Heading through the Magic Kingdom!

So I left my coach around the 5K mark just after going to the gates to the Magic Kingdom.  I wasn't alone for too long though when I saw another coach from the Lehigh Valley chapter around mile 4 and he went with me into the Magic Kingdom.  But first I saw the place I was really looking forward to visiting:

Bay Lake Tower!

I couldn't wait until the day that I could stay there.  I couldn't spend too much time dreaming about it though because soon I saw my next mile marker.

I was doing okay with my time but I wanted to keep moving and get myself to the castle.  It was somewhere around here that I decided to get ride of my poncho.  I was really enjoying the race despite the rain and freezing temps and I felt like I was pretty warm after the first 5 miles. 

We made it past the Contemporary and then headed backstage and onto Main Street.  Surprisingly, it was the first time I had entered the Magic Kingdom during the trip.  I tried to take some pictures along the way but my fingers were cold and I didn't want to slow down until I got to the castle.  I kept snapping pictures along the way and these are some of the best ones:

I made it through Tomorrowland and into Fantasyland and I heard the trumpeters as I made my way behind the castle.  Before I knew, this was the sight in front of me:

I snapped that picture and then quickly made my way down the ramps to get the picture I had been dreaming about for the last year.  I did get my picture with the full castle behind me.  There was a short wait.  I think they should have had two photographers there so that people didn't have to wait too long.

I then promptly started heading out of the Magic Kingdom since I have another goal to make.  I wanted to beat my time from the Philadelphia Distance Run.  I didn't stop, but kept snapping pictures on my way out:

I grabbed some water and then it was back out to the roads!

WDW Marathon weekend with Team in Training! Day 3 Part 1, January 9, 2010

My alarm went off at 2:15. We were required to meet at 2:45 so that we could be on the first buses over to the race. If I were traveling on my own, I probably would have slept until 3 am and tried to get on a bus around 3:30 or 3:45. I got some pictures while we we waiting for the bus:



I really wish this picture came out better. I didn't tell the person taking it how to use the focus on the camera. Whoops!





Once we got on the bus it was a quick ride over to Epcot. The buses stopped somewhere out in the parking lots and we had a pretty far walk just to get to the holding area. The music was blaring and we were all struggling to get warm or at least not get colder. I shared a towel with one of my teammates and we leaned up against each other. I was hoping I would fall asleep and get a bit more rest, but that didn't happen.

We made our way over to the starting lines after what seemed like forever trying to get through the bag check. I was in Corral G. I think if I had registered on my own I would have been in a higher corral as I saw many people online with similar finish times and lower bib numbers.

Once we got to the corrals, we waited,

And waited

 

and waited 

and

OOOooh fireworks!

 

And then we got a little bit closer...

And finally, about 25 minutes later, we found the start line

I took pictures along the way, but I wasn't stopping for anything so none of them came out clear.  I stayed with my coach for the first 5k.

I saw this before my coach left:

And then I was on my own...

WDW Marathon weekend with Team in Training! Day 2, Part 3, January 8, 2010

I took the Monorail over to Epcot and made my way over to Sunshine Seasons for a snack before getting onto a few rides. Disney we attempting to protect the plants from the freeze that was coming:



I got myself a pasta salad and a few bags of pretzels to take with me and took some time to sit down and enjoy the food. The I headed over to Living with the Land. I hadn't been on that ride at least since 2003, but the last time I can definitely remember the ride was from my senior trip that my mom took me on. I still really enjoy the ride and I don't really miss having the cast member tour guide.

Here are some pictures from the ride:



I just had Jackfruit at home the week before. I never liked the canned stuff, but fresh it was delicious so I was excited to see the tree.





After the ride I decided to head over to Mouse Gears and get myself a backpack. The free one from the expo just wasn't getting the job done and I had put a tear in it around the drawstring area so I was concern about more rips and then the chance of losing my stuff. After I got out of the store, I saw that the rain had started:



It was almost time for the Inspiration Dinner so I started to make my way over to the World Showplace Pavilion. I got there and didn't need to wait long before they started letting people in. All the coaches and staff were lining the walkway with tons of noisemakers to cheer on all of the runners.



Inside, they had several buffet tables full of salads and pastas and the pavilion was full of tables. I had been in there before, but the set up was different.



I grabbed some food and found our tables. Once the presentation got started, we were able to hear many stories about the great work that our fundraising does. John "The Penguin" Bingham was our host. He is a back of the pack runner like most of the TnT participants.




After the dinner I made my way to the front of the part so that I could catch a bus over to Pop for my WISH meet. I snapped some pictures of the Christmas tree and the Monorail on my way out.






I didn't have to wait too long for the bus and when I got to Pop I easily found the WISHers in the food court area. I got to meet Jeff Da Runner (Aloha Jeff) and my friend Tim (who was one of my supporters in my fundraising).



Jeff had Aloha Mickey with him, so I got a picture with Mickey too:



After a little bit, we all headed outside for the group picture. Here's the picture from my point of view:



Once the meet was over, I headed over to the expo one more time to do some more shopping (I got paid that day!). I picked up a race tee shirt, pins, and an "In Training" shirt for next year's marathon. I also spent enough money to get the special throw. Once I finished up with the purchases, I made my way back to the resort and headed back to my room before heading to our team meeting.




My coaches even decorated my door!



I quickly dropped my stuff off and grabbed my singlet and my roommate and headed to the team meeting. Our coaches gave us all of the updates and reminded us where to meet in the morning, then we decorated our singlets and headed back to our rooms to get a good (albeit short) night's sleep.



Next up: RACE DAY!!!

WDW Marathon weekend with Team in Training! Day 2, Part 2, January 8, 2010

So when I left you, I was on my way to use my fastpass at Toy Story Mania. I ran into some Green Army Men putting some tourists through basic training.





I went through the fast pass line and made my way to the front of the line. Of course, I needed to snap a picture of the glasses:



Here's my score:



Not too bad. I posted it on Twitter and Matt the Esquire complimented my on it. I have to go back and listen to his show again to see where I can get more points.

I then started making my way to the front of the park so that I could head out for my free ride along. High School Musical was out again so I stopped for some more pictures for my office mate. Just one for you though:



I got some pictures of the tree and then made my way to the bus to the Ticket and Transportation Center. I love all of the tree pictures, so you get all of them.






I didn't have to wait very long for the bus to the Ticket and Transportation Center and once I got there, I went over and asked some cast members how to get to the speedway. It was nice and easy. They actually have a shuttle that takes you over for free. Once I got in the shuttle with some other guests, they promptly gave us a release to sign and then we were on our way to the speedway.

The shuttle bus took us under the race track through a tunnel that made us feel like we were getting a bonus roller coaster ride! Once we got there, I handed over my annual pass and ID, and filled out a form for a drawing to win the driving experience. I got myself into a riding suit and then went out to get my helmet and the other gear that was necessary.



Look! There's my car!



You have to wear a helmet (it squished my cheeks together) and a solid plastic harness that attached to the back of the helmet and went over my shoulders. I can say that I was very thankful I didn't wear my jeans that day. My jeans are a little bit tight and in order to get into the car, you need to climb in the window since there are no doors. Once you are in the seat, they strap the back of your helmet and the shoulder piece to the seat and then put the 5-point harness over your shoulders, hips and between your legs (think of a child's car seat).

Once I was fastened in, the driver (Dan) revved the engine and pulled out, then we we on our way! I wish I had looked at the spedometer when we were in the straight-aways, but I did look at it when we were going slow in the curves. Our slowest speed that I saw was 100 miles per hour. Wow! After we were done I told the driver that I didn't think I'd ever be able to enjoy Test Track again.

We got out picture taken, which I purchased (since I didn't need to pay for the ride, I figured that I could get the picture).



After leaving the Speedway, I started to make my way over to Epcot...