Training Recap week of 7/3

Can all weeks be 3 day work weeks? My office was closed both Monday and Tuesday for the July 4th holiday and it was so nice! Let's all band together to make 4 day weekends a permanent thing.

This week is week 6 in Wineglass training. Meaning I am 1/3 of the way through this marathon training cycle. Holy cow! This week in training went pretty well. I was able to get all my workouts in and felt great on my long run! Bring on week 7!

Currently training for:

• Disneyland Half Marathon
• Wineglass Marathon

Monday
Scheduled: Cross Training
Actual: Rest

Even though I was off of work and had plenty of time to get a cross training session in... a little too much fun with friends on Sunday night meant I was out of commission on Monday.

Tuesday:
Scheduled: 6 miles easy
Actual: 6.02 mi, 57:44, 9:35 pace

Wednesday
Scheduled: 4 mile tempo run, plus warm up and cool down
Actual: 7.01 mi total
Paces: 8:10, 8:11, 8:20, 8:08

This is one of those workouts that is helping me to be realistic about BQ'ing at Wineglass. Realistically, this pace for 4 miles should be easy (after all, this is about where I should run the entire marathon at). Yet, it was hard. I was pushing the entire time and felt dead afterwards.

Thursday
Scheduled: 6 mile fartlek (6 x 90 sec 5K pace)
Actual: 5.13 mi, 49:33, 9:40 pace

My legs felt completely trashed after the tempo on Wednesday, so I ended up running this easy. I also thought it was only 5 miles, not 6!

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Saturday
Scheduled: 14 mile long run
Actual: 14.01 mi, 2:16:45, 9:46 pace

Felt good on this long run until the last mile when it got a little harder (and hotter!). This was the longest I've run since Route 66 in November 2015!

Sunday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.01 mi, 29:25, 9:47 pace

Total Miles: 35.17
Total July Miles: 50.97
Miles to Goal (1,270): 576.48 

Training recap week of 7/25

Oh, another 4 weeks without a post. Ugh, sorry. It's much harder then I expected it to be to get back into a regular swing. I really am trying, I promise.

I've been running regularly-ish. I have races I am working towards (see below), but since I'm not following a specific schedule, I am kinda just running on how I feel (the scheduled runs I list below are based on what I wanted to run that day). I am fully healed and running, but I'm trying to be kind to my body.

I have to admit, it's taking longer then I would have expected for my fitness to come back. I want to be back to were I was pre-surgery, but I am not yet. Like I said, I am trying to be kind to my body. I don't want to push too soon and risk an injury. It's hard though, I want to be doing more. Even so, this was my highest mileage week post surgery!

Also, as I mentioned, I do have some races coming up. I used to list whichever race I was currently training for and the current training week in the title of each training recap. Moving forward, I am just going to include the next 3 races on my schedule.

Currently training for:

• Disneyland Half Marathon
• Rock n Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon
• Detroit Half Marathon

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Tuesday
Scheduled: 4 miles
Actual: 4.02 mi, 41:09, 10:14 pace

Wednesday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Thursday 
Scheduled: 4 miles
Actual: 4.34 mi, 42:32, 9:47 pace

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Saturday
Scheduled: 9-10 mile long run
Actual: 9.01 mi, 1:31:15, 10:08 pace

I really wanted to do 10 this week (my previous long run was 8), but it was ungodly hot out and I stopped at 9. Like I said, trying to be kind to my body and not overdue. 9 is still my longest run post surgery, so I am good with that!

Sunday
Scheduled: 3 miles
Actual: 3.25 mi, 33:41, 10:22 pace

Total Miles: 20.62
Total July Miles: 78.28
Miles to Goal (1,000): 561.65

Training Recap week of 4/25

Back to blogging and back to training recaps! This is a bit of a weird period (running wise) - I'm not actually training for anything right now. My next half (as of now) is the Disneyland Half Labor Day weekend. I'll start training for that in a couple of weeks, so for now, it's all easy runs. I was pretty burnt out this winter from marathon training. I (also) took it easy all winter, which killed my speed, but mentally it is what I needed. I'm just keeping it easy right now and will start doing some really training in a bit.

Since these were my first runs in almost 10 days (post sickness), I really wanted to ease into it.  Nothing too much right away. I'm also working on incorporating more strength/cross training. I really feel out of the cross training habit this winter, so need to get back into it.

Monday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Tuesday
Scheduled: 2-3 miles easy
Actual: 2.37 mi, 24:29, 10:20 pace
Cross Training: Tone It Up - Booty on the Bae Workout

Wednesday
Scheduled: Cross Training
Actual: Cross Training, Tone It Up - K+K Slay Workout

Thursday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.02 mi, 30:44, 10:10 pace
Cross Training: Tone It Up - Cardio Flow

Friday
Scheduled: Cross Training
Actual: Cross Training, Tone It Up - Total Body Tone Up

Saturday
Scheduled: 5 mile easy run
Actual: 5.00 mi, 47:51, 9:34 pace
Cross Training: Tone It Up - Cardio Abs

Sunday
Scheduled: 3 miles easy
Actual: 3.00 mi, 29:41, 9:53 pace
Cross Training: Tone It Up - Legs for Days & Bikini Body

Total Miles: 13.40
Total April Miles: 77.38
Total May Miles: 3.00 
Miles to Goal (1,000): 711.94

How was your week of training? 

2 on Tuesday

My desk looked sad and lonely on Friday after cleaning it out.  It was definitely bittersweet to go through all my paperwork and pack up / throw things out.  But like I said on Friday, change is good.  It's only been 1 day, but so far it's been good!

Time hop so nicely reminded me recently that 1 year ago around this time I was in Disneyland for the Disneyland Half Weekend.  I won't lie - I am having some serious sadness and FOMO around missing it this year.  I did it the past 2 years and I loved it both years.  With doing Tink this year, it just wasn't in the cards (and I loved our Tink trip, I wouldn't have not gone for anything!), plus with the new job... it's probably best I am not there.  This doesn't mean I'm still not sad!  I'll be stalking everything on Instagram and being jealous all weekend.

Thursday night ramblings...

So much swimming in my mind, so I thought it would be a good time for a Thursday night rambling...

1.  Registration for the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend opened this past Tuesday and as expected, it sold out quickly-ish.  Dumbo sold out the quickest in like 30 minutes - completely unsurprising.  The 10K and 5K followed next.  But the Half took almost a day to sell out.  Much slower then in past years.  I'm guessing now that they've added the Avengers and Star Wars half there is less of a demand for the DL Half?  Kinda wish it would go back to the old days when you didn't have to register in the first 30 minutes of it opening.  I wish I could go again (I love this race!), but since I'm already going out for Tinker Bell, it's not really feasible this year. 

2. Disney Parks blog shared some of the merch for the Princess Weekend (1 week away!) and I have to say, I'm not a huge fan.  I like the front of both of the jackets - but that back design?  Not a fan.  Sorry, there is just no way I am going to wear that outside of Disney and those jackets cost too much to only wear it in Disney.  I do like the teal Princess tank and the Princess tumbler.  I am hoping they have a tumbler like that for Glass Slipper.  No Sweaty Bands designs released yet, but hoping they have some cute ones!

3. I don't understand why shoe companies feel a need to constantly change shoe designs.  From the time I found my current shoe (the Asics Nimbus 15) to now, they have come out with 2 designs.  They are now on the Nimbus 17.  Since I am a creature of habit and dislike change in my sneakers, I bought 2 pairs when they came out with the 16's.  Now those pairs are done and I am in need of some new sneakers.  So of course, I went online and found some 15s to order.  I am going to have to stock up before they are gone completely!

4. Is anyone out there watching Jane the Virgin?  I just started watching it over the holiday and I have to say I'm a fan.  It's really cute (definitely a little cheesy) and funny.  I am trying not to start watching too many new shows as I can barely get through the ones I do run - but this one is worth.  Do you know which show I won't be watching?  The Slap.  Seriously, it just does not interest me at all.

What's going on in your head?  Share some of your ramblings with me!

Race Recap: Disneyland Half Marathon 2014

Don't forget to read my posts on the expo and 10K if you haven't yet!

Disneyland Half Marathon
August 31, 2014

State: repeat (California)
Lifetime: #47

Another early morning for this race - it starts at 5:30 as well.  Fortunately, staying at the Disneyland Hotel really helps in terms of travel time - the start is right outside the hotel!

I had laid all my gear the night before, so getting ready was a breeze.  I did get up slightly early then the day before so I could make sure I got my breakfast down in time.  After getting dressed (and figuring out the best way to secure my ears), Pam and I headed down to the start.

Similar to the 10K, Pam and I split up shortly after arriving so I could use the restroom one last time and head to the corrals.  She was waiting for our friend Tim and she was in a corral farther back, she had some time.

I made my way to Corral B - but not before a photo.  I really loved my Mousketeer costume (thanks Karen!) and forgot how much fun it is to run with your name on your shirt.  It had been a while since I had done that!

It was hot out, but much better then last year so that made me happy.  I actually hadn't run in the shirt yet (oops) but I knew it was wicking so fingers crossed.  It ended up working great - very comfortable and cool.  Yay!

The race started pretty promptly (which was good since the corral was PACKED) and they actually send Corral A and B off together.  I think it's because the back corral's were packed, but not 100% sure.

Even though it was cooler, I was not planning on racing this one.  I just wanted to have fun.  I knew all the character stops would be before mile 4, so I wasn't concerned with the pace for those miles.  I had decided I would only stop for short lines and characters I hadn't gotten photo's with before.  I have to say - they did a good job of putting different characters on the course!

The first mile winds around the back of California Adventure (on the road) before turning into actual park property.  I spent the first couple of miles warming up my legs, so the stops for photo's worked well.

After a loop behind California Adventure, you enter through Paradise Pier and go in front of the lagoon.  They had a bunch of Green Army men (from Toy Story) out and I had to stop for a photo in front of World of Color!

After that, we headed into Cars Land.  I have to say, I really love this portion of the course.  There is just something about running into Cars Land with the neon lights on I love.  I stopped for a photo with one of the Cars characters that is not Lightning McQueen or Mater - I think it's Flo but someone correct me if I'm wrong =) (it was early and dark out!).  Lightning McQueen and Mater were out but I have those photo's so I didn't stop.

After that we headed into Hollywood Land and past Tower of Terror onto the main street heading towards Soarin'.  In front of the Disney Jr Playhouse was Jake the Neverland Pirate.  Poor Jake had no line so I quickly took a photo (my niece really liked that one so it was worth it!).

Right past Soarin' we take a sharp right and made the very short trek to Disneyland (I love how close they are!). 

We headed onto Main Street and as usual, it gave me chills.  Love Main Street in either park.  Towards the end of Main Street, they had the Three Caballero's (so fun!) and of course I had to take a photo in front of the castle, it's tradition!

From Main Street, we head left into Frontierland and around Fantasyland to the Castle.  At the merry go round, the Tremaine's were taking a right (Evil Stepmother and sisters) plus Prince Charming were taking a spin.  After the castle we headed to Tomorrowland, where I got to pretend to be a Charlie's Angel with the Storm Troopers.

 After that, we headed back towards Fantasyland and 'It's a Small World'.  Last year this stretch was Princess Row, this year it was Villian's Row!  I love that they had the villians out - so much fun!

After that stretch, we headed into Toontown for a brief stretch before heading out of the parks.  My paces those miles weren't great, but I knew they'd pick up once we left the Parks.  As soon as we got out of the park, I settled into a nice rhythm and the miles ticked away.

The stretch between 4 and 7 is kinda boring (just being honest), but runDisney tries to keep them interesting with dancers, bands and cheerleaders.  It works for me because I like it when it's a little boring since I can zone out.  

About mile 7 is when the classic car section starts.  I always like this portion since it provides a bit of distraction and keeps your entertained.  After about 2 miles, we head onto the dirt path (which seemed more paved to me then last year) and towards Angel's Stadium.  

This is still one of my favorite points of the race.  The sound you hear as you enter the stadium is awesome.  It gives such chills!  Love it.

From then, it's simple a countdown back to the parks (and the end).  The next section isn't the most thrilling, but again, they keep it entertaining with bands and cheerleaders.  You re-enter California Adventure at mile 12 (behind the scenes only) and go around it towards Disneyland Hotel.  After a quick detour through the parking lot, it's off to the finish line!  There are a lot of fans there so it is a really great boost at the end.  

After finishing, I picked up my Disneyland Half, Coast to Coast and Dumbo Double Dare medals.  Love those medals!

Overall, I really do like this race.  There are some sections that are boring, but I don't mind that section.  You can't beat the portion in the park!

Results
Official: 13.1 mi, 2:10:33, 9:57 pace
Garmin: 13.26, 2:10:35, 9:51 pace

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend - Expo Goodies

 
Last year's expo was a disaster - sheer insanity.  I'd been keeping my fingers crossed that this year it would be better, but I wasn't sure if it would.  Forntunately, this year it was much smoother!

The expo opened at noon on Thursday and since we were already there, Pam and I decided to go on the early side.  First stop, merchandise!  There were a couple of things I really wanted, so it made sense to do it first.

The merchandise was in the same area, but this year it was sectioned off better.  There was a line to get in and they were monitoring how many people were inside at once.  The line wasn't too bad when I arrived and it moved quickly - probably only waited 20-25 minutes.

Once inside, there was plenty of room and there was none of the mad grabbing to get merchandise as there was last year.  And there was also plenty of merchandise to go around (and from what it sounds like, plenty all weekend).  Looks like runDisney actually listened and made some positive changes!  Thanks runDisney!

They didn't preview a ton of the merchandise online (just a couple of t-shirt designs), so I wasn't sure what they'd have.  I knew a couple of items I hoped they had (and they did!) and assumed I would find a couple of other things to buy.  I can't resist race merchandise!

I started with the three items I knew I would want: Sweaty Bands (I love them and wasn't able to get them last year), a magnet (which I have gotten from all my recent runDisney races lately) and a mini Dumbo Double Dare medal pin (I got the mini medal from both Dopey and Glass Slipper and wanted to complete my collection).

Lucky me - they had all 3!  I actually got 2 Sweaty Bands - one for the Half and one for Dumbo.  The designs were really cute!  I was also able to get my magnet (I got the Dumbo one only, they did have 2 for the Half) and the mini medal pin.  Off to a good start!

I also thought I might get a wine glass... I don't need one, but I have one from all my other runDisney races so I thought I had a feeling I would get one for this race too.  And it was really cute this year!  I love the tag line - 'Running the Dream!'.  Perfect for this race!

They also had a really cute waterbottle (I have an obsession with them) so I picked up one of those.  The pack of the waterbottle says 'Running for Peanuts'.  I also picked a Dumbo Double Dare keychain.  So cute and something I can use everyday!

Lastly, I ended up getting a Dumbo Double Dare hoodie.  I loved the blue color and the back had a great design.  I didn't really need it... but I couldn't resist.

The back, the front says 'Running for Peanuts' on the right side

After making our decisions, we headed to the registers.  They had them located in a side room and it was a very smooth process.  So easy!

Once we had paid for everything, we headed back to get our numbers.  My line to pick up was pretty short, so it went quickly.  I also got my race pins with no line as well.  Pam's line was a little longer, but not too bad!

After that, it was upstairs to get the race shirts.  They had it set up so you went directly up from the number pick up into the back of the expo for shirt pickup.  The shirts were well organized and no lines.  I really like the shirts this year!  The color of the half shirt isn't my favorite, but I don't hate it (I know some people really didn't like it).  And they were women sized, yay!

Did some quick walking around the expo, but honestly didn't look around too much.  I don't need much of anything so just made it quick.

Overall, I think this expo was a 100% better than last year.  They made some important (and needed) changes to the expo so it went smoother.  They organized the official merchandise better and had plenty of it.  I'm not sure how much they had left over (I hope not a lot so they don't order less) and that they continue to order a lot of merchandise.  It's not fair to the people who can't go on the first day not to be able to get stuff.

If you went to the expo, what did you think of it?

Dumbo Double Dare Costumes

I can't believe Dumbo Double Dare is here already!  As excited as I have been for the race, it did kinda sneak up on me.  I only did my costumes this past weekend!  Eeek!

I mentioned this in my post for my Glass Slipper costumes, but after the hours spent on my Donald costume, I wanted to stick to something easy to make.  The costumes for this year are all running clothing based with accessories to help pull it all together.

So without further ado, I bring you this year's costumes!

For the 10K, I am going to be the Cheshire Cat.  I had found the tank at last years Rock n Roll Providence expo and am going to pair it with 2 Sparkle Athletic skirts.  I have a purple one already and I am going to pick up a pink one at the expo to layer on top.  I already have a pink Sweaty Band to wear and I got some ears on Etsy to complete the look.  BTW, searching for the ears on Etsy was pretty interesting.  There was a surprising number of cat ears (and tails) available.  I know why I wanted the ears, not sure what other people do with them, lol.  No tail though, that just seemed like it would annoy me.

Imagine a pink skirt on top of the purple

For my half costume, I took my inspiration from Karen (over at Just Me and My Running Shoes) and her costume from the Disneyland Half from last year.  Thanks for letting me borrow your idea Karen!

I am going to be a Mouseketeer!  I used a basic white skirt and added my name (using iron-on letters) and I'll pair it with a blue Sparkle Athletic skirt.  I actually already had an extra set of ears that I can wear as well.  I am excited to be Mouseketeer Sarah for the race!

Anyone else going in costume for the Disneyland Half races?


See all my runDisney costumes here.

Training recap week of 8/11 (Dumbo Double Dare Week 3)

This week was a lot of running - felt great though!  Last week of back to back long runs and I felt really strong on Day 2.  I didn't do as much PiYo this week, only 2 days.  I've been trying to run 5 days and do PiYo 6 days and I've come to the realization that that was just too much.  The PiYo workouts are short but intense.  I think it's been draining me more than I realized, so I've decided to only do it on cross training days and short run days.  It's really great core work so I want to keep it up, just scaled back a bit.

Sunday's run was at the Battle of Brooklyn 10M.  I did this run last year and really enjoyed it, so was happy to go back again.  It was a good time again!

Monday
Scheduled: PiYo Hardcore on the Floor
Actual: PiYo Hardcore on the Floor

Tuesday
Scheduled: 4 miles easy
Actual: 4.08 mi, 38:50, 9:31 pace

Wednesday
Scheduled: 6 miles easy
Actual: 6.03 mi, 58:57, 9:46 pace

Thursday
Scheduled: 4 miles easy
Actual: 4.00 mi, 39:57, 9:56 pace + PiYo Define: Lower Body

Friday
Scheduled: Rest
Actual: Rest

Saturday
Scheduled: 8 miles easy
Actual: 10.00 mi, 1:40:14, 10:02 pace

It was another weekend of Summer Streets  (the last weekend!) and I was feeling good so I did a couple of extra miles.  I am sure it's a lot of work (and expensive for the City) but I wish they could do Summer Streets more often - they are such a nice break from the park.

Sunday
Scheduled: Battle of Brooklyn 10M
Actual: 10.05 mi, 1:35:31, 9:30 pace

Total miles: 34.17

Total August miles: 73.47

Miles until goal (1,250): 412.41

Disneyland Half Marathon Medals

Since we are talking about Disneyland, I thought I would also share the medals (which I apparently never did) for the races.  I really want to get my race recaps done, but it's taking me a little bit to get back into blogging after all that time off.  They are coming!

I really like the 10K one and that has Stitch on it!  Stitch is such a fun character and I like they went in the other direction from the Alice in Wonderland theme from last year.

I am not 100% sure how I feel about the circle around the D on the half medal.  I like that it's pretty much the same since it's so iconic.

And I love the Dumbo medal - not much changed from last year but they swapped the colors.  What's blue on this medal was red last time and vice versa.  The ribbon might be my favorite part though - so cute!

I am clearly a little excited, huh?

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Updates!

In the craziness of the past couple of weeks, I wasn't able to share the exciting Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend updates!

Most importantly, waivers were released (still need your waiver?  Click here).  The waivers include your number and can help you figure out what corral you'll be in.  My number puts me in Corral B.

It looks like similar to Disney World, they have made the Corral's smaller and added more.  Which is awesome since last year the corral's were insanely crowded and definitely needed to be spread out.  I'm glad they made that change!

Also posted was the Official Program.  I always pick up a hard copy to keep (nerd alert), but it gets me excited for the race to read it online before hand anyways.  Based on the official program, it appears they have kept the expo in the Disneyland Hotel room.  Hopefully they have a better plan for this year because last year it was a disaster.  Fingers crossed on that one.

Also posted were the final race instructions.  This is more condensed version of all the important details.  Key to keep one of these around.

And lastly, the courses were posted!  The courses look the same - I was wondering if we would still go through Angels Stadium since there is a home game that day.  That was one of my favorite portions of the course so I am glad we are going through again!  They also added an elevation chart to the half.  The elevation chart makes it look hilly, but when you look at range it's very small which means those hills are minimal.  Honestly, I don't really remember hills from last year.

Here's the 10K:

And here's the half course:

Anyone else really excited?  Or is it just me?  Only 3 weeks to go!

Race Recap: Disneyland Half Marathon

Don't forget to read my recaps of the expo and the Inaugural Disneyland 10K!

I'm back today with my recap of the Disneyland Half Marathon, part 2 of the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge!

Disneyland Half Marathon
September 1, 2013

State: repeat
Lifetime: #36

Sunday was another early morning (even earlier then the day before).  Despite having gone to bed early, this one was not as easy as Saturday.  The alarm went off just before 4 am.  Similar to Saturday, I made breakfast (oatmeal again and a banana as well) and got dressed.

As with the 10K, I had laid my clothing out and everything was ready to go (I was Snow White this time).  After breakfast was done and we were ready, we headed to the start area.  It was a little more chaotic this time around as this race was bigger.

I didn't get to see Abby before the race and Pam and I parted ways shortly after we got to the start area.  Despite having done 35 (now 36) halves before, I still get nervous before them and like to do my own thing.  I had my last pre-race snack - a pack of PowerBar Gel Blasts (the cola flavor is my favorite).  I can't eat the gummies when I run but they are the perfect fuel for me before a race.

I headed to the corral which was packed.  I could barely get in.  Fortunately I only had to be there for about 10 minutes before the race started.  I honestly can't remember how the race kicked off.  I remember the National Anthem being sung but that was about it.  Before I knew it people were moving and we were off.

It had been hot on Saturday during the 10K and all day afterward the race.  I knew Sunday would be brutal as well.  As soon as I realized how hot it would be, I adjusted my race plan.  I didn't want to overdo it - just finish and feel strong (not drained).  Once I decided that, I decided to run with my phone (in other words, lots of pics to follow!).

The start was similar to the 10K, but we headed to California Adventure quicker.  By the time we went into DCA, I was already dripping.  I kept reminding myself to take it easy.  The first 2 miles my 9:45 felt like I was sprinting.  We went into DCA a different way this time and ran around Paradise Pier first.  Since it was still dark out, we got to see the World of Color lights in full glory this time.

This time I got to see the Green Army men (from Toy Story) at the Pier.  Line was still short and since I wasn't planning on racing, I stopped for a photo.

We next headed to Cars Land.  This time we ran towards the mountains and it was a much better view! I liked running this way better.  I stopped again for photo with the firetruck from Cars, but the line for Lightning and Mater was pretty long so I skipped it.

From there we headed into Hollywood Land where this time I did get my photo with the Monsters U gang.  Definitely one of my favorites from the race!

After a quick circle around the fountain, we headed down Buena Vista Street and across to Disneyland.    Right at the front of Main Street was the Genie, Aladdin and Jasmine.  Loved that Aladdin was in his Prince Ali gear.  Couldn't miss that.

After a quick photo with Mary Poppins and Bert (and some carousel horses), we headed into Frontierland and around the carousel.  Captain Hook and Smee were going for a ride!  They gave me a nice reason to laugh in the heat.

Next we ran through the Castle (never disappoints) and got a photo with Aurora and Prince Phillip.

Next we headed through Tomorrowland where I got my favorite photo of the race.  Gotta have fun with it!

Next it was past the Matterhorn and it's a small world (again) and into Toon Town.  This was like Princess row and I had to stop - especially for my "Twin-cess" (Cinderella's word not mine I swear!).

These past 2 miles with all the photo stops were not good paces.  I knew all the characters would be in the park so I was okay with stopping and my paces being slow.  Plus with the heat, I knew this would not be my day to push it.

Mile 4 marked the switch from park miles to Anaheim miles.  While they couldn't bring characters onto the course, they did fill it with bands, dancers, cheerleaders and 2 miles of classic cars!  They were great ways to break up the course.

Once we got out of Disneyland, I kept telling myself to run how I was feeling.  So after the first mile, imagine my surprise when I saw my watch say 8:45 for that mile.  If you guessed shocked, you'd be right.  But I just kept telling myself to run how I felt (I had a similar mantra for the Montreal Full) and we'd see where the paces went.

And they stayed pretty consistent.  The next mile was slightly slower (8:55), but then they picked up again.  I seemed to be hovering around the 8:30 pace.  I could not believe it.  And I felt really strong.  It was a nice pickup.

After the 2 miles of classic cars (which I really enjoyed, but I know others did not), we hit a dirt trail.  I didn't realize this was coming.  I didn't mind the dirt, but it was a little narrow and the trail got a bit tight.  At the end of the trail we hit mile nine and were making our way to Angels Stadium.

This was one of the parts I was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint.  Heading into Angels stadium all we could here was screaming and cheering.  I felt like I was making my major league debut.  I debated stopping for a picture, but was feeling really in the groove and did not want break it.

From Angels Stadium we headed back towards Disneyland.  My pace continue to hover around the 8:30 average and I still felt good.  I took a second gu to make sure I had enough energy for a final push.

Coming in the home stretch we ran into the backside of DCA - same exact portion as that morning (I was having deja vu).  The course only overlapped for a little bit and we were heading for the finish.  I picked it up a bit because I wanted to have a strong finish.  Mile 13 was a 7:58, so I would call that a strong finish.  Unlike Flying Pig where my sub-8 pace was gravity assisted, this was flat.  It was all me, which helped end the race on a high note.

I finished the race with a 2:10.  As I said in my training recap from that week, my time does not showcase my effort.  I think taking the first couple of miles easy helped and really warmed me up for some fast miles afterwards.  I still can't believe my paces the last 9 miles.  Looks like all that speed work helped!

After the finish line, I collected my Disneyland Half medal, my Dumbo Double Dare medal and my Coast to Coast.  I had been dreaming of these medals for so long and they were finally mine.  It felt as great as I hoped it would be.

Overall, I really liked this race.  I know some people didn't, but for me, it was a great mix of park/characters and open road to really cruise.  I enjoyed the challenge of the two races (which is good since I've got two more to do at Dopey) and the courses.  I liked the Tink course better, but I still liked this one.  I'll definitely be back for another Dumbo Double Dare next year!

Results
Official: 13.1 mi, 2:10:03, 9:55 pace
Garmin: 13.3 mi, 2:10:02, 9:47 pace

Splits

Did you run the Disneyland Half or Dumbo Double Dare?  Let me know how it went for you!