Inaugural Enchanted 10K

My plan for the Inaugural Encanted 10K was simple: make sure my newbies did not get swept. I figured this was a good plan because I had to run the Princess Half the next day, so I figured taking it really slow and steady would be the best plan of action. Spoiler alert: my newbies did not get swept but my plan sort of wrecked my legs for the next day.

Since I haven't gotten to a Disney race really early since probably 2011, I decided this time around I was going to be on one of the earliest buses. The alarm went off at 2:45 and we were on the bus by 3:30 with hardly any wait.

We met up with Abby and took a bunch of pictures. Abby and I became running BFFs when we suffered through the 2013 WDW Marathon together under miserable conditions, so if she and I are at the same race, there's no way I'm not going to meet up with her! I'd be even more thankful she was doing Princess weekend during the half, but more on that later.

Anywho, pictures needed to be taken and so we took them.

Tabatha, me and Kimberlee in our snazzy Rum Runner shirts

Abby always has the cutest costumes.

We were definitely early, which is sooooo not my usual modus operandi, fo shizzle. The place was practically empty and we had plenty of time to sit and chill out. It was a nice change from standing in a stupid long bus line for 30 to 45 minutes like I have for previous WDW races.

Eventually, we checked our gear bags and made our way to the corrals, where we also met up with Pam and Emily. There were 5 corrals staged right in the Epcot parking lot, so it was nice not to have that super long shuffle to the start like they have for the longer races.

Kimberlee, Tabatha, me, Abby, Pam, and Emily

We waited a little longer, heard the national anthem and then we were off!

I didn't really take too many pictures, but I wish I had. Pam, Abby and Emily were planning to stop for a bunch of character stops, but I was worried about the girls getting swept, so I kept them at a really slow walk/jog pace for the entire race. Okay, it was mostly walking. I actually think it's easier to jog really slowly than walk, but we ended up walking a huge portion of the course and I ended up with really stiff legs and hot spots on the balls of my feet.

Elsa was on the overpass and it was "snowing", which was pretty cool.

I have to say, the 10K course is fairly boring. I felt bad that Kimberlee and Tabatha weren't going to get to experience running through the castle, which is the coolest part of runDisney events. We spent most of our time on the roads. Running through part of World Showcase in Epcot was pretty cool and I really liked running around the boardwalk since I had only run that portion during the full marathon last year.

We certainly ended up with the slower runners and walkers and even though we didn't come anywhere near keeping a 16 minute pace, we didn't see the infamous balloon ladies until we were done with the boardwalk and they were just entering. I knew we were safe from the sweepers at that's point.

As soon as we crossed the finish line, I went straight to the medical tent to ice my knees. I've learned that it really helps if I'm going to race the next day.

Try not to focus too much on my derp expression.

After icing up and eating snacks, we headed back to the room to get cleaned up and take a quick nap. I made reservations for us at the Rose and Crown in Epcot for the afternoon using the Disney Magic + app. I love, love, love using that app. It totally rocks if you don't have a ton of people to try and organize.

Anyway, I snarfed down the Cottage Pie which was amazeballs. I also had a glass of wine, which probably wasn't the best decision, but c'est la vie. Carpe Diem. Gimme wine.

Yes, I'll take some wine with my bling.

We spent the rest of day at Epcot where some rodents tried to steal my bling.

I hear rodents like shiny things

Okay, so they were kinda cute and snugly. More importantly, there was no line to take pics with them.

Say cheese!

We did lots of rides and also designed a kick ass fast car that admittedly, did not score high in the green friendly category. I love Test Track. I sort of miss the Crash Test Dummies theme, but designing the car and linking it to your magic band is pretty damn cool.

My ride is pimped.

After that, we decided to head back early. I had another early day tomorrow for the half marathon.

Night, night, Epcot.

Good nite, Epcot, I'll see you in the morning.

 

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