The Disney Princess Half Marathon was my very first race experience. I did it, I finished my first 1/2 marathon with only minutes to spare – but I did it. If you’re new to this sport – let me tell you…if I can do it, so can you. Allow yourself to believe you can do what you set your mind to, and you’ll reach new levels of pride within yourself, which is amazing for your self-esteem.
I’m both thrilled and amazed at the tenacity I had to stick to it. I pushed when I didn’t think I had it in me, and I climbed over obstacles such as a fall downstairs 2 months before the race. I still have tailbone issues, but I still keep moving. I trained through 3 colds and a stomach virus…and just kept going. I didn’t use an excuse…something I’ve grown way to used to in my 40 years – this time, I said “this won’t stop me” – and it didn’t.
Small back story…I wasn’t a runner – and I wasn’t a natural athlete upon starting this endeavor. I weigh well over 200 pounds, and was very comfortable in my ways as a couch potato. About 4 months prior to starting this goal, I decided I was going to lose a little bit of weight, and thought maybe if I ran a little bit, it would help accelerate the process. With over 100 pounds to lose, I knew I had a large task in front of me. I started with a C25k which is a gradual way to get into running with intermittent patterns of a mixed run and walk. When I decided to take on a half marathon, I jumped to a training plan from Marathoning for Mortals (a great book) — so here I am losing weight, down 35 pounds and now moving my body on a regular basis. My confidence is up, but I’m still wondering why I signed up for this thing in the first place.
As my training progressed, I found new levels of confidence, and the ROTE message board helped solidify that YES, I could do this. It didn’t matter that I was overweight, it didn’t matter that I was slow….the constant encouragement meant so much to me. The more I read the stories of what other people were doing, the more I realized I could do these things too. What an amazing group. I’d been playing on the board for about 4 months and gotten to know quite a few people, and was really looking forward to putting faces with names and meeting everyone who had been so incredibly awesome to talk to.
The weekend comes and my nerves had not kicked in yet. Was this even possible? I knew as it got closer they would – and just about midday on Saturday they kicked in full throttle! My husband could tell since I started to get really quiet. It was a rare treat for him….hahahaha.
On Friday I got to meet many of my fellow ROTE friends at the expo – and everybody was warm and welcoming. I said hello then went about my own way not wanting to intrude on “old friends gathering”. It’s not like I felt like an outsider, but I think I was dipping my feet in the waters and slowly getting comfortable being “the new girl”. It was so nice to see all the faces I recognized from pictures I’d seen. Hugs were wonderful…
We were second in line for the expo….and Ernie found us in line, and I got the chance to talk to him for awhile- very much enjoyed that. Fairy Godmother greeted us at the opening of the expo – fun!
Saturday we gathered at the food court of a hotel and I had the chance to talk to more of the ROTE group — then on Sunday morning – after a solid 6 hours sleep (phew!) I headed to the meet-up place. Again a sea of red ROTErs greeted me as they gathered to take on this race. We were all bundled in throwaways as it was colder than thought – and I had on pants over my running skirt, a sweatshirt, a blanket, mittens and ear warmers!!!
Sunday’s race sent me to corral C and I was grateful for the buffer as there were 5 corrals (A-E). I needed that buffer, and was thrilled it bought me a little time. I had trained to run/walk – and found myself walking much more than running. I wasn’t sure why, but I just fell into a pattern. I should have pushed myself more — even during the race, I felt that way, but I just kept doing what I was doing – moving one foot in front of the other….and around mile 3 I stopped for a potty break. Uh-oh, that took 5 mins due to the lines, and I knew I didn’t have time to spare. No time to stop for pictures either, but I was okay with that. I needed to complete this for inner confidence, not for scrapbook memories. I did stop for one picture in front of the castle – thanks to Joey snapping pics for us there. (Thx!)
I was close to the sweep at mile 10, but pushed myself to sprint and get ahead of it. I remember thinking, I’d be totally proud of myself for going 10 miles. I meant it too, but I thought – here I was up to mile 10, I might as well get myself moving more and get this thing finished. I didn’t have a lot left to give, but I didn’t care. I started calling out to the ladies around me telling them how great they looked and telling them they were going to make it. By trying to inspire others, I knew I’d find strength in myself…I spent the last 3 miles doing this. It helped me tons, and I hope it may have helped someone who was hurting and trying to just get it done. I had a nice surprise around mile 12 when I saw my husband – who filmed a small clip on our Flip…in the distance before I get closer to him or realized he was there, you can hear me calling out something like “Come on ladies!” (ha, caught it on tape) – when I came around the bend and saw him, I was so thrilled to see his face..I yelled out that I loved him, smiled and kept moving – no time to spare! Keep moving, keep moving…
As I finished the race – I had a smile on my face – something I wore for 13 miles. I was so stinking proud of myself for actually reaching out for a goal this large and accomplishing it. I only had minutes to spare, finishing at 3:52(and some seconds)…I knew the rest of the ROTE team would have been finished long before me, so what an incredible surprise to see some of the ROTE team standing there waiting for me at our meet-up…making sure I got in safely. I can not express to you what that felt like….I profusely thanked them, and Gina said to me – “It’s what we do.” It is, and it was beautiful, and I just wanted to let them all know how much it meant to me. It was incredibly touching to me knowing that they’d waited…even though I took a long time…it didn’t matter….they waited. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I’m still touched by that as I sit here and write this report a day later.
I know I was supposed to move afterward, but I didn’t anticipate having chills or feeling nauseous, and I climbed into bed after a shower…ahahahaah, jokes on me, can barely move. 
I’m still smiling though.
Lastly, we wrapped up Sunday night with a group dinner – one of the many events Ernie had coordinated for us (thank-you) and to see tables overflowing with ROTErs was a beautiful site to me. They were heading to Magic Kingdom after dinner, but unless someone was going to pull me in a little red wagon, I only had visions of going to bed! Thank you, thank you, thank you all for making my first experience such a great one to remember. Here’s to many more — and yes, I’m signed up for Wine/Dine all ready (Andrea, waiting for you to join me! So glad we finally got to meet girlfriend. Proud of you…so proud of you!)
I give you credit if you got to the end of this, I know it was a long one – and I’m sorry I rambled, but even in doing that, I can’t express to you – what a great experience this was for me. So many lovely people, so many memories, and such a great experience overall. Congrats to all the 5k runners and 1/2 marathon runners from the weekend. And thanks for the support of those that were there and not running too…what an absolutely cool weekend to remember back on.
Lastly – a celebration a day later:
