It's not the way I want to do it, but it's better than no way at all About This Page:

[disneydreamer33]

Don't want to talk about the game here!!!!
Sounded like you guys got settled in okay. More please.

[Colexis Mom]

Sounds like a great time!! More please!!

[WDWfan]

In had my first visit to Beaches & Cream in December - and will definitely be going back! Glad you enjoyed it as well.

[chezp]

Thanks for the info about the Dolphin. I'm glad you enjoyed Beaches and Cream, it's one of our favourites.

[cburke]

sounds like you had a great time. can't wait to read more.

[DyanKJ130]

Another great update! More please

[KMB733]

Your meal at Beaches and Cream sounds yummy! More please!

[Eeyoresmom]

Sounds like a good time, even without going into a park!

[lissybri]

Great TR so far. Can't wait to hear all about the rest of your trip and the 5k.

[Bob's sister]

The Circle of Life 5K

My alarm went off at 5am. I hopped up, made a pot of the in-room coffee and jumped in the shower. Nobody else moved. At 5:30, DH Mike’s alarm went off & he got up, followed quickly by Kara. At 5:40, Michael got up. I don’t think any of them did more than throw on some clothes and brush their teeth, but no worry, we were ready to head down to catch the bus that would take us to AK for the race.

Now, I should tell you that after race walking in lots of 5K races over the past couple of years, I had decided that I couldn’t get any faster. My motivation had decreased, so in August I had decided to try running (I’d NEVER been able to run – about 3 or 4 steps and I couldn’t breathe). This was huge for me. I really didn’t think I could do it. I started very slowly, on an outdoor mile course near our home. I’d walk all but the last tenth of a mile (which is downhill) and then run that. Gradually I increased the amount I ran, but never made it anywhere close to the full 3.1 miles that make a 5K. When the weather turned cold, I moved my running to the treadmill at our local YMCA. In November or early December, I finally ran 3.1 miles on the treadmill for the first time. So, for me the Circle of Life 5K would be my first attempt to run and entire 5K outdoors, in a race without any walking. I was excited!

Back to race day…. Anyway, we walked through the Lobby at the Dolphin and saw a very friendly lady (not sure if she was a volunteer or if she worked for Mears) who told us the next bus should pull up in about 15 minutes. Michael scowled at me and said, “See, I could have slept 15 more minutes.” We stood inside as it was a cool morning, temperature was in the 40s, and noticed other runners waiting around for the same bus. Everybody looked like they were up way too early. The bus came, right at 6:00. Fine, I thought, it’s about 5 minutes to AK from here & we’re supposed to be there by 6:15 – no problem. Well, not so fast… we went from the Dolphin to the Beach Club, the Yacht Club & the Boardwalk before we headed to AK. By the time we got off the bus, it was about 6:40, so we headed straight to the starting corral. I left Michael, Kara and Mike in the 13-15 minute mile group, just ahead of the walkers, although they agreed that they were just going to mosey along the course, staying just ahead of the pickup van. So much for running buddies! I lined up in the 9 – 11 minute mile group as I’d been running it on the treadmill at just under an 11 minute mile pace.

The 5K is billed as a fun run – no prizes for winners, no individual timing chips or times reported, although the race was timed, so everyone could see their time as they crossed the finish line. MANY people came in Disney gear – hats of every kind – Goofy ears, Mickey ears… also lots of Tinkerbell wings…. and plenty of full costumes – My family sauntered along with “Minnie Mouse,” and I watched the White Rabbit and Alice cross the finish line. There were also lots of kids in this race. As we waited in the corral, there was lots of laughter, music and appearances from the guys on stilts (giraffes??) from the Lion King show. At 6:55, we all counted down for the wheelchair start… off they went! At 7:00, just as the sun was coming up over the horizon, we counted down our race start, with fireworks going off at “go.”

I started off with the crowd. As we rounded the AK parking lot, it thinned out a bit, but I found myself doing a bit of weaving to get around slower runners (what? Someone slower than me… a new experience… I was excited). I was wearing my Garmin forerunner so I could keep an eye on my pace as I was afraid I’d get excited, go to fast and then burn out at the end… so far, so good, right on pace for just under 11 minute miles. Almost the entire first mile was in the parking lot. As I headed toward the park entrance, I thought, “this is easy!” Then, right there was the entrance to AK…a park!!!! I was actually going into a Disney park ….. no matter that it was only for a few minutes, I was IN. The time clock was right there – 11 minutes 8 seconds – a bit slow, but then I was way back in the pack at the start, so probably took at least 10 seconds after the clock started for me to get to the starting line…. So, the time was just fine. Now, up toward the bridge to Africa (around on the left path)…I thought about all the beautiful wildlife along this path, but didn’t stop to look, just kept going across the bridge and up into Africa.

Then, we headed slightly right and onto a service road … Hey! This isn’t the park… there are dumpsters and vehicles and tall fences…doesn’t look Disney-like at all… We made a left turn and passed the 1.5 mile water station – I didn’t need water, so passed it by…. We continued up past the train tracks toward Rafiki’s Watch, but we were still on the service road…no views….

We turned around and headed back down toward Asia (still on the service road). I watched for M,M & K, thinking I’d see them going up as I ran down, but I never saw them. I checked my Garmin and realized that I’d sped up & was going much faster than I’d planned, but I felt great, so didn’t worry. I passed the 2.5 mile mark just as we went back into the park, aaahhh, the magic is back!

We came up toward the queue area for Everest & I watched several runners duck into the restrooms, others stop to take pictures and others just slow down to a walk. I kept going and I have to admit I felt GREAT! We ran past the entrance to Nemo, then the entrance to Dinoland and, darn, out onto another service road.

All along the way, cast members had stood & watched, cheered and yelled encouragement. As I left the park, sigh, for the last time, there was one cast member clapping excitedly saying, “You’re almost there, you’ll make it!” I didn’t WANT to be finished. I wanted to keep going…

As I came out from the service road & back into the parking lot, I could see the clock & the finish line. I think I sped up a bit and crossed the line in 30:35! For 3.1 miles, that’s slightly faster than a 10 minute mile. For me, that was amazing. I was thrilled and particularly happy that I wasn’t breathing hard, hurting, or tired. I just wanted to keep running!

I stood waiting for my 3 slacker companions… 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes… OK, what happened to them??? Did I miss them??? Then, 17 minutes after I finished, they came smiling across the line, continuing their leisurely pace. Michael said, “Nice walk past the trash dumpsters, Mom! I thought you said this race was through the park.” Well, it was…. sort of….

They had quite the adventure! Apparently, around the 1.5 mile mark, a man in front of them needed a “biological break,” #2, but couldn’t get to the next restroom soon enough! They reported a terrible odor, his look of horror and then his detour to get some relief. While it probably wasn’t funny for him, my crew seemed to think this was hilarious. Also, where they walked, closer to the back of the pack, they saw many more costumed participants than I did. Again, they thought this was hilarious. So, with all their grumbling about getting up too early, and too much time on the service roads, I do believe they had fun.

We accepted our medals (well, they were made of rubber & stamped “made in china” on the back, and led to many jokes about our "Chinese rubbers" but who cares?), grabbed some fruit & PowerAde and headed back to the bus. Kara & Michael were ready for naps.

Next: The rest of our Magical Day

[WeLuvTheWorld]

Wow - Great time in the race!!! Congratulations on finishing your first running 5K.

[elisa1006]

What an awesome race! Congrats on a job well done.

[Colexis Mom]

Congrats on finishing the race!!

[Eeyoresmom]

Congratulations! You did great!

[WDWfan]

I am so impressed with your ability to run. The joke in my family is that we don't allow Mom to run or she'll fall. Great job!