Disney Princess Half Marathon

Momma,

Today was the day. My first alarm went off at 2:45am. I got out of bed right then because I really couldn't sleep anymore even though I was still tired. We didn't head down to the lobby to catch a bus until 3:45am. The lady in charge of event buses at our hotel was very serious and she made the decision that only runners could get on the next bus, no spectators. So I took off my coat and handed it to dad and got in line for the bus. As we started to pull away, tears started to fall from my eyes. These two nice ladies, who were sisters, talked to me the whole time and made me feel better. Linds, Deb, and I got off the bus and headed to the security check and then I ended up finding Bryanna and Kevin and soon after that I found Heather. We took pictures and headed off towards the corrals. 

First, Bryanna, Kevin, their friend Stephanie, and I made a bathroom stop which took forever (30 mins). After that we started the 15 minute walk to the corrals. By this time it was 5:23am. After a few minutes of walking we heard the first set of fireworks go off and knew the race had begun. When we got to the corral areas, Bryanna and Kevin headed off to K and Stephanie and I made our way to P (the very last corral). I saw Deb and Lindsay but just for a second because Steph and I made our way to the front of the corral. We sat down on the highway (yes, the actually highway) and waited for the corrals to move forward. Finally it was our turn to move. We walked for a long time up to the start and at 6:36am, I was off towards my first half marathon!

The first mile flew by! In fact momma, so did the next 5 miles! Mile 6 went straight through Cinderella's castle at Magic Kingdom! So cool! 

(Random people in my picture but that's okay. This was heading towards the castle to run through it!)

So mile 7, 8, and 9 weren't too bad either. I knew I was heading towards Epcot but I had no idea where I was except that I was running in the middle of a highway! I did not take any picture during the run because I just wanted to run the whole thing. There were so many characters out to get pictures with but the lines were very long! 

Miles 10 and 11 were hard. So close but still no sign of the Epcot ball. They were also on an incline so they were mostly uphill. I got very tired but kept running. Momma, I finally reached mile 12 and it was into Epcot for the finish. We ran around the Epcot ball and back out to the finish. At mile 12.5, I got the worst side stitch! I have no idea where it came from. It hurt so much I thought I might fall over and not finish .2 miles from the finish line....but I didn't stop running. And the there it was....mile marker 13 with the finish line up ahead. I looked in the stands and finally saw dad and JP and I waved and then ran through the finish! I forgot to stop running at first because I didn't realize that it was over.

I started to cry almost immediately because I was just so happy! I have been working so very hard for the past 4 months and today, it all paid off! I know that I couldn't have done it without God. I spent lots of time in prayer about this day. Mommy, I didn't have any anxiety. I definitely had nerves, but no anxiety! I conquered it like you wouldn't believe!

I called Heather right away and was so relieved to find out that she waited for me (Heather and her sister were all the way up in corral G). I still hadn't heard from Bryanna but I made my way through the line of goods. It was so great to get that medal! We also got a cooling towel, drawstring bag, Powerade. Then I had my official race photo taken with my medal and got my box of food! Then I found Heather and it was so good to see her. Within two seconds, Bryanna came and jumped on me and then we did the wobble...the DJ was playing it and it's our thing so we wobbled. Finally I was able to find Lindsay and Deb who also finished! We headed back to the hotel for showers and food! 

Mommy, it was amazing! The whole experience was awesome! The training was hard but it was so worth it to get this:

I am not going to post my final time because I feel happy with it and I just want it for me and not the world (I think my momma already knows, so I'm not going to tell her here). However, I did finish 2,543 out of 19,294 women. The total number of runners was just under 25,000. Although some people probably didn't show up or even finish for a variety of reasons.

I hope that I made you proud today. I ran my little heart out and didn't give up! I miss you so much and I wish you could have been here to see me. I cannot wait to tell you about it one day in Heaven! I know that when I see you again I will have so many stories for you.

Love you forever and always,

Kelsey