Originally posted at laurabowers.net on September 21, 2015. I’m updating my author website by moving all older runDisney and running content here!
Confession: I’m totally wearing a tiara while writing this. (Not the one in the picture. Wow, did NOT realize it looked that huge!) And I’m drinking tea from my Princess Half mug. And listening to Disney park music (while Bob is yelling about the Ravens game,) because it’s time to write about my favorite runDisney event of the year … the Princess Half Marathon!
First up? The Fit for a Princess Expo which started on Thursday! As usual, we arrived at the airport early that morning and hustled to the Magic Express area in hopes of quickly catching a bus. Since runDisney did not offer pre-orders for the Dooney & Bourke bags, my goal was to get to the Expo before they sold out.
This time around, we were back at All Star Music, our favorite value resort! The Jazz building is super close to the main building without having to pay extra for the preferred. Always a good choice. What wasn’t a good choice, however, was my decision to not check in and head to the Expo right away after seeing many Facebook messages about how insanely long the Dooney & Bourke line was. By the time we did check in, there were only king-size bed rooms left and my man and I are double bed folks. Oops. This bit me in the rear later.
Anyway, we took a cab to ESPN Wide World of Sports since it only cost $10. Very good call. See those taped lines to the left of the merchandise area? They were packed with folks when we arrived at 10:45ish. Very anxious folks. Seriously, runDisney, you need to bring back pre-orders next year.
Once we got inside at 11:55, I let Bob take charge of picking a bag with great placement since I tend to get OCD about those kinds of things. He did a fantastic job because I absolutely love, love, LOVE mine! (I wanted Snow White front and center since us brunettes need to stick together.)
Now, along with my OCD, I have ATU when it comes to my bags … Afraid To Use. The deal was, though, that if I got a satchel, I would actually use it and I have been! (After drenching the sucker with water protectant, of course.)
Runners who arrived later weren’t able to get their bags, however. The satchels sold out by around 12:30, thanks to the many personal shoppers and Ebay sellers we saw in line. Especially this gal who tried to buy six satchels. (Thankfully, the cashiers limited her to two.)
Really, runDisney seriously needs to bring back pre-orders next year so runners have first dibs. And I’m secretly hoping they use the Runway Princess pattern for them! It’s the same pattern but with a black base and colorful princesses. Gorgeous!
Oh, and while in line I saw a gal wearing the awesome commemorative PHM jacket! They did offer preorders for these, but I thought it’d be smarter to wait and see if I liked them. Wasn’t smarter. They sold out and were not offered for sale at the Expo. Lesson learned–always preorder and then return if you don’t like them.
They had other jackets available for the PHM and Glass Slipper Challenge but eh, I didn’t care for the cut. And since I had already grabbed my usual must-haves–a mug, wine glass pins, and magnets while Bob waited in line for my satchel, we could now relax and leisurely enjoy the rest of the expo.
Next up, getting my bibs and taking that important photo for the challenge!
A friend from my running group showed up with her husband and kids, we had ourselves a great time doing the many photo opportunities they had in the Field building.
Why yes, that is a winter jacket I’m wearing. It was FREEZING that day and there were expected lows of 28 degrees for the Frozen 5k on Friday which brought on lots of “frozen” jokes! I came prepared, though, with a suitcase stuffed with different clothing options. This weekend was also, perhaps, the only time my hair did not frizz. #silverlinings
Oh, and see that stuffed Scout bag at my feet! I always fold this up and store in my carry-on bag. Makes it super easy hauling all my goodies around the Expo in, especially with the satchel inside.
Afterwards, we wandered to the Josten’s building to visit the main merchandise area and get my race shirts. I absolutely LOVED this year’s 10k and PHM shirts! The Glass Slipper one? Eh, not so much. It’s gray. There’s nothing princess-y about gray.
It was fantastic getting another picture with the awesome Jeff Galloway, though! He’s such a cutie.
With all the must-do’s crossed off my list, we called it a day and headed out, taking plenty of photos along the way!
Once we got back to All Stars, we checked in and chilled in our room for a while, with me lining up race outfits, checking the weather report every ten minutes, and fielding panicked messages from friends who didn’t bring enough warm clothes. Since I had plenty of extras, I did a little fashion shoot showing them different options they can borrow.
Maybe I should just stick with writing, huh? Afterwards, we headed to the food court for dinner and more chatting. One of the things I love most about my husband is that we never run out of conversations, even after 22 years of marriage. I did NOT love seeing this notice that was delivered to our room while we were gone:
Whoa. Huh? A power outage between 1:00 and 5:00am, when, like, many of us runners will be getting ready for the race? Not going to lie. I panicked a bit over this and called the front desk. They assured me that we wouldn’t be out of power for a total of four hours … it will be more like a wave throughout the resort, with our outage lasting only minutes. Still, I did an extra careful job of laying out my outfit, running belt, hair needs, etc., in case I had to get ready in near-darkness.
Did this affect me? Well, for that, you’ll have to wait for my Frozen 5k recap!
(Actually no, you won’t. I’m not good with suspense. It didn’t affect me at all … although some other poor gals weren’t as lucky.)
Until next time!
