Oops I Did It Again! Princess Half Marathon 2013 Part 1

Yes, I quoted a Britney song for this post but I couldn't help it!  What'd I do again? Well, let's just say were 2 months into 2013 and I've run 2 half marathons.  I wasn't originally planning on running this because A) Disney races are expensive and B) I wasn't sure I wanted to run another half marathon after January.  But, after marathon weekend, another member of the WDWRadio Running Team who had signed up to run Princess offered me her bib because she was unable to run -speaking of bibs, that turned into kind of a nightmare but thanks to one special "Princess" I was able to run.

Anyway, fast forward a couple of weeks and the big weekend arrived. On Friday morning I headed down to Disney, checked into Disney's Boardwalk Villas and then jumped on the bus and headed to the expo.  This expo was a little different than normal because, due to baseball Spring Training, expo was being held at the Coronado Springs Resort.  I got a bus from Boardwalk to the expo with no problem (because of the smaller space the only way to get to expo was by bus) and could feel the buzz as I walked in.  As runners entered the convention center where the expo was being held, they were welcomed with a huge banner, a very princess-y backdrop and two royal footmen available for taking photos. But I didn't stop, I had things to do and people to see!

When I walked in, I thought "okay this isn't too bad".  The entrance area led right into packet pick up...and then I turned the corner to the "shopping area". Yikes! Everything was crowded and there were SO many Princesses. I was smart and had made my "shopping list" ahead of time. First up, BondiBands to get a white headband to match my Mary Poppins costume for the 5k, next up I went looking for my new discovered ClifShots since I could only get Mocha at home. Unfortunately, I couldn't the find actual ClifShots to buy but I did find samples which was nice. Tried the vanilla and Citrus flavors (which has caffeine in it! Woohoo).

I tried to find a picture the craziness of expo but I think this video does it MUCH better!

So by now I had had two energy shots and I was feeling it a little - but was nothing compared to my friend Lori! Next thing I know, she hugs me and yells "I MET SEAN ASTIN!" LOL.  Whether you know him as Mikey from Goonies, Rudy from Rudy or Samwise from Lord of the Rings, I'm pretty sure everybody who reads this will recognize him from somewhere. Sean was at expo because he was running the 5k as well as the half AND since because he had run the Tinkerbell half in Disneyland a few weeks before he would be earning his Coast to Coast medal.  Everyone who met him said Sean was really nice and he was even nice enough to sign Lori's Goofy "I Did It!" shirt. This was just the beginning of Lori's Sean obsession for the weekend ;)

Lori and her friend Sean (courtesy of Lori Burke)

Then it was time to pick up my race packets and tshirts (which thanks to Lori, I didn't have to stand in the line for the half shirts which for some unGodly reason stretched all the way to the back of the room at one point!).  After a while, I said goodbye to Lori then finally picked up my Clifshots (5 for $5...not too shabby) and got a new armband from ifitness - where I got $2 off for mentioning that I follow them on Twitter! Woohoo!

My expo haul plus my Princess BondiBand that was a Valentine's Day present from my Mom

2013 Princess weekend shirts - so in love!

Like I said, it was crazy crowded in there so I didn't stay much longer. But I did get to finally meet some girls I had met on the PHM Facebook page and my teammate Diana.  There was an enormous line for the RunDisney merchandise booth so I didn't even get to look at anything and the line at the New Balance booth for THE shoes wasn't getting any better. So I got back on the bus and headed back to Boardwalk.  With 16.2 miles over the next two days coming up, I wanted to stay off my feet a little bit so we went to Downtown Disney for a drink at Raglan Road and then much later, into World Showcase but only for dinner at Japan and dessert in France!  This runner is here to tell you that there's nothing wrong with a little Creme Brule' the night before a 5k!