After the Star Wars half marathon, I promised myself I would do a much better job of preparing for the Tinkerbell half. I signed up for a 60-day barre challenge and started a legit half marathon training program.
Then, the day before Valentine’s Day, I hurt my knee.
I’ll spare you the details, but here’s the summary: I didn’t tear anything, but it really affected my training and is actually still swollen. I managed to do a lot of strength workouts, but not much running (and very few long runs). If it wasn’t the Tinkerbell half marathon — the whole reason we bought Disneyland annual passes in the first place — I may not have done it. But I decided that happy thoughts and pixie dust would just have to get me through.
Of course, I still needed a costume.
I ordered a pair of running wings and a green running tank top, made some sparkly yarn pom poms for my shoes, and made a DIY tutu with pointy edges (like Tink’s skirt) out of sparkly green tulle. I wore some leggings with green on them, put my hair in a giant Tinkerbell bun, and wore a sparkly green headband. I also ordered a Peter Pan-themed T-shirt for Toby, but it didn’t get there in time, so he wore a Thor shirt.
We didn’t get much time at the expo, because traffic and parking issues (it was the same day as the Tomorrowland premiere!) made us super late, so we were kicked out as soon as we got our shirts. Then, instead of going to Olive Garden to carb load like last time, we just ate at the restaurant at the hotel. I also hadn’t been eating/fueling very well in the days leading up to the race, so I definitely did not set myself up for success.
Yet despite all my issues, the race itself was awesome. The course is WAY better than the Star Wars half marathon course, mainly because the first six miles were through the parks.
We also got to run through the castle, which was the most exciting part for me. We also saw a few characters, and a baby goat that was so adorable I nearly lost my mind. By the time we were out of the parks, we were halfway done.
Surprisingly enough, I did well for the first half — we stopped a few times for photos and such, but my overall pace was better than I had anticipated, and I felt pretty good. Then we got to around mile 8, and my knee started hurting. By mile 11, I was REALLY hurting, and I was having a hard time even jogging. I hit a wall at mile 12 (which I now think may have been partially due to lack of carb loading), and by 12.5 I was vowing to burn my running shoes and never run again.
Thank goodness Toby stuck with me, though, because he made sure I got across the finish line to claim the elusive medal. Our time ended up almost the same as our Star Wars time, even though it was lot more painful at the end. And I didn’t burn my shoes. However, after this photo was taken, I headed over to the medical area to get my knee iced… then went back to the hotel for an ice bath.
It must have worked, because I felt fine after the ice bath and a shower. But there was no way I was taking that dang medal off. I rocked it all around Disneyland and California Adventure… with my rock n’ roll Tinkerbell shirt and crazy lime green glitter nails.
So, while I would definitely recommend the Tinkerbell half marathon — the course and organization are phenomenal — I would also strongly advise you to be smarter than me and stick to a good training program and fueling plan. To quote another one of my favorite Disney characters: “I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.”