Before you dive in, be sure to check out yesterday's Dopey Challenge 5k Recap if you haven't already.
When we left off, I was crawling into bed after a fun day of racing and exploring Epcot. I had a tough time falling asleep. I think it was a mix of excitement and the fact that overall I'm a pretty light sleeper. Every little noise would wake me up. Eventually I was able to fall asleep, only to wake up at the energetic hour of 3:20am.
We woke up to a rainy morning. Luckily, Angela and I had both packed ponchos in case of this exact occurrence. We ponchoed up and headed out to meet the bus to the race. The 10K, half and full marathon all started at 5:30am, so that meant we had to be on a bus by 4am. We ended up catching a 3:50 bus, and got to the race and through security by 4:15. Easy peasy. The weather was yicky, so we headed inside a tent to stay warm and dry before heading to the corral. We even got a pre-race costume pic. Hello, from Tinkerbell and Olaf!
- Bonus Tip: Take advantage of the tents! On 5K & 10K days, there are tents you can go into to stay sheltered before the race. These become VIP tents on half and full marathon days, but they're open to all for the shorter distances.
Before we knew it, it was time to head to the corrals. Navigating through the corral was tricky with the width of my Tinkerbell wings, but once the fireworks went off, we were on our way and I had more space to spread my wings so to speak.
We started off on the highway at a nice easy pace, just like the 5K, and ended up shedding our ponchos right before the first mile marker. It was still raining, but at that point our body temperatures had warmed up, and the rain felt refreshing.
It was tough navigating the wet streets in the dark. You can never really judge if there's a puddle ahead of just a bit of water reflecting, so we took care to watch our steps and not slip. We also made sure to hydrate at all 3 water stations even if we didn't feel like it. Rain can be deceiving - you still need to hydrate!
Anywho, we stopped along the way to snag a picture with Mr. & Mrs. Incredible! You can't really tell, but we're soaked to bone in this picture. Thank goodness I didn't wear white!
Soon enough, we were making our way into Epcot and then around the Boardwalk. Mike Wazowski was taking cover in a little café, so we popped in for another fun picture. I love that we match with all our green!
Before leaving Epcot, we snagged a photo opp with Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum! The line was long, but why the heck not, right?
Then the finish line was in sight! We crossed again with big smiles and snagged our heat sheets and Minnie Mouse medals. Yahoo!
9.3 miles down. 39.3 to go!
We stayed on similar schedule to 5K day in that we got back to our room, showered, snagged breakfast, and then went back to the room to stretch and relax for a bit. Then it was park time. On the agenda today? The Magic Kingdom!
We were both giddy with excitement upon walking in and seeing Cinderella's castle. Plus, the rain had cleared up and the sun was starting to make an appearance, so the day was primed for perfection.
- Bonus Tip: Orlando weather is extremely unpredictable. We were checking our weather apps every hour, and every hour the forecast had changed. Come prepared with easy layers, ponchos, and sunglasses so that you're ready for any weather scenario.
We snagged pictures with the castle, and hit up the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor (so funny), Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (which I'm terrible at!), Under the Sea, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight, The Haunted Mansion (my favorite) and Pirates of the Caribbean. Angela also introduced me to the dairy-free amazingness that is the Dole Whip! If you go to Disney, you HAVE to get one of these. It's basically pineapple soft serve but dairy-free. We each got a Dole Whip Float, which is the pineapple soft serve in pineapple juice. So delicious!
We were mighty sleepy by the end of the day, so we headed back to the hotel for dinner and to put our feet in the hot tub again. Then we laid out our half marathon digs and into bed we went to dream of a magical 13.1.
Come on back next Wednesday for more Dopey Challenge Recap Magic!
In the meantime, let's chat:
Have you ever had to race in inclement weather?
Ever been to the Magic Kingdom? What's your favorite ride?
