I spent Thursday morning at Universal and then took an uber over to my hotel. It was really humid so I actually showered and changed and felt so much better. I then walked over and took the bus to the Expo. Bib pickup was a breeze and I went to the smaller merchandise area and got everything I wanted (headband and wine carafe) and decided against a jacket and a few other things. I did not even go in the main merchandise area! I went to meet up with Stephanie and met some of her coworkers. We then got an Angry orchard to get the souvenir cup and caught up. I headed out around 4 to take the bus to Beach Club and met up with Marissa in Epcot! We met in France and then went back to visit the new booths in Future World, ride a few things and then went back into Mexico and China. We then walked around world showcase and I eventually got food in Morocco and visited France again. We decided to wait and watch Illuminations in Mexico and then head to the hotel. My plan to leave at 7 was a fail but since I did not need to get up until 4:30, it was so worth it (and Illuminations is our favorite show!!)
The 5k is one of my favorite races mainly because of the Christmas theme. The addition of a real medal had me even more excited! I was up late the night before seeing Illuminations because why not? This race starts at 6:30, one of the latest of all. I got up at 4:30 and headed to the bus at 4:55 getting dressed very quickly. I got right on the bus and was at Animal Kingdom by 5:15. I went and met up with the BOGP Lizards and chatted until starting the race. I ended up running with Rick, Jacque and Jaclyn.
We were in corral A and started right on time. We did the nice 1 mile tour of the parking lot which brought back negative flashbacks of the Dark Side Half. Yuck! As we entered Animal Kingdom, Rafiki was by the sign.
Next up, was Baloo by the Rainforest Café sign. We then headed into the park and I got to see the Tree of Life all lit up with the projections-so beautiful!
We took a left at the tree and headed to Africa and stopped for a picture with Timon by Tusker House. We then went back stage for a bit and entered the park by Everest again. We ran by Everest in dusk and took a picture with King Louie next to Nemo.
Next up was Donald Duck in Dinoland with Christmas music playing! We ran backstage for the last mile. We past the Rivers of light floats (that lotus is gorgeous!) and down a service road. At the turnaround Pluto was waiting for us.
After that, it was back down the service road and over to the finish. It was a bit tight so I had to slow down and walk more than I wanted. The finish line came and then we got a group picture.
MILE SPLITS: 32:34--10:45/10:18/11:03/8:22 (last bit)
Total elapsed time-45:21 (there is no official time for the 5ks)
After that, I headed back to the hotel to shower and get dressed and head off to a full day at Magic Kingdom. We had a great day at Magic Kingdom that included a fantastic meal at Pecos Bills, and a fun dinner at Jungle Canteen. After dinner, I went to ride Jingle cruise and ended up on a broken boat! We eventually got moving and had a great guide but it made me miss the castle lightning! Boo!
Damian was here (he met up with us at dinner) and we took some pictures while he stayed in the park and I headed back. Walking to the bus, I had a little breakdown. I was stressed and sad as that would be my only time to see the castle lit up (it better still be lit for Marathon weekend!) and I cried walking out. Christmas is my absolute favorite and Christmas in Magic Kingdom is my ultimate favorite so it was a bit overwhelming. I got back to the hotel and eventually fell asleep (I have a bad habit of not sleeping as well the night before the 10k). I fell asleep around 9:30.
What was the last 5k you ran?