Star Wars Dark Side Arrival and Expo 2018 vlog (Friday Five Edition)

I had finally caught up on all of my race recaps!  I know, finally.


In case you missed the recaps from the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend in April:

• Expo
• 5k
• Magic Kingdom
• 10k 
• Half

Here is my vlog from my Arrival on Wednesday and the Expo on Thursday.  Enjoy!

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Star Wars Dark Side Expo 2018 (Friday Five Edition)

I'm finally getting to my Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend recaps from April.

On the Wednesday before the weekend, I headed down to Disney World in the evening after work.  The plan was that I would stay with my friend Kelly and her husband Franklin that night and after the Expo on Thursday I would move to my own room.  We did it last year and it worked out great.  This year, because of work, Franklin was not going to get there till Thursday evening, so it was just the girls for the Expo.


Kelly likes to get to the Expo early and wait for the doors to open.  I know we would have to wait either way, so I was fine heading there early.  We took an Uber to ESPN and got there a little before 8 and there was already a short line outside.  Last year we spent the time outside, so I brought a blanket for us to sit on.  The moment we got comfortable they started moving the line inside.  Since the official merchandise area is in a new building, there was room to have us wait in a room inside.


We chatted some and we both brought things to work on.  When we left the room to use the bathroom, you could see the empty Expo.  It was fun to see it empty with all the items there.


There was a DJ there for awhile and the music was too loud.  And every time he talked to the group, you could not understand a word he said.


The Expo was supposed to open at 10, but they let us in about 9:30.  I had seen the Disney blog about the merchandise and had an idea of what I wanted to see.  We did a once through and grabbed items that interested us.  They had tables on the side, so we grabbed one and went through everything we grabbed and tried things on.

The pre-purchased items could be picked up in the same area so we took turns picking up our items and putting things back that we didn't want.  It actually worked out well.  The per-purchased items were to include a magnet, a shoe ordainment, and a figurine.  Well it turned out that we got two ordainment and two figurines.   We came to a conclusion that maybe the ordainment and figurines from the Light Side in Disneyland were ordered before the race was canceled and they couldn't cancel it.  Therefore they were part of the Dark Side items.  We don't know for sure if that is true, but that was the only thing we could figure.


Noticed that they had an artist section set up.  I went over and looked at the drawings and saw the

Millennium Falcon.  I had the artist write "Never tell me the odds." on it and went to pay for my merchandise while I waited for that to be done.

After we paid, we got in the Dooney line.  When I saw pictures on the website I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.  But seeing them in person, I did like the clutch.  They were selling Passholder shirts which I fell in love with.  Kelly was a Passholder and was able to get herself, her husband, and me one.

I picked up my personalized Millennium Falcon and we headed out of the merchandise area.  We saw that they had characters setup for pictures.  As we waited in line for Jabba the Hut, Kelly went to get a drink and came back with this AT-AT.  OMG it was awesome.  It moved and opened up.  It was almost as nice as the toys my mom wouldn't buy me when I was a kid.  I had to have one!

We got our pictures taken with Jabba.

And then with the Storm Troopers.

We had done everything we could do in that building and headed to the building to pick up our bibs.  As we left there were more photo opportunities.  There was the Viper probe droid.

We went in to get our bibs.  Along with the races for the weekend we had to pick up our medals for the Star Wars Light Side virtual race that we did.  They gave us a box which contained the medal, and "I did it" magnet, and a little BB-8 that light up and made noise when a button was pushed. 

On the way to the main expo they had the runDisney icon out. 

In the Expo area they had more cool photo ops. 

I couldn't find my Rock Tape before I left, so I decided to have them tape my knee and buy a couple of roles.  After I passed the Sweaty Band booth and saw that they had a bunch of holiday headbands in their clearance area.  Yes please.

We made it around to the shirt pickup and got our race shirts.  I asked the people at the runDisney booth when and if they expect to have Star Wars Light Side back.  They said that there was a new hotel being built in the parking lot where the finish area usually is and that they wouldn't be back till the construction was done.  Knowing that I don't know where they would put the finish area if that parking lot is gone.  But I did notice on one of their brochures that they are still having the Star Wars Light Side virtual run for next year.  It is the only Disneyland race that they made virtual.  

While there the topic of the virtual summer series came up.  Kelly said that they signed up for it to get in a few longer runs through the summer.  Granted, they do track through the summer, so 3 miles is a longer run for them.  I thought since I probably will do more biking through the summer then running, this would get me out to do a few runs through the summer, so I signed up.  Plus the medals are so super cute!!

I also stopped at the Roo Sports booth.  I had bought one the week before at the Ukrop's 10k

 and noticed that the earphone hole was fraying.  They were super nice and exchanged it without question.  I also talked to the owner about how the corners of the pocket poke out and she thought it was a good idea to do something about that.  If they do, I'll defiantly buy another one.

I finished up the last row of the expo and noticed that there were people trying on compression sleeves.  I was interested as I had tried different brands and they were always too tight for me.  I got measured and tried on a man and woman sizes.  They were comfortable so I bought a pair.


Both Kelly and I were exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel.  We got back and dropped off our stuff.  We had lunch at the hotel and she went off to Epcot and I went to check into my room.  I moved my stuff into my room, showered and rested.  When Franklin got in, I met him at the bus stop.  Since it was pretty late, the plan was that he would jump right on the Expo bus to get his bib.  I met him to take his carry on items from the plane to his room so that he didn't have to carry them around the Expo.

It was an early night for me as I would have to get up early for the 5k.

Continue reading about the Star Wars Dark Side weekend with the 5k.

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Ukrop's 10k 2018 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I decided to do the Ukrop's 10k, in April, this year as it was a week before Star Wars and a good warm up.

The expo is usually at the Author Ashe Center, but this year it was moved to the Raceway.  I headed to the expo on Thursday and once I got in there, it looked like the exact same setup as before.  I assumed that it was moved to the Raceway because it had gotten too big.  But it turned out that it was because there was a Squirrel game (baseball) on Friday (the second day of the expo) and both share the same parking lot.


I picked up my bib, shirt, and bag and ran into one of my running friends.  It turns out that she was being a blind guide for her cousin during the race.  The story is very interesting.


I bought a shuttle ticket and headed to the expo booths.  The only thing that interested me was the Roo Sport.  I had the original one and it did nothing but chafe me.  After running the Princess Half without my big belt, I wanted to give this a try.


I was done and started to look for the exit.  For the life of me, I couldn't find it.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in the direction of it, and I still couldn't find it.  All of the booths and frame of the area, you couldn't see doors or the exit signs.  I finally wandered around and found the exit.

The race was on Saturday and I planned on meeting a friend at the shuttle parking lot.  When I got there she had run into a coworker of hers.  The three of us got on the bus and headed to the race.  We did all the pre-race items: port-a-potties, bag check, and a little stretching.


I walked to the start to find my corral and got there just as they were about to leave.  As I waited for them to set us off, I realized I never turned on my Garmin.  I hoped it would find the satellites fast.  If not, I'd hang back and go with the next wave.  I was in no rush.  But it synced just as they let us go.


The start was close to 70 and just getting hotter.  A lot of the course is shaded by trees, but not all of it.  Even though that's hot for runners, it was great weather for the crowds to come out and cheer us on.  One of the great things about this race is that it brings out tons of spectators.  There were the group that comes out every year to do Tai Chi, marching bands, cheerleaders, and college students handing out beer.


I passed the Richmond Police Trainees running in formation.  I had read an article about how each county had entered in their police trainees to run the 10k.  This was to promote comradery and cooperation with the different counties.


I was really worried how my knee would hold up for the race.  It had really been bothering me a lot during my last runs.  It was tight the whole time, but I never had any sharp pain.  I was also paying close attention to my steps so I would not hyper-extend it again.


Even with the heat and my knee tight, I felt very strong through the whole race.  I kept up my walk/run intervals without any deviation.  As I crossed the finish line I realized that I had a very even pace through the whole race.  Almost the same time for each mile.  I got my medal and had them put some ice on my knee.


My Roo Sports worked well and didn't chafe me at all.  Defiantly something I will be using in the future.  I did notice that the earphone hole was fraying.  Thankfully they were going to be at the Star Wars Half Marathon Expo a week later.  I also noticed that the corners of the pocket pokes out.  Functionally it was fine, but just pointed out that you had it under your shirt.

I met up with my friend from before the race and we met others for a fun brunch.  We go to the same place every year and every year we complain that they don't staff very well and everything takes forever.  But we keep going back. :)  This is one time I get to catch up with a lot of my running friends, so if it takes longer to get brunch, I'm fine with it.

This is a race I’ll do most years, but I’ll have to do it again next year. In 2017 they gave out medals that will click together with magnets and create a big medal with the 2018 and 2019 medals.  A great marketing technique to get runners to continue for the next two years.

Do you like when races do things to encourage you to run more races, like challenges, or themed medals?  Have you ever used the Roo Sport?

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Princess Half Marathon Weekend Hotel and Expo vlog (Friday Five Edition)

I know that the Princess Half Marathon Weekend was ages ago and I haven't done my recaps.  I didn't think I recorded enough to make any vlogs, but I was looking through my videos and I did more then I thought.  Usually I like to do my recaps first, but I got inspired by my videos and started them.  This should inspire me to write my recaps.

Continue watching my next vlog about the 5k and my day at Animal Kingdom.


You can also catch up on my vlogs from the Princess Half Marathon Weekend.

•  Hotel and Expo
• 5k and Animal Kingdom  
• 10k, Half Marathon, and Celebration Dinner

Totally off topic, but I got my movie tickets for the opening night of Solo: A Star Wars Movie in a few weeks.  Totally stoked!!

Oh and May the 4th be with you!!

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It's been a crazy week for me!

Monday I was supposed to run before work but it rained.  I even saw snow flakes in the air as I drove to work.  I don't run when it rains and it's below 50 degrees.  Too miserable.

Someone at my work has gotten a standing desk.  I was going to wait till I was full time to ask about it, but she said that she could get one, but the company wouldn't pay for it.  I had a standing desk for years and loved it, so I checked Amazon just to see what they had.  I wasn't planning on buying one right away, but I found one that had a 25% coupon.  That deal was too good to pass up.  It arrived Monday and got it all set up.  Love it!

Tuesday I went to my FT class at the gym.  Just a normal class.

I got a call the day before from my eye doctor who said that I was going to have to reschedule my May appointment I made last year.  Either I could go Tuesday to the office across town or wait till the end of June.  Since my contacts have been crazy dry, I opted to go on Tuesday.  I schlepped across town in the middle of the day for my appointment.  He has me trying new daily contacts (my last ones were monthlies).  These are of the latest technology and a lot more expensive then the ones I've had for years.  We will see how they work for me.

That evening I went to a meetup for those that do the same thing I do.  I don't know if they have it for other industries, but in IT there are monthly meetups for everything from .Net to SQL to Networking.  Mine is about the Agile community.  Each month there is a different speaker to discuss different aspects of the community.  The topic interested me, and while I didn't feel like I learned anything new, it made me feel better that I was on the right track.  I also saw someone there from my last job.  It was interesting to catch up and hear what's happening over there now.

Wednesday I got out and did my 5 mile run.  It was around freezing again and I wore my new fleece tights I had gotten a couple weeks ago and it hasn't been cold enough when I ran to wear.  I was worried that the waist was a little loose and I'd just spend the run pulling them up, but it never did that.  They also had a draw string that helped as well.  These are definitely a keeper.

While my knees started feeling better on my runs last week, Wednesday it felt tight again.  No sharp pain to make me stop running, but it nagged at me the whole run.  I probably shouldn't have done the full 5, but I haven't been running much lately and felt like I needed to get them in.  I had a PT appointment that evening and he worked a bit on the same area as last week and found some interesting spots around the same place, but on the outside of the leg.

Wednesday night I had another bad night's sleep.  I hadn't been able to sleep through the night and am up for 2-4 hours in the middle of the night.  My mind is just racing so much that it wakes me up and I can't get it to stop to be able to fall back asleep, even with all my little tricks.  I still dragged myself to the gym for my class.

With the Ukrop's 10k on Saturday the Expo is held Thursday and Friday with no packet pickup the day of the race.  I headed there after work on Thursday.  They had changed venues and I had to go across town to get there.  I understand why they changed venues as the race has grown and where they normally have it, there isn't enough parking.


Of course I got there after work with most people, and I knew it would be a pain to get in and park.  I have done several events there and knew that there was plenty of parking.  What I didn't understand was, with several entrances, why they had the cars come in where people had to cross the traffic to get into the building.  So there was a lot of stopping to wait for pedestrians as well as when you were walking to the building a lot of waiting for cars to pass.  That could have been done a lot better.

The expo itself looked identical from the last venue.  I got my bib, shirt, and shuttle ticket.  I ran into a running friend and said hello.  I didn't see anything interesting at the official merchandise section.  And all the other booths were the same.  I dropped off a pair of used sneakers.  Looked to see if anyone had my shoes with a good discount (they didn't).  And then I couldn't find my way out!  This was not a very big Expo, just everything was high enough not to see any doors.  And there were no signs for exits.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in a direction.  I still couldn't find it and eventually after looking around a corner I saw a door.  I was free!

Thursday night was another horrible nights sleep.  It even got to the point where I just got up and started getting things ready for the race on Saturday.  Awake for another 3 hours in the middle of the night and falling back asleep just in time for the alarm to go off.

Friday I did get up for my run.  It was now in the mid 50's which meant shorts and a shirt.  So different from Monday and Wednesday.  I wanted to get another 5 miles in, but I told myself that if my knee hurt I would stop.  And if it was tight I would only do 3 miles.  Within the first 100 feet it was tight, just like it was on Wednesday.  So 3 miles it was.  As I was heading round to finish the second mile I kept thinking of the fact I had a 10k the next day and a weekend of running next weekend.  I looped around the block and called it quits at 2 miles.  This close to races I'd rather rest then get the miles in that I need and hurt myself further.

That afternoon I had to take my old lady cat to the vet for more blood work.  While a month ago we found her kidneys are doing wonderful, her liver numbers were very low.  She doesn't act like a cat that has something wrong, as she has just been her normal self.  The vet has her on a daily pill and wanted to see how the numbers were as well as check her thyroids.  Well the pill was helping and the issues is definitely her thyroid.  So she doesn't have to take the daily pill anymore, but has a daily liquid now.  We will be back in a month to see how that is doing.


After the vet I dropped her off and headed downtown to meet my parents for dinner.  We have a yearly subscription to local plays around the city.  This play was Romeo & Juliet and it was at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which also has a really good restaurant in it.  We had a good dinner and a wonderful bottle of wine.  We were taking our time as we thought the play started at 8 and by the time we made our way down a little after 7:30 we found that it did start at 7:30.  Thankfully the people there know us and there were no assigned seats so we made our way down the side to some vacant seats.  I've seen this play many times, but I have to say the lead actors were very good.  And looked very young.

Saturday morning I got up and headed down to the Ukrop's 10k.  I met up with friends before the race.  I ran it on my own and while it was very hot, I felt very strong for the whole race.  My knee was a little tight the whole time, but nothing like it was Wednesday or Friday on my training runs.  There might be hope for the knee next weekend.  We all met up after the race for brunch and to catch up with everyone. 


I went home and showered and took a nice nap.  After a long week, a hot race, and a few mimosas at brunch I really needed it.  Then I went out to dinner with a friend.

Sunday I did nothing!  Well I did get my laundry done, but really that was about it.

See what a busy week I had?  I get to turn around and do it all over again, but this time heading down to Florida for a runDisney race weekend.  I'm going to need some time off when I get home just to rest from these last couple of weeks.

How was your week?  Did you run the Ukrop's 10k?  Was it hot or what?  Have you seen Romeo and Juliet before?

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

DFL > DNF > DNS (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I don't know when the first time I had seen the acronyms of DFL (Dead F*ing Last), DNF (Did Not Finish), and DNS (Did Not Start), but the first time it really meant something to me was when I did my first marathon.  I got this bib holder shortly after as I truly believe that it is better to come in last then not finishing which is better then not starting.


I was to do my first marathon January of 2015 at Walt Disney World.  I was very excited for this race and trained for it very well.  My parents were even coming down with me to celebrate this next step in my running adventure and we made a whole weekend of it.

Along with the marathon, I had planned on volunteering for the 5k and running the 10k, so my parents and I got down there on Wednesday to go to the Expo.

Thursday was a COLD morning, just like it was cold this year for marathon weekend.  I had to buy an extra jacket, hats and gloves to volunteer for the 5k.  After that, we spent the rest of the day at Universal.  If you have never been, go!  They have two really fun parks and the Harry Potter section is beyond amazing.

Friday I got up and ran the 10k.  After the race I showered, changed, and headed back to the expo.  For the life of me I can't remember why, but I have photos from there.  I got back to the hotel I grabbed a Chicken Quesadilla for lunch.  We really didn't hadn't planned much for the day.  Maybe Downtown Disney or something.


By dinner time I was really starting to feel sick.  Very nauseous and tired.  I told my parents that I'd like to skip dinner.  All night long I was in the bathroom with vomiting and diarrhea.  I couldn't sleep.

I got up early on Saturday because I actually had to work.  We had a major release that got pushed back to that day and since I already had my trip scheduled, I had to give up part of my trip to work.  I was starting to feel better, but still felt sick.  And by this point I was dehydrated, like really dehydrated.  I was so worried about the marathon the next day.

After I was done with my work I talked to my parents and we decided that I should at least talk to a doctor.  I had noticed that one of the pre-dialed buttons on the phone was to a doctor.  When that is dialed you talk to a doctor that is on call and explain your situation.  They can send a doctor to your room for medical care.  The doctor on the phone explained to me that with my symptoms I should go to an urgent care facility (transportation would be provided) or the ER.  He said that I most likely needed fluids on top of medication and fluids is something that the urgent care facility could not do, so I would probably have to go to the ER.

Even though I was feeling a little better, I had not eaten or drunk anything in almost 24 hours.  I was very worried about how I was going to get through 26.2 miles.  I had put in so much training and this was my first marathon, I was devastated by this point.  I decided that I would go to the ER.

But how would I get there, we took the Magical Express and we have no car.  Well since I called the on call doctors they wanted me to go via ambulance.  I felt very silly doing that because I could walk.  But that is how they wanted to do it.

Within 30 minutes I had a knock on my door.  The EMTs were there and started taking my vitals.  I had the resort manager come by and see how things were.  Then an EMT went to go get a stretcher.  I kept telling them that I could walk and didn't need it.  But it was the rules and on the stretcher I went.  Everyone that saw me gawked and pointed.  I'm sure they were wondering what was wrong with me and assumed it must be bad, when it was just a little nausea.

I had my first trip in an ambulance.  In route, they started an IV for fluids.  The EMT in the back couldn't be nicer.  He told me he thought I had food poisoning since I didn't have a fever.  I told my parents that they didn't need to come as I didn't want them sitting around a waiting room.  My mom felt bad that I had said that as even though she couldn't do anything, she wanted to be there anyway.  So the resort manager got them a cab (which Disney paid for) and they met me there.

I was brought back and evaluated some more.  I kept telling them that if I didn't have a marathon the next day everything would be fine.  I was just worried that I won't be able to run it.  They gave me some medicine through the IV and wanted me to stay there while I got more fluids through the IV.  I was there for about 4 hours and just laid there and watched Storage Wars the whole time.  The doctor that I finally saw told me that I wouldn't be able to run.  I was devastated and just cried.

I was glad that my parents did come.  Once they released me they gave me a couple of prescriptions.  Thankfully there was a pharmacy in the hospital.  My mom told me that they were given a voucher for the cab and when we were done we just needed to call to get a ride back to the resort.

The fluids and medicine helped, but I knew I had to keep drinking and eat something.  I got some plain spaghetti from the cafe and ate what I could.  I truly was feeling better, but I didn't know if I felt good enough to run for 26.2 miles the next day.  I told my parents that I would make the decision in the morning.

The alarm went off nice and early.  I hadn't had any trips to the bathroom since the hospital.  I decided that I might as well try to run.  If I couldn't finish, then at least I know I gave it my best.  I had trained and all I could do was try.

The first 8-9 miles were fine.  I didn't really feel nauseous at all.  I saw my parents at the Contemporary Resort and told them that.  But soon after my stomach felt a bit off.  It wasn't bad enough to stop, but it was bad enough to walk a lot more.  I stopped at every medical tent and picked up the Pepto chews which seemed to help a little, but not for very long.


I kept chugging on and new that if I felt bad enough I could just stop.  But it really never got worse then some nausea.  I was able to get a few Gus in me to keep up my strength.  I kept walking more and more and before I knew it I was on the Boardwalk.  I knew I could finish at that point.


I was so glad that I tried.  I would have felt so miserable if I didn't try.  While it was not the race I imagined (are any ever?), it is a race I am very proud of.  If things had happened 24 hours later, I wouldn't have even started the race.

Do you have a DFL, DNF, or DNS story? 

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Princess Expo 2018 (Friday Five Edition)

I realized that I didn't get any photos of the expo buildings or area.  Oh well, you will have to use your imagination. :)  I'm not sure if this is normal for the Princess Weekend Expo, but the first day didn't open up till noon.  I had been to other runDisney expos and they all had opened first thing in the morning.  The noon opening worked out well for me as I didn't get to Florida till after 1, and not getting to the expo till 3.


1 - Buildings
This year, just like Marathon Weekend, they had put the official merchandise in it's own building.  I found this to be so much better.  It meant more walking, but everything just felt a bit more spacious and less claustrophobic.  Bus drop off was in a different location too, but about the same amount of walking so that didn't make much of a difference.  I knew that the official merchandise was in a different building and I had walked right by it.  I think I was thinking that there was a third building back with the other two and didn't even look at the first building.  I could have actually looked at the map that I had, or the one that I printed out, or looked online before I got there, but I didn't.

A=Official Merch, B=Bib Pickup, C=Expo, E=Kids Races

My first stop was to get a beer on tap with my runDisney cup.  I've done this at every expo that has the cups.  The new thing is some sort of alcoholic flavored sparkling water.  I tried that instead of beer and really liked it.

2 - Bibs
I headed and picked up my bib.  I didn't notice a third building back there, but still wasn't sure where the official merchandise was.  Again, I could have looked at several maps, but at this point I was going to get my bibs, shirts, check out the expo and figure out official merchandise later.  I was running the 5k and Fairy Tale Challenge, so I had 2 bibs to pick up.  While I was there I heard several people mention that the wait to get into the Official Merchandise was 2 hours.  Hmmm, not sure if I wanted to wait that long.  But I would check out the line when I finally found the place.

3 - Expo
I headed over and got my shirts, which were in the building with the expo booths.  That area was so much nicer to walk around.  While there were still a ton of people, it didn't feel packed.  Since the booths could spread out and use the space that the official merchandise usually uses, the walk ways were wider to allow more people to pass by.  I did see that Sweaty Bands was having a sale, so I picked up a few of those and headed over to get my shirts.  I looked at them long enough to try one on to make sure it fit fine and put them all back in the bag.  There wasn't much that I wanted to do there, so I headed out.  I did remember to buy a rolling stick from The Stick for my friend C who forgot to get it while she was there.  Now to find the Official Merchandise.

4 - Official Merchandise
My friend K had gotten the Race Retreat which meant that they could get into the expo at 10, instead of noon.  Fretting the merchandise that I wanted would be sold out by the time I got there, I gave her my shopping list.  She was awesome and was my personal shopper.  I still wanted to see the merchandise in person and planned on looking around and getting at least my "I did it" shirt that I knew wouldn't sell out so I didn't ask her to get it.

My other friend C, that had gotten there a couple hours before me said that the wait to get into the official merchandise was 2 hours.  Her family was there and she didn't want to wait in that line.  She asked if I would get her a Challenge Pin.  I wasn't sure if I would wait in line for 2 hours, but after asking a volunteer where to go, I went to check out the line.

I slowly realized that I had walked right past the building and kinda felt a little dumb.  They did have the race banners out of the main traffic near the building.  I thought that was nice.  I got my picture with the Fairy Tale banner and headed in to check out the line.


We were lead down a long hallway to a room on the right.  I knew that was probably the start of the line and that more lines would probably be across the hallway on the left.  It didn't look too bad in the room.  I waited in line for about 15 minutes till we were ushered across the hall.  And to my surprise we were in the Official Merchandise area!

I was shocked on how big the area was.  I didn't even think about taking a photo or video while I was in there.  The first couple rows of merchandise was their new Character Performance Wear.  It was tech clothes that was supposed to look like a character.  I didn't understand the characters till someone pointed them out to me.  They were cute, but I tend to buy most of my training clothing on the clearance rack.

The next rows each were dedicated to each race.  And there were still tons of merchandise of everything.  There were still Sweaty Bands.  There were still Pins.  There were still lots of everything that I could have wanted.  I guess K didn't really have to be my personal shopper, but you know Murphy's Law.  I picked up the pin for C and got my I did it shirt.  I did fall in love with the Fairy Tale jacket.  I just loved that color.

There was a section for just runDisney merchandise that is not race specific.  Here is where I found the lack of merchandise and sizes.  I had been eyeing a runDisney shirt online and thought that I might pick it up at the expo.  There they did not have my size.  I found a really cute "Race Day Checklist" that was princess themed that was really cute.  None in my size.  And then there were these shorts that I would have bought in a second.  Not in my size.  I found that interesting as they always have plenty stock of the generic runDisney items.

I did see that they had their personalized artwork for sale there.  Since I'm not a huge princess fan I didn't go over to that area.  But I do like that they are starting to do it at most of the races I have been.  It makes for such a special keepsake from the race weekend.

I got the couple things I came for and headed to the checkout line.  I probably waited about 20 minutes there, but the line moved quickly.

5 - Pre-purchased  Merchandise
I usually get the pre-perchased items as they are usually cute.  In the past they used to be something that you could not get at the expo, which made them special.  The last couple years I had found that they are the same as in the expo, but it was good to get them early as they usually sell out quickly.  This year, they were the same as in the expo and there were plenty of them when I went.  As for the pre-purchased jacket, I have gotten in the past and really had not liked the design and last year they stopped taking returns.  I decided that since I was not really into princesses, I would skip the jacket.

As I walked out of the official merchandise area I almost walked out without picking up my items.  Thankfully I heard someone mention them as I was heading out and made a u-turn.  I picked up the items, an ornament, figurine, and magnet.  The ornament was the same type as races past, which was a very cute running shoe.  The figurine was my favorite.  A very cute running Minnie Mouse.  When I saw the jacket I was so glad I didn't get it.  Not really my favorite design.

I got a picture with running Mickey and headed out.  I was exhausted!


I stopped and got a picture with Cinderella's carriage.  The volunteer that was helping to take photos said that it was her favorite job.  That was so awesome to hear.


Final loot:

Extra - Disney Springs
A new thing that I noticed was that they had a stop for Disney Springs in the bus loop at the expo.  This was a good thing as it meant I didn't have to go back to the hotel to head out there.  I wanted to get dinner (I was famished) and go to the Disney store.

I headed to Paddlefish for dinner.  I've been there a couple of times and it has not disappointed.  My favorite item there is the Crab Fries.  Yummy.  I ended up getting the Salmon which was very good.  Between the fries, salmon, and the bread for the table I was stuffed and had to take some of it back to my room.


I headed over to the Disney store after dinner.  I like to look around and I have a couple birthdays coming up that I wanted to see if I could get items for them.  It turns out that about 2/3 of the store was under construction.  There were still the same amount of people in the store and in that less space made it very claustrophobic.  I got a couple things and got out of there as quickly as I could.

I remembered buses near the Rain Forest Cafe side of Disney Springs and verified on the map that buses were still there.  When I got there I found that section was closed.  WTF?  I had to walk all the way across Disney Springs to get to the buses.  I was tired and just frustrated at that point.  I didn't need all this extra walking right before 3 days of races.  Oh well.

Where do you like to eat at Disney Springs?  Do you like to get to the expo right when it opens or wait till the crowds clear out some?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0