Fast forward to January - Our little family vacation grew a bit and it is now 11 days long!!
Day one we get up at O'Dark hundred pack the car and head on out! We get there well before noon which was my goal and park the car and walk over to the Disneyland hotel where they are holding packet pickup and the race expo. I met Jeff Galloway and had him autograph my bib number and we do some shopping and then head back to the hotel to check in and get settled. The Hubster is signed up for the family 5K which starts at 10:30 that night so we have lots of time to kill! The race that night was so much fun - we were not allowed in the park so we were outside at around mile 1 1/2 and saw him run by then we headed over to gate where he would eventually end up exiting the park after he was done. He had a blast and listening to his stories about the race made me even more excited for mine!
Day two is Logan's kids race (one mile through Disney's California Adventure!) we get him to the start line then we head over so we can watch him run by about halfway through the race and then across the park to the finish line! They made this race so much for for the kids - lots of characters were out and the music was blasting from all the speakers! Day two was also our first day in the park! I was only a little worried about what walking around at Disney all day was going to do to me, in fact I was more worried about staying hydrated, getting electrolytes and being careful with what I ate that day than I was about the time on my feet. I did go back to the room a little earlier than the rest of the family but primarily because my race started the next morning at 5:45 and they were recommending runners to be in the start corral no later than 5:00AM!
Day three - RACE DAY!! I'm up, dressed and out the door with my family in tow bright and early! I'm taking ton of pictures, my hubby is taking pictures and my little guy has his video camera and they leave me in my corral to see if they can get a better vantage point to take a video of the start. I feel kinda alone at that moment because it is such a big race and I know some people who are there but didn't make arrangements to meet up or anything. I glance over and two girls I know are standing just to my right! Christine and Susan who I had done the Fight For Air Stair Climb last year with had somehow found each other in the crowd and I had now found them!! Fireworks go off we move up and I know it will still be a while before we start. They let one "corral" go at a time and we are in the 5th and final one. It ended up being 1/2 an hour before we crossed the start line and then we were off! Mickey, Minnie and Donald were at the start line to see us off and we ran about a mile and entered Disneyland - there were parade floats and characters at regular intervals, cast members all over cheering us on and lots of photo opportunities! we ran about 2 miles in the park (including through the castle!!) and then we exited the park and ran through Downtown Disney - it was right about mile 3 1/2 - 4 that I saw the family and that was a great boost for me! Right past them were hundreds of Red Hat ladies! They were cheering us on and I thought of my mom and wished she was there! Then we ran through the streets of Anaheim - I don't really remember much about that part - I was really feeling the time on my feet at Disney the previous day by around mile 7. There were high school cheerleaders, high school bands and enthusiastic aid station volunteers along the way. I had asked my hubby to be at mile 10-11 and I knew once I saw them I would almost be back at Disney for the run through California Adventure and I would be fine again and might even get my second wind! It was also starting to get quite warm and I was drinking Gatorade at all the aid stations hoping I would stay hydrated. We finally turned onto the road and I could see the park up ahead of us so I started looking for my family and right before the park entrance I saw them! I got some Gatorade from them gave them both big sweaty hugs and I was on my way again! I don't know what gave me my second wind - was it the Gatorade, getting back onto Disney property or seeing my family? Probably all three! More photos, more characters and more loud music got me really moving and before I knew it I was back out of the park for the final stretch around to the finish line! What an amazing race!! There is nothing like experiencing Disney Magic and Runners High all at once!!
Running down Main Street USA!!
Running down Main Street USA!!
The Toy Story Gang!!
Finish line photo with my bling!!Day 4-10 were either Disneyland/DCA days or Universal Studios days - we also left Universal early one day and hit up a couple of malls and walked down Hollywood's famous "Walk of Fame!" I wore a pedometer everyday (Except the day I ran) and we averaged 20,000 each day! Not a day went by that I didn't reflect in someway about how much my life has changed. We walked to the park every morning and walked back to our hotel every night which was a mile away from the park! My legs and feet didn't swell and hurt like they had in times past when we went to Disney. We used to stay at a hotel that had a shuttle and we would have to sit and wait for the shuttle at the end of the night because we didn't have the energy to walk back to the hotel. The rides were enjoyable - I didn't have to cram myself into them and ride it the whole time not being able to breathe because the restraint was too tight. I'm open to new things - I even tried indoor skydiving!! I can't help but think back to things that I missed out in life because I was too heavy, or too tired to take advantage of them. Never again!!
Waiting for a parade!!
This is Logan before ordering his dinner one night. He woke up long enough to order and then when the food came he woke up long enough to eat. Oh and I should mention this was at the ESPN zone in front of the largest TV I have ever seen during a LA Basketball game with lots of cheering and booing going on...Wearing out a 12 year old - we will show you how it is done!!
Footnote - I weighed in at Goal in January before we went on vacation and weighed in at goal on Saturday February 11th a mere 6 days after getting back from vacation!! - Happy 26 months of maintenance to me! :)
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