Divas Half Marathon N. Myrtle Beach Weekend Recap

Well, half marathon #5 is done, finally! It was a long weekend but fun and I was so happy to spend time with my best friend and my brother's girlfriend who flew down for the race! Even though the sun chose not to show up this weekend, we still had some fun!

Friday
What a crazy day! Everything was pretty hectic since my mom came to my house to pick Rusty up (she dog-sat all weekend) around 4am (long story) and I ended up oversleeping and was late to pick up my best friend Adrienne from the airport.  The normally 3.5hr drive to Myrtle Beach ended up taking close to 4.5 hours because of traffic and craziness once I got on 501. I went straight to pick Adrienne up and then we had a fun Mexican lunch at the mall near the airport while we waited to pick Rachna up from her Detroit flight.  It was SO FUN getting to see Adrienne again and catching up! I love how our friendship has evolved as we've become (somewhat) responsible serious adults and how we may not talk or see each other all that often but when we do, it's like nothing has changed and no time has passed! I'm so incredibly proud of her for sticking with her training plan for the past 10 (or 11?) weeks and running a great race (and she looks amazzzingggg). After picking Rachna up, we headed over to our resort for the weekend, the Beach Cove Resort, in North Myrtle Beach. Let me just mention that we had a great experience at this resort! We had a 2 BR condo for a great price and so much space for all of us! We changed for the beach and decided that we wanted to partake in some adult bevs so we ventured out trying to find cold wine haha
Clearly this was a place where wine shops and ABC stores are on every corner so we didn't have to look far! We had a fun afternoon laying on the beach even though the wind made it feel ridiculously cold! We headed back to the room and hung out until my sister got there (and we all chugged our wine like we're young college students hiding it from our RA haha).  My sister wanted to drive over to Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach for dinner so we all piled into her car and headed over and when we couldn't make a decision for dinner, my sister chose a fairly standard tourist location and we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  The food was standard, the service was weird (our server introduced himself as "Juice" and rushed all over the place), and the restaurant was freezing cold! We had a nice little dinner and then headed back to our room.  We were all so exhausted that even the temptation of the massive candy store at Broadway at the Beach couldn't  save us from our exhaustion! After a quick CVS run, we headed back to the room and hung out, watched tv, and talked.  Going to bed never felt so good Friday night!! (And our late night ice cream, right Rachna??!!)

Saturday
Oh Saturday.. we all decided to sleep in a bit (or at least attempted to) but I was up and ready to go at 730! I ended up reading on my iPad while my sister was already awake and having a breakfast snack & reading on the balcony.  Once Adrienne got up, we went for a morning walk on the beach.  One of my favorite things about going to the beach (any beach) are the early morning/late night walks.  We went out planning only to walk for 30-ish minutes but we ended up walking a ton for over an hour.  We didn't want to be on our feet so much during the day so we were rested for the race but this was the perfect exercise but nothing to strenuous. I loved having time to just talk and catch up about life and everything and having a sounding board in Adrienne- seriously, best person to talk to about anything! I love that she supports me and pulls me up whenever I am getting too down/hard on myself! We had fun people watching too during our walk and seeing all the adorable pups enjoying the beach that morning! I wish I could've brought Rusty!

After our walk, we ended up getting ready for the day while my sis was still reading and Rachna was sleeping late.  Rachna is in the middle of her masters program for Nurse Anesthesia and had 6 exams in the previous 5 days so clearly she needed as much rest as possible!!! After we were all ready, we planned to head over to the community center where the race expo was being held so we could pick up our bibs, shirts, and check out the vendors.  We all got our things (and the ridiculously small race shirts) and looked around a bit.  I ended up purchasing some shoelace bling in the form of a 13.1 and a VT piece (that's going to be shipped to me soon hopefully) and a race shirt and tank.  Adrienne and I ended up purchasing the same tank and we decided to be twins for the race! The official race merch was pretty nice and not super expensive at all! I just wish the Expo was organized better-- all the vendors were not logically organized and were just placed in "pods" throughout 2 gyms in the community center and caused such chaos.  The one upside was that there were not very many vendors at all and this was a smaller race so things were not as crazy as a runDisney race. As we were leaving we got some sassy pictures taken with the Run Like a Diva banner- haha so fun!

We decided (maybe I forced this option on everyone?) to head over to McCallister's for lunch (they ran out of baked potatoes, WHAT?!) and then ventured over to the outlets for a bit.  We were all tired but my sister was ready to shop! We go into the first store, a favorite of mine (LOFT outlet) and guess what happens? A NOSEBLEED.  You might be asking, "why did that happen, you're not 10 anymore" well yeah. I think that my allergies were out of control and with the combination of my allergy medicine (allegra, flonase, singular, visene-A), my insides went crazy and my nose would not stop bleeding. IN Loft outlet. UGH. I eventually got all cleaned up (thank god the bathrooms were right next to the store) and did a little shopping at Loft.  We ended up walking around aimlessly for a while just heading into stores when we saw something in the windows that looked interesting.  I'm more of a shopper that likes to make a list of where I want to go, I go to those stores, and then leave so this was not my plan but we had fun even though it was a long day on our feet.  My sis and Rachna were enjoying the Coach outlet and so Adrienne and I went over to Ann Taylor outlet because I wanted to see if I could find some work clothes and Ann Taylor and the outlet are my favorites to find great suits and shells, and dresses for work and court.  I got some great shells and an AMAZING brown-grey skirt suit on 40% off and then a 15% off and I had a $20 reward card from my CC points. I love sales! Before we headed out, we stopped by the Fudgery ( a childhood-fat kid favorite of mine at the outlets) and we all had a delicious ice cream cone. We of course needed to load up on the carbs before our Sunday morning races haha! I feel like I had the epitome of South Carolina in my ice cream- one scoop of SC Peach and one scoop of the Praline Pecan Crunch. It was so yummy!

After we headed back to our room, we all just wanted to stay off our feet and just relax. Rachna napped, Adrienne and I read on the balcony, and my sister went for a little walk on the beach. The dinner decision was pretty ridiculous because no one was really all that hungry and had any strong opinions so Adrienne came up with the best plan- order in pizza.  We found a great local pizza place from the help of Yelp reviews: King's Famous Pizza. We ended up running to BiLo for some bananas and then picked the pizza up for a later dinner than we planned but it was delicious nonetheless! We had our quick dinner, and finally got ready for bed!  We planned on leaving the resort by 5:15am so we set our alarms and made sure everything was out so nothing was forgotten!  I am so scatterbrained so this always helps me in the early mornings of races!
 
What a crazy day! I know Sunday was just going to be crazier so I'm glad we got to bed relatively early!

Sunday= RACE DAY!

Oooh, Sunday came way too quickly! Adrienne and I planned on getting up at 4:45am but it was around 4:15-4:30 I heard my sister moving around in the living room so I was up earlier than expected.  My sister thought we were still sleeping and knocked on our door but we were already up and getting ready by 4:45! After we were ready, we had our pre-race food: half a banana & half Luna Bar (chocolate dipped coconut) for me and banana & CLIF bar for Adrienne with plenty of water! We were waiting for my sister and Rachna when Rachna emerged from her room sick as anything! She was so weak with a stomach bug, we tried to persuade her to stay in the room and just rest, it was no big deal but she was determined to go as far as she could.  I made her a gatorade and got her a cold water bottle but she still wanted to try to even just walk so I just told her if she feels weak/sick in ANY way to find a race volunteer and they will get her to a medical tent/shuttle her to the finish line. We finally parked and got to the starting line but looked everywhere for the bag check.  Adrienne and I took a risk and used the portapotties (ugh nerves) and then walked around to find the bag check.  Everyone was dressed so fun and VERY diva-like. I love running in these women focused races- everyone is so supportive and encouraging of other runners and just gives me warm fuzzies!

Finish line, I'm ready for YOU!

While walking back from the bag check, I saw a fellow Princess Posse (our PHM facebook group) member so naturally I had to stop and get a picture with her (HI Amanda!) and our amazing SparkleSkirts!

We finally met back up with my sister and Rachna afterward and got a few pictures at the start line. Rachna still wasn't feeling so hot but she wanted to at least give the 5K a try.

 Adrienne and I left to head over to our corrals and we decided to stretch onto one of the orange barricades first and that was when she really let me know how she felt about me talking her into running 13.1 miles:

Hahaha, but seriously though, we were happy and ready to run!

After stretching out, we headed to our own pace corrals. I headed to the 12:00-13:00 corral and Adrienne was in the 10:00 corral (did I mention my BFF is a speedy gonzales?!). The race started LATE. Generally, this irks me but I was trying not to stress too much since I was already anxious about how much I would be PR-ing.  I didn't hear anything to signify the start of the race but once I saw people moving I was ready to GO! It bottlenecked quite a bit at the beginning but the crowds thinned out before getting to the first mile.  

Thinking back, I wish I started in the corral one ahead of the one I started in because there were SO MANY walkers/power walkers that it was hard to keep up with my intervals in the crowd.  The first 5K I felt AMAZING and was keeping a good slow pace (around 12:30-12:45).  I loved running through the neighborhoods and everyone sitting in their driveways/lawns cheering on all the runners with some pretty great signs!

I was all set and on pace to PR by more than 30 minutes but then the worst happened after the third water stop.  Around 4.5-5 miles, I wiped my face on my hand and my nose had started to bleed.  This was one of the worst things I wanted to happen during a race. At the very least, after what happened on Saturday, I packed about 15 kleenex in my race belt and those definitely came in handy.  I used them to stop the bleeding and  then at the water stop I de-bloodied my face and rinsed my hands as well. For the next few miles, I tried not the breathe with my nose and attempted to regulate my breathing only through my mouth.  Clearly this hasn't happened to me before during a race so I was slightly panicked and then I got depressed at how much time I lost and my hopes for a 30+ minute PR was out the window. I continued on and kept running.  I didn't really feel much pain at all in my legs other than the bottoms of my feet (time for new race socks!). I knew I had slowed down a considerable amount after the nose bleed and it was so hard to speed back up for me.  

Once I saw the 13 minute mile pacer pass me around mile 11, I was full-on in depression. I was disappointed in myself for not sticking to the pace I had trained for the past 2 months, I was depressed that I let myself down by not being able to move faster, I was depressed that I've been carrying around this extra 8lbs of weight since February that also slowed me down. At mile 11, we ran through this beautiful and new residential development and during that part of the race it hit me-- I'm not running this race for myself, I was running for all those Boston runners who were either injured and cannot run anymore and those runners who were stopped .5 mile from achieving a life-long goal of completing the Boston Marathon. I decided it was time to put my big girl panties on and finish the race strong.  I tried as hard as I could but mile 12 was one of the hardest miles I've ever run.  I tried to think how much I ran and how little I had left and then I thought about the hot firemen waiting for me with my medal (seriously, there were some beautiful shirtless men 'medaling' the finishers). I started down the last .5 mile or so and saw all the early finishers cheering on all those who were left and it just pushed me to finished strong.  I literally ran the last .5 mile as fast as I could (my garmin told me it was an 8:50 pace!!!). I finally got my medal and stopped my garmin & Nike+ and headed over to the picture line (so short) after getting my rose and Champagne (ugh bad life decision).

Afterwards, I tried to find Adrienne since she finished about 20 minutes before I did but I missed her at the finish line so we met up at the bag check.  I called my sister and heard the worst news- Rachna was incredibly sick and didn't even make it to the start of the 5K and my sister took her back to the resort so she could rest and  my sister was going to CVS to get some meds and then pick us up.  Adrienne and I had a nice little stroll past the finish so I could change my shoes and we could sit until my sis found us.  We made it back to the room and my sister said she paid for a late checkout at 2pm so we had some time to shower and clean up and Rachna could get some extra resting time. After Adrienne and I were ready, we ventured out to find food since I hadn't eaten anything after the race and Adrienne just had some snacks while I was showering so we were on a mission to find a Wendys.  We made it back to the room just in time to pack the cars and we got Rachna ready to go and then we headed to the airport and sat for a bit after Adrienne and Rachna were checked in.  After they went to security, my sister and I left to make our way to our houses.  Let me just say, the rainstorm yesterday was RIDICULOUS and made my drive extra annoying.  I was so tired, I broke my no coffee rule and stopped for an iced mocha latte at McD (ugh gross) but I eventually made it home!

Post-Race Thoughts

As soon as I got home, I had one thing on my mind- hook up my garmin and Nike+ to analyze my race.  Here are some of my stats:

My overall time was a 20 minute PR and best half marathon time in over a year so that is worth celebrating! I am still slightly disappointed in my overall average pace because I KNOW I could have done better had I not had the nosebleed to deal with! My moving time isn't too bad but DEFINITELY much room for improvement on all parts.  I guess, at the end of the day, I'm glad I PRed even if it wasn't my goal PR. Adrienne tried to convince me that I am crazy to be disappointed with this much improvement since my last best race and my mom told me the same thing.  I pretty much had the exact opposite of negative splits, which is every runner's worst nightmare.  I know that my race wasn't the most efficient or anything near the sort but I'm glad to get #5 done! 

I'm looking forward to spending time the rest of this spring and the summer working on my speed. I'm also going to start trying different workouts to help my overall body strength and transform those last few pounds of fat into muscle.  I'm looking into swimming again, using my stationary bike some more, and working out to the Jillian dvds as well. 

Hopefully, I'll be back better than ever this fall! 

PS here's a quick peek at my bib & medal holder with all of 2013's additions (so far):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2013 Recap (Day 2)

OK. so DAY 2! Lets do this.

Maggie and I ended up staying up late catching up and talking the night before so we decided to sleep in a bit to 6/630am so we could catch the shuttle to the Royal Family 5K that my sister and her friend Sara were running.  I told them to enjoy it and stop for pictures and just have fun running in an empty Epcot (they ran through the world showcase!!!)! Well, we ended up at epcot around 730 and they already finished! Apparently they didnt stop at all for any pictures and 'ran' in the crowd of 8000 other 5K runners.  Well, ok then. I was so proud of them though for finishing the 5K! They had a good time and they finished so thats all that really matters.

I love this place!

So proud of them!

After their 5K, they were exhausted so we headed right back to the Coronado Springs after taking some pictures and then while they got cleaned up/rested, Maggie and I hit up the expo to get taped by the KT tape people and get her bib/race stuff! We walked around a bit so Maggie could see all the fun booths.

Before I get onto the rest of the day, let me get on my soapbox about this stuff called KT Tape.  First off, I am in no way being paid or compensated for my comments and shameless promotion of KT Tape but I just think anyone who is active in any sport, not just running, and has soreness in joints and muscles should try it!


I was skeptical at first when my sorority sis told me about the wonders of this KT Tape when I was complaining about my shin splints last November at the beginning of my PHM training.  But one day I got curious, and then I did my research and thought it just might help but everything I read online said they recommend having a trained professional to apply it.  Well, that was confusing because they have these great instructional videos on their website for any bodily ailment you may have so WHY were there these videos if Im supposed to have a trained professional apply it instead?? WELL. The fabulous KT Tape people were at the PHM expo and I purchased 2 rolls of pink and purple pre-cut Pro tape and brought it with me to FL (but I forgot to bring it to the expo!!!).  I talked to the lady applying it and she explained how I need to apply it to my leg for shin splints (she could only do one leg unless I purchased a roll and clearly that wasnt happening b/c I had 2 in my luggage haha!). I was nervous about trying something new for such a big race but I was like 'what the hey!" The tape application was pretty simple (I do a new application every week because my "short runs" are about 5 miles 2x a wk and a long run ranging from 5-12 miles on the wkend) and straightforward. Here is their Website and their facebook page and twitter page if you want to learn more.  They are great about responding quickly to their FB and twitter posts if you do have questions.  And good news, they are now selling the regular and Pro KT tape at CVS!

I applied the KT tape for my other leg while we waited for the bus to the parks. We decided on Animal Kingdom and MGM Studios (ugh disney, I know it's Hollywood Studios now but I refuse to call it that!) in the evening. Before we got the bus to AK, Maggie and I checked out of our room and left our bags to be sent over to the Art of Animation for the next few nights! I was a bit worried about changing resorts for such a short trip but Disney made everything easy and straightforward for switching resorts and our bags were already in our room when we checked in (more on that later) at the Art of Animation.

Onto the parks!! Let me start by saying, I love Animal Kingdom!

ready for AK fun! ps you can see my KT tape here and my black sparkleskirt!

walking towards the Tree of Life!

We went all over Animal Kingdom but without an organized plan so that was a bit hectic.  We got fact passes for the Kilimanjaro Safaris and had virtually no wait. I love riding the safari, so much fun seeing all the animals up close! Especially the African Elephants and the ostriches! We ended up having lunch at Yak and Yeti for their counter service.  I was a bit nervous because I didn't really see any vegetarian options but I learned through research on the amazing Disney Food Blog that if you just ask the counter person for veg options, they will gladly tell  you some items that weren't on the menu board.  My sis and I ended up getting the sweet and sour veggies with steamed rice and I got a basket of fries to share with the table.  Everything was so delicious and so filling! We were definitely fueled for a long day ahead for visiting the parks! Again, I fell down on my usual photog tendencies and failed to take pictures of our yummy lunch!

After lunch, we walked around the Asia area more and rode on my favorite attraction at Animal Kingdom-- Kali River Rapids! We had fast-passes we picked up before lunch and were right on time for the fast past line! This ride is way too short but so much fun!! A much needed cool-down from the hot and sticky/humid morning. We moseyed around Animal Kingdom, saw the live Finding Nemo show (so much fun!) and ventured into DinoLand, USA before we headed over to MGM.

By the time we got to MGM, we were so tired! We decided to definitely do the Great Movie Ride and the Muppets show.  Both were just as much fun as I remembered.  I loved being here at night! Seriously, Disney World is magical at night!!!

We had dinner at the ABC Commissary counter service at MGM.  Again, no veg options but we asked the castmember at the counter and he gave us some great options.  My sis had the veg Asian Salad and I had the veg Quinoa salad.  I had a taste of my sis' and she had some of mine and both were delicious but way to much salad for me to have in one sitting.  We had a fun convo during dinner about our respective college experiences and sorority happenings.  I think my sis was a little bored during that part of the conversation because she wasn't in a sorority during her time at uva haha but just the thought of my sis in a sorority at uva makes me giggle a bit. It definitely would not have been a good fit for her!!

ANYways.  Maggie and I decided we wanted to leave earlier than later because we would be up at 2am to get ready for our race on Sunday so we needed to get at least a few hours of sleep! We knew walking around all the parks and being on our feet all day before we were going to run 13.1 miles was dumb but it's Disney World so what are you going to do?!!

 We split from my sis and Sara as they took the bus back to the Coronado and we took the Art of Animation bus.  The ride was longer than expected but I was SO excited to stay at the newest Disney resort! (You can read more about how the resort started and was built over 7 years HERE.) Let me tell you, driving into here, I fell in love.  They had 4 themed areas based on popular Disney animated movies- Cars, Finding Nemo, The Lion King (my abs favorite disney movie!!!), and The Little Mermaid. We stayed in the standard rooms (the Little Mermaid area) which was a good 7-9 min walk from the lobby and bus stop/pick-up but I think it was worth it! Also something interesting I noticed was one of the only interior room buildings in the Disney resorts (the Lion King family suites).

I definitely want to stay in there one time!!  Here are some pictures of our super cute room.  I loved how everything was so perfect and in theme with The Little Mermaid.  To be honest, I've never seen this particular classic but it was Maggie's favorite disney movie so I'm glad she was able to stay here! The room was pretty clean and there was still a ton of counter space in the bathroom. One thing I loved about this room (and disney in general) is how they had a divider to close off the sink/closet area from the rest of the room.  I explained how I like to have my space when I get dressed and out of the steamy shower so this just make me even happier when I got to this so-called "value" resort to see this in our room!

We still had a ton of space even though it was a smaller room and it surprisingly fit all my luggage and Maggie's on either side of the room. Love these cute little shell chairs and our table with Ariel's sheet music!

 Look how cute the beds were, with my very own pearl light at the head of the bed!

OH HEY Flounder and Sebastian!

Look at all that counter-space! I love how the theme is prevalent even in the mirror and lights!!

Well, that was the end of Day 2! Get ready because Day 3 includes the RACE! YAY! The very reason we went to Disney World was for the Princess Half Marathon! 

Disney Princess Half Marathon 2013 Recap (Day 1)

So.. I'm 2 wks behind on blogging but I'm planning to make a lot of changes on here in the coming month so look out for some new exciting things! (New things so far: new tabs with all my past races and upcoming/planned races)

ANYways, back to our originally scheduled program!

So we decided to spend a 4 day weekend in Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon (aka PHM) so we got the first flight out of CLT on Friday, Feb 22 and the last flight back to CLT from Orlando on Monday, Feb 25.  WELL. the night before we left, I headed over to my sister's house and her friend Sara was going to be dropped off at her house around 4am so we could get to CLT in time (abt 1.5hr from my sis' house).  The weather was NOT on our side because it was supposed to be freezing rain, black ice, and snow happening all morning/day on the 22nd so we all naturally panicked! We debated going to CLT that night and staying at one of the airport hotels but I convinced them to just leave an hour earlier so 3am it was! When my sis' friend got there, I was still getting ready (I only slept like 1.5 hrs, too excited to sleep) but it didnt matter bc she was blow drying her hair hahaha!

ANYways.  We finally make our way to CLT and get to our gate with minimal wait in the security line and had some yummy bfast (sbarro for sis and sara, starbucks for me) before getting on the plane.  The flight was innappropriately uncomfortable. Let me preface this by saying I've had my fair share of long flights (to and from India, direct to Mumbai, direct to Honolulu, to Maui, etc) and this flight was hands down the worst (well, I guess until our return flight).  So much turbulence, seats that wouldnt recline, and the flight attendants were crabby and rude the entire time.

We eventually get to Florida and everything is happy again.  We easily made it to the Disney Magical Express (DME) and got to the appropriate line to take us to the Coronado Springs Resort where my sister and Sara were staying the entire trip and my sorority sis Maggie and I were spending our first night (we were at the new Art of Animation for the rest of the trip).  Let me tell you, this place was gorgeous.  The ride to the resorts was fun but since we were going to the same resort where runDisney was holding the Fit for a Princess Race Expo, traffic to get in/out was beyond chaotic so our driver went to the All-Stars resorts first.  Soo we finally get to the Coronado.

This place is amazing.  the lobby was so intricately decorated (that's one thing Disney is perfect, the themes of the different resorts).

I wish we could've stayed here longer.  The rooms were so beautiful and some of the best I've heard from all of the Disney resorts (yay duvet covers, no nasty beadspreads!).

amazing pillows! I loved the decor here!

The bathroom area was so beautiful.  I loved that there were sliding doors to close off that area because I hate having to get dressed in a hot&steamy little room after drying off.  AND another major plus was having all that counter space because I for one am high maintenance and have a ton of toiletries.












So after checking in and dropping our luggage off, I met back up with my sister and Sara to head over to the Expo.  Maggie wasn't getting to the resort for hours later so we decided we'd hit up the expo, get our bibs and race bags, and do some shopping at the Official Merchandise area and then some of our favorite booths.

There were no lines for my bib but the tshirt/swag bag was inappropriately long.  I don't know why people don't realize that they should just go to the relevant shirt line instead of one huge long line and then filtering out. SUCH A WASTE OF TIME. Another waste of time was the ridiculous line for the Official Race Merchandise area.  The line zigzagged and we stood there for 1hr+ before even being able to enter inside!











We did our shopping at the official merch area and I had some amazing finds-- the special edition of Disney PHM Sweaty Bands, a cute long-sleeve black tee that says "Sorry Charming, Gotta Run" with a princess running shoe, the car magnet I missed 2 yrs ago, and the PHM wine glass and coffee mug!
My older sister spoils me all the time and this was no exception- see, runDisney and Dooney&Bourke team up for all of their major race weekends and create a special edition bag set.  My sister got the small crossbody one and got me this beauty:

special edition wristlet- front

special edition wristlet- back

After getting through the Official Race Merch area, we walked through each of the aisles (so crowded in a tiny space).  The expo usually is held in the ESPN Wide World of Sports but since the Braves have their spring training/games there, they held it at the Coronado Springs, which was a MUCH smaller space and not as many vendors as in 2011.  Not only that, each of the booths were super tiny and for a person who is claustrophobic like me, it was an anxiety ridden afternoon :( We swung by the SpiBelt/iFitness belt booths, the Luna Bar station for an afternoon snack of all their samples, sweaty bands, and sparkle skirts! My new love= Sparkle Skirts.  I ordered the minnie mouse sparkle light one to wear with my compression capris but when I got to the expo I tried on the sparkletech ones (they have little shorts inside and a guarantee no-ride up!) I got the Red foil/metallic one to wear for the race and my sis got me the black sparkle one! I love them! They are great for wearing in the parks (um.. which I did on Saturday) and travel (um.. flying back to NC), etc. As soon as I can save up more I am totally investing in more because these are the best running skirts ever! So many pockets and space that if I didn't even want to wear my Nathan 5K Runner's Waist Pack but of course I do because that is like my security blanket for running haha :)

OK so after hitting up Sparkle Skirts, I wanted to try out the KT Tape booth because so many people recommended it to me for my incredibly painful shin splints.  I stood in the line but it was painfully slow (my sis and Sara went through the entire rest of the expo while I waited in line...) so I jumped back out and figured when Maggie and I went the next morning after my sister and Sara's 5K to get her bib, we'd get in line right when the Expo opened in hopes of the line moving quicker! After getting out of the KT Tape line, my last goal was to find the commemorative items line to get my princess necklace and special pin.

Well, long story short, I got lost.  I finally found my way to the runDisney booth near the stage area at the expo and went to ask someone where I needed to go...little did I know that I walked RIGHT IN FRONT OF JEFF GALLOWAY. YES> THE JEFF GALLOWAY.  If you aren't familiar with who he is, he is an Olympian who helped make the Peachtree Road Race in ATL a really big deal in the running world, writes a monthly column for one of my favorite magazines--Runner's World, and a consultant for runDisney.  I started running and training for my first half marathon using his training plans and his run/walk interval method and used his book for half marathon training.  SO. I spot him taking pictures with other runners at the runDisney booth so after, I go up to him and blab on and on about how amazing his book and training plans helped me get ready for my half marathons and got me into running and asked for a picture.  He couldnt have been nicer to me, a grown adult being all fan-girl at that moment haha!

After getting my necklace and pin, my sister, sara and I were famished so we saw people walking around with chiquita bananas (my abs favorite) and apple slices sooo we stood in line at the chiquita booth to take a picture with the creepy chiquita lady in order to get the "free" banana and apple slices. Was it worth it? YES.

creepy chiquita lady

SO. we finally left the expo on Friday evening.  After, maggie finally arrived and we decided to head to  Epcot to get dinner and walk around! I love Epcot at night!!! We ended up going to my pick for dinner,  La Hacienda de San Angel.  I read on the Disney Food Blog after thorough research, that they had a special vegetarian menu so we were all starved and all ended up choosing our dinner from the vegetarian menu! It was hands down some of the best mexican food I've ever had.  Like serious authentic mexican food, not that fake texmex we have in NC (which I still lvoe).  I had the veggie tacos (as did Maggie) and my sis and Sara had the veggie enchiladas. I srsly wish I took pictures of the food :( --Our tacos had a delicious spicy corn salsa that even brought tears to my indian eyes.  I can handle my spices but this was so intense and amazing. My mouth is watering just thinking about that meal. And I havent even mentioned the chips and salsa they gave us when we sat down!! SRSLY IF YOU ARE EVER IN EPCOT, GO HERE. EVEN IF IT'S FOR LUNCH COUNTER SERVICE.

We walked around the rest of the night in Epcot and tried out some of the rides and the new Test Track.  I really enjoyed the rides we went on since it had been FOREVER since we actually rode the rides in Disney World!

hahaha 4 scared adults and 1 excited child...

We eventually headed back to the Coronado because Sara and my sis had to be up early for the Royal Family 5K the next morning! 

Look out for my day 2 recap post tomorrow! I swear, it is totally happening! I have no other plans but to work on this blog re-design/update and snuggle with my pup Rusty:)