the happiest pace on earth

I'm still in Disneyworld with my family,

but I wanted to post our race pictures while I rest and recover from the big run

(and while I have the time away from the kiddos).

My sisters are laying out by the pool, but we all know that my skin just burns.

It's been a great trip, thus far.

We started out on Thursday by reuniting at the Orlando airport and taking the Magical Express back to the Beach Club Resort.

That night we bused over to Downtown Disney to dine at Fulton's & get reacquainted.

On Friday we went to the expo to pick up our race packets & shop around for running gear.

And pose for a few shots.

Some people were more excited about the run than others.

That night we hung out at the hotel and then got burgers at the House of Blues.

It was so nice to be able to get some down time with the family without the distraction of our babies.

Minus Kingston, who seemed to fit right in with our bunch.

None of us could even remember the last time it was just the 6 of us on vacation.

Saturday was race day (or race night I should say), so we ate a big breakfast at Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Then we spent the rest of the day resting, eating light, drinking water and stressing about the run.

That makes for a lot of hours of anxiety.

But at 7:15pm we headed out for the bus to Wide World of Sports (the start line).

{racers before departing}

{shirts by Tia}

{waiting in the bus line}

Then we loaded the bus and bid Mom farewell.

She was on Kingston-duty and meeting us at Epcot to Wine and Dine.

After 3 hours of waiting,

2 potty breaks,

a few rounds of stretching and dance moves,

a last minute drink of water,

and a Corral downgrade from C to D,

it was time to start!...

{10:15pm and time to run!}

And, we did it!

It was a very entertaining, very crowded, very tiring 13.1 but we all made it across the finish line!

We ran with Buzz and Mr. Incredible to name a few.

There were bands, parade floats, characters, and volunteers all along the way through

Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, in true Disney style.

It made the magical miles much more bearable.

But there were a few unexpected hills and a lot of walkers to dodge, as well.

The weather was a perfect 68 degrees with a slight breeze.

I shaved 10 minutes off my last half marathon in Chicago.

I've been training at about a 10:40 pace and was able to maintain that after I broke free from the first mile crowding for a few miles,

but at mile 7 there was a large hill and that's where I slowed down and averaged closer to a 11:30 pace. I choose to call it my "happy pace", and settled into the zone.

I finished in 2 hours and 27 minutes.

I felt good, but a bit slow, most of the run. I dreaded a night run, but it turned out okay.

My sisters finished 10 minutes ahead of me and my dad just a few minutes behind me (he's nursing a leg injury).

After the finish we weren't interested in the long line of gourmet food at the festival,

so we treated ourselves to a pretzel, cheese dip and Coke before heading back to shower and sleep.

My head hit the pillow at 3am.

Miraculously, I only have sore feet from wearing flip flops all day and then running.

We got much-needed massages and are going out to dinner for Dad's 63rd birthday tonight.

It's been fun training for this half and getting excited about visiting Disney...

now we are trying to plan our next half and our next trip to Disney (with the kids and hubbies, of course!).

Keely's favoring the Nashville Country Music 1/2 and the Polynesian Resort in 2012.

So I guess I'll keep training and saving up my money.