Star Wars Weekend: 10K

Here is my recap for the Inaugural Star Wars Half  Marathon weekend. It was long, so I broke it up into the three races I completed with some of the Disneyland fun we had while in California.
If you missed the 5K and Expo recap, you can find it here.


My alarm went off at the same time on Saturday morning but this time, I was the only one getting up. I got ready and headed out the door in hopes that I would actually be able to find Tiffany. Fortunately, it was pretty easy and I instantly felt better knowing I was not on my own. We started out with intervals but a mile or so in, decided to just try to keep a good steady walking pace. I didn’t want to push too hard because I didn’t want to burn out before the half but I wanted to be sure to be under the 16 minute mile pace because there were rumors that they may deny you the challenge medal if one of your races was over the required pace. We were a little slow as we went through Disneyland but I was sure that we could make up time.

I was afraid disaster had struck just past the mile 4 marker when I had no choice but to stop in the restroom. Fortunately, I was right beside it when I needed it and there was no line. I told Tiffany that I would try to catch her. I lost 4 minutes but I was determined to make it up the best I could. I started running and decided to try to run straight through as long as possible. The first few miles had ranged from 15:30 per mile to 17 minutes so I was already a little behind where I wanted to be when I had to stop. With just over two miles to go, I had a lot of ground to make up.

I am not sure what characters or things were in California Adventure because I ran through it as fast as I could. I finished mile 5 in 13 minutes and mile  6 in 13:05. I saw Mac and Rachel cheering for me just before turning into the parking lot but I still hadn’t caught Tiffany. I was about to give up and suddenly I saw her about 50 yards ahead of me. I ran as fast as I could to catch her. I slowed to a brisk walk for a little while after catching up. I almost completely missed seeing Mac again while I was trying to catch my breath. Tiffany realized this guy was talking to me and tapped my shoulder and I was able to look up just in time to see him again right before the finish. Apparently, after he and Rachel saw me and started heading to the Grand Californian for us to meet up later, he decided he wanted to see me again before the finish. Rachel told him to go and he took off running around the hotels to get next to the course again before I finished. After pushing so hard in the last few miles, I really loved seeing him again and it was part of the boost I needed to finish strong even though I was nearly spent.

We were so close to the finish and we both made up time in the last two miles. As we turned and could see the finish, we began to really run hard. It took everything I had but I pushed through and nearly sprinted through the finish. I always set it up so that I receive the tracking texts on my phone so I can see what their clock says about my time. As we finished, I heard my phone go off so I grabbed to see how our finish time was. I was shocked when I saw my average pace. I ended up with a 15:29 minute per mile pace for the 10K. I was under the required pace and was able to really push myself in those last two miles despite being tired. I was so glad that I had been able to run with Tiffany. We pushed each other during that race and managed to both do better than expected.  It was just another experience that reminded me how amazing the running community can be and that the people you meet online can be amazing friends.  

After the maze of the finishing area, we went our separate ways, both grateful for the other’s company, and I met up with Rachel, Mac and Heather at Grand Californian so we could have breakfast at Storyteller’s Café. It was fun having a great buffet breakfast with some fun characters.  Pluto was right next to our table when we were seated so we had a chance to interact with him first.  He gave me a huge hug and pulled me in for a picture. I don’t typically do pictures but I was so excited still from finishing stronger than I expected so I just went with it. When we did a group picture, he started “wagging” his tail which really meant he was butt bumping Heather and I and all I could do was laugh. After he left our table, we made our way up to the buffet. It is by far the best Disney buffet to me. I am usually not a huge fan but theirs is so good. Everything is kept very fresh and they have a huge selection. After we sat back down, Chip came by to see us followed by Meeko. We also so Dale and Koda(Brother Bear) but I missed getting pics with them. I guess since I didn't see much during the race, I decided to live up the characters after finishing.

The rest of the day, I took it easy. I didn't go into the parks at all. I hung out in the hotel room and then Rachel, Mac and I went to the movies that afternoon. After the movies, we met back up with Heather in Downtown Disney for the traditional night before dinner. We headed to Naples Ristorante as usual. I made our reservation as soon as I could so we were seated quickly unlike the huge line of runners outside. This year they were smart and decided to offer a runners buffet in the upstairs portion of the restaurant but since it did not offer pizza, and that is what we always eat, we were not interested. After dinner we went by the Wunderground gallery to meet the artists there for a showcase and then went back to the room to go to bed early. There was one more early morning coming up.