I have a lot to share about the weekend's festivities, so I am going to break up my recap into a couple of posts. Today I'll talk about the pre-race festivities, expo, and travels.
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| The man, the mouse, the legend! |
Going into race weekend, I was feeling a little uneasy. The last time I did a double-digit training run was the weekend of August 9. My right knee had been exhibiting twinges of wonkiness. My ASICS shoes, the ones that I wear for all of my long runs, have been looking prematurely worn down for their mileage and will probably need to be retired early. I haven't tested any of my other shoes for long-distance runs. Therefore, my race day options were either to wear the near-retirement ASICS or to wear untested shoes.
Given all of these concerns, it's a really good thing that Disney races are all about just having fun. I've never heard of anyone running a Disney race with a time goal in mind. Everyone is too focused on wearing costumes, taking pictures, and enjoying the course entertainment!
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The weekend started off with a Friday morning flight into Los Angeles. I could immediately tell that it was a Disney race weekend because there were many folks on the plane wearing Disney race shirts.
When we arrived at LAX, I spotted a familiar face. It was Hockey Hall of Famer and Chicago Blackhawks former player/coach, Denis Savard!!!
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| Denis Savard (aka Savvy, aka Savoir-Faire), and me! |
It was awesome to meet Savvy in person. He is the perfect Chicago Blackhawks ambassador - incredibly gracious and a true gentleman. He and his wife were visiting their daughter, who lives in the Los Angeles area. (I am deducing that Savvy must have been on the same Southwest flight that Adam and I took out of Midway!?!?) What a great start to my weekend!
After wishing Savvy good travels, Adam and I hopped onto an airport shuttle. We made the long trek through Friday-of-Labor-Day-weekend traffic to our hotel in Anaheim. We checked in, then headed to Downtown Disney for dinner and the race expo.
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| Downtown Disney Source |
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| Disneyland Half Marathon race expo Source |
I've been to Disney World in Orlando many times, but I haven't been to Disneyland since I was a very young child. I was excited to do a comparison between the two locations. I thought that one of the best things about Disneyland was that the parks and Downtown Disney are all within walking distance to each other. I'm used to Orlando, where everything is very spread out and requires a lot of transit time and distance. The convenience in Anaheim was really nice.
Adam and I had dinner at Naples Ristorante, then went to the expo. The crowds were heavy and the expo was pretty big. Bib pickup took place in a different building than shirt/goody bag pickup and the vendor booths. It was a little confusing trying to find my way around at first.
Once I finally collected all the pieces of my race packet, it was time to look around.
I got to meet running coach and Olympian, Jeff Galloway!
I use a lot of Jeff's training advice, therefore, it was great to talk to him in person. (When I ran the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon last year, he was there, as well, but I didn't see him.) Jeff is very down to earth. I bought one of his books (I got this one) and he autographed it for me. The meeting was brief since there were a lot of people in line, but Jeff was telling everyone to email him any time with any questions. Very cool!
As my expo exploration continued, I came upon the New Balance area. Surrounding me was their special line of Disney character-themed running shoes which are available for purchase only at Disney race expos.
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| The full lineup! The character themes of each shoe, clockwise from the top: Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, mini-Mickey, Cinderella, and mini-Minnie. Source |
In all seriousness, I was not planning to purchase any of the runDisney shoes. I really wasn't. But... Adam offered to get me a pair of the Minnie shoes as a present. How could I possibly turn down an offer like that!?!?! I have the sweetest and most thoughtful husband, ever.
The New Balance store was a mosh pit of customers and frenzied salespeople, and the Disney shoes were selling like hotcakes. I tried on a pair of the Minnie shoes and thought they were insanely cute. Way too cute to run in! Plus, the Minnie shoes are support running shoes and I wear neutrals. The Goofy shoes and the Cinderella shoes are neutrals, though, so I tried on a pair of the Goofies. Just for kicks (no pun intended).
Confession time. I may have walked out of the race expo with two new pairs of shoes: the Minnie shoes (Adam's present - thanks again sweetie!) for "everyday" wear, and a pair of the Goofy shoes (my present to myself) which I will actually wear to run. Quite the splurge. But, how often do I go to Disney?
(Never mind that I'm headed to Orlando in November for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon.)
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After departing the expo, Adam and I explored Downtown Disney for a little while longer. I really enjoyed the festivity of Downtown Disney with all of its twinkling lights, music, and live entertainment. Such a fun atmosphere on a beautiful summer evening.
The next morning, Adam and I were up bright and early to head to the parks. It helps to be operating on Central Time while being in Pacific Time! We arrived before the park opened and were able to knock out a lot of rides and attractions before the crowds starting piling up.
Side note: the first thing we did was ride Space Mountain.
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| Adam and I did not look quite so gleeful while we were riding Space Mountain. |
This was a bit of a rough way for both of us to start out the day. I definitely don't have the same tolerance for roller coaster rides that I did when I was a teenager. Wow!
It was an extremely high priority to visit Mickey and Minnie, of course.
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| Minnie and me |
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| Adam, Mickey, and me Mickey loved Adam's shirt! |
Adam and I spent the whole day traversing both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. I love the parks and I wanted to take full advantage of my time there! In doing so, I definitely ensured that I would be running the half marathon on completely unrested legs. =D
Time to prepare for my 4:00 AM alarm clock the next morning.
To be continued!
Don't feel bad about the roller coaster thing... I started getting progressively more ill on them from the time I turned 16. I can hardly stand most of them now!! :-(
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a blast at Disney. I can't wait to read more soon.
I'm glad it isn't just me that is having progressively more trouble with roller coasters as an adult! Isn't motion sickness the worst feeling? It's to the point now where I sometimes have trouble riding the CTA buses in Chicago since most of them drive like maniacs. It's sad now when I have to pay attention the warnings on the roller coasters about motion sickness. =(
DeleteMore to come about the actual race soon! Be prepared for an onslaught of pictures. =D
I even find I get car sick sometimes if I read my iPhone while someone else is driving. The horizon whizzing by out of the corner of my eye is enough to screw up my sense of balance or something.
DeleteGetting old sux!!
Getting old does indeed suck. =( And I've given up on reading while in a moving vehicle, for sure. That makes me nauseous in about 30 seconds! The only thing I can do with my iPhone while in a car is listen to music.
DeleteYou are lucky you got those Minnie running shoes. They are currently going for about $300 on eBay. You could have financed your trip if you had bought a few pairs and then hawked them later! Anyway, sounds like a fun celeb filled vacation. Looking forward to the race recap!
ReplyDelete$300 on eBay! Wow! NB was already starting to run out of shoes by the time I was there on Friday night. Therefore, I knew I was lucky to get them, but but didn't realize that the shoes were THAT hot of a commodity! The race organizers actually imposed a limit on how many pairs of shoes everyone could purchase at the expo, probably for that reason. I think it was a max of 4 per person - which is still plenty!
DeleteRace recap coming soon, get ready for lots of pictures!!! =D
So, you guys could have scored 8 pairs total, so that would be $2,400 (less eBay fees) if my math skillz are correct! Oh well, you run the risk of them having too much stock and then the prices plummet. I am preparing myself for all of the pictures!
DeleteInteresting analysis! I've actually never sold anything on eBay, but buying and selling Disney shoes could definitely yield a nice profit margin. You are right though about the possibility of supply exceeding demand (although one could argue that I could just wear all the shoes myself, LOL). Alas, I operate as a nonprofit Disney runner. =P
DeleteYeah, if they don't sell, you wouldn't need to buy shoes for awhile! I am mostly a nonprofit runner, except when I get some race shirt or sweatshirt that I don't want then it's off to eBay for a few bucks to offset the race cost!
DeleteAh yes, I remember we talked about what to do when you've entered a race but end up having to DNS. Selling the shirt or other swag on eBay is a GREAT way to recoup the cost!
DeleteYay for meeting Savvy! How cool he's so nice! What a goldmine for NB and Disney with those shoes. They are cute!
ReplyDeleteYay for Savvy! In addition to being so friendly and gracious, he was wearing a Blackhawks polo and carrying a Blackhawks-logo bag. He really does represent the Hawks perfectly!
DeleteYES on the Disney NB shoes being a total gold mine. NB said that they planned to be very well-stocked to meet demand this year, but they were already starting to run low when I was there on Friday night!
MINNIE !!!
ReplyDeleteand MICKEY!!!
DeleteHa ha ha. You know I am not surprised about the shoes. Or that you got two pairs! :D
ReplyDeleteI love that you and Adam went together! And don't feel bad about the roller coasters! The same thing happened to me when I tried to ride all the "rollies" at Six Flags a few summers ago. I somehow lost the ability to do it!
You know me too well. =) Admittedly, I wouldn't have been surprised at myself for breaking down and getting ONE pair, but getting two pairs? Yikes!
DeleteSix Flags! I haven't been there since I was in high school (and back then, all of my classmates worked either there or at Gurnee Mills)! I've been wanting to go again to see how much it has changed over the years (and I have a teenage nephew who LOVES roller coasters) but I really do fear that I can't handle any of the rollies anymore, either. Glad that it's not just me!!! I can understand now why my parents were never into going onto the rides with me. =D
OMG, I love this post! I really do love all things Disney, and while I've never run a Disney race, it's definitely something I'd like to experience. I'm glad you were able to have a little fun, too! Can't wait to read about the race!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Meghan! Yay for Disney!!! I love all things Disney too and I know you would have a BLAST at any of their races. I bet you must be super excited to someday take Kayla to Disney, too. That would be a great vacation getaway - mom gets to run a race, and then afterwards the whole family gets to go to Disney! =D
DeleteThose darn race expos! Such money thieves! I find it so hard to say no to race-specific swag at an expo (unless it's for something lame like the Shamrock Shuffle. No amount of strategically placed lighting can convince me to drop $$$$ on Nike swag for an 8K haha.).
ReplyDeleteBut how cool that you got to meet Savvy AND Jeff Galloway! What a weekend for you!
Thanks Bethany - it was amazing to meet two super inspirational folks representing two of my passions within just a few hours of each other. What are the odds, right? I should have played the Lotto that day, too. =D
DeleteYes, those crazy expos! I am usually able to hold myself back within reason at the Rock N Roll expos or similar, but there's something about the Disney expos that I just can't resist. I completely agree with you on the race swag for shorter races, too - it's got to be at least a half marathon, MAYBE a 10-miler, for me to buy some serious swag! Incidentally, I do think there's a big market for first-timers to any longer race distance. Watch out for things like Ironman, though, right? I can only imagine how much $$$$ swag gets sold at those expos!
My favorite part of this whole post was the picture of you and Denis Savard! OMG! Also, sorry/notsorry :)
ReplyDeleteYou are a woman after my own heart when it comes to Blackhawks fandom! =) Is it October yet?!?!?!
DeleteLove this! I didn't know you got the Goofy shoes too! AWESOME! The Minnie ones looked super cute when you were sporting them at the parks :) Pete is right I've heard those shoes make killing on ebay (as well as race medals...weird) I think we both did a good job of spending a lot of time on our legs the day before the race.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Kayla! I feel guilty about splurging on both pairs of shoes but I just couldn't resist. Oh wow, people are selling the medals on eBay? Weird indeed! For me, the medal is one of the best parts about the Disney races!
DeleteIt was so great to see you over the weekend! It sounds like you took even more advantage of your park passes than I did, too - so I can only imagine how your legs must have felt during the race!
Haha. Gotta get my money's worth :) I was surprised that my legs didn't feel worse...they actually weren't so bad. Maybe its because I stand on my feet all day at work so I'm somewhat used to it?! who knows.
DeleteAh yes - when I was in high school I worked as a cashier and I would be on my feet for 8 or 9 hours at a time. There really is something to be said for being used to extended periods of time on your feet!
DeleteSo I know virtually nothing about Denis Savard (only what you wrote in this here blog post), but considering your love for the Blackhawks, I have to imagine that meeting him was probably a highlight of your trip. I actually squealed a little reading your description of him because I can only imagine how happy you were to run into him! (And brave to ask for a picture!)
ReplyDeleteYou know me so well, Amy. =) You are absolutely right - for much of the afternoon, I couldn't stop talking about meeting Denis Savard! Between him and Jeff Galloway, it was the best day I've ever had in terms of meeting heroes from things that I am passionate about. The great thing about both Savvy and Jeff was that they were both SO down to earth. They were so receptive to taking pictures! =)
DeleteI did not buy anything at the expo. I told myself that no matter what I would never get a pair of the Disney shoes. Sorry. They are cute but just a little too much for me.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading your recap. :-)
You have a lot of willpower, Zenaida! I can understand that not everyone would want to buy the Disney shoes. But I am a fanatic. =)
DeleteI hope to have the rest of the recap up soon! It's taking a long time because I've got so many photos that I am trying to sift through and make collages with, etc. Working on it! =)
I guess I've pretty much have bought everything that I want/need for this hobby of mine. :-)
DeleteI always say that, too, but then I always find something new. =D
DeleteSounds like a great weekend. Looking forward to reading your race recap. I've never been to Disneyland or DisneyWorld and I would love to go one day :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Agnes! The weekend was a BLAST indeed. A lot of folks think that Disney is just for kids but I think that I've enjoyed it MUCH more as an adult than I did as a child. I think you would LOVE Disney!!!!!!
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