Disney race day!!

After Saturday's ridiculously early dinner and bedtime, the alarm went off at 2:45 a.m. Sunday.

Race Day!!!!
Thankfully, everything was laid out the night before so we didn't have to think much to get ready. Breakfast oats - my favorite!
A couple dark balcony shots before we left the room at 4 a.m. Sleepy but ready.
We walked across the complex to the Disneyland Hotel and joined the pre-race festivities, including music, line dancing, stretching, and LOTS of porta-potties.
And fun costumes :)
Our support crew got up in the middle of the night to help us out and cheer us on. Mom and Dad awesome!
Soon, we moved into our corrals in the starting area. They were VERY full, and we stood there for quite awhile before the official countdown.
Good thing we had the camera to keep us busy!
Finally, it was time to start running - just as the sun was starting to illuminate the sky.

We ran around the outside of California Adventure and then entered the park. The first water station was right inside the gate in a very narrow area. Bad placement. We all had to stop and walk through. Much of CA is closed off for construction, so we didn't get to see lots in there.

But soon we were leaving CA and running across into DISNEYLAND!! And we saw my parents between the parks - woohoo!
Through the castle...
We went into the backstage area by Splash Mountain, ran by a bunch of very supportive maintenance workers, and back out through Toontown and past It's a Small World.
We headed right back to the backlot. LOVE this guy!
Brad, who'd never been backstage at Disneyland (I was there in high school and then as a band chaperon last spring), was snapping away with the camera (which you're normally not allowed to do!!).

Part of an elephant:
Zebra skin... a bit disturbing:
MAJOR photobomb:
Who IS that guy???
After about 4 miles, we left the Disney property and ran down Ball Road, Anaheim Boulevard, Cerritos Avenue, Lewis Street and State College Boulevard. (course map)
Each mile was well marked:
Dancers, cheerleaders, marching bands and screaming fans lined the route to entertain and distract us while we ran:
We made our way to the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks.
After a quick section next to the Santa Ana "River", we ran right into Anaheim Stadium, home of the Angels!
So cool! We entered in right field, ran around behind the plate and then exited out left field.
People were in the stands to cheer us on, and I saw myself on the big screen!

I was following my plan of running 20 minutes and then walking for 1 minute. I also walked for a quick couple of seconds at each aid station so I could swallow some water.

I was feeling pretty good all along, but I think I was running a little too fast. Angel Stadium came at mile 9.5, and I started to drag after that.

The last couple miles were hard, and I took extra walk breaks. It was heating up, the humidity was high and the sun was at full strength. The last mile was the hardest, and I nearly gave up.

But as we neared the finish line, the crowd started to grow, and we saw my parents again on Disney Way right outside the park. I heard several people on the sides encourage me to finish strong as I was struggling just to keep running. Very cool!

I'd been watching my time, and if I didn't kick it into gear, I wouldn't beat my first half-marathon time. Not OK. The finish line came into view and I gathered all my strength. I sprinted the final stretch and finished in 2:28:52. My first half was 2:29:43. Yippee!
After nearly collapsing, I got my finisher's medal and celebrated with my amazing running partner, coach, cheerleader, sunglasses holder and photographer!
We did it!!!!
Brad was very kind to stay with me the entire time. He could have run MUCH faster... and will on the next one. I'm excited to see how well he'll do without me holding him back :)

We went back to the hotel, iced, soaked in a cool tub, cleaned up and changed into our official race shirts before heading to Disneyland for lunch and some rides.
It was SO FUN to see all the other racers in their shirts and medals. We all congratulated each other for a job well done. That may have been my favorite part.
After some time in the park, we went across the street for Subway and Chinese food to refuel our depleted tanks. SO GOOD!
And that is the story of my second half marathon :)