so as most of you may know (especially either in the running or orlando community) – disney had to cancel their 20th anniversary of the #wdwhalf this past weekend. and yes, i was one of those runners who solely signed up for that race. and while it definitely was disappointing at first, being from orlando – i know how bad the lightning can get in the area, so ultimately i was happy they thought of our safety first. and honestly, i was actually extremely surprised when disney offered up a few alternatives on how to compensate us for the cancellation of the race. i really wasn’t expecting that – but i suppose, if you think happy thoughts and have a little pixie dust, anything is possible. and out of the few options we were given, i decided that i will eventually end up deferring my race to another rundisney race in the future – i mean it’s inevitable that i will run another one.
so what does one do when a race gets cancelled? well what any other runner would do, run the race anyways – just not in the race setting and after the storms stopped. i mean we get our medal anyways, so i wanted to earn it. and truly, i’ve been working so hard for this race because i ultimately wanted to get a PR at #wdwhalf – so this was my opportunity to still accomplish that goal. and since we found out the race was cancelled the night before, it gave me time to prepare mentally as well. so much so that i ended up texting my best friend that the race was cancelled, and asked if she wanted to run my 13.1 miles with me (NOTE: she was NOT signed up for #wdwhalf). and being the kick ass friend she is, she didn’t even hesitate with the answer.
so on the afternoon of the original race day, we set off on our half marathon adventure. thankfully, orlando has some great trails and we decided to run along the west orange trail (in my race bib i must add). funny enough, we actually saw a ton of people running their half marathon, whether it was a sole half marathoner, goofy challengers or those who are truly dopey. it just reminds me of how incredible the running community is. and even though this wouldn’t be able to count as an “official” time, i still wanted to run as if it was race morning. and man, let me tell you – i was kicking butt for the first 11 miles and then “woof” the last couple miles were tough. but cue my best friend, she was such an incredible support system during the run – knowing she was there every step of the way, it made it a lot easier to keep on going and not stop (even if i wanted to). and also, my sweet boyfriend ended up being along the trail to cheer me on. i swear i have the most incredible people in my life.
and the results…i finished in 2:19:45. HOLY SMOKES! i actually did it – my goal was to break the 2:30:00 mark, and i was blown away when i saw my time as we finished. now i just have to repeat that at another half marathon this year for future proof of time qualifications (however, i’m totally counting this as hitting my goal this year). but ultimately, this showed me that i can push my boundaries and accomplish what i put my mind to – even if the road to the finish was different than initially intended. and i hope that this inspires all of you to dream big and know you can accomplish anything you want to achieve.
until next time
xoxo
kpmoments 