This is part three of three where I tell the story of my recent trip to play and run in Disney’s Wine and Dine Half Marathon! You can find my live post done hours before the race here, part one here and part two here.

After the race finish, I received my very cool medal and continued through the finish line area. I grabbed the snack box and a water but my stomach was feeling a little bleh and a post-race recovery beverage of wine or beer (both offered) did NOT sound good so I kept going. I went into the women’s changing tent to change out of my wet shirt and I have a few thoughts here:

• The women’s changing tent was PACKED and kind of gross. Just lots of sweaty women. In hind sight, I should have just waited until I got into Epcot and changed in a real bathroom. I’ll do that next time.
• Next time I will bring a dry shirt AND a dry bra. Even though the night was cool enough, it was wicked humid and a dry bra would have been awesome.
• I will also pack baby wipes in my drop bag. I was oddly covetous of the woman next to me who was able to mop up a bit and was dying to wipe my face with something.
• I was SO GLAD I packed the long sleeve race shirt. It was fun to wear it and it was warm. Once I started cooling down after the race, I cooled down FAST. The shirt was cozy:).

I texted Selma as I knew they had finished before me and she said she and Alan were in Mexico so I headed that way (slowly). For a moment I was tempted to just get on the bus and head back to the hotel and honestly I kind of wish I had because all that great energy I’d had during the race was now officially GONE. But I pushed on! It was fun seeing everyone with their medals. But by this time I was DONE with the techno pop. I so wish they had just been playing the regular Epcot music. But the park did look gorgeous.

I finally found Alan and Selma outside of Italy and we basically just walked together around World Showcase and back to their car. Oh, and we ran into Elisa (who had just finished) and her husband, Dave! She looked great and like she still had plenty of energy left. I don’t know how but she did! Aland and Selma graciously gave me a ride back to my hotel and I was soooo grateful! I don’t know why we didn’t get a pic – I think we were all just wiped out!!

I so wish I’d felt stronger at that point and could have enjoyed the party more. Honestly, though, there weren’t that many runners with tons of energy. When it’s 1am and you’ve just run a half marathon, you’re actually pretty tired. Who would have thought it?;)

Got back to the room and got 2 hours of solid sleep and then it was back to the airport. This is the other thing I will not do if I run next year. I will stay that extra day and sleep and enjoy myself!

Final Thoughts: 

• I really loved this race. Even more than I thought I would. I liked running at night, I loved the theming, and I was happily surprised by how well my body and legs held up.
• Being super diligent about my nutrition and rest REALLY paid off. I will be applying that to my upcoming races as well.
• Port Orleans Riverside is absolutely beautiful and I would not hesitate to stay there again.
• EnergyBits are the bomb and they are now a permanent fixture in my running and racing life.
• Next time, I’m bringing my adorable and fun husband. I mean, I really missed him, but so did my running friends and I got tired of hearing “where’s Scott? We like Scott!”;) 

Which brings us to the end:). But at the end of every epic journey, we roll the credits, right? So here are all the people I need to thank:

Scott Lefforge for being the kind of man that knows me and wants me to have fun. And cheers me on while I do it. And has the house clean and orders me pizza when I return. You are the best. And of course to my three crazy teenage boys. You make me laugh and drive me crazy and I’m so lucky God let me be your mom!

To Sparkle Athletic, Merrell Dash Gloves, Energy Bits, and Sweaty Bands – your products all held up as promised and I thank all of you for making quality goods that did what they were supposed to. To Run Disney who, although pricey, never ceases to deliver on a good value for the money. Where else do you get fireworks, Minnie Mouse, 20 foot light up puppets, and all of Epcot at the finish? I truly appreciate all you do.

And finally to the amazing volunteers who make these races possible. Every medical tent, every water stop, and every bag drop was manned (and womaned;) by happy, enthusiastic and kind volunteers. You really MADE the race, as always.

Starting Saturday, we are officially in training for the WDW Half Marathon (and Scotty is finishing up his training for Goofy). And so we begin again.

Happy Running!

Jen