, having a blast, and I swear when I passed the first section of cosplayers, my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.
And just when I thought it was over, another wave of folks had lined up around mile 8! Han, Lando, a pack of hysterical Rebel pilots, Jyn Erso – even Finn came out to cheer us on!
These people gave me just the boost I needed to get through the double digit mark. Around Mile 10 I ducked off course for my third port-a-potty stop of the race and finally decided to stop at the medical tent nearby for some Imodium. My nerves were wreaking havoc on my belly (as they tend to do during big races) and while I ate light that morning, the cramps I was experiencing when I started to run again after every walk stop were getting to be very painful. Hey – running isn’t all glamorous selfies and happy fun time! But luckily the pill worked and within minutes I felt much better in time for the final 2 miles.
I was feeling tired by this point, and I’ll admit I walked a little bit every half mile. The pain of re-starting my run though was a bit much so I decided to shuffle along without stopping once I hit the final mile. All the bathroom and photo stops had brought my average pace to around 13:40/mile so while I knew I wasn’t in danger of being swept, I also wanted to give it my all.
Once we hit the Mile 13 marker, I took off. The crowds lining the finish chute were SO excited, and the energy was contagious. A few kids even yelled out “BB-8!!” when I passed and made me laugh.
With the finish line in sight, I started to well up again (god I’m a huge softy), and crossed with a huge smile.
And just seconds after I crossed, the confetti canons went off!
I was handed my half marathon medal and started crying for real now – I had done it! 19.3 miles in two days, plus extra from walking around the park too. It was a huge scary goal that I’d set for myself months ago with a slight bit of fear that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish it. But I had done it, and I was still standing and smiling!
The runDisney staff made it super easy for me to get my Rebel Challenge medal, calling out that challenge runners were to take a right to have our photos checked (they photographed us at bib pickup) and to receive our medals. I didn’t have to wait at all, just walked over and was handed my medal and wished congratulations. Then we had the option to take Rebel Challenge photos (yes please!) and walked out of the finisher’s area with my second runDisney snack box of the weekend to meet up with Mike.
It was a beautiful morning, and after shuffling back through Downtown Disney to get to the bus, we made it back to the hotel for a quick shower and got back out to Disneyland for our first day in the actual park – and to show off my new bling!
Overall, it was an incredible experience, from start to finish. I was so impressed with the way the race was managed, and won’t lie – I had such a great time that I upgraded from the Dark Side Half Marathon to the challenge so I’ll be taking on another 19.3 for the Dark Side Challenge in April!
Stay tuned for my final post about my Disney trip, in which I eat all the Star Wars themed things and get the best hug of my life from a real Wookiee!
Yesterday, Hopper reminded me that prices on flights to LA were dropping, which means that the Star Wars Rebel Challenge is coming up FAST. As in, under 100 days fast:
And that was yesterday! We’re at 98 today!
When I saw the countdown up there, I promptly reacted like this:
My outfit is ready, I’m researching hotels, reading blog recaps by other runners, and saving money to spend on every little piece of Star Wars running-related crap my heart desires. I’m all ready! But wait… I’m running almost 20 miles over two days when I get there.
Kinda forgot about that part.
Now, this isn’t some impossible task – I’ve run a lot of miles in my day. But doing two races back to back is something I need to train for. And I will! I just have to be careful in how I build up my mileage, because it’s official: I’ve got plantar fasciitis.
In the grand scheme of things, plantar fasciitis is probably the one injury that I’m OK with having. It’s not SO terrible that I cannot walk normally. I can kind of run with it. Hell, it actually doesn’t hurt much WHILE I’m running. And after rolling and stretching and icing and doing all the good things for the past 24 hours, it feels enormously better than it did Sunday and Monday.
But it’s still there, and I don’t want to make it worse by injuring something else with the undoubtedly altered gait I’ll probably adopt from running a suicide pace with a bum foot for 13 miles.
On one hand: yay! Finally a name for the pain that’s been bugging me for weeks, if not months! On the other: boo. Another f*cking injury to deal with. 5 days before the RnR Brooklyn Half Marathon! And two weeks before the RW Half Festival where I’m set to run the 5K and 10K in one morning!!
I know. I’ve got to be smart. Listen to my body. I’ve heard all the things. And I’m doing them. Icing. Stretching. Resting. Hell, I’ve downgraded my PR attempt at RnR Brooklyn this week to a “just finish”. I’m not happy about it, but it is what it is. I’m no longer the type of runner to push through the pain, injury be damned, get that PR no matter what. I used to be. I wish I still was.
But I also want to be able to RUN the Rebel Challenge in January. So that means I’ve got to alter my running plans slightly on the fly and be smart about not further injuring myself.
So that’s where I’m at. Saturday I will run the RnR Brooklyn Half with a smile, walk when I need to, finish, and be happy with my time no matter what it is. Because even though I’ve dealt with injuries and setbacks, I worked hard to get here and I’m not going to let an achy foot put a damper on that.
No, forreal you guys – after going over the budget and looking closely at my calendar for the next year, it’s official: I’m running the Star Wars Rebel Challenge in Anaheim in January 2017!
This is huge. REALLY huge. For a number of reasons:
It’s my first trip to Disneyland – I’m not a huge Disney lover, but come on – I get to say “I’m going to Disneyland!” and mean it!
An escape to California in the middle of a NJ winter? Yes please.
This will be my first “challenge” race – The Rebel Challenge is a combination of the 10K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday. 19.3 miles over 2 days? Bring it on!
It’s a STAR WARS themed RACE. Two of my favorite things in the world? I don’t think I need to say anything else about that.
I won’t lie – a challenge like this kind of scares me. It’ll be my first challenge and longest total weekend running distance ever. But here’s my logic:
Fiscally, it’s better this way. I’m not travelling across country for one friggin race.
YOLO, after all (are the kids still saying that?).
I will by NO means be doing these races for time – the photo ops alone along the way will destroy my average pace. I’m doing these for the experience and the memories. And the chance to run a race as Rey. Come on. REY.
The 10K on Saturday is a perfect intro to the whole Run Disney machine. By running two races, I’ll get to explore the process and see how everything works during the first, ensuring there’ll be no surprises the next morning for race #2.
Finally – even though it’s scary, when the hell else am I going to get to do something this cool?? It’s truly a once in a lifetime thing, a bucket list adventure that I’m so blessed to be able to experience, and in the words of the great Yoda:
So there you have it – I’m going to Disneyland!! NOW for the important part: have you done a Run Disney race? Especially out in California? I need ALLLLLLL the advice you’ve got. Seriously, PLEASE tell me everything – tips on where to stay, what to pack, what to expect, where to go, what to do, I want to hear it all!
And to all of you folks who registered as well, I can’t wait to meet you all out there – and May the Course Be With You!!
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Jess Runs Happy 