The vacation aspect

In addition to accomplishing my goal of finishing the Princess Half Marathon, I also got one of the best vacations of my life out of the deal. I think, in part, it was so great because not only was it relaxing (and with two of my most favorite people in the whole world), but I accomplished something too. 

We left out of Midway late on Friday, thanks to the winter storm that rolled in. I tried not to be frustrated, but was kind of sad that we'd be missing our late lunch reservation at The Rainforest Cafe. Bygones. We got to our hotel, Saratoga Springs, at about 4 p.m., and went straight to the grab and go restaurant because I was getting hangry (hungry/angry). After we scarfed our food, we went to find our room... a lovely first floor walk in that was directly across from Downtown Disney. Then, we trekked over to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex so I could attend the race expo and get my race packet. Holy overwhelming, Batman! I'll save that for another blog. Friday night, we walked over to Downtown Disney to see the sights and sounds. It was PACKED with people, but we still managed to work our way into Ghiradelli so I could have a peanut butter chocolate ice cream sundae, otherwise known as heaven in a glass.

Saturday morning started with breakfast at The Polynesian. This was perhaps my favorite meal of the trip due to one thing: pineapple macadamia nut butter. I literally wanted to lick the remaining goo off my plate, but refrained, as we were in public and I'm classy like that. Seriously, yummy breakfast though. :) Afterward, we went to some of the other hotels to see what they looked like. It reminded me of hotel hopping in Vegas, but calmer, and with more little people there. Then something really cool happened. 

So, through the Arthritis Foundation, I met Amanda, a 20-year-old Purdue student who also has RA. We met last year at an AF event, and she killed me in fundraising last year for the Arthritis Walk. Anyway, Amanda is studying at Disney World this semester and sent me a message on Facebook. So, on Saturday, we got to spend the day with her at the Magic Kingdom, which was SO much fun (and, made for even seating on the rides!). It was great to visit with her and get the behind the scenes scoop on Disney. :) Saturday night was an early night, as I needed to rest. If you've read my earlier blog, you'll know that didn't even happen a little bit, but I didn't care too much come Sunday. 

After the race, I went back to shower and decided it was best to keep moving. I was afraid if I napped, I wouldn't get up. Plus, I still had too much adrenalin. So, off we went to Epcot for the day. I forgot how much I LOVE Epcot, easily my favorite park! Most of Sunday is a blur of rides, walking, sitting, and tiredness. But I DO remember Sunday night's sleep being some of the best in a while. 

Monday, I woke up with some serious quad pain. No good. But livable. And then it was back to reality. 

I'm taking off running until the weekend, and then going to try to get a few runs in. Looking forward to seeing what my legs can do!