Princess Running Season! It's that time again!

I run better during Princess Season! Today I registered for my 7th Princess Half Marathon! I'll still be 'perfect' in 2015! It's Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Registration time again! It's a registration frenzy! Today was early registration for Annual Passholders & Disney Vacation Club Members. The trick is to be online first & hurry up & fill out the registration form. Then click Submit as fast as you can! After that, it's OK to resume breathing! You're in! Whew. Or at least that's how it is for me! I'm in. I can breathe again!

Pink New Balance Minnie running shoes & a Tiara! That's how I roll during Princess Season!

It all started in 2009. My daughters convinced me to register for the Inaugural Disney Princess Half Marathon. My first half marathon. Actually, my first run longer than 3 miles! I had about 5 weeks to 'train' for it. Until then, I had only run a few 5K's and had no idea how to run anything longer than 3 miles, much less train for a half marathon. How far was a half marathon anyway? But I have to admit, they had me at Disney Princess! So, absolutely, of course I was in. And don't ask me how, but I did it! It was brutal, I was a mental case, I was exhausted, I was way out of my league, but I did it! I ran a half marathon! I surprised myself at how much I actually ran, not just walked! I was slow as Christmas but I finished. And I got my first beautiful Gold Tiara Princess medal! Oh my goodness, it was a life altering moment for me! My daughters were waiting for me & proud of me & that too was life altering!  I'll share the whole story in another blogpost soon!

I learned something very valuable out there on the Inaugural Disney Princess 13.1 mile course. I was all by myself! It was up to me. No one said I had to run 13.1 miles. No one would be devastated if I had not finished.  Deep down I knew that. At mile 10, I had a complete mental come apart! By myself. What if I couldn't do it? What if I couldn't finish? What if I just needed to quit? I had enough self doubt to stop the whole race at that point. But somehow, somewhere I found what it took to finish. I just kept going & didn't quit. My legs were aching, my feet burned with every step! I was pretty positive my hips would never ever ever speak to me again! Every single step hurt hurt hurt. Mentally, I was just not prepared for the physical pain! And I felt myself start to crumble, as in I was so frustrated I started to cry! I remember thinking, Oh Great! Now I'm really having a fun time! Crying. In a half marathon. A Princess Half Marathon! With no Kleenex either. Wonderful. My only option was to get on the bus & quit. That's when I came out of my pity party & stumbled up on mile 12!  Seriously?? ONE mile left? That was less than a 5K!

I started to RUN! The whole last mile. I felt like I was flying! I'm sure it was a snails pace in reality! I was oblivious to the pain!  I heard the finish line before I saw it & cried all over again! I crossed the finish line like I had just won the Olympics! I was a half marathoner! I was a finisher! I was a Princess!

This event taught me more about my little self than I knew! I can do more than I think I can. I am very competitive with myself! There  is no quitting! The truth is, you must Set your own goals. Run your own race! It's your finish line. I will run this race every year. I will revisit my weaknesses out there and my self doubts. And I'll tip my tiara to them along the way. All the way to the finish line!  Because that's what a Princess does! 

My favorite Princess Half Marathon Picture!