Fox Valley Half Marathon

I found this race from looking online on halfs in the Chicagoland area and found this one. I graduated from high school close to there and thought it would be fun to run this race.

Since it takes an hour to drive to St. Charles we got up really early and it was still dark out. By the time we arrived to the start it the sun started to rise. When we got to the start area it was the first time that there wasn’t a line to the bathroom. We walked around a bit and we bumped into Dave Mari by the gear check.

This run offered a Marathon, 10 mile and the Half. I did the half and the color scheme was green, so everything for me was gree, the bib, the goodie bag and also the medal. I liked how they tied everything in.

We started at 7:00 and the released us in waves. Just before our wave started I bumped into Dexter D. And he said that he was here with other people too, but i didn’t get to see them.

The course took us from downtown St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia. The course followed the Fox Valley River, going through the neighborhoods, park and business areas. I never knew that there was really nice properties along the river path, and they had really nice houses.

When we crossed the bridge in Batavia they had the split for the half and the marathon/10 mile. There was a couple that was running in front of me and when we got to the split they gave each other a kiss and parted. I noticed that there are a lot of bridges and windmills in the area. In the Batavia business area it looked like they had an art fair that they were getting ready to open. At this time it was where I took my walking break, if they were open I would of walked and looked at some of the art.

After the 12 mile mark they had us go through a park where I saw Rick and he took a bunch of pictures there. Once we got back to the main road the end was in sight. I finished the 2hrs 40min 18sec, staying within my average.

So what does the fox say? Ow ow ow!

This was a nice run, I would suggest this run. It is a relatively flat run, just a few inclines and hill in one of the parks. The weather could of been better, but overall it was a nice day for a run.

Chicago Half Marathon 2014

The third and final half marathon of the Chicagoland Half Marathon Series Challenge. They had two types of challenges, a 26.2 (2 halfs) and the 39.3 (3 halfs) and each one had a special medal. I did all three, the Chicago Spring Half, Michelob 13.1 and the Chicago Half.

I arrived on Saturday from my vacation at California and we went directly to the expo to pick up my packet. Went home took a short nap, had a carb dinner and went to bed early.

Woke up early and already felt different than any other run morning, I was ready to run, but was sleepy/tired. Now I know that not to plan a half marathon the day after coming home from an early flight. We arrived at the start about an hour before the start. I was in corral J so we took some pictures and stretched inside the corral.

We started the run at 7:00 and the combined all the corrals, so we all started together. The race started in Jackson Park and ran north on Cornell Ave, turned on 57th dr and ran down Stony Island Ave. felt pretty good running the first few miles, my legs were loosening up and it cool breeze felt good. We ran through Hyde Park for a bit and the course brought us to Lake Shore Drive which they closed off for the race.

Running Lake Shore Drive is pretty cool, seeing it from a runners perspective is quite different than riding in a car. We went up to 31st St then looped around and went south on a Lake Shore Drive. Around mile 10 fatigue started to kick in and I felt physically tired, and I had 3 more miles to go. They had our names on our bibs and it really helped when I walked through the refreshment stations they were encouraging me by my name. I took a few more walking breaks. When I saw the gold statue at Jackson Park I knew that the finish is near. I finished the race in 2hrs 43min 42sec, which is within my norm. I thought my time would be worse because of my walking breaks and I physically I wasn’t rested as I am usually. I am very satisfied with my time.

I got my challenge medal and my pizza and headed to breakfast. Even having breakfast felt like a chore, I just warned to go to sleep. Once we got home I stretched, took a shower and jumped into bed.

Another thing I learned was not to cut my toenails the night before, my toes felt weird. Another half done. This is the last race from my crazy schedule, I have no race next weekend. My next race is in 2 weeks and this is the race that will help me moon up in the Half Fanatics and get me out of Uranus.

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Disneyland Half Marathon – Part 2 of the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge

The Disneyland half marathon also started at 5:30 AM, so another early start for me. My cousin Debbie met us at our hotel and we walked over to the Disneyland Hotel to meet up with our relatives, Nanette, Todd and Nathan. We headed over to the corral and there were a lot of people. I was assigned to corral G with Nathan and Nanette joined us there. Debbie and Todd were at a later corral so we got parted from them.

They had the fireworks at the national anthem so I was happy about that. It took is awhile to get us going, but once it was our turn they released us with “Let it Go” from frozen and away we go!

The course was the same as in the past so just as we got to the 2nd mile we were entering California Adventure. The first main attraction that we saw was the Mickey’s Fun Wheel, then turned to to to Cars Land. After a short run around the park we exited and entered the Magic Kingdom.

The sun was already starting to rise so by the time I got to Main Street it was already light out and the castle was in our sights. From there we turned left into Adventureland and looped around to Fantasyland to run through the castle. It was good to see that the attractions were running, although it seemed that there were not that many characters to get a photo op with. When we exited the castle we entered Tomorrowland, again they had the storm troopers and Darth Vader which had a very long line so I opted not to take a photo with them because the princesses are usually around the corner and I wanted to find Snow White to give her a kiss. This year there were no princesses in sight, but there were villains galore. They had really long lines so I didn’t stop. We went through Toontown and then we exited and off to the streets of Anaheim.

Outside of the park there were no characters, but there were cheerleaders, performers like Hawaiian and Mexican dancers and people with signs. Again they had a long stretch with classic and modern cars, which was enjoyable to see. This is usually the place where I would find my cousin Jean, but she wasn’t running the half this year. When we entered the parking lot of the Honda stadium they had lightning McQueen and they also had the car from The Rocketeer and also the original Batmobile.

When we entered the Santa Ana River Trail the course got narrower and it started getting crowded. We approached the Angels Stadium, which was a favorite part for me because we get to run the outfield, but this year it was not enjoyable. It was really crowded and a lot of people stopped at mid run and it was hard to maneuver around all the walkers. I was actually happy to get out of there where the course became wider.

Pre-race I found out that my relative Taylor was volunteering at the water station that was located after the stadium so I kept an eye out for her. Sure enough I saw her and had an opportunity to take a picture with her. After that it was 3 more miles to go!

It started to get hot, so I slowed my pace and took a few more walking breaks, because I could feel myself getting drained. Once we entered the outskirts of California Adventure I knew we were almost done. When we entered the parking lot south of Paradise Pier Hotel they had a long row of cheerleaders and we were headed toward the finish.

I did see Rick and my sign and also saw Fran was with him. Once I waved and handed off my camera at them I booked it to the finish. I finished the half in 3hrs 10min 8sec, again not my best time, but shave off 20 min for pictures that should be about right.

We exited the finish area to get our medal and with my armbands I got my Coast to Coast and Dumbo Double Dare medals. I brought my marathon medal and the 10k medal with me to get my finisher’s photos. I found Nanette and Nathan and took pictures with them, and then left to find Rick at Downtown Disney.

We had lunch with Debbie, Dave and Charles and then headed out to Hermosa Beach to visit my relatives. For the day of recovery Rick and I went to the Disneyland and California Adventure the whole day.

Again this was a fun race and a fun day of recovery at the parks. We stayed a week visiting relatives and now we are on our way back home, which once we land we are going directly to the Chicago Half a Marathon expo to pick up my packet for the weekend’s race!

Disneyland 10k – Part 1 of the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge

As with all the Disney races this race was no different and started at 5:30. We met up with my cousins Jean and Nanette at the corner of Disneyland Drive and Katella and we walked to the Disneyland Hotel to meet up with Fran, Niko and Steph. Once we found them and took some pictures we walked toward the corral area.

One thing I noticed was that at the national anthem they didn’t have any fireworks, which I thought was strange, I thought that was done in all the races, I hoped that they would do the fireworks for the Half. There was a lot of people in the corrals, it looked like it was a half marathon rather than a 10k. It took us awhile to start, but once we started they played an Elvis song “Rock-A-Hula Baby” to send us on our way.

We followed the same path in the beginning as the half, but instead of turning onto Katella we continued down Disneyland Drive. This path took us around the Anaheim convention center and the streets of Anaheim.

A little after mile 2 we entered California Adventure and specifically Cars Land. This is where I lost my relative to take pictures. Once we exited Cars Land we turned left at entered Paradise Pier. One thing I like about the Disney races is that the runners were able to use the bathrooms in the park, so much better than using a port a potty. This course allowed is to see the Mickey’s Fun Wheel in to angles, so I was able to take pictures at both spots.

Just before mile 3 we found ourselves in the Golden State area, where I bumped into Fran, Niko and Steph. We took a quick picture and we continued the course. Halfway done!

The course then took us through the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, then the perimeter of the service area between the 2 parks, then brought us to the entrance of Disneyland.

I always look forward to the time on the course where we enter the park and then run down Main Street and see the castle. From there we turned right into Tomorrowland as we approached mile 4. We ran past the Matterhorn and when we got to It’s a Small World the had us exit the park and ran the back service perimeter of the park and enter the park in Toontown.

At mile 5 we arrived at Fantasyland. I was a bit disappointed because they didn’t have Dumbo flying and was concerned that it wouldn’t happen during the half. The course brought us in the back of Sleeping Beauty’s castle and had us run through it and had us turn right into Adventureland.

We again exited the park and ran towards Downtown Disney. Once we got to Downtown Disney I knew we were almost done. Once we exited Downtown Disney I saw the finish and booked it and finished the race in 1hr 26min 36sec definitely not my best time.

This race was really fun, it was Stitch themed and had a neat medal to go with it. There were also a lot of Elvis impersonators, the one I really wanted to take a picture with was the Stitch Elvis, but they were closing his line by the time I got there. One thing I didn’t like was that they were not that many characters along the course to take pictures with.

We were awarded our medal and Nanette and I got our wristband to get our Dumbo Double Dare Medal which we would receive once we finished the half marathon the next day. After having breakfast and showering. Rick and I spent the afternoon in Downtown Disney and then took a short nap before meeting up with my cousins for dinner.

We went to bed fairly early since we had to get up early again for the start of the Half Marathon.

Disneyland Half Marathon weekend

This year I was able to register for the Dumbo Double Dare challenge for the Half Marathon weekend. This challenge was running a 10K and the half to get the Dumbo medal. I’ve been excited about this race, I don’t know if it’s because I was doing the double dare or that I was going to get my coast to coast, or probably both.

We arrived in L.A. Friday afternoon and immediately headed towards Disneyland after we got our rental car. We hit a little bit of traffic, so we stopped and had our first In and Out of our trip. Once we checked in at the hotel we went to the Disneyland Hotel to the expo.

At the expo was the same as last year, we went down to the underground parking area to pick up my bib. This year my name had the indication that I am eligible for my coast to coast medal. They gave me my green arm band to indicate that I would get after finishing the half on Sunday.

We went into the exhibition hall to get my bag and shirts. Since I am doing the Dumbo Double Dare (DDD) I got 3 shirts, but only one bib. I’m not to thrilled with the design of the half shirt, I do like the 10k and the DDD ones.

Right next to the shirt pick up was the New Balance display and they had the 2014 RunDisney shoes and this year is Sorcerer’s Mickey. They had my size so I tried them on. Needless to say I bought them. I also found a few item at the official store. We took pictures with the castle backdrop and the Stitch inspired 10K backdrop.

That evening I met up with my relatives, Nanette, Nicholas and Taylor for dinner at the Storytellers Cafe in the Grand Californian Resort. We hung out at the lobby after dinner to meet up with Jean. Fran and her kids also stopped by so it was really nice to visit for awhile. But we couldn’t stay up late because we had to get up early for our 10k in the morning!

My blog for the weekend will continue with my re-cap of the Disneyland 10K.