New Race - Any one have any guesses? [Tinker Bell Half Marathon]

[Tinkermommy]

Holy cow, those are fantastic costumes, Tinkermommy! Great job!

All the credit goes to my bff, Laura! She thought them up, made them, and made a bunch of signs. The only thing I did (besides wearing it, ha ha!) was to choose which signs we wore. Oh, and I might have safety pinned one of them on to a cone.

[MammaSilva]

Those are awesome Tinkermommy!!!!!

[Hannahbelle]

OMG love the costumes Tinkermommy! WTG!

Ok thanks girls. I remember the median now....I seriously thought I was losing it. Thanks for the descriptions.

[CariBelle]

Oh! And my I DID IT shirt just went through the wash on HOT in an effort to shrink it. I'll let you know how things come out when it's dry. Bummed about that for sure.

I did the same thing and mine shrunk a bit, not a ton, but enough.

I totally didn't remember a median either, and I still don't haha

[Drince88]

I've read elsewhere that at the beginning of the race, the route went past that median and people went around it instead of over it, but by the time we got there, they were sending runners over it. I was seriously surprised they did that. SERIOUSLY. Especially considering how high that median was! It was taller than the average curb!

I can't believe they CHANGED THE RACE COURSE!!! Isn't that a good way to get your certification on length revolked, or do they 'not care' if it's just the later runners who go on a non-true course?

[adriennek]

I can't believe they CHANGED THE RACE COURSE!!! Isn't that a good way to get your certification on length revolked, or do they 'not care' if it's just the later runners who go on a non-true course?

I'm not sure it changed all that much - the runners just moved from one side of the street to another. Same street. Same right hand turn.

[fairestoneofall]

My I DID IT shirt shrank quite a bit. Not as much as I would have liked, but it's good enough.

[THpoohbear]

Okay, this is a very late race report! We had out of town visitors in the house until yesterday and boy did they keep us busy! I've been dying to make it back to this thread!

First off, thank you so much to everyone who popped in to give well wishes and congratulations! And excellent job everyone who raced! I'm truly honored to be in a race with all the lovely half marathon athletes here on MP.

My favorite part of today? Getting a text that said "I'm at the Sparkle Skirt booth and I've fallen in LOVE..." tee hee heeeeeee.

Who was that?! Okay! Yes! I admit it! I went to go check out the Sparkle Skirts at the expo because I was curious. I didn't expect to fall in love but I DID. Head over heals in love. The swirly purple sent me swooning. I've been wanting a running skirt but didn't really think it was in my near future due to price. I don't buy $70 articles of clothing unless they are running shoes. Ever. BUT! I still had my birthday fun card from a few years back. I tried to use at the DL Half expo but their registers they use at the expo won't accept it. My sister-in-law was here to visit and I asked her if I could put my card towards her park ticket and she reimbursed me cash! Voila! Skirt funding! I loved my skirt! And a HUGE thanks for Fairest and HannahB and ADK for being my major enablers/question answer-ers! Aside from possibly needing to trade down a size, I really enjoyed my purple skirt on race day. I need a better shirt to go with it. Even if I'm not the cutest runner on the block, it sure made me FEEL cute!

General thoughts on the race: The corrals for this race are SO MUCH BETTER compared to the DL half. Beyond words. They indeed were clearly marked and easier to find and get to, with no crazy bottle neck. However, I did go to my corral only 20 minutes ahead of race start and it was backed up so no one could enter the corral. They had to repeatedly ask runners to move forward and I finally snuck in. Then I weaved myself toward the middle of the corral, there was so much room up there. I don't know why everyone was gathered toward the back.

I thought the lack of fireworks at the beginning was disappointing. I liked the course much better (no gross dirt trail thankyouverymuch), but the entertainment did feeling lacking. I only experienced one cheerleading team who actually cheered! It seemed like most everyone else was just standing around. It wasn't until the very end of the race that people cheered for me by name, and I greatly appreciated it. The red hat ladies were AWESOME! I saw two as I entered DCA later that day and thanked them profusely. I told them they were by far, the best support on the entire course. They were so sweet and told me thank you for being out there and being inspiring. I seriously wished I could have hugged every one of them.

I wish I would have known I could have exchanged shirts at my first DL half! It's the only tech shirt I like out of my races but it is way too big. Ah well! I'm glad they do this.

I too was worried about the uphill start but when it came down to it I didn't even notice. I was very excited to see the course went under the 5 around mile 6 and not over it, as I was expecting.

I didn't have to run over a median, that sounds crazy dangerous! I can't believe they did that! What was wrong with the course they way it was?

I LOVED the Holiday Parade Floats upon entering DL! My favorite!

I totally enjoyed this race. I had a great race. Despite my foot injury and despite not feeling 100%, I made my *dream* time. Something I thought I could never do. Everything was in sync. No potty stops which is a record for me! I stopped at the portas before hitting the corrals, no joke, about 6 times and I think that really helped. I was headed to my corral when I noticed a whole 'nother bank of portas right across from corral C or so. I loved that I could see my corral enterance at B, but stay outside to stretch and use the portas a few more times.

I worked really hard at not letting my nerves to get to me the morning on the race and think I did a really good job at that. Made a big difference. I employed my race strategy darn near perfectly. I wanted to run an very easy first four through the park, then kick it up until mile 10, then coast it in, and I did exactly that. I had a huge boost at mile 12 and really felt like I was FLYING! I made my dream time by 2 seconds, which I wasn't even trying to hit because I thought it was exactly that, a dream. I was thrilled at the end of the race!

My husband missed me at the finish line by a couple of minutes which was a bummer, but it was pretty packed and he was trying to tote a long a 2 year old from 45 minutes away, but my family was right there for me when I came out of bag check. I was hoping to play the afternoon away at DL and DCA but all we got to do was lunch at Wine Country and then my DH went down hill very fast from a bug. I didn't get any pics with my I did it shirt at DL and only one ho hum one at DCA. I was determined to get a pic with Pooh with my medal, but didn't get to do that, so I'm going to go back with my shirt and my medal and have a make up photo session.

I started to joke this weekend that they should have a Pooh Half Marathon. Isn't that funny? I know they won't but seriously, it's a good idea! Maybe slow the sweep pace down a couple minutes per mile and encourage more walkers.

Once again I feel so humble and so amazed and am still in shock I'm running half marathons. This journey has been so significant to me in more ways than one and I deeply appreciate all the fellow athletes here. THANK YOU!

And oh, I had so much fun seeing MP peeps all through out the weekend! Seeing a lot of you was very fun for me!

[adriennek]

I loved my skirt! And a HUGE thanks for Fairest and HannahB and ADK for being my major enablers/question answer-ers! Aside from possibly needing to trade down a size, I really enjoyed my purple skirt on race day. I need a better shirt to go with it. Even if I'm not the cutest runner on the block, it sure made me FEEL cute!

SOOO happy to share the Sparkle Skirt love!!! I really never imagined I'd find a skirt I'd wear.

I wish I would have known I could have exchanged shirts at my first DL half!

FWIW: You couldn't!!!!!

They've never done this before at a Disneyland event. I found out today that they did it at the WDW Marathon in January. I don't know if they've done it before that - but this was definitely a first for me! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It worked out so well for our family and for a few of my friends. I have all of my fingers and toes crossed that they'll do this again!!!!!

[fairestoneofall]

Nancy, I'm so impressed with your race! I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're my race hero. My goal is to progress like you've progressed over the last year and a half. I'm so proud of you!

[Ohthatjeff]

I started to joke this weekend that they should have a Pooh Half Marathon. Isn't that funny? I know they won't but seriously, it's a good idea! Maybe slow the sweep pace down a couple minutes per mile and encourage more walkers.

I have to admit that my first thought reading the thread title was Pooh Marathon. It goes down one short hill and you have to be out of shape* to enter. But now that I think about it, a short race downhill or on a flat surface just might be a cool thing for all those runners' spouses/significant others. No scores, no times. Just a ribbon or pin for participating.

*When I was at my heaviest I told people that I was still in shape. "Unfortunately, that shape is round."

[Drince88]

Flat surface, please, Jeff -- downhill is hard on knees!

[Ohthatjeff]

Flat surface, please, Jeff -- downhill is hard on knees!

[Don Adams Voice] Would you believe it's a gentle slope? [/Don Adams Voice]

[CariBelle]

All I have to say is- YAY NANCY!
And thank you so much for meeting up with me to walk over, it really did help my nerves! They were back by the time we got into the corral though, I'm sure my jumping up and down was annoying to those around me!

[THpoohbear]

You are welcome Cari! That was really fun! I'm glad we were staying in the same place.