We got on the bus around 4:10 and then had a crazy adventure. The exit to Epcot was closed and the driver was not told another way to go so we went all the way down to the AK exit and had to turn around to come up Osceola parkway. We made it there by 4:30.
I walked over to check my bag and get in the corrals and got some good stretching in before we were moved up to the start line at 5:10. I chatted with a girl named Madison before we started. One thing was the microphones or the speakers at the front were not working. We could not hear anything which means people were talking through the national anthem.
We started at 5:31 and the crowd was moving pretty fast. One thing I like about the 10k course is it opens up quickly so I was able to pull over out of the way to do my intervals. My plan was to use 60/30 as it's pretty easy on my body and I knew I was still in recovery from LAM. my plan was to go on feel and not run with pain. Well let's just say, my legs felt better than I thought they would. My first mile was a bit under 11 min, and then my running pace from there was faster. I was having to force myself to walk slower and take more breaks as I needed to save my legs for the half the next day.
The course is the same as the WDW 10k with running out towards the Epcot parking entrance and looping back on the road until you hit backstage. From there, you go around the World Showcase and towards the Boardwalk area before entering Epcot and finishing in the parking lot.
We enter World Showcase by Norway and hit our second water stop. We passed China, Refreshment Port and Germany. I told a potty break in Germany and took a selfie with spaceship earth and made it to Italy where Jiminy and Pinocchio were waiting!
I grabbed my stuff and headed straight for the bus. I got back to the room to shower, stretch and relax a bit before grabbing a quick breakfast at the hotel. I got to the bus area and the AK bus pulled up immediately and a private shuttle to AK: score! I Waited for everyone else from the expo and we did the Safari, Everest and got a nice African margarita and tried the new pulled pork grits:YUM! I also got my beloved iced tea too.
We then took a taxi over to Disney Springs for the We Run Social meetup, a great round of drinks at Hangar Bar and a bit of shopping. We stopped by Fit2Run and got a free gift:woohoo!
I then headed to Wilderness Lodge to meet up with the BOGP Lizards and had a great meal at Whispering Canyon. A bit too much fun probably as we didn't leave until almost 8 and I didn't get in bed until 9. Oops!
I definitely had a fabulous day but was on my feet all day so I knew my legs would be a bit tired. I passed out by 9 for a 3:05 wake up call.
Overall, I had a great time at the 10k however I'm not a huge fan of the out and back at the beginning especially because it's dark and not all of my pictures turned out that great. I'm excited to see how the Star Wars 10k turns out as its a completely different course than this course.
What's the last 10k you ran?