A million years later, a 2012 Disneyland Half recap

Warning: photo heavy!

I have been laid up on the couch all day, thanks to a nagging achy back that blasted full throttle into debilitating pain last night. Thanks, back. It has been hurting for a few weeks and I've been seeing the chiropractor every week, and it was finally getting better after I tweaked the way I've been sleeping (for nearly 10 years...). The chiro said it looked better this past weekend, so I never gave it another thought. But somehow I destroyed it at the beach on Tuesday. Apparently sitting for 6 hours talking to a friend is very strenuous. 

So, my friend picked up the kids to take them to the last (free) summer movie and lunch while I did nothing but stay in the horizontal position all day and feel sorry for myself. It wasn't all bad though. I did get to start a chick flick in a perfectly silent house with no one needing a thing from me. That was a new experience. 

In unrelated [but sorta related] news, the Disneyland Half Marathon is in 2 1/2 weeks! That is related to my back because, holy freakout mama. I was so worried that if this didn't go away, I wouldn't be able to run. I can't even tell you how crushed I would be. Training for months, endless excitement, planning, endless excitement... Anyway, I guess I'm not used to pain that doesn't leave because it makes me a little dramatic. Prayerfully this is nothing a day on the couch, ibuprofen and tons of ice can't solve, as well as a visit to my chiropractor tomorrow morning. 

Okay so I guess it was pretty related because I'm talking about my back again. 

The Half Marathon is seriously one of the most fun things I've ever done. I realize that I never shared pictures here. So what better time? 

{port-a-potties for miles. just try maneuvering one of these beauties at dark o'clock with a giant tutu in the way of your, uh, tushy}

{me and Jeff Galloway. this man and his run/walk method are entirely to thank for my 

being able to finish a Half Marathon. he is a genius.}

{my boy and I at the race expo, ready to hear former Olympian Jeff Galloway speak} 

{I ran with my dear friend Annaliese. Having her there definitely helped with my nerves!}

{um, are we really going to do this?} {apparently the lady behind us was thinking the same thing}

{me, Walt, and Annaliese}

{it's an understatement to say we were excited to run down through Disneyland}

{my awesome husband got the kids up at the crack of dawn and drove all over Anaheim to meet me FIVE times during the race. he is seriously the best. see my baby girl's tutu to match mine?}

{Lightning McQueen came to see us! ;)}

{seriously so cool. it was so unreal to run through Angel stadium with a huge crowd cheering for us. it was deafening.}

{their 4th stop to see me was just outside of Angel Stadium}

{there was not a stretch of road that did not have someone cheering us on. school bands, cheer squads, boy scout troops, you name it. i wish every run were like this!}

{we split up after mile 7; reunited at the finish line. (annaliese was ellie from Up)}

{my baby girl's sign}

{WE DID IT!!}

{my amazingly supportive, tired family}

 

{bio-freeze is our friend!}

This was truly one of my best experiences ever. I will never forget it. We ran 13.1 miles, but from the looks of our goofy smiles and the amount of giggling we did, you'd think we were at a party. It was seriously the most fun thing I've ever done and I can't imagine any race being as fun as a Disney race! So many things I want to always remember. Seeing my husband and kids at mile markers 1, 5, 7, 9 and at the finish (and oh the tears I cried at the finish! And, the entire last mile); running the first 7.5 miles or so with my dear friend, having the time of our lives; stopping with Annaliese to play in the sprinklers someone had left on for the runners (I vaguely remember Annaliese taking a drink from it too, haha!); the massive amount of classic cars and their owners cheering for us; high-fiving all of the Disney cast members down Main Street (even the germaphobe ones that weren't so convinced); World of Color playing for us as we ran through CA Adventure; high-fiving all of the Boy Scouts that came to cheer us on... Are we noticing a trend here? I honestly think, as crazy as this sounds, that the strings of people high-fiving us were my favorite part! It was just so much fun! I remember one cast member on Main Street that was waving to us but I ran up to him and said, "Come on, you know you want to!" and high-fived him.

Reminiscing about that day only makes me SO much more excited for this year. Two weeks from today I'll be at the Expo shopping my heart out (hello birthday money!) and hearing Jeff Galloway speak again, then spending the day at Disneyland with my family. Then, on September 1st, my 36th birthday, I will run in my second Half Marathon. Eeeeek!!