I needed to meet up with the slave leia group and had just missed the Jabba pic so I met up with them and got a pic with Han in carbonite, which was fun! I think our costumes all turned out great (here is my post on my costume!). After that, Mallory and I went over to meet a few of the BOGP Lizards before heading to the corrals. After the crazy walk the day before, we headed out a bit early. It was much less crowded today but still very dark. We split at the fork and I went corral C. I decided to stop and pee one more time just in case. I debated warming up but decided to just get in the corral. I had about 15 minutes to wait until the start. Rudy gave the slave leia/princess mashup group a shoutout which was so nice of him!
Corral C went off about 8 minutes after the start: so about 4 minutes between the corrals. It was definitely crowded at the start but I got a lot of compliments on my costume. We went the same way as the 10k and turned backstage around mile 1. R2D2 was out again so I decided to stop for a picture. Just like the day before, it worked out that I was at the back of a corral and it was very open.
5k split: 42:42 (running pace: 10:34/10:52/10:40)
We entered Hollywood Studios and I stopped to use the bathroom as soon as we entered as I was drenched in sweat and decided to wipe down as much as I could. Exiting basically felt like I had stepped into a fan so that was definitely a success. We came down Hollywood Blvd and made a left and lopped by Echo Lake before coming back to the main stage. Kylo Ren and First order Stormtroopers were on stage so I had to stop for a pic! Great story: I walked up to the stage and screamed HI BEN and waved, and he walked away! He is barely in my pictures haha
Around here was the 10k split: 1:31:57
Running paces:14:59 (i forgot to pause when I went to the bathroom)/11:05/11:01
Now here came the boring stretch that really needs help. Basically from here over to Animal Kingdom was miles of boring. A few screens playing star wars (which was hard to see with the sun coming up) left me so so so bored! I think they should have put some of the 501st here to give some distraction. One good thing was the course was pretty open so I was able to run my pace. Running on the highway definitely affected my legs as they started to hurt. As we entered Animal Kingdom, the Rebels were by the entrance but I skipped them.
This next mile was just out of control. It was basically a mile around the Animal Kingdom parking lot. My costume was starting to bother me, the sun was coming up and I was just over it. I definitely would have loved to sleep more and I started to wonder if I did not carbload enough (and the margaritas I had were probably not the best idea). As we entered the park around mile 9, I stopped for the woompa pic just because I was so bored!!
We ran along the path that is used in mile 2-3 during the Holiday 5k and around the halfway point of the marathon so I knew where I was. It was a bit narrow but I was able to move. As we entered the park by Primeval Whirl, I was super excited. I really love Animal Kingdom and running through it so I was looking forward to it. I stopped for a pic with Everest
This part brought on memories of wine and dine in the rain and the marathon and I was just trying to hold on. Mentally I just wanted to be done. My costume was becoming heavy from all of the sweat and the sun was coming up,. WAAAAH I know but I am just keeping it real. The rolling hills of the highway did not make it any better. At one point I walked for a few minutes so I could switch my ipod to my other arm as the music was going in and out which was super annoying.
As we entered wide world of sports around mile 12, I completely forgot about the At-At leg-it was the only picture I did not get that weekend.
People were slowing and I was just trying to stay steady while also making sure my bib could be seen for pictures. We ran the same layout as the day before so I knew what to expect.
As we approached the finish line, I was getting excited for my medals: yay medals!
Finish time: 3:03:04 (final mile splits: 11:31/11:00/12:11/10:37/9:08 (final .16))
Final running time: 2:30:48 (only 30 minutes of photo stops and bathroom breaks-not too bad!)
Overall a running time of is pretty good considering the humidity and my costume!
I got my medal and took my finisher pictures!
However do not think I did not enjoy myself. I had such a fun trip with Chris, Mallory and Marissa as well as the meetups we did. So much social fun! I even got to do something for the first time: register for a Disney race while still at Disney! I got into the Goofy challenge easily and can’t wait to do the Half and Full again. Yes, I love Dopey but I don’t think it is the smartest idea for me to sign up for that when I have a busy fall including finishing my dissertation. I may regret not signing up now but I would rather allow myself the extra time that would be spent training to working on my dissertation. and yes, I know if you go and read my disney recaps this is a point I make everytime and then I end up signing up anyway haha. But for real, I need to think of the dissertation haha.
Did you run the star wars half-what did you think? What is the last half marathon you have done?