Disneyland Half Marathon

My sincerest apologies to all of you for being so neglectful over the summer.  Not only have i been horrible about updating the blog and pictures, but i've also failed to return phone calls and emails.  I am very sorry and i promise to do better.  Several things have happened this summer and i will slowly fill in the gaps.

The last two months i've been busy training for the Disneyland Half Marathon.  For those of you who don't remember me as a runner, i'm not!  In fact, i prefer swimming or biking because i've always been horrible at running---y'know, one of the last ones to finish those dreaded "fun runs" during PE class.  Well if i'm not a good runner, then why run?  I don't remember if i was just embarrassed or had an epiphany, but what i do remember is many years ago---ugh...my mistake, a decade ago---while living at Kensington in Provo, i decided i didn't want to suck at running anymore.  Back then i would occasionally try running from the apartment up to the Y.  Needless to say, my dedication to something i'm not very good at has been lackluster at best, until i moved to my place in Irvine. So finally after working on the course of the half marathon the past two years, Ashley, a friend at work, finally encouraged me to try running it with her.

For any of you interested in trying a marathon, i would highly recommend running a half marathon first, and the Disneyland Half Marathon course is very entertaining.  The beginning and end takes you through the resort; a lot of people enjoy the experience of running through Disneyland---something completely lost on me since i'm running around there every day. Another bonus is, depending on the Angel's schedule, you may also run through Angel Stadium (this is the first year we didn't).  And with a minimum pace of a 16-minute mile, which you can easily walk, this is a race for everyone!  The only downside is miles two through four of the race take place in Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure so the course is very narrow and there's not much room to run, but if you're lucky enough to get stuck next to the runners dressed up like Minnie Mouse or Snow White, the silliness of it all keeps your mind off the running. 

I used a very informal training regimen with a goal of finishing between an eight-minute to nine-minute mile pace.  My time works out to approximately an 8:45/mile pace.  I'm happy i finished, but i know i could have run a faster time because the course was so crowded for the first four miles. So now that i've finished my first half marathon, i've decided to start training for my first full marathon in the spring.  I'm definitely running a local marathon because i don't see the point of going on a vacation to punish my body, so i have to decide between Huntington Beach, Orange County, or San Diego.  Would anyone like to join me?  If not for a full marathon, then come run with me for next year's Disneyland Half Marathon!