Another 5.30am alarm, but this one hurt a little bit more after a better night’s sleep (P stayed in Paris with her family so I had the bed to myself). But today was the day I had been dreading for months…I had to run a Half Marathon….AFTER running a 5K and 10K 36 hours before!
I left the hotel at 6am and the wait at corrals was the longest yet…I crossed the start line at 7.55am with Cruella’s encouragement!
IMG_0528 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0736 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0737 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0739 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0738 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
The run was, in all honesty, pretty painless. The supporters, characters, sights, refreshments and photo stops all distracted me from the reality of what I was doing to myself, and it wasn’t until I ran the full route and got back through the Village and returned to the Studios that I felt my legs starting to complain, so it was only the final 3k that I started to struggle which was pretty amazing really.
IMG_0741 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0745 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0768 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0777 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0779 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0781 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
Finally back to Disneyland!
IMG_0778 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
This was taken as I was running through the Cheyenne/Santa Fe, coming towards the end of the event
oxbrnvzv718bo9haqdxz by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
Speaking of the refreshment stops, they were plentiful, every 2k or so, with water, Powerage and Lu Grany bars on offer, and I actually think that the ‘fuel’ helped my energy levels a lot as I struggled more in training and I didn’t have those things. Of course, the atmosphere and adrenaline had a lot to answer for too!
I was pleased to see more Photopass photographers on this race, including the coveted Castle shot!
vqo8gmluaxnsm8jepdjv by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0762 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0748 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0742 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
I saw the lovely Krispy Smore en route too and they were kind enough to stop for a photo!
IMG_0747 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
According to my Apple Watch, which I paused when I stopped for longer periods than a quick selfie, recorded around 2 hours 45 minutes to complete the full route, with my official time at 2 hours 51 minutes, placed at 5159 (of 9000+ runners) which I was pretty happy with.
IMG_0783 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0784 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
I was pretty pleased with myself when I passed/lapped the Balloon Ladies on my way round the course for the return journey back to Disneyland.
IMG_0786 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
The character greets today for the World of Disney Villains theme that I saw were Governor Ratcliffe, Loki, Captain Hook & Mr Smee, King John & Sheriff of Nottingham, Jafar, Flotsum & Jetsum (the only one I stopped for!), Maleficent, Maleficent’s crooks, Wicked Stepmother, and Kylo Ren (who I know rotated with Darth Vadar). And then my fave Sorceror Mickey met us at the end of the race!
IMG_0744 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0746 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0750 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0751 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0755 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0756 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0760 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0761 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0763 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0764 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0788 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
My lovely girlies were there to greet me at the end of the race before they headed to Centerparcs for the day and snapped my very proud photo!
IMG_0785 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
After picking up my refreshment pack and having my finisher’s photo, I headed to the Expo to pick up my Challenge medals – aaahhhh – and also treated myself to a 21K ‘I Did It’ t-shirt which was reduced to €10 by this point.
bwdlcfmvjkkcux8lgcvt by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
Once back at the hotel, I had a shower and tried to nap, but it didn’t go well and I only managed 30 minutes. I was pretty hungry so I decided to head out to McDonalds for a feast…a 9 nuggets meal, juice and McFlurry was €15.05, and I enjoyed and deserved every morsel.
My next stop was Disneyland for some selfies with my full medal haul…I wasn’t going to let the rain get in my way!
IMG_0790 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0792 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0797 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
I sat in the Hyperion for a little while to escape the wet stuff, but we were booted out after a while, I presume for some technical rehearsals for Mickey’s Philharmagic.
Whilst I was in the park, I thought to myself that I might as well do something, so I saw that It’s a Small World was a walk on, and headed over there. I think it took me a while to pluck up the courage to be in the parks on my own?! Very odd as I have been visiting them more than annually for 25 years but never on my own.
Once I had done that and realised that I could do stuff on my own, I switched to the other park as there are more attractions there that I would enjoy on my own. First stop was Ratatouille single rider, then RC Racer single rider, and finally Tower of Terror which was a little more interesting…it broke down whilst I was on it, just before the first drop! We were evacuated and given Fastpasses to return, so I headed right back round to ride again. Interestingly, no-one else did that!
IMG_0812 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
After a ride on Rock n Roller Coaster, it was time for me to meet the other girls over at Vapianos for a celebratory dinner! A calzone and large bottle of San Pellegrino set me back €19 and I enjoyed every morsel!
IMG_0815 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
When we finished dinner, we agreed to return to Disneyland Park to watch Illuminations one last time, which we all really enjoyed, and I don’t think any of us could believe that our 4 nights here had come to an end. That being said, I was also pleased to be going home – I did miss my hubby and wanted to celebrate with my family back home.
IMG_0817 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
IMG_0818 by
Natalie Pope, on Flickr
After the show finished, we caught the bus back to the Cheyenne (my weary legs couldn’t take much more!), and after packing, I was snuggled up in bed by 11pm.
Steps = 46,630