5K Part 2 consisted of sparkly makeup, glowing lights, and… less than 5K.
I ran my first Disney 5K in November of 2021. It was exhilarating and left me with a desire to collect Finisher Medals. At that point, Aaron and I had already registered for the Springtime Surprise 5K that we completed this past week. Since then, we’ve registered for another… run. 5K part 2 was a rewarding experience to train for, and I’m happy to have completed this brief, but fulfilling, journey.
5K PART 2: THE TRAINING
Between the end of the last 5K and the beginning of 2022, I hadn’t run much. I basically had to start from scratch, to some extent. I was hoping to finish this 5K run in under 35 minutes! It didn’t quite happen, for multiple reasons. However, I did make SOME progress.
By the week of the first 5K, I had established a running “loop” of sorts. In this loop:
- I’d start with a walk from my house to the end of the shopping plaza down the street.
- From the shopping plaza, I’d run to either the “skybridge” by my house, or to the edge of the neighborhood at the halfway point of the “loop.”
- Depending on where I stopped, I’d either walk from the “skybridge” to the edge of the neighborhood halfway point, or walk from the neighborhood halfway point back to the “skybridge.”
- I would run all the way home from wherever that walking point benchmark hit.
By the week of 5K Part 2, my loop looked something like this:
- Run from my house to the “skybridge”.
- Walk from the “skybridge” to the halfway point.
- Run home.
Not too bad!
5K PART 2: THE EXPERIENCE
Having already completed a runDisney event, we knew what to expect, to some extent! The check-in experience was fun. They hold the registration check-ins at the Wide World of Sports. When I was a kid, I competed in a baton-twirling competition in the same arena where I received my runner’s bib. It feels like a full circle moment to walk in there with that memory.
Aaron and I elected to stay at the Pop Century Resort. It’s a budget-friendly hotel, but you couldn’t tell from the fun theming and the massive swimming pool. The hotel is broken up into buildings with decade theming (60s, 70s, etc.). As someone who has a love of nostalgia, I think it’s such a fun place to stay! Better still, it’s the same hotel my mom and I stayed at for the weekend of that baton-twirling competition.
We didn’t have enough time to fully enjoy the amenities of the hotel, but had I any forethought, I would have brought a swimsuit. It was a SWEATY Thursday and a dip in the pool would have done the trick!
THE MAIN EVENT
Unlike last time, 5K Part 2 did not take place in the wee hours of the morning. This run took place late Thursday night, after the parks had closed. For that reason, I decided to power nap and apply a bit of fun makeup for the run! I took a cue from the increasingly popular sparkly looks from “Euphoria” and went with a sparkly pink eyeshadow and electric blue liner. I also went hard on the highlighter.
It was a good look in person, but photos of me during the run made me look like I was shiny with sweat. I also WAS sweaty, so it just wasn’t an uber effective look. Still pretty, though!
The tough part about the runDisney events is the pre-Run ceremony. My practice runs consisted of stretching, followed by a brief walk, into the running. However, for the first hour before the run, you’re placed in a corral of others in your mile-time. To clarify, you stand in a coral for about an hour before you start your run. It’s tough on the legs to just stand for an hour, and then run on them!
As Aaron and I made our way across the starting line, we got caught in a chokehold of people just walking the route, rather than running it. Last time, Aaron balled up the back of my shirt and pushed me forward like a human shield to get me past the walkers. This time, however, he was nowhere to be found. We both made our way down the route on our own. A highlight was running through Pandora, the land based on “Avatar.” It’s all lit up with fake bioluminescent lighting at night. Running through it was magical!
As I pushed past the finish line, I checked my Strava account in amazement. I had completed the 5K in 32 minutes! What?! Wow! Wait. Why does my Strava only have 2.67 miles logged? Was there a dead zone in the run?
I sat on the ground to stretch before boarding the buses. At that point in the night, I felt so eager to embrace my record breaking pace. However, the nagging feeling of something going wrong kept me from truly believing it. After a quick runDisney search online as we boarded the bus, Aaron confirmed that the runDisney team had elected to shorten the run.
Sadly, I did not run a full 3.1 miles. It was closer to 2.7.
I had broken my speed record on a training run two days prior. Then, I ran the track set before me, and I finished strong. But it wasn’t a 5K. They handed out the medals, but it felt like a hollow victory. All that training, for not much behind it. Apparently the emcees of the event had announced the shortening of the track earlier in the night. Had we known, we would have finished that last half of a mile (give or take) in the parking lot! Looking back, I saw two people running back and forth around us. They were clearly trying to earn that full 5K.
The cherry on top: the track shortening occurred to prevent putting the runners/volunteers in danger of a tremendous thunderstorm. That thunderstorm never hit, save for some moderate rainfall as the last participants crossed the finish line.
Aaron and I made it back to our hotel room, rinsed off, and slept in the next morning. We were back home with our cats before sunset. It was a fun experience, even if we didn’t truly RUN a 5K that night.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
5K Part 2 was a fun second step. Even with the track length shortened, I trained as though it were 3.1 miles. I managed to shave off a minute by the end of my training. That bodes very well for November!
The registration for the next runDisney event occurred two weeks ago. Aaron and I both forgot the date, and miserably realized that the 5K registration sold out within the early hours of opening.
However, there were spots still open aplenty for the half marathon the following Sunday. We had a long conversation. Do we keep our ears to the ground for last minute replacement/openings? Do we look for other Runs in the area?
… Should we register for the half-marathon instead?
Tired, and terrified, we decided. Aaron registered us, and I booked us a hotel on the property for that weekend.
My next 5K, if all goes well, will be part of a second endeavor, in which I complete multiple events in a runDisney weekend.
Until then… my next mission is a half-marathon. Here we go.