I am 24-years-old. I am a fully-functioning adult. I pay bills, I do dishes, I can change a tire, and I have a real job with a 401k plan.

And yet, I’m currently sitting at my desk, listening to Disney music, and my legs are shaking with excitement. My brain is scheming on various ways to affix a crown to my head while running and whereabouts to put temporary Mickey Mouse tattoos.

Yes, it’s here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Disneyland Half-Marathon. AKA: Everything I love in life is about to happen all at once. ALL CAPS EXCITED, PEOPLE!!

I know, I know…nearly every runner gets all giddy excited about the prospect of running through the happiest place on Earth. It’s perfectly normal—the child in us gets to tag team with the runner in us for 13.1 miles of magic.

But, my elation about this race is on a whole other level. It’s over-the-top, some may say unhealthy, and most would say obnoxious. I am the quintessential Disneyland kid: I was SUCH a princess when I was little, I worshipped all the Disney leading ladies, and to this day I can sing just about every song there is, word-for-word. Needless to say, a trip to Disneyland for me—as a 24 year old—is equally as exciting as it was when I was little. Friends of mine who have gone with me have said that they never really knew me until they saw me in Disneyland—in my primal element of giggles and a huge toothy grin.

Have I scared you away yet?

If not…thanks, you’re the best.

Obviously, the idea of running (aka my favorite activity in the world, see:every post I ever write) combined with Mickey, Splash Mountain, and Sleeping Beauty’s castle is just about too much for me to handle. I’m a little worried I might actually combust from sheer euphoria during the race. I will probably have the best races photos I’ve ever taken, though, seeing as I will have a constant obnoxious grin on my face. Or tears of joy—one way or the other. There’s also a chance a lot of gallant leaping will be involved too.

Point blank: I am so stupid excited for this weekend I can’t even contain it.

And BF? What a trooper that boy is. He is fully aware just what he’s dealing with in terms of his 24-turned-6-year-old girlfriend, and so far he seems well prepared. We’ve been to D-land before together, twice in fact, and he was such a great companion both times. He himself is a big fan of the park (let’s get real…if he wasn’t we would have some serious issues), and so I’m pretty sure he’s really excited himself.

So, considering I always have a well-thought out, down-to-the second pacing plan and goal times in mind—I’m sure you’re wondering: Hey Robyn, what’s your race plan?

The plan? NO PLAN! We are going to do this race super easy and casual. I’m not wearing headphones (a first!) and I’m going to carry my phone to take pictures. Hello…um, there are characters lining the course, some of which I have never in my life been able to get photos with. Watch out Belle…you might get tackled. But you still need to pull it together for a picture with me.

JK I have a pic with Belle already, you really think Mom was going to get away with not letting her little baby meet her idol?

So the plan is not to have a plan. We want to have fun, enjoy the whole thing, and not stress about PRs or negative splits or whatever. The other thing is that Mr. BF is recovering from a bad twisted ankle from a few weeks ago, and although his injury has recovered…his endurance has waned a bit. My plan, then, is to help keep us at a comfy pace and distract him with all of my sobs of joy. I’m dedicated to staying with him the whole race, and if I know BF as well as I think I do…I’m pretty sure he’s going to finish no problem. If we can get in under two hours, that would be cool, but I’m not worried about it. There’s a good chance this will be my slowest half to date, and I really don’t care.

Sure, I’m a little itchy to race since I know I could do well if I pushed it, but even if that were an option…it probably wouldn’t be the best one. With peak weeks coming up and a marathon in a little over a month, going balls-out in a half wouldn’t be the best idea for me. Maybe for some people—but I’d rather use it as a relaxed training run and keep up with my schedule rather than risk injury and need extra recovery time.

So, from now until 5:45 AM on Sunday, I’ll be busy packing, flying, expo-ing, carb-eating, listening to Disney Pandora, and trying to get some sleep because as we all know…sometimes the promise of Disneyland leads to insomnia.

Have a great {long} weekend!!!

Post-Script: Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, not Disneyworld. Those who disgree, meet me out back after school.

Are you racing this weekend? Long run? No run? Labor Day Plans?