Wine & Dine Weekend 2017 Part 2: Did I Escape The Wine & Dine 10k?
/FYI: This might be my FAVORITE costume that the wife has made for me in the 4-ish years of running Run Disney races.
Now the above statement needs a little bit of clarification because I avoided the ride my costume was based on for over 20 years because it freaked me out so much in 4th grade.
So let's back it up a tad.
My family and I traveled to Disney when I was in 4th grade, it was the first time I ever went. It was a HUGE trip that my parents saved up for and I even got taken out of school for it. Yes I missed long division and still remember that random fact to this day. Not sure how I went on to be a math major in college. ;)
During that trip, I got so freaked out on the Haunted Mansion ride that we had to evacuate and leave the ride through a back door with the help of a very kind cast member. I barely made it through the stretching room then forced my parents and I OUT of that ride. I had no idea that the ride got considerably less scary as you went on. Haha.
I avoided the Haunted Mansion on every future trip to Disney until the wife finally talked me into it during one of our trips in 2015. I went through the entire ride without fleeing and later remarked that wasn't scary in the least.
Now I can laugh at avoiding this ride for over 20 years and now ride it multiple times. It has actually become one of the rides I look forward to going on.
So I think my family found it perplexing when I shared what my 10k costume would be since they liked to bring up my escape from the ride whenever someone mentioned Disney. Thanks parents. :P
If you are unfamiliar with the Haunted Mansion, my costume is based on one of the photos in the opening "Stretching Room."
The wife KICKED ASS! Am I right? She actually MADE those puffy sleeves and attached them to the tank top I bought. She also made the collar. I mean what can't this woman do?
Since the wife was running the 10k as well, we actually both left the room at 3:30am to head to the bus.
When we arrived, the lines for character photos were a little too long for my liking plus I wanted to get a good spot in corral A so I could get those character stops. :) Since the wife and I are in different corrals, we parted ways while she searched for a port-o-potty and water, I headed out to my corral.
I often feel guilty when we both race Disney. There are many couples that will run together, where faster of the pair drop back to run with the other partner. The wife and I have tried to run together before and it was... okay. Haha. While the wife is so understanding about why I run fast at other races to get a coveted Corral A spot at Disney for the character stops, it still leaves me with some internal guilt. Does anyone else experience that?
While hanging out in my corral, I was able to catch up with some blogging friends that I haven't seen in what felt like eons. I also saw some local friends who are big Disney fans like the wife and I. :)
(Seriously all I am going to seriously miss seeing familiar faces at races when I move)
Disney really knows how to keep racers entertained before a run. I hung out with my friend Richard (@blingwhore), while we took part in the lip sync battle and heard the DJ yell "everyone having fun tonight." Ummm Mr. DJ! It's 5am, it's morning. ;)
After what felt like forever because well I got up at 3am, but at 5:30am on the dot it was time to start the run. I love Run Disney. I do. ;)
Now if you read my Fall Feast 5k recap, you know that usually Disney lacks a character stop during Mile 1. Well Wine & Dine 10k followed the pattern. I DID get to run with Carissa and her boyfriend for a brief spell, but overall Mile 1 was boring.
Mile 1: 8:03
During the 5k I started 15 seconds after the race started, it looks like I started 16 seconds after the race started for the 10k. Ooohh I wonder what the half will have in store. ;)
Now I fully expected to see a character stop during Mile 2, but you know what friends. NADA!!! Ooohhh this was not getting me jazzed. I was really hoping Disney would be making this up to me. There were 5 character stops during the 5k (3.1 miles) so I was expecting for at least double during the 10k, but we were falling behind that when there wasn't a single stop during Mile 2.
Mile 2: 8:26
Oh my friends we finally have a character stop. I will say I was ready to take a picture with whoever was there, but I was pleasantly surprised when it was a rare appearance by the 3 Little Pigs.
Now for the first couple of miles I did NOT run with the umbrella/parasol opened. I had it and the alligator in my hand. HOWEVER once we entered any sort of park and I knew the photogs would be out in full force I most DEFINITELY ran with the parasol open.
Mile 3: 9:34
For those keeping count we are halfway through the race and only 2 character stops. At this point the day prior, we had 5. :/
During Mile 4, we made our way into Hollywood Studios and I had to make my girl Kristin (@Bamagirlruns) proud by taking advantage of an indoor bathroom and SELFIE-ing!
I definitely freaked out the ladies who walked in as I finished up my selfie. :P
Once I ran out of the bathroom, I was psyched to see another rare character stop: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Normally we only see him in Disneyland so it was nice to see him making an appearance in Florida.
I'm not sure how many times I can apologize for the crazy eyes. Can I blame the freakin' humidity? Not sure everyone can make out that lovely sweat ring around my neck. I really thought the dark purple would hide it. Florida said, Try again!
Mile 4: 9:38
Well our time in Hollywood Studios was over as quickly as it started. ;/ But it was glorious to see that Christmas had already thrown up all over Hollywood Studios. :)
With Hollywood Studios in our rearview mirror, it was time to head to EPCOT. Thankfully the parks aren't that far apart so we didn't have to wait too long.
Mile 5: 10:20
Just to prove to everyone that I did in fact run with the parasol open... here you go! :P
As we headed towards EPCOT, we first made a quick trip around the Boardwalk. I was wicked excited to see "vacation" Genie. Especially since it would be a bit of a costume hint to my half costume. ;)
Did I get the ballet pose down? I was kicked out of ballet at the age of 4, but I think I sort of have it. ;)
Once we were inside the EPCOT world showcase, we got our final character stop of the race (outside Canada). So for those keeping track we had 5 character stops during the 5k (3.1 miles) and 4 during the 10k (6.2 miles). Not cool Disney. That is not a good character to miles to money spent ratio.
After finishing out part of World Showcase, we made our way towards Spaceship Earth (the big ball) and out to the parking lot for the Finish).
Mile 6: 9:47
One of my favorite parts of the run is the Gospel choir during the last stretch of the race.
I never want to see a Disney race end, but I was ready for some post-race character photos while i waited for the wife to finish.
FINAL TIME: 1:00:04 (9:41 min/mile pace)
Since I love the Annual Pass perk of free photos, I made sure to get my post-race photos. :)
Once I had my medal, snack and photos, I headed to the post-race character spots. Luckily lines were a HECK of a lot shorter than the pre-race lines so I knocked out all 4.
Do we LOVE how Goofy totally stole my parasol? Also Donald TOTALLY guessed my costume. I walked up and he pointed then walked a pretend tight rope!
Timing worked out perfectly when I finished my last photo, the wife crossed the Finish Line. I was wicked proud of her especially since she barely got to train for the race. She rocked her Galloway intervals.
We met up by her Finish and headed back to the hotel. We had a whole day of park hopping to do. :)
Overall I had fun at the Wine & Dine 10k, but I was disappointed with the lack of character stops. I still can't believe there were less at the 10k than at the 5k. The volunteers and spectators were amazing.
As I said before, this was my favorite or one of my top costumes that the wife has ever made me!
Don't forget to tune in to the final race portion of this weekend... the Wine & Dine Half! You won't want to miss it!
