You're Sure To Do Impossible Things

June 24, 2020

Last month I signed up for my first marathon, the Walt Disney World Marathon in Jan 2021. And then last week, I successfully signed up for the Princess Half Marathon weekend, again for all 3 races, the 5k, the 10k and the half back to back over 3 days. Since 2020 is basically cancelled, I figured I'd get a headstart on 2021 plans. The races were incredibly hard to register for this year, with all of them selling out within minutes, both the pre-sale and the general on-sale. I've never had this much difficulty in previous years but I also learned that they capped capacity for now due to the current situation of covid19. The introduction of club RunDisney didn't help either, further making it difficult to register when there are already limited spots. If you’re wondering what I mean by this club RunDisney thing, basically this year RunDisney, the organization behind the races opened up “club RunDisney,” a system where you can buy into the races through a premium membership. Depending on your level of membership, you get early access to race registration sales, a small race discount (since you’re already paying hundreds into the membership) and guaranteed entry into either certain races or every race you want. You also can pay into a better corral placement without having to submit time of proof. Trust me, I'm not happy about it either as a runner because not only is it unfair, it also makes it unsafe. It makes it harder for those who are actually taking this seriously, to run around those who are not correctly in their paced timed corrals. It’s sad that RunDisney did this but hey, I get it, anything to make more money, right? Especially with Disney races becoming so popular. It’s like an Annual Pass for RunDisney addicts, basically. I’m kind of annoyed because the year I decide to take on the Dopey Challenge, the Castaway Challenge and the Castle to Chateau Challenge, I’ll probably have to buy into club RunDisney to guarantee spots in all those challenges or risk not being able to sign up for the races to complete the challenges.

But enough about the downer side of RunDisney. I’m so relieved I was able to sign up for another round of the Princess race. This will be my second year doing all 3 races and and my third year doing Princess weekend. I love this event so much. I always have an amazing time. One of my sisters who ran the 5k this year is also running again, and this time, she’s decided to take on the 10k too! I’m so excited and proud of her. I’m so glad she enjoyed this year’s races enough to take on a bigger challenge. This is a great addiction I love sharing with my friends and family. I absolutely love seeing my personal cheerleaders during the half marathon at the Cinderella’s Castle mark. It’s what helps me get through the first half the race, and then seeing them again at the finish line really helps me complete it. I’m going to have to strategize how to motivate myself for the FULL marathon since that’s going to be a lot harder to plan out, especially being my first time.

Of course I’m already brainstorming ideas for costumes, but I’m holding off on picking characters for now because they haven’t released the themes of the medals yet. The past 2 years I’ve tried to coordinate my costumes with the medals. I was Sleeping Beauty for my first half marathon and this year I did all 3 version of Cinderella since I was running 3 races. I also might not be blonde by the races next year so that could possibly play into influencing my decision as well. I’m not hardcore enough to run in a wig; I’m not ashamed to admit that right there. Running is hard enough as is to get a good time, I can’t compromise my already slow time with a wardrobe malfunction in the middle of the race. I risked sheer minutes this year on the 10k and the half marathon just trying to take my hoodie off mid-race and that enough gave me anxiety.

Speaking of anxiety, last week was full of highs and lows. After successfully signing up for all the races I want for 2021, that same week, Disney World announced the cancellation of all Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Parties for this year. I understand completely why, but I’m still going to be sad about it. The limited capacity due to crowd restrictions, limited park hours to cleanse and reset every day, no park hopping, the lowered availability of cast member staff (due to international staff and college program students being sent home, etc), cutting down of park events in order to cut down on crowds and large gatherings (i.e. parades, fireworks, character meets) is all making the Disney park admission not worth it, sadly. I was planning on going in October for my birthday like usual but with the Halloween party cancelled, I might forgo this year. Especially since advance reservations are required to even get into the park, even if you have park admission. It might not be in the cards for me this fall due to the pandemic. I’m thinking it might be worth it to skip and save the money for the runcation trips in January and February since I’m anticipating those to cost a pretty penny. My travel agent already has rooms on hold for me as of today and yes, they're selling out for race weekend already quite quickly since reservations for 2021 just opened up for travel agents to book. If you're intending on going, I'd say at least put the room on hold so you're guaranteed a spot before it sells out.

This year we stayed at the Contemporary for Princess weekend. I purposely did that so we would be able to crash at the hotel nearby if we were too tired mid-day from being up so early from the races. I learned that I could handle it so it wasn’t exactly necessary but a nice convenience for our first time doing the Fairy Tale challenge. I was able to handle the whole day being up, but at a certain point my feet were definitely in no condition to keep walking so it was nice to be able to get back to our room right away to be off our feet. Unfortunately though, I’ve spoiled my friends and family, hahaha. Now they want to go back again and stay at the Contemporary because of this sheer convenience. It’s so expensive though and with my having two trips back to back early next year, it’s definitely going to hurt the bank account. But if I cancel the October trip, that might help just a little. Now I gotta figure out what I want my alternative October plans to be since the hubby has off that week regardless. I also am trying to figure out what my alternate Halloween costume this year will be since I had a different one in mind for castle pictures. If we’re going to be home, I have a different idea in mind to cross off my Halloween costume bucket list. Cue The Nightmare Before Christmas watching marathon 4 months early, hahaha!

Man. Can you believe it’s June already? Where has the year gone? We’ve had so much happen and accomplished so little. It’s a depressing year. Which is probably why I’m pretty much giving up on it and starting to plan 2021 instead, lol. I’m still running every day because I’m such a gym rat now but currently I’m running just to run. When I was training, I was more focused on a specific training schedule to make sure I could make progress in my endurance, stamina, and overall distance. I do have to start marathon training soon though. It’s just going to be hard because the weather is definitely heating up so my speed is going to be rather compromised until the fall since heat affects running performance due to the increased physical stress on the body. But it’ll be good training nonetheless. I’m excited for gyms to hopefully open up in 2 weeks as well! We head into phase 3 today so hopefully the next two weeks fly by so I can get back to work and reclaim my summer body. I don’t hate the way I look currently, but I can definitely tell there’s some pudge on my stomach and legs from quarantine since the workouts are not as hard as a good old fashioned gym workout. I miss how defined my stomach was pre-quarantine. The funny thing is back then I thought it wasn’t enough. That I was still ‘fat.’ Why are we like this? We’re never happy with what we had until it’s gone. I really miss hitting those weights hard too. I can’t wait to get back and hit the ground running. 2018 me is really wondering who the hell am I?! I used to think I would never do a full marathon. A half was scary enough for me. I thought I would stop at half. Then I did all 3 races at Princess weekend. Now I’m moving on to set out to conquer the full. And then next stop, Dopey! What happened?!?! I used to think these things were impossible, but here I am. I used to hate running too, but here I am, throwing myself into it every day.

Ah, to finally embracing this lifestyle change I finally truly adopted!

You’re sure to do impossible things
If you follow your heart!

Walt Disney World Marathon!

April 19, 2020

With the current state of 2020 events being cancelled, runDisney has finally opened up the registration for their virtual runs for the summer and released all the sign-up dates for their upcoming races up to Princess Weekend 2021. I wasn’t planning on signing up for the virtual races but considering there’s really nothing to do now and all I do is run everyday anyway currently, I might as well. It’s not like I’m spending my money on anything else other than food, groceries, bills, student loans and my mortgage. So I signed up not only for the virtual races, but all 3 of them so I could get 4 medals total; 1 for each race and a challenge medal for completing all 3, similar to the Princess races and their Fairy Tale challenge medal.

It’s funny because I went from originally just trying to consistently run 5k every day last year to currently running around 9-10k every day. I try to run for at least an hour every day. When I was training aggressively, I was able to run 10k in an hour but with no pressure or imminent deadline to train, this past month I scaled back and have been running at a slower, easier going pace to give my legs a bit of a break. I’ve lost my speed, but I’ve gained in stamina and endurance; I’ve been feeling better at running for longer periods of time. I don’t feel as terrible as I usually do during the run anymore. Usually I’m out of breath, tired and sweaty and wanting to die. l’m still sweaty, but lately, I’m feeling good, breathing better and feeling like I can go for even longer if time permits. I’m enjoying the longer distances now. It’s true what they say, slow and steady wins the race.

I really hope this strategy helps though because in seeing all the release dates for race registrations, I went back and forth but ultimately decided I’m going to bite the bullet and ::DRUM ROLL PLEASE:: attempt to run the Walt Disney World Marathon in January! Pending I make it through registration, that is, hahaha. I’ve learned that trying to register for races is actually harder than trying to get comic con tickets, but hey, this is what I’ve been training for, right?

May 7th is my first shot at signing up for this, with May 12th being my back-up if I don’t make it through the first round of sales. I was on the fence because I’m so scared of setting a date for this goal because it makes it all the more real. I also wasn’t really planning on tackling this on til more towards the end of 2021 but realized why not? The sooner I get it over with, the closer I’ll be to working on the next goal: the Dopey challenge in 2022. Besides, I don’t want to run my first marathon towards the end of 2021 and then take on the Dopey challenge that close back to back since it’s in the beginning of January. I need to give myself a break in between each stupid thing I do, lol. I figured a year between each new goal is a good amount of time.

My other concern that had me on the fence about doing the marathon in 2021 is that I still want to do the Princess weekend in February. Unfortunately Disney trips aren’t cheap and two runcations back to back would be expensive, especially while still paying my student loans and mortgage ball and chain. But when I talked to my hubby about my concerns, he was a little more encouraging and was like why not? So in order to do both and save a little bit of money, I think I’m going to do a quick weekend trip of just the marathon (especially for my first marathon, I’d rather focus on just the one race than burn out running all the other ones beforehand) and spend the rest of the day in Magic Kingdom and then fly home the next day. I’m not going to make a big trip of it, and save the parks for the February Princess weekend trip since that’s when I would be doing all 3 races and thus more reason to do more park days. This way I can do both race events back to back and stay on budget.

And speaking of budgets and saving. My goal for 2021 is going to be save for an even bigger Disney trip for 2022 when I take on the Dopey challenge (I know, I know, when is she going to go somewhere else?). The Dopey Challenge is taking on all 4 races - the 5k, 10k, the half and a full marathon. It is not only going to be a HUGE undertaking physically and mentally, but financially. The price of the races alone is painful. On top of the price of a trip. And fingers crossed, I’m hoping I can tackle on a cruise at the end of it for the Disney Castaway Cay Challenge, for an extra two medals. And then, because I’m completely insane - hopefully go to Paris in the fall that year to run their half marathon to earn not only their half marathon medal but an additional challenge medal called the Castle to Chateau challenge medal, which is only given when you run a half marathon in the US and in Paris in the same calendar year. How did this get so big so quick? Oh man. 2022 is going to be one ambitious year. I’m hoping it won’t be too bad because that’s also supposed to be the year I finish up my student loans so hopefully it’ll help free up some of my funds to do all this.

Thinking about all this absolutely terrifies me. But it’s also exciting in a weird way. I need to set some new concrete goals down to help keep my mind off things, as well as give me motivation to work on something during this quarantine. And laying down this timeline helps me plan out everything I want to do and hopefully work on a training program to realistically reach these goals. But that’s what I was saying earlier. Slow and steady wins the race. A few years ago, a mile around the block was too much for me when I started. Last year I worked on running 5ks daily til it became regular and a piece of cake. This year 10k became my new norm. I can run them easy peasy now without hating myself. I don’t plan on running half marathons daily as my new norm in my regular workout routine but I do hope that I can work on longer runs becoming easier so that the Dopey challenge is more doable when doing the half and a full marathon back to back. My legs were definitely sore after doing the 5k, 10k and half marathon this year in the Princess races, but it was definitely not as bad as they were the first year I did a half marathon by itself, so the recovery itself is improving! I also found that the 5 and 10k really helped me warm up for the half marathon so hopefully I can get to a point where a full doesn’t feel as grueling. I figure as long as I keep increasing my distance slow and steady over time, every week, I should be on the road to completing my first full marathon in no time. And then one day, I’ll be able to complete the Dopey challenge for that coveted picture holding all 6 medals in front of the castle. Ah, the things I do for the mouse.

To think, in 2018, I was NOT a runner at all. I am, in no way, fast at all, but for right now, I’m not focused on speed, as covid19 has humbled me into putting my qualifying time goals on the backburner since there are no real races to run to work on qualifying time to submit for any races. For right now, to work on these long term goals, my game plan is to take it slow and steady and keep building my stamina and endurance to be able to go to the distance, for lack of a better, less cheesy term. I’ve never anything longer than a half marathon so I worry about the dreaded “wall” some people hit when going longer distances. I’m going to listen to my body and what it needs, in order to meet these goals. I’ll definitely outrun the pacing requirements but I don’t to run too fast and burn out before the end. As they say, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” and as such the strategies are different to complete them successfully. They’re even clearly outlined in Disney’s own training program online! Speaking of which, their marathon training is a 29 week training program. Which means I’m not that far off from starting my marathon training if I score a spot to do this in January. Time is precious! Let’s go!

P.S. It’s a totally weird mixed feeling of fear and excitement in crushing this goal. I have this problem every year as I pile another ambitious mountain climbing goal on top of another. I guess it’s because I’m so scared of failing, but hey, if there’s no risk of failure, it wouldn’t be worth much of anything right? Here’s to the next two years of terrible decisions!

How To Survive All 3 Races at RunDisney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend

March 14, 2020

If you’re a clown like me and interested in tackling a 5k, 10k and a half marathon back to back, well then you’re in luck because cue the circus music, this blog post is for you!

RunDisney

So what is RunDisney? For those of you that are not familiar, it is Disney’s road race division and they host Disney themed race events all through the year, where you literally run through the parks. There are currently 4 held in Disney World annually, the Walt Disney World Marathon, the Princess Half Marathon, the Star Wars Rival Run and the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. The Walt Disney World Marathon is always held in January and is the only event with a full marathon. The other three events have the following 3 races: the 5k, 10k and half marathon races only. They also hold races at Disneyland Paris and virtual 5ks for those who can’t travel out to the parks (because these race trips are definitely quite costly) but still want to partake in them and receive a Disney medal.

Registration

Registration for these races are quite competitive as they sell out pretty quickly. You have to be on the website when it opens if you want to get guaranteed into the race of your choice. I signed up myself, my sisters and my best friend back in May, the morning registration opened up last year. I got in right away, thankfully and everything went smoothly. If you’re a runner and already familiar with this process, my only advice for you would be to read the fine print carefully because they don’t always make it clear about what the guidelines are for those wanting to submit a time from a previous race for better corral placement. They didn’t tell us til we asked at the expo why my friend was placed in the last corral when she had a qualifying time, that the times had to be from a race within the last 2 years. I guess enough people had the same misunderstanding/issue because this year’s registration for Wine & Dine that occurred this week had that stipulation clearly outlined and a box was there for you to check off that you were aware of this rule.

The prices for these races can be pretty steep and honestly I haven’t really run a non Disney race to know the difference but my friend who’s been racing with me has and she attests that Disney definitely does a great job at the entertainment they provide, the stops along the way, and the beautiful medals. I mean, you get to run THROUGH THE PARKS. And depending on the race you do, you get to run through Cinderella’s castle. I’ve ran through it twice and let me tell you, it is an absolutely amazing experience. So yes, the price of these races are a pretty penny just like anything Disney, but I would say they’re worth it to do, at least once in your life if you want to see what the fuss is about. Most people end up coming back because of how much they end up liking it. And trust me, back in May 2018, I was NOT a runner but here I am coming back again and probably again next year because I am ADDICTED.

Training

If you’re just doing a 5k, I would say you can probably go into it with no training, as it’s not timed and you can walk the entire route if you really wanted to. But for 10k and longer distances, I would definitely recommend some training, especially if you’re not a runner. I looked up training schedules on Pinterest as well as the free training program provided by RunDisney on their website by Jeff Galloway. I ended up modifying the training schedules I found to my personal liking and pace as everyone is different as to how they want to progress and how aggressively they want to train. But if you’re wondering if you can train for a half marathon in a month, I can tell you, yes, it can be done. It might be hard, but it is definitely doable. This year, I basically did one long run a week, increasing in distance each week by 2-3 km until I reached 21 km which is about the length of a half marathon. I cross trained during the week lifting weights and doing short 5k runs and some walks in between to get steps in but give my legs a break if they were a little too sore and needed extra time to recover before the next long run. Details of this year’s training can be found in this blog post. I did ease up on my training the week of the race and I found that doing all 3 races was actually a great way to warm-up to the half, as opposed to last year where I only ran the half marathon.

During my training period, I kept on top of my nutrition, making sure I maintained a clean and healthy high protein, low carb diet, with lots of water to stay hydrated constantly. I switched over to high carb the week of the race to carb load. I also made sure my sleep was on point as I learned last year that even if you have problem sleeping the night before a race, as long as your sleep every night leading up to the race was normal, you’ll be fine. Think of your body as a battery you’ve been charging for a month. Lack of one night’s sleep isn’t going to kill you and ruin the race. You got this. This year though, I found myself being able to sleep much easier than last year’s insomnia, but it’s also probably because I tired myself out doing the parks all day everyday this year. Depending on your own energy levels and capabilities, you should gauge this for yourself if you can handle both. Last year I thought it would be too much but I saw plenty of people out and about in the parks all day so I figured if they can do it, I can handle this too and I did. It helped in both getting me to fall asleep sooner because I was tired, but also helped me experience the park and have fun instead of worry myself with race anxiety.

Race Weekend

The first thing you’re going to want to do when you get to Disney is head to the race expo. There are complimentary shuttle buses provided at every hotel if you’re staying on Disney property. The race expo is where you’ll get your bibs and shirts which you need to pick up in person and get your photo taken if you’re running the challenge (the 10k and half marathon race together is called a “challenge” and when you complete both races, you get a third additional medal to commemorate the occasion.) The photo is used to make sure you’re the same person at the end of the race picking up the challenge medal, to prove you didn’t cheat and send someone else in your place to run it. I’m a newcomer to racing so I’m not familiar with this lack of integrity in the sports world, as I feel like it just wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t earn my own medals myself as I worked hard for them but I can see people wanting the medals without putting in the actual work. I believe you’re personally cheating yourself though if you’re the type of person who does this.
Other things you can find at the race expo are official RunDisney merchandise as well as outside vendors selling cute wares like last minute costumes for those wanting a tutu or a tiara or a cute shirt to race in. I also saw some really cute booths selling wall displays and frames for your medals and bibs. There are also various super cute photobooths and photo ops inside this area as well. I would say take photos of everything because it’s a magical thing to experience and you’re going to want to take it in if it’s your first time.

Pre-race to dos

Lay everything out - The night before each race, my biggest advice would be to lay out everything you’re planning on wearing and having with you to the race. I put on each costume/outfit when I was originally packing for my vacation and then placed each outfit and all its parts into a ziplock bag. That way I know everything I needed was all in one place so I wouldn’t be scrounging all over my luggage last minute at 3am trying to run out the door.
Pin your bib on - What I also do before bed is pin my race bib onto my outfit. This way I’m not fumbling and pricking my finger at 3am as well. Then I turn out the lights and hit the hay for that 3am wake up call. Yes, you heard that right. Disney races start at 5:30am but the buses start at 3am. Last year I got on it at 3am but found myself waiting around for 2 hours and wanting to die so this year I started waking up at 3am, leaving at 4am, and getting there around 4:30am, leaving me ample time to walk to my corral and try to mosy on up to the front before it starts. You could probably leave later but I don’t want to risk missing the last bus and not starting on time.
Makeup - Personally I like to run with makeup as I look forward to the race photos that get snapped when you’re running through the parks. I do a light makeup, with just simple foundation, eyeliner, mascara and lip as these aren’t portraits or anything, just fast quick photos as you run past the photopass tents. I found that primer and setting spray will be your best friend. This is how I get away with my makeup looking still in place at the finish line. Waterproof makeup is also your best friend if you have those products on hand. But if you don’t, setting spray is your insurance. I also try not to touch my face the whole time I’m running, even if I’m sweating. I just let it bounce off to not risk smearing or smudging anything. Personally for me, I found my makeup perfectly intact after both the 5k and 10k as I didn’t sweat that much and nothing ran or smeared. I only had to do simple touch ups and adding false lashes post-race before hitting the parks. I was able to shower so I was fresh to go to the parks, but was able to leave my face intact without having to start over. The half marathon was a different story though. Running over 2 hours will take more out of you and I had salt all over my face after my sweat had dried. Gross, I know, but I’m here to give you the reality of it if you’re interested in running and want to know what to prepare for. After the half, I definitely did a full shower and full redo of all my makeup before hitting up the parks for the day. But because the parks are my priority when I’m on my runcation, I’ve learned to get ready a little faster than I normally do because I really just want to get going.
Eat something - I’m not talking about a full hearty breakfast but like before a workout, you always want to fuel up with something. When I trained at home, I always found that I ran better, longer and farther when I ate a banana versus a protein bar. Find what works for you. Eat something small, light and easy. You don’t want something that will hurt your stomach during the race. But you also don’t want to run on empty either. You’ll feel the effects of your stomach grinding and growling the whole time or you’ll feel light headed, dizzy, or low energy. It’s just not a good idea, especially on race day, trust me. Lucky enough, after each race you're provided bananas. I saved one after each race for the next day's pre-race fuel.
Go to the bathroom - I’m not a fan of port-a-potties, especially in the dark at 3-5am. And luckily for me, I don’t have that type of race anxiety but I do see long lines from the race waiting area all the way up to the corrals and then even on the race course itself. I don’t know how people get like that so early on in the race, but all I can say is I’m lucky enough that when I run, my body engages into fight or flight mode so all that gets shut down. I honestly for some reason never have to use the bathroom at all when I run, or even when I work out in the gym for 3 hours. But if you’re the type of person who does find yourself needing to use the bathroom more often than me, then my suggestion would be to try and go before you leave your hotel room as it’s more sanitary and comfortable, and then try to drink as little water as possible before the race starts. During the race itself, yes it’s important to definitely hydrate but try to take small sips and be mindful of your water intake so you’re not hunting down a bathroom the entire race. The good news is on the race course, once you leave the highway/road portions and enter the parks portion, the park bathrooms ARE open! So definitely use those instead of the port-a-potties.
Charge everything - And I mean everything. Phone. Battery. Wireless Headphones if you use them. Update everything so you don’t catch yourself in the middle of a mandatory auto-update like I did 5 minutes before my half started and then freaking out if you don’t have your running app on and your music playing to help push you through that first mile. The funny thing is when I trained at home, I realized I was able to run the full length of a half marathon with my phone on one charge. So I didn’t bring my portable charger and running belt with me. But I did NOT anticipate that forced auto-update that drained 20% of my battery that morning. Luckily, I left my running belt with my portable charger inside all ready to go, on top of my dresser back at the hotel getting ready that morning. Once my phone was back in service, I messaged my baby sister during my run and asked her to bring it to me when I met her at the first spectator checkpoint when I got into the parks. I found her, threw her my hoodie as it got warm during my run and didn’t want it hiding my race costume for pictures, snapped on my belt and plugged in my phone and gunned it back down on the race course. I was back in business and my phone/music lasted the rest of the race.

Post-Race To Dos

Smile smile smile - Smile for the cameras as you cross that finish line! Smile as the volunteers bestow that medal upon your neck. Smile at the volunteers handing you bottles of water, Powerade, and your treat box. Smile and take your finish photo at the booths with the I DID IT paddles. Smile and take a damn selfie with you and your medal. Hold that medal up and give it a nice portrait shot. Take every pic possible because you want to remember this moment. And smile because DAMN YOU DID THAT.
EAT EAT EAT HYDRATE - After I finally settled down a bit from my finisher’s high, I always find that I’m really thirsty. That’s why I say to grab those bottles of water and Powerade they hand you. Grab a lot. They’re yours! Remember that hefty race registration fee? Don’t feel guilty about grabbing more than a few bottles. It’s just water and Powerade. Get your money’s worth because you’ll want to hydrate your money’s worth as you wait on the bus/monorail getting back to your hotel. Plus they're $3 a pop in the parks so definitely take advantage of these free drinks. And once you’re all showered and ready to go for the day, you’ll probably find that you’re hella hungry too because of all you ran. My advice would be to make sure you have breakfast reservations somewhere or at least a gameplan of where you want to go to eat if you’re doing quick service dining. You don’t want to be fumbling around last minute as you’re probably starving right now and want a hearty breakfast to reward yourself as well as fuel you for the rest of the day.
Wear comfortable shoes - If you plan on hitting the parks for the rest of the day/event weekend, and you still have more races to run in the next coming days, this is a definite must. Don’t wear new shoes that you haven’t tested or broken in yet. This is not the time for that just because you found a pair of cute shoes you wanted to go with your outfit the day before your trip. You want a nice, comfortable, tried and true pair of shoes that will get you through the rest of the day, especially if you have a lot of activities planned and there’s going to be a bit of walking all over the parks. And I know this sounds funny but WALK WALK WALK. I know you might feel tired after running all that, but trust me, if you keep walking for the day, it’s going to help your recovery that much more and feel better in the long run (pun intended).
Rest - Build in free periods in your day if you think you’ll need time to nap because of that early wake-up call. I didn’t do this because I found my vacation energy allowed me to stay up without feeling tired til I got back to the room at night and got into bed. So instead, I tried to make sure I was back at the resort a semi-reasonable hour to get to bed in time for the next morning’s 3am wake-up call. But definitely make sure you listen to your body if it’s telling you it needs an extra hour of ZZZzz’s throughout the day. You don’t want to collapse and jeopardize the next day’s race. Nap for a few hours if your body is telling you to rest.
Show off your medals! - You spent so much money to do this and then you woke up all those mornings to put in that work so do not feel ashamed or embarassed to wear all your bling to the parks! Wear them proudly and show them off everywhere you go! Last year the waitress was so sweet and gave me priority front row seating to the Epcots fireworks show because she saw my medal. Some photopasses will be on the lookout and they’ll be more than happy to help you take photos to commemorate your visit and achievement. Take advantage of it! You already paid so much to be here and do all this, so take it all in and enjoy it. It’s your time to shine!
Have Fun! - After all, it is a runcation! Make sure you still have fun and enjoy everything. Do everything you want to do, eat everything you want to eat. See the parade, see the fireworks, visit all the characters, ride all the rides. Soak in every Disney minute in the bubble as you possibly can. And remember YOU DID THIS and absolutely no one can take that away from you.