Marathon Day!!! Sunday, January 10, 2010

My original plan was to get up with my roommate and go with the team to the start line, then run from the start line over to the Magic Kingdom or over to the Ticket and Transportation Center and the Polynesian.  I was so exhausted from the late dinner and walking around the parks after my race that I decided to sleep in a little bit and meet everyone at one of the parks later in the race.

I think I ended up getting up around 8.  That's pretty darn late for a Disney day for me!  I took my time getting ready then made my way over to get some coffee to warm up and wake up some more.  I even took my time getting over to get the coffee and I meandered around the resort and found the Dig Site pool.  Unfortunately, it was still way too cold to take advantage of it.

Eventually I made it over to get my coffee...

Looking at the time I figured it was best to make my way over to the Studios since everyone would be almost at, or through, Animal Kingdom by then.

I saw this as soon as I got there:

I made my way over to the friendship boats and caught the one that was waiting for me.  I sat down inside, but quickly realized that I would be able to get better pictures if I stand at the back of the boat.

Here's some shots that I got:

When the boat got to the Swan/Dolphin dock, I decided to get off there and walk the rest of the way!

To be continued...

Dinner in Epcot!

So I made my way over to Epcot and stopped at Spaceship Earth for a look at the past and my future!

Since I was on the ride by myself, I was given a new partner in my future!

I then made my way to Japan for my dinner!

I order hot tea and I think I ordered tempura for an appetizer.  Then I had the beef and fish entree.  I'll just post some of the highlights from dinner:

Yup, by the time my beef was done, the shrimp was almost gone!

In the time I was sitting there, my feet were starting to swell, so I loosen up my shoes, but I was able to tie them before I needed to leave.  After dinner, I decided it was time to head back to the room and get to bed.  I snapped one more picture of the tree.

And I happened to catch this bit of water art on my way out too!

To be continued...

So what did I do after the race?

I'm going to try to finish the rest of my trip in 2-3 posts.

After finishing the race I got a quick massage, checked into the TNT tent and got in line for the buses.  I was thankful that I saw a teammate and I was able to hop in line with her instead of waiting in the LONG line for the buses.

After I got back to my room I hopped in the shower and I took what is possibly the longest shower of my life.  Just when I was about ready to get out of the shower, I started shivering all over again.  So I stayed in the shower a bit longer until I was warmer.

I got dressed quickly and made my way back to the parks.  I headed over to the Magic Kingdom to Lou Mongello's meet.  It was moved inside because of the weather.  I hung out there with Tim and his son while Lou walked around showing the people at the meet to the people in the Box.  When the meet was over I hung around to meet Lou:

I texted my friend Mike to see where he was and since he was heading to Space Mountain, I headed in that direction.  The wait was long so I grabbed a fast pass and went over to the Carousel of Progress and then went for a spin with Buzz Lightyear.  I snapped a few more pictures and then headed into Space Mountain.

I was able to ride Space Mountain plus two more rides in the same time that it took Mike to go through the stand-by line for Space Mountain.  Just sayin...

I wanted to get pictures of the places I had passed during the race so I followed the course that I had taken a few hours earlier:

Past the Speedway towards Fantasyland.

Whoa!  I see the castle ahead!

Um, I guess I can't go that way now...

So, I went this way...

And got this picture:

And look!  The lights were still up!

I decided to make one more stop on my favorite Magic Kingdom ride.

And just one more bit of proof of how cold it was.  There was no line at Aloha Isle!

I headed out of the park and decided to try to get dinner reservations.  Sanaa and Boma had no spaces avaiable for a single diner, so I tried Epcot restaurants.  Of course, Biergarden had places available, but I didn't think my stomach could handle it, but Teppan Edo had a spot open so I headed there!

Continued in next post!