And we're off. One of the hardest parts of the half for me was deciding how much to walk vs run. I hadn't run in 3 weeks and didn't want to be sore before I even got to the full. But it's hard not to run when you're feeling good. It was dark when we started and we were making our way toward the Magic Kingdom. I tried to take a selfie at each mile marker. 
There was different characters set up but I didn't stop at this point. Luckily I just had my pic taken at the wine & dine race and wanted to get ahead since my corral was so late. I did get cheesy selfies with character in the background for first half of race.
There was different characters set up but I didn't stop at this point. Luckily I just had my pic taken at the wine & dine race and wanted to get ahead since my corral was so late. I did get cheesy selfies with character in the background for first half of race. The sun was rising and I love the feeling of running through the tolls entering the Magic Kingdom near the TTC. I asked this guy to take a pic of me. He was a good sport about it. 
I had to take fun pics with this sign. I always find funny deciding which lot to park in. Are you a hero or a villain or a little bit of both?
As you make your way past the Contemporary Resort you run under this bridge. This was similar to the Princess Half. I always think this is a fun moment. One guy dancing his heart out giving a breath of fresh air to all the runners
I also ran into my friend Sarah around this point. Poor Sarah has been so sick with Bronchitis the week before the race. She was doing awesome. What will power this girl has. (She would end up completing the Dopey Challenge) I'm so glad we got to run together for a bit and I had someone to share running down Main Street with. 
We make a way into the Magic Kingdom and I just love that moment you are running toward the castle. Please excuse my obnoxious self. http://youtu.be/WzlIfDsFzoU
At this point I needed to make a bathroom stop. I separated from Sarah and I tried to stop by the Noodle Station but the line was so long so I ran back to the course and decided to stop in Tomorrowland. Lesson : don't stop at first one. Good advice for the next day.
After that I decided to take my time through magic kingdom and enjoy the surroundings which meant lots of selfies 
Sick of my mug yet? So many more to come. Sorry folks. That's what happens when you run alone. I did stop for one of my favorite characters. Liver lips from the Country Bear Jamboree. I fell in love with the Bears during our leap day trip because they are so awful that they are fantastic. Here's one of my favorite pics from the whole weekend 
So I headed out of the Magic Kingdom to one of the most narrow stretches of the race. I'd say this section is probably quite frustrating to fast runners. It's hard to run even if you wanted to and if so your dodging and weaving. I tried to keep moving. This is around mile 6.
They had a contest to decide what would be this year's race theme song. This would be playing right past the mile 6 marker. Well lucky for me (for the half) it was my anthem. "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift. This song makes me so happy and I can't help but dance and sing while I run or looks a bit more like I'm walking
After this, I found its just a somewhat boring stretch of race and I'm walking to reserve my energy for the next day for the most part. I then ran into my friend Glenn. He was with his cousin and it was nice having company to walk with near the end. Only issue was we were not sure how far those balloon ladies were.
What is a balloon lady? The balloon ladies carry balloons and maintain a 16minute mile. They will sweep (or kick off) people that fall behind at certain check points. We were afraid we would get swept. So we began to run. We made our way over the big ramp and as we neared Epcot saw some friends cheering us on with their silly signs 
We made it to Epcot, and got some pics in front of Spaceship Earth. This was Glenn's first half marathon and I was so excited for him as we drew near the finish.
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