Trip/Race Report - Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend (5k and 10k) 1/10/24 to 1/14/24 (Part 2)
Friday was 5k day! I've only done one other race in my life (outside of track in high school), and that was a 5k in 2010 when I was about 60lbs lighter. I wasn't sure what to expect. I ended up in corral C, which was less crazy than D it seemed. It was pretty cold, and I was very thankful my husband convinced me to bring my fleece lined leggings because I would have been freezing without them. I don't remember a whole lot about the race other than I just felt so happy. It has been a tough few years for us; my dad's Alzheimer's, the pandemic, major health issues for me, My mother in law being diagnosed with breast cancer, my in-law's getting in a very serious car accident the weekend before our wedding, my niece's father died of an overdose that same weekend, more major health issues...it's just been a lot. But for the first time in nearly five years I felt happy, free, and like I could do anything. My husband cheered me on and got some decent pictures, which was great because the Disney ones were all terrible.
After the 5k, we grabbed breakfast at Earl of Sandwich before heading back to the hotel to relax and soak my legs in the tub. After a few hours and some stretching, we heading back over to the parks and had our first real taste of California Adventure. We went on Guardians and Incredicoster, ending up in the first row for both rides. We weren't expecting to like Incredicoster as much as we did, but it was super fun. I had decided that I wanted to get some finisher shirts from the expo, so we headed back to the hotel to grab some lunch and then uber over to the DL hotel because I was not making that walk again. I still ended up walking over 10 miles, not including the race, which in hindsight wasn't the best decision. I'm not sure what we did after the expo, but I know I went to bed early.
Saturday was the big day for me. I was really worried I would be swept from the 10k, but I knew after my experience with the 5k that it was going to be fun either way. I hit the bathroom before getting into my corral (E). This ended up being useless because I had to pee again before the race even started but couldnt get out to do so. I had planned on doing intervals, but it was so crowded for the first mile that I couldn't really run. I hit the first set of port a potties, which I knew would be a mistake. It ended up adding 5 minutes on to my time for that mile. Everything is really a blur for this race too, but I do remember entering CA and the first character stop was Scrooge. I nearly started crying. My mom and I use to call my dad Scrooge because he was definitely a penny pincher when I was growing up. It felt like he was sending me love and support, and it was just the best feeling ever. There was a lot of confusion about where the ballon ladies were, and at one point around the 5 mile mark there was a cast member saying we were 3 minutes behind pace, which would have been impossible based on my split times. There was a lady holding a ballon in front of me at one point too, but then she just disappeared. I ended up finishing about 15-20 minutes before the ballon ladies did, so I'm not sure what was going on with all of that.
I was SO SORE after the race. The two races, plus the 3 Disney days really caught up with me. I did a lot of stretching and soaking before we attempted to go to the parks again. I had big plans to get pictures with my medals, but I was miserable and eventually we just had to call it and head back to the hotel. All in all, it was a great time though.
