Race Report: 2015 Disneyland 10k

We're back from Disneyland, starting to get caught up on sleep and laundry, and ready to reflect on a great weekend.  There were so many highlights, so be patient--you've got LOTS of posts coming your way!

Let's start with the races themselves.  No one ran the 5k, but by looking at pictures and reading other recaps, it seemed like a great race.  Darn work that keeps expecting me to actually show up in order to collect my paycheck! Hahaha!

The expo for us was fairly unremarkable.  We got our bibs and shirts, looked at the line for official merchandise and decided to not even bother, and I had a quick chat with Jeff Galloway about coaching.  He recommended a few books for me as a new coach and really got me excited about the opportunity ahead of me to coach all levels of athletes.  Needless to say, I'm taking his advice very seriously--he's a pro!

Let's jump to the morning of the 10k.  The whole crew was running!  My mom dressed up in race-themed Red Queen, and Bill, Chris, Katie, and I were the Dapper Dans.  This was BY FAR the most elaborate costume we'd ever done.  We had been crafting for months and I just barely finished ours the day before.

Got photo-bombed!

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel--can you say SPOILED!  Chris and Katie were asking if we were ready and we had just woken up.  I don't know how we'll ever go back to the other hotels.  We headed to the start line, all starting in corral D.  We must have been stopped a dozen times for pictures--the costumes were definitely a hit.

Being in corral D, we didn't get much of the beginning of race fanfare.  We kept ourselves occupied until it was our turn to begin.  We settled into a 1:30/1 run/walk ratio.  It felt great to be running in cool weather and of course, running through Disneyland.  Should I tell you all again how much I love this 10k course?  It has so much park time!

Of course, running pregnant means lots of port-o-potty stops for me, so I had to stop right after mile 1.  The rest of the Dans went along without me, so I had to really run to catch up. I ran into a few friends and got back to the crew within a few minutes (but phew...I was tired from running a 9:30 pace...I'm definitely slower pregnant!)

This is my fave pic from the course

The course sends you through the convention center area, Disneyland, DCA, and Downtown Disney. No need for music or distractions...it was all just pure fun!  I did get a cramp from either running too fast catching up or from too much water so my last half mile was all walking, but hey, I was just there for the fun!

The medal was impressive, but in all honesty I wasn't really into the theme.  Disney always does great medals though, and the finish is always a party.  It was getting warm and we were ready to shower and hit the parks, but first, we had BIG finish plans--we needed a picture with the real Dapper Dans!

We headed to Disneyland and a cast member told us that their first appearance was scheduled at 11. We had breakfast, rode a ride, and hung out on Main St waiting...and waiting...and waiting. No show for the Dapper Dans!  We were seriously bummed!  The irony was the rest of the weekend we saw them everywhere!!!!  Oh well...we at least had our awesome costumes and pictures together.

We met another set of Dans at the Finish Line!

Overall it was another great race and the start of a great weekend.  Baby S' second 10k, and our 3rd Dumbo Double Dare was off to a great start!