So apparently I’m a runner now, huh? I have a lifelong hate/hate relationship with running. I’ve always been able to suck it up and soldier my way through it here and there. Hell, I somehow was even on the track team in high school.
Someday I’d love to get that joy out of running that some people seem to get. For me, though, it’s always been a mean to an ends — it’s the cheapest and fastest way to drop some lbs. And if there’s one I think have none of these days it’s time and money. But I got plenty of pounds to shed. So, enter running. After a several years’ hiatus, I’m back in the riding saddle again.
Since DadJovi completed his Disney marathon in January, I’ve been the Jovi getting up early in them morning to run around the ‘hood. And since both DadJovi and E. both ran Disney races this year, I figured it was time I pull up my big girl pants and do the same.
I started out small — the Royal Family 5K at Disney. When I say small, I mean distance. The race was anything but.
Still, I got to do all the cool race things. I went to packet pickup yesterday at Wide World of Sports, and before we even entered the doors, the theme of the weekend — princesses — was in full effect.
Last night, I prepped all my race stuff. I dressed E in her clothes for today since we’d be waking her up in the dark, packed all our various bags (you can’t even travel light on race days with kids in tow), and got my bib attached to my shirt.
I’m pretty convinced that the hardest part of my training was getting up at 5 a.m. I despise getting up early, and 5 a.m. is just ungodly. But I got up, and we were out the door — all three of us — by 5:30. Luckily E fell back asleep as soon as we got her strapped in the car (you see why dressing her the night before is key?).
We got to EPCOT lot and somehow I even had enough energy to smile for a pre-race pic
I have to say, the atmosphere is really contagious though. Lots of people were dressed in costumes, tutus, tiaras and sparkly run gear. I even found Snow White in drag:
After a little bit, my running team showed up. My pal Jeannie ran with her double stroller, full of her 2 1/2 year old and almost 7-month-old.
I think E. was already starting to realize something was up. We don’t have a running stroller, so she had to sit on the sidelines with DadJovi. Poor baby. After this pic, Jeannie and I headed to the corral and E started bawling because she couldn’t come with us. But, I just had to trust that her daddy could distract her for a bit because we were ready to run!
And we were off … sorta.
Hey Disney, I love you. You know that. But let me give you a word of advice. For the next family 5K, please, PLEASE, please, give stroller runners the chance to line up with a running division. All the instructions said we needed to go back with the walkers. We thought we’d still be able to jog a little and work ourselves around the walkers, but it was really hard to get any running space. DadJovi told me after the race he saw plenty of strollers closer to the front so perhaps we should have ignored the instructions, but alas, it was what it was. We would hit stretches where we could run for awhile, but whenever the path narrowed, which happens a lot on this course, we were slowed down again.
Oh well. It was fun. We got to chat and catch up since we don’t get to do that enough, and since we weren’t going for any set time, we stopped to enjoy the sights.
And with the finish line in sight, I even picked up a castaway
The kiddos even raced with me across the finish line.
And much to their delight, everyone got a medal:
We were all pretty happy.
So, am I runner? We’ll see. For now, I’m just wiped from the whole day!
How was your first race experience? Did you run for time, fun or both? How soon should I do my next one???
Congratulations on your 1st race!
Awesome that you guys were able to run with strollers. I can imagine it can be quite difficult to dodge people with those near the beginning of the race. A separate lane for them would be excellent, assuming there would be a lot of strollers. We have been trying to find a race here in Vancouver that will allow jogging strollers but none allow them 🙁 Well, there is the Sun run but apparently you’re not allowed to run, just walk at the back. That would be be too lame for us.
My first race experience was a 10KM in 2002. At the time, it was the longest run I have ever ran without stopping. I was kind of addicted after that. I would say I ran for fun, for strength, to relax myself, and eventually, I ran for time 🙂 I run with my husband. We have been in every race together. That was back then. Now, we run a lot less and we push our toddler in our jogging stroller. No races for us since having a baby 🙁
We definitely said a few times along the course that they should encourage the walkers to stay right and the runners to stay left — stroller or no stroller. It’s a funny race because even the runners stop along to way to queue up for pictures with characters and attractions along the run. So I think even if you didn’t have a stroller, running the whole thing would have been hard to work around the crowds of people.
Again, I’m not complaining. It certainly was billed as a fun, family run and that’s exactly what it was. I saw tons of little kids doing it, so I think by the time our daughter is 5, she could do it with us.
That’s a shame there isn’t a race near you where you can run with strollers. I think race organizers are missing out on a big opportunity. There could be a whole segment of races with running strollers. The running strollers are so kick-butt these days and most parents — moms and dads — are running most days with their kids anyway.
Good luck finding something for your whole family and thanks for the encouragement. I think a 10K is the next distance I have my eyes on. Not sure I have a half-marathon in me. We’ll see!
Oh my goodness! How impressive. Congratulations on your accomplishment. I especially love the kids with their medals. Too cute : )