48.6 is the new 40: 5K

The whole reason I started running was because I held my friend's hand on the day before she died.  I knew that I had a capable body (even when my brain tells me otherwise).  So it only made sense to dedicate the very first race to Jill--because she was the reason I ran a 5K all those years ago. 

I wrote her name on my hand and Chris and I walked to the lobby of our resort to catch the bus.  There was a lot of nervous chatter on the bus at 3:20am.  People were munching on bananas and bagels and excitement was in the air.  We arrived outside of Epcot and began walking towards the starting area.  We met my uncle, Dan, who was also running and stood around for about an hour before heading to the corrals.  

Each runner has the opportunity to submit a proof of time prior to the races in order to place yourself in an appropriate starting place--elite runners were placed in the very front in the A corral and the rest of us were positioned according to our estimated finish time.  Chris, Dan, and I started in the same corral for all 4 races.  It's really fun to have someone to talk to as you're waiting for over an hour for the race to start--and then almost an additional half hour for the waves of people to cross the start line.  

There were tons of people all around for this event--a lot of families and people who were ready to have a good time.  There was music and a lot of announcements from the stage as we waited for the National Anthem and the fireworks to start the race.  They interviewed people from the corrals and we heard some inspiring stories.  

As we inched our way towards the starting line, I could feel the anxiety starting to creep in again.  I was nervous for my twitchy knee.  I was nervous for my twitchy back.  I was concerned about the chest pains I was feeling.  I just wanted to run to see how my body was going to handle the event--I knew that if I could run this relatively pain-free that I would be ok.  

Finally, we were in the group in the start position and we were off!  Disney races are incredibly crowded and this event was full of people with plans to walk.  Race etiquette is stressed before each race, but I'm not sure if anyone reads the information because people were walking all the way across the road at the beginning of the race.  Luckily, the road widened almost immediately and runners were able to make their way around the walkers.  

The 5K was an easy course--about a mile on the roads outside of Epcot, a run through Epcot's World Showcase, and then back behind Epcot again to the finish line.   I spent a lot of mile 2 thanking God for a friend like Jill, for the ability to run and move, and just trying to be present as much as possible.

It was a fairly quick race, the temperature was cool, and I was happy to cross the finish line.  My body felt pretty good considering I had not run in several days.  My husband and I went back and forth with our intervals and finished within a minute of each other.  My goal had been to finish in less than 45 minutes due to crowds, and we both finished in 39 minutes.  While the 5K is not timed for regular participants, as Dopey Challenge participants we had to prove our time in each race (and some had limitations).  We were given our medals and made our way back to the buses.  

Once we got back to the resort, we showered and packed our bags because we were switching resorts.  Chris and I flew down a few days early and my parents were bringing our girls that night for the remainder of the trip.  We dropped our bags off with guest services and went to Animal Kingdom to meet my uncle and other family members who were already there.  

After a day in the park, we got back to our new room and waited for our girls to arrive.  Our new room at the resort was a suite and that allowed us to have a different sleeping space from the girls (and a separate bathroom).  We went ahead and turned down their beds and laid our gear out for the next morning.  It was going to be cool again and I finally decided to wear pants and a tank instead of capris.  The pants were a new pair that I had not run in before (but I had another pair in the same style and brand that worked), but I really wanted to wear them to avoid being cold before the race.  I had also brought another pair of shoes to alternate for the races, but I decided to wear the same pair again since I was feeling pretty good.    

Our girls arrived around 8:30pm and we got them settled and everyone into bed.  It was great that Chris and I had spent the day out of the room because we were tired from our early wakeup call and it was a little easier to get to sleep.  Our girls were also trying to get a boarding group the next morning in Hollywood Studios, so it was easy to convince everyone to get some sleep.  

Before we knew it, our alarm went off and it was time for the 10K. 

to be continued...