Hello and happy Friday! I am back from another wonderful Princess Half Marathon Weekend. This marked the fifth anniversary of my first half marathon, first runDisney event, and first meet-up with my awesome Liners Running group, so it was a very special weekend for me! I had a total blast and had it not been for having to walk due to injury, this year would have been my absolute favorite.
There’s going to be tons of content coming your way from both the blog and Joyful Miles YouTube Channel, but for today, I’m going to summarize what made this past race weekend so special by joining up with Fairytales & Fitness and Running on Happy in their Friday Five 2.0 Blog Link Up!
Before going into my top five favorite things about this year’s Princess Half Marathon… and it was hard narrowing it down to five … I have to also admit that this was also a very hard race weekend for me both emotionally and physically due to my injury. After the 10k, I had a mini-mental breakdown, which I will discuss in my upcoming recaps.
In short … I was tapped out and tired.
But thanks Shannon and Stephanie, I pulled it together and made it through the half marathon! Which leads me to my #1 favorite thing:
1.) Spending time with my amazing friends!
Like last year, I once again stayed with my dear friends, Kelly, Sara, Shannon, and Stephanie. (Kelly and Stephanie are the gals I ran with last year.) This time around, my fellow Joyful Miler and friend, Megan joined us, along with her amazing daughter, Caitlyn. Sarah, a gal I’ve always wanted to spend time with, rounded out the party and I’m so glad she could join us!
What’s sad, however, is not having one single photo of the eight of us. Seriously??? Blogger/vlogger fail. But we had a fantastic time and we’re ready to register for next year!
And then there’s this group of awesome folks from Liners Running. Love them all and it was so fantastic eating at ‘Ohanas on Sunday night for our 5th anniversary!
2.) Our fantastic Princess 10k costumes!
Oh my gosh. This costume. THIS COSTUME!!! It’s now one of my absolute favorites because of the colors and sheer fun factor! We had initially planned a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs group theme, but after a frenzied Saturday of about a hundred messages, we fell in love with this idea.
The leg warmers were roasting hot and the wig gave me a perpetual headache, but oh my goodness, did we have fun!!
3.) Going to the We Run Social event!
I have to admit. I totally flaked on the Tinker Bell Half Marathon We Run Social meet up due to my anxiety issues and fear of everyone thinking I don’t belong. (Being insecure is exhausting.) I was DETERMINED to make this event … but after waking up from a nap at noon, I momentarily allowed those fears to keep me in bed.
But then I thought of how hard I work for Joyful Miles.
And how good of an opportunity it is, meeting other bloggers and social media experts.
So I jumped in the shower and hauled my rear to the Polynesian, anxiety nagging me each step of the way, and forced myself to join the large group already gathered.
SO GLAD I DID!
I’ll be writing more about this later, but for now, I did accomplish two important goals … meeting Heather from @Heather_runs74 and @PinkCupcakeGirl. And I got some great footage I’ll be sharing later!
4.) THE WEATHER!
Things got chilly and rainy on Wednesday, my arrival day, but it was so wonderful having nice, warm weather for a Princess Half Marathon! Never once did I agonize over whether my race outfit will be warm enough and all those extra warm clothes I had packed went unused. It was lovely!
5.) Meeting so many of our awesome YouTube subscribers!
I truly appreciated everyone who took the time to say hello throughout the weekend! That was just incredible as was hearing how I had inspired you to sign up for races or begin to run. That’s the reason why I wanted to create Joyful Miles to begin with, so I’m still wearing the biggest smile on my face! Which leads me to a bonus favorite:
How inspired I am to get back to work!
I’m never sad about going home from a Disney vacation. Yes, I had an amazing time, but I’m already ready to roll my sleeves up and get back to work, feeling energized and renewed! My mind has been whirling nonstop, thinking of ways to improve and how to fully live up to my potential. So be ready!
QOTD: What were your favorite moments from the Princess Half Marathon?
Happy running and have a joyful day!
Laura,
I’m loving this blog😊 I just finished watching your YouTube video on “what to pack”. You mentioned running with your phone and the new phone stick you had purchased… I just have to share my absolutely favorite piece of running/workout gear……drumroll…. the Northface Stow N Go bra!!! Huge pocket in the front that will hold a iPhone 6plus or whatever else you need plus it has a second smaller pocket for keys, lipstick, or a gel!! I feel so bad when I see runners out carrying their phones. This bra has changed my life….if you can say that about a bra😂 Check it out and keep up the good writing!
Okay, I had to check out the Stow N Go for myself because, seriously?? An iPhone Plus?? But yep, darn if those images show that it does fit. I would worry about sunblock or sweat getting all over my phone though, that’s not a problem? Having pockets for keys, lipstick, Gu gels, etc., is genius. I’ll still have to check this out!
Thanks for stopping by and the tip! 🙂