Black Friday Haul and NYX Lippie Countdown Day One

If you follow me on twitter you'll see that I may or may not have gotten pissed at FedEx and UPS because packages scheduled for delivery on November 30th were not delivered by 10:00pm. FedEx stayed in contact with me and delivered at 11:00pm. That driver deserves recognition for going above and beyond. I also have to give the FedEx social media team credit for being immediately responsive and polite. UPS on the other hand didn't deliver until December 1st, didn't ever update their package tracking, and was only responsive on social media after I called them out for being MIA. If I had to pick a delivery service for my Christmas gifts based off the way they responded to the late deliveries FedEx would win hands down.

Anyways, onto my Black Friday haul. Asics had an amazing sale on running shoes and I was able to snag two pairs of GT-2000 for under $100.00! I love the GT line and these are no exception. My last pair of running shoes has made it through 3 half marathons and almost a year (possible over a year) of runs. They are well overdue for a well deserved retirement.

As you've probably figured out, I'm addicted to makeup. If they could my friends would probably throw me into rehab for this addiction. But they can't and my local Ulta would probably be confused if I didn't show up for every other new release. So, once again I went and ordered a ton of makeup on Black Friday. In my defense, this should be my main stock for the year along with the Fundays sale and the Cyber Monday sale.

The first Ulta item is the Clinique Party Favours set. This set includes trial sizes of the Quickliner for Eyes Intense, High Impact Mascara, All About Eyes, Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Color Balm Take the Day Off Makeup Remover, Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief, Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, and City Block Purifying Charcoal Cleansing Gel. Some of these items I've tried before, like the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. Other items like the City Block Cleansing Gel are new to me.

The second Ulta item is the Ecotools Highlight & Glow Brush Set. I saw that this set included a spoolie for eyebrows and jumped on it. Currently, the only eyebrow brush I have is included with my eyebrow gel so a dedicated dry brush will be nice The other brushes will honestly be a surprise for me after I open the box. 

The next item is the Laura Geller New York Gilded Goddess collection. Last year I received a baked highlighter from Laura Geller and fell in love with it. When I saw that this set includes a baked highlighter and an illuminating stick I knew I had to have it! 

The fourth item from Ulta is the Origins Skin Bests Black Friday Set. This set includes a travel size of the Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash, and Ginzing Energy-Boosting Gel Moisturizer. I've eyed the Origins line for awhile and was excited to see this set, it should be a nice intro to Origins and help me decided if it's worth splurging on. 

The fifth item is Julep Stars of the Show set. Julep is another brand that I've been interested in but haven't made the jump to try yet. This set includes a nail treatment, gel eyeliner, and lip mousse. All three products are full size which is better than the standard holiday set! 

The final paid Ulta item is the NYX Lippie Countdown Advent Calendar. Last year I bought the NYX Advent Calendar with the Lingerie collection and loved it! So I knew when I saw this calendar that I had to have it!

Opening up the Calendar you see the 24 boxes all nicely lined up. This year instead of doing random spaces each day is in order. This makes the organizational freak in me happy because there's little thought that will need to go into where the next day is and it means that the sides will be even. 

As you can see, each day is nicely nested in the associated day which creates a nice display when you open it. 

The first day includes the NYX Matte Lipstick in Eden. 

Eden is a nice blue toned red that is soft enough for day wear but would transfer nicely to a night look depending on the eye. When I went to wash off the swatch on my hand this didn't budge or smudge. It took two rounds with soap and water to wash off Eden. Because I received the Ulta package so late I was unable to wear Eden during the day, but after seeing how hard it was to wash off I would bet that this is a good half day lipstick. I look forward to wearing this for a full day and playing around with this color. 

The final items in the Ulta box are the freebies that I love to get during these sales. The first two are from the standard skincare sample that I always select. They included Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Foaming Mask, and the Bliss Fabulous Drench 'n' Quench Cream-To-Water Lock-In Moisturizer. I'm excited to try the Foaming Mask, but a bit freaked out about the idea of a Cream-To-Water Moisturizer. 

Like most years, this Black Friday sale included the option of a gift with purchase. I selected the Fringe bag in Bone because it seemed like the most neutral color. 

This bag included all Ulta branded makeup which I have recently come to appreciate. There was a double ended eyeliner in Blackout and Plum, a Tinted Eye Primer, a sharpener, and an eyeshadow kit in Sunshine, Plum Drop, Desire, Say What, Buzzword, and Fearless. 

This bag also included a blush brush lip gloss, Matte Lip Crayon, and highlighter kit in Warm, Radiant Diamond, and Translucent. 

Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon 2017 Edition

Well, I'm happy to announce that I have successfully completed the 2017 Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon! The course was fast, fun, and much nicer than last year. Despite having several different issues during training I was able to pull off a time of 2:50:17 which is significantly slower than my PR time but is my fastest time since I moved to Florida. I can't say I'm 100% happy or satisfied with my time because I know I can do better, but it's a start and a good sign that I can do this whole Florida running thing.

Like all runDisney races this one required me to get up at dark o'thirty and to the start line extremely early. I got to Epcot at 4:00 and was on the bus to Magic Kingdom by 4:15, which got me to the starting area around 4:45. While I was walking to the corrals I ended up in a pack of people that were literally stopped before corral G, which was an issue seeing as I was in corral D. I was in this crowd for a good 5 minutes before ducking out of it and walking in front of the port o'potty lines which were right in front of the corral entrances. I thankfully was able to get to my corral in time but that crush of people was insane. For next year I would like to see the port o'potties moved a bit away from the corrals as I think those lines were contributing to the back ups.

I was happy to see that Disney really cycled the corrals out onto the course extremely fast. It seemed like such a short time passed between the wheelchair start and when I started. I believe the new "wave" system was helping with this, but I don't honestly know how they were splitting the waves. For both the 10k and half I was in the first wave and did not see how the corrals were being split.

Mile 1 consisted of exiting the Magic Kingdom parking area and went by fairly quickly. I ran the entire mile so that I didn't get caught in the pack and disrupt anyone. According to my fitbit I did the first mile in 11:45, which seems accurate. You could tell that it was extremely humid out and that the end of the course was going to be extremely hot.

Miles 2 through 4 were on the roadways from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom (mostly Bear Island). Other than the "fight scene" on Bear Island there wasn't really anything remarkable about this chunk of the course. It was flat, fast, and peaceful. I spent this chunk going away to my "happy place" and laughing every time I saw one of the portable lights. A friend of mine works for the company that provides them and he had told me I owe him for making sure they were set up correctly. According to my fitbit I did miles 2 through 4 in 13:04, 12:26, and 13:17.

Miles 5 and 6 were my best miles of the race both time and focus wise. Just before mile 5 I spotted a 2:30 pace group and "latched" onto them. They were doing a run/walk that seemed similar to what I was attempting to pull off. They were an extremely friendly group and I got the chance to speak with a few of them while we ran. I appreciate them "pulling" me through these miles. Miles 5 and 6 took place inside Animal Kingdom and, much to my surprise, were not as humid as last year had been. I enjoyed this section which is a first as I usually hate being in Animal Kingdom when it's hot outside. My times for miles 5 and 6 were 11:04 and 11:07 respectively.

It was during miles 7 through 10 that I effectively fell apart physically and mentally. I was hot, sweaty, tired, and my injured foot was acting up. I stuck with the pace group for most of 7 but once we passed that mile marker I gave up and focused on just moving forward at a pace that was comfortable for me. Miles 7 and 8 took place on the section of the course that I mentally broke last year and I started focusing on how hard that had been. The only positive that I took away from this section was that I didn't give up. I focused on finding people running at my pace and sticking with them for as long as I could. I did spend a good chunk of time walking because I didn't want to injure myself any further. My times for miles 7 through 10 were 11:39, 13:35, 13:14, and 13:44.

Thankfully my race turned itself around after we entered Hollywood Studios around mile 11. I can't say that my times improved greatly but my mental game got better and I was able to pull myself together. This section of the course was almost identical to the 10k and I was able to latch onto the idea that "I did it, I'm almost done". Studios was filled with photopass which is always fun to try and make sure you get caught in their camera and look somewhat decent. From Studios the course takes the river walk to the Boardwalk. Like in the 10k the river walk was congested so I focused on staying out of the way of those faster than me and moving forward. I personally love whenever a race utilizes the Boardwalk because it feels like a "home" to me. Having worked at the Boardwalk I love seeing it all lit up and the memories associated with it. My time for mile 11 was 12:38.

Almost done I think I'm allowed to make stupid faces

After the Boardwalk it was almost like a "home free" moment. You dash up the hill (or walk if you're broken like I was), then dash through the World Showcase, by the "ball", to the finish line just outside the park. I always love this section of races. The World Showcase is one of my favorite places at Disney and I love running through it. While running by the America pavilion I saw the 2:45 pace group and joined them for the end of my race. The girls leading this pace group were so energetic and seemed like fun leaders. I honestly wish I had joined them from the beginning of the race. From there my race was over. I crossed the finish line at a run and immediately grabbed my medal, cooling towel (finally!), and the post race snacks.

This race was certainly not good for me time wise. I am embarrassed by my time because I know I can do better and that I have consistently screwed up my training since I moved to Florida. At this point in my running journey I can honestly say that I need help. Training by myself does not work and is doing me more harm than good. Yes, I am finishing my races but my times are nowhere near what I'm capable of. I'm honestly afraid of doing a 5k because I know it will be over 30 minutes which after running sub-30 is humiliating for me. I've been speaking with a friend who wants to get into races and we've agreed to find a running group together. Hopefully, this will help with my confidence, mental game, and times.

As a note, this is my only runDisney race of the year. Last year doing 3 was great but financially stressful. I'm hoping to check out some local Florida races this fall that will not only be cheaper, but allow me to meet more of the running community here.

Star Wars Dark Side Expo and 10K

Months ago I signed up for the Star Wars Dark Side Challenge. The race weekend is finally here and I've already completed the 10k! I'll be honest that I didn't expect to be happy with my results this weekend due to a foot injury, but I am thoroughly impressed by myself with my 10k time.

I attended the expo on Thursday, April 20th, and had planned to make it a quick trip. Picking up my bib took about 5 minutes. I had printed my race waiver the night before and was easily able to locate the tables for the Dark Side Challenge bibs. Like what typically happens I had to be reminded to produce my ID. For some reason I always forget to pull it out of my wallet before I reach the table. From the bib table I went over to the tshirt pickup. Because I was participating in the Challenge my shirt pickup was in the same building as bib pickup. For those of you who haven't attended a race at Walt Disney World there are two different buildings of ESPN Wide World of Sports utilized for the expo. One building hosts the bib pickup, preordered merchandise pickup, and shirt pickup, the other buildings hosts the vendors, shirt exchange, and the big Disney merchandise booth.

From the bib pickup I went over to the expo building. My plan for this was to see what the race specific merchandise was for this event, and to see the Sparkly Soul booth. I'll be honest, I was not impressed with the Disney merchandise. The magnet for the challenge is an "I did it!" magnet, which I find stupid. Obviously, if I'm displaying the magnet I have completed the race. I would have preferred to have a themed magnet that matches the other challenge items. The beer glass (or water glass if you follow Disney names), is just to add to my collection. Somehow I've fallen into collecting glasses relating to the races I have run. As for the headband, I have no excuse other than I'm slightly addicted to wearing and collecting headbands.  I know in past years there have been issues with Disney having enough items for those who arrive later in the day. I arrived about 5:30-6:00 pm and was able to find everything I wanted. It seems that Disney either has figured out their problems with stocking or these items were not in high demand.  

Disney swag from the expo

My stop after the Disney was the Sparkly Soul booth. I stumbled upon these headbands at the Hot Chocolate 15k Expo in Chicago and only bought my first one because it said "Run Chicago" and I wanted a bit of my hometown with me when I moved. Ever since then I've been in love with these headbands, I'm working on building a collection with every color because I wear them constantly. These can be found under my helmet when I ride, or holding back my bangs when I'm hanging out at home or running. They stay where I put them even during a hard run or a day working at the barn. My only issue is that with my longer bangs I do look a bit like a mad scientist with the bangs flopping behind the headband, so I was excited to see that Sparkly Soul had come out with a wider headband. I haven't worn it yet so I can't vouch for the quality but hopefully it matches with the rest of the Sparkly Soul line.

I'm a bit of a headband hoarder

Now for the race. As I had said above I recently injured my foot during a training run so for the past two weeks I've been taking it easy. I started the 10K this morning expecting to go slow, enjoy the sights, and try not to stress my foot. For the first 3 miles I kept a pretty consistent pace and didn't feel too stressed. But I was super warm and actually found myself drinking more of my Powerade than normal. It was cool, and dark during this first 5k, and the course wasn't too crowded. I felt comfortable doing a walk/run at a slow pace and didn't feel like I was going to get run over or end up in someones way. 

Gross and sweaty but still trucking along

The second half of the race went a bit slower for me. Once I finished with the "on ramp" at mile 3 I started to feel a twinge in my foot. I decided to take a step back and slow down with more walk breaks. It was this half of the race that started to get hot and I started to get extremely sweaty, like sweat dripping off my nose sweaty. This isn't normal for me as I usually sweat very little, so I was glad for my decision to slow down. I was able to take advantage of the various hills along this section of the course. My strategy was to power walk up the hills, then jog down them and use the momentum from the down to help me get to a point ahead that I would focus on.

EPCOT Fountain shot

I crossed the finish line feeling tired but not exhausted. I was able to comfortably collect my medal and food items, plus the pain in my foot had disappeared. I had assumed my time was above 1:20 but was happy to discover it was 1:16. This isn't a good time by my standards, and it' far from my goal of 1:05 but considering I've had to take two weeks off I am extremely happy with myself.

No idea what my shorts are doing but I did it!

Now for the pros and cons of this race.
Pros: Fun and fast course. Plenty of water. Well organized. Nice medal and swag.
Cons: No cooling towels after. The corrals were split into waves, I would have preferred more corrals. The river walk from Studios to the Boardwalk is always tight.

Where have I been?

I feel like I deserve credit for being consistent. I blog for a bit, then vanish for a bit, then pop back up and start blogging again. So here's a quick summary of where I've been since February.
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Dueling Homes
My parents have been looking for a house in the Orlando area since last spring. When my mom was down on spring break last year I showed her a house on the west side of town that I knew she would love. The neighborhood had low HOA dues, well maintained homes, and each lot was over 1 acre. She loved the house and the neighborhood, but ultimately decided that the house wasn't for her. So we kept an eye on the neighborhood and told our realtor that as soon as a home appeared for sale we wanted to see it. In November a home was listed and I went to the open house at my moms request. As soon as I saw this house I knew my mom had to have it. The layout was perfect, the pool was the right size with a "hot tub", and the lot was beautiful. By the time she came down over Christmas break the house had unfortunately received a contract on it.

After my family returned to Illinois I received a text asking me to see the other house for sale in the neighborhood, which I went to look at with my realtor. The house was nice and had potential so I encouraged my mom to fly down and see it. She flew down and agreed that the house had potential, but needed more work than she wanted to undertake. Our realtor encouraged her to look at the house from November which had the contract fall through. Though my mom was reluctant to look at the home she agreed since it was across the street. I wish I could say that it was love at first sight but I don't think her "I will die to have this house" moment came until our realtor opened the patio doors that led to the lanai and she heard the waterfall from the living room. It was clearly that moment that my mom had to have that house and that it was her place.

I'll spare the boring details about hosting my dad during the closing process, or the million texts I've received talking about paint colors and what furniture should go where. But at the beginning of March my mom became the proud owner of "Unicorn Hill". From closing until the end of March I was maintaining not only "Unicorn Hill" but also my own house. It was honestly extremely stressful to be responsible for two houses and I am super grateful that my dad was able to move down immediately so he can get the house ready for not only my family.

The puppies exploring their new pool and backyard

Show Pony vs. Field Pony
I've really been working on "pony boot camp" with Cupid. When I first met Cupid a year ago she didn't know what to do under saddle at the canter. When I bought her in January she wasn't much better. Her trot almost perfect and I was able to ask her to extend and collect herself at the trot. We also had success with her working from her hind end, stretching, going straight, and carrying herself. Since then I've been working on teaching her which lead she needs to be on for the canter and what the cues are for the canter. I'm proud to say that she now picks up the correct canter lead the majority of the time, and has actually given me a flying lead change! We've started working on cantering jumps but the major hurdle with this will be regaining my confidence. I've become so comfortable at trotting jumps that cantering them is a bit intimidating. But we've gotten through a few courses with our biggest issue being maintaining the canter through our triple (two stride to three stride).

On the topic of courses I've decided to go with my barn to the Sumter Equestrian Hunter/Jumper Show in May. My original plan was to do the Cross Rails Hunters and Equitation on Saturday, and the Long Stirrup Hunters, Equitation, and Classic on Sunday. After speaking with my trainer it was agreed that my original plan is too ambitious. The current plan is that I'll do the Walk Trot Cross Rails Hunter and Equitation, and Green Hunter classes on Saturday, then the Pre-Long Stirrup classes on Sunday. It's a bit embarrassing to be in walk trot classes in my 20s, but I agree with my trainer that it's best for Cupid to have a successful show than have her get frustrated with me if we have issues cantering. Once I get her more comfortable and consistent with the canter then we'll move her to the cross rail/long stirrup divisions.

My main hope for her is to eventually do the 2'6" classes, hunter paces, and possibly a few eventing trials with her. But I will have to see if she will be staying at our current barn or moving out to my parents home. The property is zoned for two horses and my parents have convinced me to allow them to set up the property for horses. So far we have the paddocks planned and are working on a "barn" plan that will work for everyone. Nothing is set in stone but at the minimum I'll be able to trailer her to their place and take advantage of the trails.

Cupid modeling her new "Cupid" saddle pad

Back to the band
Back in January I joined the Central Florida Community Arts Orchestra. After last year I didn't think Orlando was able to provide me with the type of band that fit me. CFCArts was a last attempt after seeing that a friend had attended one of their performances and I'm so thankful that he recommended them to me. I'm proud to say that I've found my "musical home" in Florida. The CFCArts family has been so welcoming, the conductor is extremely animated, and the music selection is perfect. I happily performed in the Jazz, Joel & John concert a few weeks ago, and am preparing for the American Road Trip concert on June 16th and 17th. I can't wait to share this music selection with everyone and perform one of my favorite pieces American Civil War Fantasy which is a piece I have played with every band I've had the honor of being part of.

Jazz, Joel & John practice

Pets galore
Now, if anyone was worrying about the status of Cali and Bailey I have an update for you. They're doing fine, as I write this Bailey is stalking Cali to get back the pink "mouse" they're currently obsessed with because we all know the purple mouse isn't good enough. The girls are also extremely happy to have two new friends to torture. Lucy and Kodi have returned to FL and are currently living at "Unicorn Hill". The dogs come over every few days so I can take them on long walks, cuddle with the. and dog sit. Poor Kodi isn't too fond of cats but he tolerates having the cats around and the cats pretty much leave him alone. The Twisted Sisters are more focused on attempting to catch Lucy's -fluffy tail than they are with the cotton ball who runs away.

The dogs are extremely happy with their new lives as farm dogs and love to explore my moms neighborhood with me. I can't wait for them to eventually meet Cupid and to one day have them keep me company while I work with her.

Running from my everything like it's my last name
I'm still running and am currently in my "taper" for the Dark Side 10k and Half Marathon. I try to get in about three work day runs, one long run, and one "therapy" run a week. My work day runs average about 3-4 miles and are typically one of two set loops in my neighborhood. Unfortunately one of these loops might need to be rerouted after the Dark Side events because of a few houses it passes. The long runs have been in a variety of places on Saturday and typically range from 6-14 miles. Finally, the "therapy" run is whatever I'm feeling on Sunday. So anything from a walk around the neighborhood to a few miles at a "thinking" pace. I've been trying to fit in cross training on my bike but have put that on hold until I get the brakes fixed.
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Overall this is a pretty thorough summary of what's been eating away at my life and keeping me away from the blog. I'd promise to get better at updating this but we all know that won't happen. So, until next time.

59 Days Out.....

There are 59 days until the Wine and Dine Lumiere's Challenge begins. Or 59 days for my untrained butt to get back into shape depending on how you look at it.

Spending 45+ hours a week at the office has been killing me. I get home and curl up in bed, or I go right to the barn from work, meaning I have fallen extremely far behind on my training for any of the upcoming races I have. I'm either going to humiliate myself at the Wine and Dine, or I can get myself into shape and accept that this will be a race for the experience and not for the time.

So this morning I got up and ran a solid 4 miles at Crane's Roost in Altamonte Springs.

This place is always under construction

While I'm not happy that it took me 50 minutes to complete 4 miles, I am happy that I completed those 4 miles and restarted my half marathon training!

I not only forgot to him the start button after stopping at a water fountain, but I also have an extremely interesting running playlist. 

The goal from here is to keep up with the training program, and build my endurance as much as I can. The plan was always to take the 10K slow and enjoy the experience, but if I have to take the half marathon slow then I can accept that.

It was hot out and I got extremely gross, extremely fast

To be completely honest, I seem to have really screwed up my training for all of the Disney half marathons. Since I left Running Depot I have found it hard to stick to a program, and extremely lonely. But, my life is far too busy at the moment to find a running group down here. So far I've got the pony, Florida Freewheelers, dance classes, work, and learning how to sew eating up my time. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to manage my time better and find a club to run with.

Bailey was a bit confused about why I was laying on the floor and what the heck this thing is

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Speaking of sewing.....

I had planned to share a sewing project with you tonight! But this happened......

I still don't know how I pulled this one off

For the next three hours...... After a few hours of screwing around with the machine, and basically having a major hissy fit, I managed to figure out what I was doing wrong. Which is basically everything. 

Cali knew I was getting pissed and decided to cuddle to make me feel better!

So, now I'm extremely pissed with the project and taking a break until tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy a preview of the fabric! Hopefully tomorrow goes by quickly and I can get this finished! It is supposed to be a simple beginner project after all! 

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Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon

Waking up at 2:30 am is not my idea of fun on any level. All I want to do is get back in bed, snuggle with the cats, and refuse to wake up until they demand to be fed. Which is usually 6 am because they've decided that "yes, you have the day off but we're going to die if you sleep an extra two hours."

Anyways, this morning I had to be up at 2:30 am for the Dark Side Half at Disney. Not my idea of a good time to wake up, but super exciting because this was the first year they were going to run the race.

I dressed, fed the cats, and was out of the house by 3 am. I got to the Disney area around 3:30 but didn't actually get to the Epcot parking lot until around 4:00. Traffic wasn't bad but everyone was taking it slower than normal. If I had one piece of advice for those driving to a runDisney event at Epcot it would be to stay to the left when parking. That would have gotten me one parking lot closer to where the bus drops off which would be greatly appreciated.

Once I parked and got the rest of my costume settled, I realized that I forgot the water bottle I always run with. It was still sitting in my fridge back home. After digging out a disposable water bottle, from the black hole I call a trunk, I walked over to the staging area. The walk from the Discover lot took about 15 minutes, and bag check took less than 2 minutes. I like that Disney has clear signs directing runners to bag check and bagless check.

When I got past the bag check area I headed on over to the corrals. This walk seemed further and a bit more convoluted than the walk to the corrals for the princess half. There was one LED board directing runners to the correct corral area but that was about it.

When I reached the corrals I was greeted with the typical giant "balloons" that Disney uses to mark the corral. I was in E and it was fairly simple to find. While I was waiting for the race to start I didn't feel like my corral was too crowded or pushy. There was room to stretch and room to sit and wait.

It seemed like the first few corrals were released pretty quickly and the next thing I knew it was time for E to get sent off! The rest of the runners in my corral set a nice pace and I was content to just get caught up in the flow. At almost exactly the 1 mile mark (according to my GPS) there was a meet and greet for R2D2. Because I had based my outfit off R2 I knew I had to suck up the time loss and wait for him. The line took about 10 minutes and, according to a gentleman behind me, it was much faster than the line for R2 during the 10K.

Once I had my coveted picture with R2 I hopped back on the course and took off! If you've ever run the Princess 10K then the first two miles follow that course with some slight variation. Instead of going to the left towards the Boardwalk Inn and Villas you go right towards the Yacht and Beach Club. I was happy to avoid the Boardwalk area because those boards scare me. One of my positions at Disney was at Boardwalk and after seeing how slick and uneven those boards can get I was happy to not have to run on them.

*Quick note, the Yacht and Beach Club also have a Boardwalk but for some reason I'm less freaked out by that one*

The course after the Yacht and Beach Club narrowed a bit. If you've ever walked from the Crescent Lake Resorts to the Hollywood Studios then you'll have an idea of how narrow the path can get. It's a nice even run that allows you to set a relaxed pace without worrying about potholes or hills. As a quick note, when transitioning from the Boardwalk area by Community Hall to the canal path there was a temporary section that appeared to be concrete but was actually painted boards. Because I had expected concrete I was not expecting the "give" that comes with boards. This wasn't a dangerous area but it threw me for a moment.

The loop through Hollywood Studios (MGM, DHS, or whatever you prefer) was disappointing. I found it too short for the park and very brief. This might change later after the construction is completed but I'm sure that will be revealed at a later date. I had hoped to run past Launch Bay just because it was Star Wars themed and because a friend usually works there early in the mornings.

Once we exited out Studios, past Tower of Terror, there was a nice chunk of road running. The section from miles 4-7 took you to Disney's Animal Kingdom along the roadway. This was not a hard stretch of the course but it was boring. This leg of the race does "double back" with an ending section (miles 9-12), I couldn't help but get envious of those that were almost at the end of their run. I was still in the first half and they were getting ready to get food!

The longer it took to get to DAK the more stressed I got. DAK is hot and awful during the day when I just walk around the park, I was not looking forward to running through DAK during sunrise. To get into DAK you have to fishtail through the parking lot and enter the park by Dinoland U.S.A. The Cliff Shot table is located just before you enter the park. I found it amusing that runDisney set up this table at the parking lot so runners didn't leave too many gel packets in the park. As a friend reminded me DAK is very conscious about trash that can get to the animals.

DAK was a shockingly easy run, it wasn't too hot or humid and despite the uneven walkways I did not encounter an issue. Once you exit out of DAK you're thrown right back onto Osceola Parkway. This is the section of the race that "doubles back". This is also the section that pushed me to my limit. The sun had come up while I was in DAK and it shined right into my eyes for this whole section. I should have thought to bring sunglasses but I am the person who forgot my running water bottle so I obviously can't expect too much.

It was around mile 11 that I had my first sighting of the dreaded sweeper vans. During Princess I didn't even see the balloon ladies, but on the "double back" I saw them heading towards DAK. About half a mile after seeing the ladies I saw the bus. My heart broke as I saw a runner stop and wait for the van to stop for them, I can't even imagine how upset I would be if all my time and work would end on a bus.

Seeing the bus forced me to rally and go harder than I should have. I knew I was in the clear, but I just panicked. Because of this rally my last two miles hurt more than I ever imagined they would. There was a med tent around mile 12 that I stopped at for BioFreeze for my shins. I really credit this little bit of BioFreeze with getting me through the last leg.

For a quick note about the kindness of runners, there was a gentleman dressed as R2D2 (I believe) who ran close to me duirng this section. He must have noticed that I was hurting or simply wanted to give some encouraging words to a fellow runner, but he spoke to me for a bit and commented that "we're almost done, I can smell ESPN. Can't you?" Now I don't know who this gentleman is but I really appreciated him saying that. I gave me a bit of a push to keep going at my pace. Thank you, R2 guy. You are awesome!

Along mile 12 there was a dirt road to get into ESPN WWoS. This was a nice easy section on my legs, it gave my shins a break and let me relax into a comfortable pace. Getting back onto the pavement at WWoS was not fun. I had really hoped they would keep the dirt section going or have a grass section. My legs would have loved that. This last chunk was filled with spectators cheering and encouraging runners that there wasn't much more left.

The finish line came up a bit faster than expected and before I knew it I was getting handed a medal and a wet towel. Like most Disney races the post-race support was amazing. There was a self help medical tent, plenty of water, Powerade, and snack boxes. The lines moved quickly and before I knew it I was at the bus for the Epcot parking lot.

This line took forever to get onto a bus, and my bus ended up being a Disney bus where some passengers had to stand. I felt like we were on the bus forever, but before I knew it I was back at my car ready to head home for my food and a nap.

This a race that I will probably participate in next year. I felt it was organized, a good course, and a fun theme.

If there was one big fault of the race it's that I didn't mark down where I parked. As a former parking CM I should know better than anyone else to ALWAYS mark my parking location. I was that idiot after the race walking around, clicking my alarm, trying to find my car. Thankfully none of my parking friends saw that one.

One last note, my costume idea and shirt template were taken from the following link. http://www.brit.co/r2d2-star-wars-costume/

Shout out to Brit + Co for providing detailed instructions and an adorable idea!!!