Okay, so the Princess 1/2 is officially LESS than 2 months away! 50% of the time I am beyond excited. 50% I am freaking the F out! Right now .... freaking out. By the next paragraph I could be excited. I want to hook up a little heart rate monitor and see my pulse going CRAZY right now. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest and butterflies forming in my stomach. Oh this is just lovely! I say that in a completely sarcastic tone, FYI.
Perhaps if I wasn't almost limping with every step I wouldn't be freaking out? I think the fact that it is Race Week (I like to consider it a week long event - helps me try to remember to hydrate) is adding to the nerves. I always seem to go into a race feeling under-prepared physically - but mentally prepared to have my ass handed to me by the lanky speedy college kids and high school track teams. So I guess this half-marathon is no exception. I will feel totally not ready, but in the end I will know I did my best. And if I start to doubt myself I know that my Princess P.I.C. (Partner in Crime .... remember that, I'll just use P.I.C. from now on!) will smack me upside the head and knock some sense into me. Ya hear that Lesley? I give you permission to give me some tough love if I start to be a weenie. And I will. At every race about half way through I start to want to just cry and beg for my mommy!
BUT, believe it or not, this half-way point is what gives me the confidence to know I can do it ... and helps me off the ledge and bring me back to the reality that I am so flipping excited!! I currently have the course map up in a separate window. Why?? I mean I know this by heart. I've looked at it way too many times. When I was on vacation a couple of months ago I paid attention to every twist, turn, rise, slope ... you name it, I noticed it. I was the only person on the bus not just engaging in conversation about what ride to do first or who my favorite character is. No, I was the one seeing how we have a nice drop down near the Contemporary -- but then we will have to quickly go right back up a little hill. It is short though - no worries! Okay yeah, my nerves sent my brain all over the place just now. The half way point.... Ignoring my 3 10K races, to date in my life, my longest training run EVER has been 5 miles. Looking at the map, five miles gets us to the Magic Kingdom. Great! Before we even get there we get to run under the 7 Seas Lagoon bridge and by the Contemporary. From 5 to 6 we are in the Magic Kingdom. Well we can all handle that, right? I mean will I even notice my body or will I be feeling so much adrenaline and having a blast finally being in the Kingdom in my running skirt?? By mile 7 we are only around the Grand Floridan. Cool - still sights to see. Miles 7 to 11 will be the point where I am feeling in virgin territory. I will have run that long before, but not many times. This is also the boring, long straight stretch. Maybe it isn't boring if it is new to you? This could be 3.5 years of working there talking, so maybe that long stretch just bores me. (Let's hope for some awesome mile marker entertainment here!) This is also the stretch I am dreading and expecting for Lesley to have to do some ego boosting and convince me that I am awesome and getting close to the finish. By mile 11 I'll be staring at Spaceship Earth and getting focused on just finishing the damn run. 12 to 13.1 will be a breeze. It is basically 1/3 of the 5K I'll be doing the morning before. I will have visions of the finish line running through my head and I will start to get focused even more. 13 will get there and I will desperately dig deep for my final kick. At this point I just want to run through the finish and not cross walking! If I can get ANY kick at all I will be happy!
And with that, we all just ran the half together! And I am not freaking out AS MUCH.
I officially began my packing list. I have one in Excel that I've been using since my annual pilgrimage began in 2005. This weekend my mom and I will be working on our 5K tiara type things to match our orange and black outfits. The two of us in a fabric store?? Will we even know what to do?
Oh no, nerves. Again. Ronda wants to puke.
**For those of you that will be at the Princess Half Weekend and have NOT done it before, this picture above was taken around the time the half will start. Note the clothing we had on before we ran. It might be Florida, but it is FREEZING at 5:30am!!**
**Note: I did not re-read for errors. I am too nervous, so I'm just going to hit "publish post".
I am so beyond stoked for the Princess half. :D. I'm glad I'm not alone in obsessing over the course map, and picturing the entire thing in my head. That hill by the Contemporary?! Pffft. I think we'll just be so psyched to be there it won't even register :D.
ReplyDeleteIs it a little crazy to be google earthing the course too? Hm.
Google Earth!! I haven't done that yet .... hm, I know what I'll be doing tonight!
ReplyDeleteI like mapmyrun.com better than google earth :)
ReplyDeleteYou sound VERY excited!! You'll love this race =D
You are totally going to kick this races butt! And your description of how you'll feel mile by mile? Pretty much spot on. You won't feel a thing but happiness and glee running through the Magic Kingdom. Maybe tears...or maybe I'm just a sap like that. I teared up, I choked them back, and then had to remind myself I need to NOT hyperventilate...it's bad for running. :) The long stretch to Epcot was def uneventful but there's so many people cheering and other racers around you that it's not horrible at all. :) And then when you finally spot Spaceship Earth? Even more adrenaline! I think I ran my fastest mile EVER for miles 12-13 through Epcot!
ReplyDeleteDeep breath!!! :)
I will be SHOCKED if I don't tear up at some point -- out of joy and amazement, hopefully never out of pain or agony!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I am feeling a little better now. I guess I forget that there will be tons of other people. I notice races are always more fun and fly by when I am surrounded. When I am alone in a stretch is when I start to let my mind get the better of me and then wish I was done.
Looks like I'll be checking out mapmyrun, too!
I am just as nervous and excited about the Disney Princess Half as you!
ReplyDeleteI am still having pains, which is bothering - but I just KNOW that it will all work out in the end.
Now if only I could find a visor with a tiara on it . . .
Happy running!
I already e-mailed ya, so you know how I feel. You'll be fine. You'll hurt, you won't be all joy and excitment the whole time... there will be ups and downs. But you WILL get through. Trust me... you definitely have it in you.
ReplyDeleteThe map and the hills are your job... I rarely look at course maps too much... might glance at the elevation chart. ;-) It'll give you something to focus on.
You'll do fineee!
ReplyDeleteAnd Florida is cold in the mornings for sure! BRRRR!
I totally hear you on being excited one second and nervous the next...I am the same way! But you will do great!!
ReplyDeletedeep breath...deep breath.... :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for you!! I have to admit when I was at WDW this last time, I would point out to my travel companions "I've run on this road!". I was also feeling a little sad knowing I won't be doing it this time. You are going to do fine and have a great race!!
ReplyDelete