Disney Princess Half Marathon Race Recap

day before race at packet pick up

Almost two weeks ago (wow I’m behind), I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon! This is the race I signed up for when I was pregnant with AB as my 1st post-baby race, and it was going to be the one I trained for. I ended up running the Celebration Half as well before it, but kept up with my training anyways. I ended up missing only 3 training runs total during the whole training cycle, which went through all the holidays. Considering I never trained successfully for any race before, that in itself was an accomplishment. Since I got my PR at Celebration, I wasn’t going into the Disney Princess with that expectation. Disney races are always so crowded/congested that your times are usually slower. Once I hit mile 10, I realized my pace was much better than I thought it was going to be and realized I could PR if I pushed myself, I decided to do just that. You can see my stats below that my last mile was my fastest, it’s usually my slowest. I definitely ended with a negative split for this race. I PR’d by almost 2 full minutes from the Celebration Half. I even stopped to use the bathroom during mile and had to wait in a decent line. I felt surprisingly good that day and the days after the race. Training really pays off!

As I’ve mentioned before, I really do have a love/hate relationship with Disney races. That 2:45 am wakeup call really sucks! I rode over to Epcot with my neighbor, and we left at 3:10am to beat the traffic. We met up with some of her Disney running friends and hung out with them until it was time to make the long trek to the starting corrals. I didn’t know anyone in my starting corral so the wait for the start wasn’t very enjoyable, especially because it was chilly out and I was wearing short sleeves and capris. Luckily I had a hand warmer that I was rubbing all over my body to keep myself as warm as possible. I didn’t want my phone to die during the race (I stream my music with Bluetooth headphones and use the GPS on my RunKeeper) so I kept it on airplane mode while I waited until the 5:30 start, so I didn’t even have that to occupy me, just lots of people watching! I was in corral I and finally crossed the start line around 6am.

Overall, I felt really good the entire run. I never really felt super tired nor did I hit any kind of wall. My pace stayed pretty consistent until I sped up during the last 5k to get my PR. And the last 5k includes running up the overpass, that's just killer during the last few miles, still shocked I was able to speed up! As usual, Disney has more than enough water stops and such great entertainment. Although, I don’t think I’ll ever be one of those people who stands in line for character pictures during the race, I cringe even watching time pass me by when I wait in line for the bathroom. I LOVE the spectators at the Disney races. There are so many people cheering you on, holding funny signs, and passing out goodies. They really do make the experience a great one! G, the girls and my FIL came to see me finish but somehow missed actually seeing me. Which doesn’t surprise me since I missed seeing them too, and I knew where they were and was looking hard! (after I finished we watched for another friend to finish and we missed her too, there is just SO many people it’s crazy!). I was just glad to see them there at the end after I was done! Next year I plan to sign up for the Glass Slipper Challenge, which is a 10k on Saturday followed by the Half on Sunday. I wanted to do it this year, but wasn't sure how I'd be after having the baby so didn't want to take on too much. Next year, I'm totally doing it! (it's the only Disney challenge I'll be doing as all the others require a full marathon, and I have no desire to do one of those!).

my favorite cheerleader

My Stats:

Official Chip Time: 02:35:24 (overall pace of 11:52)

Place: 5242 of the 8498 Women finishers

Place: 1072 of the 3957 in my Women’s Age Division (25-29)

5k Split: 39:18

10k Split: 1:15:51

15k Split: 1:52:46

My RunKeeper stats (which accounts for the zigzagging)

13.68 miles in 2:35:36 (overall pace of 11:51)

Fastest Mile: #13 at 10:53

Slowest Mile: #5 at 12:23 <- where I stopped to use the bathroom

pretty race medal