Disneyland Half Marathon: 9/2/12

The Disneyland Half Marathon is my favorite half marathon and this was my third time running this race. I think it is the whole Disney thing that keeps bringing me back. I am also familiar with the area and the hotel that I stay at is within walking distance of the Expo and the Start so that takes away a lot of the race day stress for me. I checked into my hotel around noon on Saturday and then walked on over to the Expo at the Disneyland Hotel.  

The Expo is always super organized and is a pretty decent sized event. I really wanted to get taped up at the KT Tape booth but it was way too crowded. I stayed in the line for about 15 minutes and the line did not move at all so I had to tape myself up.

After the Expo we headed over to Olive Garden to get some carbs. They have the never ending pasta bowl going on right now so I loaded up and the took my leftovers from my second serving with me for later.

This year I was super nervous about this race. For the past two years that I have ran this race I have always had a goal and have met it. This year I did not want to push for a goal but who can get the thought of a PR out of their mind? I was also super worried about the weather since it has been in the mid to high 90's here in California for the past few months with no break.  Thank goodness this race started at 5:45am and the weather was great!

Anyway, onto the details of my half.  The weather was better than what I expected. It was 64 degrees at the start. Thank God the weather man had it wrong! I was in Corral A so I enjoyed watching the pre-race events with Mickey and Minnie.  

The fireworks are always a plus and Disney never fails to put on a good show. Another plus of being in Corral A is that they do not allow anyone into the area if they do not have a bib marked Corral A. I like that because some people just don't respect the Corral designations and make it hard for others. I also love that I didn't have to spend a lot of time weaving and finding a comfy spot on the course. I pretty much let all of the super speedy runners through and then it was time to see what I had for the day.

The course was pretty much the same as it was the past two years but this year the new Cars Land was added into the course which was exciting! I started out way faster than I should have but the adrenaline was flowing so I went with it for a few miles.

Mile 1: 8:00

Mile 2: 7:50

Mile 3: 7:54
Mile 4: 7:48

Once I exited Disneyland and headed out onto the streets of Anaheim, I decided to bring my pace down to a more comfortable zone because I knew I could not hold a sub 8 pace for 13 miles. I simply didn't train for that and didn't want to get injured again.

Mile 5: 8:11 (GU)

Mile 6: 8:11

Mile 7: 8:11

I was feeling really strong but very nervous. I kept wondering if I should slow down but I felt good and just let my body decide the comfortable pace for me.

Mile 8: 8:09

Mile 9: 8:11

Mile 10: 8:10 (GU)

Mile 9 of the course takes the runners through Angels Stadium where everyone loves catching a glimpse of themselves on the jumbo tron. The Disney crowds are just amazing. They keep you going and I love races that have great support from the crowds and volunteers.

Mile 11: 8:14 (shin starting hurting...got a little distracted)

Mile 12: 8:20 

Mile 13: 8:05
the last .22 (7:35) My Garmin picked up the course at 13.22.  I guess I need to stay closer to the corners!

These are my final results. I had a mini PR of 45 seconds which is not much but I feel like I am starting to get back into my running again and that gives me the confidence I need to keep pushing for Boston! 

I also met my Running Goal of running a half marathon in under 1:47! I am not sure if I should count this or not because I barely skated in under 1:47.

Me and my biggest fan and some finish photos!