I'm Not Doing "Half" Of Anything, I'm Crushing the Whole 13.1 (Dopey Challenge 2018: Half)

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." -- Winnie the Pooh

All 13.1 miles were done for you, Aunt Denise.

Emotionally, the half was the hardest race of the Dopey Challenge. Morgan, who was also running the Dopey Challenge, and I both dedicated our half marathon to Aunt Denise who had passed away a couple of weeks before Marathon Weekend. Aunt Denise loved Winnie the Pooh, so we, naturally, both dressed as Pooh for the race. Shout out to Morgan for making my skirt right before she came to Disney. 

Every time I wanted to quit or complain, I just thought of Aunt Denise and knew that I had to keep going. And trust me, there were lots of times that I wanted to quit or complain. 

In standard Marathon Weekend 2018 fashion, the half marathon was cold. COLD. I feel like a broken record saying it, but living it was no picnic either. Unlike the 5k and the 10k, Tasha and I were actually running, so that helped with not turning into icicles for the third day in a row. The temps also warmed up a bit more than the previous two days. And by that I mean, I felt comfortable enough ditching my Mylar blankets/ HotHands/ gloves. But not warm enough that I didn't regret taking my gloves off about an hour later when the back of my hands were chapped and wind burnt.

The many faces of 13.1 miles.

I actually really enjoyed running the half, which is something that I haven't said before. Tasha and I were running 30:30 intervals, which meant 30 seconds of running and then 30 seconds of walking. For the entire 13.1 miles. Which was a lot of stop and go, but we also didn't get bored or tired. So win win? It also gave use ample time to plan our PhotoPass poses and then resort to the tried and true hands in the air. Every. Single. Time.

We also got to run through Magic Kingdom which was the first time that weekend we had run through a park other than Epcot and the first time I had ever run through MK. We were only in there for about a mile (lame.), but it was pretty, well, magical. Life goal is to get there while the castle is still lit up, but that means that I actually have to train. Ick.

Throughout the entirety of the Dopey Challenge, we were not far from the three flamingos. I have no idea who these men are, but they were easily one of the best parts of the entire weekend. Their loud and constant "caw, caw"s definitely provided more than one pick me up over the course of the weekend. I mean, the hats, the tutus, the caws, the fact that they were running far better than me each day? It was all awesome.

And there cherry on top of the half marathon was looking through all of the PhotoPass pictures and seeing that Morgan and I had matching poses with crossing the finish line. This one was for you, Aunt Denise.