IMS Half Marathon, Phoenix, AZ

Since we're already in half marathon shape, we figured we might as well take advantage of local races to get the experience. My Uncle Andrew, Aunt Bonnie, and cousin Lane, come to Phoenix every year to visit. They live in Staten Island, NY. My uncle has run the IMS half marathon for the past few years during their visit. My dad signed up to do it this year. We thought Cory was going to do it too, but he's still nursing some injuries from the PF Chang's half. So Chris and I decided we should do this race too - since everyone else was!

The expo has moved from a high school gym to the Randall McDaniel Sports Complex. Ryleigh enjoyed doing the gymnastics obstacle course set up by a local gym. And the swag bag was much better than the runDisney one. I mean we at least got free samples, coupons, and chapstick!

This race starts at the Surprise Recreation complex, which is where Surprise Stadium is located. This is where the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals have Spring Training. Then you race through Surprise, El Mirage, Youngtown, and Glendale before finishing at Westgate right by the Bellagio-style fountains, across the street from Cardinal Stadium.

Since it's a one way route, you had to park at the finish line and be shuttled to the start... or have someone drop you off. My mom was going to drop us off, so we got to my parents house around 6:15am on Sunday. And to start off the day at their house, they had some plumbing difficulties involving water shooting all over a bathroom. Great way to get the day started with a shot of adrenaline pre-race. After finally getting the plumbing fixed, we piled in the car and headed to Surprise. Ryleigh, Cory and my brother Chris went to the finish line later. Bonnie and Lane dropped off Andrew.

We got there and there were no corrals, everyone was just standing around talking and there was music to pump us up. It was cold just standing around. I figured I'd be okay in my smart wool arm warmers - NOT! It was chilly! Glad my mom and Bonnie stayed around for the start so I could keep my jacket on until the last minute! Here we are waiting for the race to start. Pretty sunrise in the background.

If you can't tell due to the poor lighting (this is the best of the pictures taken that morning, the other ones were a lot darker) - That's Chris in green, me in the pink hat, my dad in the neon yellow/green hat, and my uncle Andrew in the red shirt and white hat.

From 2012 February

It was a completely different experience from the TinkerBell. We walked toward the start and expected a quarter to half mile walk and were shocked when we just found the start. I mean we could actually see the small sign that said "START". I don't know if I ever saw the official TinkerBell start sign. There were probably only 3000 people at this race, so it was easy to let people go first and allow enough room in front of us for things to space out. Chris and Andrew ran ahead, and my dad and I stuck together for most of the race.

Not sure what mile markers these were taken at. But that's Andrew, who's obviously lost Chris by that point.

From 2012 February

Here comes Chris! Green shirt under the signal.

From 2012 February

Here comes my dad and I. I believe this is mile 4.

From 2012 February

Still mile 4.

From 2012 February

Andrew speeding by.

From 2012 February

Andrew in the chute racing toward the finish.

From 2012 February

That photo of Andrew racing toward the finish was taken by Lane. My mom and Ryleigh were on the other side of the street. Andrew was so focused on the finish line he didn't see them. So Ryleigh inches toward the street to give him a high five and scares the crap out of Andrew. He thought it was some big pink squirrel running out into the street. So disappointed no one got that on camera!!

Here's Chris racing toward the finish.

From 2012 February

From 2012 February

Andrew at the finish. Right about this time I checked my watch and told my dad "Yup, 1:45, Andrew should be finishing now! And we have over 45 minutes to go!" Kinda depressing when you put it that way. And we were only at mile 8, just over halfway done!

From 2012 February

My dad and I split up after mile 11. My IT band was getting really tight and my knees were hurting. I was running a new interval (on race day - so maybe that wasn't a good idea) and wasn't used to it as well as running in new shoes. I only did 2 long runs to break them in before the race. So I lengthened my intervals for the last few miles. And the killer - at mile 12.5 you have to go over the freeway on a very large bridge. So NOT NICE to put a hill at mile 12.5!! At least there was the downhill right into the turn before the chute to the finish, but still!! I really got my second wind to run the final mile, but halfway up that hill I realized I'd just save my energy for the downhill portion :)

And you see Chris is done with his Medal. They're all searching for us. "Where are they?!"

From 2012 February

Here's Mark!!

From 2012 February

There's the high five Andrew missed. But Grandpa knew the routine.

From 2012 February

And here I come!

From 2012 February

From 2012 February

All the finishers!!

From 2012 February

Andrew's time was 1:44:28

Chris's time was 2:09:53

Mark's time was 2:40:48

Julie's time was 2:41:26

My dad says the timing is off because he finished more than 30 seconds before me - but hey, I'm not complaining!! Shaved 6 minutes off my TinkerBell time!

And the shoes that got us there. 2 Vibram Bikilas, a New Balance Minimus Road, and a pair of Altra Intuitions.

From 2012 February

Post race pains - tight calves, and likely the biggest blister I've ever had, really shocked it didn't pop during my run. Chris has tight calves. Mark's hip and ankles are stiff. And not sure what Andrew's pain report is, but he started out the race nursing a pulled hamstring.

Overall, great experience. Nice to run in a race that spread out and let me run my own race. Course was kinda boring, but I pretty much expected that running through the west side of town. You just had to keep your eye on the stadium to motivate you. I'd do it again. Seems to be gaining popularity and had a bunch of sponsors. Even the post race was decent - cookies, pop chips, gatorade. 2nd half marathon under our belts!!

Next up - Pat's Run, April 21- 4.2 mile run to benefit the Pat Tillman Foundation.

Inaugural TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon

** Apologize for the blurry photos - remember I'm walking/running when I take them. Either that or someone else took the photo for me :) **

Race day!!! The race started at 5:45am. They wanted people in their corrals by 5:15am. Bags needed to be checked by 5am. They suggested you arrive by 4:30am.

So what time to wake up??? I woke up at 3:30. Washed my face. Got all my gear on. Didn't want to forget anything - heart rate monitor, Garmin GPS, Road ID, leg sleeves, arm sleeves, socks, shoes, headband, Camelbak, camera, energy chews, bib number, headphones, ipod, phone. Yeah, and you thought running was easy! I brought my breakfast sandwich with me (didn't want to try anything new on race day!) and went down to microwave it. Tried to eat, but I was so nervous, I was slowly trying to force myself to eat and drink some Gatorade. By 4:15am, I had to wake Ryleigh up to get her ready. We were all ready to head down by 4:30. We met my parents in the lobby.

Ready to run!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

We went to go get in the corrals. This is the one thing Chris and I regret - well I regret. There was a 10K race in November. It looked like a pretty boring course up and back down Central Ave in Phoenix. So we didn't do it. We totally should have. By then we were running close to the pace we run now. That 10K would have been proof of time that would have move us up at least 1-2 corrals. When I signed up they asked for a estimated finish time. Back in August, I had no clue when we'd finish. I knew I could beat the cut off of 3:30, but by how much? So I guessed 3:15. And for Chris 3:05. Those 10 minutes made the difference in our corrals - he got D, I got E. When in reality I probably could have been in B or C, and he in C (since guys couldn't be in the first 2 corrals since it's a girls race). Oh well, now we have a race to use as proof of time. Lesson learned from our first race :)

As we waited we were cold. I took the suggestion of someone on the FB group. They said that Walmart had fleece throws for $2.88 each. I picked up a few and it worked great. And I didn't feel bad throwing it away when the race started (Disney donates the tossed clothes to charity). My parents found the start line from a bridge somewhere.
See there it is!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

This was our view, and this is only when we got closer! We really couldn't see or hear the national anthem. We saw the fireworks!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

You can't tell from this picture, but there's a bridge where that yellow sign is. And past the bridge were bleachers FULL of people (dots in the middle). It was incredible to see.
The Go! for Corral D.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

OOH!! OOH!!! OUR TURN!!!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Tinkerbell ready to start our Corral.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Minnie and Daisy on the stage with the announcers.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

So we ran up Disneyland drive, then around the back side of Disneyland, over the freeway overpass, then into the backlot of Disneyland. They had the Halloween Mickey and Minnie pumpkins out to pose and take photos with. And they had all the holiday parade floats out with the parade music playing.
This is the horse that Woody rides in the parade. Ryleigh recognized it right away when I showed her the pictures.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

After that we ran through a tunnel. This gives you an idea of what the runners looked like. Most runners were wearing tutus and/or wings. Most were running in groups of 2-4 or more. You can see where passing can become difficult.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

After the tunnel, we were deposited over by It's a Small World where all the princesses were!! There was Belle and the Beast, Cinderella and the Prince, Snow White, and Rapunzel and Flynn (on the float). The line for photos with these characters was SOOO long (although it would have been a great photo opp), but I was already WAY behind in my time thanks to some tutu-traffic jams. So I ran on.
See Rapunzel?

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

But as we went through Fantasyland, I found some pirates to take pictures with - their line was super short!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

There was also the Three Caballeros.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

And then we turned onto Main Street!!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

So cool to make that turn and run straight toward the castle.
Apparently Aurora was on the other corner in front of the castle with her prince. Totally missed her.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

See we did run THROUGH the castle.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Found the lost boys on the carousel. If you look close in the blurr to the right of the pole in the center, there's a lost boy in a dark grey costume on a horse.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Found Captain hook and Smee!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

After running through Disneyland, we ran through Downtown Disney. My parents were right there at the start of Downtown at mile 4.
They found Chris. (Red shirt, red hat, black shorts, and glowing arm band)

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

They found me!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Our little Tinkerbell was waiting to give me a high five, but the guy in front of me gave her a high five right before I did. His running partner said, "uh, that high five was for her mom." He responded, "well I didn't know where mom was." His partner: "she's right behind you." DOH! It definitely made me happy to see a familiar face before continuing on my journey.

How cute is my little Tinkerbell?

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Then it was off to the streets of Anaheim. There were some great signs ("Worst Parade Ever" Held by a guy looking bored out of his mind), signs by leukemia survivors thanking the people who raised money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society as part of Team in Training. There were cheerleaders, dance teams, bands. The Red Hat Society was out in full force with so much energy. They were great! A military band was there.

So before I get to the end of the race - here are some thoughts about the race. 1. Still wish I'd gotten in a faster corral. We were in the corral with all the first timers, and walkers. While waiting before the race we were waiting next to a mom/daughter group. They were sitting on the curb. The mom goes to get up, and she has trouble. Guess her knees were stiff. Made me wonder how she's going to do 13 miles. There were lots of walkers, people who instead of running 3, walking 1 minute, like me, did the reverse - or less. A lot of them ran for like 10 seconds, walked for 50 seconds. It was annoying to be stuck behind them. Passing people in Disneyland was near impossible due to the narrow pathways. By mile 3 I was at an hour. Seriously, an hour?!! I ran a 5K in 34 minutes, how was I at twice that slow?!! So I busted my butt once I got out on the streets. I didn't do much walking and "missed" a lot of my walking intervals. It took until mile 7 or later for people to spread out enough to get into a nice run/walk pace without stepping all over people. So there was a lot of dodging and weaving around people. I felt good throughout the race despite starting to get hungry as soon as the race started and having to pee from mile 2 on. Finally found a restroom without a line in CA Adventures around mile 11. Around mile 10 I had to stop for a few minutes to stretch my calves and hips. They were getting pretty tight and I didn't want to get a cramp, so I found a spot where there was enough room to pull over. Killed about 2 minutes on my time though.

Anyways, after the streets of Anaheim, we ran through Disney California Adventures. It was all a blur, but I did see the Scully from Moster's Inc. And The Toy Story Crew was out for photos. Again, super long lines, and my time was already awful, so I kept running. We run out of CA Adventures and onto that road that the tram from the Mickey and Friends Parking structure takes. As we ran down that road you could hear people lining the street on the other side. I took one more walk break and vowed to run the rest of the way, even though I had no clue where the finish line was at that point. I started running and then turned the corner... And there was my little TinkerBell running towards me!!
Here's Chris making that turn. (Red shirt, 2 people off the shoulder of the guy in the foreground)

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Ryleigh got a big hug and high five.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Here's Ryleigh running to me.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

I just gave her a hug, but apparently she was upset, she didn't get a high five!

After we ran down that street, there was another turn to the right before heading into the Simba Parking lot for the last 0.5mi to the finish line. Then we got our Medals, took photos, got food and gatorade, and water, and found the rest of them.

WE DID IT!! We earned our WINGS! I FINALLY got that medal I've been chasing for over 7 months!! (TinkerBell spins in the middle!) It feels great to officially accomplish something that I never thought I could do.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Chris's official race time: 2:16:13. My official time was: 2:47:57.

Here's to many more races!!

Pre-Race - expo, etc.

And now on to the TinkerBell Half Marathon!!

We left for California on Friday, January 27. We picked up Ryleigh on our way out of town. And we got to Aliso Viejo around 10pm. Woke up early the next day to get ready to go to the Expo!

When I first started thinking about signing up for the race, I joined the "TinkerBell Half Marathon" page on Facebook. The ladies (and gents) on there were a wonderful support system. They started posting pictures on Thursday - Race signs, photos from the expo, photos of expo merchandise. I was so excited for the expo!!

Wouldn't this make you want to JUST GET THERE?!

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

The expo was at the Disneyland hotel. We got there early and got in line. The line to get our bibs was already super long, a half hour before the Expo opened.

Ryleigh was excited.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

The bib pickup was downstairs. We picked up our bibs, I got my commemorative necklace I ordered, and we got discounted theme park tickets. Here we are with our bibs.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

Then we hit up the Expo. Went over to get an "I did it 13.1 miles" Tinkerbell shirt. I also got a zip up jacket, Ryleigh got a "my mom ran the Inaugural Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon" shirt. I also picked up my 13.1 sticker for my car :) So much cute stuff! From there we hit up the booths. I made a bee line for the Endure booth. They make gorgeous running themed jewelry and they made this necklace for the Tinkerbell 1/2. Perfectly feminine and fairy-like.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

I love it! They ran out of them, but they were taking orders. So I'll get mine in a few weeks.

We hit up the Halo booth and got some headbands and hats. Chris got a few of skull caps. These headbands are awesome. There's a rim in the headband that seals against your skin and forces sweat to go to the edge of the band instead of in your eyes. I also got some more Bondi Bands. They are lycra headbands that wick the sweat away from your skin. They're also really thick so they keep all those fly aways out of your face. This has to be one of my favorite shirts from One More Mile. I didn't get it because I didn't like the shirts it was on, but love the phrase.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

And before we left I needed a picture in front of the huge display. Too bad they all came out blurry :( Guess that's what happens when you ask other people to take a picture.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

After the expo we headed back to Mission Viejo to meet up with my parents and go to lunch with my grandma. We went to Wood Ranch. Love going to that place. Their BBQ potato skins and BBQ Chopped Chicken salad were a perfect pre-race meal. Then we headed back to Anaheim to check into our hotel. We stayed that the Paradise Pier hotel. With it being our first half, we didn't want to worry about shuttles, and/or how to get around closed streets. Conveniently, the Paradise Pier hotel was the cheapest on site hotel, but it was also the closest to the starting line :) We walked out of our hotel and right into the corrals. The rooms were really spacious too. Very happy with our stay here.

From TinkerBell 1/2 Marathon Weekend

I was supposed to meet up with the Facebook group members in Downtown Disney, but was late for the meetup. So I missed them all. Was disappointed I didn't get to meet them, maybe at future races. Met my parents in Downtown Disney and decided to go to the Tangaroa Terrace at the Disneyland hotel for dinner. It was very quick, and the food was good. Then it was off to bed early before race day!!