Today was very interesting to say the least. Lets just say every time I have a race things never go as planned and things always get interesting. I always have the kiddos waking me up a few times at night. However, when the hubby gets home, he notices our puppy (which he is not for being 60 pounds and 6 years old) has a swollen lips which mean our furry child was sick. I was so surprises because I had not noticed all day and I was home. In turn the night already begins with worry, we both though maybe he got an insect bite and it might be gone by morning but our puppy seemed to be in a little of discomfort so we give him some benadryl.
Of course the hubby is telling me to get ready for my run after the kiddos go down for bed late and could not really sleep very well through the night due to excitement and because our puppy kept shaking his head all night. So I am up at 3 am getting ready and head out to Disneyland.
Once I arrive at Disneyland everything seems to be going okay, however I did notice I got so lucky to get parked at the first row on the very very very last parking spot! I am like okay, it will help me get warmed up with all the walking. Then I get to the waiting area before we are placed in our corral. I found this to be very different from my first ever race with RunDisney which was the Tinkerbell 5k in May. They placed us in random corral as soon as we got there. I did not submit my run time for avenger so of course I got stuck in the the last corral. If you think that’s the worst part let me tell you its not! The worst part is being the last corral and then having to be cold for 2 hours because they started 30 minutes late. As you can imagine trying to keep warm and then trying to warm up your muscles after 2 hours of being cold is no fun at all. They said the late start was due to safety issues. I could see maybe what they meant because the pavement was wet and some what slippery, which is no good for a 7 months pregnant runner as myself.
So my number one advice is that you should always keep in mind that you will be starting late and submit your time if you can! Due to starting in the last corral I was not able to stop by and get pictures with the avengers. They did have the black widow which is typically not out at Disneyland and a mile markers perfect for pictures. They did not have this for the Tinkerbell 5k. I kept wondering during the Tinkerbell 5k what mile I was on.
It was not all bad during the race the cast members try cheer you on and they do try to keep you entertained before the race begins but when their are 6,000 racers and you are all the way in the back barely able to see anything at all, its no longer enjoyable. One of the highlight is that I did see actor mostly known from the Goonies, Sean Astin.
Also the racers do not use what they call race etiquette. I got bumbed a few times and while running people who were walking crossed in front of me while knowing what they are doing. So that is my rant about my first RunDisney Avenger 5k and my second RunDisney race.
In conclusion if running a RunDisney be patient and know that a lot of waiting can happen and submit your time and remember you did this to yourself when you sign up for it. hehe. Also due to the race starting 30 minutes late I had to be stuck in traffic going home over and hour when I only live 15 minutes from the park.
Good luck in your up coming races.
Loren
