A weekend fit for many princesses

After months of planning, my "girls weekend" finally happened last weekend ... and quite honestly it was more fun than I had even anticipated.

To begin with, we had amazing accommodations! Thanks to a great partnership with Global Resort Homes, Jackie, Kristen, and I hosted a giveaway at the end of last year and in return, Global sponsored our stay at one of their luxury vacation homes (more on that in another post).

While I'm going to be blogging more about the house in another post, let me just say this - it was so much fun rooming with my friends! Kristen, Jackie and I have "coffee talk" every morning via Twitter and it was great to finally be able to have coffee together in person! Tori (Kristen's daughter) and Bekah rounded out our five-person "Princess Party Crew" and for that one weekend we really WERE the "Fab Five."

After a very lengthy flight delay last Thursday (thank you so much Delta), I finally made it to Orlando two hours late and practically RAN through the airport to meet the ladies. We made it back to our house and I managed to get a few hours of sleep. Yes, only a few hours. I was wide awake at 5:30 a.m. ... typical for when I'm near Disney property.

A 'business breakfast' on Friday was followed by a trip to the "Fit for a Princess Expo" at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex - we needed to pick up our race packets and bib numbers.

 That was when it really hit me - this wasn't just some random three mile walk ... I was participating in a REAL RACE. The expo was incredible - Cinderella's carriage was there, as was a glass running shoe:

It was during the expo when I had my first thought of "I think I need to run the Princess 1/2 Marathon next year." Yes, it seems like a crazy thought...but the energy inside that expo was enough to make anyone want to run 13.1 miles. And yes, even now...a week later...I still want to run the 1/2 marathon in 2013.

After a lovely day and evening at Epcot and the Magic Kingdom last Friday, we were up at 4:30 a.m. Saturday morning! Yes. 4:30 a.m. It's an ungodly hour...even more so when you know you're going to be walking 3.1 miles very soon. Once we made it to the "waiting area" near the start line, it was unlike anything I've ever been part of. There were 5,500 runners and walkers in one place - dancing, laughing, warming up, and getting photos taken. There was a DJ playing music, people were doing the Electric Slide, and the adrenaline was definitely flowing!

The crowd was pumped up and finally....we were ready to go. (And yes, I was wearing a tiara!) We lined up in our corral ... way at the back with the other walkers and then BAM! the starting fireworks went off and it was time to.....walk really slow. Imagine 5,500 people all trying to move at once. You don't move fast at all. It was more of a shuffle for a few minutes. And then, the crowd spread out and we were really doing this thing.

The first mile was probably the hardest just because there was NOTHING to see. We were on a service road behind Epcot and the most exciting scenery was abandoned trams from the Backlot Tour and a discard Jungle Cruise boat (wth?). Yeah, real inspiring, right? Mile two had us entering World Showcase at Epcot and then it felt a bit more magical! As we neared mile 2.5 it was like "Oh. My. God. Are we there yet?"

But then we saw it: the 3 mile marker:

 

And at that point, we knew we were going to make it! Bekah, Tori, and I RAN across the finish line...just so we could say "yeah, we ran a 5K!" It seemed like the right way to finish the race. And man, did it feel good to finish! I finished the race in a little more than one hour ... not too bad for my first walking 5K. And really, for me it wasn't about the time. It was more than that. (To read more about my feelings during the race, read this post).

 

The rest of the weekend was spent touring the parks, eating amazingly delicious meals (Whispering Canyon Cafe, Ohana, Boma), and having more fun than should be legal. We saw "old" friends and made new friends. We cried during "Wishes" (OK, I cried during "Wishes"). This weekend was all about friendships both new and old and it really was the BEST. WEEKEND. EVER. 

At this point, I want to talk about my amazing friends - the women I spent the weekend with. I've known Jackie and Kristen for a couple of years, having met them both via Twitter in the "Disney community" that resides there. I adore them both ... we all love the same thing (Disney) but have connected beyond that too. I just met Tori and Bekah last Thursday, but couldn't imagine the weekend without them. (And, I think perhaps Bekah and I were friends in another lifetime - it really felt as though I had known her for years.)

And as for the ladies of the Princess Party Crew, for four days from Thursday night when I arrived, until Sunday night when I left them in front of Cinderella's castle, the five of us laughed so hard we cried and we cried so hard we ended up laughing. The connections formed over the course of just a few days go beyond the words "awesome," "amazing," or "incredible."

I saw so many friends last weekend that I can't begin to name everyone, but know this: I consider myself a very lucky lady to know such amazing people.... the Princess Party Crew, Maria, Aurora, Megan, Kristin, Tiffany, the rest of the "Sparkly Moms", Amanda, Zanna...I adore you all and am so happy to have you in my life.

And now....I'm looking to 2013 and the Princess 1/2 Marathon. We all said we'd do the BIG race next year. We said we'd start training now. We know it can be done. We are strong enough and fast enough and we can do anything!

A tale of 3.1 miles

See that photo over there? It was taken .1 miles away from the finish line of my very first runDisney event (and very first 5K race) - the Tangled Royal Family 5K. I'm smiling from Mickey ear to Mickey ear because I'm just so darn happy. (My finish time was around 1:11:00, give or take a few seconds).

I didn't run the race. I walked. My pace wasn't the greatest (heck, the first mile took us 28 minutes!). But you know what? I finished the race. And, I RAN across the finish line. And I got a medal for my hard work.

And it was all worth it.

To me, this race wasn't about how fast my miles were, or where I finished in the group of 5,500 runners, walkers, and stroller pushers. No. It was about ME and feeling good about myself.

The last year has been rocky to say the least. You know this if you have been reading my blog for a while. I left a toxic work environment and an abusive boss. I spent months at that job feeling useless and worthless. It truly broke me as a person.

But as I passed that 3 mile marker on the course I had this moment of clarity that's really hard to explain. It was as if all the crap from the past year was suddenly washed away and I was ME again. I was stronger. Smarter. Faster. And the evil green polyester trolls no longer had any relevance to me at all. They were also washed away in a tidal wave of empowerment.

And then, as the finish line came into sight, out of the corner of my eye I saw some friends standing on the sidelines and suddenly they were cheering for me! It was that last little boost I needed. I looked at my wonderful (new) friend Rebekah and said "Let's RUN!"...and so, we did. We ran across the finish line. And then we hugged each other. And cried.

At that moment I really felt like anything was possible...I was stronger and faster.

And, I was OK.

I'm going to Disney World!

As any "regular" reader of this blog knows, I kinda sorta LOVE all things related to Walt Disney World resort in Florida and Disney in general. It's my happy place. I cannot get enough Disney. (Yeah, some might say a 12-step program is in order, but whatever).

This time next week I'll be on my way to the airport, ready to board a flight headed to, you guessed it, Disney World. But this isn't just any old trip. Oh no. Next weekend could quite possibly go down in the history books as one of the best weekends EVER at WDW.

I'll be spending the weekend with my dear friends Kristen and Jackie in a Global Resort Homes vacation home (our sponsor for the accommodations!) and we'll be participating in the Tangled Royal Family 5K race on Saturday morning. And eating at some of the best restaurants on property. And spending days in the parks. And sipping wine while we sit in our private hot tub at the vacation home.

And well, I haven't been THIS excited about a trip in quite a while.

OK. Yes, I am always excited about going to Disney with my family (that's a given, right?)...but this is different.

I desperately NEED this trip.
With my friends.
Having "girl" time.
Just being ME.

As many of you know from reading this blog for the last year or so, things haven't been all peachy-keen-bed-of-roses-wonderful around here. From everything that happened with the wicked witch in her green polyester sash, to the job search that is never ending....I just haven't felt like "me" for quite a while.

What I need is some "me" time. Some time to hang out, have fun, laugh a little, and forget (for just a few days) about all the other crap. I want a few days where I don't have to think about the job search or laundry or grocery shopping.

That is what next weekend is all about.
This time, it really is all about me.
And I'm OK with that.

This all came about last fall. After (once again) not advancing to the next round for Disney's Moms Panel, a discussion was started on Twitter between myself, Jackie, and Kristen that we needed to DO SOMETHING FUN! We tossed around the idea of attending Blissdom, but eventually settled on the Princess Half Marathon weekend at Disney.

Thanks to Kristen's blogging brilliance, we were able to partner with Global Resort Homes and host a giveaway on our blogs between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As part of that partnership, Global Resorts is sponsoring our accommodations for the trip - and the house we're staying in? Yeah, it's absolutely AMAZING. I cannot wait to take photos and share it with all of you.

As for the 5K? Well, again last fall, I decided that I wanted to participate in a runDisney event. I bought running shoes. I started "training" with the Couch to 5K app, and then (1) I got sick, (2) it got cold(er), and (3) life got in the way. So...instead of running the 5K as initially planned, I am walking the 5K. But, it's still 3.1 miles. And we still get a medal at the end. And I've never been more excited about walking in my entire life. (And maybe next year I'll actually RUN the Princess Half Marathon!)

There are so many friends I cannot wait to see next weekend - friends I haven't seen in a while and some friends whom I have yet to meet IRL. There will be incredible amounts of hugging and laughter FUN with my friends.

And that sounds perfect. 

(And if you want to follow along on my 5K "adventure" be sure to follow me on Twitter - @TraciLeigh)