What comes after a trip to a runDisney Expo? A race of course! I had signed up to do the Jingle Jungle 5k in addition to the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Call me crazy, but I LOVE Disney races!!! I did a double race last year by doing the Happy Haunted Trails 5k and Tower of Terror 10-miler on the same day. I survived, so I figured that it was a good idea. (And it was!) I dressed up as Christmas Olaf (Thanks Lydia!) and got ready for a great race!

I got to Animal Kingdom in plenty of time to go to the bathroom and then stand in the ridiculously long line for Christmas Mickey and Minnie. But, if I’m going to be standing around anyway, I might as well get some pictures out of it! The people around me in line were nice and we chatted about some of the outfits and costumes that we saw. About an hour later, I finally made it up to Mickey and Minnie! I also stopped for pictures with the Christmas scenes and then still had plenty of time to make it over to my corral.

I was in Corral A!! I have only been assigned to Corral A one other time: for the Happy Haunted Trail 5k (but I moved back to be with my family). So I was pretty excited this time to be able to start first! I’m pretty sure that they did corrals based on our names or our sign-up times because there was a wide mix of people in it, from the elderly, to young children, to the winner of the 2014 Disney Marathon! Regardless, I weaseled my way to the very front of the starting line!
Imagine my surprise when the person next to me turns around and says “Hi Katie!” I’m famous! LOL! It turned out to be Debbie, a follower of my blog and a Team #runDisney member! We chatted for a bit and got ready for the MC’s to start their pre-race show.

Of course Mickey and Minnie joined the MCs at the start line and I had a great view! And finally – we were off! By the time I was 3 steps past the start line, the winner of the marathon was already 1/4 mile away! Crazy! Regardless, I jogged a bit, but didn’t push myself too hard and soon tons of people were passing me. No worries, though!

The first mile of this race was through the parking lot of Animal Kingdom. The energy of the race was so good that I got to mile marker 1 so fast! Soon we were entering Animal Kingdom. Because this 5k was untimed, my goal was to stop for every picture stop. I wasn’t going to run much of the race because I wanted to save my energy for the half marathon later. I also wanted to just have a relaxing time with thousands of my best friends! The first stop was Santa Goofy!

We ran to the left of the Tree of Life and through Africa, where I met up with Rafiki and Timon.

Then we crossed through towards Asia, but not before stopping for a picture with the Tree of Life.

Next up was King Louie and Baloo!

We then ran past Expedition Everest and then ended up backstage. I had run back here during the Disney Marathon in January and the Expedition Everest Challenge, so I had seen this area before, but they had some characters and props back here waiting for us!

I got to visit Winter Donald:

I got to see the back of Everest and the huge Animal Kingdom Christmas tree un-assembled! (This was pretty neat to me!)

And of course, Pluto with his festively decorated house!

There was a dragon. And a crocodile!

Finally we were back on track and I saw Chip and Dale. The line was a bit long, but I was not in a rush!

All in all, I thought this was a great race! I love Animal Kingdom anyway, so running through it is pretty awesome for me. There were a lot of characters out and I loved seeing everyone in holiday-themed costumes!

Three miles sure do fly by when you are having an awesome (slow) run at Disney! It took me about an hour and a half to make my way through the race. Those picture stops do take a long time!

And of course I had to get a medal shot! A lot of people complain that the 5k medals are rubbery medallions, but I still think they are very special and I wear them proudly!

I loved this race and would do it again!!!

A week before Halloween, I met up with my friend Chip and we ran in the PureChiro 5k in Vienna, VA. This was the first FREEZING morning of the season. The wind was blowing pretty hard (enough that one of the vendors tents blew away) and it was difficult to keep warm.

Luckily, as we started to run down the path, the trees blocked the wind a bit and the sun started to warm us up. I didn’t have any set intervals for this race, but just walked as needed. I always find it interesting that 5ks always seem so much longer and harder to me than longer races. By the end I was huffing and puffing, even though the course was pretty flat. Must have been the cold…

I finished in 33:18, which is on the medium fast side for me. Not too shabby, I guess, from not running a lot recently. It was a very pretty, tree-lined course, and was very flat compared to some other races that I have run recently.

I decided to dress up as Minnie Mouse and definitely had a lot of support for it! And the hat helped my ears and head to stay warm, so it was a perfect outfit.

This race was put on by Bishop’s Events. They still have a few races left this year, so feel free to check them out!

Maestro and I went to the 5k By the Bay in Lorton, VA. This race was part of a challenge: complete a Duathlon on Saturday and run either a 10-miler or 5k on Sunday. I was originally signed up for the 10-miler, but after taking 3 weeks off of doing anything remotely resembling exercise because of my sprained ankle, I didn’t want to push myself too much after finishing the Duathlon the day before. So, I switched to the 5k, which was ok because that means that Maestro could run it with me!

The course was the same as the day before. The first mile is rather flat, but then it gets to be all down and uphill for the next mile, before getting back to the flat part. Maestro and I pretty much ran the flat parts and the downhills, but walked all the uphills. I have no idea how the winner of the race finished in 16 minutes…There is no way I could run up all those hills!

Of course I had to stop for a picture of Maestro hanging out by the bay. This was a trail run, so we ran on gravel, dirt, grass, and a little road at the beginning and end. A lot of it was along the water, which I was always enjoy. Maestro was a trooper and did a good job keeping up!

Once we neared the finish line, Maestro started sprinting. He can be such a fast runner, it was hard to keep up! I think he was just really excited to be finished! Everyone was cheering for him! He was the first puppy to cross the finish line (well, and the only one…)

This was a good race. I wasn’t TOO tired from the duathlon the day before and it was good to get my legs moving and loosened up! Though, I still do not like those stupid hills!!!

This was my first Duathlon! I had a great time! And I even finished!

But let me tell you, I was in no way trained for this. Not even a little. I can only imagine how much better I could have done if I was trained. But, it happens. I had taken my bike out of hibernation earlier in the summer and took it to get cleaned up and repaired. And then it sat on my porch. All. Summer. I was planning to do a Triathlon in August, but it got cancelled, so I never trained. The night before this race I took out my bike, attached the rack to my car, and then went on a test drive and a short, slow, and easy 3 mile bike ride. And that was my training.

I got the the park where the race was taking place and set up my bike. I had my helmet, water, and gels all laid out. I was pretty much the only one with a regular ride-around-the-neighborhood bike, but it worked and it was my first race!

I decided to dress festively for my first du. I wanted to stand out! And I wanted something long enough to help prevent chafing while being on the bike. Thus, here I am. I definitely was very noticeable since most other people where dressed in black.

The race consisted of three segments: Run 5k, Bike 10 miles, and Run 5k. The 5k was a trail run full of hills (and hills and hills and hills). I ended up having to walk up all of the hills because they were so steep. There was no way I could run up them! I tried to take it pretty easy because I was a bit worried about the bike part. It was a pretty run, though, through trees and by the water.

Next was the 10-mile bike ride. This was the same course that I had previously run back in April. It wasn’t as bad on the bike as I envisioned. I loved coasting down the huge hill at the beginning with the wind in my face. That was the absolute best part. The rest of the ride went pretty well. It was relatively flat and I kept a pretty steady pace the entire time. But then, I was back at the bottom of the hill that I had previously loved. I no longer loved it. I jumped off my bike and hobbled up the hill as fast as I could before jumping back on and riding to the finish line.

Time to run the last 5k. I parked my bike and, with jelly legs, hobbled toward the trail. I had such a weird feeling after being on my bike that long. My legs were disconnected and my tailbone area hurt! Regardless, I did my best and hurried as fast as I possibly could.

Finally! I got to the finish line and was done! Yay! But, no…The second I crossed the finish line the muscles on the insides of my legs (right above the knee) froze. I could not bend or flex my knees. Luckily there was a chair nearby that I could sit on. This was the strangest thing because those muscles had never bothered me before. And they just froze up! I drank a bottle of water and slowly tried to flex my knees. And then they were ok. I’m not sure what happened. But at least it waited until the finish line.

First 5k 41:23
Time as I finished the bike 1:38:29
Final finish time: 2:27:22